I became a serious Christian at the age of twenty-two. I had been baptized at the age of ten and always considered myself a Christian, even if in name only. But once I was married and started a family the importance of my own personal faith became critically important to me.
My pastor, during these early formative years of my adult Christian experience, had a significant impact and influence on my life. I still hold a warm spot in my heart for this man (now deceased) and for all the support he provided for me when I first entered the pastoral ministry.
The congregation that also supported, nurtured, and ordained me during this time in my life was steeped in ultra-conservative Evangelical theology that bordered along the lines of a soft Fundamentalism.
More importantly, both the pastor and the congregation were deeply committed to a theological system known as Dispensationalism. Dispensationalism focuses on the so-called “End Times” with the Rapture being the next anticipated event in eschatological history. The Rapture is believed to be a secret snatching away from this world of all true believers, leaving all others to fend for themselves (especially those who are Christian in name only).
Following the Rapture, there will be a dark and destructive period of time lasting for seven years, known as the Tribulation. During this awful time, the world will be brought to the very brink of total destruction (nuclear holocaust?) at which time Jesus will return visibly and bring a halt to all this madness. He will then usher in a literal one thousand year kingdom here on earth, a kingdom in which God’s people will live in perfect harmony with nature and with one another (known as millennialism).
Following this literal one thousand year kingdom Christ will deliver the world up to the Father in heaven, at which time eternity will begin in earnest (e.g., eternal life in heaven).
What I have just described is a brief and inadequate summary of eschatology (the study of the end times) that seems to be contributing to much of the Evangelical fear today. I have long since abandoned Dispensationalism and its variations and am now able to see some of the inherent traps well-meaning Christians can fall into with this particular view of the world.
It’s a system of belief that is very difficult to walk away from without feeling one is betraying one’s Christian faith altogether. I know, I’ve walked that path and struggled with the crisis of faith that accompanies such a journey.
So allow me to share with you three of the most common traps and why it is important to recognize them, especially if you favor such a Christian worldview as Dispensationalism.
First, it is tempting to view the world as a dark and gloomy place from which Jesus will someday secretly and personally rescue you. In other words, I have observed that Christians who hold to a Dispensational view of the Bible often exhibit a dark and dystopian view of life in general. Not all mind you, but enough to cause some concern. When one’s focus is on the End Times (eschatology), then what transpires in this life (present time) is of minimal importance. For example, concern for the health and well-being of the earth and the environment takes a backseat to one’s anticipation of the so-called Rapture into heaven.
This form of escapism is perhaps why so many Evangelicals today have accepted the political Far Right’s disavowal of climate and environmental concerns. Dispensationalism, because of it focus on the End Times, seems to have a very weak theology of Creation and forgets that God declared his creation “good” in spite of all its inherent problems.
Second, the modern State of Israel plays a critical role in the Dispensational scheme of the End Times. In fact, it has been my observation (and personal past experience as well) that as one embraces the Dispensational worldview one also embraces uncritical support of modern-day Israel (which is not the same as Biblical Israel). It’s one thing to be an ally of another nation and quite another to lend that ally uncritical and unquestioning support, especially a support based on a theological view of the End Times—a view, mind you, that is not shared by all Christian, myself included.
This is a dangerous position to take, regardless of one’s theology, considering the powder keg the Middle East seems to be today. To give Israel a free pass when she acts badly based on one’s theological worldview is highly inadvisable. To privilege Israel over all other nations in that region, based on one’s eschatology, can be very dangerous in the long term. This is indeed a dangerous trap.
Additionally, being a friend to Israel does not necessarily correlate to being an enemy to the Palestinians or to the rest of the Muslim world. The treatment of the Palestinians by the modern State of Israel is atrocious at best and Christians must call out such unjust treatment.
Third, such a theological worldview of the End Times may lead one into the trap of fear and paranoia. Look, I am well aware of the dangers of making unfounded correlations between certain causes and effects. But when a Christian embraces such a dystopian view of the world based on one’s eschatology, then the lens through which they look at the world is already tinted with a dark hue.
Therefore, when a politician paints a dark and threatening picture of our world it becomes too easy to fall into the trap of fear and paranoia. I don’t believe this assumption is too farfetched if one is predisposed to fear and paranoia created by a particular theological worldview, such as Dispensationalism. In other words, it is quite possible that such a theological system as Dispensationalism conditions its proponents to be more susceptible to threats, both imagined and real. This is indeed a dangerous trap.
It would be unwise for me to lump all Evangelical Dispensationalists into one camp. There are some who embrace such an End Times theology while avoiding the inherent traps we have been discussing. But the traps are real and recognizing them is becoming more and more important for Christians of all stripes today.
Perhaps the Christianity of the 21st Century will learn to hold in tension the already with the not yet! This present life indeed matters. God’s ultimate purpose matters as well. We can live without fear and paranoia because we know to Whom we belong. We can honor this present life as if we were honoring God’s good creation even as we strain forward towards God’s ultimate purpose for his creation.
No comments:
Post a Comment