Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

Christian Spirituality

God Our Mother

by in Christian Spirituality

I am becoming increasingly aware of the limitations of language when we talk about God. It has many forms, but usually sounds something like this: “Dear Heavenly Father.” I’ve often used this phrase to talk to and about God. It’s not wrong, per se, but I recognize the limiting and biased nature of it. This is the language that I have inherited through repetition and tradition. But how would others look at me if I prayed, “Dear Heavenly Mother?”

How I talk about God affects what I think about the divine and the world. There is a correlation between my perspective and my language—each serves and supports the other. By calling God “Father,” I am saying that God is like a man, including the physical and emotional properties that coincide with this image. Am I unknowingly hindering my understanding of all that God is by gendering and humanizing the nature of God?

I recently finished my second and final Hebrew class. As we studied the Hebrew Bible, I realized two things:

There is no gender-neutral noun in the Hebrew language. In other words, language forces the reader/translator to refer to God as masculine or feminine (in a human sense).

The Hebrew Bible was written in a patriarchal society so, naturally, they chose to portray God as male. This is not an attractive part of biblical history, but the ugly truth is that women were second-rate citizens in the culture of that day. An androcentric society wrote an androcentric book? Makes sense.

Thoughts matter. Language… [Read more…] about God Our Mother

Be Ye Kind One to Another

by Jill Crainshaw in Christian Spirituality

The media is noisy these days with opinions about controversial issues. People on both sides of these issues advocate for something they call “kindness.” Earlier this month, I was in the presence of death three times in six days. I was also in the presence of extraordinary kindness. This kindness has made me consider: what sort of kindness cultivates Gospel justice and mercy in the midst of contention?

A friend’s uncle died first. He was a kind man. Many people said so at his funeral. I knew that about him too. He and I had shared few conversations. No matter. Hands leave impressions that linger, and kindness lived in his hands. His were hands trusted by puppies and people and plants that welcomed his touch. William taught people to fish and to grow a salad in their backyard. He cooked breakfast for his beloved of more than 50 years and “had tea” with his grandchildren and their dolls. Kindness—God’s kindness—lived in William’s hands.

They said Cynthia was kind too. I am a volunteer on-call chaplain at a local hospital. I was called in on a Sunday, the same day as William’s memorial service. When I arrived at the hospital, Cynthia was near death. “She is the kindest person I have ever known,” her daughter said. “I want my daughter to be like her.” Cynthia volunteered for several organizations in town, and she had owned her own business. But what Cynthia will be remembered for, her husband insisted, is her generous spirit. She was kind to family members and friends. Her… [Read more…] about Be Ye Kind One to Another

Churchgoer Sees Jesus in a Mocha

by Jill Crainshaw in Christian Spirituality

“Churchgoer Sees Jesus in a Mocha.” Can’t we picture such a headline in our news feeds? We have seen announcements like it before: “‘Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese’ Sells for $28,000.” The now-famous grilled cheese was reported to have an imprint of the Virgin Mary’s face on it. It had been stored in a baggie in a bedroom dresser for ten years before we heard about it in the news in 2004.

$28,000? Are we that hungry for a glimpse of the sacred?

Social media outlets have been abuzz recently about churches in survivor mode. Statistics paint a grim picture of the future of institutional Christianity. What are churches offering that people aren’t buying?

What are we hungry for today?

A mocha stirred up these thoughts for me. You see, I have been seeing something that looks a whole lot God’s Spirit swirling about in a mocha I have a date with each week.

The mocha itself is at best mediocre. I get it for free from one of those institutional coffee machines you find in hospitals or convenience stores. I press one of six buttons–hot chocolate, mocha, cappuccino (regular or decaf) or coffee (regular or decaf). The machine ponders my choice. Then it grinds and sputters and spits my beverage into a 6-ounce cup.

This particular machine resides in my mother’s senior adult apartment community. When my mother moved to my city, I was glad that the transition was not as difficult as other parental moves I had heard about. My mother pared down her stuff and moved with some ease from her… [Read more…] about Churchgoer Sees Jesus in a Mocha

Being Born Again in Unfundamentalist Fashion

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality

It is unfortunate that the phrase “born again” has come to be associated with a particular kind of Christianity generally known for its belief in biblical inerrancy, its literal interpretation of scripture, its condemnation of our LGBT sisters and brothers, and its entrenchment in right wing politics.

The phrase occurs in John 3:3 where Jesus tells Nicodemus, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless one is born again.”

