Sociologist Peter Berger on the Core of Christianity

Today on campus at Gordon College--our sister school just down the street--I had the honor of meeting Peter Berger. His life has been a rare combination of vocation and belief: while he's almost unanimously named the most influential sociologist of religion (perhaps of sociology as a whole) of the second half of the 20th century, he is also a believing Christian. During today's forum he told a story to depict what he calls the irreplaceable core of the Christian faith. The story also appears in his book, Questions of Faith, so I'll quote it from there.

In one of the campaigns to promote atheism a Communist official was sent into a village. The villagers were forced to attend a meeting. The official made an hour long speech, explaining how religion was nothing but superstition, designed to divert people from the task of building a better society. At the end of the speech he said, magnanimously, that the village priest would be allowed to make a rebuttal, but that he would be given just five minutes to do so. The priest, a very simple man, came forward. He said that he did not need five minutes. He turned to the assembly and said: 'Brothers and sisters, Christ is risen!' The villagers responded with the words of the Easter greeting: 'He is risen indeed!' The story does not tell what the Communist official did after that.

After Dr. Berger told this story he said, "If you lose that, if you lose the resurrection, you lose everything." And that is one of the most brilliant minds of our age. 

Don't forget to subscribe by putting your email address into the box on the left side of this page!  I'll do my best to keep it interesting and varied.