Subjectivist-therapeutic religion is fine, until it’s time to die.
R. Scott Clark
R.Scott Clark is the President of the Heidelberg Reformation Association, the author and editor of, and contributor to several books and the author of many articles. He has taught church history and historical theology since 1997 at Westminster Seminary California. He has also taught at Wheaton College, Reformed Theological Seminary, and Concordia University. He has hosted the Heidelblog since 2007.
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“Otherwise, ER might have given us a real chaplain with a real God, a real Hell — and a real Gospel……”
If you haven’t seen the whole episode don’t read this!
This is by far one of my ER all time favorites!
I enjoyed the scene after the “liberal female chaplain” leaves, when the doctor also makes an attempt……
“For some reason the man, though having just shredded young Chaplain PoMo, accepts this equally Godless, equally trackless, equally baseless, equally shapeless pablum, from the doctor.
And that’s the resolution.
What the doctor offers is in no way better than what the chaplain offered. It’s sheer human-viewpoint gobbledy-gook, double-talk, and equivocation. The rest of the episode wallows in such moral relativism. Ultimately, there is no “there” there. Absolutely wonderful windup; absolutely no pitch, whatever.”
Witnes more of the action:
http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2008/02/ers-atonement-and-absent-gospel.html
wow that was dramatic.
He needs to hear the Gospel.
I agree with Bruce. I can not believe this was on a network show. And a very popular show like ER.
That is the problem with hospital chaplains. I have a friend who is a hospital chaplain and I do not know much they are “allowed” to say. I know any devotions that he does have to be bland and generic.
Is this indicative of anyone elses experience with hospital chaplains.
W o w.
Are you kidding me? Network teevee? I should know that actor’s name… can’t recall it. I wonder if the female character got any “development” out of her embarrassment, or what lessons learned?
Reminds me of a story I heard once: at some public university some years ago, a choral director was passing out the semester’s music to be mastered for the big recital just before Christmas break. Included were some Christian pieces, by such luminaries as Bach and Handel. He took the stage and told everyone “Look, I don’t give a rip about church-state separation, all that garbage. I don’t care if you are atheist, Buddhist, whatever. This is history, this is excellence. I don’t care what you believe the rest of your whole life, before or after–but when you get up there and sing this, people, you better believe it.”
That actor played a man who is convinced there is a Judge, and that WORKS in this life are answerable. I don’t know what the “intent” of the whole show was (i.e. was it to show that some Old/Dying Folks are irrational?), or that clip in context, but those two minutes in isolation teach exactly the point you make in the title.
Thanks for sharing that.