dEvangelized: Childhood Indoctrination in a Fundamentalist Church 2

In "One Remarkable Life," a section in one of his widely read books, A Brief Introduction to the New Testament (2017:15-16), top Bible scholar Bart Ehrman writes of a fascinating first century biographical account:

From the beginning his mother knew that he was no ordinary person. Prior to his birth, a heavenly figure appeared to her, announcing that her son would not be a mere mortal but would himself be divine. This prophecy was confirmed by the miraculous character of his birth, a birth accompanied by supernatural signs. The boy was already recognized as a spiritual authority in his youth; his discussions with recognized experts showed his superior knowledge of all things religious. As an adult he left home to engage in an itinerant preaching ministry. He went from village to town with his message of good news, proclaiming that people should forgo their concerns for the material things of this life, such as how to dress and what to eat. They should instead be concerned with their eternal souls.

He gathered around him a number of disciples who were amazed by his teaching and his flawless character. They became convinced that he was no ordinary man but was the Son of God. Their faith received striking confirmation in the miraculous things that he did. He could reportedly predict the future, heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead. Not everyone proved friendly, however. At the end of his life, his enemies trumped up charges against him, and he was placed on trial before Roman authorities for crimes against the state.

Even after he departed this realm, however, he did not forsake his devoted followers. Some claimed that he had ascended bodily into heaven; others said that he had appeared to them, alive, afterward, that they had talked with him and touched him and become convinced that he could not be bound by death. A number of his followers spread the good news about this man, recounting what they had seen him say and do. Eventually some of these accounts came to be written down in books that circulated throughout the empire.

But I doubt that you have ever read them. In fact, I suspect you have never heard the name of this miracle-working “Son of God.” The man I have been referring to is the great neo-­Pythagorean teacher and pagan... holy man of the first century C.E., Apollonius of Tyana, a worshiper of the Roman gods... whose life and teachings are still available for us in the writings of his later (third-century) follower Philostratus, in his book The Life of Apollonius.

Bart Ehrman. 2017. A Brief Introduction to the New Testament. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

I and all of my Christian friends from Sunday School to preaching school, never heard the story of Apollonius of Tyana (ca. 15-100 CE) and of that of other self-styled messiahs of his time. But these accounts should be told over and over, for too often, when some Christians sing "Jesus loves me, this I know!" the character they have in mind is an ahistorical, mystical figure uprooted from the tangled cultural forest of the first century.

At the risk of overwhelming you with a reading list, I'd like you to take a look at all the books below that detail the many ways Jesus has been understood by Christians across the centuries. The list is by no means exhaustive, but hopefully it will make you realize that whatever ideas Christians have about Jesus had not come from revelation as sectarian preachers would have you believe; rather, these gradually arose from a fertile hermeneutical ground enriched by personal preferences, creative imaginations, literary (re)constructions, cross-cultural influences, religious disputations, and political considerations.

• Litwa, M. David. 2019. How the Gospels Became History: Jesus and Mediterranean Myths. New Haven: Yale University Press.

• Whitaker, Max. 2019. Is Jesus Athene or Odyseus? Investigating the Unrecognizability and Metamorphosis of Jesus in his Post-Resurrection Appearances. Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck.

• Thompson, Andrew. 2018. Jesus of Arabia: Christ through Middle Eastern Eyes. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

• Taylor, Joan E. 2018. What Did Jesus Look Like? London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark.

• Simon, Joseph J. 2018. Jesus, the Essenes, and Christian Origins: New Light on Ancient Texts and Communities. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.

• Gutierrez, Juan Marcos Bejarano. 2018. The Judaisms of Jesus' Followers: An Introduction to Christianity in Its Early Jewish Context. Grand Prairie, TX: Yaron Publishing.

• Ehrman, Bart D. 2016. Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and Invented Their Stories of the Savior. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc..

