Return to the M.B.Herald Vol. 37, No. 17 Home Page
"The post-modern age marks a significant stage in the thinking of the West, which calls for dramatic changes in religious thinking" (13).
These dramatic changes are evident in North America, according to Mark Parent in his latest offering, SpiritScapes. Parent gives a detailed analysis and makes some bold predictions about the religious and spiritual trends in society. Frustrated with his own Baptist tradition, he writes: "Nonetheless, something is wrong with Christianity and the Christian church that I know" (11). His frustration puts him on a quest to find freshness in his spiritual life.
Parent provides a thorough, balanced interpretation of nine major trends that are impacting society: alternative medicine, Gaia--the Goddess Earth, the new physics, the New Age movement, near death experiences, revivalist Pentecostalism, fundamentalism, liberation theology and religious feminism.
Starting with the scientific terrain, he explores how paradigm shifts have caused professionals to move beyond accepting empirical data to value faith and to see the human body more than just a biochemical machine. He then provides reasons in his second unit, the spiritual terrain, why society is giving up on institutionalized religion and is turning to an eclectic spirituality. In the last unit, theological terrain, Parent examines society's insistence to re-define God, polarizing fundamentalists and liberation theologians and causing religious feminists to emerge.
I liked Parent's book and what he had to say about the future of religion in North America. I appreciated the background information about the nine movements; his research and documentation are good. Most of what he says is reflective of society. This book is for those interested in gaining a better understanding of these movements and why society is on a quest for spirituality.
Society, he says, is longing for something that is deeper and long lasting unlike the rewards of materialism which seem temporal and shallow. "While post-modernity offers an opportunity for the rebirth of religion, it cannot be merely an echo of the religious thought of the past" (14).
VISIONS OF JESUS: DIRECT ENCOUNTERS FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT TO TODAY
Phillip H. Wiebe. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.Phillip Wiebe is a philosophy professor at Trinity Western University interested in the relationship of the philosophy of science to Christian faith, as evidenced by his earlier work, Theism in an Age of Scienc (1988). Visions of Jesus is an extension of his interest in the formation of religious knowledge. The book's purpose "is to describe and critically reflect on the phenomena of Christic visions and apparitions, particularly the experiences reported to me by living visionaries" (5).
Wiebe lists some reasons for his study; two are compelling: Since we can investigate contemporary experiences closely, their credibility can say something about the post-resurrection accounts of Jesus, and contemporary Christic visions can hold value for religious knowledge--giving probative force for theism.
Wiebe studies a series of interviews. These visions of Jesus are fascinating. He then tries to interpret the importance of the contemporary visions of Jesus. His thorough scholarship is impressive as he describes and discusses possible explanations, and implications for religious knowledge. Supernaturalistic, mentalistic, psychological and neurophysiological explanations are treated with respect, but are inadequate.
This book is important for two reasons. First, it opens the door for further investigations of Christic visions, especially among Protestants. Catholics have done significant work on Marian visions, but a similar work on Christic visions does not exist. Wiebe is not offering the final word, but encourages further probing. Second, the study of how religious knowledge is gained is being widely pursued today when we find little agreement on what is legitimate as a belief-forming mechanism.
Wiebe is doing important work by pushing the scientific community to expand its theories of knowledge to include religious experience. While other Christian theologians and philosophers may question scientific categories, Wiebe does not demand wholesale rejection of the scientific categories. Visions shows that religious experiences cannot be quickly dismissed by citing mass hallucinations or some other such simplification.
Would this study be different if a non-Christian saw Jesus in a vision, and would this be better evidence than if a Christian were to see Jesus? It might be profitable to engage more philosophers of religion in this discussion; thus, expanding the scope of the study. This would force the reader to face questions of scientific as well as religious explanation.
PAUL DOERKSEN TEACHES AT MB COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE IN WINNIPEG, AND IS A MEMBER OF FORT GARRY MB CHURCH.
Return to the M.B.Herald Vol. 37, No. 17 Home Page