Phil Miglioratti's interview with Os Guinness,
author of the recently released
PHIL ~ Os, you stated this book is a companion to your earlier book, "Renaissance." What is the premise of that book and how does that message prepare us for "Impossible People?"
OS ~ The two books are twins in terms of content and style. People often speak of 'challenge and response,' but in this case I have reversed them and put the response first in 'Renaissance,' so that it is quite clear that I am not a pessimist or alarmist. 'Impossible People' is as realistic a view of the challenges we face as I can write, but I wanted people to read the dire challenges in light of an unbounded confidence in the gospel however dark the times -- the argument of 'Renaissance.'
PHIL ~ At first glance at the cover, the title sounded like you were exploring the psychology of what Joyce Landorf decades ago described as" irregular people." Explain, please, the historical basis of your title.
OS ~ I explain the title in the opening chapter. Peter Damian was a Christian reformer long before the Reformation, and he was dubbed 'the impossible man.' He was unmanipulable, unbribable and undeterrable. Some people said it in admiration and others in exasperation. He was so sold-out to Jesus that he could not be swayed by fear or favours. And that, I argue is the sort of faithful Christian we need today -- whether facing open opposition or subtle seductions.
PHIL ~ Sub-titles are carefully crafted to explain a book's core message. What do the segments of this sub-title reveal to the reader? [Christian Courage and the Struggle for the Soul of Civilization]
OS ~ 'Christian courage' refers to what I have just said about the Christian faithfulness needed today. The other half of the subtitle points to the heart of the analysis in the book, and especially to the claim that we are nearing the climax of the long-attempted takeover by progressive secularism of the Jewish and Christian faiths role as the defining and working faith of the West.
PHIL ~ The Church is being confronted by a rapidly changing culture and faces a dizzying diversity of issues: gender identity, redefining marriage, global diaspora, socialism versus capitalism, environmental theories that border on theology. Do you discern a behind-the-scenes plan to obliterate anything that gives evidence of an all-loving-wise-powerful creator?
OS ~ I distinguish challenges that come from ideas, such as secularism, relativism, postmodernism and so on, and challenges that come from the shaping power of advanced modernity itself, such as consumerism and 'generationalism.' Many Christians are better at identifying and fighting the former than the latter, but we need to face up to both today. One of the most important chapters is chapter 4, which explores both the cultural 'meltdown' we are seeing today and the radical philosophy of 'social constructionism' that is seeking to exploit it -- for example in 'transgenderism' and in the sexual revolution at large.
PHIL ~ The Gospel is unchanged and trustworthy, but how must our explanations and expressions of the Gospel be reshaped in order to withstand a growing antagonism and hostility?
OS ~ Next year is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, and it goes without saying that we must always be going back to the Scriptures and to the Gospels to make sure it is the gospel of Jesus we are trusting and not our culture's version of it. 'The church always goes forward best by going back first' -- to Jesus and the Scriptures, that is, and not to the early church -- and that is a very different approach from the modern 'rage for relevance' and 'innovation.' The latter tries to bring the church in line with each 'latest greatest' and too often that is a recipe for trendiness and transience. The whole history of the excesses of Protestant liberalism should be a warning to us. At the end of the road the rage for relevance leads only to spiritual and institutional suicide. As Dean Inge said aptly, he who marries the spirit of the age soon becomes a widower.
PHIL ~ What is the role/potential of love in an age when truth must be spoken and lived fearlessly?
OS ~ Truth and love must never be separated, and the social media make that more important than ever when civility has collapsed and public debate has coarsened into barbarism. But we can't just say love. We need to restore the biblical meaning of love. As our Jewish friends point out, there was a vital slippage when the Hebrew word 'Hesed' was translated into Latin as 'caritas' and then into English as 'love' -- and then sentimentalised (as in Hallmark cards) and sexualised ('making love'). Even the modern addition of 'unconditional love' does not capture the biblical notion of love as 'covenant love-loyalty and responsibility' that we need again today in all our relationships.
PHIL ~ Who should read this book and how can they use this message to make effective Jesus-following disciples?
OS ~ Like all my books, 'Impossible People' is neither popular nor scholarly, but written for thoughtful believers who are committed to seeking to serve God's purposes in our generation. You could say that at its heart it is about discipleship in the advanced modern world.
PHIL ~ One more thing (you want to make sure we hear from you) ...
OS ~ The word crisis is overused, but there is no question that we are living at a solemn time for humanity, when the integrity and faithfulness of the church is critical for the future of the world, and we need to rise to the challenge of our hour. This book is written for the church rather than for the public square, but it is vital if we are to play our part in the public square.
PHIL ~ Each chapter concludes with a prayer. How do you want us to "read" or "hear" them so that the praying of each becomes a commitment to action?
OS ~ The world is awash with punditry and criticism. The challenge of our time is to know what each of us should do, and we can only understand that as we see our callings before the Lord in worship and trust. Needless to say, we need each other even to wrestle with the titanic challenges of today, so each chapter concludes with a prayer and questions for discussion to make it easier for church and home groups. May this little book be one more seed sown on behalf of the great harvest of reformation and revival that we need so badly.
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