Tags
Bible, Christ, Christianity, confession, Frederick Buechner, God, Kingdom, Postchristianity, religion
**I will confess up front that this may be the most blasphemous post I have written yet, so be warned. I am (to quote my friend Josh) opening a vein with this one. I expect that it will stir the pot, so feel free to respond in the comments section below.
I am, in my faith journey, moving into a place that I have come to identify as “post-Christianity”. “Post” in the sense that my roots have been firmly planted in the deep, rich soil of Christianity from my birth. I was raised in Christian homes by wonderful, loving Christian family members; attended a private, Christian university where I majored in theology; have served as a pastor on three church staffs; and continue to read more theology than most pastors I know. So, when I say “post-” I mean something beyond, something after, as one might say, “post-graduate” or “post-partum”; for me, all that is good about the term “Christianity” has given me a great mooring and now the subsequent freedom to step into the deeper waters of what I am calling “the Kingdom”.
Now, for my parents and friends who are hitting their knees in prayer over this confession, let me be clear: I am not moving away from something but towards something, and that, for me, makes all the difference.
Perhaps it is best if I clarify what I mean by the term “Christian” before I move on. To me, Christianity in the modern, American, fundamentalist, evangelical sense has come to mean more of a political platform or a defendable “worldview” than anything else. The term “Christian” has come to mean what Christians universally should think about such things as gay marriage, abortion, school vouchers, anti-evolutionary curriculum, and the like. It is boiled down to a list of tenets that must be signed off on before membership can be granted. The idea that you are Christian if you do this, believe that, go there, say this, all with little to no imagination and a story so constricting many avoid it altogether.
This, then, is what I am moving away from: Christianity as organization, politics, agenda, worldview, position, media empire, and power structure. It’s like I commented to my wife the other day, when I can’t tell a church from a shopping mall anymore, we are in trouble. As my friend Ben reminded me, the church has never operated well from a position of power, and that is just as true now as it was in the Middle Ages.
What I am trying with my very life to move towards is the reality of the Kingdom: towards the Mystery, the longing, the ache, the “secret in the dark” (to quote Frederick Buechner), the “desire of the everlasting hills” (to quote Genesis and Thomas Cahill), the myth that just might be true, the big “S” Story that gives meaning to all the little “s” stories we try to write with our lives, the love that might not be safe, the vision that can be should all things be as they ought.
I hear whispers of this Kingdom everywhere: in the dance of nature (the circle of life) that seems to move of its own accord, the miracle of child-birth and the awesome responsibility of child-rearing, in this thing called love that is willing to be torn in two again and again, in the paradoxical reality that consumption ultimately consumes and sacrifice ultimately delivers, in the ache felt for just one perfect love story, in the deep reality that, at the bottom of it all, we are creatures of desire needing to love and be loved in return.
I catch glimpses of it in stories like Les Miserables (the greatest redemptive story not found in the Bible), A Tale of Two Cities, The Lord of the Rings, and The Once and Future King and in movies like The Pursuit of Happyness, Schindler’s List, Forrest Gump, and Life is Beautiful.
This Kingdom, the full story of agape breaking loose in the world, is the story of the God with a big “G” (the Word and the Word made Flesh in the one who came to embody Isaiah’s vision of shalom, says John 1) that dwarfs the other “g”ods of Mammon, Bacchus, Technos and the rest. It is the great shout of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, but also the faint hint found in the wisdom, pathos, wonder and reality of the Quran and its call for us to strive against our base instincts and choose purity over carnality; the Analects of Confucius and their description of a way of selfless living that helps form the exemplary one; the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle and their examination and explanation of virtue; the ache of the existentialists and their hope that one day, we just might rise out of the absurdity and write a story worth reading; the hope that perhaps Narnia might be real after all.
The Kingdom breaks in all around us. Indeed (to borrow from Eugene Peterson), I believe Christ plays in ten-thousand places. Though I see it in literature, another might see it in biology or in cosmology or music, or even urban design. Indeed, the Kingdom is all around us, this vision of Isaiah 61, Matthew 5-7, Revelation 21-22; it whispers and shouts and sings and sighs and rushes out in music and stories so full of life they make you weep just to encounter them, and we try to bottle it up and package it as dogma and offer it up in 35 minute bites once a week like we know what we are doing.
