To attempt to establish the future relevance of the Christian doctrine of vicarious redemption does raise two fundamental underlying questions which require initial treatment. Firstly, is redemption, from sources religious, a necessity in the first place? Framed in the language of Christopher Hitchens; from what human ill is vicarious redemption a remedy? Secondly, if the response to the first question is in the affirmative, is the Christian brand of vicarious redemption the best available option available on the doctrinal market?
For Christopher Hitchens, the enquiry ends at the first question, with the cumulative responses from the outcomes of this study pointing to his view that there is no human condition or ill, to which vicarious redemption is a remedy.
For the existing Christian world, as well as for the potential future market262 for the faith, however, it is self-evident that there can be no Christendom, as it is now known, without the
261 The documentary film which premiered April 2013, ‘The Unbelievers’, is the latest instalment from Richard Dawkins and fellow atheist, Lawrence Krauss. The film does appear to contain elements of the Science versus Religion debate, however, gauging from the reviews of the film, it does promise to be very engaging and enlightening.
262 It is noted that the use of terms such as, ‘markets’, ‘value proposition’, ‘racketeering’, ‘the industry of church’,
‘key commodity’, ‘enterprise’ , ‘the privatisation of Christianity’, ‘cash cow’, ‘franchise network’, and ‘insider trading’, which terms are usually associated with the fields of Commerce and Economics; are not applied flippantly
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doctrine of vicarious redemption. Notwithstanding this, the comments of Batstone (2001, p.235) in this regard, may signal the erosion of the ground on which Christian doctrinal presently rests.
“It’s hard to imagine how fixed theologies like those of most organized religions will survive intact the on-line scrutiny given to ideas, opinions and proclamations. The network is a natural leveller of established institutions. Once individuals get their hands on the machinery of communications, they make and disseminate their own personal theologies.”
The three further points which emerge from an assessment of this extract by Batstone, is that, firstly, the combined effect of the advances in communications technology coupled with the gains made by the New Atheist movement, does signal a serious challenge to the integrity of the Christian church, in its efforts to sustain the credibility of its foundational doctrinal structure.
Secondly, the reality of the workings of New Media may compromise the required depth of analysis required to construct sound arguments for or against a particular subject or standpoint. To apply an idea mentioned in discussions by a learned colleague263, that the current advances in communications technology represents a ‘compression of time and space’, may not always count in favour of sound analysis and discourse. The related comments offered by Christopher Hedges (2008, p,180), below, with regard to the role of television in knowledge formation could also apply to the issues now under discussion; highlighting the caution with which New Media should be approached.
“The techniques of control in an image-based, anticommunal, consumerist culture are used for governing…………Those who practice these techniques are manipulative and cynical. They have robbed us of art, of democratic rights, of education, of respect for the world around us, of the sacred, and they have left us sputtering to each other
and are used with the intended seriousness they convey; to describe the workings of organised religion and the Christian church in particular.
263 The concept of the ‘compression of time and space’ is attributed to my colleague, Professor Tinyeko Maluleke, as mentioned during discussions in which the phrase was used.
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iin the simplified language of television. Television has given us a new image-based epistemology. It now subtly defines what is true. It determines what constitutes knowledge. It tells us what is real and unreal.”
Thirdly, the reality of a new era of ‘citizen theology’ has already been entered into; an environment which resonates strongly with the work of Christopher Hitchens. Whilst, the pre- existing structures of religion, church and family will remain foundational sources of influence, the reality of this new era of ‘citizen theology’, points to new permutations of truth-seeking, which are derived from two dominant sources; Internet-based resources and through Social Networking. The reality of the changed world that Batstone (2001, p. 226) describes, requires of the church and Christendom that new ways be pursued to sustain its relevance in the world.
“What the printing press did for Europe in the sixteenth century, the convergence of telecommunications media is doing in our own time.”
To make a point for the post-structuralist cause, it could be said that the court of public opinion is now in session, permanently.
It could, however, also be said that too much is being made of the effects of the new communications technology and New Media on shaping tomorrow’s theology and that the church will withstand such changes, as it has always done. Perhaps so, but to hold dogmatically to this argument would be to be in denial of the significance of the changes and challenges under consideration in this study, in a world already changed as it has never been before; and the discussion has not even entered into the advances made within the fraternity of pure sciences, which may place into further question the relevance of Christian doctrine, in the future.
Having invested this study in a post-structuralist paradigm, it may be worth considering the following questions to get to the nub of the future relevance of the doctrine of vicarious redemption. What would be the relevance of the proposition of the Christian brand of redemption in a post-apocalyptic world? What would be the relevance of vicarious redemption
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in the new world of innovation of internationally respected futuristic scientist, Craig Venter;
where the replication of new life at cellular level is already a thing of the past?264 As controversial as this latter achievement may be, it does bring the relevance of the Christian storyboard of life; that of creation-sin-redemption-afterlife, whether taken literally or metaphorically, under serious scrutiny.
264 Craig Venter is the world renowned geneticist who was a part of the team which first achieved the decoding of the Human Genome (DNA) in 2000, under the Human Genome Project, headed by scientist Francis Collins. Craig Venter went on to record further significant ground-breaking scientific achievements and in 2010 announced the creation of new life in a laboratory, at cellular level. Craig Venter’s interview with Sir David Frost on Al Jazeera Television, 22 December 2012, covers his achievements in further detail. An extract from this interview bears significance for this study and the questions raised as to the future relevance of the Christian doctrine of redemption.
“For the first time now we can actually design life in a computer, make the DNA Software and create new life forms that have never existed before.”
Craig Venter.
Online Reference :
Al Jazeera English (2012). The Frost Interview - Craig Venter. [online]. Available from:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuOe_LuXfBE>. [Accessed 22 February 2013].
It is noted, as a point of interest, that Francis Collins and Christopher Hitchens developed a close friendship, initially through matters religion. Francis Collins is a practicing Christian. Their friendship developed strongly after Hitchens was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Francis Collins and Christopher Hitchens shared a deep respect for one another, despite the strong differences of opinion on the Christian faith. Collins worked closely with Hitchens’ medical team in an attempt to isolate the gene linked to the spread of the cancer. Francis Collins and Craig Venter are considered to be amongst the modern day pioneers in decoding the Human Genome.
Online Reference :
Adams, J. (2008). Sequencing Human Genome: the Contributions of Francis Collins and Craig Venter. Nature Education [online]. 1(1), p.133. Available from: <http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/sequencing-human- genome-the-contributions-of-francis-686>. [Accessed 15 October 2013].
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