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Rebecca Janney
Pendulum swings – we find them in history and faith; shifts in sensibility from one extreme to another. I’ve noticed this in Christian interest in ‘the afterlife.’ For the past several years, folks in the emergent/missional conversation have been more interested in the Gospel dimensions of the ‘here’ than they have the ‘hereafter.’ Sometimes, a friendly – and knowledgeable – voice comes along to challenge pendulum swings in an attempt to bring balance. Rebecca Price Janney is one such voice, reminding us why heaven & hell are such big deals in historical Christian faith.
Princess Diana, John Ritter, Saddam Hussein, Mother Teresa, Chris Farley… Does it seem reasonable to guess where each of these people ended up after they died? While it’s comforting to suppose that everyone who’s “good” goes to a better place when they die, and everyone who’s “bad” doesn’t, what on heaven & earth is such hope based?
To adequately understand how these thoughts influence us today, Rebecca Price Janney goes back to the colonization and founding of the United States. From the Great Awakening to the American Revolution, through the tumultuous 19th century, and all the way past two world wars and a technological revolution, Who Goes There? Pieces together a thoughtful narrative of American beliefs about the afterlife.
We have, for the most part, attempted to loosen ourselves from the beliefs of the past when it comes to the afterlife. We have found the leftovers appetizing, picking and choosing whatever parts of whatever paths suit our needs. But how do our beliefs about heaven and hell square with Scripture and history? This is the lively discussion Who Goes There? invites.
DR. REBECCA PRICE JANNEY is a theologically trained historian and the author of 16 books including Who Goes There: A Cultural History of Heaven and Hell, Great Women in American History, Great Stories in American History, Harriet Tubman, and two young adult series as well as hundreds of articles in magazines and newspapers. A graduate of Lafayette College, and Princeton Seminary, Rebecca received her doctorate from Biblical Seminary. She resides with her husband and son in suburban Philadelphia.
knowtown
Rebecca Price Janney has written a great book about heaven and hell creatively titled, Who Goes There?: A Cultural History of Heaven and Hell.
Janney is described on the book cover as “a theologically trained historian” and this book is a perfect example of what that means. The book begins with a quick overview of how our contemporary popular culture seems to think about the afterlife and then asks some important and critical questions. Just what are our thoughts about heaven and hell – and more importantly who goes there – based on? With this question on the table, Janney begins an historical overview of how Americans have viewed this subject from the founding of our country to the present.
There are fascinating nuggets of theological, ecclesiastical, cultural, academic, and sociological factors that have shaped and changed our views of the afterlife. How did the various wars shape our thinking? What about immigration? Did technology play any role? All of these questions and more are approached in a clear, easy to read narrative that shows how a nation that once viewed all people as “sinners in the hands of an angry God” has transformed into a kinder, gentler people who believes that all, or at least most, people go to heaven and “are looking down on us from up there.” But the question is still the same, Just what are these beliefs based on?
While Janney subtly argues throughout the book that we need to resist the “feel good” conclusions of universalism the book is not preachy or apologetic in tone. Rather, it is a call for all of us (whether we are pastors or computer technicians) to think theologically about this important issue. At one point she says:
“When people think of the 1930s, images usually arise of unemployment and bread lines, hobos bumming cigarettes and train rides, and the Dust Bowl. It was also the age when secular mass media began to dominate American life. For example, as strapped for cash as they were, by the end of the decade some 80 percent of Americans owned radios, and seventy-five million went to the movies weekly. Radio, movies, and newspapers both reflected and helped shape the culture of that time, supplanting the church as the keeper of the keys to the American way of life. What Americans listened to and watched were aimed for the lowest common denominator in terms of intellectual content, good taste, and morals, and their influence was enormous.”
Based on the currently popular views of heaven and hell it seems that many of us have aimed for the lowest common denominator in terms of intellectual content on this subject and Janney’s book is a timely call to rethink things more carefully and theologically. Depending on how we answer the important question, “who goes there?” our thoughts on this topic shape everything else about how we live out our faith.
I loved this book!
