And Jacob Digged a Well
Faith in the Twenty-First Century
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Can one be a secular Christian or an agnostic Christian? At its core, being a “Christian” means consciously choosing to follow the teachings of Jesus, what the medieval theologian Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471) called Imitatio Christi, the imitation of Christ. However, it is not simply doing what Jesus did or would do, but using his received teachings as a guide. The writer of John’s Gospel realized that we would be able to do more than Jesus did. With new understandings of relationships, we will do things differently from what he did. While many will disagree, being a Christian has little, if anything, to do with affirming a particular set of doctrines or beliefs. Nor does it ask the trite question, “What Would Jesus Do?” We can ask what he taught, but we have no right to make him say things that he would have had no knowledge of. We can ask if what he taught still applies in our time and place. We cannot claim that what he did and said was valid for all times and in all places.
To be a Christian, it is not necessary to confess the trinitarian Christ of Nicaea. It does means, at the very least, to seek truth wherever it may be found, to show compassion, and to seek justice for the powerless and the abused. It is sufficient to act in the humane manner that Jesus of Nazareth taught—love of neighbor, love of self, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, caring for the sick and needy, care for those cast off by society, care for the environment, and the refusal to allow religious beliefs and ceremonies to get in the way of doing these things. It is sufficient to discover “God” in the outreached hand of need and in the giving hand of sharing and lifting up.
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About the Book
The subject of Christology has been a struggle for the church from the very beginning. It has resulted in divisions, crusades, inquisitions, persecutions, and a wide range of creeds. Each group claims it possesses the truth—a truth revealed to them, a particular turn on belief they alone rightly proclaim. In And Jacob Digged a Well, author Pastor Theodore M. Snider provides a commentary on religion—where it’s been, where it’s headed, and how it fits in the modern world. He seeks to answer this question: why do we believe what we believe?
Snider discusses how scientific and technological discoveries have changed not only our worldviews but also our Godviews and how consciousness and brain research are altering the way we understand each other and how beliefs are formed. He compiles a diverse amount of information on topics relevant to both secular and religious audiences, including creationism, evolution, intelligent design, and artificial intelligence through historical, scientific, cognitive, and psychological avenues.
And Jacob Digged a Well reminds us that “natural” may not be as clear as we once thought. Faith in the twenty-first century needs to look quite different from the past century.
About the Author
Theodore M. Snider earned a doctorate in theology from Christian Theological Seminary and currently serves as pastor of research. Snider was founder and editor of the monthly journal Parish and Process. He and his wife, Kathy, have three children and live in Washington, Illinois. This is his third book.