Dimensions of Christian Deconstruction
"Compassionate Awakening" (see notes)
A great invisible community is
gathering. Millions of individual seekers of love, compassion, equality and
affirming community are finding each other in the worlds of podcasts, blogs,
social media, as well as in churches that allow for diversity of thought. Many
are refugees moving out from churches, leaders and institutions which have
disappointed them, rejected them, or abused them, for having doubts, asking
questions, and coming to honest conclusions outside of church norms. But this invisible
community also includes a wider family of seekers, activists and allies around
values like equality, economic and social justice, and the respect and
affirmation of all people as made in the image of God.
Christian deconstruction describes a
process undertaken by many Christians of facing their questions and reexamining
their beliefs, often resulting in a deconstruction or dismantling of some
beliefs considered “orthodox” in their communities of faith. Some
deconstructing Christians remain in their churches, some choose to leave, some
are forced out or ostracized, and some leave the Christian faith altogether.
(In this article, deconstruction is considered in the light of the faith
journey of individuals reexamining teachings and doctrines typically held in
evangelical Christian communities, referred to herein as “evangelicalism.”)
1. How can one be respectful of and
present to the experience of asking hard questions, deconstructing, doubting,
changing, and even rejecting significant parts of evangelical Christian
orthodoxy?
2. What are the major points of
tension with evangelicalism experienced by deconstructing Christians?
3. What language can Christians use
to name and describe their experience of a changing faith and to describe the communities
forming around refugees of American evangelicalism?
Part 1a: KNOWING / (epistemology)
No strict definition can be given of
“deconstruction,” however, there are common themes in the self-described
experiences of deconstructing Christians. The ground floor and most important dimension of deconstruction is
intellectual honesty – the willingness to ask questions and to be honest with
the outcome of intellectual exploration, along with the rejection of any effort
to monitor and control beliefs through tactics of control. Deconstructing Christians
embrace a willingness to say “I don’t know,” and a willingness to say “I no
longer affirm that tenant of faith that I previously held.” The primary feature
of evangelicalism that stands in tension with this practice is “gatekeeping” in
the form of efforts to control what people within a particular faith community
say, teach, write, and believe.
Intellectual honesty vs. gatekeeping
For many, there is a threshold of
intellectual honesty that is crossed over, and once on the other side, the
former experience of “believing” something because an authority figure or
community standard says you must believe it becomes no longer tenable. One
realizes that belief is a matter of the cumulative weight of all of one’s
learning, thinking, pondering and experiencing, and this is not subject to the
manipulation of a would-be controlling authority. (Note bold and
italics – do not miss this point!!!!!) From the perspective of intellectual
freedom, the attempt to manipulate the thinking of another person is a high
form of interpersonal abuse that can be very damaging to one’s mental and
emotional health.
Connecting with the person of Jesus,
not a system of belief
In distinction with belief, commitment
is more of a choice, however, and many deconstructing Christians continue to
affirm their commitment to the person of Jesus, in many cases more strongly so,
while setting aside their former “belief in” or affirmation of other tenants of
Christianity considered orthodox by many. This often takes the form of placing
more emphasis on the teachings and actions of Jesus while deemphasizing the
system of doctrine that the church has built up around the notion of orthodoxy,
particularly in the last 100 years or so. Along the way, many deconstructing
Christians come to realize that in the long history of Christianity there have
existed a wide range of beliefs and practices far afield of the tenants often
held up by contemporary evangelicals as required for belonging in the fold.
These breaks with the norms of 20th
century evangelicalism typically include questions about biblical inerrancy and
authority, supposed orthodoxy of church teachings on salvation, on Hell, rejection
and devaluing of people based on sexual identity, and demonization of the concepts
of social justice and economic justice (expressed prominently in scripture),
For many it also includes problems with the exceptional status of the U.S.A.
and the church’s tendency toward Christian nationalism (discussed below) in
light of the Christian church’s close association with our history of
colonialism, racism, and the subordinate status of immigrants.
