American Scholar on the Demise of the Crystal Cathedral
COVER STORY - WINTER 2014
Where Are the People?
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Evangelical Christianity in America is losing its power—what happened to Orange County’s Crystal Cathedral shows why
California's Crystal Cathedral, now Christ Cathedral (Photo by Wikipedia user Nepenthes)
By Jim Hinch
The Crystal Cathedral in Orange County, California, is one of America’s largest and most celebrated ecclesiastical buildings. At 60,000 square feet and designed by architect Philip Johnson, it was until recently the sanctuary of Robert H. Schuller, once one of the country’s most prominent and influential Christian ministers. In September 1980, when he dedicated the cathedral at an opening ceremony (“To the glory of man for the greater glory of God”), Schuller was at the height of his influence, preaching to a congregation of thousands in Orange County and reaching millions more worldwide via the Hour of Power, a weekly televised ministry program. Among the show’s annual highlights were “The Glory of Easter” and its companion production, “The Glory of Christmas,” multimillion-dollar dramatic extravaganzas staged inside the cathedral with a cast of professional actors, Hollywood-grade costumes, and live animals. The setting for the spectacles was a striking, soaring, light-filled structure justly praised by architecture critics. But it was not a cathedral. It was never consecrated by a religious denomination. The building is not even made of crystal, but rather 10,000 rectangular panes of glass. Like the much beloved, much pilloried Disneyland three miles to the northwest, the Crystal Cathedral is a monument to Americans’ inveterate ability to transform dominant cultural impulses—in this case, Christianity itself—into moneymaking enterprises that conquer the world.
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GJ -
The author seems to think Schuller only had a drive-in theater at first, but Schuller rented one for the weekends to reach a new set of prospects beyond his conformist church building. He became more radical under the influence of Peale, who stole his best-seller from an occult writer. Schuller likewise recycled Peale and identified with the Korean crack-pot Paul Y. Cho. Positive thinking became Possibility Thinking; praying to God turned into Cho's specialty - bossing God around.
One of my friends observed that the churches offering all the training programs for clergy were really announcing that their parishes had already peaked.
Evangelicals and WELS-ELCA-LCMS devoured Schuller/Cho. A WELS training seminar featured a WELS pastor with a case of Cho books to sell to participants. The weed seeds have sprouted and the harvest is plentiful, ye Satan-worshipers.
When I was forced to attend Paul Kelm's evangelism workshop at Mequon, one of the clergy leaders praised Cho. I reacted in my normal diplomatic way, identifying Cho as occultic, a wacko false teacher. The Shrinkers sharpened their shivs.
When I was forced to attend Paul Kelm's evangelism workshop at Mequon, one of the clergy leaders praised Cho. I reacted in my normal diplomatic way, identifying Cho as occultic, a wacko false teacher. The Shrinkers sharpened their shivs.
