What is the real problem?

Two incidents recently have reinforced a growing realisation.  Non-Christians don’t really have intellectual problems with Christianity – they have relational problems…

On two occasions recently I have found myself having really good discussions about God, Christianity, life, the universe and everything else (including vegetarianism?) with non-Christians.  On both occasions we began by exploring intellectual questions and doubts – issues of interpretation, truth, the trustworthiness of the Bible, the knowability of God etc.

But the more we talked eventually it came out, yes Christians are not intellectual morons, and yes you pose a good point.  BUT if they are to be honest most Christians they have met are full of  rubbish (not the actual word but this is a family blog), holier than thou, hypocrites who preach at you, deny their own sins and failures and act like their life is so much better than ours.

In other words even if it is true – we don’t care.  At the heart of it we don’t really care whether it is true of not because it has no attraction for us…

Tim Chester and Steve Timmis talk about “Relational Apologetics” in their book Total Church (my thoughts here, here and here) (also Tim’’s post on the Resurgence blog)

This concept is for me most simply summed up in Blaise Pascal’s thoughts (as summarised by Graham Tomlin in Total Church): “In other words, when commending Christianity to people, “make is attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show that it is.” Such arguments as there are for Christianity can convince those who hope it is true, but will never convince those who don’t.”

Or as Titus 2:10 says “in every way make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive.”

What do non-Christians need more than good rational arguments for the truth of Christianity (and these do have a place!)

They need to be invited to join in with and experience a community of grace.

A community because it is our communal life together that is result of the good news at work.

A community because it is here that we can talk, LISTEN, address misconceptions, agree with them about Christians behaving badly and apologise.  One of the most common things I say to non-Christians on campus is – that is not what Jesus is about at all, I agree with you that is wrong…

A community where they can see love and grace at work (first?) at the same time as they hear about it.  Often our message and our medium (the church) are sending contradicting messages.  We preach love and grace but we live individualism, materialism and superficial relationship whilst having “fellowship” over coffee after our church meeting once (or twice) a week.  The message has no appeal because the communal life has no attraction to it.  Unbelievers must first want it to be true before they will consider whether it may actually be true.

A community of GRACE because I do not believe in an idealised, “Acts 2 community” that will just draw outsiders to Christ because we are such nice people.  No it is grace which is attractive not us.  We are sinners, we mess up, we hurt each other, we fight and get angry and say nasty things.  We are guilty of gossip, selfishness and arrogant individualism just like the rest of the world.  But grace says that is not acceptable.  Grace says we repent, we call one another to repent and we say sorry, make restitution and take seriously our offences against one another.  And as we do that we are changed, our lives do become more attractive but only because we are convicted and called by grace not because of our own self-discipline or hard work.

There is no space of holier than thou attitudes within a community of grace.  Jesus is the holy one and he is holier than I and thou.  The more we remember that the more likely we are to foster not a community of saved by grace and continue by goodness.  But saved, continuing and finishing by grace.   And unsurprisingly a community of grace makes us better people.  Stressing obedience can never lead to grace but stressing grace should always lead to greater obedience to Christ.

As Lesslie Newbigin has said the best apologetic for the gospel is the local community of believers.

~ by John on March 31, 2009.