Preservings $20 No. 25, December, 2005 - Home at Plett Foundation

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preached predestination (or eternal security), Arminius taught it was possible to fall from grace. This teaching was adopted by John Wesley (1793-91) in England and became part of the Methodist Creed. From George Whitefield (1714-70) and John Wesley came the “Holiness movement” in England, from which developed American Revivalism in the 19th century, also known as “the great awakening”. Fundamentalism developed in 1900 as a reaction against theological liberalism which originated with the European “enlightenment”. By the 1950s this movement has become a synonym for bigotry and intolerant legalism, so that Protestant Fundamentalists in North America reinvented themselves as so-called Evangelicals. These developments were paralleled on the European continent by Separatist Pietism which came out of Lutheran and Reformed orthodoxy in the 18th century. Both American Revivalism and German Separatist Pietism adopted the dispensational teachings of Darby later popularized by Scofield and the American Bible school movement of the 1920 and 30s. Biblical Interpretation. Each confession has its own way of interpreting the Bible. The reason is that possibly neither is wrong, but emphasize a particular truth over against other truths. For example, Anabaptists rated believers’ baptism highly, Luther stressed grace, Methodists favoured holiness, while Mennonites emphasised discipleship. Dispensationalists denied the Gospels, focusing instead on end-times speculation and a mania to spread their dogma throughout the world. Christ was the foundation stone of faith for conservative Mennonites and Hutterites and the Bible was interpreted accordingly. Their faith was manifested by following in Christ’s footsteps; they believed in living out His teachings and emulating His life as set forth in the Gospels--referring to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Hence conservative Mennonite faith and religious culture can be characterized as “Gospel-centric.” As already mentioned, American Revivalists, Fundamentalists and about 80 per cent of modern-day Evangelicals adhere to Scofieldian or dispensational thinking that the Gospels do not apply in the current time period, only coming into force in some mythical future 1000 year reign. Consequently there exists a huge chasm between the religious cultures of so-called Evangelicals and that of conservative Mennonites. The faith of the latter is specifically predicated on the Gospels, while that of the former specifically denies the Gospels in the present time. In this sense conservative Mennonites and Hutterites have more in common with their Catholic, Orthodox and traditional Protestant brothers and sisters in Christ, as none of these groups have officially denied the efficacy of Gospels. World-View. The underlying world-view or Weltanschauung of a particular faith or confession, will to some degree articulate and define its religious culture. The Calvinist/Revivalist/Fundamentalist stream of religious culture, propounds a negative view of man’s place in the universe. Mankind was evil from creation, and completely dammed. In their view only by taking certain legalistic and precisely defined “steps” could a relationship ever be established with God. The idea of a climatic conversion experience which evolved in this context supposedly responded to the question of how such a relationship could be established. Conservative Mennonites, in contrast, had a more positive view of man’s place in the universe. They believed man was essentially good, being created in God’s image. Individuals at birth were seen as fully redeemed and wholesome beings. Upon reaching the age of mental accountability, believers needed only to claim, affirm and appropriate the grace and mercy of God. There was no need for an artificial dramatic conversion experience, nor was the necessity of such an entrance ritual taught anywhere in scripture. Individuals, at least those from Christian homes, were raised in God’s kingdom and always part of it. Conservative Mennonite religious culture was fundamentally literate as each believer was called to read and study scripture. History was seen as the record of God working among His people. It was important to document God’s goodness through the centuries, the record of which illuminated the way into the future. American Fundamentalism, by comparison, had significant anti-intellectual, anti-literate and anti-historical elements, being largely articulated by futuristic end-times speculation. The personal history of individuals and even communities were perceived as obstacles to full and unequivocal integration into their “superior” religious culture and manifest destiny for world hegemony. Such variances in world-view have created parallel differences in the religious cultures of the two streams of Christian thought. Revivalists/ Fundamentalists created a series of legalistic procedures and steps that the individual needed to complete successfully before being recognized as a fully redeemed human being. Conservative Mennonites believed the only precondition for salvation was a penitent heart. This was well expressed in 1882 by Kleine Gemeinde Aeltester Abraham L. Friesen (1831-1917), Jansen, Nebraska, who wrote, “In simplicity of mind we hold that a true heartfelt remorse and repentance is a presentable reformation upon which we are promised salvation, and which is the foundation of every conversion,” Leaders, page 569. Cultural Interaction. Each perspective needs to be respected by those who interpret the Bible differently. Each religious