I've come to realize I'm just not that cool, nor is my theology that en vogue.
I'm sitting here listening to Dave Matthews Band's new album, "Away From the World" and reading an interview with Dave about the album. To make a long story short, in one of Dave's answers he said, quite simply, "I do not believe in God." Dave's lyrics have a long history of interaction with the topics of the divine, religion, and Christianity in particular, but that isn't what struck me about this statement. It once again reminded me that I find this statement to be an inherently privileged statement.
Michel Foucault's postmodern philosophy, at the risk of oversimplification, revolves around the concept of "power" and how -- usually -- individuals utilize power. Of note, specifically for philosophy, was Foucault's assertion that even knowledge itself was shaped and formed by power. This is what I mean, first and foremost, when I use the term "privilege", that is, it comes from a privileged place of power which others do not necessarily possess.
There is a new, hip movement within Western cultures to embracing atheism. That is all good and well in and of itself, but I want to come back to it after my next observation. That is, there is a second, equally "hip" movement within Western Christianity to downplay, if not outright reject, the blessing of afterlife. I want to argue that this is, again, an inherently privileged position which is the product of power.
You see, it is easy as a Christian in the west to believe that there is no afterlife. God desires justice and we should strive for the same. After all, we live in relatively just societies which allow us to enjoy justice, yet with just enough injustice to have something to shake our fists at and fight against. We speak, with the best intentions, about "justice" and usually "social justice." Beyond that, we move into language like "Kingdom of God", to which we mean "social justice here, on earth." From there, we feel comfortable, in a modernist scientific age, suggesting "but really, afterlife? Come on. I don't really believe that." Or, maybe we do, but we certainly don't want to focus on it, for fear of seeming like one of those other Christians.
Why?
Because we don't need it.
I've said quite a few times that if Christianity is just about bringing justice here, then let's close the church doors, head home, and donate to our preferred political party (usually Democratic in these circles). Seriously, though, if there is no afterlife then our proclamations of a God who desires justice ring incredibly shallow. Whether we intend to or not, our proclamation really just says to those who are suffering injustice that we, privileged, western Christians are going to bring them justice (anyone else puking yet?). And well, in all honesty, if we don't get to them in time, that's just terribly tragic.
Yet, even that comes from a place of privilege and power. We can say it is tragic because, after all, we experience justice. We are not in a place where we can feel the full force of the fact that such a position just isn't good enough.
Not for the Christian gospel. Either we believe in a God who will establish justice and right the wrongs, freeing the oppressed, or we do not.
We don't need God to create just societies. We don't need God to tell us not to murder people. Even if we did, what good does this God do for us when injustice reigns?
Humanity is in desperate need of a God who can bring justice for the oppressed even when the best intentions of the Church and the World have both failed, and they have died without ever knowing peace and justice. Humanity needs a God who can give this to them on the other side of death, where our failures are no longer final.
What do we say for the fallen at Auschwitz? That we got 'em, eventually? That the bad guys lost the war, even if it was too late for you? Or do we, instead, say that there is a God who promises justice to them yet?
The Christian Gospel, without resurrection after death, is no good news at all, and the idea that we can just throw it all out is itself the position of those who are privileged enough to get along fine without God, where others are not so lucky.
No comments:
Post a Comment