Celebrate an authentic journey of
faith
Question (1) above asks – How can
one be present to and respectful of someone who is compelled to ask questions
in their faith and whose journey in faith leads them to beliefs that differ from
those of their family or community? Extend love and trust by recognizing that
honest seeking is a way of engaging in a faith journey, a constructive as well
as deconstructive process that should be respected if not celebrated. Add to
this the basic practice of respecting and trusting adult humans to make their
own adult decisions. For sure it is not helpful or respectful of the
intellectual independence of one’s spirituality to respond “you must believe
xyz or burn in Hell” or “if you don’t agree with xyz then you are not welcome
in this church / this family” or “your belief is a disgrace to the legacy of
your Christian family,” all forms of manipulation and control which should
not under any circumstances actually influence the intellectual and
spiritual process of developing faith. Coercion of the will in matters of
belief is not a divine attribute, it is not a spiritual gift, not a biblical
value, and not befitting of loving human relationships. These tactics of
manipulation are not moderated, and the damage not nullified, by sugar-coating
them in church language in the manner of “we are so sorry that you are a
heretic and headed for eternal damnation, and we will pray for your soul, in
love.”
(*We recognize the difference between efforts to control and manipulate belief in contrast with the perfectly legitimate practice of assigning leadership roles to individuals that affirm and demonstrate the beliefs and values that a particular faith community considers appropriate to that leadership role.)
Part 1b: BEING / (ontology)
A second dimension of deconstruction is being. The question is: what does it mean to be a human? Who is recognized as fully human in the image of God, and who is devalued as less-than? There is a great divide in the church, and in societies generally, between those who recognize UNQUALIFIED FULL PERSONHOOD for all individuals regardless of their national heritage, ethnic identity, sexual or gender identity, and those who feel the need to elevate the value of some or diminish the humanness of others based on one or more of these qualifiers. Based on ethnicity or nationality, some are deemed less worthy or crossing our borders, thriving in our communities, or benefiting from the bounty of our nation’s material wealth. Individuals in the LGBTQ community and those not embracing traditional gender categories are devalued, labeled, excluded and ostracized, and their freedoms and civil rights restricted and denied. These violations, driven primarily by religious doctrines and traditions, are extended across every sphere of life, not limited to the inside affairs of church communities. Many who identify as “deconstructing” can no longer abide this devaluing of the humanness of so many people who fill our daily lives in a plethora of beautiful relationships and who clearly exhibit the imago dei.
Affirmation vs. judgment - To invite vs. to exclude (see notes)
I argue here that the battle over this divide and the growing acceptance of the full affirmation and equality of all humans (and from the faith perspective, as created in the image of God) constitutes a third great historical wave of expanding BELOVED COMMUNITY in the history of the United States. These “waves” or advances in beloved community are characterized by expanding full personhood to those formerly excluded as not belonging with full and equal status in the community of faith. In the nineteenth century, individuals were treated not as humans but as property in the practice of slavery. Until the middle of the 20th century, individuals were considered as less than, not fully equal, on the basis of race or ethnicity. In this third wave of beloved community, individuals shall no longer be devalued, diminished, or rejected based on any categories related to gender identity or sexual identity.
Each of these “waves” of expanding beloved community included a several decades struggle leading to a major breakthrough (e.g. Emancipation Proclamation, Civil Rights Act of 1964). The summer of 1969 Stonenwall uprising in New York, commemorated annually in late June, is one of the major signposts of the protest movement for LGBTQ equality. The church has (with notable exceptions) been missing-in-action in this movement and in fact perhaps the major force of opposition. But in the 21st century, affirming churches are becoming more numerous and more vocal. Advocacy and legal changes for equity of rights has been a long and slow fight, with affirmation of marriage equity in 2015 being possibly the most significant change in the law on the side of LGBTQ equality. It is the hope and prayer of many that the current growing embrace and affirmation of the unqualified personhood of LGBTQ individuals in many communities of faith and in society more generally will grow and take hold as a universal ethical way of life, even as significant remnants of discrimination and exclusionary practices remain in large segments of the faith community as in many parts of society more generally. Historically, there was a time when slavery was widely accepted and justified in the U.S. Christian church, as was the case with church sanctioned racial segregation discrimination which persisted past the middle of the 20th century.