Mar 27th, 2009
chrisostrander
Rebecca Price Janney’s new book entitled, Who Goes There: A Cultural History of Heaven and Hell, sets out to trace the history of American beliefs concerning the afterlife. The problem I found with this book, however, is that I continually had to remind myself that this is what the author was supposed to be doing. Because while much of the book is a history lesson, the author is simultaneously arguing a theological position, which I think she does unsuccessfully.
In the first chapter, Janney argues that Americans have a wishy-washy view of the afterlife believing most people go to heaven, while only the most wicked go to hell. She then says that this is dangerous because only Jesus can provide assurance of heaven. From there, Janney goes on a whirlwind tour through American history chronicling various Christian movements. During this portion of the book– which is pretty much all of it– I sensed in Janney’s tone the notion that America was once a godly, Christian nation, and it has slowly descended into liberal unorthodoxy (prior to the 1960’s people didn’t have sex outside of marriage?? p. 179). In the epilogue,Janney argues that in the good (bad?) old days when life expectancy was like 30, people took comfort in the thought of heaven and lived by biblical principles because they feared hell. But now with modern medicine, the media, and technology, Americans do what they please without the fear of death. She then says that this ground is sinking sand, because the Christian hope of heaven and horror of hell are real and appropriate (p. 211).
My question to her is why? How have you shown this? Because what I just read basically says that when life was short and fragile, and when people were considerably more ignorant then they are today, they found comfort in the belief that they were going to heaven. I think Janney unintentionally argues is that Christian beliefs in the afterlife function as a comforting mechanism to those facing death. It’s comforting to believe your loved one is in heaven, or that murderers are being punished. That was a comforting thought then, and it is a comforting thought now. Yet, she never gives any compelling reason to believe that faith in Jesus is the only way to heaven, which is what I believe her intention is.
But maybe this book was written only for believers, and the author assumes the reader already believes in Jesus. That’s fine, but I still had other problems. In the epilogue, Janney says that Americans historically have believed and acted upon the literal belief of heaven and hell, and that this is what “tenacious” souls continue to accept as true (p.211). But right after she say this she quotes C.S. Lewis, who had beliefs concerning heaven and hell that would make literalists cringe. On page 214, she describes a 700 Club episode that featured a man who had a near death experience where he “went to hell.” Not surprisingly, 1,200 (I’m assuming terrified) callers phoned in to get saved. I couldn’t help but remember how Janney discusses NDE in a previous chapter. In this chapter, people who had NDE described a place of love and light where they were told sin wasn’t a problem and that all religions lead to God. So the NDE guy on the 700 Club had a valid experience, but the NDE’s from the previous chapter didn’t? Concerning this, Janney says, “people will respond to God’s truth when the Holy Spirit convicts them (p. 214).”
I really tried to keep an open mind when reading this. I have to disagree with the previous reviewer about Janney not being “preachy.” I did find her preachy, and also confusing. But I will agree that she asks good questions, and I enjoyed the history lesson.
Chris Ostrander
Apr 2nd, 2009
iChilly
The book is easy to read and written in a captivating and refreshing style. It’s informative without being too cerebral or wordy. Let’s be honest, we rarely talk about heaven & hell in our normal conversations. We assume too much (and, perhaps, care too little) as we focus on the ‘now’ but not the ‘next’. Yet, what happens after we die is central to the very way we chose to live today. This book will really help you explore your own theology and uncover the questions in your heart. It will provoke you, inspire you and, hopefully, encourage you. It will certainly point you in the right direction.
~ Chilly Chilton
http://iChilly.com
Apr 6th, 2009
UMJeremy
I recently had the opportunity to read Who Goes There: a Cultural History of Heaven and Hell by Rebecca Price Janney.
Janney’s premise seems to be that when death was an everpresent reality, heaven and hell were more integral components of Christian thought.
* By looking at memoirs and Boston gravestones, the early American settlers, with their infant mortality rate and short lifespans made death a present reality and fear. People thought often about where their loved ones went and where they would go.
* People during the Second Great Awakening who were suffering in real life found comfort knowing a better life was before them.
* Soldiers in war knew they would directly enter heaven if they died in battle for their “Christian” nation.
