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Author: Elias Kruger

I am husband, father, data scientist and lay theologian. I blog about the intersection of theology, science and technology longing for integration and the flourishing of life.

Aqueles que me Trouxeram a Cristo me Trairam

In English

Nasci na família de Cristo por meio de uma igreja carismática, filho de um pastor e profundamente envolvido em igrejas desse tipo até meus 30 anos. Hoje, embora seja grato pelo lar que me apresentou ao Deus do universo, mal consigo reconhecê-la.

As pessoas que me trouxeram a Jesus me traíram, trocaram o amor genuíno do evangelho pelo fascínio do sucesso.

Às vezes, tenho até vergonha de minha herança. O que me trouxe alegria e conforto se tornaram memórias de desapontamento, manipulação e hipocrisia. Embora não só por causa disso, essa situação se fez clara quando eu testemunhei líderes que respeito votarem e apoiarem com entusiasmo um candidato que era a antítese do Cristo que eles me ensinaram.

Sera que eu fui enganado o tempo todo?

Embora não haja estatísticas sobre o apoio P&C (Pentecostal e Carismático) para Donald Trump, não ficaria surpreso se esse número fosse o norte para os 81% de evangélicos brancos que votaram nele em 2016. E como um grupo diverso nos Estados Unidos, a apoio não se limita apenas aos brancos, mas provavelmente abrange a maioria dos hispânicos, senão mesmo afro-americanos P&C. Não é simplesmente uma questão racial, mas sim uma crise teológica.

Quanto mais reflito sobre essa situação e relembro minha experiência, percebo que todos os ingredientes para essa guinada ao nacionalismo cristão estiveram lá o tempo todo. Eu apenas tolerava, negava ou simplesmente escolhia olhar para o outro lado. Minha fidelidade à experiência carismática me cegou para as contradições grosseiras que nossa tradição florescente carrega. Toda essa adoração exuberante, crescimento vibrante e fé implacável têm um lado negativo. Freqüentemente se manifesta em cultos a personalidade, uma tendência ao autoritarismo e um perigoso desprezo pelo escrutínio intelectual. A combinação desses três tornou possível a aliança profana com um líder narcisista, autoritário e nacionalista. Não vamos fingir que, com toda a nossa conversa sobre o poder de Deus, não estávamos interessados ​​no poder humano. Fomos e ainda somos perigosamente seduzidos por ele. Em uma trágica barganha faustiana, pastores pentecostais trocaram a alma de nossa fé pelo acesso ao homem mais poderoso do mundo.

No entanto, meu objetivo aqui não é simplesmente expressar um desabafo mas transformá-lo em um apelo. Apesar do meu desapontamento com o movimento, conheço o Deus que os P&C adoram. Ele é maior e mais amplo do que todas as nossas mesquinhas ilusões teológicas. Reis e reinos passarão, mas o amor de Deus permanecerá. É por isso que imploro aos meus irmãos na fé que se examinem e se arrependam. Baseado na tradição profética bíblica, peço que eles reconsiderem suas lealdades políticas destrutivas. Ouça o que o Espírito está falando através das vozes nas margens, pois Deus não vive em casas brancas expansivas, mas nos gritos perturbadores dos oprimidos. Eu oro para que você transforme seu engajamento político no trabalho duradouro da igualdade, justiça do cuidado a criação.

Se você mora nos Estados Unidos, acredito que rejeitar Donald Trump nesta eleição é um passo importante nessa direção. Se você mora no Brasil, o mesmo se aplica a Jair Bolsonaro. Eles são falsos messias tentando manipular sua fé para ganho próprio. Resista à tentação de obter acesso ao poder e escolha manter sua fé perene. Se você estiver em outras partes do mundo, continue a apoiar o trabalho da caridade, igualdade e justiça no ambito local e global. Resista às narrativas políticas que prometem ordem na troca pela liberdade. Rejeite aqueles que falam de um passado moral utopico quando nossa fé está voltada para o futuro. Acima de tudo, fuja de líderes políticos que exigem lealdade inquestionável e atacam a mídia quando ela os questionam.

Plante uma árvore. Comforte o abatido. Fale pelos que nao tem voz. Dê aos pobres. Pois é dando que recebemos. É com humildade que honramos o Príncipe da paz.

O mundo ainda precisa testemunhar o que Deus pode fazer quando os cristãos cheios do Espírito buscam a paz. E se o movimento se tornasse uma voz implacável pela justiça, ungida para pregar as boas novas aos pobres e libertar os grilhões dos oprimidos? Este é o tempo Kairos de Deus para a nossa geração.

Vamos ouvir o chamado ou deixá-la passar por nós?

Que Espírito de Deus nos tornem ousados ​​para um momento como este.

In English

Plea to evangelicals II: Culture War, Social Unrest and COVID

In a previous blog, I went over the two most often cited reasons that evangelicals use to justify their vote for Donald Trump. Here I want to continue examining other rationalizations to see if they hold water. My contention continues to be that voting for the current president is the worse choice for a Christian in this junction of history. I record this here in an attempt to persuade those who have voted for him in the last election to reconsider their support on November 3rd.

Trump the Culture Warrior

The president has proven to be a consistent culture warrior, advancing conservative causes in his speeches and nominating a record number of conservative judges. He has also addressed excesses from zealous culture warriors on the left. I can understand how conservative Christians may feel like they have an ally in the White House on this matter.

His record on religious freedom is more ambiguous. At times, he has spoken for persecuted Christian minorities in the world. The State Department under Secretary Pompeo, an evangelical Christian himself, has put (Christian) religious freedom at the forefront of US diplomacy. Yet, Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds, many who are Christians, was jarring. His action demonstrated what we feared all along: that his support for conservative causes was not borne out of conviction but political expediency. Some evangelical supporters can see that but are satisfied with the bargain given the consistency he has shown in the domestic front of the culture war.

Even so, I would contend that evangelicals should re-visit their participation in the culture war. Their blind support for conservative causes comes with strings attached. While upholding traditional moral values that often align with Biblical principles, conservative judges also betray the heart of Christianity when they side with libertarian economics. There is nothing biblical about siding with the rich or removing regulations that seek to preserve the environment. Surely every involvement in politics requires some compromises but it is important to at least spell them out. To equate Christianity with American Conservatism is to diminish the gospel to traditional morality and trickle-down economics.