Toward full affirmation of human life itself, without qualification
These major historical signposts – the ending of legal slavery, the ending of legal discrimination on the basis of race, and the ongoing efforts to challenge legal discrimination on the basis of sexual or gender identity center the affirmation of all humans equally, across ethnicity, nationality, citizenship status, sexuality or gender. These historical movements lead us toward affirming individual human existence in and of itself, and away from devaluing individuals and inhibiting full participation in society on the basis of geo-cultural identity or background, of sexual or gender identity, of philosophical, religious or political conviction. This historical arc tends toward the place where the highest moral ethos does not validate attempts to judge, manipulate, or control individuals based on ethnicity, identity or personal conviction. Rather, we advocate that moral judgement should reflect more upon the basis of the help or harm of individual actions that respect or violate the personhood, the value, the rights of other people. (I.e. the second great commandment - "love your neighbor as yourself.")
Centered vs. bounded (see notes)
Jesus’ teachings and actions indicated a value of inviting, including, and lifting up those who were excluded by the religious institutions of his day. Typically, religious groups form a BOUNDED SET of insiders and outsiders. Many see in Jesus an effort to break down those boundaries, and many Christ followers today choose faith centered on Jesus rather than bounded by approved theological beliefs. This is a dramatic paradigm shift that evangelicals may find foreign if not traumatizing, because it is woven into the fabric of church language and theology that to be a Christian is to affirm a specific set of orthodox beliefs. Those affirming the right doctrines are “inside” of the fold. Those who deviate must be identified with an “outsider” status. It follows from this line of thinking that a conflict motif is engaged to see outsiders a danger to or an enemy of the church. What many are finding, as they study history, is that ORTHODOXY IS A MOVING TARGET as one moves through history and as one moves across churches and denominations. The greater truth that we should recognize is that the moral understanding of the church in relation to its society does and should evolve over time. This is an undeniable historical fact.
Part 1c: VALUE / (axiology)
Part 1c: Value and Ethical Priorities
Bring up the topic of refugees or immigrants in the presence of a Fox News informed citizen and without fail the conversation will turn to crime, drugs, and sex trafficking. The dominance of this sentiment reflects a primary value of evangelicalism: protectionism. (Notes)
Social justice and economic justice
A third dimension of deconstruction is that of value, treated here as primarily an ethical dimension. A common experience of deconstructing Christians is their embrace of compassion, equality, and unconditional love, motivating concern about SOCIAL JUSTICE and ECONOMIC JUSTICE, terms that have been hijacked and demonized by conservative political rhetoric. Nevertheless, these ideas have always maintained a powerful significance in the moral ethos of movements of beloved community. This stands contrast with a generally protectionist outlook that is espoused widely in Christian teachings and in political rhetoric upheld by conservative evangelicals. By PROTECTIONIST is meant the ethical practice of emphasizing the protection of what is mine and what is “ours” (i.e. the true Americans") against others, outsiders, foreigners, etc.
Christian nationalism
This combination of ideas tends to relieve the predominantly white evangelical community of the need to attend to the legacy of SYSTEMIC RACISM in the United States. Rather than biblical and moral ideals that can help guide a process of healing, ideas of social, economic and racial justice become evil forces to be demonized and fended off in the culture wars. More recently, the concept of critical race theory, potentially very helpful in providing insights into the continuing impact of our racist history, has become another force of evil to be attacked, being rhetorically connected with Marxism, communism with scare-mongering tactics that prove very effective within our current nationalist populist milieu.