From these observations, her premise hinged on the numbers: Christianity hit its highest levels of social discourse and influence in times of death and wonder about the afterlife. Still today, even as the mainline church hits its decline, the segments of Christianity (such as Pentecostalism and Baptists) that are growing the fastest are the ones most decisive about who goes to heaven.
Is there a lesson for the rest of Christendom? Should we emphasize further heaven and hell to grow the church again?
What struck me most was how many pastors in history resorted to emotional ploys and appeals to emotion. Charles Finney exhorting emotional reactions from New England “Frozen Chosen,” Tract societies (still to today) using cartoony appeals to emotion, and telling a young man that his father was in hell and he had to choose eternity with hellbound father or with heavenly Jesus. Geez. Great examples.
The question both bothers me and hits home…what is the Christian to do with heaven and hell?
Putting trying to answer that question to the side, while reading the book, I noticed a growing sense that amidst all the facts, figures, and personal accounts (that were all utterly fascinating)…there was an evangelical slant to the reading and a slow bashing of mainline denominations lack of discussing heaven and hell.
* The mentions of eulogies that didn’t emphasize heaven/hell (which I actually found most helpful) were presbyterians, social gospel proponents, or those who said hell wasn’t an afterlife but a present reality after WWII.
* The slant goes up a notch when we get to JFK, where she writes “Kennedy didn’t seem to understand that many issues are largely morally or spiritually driven” (pg 174). Ahem…what? (a) how do you know he didn’t understand, and (b) given the great diversity of moral/spiritual responses, how else does a secular president of a secular nation bring consensus except by not being partial to one moral/spiritual viewpoint?
There’s more, but it was just difficult to read a book that peppered you with so much excellent source material that you didn’t realize her written text was slanted in a particular direction. I know every book does that, but it was too transparent in this book for my taste as a scholar who tried to make a cultural history into a cultural agenda for today.
This agenda became clear in the conclusion:
* Janney claims that our lengthened lives and medical science means that “we have nothing to fear at death.” I was a hospital chaplain and I offer funeral services to a dozen families a year: there’s plenty of fear at death!
* Janney claims that if we “endure pain and heartbreak for no apparent reason” and life is “without meaning or purpose” then that doesn’t give any semblence of hope or coping. Again, that is not my experience. Suffering does not have to have a divine purpose to be made sense of. The stench of determinism in this claim is incredible…we don’t need to ascribe purpose or God’s will to make sense of suffering.
* Finally, Janney claims that “unless hell exists, there is no moral deterrent.” Actually, she quotes Chuck Colson who apparently knows something about deterrence given his role in Watergate. But that aside, claiming that hell as a deterrent to bad behavior is an echo of the colonial and revivalists who wanted to scare people into righteous living via emotional appeals. What kind of discipleship is it that relies on scare tactics to keep you in good standing?
As if there was any doubt, Billy Graham, Chuck Colson, and Pat Robertson all are on the next to last page. Any reasonable mainline preacher? None. Sigh.
Janney’s call to action seems to be a repeat of history. The only thing apparently that will save Christianity is the great numerical growth that comes from megapreacher events with emotional appeals. In conclusion, she seems to call for a contemporary Great Awakening that will somehow have an equal effect of past spectacles even though Christianity’s place in society has inverted since the last one.
In short, I really enjoyed the source material, even the stuff I didn’t agree with. Kudoes for finding all of it and putting it in my hands. What I didn’t agree with was calling this a “cultural history” when it really does provide space for the successes of the evangelical and pentecostal traditions of emotional appeals while ridiculing or painting as “failures” the groups that did not. That’s not a cultural history, that’s an agenda. So if you want an agenda, read the book. If not, read the book…but only the source material, because that’s the really good stuff.
Thoughts? Check out other reviews on the Ooze page.
Blog Post Review: http://blog.hackingchristianity.net/2009/04/who-goes-there-review.html
Apr 6th, 2009
Jordan Peacock
I received a promotional copy of this book from Mike Morrell over at theOoze.com. (Thank you)
Rebecca Price Janney’s writing is simple and clear. Her subject covers the cultural evolution of beliefs regarding the afterlife in America – a subtitle that should take prominence over the more confusing “Who Goes There?” on the front cover.
