Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism

This Sunday, I was preaching on the topic of "vision" from Proverbs 29:18 as the opening of a series on the matter of biblical vision, and specifically our vision for ministry at Christ Covenant.

Even a brief study of the key word "khazon" made it clear to me that "vision" is something that comes "from outside our own system of thinking."  We don't develop a vision simply from what we know or observe.  Instead, with information or perspective provided from outside our world - from the message of the Bible and/or the "still, small voice" of the Holy Spirit (however you understand or hear that!) - we come to see our world and our place in it with new insight.  As my friend Ken Priddy says: "Vision is about discernment, not creativity."

But authentic biblical vision is not just information from outside the system given to us to then obey or work out.  It is information about activity - God's activity - that comes into our world from outside our world.  Both the information and the activity come to us from outside our own resources and abilities.  That is what grace is about!

It's easy for us to miss that because, as Americans, we life in a culture whose functional religion is "Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism."  God may give us information or advice, but He has left it to us to understand or obey or implement it.  Or so this perspective assumes.

Moralistic, therapeutic deism,  It's moralistic because we are told what to do.  It's therapeutic, because it is aimed at making us feel better about how we are doing.  And it is deistic, because it recognizes God's existence, and perhaps even His love or wisdom in giving us this information, but He is not involved in our lives.  We get sermons like "Five Steps For Being a Better Dad."  We're told what to do in order to accomplish something that is meaningful to us.  But even when there are Bible verses attached, one doesn't need God involved to "git 'er done!," though He will be pleased at what we do.

This is anything but the Gospel of Grace!  I did my best to communicate this mindset, but wanted to pass along three important resources to help people understand and hopefully repent of "moralistic, therapeutic deism."

Albert Mohler is president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and an insightful and prolific cultural commentator.  In this April 18, 2005 article on Christian Post, he gives good background on the idea and implications of moralistic, therapeutic deism.  Until reading this, I was unaware that the term was actually developed by social scientist Christian Smith with Melinda Lundquist Denton of the University of North Carolina and published in their study: Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Eyes of American Teenagers.

Michael Horton, the author of Christless Christianity that I mentioned in the sermon, has a good summary interview in Christianity Today that is worth the read.

And then, what is life without YouTube?  Watch below and you can actually hear Michael Horton on the topic of Christless Christianity.  This is a brief clip from a four part series done for White Horse Inn Ministry.