Adam and Eve: The First Pietists

In my writing about “Truth Versus Pietism” I explored how these two views of reality impact one's approach to the gospel, Christian maturity, and engaging the world. My last post presented a chart that contrasted different aspects of these paradigms. Now, I'd like to look at the very first Pietists – Adam and Eve.

In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve enjoyed a blessed life of freedom, beauty, and fellowship with God and one another. According to Genesis, it was God's custom to commune regularly with Adam and Eve in the garden. Both the spiritual and the physical came together in Eden. Heaven and earth kissed, and this was paradise. There was no division between secular and sacred. Everything was sacred, and it was as natural to work in the garden as it was to converse with God.

In this primordial world, secrets and shame, pretenses and lies were unknown. Naked humanity lived in complete harmony with the earth and with God. There was nothing to prove, and a vast universe of unthinkable beauty awaited to be explored. Wholeness and happiness flowed like a river.

But in the midst of this utopia, the deceiver, the Father of Lies, worked his malice and struck a blow that for ages to come would split heaven and earth. Beguiled by Satan, Eve bought the lie that the truth of heaven was different than the truth of earth. Indeed, God was hiding something. His reality was different than hers. If she and her husband were going to survive, they must reach out and know His truth, too.

With this fateful step, all of the rules seemed to change. They now confronted a fractured reality. Their world and home seemed inadequate. They were inadequate. The devastating shame of their humanity, in all its imperfections and weaknesses, frightened them. They no longer felt whole. Alone, with their own resources they would have to create sufficiency. They would cover their imperfections and make their own way in the world. The fig leaf would mask their weaknesses and would forever symbolize mankind's pietistic attempt to make himself acceptable.

Mankind's world was now at war with the spiritual world. Adam and his wife couldn't bear heaven and earth's communion anymore. Hearing the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, they hide themselves while an agonized God calls out, “Where are you?” Racked with shame, Adam confesses his twisted fears. God asks, “Who told you that you were naked?” He had never told them that.

Truth Versus Pietism Chart

In a series of posts I've been discussing a concept called, "Truth Versus Pietism". This is a model of two ways to understand reality. A Truth approach to reality means that reality is seen as an integrated whole created by God. A Pietism approach splits reality into two realms, namely, secular and sacred. The following is a chart that contrasts these two paradigms.

Truth Versus Pietism Part 4

Franky Schaeffer has a chapter entitled “Truth Versus Pietism” in his book, Sham Pearls for Real Swine. “Truth Versus Pietism” describes two ways to think about reality, basically seeing it either as a unified whole or as split into secular and sacred realms. How we understand the gospel, pursue Christian maturity and engage the world is determined by which of these two views we embrace. In previous posts I've discussed what the gospel and Christian maturity is like from the perspective of these two paradigms, and now I'd like to consider how the idea of engaging the world is affected.

“Truth” and “Pietism” think about the world differently. A Truth paradigm sees the world as good and sacred. Schaeffer explains it this way, “[Truth] holds that God is the Lord of all reality and that He created all that is visible and invisible. Because of this, we live in an orderly universe that can be rationally investigated and understood through science and the arts.” Consequently, those who embrace the Truth tradition are at home in this world because it is God's, even though it is fallen. Fallenness doesn't mean the visible world is illegitimate or evil, rather it describes the moral state of man and its impact on creation.

The Pietism tradition divides the spiritual from the visible world around us. The “truth” of the spiritual and the “truth” of the physical are not one. Something can be “true” spiritually and not “true” physically. The Church can be right spiritually but wrong scientifically. Schaeffer elaborates, “Pietism gives people a fractured reality, one in which the physical world, the body, the arts, economics, the sciences, the humanities, and sexuality are believed to be at war with the soul.” A pietist is ambivalent towards the world. Three examples where this ambivalence affects the way a pietistic Christian engages the world are how commitments are made and kept, activities are conducted and the arts are understood.

