Being a ‘public Christian’

---

When it comes to matters of faith in public life, we are living in fascinating times. 15-20 years ago the militant ‘New Atheism’ of Richard Dawkins was on the rise and it seemed everyone was reading The God Delusion.

But the mood-music has changed. Dawkins himself recently described himself as a ‘cultural Christian’ and a host of high-profile figures are illustrations of a noticeable change in the public conversation about faith. 

Historian Tom Holland, author of Dominion and co-presenter of The Rest is History, one of the world’s most popular podcasts, continually talks about the radical role that Christianity has played in shaping positive values we take for granted today.

Jordan Peterson, the Canadian psychologist has had millions engaging with the Bible through his Youtube lectures on Genesis, his podcasts and his bestselling books, such as 12 Rules for Life.

Aayan Hursi-Ali, former politican and author, who was raised as a Muslim, then became one of the key proponents of New Atheism and a close friend of Richard Dawkins, has recently become a Christian.

And comedian/actor Russell Brand is using his huge reach via social media to talk openly about his recent conversion and baptism (assisted by fellow celebrity Bear Grylls) as a follower of Jesus.

Re-birth of belief?

Of course there is a wide range of views about these people’s views, motivations and beliefs. But whatever you think of them, they are just some of the high profile examples of what Justin Brierley calls The Surprising Re-birth of Belief in God. 

I would highly recommend Brierley’s podcast and book of this title which explores how ‘new atheism grew old’ and the re-acknowledgement of the role faith plays in science, philosophy and popular culture.

I believe these developments are relevant for those involved in Christian social action because often our world is operating in a ‘mixed zone’ where the church is meeting wider society.

This is so much more exciting than being in a Christian ghetto. But too often the left-side of this diagram dominates and faith is expressed timidly and passively and ends up being marginalised and silenced.

These are my 5 suggestions for seeking a ‘missionary encounter’ with the world around us and living out our faith publicly: 

1. Its our calling

The gospel is public truth. And the community which proclaims Jesus as Lord, was from the start a movement launched into public life. Ancient Greco-Roman society had many private cults offering routes to salvation but the early church never presented itself like this. It called itself the ekklesia, the public assembly.

The New Testament gives us no justification for hiding our faith: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:16). Christian social action should illustrate faith not mask it!

2. Be conciliatory

We need to be honest about how many people carry religious baggage due to negative experiences such as to judgement, hypocrisy, abuse, or even just being bored in church.

To use John Dickson’s musical metaphor, Jesus composed a beautiful melody that the church has performed with very mixed results. Many saints have played it with inspiring integrity but many bullies have mangled the tune. We should never seek to defend, down-play or ignore the failings of the church. The Bible does not airbrush the failures of God’s people so neither should we.

3. Build credibility

To have credibility, people need to see that we clothe our beliefs in action and that it makes a genuine difference to how we live. The fact that almost all homeless charities were started by Christians is a great testimony to the credibility of faith.

Actions really do speak louder than words. Jesus says we recognise a tree by its fruit. And that wisdom is proved right by her actions. Our actions give credibility to our beliefs.

4. Keep Christ central

The concept of ‘election’ runs through the Bible: Israel is chosen from among the nations, Jesus choses his disciples.  The disastrous misunderstanding in missionary theology has been to think that ‘the elect’ are those who will ultimately be saved by God’s grace.  Instead, they are those chosen to be carriers of a unique message.

We must keep Jesus at the centre and share this message of God’s redeeming love as enthusiastically and energetically as possible. But this does not mean being judgmental or speculating on the eternal futures of others .  We are just carriers of a message: judgement is God’s alone.

5. Be confident

Most of all, we need to have confidence in the deep relevance and redemptive power our faith.  Humans live by stories and in a world so scarred by meaningless, injustice and retribution, we can offer a living story of purpose, hope and forgiveness through what God has done in Jesus.

We need confidence in the enduring relevance of faith and the fact that the needs of communities and individuals are both spiritual and practical. Personal confidence is the foundation for public witness.

---

This is based on a short talk given at a recent Hope into Action retreat. In all these thoughts, I am indebted to the missionary theologian Lesslie Newbigin. For more on his thinking about public faith and the doctrine of election: ‘Proper Confidence in the Gospel’: the theology of Lesslie Newbigin.