The word translated “again” also means “above” and is so translated in the New Revised Standard Version. The Gospel writer probably intended this double meaning. To be born from above does not mean that God sweeps down from the sky to invade our lives. It is simply another way of talking about being “born of the Spirit” (John 3:8), who like the wind cannot be managed or manipulated.

Fundamentalists literalize this image. They turn the “kingdom of God” into heaven and claim that unless one has a new birth experience, which they usually associate with believing the right doctrines, one cannot enter heaven or know God in a personal way.

Actually, to “see the kingdom of God” is just another way of talking about experiencing and participating in the dynamic reality of God’s life and will. John also calls this “eternal life,” which he contends is the present possession of disciples of Christ (3:15-16). Scholars of John call this “realized eschatology,” which is just a fancy way of saying that John puts the emphasis on interacting and… [Read more…] about Being Born Again in Unfundamentalist Fashion

"Go. Be apostles of this peace."

by in Christian Spirituality

This morning we posted on the Unfundamentalist Christians Facebook page (here) a link to my blog post for today, Eight “Bible-believing” churches vs. one progressive church.

In response to that link a commenter wrote:
I find all of it so nauseating I can’t even stand church anymore. Church culture and all of the nonsense has fatigued me in a way that I’m so over saturated with the BS that I honestly feel sick. I feel this exhausted eyeroll/shudder when people say “I’m a christian”. It usually means that someone is going to shove some political or “biblical” load of crap down my throat or judge me because I don’t think like they do or believe the way they do. I’m somehow “less than” “not of the faith” “in rebellion” “not in the covenant” or whatever.
Another commenter concurred:
That is what drove me away. All of the judgement and competition, and we are better than them crap. Just couldn’t take church anymore.
And that’s when our beloved Christy Caine (who wrote the viral post The lies Christian fundamentalism taught me) chimed in with this:
Which is part of the reason we created this group. There are Christians who are different. There are Christians who are intellectual. There are Christians who are welcoming and affirming. There are Christians who believe in gender equality. There are Christians who have high emotional intelligence. There are those of us who care for the environment and all people no matter who they are, what they wear, what language… [Read more…] about "Go. Be apostles of this peace."

Heaven is not "up there" somewhere

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality

Almost two decades ago I went through a crisis in my faith. The conservative Christianity of my early training had left me dry, empty, and wondering if I had made a huge mistake with my life.

Surprisingly, an evangelical philosopher and theologian helped me weather this season of my life. Dallas Willard’s book, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God (HarperOne, 1998) prompted me to rethink my views about salvation, the kingdom of God (which was the central theme in Jesus’ preaching and teaching), discipleship and the spiritual life, the meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross, and the reality of heaven.

While I don’t agree with everything Willard teaches—such as his view that the Bible is inerrant, for instance—he helped me to realize that heaven is not just up there somewhere, but is, rather, right here and now. He writes:
The Old Testament experience of God is one of the direct presence of God’s person, knowledge, and power to those who trust and serve him. Nothing – no human being or institution, no time, no space, no spiritual being, no event – stands between God and those who trust him. The “heavens” [he noted that heaven in the Greek is usually plural] are always there with you no matter what, and the “first heaven,” in biblical terms, is precisely the atmosphere or air that surrounds your body. (p. 67)
Willard references biblical stories of how God spoke and appeared to human beings “out of heaven,” noting that “in such passages… [Read more…] about Heaven is not "up there" somewhere

Last year's nest

by Jill Crainshaw in Christian Spirituality

I rescued an empty nest the other day. In the rain. I don’t know why I rescued the nest. No bird lives in it. It was last year’s nest.

I was in my car, pulling out of the driveway to head somewhere, when I saw the nest in the middle of the road in front of my house. Instead of driving by or driving over it, I stopped the car, stepped out into the springtime deluge, and hurried over to it, looking up and down the street for other cars (and for the eyes of curious neighbors) as I went.

The nest was beautiful, perfect in its construction, with a singular strand of sapphire yarn woven into its middle. I picked it up. It was fragile and soggy. And since I was now dripping from the rain and late for where I was headed, I laid the nest at the base of a tree in the sidewalk buffer and dashed back to my car.

Sometimes I think I spend far too much time rescuing last year’s nests. Perhaps we all do. How do we decide, after all, how much energy to give to preserving last year’s architectural delights, and how much to use building for this year and the future?

