Good for Nothing?

Our increasingly secularized society (a society where religion is not a part of public life, and belief and practice are declining) questions the role of religion in general, and Christianity in particular. Just a few decades ago, people viewed the church positively and believed it was a vital social institution that made significant contributions to society. The tide has turned, and the church is increasingly criticized as a relic from the past and an enemy of social progress. While a vague “spirituality” that celebrates self awareness is encouraged, a suspicious mindset that embraces a new ABC, “Anything but Christianity” has emerged. 

Disciples, however, cannot thrive without the church, a Spirit-filled community of faith and love. Faith cannot be passed to the next generation apart from the church. Without the church, Christianity is just one generation away from extinction. The church is a bridge from the past into the future. The Apostle Paul described the church as “the pillar and foundation of the truth.” But the very concept of absolute truth seems obsolete in our post-modern and post-Christian society. To believe in any overarching and authoritative truth is considered to be an expression of intolerance, which cannot be tolerated by the new social engineers. Jesus promised he would “build his church.” He also said the forces of hell could not destroy it (Matthew 16:18). When people seek to weaken and destroy his church, they are fighting against God. Not only are they on the wrong side of history, but their efforts will also ultimately prove to be futile. 

The Bolsheviks tried to eliminate the church following the Russian revolution. Yet today, just a little over a century later, the Russian Orthodox Church thrives in Russia and the communists are long gone. Mao systematically sought to eradicate the Christian faith after he came to power in 1949, when there were only four to five million Christians in China. Most estimates indicated there were still less than eight million Christians after the Cultural Revolution (1966 to 1976 ). However, most observers estimate there are currently at least one-hundred million believers in the Peoples Republic of China. The church in China is currently the fastest growing church in the world. And, as we have already seen, within a few years there likely will be more Christians in China than in any other nation on earth, with estimates as high as two-hundred twenty-four million (224,000,000) Chinese disciples by 2030 (Challenge 5, Part C). Jesus keeps his promises and continues to build his church regardless of the forces aligned against it.

History also reveals that the church has made many mistakes over the centuries. The church consists of broken sinners of all races, ethnicities, and nations. We all bring significant baggage with us when we go all-in for Jesus and become part of his church. As disciples, we are engaged in cross-training and are at various points in this life-long journey of becoming more like Jesus. Not one of us is perfect, neither is the church. But I encourage you to view the church through the eyes of Jesus, not our culture. He died for the church and has been building the church for nearly two-thousand years. We can honestly admit its many flaws and mistakes, even as we celebrate its two-thousand-year march through history to the present and its glorious future. If we give up on it as a hopelessly flawed institution that is good-for-nothing, we are believing a lie and rejecting both Jesus and his direct teaching.

Christian Contributions

Dale Bruner was a professor in the Religion Department at Whitworth University located in Spokane, WA. He is a respected theologian, scholar, and author. One day, a student approached him and declared, “The church only talks. It never does much of anything.” Bruner paused and then asked the student for the names of the major hospitals in Spokane. The student “replied a little sheepishly, I think, because the names reflected ecclesiastical [church] sources: Sacred Heart, Deaconess, St. Luke’s, and Holy Family.” Bruner also noted the city’s two universities were Gonzaga University, founded by the Jesuits, and Whitworth, established by Presbyterians. 

Christian contributions to our society are often overlooked by both critics and disciples. A 2016 comprehensive and peer-reviewed study* concluded that the total economic impact of religion [not just Christianity] in the United States to be one trillion two-hundred billion dollars annually. That sum is equivalent to being the world’s fifteenth’s largest economy, ahead of 180 countries. It is also more than the annual revenues of the world’s top ten tech companies, including Apple, Amazon, and Google. That is a significant stimulus to our economy. The $1.2 billion was broken down into three categories: Congregations $418 billion, Religious Institutions $303 billion, and Business $438 billion (faith-based, faith-related or faith-inspired). Forty percent of the top fifty charities in the United States are faith-based, with a combined operating revenue over forty-five billion dollars. Despite the declining numbers of members, churches tripled the amount of money spent on social programs between 2000 to 2015 to nine billion dollars annually. Moreover, congregations alone coordinate seven and one-half million volunteers serving in one and one-half million social programs. Yet most of these contributions to the common good of society fly under the radar of public awareness.

* “The Socio-economic Contribution of Religion to American Society, An Empirical Analysis,” 2016, Grim, B.J. (Georgetown University) and Grim, M.D. (Newseum Institute), Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, Volume 12, Article 3.

