Curtis A. Bronzan

A brilliant animation of a Slavoj Žižek lecture addressing the central tenet of his book First As Tragedy, Then As Farce, engaging issues I’ve addressed before. (Hat tip: Michael Jimenez)

The aforementioned post engaged issues related to the rise of postmodernity which prepare us to engage the issue of pluralism, a significant contemporary cultural development. It should be noted at the outset, however, that pluralism is not an invention of postmodern culture, but has existed throughout the centuries.

A helpful biblical example can be found in Acts 2, where Luke tells us that God’s Spirit fell on

Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs.” (Acts 2.9-11)

Andrew F. Walls, in his essay Evangelical and Ecumenical: The Rise and Fall of the Early Church Model, argues that diversity was the norm in the first-century church:

Cultural diversity was built into the Christian faith. Two diverse systems of Christian living – one might almost say two parallel Christianities – existed side by side in a single church.” (Evangelical, Ecumenical, and Anabaptist Missiologies in Conversation, 33)

Thus, pluralism as such should not be condemned outright, since both Jews and Gentiles shared faith in Jesus, but expressed that faith in divergent ways.

In his book The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, Lesslie Newbigin offers a helpful distinction between cultural and religious pluralism, the latter of which he defines as

the belief that the differences between the religions are not a matter of truth and falsehood, but of different perceptions of the one truth; that to speak of religious beliefs as true or false is admissible.

(In an attempt to simplify the concepts presented here, I have opted to retain use of the word pluralism instead of relativism, though the latter would, at times, be preferable. This is largely due to it’s use – and definition – by Lesslie Newbigin.)

He concludes, in pluralistic societies, “[r]eligious belief is a private matter.” (The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, 14) The effect of modern pluralism is, of course, a result of similar thinking to what was previously addressed in postmodernism, coupled with a highly individualized Western society. Even more troubling is how postmodern, atheistic cultural theorists use biblical revelation to argue for an increased secularism, including Alain Badiou, who after quoting Galatians 3.28, goes on to state “how appropriate, for we who will unproblematically replace God by this or that truth.” (Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism, 9) Badiou’s rendering reads, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female”, purposely leaving out any reference to ‘in Christ.’” (9)

Similar to our previous venture into the idols of modernity, there are idols of postmodern secularism as well. Lesslie Newbigin, in his essay Evangelism in the Context of Secularization, puts it bluntly:

In the end, the society we have is not a secular society but a pagan society, a society in which men and women are giving their allegiance to no-gods… The “secular” society is not a neutral area into which we can project the Christian message. It is an area already occupied by other gods. (Mission Legacies, 48)

Of course, it would be entirely naïve or plainly ignorant to assert that such “no-gods” of money, power, and sex are not, in some sense, worshiped by those a part of Christian community. At the same time, however, we should recognize their response to the call of God on their lives is, at least in part, a commitment to kill off these idols as much as possible, as they seek to follow Jesus – whether or not they are entirely successful in doing so.

All followers of Jesus are called not only to do so personally, but also to seek to encourage others toward this end as well. As John H. Westerhoff asserts,

Christianity is a way of life. Therefore, from the beginning it has been the responsibility of all baptized Christians to proclaim the gospel in word and deed.” (The Study of Evangelism, 239)

This way of life requires a continual reorientation toward the person of Christ, instead of baptizing Christian truth for atheistic, politically correct rhetoric, as seen by Badiou above.

In his article on W.A. Visser ’t Hooft, Newbigin asserts,

[e]vangelism needs a measure of religious freedom and therefore religious pluralism, or at least religious plurality, while the Christian missionary must proclaim the total lordship of Jesus over all of life. Its raison d’être is to being all men and women to Christ. (Mission Legacies, 120)

In is necessary, then, for Christians to be those who scatter into the world, proclaiming Jesus as the Lord of Life, and yet, a word should also be said regarding the role of such people also to gather in worship. The pluralist society, of course, is known for its multiplicity of options, which affects everything we do, even down to how we order a cup of coffee. And yet, for those who have scattered, it is integral to their discipleship that they also gather, that they might see:

This way of life is a consequence of faith, best understood as perception. Christian faith is a particular way of perceiving life and our lives. It manifests itself in believing and thinking, in trusting and loving, in worshiping and obeying, but fundamentally it is a way of “seeing.” (The Study of Evangelism, 239)

Note also, Lesslie Newbigin: “[t]he first evangelism in the New Testament… is, strictly speaking, news, and it requires an immediate response in action. There is immediate excitement. People flock to hear.” (The Study of Evangelism, )

Thus, in a highly individualized, pluralistic culture, our role is to not only scatter, but to gather, to see the world through a missiological lens, by which we can recognize the presence of the God who is at work in a plurality of places. Though previously alluded to, we must, at this point, say it plainly: though God is at work in a plurality of places, the call of Christ is to accept Him as Lord and Savior, wherever we find ourselves – and to wherever He takes us.

I’ve noted before before my interest in Starbucks, but this new advert for their ready brew coffee takes the cake – or, the coffee cake, as it were.

Notice the posture of the Via consumer. Absolute worship. Proskuneo, even! This must be some amazing coffee that would engender such devotion.

I, personally, can’t handle Starbucks brewed coffee, though I wonder if it’s terrible bitterness isn’t a way to push their higher priced espresso drinks. But Via keeps consumers away from such products – if not for the distance from the store, then for the time it takes away from bowing down to our new favorite idol.