Buffet Spirituality

N.T. Wright, in his fabulous book Simply Christian, argues that spirituality is a fundamental human longing. Especially in our American culture today, I would say this is true. No matter how secularized we have become, there is still an aching sense that we are not at the center of the universe. There has to be something more.

On one level, I agree with Robert Webber that as Christians we are in a very opportunistic age. There is a flood of individuals in our society seeking for purpose and meaning. Many are wanting to re-connect with something outside of themselves. This is, on one level, very good news. As the church, I think we should be excited about this. At the heart of our story is God's descent into our world to restore humanity and renew the entire cosmos. This is great news for those who are searching for meaning and fulfillment.

But its not that easy. While people are comfortable being categorized as "seekers" and "spiritual" they don't like sticking to one story. What do I mean by this? Many people in our society approach spirituality like they would approach a buffet line. I'll take a little bit of Islam here, some of this Hinduism there, and a few pieces of Christianity. I don't want to oversimplify things, but it seems to me that a lot of people pick and choose what they want to believe (which usually ends up being aspects of a religious tradition or philosophy which are easy to manage and typically uncontroversial). Love, personal fulfillment and material prosperity are popular dishes in our American spiritual buffet line. As Christians, we stick to one dish- one macro-story that shapes and structures not only our individual lives (but as we believe) the entire flow of world history. We stick to one story because we believe this one story communicates to us the richest spirituality imaginable. A spirituality we were designed to experience. Creation- Incarnation-Recreation. This is our story. Herman Bavinck (my favorite theologian!!!) puts it this way:

"The essence of the Christian religion consists therein: that the creation of the Father, destroyed by sin, is again restored in the death of the Son of God and recreated by the grace of the Holy Spirit to a Kingdom of God"


To add to or subtract from this story would really be to throw it away. Christianity is a unified story. You take out one integral part, and the rest of it really doesn't make sense.

We must be charitable with those who feel compelled to run to the buffet line and pick and choose their religion. We must learn to listen to their questions and love them regardless of their answers. But we must also be bold. We must gently (yet confidently) proclaim to them a new diet- a single story that is large enough and beautiful enough to satisfy their hungry souls.