Dear Brian,
I recently read you newest book “A New Kind of Christianity” and found it very interesting. The questions you asked are ones that need to be asked in this changing culture and times.
Specifically, I really liked your focus on challenging the Gnostic thought patterns within modern Christianity. It is sad to think that Christians have become trapped by this heresy, claiming that the ‘material world’ is bad and the ‘spiritual/immaterial world’ is good. Unfortunately, this mindset has caused many believers to consider environmentalism as ungodly. By the grace of God, I have had the blessings to be a part of a movement of Christians that seek to be good stewards of the environment – both for the glory of God and to help our fellow humans.
I also enjoyed reading your response to the question “How Should the Bible Be Understood.” This is a hugely personal issue for me as I face criticism about how we are to read the Bible on a weekly basis. Every time I try to explain the cultural and historical background of a Bible passage, the men in my Bible study shoot me down. To them, each word in the Bible was written in such a way that they should mean the same thing forever – forgetting that the Bible is a collection of letters written to different people at different times among different cultures using multiple genres. Hopefully, the Lord will show them one day that the Bible is not a database of statements to be grabbed and shoved together in order to ‘prove’ whatever action/thought/idea/doctrine they want.
I must admit, however, that I struggle with some of your conclusions. You quote Isaiah, Micah, Joel and Hosea at length, yet only the parts where they are talking about the blessings of God. Nowhere in your book did you discuss the consequences of not following Jesus. It sounds as if you assume that everyone will want to jump on board and follow this new way. Yet, there are those who enjoy getting rich off the sufferings of others. What will happen to these people?
This may sound like a theoretical question, but it is actually quite practical. I have seen first hand the sufferings of the poor at the hands of the rich and powerful. What am I supposed to tell these people – that God is going to welcome these evil doers into His house without repentance? What about the justice of God? To me, if there is no justice, then grace is nothing more than a cheap word. As hard as it may be, I believe that we must re-frame the biblical narrative in such a way that it remains true to all of Scripture, retaining the fullness of both God’s grace and justice.
I also noticed that when you talk about God redeeming this world it is always in conjunction with humanity without a personal touch or action from God Himself. When I read the Bible, I see a personal God who is actively involved in the lives of each of His followers. Sometimes this personal activity comes in the form of signs and wonders, as in the miraculous healing of the body. Do you see God still doing this? Or do you see Him mainly working through the hearts of humanity?
In wrapping up, I must thank you again for starting the conversation. The questions you ask are valid questions, ones that we, as followers of Jesus, will need to answer as we make our way into the next phase of history. I look forward to the dialog generated by your book and this letter.
May the grace and peace of God be upon you,
-Joshua
Joshua,
Your letter caught my eye when you asked the question about God’s justice in light of those who have encountered severe persecution. I wondered the same thing. How do you think this question is resolved…from your perspective? I’m curious to see if Brian addresses this.
Marty
Joshua,
I appreciate your thoughts on justice and suffering, and I sympathize with your observations. Part of this topic is an issue of perspective. It is easy for us to assume we are neutral observers who have the privilege of critiquing the evil rich people who oppress the poor (I am guilty). To some degree, I am the rich, powerful, evil doer by being a part of a rich, powerful, consumerist Western society. I have inadvertently caused suffering to the world’s poor by supporting the world’s rich (that includes us). We should keep this perspective in mind when talking about this issue.
Jamey
Joshua, your question about justice is an important one. And Jamey, you make an excellent point that it is difficult for us in the West to remember and be aware that we often are very much like the oppressors that Jesus declared people would be liberated from. That is a sobering thought.
Regarding justice, I think we often get stuck with a very punitive understanding of justice, in which the people who do bad things get punished. I think this is a narrow understanding, though. The biblical idea of shalom seems much broader than people getting what they deserve, and instead indicates a radical peace, harmony, and reconciliation. With that in mind, when the prophets discuss justice, might they be expressing (in limited language) a process which will eventually bring reconciliation, and not just punishment? What if the wrath of God expressed in Scripture is more akin to the wrath of a jealous lover, who has been cheated on? I’ve never lived in that situation (and I shudder to think of it) but I think that is a different kind of anger mixed with broken-heartedness that doesn’t simply desire punishment, as though that would fix anything anyway, but rather desires a reconciliation, a restoration of the relationship.
I hope that was clear and possibly helpful. I know it has broadened my understanding of God and helped inform the way I read Scripture. In regards to Brian’s book though, this understanding still seems to fit in the six-line narrative structure that he proposes. I’m still not sure what to do with that yet…
Josh,
Nice letter. I appreciate that you’ve articulated both affirmation and critique – it seems to be that responses to Brian tend to be either overwhelmingly one or the other.
I don’t know if you’ve read it, but your question about justice reminds me of Miroslav Volf’s book Exclusion and Embrace. He delineates a radical place of embracing the enemy and offender, but only within the context of “exclusion.” If you haven’t already, you might consider checking it out.
Thanks for your thoughtful questions!
Thanks for the recommendation. I will look into it. =)
One of your observations brought up a pastoral question for me. In attempting to teach people in our churches Biblical literacy which is not fundamentalist (or “constitutional”), we can really unnerve people of faith. My question is: how do leaders bridge that gap for people? Many Christians want to make the Bible a fourth member of the Trinity! I’ve got a whole lot of faith in the Bible as inspired by God, but I think denying the human element of it is as dangerous as denying the humanity of Jesus.
That is a very good question Greg. And one that I struggle with as well. Like you, I see the danger of denying the human element of the Bible. For me personally, I draw strength from the unusual way that God has protected the Bible throughout history. It is one of the best documented and most accurate books of history (less then 2% textual deviation throughout all copies – note that the deviation in the text are mostly due to word order, which does not matter in Greek like it does in English, meaning that the deviation does not change the theological implications of the Bible).