My dad and I were talking this morning about what it means to be a Christian in the 21st Century. More precisely, what does it mean to be an Adventist in North America in the contemporary setting?
1) From a missiological perspective, Christ came to this world and met people where they are. In theological terms this is the incarnation of Christ into 1st century Jewish Palestine. As Christians we believe, largely on the basis of Pauline thought, that the Gospel, the good news about Christ, is incarnational. Just as Jesus Christ came and met people where they are, the story about Christ (Gospel) goes to where every culture and every individual is.
2) The Incarnational Gospel, as we will call it, represents both a blessing and a critic for every culture it comes into contact with. Because of the human state of sin, the Gospel a) offers salvation to every person, b) critics and pulls every culture toward biblical mores, and c) empowers each culture to realize their cultural ideals.
3) Though the differences between cultures are drastic, more drastic than most people realize, cultural ideals of morality tend to be similar on the principle level. According to Paul in Romans 1:18-20:
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Humans everywhere have very similar concepts of what is good and what is bad. The theological explanation for this is that God is actively works on the consciousnesses of all people everywhere. “God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
4) Seventh-day Adventist theology was developed, incarnated, into mid-19th century North American culture. Based on the sola scriptura principles and a Modernist worldview, the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist church developed a biblical theological that was a powerful, new, and challenging critic of other forms of Christianity.
5) Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, Seventh-day Adventists have failed to fully update and bring Seventh-day Adventist theology into the 21st century. Because of the 150 years of tradition we have built, we are more concerned about maintaining and fortifying our beliefs then we are about returning to the Bible with fresh contemporary eyes.
6) What should a contemporary incarnation of the Gospel look like? If it were possible to transcend our religious tradition and heritage and then to re-embrace the sola scriptura principle and reformulate a biblical theology for 21st century, contemporary North American, what would we have? To what extent is if fair to hold on to the 19th century formulation of Adventist theology? How does the Gospel need to be reincarnated for contemporary society? Which critics of contemporary society are most helpful, most demanded by the Gospel, and which critics are outdated, modernistic cultural baggage? As an Adventist with a traditional Adventist lifestyle and relatively modernistic worldview, what cultural mores should I be willing to give up for the sake of ministry to contemporary society? Which aspects of Adventist society should I hold on to and which should I revise?
It is my goal to be deeply spiritual and deeply devoted to my Lord, Jesus Christ. In my devotion I know that I have to maintain relevance within contemporary society, as well as allow the Holy Spirit to critic me and contemporary society.