Furthermore, I question whether winning the battle in the courts will achieve the wholesale culture change evangelicals desire. That often happens through grassroots movements from below rather than from legislation from the top. Moreover, our faith revolves around invitation, not coercion. Passing laws that uphold moral values may change behaviors but rarely change hearts.

Trump’s Response to Social Unrest

I add this section as this topic has come to the forefront lately with multiple instances of black men (and women) being brutally murdered by the police. These tragic events have sparked multiple demonstrations in many cities of the country. Some protests go on till this day. The murder of George Floyd, especially, was a watershed moment that exposed the long-lasting legacy of racism in our nation.

The president’s response to these multiple events has been inadequate at best and cruel at its worse. While conceding the injustice of George Floyd’s event, his unwillingness to admit the problem of systemic racism in the police was a complete failure of leadership. Instead, he has resorted to golf metaphors to explain that cops sometimes make mistakes. The carelessness of this response is appalling. It was a slap in the face of grieving families and an insult to people of color. His response only further inflames the anger that is boiling in the streets.

Protests in some cities have turned violent. Some included instances of looting and rioting. Yes, keeping the streets safe is important and de-funding police departments may lead to an increase in crime. Yet, the worse reaction a politician could have is to ignore or minimize the causes of the riots while repressing them violently. Callous calls for “law and order” in periods of social unrest will likely fuel further grievances. It has nothing to do with Biblical Christianity but instead belongs to the playbook of authoritarian regimes.

Corona Confirmed our Worse Fears

The global pandemic that started earlier this year has tested societies in every continent. The death toll continues to rise daily to a point we have become numb to it. It has hit our nation particularly hard, exposing the cost of our disunity, and the underside of our individualistic culture. It has also exposed the gross incompetence of a ruling party that scoffs at science believing more in conspiracy theories rather than facing reality for what it is.

The basic function of the federal government is to aptly coordinate a response to national crises. No private entity can do that and local governments are limited in their ability to cope with a global pandemic. If we compare our handling of the pandemic with other countries, the US undoubtedly comes in the bottom. It does not matter how you frame the analysis, 200K deaths (as of the publishing of this blog) will never be acceptable. While not all deaths were caused by the federal response, many could have been prevented by it.

The pandemic was a perfect storm that exposed the dangers of Trump’s character failings. His gross narcissism prevented him from foreseeing the worse and acting quickly to coordinate a response. Also, his inability to lead by example encouraged widespread neglect of CDC guidelines. Furthermore, Trump’s resignation before the growing death counts was insensitive and served only to hide the incompetence of his administration. The least we expect of our leaders is that they do not stand in the way of experts who are best prepared to respond in these situations. In his insatiable thirst for attention, Trump undermined experts and politicized a matter instead of uniting the country behind a response.

For that mistake, we are all paying a heavy price.

While this affects all citizens, his failure of leadership strikes at the heart of evangelical engagement in politics. If evangelicals are pro-life, they cannot stand by a president that shows so much disregard for the life of the governed. His response was not just a matter of incompetence but a moral failure.

Conclusion

In short, voting for Trump is the worse choice an evangelical Christian could make in this election. In these two blogs, I showed how in multiple issues Trump has proven to be more of a curse than a blessing. While evangelicals gained an apt culture warrior, that benefit has come at a high price of in multiple areas.

I also know that many reading this will protest saying that the alternative is worse. They will contend that the Democratic party stands against everything evangelical Christianity is for. Others will claim that even the most egregious mistakes of this administration are justified in the fight to contain Socialism. Is that really true? That is what I will turn to in my next blog.

My Plea to Evangelical Voters: Rethink

I rarely write about political matters. This time, things are different.

As I reflect on this election and our historical moment, maybe for the first time I feel that simply expressing my support through voting is not enough. I’ll resist the temptation to call this election the most important of our lifetimes. However, to me, it clearly calls for greater engagement than previous ones. Also, in this case, there is no doubt in my mind that one outcome is much worse than the other. This is not just about policy or even a candidate character but a battle for the soul of our nation. It is about who we are as a people and our role as Christian citizens in service of the common good.

My contention is simple: voting for Trump is the worse option a Christian (evangelical or otherwise) could make. I would go even further: to reject Trump’s Christian nationalism even as it seems against the self-interest of the evangelical church, is the most powerful act of gospel witness in the public square. The way of Jesus compels us to go against the natural order of political power. If evangelical Christians care most about changing hearts then the best way is through cultural influence not political power. Some times, we must give up power to gain influence. Lose a battle to win the war.

Intended Audience

With few exceptions, most of my evangelical brothers and sisters that voted for Trump, did not like him as a person. Many abhorred his tweets, disapproved of his lifestyle choices and acknowledged his sick narcissism. Unlike George W. Bush in the early 00’s, he is not a guy you casually “want to have a beer with.” Many were scandalized by his immoral behavior. Yet, they were convinced that putting up with all that was worth it to deny Hillary Clinton the presidency. They often cited some specific reasons and rationales for this decision.

In the following sections, I will address each of these most-cited reasons and demonstrate that, upon closer scrutiny, they do not hold water. In short, they are mirages, fabricated arguments to appease the conscience as opposed to legitimate reasons to tolerate the president’s misdeeds. Because they have been repeated so often without challenge, they became a truth of their own.

By now, most voters had made up their minds but I want to speak to those who are still undecided. Some of them, who voted for the president 4 years ago, are now rethinking their decision. For this group, I offer this blog as one data point in their honest discernment process on who to vote for in this election.

Voting for Trump will NOT Save Babies

Let me put it bluntly: you have been duped. A few decades ago some fundamentalist preachers and market savvy political operatives came up with a brilliant strategy. They saw the Roe vs Wade decision as a pivotal point and decided that the top (and only) priority for Christian voters was to overturn it. At a national level, it meant electing presidents that would pick conservative judges for the supreme court that would eventually overturn that ill-fated decision.

This strategy was a “win-win” for both sides. Republican candidates got unquestioning support from a significant voting block and in return all they had to do was pick conservative judges when the existing one died. They could invade countries abroad, torture prisoners, wreck the economy, reinforce inequality at home and be downright corrupt as long as they came through with their side of the bargain.

