Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

Guest Author

Your Permission Is Not Required

by Janene Cates Putman in Christian Issues

“It’s not who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.”
“It’s better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.”
Dear Men of the Church:

I’m finished asking permission and I won’t beg for forgiveness. I don’t need your authorization to be who God created me to be.

Many of the positive male responses to the Twitter hashtag #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear have been along the lines of granting permission, of allowing women to serve in roles outside the church kitchen and nursery. While I do appreciate your support, this assumes that male church leaders have the authority and that women require their assent. The arrogance of this astounds me. Instead of using patriarchal terms like “allowing” and “letting,” why don’t we make room for and create environments in which all of God’s children can flourish?

Stop saying it’s time to “let” women walk in their God-given gifts or that women should be “allowed” to serve in church leadership roles. This assumes that someone else (almost always a male) is in control of our purposes in life, that someone else dictates the calling of God on our lives. Do we “let” a man be the lead pastor? Do we “allow” a male to serve as an elder? No, those are assumed roles for men. For women to ask permission is beneath us all—men and women alike.

It’s not only women who suffer under this misogynistic view, men do as well. What about the man who wants to serve in kids ministry? How about the man who is a fantastic cook? Both the man who… [Read more…] about Your Permission Is Not Required

Nones, Dones and Religionless Christianity, Part 3

by Russ Shumaker in Christian Issues

In my previous post, I introduced the concept of secularism, not as a looming evil that must be resisted, but as a lived statement of disenchantment that is experienced by even the most ardently religious: We no longer conceive of God as “outside” the universe in a primitive sense, dragging the sun through the sky with his chariot, nor “outside” in the sentimental sense, sitting on a golden throne in the sky looking down on us. Formerly mysterious occurrences like freak weather patterns or catastrophic disease outbreaks are no longer attributed to “magic” or the supernatural, but rather to natural patterns of cause and effect. Secularism in this sense is not to lose faith in God, or even to make ontological claims about God; it’s a framework that we can’t escape by our own volition, just like people in the ancient world couldn’t just choose to reject supernatural causation.

In a letter dated June 8, 1944, Bonhoeffer put it this way:

The movement that began about the thirteenth century (I’m not going to get involved in any argument about the exact date) towards the autonomy of man (in which I should include the discovery of laws by which the world lives and deals with itself in science, social and political matters, art, ethics, and religion) has in our time reached an undoubted completion. Man has learnt to deal with himself in all questions of importance without recourse to the ‘working hypothesis’ called ‘God’. In questions of science, art, and ethics this has become an… [Read more…] about Nones, Dones and Religionless Christianity, Part 3

I Once Thought I Was a Progressive Christian, But…

by James Brown in Christian Spirituality

I once thought that perhaps I was a progressive Christian, but I’ve come to realize that that label includes me with a lot of people with whom I clearly disagree.

On the other hand, I can’t associate myself with “social Christians” who drive their $50K SUVs to church on Sunday but do precious little else to express their “faith” other than stick a plastic fish on their bumper or a cowboy kneeling before a cross on their back window.

I certainly can’t associate with the fundamentalist “small p” Pharisees who place themselves above others, using politics and their majority social positions to try and impose their version of only outward morality on the rest of the “sinful” world.

The same with the mega-church evangelical “big show” devotees who apparently only experience God if it’s to a remake of a John Mayer song with Jesus words. (Though I do like some of the music … and some not.)

Or the radio and TV evangelists who really only do it for the money until they’re caught snorting meth in a whorehouse and are shown to be massive hypocrites.

Neither can I embrace the various “charismatic” denominations, who seem to be addicted to “odd” outward shows of devotion, and who gave themselves away to me in Guam when, as a young man, I was told to “fake it.” I did, and I’ve been ashamed of that moment ever since—I have this thing about authenticity.

Neither am I able to fully embrace being a Catholic, though I gave it my heart trying.

