thanks for including me! 𥹠i loved the movie and knew i wanted to write something about the painting coming up on screen. so interesting to see how my substack audience generally agrees with my take, but my tiktok comments are savage to say the least. lots of people saying it was âdisrespectful to christianityâ etc. which i felt like was a super narrow read of the scene! thereâs alot more to it!
Folks with the latter response seem to want Christianity kept safe and to themselves. But Christianity likes to get out and mix it up in the public square. Which is a good thing. If one's faith isn't strong enough to spar and parry, it isn't worth believing in.
I don't buy the reports that there is a *general* revival of liturgical Christianity among Gen Z. The stats just don't seem to be there. I do think there is a *specific* revival among members of socially, politically, and theologically conservative groups. I suspect (and I'm pulling this entirely out of my ass) this is because the seeds of wishy-washy liberal woke Christianity were laid back in the Reformation and it's rejection of centralized authority. It may have taken ~1500 years to fully sprout but now people are realizing that the theologically conservative parts of American evangelicalism lack the historical authority to back up those beliefs and are limited in methods to push back against secular liberalism or liberal Christianity, and they feel like they have to RETVRN to churches that have the history to back up their claims authoritatively.
The type of fulfillment that one is looking for in religion probably plays a role in the diminishing returns of intellectual engagement. I suspect that for the average true believer, getting deep into the weeds of theology is not helpful and can maybe even be detrimental, whereas for someone who is more academically inclined, or is not really looking for spiritual fulfillment and just likes knowing things, it will remain stimulating. I find religion fascinating from a historical perspective, but my theological studies never really improved my spiritual walk back when I was still a Christian.
Getting deep into the weeds of theology becomes less and less captivating to me as time goes on. A primarily intellectual faith becomes more of a burden. It takes *work* to remain stimulated in a way that sustains faith.
People absolutely convert based on their temporal needs - needs which they are often fully unaware of. From my perspective on the outside there's nothing wrong with this. Individuals need to find fulfillment, spiritually or otherwise, and it's not going to be the same for everyone. This is not an issue from my perspective on the outside of the church but converts (well, people in general I guess) unfortunately confuse their own personal needs being met with absolute truth that applies to everyone. This is bad, in my opinion, but I'm not sure there's a way around it if you are in fact a true believer. Saying things like no denomination is the only way to Jesus is kind of a soft universalism. At some point, the Prot has to admit that he believes his theology is not just "correct" in a general sense but "the Truth" and the Cats and Orthos are wrong, and vice versa.
And as for the Holy Spirit's guidance... well, I think it's much more likely that people are being driven by their own desires, opinions, and upbringing and confusing that with some kind of truth from above rather than them actually being guided somewhere.
That's the thing though... people miss that God can use one's mundane desires and temporal needs to draw us in. Not as an end in itself. But as a gateway.
thanks for including me! 𥹠i loved the movie and knew i wanted to write something about the painting coming up on screen. so interesting to see how my substack audience generally agrees with my take, but my tiktok comments are savage to say the least. lots of people saying it was âdisrespectful to christianityâ etc. which i felt like was a super narrow read of the scene! thereâs alot more to it!
Folks with the latter response seem to want Christianity kept safe and to themselves. But Christianity likes to get out and mix it up in the public square. Which is a good thing. If one's faith isn't strong enough to spar and parry, it isn't worth believing in.
Thank you for sharing my book! I am so glad we met and hope the next visit isn't too far off.
I don't buy the reports that there is a *general* revival of liturgical Christianity among Gen Z. The stats just don't seem to be there. I do think there is a *specific* revival among members of socially, politically, and theologically conservative groups. I suspect (and I'm pulling this entirely out of my ass) this is because the seeds of wishy-washy liberal woke Christianity were laid back in the Reformation and it's rejection of centralized authority. It may have taken ~1500 years to fully sprout but now people are realizing that the theologically conservative parts of American evangelicalism lack the historical authority to back up those beliefs and are limited in methods to push back against secular liberalism or liberal Christianity, and they feel like they have to RETVRN to churches that have the history to back up their claims authoritatively.
The type of fulfillment that one is looking for in religion probably plays a role in the diminishing returns of intellectual engagement. I suspect that for the average true believer, getting deep into the weeds of theology is not helpful and can maybe even be detrimental, whereas for someone who is more academically inclined, or is not really looking for spiritual fulfillment and just likes knowing things, it will remain stimulating. I find religion fascinating from a historical perspective, but my theological studies never really improved my spiritual walk back when I was still a Christian.
Getting deep into the weeds of theology becomes less and less captivating to me as time goes on. A primarily intellectual faith becomes more of a burden. It takes *work* to remain stimulated in a way that sustains faith.
Thanks buddy!
Leaving a comment to say I want your comments on the idea of conversion based on temporal needs as well
People absolutely convert based on their temporal needs - needs which they are often fully unaware of. From my perspective on the outside there's nothing wrong with this. Individuals need to find fulfillment, spiritually or otherwise, and it's not going to be the same for everyone. This is not an issue from my perspective on the outside of the church but converts (well, people in general I guess) unfortunately confuse their own personal needs being met with absolute truth that applies to everyone. This is bad, in my opinion, but I'm not sure there's a way around it if you are in fact a true believer. Saying things like no denomination is the only way to Jesus is kind of a soft universalism. At some point, the Prot has to admit that he believes his theology is not just "correct" in a general sense but "the Truth" and the Cats and Orthos are wrong, and vice versa.
And as for the Holy Spirit's guidance... well, I think it's much more likely that people are being driven by their own desires, opinions, and upbringing and confusing that with some kind of truth from above rather than them actually being guided somewhere.
That's the thing though... people miss that God can use one's mundane desires and temporal needs to draw us in. Not as an end in itself. But as a gateway.