For evangelicals, the strategy provided clarity and absolution from guilt. They did not have to think critically about which party to support, or which candidate to vote for. All they had to understand was the following: 1) abortion is murder; 2) one party is trying to end it through judicial nominations and restrictive politics; 3) the other party supports abortion; 4) therefore, the Christian choice is clearly to vote with the first party. They would show up to vote every four years to save the nation and then go back to saving souls in the remaining years with a clear conscience that they did not vote for baby killers!

If this was not clear before let me say it here: voting Republican will not end abortion! The very premise that we could do so is misguided and simplistic. It is more about a pernicious political strategy than biblical truth. If you care about unborn babies do work for a society in which abortion is the last resort. Help the mothers who are making these choices, call for restrictions where appropriate, build pregnancy crisis centers and make an argument for fetus rights in the public square.

In other words, get engaged in the process instead of selling your vote for so little. Don’t settle for this false choice that one party is for saving babies while they other is for killing them. And above all, do not let any religious leader make you feel guilty for voting for the alternative. There are biblical reasons to vote for one party as much as there are for another. There is room in the household of God for progressives and conservatives.

The Cyrus argument is NOT a valid “Biblical” reason to vote for Trump

Another commonly held justification is what I call the “Cyrus argument.” It alludes to the Persian ruler praised in the Bible for allowing the Jewish people to return and re-populate their lost national territory. In Biblical terms, God used him to fulfill his promises of restoring Israel. He was not Jewish and not necessarily a benign leader. Using this metaphor, evangelicals see Trump as a “non-Christian” political leader that will advocate a conservative Christian agenda, returning the US to its supposedly Christian past.

In certain aspects, the 45th president has proven to be really supportive to the conservative agenda spelled out in the previous section. He appointed a record number of conservative judges and multiple circuits, supported moving Israel’s capital back to Jerusalem and sided with conservatives in civil liberty issues. In the surface, the Cyrus metaphor has worked.

Yet, at further examination, the metaphor breaks down quickly showing a lack of knowledge of historical context and bad application to our present situation. It is important to distinguish Ancient world politics with our modern situation. First, the Jewish people had no choice in Cyrus rise to power. In other words, they did not elect him. This is an important point because democracy spreads agency across the population as opposed to ancient monarchies. That means, those that elect a president also become responsible for his or her behavior.

Second, I get disgusted as how this Cyrus argument became cover for Trump’s most egregious words and actions. It went right along with the saying “I am not electing a pastor but a president.” This pernicious statement allowed leaders to justify scandals and minimize misdeeds at an appalling fashion. This is the same voting block that years ago blasted President Clinton for his character failures now happily supported and justified a much more immoral president. This inconsistency did not portray biblical faithfulness but instead it revealed a dark secret of evangelical political involvement, namely that the means justify the ends. In Roosevelt’s words: “Trump may be a SOB but he is our SOB.”

When I saw Franklin Graham refuse to criticize the president’s policy on immigrant detention that literally put kids in cages, it made me sick. While not all evangelicals agree with him, he is representative of the evangelical voter. Like him, many evangelicals actually took on a harder (and more cruel) stance on immigration as a way not to challenge their Cyrus.

That is simply scandalous and exposes the dark side of political alliances. When you start aligning so closely with a political party, your religious convictions start changing. Suddenly, compassionate evangelicals take on heartless political positions that neglect the least of these. Separation of church and state was not conceived to defend government from religion but the other way around. Our founding fathers understood that religious convictions could easily be co-opted by malignant political motives.

Conclusion

In this blog, I covered two of the most often cited reasons for supporting Trump by evangelicals. In the next one, I want to cover more pragmatic reasons and how those also do not hold water. For now suffice it to say: support for Trump does not equal biblical faithfulness. Quite the opposite, at its core it represents a betrayal of fundamental biblical principles of compassion, hospitality, love for the neighbor and a commitment to truth.

If there is any silver lining for this contentious political period is the unmasking of the unholy alliance between evangelicalism and Conservative politics. For at least 4 decades, these two were often seen as synonymous with each other. This can no longer be the case. It is high time for evangelical Christians to recover their authentic voice in the public square rather than settling for the poor counterfeit of conservative politics.

Pandemic Lessons: Moving from Denial to Engagement

In a previous blog, I discussed the role of prophetic models in guiding world leaders to respond to this crisis. Here, I go to a more personal level, addressing the temptation of denial in a time of crisis. This is one of the pandemic lessons I dare not ignore. I confess this is by far my strongest tendency when the going gets tough. My first reaction is not to fight or flight but simply freeze. I retreat inwardly shielding myself from the suffering around me.

This time, with God’s help, I must do differently.

A Global Initiation Rite

Father Richard Rohr offers a provocative perspective for this pandemic. Skirting away any suggestions that this is God’s punishment on humanity, instead he sees it as a global rite of passage. It is a collective experience of suffering aiming to mature us by reminding us of our frailty. This perspective emerges from his in-depth study of male initiation ceremonies, a global phenomenon where elders teach young boys the deep truths of their culture.

As he studied these rituals, he learned they contained recurring core messages. In short, they aimed to convey the following to its initiates:

  1. Life is hard.
  2. You are not that important.
  3. Your life is not about you.
  4. You are not in control.
  5. You are going to die.

Read this list again and pause for a moment.

In a time of greater gender equality, it is fair to ask why girls did not go through these types of ceremonies. I do not know for sure but I would venture to guess the feminine life had more natural ways to initiate them. When you are raised to serve and groomed to endure child-birth, these messages have a way of coming to you naturally. Till this day, it is usually men who need to get smacked around a bit to learn these truths lest they think too highly of themselves and, God forbid, run for president.

Going back to our time of crisis, what would this perspective mean? At the heart of it, I believe Father Rohr is inviting us to embrace this period as an opportunity for personal growth that we experience as a global community. We have all unwillingly entered this rite. Let’s receive it as an opportunity to re-center, reset and re-orient inwardly and toward each other.

When wedded with meaning, suffering can produce beautiful fruits of virtue, love and wisdom.

