For the last couple of months, I have been reading The Afternoon of Christianity: The Courage to Change by Tomas Halik (University of Notre Dame Press, 2024), along with several longtime friends who like to get together and discuss topics related to faith. I have mentioned this book before because it feels so timely to the situations that we face in our world, and especially in our church. In one section, Halik talks of three enlightenments in the western world. He defines enlightenment as “a certain type of cultural revolution or change of cultural paradigm, characterized by a revolt against existing authorities and traditions and a desire for freedom and emancipation – that is always some form of liberalism.” (pg. 116)
The First Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries which, according to Halik, “invoked reason as the new messianic deity, displayed a certain dialectic of light and darkness, reason and madness.” (pg. 116) The Second Enlightenment Halik refers to is “the revolt against authority in the late 1960’s, which fostered a number of important emancipatory movements.” Halik explains that the first enlightenment “sought to liberate reason from the dominations of tradition and ecclesiastical authority” while the second sought to liberate what the rule of reason had undervalued – emotionality, libido, sexuality.”(pg. 117) He is also clear that the questioning of traditions affected the religious scene including Vatican II and the rise of New Age Spiritualities.
The Third Enlightenment, according to Halik, is what we are now witnessing as “the liberation of nature from the domination of human technological and economic manipulation, and respect for minorities (including sexual minorities) and for all those under threat (including animals).”(pg.120) This current enlightenment is led primarily by young people who feel “at home in a digital, postindustrial and postmaterialist society, attracted more by constant change and rich experiences than by high earnings and careers.” (pg. 121) If it is not clear already, it is becoming clear that the spiritual and religious needs of people attracted to constant change and rich experiences are not being fed in today’s church.
The first reading for this Sunday comes from Deuteronomy, 4:1-2, 6-8. It is the story of Moses teaching the people the statutes and decrees that they will need to observe in order to be seen as the righteous nation that they are called to be. The Gospel passage is from Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23. It is the story of the Pharisees challenging Jesus and his disciples for failing to follow the religious traditions that had set the Hebrew people apart from other people, especially in this case, the purity laws that required ritual washing of hands prior to eating. In his response to the Pharisees, Jesus makes clear that the traditions are man-made. Furthermore, Jesus declared that the traditions do not address the real evils that defile a person which come from within people, like evil thoughts, greed, arrogance and blasphemy for example. After reflecting on these two readings one after the other, I think it is reasonable to suggest that the early Jesus movement was a movement toward social cultural enlightenment, in that it created a way to include a wider, more diverse group of people who, while longing for God, were not attracted to the strict ethnic and social parameters that contained Judaism of that time. Of course, as we know from history and our own experience, the Jesus movement eventually solidified its own traditions, some of which were cast off during the First Enlightenment, and others during the Second. This brings us to our own era, which Tomas Halik believes is witnessing a Third Enlightenment.
Each of the Enlightenments that Halik speaks of had a dark side. The First, in its rejection of aristocracy and hierarchical states, also precipitated a time of violence and destruction of both people and institutions. The Second was marked by riots and a hedonistic lifestyle that eventually was “seized upon by the unfettered market of global capitalism,” an economic system that “has brought humanity to the brink of ecological disaster.” (pg. 120) And this is the era in which we are living, when young people – of all ages! - are looking for hope outside of the institutions that no longer speak to them because they have taken part in the marginalization and oppression of minorities, women, and the natural world.
As always, I am hopeful for the work that Pope Francis has engaged in, works of expanding ecumenism, including women whenever possible, standing up for and including minorities – seen clearly in his appointment of cardinals from a wide range of non-European countries, and also for speaking directly of the need to care for creation. But there is so much more to be done. We can only make progress in the holy work of Enlightenment if it becomes the work of all of God’s people, the whole church, seen and unseen.
Now what did I mean by seen and unseen? To be Christian is to strive to live as much as humanly possible by the same principle of love that Jesus lived by. When we look closely at the people around us, near and far, we will discover many people who live by the principle of love who have never espoused the Catholic faith or even Christianity. They are motivated by God who is love, already working within them. We can also readily find people who declare belief in Christ who are clearly going a very different direction, often back toward the First Enlightenment where they find security in clear statues and decrees. They are on their own journey, and I believe it is important to respect their beliefs while practicing in our own lives the principle of love that we find at the core of Christianity.
When Halik writes or talks about the Afternoon of Christianity the question arises as to what comes next. If it is already afternoon, then does night fall and along with it, the close of the era of Christianity?
No says Halik. “In the biblical concept of time, a new day begins at evening.” (page 211)
I am slowly getting my bearings. I would be interested in reading this book again with others beginning later in the fall. If you are interested, let me know via email. Peace and Blessings, Valerie.