Making a Difference
Being a Fifth Act Christian
It may seem surprising but it has been suggested that Shakespeare can help Christians to think about how they can make a difference in the world around them. What follows is an adaptation of an analogy first suggested by the theologian Tom Wright.
A previously unknown and unfinished Shakespeare play is discovered in Stratford upon Avon. Four acts are there, but the fifth is missing. How could it be staged? The theatre at Stratford decides to commission some of its most experienced Shakespearean actors to write their own final act for the play. They must ensure it is faithful to Shakespeare's plot and style, but at the same time exercise their own creativity. The result is several plays, each with a different ending, but each bearing the hallmark of the individual actor.
Tom Wright explains that Christians are like these Shakespearean actors. We have the first four acts of 'God's play' in the Bible and the churches' teaching, but the fifth act is not yet written. We are each responsible for writing our own fifth act of God's story in the way that we live out our lives in the places where we live and work. To do this we have to be immersed in the first four acts since this is the authority we must follow. At the same time we must exercise our own creativity in applying these first four acts so that it is relevant to the circumstances of our own lives. Read more on Tom Wright's analogy in The Drama of Scripture.
The challenge is that, as teachers, we should be fifth act Christians in school; people who can live faithfully following God's story given in the past, but living that out in ways that are appropriate for the circumstances of modern schools. By living in this way we can transform the situation around us. To do this we have to understand the nature of schools. Most serve a mixed population of people from many different types of religious background and none. Even in Christian schools, where many or all of the pupils will come from Christian backgrounds, the pupils themselves may hold diverse personal beliefs.
How can we be Fifth Act Christians when Schools are Religiously Plural?
The Church of England has an interesting principle that offers one answer to this question. Its vision is that its schools should be distinctively Christian but inclusive. By this it is meant that:
- the schools should be clearly and recognizably Christian and offer an alternative to a secular education
- the schools should welcome and be appropriate for pupils from a range of religious and non-religious backgrounds
See National Society website for more information about this.
This aspiration for being both distinctively Christian and inclusive is one that also makes sense for the individual Christian teacher, whether we teach in a Christian or secular school. We can see this principle being worked out in the life of the prophet Daniel, who remained faithful to God whilst serving the people of Babylon as a member of the king's administration. In many ways Daniel was a precursor of the fifth act Christian as he sought to be distinctively Jewish in a way that was inclusive of the Babylonians for whom he worked.
Questions to Follow Up
How can I be a fifth act Christian in the way I teach the curriculum?
How can I be a fifth act Christian in other aspects of school life?
How can a fifth act Christian handle differences of belief and controversial issues in school?
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Teachers should be fifth act Christians in school
