The late DeCourcy Rayner edited the Presbyterian Record from 1958-1977. A minister and journalist, he was elected moderator of the General Assembly in his last year as editor.
His editorial direction revealed that Rayner was concerned about the relevance of Christianity during a time in which the turbulence from sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll was blowing the doors off the church.
In 1972, Godspell came to Toronto. It blew away the city with a cast and crew most of whose names today are in the who’s who of Hollywood film and television personalities.
What made Godspell different from other musicals of course, was that it is a retelling of the Christian gospel (mostly Matthew, but with a significant contribution from Luke). (Godspell is an earlier version of the Anglo-Saxon for “good words.”)
The play may have helped put Toronto on the entertainment map, but not all Christians were amused; some protested outside the theatre. DeCourcy Rayner was not among them.
In a June 3, 1972, article in the Globe and Mail, Rayner told the writer: “I went prepared to be critical, but after the initial shock of seeing biblical characters portrayed as present-day clowns, I entered into the spirit of the production.
“It has a great meaning for the present generation. … I was favorably impressed, and hope that many young people see this production.”
I wonder if Rayner foresaw the emerging tension between the concern for relevance he applauded in Godspell and the perception of truth as static?
Before you reply that the nature of truth is that it never changes, let me explain. Truth means many things, depending on the context. In simple, everyday mathematics, one plus one equals two. That is a truth that cannot change.
The statement: “The sun will rise tomorrow,” posits a different kind of truth, based on scientific observation. But because that truth is grounded on empirical evidence — observation — it does not have the same certainty as a simple math formula.
Human observations could have missed something and the sun could explode tomorrow as a result. Unlikely, but philosophically possible.
And then there is the truth of faith. By definition, faith is something that cannot be argued from mathematical or philosophical premises. The medieval enterprise of faith seeking reason was an acknowledgement of this.
Philosophers sought to show that faith, while based on an initial suspension of knowledge, was perfectly reasonable and logical. And truths could be drawn from that faith.
Contemporary western philosophy and culture are not so convinced. Research has shown that what moves people now to adopt or practice Christianity is the degree to which they see it as relevant in their world and in their life.
How can faith inform their daily decisions and how can faith help explain their world? Whether Jesus Christ is divine is of less importance than whether his teachings are relevant.
This is quite different from those who seek a certainty from their faith and for whom the belief that Jesus Christ is divine is a necessary starting point.
But these differences need not be mutually exclusive. The early church did not require people to believe in Jesus’ divinity as a requirement to become Christian. There was a whole program to instruct seekers, as we call them today, in the faith.
Today it is more a matter of demonstration and persuasion than instruction. That is why Godspell struck a chord. In it, Jesus is approachable. He is both an Everyman and a beyond-Everyman character.
I think this is what DeCourcy Rayner saw in the play. Fortunately for us in the church today, DeCourcy’s legacy lives on. As you can read on pages 30 and 31, there is an annual prize given in his name by Armour Heights, Toronto.
This year’s winning essay addresses the tension between relevance and truth by concluding that both miss the mark somewhat.
Author Scott Flemming, a theology student at Knox, Toronto, says we shouldn’t be asking: “‘What should we be doing better?’ or ‘what should we know more about?’ but ‘what can we do to get as close to [Jesus] our lover as possible?'”
I think DeCourcy would like that.
