If this is accepted as the position of radical Christians, they must ask themselves what they are to do, and why. No action is called for along the lines that have long been the main driving force of Christian religion - response to a benevolent Creator ("God that madest Earth and Heaven ..."), all-managing Provider ("We plough the fields ..."), redeeming Saviour ("When I survey ..."), sympathetic Comforter ("Jesu, lover of my soul ..."), all-knowing Judge ("Judge eternal, throned in splendour ..."), powerful Monarch ("0, worship the King ..."), caring Shepherd ("The Lord's my shepherd ...") - all these have become meaningless for the radical Christian. What, then, is left to justify the name 'Christian' ?
Just as Marxists can be followers of Karl Marx, without having to give any supernatural theological recognition, so Christians can be followers of Jesus Christ, the man and teacher, without regarding him as more than that. Just as Marxists may choose to honour the memories of Marx and Lenin for their teaching and leadership, so Christians can honour Jesus and, say, Paul for their teaching and leadership. But there is no call for worship in any religious sense. Indeed, there is no call to respond in any way to such personalities from history. The present need is to follow the teaching - if that is what is admired.
Why, then, should Radicals have anything to do with a church ? All the supernatural reasons have gone.
They must regard a church as a society formed by a group of people having a common purpose - the pursuit of life as they think it ought to be lived. That, surely, is their religion. Then why should they participate in religious services ? It can be for mutual support, if they feel they need it, and it can be to promote common action. These are the reasons why people belong to most associations, clubs and groups; the reasons, also, that lead people to attend meetings and conferences of a political party. It cannot be to learn about the no-longer acceptable supernatural ; and worship is pointless for them.
Some, of course, may wish to attend religious services from sheer habit and custom, having found them a source of comfort and inspiration - though whether they can any longer be regarded as valid sources must now be questioned.
There remains one further major consideration. Traditional religion still has enormous influence in society.
Just as a famous clergyman is said to have remarked that it was not right for the Devil to have all the good tunes, so there may be Radical Christians who feel it is not right for the Supernaturalists to wield all the influence. However, there is not much prospect of displacing traditional supernatural religion by a new non-supernatural faith setting up on its own, outside, subjected to violent and virulent attack from within the influential traditional church. Effective action can best come from within, by the encouragement, first, of liberal attitudes and then, as soon as possible, of rational ones. With this in mind, Radicals will feel they have a duty (to whom - to themselves ? to society ?) to stay within the church, or join it if not already in it.
At this point some Radicals may wonder how to square this "fifth column" approach with their Christian consciences. But here they must realise that there is no supernatural aspect to their consciences to be taken into account. There is, of course, the human-created notion of personal integrity which most Radical Christians will not wish to ignore. It goes almost without saying that, hard as some of these questions are likely to be for any Radical Christian to answer, they are inestimably harder for a clergyman who has become a Radical Christian. The situation is still further complicated for him if he has a family to support, particularly if its members do not share his change in outlook.
Perhaps, of course, none of this matters at all. It may be enough for each to live his own life as he chooses, according to whatever principles he has decided to adopt, with no supernatural considerations to take into account. What a Radical must not do is simply drift along blissfully as do so very many churchattenders, not thinking why he acts as he does ! A Radical, surely, has no fear of asking any question, nor of finding whatever answer it may elicit. But, perhaps that, also, does not really matter, after all.
PAGE 18 AUTUMN 1990 SEA OF FAITH MAGAZINE THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC a postmodern bible study by Tim Roffe This is a gospel reading. There are no footlights. This reading is influenced by other readings as much as what happened yesterday. Nothing extraordinary happened yesterday. There was no crisis, nothing from outside but a deadline met, a sermon spoken.
The theme was 'the light of Christ'. Some years ago there was an exhibition at the Riverside in Newcastle called 'Hearts of Darkness' - black and white pictures of victims and war, famine and apartheid. The photo-journalist exposed himself. No-one wept.
C.B. SPURGIN is a retired Physics master resident in Sleaford, Lincs. Originally a Congregationalist, he says he "took from 1949 to 1979 to move ever so slowly to a position roughly that of a Radical Christian" and is not today a member of any Church.