The Renaissance Christian

MP3 Audio version of The Renaissance Christian here.

 

Renaissance:

1. French for “rebirth”; Rinascimento, from ri- “again” and nascere “be born”.

2. A rebirth or revival.

3. A revival of intellectual or artistic achievement and vigor.

4. A revival or rebirth, especially of culture and learning.

5. A restoration,  a renewal, a resurrection, a regeneration, a resurgence, a reappearance, a new dawn, a re-emergence, a reawakening,

Renaissance Man: A man (person, of course!) who has broad intellectual interests and is accomplished in areas of both the arts and the sciences. A “universal man” or polymath (a person of great and varied learning).

 

WHAT IS A “RENAISSANCE CHRISTIAN”?

A “Renaissance Christian” is a 21st Century believer in Christ who is part of the revival or rebirth of vigor and enthusiasm for intellectual and artistic pursuits within the body of believers, and within the wider culture.

The Renaissiance Christian is characterised by renewed interest and learning in the following areas of the Christian life:

1. Christian theology.

2. The history and development of Christian thought throughout the history of the Church, from the early church through to the present, including the Judaic and Greco-Roman context in which Christianity was born and developed.

3. Philosophy and the history of ideas. This includes both secular philosophy and philosophy of religion.

4. Science, the history of science, the philosophy of science and contemporary scientific endeavour. This includes reconciling paradigms of modern science and Christian thought.

5. Contemporary culture and the interface of contemporary Christianity within the contemporary culture.

6. The Arts and Music. In particular the expression and interface of contemporary Christianity with secular arts and music.

A “Renaissance Christian” recognises the need for development of both the Christian mind and an authentic spiritual and devotional life. This involves intellectual engagement in the Christian faith and with the wider culture, but also proper attention to one’s relationship with the triune God through the Holy Spirit.

 

A RENAISSANCE FROM WHAT?

A Renaissance Christian rejects the paradigm of Christian fundamentalism that developed throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, characterised from the outset by a suspicion of, and militant opposition to, everything in the modern secular culture. This Christian fundamentalism was further characterised by a retreat from contemporary secular culture in general, and a retreat from the cultural marketplace of ideas in particular. 

This Christian fundamentalism was fueled by incorrect interpretation of the relationship between Christ and culture, combined with a misplaced and mis-informed suspicion of secular (from the Latin saecularis/saeculum meaning “the world, the current age, the current generation”) learning, particularly in the intellectual pursuits of philosophy, the humanities, the sciences and the arts. As a result, Christian fundamentalists rejected the life of the Christian mind as a valid and vital component of Christian spirituality, and instead pursued an unbalanced emphasis on subjective experiential spirituality, with all the excesses that this encouraged. A rigid and hard-nosed biblical literalism was the order of the day, resulting from an ignorance of the genres, styles and subtle nuances of the Christian scriptures.

This anti-intellectualism resulted in withdrawal of Christians from secular universities and other places of learning, from philosophy, from the sciences and from the arts. In many cases, it resulted in Christians developing there own, safely “Christianized” versions of these secular institutions, and thereby fostering an unhealthy and unscriptural separatist mindset within Christian fundamentalist circles. Any Christians who remained in secular institutions tended to accept the status quo dictated by militant secularists that religious faith had no place in the contemporary culture and that faith should remain a tightly reigned and private matter for the individual. This general retreat from culture and from the marketplace of ideas allowed the void to be filled and taken over by other ideologies, philosophies and worldviews.

 

THE BALANCED CHRISTIAN LIFE

The Renaissance Christian recognises the importance of a balanced Christian discipleship as defined by Matthew 22:35-40:

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:

 ”Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart (Gk. kardia) and with all your soul (Gk. psuche) – and with all your mind (Gk. dianoia).’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

(New International Version)

Accordingly, the Renaissance Christian recognises that during the process of Christian discipleship and maturation, equal emphasis and attention should be given to the nurturing and development of the Christian heart (through the action of the Holy Spirit on the spirital core [from French coeur "core of fruit, heart of lettuce," lit. "heart," from Latin cor "heart,"]), the Christian soul (the Greek word psuche means the vital force which animates the body, the ‘life force’ or personality) and the Christian mind (the Greek word dianoia denotes the faculty of understanding, thoughts, imagination, way of thinking).

The Renaissance Christian notes the error of those who have, in both the past and current eras of the body of Christ, over-emphasized any one of these elements of the Christian life over and above the others in the process of Christian discipleship. Imbalance in Christian discipleship by the favouring of one aspect of the Christian life over the others leads to a stunting of development and maturity in the Christian. The Renaissance Christian recognises that the most effective and explosive expression of the Christian faith is where there is balance and equal priority given in the development of the Christian heart, soul and mind during the discipleship and maturation process, in full obedience to the call of Jesus expressed in Matthew 22:35-40 (see also Mark 12:28-31 and Luke 10:25-28).

For more on the balanced Christian life see the article:

 The Balanced Christian, “Both… And…” .

 

A RENEWED INTEREST IN CLASSICAL CHRISTIANITY

The Renaissiance Christian is characterised by renewed emphasis, interest and learning in the following areas of the Christian life:

1. Christian Theology. This includes such aspects of theology as biblical theology, systematic theology, historical theology, spiritual theology, natural theology and Christian apologetics (the rational defence of the Christian faith – 1 Peter 3:15).

2. History of the Christian Church, from the early church to the present day. This includes the history and development of Christian thought throughout from the early church through to the present, including the Judaic and Greco-Roman context in which Christianity was born and developed. It also involves an appreciation and knowledge of the prominent figures in Christian history and their contribution to Christian thought and practice.

