The Necessity of a Critical and Relevant Faith

The following is an excerpt from the first chapter of my book, Reframing a Relevant Faith. You can purchase the book from the publisher at http://direct.energion.co/reframing-a-relevant-faith or through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Reframing-Relevant-Faith-Drew-Smith/dp/1631991213/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418159944&sr=1-1&keywords=reframing+a+relevant+faith. An e-version is also available at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=reframing%20a%20relevant%20faith%20kindle.

 

If a relevant and progressive Christianity is to survive and bear witness of God’s love to the world, the adherents to such a faith, those who seek to follow Jesus, must embrace a critical approach to the Christian faith.  Critically thinking about the faith is not equivalent to criticizing the faith, as some may think, although that may be part of critical thinking.  Rather, thinking critically about the faith is to continue to ask questions, to inquire about the history of the faith, its present relevancy, and its future hopes.  It is also to admit its flaws and weaknesses with honesty and transparency.

For this to happen with any degree of success, any question about the Bible, theology, and the practice of faith must be taken as a valid question.   In dealing with the mysteries of God, we should never be completely satisfied with the idea that if the Bible says it, then that settles it. Nor should any of us be entrenched in our own interpretations of scripture.  We should always be open to new ways of thinking about the Bible and theology, for to do so leads us toward the truth and the realization that, in the words of Jesus, the truth will set us free. 

I have no doubt that many readers of this book will quickly identify with what I have to say. At the same time, I have no doubt that just as many others will find what I have written to be difficult to accept, and they may even reject these ideas outright. I am not so bold as to think I have figured it all out. However, I would like to offer my own story that has led me to many of the ideas I am arguing in this book.

Readers of this book will find out rather quickly that I am a person who seeks always to ask serious questions about faith.  I don’t ask these questions to be provocative, and I am not simply playing the “Devil’s Advocate”.  I am also not seeking to create a straw man that I can easily attack.  I am asking such questions with a great deal of honesty about my own interpretation of the Christian faith that has evolved over many years.  There are specific reasons why I asked such critical questions, and why I encourage others to ask challenging questions.

One reason for my determination to raise critical questions about faith, and why I encourage others to do so, is that I grew up in a fundamentalist tradition in which queries about the Bible and faith were not appreciated.  This was particularly true when one tried to ask questions about the inconsistencies found in the Bible, or when one tried desperately to harmonize a belief in a good God with the reality of suffering.  As a teenager, I was told that such questions are not important, and even heretical to ask; only knowing Jesus and believing in him were necessary.  I was satisfied with this answer until a later time when I began to discover the intellectual obstacles one encounters when approaching the Bible for definitive answers.  It was then that I returned to ask those serious questions, which opened more questions, and which eventually led to evolutionary, and indeed revolutionary changes in the way I view the Bible and the Christian faith. I can say with all honesty that this shift in my thinking did not come easy and it took time. In fact, I fought this for some time until I realized that venturing into unchartered waters, at least uncharted for me, led me to a deeper and more satisfying faith.

A second motive for my critical look at the Bible and Christian faith is that I have perceived an insufficient education in our faith and in the Bible on which our faith is based, particularly in churches.  By this I don’t mean that churches are doing a poor job at doing Christian education.  Many churches are doing a fantastic job at providing training in the faith to their members.  But there may be a bit of shallowness to the education we provide, in the sense that we are not always struggling with tough questions. There is no doubt that asking tough questions may lead us down paths that we dare not want to travel, but such questioning may be necessary if we are to make our faith our own.

This deficiency in the kind of Christian education that promotes critical thinking has led not only to biblical illiteracy, but more tragically, to ignorance when it comes to biblical interpretation and theological thinking.  Many Bible study groups do not seriously consider the complexities inherent in reading ancient texts.  Rather they focus only on what these texts say to us as individuals, as if the books of the Bible were written with our needs in mind.  Furthermore, churches are not providing tools to help folks think theologically.  Instead, theology becomes a separate box of propositions we always believe, without critically assessing their value for our context.    

