Psychological and sociological insights can be helpful in understanding the practices and convictions of Christians. It’s not just about theology. Take ‘decisionism’, for example. By ‘decisionism’ I mean the practice of taking a person’s decision to believe – regardless of any call to repent or necessary fruitfulness of faith – as sufficient grounds for accepting and believing that a person has owned Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
‘Decisionism’ is enduringly popular among so many Christians in today’s society because most of us live in such ‘thin’ community. Community that hardly exists at all. Where lives are not transparent and where social interaction is superficial and artificial. This is why so many like ‘decisionism’: it negates or at least supersedes the needful evidence of repentance of sin and fruitfulness. Decision time becomes party time for Christians.
Can’t see it in the Bible. Nor does it count for much when people look for sustainability and depth. Big time devotional writers such as Dallas Willard in the United States trace this and are calling for more depth to faith. Why? Because in the end of the day, ‘decisionism’ counts for nothing.
Part of what we stand for as Baptists is the pursuit of ‘thick community’ – community that has social and interpersonal depth to it. This is the community that fosters are develops Biblical faith. Faith that is about Christlikeness. Transformation.
