Theology for $2,000, Alex

Having given it much thought, I have come to the conclusion that one of the major problems confronting those of us living at the dawn of the twenty-first century is popular religion that is devoid of viable theology. To illustrate my point, I invite the reader to think of what the toughest “Jeopardy” question in that category might be.

My guess is that many such postulations will actually end up addressing the related topics of scripture, religion, faith, or church. This is understandable because these terms – understood to be virtually synonymous – are used interchangeably and indistinguishably in most discussions of anything theological.

The commencement of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens serves as an excellent example of a religious activity that is grounded in an archaic theology that is meaningless to the contemporary mind. It is, again, understandable that we casually use language that has evolved over thousands of years to speak of concepts that are infinitely more ancient still. As a result we may intellectually accept that the Olympics were originally intended to worship Zeus as the primary deity in a polytheistic construct, but we might also use our contemporary understanding of ‘religion’ to deny that there is any such relationship to today’s events.

At such a point, I find word studies to be helpful. Consider the following entry for “religion” from the Arcade Dictionary of Word Origins: “Latin ‘religio’ originally meant ‘obligation, bond.’ It was probably derived from the verb ‘reliare’ ‘tie back, tie tight’ (source of English ‘rely’), a compound formed from the prefix ‘re-‘ ‘back’ and ‘ligare’ ‘tie’ (source of English ‘liable’, ‘ligament’, etc). It developed the specialized sense ‘bond between human beings and the gods,’ and from the 5th century it came to be used for ‘monastic life’ – the sense in which English originally acquired it via Old French ‘religion’. ‘Religious practices’ emerged from this, but the word’s standard modern meaning did not develop until as recently as the 16th century.” (John Ayto, “Dictionary of Word Origins”, 1990, Arcade Publishing, Inc., New York)

Such etymological background, then, helps to support a much more fundamental understanding of ‘religion’ as virtually any system or activity to which adherents are devoted, and this may or may not involve some sort of a theological association. There is little question about what Olympic athletes are dedicated to, and to what end their disciplined lifestyles are aimed. Their pursuit of athletic excellence may or may not entail some kind of theological underpinning, but with or without it their ‘religion’ remains the driving force in their lives.

The American sports culture likewise serves as another example of a form of organized religion that is without a theological basis. As another season of professional football knocks at our societal door, all the elements of organized religious activity will come into play including regularly scheduled “services” that are intended to accommodate an attitude of unconditional, unabated devotion practiced by a clearly delineated “ecclesiastical” hierarchy. There can be little argument that the Super Bowl now easily overshadows Christianity’s Easter in terms of its high, holy day observance, being, for one thing, far more “ecumenical” in its outreach.

This phenomenon begins to make sense when understood from the perspective of what I consider to be America’s preeminent religion: Consumerism. I cannot deny that I am a Consumerist, and I have devoted myself to its tenets lock, stock and barrel. I live to buy, and virtually every waking moment is dedicated to obtaining the wherewithal to consume even more. My pity is for those who do not have the same buying power as I, and my envy is of those who possess the ability to consume more than I. And I need to be brutally honest with myself that—no more than the football player crossing himself in the end zone signifies a genuine theological comprehension—theology is not the basis for my consumerist religion.

That religious values are being pushed to the forefront of what many are calling the most critical presidential election in the history of our nation is not just my imagination. This is why I am compelled at this point in time to try to make the distinction that religious values are not necessarily one and the same as theological values. To describe Bush or Kerry as religious men is very misleading if it is assumed that their religion is theologically grounded. I know that this raises the ugly specter that even popular Christianity as it is understood and practiced in contemporary America is a religion devoid of a sound, legitimate theology, but when that premise can be accepted the corruption, abuse, and perversion that is permeating so-called Christian communities throughout our nation is more reasonably explained.

Many, who are far wiser and better educated than I am, have voiced their concern over what becomes of a people who are theologically illiterate. My grave concern is that we Americans (even those who tout themselves as Christians) are in the process of finding out. The stated mission of this “Growing in Christ” ministry is to focus upon “theology”. That being said, a closing word study is in order: “Greek ‘theos’ meant ‘god.’ (despite the more than passing similarity, it is not related to Latin ‘deus’ ‘god,’ source of English ‘deity.’ Its precise ancestry has never been determined. It may go back ultimately to the Indo-European base ‘*dhe-‘ ‘put, place,’ which also produced English ‘do,’ but it could equally well have been borrowed from a non-Indo-European source.) From it was derived ‘theologia’ ‘study of divine things,’ which passed into English via Latin ‘theologia’ and Old French “theologie,’ and also ‘apotheosis’ ‘deification.’ From which English gets ‘apotheosis.’” (Op cit; “Dictionary of Word Origins”)
Should I consciously choose to become a disciple of Jesus, as the Christ, I must first realize that his focus was not on religion per se, but rather upon God as Ultimate; so must be mine. Indeed, should I choose to follow that path those aspects of my religion devoid of genuine theology will have to be the first holy sacrifices made. As will be recited in so many of our churches this morning, “Hear the Word of the Lord”:
And one of the scholars approached when he heard the arguing, and because he saw how skillfully Jesus answered them, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
Jesus answered: “The first is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord, and you are to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul [and all your mind] and with all your energy.’ The second is this: ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
And the scholar said to him, “That’s a fine answer, Teacher. You have correctly said that God is one and there is no other beside him. And ‘to love him with all one’s heart and with all one’s mind and with all one’s energy’ and to ‘love one’s neighbor as oneself’ is greater than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices put together.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered him sensibly, he said to him, “You are not far from God’s domain.”
And from then on no one dared question him. (Mark 12:28-34, SV)
Amen.