REFLECTIONS ON CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY

In the concluding lines of The Big Lebowski we hear a three word phrase spoken once by the Dude and then repeated only once by The Stranger; “the Dude abides”. Oddly enough, this simple three word phrase, following on the heels of a loosely constructed, randomly progressive, profanity filled plot has given rise to a cottage industry of devoted, if not fanatical, fans that seek to celebrate, commemorate, and emulate, all things Dude. If so inclined, one can even become a Dudeist Priest with all the attendant trappings and the philosophy of the Dude is often debated in certain academic circles. The interesting thing about this is that the Dude never promulgated a particular philosophy, at least not in the classical sense of the word.

If the truth be told, neither did Jesus Christ. The closest he ever came to articulating a philosophy of life is in the Sermon on the Mount recorded in the book of Matthew. But even a casual reading of those things purported to have been said by Jesus indicate that he did not employ the tools of logic or reason to persuade his audience of an intellectual position. His words were essentially a proclamation. This observation is affirmed by the Biblical text in that it is recorded that at the end of his sermon the audience was amazed at his teaching because he taught as one who had authority (Matthew 7:28-29).

In a similar vein, when Jesus commissioned his disciples in Matthew 28 he did not instruct them to teach a philosophy, rather he instructed them to go forth into the world and make disciples teaching them to observe his commandments. And wherever the New Testament records the sermons of the Apostles, the thrust and content of those sermons are not cleverly devised philosophical arguments which employ reason and logic to persuade the listeners, instead, they are simple proclamations regarding what they have personally witnessed and how the Scriptures foretold that these things would come to pass.

Consider the sermon delivered by Peter on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts, chapter 2: Peter began by proclaiming to the crowd before him that what they were witnessing on that day was foretold by the prophet Joel, reminding them of miracles and good deeds they had witnessed Jesus do, how he had been handed over to be crucified, and proclaiming that God had raised Jesus from the dead. This was not a philosophical argument it was a proclamation based upon the eye witness experience of the speaker and appealing to the existing knowledge of the audience.

Again in Acts, chapter 3, after restoring a crippled man’s ability to walk, Peter addressed the crowd of onlookers by reminding them of the things they already knew about Jesus, proclaiming that God had raised him from the dead and declaring that this was all foretold by the prophets of old. The sermons of those who knew and walked with Jesus during his time in this world were consistently framed in this way; a proclamation of things they had personally witnessed, a reminder of things their audiences already knew about the events of Jesus’ death, and a declaration that all these things were foretold by the prophets.

How is it then, that in this day and age, Christian sermons appear to be more structured as philosophical arguments? Why is it that sermons today sound more like persuasion than proclamation? Is it possible that Christianity has somehow lost its way by straying from the essence and structure of the original message?

Most likely the tide began to turn fairly early in the history of Christianity. Many of the epistles of Paul appear to be inspired by the need to address certain concepts and practices being introduced by Hellenistic Jews. The epistles of Peter and John also make reference to false teachers who will introduce alternative narratives in an attempt to lead the faithful away and corrupt the truth of the original gospel.

But those who have studied these things more than me identify Saint Augustine, from the third century B.C., as the one who was most influential in the development of the classical philosophical Christian tradition in the Western World. According to the scholars, he did this by synthesizing Hebrew and Greek thought, drawing from the Classical Greek philosophers like Plato, Neoplatonism and Stoicism and melding these philosophies with the divine revelation of Christian teaching and the Old Testament scriptures.

So arguably, it is the syncretism of Augustine that forged the path leading to the current forms of Christianity in the Western World. As much as, and perhaps more than, any other he is responsible for the thought forms and other concepts which have driven both Christian doctrines and the systematic theologies that have emerged since his time; thought forms which represent a departure from the pristine gospel message that was preached immediately following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Even as I write this I find myself being drawn away from the original ideas which spawned this essay. The central idea is simply that Christianity was never intended to be a philosophy. Philosophy draws from various sources of knowledge and employs the tools of reason and logic to ascertain truth. The fact is that the truth presented by the life and teachings of Jesus could never be arrived at by reason and logic. Even with the source of knowledge provided by the Old Testament scriptures, it required additional revelation in order for the disciples of Jesus to grasp the truth of who he was and what he was accomplishing. It was not reason and logic that revealed these things to the disciples, it was the divine revelation afforded by Jesus himself.

After all, what reasonable person would conclude that the death of some obscure son of a carpenter would provide divine reconciliation for those who believe? Likewise, what form of logic would draw the connection between the prophetic utterances made hundreds and thousands of years earlier and the events in the life of an ignoble young man approximately 30 years old in the time of Tiberius Caesar?

Perhaps it is well past time to rethink Christianity altogether and to begin divorce proceedings with the philosophical concepts which have obscured and corrupted the original message. The original gospel was meant to be proclaimed not deduced. And the followers of Christ were never instructed to develop cleverly designed arguments intended to persuade. Like the Dude, they were merely instructed to abide (John 15:4-7, 10, KJV).