Tag: practical theology

Aimless Wanderings (Or the Danger of Having an Unexamined Theology)

Aimless Wanderings (Or the Danger of Having an Unexamined Theology)

Theology has become offensive language. Most Christians I have known over the years would rather be bitten by a rabid T-Rex than listen to a lecture on theology. Many would prefer to have a train full of fleas dancing in their drawers than listen to 10 minutes of historical context on a Bible passage. We want to be entertained and we want to be inspired, but we don’t necessarily want to have to think about how we have arrived where we are.

Context is a funny thing. I’ve always had a knack for finding my way. It could have been the walks through the deep woods as a child when Dad would stop and say, “Michael, look where we came from. You may need to recognize it to find your way home.” On the other hand, it could have been inheriting my mother’s ironclad memory. Elephants and Mom…they never forget. Whatever it was, even before Google Maps, I never felt lost. If I went somewhere once, I could get back.

An odd thing happened in college once I started using MapQuest. There was a time I had driven to a party at a friend’s house off campus using turn by turn directions. I had a great time hanging out in an actual home for the first time in months. It was wonderful and refreshing after the chaos of my first few months in male only dorms. Seeing decorations, paintings, and soaps that weren’t picked out by a nineteen year old “dude” made me exceptionally thankful for the women in my life.

As I walked back to my car, something very odd happened. I pulled up to the first stop sign. I couldn’t remember whether to turn right or left. I was briefly very deeply disoriented. For the first time in my life, I drove somewhere and didn’t innately know how to get home. I had arrived at a destination without context. I couldn’t tell you how I got there or how to get home.

Many of us find ourselves in a similar situation in relation to God, the Bible, and church. We experience church on Sundays or Wednesdays and we know what we are supposed to believe about God, but we have no idea of how we got there or how to move forward. I have witnessed this lead to a deep dissatisfaction for so many of my friends growing up. Having led adult Bible studies for the past 17 years, I can’t tell you how many folks I have seen wander aimlessly around the same handful of questions. That isn’t to say these questions aren’t important or that they don’t deserve reflection. These are questions that have had thousands of years of thought by some of the most brilliant minds in Western civilization.

If, as I suspect, some of the Bible studies I have witnessed are examples of what is happening across the country, despite all of the deep thought of intelligent minds over millennia of Christianity, the questions are answered by the collective wisdom of the four or five people in the room whose voices are seen as authoritative. Nothing against those four or five individuals. They are probably quite intelligent and insightful.  What are the chances of them having more insight after looking at the passage for 30 seconds than someone who has devoted 30 years of their adult life to studying a single biblical book, especially if they are ignorant of the numerous people who have wrestled with the passages, issues, and questions throughout history?

Because of a general distaste for theology, a reviling of academic study of Scripture, and a distrust of Church history, many Americans Christians will spend generations asking questions that were well answered centuries ago. Misunderstanding what the Bible is, how it conveys meaning, and the way it invites us to encounter the one who inspired it leaves many feeling like they can’t relate to Scripture. Being out of touch with the history of scriptural interpretation and the various ways the church has viewed God’s word leads us toward a myopic view. Frequently communities arrive at one specific interpretation of a passage and then because of the authority of the people giving that interpretation it attains to an unquestionable status. This posture of having one right view frequently leads to limited questioning. People  fear being at odds with the community, so they fail to ask challenging questions of specific interpretations or theological positions. If we can’t ask honest questions of the Bible, what it says, or how we should interpret it, how could we ever hope to trust the God it reveals?

So frequently demonization of our opponents becomes the final option in these communities where only one right answer exists. Interestingly enough, the church held unified for over 1000 years not through the strength of their theological agreement but through the strength of their shared communion. The power of Christ-centered community to hold together Zealots and tax collectors, fishermen and doctors has been on display from the first century. If slaves and masters can worship together as brothers and sisters in Christ, who are we to break fellowship over a minor point of doctrine or the type of instruments used in song…or over a political candidate?

It is my hope to see a faithful, informed, passionate, loving Church. I want to see people come to know there are well thought out answers to most of their deepest questions. We can know what it looks like for Christians to engage immigrants, think about war, or understand our response to poverty. The church has been wrestling with these questions for well over a thousand years. There are answers to the deepest questions you have about Scripture and God. Many of the most brilliant minds in the history of the western world have devoted their lives to asking and answering questions just like yours. When you question, you are in good company.

I want to encourage you to embrace Church history. I want to invite you to read the Bible in the community of the “great cloud of witnesses”referenced in Hebrews. Learn from John Wesley, Martin Luther, Theresa of Avila, Augustine of Hippo, the Venerable Bede, Clement of Alexandria, and the councils of the Church. See how they have answered the questions you are asking. Explore the theology of Martin Luther King, Jurgen Moltmann, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Miroslav Volf, Bill Johnson, John Perkins, Dorothy Sayers, or N. T. Wright.

It is refreshing to encounter Christians who have thought about how to walk in love toward diverse elements of our society without needing to demonize them or agree with them. The options aren’t mutually exclusive. Hearing the voice of Dr. King, and others, on these types of issues is exceptionally refreshing for those of us who didn’t grow up in the 60s.