There are few places left for me to… [Read more…] about I Once Thought I Was a Progressive Christian, But…

Nones, Dones and Religionless Christianity, Part 2

by Russ Shumaker in Christian Issues

In my last post, I left off with the question, “Can we speak meaningfully about God without religion?” For Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and founding member of the confessing church, religious language is often a mask or a shield that protects us from saying what we actually mean. It allows us to hide ignorance behind certitude. In 1944, writing from a German prison cell less than a year before he was executed by the Third Reich, Bonhoeffer wrote:

Religious people speak of God when human knowledge (perhaps simply because they are too lazy to think) has come to an end, or when human resources fail — in fact it is always the deus ex machina that they bring on to the scene, either for the apparent solution of insoluble problems, or as strength in human failure — always, that is to say, exploiting human weakness or human boundaries. Of necessity, that can go on only till people can by their own strength push these boundaries somewhat further out, so that God becomes superfluous as a deus ex machina.Letters and Papers from Prison, 281-282

Deus ex machina, literally translated, is “God from the machine.” This is a reference to ancient Greek plays in which, at the end of a performance, a “god” would be lowered onto the stage by a crane to artificially resolve loose plot twists. If Bonhoeffer was writing today, he might use the phrase “God of the gaps.”

An illustration may make his point clearer:

Prior to the scientific revolution,… [Read more…] about Nones, Dones and Religionless Christianity, Part 2

Nones, Dones and Religionless Christianity, Part 1

by Russ Shumaker in Christian Issues

Religious nones and dones are some of the fastest growing groups in America. For those unfamiliar with the terms, “nones” are those who self identify as having no religion, including atheists, agnostics, and those who believe in God but reject particular religious traditions. “Dones” are formerly religious individuals, often people who were highly involved but became disillusioned and burned out.

Articles and conversations about the nones and dones from a religious perspective often have an undercurrent of panic as people try to understand why so many are leaving organized religion. Anxiety is a normal human response to change (especially when those changes expose our own hidden doubts). But there’s a better way to think about the future of religion. It’s found in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison.

Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran theologian, one of just a handful who took a stand against the Third Reich and spoke up for the Jewish people. Although he was offered sanctuary in the U.S., Bonhoeffer believed that he needed to be present in Germany during the war to have any role in healing and rebuilding the nation when it was over. He was eventually imprisoned by the Nazi regime for avoiding military service ​(his interpretation of the gospels led him to being a pacifist)[1] and executed. His writing while in prison has been collected into book form. Put it on your reading list.

In April, 1944, Bonhoeffer wrote:

We are moving toward a completely… [Read more…] about Nones, Dones and Religionless Christianity, Part 1

Finding Faith Again

by Sandy Brunsting in Christian Spirituality

My faith journey has changed dramatically.

I grew up in a fairly traditional mainline church and never actually gave my faith and worldview much thought. It wasn’t until I got married and had my own family that I really bought into it.

And then we ran into this situation at church. It was distressing and messy and we parted ways with our former congregation about ten years ago. For a long time I felt like an exile. It caused a crisis of faith, which, in retrospect, was very healthy.

Since then, my perspective has changed (and grown, I hope). I have come to realize how little we can actually know God. The more I learn about God, the more I see how unknowable he actually is. You can’t put God in a box; as soon as you do, he’s not God anymore but an image of your own making.

I have also come to see Jesus as absolutely central to faith. Without him, it doesn’t make sense. He is love and compassion and truth, he is resurrection in all the dead places in life, he is inclusive and kind to outcasts and to the outcast places of my heart. And I am sure he is way bigger and much more inclusive than we can imagine.

I have read numerous books and listened to many talks from teachers and authors of all kinds. I have noticed that some of the best teaching, and some of the worst, have been from Christian sources. Influential guides on my journey have been writers, spiritual leaders, mystics, and scientists, who have in common a passion for truth, wisdom, love for humans and… [Read more…] about Finding Faith Again

Is It Time We Stopped Describing God as Good?

by Bill King in Christian Spirituality

First, just to be clear: no, I’m not arguing that God is evil, amoral, or anything less than the God of love, mercy, and justice portrayed in the Bible, and made known to us through the person of Jesus Christ. This is an issue not about God’s character, but about vocabulary.

The way we talk about things matters. The words we use affect how we view the world and how others view us. The trouble is that human language is limited and trying to use a finite language to describe the infinite is never going to be easy.

We simply do not have the words to describe God. That’s not a new or ground-breaking thought, but it is relevant when it comes to talking about goodness, because, as Jesus himself says (Mark 10:18), if you describe God as good, then you have nowhere to go when talking about mere humans. By comparison, if God and God alone is good, then humans–all humans–must, by definition, be evil, right? And that’s a real problem.

