Godawa - When Giants Were Upon the Earth

The believing Church is in crisis.

Im not talking about the current socio-political hostility that is progressively marginalizing and even villainizing Christianity. Im speaking of something more lethalan internal predicament. The Church has historically held its ground against enemy attack and emerged stronger. But its the enemy from within thats a greater concern. Christianity is in danger of morphing from the pillar and buttress of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15) to a shallow parody of itself or a meaningless amalgam of disconnected Bible verses and incoherent hokum. If it happens, well have only ourselves to blame.

Ive been a Christian for over thirty years. I wear the hats of lay person, elder, scholar, professor, writer, novelist, speaker, and blogger. Everything I do and have done as a Christian has been oriented by that thing believers claim to consider inspired, divine revelation: the Bible. In more than three decades of personal engagement with the biblical text and observation of many versions of public, private, and celebrity Christianity, Ive gained some perspective.

As a biblical studies professor, Ive seen the current generation and the one to follow in my classrooms. There are glimmers of hope, but the view isnt inspiring. As a scholar, Ive had steady interaction with fellow academics in biblical studies and theology. Besides listening to themselves talk, scholars enjoy talking to other scholars. Academic societies are like country clubs for geeks. Sadly, few conversations are about specifically helping the person in the pew get better access to primary sources so they can sift through the intellectual rubbish they see on the internet or YouTube (or church). As a key content contributor to the nations largest and most successful Bible software company, Ive learned a lot about the Christian consumer. I know what pastors and lay people read and dont read, what is preached or not preached. God help us. Lastly, as someone whose fiction has vaulted him inside the fringe communities of religion, parapsychology, and the paranormal, I no longer have to wonder what it would be like if Erich von Dniken led a Bible study, or if Billy Graham and Shirley MacLaine had children together.

Ive spent some time in the past few years wondering about how it came to this and what to do about it. Thats where Brian Godawa and his work come in. Hes trying to be part of the remedy for some of what ails us. The present book, along with his Chronicles of the Nephilim fantasy series from which its content derives, are demonstrations of the sincerity of his efforts. But before I explain why I whole-heartedly believe thats the case, I need to give you the lay of the Christian land as I see it. Youll only know Brian is part of the solution when you clearly grasp the problems.

Believing Christianity operates in three realms. I have friends and enemies in all of them. Lets imagine them as three concentric circles.

In the outermost ring, the largest, we have what happens in church. This is where we find pastors and their congregations, the laity. Part of this ring is composed of folks with a long attachment to the faith. Church is where they go to hear about the Bible, to hear stories and truths from their childhood. Its a familiar community. The rest of the population are seekers or newcomers. These are folks who are there due to intellectual curiosity, a personal relationship, or the need to redefine community.

Because this ring has the most people, one might expect to find the most engagement with the Bible. That simply isnt true, especially today. Few read the Bible with regularity. Thats what church is for, isnt it ? One would also think the pastors primary distraction is fixing this problem of biblical illiteracy. Not so. Whether generational believers or seekers, the focus has become what is known in church growth circles as felt needs. Where biblical knowledge is not a felt need, where it fails to stimulate the intellect and the imagination, the Bible wont be the priority.

This is one crisis.

Churches have become places with little tolerance for serious biblical content. Thats impractical, so the mantra goeswhat felt need does it address? As time goes on, people become conditioned to expecting little from the Bible. Preaching gets reduced to Bible stories with adult illustrations. The Bible no longer surprises or stimulates. It is stripped of both its wonder and transformative power. In the absence of a divine revelation that holds our attention and motivates us as spiritual warriors, weve created an evangelical Gnosticismwere on our own for a spiritual buzz, and so well get it where we can.

Moving inwardly, the next ring is occupied by those largely self-exiled from the outermost ring. The motivations vary, but boredom and intellectual atrophy are the most common. They want to learn Scripture in a serious way. They know that Bible reading isnt Bible study. Theyve been going to church for a solid meal for years, and the intravenous drip they get isnt cutting it. Theyre starving for content. Who can blame them?

Those who emerge as teachers in this space know more than most anyone in the outermost ring, even most pastors. But they are not scholars, despite the fact that most who occupy this ring look at them that way, and they come to fancy themselves as such. Scholars are taught and tested by other scholars. The teachers in this realm are self taught and tested by no one. Neither they, nor the people who follow them, know what they dont know.

Since these teachers occupy the top of the intellectual pecking order that emerges in this realm, they cannot know when they stray from sound method, teaching, and theology. If they have sufficient humility to desire such accountability, they may never find it, since most scholars have long detached themselves from such assistance. But the greater concern are those who are intoxicated by the idea of having a following. These are the theological hipsters and hucksters of the current generation. Their devotees are not equipped to challenge them, and have become accustomed to filter anything anyone else says through the wise sage that commands their attention. They can say anything to their pupils, no matter how outlandish or idiosyncratic and get away with it.