Of course, much of the fault lies with those who print such materials for church groups.  Some materials produced for the purpose of Christian education are often so insipid and limitedly focused that they only serve to heighten our emotional experiences without moving us into a deeper and more thoughtful understanding of God and humanity. While finding personal meaning from the Bible and from our faith is vitally important for Christians, it is secondary to and flows from delving deeply into the text of the Bible to discover something outside ourselves and our own narcissistic needs.  The popular idea that God wrote the Bible for me needs to be stamped out.

Failure to do so will only lead us to assume what the Bible says, or will cause us to make the Bible say what we want it to say without giving careful thought and attention to the text itself.  Moreover, such Bible readings will limit our understanding of our faith to simply a personal spiritual experience.

The Audience's Experience of God in Hearing Mark's Gospel

In what sense does the hearing of Mark’s narrative convey the divine presence of God? And, if the narrative does convey the divine presence, what might this mean for the audience of Mark’s story? These questions push us to consider the force of Mark’s Gospel, and particularly the presentation of God in the narrative, on the audience of the first century. 

Much scholarly ink has been spilt on the discussion concerning the audience of Mark’s narrative. Mostly arguments have revolved around finding either the geographical location and situation of an historical audience or the implied audience a modern interpreter gleans from the story itself. While both are legitimate pursuits, both begin at opposite ends of the question, yet are primarily dependent on the same story. Thus any hope of identifying the Markan audience must be dependent on Mark. We have no one to tell us what it was like to hear Mark’s story.

However, what we can say is that the Gospel of Mark was a story that was to be read aloud in order to cause a response from its audience. The shear fact that the author tells this story in such dramatic fashion, using vivid language and imagery, and quick movement, leads us to consider how the audience is drawn into the narrative. Moreover, the vilification of certain characters, the exaltation of others, and the ambiguous presentation of still others, forces an audience of the narrative to judge these characters, and to emulate those worthy of emulation. 

The upshot of enticing an audience into this story is that they see it as not just past recollections, but also as their own story. The stories of the past events in the life of Jesus are told not for nostalgic purposes, but to cause the audience to understand their own lives in relation to the story they are hearing. The very fact that this story is told in their hearing lends credence to the idea that in some way their own story fits into the story Mark narrates, and at the same time, the story of Mark’s narrative fits into their own lives. As they engage with the complexities of the narrative, they engage with their own stories, processing how these stories fit together.

The privileged position of the audience gives them a distinct advantage over the characters in the story for they are able to know and see things that others cannot. They know the scheming trickery of the enemies of Jesus. They are able to comprehend the fullness of Jesus’ divine mission to go to Jerusalem and be handed over for death. They are also able to process this mission as God’s will and even God’s action. But most importantly, they know of the divine presence of God in and beyond the narrative. 

The audience also understands this story in the larger framework of Israel’s story. They hear the opening of the narrative as a fulfilment of what was spoken by the prophet. They hear the voice from heaven proclaiming Jesus as the Divine Son in the baptism. While others question, “Who is this?” or “By what authority does he do these things?” the audience of Mark knows. They are present with Jesus in the garden as he, burdened by the coming suffering and death, prays to his God for relief, but receives none. And although the women are present at the tomb to hear the message of Jesus’ resurrection, the audience is the only other character to experience this scene. 

Their experience of this narrative is their experience of the God of this narrative. The narrative subtly draws the audience into the story, and into an experience of God through the telling of the story. The audience is forced to decide on whether they will be outsiders or insiders. Outsiders join with the evil of the world, and those who set themselves in opposition to God, while insiders are those who do the will of God, primarily in their following of Jesus. 

If Mark was written for a community under persecution, then the strength and hope they must gather to face these persecutions without failing is found in the God of Mark’s narrative. But even if one cannot satisfactorily argue that Mark’s historical community was under persecution, the narrative certainly does not hide the fact that those who choose to follow Jesus are faced with the great potential of being persecuted.

In all times and places, then, the Markan narrative serves the community who needs corrective teachings and further encouragement to remain faithful to the gospel of God lived and proclaimed in the coming of Jesus. 

As the disciples were confounded by their own incomprehension of who Jesus was, and confounded by their own human failures, so the Markan audience lives in the reality of human things and not divine things. But through hearing the narrative of Mark, the audience in all times and places experiences the continual divine presence communicated through the story and are able to fit this story into their own human existence, and equally their own human existence into this story. 

