Friday, August 22, 2014

An Open Conversation

Those of you who enjoy the music of Gungor (Beautiful Things) may have seen the recent flurry of drama surrounding them, after World Magazine wrote this article about Michael Gungor's views on the interpretation of the book of Genesis, found on their web site, here.

This post is not about discussing whether or not I agree with Michael Gungor. This post is not about condemning or praising him. This post is about encouraging some introspection.

In the aftermath of Gungor's views being highly publicized, they have had concerts canceled, music pulled from shelves, and hateful remarks flung at them. I have seen and read articles on both sides of the fence, most condemning, some praising. But do you know what I haven't seen much of?
A conversation.
I scroll to the bottom of these online articles and see people discussing bickering back and forth over these issues. Oh hold on, this person just switched to CAPS Lock, things are getting serious now! Everyone has to be right. Everyone has to have the last word. Everyone has a scripture verse to support their "holier than thou" point. It makes me sick to see, because it's not helpful or edifying in any way.

We are so quick to immediately conclude that someone is either right or wrong. We are unwilling to even entertain the thought of simply having a conversation about the topic. It's a phenomenon that I've witnessed before in Christian communities. The instant that someone expresses an opinion that doesn't jive with what we've come to accept as truth, our defenses go up and we immediately close the door on an opportunity to discuss it.

Because it's scary to discuss something that could change the way we think and live our lives. It's so much easier and safer to protect our little bubble of "what we think we know" and keep everything else at arm's length while firing off thoughtless accusations. Yet, in our mad scramble to protect, we don't think about the potential damage we're causing. Damage to our witness, damage to the other person attempting to start a conversation, damage to ourselves.

What must non-believers think when they see this kind of arguing going on?

Instead of showing God's love to those around us, we're screaming at each other through our screens. Non-believers see nothing different from what they find on any other web site. Why on earth would anyone on the outside see any incentive to engage in that? They can get the same kind of "discussion" everywhere else, and without the "annoying" Bible verses sprinkled in. Engaging in this kind of petty back and forth does so much more harm than good. In fact, I can't see that it does ANY good. Sorry to break it to you, but your online rant is not going to change anyone's mind. It's just going to make everyone mad.

Is your faith so fragile that it cannot withstand any kind of questioning? 

Are we so afraid of having our world view, our walk of faith changed, that we alienate those with genuine questions and concerns, those with real knowledge that could expand your view of God? Are we so insecure in our own knowledge and ability that we refuse any opportunity to defend our faith? Are we so self-sufficient that we don't ask the Holy Spirit to give us the words to say?

This is not a new problem, not by any stretch of the imagination. But I guess that's what's so discouraging. We don't seem to have learned from our past mistakes.

Instead we've become even more entrenched in our views, convinced that we and we alone have the only right answer. And to a certain extent that is true. We should be able to agree on the salvation issues, and those are hills to die on. But so many of the arguments circulating are about non-salvation issues.

Remember when people thought that the Earth was the center of the universe? And then Copernicus suggested that actually the Sun was the center of the universe and that all other bodies rotated around it? Who shut him down? Yeah, the church. Based on their interpretation of scripture, they declared the Earth to be the center and anyone who thought differently was a heretic, even though your salvation isn't dependent on which celestial body moves around the other.

And then, turns out, the church was wrong. *Gasp* Turns out that the passages of scripture they based their belief on were less literal and more figurative. And as we expanded our knowledge of the universe and our world, we came to understand that. As crazy as it sounds, science and Christianity DO NOT have to be at odds. But that's a post for another time.

The point is, it is arrogant to assume that we have perfectly interpreted the Bible. Please understand me. I am not questioning the validity or authenticity of God's Word. I believe that it IS God's word, God breathed and inspired. Yet, it is being interpreted by humans, and as I must remind you, humans are flawed. It is entirely possible that there are pieces of Scripture, like the book of Genesis, that we have interpreted incorrectly or have a flawed understanding of.

We have to be willing to have open and honest discussions about this. We cannot continue this damaging habit of immediately tearing down anyone who raises a valid question. We MUST stop declaring that so-and-so isn't a Christian because they believe the earth is older than 6,000 years, or because they differ on some other NON-salvation issue. The ability to allow and participate in these conversations can, in turn, strengthen your ability to have civil conversations with someone who believes differently from you (an essential for ALL Christians). You may not change anyone's mind, and they may not change your views, in which case you will have learned how to skillfully but respectfully defend your beliefs.

But, WHAT IF it opens your eyes and heart to new views and ways of seeing God? In my case, it has done nothing but strengthen my faith and increase my awe, respect, and love for God. We must be willing to converse.

Only an open and honest conversation can spread God's light and love to those around us. So the next time someone expresses an opinion that is different from yours, instead of getting your undies in a bunch and slamming the door in their face, swallow your fear and pride, take a deep breath, say a quick prayer for words to speak, and engage them in a conversation. Listen respectfully to what they have to say and go from there. It doesn't have to get heated or angry. You may have to agree to disagree, but how many future doors and opportunities may be opened by one talk? You don't know until you try.

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