Ethical Christianity: A Reformation of the Protestant Church - Page 1
By Jeffrey C. Moon

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"Am I at a Grateful Dead show?" I mused during my most recent church service. The worship band leading the congregation had two guitarists, two drummers, and the first five songs played right into each other, without a pause or break, and then back into the first song. Already, a third of the hour-long service was passed and we had only sung - or, some of us just droned - contemporary hymns. Next came an uninspiring Eucharist, followed by a muttering of rote prayer, and my watch showed that forty minutes had passed. With only twenty minutes left in the theatrical weekly service, the sermon was finally orated. I highly esteem a church service's sermon because it has the capacity, if articulated with wisdom and eloquence, to define holiness in a way that profoundly inspires me to change my daily thoughts and behavior. The pastor attempted this, and began his sermon with a description of Jesus returning to Earth during the Apocalypse, found in Revelation.

Someone "like the son of man" was dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. (1.13-16)

The pastor vividly described the strength , constitution, and magnetism of the divine rescuer of all Christians. This post-apocalyptic Christ, with seven beautiful stars and a devastating sword coming out from his mouth, has eyes of fire with an x-ray-like power to see the good and evil in a person. The minister climactically finished his speech with a shout, "Be prepared for the Second Coming!" His overall message was that he would be humbled by the presence of such a figure and that we in the congregation would be wise and Christian to do the same. "Was that a good sermon?" I wondered. Apparently, Jesus' death on the cross is cause for a tremendous celebration, for as soon as the pastor concluded his sermon, the choir erupted into glorious song, filling the congregation, as the offertory was passed around and thus church "was done" for the week. I left the building feeling, as expected, unfulfilled because I did not learn anything new nor feel particularly motivated to be a holy Christian. A wasted hour at church.

If I want to have a meaningful experience at church, I need a discerning ear to sift through the rhetorical religious miasma that is often spoken during church. Because so much time of a "normal" church service is devoted to rituals, music, and prayer, the brilliance of Christian ethics is often obscured. When a sermon is finally delivered, it habitually disappoints me. This happens because the pastor's message often encourages me to believe things I find logically unacceptable or morally unimportant. My research indicates a possible reformation of Protestant churches' beliefs and practices, and this essay poses an academic critique of Christianity. The majority of my Christian experience has been in a Presbyterian middle-class church. It is through this lens that I view Christianity and therefore, the renovation in worship that I espouse applies specifically to mainline Protestant Christianity. The underlying change from current Christianity that I will encourage is upholding and valuing Jesus the Teacher and not Jesus the Christ. I believe that ethical living is the essence of Jesus' teaching, and the future priority of Christianity. Current Christianity needs to shift its emphasis from music, ritual, and prayer to teaching Christian moral reasoning and motivating ethical living. The result of this new reformation will not be a Lutheran schism, but will be similar in some respects. I call this new religious denomination "Ethical Christianity."