The Future of Christianity: From Rhetoric to Community
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Authors
Rider, Caitlin C.
Issue Date
2010
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
In her book, Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith,
author Suzanne Strempek Shea visits fifty-five different Christian churches, seeking - as her title states -"Christian Faith." But why? Why would one choose to spend a year driving and flying
all around the country visiting different churches on Sundays just to leave right after and do it
again the next week? Shea explains in the opening pages of her book that as a child she sat on
her Polish grandfather's lap and learned, among other things, the word for "God" in Polish, the
fate of Protestants, and what would happen to her if she ever went in a Protestant church (namely
that the ceiling would collapse on her). She then goes on to explain how the sexual abuse scandal
in the Catholic church combined with her being diagnosed with breast cancer led her away from
the church and, to some extent, her personal faith. . She goes on to explain how this experience sparked the idea in her head of making a "pilgrimage
of sorts" around the country to finally find out just what goes on in those churches I grew up
forbidden to enter, and understand what makes for devotion to a religious community. Rather
than sit quietly by myself in an empty church, I would, for a day, be part of a congregation once
again I will take
Shea's individual journey for Christian faith and for community and apply it not, however, by
evaluating various churches to see what it is about their methods and services that attract or deter
people from coming there, but by looking at the phenomenon of Christian popular literature. In
analyzing the books that are included here I will consider what role the authors' theological
views (on a scale from liberal to conservative) have on their message, along with the impact that
the presentation, style, and form of their works can have on someone who is either considering
reading them or who has bought and begun reading the book. It must be understood that my analysis is not one of the veracity of these individual
authors' biblical claims; that is the work for someone else. My aim is rather to read their texts
critically while keeping in mind who it is that generally makes up their audience: laypersons, not
scholars of Christianity. I will examine how the authors try to influence me as a reader. To this
end I will be critical of the points where their arguments seem disjointed, inconclusive, and the
like, even though I will not be criticizing their biblical interpretations at the level of biblical
scholar. It must also be clear that while my analogy was to an "average person perusing the
Christianity section" and presumably picking something up solely on the basis of personal
interest, this process was not the one I followed in the selection of the books with which this
paper concerns itself.
Description
105 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo, Mich. : Kalamazoo College
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.