I'm exhausted.
How do pastors and theologians do it? How do they go day by day and live with the sorts of interdenominational and intradenominational arguments that flare up over "right doctrine" and not feel completely useless and defeated?
At what point does believing in Christ not matter anymore? At what point does the church as body of Christ not exist? I'm Lutheran (ELCA), I have Presbyterian and Roman Catholic and Episcopal and Baptist friends. And other Christian friends as well. If we are all sinners, who are redeemed by God's grace through our faith in Christ, then why do we get so hung up on doctrine? We do things differently. But does that mean that we are of different worth in God's eyes? At what point did we get so wrapped up in our own churches and our own theologies that we elevated doctrine above faith when considering salvation? At what point did we abandon the merits of Christ for the merits of our own doctrinal beliefs?
How many times will I have to be told that unity by faith in Christ is a newfangled liberal notion before I decide that maybe I'm just wrong and everyone else is right? How much longer before I realize that perhaps I was wrong to think that a world broken by sin and death needs grace more than it needs doctrine?
When is it time to just give up?
Oh, kid... I'm sorry this is getting you down. I'm right behind you, if it makes you feel better. Keep fighting the good fight. There are people who will listen.
ReplyDeleteYour post reminds me of two of my favorite quotes...sorry for the length:
ReplyDelete"I would like to see churches teach their people how to have intelligent dialogue that doesn't degenerate into argument. We have to teach people that the Holy Spirit works in the middle of conversation. We see it time and time again - Jesus enters into dialogue with people; Paul and Peter and the apostles enter into dialogue with people. We tend to think that the Holy Spirit can only work in the middle of a monologue where we are doing the speaking" -- Brian McLaren
and
"Do not attach yourself to any particular creed exclusively, so that you may disblieve all the rest; otherwise you will lose much good, nay, you will fail to recognize the real truth of the matter. God, the omnipresent and omnipotent, is not limited by any one creed, for, he says, "Wheresoever ye turn, there is the face of al-Lah" (Koran 2:109). Everyone praises what he believes; his god is his own creature, and in praising it he praises himself. Consequently he blames the beliefs of thers, which he would not do if he were just, but his dislike is based on ignorance." -- Muid ad Din ibn al Arabi (13th Century Sufi mystic)
So, you're not alone. Many have shared your point of view, from current Christian pastors (McLaren) to the ancient poets of Islam (al Arabi).
To your comment "...before I decide that maybe I'm just wrong and everyone else is right? " Fr. Anthony DeMello would say that you know you are enlightened when you find yourself asking, "Is it me or everyone else who is crazy?"