Pietists have no problem breaking commitments if they “feel led of the Lord” to do so. Since the spiritual is supreme, it doesn't matter what damage is done to another person if the “Lord wills” the pietist to change his direction and break a commitment. Or he may be loose with the facts when making a commitment because he feels it's God's will to pursue this particular course. The pietist often will not do the “due diligence” necessary simply because he “senses” it's God's will and that is good enough for him. This makes the pietist somewhat unreliable and manipulative, but it also makes him vulnerable to emotional appeal and being taken advantage of. In my experience, some of the worst contractors and business people one can deal with are Christians. I think this is because of Pietism.

For the Pietist, ordinary life and activities need to be “Christianized” in order to be legitimate. Watching a football game with church members must include a half-time devotional and prayer. The refrigerator needs to get decorated with little scripture versus. A missions trip is the only justifiable way to travel and see the world. “The pietistic need to Christianize reality indicates a worldview that does not fundamentally understand or believe that reality is already God's and the Christianity is truly Truth,” says Schaeffer. More often than not, a full fledged pietist is motivated by a guilty conscience to sanitize all they do in a misdirected attempt to feel spiritual.

Art is misunderstood by Pietism. It is seen from a utilitarian point of view. It must be useful. In other words, art must spread the Christian message. Beauty isn't seen as its own justification. Truth can't be explored without some “spiritual” goal. Again quoting Schaeffer, “...good art, like good science, describes the truth of a small or large part of reality without regard to maintaining the respectability of the artist. The fit subject for Christian art, therefore, is reality.” With Pietism, however, art is betrayed. Christian fiction tends to be one long, boring evangelistic tract. Christian music is often uninspired and banal. All stories must have a happy ending or at least a moral. This may be why many Christians' tastes never rise above kitsch.

There are many more areas where Pietism stunts or distorts our participation in the world. I've only touched on a few. Schaeffer covers more in his book. Next post, I will make a chart that contrasts many aspects of Truth and Pietism.

Truth Versus Pietism Part 3

I've been writing about Truth Versus Pietism which are two paradigms for understanding reality. A Pietism paradigm splits reality into secular and sacred areas, whereas a Truth paradigm sees all reality as sacred, since it was created by the Lord of reality, God. The consequences that flow from these two views of reality are felt in a Christian's life. The Christian with a Pietism take on reality has difficulty engaging life fully. There is a subtle ambivalence towards the physical world that often makes him narrow minded, irrational, and frankly, less human. When reality is seen, however, as all of God's, and therefore sacred, the effect is a Christian who is curious, reasonable and compassionate.

These contrasting views of reality make themselves apparent in all kinds of ways. Not the least is how the gospel is understood. Pietism sees the gospel through an individualistic lens. The focus is on securing one's personal salvation and happiness. Truth, on the other hand, sees the gospel as the comprehensive plan of God to restore mankind to a community of love, justice and kindness. The gospel is understood as primarily relational.

This theme is carried through as we consider what Christian maturity is for these two views of reality. Pietism, being individually focused and feelings oriented, makes Christian maturity a “moralistic quest for spiritual experience.” Introspection is the name of the game, and the Christian caught in this mentality puts a great deal of value on correct motivation and spiritual feelings. He aims to maintain an interior experience of peace, free from disturbance. The complex, the difficult, the uncomfortable are all resisted in the name of seeking spiritual maturity. This aversion to the hard and raw aspects of life leads him to dishonesty and hiddenness about his own problems, dullness toward others and a lack of integrity towards life. The mature pietistic Christian is an odd, self-righteous and earthly irrelevant person posing as a witness of God (who is supremely relational and unafraid of the reality He made).

Maturity, for a Christian embracing a “Truth” paradigm, is a journey toward greater faithfulness to reality. He constantly seeks to discover truth and align his life with it. Consequently, this kind of Christian is eager to learn and is a “lover of the truth” (2 Thess. 2:10b). His goal is to be a “doer of the word” (James 1:23). He recognizes that life is full of difficult and perplexing questions as well as real people with real problems, all which will require him to lay down his life for others (Phil. 2:3-8; Mark 10:45). Not concerned about looking spiritual, he is able to confess his own lacks since he realizes that admission of ignorance is the first step toward education. While not seeking conflict, he understands that it is often a necessary step to clarify things between people. The mature, truth-oriented Christian is a fully human person in love with God and committed to others.

