When Not Attending is Not a Sin

[The following is excerpted from the book, Gather: Getting to the Heart of Going to Church, Copyright © 2021 by M. Hopson Boutot. Click here to download the entire book for free.]  

Have you ever heard of the “Newman Effect”? Biola Theology professor Thaddeus Williams explains it this way: 

In 2018 Canadian psychology professor Jordan Peterson joined Channel Four host Cathy Newman to discuss gender inequality in what became one of the most viral interviews of the twenty-first century. The lively exchange sparked the

“So you’re saying” meme, based on Newman’s repeated use of that phrase to interpret Peterson’s statements in the most unflattering and inflammatory light possible.So you’re saying that anyone who believes in equality … should basically give up, because it ain’t gonna happen …

You’re saying that’s fine. The patriarchal system is just fine …

You’re saying that women aren’t intelligent enough to run these top companies …

You’re saying that trans activists could lead to the deaths of millions of people …

You’re saying that we should organize our societies along the lines of the lobsters …’

Professor Peterson wasn’t saying any of that. But because his perspective did not fit neatly into the black-and-white boxes of our day, anything that seemed out of sync with Newman’s perspective was taken in the most extreme, cartoonish, and damning way possible. (1)

Williams concludes with a lament: “The truth is, we are all Cathy Newmans now.” (2)

What about you? Have you been affected by the Newman Effect? Have you found yourself asking one or more of these questions as you’ve read these pages:

So you’re saying that it’s never okay to miss church?

So you’re saying that I should show up even if I’m sick?

So you’re saying that I should attend church regardless of my health and safety?

So you’re saying that I’m in sin if I have to work on a Sunday?

So you’re saying that I should completely ignore my government’s instructions about gathering in a pandemic?

So you’re saying it’s never okay to watch a livestream church service?

So you’re saying God can’t speak to me through a recorded sermon?

So you’re saying shut-ins and the homebound are living in sin?

No. I’m not saying any of those things. If that’s what you’ve gleaned from anything I’ve written, either I haven’t been sufficiently clear or you’re not reading carefully. 

My aim in this chapter is to address the Newman Effect by answering one question: when is not attending not a sin? If we’re going to choose rightly about church attendance, we need to clearly and carefully understand when missing the gathering is acceptable and right. 

That said, I believe we’ll best answer this question if we first admit our tendency to what C.S. Lewis called “chronological snobbery.” The truth is, 21st century evangelical Christians are not the best suited to answer this question. We’ve already discussed how church attendance has declined exponentially among professing Christians and church members, just in the past decade or so. So, if we want to know when not attending is not a sin, we better look to the past. And that’s where we’ll turn next week.

1. Thaddeus Williams, Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Christians Should Ask about Social Justice (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 8. The exchange between Jordan Peterson and Cathy Newman can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMcjxSThD54.

2. Williams, 8. Emphasis added.