 

Ignorance of Christian history is inexcusable.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

(Hebrews 12:1)

The 12th century theologian and author John of Salisbury said famously in his work Metalogicon (1159):

We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature add to ours.

3. Christian Spirituality and the Spiritual Disciplines. The Rt. Revd. Gordon Mursell, then Dean of Birmingham Cathedral (2000-2005), before becoming the Suffragfan Bishop of Stafford, is quoted as saying:

The story of Christian spirituality bears witness to the countless ways in which individuals and communities have felt the presence and heard the call of God, have been disturbed by the divine anger or delighted by the divine beauty, and have felt impelled to give all they had to give in response.

4. Philosophy and the history of ideas. This includes both the traditional branches of philosophy, including  metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics, logic, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language and philosophy of religion. It also includes the history of philosophy and the place of Christian thought in the history of ideas.

5. Science, the history of science, the philosophy of science and contemporary scientific endeavour. The Renaissance Christian remembers the fact that the birth and development of science in the Middle Ages occurred in the context of, and as a direct consequence of, the Judeo-Christian framework of thinking. This includes the paradigm shift from ancient Greek rationalism to a more modern form of empirical investigation, and a belief that the cosmos was rational, logical and coherent exactly because it was designed and created by a rational and logical Divine Mind. The Renaissance Christian recognises with confidence that science and Christian faith are by no means incompatible, but represent “distinct but overlapping magisteria” (Dr John Lennox). It is not science that is at odds with Christian faith, but an erroneous interpretation of science by aggressive and intolerant proponents of philosophical/methodological naturalism.

6. Contemporary culture and the interface of contemporary Christianity within contemporary culture. The Renaissance Christian is keen to explore the manner of engagement with contemporary culture that is most faithful to the teachings, attitudes and priorities of Jesus. The exact manner in which the 21st Century Christian can most effectively and authentically provide a “faithful presence” in the secular culture may well be open to continuing debate, but it is most definitely NOT a retreat and withdrawal from secular culture into a safe, well-fortified, comfortably “Christianized” and defensively separatist mindset that characterized the Christian fundamentalism of the 19th and 20th Centuries.

7. The Arts and Music. In particular, the interface of contemporary Christianity with the arts and music, and the contribution that explicitly and unapologetically Christian expressions and forms can contribute to the wider artistic and musical genres, as the have so prominently in the past.

 A “Renaissance Christian” recognises the need for development of both the Christian mind and an authentic spiritual and devotional life. This involves intellectual engagement in the Christian faith and with the wider culture, but also proper attention to one’s relationship with the triune God through the Holy Spirit.

 

A CHRISTO-CENTRIC FOCUS

Christians have made the gospel about so many peripheral things – things other than Christ. Many times over the history of the Church, no less over the last few decades, Christian interest groups of various styles and flavours have majored on the minors, while sometimes forgetting the central focus of the Christian faith. In their book Jesus Manifesto, Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola propose that the major disease of today’s Church is “JDD – Jesus Deficit Disorder”. Sweet and Viola list many peripheral matters that Christians and the Church have given priority to and centrality in the Christian life, instead of focussing on Jesus:

* living a good, clean life
* following the Mosaic Law
* the Jewish roots of Christianity & observing Jewish feasts
* eschatology and end-times prophecy
* signs, wonders and miracles
* divine healing
* saving the lost
* leadership principles
* church growth and multiplication, movement building
* social justice
* health, wealth & prosperity
* spiritual warfare
* Creation vs evolution
* biblical doctrine and systematic theology

Of course, many of these areas of focus are completely scriptural and totally valid and necessary functions of the Church, and priorities of Christian believers. Many of the above pursuits are distractions, perversions or worldly confusions. Good or bad, none of the above are valid contenders for the place of utmost priority or central focus in the Church or in the life of the Christian.

The Renaissance Christian recognises that the balanced Christian life pivots about the fulcrum of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Other interests, pursuits and priorities may follow as practical outworkings of the Christian life, but the central focus of the mature Christian must necessarily be reserved jealously for a preoccupation with the splendour, majesty and wonder of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The Father, the Holy Spirit, the angels, all of creation, the Scriptures, and the ministries of the early apostles all point their finger to Jesus. The spotlight of heaven and earth never leaves Christ. He is the melody, the harmony, the rhythm, the tempo, and the music behind all things. The heavens and the earth sing His song and play his tune.

So what does this mean practically?

It means that if a person is truly inspired by the Spirit of God when he or she is speaking, that individual’s message will be Christ. Jesus will bleed through every word. Why? Because the Spirit is totally occupied with Christ. It means when someone is teaching from the Scriptures, that teacher will unveil Christ through the text. Why? Because the Scriptures are completely occupied with Christ.

It means that Christ will be on the lips of every person and church who is walking in the Spirit, and He will leap out from their lifestyles. It means church members will know their Lord better than they know their church programs. It means His melody will resound through their actions and reverberate in their attitudes.

Consequently, those who do not present Christ when they minister not only miss an note, but they play the wrong tune.

(Sweet & Viola, Jesus Manifesto, p16-17)

The Renaissance Christian remembers that a renewed and reawakened interest in all of the elements of classical Christianity discussed above are vitally important, however a perfectly balanced and correctly prioritized Christian life and discipleship process keeps the life and work of Christ at the very centre.

The Renaissance Christian remains consciously Christo-centric.

 

Copyright, Roger Morris (2010).

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