One Question Fundamentalists Cannot Answer



For several years now I have been asking Christian fundamentalists and conservatives a question. I particularly like to address it to those who think I am “heretical” because my beliefs and teachings do not conform to their version of Christian orthodoxy.

Here’s the question: Why would God care more about what we believe about God, than how we live for God? Why would God care more about the beliefs we hold in our minds about God, Jesus, the Trinity, salvation, etc., than the way we actually love, care, and treat one another in our daily lives?  

Rarely does a fundamentalist/conservative even attempt to offer some rational explanation. Generally, they respond in one of three ways:

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

2. Others simply quote Bible verses or recite the talking points of doctrines they believe.

3. A few try to approach it rationally, but never really respond to the question directly. (For example, they usually say something about God’s holiness demanding that Jesus die in our place and that we have to believe in him, that is, accept substitutionary atonement, which, in the end, amounts to nothing more than a recitation of a doctrine they think essential for salvation.)

And still the question waits and lingers . . .

The reason no fundamentalist can reasonably answer the question is because no reasonable answer exists. 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 about all they can do is quote the Bible, deny the importance of the question, cling to their creed, and stumble around it the best they can.

These responses suggest to me that these Christians are so completely locked into their belief systems that they have relinquished all responsibility for self-critique. They are, for whatever reason, unable or unwilling to question, probe, and sincerely struggle with their faith. They settle for a second-hand faith that offers them security (heaven when they die), comfort (God is on their side), and feelings that they are really special (they have the truth).

I think many fundamentalists who are most ardent in their attempts to win/convert others into their system of belief engage in such activity as a defense mechanism. It’s a way of keeping all their repressed and denied fears, anxieties, and insecurities at bay.

True religion is not about believing doctrines. It’s about falling in love with God and learning how to love everyone and everything the way God loves everyone and everything.

It is much easier to believe doctrines, perform rituals, and enforce policies than actually live in union with God and allow God’s love to fill and overflow in our lives. 

Living in union with God means letting go of our egoism, pride, and false attachments to power, prominence, and possessions. It means letting go of our need to control, label, judge, and create “in” and “out” groups. It means confronting the status quo, challenging false and unjust systems, working for the common good, and extending compassion and mercy to all.

 Union with Divine Love means change and who wants to do that? It's so much easier to make one's salvation and one's moral and religious obligations hinge on beliefs and rituals.

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 30, 2015 at 11:13 AM

    I think he cares equally about both. could quote scripture but you reject that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chuck QueenJune 1, 2015 at 7:28 AM

      WHY would God care as much about what we believe about God than how we actually live our lives and care for one another? Especially since we can no so little about God anyway?

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting to the Heart of the Matter (A sermon from Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

It is clear, I think, that this Gospel text is a denouncement by Jesus of the way many Jewish religious leaders in his day used their religious faith in harmful, life-diminishing ways. That much is obvious. However, this is a text, in my judgment, that has been too often misread and misapplied. Some Christians use this text to draw, in my opinion, an inappropriate distinction between scripture and tradition. They generally lock on to verse 8 where Jesus is purported as saying, “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” They argue that human tradition is bad, while the commandment of God, which they tend to identify as scripture as a whole is good.  So they make this rigid distinction between tradition and scripture The problem with that explanation is that the mention of “human tradition” in verse 8 is not a reference to all tradition. It’s a reference to the particular way these Jewish leaders were interpreting and applying that tradition. Scriptur...
Read more

Going Deeper (A sermon from Luke 5:1-11)

The story I read earlier from Luke 5, which is today’s sermon text, is Luke’s account of the call of Peter to be a disciple of Jesus. It’s different than the other two versions in the Gospels. In Mark’s account, which is followed by Matthew, Peter and his brother, Andrew, are by the seaside, apparently attending to their nets, when Jesus calls them to follow him. They immediately leave their nets and follow Jesus. That’s one version of the call of Simon Peter given by Mark and Matthew. In John’s account, Jesus calls Andrew first, who was not at the seaside fishing or attending nets at all, but with John the Baptist at the time. In John’s version Andrew is a follower of John the Baptist. He heeds the call, then goes out and finds his brother, Peter, and brings him to Jesus. Now, the reason I call attention to this is to remind you that we are not reading historical reports. There are echoes of memories in these stories, but these stories function more like parables crafted for the purpo...
Read more

Fruits of Joy (a sermon from Luke 3:7-18)

We are wired in such a way that we find our greatest joy when we become a blessing to others. We are created in God’s image. We are stamped with divine DNA. And because God indwells us, because we share in the divine life and divine nature, we will never find true happiness apart from consciously living out of our oneness with God. We are at our best, and we are most joyous and fulfilled, when we allow God’s Spirit to flow through us – when we allow God’s love to fill our lives and overflow into the lives of others. When we bless others, we bless ourselves, because we are doing what we have been created and called to do. Whatever happiness we may have as a result of self-serving actions is always fleeting and temporary. And once it runs its course it leaves us feeling empty, because it’s not real happiness. It doesn’t reflect who we really are. Repentance then, is a realigning of our actions and attitudes and desires with who we really are as God’s children and that brings joy.  ...
Read more