The book’s thesis is simple: American cultural beliefs of heaven and hell have been fragmented and dispersed far from their origins in Puritan Protestant orthodoxy. Proof is then given through a whirlwind tour through the history of the United States, particularly focused upon obituaries and views toward the afterlife. It is in the numerous sermons, poems, songs, articles and films quoted that Janney’s work as a historian shines. The fact that it is a quick read is a testament to her clear organization of the material and consistent writing style.
The theological side, however, is slightly stunted. The strength here is on the history – while her theological biases are clear, they remain largely unargued except via correlations between each era’s behaviours. The strong ‘divine war’ ethic that fueled many U.S. foreign incursions is sympathized with and as the years gain on the present the writing loses some of it’s potency. Janney’s examination of challenges to this theological hegemony sometimes comes off as dismissive – whether that was the true intent or merely a symptom of brevity is unclear.
Nevertheless, as someone strongly interested in history and theology, this was a wonderful book, and is highly recommended (chapters 3-16 in particular).
The Ameri-centricism and the emphasis on Protestant theology leaves gaps worthy of another’s work, but within it’s bounds this work is steadfast.
Review posted to Amazon.com
Apr 7th, 2009
godgrown
Who Goes There? by Rebecca Price Janney is a tumbling book on how cultures throughout history have viewed heaven and hell. Here’s an excerpt. The book was sent to me by Michael Morrell as part of the Viral Bloggers portion of the OOZE e-zine. This is a report on the book.
Much of the book is the America’s relationship with a Christian theology of heaven and hell. Janney walks us through the earliest days of America, as it was finding its footing, and through grissling wars that forced people to question the fate of loved ones lost in combat. The later chapters are full of quotes and analysis of some of the most culturally famous (or infamous) who passed away in the public spotlight. Janney considers the public reaction in newspapers, or radio and TV broadcasts to be indicative of the broader culture’s position on heaven and hell.
While it was great to walk through America’s history again, I found the book fairly predictable with nothing interesting to really catch or keep my attention. Janney appropriately stays out of the realm of theology and instead reports on the historical events. This makes for a great history lesson, but does little for a practical theologian. Where are we today in our conversation about heaven and hell? How does culture use or misuse the Bible to assume life after death? Surprisingly little is unpacked on contemporary times, and it was disappointing.
While there is little to take away from this book for those wanting to integrate it into their ministry or life, there was one point she made in the last chapter. Quoting C.S. Lewis, she writes, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.” If the whole book had been a history on the lives of such people and their understanding of heaven and hell (Martin Luther King Jr., St. Francis of Assisi, etc) I would have devoured this book. I chose this book because I believe that what we believe about our final destination helps our trajectory through this life. I regret to say this book doesn’t do much for me.
There was a pretty neat video Moody Publishers put out to promote the book.
[src:'http://www.youtube.com/v/31q4o-twdYU',width:'425',height:'350']
We do have wildly diverse beliefs about heaven and hell. Mostly, we just believe whatever we want to, or let our theology slide when good things are said about ‘bad people.’ “He’s up there looking down on me.”
But why not stop assuming people are one place or another? What good does that do? Why not begin to join Jesus in bringing heaven to earth, and send hell off in a hand basket? Maybe I’ve been in too many conversations of guesswork, trying to figure out who the heretic was – my life will not be defined by judging “who goes where” but rather “where am I helping this world go?”
Apr 7th, 2009
BLePort
Rebecca Price Janney’s Who Goes There? does for American eschatology what Stephen Prothero’s American Jesus does for American Christology: it provides a simple, easy to read survey of how Americans view life, death, and the afterlife. Janney traces the evolution (or de-evolution) of American thought from Jonathan Edward’s ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’ to modern assumption that all good Americans–from J.F. Kennedy to those who lost their lives during the tragedy of 9/11–are destine for eternal bliss.
Although it is not evident at first Janney reveals herself to be writing from the perspective of a concerned evangelical. She bemoans the fact that Americans no longer fear God nor take the idea of hell seriously (except for people like Hitler and Hussein). She represents a fairly traditional view of heaven as a place where we live forever in unity with Christ as well as hell as a place of eternal torment. This book, though a piece on history, has a theological agenda that emerges at the end.