sub-culture within Christianity has at some point been led of God to its particular theological and cultural formation. For the most part--at least in the last century, Christian confessions have conducted themselves honourably with respect to each other as well as towards religious cultures of other faiths. But this has not always been the case. While so-called Evangelicals like to posture in the media as a persecuted minority, their treatment of other religious cultures has often been heartless and cruel, premised on a belief in a divine destiny as the dominant religious culture, and often as the “only” religious culture of worth and validity. An example of this sort of myopic attitude is seen in Bob Jones III, President of Bob Jones University, a southern Baptist Bible seminary, who has characterized Pope John Paul II, undoubtedly among the greatest Christian leaders of our time, as an “Anti-Christ.” The traditional argument of American Revivalist-Fundamentalist-Evangelicals to conservative Mennonites and Hutterites was that culture impeded/hindered salvation. There may be some truth to this assertion to the extent that it inhibited them from abandoning their Gospel-centric faith and succumbing to the separatist message of so-called Evangelicals. What the predators were really saying was, “your culture impedes salvation according to the legalistic creed of our religious culture.” Or to put it another way, “abandon your culture--ours is good, yours is bad, or even invalid and evil.” Faith over Culture. Of course, this is not to say that believers should not be willing to re-evaluate their culture and traditions. Jesus re-evaluated the Jewish culture of His time in the Sermon on the Mount. He criticized the scribes for their interpretation of the Old Testament and then deepened the tradition by raising the standard of moral conduct among those who would follow Him. Conservative Mennonites and Hutterites are sometimes held up as examples of how culture can be stifling, inhibiting a vigorous faith. How important can it be that the buggies are of a certain construction or that clothes are of a particular fabric and colour? It appears self-evident that community protocol such as those of the Amish and Old Colony Mennonites manifested in the objective or material realm are much less damaging psychologically and less traumatising than the insidious internal or subjective mind control techniques commonly used by American Fundamentalists during the 1950s to establish absolute dominance over adherents. All religious cultures, nonetheless, should realize that traditions even though inspired and wrought of God will not place believers into a relationship with God. Traditions are important but should not be over emphasized. Culture like money is unavoidable but should not become the reigning paradigm. One sees this in religious cultures such as 16 - Preservings No. 25, December 2005
Revivalist-Fundamentalist-Evangelicalism. By denying the foundational truths expressed in the Gospels, they neatly excise Christ’s teaching about non-violence and treatment of the oppressed. Thus Fundamentalist/Evangelical Bible Schools and media empires often seem to echo more about American secular culture than genuine Biblicism. Believers should respect the people that made the traditions and study and understand why they evolved and came about in the first place. Traditions should be carefully evaluated and decisions made to reform them should be informed decisions to avoid throwing out the good with the bad, the baby with the bathwater. Culture Sustains Faith. In the never-ending tension between faith and culture, faith should articulate culture not the other way around. This statement might be true in the ideal world. But there are many instances where genuine faith has survived because of the cultural platform in which it was carried. The Hutterian Brethren in the 19th century are a good example. Hutterites in Reformation times were highly literate and articulate with a sound intellectual understanding of their theology and faith. Over the centuries they were persecuted and driven from one place to another. By the time they arrived in Imperial Russia in 1842, near the Mennonite Molotschna Colony, they were poverty stricken. They were no longer practising community of property, one of the primary tenets of their faith. In 1874 Hutterites immigrated to the United States and from there to Canada in 1917. During at least part of this time they followed their faith by rote, through the replication of practices which had become cultural norms. But notwithstanding the “frontier” pioneering experience and the onslaughts of predator religious cultures, Hutterites did survive where other Anabaptist based groups and numerous “old-line” Protestant denominations failed and disintegrated. The Hutterian Brethren have an enviable record of growth, from 1500 at the time of emigration in 1874 to some 30,000 today. They serve as an example where faith survived because it was sustained by a religious culture that was thoroughly Christian (Gospel-centric) and Bible-based in its historical formation. Culture and Salvation. What are some other positive features of a culture? A culture tends to hold people and communities together. A culture preserves the proven ideas and practices of the past. Why reinvent the wheel at every turn, every time a decision or interpretation is needed. Pentecostals do not agonize each time they want to speak in tongues. The heathen practice is firmly enshrined as the trademark of their religious culture and a sophisticated liturgy and ritual has developed around it. In some so-called Evangelical denominations