The Fidelity of Betrayal

I am a big fan of Peter Rollins. His latest book, “The Fidelity of Betrayal: Towards a Church Beyond Belief”, is a treat. Rollins accomplishes something rare. He brings the deep philosophical discussions of the last few centuries down to the layman’s level without reducing them to meaningless dribble. Usually when someone attempts to summarize the work of the world’s greatest philosophers in a nutshell, it ends up about as valuable as a nutshell. Rollins succeeds where most have failed because he recognizes that philosophy is more about questions rather than answers. Philosophy is a process of intellectual wrestling with ideas. Providing us easy answers would only rob the reader of the experience of the search. Regurgitating obscure philosophical riddles would simply make the book another in a long line of intellectually inaccessible attempts. This book strikes a perfect balance, or maybe I should say the perfect tension.

For too long, Christian theology has become more like the cheap reassurance of a placebo. A successful theologian, however, is someone who leads his readers into a few sleepless nights. I’ve had that feeling this weekend as I began reading this book. The real value of the book is not only what Rollins has to say, but the process you enter once you start reading. He’s shown that there is a serious connection between faith and doubt, fidelity and betrayal. Maybe intellectual wrestling and sleepless nights isn't for everyone, but I'm thrilled by it. For me, a new question is like a present under the Christmas tree.

Rollins has this to say about postmodern Christianity…

As this structure is revealed, I argue that the consequences are twofold. First, we are led to embrace the idea of Christianity as a religion without religion, that is, as a tradition that is always prepared to wrestle with itself, disagree with itself, and betray itself. Second, this requires a way of structuring religious collectives that operate at a deeper level than the mere affirmation of shared doctrines, creeds, and convictions. It involves the formation of dynamic life-affirming collectives that operate, quite literally, beyond belief.

Christians have grown leery of philosophy and I assume that is why theology has become less philosophical and more systematic. We too easily forget that it was the questions of Plato and Aristotle that caused Augustine and Aquinas to wrestle their way into the development of traditional orthodoxy. By engaging with Descartes, Nietzsche, and Derrida, Peter Rollins has done something wonderful for Christians. He’s asked us to think. Theology is like having a conversation with the history of our faith. Peter Rollins has asked us to wrestle with the tension about God and the Bible in the way the fathers of our faith had once done. He then asks us to take the next step and enter into conversation with the philosophers of our time. I'll be posting more as I finish up the book this week.

Stopping the Spin!

The biggest reason our political system makes little progress is that most people run around armed with empty rhetoric and artificial facts. Thank you Chris Matthews for not letting this idiot get by with it. The real enemy in our political conversation and our current foreign policy is PRIDE. For many people, it is more important to avoid admitting their own mistakes rather than having honest communication and solving a problem. I'm tired of people spinning their way out of a jam.


Talking is not appeasement.

I Am Evolution

I found this great story about paleoanthropologist Holly Dunsworth's interaction with evolution.

The intersection of faith and reason is tangled up by the inadequacies of language. Somewhere along the line, fundamentalist strains of religion became more concerned with defining belief ("pistos" in Greek) as our ability to claim intellectual certainty about one or more facts that can't be proven. The more unreasonable the claim, the more "faith points" they get. Lost in that translation are the concepts of fidelity, hope, and devotion. Those values were once a primary part of the definition. In the fundamentalist reaction to modern science, those values are often sent to the back of the line behind certainty in doctrines and their ability to suspend reason.

Sometimes it takes an outside view to show you where you are wrong. Holly has a healthy set of beliefs about evolution. She is devoted, yet not enslaved to an imaginary fixed understanding. Faith and reason can coexist when we don't confuse the words certainty, trust, hope, fidelity, and devotion. Each is important, but each is very different. Deconstructing and untangling the language creates a more healthy discussion about faith. I can't imagine a divine being that rewards people for their ability to suspend reason and reject knowledge. In my understanding of God, our questions, skepticism, and devotion to the search for knowledge is not only rewarded, but those things are a part of the reward.

Moving Beyond The Religious Wars

This audio interview is wonderful! It is one of the best interviews I've heard expressing emerging Christianity. Bishop John Shelby Spong presents a way to move beyond the war between secular left and fundamentalist right. He gives us a postmodern option for Christianity to emerge beyond this modern battle.

