God’s Not Dead
Last week, I read Culture and the Death of God by Terry Eagleton. Last week, I also spent ten days in a small village outside of Mukono, Uganda. In the middle of a three-acre farm sits Agape Christian Academy and Orphanage. Fourty-four children, all losing one or both parents to AIDS, live here full-time. Another 107 children attend the boarding school. Each day, the children wake at 4:00am for prayer, Bible reading, and tea. They attend school and end their day with a chapel service. The children lead the service, and they love old traditional hymns. They dance their tribal steps while praising God and singing at the top of their lungs. Each of these children have their own stories to tell, their testimonies of faith, and how God has brought them from the valley of the shadow of death, and yet they live their lives with abundant joy and love. As I heard story after story, I was spiritually inspired and emotionally awe-struck.
And then, I met Hassan. Hassan’s family lives in Mukono, and they heard of the good education students receive at Agape Christian Academy. When they went to an open house for the school, they also discovered tuition was less than most schools in the area, and because of that, they decided to send Hassan to Agape. Hassan’s parents are Muslim, and they raised Hassan in the Islamic faith. For most of the year, Hassan was quiet, just observing the other students. He respected the faith of his classmates, but did not join in their prayers and worship. He simply listened. Then, he began to read. Then, he began to ask questions. Last weekend, Hassan went home and told his parents he was converting to Christianity. His father disowned him, and told him if he ever returned home, he would kill him.
Hassan returned to Agape Christian Academy, fearing for his life and not knowing what to do. If his father disowned him, he could not pay tuition to continue attending school. If he returned home, his father would kill him. Police came to the school on Wednesday to meet with the headmistress and the principal. Hassan was a mess. The student body president, Timothy (with his own story of salvation), knelt beside Hassan as he cried and prayed with him.
Saturday morning came, and several students were planning a service of baptism. The older boys had dug a hole and filled it with water for the immersions. Nine teenagers were baptized that morning, and joy filled the students. As the pastor began to climb out of the hole, Hassan moved forward. With all that he had been through that week… With the death threats, the disownment, and the heartache… Surely he would not make a public acknowledgement of his newfound faith. Surely he had rethought his decision. Surely he was not coming forward to be baptized. He stepped into the water-filled hole and told the pastor he was ready. The pastor asked him if he wanted to say anything, and Hassan said, “Jesus is my Savior. I forgive my father. God is good, all the time. Amen.” Fifteen words. Fifteen words, and then the pastor immersed Hassan in the water. He emerged breathing fresh life, and he smiled for the first time in days…yet most of us were crying gigantic tears of awe and amazement.
So why do I tell this story? How does this have anything to do with Culture and the Death of God? The book is about the development of Western thought and the alternatives to religion that have emerged through the centuries. God has been declared dead over and over by philosophers and professors, and thinkers and theologians alike. This story has nothing to do with Eagleton’s book. Or does it? It may be a stretch or an act of coincidence, but for me, the connection is vivid. Uganda may be on the other side of the world, but they are actively fighting to keep Christianity relevant and spread the Gospel message. Their differences, like ours in America, threaten their unity as one faith. Their actions in the name of Christianity have made headlines over the world. But as Eagleton concluded, God is not dead. The church is not dead. Our denominations may split, our differences may dominate the news cycle, and the loudest voices may “silence some of the most vital beliefs and activities of billions of ordinary men and women”[1] simply because they are louder and more controversial. But, at some point, though it may be through a national tragedy or a natural disaster, our love for Jesus and our faithful commitment does unite us.
This week working at Agape, we had a team from a very conservative Baptist church and our middle-of-the-road Methodists. Our worlds are diverse and each held their own differing points-of-view…but you would never know it. Everyone engaged was focused on something far bigger than themselves and something they all agree God has called them collectively to do. By day two, we had become brothers and sisters in Christ, genuinely family, and when it came time to discuss difficult issues, we did it as members of a family, not as adversaries. We saw the reflection of God in each others’ faces…and we were changed by it. When Hassan returned from his family home full of tears and fear, we surrounded him with love and protection. When Hassan fell to his knees and asked to be baptized, we did not argue over the method – immersion or sprinkling – but shared in the celebration of salvation.
And I would submit that this same opportunity also holds true – especially holds true – whenever and wherever Christians gather together. Though we may live in a “faithless world threatened by religious fundamentalism”, we have the constant opportunity to unite around things larger than our individual selves and show God’s love to one another and to the world around us. Hassan’s story exemplifies this. He displayed the ultimate act of love through forgiveness. He displayed courage in the face of fear. His story united believers of diverse background to create solutions.
Eagleton is right. God is not dead. God is alive and active. Christianity is not just an idea; it is an action. And because of courageous believers, like Hassan, Christianity, too, will live.
Reference:
Eagleton, Terry. Culture and the Death of God. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014.
[1] Terry Eagleton, Culture and the Death of God (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014), Loc. 41.
About the Author
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.