• MacDonald, Dennis R. 2015. Mythologizing Jesus From Jewish Teacher to Epic Hero. Rowman & Littlefield Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

• Ehrman, Bart D. 2014. How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

• Schröter, Jens. 2013. From Jesus to the New Testament:
  Early Christian Theology and the Origin of the New Testament. Translated by Wayne Coppins. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.

• Louden, Bruce. 2011. Homer's Odyssey and the Near East. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• Casey, Maurice. 2010. Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of His Life and Teaching. New York: T&T Clark Intl.

• Vermes, Geza. 2010. The Real Jesus Then: and Now. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

• McDonough, Sean M. 2009. Christ as Creator: Origins of a New Testament Doctrine. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Rodgers, Zuleika, Margaret Daly-Dento and Anne Fitzpatrick McKinley, eds. 2009. A Wandering Galilean: Essays in Honour of Seán Freyne. Leiden: Brill.

• Meier, John P. 2009. A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

• Endsjø, Dag Øistein. 2009. Greek Resurrection Beliefs and the Success of Christianity. New York: PalgraveMacmillan.

• Spong, John Shelby. 2007. Jesus for the Non-Religious. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

• Crossan, Jan Dominic. 2007. God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

• Levine, A.J., Dale C. Allison, Jr., & John Dominic Crossan, eds.. 2006. The Historical Jesus in Context. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

• Louden, Bruce. 2006. The Iliad Structure, Myth, and Meaning. Baltimore, MD: The John Hopkins University Press.

• Chancey, Mark A. 2005. Greco-Roman Culture and the Galilee of Jesus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• Kloppenborg, John S & John W. Marshall. 2005. Apocalypticism, Anti-Semitism and the Historical Jesus. New York: T&T Clark International.

• Freyne, Sean. 2004. Jesus, A Jewish Galilean: A New Reading of the Jesus Story. London: T&T Clark, Intl.

• MacDonald, Dennis R. 2003. Does the New Testament Imitate Homer? Four Cases from the Acts of the Apostles. New Haven: Yale University Press.

• Price, Robert M. 2000. Deconstructing Jesus. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.

• Rubenstein, Richard E. 1999. When Jesus Became God: The Epic Fight over Christ's Divinity in the Last Days of Rome. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company.

• Hurtado, Larry W. 1999. At the Origins of Christian Worship: The Context and Character of Earliest Christian Devotion. Carlisle, Cumbria: Paternoster Press.

• Ehrman, Bart D. 1999. Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Dunn, James D.G. 1989. Christology in the Making: An Inquiry into the Origins of the Doctrine of the Incarnation. 2nd. ed. London: SCM Press, Ltd.

• Horsley, Richard A. & John S. Hanson. 1985. Bandits, Prophets, and Messiahs: Popular Movements in the Time of Jesus. Minneapolis, MN: Winston Press, Inc.

• Schweitzer, Albert. 1910. The Quest of the Historical Jesus: A Critical Study of its Progress from Reimarus to Wrede. Translated by W. Montgomery. London: A&C Black, Ltd.

The discursive springboard of all these books is the Bible, and so we must turn our discussion to this literary masterpiece.

"Jesus Loves Me, This I Know"

Jesus loves me, this I know
for the Bible tells me so!
Little ones to Him belong --
they are weak, but He is strong!
Yes, Jesus loves me (3x)
--- the Bible tells me so! Jesus loves me, He who died
heaven's gate to open wide.
He will wash away my sin,
let His little child come in.
Yes, Jesus loves me! (3x)
--- the Bible tells me so!
Yes, Jesus loves me (3x)
--- the Bible tells me so!

Some close friends and I first learned this and many other Christian ditties over 30 years ago at a kiddie Sunday School class in a Fundamental Baptist Church. Countless of such classes, as well as the annual Daily Vacation Bible School (DVBS) and regular midweek or weekend activities, had ensured that we could sing these in our sleep while making gestures that passed for sign language.

Even today, 12 years after leaving the Christian faith, hearing even just a part of some kiddie gospel songs still brings back fond memories of Christian childhood: flannel boards and cutouts of Bible characters in the worship house; UNO cards, Chinese Checkers, Easter Egg hunting, and crocket contests at the pastor's residence or church yard; certificates and honor ribbons, juice, biscuits during DVBS; carols and cantata during Christmas...

