Double Jeopardy

Even as we struggle to slow the decline and even to reverse it, we must admit that the Christian character of the West is already mostly lost.  Where there is a vibrant church and Christian witness, this decline has been slower but it has been more than made up by rapid de-churching of our culture.  There was a time in which Christianity was a known quantity even to those who did not affirm the cardinal tenets of the faith.  There was a time in which Biblical literacy was preserved not only by religious catechesis but by the affirmation of a literature and culture in which passages and the content of the Scriptures was woven into the fabric of all things.  It is no longer the case.

The sad truth is that  even the most basic elements of Christianity have slipped away from those who confess the faith and even from those who claim to still believe it.  Certainly from the culture and in a wider sense, from the Church herself, we have found ourselves knowing less God's Word and therefore being less able to differentiate truth from error, heresy from orthodoxy.  I was recently reminded of this in when it was pointed out to me how a 2023 episode of the popular quiz show “Jeopardy” found three contestants who were unable to complete the phrase Our Father who art in Heaven, _______ be Thy Name.  They simply did not know how the Our Father began.  It was not that long ago that anyone and everyone would have known that without a moment's hesitation and when the culture itself had a more than cursory knowledge of the Bible and the sacred texts of Christianity (creed and 23rd Psalm, to name a few). 

Pastors and denominational leaders often forget how distant the sacred texts of Christianity are to the world around us and how much this has affected those within.  There was a time when I could presumed that the unchurched had been baptized as a child and went to Sunday school and at some point simply stopped attending.  Now we live in an age when people have been raised from childhood to adulthood without the church and the faith even mentioned (except, perhaps, in a negative way).  Where this might be understandable outside the faithful, those who profess the faith also seem less interested in things like Scripture and creed and confession and more interested in other things -- from climate change to the hot button sex issues of the day to a sentimental spirituality nourished more by YouTube videos homily or catechesis.  

Over the last decade or so, half the people joining the parish I served for 32 years were coming not from another church but from nothing at all.  They presumed that they had a working knowledge of Christianity from meme or social media but the reality is that they knew very little of what was true and real about Christian doctrine and practice.  It is not simply that they knew Christianity by stereotype but that they knew a shallow and distorted stereotype shaped not simply by a faulty stereotype but one completely unrelated to Scripture, creed, confession, and history.  Please note here that I am not complaining about the people but about the way our educational system and culture have dealt with Christian faith and teaching.  In most cases, the people were victims, having depended upon sources without knowing if those sources were accurate or not.  As AI evolves and becomes more predominant, this will only magnify the number and consequence of their errors in stating what is true, accurate, and real.

In the end, this places the burden squarely upon the parents, the home, and the congregation to be faithful and accurate in their public teaching and confession.  Furthermore, this is a solemn reminder that we cannot depend on others to do what the Church and her people have been called to do.  Even if you codify the commandments of God into the laws of the nation it will not make Christ known.  Though we might have become complacent presuming that the aims of the world and the Church might be parallel, surely we dare not depend upon this any longer.  If we do, we will place in double jeopardy the treasure of the only Gospel that provides hope and freedom to sinners captive to death.