The theology of Mark’s Gospel is that the God who is the God of Israel and the Father of Jesus, is the God the Markan audience has experienced in the hearing of Mark’s story. This is the God who is present with them as they seek to do the will of God. And, despite their failures and the persecutions that persist in deterring the movement of God’s rule and the proclamation of God’s gospel, God will remain forever faithful. 

Sacred Time and Space Invite Us into the Worship of God

One of the beliefs shared by the great religions of the world is the importance of sacred time and space. Throughout the Hebrew tradition, sacred days and seasons recalled and celebrated what God had done in Israel’s life. Of prime importance was the celebration of the Passover and the Day of Atonement. For the earliest Christians, the first day of the week was a reminder and celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. 

Likewise, there are certain places that are considered sacred.  Isaiah’s vision of God took place in the temple, the sacred space for the Jews. But geographical locations were also important. Mountains and deserts often served as places where God appeared to people in the biblical narratives. Thus, both sacred time and space are vital to authentic worship and can function to draw us into the experience of God.

One aspect of sacred time is the holy seasons that have always been significant to the worship of the church. While our daily calendars structure our time of work and leisure, the Christian calendar structures the year of worship. The seasons of the church such as Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost create a sense of sacred order and serve to move us to the center of our faith; the work of God in the incarnation of Christ. 

Furthermore, celebrating sacred seasons in worship connects us to the eternal church throughout the world. When we celebrate the sacred seasons we are participating in the eternal and universal language of the gospel that crosses the boundaries of gender, ethnicity, nationality, and culture. Yet, these sacred times are not merely celebratory reflections on the past; more importantly, they shape our symbolic world in the present, revealing to us the reality of God for our own lives and the hope we and the creation have in God’s good future.

We can even speak of the specific day of worship as sacred. Christians have designated Sunday as the Lord’s Day, the day set aside for the church’s worship of God. While there is no prescription as to the specific time on Sunday that corporate worship should take place, it is important to understand that whatever hour is set for community worship there ought to be clear demarcations that separate sacred time from secular time. Periods of communal worship should open by calling the people to the sacred time of worship, thereby designating the reason the church gathers. 

The value of sacred time also necessitates a sacred order to the worship service. Worship that incorporates singing songs of praise, praying prayers of confession, celebration, and intercession, reading Scripture, confessing our faith as a community, passing the peace of Christ to others, sharing the Lord’s Supper, and hearing the proclamation of the word creates a sacred rhythm to the communal worship experience. This kind of worship values the importance of the theological drama of the gospel and functions to move the people of God to leave the sacred time of communal worship and to go and live out their faith in the secular time of the world. 

Sacred space is also essential for worship. While the experience of God can occur anyplace, the sacred space of a church sanctuary can create an atmosphere that invites us to worship God. Sacred space would include the design of the structure itself; however, the use of specific objects in worship is also important to authentic worship. 

Symbols such as the cross, and fixtures such as the pulpit, the Lord’s Table, and the baptismal fount or pool function to remind us of the foundations of our faith: the word of God, the sacrifice of Christ, and the renewal of the Spirit. While these objects should never be the recipients of our worship, they can and do serve as focal images that point to what God has done for us in Christ.

In efforts to be relevant, however, some churches have lost a sense of sacred time and space. These movements argue that the use of sacred time and space is outdated and does not create an atmosphere of spontaneity in worship. In some of these churches, traditional sacred seasons have been pushed aside for more topical themes and the sacred rhythm of worship has been replaced by appeals to emotionalism. Moreover, church sanctuaries have taken on a more contemporary decor in which the front of the church looks more like a concert stage than a sacred place. 

But in an attempt to be relevant to our culture, these approaches to worship have dismissed the historical and theological importance of sacred time and space for worship.   Much more than relevant to worship, sacred space and time can create worship experiences that draw us out of our egocentrism and invite us into the authentic worship of God.

Among the 6^th century Celtic Christians of Ireland and Scotland the importance of sacred space and time were given the designation “thin places”. Thin places are places or times in which the barrier between the material world and the world of God become so thin that we can experience the presence of the divine. While the thin places in our personal worship can appear anytime and anywhere, the reverent use of time and space in shared worship can create thin places that invite us into the worship of God.

