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Making the Best of It – Introduction

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mwkruse
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25061259 Today we begin a lengthy dialog with, Making the Best of It: Following Christ in the Real World, by John Stackhouse.

Stackhouse reminds us of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's question, "Who is Jesus Christ, for us, today?" He reminds us that in all we do, we start with Christ. His identity and mission will constitute the heart of our identity and mission.

But Stackhouse says we must ask a corollary question: "Who are we, for Jesus Christ Today?" Christian ethics is too often perceived in terms of morality, of right and wrong. Stackhouse writes:

Christian ethics, then, is not primarily about what to do rightly or wrongly, but fundamentally about what it is to be Christian in the world, what is proper to the profession and practice of Christian faith. Being Christian in the world is identity, a motive, an agenda, and a posture, all of which lead to action. (4)

Stackhouse quotes Glen Tinder:

I believe that the primary political requirement of Christianity is not a certain kind of society or a particular program of action but rather an attitude, a way of facing society and of undertaking programs of action. (4)

Stackhouse writes that this book is about answering this corollary to Bonhoeffer's question.

Stackhouse says that he believes two models of Christian engagement with the world exist in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand:

Cultural Transformation

The aim is to reshape society according to Christian values. There are movements on both the left and right that take this view. Neo-Calvinism is one expression of this and thinkers like Dooyewood, Wollenhoven, and Rookmaaker would be representative. Roman Catholicism has had folks like Wiegel and Neuhaus. Stackhouse would include Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Liberation theology is another expression with Gutierrez and Cone being representative theologians. While Stackhouse doesn't mention them explicitly I would place the leadership of most mainline traditions in this camp.

Holy Distinctness

The aim is, "a definite Christian community living in contradistinction to the rest of society and thus offering the beneficial example and influence of an alternative way of life." (6) There are a variety of sectarian and Pentecostal groups that take this view but the most traditional expressions would be the Mennonites, Amish, and Hutterites. Then there are influential theologians like Yoder and Hauerwas. More recently there has been Radical Orthodoxy with Milbank as the leading voice.

Stackhouse finds neither of these responses adequate. Reflecting on H. Richard Niebuhr's Christ and Culture five-part typology of cultural engagement, Stackhouse will draw on the "Christ in paradox with culture" type, though with some modification. Stackhouse notes that this was Niebuhr's least well-formulated type but one that Stackhouse thinks is critical.

Stackhouse's two types of engagement describe two halves of my life. I was raised in the Church of the Nazarene for the first half of my life. Though the denomination has become less sectarian recently, it was considerably so when I was growing up. When I was growing up, the denominational devotional guide called (and maybe still is) "Come Ye Apart," as in, come out of the world and live an exemplary life of holiness as a witness to the world. The denomination is a conservative off-shoot of Methodism.

I spent the second half of my life in the Presbyterian Church, USA, ground zero in the mainline cultural transformation movement. The politics (at least in the hierarchy) is decidedly left of center. Frankly, I find it hard to tell which is transforming which when it comes to the denomination and the culture. 🙂 Though many conservative reformed folks would not agree, the Presbyterian Church stands very much within Protestant reformed tradition, which has a transformational mindset.

In all frankness, I've never been (from my earliest memories) entirely at home with either of these options, though there are elements of both that have a strong ring of truth. What Stackhouse's book does for me is give voice to the tension I've lived in all my life.

How about you? Do you have a "home" in these two approaches, or are others speaking to you? Do you agree with Stackhouse's notion of Christian ethics?

Next, we turn to Chapter 1, where we will lay out some important definitions and then quickly review Niebuhr's Christ and Culture typology. That will complete Part 1 of the book. Part 2 of the book will examine the Christian realism of C. S. Lewis, Reinhold Niebuhr (Richard's brother), and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Part 3, the last half of the book, will be Stackhouse's analysis and reflection.

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Comments

12 responses to “Making the Best of It – Introduction”

  1. darren Avatar
    darren

    Michael, since stackhouse apparently uses Niebuhr’s typology at length, does he anywhere address the myriad scholarly literature on how Christ and Culture methodology is flawed from the get go?