Memories from a Previous Crisis

When this pandemic started, it reminded me of a previous global crisis I went through. Almost two decades ago, I was a senior in college going about my business when two planes crashed into the WTC Towers in New York. That crisis hit close to home because my brother lived in Manhattan at the time and I immediately feared for his life. Thankfully, he survived unharmed even if traumatized by that horrific experience.

What I remember, however, was not the shock or concern but a persistent attempt to mentally distance myself from that reality. Once I learned my brother had survived and had a chance to see him, I jumped right back into life. I refused to spend hours watching the news from it. I never reflected on what that meant for the world or even how that could affect me. Life had to continue as planned. Nothing to see here.

In fact, I remember being bothered that my routine of classes had been disrupted. Even as my brother was a survivor, I made no attempt to connect with the pain of those in New York and of the nation in general. I didn’t even reflect theologically on it. I filed under the category of “bad people do bad things,” and that was that.

Regrettably, I missed the opportunity to enter into that global rite of initiation, share in the suffering and learn from its wisdom. I went through it and came out the the other side unchanged.

From Denial to Engagement

I decided this crisis was too important to waste. That is when I am looking for ways to step away from avoidance and denial into active engagement. One surprising gift of this time has been a flourishing in my writing. If before the crisis, I had to come up with ideas for blogs, now I can’t finish these ideas fast enough. I am still limited by the realities of shelter in place and therefore have not published significantly more. However, I sense my voice coming through more clearly.

Another practice is to contact loved ones that are far. I have done a lot more of that than I used to. Now there is the realization we couldn’t travel to see each other face-to-face. Then, the Skype or Zoom screen becomes more bearable, more cherished and all the more real. It is life-giving to see each other eyes even if it is through a 2 dimensional screen.

Finally, I have grown to empathize more with others. Gone is the usual habit to shelter myself from bad news. This is a global experience and we are all being impacted by it. There is no escaping. Even social media, in its best days, has become a true place of encounter where we sing, cry, laugh and share our sheltered lives. Whether it is through photos, tweets, videos, memes and music – they multiply and amplify our shared humanity.

This is not to say that I wake up every day cheering on the opportunity to face the unknown. There are dark days of sadness, exhaustion, anger, denial or incipient disconnection. This is a crisis after all, one that we did not choose nor one we can simply turn off when it gets uncomfortable.

Surprising gifts often come intertwined with painful losses. Hope emerges wrapped in fear for the future. Love appears in the ever threat of rejection.

Hence I invite all, in this time of social distancing, to resist the temptation of denial through generous acts of engagement.

Prophetic Models : Why are Governments Telling Us to Stay Home?

In this blog, I explore the prophetic role of models in advising governments how to respond to the Covid-19 virus.

In a recent blog, I talked about the surprising upside of this crisis. In this blog, I explore the prophetic role of models in advising governments how to respond to the Covid-19 virus. While predictive modeling is already a vital part of decision making in both the private and public sector, this crisis revealed how impactful they can be. They are no longer just predictive but also prophetic models that can alter the future of a nation.

Don’t believe it? A few weeks ago, the British government was considering an alternative approach to lead the nation through this pandemic. The idea was to allow for the spread of the virus, instructing only the 70+ population and those with symptoms to isolate themselves. In this scenario, there would be no school closures, no working from home or even cancellation of mass gatherings.

The rationale was that by allowing the virus to spread, enough people would recover from it to develop herd immunity. That is, when enough people have either been vaccinated or contracted and recovered from the virus, they would protect those who had not, breaking the chain of transmission.

Yet, in March 16th, in a stunning reversal, Boris Johnson had a change of heart. He quickly joined other world leaders in calling for a suppression strategy instructing all citizens to practice social distancing. Why? In short, the government learned that as much as 24% of the population would need hospitalization which would quickly overwhelm the the nation’s healthcare system. It came from a revealing report by the Imperial College London. This report would later find its way across the ocean to inform American policy on the virus response as well.

Prophetic Models that Changed it All

Intrigued by this news and having built predictive models myself for the last 6 years, I decided to go to the source for further investigation. I was interested not only in the findings but also examining the researchers’ methodology and other insights overlooked by articles reporting on it. In the next few paragraphs, I summarize my investigation paying particular attention to the forecasting model that the report was based on.

The model analyzed the predicted outcomes of two strategies: suppression and mitigation. The first one is the more aggressive strategy adopted by places like China and many European countries in suppressing virus transmission through rigorous social distancing in order to reverse epidemic growth. The second, aims only to slow growth, mitigating its worse effects by quarantining only at risk populations and those presenting symptoms.

The model went on to analyze the impact of a combination of NPIs (non-pharmaceutical interventions) by the governments. Mitigation focused on applying case isolation, home quarantine and social distancing only for those who are 70+. This strategy would cut fatalities in half but still result in over 1 million deaths in the US and overwhelm ICU beds 8 times over at highest peak demand! Therefore this option was deemed unacceptable.

Estimating the Impact of Suppression

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

While saving lives continues to be at forefront, the focus turned to a scenario in which the country’s health care system could withstand the increase in cases during the virus peak infection phase. The model simulations found that a combination of 1) general population social distancing; 2) schools and university closures; 3) home quarantine; and 4) case isolation of those infected was the best alternative to achieve this goal. These measures would have to be in place for a sustained period of time.

How long? The scientists ran a few scenarios but the most feasible one was where social distancing and school and university closures were triggered by threshold. That is, when the number of ICU cases must be at 60, 100 or 200 per week before the policies go into effect. This scenario assumes this triggering would be in place for a period of two years or until a vaccine is developed. The numbers below for the suppression scenario assume a trigger of 400 ICU cases per week.

Strategy Estimated Deaths GBEstimated Deaths US
Do Nothing510K2.2M
Mitigation255K1.1M
Suppression39K168K
Estimated fatalities based on the Report Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce COVID-19 mortality and healthcare demand.

As shown in the table above, the model predicts significant decreases in fatalities. In doing so, it makes a clear case as to why these governments should apply these drastic measures.

Certainly, the model’s scope is limited. It does not look into the economic impact these shut downs or the indirect fatalities of those that cannot use an overwhelmed health care system. It also does not take into account every mitigating factor that could accelerate or hinder the virus spread. With that said, it is robust enough to make a compelling case for action. That is all we can expect from a good prophetic model.

