Who Would Jesus Smack Down?

Last week, The New York Times published a piece called Who Would Jesus Smack Down? The article is about Mark Driscoll, the innovative pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Some of the highlights...

"Driscoll represents a movement to revamp the style and substance of evangelicalism. With his taste for vintage baseball caps and omnipresence on Facebook and iTunes, Driscoll, who is 38, is on the cutting edge of American pop culture. Yet his message seems radically unfashionable, even un-American: you are not captain of your soul or master of your fate but a depraved worm whose hard work and good deeds will get you nowhere, because God marked you for heaven or condemned you to hell before the beginning of time. Yet a significant number of young people in Seattle — and nationwide — say this is exactly what they want to hear. Calvinism has somehow become cool, and just as startling, this generally bookish creed has fused with a macho ethos. At Mars Hill, members say their favorite movie isn’t 'Amazing Grace' or “The Chronicles of Narnia” — it’s 'Fight Club.'"

"The mainstream church, Driscoll has written, has transformed Jesus into 'a Richard Simmons, hippie, queer Christ,” a “neutered and limp-wristed popular Sky Fairy of pop culture that . . . would never talk about sin or send anyone to hell.'

"In little more than a decade, his ministry has grown from a living-room Bible study to a megachurch that draws about 7,600 visitors to seven campuses around Seattle each Sunday, and his books, blogs and podcasts have made him one of the most admired — and reviled — figures among evangelicals nationwide."

"Driscoll’s New Calvinism underscores a curious fact: the doctrine of total human depravity has always had a funny way of emboldening, rather than humbling, its adherents."

I certainly don't think "New Calvinism" is the wave of the future, but I share Driscoll's observation that many people - especially young men (who are often the vanguard of revolutionary cultural changes) - don't find the peaceful "turn the other cheek Jesus - who Driscoll calls a "wuss" - to be very appealing. Furthermore, most people - again, espeically young men - love to flatter themselves with the idea that they're members of a "special elect group" whereas the traditional Christian idea that all human souls are "equal" is anathema (Of course, that idea is quite lovely for those who come from underprivileged backgrounds).

I've long believed that Christianity could never have become the world's most powerful religion unless its leaders broke Christian principles by converting people by force (which they did. Often). Even now, most Christians have a split-mind between the ideal of non-violence and the real-world benefits of using force (see support for the Iraq War, for example). Needless to say, that's a contradiction which has gone unresolved for almost 2 thousand years, so it might go on forever. Then again, it may not. If Christianity gradually becomes "pure" it might find itself at a serious disadvantage against a younger, more assertive, and less scrupulous version of Islam. Just a thought.

Bottom line: While I find Mark Driscoll repelant, he is groping toward some legitimate critiques of traditional Christianity.

-Todd