Church Music and Mind-Conditioning

Church music is a highly effective tool of indoctrination. It is so because it melds what we feel and what we remember of people, places, events and ideas, thus making our religious experience impactful. It targets our emotions or conditions our mood, and disarms our rational defenses: music tunes our emotions and tunes out our reasoning powers.

When this happens to us, it becomes difficult for us to be self-reflexive -- i.e., to take a step back and look at our religious experiences and beliefs from a critical standpoint. It becomes nearly impossible for us to believe we could be wrong. We become incredulous at how we could be wrong about a particular belief when we perceive it to be true, when our religious experience associated with that belief feels real, when the songs mean so much to us.

So music is an essential component of Christian worship. You can just imagine a Catholic mass or an Evangelical/Pentecostal worship service without congregational singing, choir performances and/or musical instruments. It would be just like watching James Bond movies without John Barry or David Arnold soundtracks.

Uhm... Maybe that's the wrong analogy, but I think you get my drift.

No wonder churches put extra emphasis on music: the song leader has to be one of the best singers, four-part congregational singing is ideal, choir members need to be presentable and choral singing has to be well-rehearsed, musical instruments must reinforce and not drown out singing or at least be played well to suit an intended mood, and hymns have to be carefully chosen to match a message or an occasion.

Church music is calculated to appeal to different age groups, but songs for children are foundational not only because these contain basic religious doctrines in a nutshell but also because the recipients are impressionable and whatever early impressions they have on their faith system can last a lifetime. A child's mind may be full of wonders, but it lacks the critical thinking skills that could evaluate the beliefs embedded in the songs. A child's mind is predisposed or manipulated -- intentionally or not -- to trust adults and believe in whatever truth claims these authority figures may teach.

Among children, catchy gospel songs -- especially those accompanied by accordions, guitars or pianos, and such --- are perfect tools for teaching and effective builders of self-confidence and interpersonal relationships. These make them clap and dance or move, thus setting them into a positive mood and further reinforcing their ability to memorize the lyrics and melody by heart. Music thus makes learning fun for the innocent mind.

Music and Personalized Theologies

The problem, though, is that the songs are not so innocent. Embedded in them are ideas with particular meanings set by a sect's theology. If it were some informed adults reading or listening to the songs for the first time, they would likely take a more nuanced attention to the lyrics. Children, on the other hand, swallow these ideas hook, line and sinker as easily as they mouth the lyrics. Further teaching in Sunday School or some other learning sessions then solidify their understanding of a range of doctrines and practices.

For example, the lines "Jesus loves me, this I know!" may sound uncomplicated, but these actually contain complex assumptions that need to be unpacked or interrogated.

What you know about Jesus ultimately depends on which sect you happen to be in. Suppose you were a Fundamental Baptist/Bible Baptist like I was. Your Jesus would be a member of the Trinity who came down to live in human form, died for your sins, was resurrected, is now in heaven and has a deeply personal relationship with you. Baptists are the apple of Jesus' eyes (or, more fittingly, a mini-apple because according to what I was taught then, technically the Jews are still number one to this coming King of Kings who will make Jerusalem the seat of his soon-to-be-established millennial reign). So the Jesus of your childhood is not only that dainty figure of the Renaissance, but also the militant Jesus of Dispensational Theology and the Cyrus I. Scofield Study Bible.

Through years indoctrination, you had grown up singing songs about Jesus whose nature is defined by a set of doctrines promoted by your church. Naturally, you will also continue to believe that what you know about Jesus is drawn directly from the Bible without interpretation and is thus the gospel truth, period.

You may not be aware that your own Christology took centuries to evolve and was decided on by creative writers, church councils, patristic writers, and overzealous apologists.

You may not even fully realize that other Christians spread out in thousands of sects also have their own Christologies which may be different from or contrary to yours but which they respectively believe to be the sole truth.