Models as Modern Prophets

The Hebrew scriptures tells us of prophets who warned their communities of impending doom. One good example of that is the short book of Jonah. In the story, God summons Jonah to speak to the city Nineveh. After a few detours, one which involved spending some time in a fish’s belly, the prophet arrives at the city. There he delivers a simple message: “Change your ways or face destruction.”

Just like a modern forecasting model, the prophet was showing the people of Nineveh a picture of the future if they remained in their ways. He was giving them the “do nothing” or “keep status quo” scenario. He also offered an alternative scenario, where they changed their minds and opted for righteous living. In this scenario, the city would save lives and retain their prosperity.

To the prophet’s own chagrin, the city actually listened. They changed their ways and therefore altered their future. They weighed the consequence of doing nothing versus changing and decided to opt for the latter. Hence, the story tells us that God spared the city who heeded the prophets’ forecast of impending doom.

The model described above played a similar role of warning about the cost of doing nothing. Yet, instead of fiery sermons, it used the mighty power of number. As modern prophets, the scientists from the Imperial College warned leaders in Britain and the US of a collapsed healthcare system and mounting casualties. Prophetic models vividly described the cost of doing nothing and also paint a picture of their altered future. In the model’s assessment, action was imperative and thankfully, these political leaders, like those of Nineveh, listened.

What if the Model is wrong?

Just like in the case of Nineveh, the risk of listening is that the initial prediction could be wrong all along. In fact, the good prophet does their job best when they challenge decision makers to prove their numbers wrong. The point is not to forecast outcomes accurately, even though that is an important part of a rigorous model. The main point is to paint a believable picture of an undesirable future enough to move people to action.

Successful prophetic models are not the one that predict accurately but the ones that lead the community towards a better future. Furthermore, the mounting casualties of the last weeks give proof that this pandemic is not just your average cold. I can’t even imagine how worse they would have been without the concerted global effort of social distancing. Yet, when this crisis is over, many will look at the diminished numbers and wonder if it was all worth it.

This is where I can point to this imperfect but rigorous model to say that the policies put in place will likely save 2 million lives in the US and 500 thousand in Britain!

If that is not a good outcome, I don’t know what is.

A Decade Later: Where is the Great Emergence Now?

In a previous blog, I introduced two key images from Phyllis Tickle’s The Great Emergence. In this blog, I engage the book critically and reflect on how its ideas are standing the test of time. Twelve years since the books’ publication, to what extent they continue to shed light in our current moment and to what extent they need adjusting? It is unfortunate that Phyllis Tickle is no longer with us to engage in dialogue. May she rest in peace with her savior. Yet, I pay homage to her legacy by engaging with it faithfully.

Reformation, Counter-Reformation And Technology

The Great Emergence claims that Christianity is undergoing a reformation. Is that really true? To answer this question we must first better understand our historical moment. That is, screen technologies have enabled not just the fast dissemination of information but an unprecedented democratization of truth. Let me explain. We live in a world where competing views of the world can co-exist without being settled by an external authoritative force. There is no-longer one source of truth legitimized by political or financial power. Instead, in a world of small screens, individuals are custom-making their reality by the minute.

This development is rather complex, one that would require multiple blogs to fully explain. Yet, the point I am trying to make is that people with diametrically opposing views can be physically side-by-side while living in different worlds. Even as the same historical events touch them, their framework of reference is so different that they might as well be living in alternative realities. That is, this is not just about seeing things differently but fundamentally experiencing them differently.

What that means is that we have no longer one historical moment but a multiplicity of parallel narratives. Hence, one can’t no longer simply state that the church is undergoing a process of Reformation. Instead, what you have are currents of reform and preservation living parallel and at times colliding against each other. In short, one can speak of both a Reformation and a Counter-Reformation happening side by side within the Christian community in our time.

The Swirling Center and Secularization

In a previous blog, I explored the book’s metaphor of a swirling center to explain what was happening in North American Christianity. The Great Emergence spoke of a center in which people were mixing different elements of the diverse segments of the faith. Yet, this metaphor is limited in that it suggests a mixing of elements internal to Christianity only. It does not account for when Christian groups are going outside the household to find inspiration.

For example, churches that now offer yoga in their premises, a recent increased interest in mindfulness among mainline churches and the incorporation of psychological knowledge and techniques into evangelical counseling ministries. It also fails to account for the integration of science and theology and current reflection on technology. These are all examples where Christian groups are interacting with outside agents in search of wisdom.

I would characterize this mixing with outside elements as part of the irresistible pull of secularism on religious communities of all faiths. When saying secularism, I do not mean anti-religious per se but instead as outside of traditional religious bounds. The term is there to describe human activities that occur external to religious frameworks. In that, and here is an important point, it does not mean anti-Christian necessarily. In other words, forces of secularization are not destroying the Christian message but forcing it to be re-framed in new terms. I will speak more about that in future blogs.

The Dismantling of Organized Religion

Can we even speak today of an emerging Christianity? This may strike as a paradoxical statement given that I have devoted the last four blogs to the this phenomenon. But the question is less about recognizing the inevitable shifts in Christianity and more about whether what is emerging is Christianity at all. Is this an emergence of new Christianity or a whole different thing altogether?

In the previous paragraph I spoke of secularism not destroying but re-shaping Christianity. Yet, could it be that it is changing it to such an extent where it can no longer be a religion or faith as originally idealized? To be honest, I don’t really know the answer to this question. Instead, what I see this as an open question to which the answer is unfolding each day. The future of Christianity will hinge upon how we answer it.

Here is where I move on to another seminal work on this topic. Namely, Diana Buttler Bass book Christianity After Religion. If Phyllis Tickle framed well the crisis, Diana Butler Bass offers glimpses of where it is going. She recognizes that the long term effects of secularization represents a wholesale shift of Christianity from religion to spirituality. How is that happening? That is what I would like to explore in the next blogs.

Jesus Christ: Divine Healer but Mediocre Carpenter

I love the meme above! So much so, that it inspired me to write this blog. This will be different from my usual posts that tend to focus on theology, technology and science. Instead, I offer here a personal reflection. It is not inspired in a biblical passage per se but on the idea suggested above. Namely, that Jesus was a mediocre carpenter. Judging by the chair and Joseph’s thoughts, Jesus decision to go to ministry had more to it than simply being the son of God.