The first half of the interview is a biographical sketch of his experience, the second half contains one of the most clear and concise explanations of emergent faith that I've ever heard. Don't miss out on this gem. Many people discount Bishop Spong based on a few surface level prejudices. Evangelicals are scared of him because he doesn't use their canned terminology, but they should listen. There is plenty of common ground and opportunity to move beyond the modern construct that forced our division. I think something wonderful is emerging in Christianity and his voice is an important part of the process.

I'm an Obama Girl!

Say it! Say it! Hillary, you know you want to say it.

In a flash of historic irony, the Clinton legacy may be solidified, not by a 3rd Clinton term, but by their faithful enthusiastic support of the first black American President. This is a potential story book ending. In some ways, it could be the best way to play out their story. So Hillary, just say it while you can still make a graceful exit and a powerful statement about American politics. Say it while it still means something. Shed a tear (you've almost done it before). Embrace your role as a person who helped the cause without claiming the spotlight. This is the moment you've been waiting for since you first heard Dr. King speak as a teenager. Not the moment your husband would be President, but the moment you would help reconcile race relations in America by supporting the most literal manifestation of Dr. King's dream. This is your calling. This is your brightest moment. Just say it out loud and let yourself be carried away! Hold his hand, walk with him out on the stage and say it. Give him your support, loan him your husband's political savvy. This is what your career has been all about. Join the team. We'll accept you. Just say it!

Making the Bible an Idol

I really appreciate and share John Piper's love of the Bible and I think that underneath his narrow polarizing language there is a valid criticism of "trendy faith". His ability to inspire emotion is amazing and takes me back to my early childhood experiences of faith. However, I wonder if Piper is suggesting that we become blind to the Christ that lives in the world today in many people, places and things. Do you think he is so caught up in the particular stories that opened his own eyes to the love of Christ, that he now discounts the many ways other people find Christ?



It seems to me that sharing culturally relevant stories that communicate the central meanings about God’s love and community is not only ok, it is an act of being true to Jesus by imitating his own love of symbolic parables. Why must we favor our own stories and myths over the universal meanings hidden within them?

"The best way to waste your pulpit is to preach your own thoughts, instead of preaching God's thoughts" - John Piper

Isn't this another way for a preacher to say...

"Don't think, just check your brains at the church door. Of course, I can think because my thoughts are really God's thoughts."

If Piper really believed what he said, then why does he preach? Wouldn't he just read scripture from the pulpit? What is he really suggesting here?

The Bible is a lens to understand how particular people experienced God. We can learn so much for its texts, but when we make it an idol, it feels like we lose sight of the living Christ that is at work in the world. Christ is present. I’m in complete support of Piper’s devotion to Christ, but we shouldn't have to limit Christ to the works and experiences of the past.

Operation Disgust

Rush Limbaugh is continuing his campaign to get more Republican voters to cross over and vote for Clinton in the primaries. Over 100,000 people switched to the democratic party in Ohio. I suspect that number will be much higher today in Indiana and North Carolina. We may never know the exact numbers, but I don't think you can ignore the impact of this tactic. I suspect the real motivation is the money Limbaugh would make if Clinton were elected. This is a way to hedge his bets. The Clinton years made Limbaugh's career a success. Another term would solidify his listeners.

Here is the quote from his site used to sell bumper stickers.

"Make your gas guzzler a rolling support vehicle for Operation Chaos! It's all part of Rush's effort to keep the Democrat Party in disarray. The sticker features the red, white and blue Operation Chaos logo. We used the national colors because Operation Chaos is patriotic!" - (taken from Rush Limbaugh's website)

The good news is that this type of partisanship is exactly what drives many voters to Obama.

Tax Holiday? Obama Wins This Debate

The issue of a summer Gas Tax holiday is proof positive that Obama is the only candidate who places America's best interests above his own political goals. Do we really need to feed the machine of consumerism with tax cuts on Gasoline? It is nothing more than another subsidy for the oil industry. I'm not sure Mickey Mouse really needs a hand out either. Borrowing more money from China so that families will have an extra $5 in their pockets when they get to his theme park is not a good investment. Is Obama the only candidate who thinks the government should keep its hands out of our business?



Gasoline is still cheaper than beer. Maybe we should cut the alchohol tax?