There is something to be said, I think, for the intricate magnificence of some of last year’s nests. Those nests held and hold precious, life-shaping memories. They nurtured possibilities and provided launching pads for nestlings’ first flights.

The nest reminded me of how, in Christian traditions, we are discovering again the ways in which early believers became community and worshiped together. Some of these discoveries serve… [Read more…] about Last year's nest

Longing for Grace

by in Christian Spirituality

I won’t be in church on Easter, but I wish I could be.

If you’d asked what I was doing inside a megachurch that sunny Sunday morning, I wouldn’t have had a clue. I’d left my children with their dad, intending to go home and work, maybe take a walk. But after a few minutes alone in the car a familiar ache returned, the one that took over whenever busyness yielded to the backdrop of my impending divorce.

I’d driven past suburban Boston’s Grace Chapel a hundred times. That day, I stopped. Inside, a band played and a woman sang lyrics of yearning and forgiveness. People were swaying, arms upstretched. A man near the front was crying and soon so was I, unsure what I was witnessing, much less feeling. Was it grief or joy, or something else? In my loss, I felt a sense of comfort, but more: awe and encompassing love, unlike anything I’d experienced in other spiritual contexts.

It was powerful enough to bring me back again and again and again. For years, I found Grace a place of deep caring and hope—and yet a place where I don’t fit. It wasn’t for lack of trying. For months after that first visit, I went there almost every Sunday. I attended a divorce support group, and read the Bible at night after my kids were asleep. Grace was a gentler place than I’d imagined from stereotypes I’d absorbed as a left-leaning New Englander. I met mostly whole and happy people there, people who seemed remarkably free to focus on the world beyond themselves. Belief in Jesus did… [Read more…] about Longing for Grace

Eliminating evangelical double-speak about salvation

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues, Christian Spirituality

Mega-church pastor, best-selling author, and evangelical icon, Rev. Rick Warren wrote the foreword to a 2008 book authored by Rabbi David J. Wolpe titled, Why Faith Matters. Rev. Warren had this to say about Rabbi Wolpe,
The closer I get to David Wolpe, the more I am impressed by this man of faith.  … his unique contribution of experiences has given him a credible platform from which he presents the case that faith in God truly matters … .

Regardless of where you are in your own personal faith journey, I’m certain that his profound insights in this book will stimulate your thinking and even touch your soul about the reality of God in fresh and surprising ways.
Of course, Rabbi Wolpe’s “faith in God” is not faith in Jesus, which Warren holds as essential for salvation.

In 2012, Mr. Warren was interviewed by ABC’s Jake Tapper, who asked if he believed that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Warren responded,
I do believe that. I believe that because Jesus said it. See, I don’t set myself as an authority. Jesus said “I am the way.” He didn’t say I’m one of the ways; he said “I am the way. I’m the truth. And I’m the way.” I’m betting my life that Jesus wasn’t a liar.
Tapper next observed that Warren was involved in a lot of Interfaith dialogue with friends of other faiths. He asked Warren,
Why would a benevolent God tell those friends of yours who are not evangelical Christians, “I’m sorry you don’t get to go to heaven?”
Here’s how Warren sidestepped that vital… [Read more…] about Eliminating evangelical double-speak about salvation

One question fundamentalists cannot answer

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality, Fundamentalism

For several years now I have been asking Christian fundamentalists and conservatives the same question; namely, Why would God care more about what we believe about God than how we live for God?   

Rarely does a fundamentalist/conservative even attempt to offer a rational answer to this question. Instead, they generally respond in one of three ways:

1: Shout louder: You are denying the truth! That’s the wrong question to ask! The question has no bearing on what is true!, and so on. They respond with accusations and denials, and never get around to actually wrestling with the question.

2. Quote Bible verses and/or recite the talking points of their learned doctrine.

3. At least try to approach it rationally—but, again, never really respond directly to the question. (They usually say something about God’s holiness demanding that Jesus die in our place—which, in the end, amounts to nothing more than a recitation of a doctrine they think essential for salvation.)

And all along the question lingers, and waits, and hopes to be answered . . .

The reason no fundamentalist can reasonably answer the question is because no reasonable answer exists for it. No answer makes sense based on common sense, reason, human dignity, and our best intuitive sense of what is good, right, just, fair, and of most value. So all they can do is quote the Bible, deny the importance of the question, cling to their creed, and stumble around the question as best they… [Read more…] about One question fundamentalists cannot answer