150 Years at a Time - The Egalitarian Transformation of the Church

I have tried to start this post several times in the past few months.  I kept coming up with "clever" ways to do it, and they just don't quite work.  So, in a complete departure from my normal approach, I write a standard "college style" essay.  With a thesis, even.

Thesis: The Christian Church has moved towards support for egalitarianism, and an examination of Western history in 150-year increments demonstrates that, though non-egalitarian norms were supported by Biblical arguments at the time, those same beliefs are considered clearly in error today.  This leads to interesting speculation about what might result if that trend continues for another 150 years.

Definition:

e·gal·i·tar·i·an

 [ih-gal-i-tair-ee-uhn] 

adjective

1.

asserting, resulting from, or characterized by belief in the equality of all people, especially in political, economic, or social life.

A few months back, there was a story that hit the news about a church in Kentucky that banned interracial couples from attending.  This got me thinking again about how Christians (as a group) are frequently seen as being "behind the curve" in accepting societal changes. To be fair, in this particular case, most Christians  disagreed with this particular congregation's policy, but though it is now an unsupported position, this is a "last bastion" of a position which was once more popularly held.

At the time, I had not yet formed my thesis, but I mentally threw it in the mix along with other social issues in the US today.  Christians are seen as more "conservative" than others.  And, if we talk about "conservative" only in the sense of resisting change and trying to preserve the existing ways, I think we can see how the congregation in question was "conservative."

But, it is clear, also, that The Church -- or perhaps more precisely, the majority of Western Christians -- has changed its attitudes over time.  And since its "attitudes" are supported by doctrine, which is based on reading the Bible, it interesting to look at how biblical reasoning has changed over time.

Our nation was "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."  When the interracial news story broke, it somehow occurred to me that 150 years earlier, our nation was "engaged in a great civil war, testing whether this nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure."

And you know what?  150 years ago, in 1861, there were Christians arguing that slavery was not only OK, but supported by the Bible.  I'm not going to get into that argument, but the point is this:  the verses which were used to support slavery 150 years ago have now largely been reinterpreted so that the Christian church says -- by and large -- that slavery of the form which existed in the United States before the Emancipation Proclamation is not, repeat "not," supported by the Bible.  Of course, there were Christians of that time who disagreed with their pro-slavery Christian opponents. But the "conservative" Christians were being taught, and as many of them truly believed, that the Bible supported slavery.

By examining that single 150-year jump, we can see that the Church has changed its view of scriptural teachings to become more egalitarian.  The church moved from supporting "inequality" in slavery, to "equality."

What about 150 years before that?

In 1711, Kings and Queens ruled Europe.  In Great Britain, Queen Anne ruled.  Louis XIV was monarch in France. Charles III ruled Austria. And though some members of the Christian community did not believe that an inherited ruling class should have such power, the principle of Divine Right was largely accepted and supported by the (mostly national) churches of the time.  According to this doctrine, a monarch had been granted his or her power directly from God, and the people could not question it.  And, as I said, church leaders supported this doctrine from scripture.  Certainly, some of that support would have been a distorted interpretation in order to exert power, but we need to realize that this teaching was being presented to, and accepted by, people without power as the  revealed will of God. Of course, by 150 years later, in the 1861 of our Civil War each of those monarchies had transformed or been overthrown, and Christians believed that God supported our democracy. Today, 300 years later, there are no Christians who are advocating that the monarchy is Right and True, and we must all revert to something so unequal.

No, once again, the march towards equality of individuals did not allow for a nobility with more "God-given" power than the common people.  And the church, eventually, found itself supporting the new democracies with scripture.

In the days 150 years before that -- in 1561 -- the Reformation was in full swing.  Martin Luther had nailed his 95 Theses over 40 years prior, and Calvin had done most of his work, with just a few years remaining of his life.  But again, the new "church" was transforming its understanding of Christianity so that a "more equal" church was being born.  And of course at the time, the Church establishment opposed the idea of the education and interpretation of scriptures being placed in the hands of laity and family, and being removed from the hands of the priests.

Three 150-year periods.  Three advancements of Christianity away from inequality towards the support of an egalitarian social structure.

What I think today's Christians should take from this little history lesson is this:  While none of the core precepts of Christianity changed over those 150-year intervals, the things we Christians were arguing about changed.  And each time, the Church moved from a "less equal" to a "more equal" interpretation of what God put down as Law, and what Christ's teachings were about Gospel.  Further, I contend, we need to realize that opposing similar changes today is very likely to be viewed as incomprehensible -- perhaps even sinful -- by future generations of Christians.

But let me be clear, the people who oppose the change are not "incomprehensible" today.  Today, they are people who are living in their time, who have a deep belief in God, and who want to do His Will.  What all Christians need to understand, I think, is that His Will is not completely clear to us.  Try as we might, we get it wrong sometimes.  We ought to discuss our positions knowing this fact.  Over time, I think God is leading His Church towards a more accurate, and loving, vision of His Will.

And so, if my thesis has any validity -- and if the Church has moved over the past centuries in the direction God wants it to move -- then I believe we ought to err -- if we err -- on the side of equality.