Cheap Grace, Part 1

Cheap Grace

So, what does that mean, do you think, for us 'Piskies today?

This question comes from Robert in reference to the above meme.

For those who are outside of the Episcosphere, "Piskies" is short for Episcopalians.  I had a similar question a month ago that I responded to on here about what God is saying to the Episcopal Church.  One of the challenges in the Mainline Church is the anxiety around what feels like decline, and truth be told, answers are in short supply.  At the same time, the world outside the Church feels unstable as well.  I do not think that anything I can say here will be the quick fix to help struggling congregations, but I do think the wisdom of Bonhoeffer is particularly relevant in our church context.

I shared this meme on my own Facebook page, which is where the question came from.  My hunch is that this quote is making the rounds because, even though it is a religious message, has some secular appeal for Americans today.  Perhaps as churches facing internal and external anxieties, this wisdom from eight decades ago still has some relevance.

I am going to tackle this question in two parts, because I think there is value in addressing Cheap Grace both inside and outside of the red doors.  In this post, I will address what it means for us when dealing with the world outside of the Church.

Background

Bonhoeffer's context was living in a time when the rise of Naziism was met with complacency and even collaboration with the German churches.  In the early 1930's the German government created a national Protestant church out of all the formerly regional Protestant churches - a holdover from before the scores of regional principalities had merged to form Germany in the nineteenth century.  Of course, since the Nazis were at the helm of the formation of this national Protestant church, some of its founding statements were anti-semitic.  This inspired Bonhoeffer as well as some heavy theological hitters like Niemöller and Barth (Ok, really it was Barth) to draft the Barmen Declaration and form the Confessing Church.  

Without getting too sidetracked into this history, Bonhoeffer spent some time in the United Kingdom and then the United States.  After this he decided to go back to Germany, where he felt he was called to be, even though it was the middle of World War II by this time.  In 1944, he was part of a failed conspiracy to assassinate Hitler, which landed him in a concentration camp where he died.  

The quote comes from his book The Cost of Discipleship, which was published in 1937.  I am not sure if he repeated this phrase in 1943, but it is possible.

Back to today

The commentary at the bottom of the meme, "We live in a time and culture that not only teaches cheap grace but praises it." is not Bonhoeffer.  That's an editorial comment.  It also begins with the narrative that the quote was supposedly in response to how the Church could sit back let Hitler seize power.  This is why I think it may have some secular appeal.  

Let me first say that I could see this getting applied to the Generational Wars.  I often hear about Millenials and GenZers, and their "Participation Trophies".  This is not a fair characterization of a generation.  The idea of Cheap Grace is much deeper and crosses generational lines.  The fact that this quote was published over eighty years ago should tell us this is far more a human problem than a generational problem.  If I were being uncharitable, I could point fingers at examples from all age groups, but you get the idea.  

The real parallel I see between Bonhoeffer's context and ours is the complicated relationship of religion and politics.  I am not comfortable suggesting that American society is spiraling down the same path as 1930's Germany.  Although, there are some unsettling things happening today that it is fair to take a lesson from those who have gone before us and learn from their wisdom so as not to repeat major mistakes - or worse, atrocities.  

I will be clear that I do not have a problem with politicians having a faith life or being inspired by their faith life in their political careers.  On the contrary, I would hope that in some cases, they would.  The abolition of slavery was largely religiously inspired as was the Civil Rights movement.  Even FDR, being a faithful Episcopalian, based Social Security on the Church Pension Fund (Ok, maybe that's not quite religious inspiration).  The problem is when some religious leaders become uncomfortable bedfellows with politicians, which has seemed to be more of a problem in the last fifty years or so.  For most Mainline Christians, we have largely been left out of this arrangement.  

My feeling about this is that this relationship between religion and politics has not been about things like helping the poor and downtrodden.  I have not heard of many politicians telling America that our Christian duty is to visit those in prison.  There is not a great movement to treat the resident alien as our own.  And I do not ever recall anyone running for office on a platform of helping the widow and orphan.  Usually, what this really is about is power politics with a thin religious veneer.  The end result has been damaging to both religion and politics.  

Ok, so what about us 'Piskies?

Putting all of that aside, Episcopalians and other Mainliners are in an interesting position today because we feel like we went from being a big fish in a little pond to being a little fish in a big pond.  There was a time when nearly every other President was Episcopalian.  About twenty years ago,  I recall telling someone I was Episcopalian, and he said, "Is that some kind of Eastern religion?"  Well maybe, but not as far to the east as you're thinking.

Our small voice has been drowned out in this great sea of religious clatter.  And yet, I believe we are still called to speak out and be a beacon of hope to our larger society.  Because the message of Cheap Grace has such a broad appeal, we (and really all Christians) can say that the Christian faith is more than just a name.  It is a practice that requires all the things Bonhoeffer talked about in the last century.

If people say they are Christian and do horrible acts under the sign of the cross, I daresay that is even a form of blasphemy.  I can think of how I personally avoid businesses that use the word "Christian" or use Christian imagery in their promotional materials, because I become suspicious of their motives.  We are not meant to benefit off Christ's name in this way.  

Therefore, we as Christians, have a responsibility to tell the world what it means to practice discipline and reconciliation.  We have a responsibility to preach the Good News and ensure that everyone can benefit from the Good News, not just a select few.  And, we have a responsibility to let society know that when people are hurt, the Christian response is acceptance, apology and contrition.  

While we do live in a society that separates Church from State, we cannot avoid the fact that many in this society wear the Christian name on their sleeve.  When those are people in power, we have a duty to remind them that being a Christian means following the teachings of Jesus. 

In Part 2, I'll address how this can be applied to inside the red doors.