We went to church this evening, because an online friend invited us, and because my husband wanted to find out more about this particular church.
I’m not going to critique or review the church, because I think I have no business doing that! However, if it’s 95 degress outside and you’re meeting in a non-airconditioned gym with no outside doors or windows, for the love of God and his people, please set up a couple of fans!
Despite that, it was a pretty good service — good music and a lively message that used clips from movies and tv shows as illustrations. And being in a church again, after a long absence, made me think.
You see, there are certain beliefs sometimes taught in churches that are dealbreakers for me. If these things are being taught in a particular church, I know I’m not interested in being part of it.
For me, those things are literal creationism (the earth was created 6005 years ago in six days) and the belief that homosexuality is evil. (Quick note — I’m not saying that these are necessarily the beliefs of the church we attended. I don’t know enough about that church and its beliefs to assume anything.)
I know that for some people, my non-belief in those items would be dealbreakers. And some people have completely different dealbreaker issues.
Throughout the history of Christianity, when people have dealbreaker issues with each other, they split into separate groups. That’s why we have Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant churches. And that’s why we have so many Protestant denominations.
But is that really how it should be? You go your way, and I’ll go mine? That doesn’t really fit well with what Jesus taught (Love one another as I have loved you?).
So what are the alternatives?
Some churches choose to avoid the divisive issues and focus on the more important beliefs that draw us together. After all, the Nicene Creed doesn’t require us to believe in literal creationism and says nothing about homosexuality. Jesus also had nothing to say about those issues.
But this isn’t done universally. So I, at least, continue to avoid churches teaching those things. And I feel guilty about it, because I’m not loving the people in those churches, and because I know that we are not in accord with each other.
Another option might be to openly acknowledge and discuss our differences, lovingly recognizing that we do hold different points of view.
Some people can handle this, but some are absolutely certain that they are right and can’t tolerate another point of view. And I’m pretty close to that myself. I’m pretty darned certain that science shows the earth wasn’t created 6005 years ago in six days, and I don’t understand why anyone insists on arguing that position. And to me, painting homosexuality as evil is bigotry. But I’m mostly willing to let people believe what they believe as long as they don’t insist that others follow their beliefs, too.
So where does this leave us? As usual, with much imperfection. I don’t know how to reconcile my strongly held beliefs with the strongly held beliefs of other Christians.
I do know that with God, we can do all things. So I can call on God for love and patience when interacting with people from different viewpoints.
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August 1, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Gunfighter
Well done.
Some of your deal-breakers are the same as mine.
What I try to do is love as strongly as I can, and focus on the things tha make us the body of Christ. For me, those things are love; the belief in the salvation that comes from the resurrected Christ.
I’m a Lutherean… at least, that is the faith tradition I practice in. My belief is that our salvation is justified by faith, by grace, and by the word of God.
Everything else is details.
August 1, 2009 at 9:13 pm
thelittlefluffycat
There’s a series a lot of people consider beyond the pale, because the author is an avowed atheist and supposedly “killed God” in the course of it. My thought on that particular occurrence (yes, read the series despite being Christian) was that the author, for all his atheism, had done a rather interesting job of speaking for Christianity in his metaphors – you see, the “God” in question was imprisoned in a glass box, and the “killing” consisted of letting him out of the box, at which point he dispersed, carried on the wind.
We tend to want to shove God in a box and carry him around, when really, he belongs (and is) out, free, everywhere, on the wind, into every single thing.
A friend of Anne Lamott’s told her you can be pretty sure you’ve remade God in your own image when he hates all the people you hate.
So, yeah – I think it’s important to be around believers who are different from you; but you not only have to accept and be respected by them, you have to be accepted and respected there.
It’s called a church family for a reason.
August 3, 2009 at 10:57 am
gwalter
I’m not sure what series you’re referring to, but I’ve usually found that people’s explanation for their atheism is due to narrow-mindedness of certain religious creeds. The last polemic I read against Christianity had nothing to do with the God I know. It was more an argument against narrow-minded Christians who don’t look anything like the Jesus I see in the Bible.
August 3, 2009 at 12:10 pm
kmcdade
Oh – the series is His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman. The posts related to this are here.
August 1, 2009 at 9:19 pm
kmcdade
Gunfighter: Thanks for your comments! What you say really resonates with me, too.
LFC: I wrote about that series (trilogy, actually).
You could mention it by name if you wanted to. I came to similar conclusions.
August 3, 2009 at 10:48 am
gwalter
You’re a great writer Kathleen. I’m glad you shared this. I’m also glad you and your family joined us that night. It was only our second time attending that worship service, but I know two of the three leaders pretty well. One is a peer, and another a mentor. The church we planted in Colorado Springs had great similarities (better, of course, but similar
).
I too struggle with some of the same issues you mention. And others – to me, the fragmentation issue is one of the biggest – and the one that just got me fired from my previous position. For others (esp. Christians) to judge, label, exclude, and be intolerant – well, that just is evil.
Homosexuality, abortion, and other issues seem to be the issues de jour, but over the last several millennia, there have been others. For instance, Focus on the Family is a conservative political/pseudo-religious organization based in Colorado Springs. Their outspokenness on homosexuality and abortion made my job really hard there. People had come to associate all Christians with hate, intolerance, and ignorance.
But here’s the amazing thing. This guy from Oklahoma brings his followers out to Colorado Springs, and they picket and protest at the Focus on the Family headquarters because James Dobson and his organization we too soft on homosexuality and abortion. What!!!?
If this guy had known how soft I was, he probably would have firebombed my house!
Here’s the deal (no pun intended). The Bible, in my opinion, is the inspired Word of God – though imperfect. In fact, our view of God is so limited – our finite minds could never grasp all that He is. The men and women who authored various portions of the Bible were inspired to write what they did, but they weren’t perfect – they made mistakes. That’s why we need to start with the overall gestalt, and zoom in as were become more brave.
The Bible tells us that we are all sinners – all of us, without exception. To focus on smoking, alcohol, homosexuality, or even murder – and then to condemn those who have committed these acts is just hypocrisy. Jesus asks us to consider the log in our own eye before we even notice the speck in another’s. For instance, I find few who live up to the “Second Great Commandment:” to love others as much as we love ourselves.
So, to ignore that commandment, but to focus on something like another’s sexuality, well, IMO, that’s just stoooopid.
I don’t understand everything I read in the Bible. I don’t understand God – He remains a mystery to me. I believe that at the Second Coming there will be a lot of hands slapping foreheads. “OH!!!! That’s what that means!!!”
In the meantime, I’m seeking a community that can strengthen me. I can’t do this on my own – it’s too hard.
August 3, 2009 at 12:07 pm
kmcdade
Thanks, Gary. I’m really glad to have gone, and glad to hear your thoughts on this.