Dr. Wright drew the idea of a perfect storm, in his third chapter of Simply Jesus, from what occurred to the fishing vessel, Andrea Gail¸ which sailed out of Gloucester, Massachusetts in late October of 1991. It sailed away from the mainland, out into the Atlantic, and was completely destroyed, being reduced to little more than matchwood, after having been caught in a terribly destructive storm:
“A cold front moving along the Canadian border sent a strong disturbance through New England, while at the same time a large high-pressure system was building over the maritime provinces of southeastern Canada. This intensified the incoming low-pressure system, producing what locals called the “Halloween Nor’easter” (Hurricane Grace), …which “delivered immeasurable tropical energy to create the perfect storm.”[1]
Jesus was a very controversial figure during the 1st century AD, and 19 centuries later, the mere mention of his name still brings heated argument and division. In Simply Jesus, N.T. Wright likened the mere mention of Jesus in the presence of modern skeptics and conservative (I take this to mean fundamentalist) Christianity can and often will bring its own perfect storm to any unsuspecting person who mentions the name, Jesus, in casual conversation or in a written document, vis-à-vis a book, blog, podcast, letter etc.
In the context of our present study, today’s skeptics, including folks who have often been referred to as the new atheists, vis-à-vis folks like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens[2] and Sam Harris, provide the “cold front… sending a strong disturbance” over the heads of anyone who mentions Jesus in private conversation or public media. On the other hand, the “large high-pressure system” that moves into any communication about Jesus comes from the unyielding position of Christian Conservativism. Thus, two violent winds, while picking up energy from disturbing winds of “social, political and cultural storms,” spin inhospitably around the mere mention of Jesus’ name, producing nothing constructive, while ending in the unyielding “dialogue of the deaf.”[3]
Minds aren’t changed; hearts are never changed. Division reigns over unity, and it often seems that one can judge a person’s place in this storm, simply by knowing who he voted for in the last election. There are exceptions to the general rule, of course, but generally speaking, if one voted for the Democrats in the last American election, that one is probably a skeptic, or an atheist, but not Christian, but if he does claim to be Christian, he’s one who needs to draw nearer to the Lord. Real Christians, righteous Christians vote Republican! What has happened to us?
The problem, as far as Christianity is concerned, and in as much as I am able to understand, is we’ve been delivered a set of goods, which is supposed to identify us as followers of Christ. Instead of having a strong righteous voice for morality, for the love on one’s neighbor, for respect for Jesus and the Gospel he preached, we’ve traded our integrity as followers of Christ for a seat at the table with other worldly power brokers. What’s happened, you see, is many of us who claim to be the real Christians, do not desire Christ to rule here, today, where we live. On the contrary, we desire that authority, and, if Jesus wants a voice in this world’s affairs, he needs to get behind us, not the other way around.[4]
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[1] N.T. Wright, Simply Jesus; chapter 3 “The Perfect Storm” page 13; quote also taking in part of a quote from meteorologist, Robert Case, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, 16 June 2000.
[2] Christopher Hitchens died in December of 2011; my copy of Simply Jesus, which mentions him, was published also in 2011, presumably before his death.
[3] The hurricane from the south is the real historical Jesus, we won’t get to this part of the perfect storm until a later study.
[4] I’m uncertain that N.T. Wright would fully endorse my conclusion here. He doesn’t appear to be as forthright as my interpretation of the “high-pressure system of conservative Christianity.”
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