What does it mean for someone to call themselves a Christian? Like many, years of deconstruction has made me weary of not just the Church but Christianity. To call oneself a Christian comes with so much negativity these days that confessing the name of Christ usually requires further clarification. It requires me to differentiate myself from the crazies. I’m not opposed to suffering in the name of Jesus but only for the right reasons. Those reasons do not include paying for the sins of some conservative evangelical Christians.
Today, I struggle to understand how the “others” can actually be Christians. Much of what they espouse is so far removed from the Gospel that I struggle to remain tolerant of their intolerant oppressive beliefs. Considering that for years I was under the impression that “liberals” were not really Christians, I struggle not to fall into the same presumptive traps. Luckily, we don’t have to make that decision; we can only live faithfully to our convictions.
The Dialogue
“Are you saved?”
After a brief pause and a sigh, I stated, “Well…I am a Christian”.
“No, but are you born again?”
“I follow Jesus Christ, why are you asking”.
This was part of a conversation with a stranger in a café a few years ago. The individual was a young seminary student working on his Master of Divinity to become, what I can only surmise, to be a fundamentalist pastor. I am constantly amazed by how many times a fundamentalist doesn’t believe me when I affirm my faith and decides to run me through a theological examination.
Being from Grand Rapids I see a lot of fundamentalism. In the early 20th century Grand Rapids was one of the main hubs of fundamentalism, with Wealthy Park/Street Baptist Church as its White House. Additionally, Fountain Street Church acted as its antithesis (in the tradition of the University of Chicago Divinity School) creating the stage for some famous fundamentalist/liberal debates – particularly among the King James Only folks.
Needless to say, I am a bit desensitized to the craziness of fundamentalism. But there was something about this young man that struck me. I didn’t want to play the usual intellectual game. For some inexplicable reason, I felt for him. He seemed hungry for truth, just naive. Maybe I saw a little bit of myself in him.
The young seminary student was not pleased with my answer and stated:
“A lot of people say they are a Christian but not all of them are saved”.
I looked around curious if I had slipped into a time warp back to the 80s. I invited the young man to have a seat, hoping he might be receptive to some wisdom. He, of course, did not know who he was sitting down with. For all he knew, I was some schmuck with a keyboard and some coffee in need of being saved. However, I was in the midst of writing my book, UNenlightenment, so I was a schmuck primed for such a conversation.
Probably assuming he was going to evangelize me, he took a seat. He then went into a litany of theological cliché, quoting the usual biblical texts. I let him have his moment and listened quietly. When he was done, I asked him one simple question:
“How do you know you are saved?”
He, of course, went into all of the Bible verses that guaranteed the certainty of his salvation. I, again, listened patiently – a difficult thing for me to do sometimes.
I followed up with the question,
“So, you know you are saved because the Bible tells you, you are saved?”
He squirmed a little.
“Well yes and no. The Bible tells us how we get saved. The Holy Spirit saves you.”
With a little bit of naivety in my voice, I said:
“So being saved is all about believing certain things about Jesus? That’s it? What are the things that I have to believe in?”
After running through the Apostles Creed and the Romans Road he threw in an addendum, which I had been patiently waiting for:
“Being saved is about committing your life to Jesus.”
“What do you mean by that?” I replied.
“Reading your Bible, going to Church, living like Jesus in the world.”
“So, it’s not just about what you believe, you also have to do all of these other things?”
“Well…yes.” he said, “But if you are saved you will just want to do these things for Jesus.”
“So, do you always do these things?” I asked inquisitively,
“Well, no. But that is why we have grace” he stated with boldness.
Suspiciously I asked, “So God only gives grace to those who are saved?”
“Well no. He gives grace to everyone through his salvific work on the cross.”
You know the person is struggling with your questions when they begin trying to trap you with theologically loaded language.
“What you’re saying is that all I have to do is believe in Jesus and then I can still go about my way doing whatever I want to do because his grace is sufficient through his death and resurrection?”
He excused himself to get some coffee. He returned and we bantered back and forth for a while. He left somewhat perplexed.
However, since I was writing my book I was at the café nearly every day so we ran into each other frequently. He would come over to my table and ask me some random theological questions. His questions started as ways to trap me. But eventually, his questions evolved out of an authentic curiosity. I think he struggled to understand how someone could speak with the same boldness, confidence, and conviction; and yet be so different from him.
Unfortunately, one day he disappeared. I don’t know what happened to him. I like to think that our conversations sparked something within him but I will never know. I like to think that my willingness to listen and acknowledge him was my way of evangelizing the truth of Jesus to him. In today’s day and age, I think that is what evangelism looks like. It’s meaningful conversations with people that show we care deeply for their struggles and that we may not necessary have the answers but we are willing to struggle alongside them. That we are willing to figure it out together. I think that is what faith in action means and I think that is the example that our Rabbi Jesus taught.
Some Concluding Thoughts
I think I learned just as much as I taught that young man during those times.
For example, even though wisdom is simply the ability to know how to apply true knowledge in the real world; that should also be accompanied by humility. Perhaps humility should be the chief attribute of wisdom. There is something about humility in conversations and debates that adds a level of power and authenticity to a message. Humility is not a weakness but a strength.
Additionally, I learned that I should have the same compassion for conservative evangelicals as I do for those in oppressed communities. In their own way, many of them are also oppressed. Oppressed by the leaders whom they have trusted to instruct them in the ways of Jesus. Oppressed through the constant indoctrination they are bombarded with through messaging that is embedded in the echo chamber that is evangelicalism. If we have learned anything from the life of Jesus it was that you cannot teach the truth to those who are already convinced they have it. In this sense, they may be the greatest among the oppressed.
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