We can’t always agree, but we can always love. We can’t always answer the questions, but we can listen without judgment. We can hear the question as a desire to know God rather than a challenge to our authority. We can be a bridge to help people encounter the presence of the God they are searching for. We can learn from those who have gone before us and engage the questions of our times in fresh creative ways drawing from the best of what our two millennia of history have to offer.

Questions become an invitation to encounter God. Ask…Seek…Knock. God loves the seeking heart. It is his delight to meet those who question. It is only when we arrive at certainty that we stop looking for more of God.

A Long Walk Off a Short Pier (Or the Challenge of Voting as a Christian)

A Long Walk Off a Short Pier (Or the Challenge of Voting as a Christian)

We can’t talk about THAT!! Can we?

Don’t discuss religion and politics. It’s a cardinal rule in America. We hear it in much the same way previous generations heard, “Children are to be seen and not heard.” We are told braving the topics will only lead to arguments, frayed relationships, and alienating those we care about most deeply. So Americans have stopped having passionate, rational, lively discourse with those we love the most and whose opinions mean the most to us. Intelligent dialogue among close friends and family on contentious issues has ceased for many of us. Through our silence, we have begun a long, casual stroll unsure of where our next step will take us. We survey the political and ideological landscape and are drawn to the concepts, ideas, and individuals that tickle our fancy. We find what we love and fill our lives with it.

It has never been easier to tune out those with whom we disagree. We unfollow friends on Facebook, we mute dissenting voices on Twitter, and we keep silent about politics and religion in our social interactions. If we continue down this path, we may find we have wandered beyond where our footing is sure into currents too strong for us to swim.

I’m not going to tell you where to cast your ballot. No one likes to be pushed to vote for a candidate, unless of course it is the candidate we have already chosen. I do want to encourage you to talk to your friends and family. Ask questions. Listen twice as much as you speak (maybe just listen…until they ask for your view). Find people with whom you are almost certain you will disagree. Ask them why they adhere to a specific political viewpoint. Find out what motivates them to choose a certain candidate. I would encourage you to re-engage the people in your life about the important issues in your life and the life of our nation. If you are a Christian, talk to an atheist. Really listen to how they arrived at that point (most that I know didn’t start there). Don’t judge them. Care for them. Listen like you would want to be heard. If you’re a Republican, find a Democrat. Ask about the issues that made them choose that party. Please put down your defenses and hear what matters to the other person. Who knows, you may find that you value the same things and are disagreeing about how to address them.

It is only in beginning to talk about religion and politics that we will begin to find a way forward, embracing the common good. How can we love our neighbors if we don’t know them? How can we understand the thoughts motivating their political action if we don’t listen?

You’re a pastor. You can’t talk politics!!

Well, actually, I can’t help but talk politics. Should pastors set out to make political action the aim of their ministry? No. Should living a life in relationship with Jesus impact my politics? Absolutely. While I may not tell you for whom to vote or on what issues, I have a primary responsibility to help the people around me encounter a kingdom that crosses party aisles, national borders, ethnic barriers, and gender gaps. The kingdom of God is not a footnote in the margin of my life. It demands my attention. It shapes my thoughts. It informs my actions.

As a Christian, I feel deeply conflicted during these turbulent times. Neither political party in America addresses all of the issues Scripture calls me to value. Both parties pander to certain segments of the Church in America. Sometimes their willingness to say whatever they know Christians want to hear is a tad nauseating, but that is a story for another post. Scripture doesn’t address the tension of having to vote for candidates who have some values in line with the teachings of Jesus and others that are diametrically opposed. Issues like the right to have an abortion, the death penalty, torture of prisoners of war, gun rights, and minimum wage drive deep divides among many Christian communities.

While there are gray areas and possibilities for disagreement in interpretation of Scripture and how to apply what has been interpreted, some actions should be soundly denounced by Christian leaders. The Transatlantic slave trade was shut down by just such leaders. Abolition in the United States gained ground because of such leaders. Education reached the masses and labor laws have been reformed because of such leaders. The Civil Rights movement marched forward because of such leaders. In moments like these, there are actions and political campaigns that need to be rejected because of their distinct divergence from the teachings of Jesus. I cannot imagine the suffering servant, who taught his own followers to turn the other cheek, encouraging the crowds to beat anyone who disagrees with him. Jesus regularly engaged in public debate with his religious and political detractors. He never called for them to be beaten to silence. Jesus’ own brother called upon the Church to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Shouting down our opponents and beating them into silence does not reflect the values of Jesus. While not all political decisions are easy in light of Scripture, some are. It is in those times we must raise our voice and encourage loving action in light of the call of Jesus.

Jesus recognized the brokenness of religious and political institutions in his day. They were the vehicles of his death: a religious kangaroo court and a Roman cross. He has been offering the hope of life for over 2000 years. He offers hope still. There is no night so dark the light of Christ cannot shine brighter still. Please choose to embrace the love of God and to share that love with your enemies.

The tone of my first post shifted significantly in light of what happened at a political rally in Chicago. I have been reminded there is a timely urgency to gaining our voices and hearing the voices of those with whom we disagree.

On the whole, I recognize there are so few spaces in modern life for gracious dialogue. I hope this blog can become one in the days ahead. Always feel free to comment and share whether you agree or not.