By Geoffrey Tidd

18 November 2023

In our fast-paced, digital age, where social media often drowns out traditional spiritual discussions, we witness a subtle yet significant shift in belief systems. This shift, known as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD), embraces a spirituality of comfort and convenience, diverging from the rigorous doctrines of established religions. This evolution prompts us to question the depth and authenticity of our faith.

At the heart of MTD lies a belief system that prioritizes personal happiness and moral guidelines, frequently at the cost of theological richness. It envisions a distant God, intervening solely to ensure our well-being without demanding deep, personal commitment. While this ‘feel-good’ spirituality might appear innocuous, John Stonestreet, a renowned Christian thinker and President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, notes that MTD mirrors a culture that values personal comfort and subjective well-being above objective truth and transformative challenges. Stonestreet advocates for a spirituality that confronts, rather than conforms to, the prevailing therapeutic ethos of contemporary society. A fish doesn’t know it’s wet, just as Americans—or Westerners—don’t realize they’re ensnared in the net of moral therapeutic deism.

In an era where adherence to traditional religion seems to be diminishing, MTD has surfaced as a novel form of spirituality. Sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton first identified this trend in their study of American youth religion. MTD posits a God who exists mainly to enhance personal well-being and ensure moral order yet remains unobtrusively in the backdrop of life. This perspective persists even amidst secular movements like Rhonda Byrne’s ‘The Secret’ and religious movements masked in Christianity, such as the Word of Faith or Prosperity Gospel. These ideologies often depict prosperity as a divine blessing cloaked in a secular guise.

Theologians like K. Scott Oliphint and Cornelius Van Til, alongside cultural commentators such as John Stonestreet, contend that MTD, while seemingly a benign derivative of God’s natural revelation in creation, falls markedly short of capturing the profound depth and challenges presented by the revelation in Scripture.

God: To Be or Not To Be

MTD reflects a growing trend in contemporary spirituality, one that eschews the rigidity of traditional religious structures in favor of a more personal, less demanding conception of the divine. In this view, God is a cosmic therapist and divine butler, ready to assist when called upon but otherwise uninvolved. It’s a comfortable, low-commitment spirituality that aligns well with the individualistic ethos of modern Western culture. Much can be said about the growth of MTD within the lives of believers, such as the Arminian tendency to emphasize man’s work in salvation over the sovereignty of God, leading to an understanding of God as, as Tozer poetically puts it, a servant waiting outside the door waiting for our human judgment, “our poor Lord Christ stands hat-in-hand, shifting from one foot to another looking for a job, wondering whether He will be accepted.”[1] Regardless of the source or origin, the result remains the relativism that is MTD and a rejection of objective truth for a subjective hope, rejecting the truth of God for a lie and worshipping the creature rather than the Creator.[2]

Theologians Speak: A Critique

Moralism

K. Scott Oliphint, a renowned Reformed theologian, would critique the moralistic aspect of MTD through his concept of covenantal realism.[3] Oliphint emphasizes that any perception of God that fails to recognize His active, covenantal engagement with His creation is intrinsically flawed. Unlike MTD’s morally distant deity, Oliphint’s interpretation portrays a God intimately involved in human affairs, demanding a profound moral commitment that transcends mere ethical guidelines, thereby establishing a moral standard of one’s creation. This moral standard is arbitrary by any standard but reflects a God-given sense of right and wrong that is rooted in his revelation to all of creation. Inevitably, however, when this standard comes up against pressure, it caves and relativistically redefines itself to the audience’s needs, leading to people who recognize that there is right and wrong, redefining evil as the good and right thing.

Therapy

Cornelius Van Til, a pioneer in presuppositional apologetics (what Oliphint terms “Covenantal Apologetics”), challenges the therapeutic dimension of MTD. He asserts that understanding God without the lens of Scriptural revelation inevitably leads to a distorted, therapeutic perception of the divine. For Van Til, MTD’s depiction of God as a therapeutic agent existing only for some measure of blessing or prosperity at the moment neglects the profound biblical narratives of sin, redemption, and divine sovereignty.[4] God, created in this image, exists not for His glory but for the glory and peace of the creature.

Deism

The deistic component of MTD, which portrays God as a remote overseer, significantly diminishes the divine’s rich, mysterious, and challenging nature, as depicted in biblical narratives. This perspective fails to address the profound existential questions that many individuals grapple with, such as the meaning of suffering and the pursuit of redemption. For deists, they recognize that God (or gods) exist but do not realize that it is their creation, themselves once again the standard for rule and life.

