Within the last 10 years or so, there's been a trickle of secular students
enrolling in Protestant divinity schools, enough so that last week, The New
York Times published an article about the trend.
These non-traditional students include those labeled these days as
"nones" -- those who, when asked on forms about their religious
affiliation, check the "none" box. Some of these describe themselves
as "spiritual but not religious" -- sometimes meaning that they have
not rejected the idea of God but are not connected to any particular faith
group -- while others are declared atheists. Yet each has enrolled because of
some value they hope to find in an education rooted in religious tradition.
And reportedly, they are not coming away disappointed in what they find.
Unlike the majority of seminary students, the nones are not intending a
life's work in the ministry or some other facet of church life. Some aspire to
careers in social work, activism, community organizing or chaplaincy in an
institution that includes humanists in such positions.
The New York Times article said two factors are driving this trend.
One is the increasing number of nones in the United States -- as many as a
third of those born between 1981 and 1996 -- and the other is that more so than
any other form of higher education, divinity schools offer "a language of
moral discourse and training in congregational leadership," which is
transferable to other fields of work.
The article quoted Eboo Patel, the founder and president of Interfaith Youth
Core, who has noticed the seculars while visiting campuses. Patel said,
"No small part of them are attracted to the search for social justice and
for spiritual meaning. And they recognize those things as the fruits of
religious tradition. So it makes sense to go to a place where you can study
religious tradition."
One of the nones, Vanessa Zoltan, who recently graduated from Harvard
Divinity School, had previously attended graduate school at the Wharton School
of the University of Pennsylvania for nonprofit management, but she rejected
the capitalist "theology" she learned there, which maintains that the
market is a value system. In an ethics course at Wharton, however, she
recognized that the people she most admired -- Gandhi, King, Emerson, Tolstoy
and Alcott -- all had deep religious or spiritual lives. Zoltan eventually
switched to Harvard Divinity School.
While Zoltan still does not believe in a deity, she found the concept of
sacredness compelling, and now looks for ways to "consecrate the
secular," the article said.
The article concludes by quoting Zoltan: "I got inspired. I'd spent a
lot of my 20s being disappointed by grad school and the nonprofit world. And at
Div School, people are excited. They get Alice-in-Wonderland lost in theology.
It made me happy."
More on this story can be found at this link:
The Big Questions
1. How would you explain the difference between "spiritual" and
"religious"? Can a person be only one of the two and still please
God, and if so, which one of the two?
2. Is it possible to satisfy a spiritual hunger without believing in God?
Explain your answer.
3. What makes something sacred? What might it mean to "consecrate the
secular"?
4. How is the language of moral discourse different from other kinds of
discourse?
5. In what ways might society benefit by having social workers, community
organizers and activists receive a Christian ministry education even if those
persons never embrace the way of Christ? Are there any ways in which society
might suffer because such persons have that education?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
John 6:35, 44
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will
never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. … No one can
come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me ...." (For context,
read 6:25-45.)
Jesus is talking here about spirituality. When he describes himself as
"the bread of life" and says those who come to him will never be
hungry, he's not talking about physical nourishment, but about satisfying
another kind of hunger, something we yearn for in our spirit. Likewise, when
Jesus says that no one can come to him "unless drawn by the Father,"
he's talking about an action of God within us, whether we respond to it or not.
We might call that action by God a spiritual tug.
For purposes of clarity and discussion, let's define our spiritual side as
the place where at least one of the following happens (these definitions from
TWW team member Stan Purdum's sermon, "The Spiritual Gateway"):
First, it is the dwelling place of the conscience, the place where a
person's moral code gets imbedded. It is normally present in everybody. We
can repress the conscience. We can do something that violates our moral code
and argue boldly that we are no longer bound by such antiquated ideas of right
or wrong. But when someone else does the same wrong thing against us, we
condemn them, showing that we still have some sense of the wrong of certain
actions.
Second, our spiritual nature is the place where values reside and where
we find meaning for our lives. Even if that which we value is not noble,
the presence of any values that relate not primarily to our own well-being but
to that of others means we are hearing from our spiritual nature. A
hard-hearted gangster who can kill in cold blood but can also be sacrificial
and loving toward his own children has some values, even if they are grossly
distorted.
Third, our spiritual nature is the place from which the recognition of
higher power and the capacity to worship arises. Naturally, the next step
is to attach an identity to this higher power, but the admission of the
supremacy of Something beyond ourselves is a first step. When Jesus says that
no one comes to him unless the Father draws him or her, it reminds us that the
inclination to worship something outside of ourselves is a God-given gift. God
draws us to himself. We can resist that pull, but the place where we feel it is
in our spiritual side.
Fourth, our spiritual nature is one place where faith begins. Faith
does not refer to absolute certainty about the existence of God or even about
one's salvation. It does, however, describe an attitude where our tendency to
believe in a power greater than and outside of ourselves is stronger than our
tendency to doubt that power's existence. Also, faith means trusting ourselves
into the keeping of that higher power.