For instance, the congregations I have served have provided: 

• non-profit child-care

• food pantries, food banks, meals on wheels, and other food assistance programs

• emergency shelter 

• resettlement of refugees 

• ministries to homeless people (food, clothing, and housing)

• funding and participation in building Habitat for Humanity homes

• partnership with public schools to supply backpacks, school supplies, food for after-school programs, ministry to latch-key children, and tutors

• free use of facilities by community groups

• subsidized or free counseling, marriage enrichment programs, and mental health support

• repairs and painting of homes for seniors on fixed incomes who live alone in their own homes

• space and leadership for multiple recovery programs, including Alcoholics Anonymous and Celebrate Recovery.

The last item on the list, recovery programs, addresses a massive social problem. Substance abuse has sky-rocketed in recent years which contributes to the exploding number of homeless people in our cities. There is voluminous empirical evidence that faith contributes to preventing people from falling victim to substance abuse and to those recovering from it. Seventy-three percent of addiction treatment programs in the USA include a spirituality-based element, first popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous. There are nearly 130,000 congregation-based substance abuse recovery programs in the USA. The Grim study mentioned previously, states “these faith-based volunteer support groups contribute up to $316.6 billion annually to the US economy at no cost to taxpayers.” That equals nearly a trillion dollars saved every three years. The benefits to addicts, their families, and to society surpass all financial considerations. These statistics suggest that disciples, corporately the church, make an enormous contribution to our society. And this is not counting the volunteer service individual disciples provide for their neighbors directly, and to their communities, through serving in non-faith-based community service organizations.

The Big Picture

But the real contributions of disciples of Jesus to our culture far exceed dollars and cents. Os Guinness argues persuasively that without Christianity, there would be no “Western culture.” In his book RENAISSANCE: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times, Guinness* asserts that critics claim Christianity has contributed nothing of value to Western culture. The only contribution they recognize was the evil of the Crusades and the Inquisition. They contend Christianity contributed nothing positive. In fact, Christianity is what is wrong with the world. Guinness acknowledges that the church has failed to be faithful to the gospel on many occasions in its long history and encourages us individually and corporately to humbly confess our failures.

Guinness then raises this question: “What if Jesus had never been born?” Or stated positively, “What are the distinctive features of Western culture that are direct gifts of the Christian Faith?” He answers those question by articulating five of the most important and undeniable contributions made by disciples of Jesus that have shaped Western culture:

1. PHILANTHROPY

Western culture has a deep commitment to giving and caring that is unmatched by any other culture in history. Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan has been described as “the parable that changed the world.” This story changed forever how we respond to people in need. This benevolence differed decisively from both the Greek and Roman practices and the beliefs of other world religions. The Bible teaches and disciples have affirmed they were merely stewards of God’s money. This conviction fostered generosity. Moreover, the early disciples believed God loved the poor, the sick, the prisoner, the orphan, the widow, the stranger, and the dying. This motivated disciples to respond to those in need with compassion and generosity. These basic Christian truths triggered the philanthropic dynamic behind the rise of Western hospitals, orphanages, leprosariums, and hospices for the dying. 

Guinness quotes Philosopher Mark Nelson, “If you ask, what is Jesus’ influence on medicine and compassion, I would suggest that wherever you have an institution of self-giving…, schools, hospitals, hospices, orphanages for those who will never be able to repay, this probably has its roots in the movement of Jesus.”

2. REFORM MOVEMENTS

The West has been continually enriched by reoccurring reform movements that have no parallel in other cultures. Whether it’s William Wilberforce devoting his life to ending the slave trade, Elizabeth Fry transforming prisons, Dietrich Bonhoeffer resisting the evils of Nazism, or Gary Haugen battling sex trafficking in the 21st century, individuals who trust Jesus have launched world-changing movements because they dared to believe a better world is possible. This unique contribution of Christianity can be seen when contrasted with Hinduism for instance, which has no such tradition. The rise of native Indian reformers owes everything to the challenge posed by Christian missionaries and reformers such as William Carey.

Guinness, O (2014), RENAISSANCE The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Time, pp. 67-71, Inter Varsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. 

3. EDUCATION

The rise of universities with their commitment to learning and truth is also a product of the Christian Faith. Augustine wrote, “All truth is God’s truth” (A.D. 354-430). Christians sought to understand the truth wherever it was found. Consequently, virtually every major university including Cambridge, the Sorbonne in Paris, Harvard, Yale, and the Ivy League colleges in the USA, were founded to advance learning God’s truth. To this day the slogan of Oxford University is the opening line of Psalm 27: “The Lord is my light.”