It’s a problem because it defines us by our failures. It creates the view, which I’ve heard many times from more conservative Christians, of humanity as disgusting, corrupt, and miserable creatures reveling in sin and debauchery. It leads to the sort of unhealthy obsession over sin that becomes not a recognition of shortcomings and a desire to repent and do better, but a cause for despair. Sin becomes the defining characteristic of human life. And when you see humanity in those terms it becomes difficult to understand God’s unconditional and… [Read more…] about Is It Time We Stopped Describing God as Good?

Universalism vs. Power

by Robyn Shepherd in Christian History

This guest post is by Robyn Shepherd.

In his post on this blog yesterday, “Indeed Very Many: Universalism in the Early Church,” Matthew Distafano cites an impressive list of Early Church Fathers who were pro-universal salvation, and connects the switch in Christian theology to exclusivism with the writings of Augustine (in the late fourth and early fifth centuries), the Emperor Justinian, and the Fifth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in the sixth century.

As a student of Patristics, I find this timing significant. Almost anyone who has studied the history of the Christian faith knows the name of Constantine as the emperor who made Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire. Many now mournfully mark this event as a defining moment in the established Church’s abandonment of the teachings of Jesus. For those who led the churches at the time, it seemed a godsend.

However one understands the theological significance of the event, the joining of the Christian faith (and its organized expression) to the ruling powers of the Roman Empire established the Christian Church as a significant cultural institution for the first time. This institution was, in turn, used by the powers that be to control the lives and beliefs of the peoples of the empire. This is where the drive to identify the “orthodox” version of Christian faith over against the “heretical” versions gathered its momentum.

In the fourth century, the debates centered around the divinity of Jesus and… [Read more…] about Universalism vs. Power

A Blessing for Holy Week Journeys

by Jonathan Gaska in Christian Spirituality

This guest post is by Jonathan Gaska and Jill Crainshaw.

So Holy Week begins.

As I celebrated Palm Sunday with my congregation this year, I wondered: what way do they make, these palms that dance and wave to the sounds of our laughter, joy, and singing? What dust do they stir up? Or sweep away?

Dust. And ashes.

We began this journey all those weeks ago in dust and ashes. On a Wednesday. In the middle of the week. In the middle of chaotic lives. And we have traveled far since Ash Wednesday. Perhaps our eyes have been captivated by the promise of new light that awaits us, and we have journeyed in hope. Or maybe we’ve stumbled along the Lenten way, uncertain of what lies ahead or fearful of what we are already carrying in our hearts. Or perhaps, like Jesus, we’ve traveled through frightening wildernesses not of our own making. Lenten geographies—life geographies—are unpredictable at best. And too many geographies in our world are littered with blood, bombs, and the bones of those vulnerable ones caught in the crossfire of competing powers. These geographies—our geographies—groan for the touch of healing feet.

Then, as it does each Lent, Palm Sunday arrives. Bright green fronds sweep out in front us in congregations across the globe to make a new way. We turn our feet toward sounds of rejoicing: “Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!” But even as our feet dance along the Palm Sunday parade route, we know: the rejoicing songs hold… [Read more…] about A Blessing for Holy Week Journeys

Indeed Very Many: Universalism in the Early Church

by Matthew Distefano in Christian History

That position [Universalism] has consistently been held as heretical by the Church for two-thousand years … You can go back to Athanasius, you can go back to Augustine, you can go back to Huss, and Tyndale, and others.
— Mark Driscoll

While the doctrine of universal reconciliation has indeed been a minority position throughout most of Christian history–albeit not quite two-thousand years!–all one has to do is turn to Augustine, a clear non-Universalist, to see how it was once upon a time a rather popular doctrine. He, in the fifth century, rather dismissively writes:

It is quite in vain, then, that some–indeed very many–yield to merely human feelings and deplore the notion of the eternal punishment of the damned and their interminable and perpetual misery. They do not believe that such things will be. Not that they would go counter to divine Scripture—but, yielding to their own human feelings, they soften what seems harsh and give a milder emphasis to statements they believe are meant more to terrify than to express literal truth.
— Augustine, Enchiridion, sec. 112.

When Augustine described the Universalists as “indeed very many” (immo quam plurimi), what he meant is that they were a “vast majority” (Ramelli, Christian Doctrine, 11). That is what the Latin word plurimi, from the adjective plurimus, implies. And though Augustine himself didn’t affirm this doctrine (although he did in the beginning [Ibid.].), he… [Read more…] about Indeed Very Many: Universalism in the Early Church