Even if we are aware of only one of these four things, we are hearing
something from our spiritual nature.
Questions: How many of these four can you identify within
yourself? To what degree has receiving Christ satisfied your inner hunger?
What potential, in your opinion, does partaking of the Bread of Life,
whether in the form of God's Word, an encounter with the person of Jesus, or
satisfying a hunger for spirituality, have for a full-blown faith? Or do you
think this bread is wasted on those who come to it for the "wrong"
reason?
Mark 12:34
You are not far from the kingdom of God. (For context, read 12:28-34.)
The sentence above is the culmination of an episode where a scribe asked
Jesus which commandment should be considered the "first" (the most
important). Jesus answered that it was the one about loving God with all one's
heart, soul, mind and strength, and he added that the second most important was
the one about loving one's neighbor as one loved one's self.
The scribe then agreed with Jesus, saying that keeping those two
commandments was "much more important than all whole burnt offerings and
sacrifices" (v. 33). At that, Jesus responded to him with the words above:
"You are not far from the kingdom of God."
We note that Jesus did not say, "You are in the kingdom of
God," but his comment does recognize that the scribe is headed in the
right direction. The Message version of the Bible renders Jesus'
comment as "You're almost there, right on the border of God's
kingdom," and we can easily imagine that Jesus would have liked him to
take the next step and enter the kingdom. Nonetheless, Jesus praised the man
for the distance he'd come.
This scribe might represent some of the secular seminary students --
following an inner urge to find that which is greater than they are, but not
quite in the kingdom of God, at least not yet.
Questions: What do you think Jesus would say about
someone who does not believe in God but who works diligently at loving others?
What do you think Jesus would say to that person?
Do we only come to faith through a swift come-to-Jesus moment or do we come
to faith by stages? Does either reflect your experience?
Ephesians 4:29
Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for
building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who
hear. (For context, read 4:29--5:2.)
We understand "moral discourse" to be conversation where certain
moral standards are assumed, where some options will not be considered because
they violate those standards and where the standards are based on not one's
personal opinion, but on something (or Someone) higher than one's self.
In the verse above, Paul is speaking of moral discourse when he commends
talk that is useful for building up and giving grace.
Question: How do each of following verses assume moral
discourse?
• Numbers 11:17 - "I will come down and talk with you
there; and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them;
and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will
not bear it all by yourself."
• Deuteronomy 6:4-7 - "Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our
God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am
commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about
them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you
rise."
• 2 John 1:12 - "Although I have much to write to you,
I would rather not use paper and ink; instead I hope to come to you and talk
with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete."
For Further Discussion
1. Respond to this, from TWW team member Douglas Hargis: "The word
'spirituality' is a loaded word, subject to very different perspectives. In its
most general sense, spirituality revolves around that which provides meaning to
one's life. Some people's spirituality revolves around music; others' around
football; still others' around religion. Idolatry is spirituality.
"Therefore, I like to talk about Christian
spirituality in order to distinguish it from all other forms of spirituality.
That focus narrows even further to questions like, How does my life reflect the
greatest commandment: loving God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength?
How does my life reflect the second greatest commandment: love my neighbor as I
love myself? What opportunities do I have this week to exhibit the first fruit
of the Spirit: love? How can I be in a context where I am 'spurred on toward love
and good deeds' (Hebrews 10:24)? How does my life exhibit Christian maturity,
which is to reflect the likeness of Jesus himself, being a little Christ, the
very definition of Christian?"
2. Is there anything about going to seminary as a "none" that is
going to save that person's soul? Would the best outcome be for such
individuals to find an authentic faith in Christ?
3. Respond to this, from TWW team member Mary Sells: "Technically I
suppose I was a 'none' from 17 to 39. I was raised Catholic, got involved with
evangelical Christians from 13-17, then could not resolve that God loved only a
small handful of people and the rest were going to hell. I walked away a
believer who did not understand this God and did not return to church until the
tug of spirit was greater than my reservations about organized religion. It has
taken me years, and will continue forever, to learn about the loving God.
"I empathize with the nones, whose path I have
experienced. It is true that faith is God's gift, so he may or may not have
plans for those nones going for theology education. Jesus tells us that loving
people are his, so -- in a sense -- perhaps goodhearted nones are better
Christians than some of us who profess Jesus. I believe and experience that
spiritual food grows faith, so maybe God is showing us this in unlikely people
(such as me)."
Responding to the News
Look at the questions Douglas Hargis poses in his comments about Christian
spirituality in the "For Further Discussion" section above and
consider how to answer them personally.
Closing Prayer
O God, help us to be appreciative of all those who are not far from, but not
quite in, the kingdom of God. Let us encourage their efforts to love their
neighbors as they love themselves, to participate in moral discourse and to
continue to respond to your urgings within them. In Jesus' name. Amen.
