Anthony Bradley

Western Christians of social and economic privilege are the only Christians in history where lay people (not clergy) have had the luxury of reading books and attending conferences about how to be the best, most culturally, sophisticated Christian. Where obsessed with trying to discern why we matter. Is it narcissism? Enlightenment era idolatries temp people to feel pressure to have a deep, winsome, provocative theological justification of every action. It could be new form of legalism: “I have to theologically justify the certainty of all of my actions with aphorisms like “God’s will,” “I feel called. . .” in order for my actions to matter. People want EVIDENCE and PROOF that their lives matter in God’s plan, otherwise, in a Western sense, why be a Christian? What’s so wrong with not being able to see “the reason”? The necessities of life positioned the world’s first Christians in the Middle East and Africa to walk into mystery, love God and neighbor, marry, build families and community, rest, eat well, celebrate life, expect pain and suffering as normal and “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands” (1 Thess 4:11), etc. Sounds liberating, huh? Of course, the only thing WORSE is the opposite extreme that holds we’re just pilgrims passing through and nothing we do in this life matters. Arguing with Christians holding anti-creational eschatology got us in this current mess in the first place some could argue.