Is There Something Beyond Deconstruction?
Today I begin a new series I will develop.
Many today claim they are in a “phase of deconstruction.” I have not been able to determine just exactly what they mean by deconstruction but the general point is clear. They find the Christian faith as they have experienced it to be inadequate. Whether it is some intellectual problem (science vs. Genesis 1-2 and the creationism they were taught) or the hypocrite problem (well-known pastors collapsing) or social problem (why can’t the church get on board with universal health care?), they are finding the church falling short. The credibility of the church’s claims is withering for them.
Photo by Jordy Meow on Unsplash
Then I read this rather blunt set of observations by Will Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas in their Christian Century interview:
Willimon: Years later, as a bishop, I became troubled that many contemporary pastors aspired only to be obsequious pastoral caregivers and hand-holders—the pastor as the empathetic helping healer who goes for the low-hanging fruit by encouraging people to display and then lick their wounds.
Hauerwas: You were right to be troubled. The pastor is supposed to be a truth teller who helps the baptized grow up and survive as Christians. Pastoral care is supposed to be the work of the whole church. Both as an academic discipline and as a practice, pastoral care has become obsessed with the personal wounds of people in advanced industrial societies who have discovered that their lives lack meaning. “What did you expect?” I want to ask these people. “Quit taking yourselves so seriously. Enjoy having your narcissism defeated by being drawn into the church’s eschatological mission to witness to Christ’s cross and resurrection.” That’s care worthy of the name Christian.
There’s something here, so I believe, but there’s also a tone deafness that surprised me.
I believe we can respond in a double manner to the deconstructors who, let’s admit it, can be long on criticisms and very very short on actual solutions. Only the tone deaf dismiss their criticisms of the church.
First, there is as Kris said to me the other day on a walk around our lake, “there’s an emerging movement feel to some of this deconstruction talk.” Perhaps we can get our ears closer to the ground and, once again, listen and discern what is at the heart of the deconstruction.
What do they see as the problems? What is it that makes the faith no longer credible?
Yes, there is a road weariness in the journey many have traveled, exacerbated by the intensity of social media and awareness of what everyone else is doing all the world. That’s our new reality. Only those who opt out of social media will escape the intensity of the modern experience.
Yes, too, for some a deconstruction phase is an entitlement, it’s a way of being part of the “kewl kids,” and it can take on an air of intellectual smugness. Yes, that exists but dismissing the whole because of these few will not do. There’s something at work that needs our attentive listening.
Second, let’s ask them for their solutions. Again, it’s far easier to bark about problems than it is
(1) to propose a better way and
(2) actually do it by living into a different reality.
So, what does REconstruction look like on the other side of this DEconstruction?
I have some ideas. I’ve actually composed a list in a Moleskine but I want to know what you think.
What do the deconstructors want instead of what they’ve got now?
And, are you seeing anyone who has gone beyond the deconstruction to viable reconstruction? What does that look like?
Here are a few points from my own experience after what I feel was (is?) an emergence from the other side of some type of deconstruction (probably the best word, yet it feels a bit strong)
- I am more certain about a few key doctrines and less certain about a lot of others
- I have discovered a larger, more robust circle of teachers, authors, thinkers who I am learning from - many of which draw from a much deeper and older theology
- I have recognized a previously undetected arrogance and have become more humble (what can I REALLY know to be true)
- I have become more suspicious of mainstream thought and quicker to listen to those on the fringe, or who have been cast out of the mainstream
- I still have Jesus and the Gospel, but a more beautiful and more loving version
What do I want? I guess, to know what really is true and right - and to know that all along it has been Jesus and His Kingdom coming - coming for all of us.
Lest I ramble on too TOO much (and I know I would), I'll just respond to the questions:
1. What do they see as the problems? What is it that makes the faith no longer credible?
In my experience, and in those closest to me, it seems to be the exclusivist claims (on whatever aspect of life/faith) made with adamant certainty (while requiring equivalent certainty by others) even when clear evidence exists that should cause us to question or outright reject what we were previously told was the "absolute truth." Things that make the faith no longer credible for some: rejecting evolution; ignoring or denying the dynamic process that led to Christian Scripture; "flat" readings of the Bible; wildly inconsistent applications of "Biblical" ethics; a lived faith that seems to look nothing at all like what we see of Jesus in the Gospels; the heresy of Christian nationalism...
2, What do the deconstructors want instead of what they’ve got now?
I think they/we want(ed): a lived faith that looks more the Jesus of the Gospels, and less like Jesus draped in an American flag, and/or a Jesus who baptizes elements of white American conservative evangelical culture as THE way to live out the Christian faith; a Christianity that makes room for questions, and is comfortable enough in its own skin to acknowledge uncertainty where it exists; an approach to the Bible that allows it to function and exist as it is, rather than forcing it into roles it was never designed to play; a faith willing to accept responsibility for past failures and work for structural changes in the present/future; a spiritual practice that leads to the loving God and loving neighbor in tangible, practical, recognizable ways, not just in word only...
3. Are you seeing anyone who has gone beyond the deconstruction to viable reconstruction? What does that look like?
Here I will only speak for myself. For me it looks like: rooting myself in the historic creeds of the Christian faith, holding those things as lovingly as possible, and allowing for loving/respectful dialogue on everything else; rooting myself in the other-oriented, self-giving love of the Trinity, and allowing that to form/shape my ethical imagination and practice as much as possible; embracing a cruciform/Christoform hermeneutic and accepting responsibility for that decision; working with others to foster a culture that reflects these things, one that gives others the space to ask their questions, wrestle with their doubts, and take the time necessary to reconstruct something they're willing to give their lives to.