"The times they are a-changin"

Faith in the Public Square
Lompoc Record
January 13, 2008

The times they are a-changin.” So sang Bob Dylan four decades back. Then, as now, change is the one constant in life. We may resist its charms, but there often comes a time when we long for something new and different. While the status quo will always have its defenders, ultimately history shows that such resistance to change will prove futile. Life is continually evolving.

Because this is my first column of the new year - 2008 - I've decided to address the realities of change. While there seems to be a built-in resistance to change, I believe that is because we fear the unknown. Even if the past is unpleasant, at least it's a known quantity. To embrace the call for change is a bit like “throwing dice.” Can we afford to take the risk?

But progress requires that we take risks. Going into space was risky. So was leaving the confines of slavery in Egypt for the unknown prospects of the Promised Land. The question is this: How do we go forward into the future without letting the voices of fear and pessimism pull us back into the clutches of the status quo? Should we choose to heed the voice of optimism and hope, perhaps history could be a helpful guide.

As every stock prospectus will tell you, history is no infallible indicator of the future. But if we take a broad look into the past we will notice two things. First, nothing stays the same for very long. Second, when difficult times have arisen people have stepped forward and found a way forward. Whether it is politics, economics, or matters of faith, there will be those who will continually remind us that the glass is half empty. Be careful, they'll say, that you don't get too far out front. But there are others who will see the future in broader, more hopeful terms. They can envision a world where violence, hatred, and anger don't dominate.

Although religion can reinforce the status quo - indeed institutional religion is often a partner to the status quo - faith can also empower us to look at the world with hopeful eyes. Such has been the case for me, as a follower of Jesus Christ.

This issue of change figures prominently in a new book by Walter Russell Mead entitled “God and Gold: Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World” (Knopf, 2007). He suggests that the future belongs to those willing to surf the wave of global change. Looking at the world historically, he finds that over the past three centuries, it has been the Anglo-American world that has proven itself best able to do just that. Whether this will continue into the future is an open question.

One of the issues addressed in the book is the role religion has played in forging the Anglo-American world view and how it has enabled them to address the question of change. The son of a clergyman, Mead takes religion very seriously and recognizes that while religion can be a force for evil, it can also be a force for good in the world. The question is how.

Mead believes there are three competing visions operating in the world. The future is best served when these three are kept in balance. The key is what he calls the small “a” anglican model, a model he takes from Anglicanism, which has historically embraced a three-fold authority - Reason, Scripture, and Tradition. In this new model the three sources of authority name the three competing visions of reality: Reason (science/technology/rule of law), Religion, and Tradition (Nationalism/identity politics). When any one of these gets the upper hand, the results are often catastrophic, but if kept in balance they temper tendencies toward arrogance, exclusivism, division, and ultimately violence.

Looking at the world through the lens of my own faith, I see a future that is open but under the influence of God - or what some might call Providence or economist Adam Smith's “Invisible Hand.” As we face the future, we have a choice. We can resist the fact that change is inevitable, or we can learn to surf the global wave of change in ways that bring benefit to the world in which we live. Religion can divide us, but if we will learn to live with our differences in belief and practice, we can join together and build a new community that is filled with justice, hope, and peace.

Dr. Bob Cornwall is Pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lompoc (http://www.lompocdisciples.org). He blogs at http://pastorbobcornwall.blogspot.com and may be contacted at faithinthepublicsquare@gmail.com or c/o First Christian Church, P.O. Box 1056, Lompoc, CA 93438.