Next, we'll consider how these two ways of thinking influence how Christians engage the world around them.

Truth Versus Pietism Part 2

My last post dealt with a concept Franky Schaeffer in Sham Pearls for Real Swine talks about under the title, “Truth Versus Pietism”. The basic idea is that there are two traditions in the church that deal with how to view reality. The “Truth” tradition sees reality as an integrated whole, everything being under the Lordship of Christ. The “Pietism” tradition splits reality in two: spiritual and physical, sacred and secular. These two traditions affect how we think about God, ourselves and our purpose in life.

Pietism values the spiritual over the physical. It sees the spiritual as being more important and more worthy of our attention. The physical world is looked at with skepticism and as irrelevant to the things of God. Pietism sees the world passing away, like a sinking ship. Nothing of real importance happens here on earth, except the saving of souls. The real show begins in heaven.

This schizophrenic take on reality leads pietistic Christians to have an individualistic view of the gospel. Since heaven is where the party is, the main concern now is to get invited (“getting saved”) and to get as many poor souls invited as well. Once a person has received a valid invitation, it really doesn't matter all that much what they do in the meantime. Of course, it is only right for them to try to get others invited to the party (“evangelism”) since they shouldn't be selfish, and they must remain in good standing (“holiness”) in order to keep their invitation valid. The Host doesn't want His guests to be of the unsavory type. It's probably a good idea to find other guests to fellowship with (“go to church”) in order to help each other stay on the invitation list.

Christianity from a Truth perspective encourages a relational view of the gospel. Sin is seen as a violation of relationship and holiness as a commitment to Kingdom values. God's work isn't getting as many people into heaven as possible, but rather the establishment of a new kingdom of justice, kindness and love. Salvation is an on-going conversion to the Kingdom culture (i.e. The Sermon on the Mount), which can only be worked out in the context of relationships. The church is the purpose of God.

Later, I'd like to focus on how a Pietism paradigm affects our understanding of Christian maturity and how we engage the world around us.

Truth Versus Pietism

One of my top ten books of all time is Franky Schaeffer's, Sham Pearls for Real Swine. The title of the book is a phrase Winston Churchill coined in reference to the British public school he attended, but Schaeffer applies it to much of the teaching in the church concerning the arts. Once in a while you stumble upon a book that completely changes your paradigm, and this is one of them. My favorite chapter is entitled, “Truth Versus Pietism”. We have been studying its message for the last few Sundays.

The basic idea of the chapter is pretty simple. It compares two traditions of thought in the church, that is, two ways to think about and understand reality. A truth paradigm sees reality as an integrated whole, while a pietism paradigm divides reality into two realms, physical and spiritual (secular and sacred). We're influenced in various degrees by these two traditions and they shape our Christian theology, practice and approach in the world. (His use of the word “pietism” is not referring to the historical Pietist movements of Jacob Spencer, August Hermann Francke or Count Zinzendorf, but refers to a way of thinking and feeling.)

These two paradigms dramatically affect how we live as Christians. Since a truth paradigm sees reality as an integrated whole, the aim of a Christian who embraces this tradition is to constantly seek to discover truth and align his life with reality. This kind of Christian is honest and teachable. He is hungry for the truth and therefore studies and learns whenever he can. He isn't concerned about whether he looks spiritual or feels spiritual, he actually wants to be spiritual by being faithful to reality. He is willing to change his opinions and behavior when he discovers something to be true.

Christians caught up in a pietism paradigm, however, constantly look inward searching for correct motivation and right-thinking, spiritual feelings. They “regard life as a moralistic quest for spiritual experience.” Fundamentally, they see life divided into compartments, some spiritual and others not. This leads them to favor experiences and activities that provide “spiritual” feelings and appearances of spirituality over the arts, sciences, humanities and the “hard edges of reality”, including real people and problems. The pietistic Christian looks forward to heaven but creates a “sentimental plastic hell” on earth. The truth oriented Christian lives boldly, honestly and engages life fruitfully, knowing that “God is the Lord of all reality”.

Sham Pearls for Real Swine is not a new book, but it still has something to say to us today. I hope to explore some of the implications of it in my next few posts.

Note: The "Dummies" book is fake :-)