             

Experiencing God Through Worship

The scene in Isaiah 6 is known by biblical scholars as a theophany—an appearance of God. Isaiah is taken directly into the throne room and presence of God, where he is confronted with not only who God is, but with who he is in relation to God. The scene is one that defines for us what being in God’s presence might entail and it may be an example to us of what worship should be in our own lives.

Our biggest problem in realizing the kind of life-changing worship that Isaiah experienced is that we are essentially self-centered and self-absorbed. Some of us may be more self-centered than others, and most of us may be less self-centered than the celebrity driven world in which we live, but the reality is that all of us are to some degree self-centered. This may present the strongest obstacle to the life-changing experience of God in worship.

But in order for worship to be life-changing, we must first understand what Christian worship is. 

In the scene from Isaiah 6 we find themes that demonstrate what worship is. 

First we find that worship is wonderment. As Isaiah enters the presence of God, he is awe struck by God’s majesty and holiness. He cannot look upon God, for in God he finds wonder beyond his comprehension. 

Second, we also see from Isaiah 6 that worship is transformative. In his experience of God’s presence Isaiah sees who is really is, a sinner. Yet, in his confession of his sinfulness, Isaiah is transformed into the person God desires him to be, a person who experiences the forgiveness of God.

Third, worship is also renewing. Through God’s forgiveness, Isaiah is a renewed person, who lives for the purpose and will of God. He calls out to God, “Here I am, send me” declaring to God the newness that he has found in the presence of God.

Finally, worship is decentering. In his experience of God, Isaiah’s life finds a new center. Through worship, he is decentered from his self and centered on God’s will and purpose for his life.

But, how do we experience this kind of worship? If worship is the primary practice to which we are called, if worship is what can change and transform our lives, and if worship is what puts us in the presence of God, then how are we to experience this kind of worship? I will answer this question through four key words.

Preparation. Athletes prepare for games. Entertainers prepare for the big show. Hosts prepare for their guests. Why don’t Christians spend time more time preparing for worship on Sunday?  Is it because we rely on others, the pastor, the worship leader, the musicians, to do the preparing for us? Worship, if it is to be transformative, renewing, and decentering, requires our preparation.

This involves personal times of worship during the week—prayer, bible reading, reflection, etc.  It involves asking God to prepare us for cooperate worship and to prepare us to receive and respond to God’s word. If we are not experiencing life changing worship, then perhaps we are not preparing for cooperate worship through our personal worship.

Participation. We live in a culture bathed in the “entertain me” mentality. We pay good money to go to movies, concerts, and other forms of entertainment. We have hundreds of cable channels to choose from and Netflix! We are perhaps the most entertained culture in history.

Yet, this often spills over into our worship as we come to be entertained. If worship is boring to us, we complain. If we are not being entertained by worship, we complain.

But worship is not about entertainment. Worship is not about meeting my entertainment needs. Worship is about participation with the saints in the eternal praise and experience of God.

Expectation. Do we come expecting God to change us? Or do we come expecting not to hear from God? Do we come with prepared hearts and minds, wanting, desiring, and longing to hear from God, to experience God’s presence, and to be changed? 

Or do we come with our own agendas, distracted by our own lives, and set on maintaining our status quo existence. We need to come prepared to participate and expect God to speak to us.

Imagination. It took great imagination on Isaiah’s part to experience what he experienced. By imagination, I do not mean a Disney Land sort of imagination. By imagination, I mean can we imagine that God can change our lives? Can we see God working in our lives by shaping us into the image of Christ? This is faith, and faith involves imagination.

We live in a world of skepticism. I do believe that a level of skepticism and asking questions is healthy to faith. But perhaps we have become so entrenched into this way of modern thinking, that we cannot image an experience that is other-worldly, an experience of the real presence of God. Imagination can bring us to this experience.

Worship should be an experience of God that transforms us. When we come together to worship as the body of Christ, we participate in one of the most miraculous events ever to occur here on this earth. We get to experience the presence of the living God among us.

And when this practice becomes consistent in our lives, God is able to move us from simply doing worship as a part of our lives, to worship becoming our way of life.