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Today is the fifth anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s lecture at the University of Regensburg, “Faith, Reason, and the University: Memories and Reflections.” The lecture generated a controversy among Muslims because Benedict quoted a derogatory statement about Mohammed uttered by Byzantine Emperor Michael II Paleologus: “Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” The subject of the lecture was not Islam, however, but the necessary roles both faith and reason play in “genuine dialogue of cultures and religions.” Benedict cited the emperor’s remarks about Mohammed as context for his quote about God and reason: “not acting reasonably (σὺν λόγω) is contrary to God’s nature.” Benedict then goes on to critique the dehellenization of Christianity, sundering as it does this necessary link between faith and reason in favor of an irrational voluntarism. He then concludes:

Only thus do we become capable of that genuine dialogue of cultures and religions so urgently needed today. In the Western world it is widely held that only positivistic reason and the forms of philosophy based on it are universally valid. Yet the world’s profoundly religious cultures see this exclusion of the divine from the universality of reason as an attack on their most profound convictions. A reason which is deaf to the divine and which relegates religion into the realm of subcultures is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures. At the same time, as I have attempted to show, modern scientific reason with its intrinsically Platonic element bears within itself a question which points beyond itself and beyond the possibilities of its methodology. Modern scientific reason quite simply has to accept the rational structure of matter and the correspondence between our spirit and the prevailing rational structures of nature as a given, on which its methodology has to be based. Yet the question why this has to be so is a real question, and one which has to be remanded by the natural sciences to other modes and planes of thought – to philosophy and theology. For philosophy and, albeit in a different way, for theology, listening to the great experiences and insights of the religious traditions of humanity, and those of the Christian faith in particular, is a source of knowledge, and to ignore it would be an unacceptable restriction of our listening and responding. Here I am reminded of something Socrates said to Phaedo. In their earlier conversations, many false philosophical opinions had been raised, and so Socrates says: “It would be easily understandable if someone became so annoyed at all these false notions that for the rest of his life he despised and mocked all talk about being – but in this way he would be deprived of the truth of existence and would suffer a great loss”. The West has long been endangered by this aversion to the questions which underlie its rationality, and can only suffer great harm thereby. The courage to engage the whole breadth of reason, and not the denial of its grandeur – this is the programme with which a theology grounded in Biblical faith enters into the debates of our time. “Not to act reasonably, not to act with logos, is contrary to the nature of God”, said Manuel II, according to his Christian understanding of God, in response to his Persian interlocutor. It is to this great logos, to this breadth of reason, that we invite our partners in the dialogue of cultures. To rediscover it constantly is the great task of the university.

What do you think?

From my friend William Molenaar’s blog:

Recently, Dr. Christopher J. H. Wright gave the following series of lectures for the Spring Lectureship at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary:

• Jan. 19, 2010 “The Whole Gospel, The Whole Church, The Whole World“
• Jan. 19, 2010 “The Mission of God“
• Jan. 20, 2010 “Numbers 14 & Deuteronomy 1“
• Jan. 20, 2010 “Who Does God Love? The Love of God and the Cross of Christ and the Christ’s Mission“
• Jan. 20, 2010 “Isaiah 52:7-10“
• Jan. 21, 2010 “Who are We and What are we Here for? The Identity and Calling of God’s People“

Dr. Wright also gave the following sermon at the Assemblies of God Headquarters chapel:

• Jan. 19, 2010 – “Psalm 33“

The iValue Campaign is a new tool for Assemblies of God congregations to share core doctrine with their members. In this video, Dr. Jim Bradford, my boss, gives a 5-minute summary of the campaign. For more information, visit ivalue.ag.org.

On December 6-9, the Gallup organization conducted a poll of 1,027 adult Americans regarding their religious beliefs and practices. It summarizes the major findings of that poll here. Among the conclusions:

About 82% of Americans in 2007 told Gallup interviewers that they identified with a Christian religion. That includes 51% who said they were Protestant, 5% who were "other Christian," 23% Roman Catholic, and 3% who named another Christian faith, including 2% Mormon.

Sixty-two percent of Americans in Gallup’s latest poll, conducted in December, say they are members of a "church or synagogue," a question Gallup has been asking since 1937.

Based on the responses to this question, about a third say they attend once a week, with another 12% saying they attend almost every week. This means that about 44% of Americans report what can be called frequent church attendance — almost every week or every week.

This year, 56% of Americans have said religion is very important. Only 17% say religion is not very important.This year, 56% of Americans have said religion is very important. Only 17% say religion is not very important.

To summarize, more than 8 in 10 Americans identify with a religion and 8 out of 10 say that religion is at least fairly important in their daily lives; more than 8 out of 10 say they attend church at least "seldom"; and again more than 8 out of 10 identify with a Christian religion.

Theologians and other intellectuals often tell us that we are living in a post-Christian nation. But these statistics indicate otherwise. Read the final paragraph above once again. Roughly eighty percent of Americans identify themselves as Christians, attend church occasionally, and consider religion important.

As a pastor, I know that there is a vast gulf between people’s beliefs and behaviors. If eighty percent of Santa Barbara (where I live) is Christian, how come I don’t see those people in church more often? And why do so many Santa Barbarans engage in behaviors that are manifestly unChristlike? You can ask the same questions in your city too, I’m sure.

In my opinion, statistics such as these illustrate the point made in the most recent issueof Enrichment that we are experiencing a crisis of discipleship, not only in the Assemblies of God, but also in the nation as a whole.

• How do we distinguish authentic Christianity from cultural Christianity?
• How do we evangelize people who are already nominally Christian?
• How do we disciple people who consider themselves Christian but don’t attend church or practice the ethical standards of the faith?

What do you think?

Over at the Christian Vision Project, Ajith Fernando pens a great reminder that evangelicals must not become so focused on doing good works that they forget to proclaim the good news of salvation. Here’s a sample:

I hear evangelicals talking a lot about justice and kingdom values but not proclaiming the gospel to those of other faiths and winning them for Christ. Of course, if someone asks them about Christianity, they will explain the gospel. Thus, some people will be converted to Christ through their witness.

But that is a woefully inadequate strategy. Most of the billions of people in the world who do not know Christ will not come and ask us. We need to take the initiative to go to them.

Earlier evangelicals emphasized proclamation, while liberals emphasized presence—living out our Christianity before the people among whom we live. I fear that the old "presence versus proclamation" battle has come back to the church, or will shortly. Some evangelicals are going down that same road, though they claim to believe in proclamation evangelism.

This is why I am calling for a fresh commitment to proactive evangelism. We can’t wait for people to come to us—we must urgently go to them. We must look for ways to make contact with them and use all our creativity and determination to communicate the gospel.

For my money, the best book-length treatment of this topic is Ron Sider’s Good News and Good Works.