The Deconstruction Zone

When we started Sacred Journeys, it was with the intent of being a progressive Christian voice. Progressive (aside from implying certain theological stances which aren’t always agreed upon) generally means “happening, moving, or developing gradually over time.” I like the term much better than liberal, which has a more political connotation, because progressive suggests we are not static, nor afraid of growth and change. Personally, I relish the chance to study, to learn and grow, to discover new interpretations and perspectives, to expand and refine my understanding of the Divine.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are our conservative, fundamentalist, and traditional Christian counterparts who tend to resist change and favor traditional gender roles, theology, and belief structures. They prefer tight control over what people do and believe. The creeds are their measuring sticks, as are the doctrine of their particular denominations. Those who go against the grain are heretics, are being “tempted by the devil,” are going astray. Sometimes they are even shunned from their communities for their beliefs or actions.

The rallying cry of conservative, fundamentalist, and traditional Christians usually has something to do with the Bible. The Bible says… the Bible is inerrant… we’re Bible-believing Christians… the Bible is the inspired word of God. Or the infamous bumper sticker: God said it, I believe it, that settles it.

Oft quoted is a line from 2 Timothy 3:

All scripture is inspired of God, and is useful for teaching – for reprimanding, correcting, and training in justice – so that the people of God may be fully competent and equipped for every good work.

In my humble opinion, this passage is one of the largest hindrances/obstacles to rational thinking and to evolving faith and religion. So, let’s deal with it before we continue.

There are at least three things wrong with using this passage to claim that the Bible is inerrant:

1. Since 2 Timothy was likely written in the second century, the list of books in the New Testament, as we know it today, didn’t exist yet, and wouldn’t until 367 CE. So, the scripture the author of Timothy refers to as “inspired” or “God-breathed” had to have been the Old Testament.
2. We know the Old Testament was written over hundreds of years by multiple authors with different understandings of God, different experiences, different contexts and histories.
3. We know there are too many contradictions in scripture (Old and New Testaments) for it to be taken literally.

:Pastor Troy Simms writes an interesting commentary. He says, “If it’s all from God, God is an idiot, because not even the all-knowing God can keep all the details straight! Yet, if it was all from God, why do we have four very different gospels? If God wrote it, wouldn’t we only need one?”

Instead, what if we understand the “inspiration” of scripture or “God-breathing” of scripture in the same way God breathed life into a human being in Genesis. Perhaps scripture comes alive only when the wisdom and light of the divine is breathed into it through faithful interpretation, through historical-critical analysis and through reason. Perhaps the meaning of the passage can then be evoked, regardless of whether it factually happened or not.

Randy Woodley, in his book, How Western Christianity Got it Wrong, tells a story about attending a Jewish Sabbath school once “where almost everyone at the table had a different opinion of the scripture being studied, often reading an interpretation from past scholars. When they were finished with their distinct and varied interpretations, the leader simply said, ‘Amen.’ There was no need to make all the points align or to come up with some grand central meaning.” He goes on to say, “In Jewish tradition, questioning and wrestling with multiple interpretations through midrash isn’t just permitted – it’s essential. They understand what many Christians miss, that sacred texts demand thoughtful engagement, not naïve acceptance.

So, this brings us to the Destruction Zone - the place where our old beliefs that don’t work anymore are deconstructed to make way for new ideas, perspectives and teachings.

There is a great Peanuts cartoon that goes like this:

Snoopy is typing on top of his doghouse when Charlie Brown walks up and says, “I hear you’re writing a book on theology. I hope you have a good title.”

Snoopy replies, “I have the perfect title… “Has it Ever Occurred to You That You Might Be Wrong?”

I do wonder if people ever consider this… that what they think and believe about God might be wrong. That what they were taught by pastors, priests, Sunday School teachers, even seminary professors might be wrong, or not the whole story. Can you think of something you believed when you were younger that you no longer believe? When I asked this of our community they answered with things like: limbo, the Immaculate Conception, that Jesus is the only way to God, not eating meat on Fridays, original sin, and more.

When we come across doctrine and theology and beliefs that don’t work anymore, deconstruction can be difficult, sometimes even rocking us to our core. It can be natural to feel lost, confused, betrayed, angry, floundering. It can also be natural to feel something more positive like relieved and free.

Renita Weems, in her book, Listening for God,” hits the nail on the head when she says,

[W]hatever spirituality is, it is not something to be discovered. It is something to be recovered – something you misplace and recover a thousand times in a lifetime. Nor is belief in God, mystery, or prayer something one either possesses or doesn’t. Rather, belief is something one tries continually to keep oneself open to, accessible to, or something one continually refuses to open oneself up to.”

We named our community Sacred Journeys because there isn’t just one path. Each person has their own sacred spiritual path that twists and turns, rises and falls, comes to dead ends and sometimes the trail fades out completely. We misplace it and recover it a thousand times, as Weems wrote. But it is still (hopefully) a progressive journey – where we engage, learn, change and evolve in our thinking and understanding of God and ourselves.

Sadly, I believe many folks give up on God and religion when they find themselves in the deconstruction zone. It takes courage, resilience, patience, tenacity, and a spark of hope in what might be to continue forward. And this is where we’ll pick up next week… the chaos after destruction as we live into the questions.

Love & Light!

Kaye