An enduring claim of Christian tradition is that Jesus is fully human and fully divine. Why is that? The Church fathers did not arrive at that overnight. It was borne out of a long process that included disputes, prayer, endless councils and a few heretics that helped steer Christian theology towards truth. What is unclear, however, is how this dual nature worked together in Jesus’ time on earth. On that question, the only issue the church was concerned with was to state that Jesus could have sinned but did not.

Furthermore, the Gospel writers don’t help on this question either. In all four gospels we get very little about Jesus’ life prior to his ministry. Apart from birth narratives and few childhood anecdotes, we really get nothing from that formative time of Jesus life. This leaves us today to sheer speculation. That is what I proceed to next.

What does it mean to be divine-human?

Setting the question of sinfulness aside, I would like to speculate precisely about that period when Jesus was , between the age of 12 and 30 years of age, not fully into his calling but maturing as a person. I want to take the suggestion from the meme above, namely that Jesus was a mediocre carpenter, while still holding faithful to the church confession that he was both divine and human. Does a mediocre carpenter fit into this picture? I think that depends a lot about how we think of humanity and divinity.

My first impulse for many years was simply to reject this possibility. In my mind, sinless humanity meant perfection. That is, it wasn’t just that Jesus resisted temptations for cardinal sins but that he was literally perfect. Hence, I would have rejected such suggestion and instead would have speculated that the son of God was an excellent carpenter. Probably, the best of his kind who ran a successful business only to leave it all for ministry when the time came. He knew all along carpentry was not his “calling” but because of his perfect nature, he could not help himself but do an excellent job.

Because we have no way of knowing, this could very well be true. Yet, now I wonder if my previous assumptions were actually undermining Jesus’ humanity. Does a divine-human nature really mean perfection not just in doing what is right but also in ability, talent and competence? Could God be well represented by a lousy carpenter? Could the very idea of perfection be a false assumption of God’s nature?

The Mediocre Carpenter

Surprisingly, now the thought of a mediocre carpenter actually draws me closer to Jesus. Let me explain. First, for full disclosure, I am terribly challenged with manual labor. No, this is not an excuse to get out of hard work. I really suck at it. I am grateful to live in an age where one can make a living with their brain rather than their hands. Also, it goes without saying that I admire all those enlightened human beings who have a gift of crafting things with their hands. In an age of computers and automation, their gift is being undermined which is a sad development.

Yet, the thought of Jesus as a mediocre carpenter is not just appealing because I can relate to sucking at carpentry. To me it has a deeper meaning. It means that the human-divine being was truly subject to limitations. This was not just a statement of basic human needs. It included limitations in ability, talent and competence. It means that God was comfortable inhabiting a less than perfect body and mind.

Furthermore, it could suggest that Jesus did not always know his calling in ministry. Maybe, he too had to struggle through the arduous road of maturity that we all go through. Maybe he started off thinking he would be a good carpenter like his dad only to see God call him through his failure to be a good one. This also sounds a lot like my own journey towards calling. One where failure was more clarifying than success, pain more profitable than joy.

Human Frailty is not a Sin

My point here is not to paint a Jesus that looked like me, sharing my own experiences. While that could have its value, it undermines the deeper truth of this reflection. The mediocre carpenter is not simply an image to make us feel good about ourselves. It is a step towards de-coupling divinity from perfection. It is a step further in taking seriously God’s act of incarnation. It was not just in the humble manger but also in the limited human being that God chose to dwell.

To me this amplifies the message of God’s salvation through Jesus. The point of the cross was not simply to show our dependency on God to fix us and this world even as both are part of salvation. It was also to include an affirmation that human frailty is good enough for God. Frailty, limitation, imperfections are not sin. They are part of nature that we learn to accept and learn from. They are the very conduits for growth and even revelation of who God is.

This week, as you are working from home or homeschooling your kids (or doing both at the same time), remember the mediocre carpenter. In the times where you mess up, lose our cool, grow discouraged or simply gets gripped with anxiety – know that the mediocre carpenter is also the divine healer. He likes to meet us in our worse, is comfortable with our frailty and sanctifies it with his divinity.

He also says that it is ok to mess up every now and then.

The Great Emergence: How Decay Precedes Renewal

In previous blogs, I discussed compelling traits of an emerging Christianity and illustrated how these traits were showing up in the global church through an example in Brazil. In this blog, I describe and engage with key ideas from Philis Tickle’s book, The Great Emergence. One cannot speak of emerging Christianity without engaging with this seminal work. The Great Emergence, published in 2008, lays an illuminating historical framework to what we now are calling emerging Christianity.

Why is this book so influential on this topic? We like stories that connect the dots and show how the past correlates to the present, providing directions of where the future may go. Tickle does that well by convincingly showing how Christianity in North America is experiencing nothing short of a reformation. Furthermore, through compelling images and well-researched trends, the book gifted us with language to describe the ongoing dialogue over the essence of the Christian faith in North American soil. In short, It helps clarify this tumultuous time we are living in.

Undergoing a Rummage sales

Tickle argues that every 500 years, the Christian church goes through a process of renewal. She describes it as a “rummage sales” where the community scans the attic to get rid of items no longer needed. In my neck of the woods, this is often called a “garage sale.” The idea is that the institution goes through a process of reevaluating its beliefs, doctrines and practices. For example, in the last “rummage sales” Martin Luther and others questioned the validity of selling indulgences. Hence, this practice was one of these items “sold,” giving way to new ideas and practices for relating with the divine.

Furthermore, by placing our historical moment alongside these great shifts in he church, she is also arguing that the process has been ongoing for at last 200 years. That is, considering a larger historical context, she identifies important trends that lead us to our current predicament. It is not like all of a sudden a group of Christians decided to complain about the church’s shortcomings. Instead, she sees the process as part of an enduring tradition of renewal in the church.

For example, one of the first blows to the authority of Scripture was the American Civil War over the issue of slavery. When Christians were willing to take arms against each other over an issue that the Bible was ambiguous on, that eroded the overall trust in its authority. This painful historical experience invited questions many dared not ask before.

