5/50: Dispensing with Dispensationalism
Marvin Gaye offers a beautiful alternative theology.
“Wholy
Oh Lord, we can conquer hate forever,
we need him
Wholy
We can rock the world’s foundation
Everybody together, together and holy
Will holler love, love,
love across the nation”
I grew up in a church and schools (elementary, high school and college) that held to a strain of Christian theology called Dispensationalism. You can read about it online if you want.
For me, it meant charts drawn in Bible classes and in Sunday School, explaining the progressive dispensations of history. It was a doom-filled view of the planet and of history, in which everything would be destroyed and only true believers would be saved. Prophetic books in the Old and New Testaments were dissected for secret meaning in light of current events. We suspected Russia and the newly formed European Union were platforms for the anti-Christ’s inauguration. This was bad news and good news. It meant the Rapture was coming soon, when all faithful Christians (except two witnesses) would be pulled up into heaven. The Rapture would be followed by the Great Tribulation, a seven year battle between Jesus and Satan. I wanted to be in that group of people who got out of here before things got too bad, and I secretly hoped that I wasn’t such a good Christian that I’d be left behind as one of those two witnesses.
There are two things I have to say about dispensationalism:
It is a young and very Western theology. It began in 19th century England, stemming from a modernist impulse to systematize Scripture. While I take an evolutionary view of theological development, meaning that our understanding can change and mature over the unfolding of time, dispensationalism is a late and strange turn in the stream of Christianity. However, dispensationalism has become so entrenched with populist Christianity that for many, it has become the definition of Christianity.
While it seems like it might be a fringe theology (and is to many), dispensationalism has become an important and powerful force in American society. It captured the American church’s imagination and became a way to “prove” the Bible was without error and to counter the liberal impulses of Christian scholarship. It gained momentum in the late twentieth century with popular media such as the movie A Thief in the Night and the Left Behind books. I believe dispensationalism played a large part in opening American culture and politics to be susceptible to conspiracy theories that get tied to faith. Consequently, simple matters of disagreement carry ultimate meaning about life and death. We are seeing the effects of that right now in our politics and public health crisis.
As you can see, I don’t have much patience for dispensationalism, but I cannot deny its cultural power. Being educated in its institutions and churches, I recognize the seeds it sowed in our current political state. Those who do not even know the word dispensationalism are swayed by the way it has been proclaimed as the totality of the Christian message.
There is another way to hold faith and I’m looking forward to sharing more of the ways I’ve put it together in the coming days.