No, though I leave at my own peril, I have chosen to sail my ship to a different shore, to the place where songs create worlds and swords become shovels and cities become sanctuaries and all things are made new. I have chosen the narrative-made-flesh whom I will serve, the less-traveled-road I must walk, and for me, that has made all the difference.
**Ok, have at it! I look forward to your thoughts on the most vulnerable post I have offered yet.
I applaud your honesty and bravery in posting this. In fact, I am inclined to agree with you here. I confess that I am slightly disenfranchised with the Church (the organization, not the Bride of Christ), believing it to be purely man-made. If I remember my Bible correctly, the term “Christian” was a slur used against the Apostles in Antioch. They mocked them, calling them “little Christ[s]”. As for me, I am too used to the term to really abandon its use in my speech, so I do call myself a “Christian”
However, I recently completed a Bible study with a small group of women that centered around a DVD seminar titled “Christian: It’s Not What You Think”. The speaker’s most interesting point was that the term “Christian” can become anything the person wants it to be, free for them to mold because it has no explicit description in the Bible. But, the word “disciple” does. He cited John 12:35: “By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” I prefer this term to “Christian”. Also, I believe disciple means “learner”. I really love this. I learn to love, and learn of myself. In learning, I seek to draw closer to God as humanly possible.
Thanks for the encouraging response! I love the term “disciple” for it gets closer to what I am trying to articulate. I think it’s the term “Christian” as it is used today to promote agenda, power, and platform that I am trying to move away from, certainly not the deep message of Jesus. This is why “Kingdom” is, for me, a better term, for it evokes a larger, grander, more robust narrative, the very one Jesus is constantly pointing to.
Romans 1:20 reveals that all men have “hints of the wisdom of God”, thus we see His glory stamped within all the great writers, philosophers, the arts, etc. (I totally agree with you about Les Mis) As a reader of many I can appreciate those hints in all the great works of literature, drama, art, etc. I don’t exclude them from my own writing or reading. Who cannot appreciate the ancient Greeks like Aristotle. Simply amazing. I wonder what they would have done had they known Christ.
I think what you are saying is that you are returning to a purer form of Christianity. I like the way you emphasize “shout” from the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures and “hints” from other books. I think if you stick with listening to those “shouts” you will be fine. In my own quest for truth, I’ve studied many great books before I came to know the truth, which was Jesus Christ and then those very Scriptures.
Sometimes I look at what we have evolved as what is defined as Christian and it is troubling, particularly in the political arena. It’s a delicate balance, being a light in Western culture, because we have the ability to be involved in government, and thus God would have us exercise that right. How can we be “arm-chair” Christians and not speak out for the unborn, materialism, political corruption, and then to world-wide oppressions of other peoples? I think every Christian needs to wholeheartedly seek God for themself and His kingdom. Then go and be in the place that God has called. And above all things, put on love and kindness in every encounter.
Now a little about me. When I went to Rome I was so awestruck by an underground church that met in secret. I was awed at the time it took for Christians to walk to this church. And it was so simple. Benches, an altar for communion. It was all rock. It was in the home of a wealthy man. Can’t remember the name but there was even a stream that went through the home for water. I saw the Colliseum. How can one not be moved at the gruesomeness of that society and the Christians who died for their faith? To see cars casually driving around it in the hustle and bustle of modern society created such a paradox of emotion in me. It brought me back to my original faith. I was raised in liturgical style worship (which to this day still moves me and for the true Christian is so beautiful), then had a real experience with the real Christ, spent many years learning in what I call a true biblical church (how lucky I was), and now attend a “mega-church” that yes, does look like a shopping mall, and with exception of a liturgical-type church down the road, is what I deem a true representation of the church. Though large, the teaching is Christianity in its purest form (at both churches). This is mainly because each pastor gets down to the depths of our soul and meets us with powerful teaching from the Word of God. Not always tasty or popular, but life-changing.
I really enjoy all your writing and will keep an eye on this part of your journey. Might also throw a few questions your way.
Peace,
Alexandria Sage
Truly courageous Scott. This post speaks volumes about you, a person of integrity, authenticity, and deep thought. I found your post most provocative; the questions within it strike me as the fundamental questions of our lives — real questions of value. Thanks friend.
Thank you, my friend! As a “man without a country” it’s great to have folk I trust and respect share the journey.