The Existing God

Do you remember the now infamous article asking the question Is God Dead? It appeared in Time magazine on April 8, 1966 and was authored by John T. Ellis. Mr. Ellis recently died and the news of his passing has renewed interest in the article. In 1966 America was a much different country than it is today. This article provided almost as much fodder for pulpits as John Lennon’s observation that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, which also occurred in 1966. I believe that Mr. Ellis was attempting to initiate a public discussion on a subject many intellectuals of his day were actively questioning, but one the church was not yet open to pursuing. John Lennon made an off-hand comment that said more about 1960’s culture than about the Beatles. If you have any memory of Beatle-Mania you would likely agree that the boys from Liverpool were in many ways much more popular than Jesus. When was the last time you saw thousands of people fainting from anticipation during a hymn in church or chasing the bus carrying a preacher? In the 1960’s people would do almost anything for a ticket to see the Beatles in concert. Lennon was indicting Christians, not disrespecting Jesus. And once again, the church was masterful in missing the point.

1966 was a genuine turning point for God, Jesus and the church. Questions centered on God’s reality could no longer be dismissed with instant damnation or accusations of treason against all things holy, apple pie and the church. Intellectualism entered the fray like an unwanted guest bent on moving in to stay. Intellectualism planted roots and the church has been slow to adjust. This is not to say that spurts of intellectualism had not been in evidence throughout history, or that all churches were adverse to intellectual discourse in the sixties. The minority of churches dealt with the Ellis article in positive ways and people expanded their theology of God as a result. The majority of churches did not react positively and as a result copies of Time magazine, and five months later Beatles albums, were burned in God’s name. This’ll show ‘em bonfires raged across America and the loser in all of this hubris…was God. Nothing in scripture instructs people to disable their brains in order to become a follower of Jesus. In fact, both Jesus and Paul used intellectual approaches to teach and preach in order to impact the highly intellectual Greeks and Romans and the Hebrew leadership. Even in matters of faith a little bit of thinking goes a long way.

So thank you Mr. Ellis for advancing the discussion on God’s reality. Someone had to do it and you took great abuse for being that person. And my opinion on what God would say about all of this: Thank you for asking about me Mr. Ellis. For the record, I am alive and well. Tell your readers I love them and have a plan for their lives. And never forget that I gave you that magnificent brain for many reasons, and contemplating Me is one of the best. And please ask those bonfire people to stop. One of these days you folks are going to ruin the Ozone layer I put in place for your protection. Stay in touch.

MM (a Beatles fan since 1964)