Video Narrative 1 – March 18, 2024 (TicToc, Instagram, FB)
For many
people on the journey of faith, there comes an EPHIPANY when you embrace
the reality that what you believe cannot be forced upon you … that you
cannot be required to believe something by any authority figure or community
standard. There is a threshold you cross over when you realize that belief is a
matter of the cumulative weight of all of one’s seeking and questioning,
learning and thinking, and all of your life experience. This is not rebellion
or selfishness, but rather, intellectual honesty and intellectual
maturity. Therefore, any attempt to
control or manipulate the thinking of another person by any kind of force is a
form of intellectual abuse that can be very damaging to one’s mental and
emotional health. This change in state of mind is a common experience of people
going through what is called DECONSTRUCTION. I discuss this in Chapter 27 of my
book, Deconstructing Christians and the Third Wave: Unstoppable Beloved
Commnuity .
2 – March 22
… Do you now young people or seekers who express questions? …
What is
Christian Deconstruction, and should Christians be afraid of it? To understand
deconstruction is simply to describe where many people of faith are in their
spiritual journey, people who have the courage to ask questions and the courage
to be honest in where those questions lead them. Do you know young people or
spiritual seekers who express questions about biblical authority, church
authority, religion and ethics, religion and science, or the ways in which the
church is engaging the world of politics and government? In Deconstructing
Christians and the Third Wave, I describe this movement in its
intellectual, ethical and interpersonal dimensions, and I try to locate the
phenomenon of deconstruction in the context of American History, including an
extensive look at the relationship between the church and the abolitionist
movement in the time of American slavery.
3 – March 23
… Do We Teach an Historic Orthodoxy? …
Does
contemporary evangelical church doctrine represent a historic orthodoxy that
has existed unchanged for centuries? The answer is no… and many honest seekers
are learning that 20 centuries of Christianity contain a wealth of diverse
theological perspectives on topics such as salvation, hell, the end times, and
how we interpret the Bible. What many evangelicals refer to as “a biblical
Christian Worldview” is a fruit of the tree of modernity. Modern rationalism,
the intellectual framework of modernity, is a recent development within the
2,000 year history of the church. Rationalism reached its peak of influence in
the late 19th century, and had a tremendous impact on the
present-day shape of evangelicalism. How does this impact the way we have been
taught to ask questions and what authorities we trust? I discuss these topics
in Part 4 of Deconstructing Christians and the Third Wave …
4 – March 26 … Coercion of the will in matters of belief …
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 process that should
be respected and celebrated. Add to this the basic practice of trusting
adult humans to make their own adult decisions. Forms of manipulation and
control of a person’s beliefs 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, not a spiritual
gift, not a biblical value, and not befitting of loving human relationships.
From Chapter 27 of Deconstructing Christians and the Third Wave: Unstoppable
Beloved Community.
5 – March 28
… The ground floor of deconstruction is intellectual honesty …
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 belief through tactics of control. Deconstructing Christians
embrace a willingness to say “I don’t know the answer to that question, but I
am willing to continue in faith with an open mind.” 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. From Chapter 27 of Deconstructing Christians
and the Third Wave: Unstoppable Beloved Community.
6 - March 30
I have just
published two books that reflect some of the controversial issues in the world
of religion. Our world seems to be an angry place in the realms of culture,
politics, religion, and our interpretation of history. Is it possible that we
can talk with each other and not past each other? In my writing, I have
attempted to engage some of these issues from a perspective of 40 years of
living as an adult, being at different times a minister, social worker, law
enforcement officer, public servant. I’ve done graduate work in history,
philosophy, and theology. I would love
to have dialogue with you. Our smartphones, computers, and social media can be
a place for honest interchange of ideas. I’ve written about Christian
deconstruction, placing it in a context of American history. I’ve written about
the issue of homosexuality and the church. If you want to know more, these
books are available in print and electronic media, and in audio format.
Deconstructing Christians and the Third Wave is now available from Amazon, Audible and
Apple books
Against the
Oppression of Individuals on the Basis of Sexual Orientation or Identity is now available from Amazon, Audible and
Apple Books.
