Part 1
You may have seen on the news or read in the paper that the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life conducted a major survey which found that 92% of Americans believe in the existence of God or a universal spirit. However, 78% believe there is more than one way to eternal life, including 57% of evangelicals. It is noteworthy that 41% of those not affiliated with a specific religion say that religion is still somewhat important in their lives. The conclusion draw from the study can be summarized in its opening statement: "most Americans have a non-dogmatic approach to faith."
dog·ma –noun, plural -mas, -ma·ta
1.a system of principles or tenets, as of a church.
2.a specific tenet or doctrine authoritatively laid down, as by a church.
3.prescribed doctrine: political dogma.
4.a settled or established opinion, belief, or principle
1.a system of principles or tenets, as of a church.
2.a specific tenet or doctrine authoritatively laid down, as by a church.
3.prescribed doctrine: political dogma.
4.a settled or established opinion, belief, or principle
If Americans have a non-dogmatic approach to faith it means that they do not subscribe to a particular doctrine or a specific set of beliefs. Basically, they believe whatever. In other words, belief has become a cultural phenomenon based around the feelings and thoughts of an individual person, subject to all the whims of humanity, and not based on a moral standard outside of ourselves. It has no consistency and it has no absolutism. Religion now holds the dangerous position of having importance but not value.
What do I mean by importance versus value? Imagine the antique roadshow. A person comes with a vase which belonged to their great-great grandmother who they loved very much. The vase has a great amount of 'value' to that person. The appraiser will soon tell the owner how much value the vase has as an object in the antique vase market. One value is subjective and the other value is absolute, existing outside of the person's feelings. The feelings are not a true indication of the value of the vase because they are actually feelings for the great-great grandmother that have been attached to the vase. Thus the subjective value isn't value at all but rather importance. Since our culture rejects the existence of a standard outside a person's feelings, we see that religion remains very important but ceases to be valuable.
Belief and religion has been redefined under our very noses. It is now a choice within ourselves instead of an adherence to something outside ourselves.
And this changes everything.
2 comments:
Great post! We are quickly approaching the era of post-Christianity that transformed Europe into the spiritual wasteland that it is today. As Chesterton once said, once people stop believing in God, they will believe in anything. In a century from now (if not much sooner), China will be the "Christian" nation that America was for the last 150 years.
Your antique road show analogy is flawed. Market value is simply what other people on average feel it is worth.
Value by definition is a comparison. When compared to what it offers the average person, the vase has less value because they don't get the benefit of the vase being a part of their heritage. Thus they feel it is worth less than person who inherited it from their great-great grandmother.
So basically your analogy says that the feelings of the majority are objective, and the feelings of one individual are not.
Saying that people don't subscribe to a particular set of beliefs doesn't mean that they believe whatever. It means that instead of just accepting what they are told, they've have studied for themselves and chosen for themselves what they believe. If faith is ever to mean something, it must be something that is personally chosen, not something that is automatically accepted.
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