it is required to clap hands, undulate the body, sing jingoistically, and take part in other rituals, all designed to establish zombie-like control over adherents. In some T. V. religious programming adherents are seen in spasms on the floor, succumbing to trances and fits of hysterical laughter, reminiscent of Voodoo and other heathen practices. Through repetition common usages such as these become integral to a religious culture. Over the centuries, for example, God may lead His people to adopt various styles of worship and piety which can and should become sacred to that community--at least if they have a biblical foundation. Past decisions over time become the practices and rituals which guide and inform the decisions of the future. Although individuals may disagree with various protocol adopted from time to time by conservative Mennonite and Hutterian Gemeinden, it is important to acknowledge that these decision were adopted democratically by majority vote by genuine believers who did so in a prayerful and soul searching process. As such these protocol legitimately inform and articulate the lives of community members. It is evident that culture can play an important role by serving as a vehicle sustaining faith through periods of internal decline and decay or stress from the outside. “Pop” Religious Culture. While faith can articulate culture, the reverse can also be true, namely, culture can articulate faith. This can have positive as well as negative manifestations, as already seen above in the case of so-called Evangelical religious culture. The dominant culture in North America is very much controlled by the media. Through TV, radio and print media, young people are influenced and socialized by a constant bombardment of ideas and cultural mores passed on in the form of music, advertising, and news reporting. In the religious sphere charismatic leaders frequently arise capitalizing on the techniques of mass media merchandising to create megachurches and powerful “ministries”. These movements use the popular culture of wider society as a vehicle or platform upon which to build and inject their particular religious creed. The goal is to adopt a range of popular attitudes and beliefs in order to win as many adherents as possible. In short, they emulate popular culture, hence the term “pop” religious culture. Many of these religious cultures are articulated by one dominant individual or personage, forming a “personality cult”. Civil Religion. The 17th century flight from religious intolerance in Europe and the immigrant experience common to white Protestants have contributed to a notion among Americans that they are the chosen people--the new Israel, so to speak. This notion is an important underlay in making North American Protestant Fundamentalism its unofficial civic religion. Religious denominations which accept the dominant themes in what has been referred to as North American “pop” culture clearly do best. Any movement offering instant sensual gratification is guaranteed popularity. Almost everyone seemingly dreams of becoming rich, a human trait exploited by certain denominations, known as “success theology”. Those religious cultures thrive which emphasize competitiveness and that their adherents are better or more saved than others. These ideas are popular because they are evocative of North American society. Free market capitalism is widely accepted as the cornerstone of North American culture. It is also the foundation of the “new” global economy. The vast majority of North Americans equate capitalism with basic Christian values. American culture is much influenced by 19th century small “l” liberalism. Individual freedoms were glorified over corporate and community responsibilities. Such ideas dovetail nicely with the concept of salvation as an individual internal act. “Pop” religious culture impacts negatively on conservative Mennonites and Hutterites as their ethos is based on Renaissance communitarianism and discipline. Hutterites,for example, stress the teaching of community of property as found in the Jerusalem Gemeinde at Pentecost, an idea which is anathema to free market capitalism. By defining salvation as a life-long experience and way of life, focused on living out the teachings of Christ, Hutterites and conservative Mennonites are swimming against stream in terms of a consumer articulated religious market place. Religious Consumerism. The most successful players in “pop” religious culture are those which succeed in evoking core values and beliefs which resonate harmoniously within the wider secular society. Strategies for expanding individual religious empires are adopted from successful marketing enterprises. Promotional techniques often mirror those of door-to-door sales empires such as “Amway” or “Wal-Mart” and that of many successful social movements. The reverse is also true with some business enterprises adopting the marketing strategies of so-called Evangelicalism such as inspirational/motivational rituals frequently repeated in small groups, promotional videos, colourful literature, etc. By defining salvation as an internalized individual act, so-called Evangelicals have successfully created a religious culture dovetailing painlessly with North American societal values. The object has become to preach that which will be the most popular with the maximum number of people, with individual sub-cultures thereby defining their own self-worth. Subculture Preservings No. 25, December 2005 - 17
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Preservings $20 No. 25, December, 2005 - Home at Plett Foundation

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