She also points to the AA (Alcoholic Anonymous) 12-steps program as a marker for the shifting from religion to spirituality. By allowing its adherents to pray to a “higher power of their own choosing,” AA introduced language for a generic faith untethered from religious doctrine. One no longer needed to belief in a God but only acknowledge the existence of a larger entity outside one-self. This further deepened the democratization of belief in the American religious market. The group essentially de-coupled the spiritual parts of Christianity from its religious roots.

Through multiple examples, The Great Emergence describes a process in which Americans exchanged traditional Christian beliefs and practices for new alternatives. In her view, the Pre-modern framework of the biblical faith was ill-equipped to answer questions arising from a fast modernizing world. As this inadequacy amplified through technological and scientific advances, Americans looked to find meaning from other sources.

The Swirling Center

To me, the most compelling portion of The Great Emergence is where she speaks of a swirling center. She uses it as a metaphor to explain how this emerging Christianity came about in the American religious context. Let me set up the metaphor first to better explain how it works. Tickle divides the many Christian denominations into a quadrilateral of four groups: Liturgicals, Social Justice Christians, Renewalists and Conservatives.

For those unfamiliar with these terms, let me describe what they mean. Liturgicals are Mainline Protestants (Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Methodists) and Catholics whose churches emphasize formal worship with communion every week, recited prayers and hymnbooks. Social Justice Christians, often found in mainline churches, tend to be politically progressive emphasizing service and activism over religious rituals.

Renewalists are the fastest growing segment of the global church often associated with the Pentecostal movement. They tend to emphasize experience (whether through prayer, music and the belief in miracles) over doctrine and rituals. Conservatives is the dominant group within the Evangelical fold who emphasize evangelism and often align with right-wing political positions.

Proceeding further, she proposes a forming center where communities borrow from other quadrants in order to transform their own practices as shown in the picture below:

Taken from pg 136 of The Great Emergence

That is where you have evangelical (Conservative) churches getting into social justice issues; Liturgicals holding healing services (inspired by Renewalists); Conservative Evangelicals looking for meaning in the spiritual disciplines (inspired by Liturgicals); Renewalists aligning themselves closely with right-wing political positions (inspired by Conservatives). These are just a few examples that illustrate this swirling center where communities interact with the different quadrants. They do that in order to fill the gaps that their quadrants’ dominant tradition left behind.

The swirling center is prevalent in non-denominational congregations that, by default, draw people that grew up in different quadrants. As Renewalists, Conservatives, Liturgicals and Social Justice Christians join informal networks and alliances, they naturally learn from each other building new combinations of practices. The result is an overall blending of traditions which often characterizes the emerging church.

Conclusion

Indisputably, Christianity is undergoing profound change in the North American continent. However, the overwhelming sentiment towards these developments among the faithful is one of grief over what is being lost. Phylis Tickle’s argument that we are experiencing reformation instills hope. What is happening is not simply decay but death before resurrection. The rummage sales is here to throw out unnecessary artifacts from tradition so Christians can experience God through new pathways. The turmoil is not just about deconstruction but a first step in reconstruction.

Furthermore, Tickle also suggests that this reformation is bringing Christians together. The swirling center is facilitating a cross pollination never seen before in history. The sectarianism inherited from the Reformation 500 years ago is being corrected. Innovation is not coming from any particular corner of the Christian household but in the center where they all meet. Hence, she suggests that underneath all this turmoil lies the hand of a transformative God longing to bring his children together.

Looking for the Bright Side in the Corona Pandemic

I would like to step aside from my usual lane of writing to reflect on how the Corona pandemic is affecting us in unexpected ways. As I write this from the US, my kids will be homeschooling starting on Monday while myself and many other co-workers will be working from home. To be fair, I already worked from home but having the kids at home with limited choices of public places to go will certainly be a change in routine. I am also blessed to have my wife be a stay-home mom which makes our change in routine less dramatic.

Yet, I can only imagine how many other families, especially those where both parents work are coping with this new situation. Rarely have I seen a global event have such wide-spread routine-braking impact like this one. Certainly local communities have experienced much worse tragedies, yet, their impact was more localized.

With that said, I would like to join others in the blogosphere who are choosing to shed light on the upside of this crisis. By doing so, I don’t mean to trivialize the suffering of those affected by the virus or the disruptions stemming from it. Quite the opposite, I would hope that what I say here will signal that their suffering is not in vain. Maybe this is the crisis that will bring us together in surprisingly beneficial ways.

Grateful for Technology

I am thankful for the technology available to us in this time. Those facing the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 were not as lucky. Over tens of millions died and millions more had their lives severely disrupted. I am grateful for communication technologies that have allowed news of this virus to spread quickly. Government and other institutions that undergird our society had the ability to coordinate with some lead time.

In spite of the misinformation spread through social media, this vehicle also brought quality and accurate information to the general public. “Flattening the curve,” a term only familiar to statisticians, soon became popular jargon to explain why we need to practice “social distancing.” In fact, many of the voluntary closures are not result of top-down management mandates but the collective action of an intelligently informed population. We quickly learned that to love our neighbor, especially the elderly, meant to stay away physically.

Furthermore, I am grateful for screen and phone technologies that now allow a large portion of the population to work or study remotely. Businesses, schools and government organization were able to quickly pivot to a remote workforce diminishing the already pervasive impact in the economy. To be fair, it is still very likely the global economy will enter a recession but it could have been much worse. As many become homeschoolers and remote workers, society does not have to stop completely.

The Advent of Global Cooperation

Rarely have I seen such display of global cooperation as in this crisis. Governments are talking to each other, businesses are offering paid-sick leave even when not required, schools are offering lunches even in days they are closed and neighbors are offering to buy groceries for those who cannot do it for themselves.

In American politics, we have experienced even a limited time of bipartisan cooperation to address this crisis. Corona is bringing together even the left-most Democrat with the right-most Republicans. They are realizing that their petty differences must recede when our whole livelihood is at stake. Certainly the federal response to the crisis could have been much more swift and effective but fortunately I see a society rising to shore up for the deficiencies of governmental action.

Even more encouraging has been the responsible self-quarantining of high-profile leaders, showing by example what we can all do to mitigate the Corona virus’ impact. From Justin Trudeau to Senator Ted Cruz, leaders are stepping up with their personal lives encouraging many to follow suit. Furthermore, Delta CEO announced that he would forgo his salary for 6 months in order to contain layoffs from this crisis. These are all examples of leadership that are worth celebrating.