With dramatic impact in recent months, the supreme court and some state legislative bodies are doubling down on the tactic of using law and legislation to promote the interests of evangelicals in the public sphere. This comes in the form of using law, legislation, and tax supported forums (e.g. schools) to promote Christian moral norms, church activities, and Christian religious practices in the public sphere, while simultaneously restricting speech and other practices and freedoms that fall outside of evangelical norms and in ways that are defined by evangelical Christian values. Prominent examples of this include attempts to restrict marriage to heterosexual relationships, promoting censorship of LGBTQ themes in literature, in school textbooks, and teacher-student communication, and criminalization of abortion from the time of conception - causes promoted by the evangelical establishment and extensive multi-billion dollar supporting political machinery. Supreme court rulings and also state legislation in 2022 are serving to support Christian speech and practice by school employees, on school grounds, at school events, under advocacy of conservative evangelicals, while on the other hand attempting to restrict literature, speech, and in some cases even the mention of LGBTQ themes in school environments, because these are not approved within conservative Christian doctrine. This is common playground bullying; its duplicitous, dishonest, inauthentic, it’s a power play, and this is why an entire generation as well as many people of all generations are leaving evangelicalism as fast as they can get out the door. (Please note that a segment of Christians political thought reaching all the way back to Baptist "founding father" Roger Williams has properly understood the constitutional nature of the church-state separations and freedoms, but this history is mostly unknown to many contemporary evangelicals.)
Law and order
Another feature of Christian nationalism is an emphasis on law and order, a long-standing political dog whistle which speaks to the priority of protecting and maintaining the status quo for interests of power and privilege. This sentiment is often used to delegitimize protest movements against racism, for example, or to restrict immigration and withhold citizenship rights and privileges from those who “haven’t earned” or “don’t deserve” the generosity and grace proclaimed at the the Statue of Liberty. On immigration, law and order Christians lean into the legal limits on welcoming immigrants, and typically support spending money on protection, i.e. “the wall.” For many evangelicals, “the law” is an absolute justification for restricting if not preventing generosity and hospitality to unqualified outsiders. Often this argument is enhanced by espousing the rhetoric that immigrants are more prone to criminal behavior than existing citizens. Many deconstructing Christians prefer to overlook or set aside human laws of questionable moral status, choosing to affirm higher spiritual / moral values which they find in Jesus or in other resources of ethical value, thereby favoring efforts to welcome and assist immigrants without qualifying them by legal status.
We must admit that the issue of cross border migration, combined with multiple ongoing refugee crisis situations, is a complex international issue faced by many countries. Diverse priorities and values collide, and multiple complementary strategies are needed; such is beyond the scope of this brief article. Should borders be eliminated? No, we are not ready for that. Should we cooperate to promote more effective strategies to help immigrants and refugees whether legally authorized or not? Certainly, yes.
Notes and Resources
Multiple concepts of BELOVED COMMUNITY are referenced herein, and I take credit for none of them. "Compassionate Awakening" is referenced by Dr. Robyn Espinoza in interview with Tim Whitaker New Evangelicals Podcast and also Compassionate Christianity Podcast. Other references below.
Charles Marsh. The Beloved
Community: How Faith Shapes Social Justice from the Civil Rights Movement to
Today. 2005, Basic Books.
Ralph E. Luker. “Kingdom of God and
Beloved Community in the Thought of Martin Luther King, Jr.” In Ideas and the
Civil Rights Movement, edited Ted Ownby. 2001, University Press of Mississippi.
Theology in the Raw Podcast. Preston
Sprinkle. “Centered vs bounded” idea inspired by Podcast #975 guest Pastor
Debra Hirsch.
The New Evangelicals Podcast, Tim
Whitaker, Founder. 71 episodes and counting. I recommend starting at the
beginning. (I do not "advocate" (i.e. agree with) every guest on the podcast. Rather, I advocate learning from others who are honest and ethical seekers. This is the strategy espoused by Tim Whitaker with the NE podcast.)
Learning How to See with Brian
McLaren Podcast, by the Center for
Action and Contemplation.
Homebrewed Christianity Podcast,
Tripp Fuller. "To invite vs. to exclude" idea similar to Alfred North Whitehead,
Process and Reality, “The Galilean Vision,” to invite rather than to control,
in contrast with Greek and Roman concepts of deity. Cited often by Tripp Fuller, Brian McLaren, and others.
Holy Post Podcast, Phil Vischer.
"He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows his love for the alien by giving him food and clothing." Deuteronomy 10:18
"For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave your fathers forever and ever." Jeremiah 7:6-7
"I was a stranger and you invited me in." Jesus, Matthew 25:35
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