A few years out of Christianity and I find the phrase "how do we get people to reconstruct their faith" so telling. I think it is really amazing how Christians believe they have so much influence on other people. There is no way to get other people to reconstruct anything! They choose to do it themselves, and sometimes it looks like not being a part of organized religion at all :) Letting people live their own lives is one of the best parts of becoming a non-Christian for me.
"You keep talking about deconstruction, but how do we get people to reconstruct their faith?" is such a great premise. I think it is easy for us to use the image of construction and deconstruction or demolition when referring to ur faith because we think it is something we build or at least is built.
If we shift our image however to that of journey, as you got to, there really is no deconstruction and reconstruction that takes place. When we are on a journey we make various turns, we make missteps, we succumb to injuries, but we keep going. I think it all counts. I think the crux is less about what is being constructed and more about the journey. The journey is all inclusive. I am not sure building our faith is the best image.
I have most certainly used this image plenty but my mind is wondering this morning... maybe it is time to get rid of deconstruction language and lean more heavily into journey and pilgrimage language?
You and I have talked about some of this in the past, but over the past couple of years, God has taught me a LOT about deconstruction and the faith journey. First off, your question, as it is worded, is loaded. “...how do we get people to reconstruct their faith?” I don’t think it’s OUR job to get people to do anything. Western Christianity has this false notion that it is our responsibility to make people move in whatever direction we deem as “right.” For Christians, our job is to point people to Jesus, love them, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
As it pertains to this idea of deconstruction, I believe there is generally a lot of misunderstanding about what ACTUALLY constitutes deconstruction. If we look to scripture, the idea of building is with the notion that your foundation is built on Jesus. Paul even says that if your foundation isn’t built on Jesus, then you can’t add anything else to it – at least that will sustain you when any storms come your way. The sticking point here is that your foundation has to be built on Jesus with an understanding of the true nature of God. If you are fear-mongered into asking Jesus into your heart so you don’t go to hell, believe He’s always angry with you, you’ll never please Him, etc. – well, that’s simply not the foundation of God’s true nature. So guess what? You absolutely need to deconstruct.
Now, I’m not trying to make anyone do anything, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t hope people will reconstruct with an understanding of who God really is without the miserable ways humans have represented Him to be. The hard part is that to do that, very often you have to choose to believe something that everything inside of you, based on your life experience, is telling you is wrong. God isn’t going to force Himself upon you because that’s just not who He is – He wants you to freely choose Him and to have a relationship with Him that is built on the trust you have in His character. I want that for people because I believe that God is madly in love with them. He desperately desires to lavish His love on them. To bring them peace and joy. To help them live a life free of fear (or at least the pressure to give in to it). I also believe He wants to heal people of the things that keep them from fully being loved by Him, which we often refer to as sin. And that’s not a pleasant process, but when you go through it with an understanding of who God really is, in a relationship built on trust, you feel unbelievably loved in the process. That whole, no condemnation in Christ business.
But here’s where I think we have a HUGE misunderstanding in Christianity of what constitutes deconstruction. If someone has a solid foundation built on an understanding of God’s true character, but they are wrestling, doubting, questioning, etc., that’s NOT deconstruction. That’s actually a completely normal part of the faith journey that we’ve deemed problematic in the Western church. I call it the wilderness, because that’s the pattern I see played out in scripture over and over and over again. When people have no freaking idea what is going on, where they are going, how they are going to get somewhere, they’re frustrated with or mad at God, etc. it’s either because they are literally or spiritually wandering in the wilderness. THIS IS NORMAL. It looks like wandering or “backsliding”. It looks like you’re lost. Frankly, people think you’re kinda crazy when you’re in the wilderness. But most of the time, it’s EXACTLY where you’re supposed to be. And there’s not a single human being who can guide you through the wilderness on their own. Humans may help when you’re in the wilderness, but very often they make it worse. God is the only one who can sustain you and see you through the wilderness. I’m of the opinion that the primary reason the wilderness is viewed as a problem is because that is where human power and control cease to be effective.
