Y'all come back, now, ya hear?
Ross Douthat, among other things, exhorts Protestants to come home.
posted by Kate Marie | 11:18 AM | Permalink
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4 comments
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4 Comments:
If Protestants don't opt to return to Catholicism, they may at least demand greater depth and substance from their own churches. I know Protestants who admired Pope John Paul II more than any of their own rather undistinguished leaders, and it's no coincidence that many Protestant churches are having a hard time packing the pews while Catholicism enjoys the fruits of its "youth movement." Many Protestant denominations just don't take their own theology seriously.
Here in my little D.C. neighborhood, the local Congregational church has a twice-married, Harley-riding, Vietnam-era pastor for whom Christianity is essentially a soft reiteration of progressive Boomer politics. If you seek a church that may make you question--if only one day a week--your moral choices, your great material wealth, and the true value of the goals to which you've devoted your life, then you're out of luck. If you're looking for serious Christian theology, you're out of luck. If you're looking for a church where Christianity is the basis for political morality rather than a tacked-on afterthought, you're out of luck. A serious person might ask: Why go to church when your minister only gives you more of what you get everywhere else in society, or when your religion offers fewer moral challenges than some episode of The West Wing?
KM, thanks for the link. It's been too long since I've read any Fr. Andrew Greeley. His column was in my weekly Catholic paper when I was a teen -- it was the only part worth reading.
Jeff, if you'd cross that big river into God's territory, you'd find challenges in the Bible churhes. I've listened to tapes of sermons from some of them and they are good. (As they must be, or the preacher can get fired.)
Hey, CIV -- I like Andrew Greeley, too. Can't vouch for the Bible churches in God's country, though. :)
Jeff, *very* well said, as usual. What's interesting and troubling is that some Catholic churches have become almost
as watered down as the church you describe. I may be completely crazy, but I have the feeling that part of what saves American Catholicism from going the "West Wing" route is its rituals. Even when you don't get enough of serious Catholic theology in the sermon, you feel the weight of it in the ritual itself. The forms and rituals of the church become their own theology.
But who am I talk? I wish I knew more about the serious theological tradition of my own church. I've actually thought about going back and getting a degree in theology after the girls are grown.
Looking at my initial comment, I now think that I overgeneralized too strongly about Catholic and Protestant churches both, but I do think that what I said is true for my wealthy, yuppified quadrant of D.C. In general, I see Catholics in their 20s and 30s making serious commitments to their religion, while I see Protestants joining a nice, inoffensive congregation only long enough to please grandma by getting married in a church. The reason it makes me nervous is that if there was ever a city where powerful people needed to be told that they're not as righteous as they think they are, it's Washington.
And I think you're right about the power of ceremony and ritual. Look at how many normally jaded people were (temporarily) stripped of their cynicism during the beautiful Greek-based Litany of the Saints at the end of the funeral mass for JP2. I think even non-Catholics would agree that such complex and thorough rituals suggest that an equally comprehensive world-view lies behind them. That's appealing to many in an age when there's certainly no surplus of well-expressed or consistent world-views worth having.
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