10 – April 5
… Ethical understanding evolves over time…
Historically,
there are many cases in which beliefs and practices taken from the Bible have
been used to oppress and exclude individuals from full participation in the
church and community, only to be overturned or abandoned through reform or
through historical changes in ethical standards. The most prominent example of
this is the history of slavery. Slavery was accepted and practiced in many
cultures and defended by Christians with the support of the Bible. In the
nineteenth century, the practice was rejected and overturned in country after
country, and is now recognized as unethical, immoral, dehumanizing and
unchristian. Ethical responsibility requires that we examine and question
doctrines, norms and laws that bear upon the dignity, the human rights and
human equality of people. I deal with these issues in Against the Christian
Oppression of Individuals on the Basis of Sexual Orientation or Identity …
12 – April
11… “Natural” and “Unnatural” in moral reasoning …
Do we have a
problem with Jesus having long hair? Hello friends … To use the concept of natural
and unnatural as a guiding principle in moral reasoning is a subjective
endeavor, even when using the Bible as a source. The book of Romans is often
cited as one of the clobber passages in discussion of homosexuality. But
the concept of natural and unnatural has several different meanings even in the
New Testament … sometimes referring to what seems normative within the culture
and context, such as whether a person’s hair should be long or short, their
head covered or uncovered. Paul actually says that nature teaches us that, for
a man, long hair is a dishonor. Claims to moral reasoning based on what is
natural should be supported by other, more substantial moral principles.
community.
I talk about
these issues in chapter 15 of Against the Christian Oppression of
Individuals on the Basis of Sexual Orientation or Identity …
Living as a
deconstructing Christian in an evangelical church, I realize that this is one
of the most important questions. Do we respect and embrace brothers and sisters
who hold beliefs that differ from our own? Of course there are limits to this …
I’m not going to share fellowship in an environment of racism, for example. But
what if I am an *egalitarian and you are **complementarian. Can we respect each
other, can we worship and serve together? And along the way, we bear witness to
our faith… this is what I believe, this is how I live. The problem comes when people believe that
there is one clear truth on every issue, as found in the Bible as they
interpret it, no questions asked. This approach is untenable and it will
often damage if not destroy the faith of many who feel forced to exist under
such a bondage.
*egalitarian
– promoting equality of partners in a marriage relationship.
**complementarian
– promoting a hierarchy of male authority over the woman in the marriage
relationship.
15 – April
15 … Reexamining religious beliefs …
What is the
big deal about Deconstruction? It’s simply a label that has been attached to a
broad movement of people who are reexamining their religious beliefs, taking
them apart and sometimes reassembling them in a different manner. For some,
deconstruction means to escape a harmful or abusive environment, for others, it
signifies a space of intellectual honesty and intellectual freedom. For me, I identify with the sentiments
described as deconstruction, which means that I exist in a space of freedom in
which I affirm my faith in Christ and my desire to follow his life and
teachings without carrying the bondage of fundamentalism. In that
freedom, I bear witness to my faith while worshipping, loving, and serving. I
do not have to conform to the beliefs of others, nor do I have to make them
agree with me. In grace, love, and respect, I recognize the need of each
person to find their way without being controlled or manipulated, rejected,
cancelled or excluded.
16 – April
19 … inspiring Jesus-centered Christianity that is open and affirming …
The energy
driving the growth of community in the deconstruction movement is not negative
but rather constructive and affirmative. There I see the sentiments of the idea
of Beloved Community which traces back to Martin Luther King and before
that to early 20th century liberal theology. I see an increasing
movement of pastors, leaders, authors and influencers who are venturing beyond
the theological, social, and political confines of evangelicalism and are
demonstrating inspiring visions of Jesus centered Christianity that are open,
affirming, and life giving. Millions of Christians and people of faith are
finding life and community and gathering with kindred spirits who are post-evangelical,
new evangelical, and deconstructing. As such, for many people,
deconstruction is actually a positive and constructive endeavor. From Chapter
25 of Deconstructing Christians and the 3rd Wave…
17 – April 22 … Whitewashing of U.S. history …
Despite the
ill-informed and morally misguided actions of some of our governors and state
legislatures, the ugly truth of the moral failures in our nation’s history
shall not be buried. The inspiring stories of heroic men and women who fought
for humanity, equality and justice shall not be forgotten. Some continue to
attempt to whitewash the teaching of history in our schools and universities.
