Slow Read, Week 4: The Lord's Supper and What is Lost in "The Great Dechurching"
"Cultural Christians" are a problem; post-Christian culture is worse
This fascinating votive vase from Uruk (Warka), the city of King Gilgamesh, was made ca. 3,000 BC. It shows a well-ordered world, with the rivers and the crops below, then animals, then people, and finally the gods at the very top. It is a reminder of the obsession of the ancient world with hierarchies and structures that are fixed—including hierarchies and ranking systems for people. Not everyone in the pagan world was seen as equally valuable. And now, in post-Christian culture, this view is visible at times as well.
But First, Cabbage!
Since we are talking about food in Chapter 2, this random observation is appropriate—and related to the book! I have been following cabbage in the news this month with the interest that only a Classicist could muster. Have you seen those articles in the New York Times, quoting chefs who describe “cabbage mania” happening in restaurants, or likening its popularity to bacon in the 1990s?
As a fellow Classicist succinctly replied to the question “Is cabbage the new bacon?” — NO.
Point taken. But also, if you read Chapter 2, you will learn a lot about cabbage, thanks to one Roman politician and writer who was rather obsessed with it as the ultimate cure-all—including medicinal uses for the urine of habitual cabbage eaters. Topically (not internally) applied, but still.
Beyond Cabbage
Roasted cabbage steaks may be the new version of “Beyond Meat,” but they’re still decidedly a side dish. It is bread and wine, rather, that have been at the center of the Lord’s Supper/ Communion since Jesus’s own last supper with His disciples. The bread in early church celebrations of this meal might have looked like this—but not quite so burnt.
This is a carbonized loaf of bread from Pompeii, the city that was buried by an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Melissa Johnson explains more about what this common bread was like in Roman cities—as you can see, this was made for easy breaking into pieces:
…archaeologists uncovered ovens containing carbonised loaves of bread called panis quadratus. These were large round sourdough breads, segmented into eight pieces, with a hole in the center of the loaf. They often had an identifying stamp imprinted on the crust and before baking, each bread had a cord tied around its “waist.”
So let’s talk about how revolutionary the sharing of this meal was in the Roman context. In the process, I want to dig a bit more into something that may seem to be the opposite argument from the one that I present in this book: if “cultural Christians” are a problem, maybe we shouldn’t encourage “Christian culture” without the deep theology?
My answer is: yes and no.
Yes, whenever we settle for just “cultural Christianity,” we are foregoing the incredible riches of the gospel that could be ours. We are settling for a pale imitation of Truth (yes, with a capital “T”).
And yet, at the same time, so many good and beautiful things in our world for the past two thousand years have been the result of Christian culture influencing the world around. This is the reason we have learned to hate genocide (although, of course, Christians have committed plenty of violence against others as well).
And Christianity gives us a framework for valuing family and children as good. By contrast, “The Great Dechurching” (to borrow the title of a recent book about this phenomenon) plays a role as both cause and effect in the profound devaluing of family and children in our society, I note in my review of Tim Carney’s new book this week at Christianity Today.
So What is Lost in the Great Dechurching of America?
First and foremost, we lose what the Lord’s Supper or Communion stands for: a meal shared by people who might have nothing in common except their love for Christ.
Just think about it. The Roman Empire, like other ancient societies, was extremely stratified, and rigidly so. At the bottom of the pyramid were the enslaved, the urban poor, the destitute of various sorts—including childless widows and orphans. At the top of the pyramid were the aristocrats. And in the middle rungs, you have various respectable professions, including military personnel.
The Roman Empire was a society where every individual knew his or her place and knew his or her worth. Sure, we know some stories of people who managed to go from slavery to wealth. But they were the exception rather than the rule. The interactions between people from different levels of the social structure pyramid were meant to enforce this hierarchy, reminding people: this is where you belong. Don’t dare go higher. This is the natural order of things, thought the Romans.
But everything about Christian community challenged this, telling people instead that in God’s eyes, every single human being is precious, because made in God’s image. By seating all believers together at the Lord’s Supper as equals, this ritual challenged the expectations of well-ordered society in the Roman Empire.
Aside from church, there was no other setting in the Roman Empire where the enslaved might sit right next to aristocrats and share a meal as equals. This idea was so wild and unfathomable that even some Christians struggled to wrap their heads around it—that is what Paul is talking about when he rebukes the Corinthians for their corruption of the Lord’s Supper in 1 Cor. 11:17-34.
My questions for you this week:
What elements from Greek and Roman feasts and culture do we see in the Corinthians’ abuse of the Lord’s Supper?
What are some of the debates over food and drink in churches today? Do you have any other examples to add beyond those mentioned in this chapter?
What applications do you have from this chapter/topic, whether for you personally or for your church or broader community?
I am combining comments from the first and second chapter. The issue of wealth and property ownership(chapter 1) fits into a pattern we are seeing in our church. Since the pandemic our budgets have been very tight and there has been serious discussions about the budget. The positive outcome on one hand was that through gifts this year we were able to balance our budget and continue some of our programming. But, during the discussions about our various ministries there was discussion that involved comments about leaving the church if certain cuts were made. We also have generous givers who stepped up and sacrificed to help balance the budget. We are also united behind communion and offer both wine and juice as well as wafers which are gluten free. We have Lenten suppers prior to services each Wednesday and usually offer a variety of foods to meet all tastes and needs. We believe that taking of the sacraments is a Scriptural mandate and unfortunately the number of those attending has declined even after the pandemic ended. We are now exploring ways to maintain fidelity to Scripture while trying to attract younger families. These include a cancer group and one dedicated to the issue of transgenderism. We do not want to dumb down our services but do want to attract new members. We are a congregation that attempts to reach out to the world while remaining faithful to Christ.