The only complaint that I have about this book would be it appears to be arguing for what Janney believes to be a correct perspective of heaven/hell more from traditional American views of these subjects that from biblical exegesis. Janney is a theologically trained historian, not a biblical scholar, so this is to be expected. Nevertheless, the book accomplishes it purpose which is to trace the change in American thinking regarding heaven and hell.
This is reposted from http://nearemmaus.blogspot.com/2009/04/book-review-rebecca-price-janney-who.html
Apr 8th, 2009
expastor
A curious reader might slog through all 234 pages of Rebecca Price Janney’s book Who Goes There? A Cultural History of Heaven and Hell, but I recommend the curious reader pick up a different book, almost any book, except The Shack or Blue Like Jazz. I’m going to tell you in fourteen words what Janney takes 234 pages to say: people used to believe in heaven and hell; now they don’t, and that’s bad.
There are two great flaws in Janney’s book: no clear audience, and she uses Peter Marshall for her history citations. Let’s take care of the second first. If you are going to talk about history, use a historian, not a revisionist ideologue popular with fundamentalist home-schoolers. Marshall’s revisionist history is a joke, and no one needs a degree in history to know it. Ms. Janney, if you must use a Christian historian, try Mark Noll (or George Marsden). He’s so good that Notre Dame hired him even though he’s an evangelical. You’ll also find his writings about the myth of Christian America very informative, as well as scrupulously annotated and researched, unlike Marshall’s use of selective quotations and bizarre speculation.
Second, who is this book for? Do Christians not know that people used to believe in heaven and hell more than they do now? Is anyone surprised that 150 years ago there was more belief in the fiery torments of hell? More to the point though is the question Janney never answers: why does it matter if people believed that 150 or 200 years ago? If you established that every Christian in America believed in hell in 1850, it would not get you one inch closer to demonstrating that hell is a real place. Hell, if you established that every heathen believed it, it wouldn’t help your case one iota. If the book is for non-Christians, what sort of argument does the author advance? That is her purpose, after all. In the introduction she makes a point of writing: “Death and what comes next are crucial aspects of life, and we take a huge risk if we cannot support what we believe, especially if exclusive religious claims are true” (pg. 12).
The mind collapses on itself trying to understand what she means by that statement. You cannot support what you believe with any sort of non-speculative argument. Period. You can point to the Bible. You can point to surveys of what people believe. You can listen to the bizarre stories of NDE survivors. You can read about the man who died, saw a vision of hell and felt compelled by an angel to write it all down. None of that constitutes a viable argument. As for exclusive religious claims, she seems not to understand that people of other faiths make the same argument. If a Muslim in Saudi Arabia wrote a book alleging that Muslims believed in hell with greater frequency 100 years ago (a non-eternal hell, by the way), he would have the same sorts of arguments Janney makes here. This book suffers from philosophical and theological insularity to such a degree that Janney doesn’t recognize the special and restricted nature of the claims she’s making. Exit her community of reference as I have, and all the claims about the afterlife are equally true and equally absurd because we simply don’t know. Can’t know. Won’t know ’til we’re dead, assuming knowing continues after death.
Janney does find time to do what conservative (near fundamentalist) Christians who write for Moody, the book’s publisher, and similar publishers have been doing for the past several years: she picks on postmodernity. And she does it so badly that I have to point something out because postmoderns (whatever that means, and I assume I am one of them) are so much more right about their perspective on this than Janney. Janney writes: “A philosophy known as ‘postmodernism’ began to take hold in mainstream American culture in the early 1970’s, and it quickly began to replace time-honored Christian values” (189). She then goes one to make outrageous claims that demonstrate she knows virtually nothing about postmodernity or the two whipping boys she chooses: Derrida and Foucault. I’m going to go out on a limb and accuse her of having read neither. What Janney fails to recognize is that the rebellion of the 1960’s and 1970’s was largely in response to the utter hypocrisy of America’s political and religious hierarchies. The “time-honored Christian values” had endured slavery, subjugation of women, slaughter of Native Americans, Jim Crow and segregation, and a military buildup that was at that time dumping napalm on children in Vietnam. Time-honored indeed. At nearly every step, good Christians were helping the hegemony to flourish because they were so deceived by their upbringing in an incredibly powerful civil religion based on the myths of America’s divine favor. It was thanks in part to men like Foucault and Derrida that people were finally able to see through the referential meaning of language to the political and power uses of language, peeling back the illusion of truth and the pretense of speaking truth without hidden motives. This, again, demonstrates that Janney has no idea who her audience is, unless she just wants to sell books to uber-conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists. No non-Christian with a basic understanding of history, philosophy, linguistics, or rational argument can take Janney seriously.