We must stand up and tell the unvarnished truth so that we can learn the
lessons of history. My moral understanding has been changed by studying the 20th
century Civil Rights Movement and the 19th century Abolitionist
Movement. In the first 13 chapters of Deconstructing Christians and the
Third Wave of Beloved Community I tell the stories of William Lloyd
Garrison and Frederick Douglass, of Sara and Angelina Grimke, of Harriet Ross
Tubman and Sojourner Truth, and radical John Brown who appeared on the cover of
a famous rock and roll album in 1974.
18 – April
29 … How hard is it to recognize the full, unqualified personhood of all?...
How hard is
it to stop excluding and oppressing individuals and to begin recognizing the
full unqualified personhood of all regardless of ethnic identity, geography,
gender or sexual identity? Do your religious or moral values require or even
allow you to elevate the value of some and diminish the value of others? I
mentioned previously that intellectual freedom and intellectual honesty is the
foundation of deconstruction. A second dimension is that of being and
belonging. Many people leave churches and some leave faith altogether because
they find that religious doctrines and church practices qualify and exclude
individuals, not based on their character but merely on specific excluded
categories of identity … and these doctrines of exclusion are extended beyond
religion and into the social, professional, and civic realms and are often
codified into law as a way of enforcing religious norms upon the wider
community. From Chapter 28 of Deconstructing Christians and The Third Wave…
19 – May 1 …
an open handed and other-directed approach …
A third
dimension of Deconstruction is VALUE and ETHICAL PRIORITIES. A common theme
among many deconstructing Christians is their emphasis on a Jesus-centered
ethic emphasizing compassion, charity, and love of one’s neighbor… truly
welcoming the stranger, along with concern for the downtrodden and oppressed.
This open-handed and-other directed approach applies not only to individual
relationships but also to the structures and systems of society and government,
finding expression in the concepts of ECONOMIC JUSTICE and SOCIAL JUSTICE.
These concepts have been hijacked and demonized by political rhetoric that is expressed
rehearsed in many evangelical spaces. Nevertheless, these ideas have always
maintained significance in movements of BELOVED COMMUNITY, in contrast to a
PROTECTIONIST stance which prioritizes the protection of the interests and the
property of a select group of deserving insiders against all perceived threats.
From Chapter 29 of Deconstructing Christians and the Third Wave.
Narrative 20
– April 3 Christian Nationalism is driving many people from the church on moral
grounds.
This is a
complex and sensitive topic. However, the moral dissonance between the
protectionist stance of Christian nationalism and the open-handed
other-directed ethic of Jesus causes a problem for many Christians. By
PROTECTIONIST, I mean the ethical priority of the interests and the property of
deserving United States citizens against all outsiders, foreigners, and any
government meddling. Now this is a fine principle of economic self-interest,
nationalism, and patriotism, but not really a demonstration a of Jesus centered
ethic. Young people learn that we live in a global society with global issues,
and that the United States does not have a record of moral purity on the
international stage. Patriotism has its place, however, a morality informed by
the ethic of Jesus serves as a strong check and balance to our national pride
and self-interest. … From Chapter 29 of Deconstructing Christians and the
Third Wave.
27 – June 5
Why all this
talk of Deconstructing Christians, history, religion and politics? You may find
it perplexing, even bizarre. I am a follower of Jesus Christ, in fact I attend
an evangelical church. I love my church and I love worshipping and serving with
the people there. The phenomena of deconstruction correspond to a major
paradigm shift in Christianity, and to fail to understand this is to fail to be
prepared to respond to the faith perspective of emerging adults as well as a
host of other seekers and thinkers of every age. The typical response of church
leaders is to double down on the traditions of faith, to assert the inerrant
authority of the Bible, and to attack any deviation as postmodern, as worldly, even
as demonic. Pastors and teachers, parents and leaders, I beg of you, this
strategy is out of touch and misguided, and will doom the church to increasing
irrelevance.
28 – June 8 … We are in the midst of a paradigm shift …
The most
profound thing that I can tell you about 21st century Christianity
is that it is in the midst of a paradigm shift from modern to postmodern. By
paradigm shift, I do mean in the sense of Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of
Scientific Revolutions. This shift creates tension and conflict between
different visions of Christianity. Fundamentalism emerged in the early 20th
century as a theological response to “modernism.” This is confusing, however,
because the systematic theologies of evangelicalism that emerged in the 20th
century were actually grounded in the intellectual principles of modernity.
