For most people the Epicurean view, that God is a long way away and stays out of touch, is reality, according to Tom Wright in his book Surprised by Scripture: Engaging Contemporary Issues. The Epicurean worldview, which sees the divine as being entirely separate from the practicalities of everyday life, such that God and the world don’t mix, has been enshrined in the American Constitution with the separation of church and state. Unsurprisingly Christians sound unconvincing when they submit to the presupposition that God does not intervene in everyday life.
Even more insidiously, Christians are often firm believers in the American dream that if you get up and go you will succeed, and the fittest will survive the economic jungle. There is a gut-level reaction against any kind of health-care proposal: after all, if these folks were fit to survive, they’d be out there earning a living! The unexamined presupposition behind this is simply social Darwinism. The great irony is that often those who are most opposed to Darwin when it comes to reading Genesis 1 are in fact most deeply in thrall to him, or to the wider application of his theories, when it comes to social and international policy.
The book contains a number of interesting and challenging essays, each providing extensive scriptural support for a position that many will find controversial. People who are of a more conservative bent are unlikely to appreciate the book, and many readers will find some of the arguments a bit heavy going. However, people who like to have their preconceptions challenged – or who like to challenge the views of others – will thoroughly enjoy the book.