I would love to move through each section of the book and review the horrific job of history and argument Janney presents, but what would be the purpose? I’ve outlined the argument for you in 14 words. I will say that her treatment of Mark Twain is particularly egregious. Were he alive today to read her book, I can only imagine the writing he would do in response. (I’m thinking something along the lines of the treatment James Fenimore Cooper received, only Cooper’s exaggerations were creative license and hyperbole, not assertions of fact concerning things that can’t be known.) He would surely point out that if millions of people believe a lie, it’s still a lie. And he might even say that Allah is kinder than Jesus because hell in Islam is not eternal. An irony lost on most Christians, I’m sure, including Janney. And I hope he would say that if you’re going to base what you believe today on the opinions of people 200 or 2000 years ago and not solid argumentation, he’d prefer you not write books.
reposted from: the parish
Apr 9th, 2009
chadbrooks
Who Goes There?:A Cultural History of Heaven and Hell By Rebecca Price Janney
Who Goes There?:A Cultural History of Heaven and Hell is written by Rebecca Price Janney. Dr. Janney hold the unique perspective of being a theologically trained historian. Just her perspective alone interests me, because I often think the historical is left out when people are deciding or debating hot button theological issues. The idea of an afterlife is at the fundamental existence of any religion, you could argue that having some sort of a view of life after death is a keystone thought in determining if something is a “religion”.
The author quickly goes through an ancient perspective of differing views, traversing through various historical religious traditions. She also introduces Americans fascination with death and interacting with the idea of an afterlife when remembering those who have passed. To a point, this book could be looked at as a view of American Church History. No matter what, is shows what a fundamental place eschatology has in American Protestantism. She also shows how as Americans, we have baptized the ideas of justice and liberty and intertwined them within our religious world-view.
An interesting intersection is when Janney shows the difference between two presidents funerals, 25th President William McKinley and the 35th President John F Kennedy, both assassinated in office. McKinley was held to be a “good Christian man”, and part of his funeral was the idea of him being a righteous public official, and his death was even evangelized. John F Kennedy, while recognized religiously as our first Roman Catholic President, was generally regarded as a “secular” president. In his funeral proceedings were described as “a curious blending of sacred and secular” and while lauded as someone whose example to follow, it was because of his civic reputation.
A critique I do have is that while mentioned, the critical place of pre-millennial dispensationalism in 19th century American thought was passed over quickly. The rise of this viewpoint served as a hingepoint in American evangelicalism. The reaction between this and the Civil War greatly altered the American religious landscape and I think it should have been addressed better.
Dr. Janney’s text is a great book that outlines the development not only of American religion, but of our forming as a nation and the place that religious views had in its forming. The book would serve as a great introduction text into a Church History, Philosophy or general Religion class.
Chad Brooks
http://www.outsideisbetter.net
Apr 14th, 2009
camelbo
When reviewing a book, there are many questions that I ask whilst reading. Some examples:
What is the author’s thesis?
Does the author effectively work from/towards that thesis?
For what audience is the book best suited?
What are the negatives and positives about the work?
And what/how does this book add to the ongoing dialog of the Christian faith?
In Rebecca Price Janney’s Who Goes there: A Cultural History of Heaven and Hell, I felt that her premise was 2 fold. One, to explore the attitudes of Heaven and Hell during different time periods in our nation; and two, to explore WHY the attitudes and theologies have changed over time. I have mixed opinions about whether she achieved these objectives or not. I think that she began this book with those two premises in mind, but quickly lets it give way to concluding that most people simply have poor theology on Heaven and Hell, and it has been that way for a while!