“Modernity” is the name given to the intellectual era who’s goal was to achieve
absolute scientific knowledge in every discipline, including
Christianity. The symbolic father of this movement is Rene Descartes, who
authored Discourse on Method in 1637, The problem for modernity, and for
modernist evangelicals, is: this project
failed.
29 – June 10
… Treating Christian theology as a science …
The highly
influential book by B.B. Warfield, The Inspiration and Authority of the
Bible, represents the late 19th century treatment of systematic
Christian theology as a science. The rationalist project of modernity is the
driving intellectual force. Warfield was trained as a scientist in the 1860s
before he turned his attention to theology.
While classic protestant theologians saw themselves as combating the
negative influence of modernism, they were actually operating within the
intellectual paradigm of modernity, and they promoted a view of the Bible and
Christian theology as an infallible and demonstrable system of knowledge. The long-term outcome of this view of the
Bible as a theological system is the multiplication of an unlimited number of
doctrinal systems represented in thousands of churches and denominations,
instantiated any time an authoritative pastor holds a Bible and claims his
absolute truth.
30 – June 11
… Christianity as a rational system of beliefs …
Previously I
mentioned B.B. Warfield’s book, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible. I’m
not a Warfield scholar, but he is one of the most recognizable figures of the
late 19th century protestant movement to systematize Christianity
into a comprehensive rational system based on the modernist concept of biblical
inerrancy. As such, many evangelicals have come to regard the ancient writings
of Scripture as a tool to question every field of knowledge, from science to
ethics and everything in between, including medical care and even mental
health. It is no disrespect to the Bible to pull back on this unhealthy and
unhelpful view. Rather than blindly submit to leaders who say, I have the Bible
so I have the authority, take the courage to bring to the table your own
intellect and moral intuition, your life experience and that of trusted
friends, and the wisdom of those who have done the appropriate study and
research in various fields of study.
31 – June 12
… The failure of modernity …
About a
century ago, the 300 year intellectual project of modernity was recognized to
be failing. Perhaps we can take WW1 as an historical marker. Evangelical
Christianity continues to cling to the failed intellectual project of modernity
while the rest of the intellectual world is moving on. You can call this
postmodern, or worldly thinking, and you can demonize it in any number of ways,
but this is to cling to the false construction of imagined idyllic past. Christianity as an absolute rational system
of belief based on an inerrant Scripture remains the ideal of evangelicalism,
but post-evangelicals are reading the Bible differently. This is the 21st
century reality of Christian Deconstruction. Pastors, parents and leaders can
choose to understand and engage, or they can choose to batten down the hatches
and fight for traditional religion. To me this sounds a lot like the Pharisees,
the chief priests and the elders…
32 - June 13 … The Biblical Worldview …
So my claim
about the failure of modernity as the pursuit an ever growing objective truth
that stands upon certain foundations unqualified by language, history and
culture… I admit that this is a broad claim that requires some unpacking. But
that is beyond our scope and I’ll have to ask you to do some research on
“failure of modern rationalism.” To acknowledge this failure is not to deny the
dramatic growth of knowledge and of science and of technology in many areas. In
our context, however, I want to apply the lessons of this failure to our
understanding of systematic theology and what is referred to as “the biblical
worldview.” Simply stated, there is no single unified system of knowledge or
doctrine or belief that we can identify as “The Biblical Worldview” and we need
to stop using this concept as an intellectual weapon against those with whom we
disagree.
33 – June 18 … Without inerrancy …
So if you
don’t have an infallible Scripture as your absolute and sole source of truth,
what are you left with? Absolutely everything. That’s the irony of qualifying
this modernist view of Bible inerrancy… you then allow yourself the freedom and
the opportunity to recognize and appreciate all of the other sources of
guidance that you were using all along … All of your education and life
experience, your emotional and moral intuition, the research of qualified
scholars and the advice of trusted friends … all of this is legitimate, along
with the depth and the beauty and the wisdom and the truth of the diverse
collection of voices that we regard as sacred Scripture, the Holy Bible.