4. SCIENCE

Christianity’s commitment to discover truth, wherever it was found, is the fertile soil in which science is rooted. Science along with capitalism and technology has revolutionized the global world. “To be sure, the roots of science go back to the insatiable curiosity of the Greeks, and owe much to its preservation and continuation in the Muslim years” (Guinness, p. 70). But as historians like Alfred North Whitehead have argued persuasively, the greatest leaps in scientific discovery were made by Christians who believed it was pleasing to a rational God to explore and comprehend the universe he created. “The matrix of modern science was a fruit of the Reformation and its world view” (Guinness, p. 70). And what some call the war between science and religion “is a nineteenth-century fiction created by secularists such as Andrew Dickson White, co-founder of Cornell University, which has now been discredited by serious historians” (Guinness, p. 70). Indeed, late 20th and 21st century scholars and historians including David C Lindberg, Mark Noll, and Peter Harrison attribute Christianity as playing a positive role contributing to the rise of the Scientific Revolution.

5. HUMAN RIGHTS

Guinness argues the fifth contribution of Christianity to Western culture is the commitment to human dignity and human rights. Christianity and Judaism have championed the human rights revolution. The Bible teaches that all people are created “in the image of God.” Yet the New Atheists are fond of asserting that human dignity somehow emerged from the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the pens of people like Thomas Jefferson. History, however, reveals this to be a lie. The concept of human rights and human dignity preceded the Enlightenment by many centuries. Its roots are found in the Scriptures.

Darwinism took a different approach and argued that humans have no innate dignity or rights because evolution explained life without the assistance of a Creator. Consequently, men and women can have no “intrinsic” dignity, value, or rights simply because there is no Creator to endow them with such a lofty status. 

Christianity, however, boldly declares the truth that every woman, man, and child has intrinsic value and basic rights. And every elderly person. And every disabled person. And every person who for one reason or another does not appear capable of contributing to the common good of society. The Christian conviction that everyone matters is one of the world’s most revolutionary ideas. Historically it has only been embraced when there has been a widespread Judeo-Christian consensus that affirmed God had made it so. Since that consensus no longer exists in Western culture, there is also diminishing support for the concept of intrinsic human rights and human dignity.

Givers Not Takers

Some look at the Christian story, note the dark chapters, and see only human frailty and evil. They deny that Christianity has made any positive contributions to society. They claim the world would be a better place without Jesus and without his followers. Christopher Hitchens, for instance, asserted that “religion poisons everything.” This is a lie that post-Christian, post-modern society has embraced enthusiastically. The truth, however, becomes clear as we study history and the Scriptures. The Bible consistently urges us to “remember.” Perhaps that is why so many who oppose Christianity, seek to silence (cancel) history by severing our society from its Christian roots. History reveals that Jesus’ followers over the last two thousand years, despite their frailties and flaws, have been givers more than takers. Moreover, Western culture and its institutions have been major beneficiaries of Christian truth, compassion, and generosity. 

THINKING IT THROUGH

“The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,
which shines ever brighter until the full light of day..” Proverbs 4:18

THE TRUTH: Jesus created a community of disciples to be a visible expression of Kingdom Living.

YOUR CHALLENGE: Disciples serve and flourish within that community. 

The Scriptures, questions, and notes are for group discussion and personal reflection. Our goal in Tier II is character transformation which requires sustained effort and growing faith. The questions can help you understand this challenge at a deeper level. We encourage you to focus on those questions that you find most interesting or helpful. This is not a test, but a tool to help you respond to the challenges

Related Scriptures

Deuteronomy 8:11 ¹¹ “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.”

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 ¹⁷ “He [The LORD your God] did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ ¹⁸ Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.”

Deuteronomy 10:17-19 ¹⁷ “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. ¹⁸ He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. ¹⁹ So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.”

Deuteronomy 15:7-11 ⁷ “But if there are any poor Israelites in your towns when you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward them. ⁸ Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need. ⁹ Do not be mean-spirited and refuse someone a loan because the year for canceling debts is close at hand. If you refuse to make the loan and the needy person cries out to the Lord, you will be considered guilty of sin. ¹⁰ Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. ¹¹ There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need.”

Deuteronomy 15:1 ¹ “At the end of every seventh year you must cancel the debts of everyone who owes you money.”

Deuteronomy 16:17 ¹⁷ All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God.

Leviticus 19:15 ¹⁵ “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.”

Matthew 5:46-47 ⁴⁶ If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. ⁴⁷ If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? 

Matthew 7:12 ¹² “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.” 

Matthew 5:42 ⁴² Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.

Acts 2:44-46 ⁴⁴ And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. ⁴⁵ They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. ⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity.

Acts 4:32-35 ³² All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. ³³ The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. ³⁴ There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them ³⁵ and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.

