Contemporary Preaching: Restatement or Reflection
- By Samuel Thambusamy
- Published 11/28/2008
Samuel Thambusamy
Samuel Thambusamy’s interests are in Popular Culture, Theology and Politics. He has a Master of Theology (M.Th) degree from the Senate of Serampore University. He has served in a wide range of ministries such as children, youth, church and development ministries. He is now involved with Wisdomtree and reaches out to young people through cultural apologetics. He lives with his wife Lanusenla and daughter Vandana Yujasola in Chennai, India
I have always wondered why we don’t find any reflection of what we believe in. All we find is restatements - mostly denominational and/or cultural. I have been reading the book, ‘ God is not Great: How Religion poisons everything’ and I thought Chris Hitchens possibly gives us a clue. We may not agree with everything he says but this one demands our attention.
Christopher Hitchens ( a fierce critic of religion) writes:
” Religion spoke its last intelligible or noble or inspiring words a long time ago. either that is mutated into an admirable but nebulous humanism, as did say Dietrich Bohnhoeffer, a brave lutheran pastor hanged by the Nazis for his refusal to collude with them. We shall have no more prophets or sages from the ancient quarter, which is why devotions of today are only echoing repetitions of yesterday, sometimes ratcheted up to screaming point so as to ward off the terrible emptiness”
[God is not great: How religion poisions everything, p.7]
Something to think about. Really?!!What does it mean to be the ‘prophetic’ voice - a voice of disent - in the world of spin, hype and deception. What does it mean to ‘rebel’ againt the spirit of the age.
It’s worth listening to Chris Hitchen’s.