Likewise, you respect and trust other rational and mature adults to discern
their path as you find your own, in a shared space of freedom of thought,
freedom of choice, and freedom of commitment. From Chapter 27 of Deconstructing
Christians and the Third Wave …
34 – June 29
… “Biblical authority”
Biblical
authority is a major plank of evangelicalism, however, it is not a teaching of
Jesus nor of the Bible itself. Let me unpack this … The Christian Bible
contains many strong claims about the “word of God” and the “law of God,” and
these are phrases that many Bible characters used, including Jesus. The idea
that the contemporary canon of the Bible is exclusively equivalent to “the word
of God” and therefore has absolute authority as an infallible source of
all-encompassing knowledge, this is a philosophical claim about a theory of
Bible epistemology that was articulated in the nineteenth century and
incorporated into evangelical systematic theology as an orthodox doctrine.
Post-modern epistemology and post-evangelical theology reject this notion. However,
this need not diminish the power, the value, and beauty of the Bible as a
source of knowledge, guidance, life, health and inspiration in following Jesus
and living a Christian life.
35 – June 19
… “Authority” in the teaching of Jesus …
Jesus rarely
spoke about authority, and when he did, he avoided affirming his own authority
by reference to anything outside of his own words and actions. Jesus was
demonstrating that his authority was self-validating, and that you could either
recognize it or reject it, and no man is in a position to force this upon
you. When confronted with any claim to
divine truth, there is no magic stamp of authority that gives us a shortcut to
easy validation. Truth claims must be
compelling intrinsically … they must bear the mark of life and truth in and of
themselves. This is true of the teachings of Jesus, of “word of God” claims,
and likewise, the exhortations and recommendations of any would-be spiritual
authority. Abandon the idea of “authority,” for it has as much led to abuse and
destruction as to life and health. Don’t tell me you have authority … tell me
you have value, you have love, you have life, you have health, you have good
news.
36 Part 1 – June 21… How the Bible informs …
Although I
am trying to shake evangelicals loose from the unhelpful doctrine of Bible
Inerrancy, I don’t want you to get the idea that I don’t love the Bible… I read
the Bible, I teach the Bible, and the Bible informs and inspires my
relationship with God. One of the most inspirational Bible narratives describes Jesus’ encounter with a man that is
called the Gerasene demoniac in Mark chapter 5, Matthew 8 and Luke 8. In 21st
century terminology, I would describe this as Jesus’ encounter with a homeless
man with a serious mental illness living alone in the cemetery, exhibiting
violence and self-harm. This encounter is a powerful demonstration of Jesus’
love and compassion and it is entirely consistent with all of Jesus’ encounters
with people in great need, and it translates very well into our contemporary
situation. But there is a problem … was there one man or two?
36 Part 2 –
June 21 … Jesus and the homeless man …
We are
examining the beautiful story of Jesus’ encounter with an individual that we can describe a homeless man with a
serious mental illness, found in Mark chapter 5 and Matthew 8. A curious
feature is that Matthew tells the story with 2 men in the cemetery, just as
Matthew describes Jesus healing 2 blind men in Matthew 20, and in Matthew 21,
Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a horse and a donkey at the same time. In Mark’s
account and in Luke’s account, there is only one. Who is right? They can’t both
be correct. For the modern evangelical doctrine of inerrancy, this is a
problem. Please, don’t try to explain it to me, because for me, it’s not a
problem. I don’t read the Bible that way
and I am not distracted by the question of inerrancy. For Matthew’s narrative
purposes, two is better
Deconstructing Christians and the Third Wave is now available on Audible and Apple books
and I encourage you to take a listen. If you have a subscription, please add it
to your list. Here I explore the 21st century movement of
Christian Deconstruction to understand questions and issues relevant to those
compelled to make adjustments in their beliefs in light of history and ethics,
science, politics and world events. This may be your child or family member or
the person worshipping or working next to you. I set these issues into
historical context at the intersection of faith, human rights and civil rights,
exploring major events and people that have shaped our national story.
Against the
Oppression of Individuals on the Basis of Sexual Orientation or Identity is now available on Audible and Apple Books.
Please check it out and add it to your list. Here I challenge people of faith
to reexamine the doctrines that have emerged in the church to create the
environment of oppression that many experience. I look at the Scripture and the
theology, and I take a deep dive into the teaching of ethics in the New
Testament. What are the ethical themes that are addressed most frequently in these
Scriptures, and do take these seriously?