Popular historian Tom Holland observed the steady contours of the Christian story. He documents its positive effect on culture in his book, “Dominion.” Christians have always presented a worldview and way of life quite different than those living outside its influence.
In a popular forum someone asked Holland, “What is the call of our time?” He answered, “Let Christianity be weird!” On another occasion he said, “I think what churches should do is absolutely celebrate all the kind of mad, weird stuff…angels, God thundering from Mount Sinai, the book of Job, all that sort of thing.” In other words, for culture to continue to enjoy the benefits of Christianity, be provocative and don’t lose your radical edge.
Weird is something unexpected, disconcerting, or peculiar. If it means being different than popular notions of spirituality, morality, and meaning, then weird fits Christianity, in a good way. In that vein, I offer this list of weirdness.
I begin with this: there is a God. He created the material universe and everything in it. He is one God in three Persons. He took on human flesh and walked on the earth. The other-worldly presence of His Holy Spirit convicts, renews, and guides people.
Here’s another. God created us, male and female, in His image. That means all humans have dignity, including the weak and marginalized, unborn and infirm. It means morality comes from the character of God. It means we are constrained by the reality of the created order. It reveals unconstrained personal autonomy as a chasing of shadows.
Here’s something so weird, it’s scandalous: God died on purpose. The Bible says we fix “our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2). Unless this Jesus is God, Son, and resurrected Savior, he is an ersatz Jesus, a moral guru at best.
I don’t have space to discuss the weirdness of angels, demons, miracles, and end times. Nor the selfless love for enemy. Nor how personal faith cures fear, anxiety, hate, bigotry, and crime. What I can say is that for a minute, even Jesus’ family thought He was being weird, and “went out to take custody of Him” (Mark 3:21).
So church, do not dilute the Christian story. If you mimic the offerings of popular culture, you preach a different gospel. Be a safe space for cultural refugees by offering the solid ground of ancient and beautiful truth. The Bible unapologetically shows the way for you to find peace with God and hope for eternity.
Tom Holland admitted, “In almost every way I am Christian.” If “almost” omits faith in Christ Jesus, is it because the real Jesus is too weird? If He was weird, I am too.