A Trip to the Hardware Store

Self-made tools like a ruler or square based on personal measurements may seem adequate in a construction project. For instance, using one’s own digit as an inch or foot for measurement might work for a solitary task. While consistency in these personalized measures might allow for building a functional structure, it becomes problematic when engaging with the broader construction world. Using standard tools, such as tape measures and carpenter squares, purchased from a hardware store, becomes essential. These standardized tools ensure accuracy and safety in construction, where the stakes are high. A family’s life, filled with joyful memories, could be jeopardized by a house built on inaccurate scales, risking fire, collapse, or other tragedies. While government construction standards set a baseline for safety, they often represent the minimum requirement. For a tradesperson, having a fixed, standard reference point is crucial not only for compliance but for the quality and safety of the work.

Similarly, contrasting MTD’s deistic leanings, scriptural revelation offers a comprehensive view of God that serves as an objective, fixed reference point. This point addresses moralism, therapy, and the nature of God, among other things. Scripture portrays a deity deeply engaged in human affairs, actively working towards the world’s redemption through Jesus Christ. This view compels individuals to move beyond personal comfort, fostering a transformative relationship with God that touches every aspect of life. Just as a builder relies on standard tools for safe and sturdy construction, believers are invited to rely on the unchanging truths of Scripture for a life built on a solid foundation. This foundation provides more than just the minimum; it offers a complete, robust framework for understanding and engaging with the world and the divine.

Conclusion

MTD epitomizes a significant shift in modern spirituality, emblematic of our culture’s gravitation towards individualism and therapeutic self-interest. This change, as theologians like Oliphint, Van Til, and Stonestreet emphasize, comes with a substantial cost. The simplified, comfortable deity central to MTD fails to satisfy the deeper human yearnings for truth, meaning, and deliverance from the sin that afflicts our existence. In stark contrast, the revelation presented in Scripture unfolds a challenging yet infinitely more fulfilling vision of the divine. This vision beckons a profound reevaluation of our spiritual presuppositions and commitments.

Responding to the allure of MTD requires a return to the foundational truths of Scripture, emphasizing the relational and covenantal nature of God’s interaction with humanity. Individuals can truly understand and fulfill their purpose through a deep, transformative relationship with God, as depicted in the biblical narrative. This relationship is not one of distant deism or therapeutic convenience but of an active, demanding covenant where God reveals Himself not just as a moralistic overseer or a foreign benefactor but as a loving, holy, and just tri-personal Creator seeking a personal and redemptive relationship with His creation.

This covenantal approach challenges the superficial comforts of MTD by inviting individuals to a more profound and substantive faith journey. It calls for a re-engagement with the whole counsel of God, acknowledging that true spiritual well-being is found not in the shallow waters of moral therapeutic deism but in the deep, sometimes turbulent, yet life-giving waters of a covenantal relationship with God. As our world grows more complex and fragmented, the need for this robust, truth-centered spirituality becomes increasingly evident. Covenantal apologetics, therefore, offers not just a critique of MTD but a compelling alternative: a call to embrace a faith that confronts and transforms, bringing us into a deeper understanding of ourselves, our world, and the God who lovingly governs it all.

What do you think? Share your insight and comments below.

Referenced Works and Further Reading:

Byrne, Rhonda. The Secret. Atria Books/Beyond Words. 2006.

Oliphint, K. Scott. Covenantal Apologetics: Principles and Practice in Defense of Our Faith. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. 2013.

Smith, Christian and Melissa Denton. Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. Oxford University Press. 2005. DOI:10.1093/019518095X.001.0001.

Stonestreet, John. “Q&A: John Stonestreet on Faith, Culture, and Worldview.” Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, January 8, 2019. Interview with John Stonestreet. https://ncbaptist.org/article/qa-john-stonestreet-on-faith-culture-and-worldview/

Til, Cornelius Van. The Defense of the Faith. Edited by K. Scott Oliphint. 4th ed. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R. 2008.

———, and William Edgar. Christian Apologetics. 2nd ed. The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company: Phillipsburg, NJ. 2003.

Tozer, A. W. Discipleship: What It Truly Means to Be a Christian–Collected Insights from A. W. Tozer. Chicago, IL: Wingspread. 2018.

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