A few years out of Christianity and I find the phrase "how do we get people to reconstruct their faith" so telling. I think it is really amazing how Christians believe they have so much influence on other people. There is no way to get other people to reconstruct anything! They choose to do it themselves, and sometimes it looks like not being a part of organized religion at all :) Letting people live their own lives is one of the best parts of becoming a non-Christian for me.
"You keep talking about deconstruction, but how do we get people to reconstruct their faith?" is such a great premise. I think it is easy for us to use the image of construction and deconstruction or demolition when referring to ur faith because we think it is something we build or at least is built.
If we shift our image however to that of journey, as you got to, there really is no deconstruction and reconstruction that takes place. When we are on a journey we make various turns, we make missteps, we succumb to injuries, but we keep going. I think it all counts. I think the crux is less about what is being constructed and more about the journey. The journey is all inclusive. I am not sure building our faith is the best image.
I have most certainly used this image plenty but my mind is wondering this morning... maybe it is time to get rid of deconstruction language and lean more heavily into journey and pilgrimage language?
You and I have talked about some of this in the past, but over the past couple of years, God has taught me a LOT about deconstruction and the faith journey. First off, your question, as it is worded, is loaded. “...how do we get people to reconstruct their faith?” I don’t think it’s OUR job to get people to do anything. Western Christianity has this false notion that it is our responsibility to make people move in whatever direction we deem as “right.” For Christians, our job is to point people to Jesus, love them, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
As it pertains to this idea of deconstruction, I believe there is generally a lot of misunderstanding about what ACTUALLY constitutes deconstruction. If we look to scripture, the idea of building is with the notion that your foundation is built on Jesus. Paul even says that if your foundation isn’t built on Jesus, then you can’t add anything else to it – at least that will sustain you when any storms come your way. The sticking point here is that your foundation has to be built on Jesus with an understanding of the true nature of God. If you are fear-mongered into asking Jesus into your heart so you don’t go to hell, believe He’s always angry with you, you’ll never please Him, etc. – well, that’s simply not the foundation of God’s true nature. So guess what? You absolutely need to deconstruct.
Now, I’m not trying to make anyone do anything, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t hope people will reconstruct with an understanding of who God really is without the miserable ways humans have represented Him to be. The hard part is that to do that, very often you have to choose to believe something that everything inside of you, based on your life experience, is telling you is wrong. God isn’t going to force Himself upon you because that’s just not who He is – He wants you to freely choose Him and to have a relationship with Him that is built on the trust you have in His character. I want that for people because I believe that God is madly in love with them. He desperately desires to lavish His love on them. To bring them peace and joy. To help them live a life free of fear (or at least the pressure to give in to it). I also believe He wants to heal people of the things that keep them from fully being loved by Him, which we often refer to as sin. And that’s not a pleasant process, but when you go through it with an understanding of who God really is, in a relationship built on trust, you feel unbelievably loved in the process. That whole, no condemnation in Christ business.
But here’s where I think we have a HUGE misunderstanding in Christianity of what constitutes deconstruction. If someone has a solid foundation built on an understanding of God’s true character, but they are wrestling, doubting, questioning, etc., that’s NOT deconstruction. That’s actually a completely normal part of the faith journey that we’ve deemed problematic in the Western church. I call it the wilderness, because that’s the pattern I see played out in scripture over and over and over again. When people have no freaking idea what is going on, where they are going, how they are going to get somewhere, they’re frustrated with or mad at God, etc. it’s either because they are literally or spiritually wandering in the wilderness. THIS IS NORMAL. It looks like wandering or “backsliding”. It looks like you’re lost. Frankly, people think you’re kinda crazy when you’re in the wilderness. But most of the time, it’s EXACTLY where you’re supposed to be. And there’s not a single human being who can guide you through the wilderness on their own. Humans may help when you’re in the wilderness, but very often they make it worse. God is the only one who can sustain you and see you through the wilderness. I’m of the opinion that the primary reason the wilderness is viewed as a problem is because that is where human power and control cease to be effective.
“Maybe we shouldn't be afraid of their journey. Maybe we let them take it, for their sakes and for ours.”
THIS, for everyone. If the church is not afraid of authentic community, there will be more authentic community. Even if it doesn’t look like “church”.
I wrote a poem about deconstructing my beliefs and putting *myself* back together. 💖