Spot On - The Red Pill

So far, we've concentrated on issues of biblical interpretation, driven in part by my evaluation of philosophers such as Kuhn, Quine, and, of course, Wittgenstein. Their theories about the nature and function of language have been key to my critique of the current Evangelical church in America. Before we move on to examine the 3M Church in theology, practice, and ethics I want to isolate what I think is the pivotal mistake that the current church has made. I think it will be important to focus on this error, so we avoid the temptation to start laundry lists of grievances, or perhaps our own 95 theses. There is one fundamental mistake which, if corrected, will lead to the correction of the other symptoms. Thus, we do not need to concentrate overly much on the symptoms themselves.

And here it is: Christianity has never been a "religion of the book" as many have said. "Sola Scriptura" is the great blasphemy that has caused the failure of the Evangelical church. Judaism and Christianity are religions of community. The various books served only to preserve the thoughts and inspirations of the community about God. They are thus the secondary instrument of God's communication, not the primary instrument.

If you're like me, you've been taught (whether in church or in seminary) that Christianity is a bible-based faith. That without the bible we would be lost. That the bible is the only way that God communicates to his people. You've probably had this inculcated in you since sunday school, if you were into that kind of thing. But if you study church history one thing becomes clear: this has not always been the case. It is the creation of a group of European christians who were rebelling against the Catholic church. It is a man-made, artificial, precept. It is not the natural state of the church. You may need to pause here, perhaps take a brisk walk or contemplate a sunset, because what I am claiming goes against the very core of the teaching in most churches in this country.

If you can swallow this red pill then I have good news for you, as you feel your feet dangling over the abyss, the ladder of Sola Scriptura kicked out from under you. God is real and alive and imminent. He breathes next to your ear. He's not in the bible; he's right there with you. He paints the forest canopy a thousand greens for you. He glows in the eyes of the one you love. And yet this imminent God is the transcendent Creator of this giant manifold of superstrings (or whatever theory of physics you currently hold). Quarks dance at his whim and galaxies spin for his delight.

In the beginning there was no bible. The early Christians occasionally got a letter from James or Paul, but for the most part they communed with God person to person. Mediators were never God's plan, whether priests or books. In the Old Testament, the priests come about against God's will. You really need to read all of Exodus 19 and 20 to get this, but I'll just quote a couple pieces. First, God always intended to speak to every person directly:

Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." (Ex 19.3-6)

But they were afraid and demanded a mediator, Moses.

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. (Ex 20.18-21)

From this point on God's people vacillated between desiring to see God face to face and wanting to hide behind a mediator. This is why Jesus was so important; he was God as mediator. For a while this solved our problem and the early church lived in full communion with God. But, as Galadriel says, the hearts of men are easily corrupted. Power, money, control--these things distracted the church from its true purpose. Shortly after Constantine took up the cross the New Testament canon was forever fixed and the power of the bishops in Rome entrenched. The Protestant Reformation swapped the mediator of tradition for the mediator of the bible, but with few exceptions we remained prisoners of men.

And so it is no wonder that the church fails in so many ways to be a place of love, help, and safety. Instead, we ignore our own sins while crushing down "sinners" with our big black bibles. We are mean, arrogant, judgmental, and self-centered. We have become the Pharisees, the enemies of God.

But there is another way. There is a better way. We must rebuild the church from scratch on a new foundation. Love. Freedom. Diversity. We must be a community who loves God more than the bible.

Can I do this? No. I'm just a guy who knows a little about God and a little about men, and has watched dozens of friends crash against the wall the church has built around itself, lost to drugs or despair or self-hatred. Who has seen honest ministers crushed by those in power with their slick smiles and pretty lies and their SUVs. They are whitewashed tombs, full of dead men's bones and all corruption. And they run the church. It is time for us to take it back.

I cannot do this, but we can. We can build a new church. We can smash the mediators who would separate us from God. We can tear down the buildings and the money and the good old boy networks. We can rip apart the legalism that binds many into prisons of false conscience. We can bring life back to the church.

This is the revolution.