    Reply
  2. Bill Crawford Avatar
    Bill Crawford

    Michael,
    Looking forward to the series. My background (converted from an unchurched home in college in ’71) has been in Westminster Theo Seminary-influenced Reformed communities.
    Most of my thoughts re Christ and Culture have been reactions to the theonomic/reconstructionist movements within that tradition.
    I think cultural transformation is a by-product of Christians being obedient. To my mind, the church has gone astray whenever it makes this secondary result of living Christianly the primary goal.
    Bill Crawford

    Reply
  3. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Darren, he actually doesn’t make much use of the typology. It all but disappears after Chapter 1.
    He spends the last 12 pages of Chapter 1 highlighting four critiques. To some degree, he is critical of the critics. For example, I know that the typology is frequently treated as a taxonomy by critics, probably because latter scholars have tried to use it this way in other works. It is not a taxonomy and critics who fault Niebuhr have misunderstood his aim. Stackhouse does have his own concerns.
    Understand that Stackhouse sees his ethic as a form of Christian realism. Any discussion of this is going to bring near the thoughts and frameworks of recent Christian realists. Therefore, he wants his readers to be conversant with this typology and the three thinkers he has chosen.
    Part III of the book, where he develops his own views, could literally be read as a stand alone book with no reference to the first four chapters. I believe he mentions the typology once just prior to the book’s conclusion.

    Reply
  4. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Bill, thanks. Glad to have you along for the ride. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Travis Greene Avatar
    Travis Greene

    “How about you? Do you have a “home” in these two approaches or are there others that speak to you? Do you agree with Stackhouse’s notion Christian ethics?”
    I grew up in the first category, in the conservative style (“We’re gonna take back this country for Jesus! One person at a time!”). Lately I’d describe myself as more Mennonite in orientation, though I recognize some of the problems that go along with that.
    I suspect thinking incarnationally may be a way forward here. In his taking on of human identity, Jesus is the ultimate Christian realist. He comes to the world as it is, and engages it. He does form a distinctive, alternative community around himself, but it’s for the inherently outward-focused purpose of fulfilling God’s mission and sharing what Jesus accomplished on Easter, both (what we would call) evangelistically and in terms of social justice.

    Reply
  6. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Interesting background. I’ve known several Mennos in my life who’ve moved toward Mainline or toward Evangelical communities. It is interesting to see over the past decade or so more stories like yours.
    Great thoughts, Travis. Thanks.

    Reply
  7. ceemac Avatar
    ceemac

    Is Stackhouse a Lutheran. When I studied the book “Christ and Culture” I recall reading Luther and Kierkegarde in conjunction with the chapter on C and C in Paradox.
    I have an appreciation for both the Cultural transformation and the holy distinctiveness. I think Reformed theology in a way actualy embraces both positions. Both positions have an urgency and an intensity about them.
    I am not a fan of the C/C paradox. Seems a little too wishy washy for me. Dare I say a little too middle class. The other 2 positions are a little more edgy.
    For what it’s worth the way I have come to describe my ethics/politlical theology is Puritan Egalitarian (Rejected terms include Ralph Nader Conservative and Consumer Reports Liberal).

    Reply
  8. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Ceemac, I don’t recall his denominational affiliation, although Lutheran doesn’t sound right. I can’t remember.
    “Seems a little too wishy washy for me. Dare I say a little too middle class.”
    And I think that is a frequent criticism. I should make clear (as we will see in coming posts) Stackhouse isn’t embracing C/C notion of paradox as the answer. Rather the C/C paradox helps elucidate important tensions that are frequently minimized.
    “Puritan Egalitarian”
    I’ve been trying for years to come up with a label for years and I keep moving farther from success rather than closer.

    Reply
  9. ceemac Avatar
    ceemac

    I’ve been pondering labels ever since a few years back I realized that for the most part the liberals I hang with have more conservative habits than many “conservatives” here in Dallas.

    Reply
  10. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    I hear ya.

    Reply
  11. Bill Reimer Avatar
    Bill Reimer

    Stackhouse quotes “Glen Tinder” rather than “Glen Taylor”.

    Reply
  12. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Man, I’ve got get these graduated lenses fixed. 🙂 Thanks for the correction.

    Reply

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