For instance, some of them may think that your theology is based on a serious misinterpretation of the Scriptures: your doctrine of the Trinity is of pagan origin; the holy spirit is a force, not a person; Jesus is simply a man anointed by Father-God to carry out his salvific purpose, and not equal to the Father; Genesis and Revelation are meant to be read allegorically; Jesus' so-called millennial reign is a merely symbol of God's rule on earth since the establishment of the church -- or maybe, Jesus will have his millennial reign indeed, but Baptists will never be part of it because they are going straight to hell.

Had you heard them speak so, you would have been offended and you would have defended your doctrines with a phalanx of Bible verses. What do you know, they are just as offended at your doctrines and they have bombshells of Bible verses as well to "prove" you wrong.

But certainly, you protest, there is a right understanding about who Jesus is!

Which is your understanding, right? But you would say the same thing were you raised in another Christian sect that teaches the opposite of what you know about Jesus.

But you think you certainly know your beliefs about Jesus are true because you feel it, you've experienced His presence in moments of solitude and grief, and have always felt inexplicable joy in fellowships and celebrations. So Jesus cares about you in a real way, and answers your prayers all the time!

Well, guess what, other believers whom you consider to be apostates or heretics could say the same thing, if not more. There are many of them who claim to have actually seen or talked to Jesus or that they have a daily walk with Jesus too. Because they are "in Jesus," they believe they are as blessed as you feel you are, if not more.

So when they sing a song about Jesus, they have the same genuine spiritual experience as yours even though they adhere to what seems to you an odd or even damnable view of the Savior.

On a positive note, this childhood confidence in one's "personal relationship with Jesus" can develop into a can-do attitude which can empower one to successfully pursue a life goal. I have had friends in church who, convinced about special connection to Jesus, had been motivated to finish school, establish a career, and do humanitarian work.

On the other hand, this very same confidence can also easily turn into downright despicable hubris. Like this one night, many years ago, I was among the lay preachers in my church who had listened to a fiery two-hour sermon on 2 Kings 6:8-22. We were so inspired by his preaching that we all walked home that night imagining that Jesus and his angelic host were right there in the skies surrounding us, giving us protection. Come to think of it, heaven's army was keeping us away from harm that night and the nights thereafter while on those very same nights thousands of women, men and children across the globe had been left defenseless from mugging, extortion, battery, rape, murder, and what not. How special could one get?

The CoViD19 pandemic has also churned out fundamentalist Christians who have flouted their community's laws or policies on mask-wearing and physical distancing simply because they believe they are "covered by the blood of Jesus" and could care less if they infect others or one another with the coronavirus.

Then there are some Christian professionals who even praise Jesus for his grace because despite this global crisis, they still have a steady flow of patients or clients. Apparently, Jesus is bent on ensuring they continue to have income by allowing other people -- even those who have barely enough to buy their daily groceries -- to be caught in litigations or get struck by illnesses so that his chosen doctors and lawyers could survive. Never mind those other good, selfless doctors and nurses who had to die after getting infected by their patients. Never mind other lawyers who might really be devoted believers but didn't make the cut for an exclusive membership in the Chosen People's Club.

Then there other Christians who post their humble brags on social media thanking Jesus that they are CoVid19-free and are well and wealthy while others around them are infected, are dying, and/or penniless. Which is really a horrible thought because these Christians send out the message that this Jesus is much like the capricious gods of ancient Greece playing favorites and delighting in saving just a few self-centered individuals while casually letting good and loving people all over the world perish in various calamities. What about thanking the doctors and nurses, government officials and law enforcers, or scientists and/or pharmacologists who have worked frenetically to stave off the onslaught of this coronavirus? What about just silently helping others instead of "flexing" good morning myself in the name of Jesus? What happened to "let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth" (Matt. 6:3)?

In all these examples, the notion of one's special connection to Jesus not only makes one delusional, but also reveals one's insensitivity to the sufferings of the rest of humanity.