Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
There have been many books released in the past couple years that proclaim "the God delusion," that "God is not great," and that Jesus must be some kind of strange myth dreamed up by those who want power. Under the guise of reason these books put forth arguments that are very tempting for our day, and that are not all that new. People have been discussing modern atheism and questioning God's existence for the past two centuries, but as today's letter from Peter (2 Peter 1:16-19) attests, people have been directly questioning who Jesus is ("cleverly devised myths") ever since he died and rose again. On this feast of the Transfiguration, which is a feast celebrating that Jesus is revealed as divine and human to us mere creatures, the scriptures have much to say to us about modern-day and historic atheism.
First, what becomes clear in both the Old Testament (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14) and Gospel (Luke 9:28b-36) lessons is that God is not at all like we typically depict God today. A lot of times, these New Atheists (as they are sometimes called) are railing against the sugar-coated versions of "god" that Christians present to the world: the simplistic rhyming sayings on boards outside churches, the popular message known as the prosperity gospel that says God will make us wealthy if we only believe, the widespread belief that Jesus is nothing but a good moral person who says the same kinds of things that lots of wise religious people have said for centuries (like “love one another”). Jesus is human, yes. But Jesus is also divine, and that makes him quite a bit different than the paintings I sometimes see for sale in Christian bookstores, of Jesus the friend, happily playing soccer with kids.
By contrast with these images, consider how frightening the images are in both the Old Testament and New Testament readings: the first depicts God entirely surrounded by fire (which is most often our depiction of hell), and the second shows Peter, John and James marvelling at being surrounded by Elijah and Moses. Then they find themselves very frightened by the scene and by the voice speaking from the clouds. At the scene of the Transfiguration in the gospel, I think Peter initially finds it good to be on that mountain top because the figures of Moses and Elijah seem to confirm for him that Jesus is a really great human prophet like them. But that is exactly the point at which the voice of God speaks from heaven proclaiming something new and terrifying: "This is my chosen Son..." God is frightening, because God is distinctly not human and not friendly like a teddy bear, as people in the Bible learn again and again.
Second, in answer to the New Atheists, there is the question of why we believe. The New Atheists set out to propose a set of rational propositions. Rational arguments are important but they can only go so far: they cannot answer why the universe exists at all, instead of nothing, for example. Rational arguments do not ultimately convince Christians about their faith. Consider that Christianity remains very present in our culture, despite the fact that atheists have been making arguments against it for centuries. What convinces Christians? Ultimately it is the witness of another person and this is the main point that Peter is making in his letter. Why believe? Peter suggests that it is because he and others are reliable eyewitnesses.
The fact of witnesses that we see as reliable, and who themselves have experienced God is, in part, what drives Christian faith. It is why Peter, James, and John were privileged to have their mountain top experience, and it is why I believe the witness of ordinary people like my mother, and the extraordinary witness of the saints.
So, today, on this Feast of the Transfiguration, let us take the time to renew our own faith, to reflect on witnesses we have encountered, and to ponder the mystery of Jesus, divine and human.
- Jana M. Bennett