I’ll begin with premise #1. Janney gives an American snapshot of the trend in our history to change our opinions on the subjects of the afterlife. She is very unbiased towards the fact that there was once a time when the majority (and I question her use of the word “majority”) had “solid theology” on the subjects of Heaven and Hell. When was this time? Well it was none other than The First Great Awakening. Known for such tent/traveling preachers as Wesley, Whitefield, and Edwards, this was a booming time of what has become known as “Hell-fire and Brimstone Preaching”. These preachers would come into town, set up shop, and people would flock to these events and buy whatever was being sold. I say that tongue-in-cheek, but let’s think a little about the lifestyle of that time period.
Moral was low, the death-rate was high, all day was spent working (usually manual labor), and money was scarce among the masses. Who can blame people for flocking to an invitation given by one of these great orators that either 1) played on their already present fears, or 2) gave them a beacon of hope. People were wooed by these educated preachers because education was also poor in America at this time. It’s not that dumb people fall for these messages, in fact I think it is that these average people longed for better understanding and education and “learned” from these people these doctrines they were pandering. Who would blame them? It makes complete sense that people thought more about Heaven and Hell at this point in time than any other since.
But for Janney, those were the “good old days”. Americans have produced nothing but poor views on the subjects since. She chastises those who’s understanding of Heaven is that “everyone good gets to go, except child-molesters and Hitler.” I started thinking about this and I have to say, in all my years involved with churches and my time in ministry, I have NEVER once even heard a preacher say at a funeral, “well, Clive was a good guy, but since he never accepted Christ…. well, Clive’s off to Hell now.” It’s not just the American populace and laity that think that people deserve to go to Heaven, even some of the most conservative ministers deep down do not act this out practically. Only when it is a concept from behind a pulpit, when we don’t put faces to the concepts (except Hitler?!) is this taught with the utmost certainty.
But Janney doesn’t mention this. And because she fails to accurately discover why most people’s theology on the afterlife have changed, I feel that this book is truly not worth the read. Please understand, it has nothing to do with whether or not I agree with her theology on the subject! I don’t recommend this book to anyone because she doesn’t stay on her thesis, she is completely biased to the fact that any theology but her own is poor, and she truly misses out on a fantastic opportunity presented by this book. That opportunity comes with my last question I ask of a work:
What or how does this add to the ongoing conversation in our Christian faith?
I think that there are 2 thoughts that I conceived from this book.
1) There is a trend by many Christians, especially postmodern Christians, to NOT talk about the afterlife. I don’t think its fair to say that theology has gotten weak, in fact, there has been some great theological thoughts on Salvation and the afterlife (both new and reclaimed) that has come out of this shift. But since the Heaven/Hell theology has been forced down many people’s throats at the expense of equally important messages of Christ, there is a tendency to shy away from talking about or tackling the questions that people still have about the afterlife. We must focus on a holistic view of following Christ, and that means not ignoring any of these issues about which the Bible speaks. Janney, sort-of leads the reader to this conclusion, but sacrifices the calmer message for that of denouncing any theory of the afterlife except for the single one to which she herself adheres.
2) I think this is the more important question that Janney totally misses her opportunity on. When you have billions of people in the world, (Janney never really looks past the American geographical boundaries, but the phenomenon of which she speaks is world-wide) and over the past 100 years (or more) this idea of a different Heaven has emerged and held tight: the idea that it isn’t about accepting Christ, but something bigger. That Heaven is a place that people deserve after the hell of this life, or because they are good people, or the myriad of the other beliefs out there. When are we going to let these theological concepts (and yes they can be considered theology, that one branch of Christianity does not have a patent on thinking about Heaven and Hell) dialog with more “traditional” ideas of the afterlife? If we believe that God is still at work and revealing himself…if we believe that theology is as Daniel Migliore defines it: “Faith seeking understanding,” then we owe it to our own beliefs and certainties to face these challenging thoughts and questions. Who knows where it will lead us? I think we would find that these thoughts are far from “poor theology”, and in fact, be shocked to find how well thought out and developed these ideas are.
When we push people and thoughts like this aside for our own “certainty”, we miss out on many opportunities. I think this sums up Janney’s book…a missed opportunity!
Apr 15th, 2009
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