THOUGHTFULLY DRIVING THE PORCELAIN BUS

A Column by John S Schroeder

January 3, 2004

And another New Year dawns….

Despite the fact that 2003 was in general a good year, I for one do not feel as if it ended well. Something just feels wrong to me. Maybe my mood is shadowed by a difficulty in my extended family, and a business conflict, but this seems deeper than that. I personally had a great holiday. The nearly ended remodeling on our home made this a very low-key holiday in terms of decorating and entertaining, which I enjoyed immensely. There was more time for family, friends, and relaxing. But still I have a sense of melancholy.

One thing that I think affects my mood is change. Things are really changing around us. Do you feel it? From the small to the large, things are changing. Politically the nation is moving to the right, something you would think I’d like since I tend to lean rightward, but it scares me. The economy is rocketing, at damn near the upside of the bubble pace, and that really scares me. The changes are happening too fast and are too radical to have any sense of "reality" to them. They are but a façade. I don’t like facades.

Facades are misleading. They are designed to pull you in and make you think you are going to see or get more than you really are. Like the signs in front of the freak show in the midway at the fair, a facade promises far more than is really there. The woman with the snake’s body looks so cool on that sign, and is such a rip off when you get in there.

Politically, the way things are going is just a fact of life. Most people simply vote moods and do not have a political ideology. What is sad is that most professional political types realize this, and because their goal is votes, they tend to be far less ideological than the average card-carrying party member.

Economically, wilder and more frequent swings are probably to be expected. Because our economy is no longer built on anything but perception, and because perception is often subject to moods, so the economy goes.

In general, both of the preceding observations have proven to be good things. Our nation is the best that has ever existed. Our people enjoy the best standard of living with the least oppression ever in the history of mankind. This is a fact and a result of the state of affairs I have just described. But spiritually this state of affairs burns, no sears, a hole in me.

Einstein hated quantum theory. For the uninformed, standing beside Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, is Quantum Theory. These theories are not alternate explanations of the same phenomena; they are complimentary. Rather, Relativity is determinate and Quantum Theory is probabilistic. This is the source of Einstein’s so often quoted "I do not think God would play dice with the universe." I don’t want to go too far into this, but Relativity can be tested directly. Quantum Theory cannot. Quantum Theory tells you what you will see, but it does not really tell you what is inside. Much like the façade at the freak show, it is truthful, but not entirely informative. Therefore, Einstein never thought Quantum Theory rose to the level of "Truth", as did other theories of physics such as his or Newton’s.

I have this same sense of untruth right now. The good news of the year does not feel like it rises to the level of "real" good news. To wit, I ask the question, "Did Christmas feel the same this year?" It did not for me. Christmas is under severe attack socially, but that is old news. In years past, there was a wall behind which we were safe from the attacks, and there was sort of a mystical feeling about the season. Everybody was better because of Christmas, even if they were not believers in Christ. Christmas elevated us all. That did not seem true this year. It seemed to me that that wall of safety has been pushed back to the doors of the church, and only those who enter in receive the elevation.

Consider this – for years the most popular Christmas movies were "Miracle on 34^th Street" and "It’s a Wonderful Life", both movies shy of Christian outlook, but heavy in spiritual or mystical content. Now the most popular movie is "A Christmas Story." This is a delightful film, and very funny, but completely devoid of anything larger than the immediate. There is no mysticism at all. The movie, while immensely enjoyable, is not uplifting, it is a celebration of our foibles.

I know nothing of Mr. Steyn’s religious proclivities, but it seems to me he has struck at the core of all the things I have been saying in this space for two years now. To be worth anything, Christianity cannot be a façade – it must be a reality. As I said, facades are somehow misleading, and religion is all about truth.

What is so, so sad, is that it is the church that has largely brought about this state of affairs. True religion demands much of its adherents. Nay, it demands all its adherents have to offer, including their lives. A just and merciful God, as illustrated in the story of Abraham’s attempted sacrifice of Isaac, will not demand that of His followers, but as Abraham, they must be willing to give it. This, by the way, is where the Islamic radicals go so wrong. A just Allah might demand that level of devotion necessary to do a suicide bombing, but a merciful Allah would never demand the actuality.

But the church in an effort to grow larger and more inclusive demands little of its members. Most fascinating is that because the church demands little, what the church has to offer has little value, and is thus disposable.

Here at last is the source of my year-ending malaise. The facades are indeed spiffed up. Bigger and brighter than ever, they promise a new and delightful day. But alas, the truth behind the façade, the only truth that really matters, the spiritual truth, seems smaller and weaker than ever. I thirst not for the masses in worship. I thirst for twelve people with the devotion to sacrifice their child and the faith to know God’s mercy would never allow it. Such is my prayer for 2004.

 With Love,