Hope in Unexpected Places

Many have now heard about the singing in the streets in quarantined towns in Italy. People who are now confined to their homes found unexpected ways to show solidarity to each other. They can’t meet but their voices can connect them through empty space. It only highlights the fact that we humans are wired for community. We may often fight but we can’t live isolated from each other.

Apparently, Earth is grateful for this virus too. CO2 transmissions have fallen drastically globally as people self-quarantine or and avoid public gatherings. In a surprising twist, a deadly virus to humans is proving to be life giving to our beloved dirt home. My wife even speculated that this virus was simply Mother Nature screaming at us to emit less pollution and slow down global warming. She may well be right. This may be Earth’s plot to stop our insatiable pursuit of destructive technological progress.

Indeed, the Corona pandemic will continue to affect us in unexpected and enduring ways. Above all, this crisis is forcing us to stop, rest and do less. It could have paradigm shifting effects in how we relate to each other especially through cyberspace. I am particularly curious on its impact in the thousands of churches that will be holding services online in this period of social distancing. Could cyber connection become a dominant form of communicating ideas and enacting rituals? Could virtual church become part of mainstream rather than a fringe movement?

It is too early to say. Yet, my encouragement to all reading is to look for the opportunities arising from this crisis. Life will be different for a while but it may very well be a lot more beautiful than you expected.

Emerging Christianity Goes South: Pastor Parades in Rio’s Carnaval

In the last two blogs, I described major traits of an emerging Christianity. I talked about how believers were finding ways to live out their faith outside prescribed boundaries of institution and tradition. Yet, the best way to describe this movement is by showing how it is being lived out in action. I was elated to learn how a recent developments in my native Brazil do exactly that. In this blog, I want to show how Pastor Henrique Viera’s participation in this year’s Carnaval (Fat Tuesday celebration) best illustrate this emerging Christianity. It also comes to show that this is not confined to the centers of the West in North America and Europe but is finding creative outlets in the Christian South.

Reproduction from Twitter

Carnival as an Act of Decolonial Subversion

For the English reader unfamiliar with Carnaval, let me introduce you to its origins. Imagine you are a member of the First Nations living in the Americas for centuries when European colonizers arrive. They slowly take over your land. Yet not satisfied with that, they also decide to impose their culture on you. Eventually they bring African slaves, people steeped in their own culture themselves, that now are forced into a new land through lifelong servitude.

They start teaching you their religion through imposed holidays. They introduce to you the concept of Lent, which is a 40 day (roughly six weeks) period of penitence in preparation for Easter. Supposedly Easter, is a great celebration worth waiting for. Yet, given Europeans poor ability to celebrate and master skills on guiltying, you quickly realize this was more of a ploy for social control than a true celebration.

One day, they talk about Fat Tuesday. That is, in the day before the Catholic church reminds you of your eventual death, they offer you a brief period of respite where you can indulge yourself. Understanding that Lent is an extended period of self-denial, the church recognizes the need to temporarily let you be free to do whatever you want. The native American look to the African slave and say: that’s our chance!

They flip the script on the whole religious celebration and decide to focus on that Tuesday. In that day, for a brief moment, they could be free. They decide that the short indulgence should be the focus. In the absence of of truly festive Easter, they will take the license to “sin” and do it in great style. Eventually the Tuesday becomes a 5 day event where people parade in the streets and as the poets would say, happiness reigns. The colonized flipped the script on the colonizer, appropriate a brief pause before penitence and transform it into weeklong all-out celebration. Hence, you get Carnaval.

Protestants Opt Out of This Party

Protestants are late-comers to this party. They come to Brazil in the mid-19th century and take a modest foothold. It isn’t until the 20th century that Protestantism, through Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism, would transform Brazilian religious environment. In the positive side, they came mostly free of the colonial baggage. Instead, Brazilians perceive them as an alternative to Catholicism.

Yet, North American evangelical missionaries with Puritan roots were quickly scandalized by Carnaval. The amount of skin shown was too tempting to these North American, mostly male, missionaries who quickly condemned the feast. Even as Evangelicalism indigenized, this initial rejection took hold. This is where they started the custom to disengage and skip the whole thing altogether.

By taking this approach, most churches and protestant theologians would rarely engage with the celebration and its decolonial roots. Instead, they considered it exhibit “A” evidence of a fallen world brimming with sin. In other words, it represented everything Christianity wanted you to stay away from. If anything, it only reinforced a other-wordly, personal morality-focused theology imported from North America. In rejecting the celebration altogether, evangelicals also missed the opportunity to influence it towards an alternative that could curb its sexualized excesses while still affirming its joyful components.

Preaching the Gospel in Mangueira’s Parade

The last two sections gives a brief context of the magnitude of what happened this year. When Pr. Henrique Viera paraded in the Mangueira’s parade, he consciously challenged the dominant long-lasting narrative of Carnaval being a celebration off-limits to faithful Christians. While I am emphasizing the pastor’s participation here, none of that would have happened without the inspired and prophetic theme song of Mangueira’s parade this year.

The main event of Carnaval is a yearly parade where samba schools from poor areas of the city compete for that year’s title in the Sapucai. Each school develops an original theme song, floats, costumes and a lot of samba choreographies to go with it. This year, Mangueira chose to center their parade on “the Jesus of the people.” In their own words, they wanted to show a Christ who had “a woman’s body and native American blood.”

This was not a thoughtless attempt to offend religious sensibilities through perverting Christianity’s main symbols. Instead, it was a political statement. Following along liberation theology roots, they wanted to show how Christ is present in the victimized of our age. It was an act of protest against the forces that have robbed the Brazilian nation of an equitable future. Hence, they shockingly declare that these were the same forces that killed the Nazarene 2,000 years ago.

This is why the pastor’s act was so significant. The Protestant new comer, inspired by Catholic liberation theology, participated in the Pagan feast of Carnaval in order to highlight a central aspect of the Christian message. The parade symbolizes a bridge between Catholic, Evangelical and the colonized joining in to speak out for justice. This to me is a great example of an emerging Christianity, one that is willing to stand in solidarity with the oppressed outside the gates of institutional boundaries while still proclaiming the essential truths of the gospel.