I've heard a lot about what's wrong with the church. People are scared, not sure how to fix things, so the best way is to point out what's wrong (yes, I've done his before).
Author Ed Cyzewski writes that we need to tell proactive stories instead of reactive ones. (Read his blog post here).
I think modernity, and the dualistic nature of our culture in general, requires us to think, as Ed points out, in "either/or".
God is not necessarily an "either/or" God.
God is both loving AND just.
God is both holy AND merciful.
God is both transcendent AND immanent.
One thing I like about postmodernity is that it allows us to admit we don't know it all. Postmodernity at its worse is selfish and totally experiential. A postmodern theology based on humility admits there's other voices to the conversation outside of our own understanding. We are continually being transformed. But we need help.
We only see a sliver of God's entire being. We only experience a small bit of God's grace. We need others to help us see God. We need others to help us worship God.
An "either/or" God limits the ways in which God works. The Christianity is a faith of many ethnicities, cultures, understandings, and developments. We cannot reduce God to be "either/or". We need to learn from our fellow siblings in Christ. Even if sometimes, we're not always happy with what they have to say.
In God's eyes, we are on equal standing.
1 comments:
There is a lot of freedom and peace once we get comfortable with the complexity of God. Thanks so much for the link to my post. I should give Spencer Burke some credit as one of the thinkers who helped me move away from an "either/or" kind of God. Spencer always spoke in terms of "both/and" in the classes I took with him.
Post a Comment