Jessica Myers

June 20, 2015

Called to be a Utopia?

While we were looking at utopian conventions found in Genesis, Revelation, and then Acts, I was intrigued by the verses we read in Acts, and the comment that was made regarding how the present day church looks nothing like the example described. Acts describes church members as having, “all things in common” (The Reformation Study Bible, 2:44b). The author also depicts them as “selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:45). Today, many churches have found themselves caught up in the capitalism that pervades America to be the biggest, wealthiest, and most attractive. David Platt, a reformed Baptist preacher, noted American church culture defines success “by bigger crowds, bigger budgets, and bigger buildings” (2). Platt even goes so far as to note that current Christians are “settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves” (7). Seeing all of this led me to ask myself what aspects/conditions of utopian society are Christians called to live by. Through our readings, I have noticed a few conventions that have become clearly necessary for a utopian society to work, which include set religious beliefs, the ability to determine what is good, just, or right, education of adults and children, communal property, separateness from the “world,” and connection to others as a large “family.”

In the Bible, there are multiple teachings on how Christians are to conduct their lives. The Apostle Paul states in his letter to the Corinthians that although they cannot physically escape the evil of the world “since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler – not even to eat with such a one” (1 Corinthians 5:10,11). This is similar to what we read in Herland, where those women who could not comply with the community’s expectations were not allowed to become mothers, or in Utopia, when community members were banished for breaking rules. The Apostle John also teaches, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions – is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17). This establishes what is seen as good or right and gives reasoning for pursuing the good or right thing because there will be rewards in heaven through eternal life. Paul also tells his disciple Timothy that the Christians are to “do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:18,19). This is similar to the standard set in Acts where property is seen as communal and should be shared amongst the members of the church and not just kept for one’s own gain since “we cannot take anything out of the world” (1 Timothy 6:7b).

Besides using the Bible as a resource, the church also has a system which includes literature with which it governs itself. One example of this type of text was the “Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America.” I took particular notice of church officers, membership vows, and baptismal vows. In the “Church Officers – General Classification” section, church officers are defined as elders and deacons. The elders “jointly have the government and spiritual oversight of the Church, including teaching” (27). The elders maintain order and are in charge of keeping their people educated regarding the expectations and teachings of the church. However, “only those elders who are specially gifted, called and trained by God to preach may serve as teaching elders” (27). This shows that not just anyone can be a teacher. It must be someone who has shown aptitude for the position similar to the scholars or Over Mothers of Utopia and Herland. The deacons do not “rule, but rather [serve] both the physical and spiritual needs of the people” (27). In this role as servant leaders, they would be in charge of determining those who would be considered in need and coordinating people to help those church members. Under the “Admission of Persons to Sealing Ordinances” to become members of the church the person must affirm five questions. I found the last three supportive of the idea of living under a separate set of rules set apart from the expectations of the world. These were, “Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ? Do you promise to support the Church in its worship and work to the best of your ability? Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline of the Church, and promise to study its purity and peace?” (168). Although there is no such ceremony in any of the utopian literature we have read, these questions seem to support the expectations that are represented through studies of these utopian societies. However, this does show the idea of entering into a family and becoming a member of something that is bigger than you or your individual family unit. Finally, under the “Administration of Baptism” the congregation is asked to “undertake the responsibility of assisting the parents in the Christian nurture of this child” (166). This is similar to Herland in the sense that they all mothers and raise the children. However, this does not mean that there are not still individual parents but that the church is called to support and help raise the child in the beliefs of the faith. During baptism the parents are asked, “Do you now unreservedly dedicate your child to God, and promise, in humble reliance upon divine grace, that you will endeavor to set before (him) a godly example, that you will pray with and for (him), that you will teach (him) the doctrines of our holy religion, and that you will strive, by all the means of God’s appointment, to bring (him) up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?” (165). These questions show the importance of education and raising the child to understand the traditions, rules, and expectations of the church. Not only that but church members are expected to meet, fellowship, and study with one another at least once a week through Sunday School, Sunday Worship, Bible studies, etc. This helps to reinforce their beliefs so that they will hopefully not be strongly influenced by the outside world.  

I definitely feel that there are elements of utopian society built into the church system such as educating their members, identifying as one big family (brothers and sisters in Christ), caring for each other’s needs, and believing in a clear set of rules determining right from wrong, but it is difficult for the church to fight off the influences of the world because it cannot escape the world. Unlike the Utopia where they live on an island that is impossible to penetrate unless you know exactly where to sail, or Herland where the people are literally trapped in a mountain valley with no way in or out, and therefore, no influences from the outside world, the church is called to remain in the world. One example where the church gets close is through L’Abri Fellowship where “Francis and Edith Schaeffer decided in faith to open their home to be a place where people might find satisfying answers to their questions and practical demonstration of Christian care” (Vermillion). These are “little safe centers of wisdom” where “people can go to study, think, converse and participate in communities of caring, intelligent people” (Vermillion). However even this feels somewhat isolated when Jesus has clearly “sent them [his people] into the world” (John 17:18b) and called them to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20a). As much as the church exists to meet and support one another in their beliefs, since they are called to be in the world to extend and share their beliefs with others, their structure is not similar enough to an intentional community such as Twin Oaks where all members still live together on the same property, or the isolation of places such as Utopia or Herland. 

Works Cited

          The Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America. Lawrenceville: The Office of the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, 2014. Print.

          Platt, David. Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2010. Print.

          The Reformation Study Bible. Ed. R.C. Sproul. Sanford: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2015. Print.

          Vermillion, Kristine. “L’Abri Christian Fellowship.” LITR 5439 Literary & Historical Utopias. University of Houston Clear Lake, 5 July 2013. Web. 16 June 2015.