What's in It for You?

"Public Theology is trying to put to the society around you basic questions about:  What is human? What do we expect of human beings? How do we imagine human beings? How do we make human beings flourish?  Theologians can give a perspective of humanity made in the image of God. 

The church makes claims about what human nature is like and God's will of human destiny, to be interdependent, no I without a We.  Thus the church is bound to be in conversation with the world and people of other faiths.  It does not seek to cement its power, but to put forth the questions to the secular society: What is the real basis of your vision of humanity?  Where does it come from?  How does it sustain itself?"

—Rowan Williams

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Dear Kate,

What's in it for you?

You are a Christian, and the least you can say about it is that you love this Christian God, I presume?  But why?  What's the deal?  Love is a strong word; let's just say you want to bother with religion at all: the question remains, why bother?

You might think it natural to give God your attention, but you should think again.  A little bit of cynicism is needed for honesty.  Ask yourself, if not because you grew up in church, would you seek out this (or that) God on your own?  And out of what?  Curiosity?  Then why didn't you out of the same seek out other gods, try other religions?  Do you even seek out a book, a movie, a song for no reason but to hear strangers speak, just in case they are right?

Why do you want to know anyone if you don't need to?  You have enough of yourself to deal with.  Another person needs to be of some use to you before you'd hold off on your own story and pay attention to his/hers.  

"If these people are not trying to get something good from God, none of them would be here!"  One time a lady pointed out the naked emperor in all of us in so many words.  She was baffled by why I would even want to suggest a different way to look at religion.  And I must agree she was right.

If I say you keep going to church because, for one, you see no reason to go against a family tradition, you would probably cry foul and insist you do make up your own mind.  That's what people say when the question period is already over.  Would you stop being a Muslim if that's how you were raised and seek out Jesus instead?  I don't need to know you enough to say: highly unlikely.

Besides, I know you.  I know you like stuffs familiar, as we all do (as to how much more you like it is a confession only you can make).  And you do not like stuffs you don't like (when you told me you don't like musicals, you literally asked me to stop dancing and bounce off).  I also know you esteem loyalty but wouldn't want to be wrestled to the ground every time when pledging your allegiance.  You don't need to win people over but do want to see your way of life winsome, with good results that everyone can see and admire.  You want to make God look good because that's how you keep up your looks.

We could see how everything is susceptible to human corruption and self interest, especially beliefs and practices that put the whole of humanity at stake, such as religion and politics.  Speak about them and you could ruin dinner party this part of the world.  Do something about them and you might have your home blown up in some other part.  Our instinct tells us whoever speaks about any ultimate being or ultimate cause is ultimately speaking about his view of our being and how he is seeking a cause to reshape it.  You're doing me no harm with your ideas of God—that's only because God is not allowed to do me any harm in this part of town.

So, good for you, Hallelujah if there really is a God of mercy and love and ultimate goodness.  But if the implications of Him need to be mediated through the closed system of your personal interest and convenience, then thanks but not thanks.  What is religion but what works for you?  You are in it for your reasons, and I am ok with it if they don't work against mine.  Let's be alone together.

What to make out of all these?  Much.  But before it becomes too much, let me speak the obvious: anyone who does not ask questions, first and foremost of oneself, is humanity corrupted.  Before there is political or religious corruption, there is the corrupting of a solitary human soul, irreducible as an image of God, but made useful, then disposable, and inevitably inconsequential—strange enough but maybe not really, often first by oneself.

Pontification is for the sermonizer; discovery the seeker; delight the lover.  You can always tell who is truly in love, free and generous, can't wait to see more of everything.  Shouldn't a religion be at least that, a vision of human flourishing?  And if not, why bother?

Yours, Alex