Christian... But Tainted...

I read a blog recently where a friend was stating his frustration with Christians. Though he is one himself, he recently had a Christian friend reject him because he had the "wrong" view on homosexuality.

This is a rampant problem in Christianity: the myth of having the right view. In most Christian circles, divergence of opinion is not tolerated. There are rarely friendly disagreements. This is because many Christians view someone of an opposing view as being "tainted". Claiming Christ, but having a wrong view makes you a dangerous individual. Your wrong view may be spread, or caught. You become a carrier of a very harmful virus. This is why there are tens of thousands of splits within the Christian faith. They all claim the same God, and will have some interaction, but overall they keep a safe distance lest any harmful views be catching.

This fear of catching something can be as subtle as just thinking oneself superior (more pure) or as obnoxious as working to violently stamp out all views but your own.

One of my more impactful run-ins with this phenomenon occurred last year. Most folks in my church who know me are aware of my lack of orthodoxy. To some my views are intriguing, to others comical, and a few are just glad that this non-christian is coming to church on a regular basis. :)

However, the following e-mail conversation started over a blog entry that a church member had read (I knew this blog would get me in trouble some day). I was commenting on a Mormon/Evangelical event I had attended, but clarified that I was neither Mormon nor Evangelical.

This was her email (name changed):

Andrew – I found it interesting that in your blog ... you said that you were neither Evangelical or Mormon. Can you clarify why you would not consider yourself an Evangelical?
Deb

I was not looking to offend or shock with my response, but here is my reply:

Hey Deb,

I kind of started to avoid the term Evangelical a few years back. It just didn't seem to fit as a descriptor anymore. Though the term is broad, it tends to focus on folks who have certain political and religious leanings. I started to notice it was easier to say I wasn't one and then find areas of commonality than it was to say I am an evangelical and then have to talk over various untrue assumptions.

But to be more specific:

Evangelical and Republican have been nearly interchangeable in the past few decades. Though I think some of those ties are starting to weaken, they are still two peas in a pod. I have been becoming less republican minded over the years, so I feel less "Evangelical".

Evangelicals tend to be very certain about things that I am rather agnostic about.

For example, I don't necessarily believe in a triune God. I think the Shema had it - “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” As I read Paul, there are just too many times he sets up a hierarchy between Jesus and God. I don't see equality and interchangeability being presented in the New Testament. I think if I had never heard a trinitarian teaching prior, I would have been hard pressed to develop such a notion through scripture reading. Still, as I said, I am rather agnostic on this point. I am not sure what to make of it, so I am trying to keep my views limited to the ideas I see about Christ presented in Scripture.

Another place I would probably defy the definition is in my view of Biblical inerrancy. I don't believe the Bible is inerrant. I do believe it is the writings of people who encountered the True God in their time bound circumstance. I believe it is inspired. I believe God accepts it as a human reflection of him and as such speaks through it to draw men to Himself. It is the foundational cornerstone of my theology. I don't think that, as a Christian, I need to think any more of it than that.

My views of salvation are probably a little too fuzzy for an Evangelical definition. I would need pages to type my theses on this but, simply put, I see redemption much more as a God act than a man act. I think some of Paul's offerings of "this is how this may happen" in our hands have become "this is how this does happen". I think our present systems of salvation theory are much too limiting and do not let God be God.

To be clear, I love my Evangelical brothers and sisters, I just don't think the term fits me at the moment.

Not sure what ya might make of all of that so feel free to ask a follow-up.

Andrew Hackman

To which I got this reply:

Andrew –

Thanks for your thoughtful and honest reply. I like your ability to not just jump into the “Evangelical Box”.

I do however have concerns about your roles at [our church] and wonder if you would fill in some blanks for me. During the application/interview processes for joining the church plant team, joining [the church], becoming a Sunday School teacher, and/or a small group leader (don’t know if you have been or not), did anyone ask you if you believed in a Triune God or if you believed the Bible was inerrant or any other faith based questions?

I love your heart and your desire to learn and to grow, I just wonder if being in leadership roles in an “Evangelical” church is where you should be at this point in the process. I believe that we are all on a journey, just like you are, but I do think that Evangelical families attending an Evangelical church would expect that the leaders/teachers would at least believe the basics of their own faith. I believe that the Trinity and the inerrancy of the Bible are essential to the Christian faith.

I think there are a lot of roles that you can play at [our church] because of your strengths and your ability to think outside the box, but I would hope that as you are asked to fill different positions that include leading others, that you would let the [church] staff know where you stand on issues that are essential to their beliefs.

Just some thoughts for consideration.

Deb

While I was pondering this and how to "fill in the blanks", I got this follow up email:

Andrew, I felt it was in the best interest of [our church] to let [our pastor] know where you were at with all of this, so I forwarded your email to him, I believe he plans to talk with you.

I have a dozen thoughts on this event (ex: what makes certain beliefs essential... and essential to what?) and maybe will write on them one day, but today I want to deal with the "tainted-ness" that is communicated here.

I think the unspoken concern in her email was that I taught a Sunday school class (actually assisted) and her daughter happened to be in it (Kindergarten). I don't write the curriculum, I just implement it. There have been two occasions when I had a problem with what was being taught. I spoke with the directors about it, and since it wasn't seen my way, I just opted myself out when the occasion arose. Otherwise, I am doing the lesson as given to me. Even if I were tempted to go off script, I am not going to get into a theological discussion with a 6 year old.

I may be wrong in thinking those things would be obvious, but I am going to assume they were. So what was the real issue? I believe it is taintedness... other-ness.... Whatever I have could be catching, and we don't want our children or anyone impressionable to be around someone who doesn't hold the right views.

My church's stance on my teaching Sunday school was up for debate for a while, but never seemed to come to a decided conclusion. However, at that point I had kind of lost my taste for it anyway and bowed out at the end of the semester.

I share my friend's frustration with Christianity and the irritation at being rejected for having the "wrong" view. There are times when I get tempted to bag the whole thing.

But then I read the sayings of Jesus and his call to love God and our neighbors, to do good to those who harm us, to bring life .... and I think, "This is how I want to live!"

But the how is something I am still working on......