1 Timothy 6:17-18 ¹⁷ Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.

Romans 15:26 ²⁶ For you see, the believers in Macedonia and Achaia have eagerly taken up an offering for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem.

Romans 13:8 ⁸ Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.

Romans 12:9 ⁹ Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

Galatians 6:5, 10
⁵ For we are each responsible for our own conduct. 
¹⁰ Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone….

2 Corinthians 5:15 ¹⁵ He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. 

Questions

You are encouraged to use these questions for group discussion or personal reflection. Respond to the questions that are most relevant or interesting to you (I urge you to write your responses in a journal or notebook).

1. Before starting Challenge 6, “Better Together,” would you have said followers of Jesus were more takers or givers to society? Why? Has your perspective changed? If so, how?

2. In what ways have you personally contributed to your community?

3. Try to imagine if Jesus had not come and there were no disciples and hence no church. How would the world be different?

4. Wherever the Christian faith has taken root, Christians have started and been involved in voluntary associations – non-profit service organizations that consist mostly of volunteers who serve their communities (NGO’s). Why has this pattern repeated itself again and again throughout the last 2000 years? What is it about the Christian faith that causes people to care about the well-being of others?

5. Moreover, wherever voluntary associations proliferate, democratic forms of government also seem to take root and contribute to the common good. Why do you think this pattern continually repeats itself in history?

6. The second Tier of Challenges, Challenges 5 through 8, focuses on becoming like Jesus through a life-long process of character transformation. If all believers embraced this process, what impact would you expect to see in the communities they lived in and in the wider society?

7. Reread the “Related Scriptures” looking for and recording any key themes that emerge.

8. What role does “Thankful Hearts” (Challenge 3) play in becoming givers instead of takers?

9. In the past, disciples of Jesus have started and led many reform movements. Is there a current reform movement today that you particularly identify with or appreciate? What and why? Or is there a need or an injustice you think needs reform that to the best of your knowledge is not being addressed?

10. What is one way you can become more of a giver?

11. Part D completes Challenge 6, “Better Together.” The community of disciples is God’s family, and disciples flourish only when they are rooted in that family. Review the four parts of this step. What insight means the most to you and why? Is there any Scripture that stood out to you? And finally, what changes do you need to make in order to complete this step?

    Completing the Challenge

1. UNDERSTAND.

Prayerfully process (think, read, discuss, question, write) until you understand the most important truth Jesus is teaching you in Challenge 6. 

Reread “THE TRUTH” and “THE CHALLENGE” statements that are printed below the “THINKING IT THROUGH” section header. It may also be helpful to read the related scriptures, and what you have already written in your journal when reading and processing parts A through C of this challenge. As always, you may consult a mentor, other disciples or a study partner, or use other resources. But do not move on to #2 (BELIEVE) until you have articulated the chief truth revealed to you in this challenge by completing this sentence, 

“The chief truth revealed in this challenge is ….”

2. BELIEVE.

Embracing the truth requires you to “change your mind” by ceasing to believe one thing (a lie) in order to believe the truth. To follow Jesus means you must continually repent (literally: “change your mind”—your mental map of reality) to personally embrace the truth he embodied and taught. The goal is to internalize the truth in your heart until it becomes like your DNA—what makes you, you.

Write the thing you no longer believe (the lie) by completing this sentence,
“I no longer believe ....”

Rewrite the new truth you now believe (from “1. UNDERSTAND.” above) by completing this sentence, 
“I now believe ….”

3. DO.

Jesus expects the truth you now believe to change the way you live. What you believe determines what you do and how you live. Commit to do something differently (be specific) because of your new and/or deepening faith. Write it by finishing this sentence,
“I believe Jesus is leading me to ....”  

Then pray, asking the Lord to help you do whatever you have determined he is asking you to do.

4. SHARE.

Finally, tell a mentor or study partner the specifics of how you have worked this challenge (the sentences you have written) and ask for their feedback.

REMEMBER: All of the Tier II challenges emphasize the necessity of ongoing spiritual growth in order to continually grow more and more like Jesus. These challenges (5-8)  focus on character transformation, which occurs slowly over a period of years, as you diligently seek spiritual maturity. 

It is best to write your statements at the end of each challenge in your journal/notebook. If you get stuck on this last exercise, skip it for the time being, and complete it at a later date. As you make progress on the Jesus Way, you may want to modify and improve these concluding statements. Feel free to do so at any time. Whenever you receive new insights, it may change what you have previously written. Your journal/notebook is intended to document your growing faith; it will become a useful tool to help you, and also to mentor others.

Copyright © 2024 Don Waite

All rights reserved.

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