New Heaven New England?

I recently finished reading N.T. Wright’s After You Believe  and I must confess…it had me laughing out loud. Not because I held it in derision (I loved the book), but because it was so…English.

Wright’s thesis is that his New Heaven New Earth eschatology should lead us, in anticipation of ruling and reigning with Christ in his kindom, to develop our “fully human” selves which are characterized by Virtue a la Aristotle, but transposed to a Christian key. In other words ( I write with a grin), Christians should learn to behave. Prepare now to inherit the Kindgom; one would not want to find themselves seated at the Banquet and not know which fork to use! 

Contrast this with the mainstream Evangelical vision of heaven, perhaps best captured by the pop-Christian song Big-Big House.  Lots and lots of room…lots and lots of food… where we can play foot-ball…

Which of the virtues is needed in this latter view of heaven, I wonder? Well, look at the discipleship program found in Evangelical churches. What discipleship program you ask? Exactly.

Certainly to an Englishman we U.S. Christians are all behaving badly…and in many ways I do not  disagree. I think we in the U.S. would do well to do a little soul-searching when it comes to what we’ve lost in breaking away from our Roots. But I daresay Christianity in the U.S. will ever look like it does in England. It’s been a different neighborhood from the beginning, and it’s always going to show in one way or another.     

Alexis de Tocquevill observed, ”The Americans combine the notions of religion and liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive of one without the other.” Indeed. And this is why someone like N.T. Wright needs to explain the value of conformity to a set of Virtues. It doesn’t come naturally to the American evangelical mind, where to be fully human is to be fully autonomous.

 

I don’t know if it can really catch on, N.T.  At least, not on this side of the pond.  Nevertheless, I admit…I watch the BBC produced versions of Jane Austin’s novels and wonder, if I worked really hard at it, if I could ever learn the language and find myself mistaken for a native in the English province of heaven. It would  rather feel like coming home…

 

*grin* 

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