The Benefits of Deconstructing Our Beliefs

There are many advantages to faith deconstruction. Often, we experience or observe some of the disadvantages, such as anger, denial and depression. But for those who can navigate the process, many people who leave church can find connection, joy, meaning and service outside of church.

The process of deconstructing our beliefs can be difficult. John of the Cross wrote about the “dark night of the soul,” a period of desolation without consolation. Before I experienced my dark night, I assumed that the seeker simply loses their sense of God’s presence. For some of us, I realized that the seeker actually loses their concept of God, which can be even more difficult.

In The Way, I wrote that deconstruction can be disconcerting when we ask the big questions. In some ways, it is more comforting to embrace contemporary Christian assumptions:  There is a God. God has intention. God imposes judgment. We have souls. We have free will. And we can have eternal life.

But are these assumptions actually true? Many people would rather NOT know if they are NOT true. All religion is cultural, and all theology is speculation.

Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence

Carl Sagan said, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” Atheist Christopher Hitchens said, “What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.” Without evidence, twenty-first-century people are less likely than first-century people to accept that God exists, that God is personal, that God is supernatural or that God has intention.

In addition, they are less likely to believe that the Earth was created in seven days, that Adam and Eve ate an apple or that Jesus experienced a virgin birth and a physical resurrection. Similarly, they are less likely to concur with Tertullian, Augustine, and Anselm, respectively, that the doctrines of the Trinity, original sin, or substitutionary atonement are persuasive (or even rational).

In The Way, I imagine that archaeologists only recently found the Bible. If our beliefs were not embedded in our culture for the last 2,000 years, would we take at face value that Jesus was divine, that he was born of a virgin, and that he was resurrected from the dead, or would we conclude that Jesus was one of many ancient holy men who became mythologized?

“Sure,” we might say, “A lot of people used to believe this stuff in those days. The creation, the fall and the flood, as well as virgin birth and physical resurrection, were all common mythologies. ”

If some people associate Christianity with Christian Nationalism, fascism, genocide, homophobia, Islamophobia, misogyny, and patriarchy, would we expect them to continue to attend church? How would we expect them to reconcile the Sermon on the Mount with some Christians’ apparent disregard for immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, non-Christians, poor people or sick people?

Did People Leave the Church, or Did the Church Leave Them?

I wrote about why people leave the church here. I wrote about the supposed reasons and the real reasons here. In fact, many people can NOT reconcile Jesus’ notion of unconditional love with the speculative doctrine, supernatural events and unkind practices that contemporary Christianity embraces. Do these concerns suggest that people left the church or that the church left them?

There is another, more troubling aspect of contemporary Christianity. I wrote about “Christian supremacy” here. Serious seekers know that all religion is cultural and all theology is speculation. Yet, some Christians are “certain”:  Their beliefs are true. Their beliefs are the only truth. Anyone who does NOT accept their beliefs will face eternal conscious torment in a Christian hell.

Non-Christians do NOT worry that a Christian God will send them to hell.  They do NOT worry that Thor will fell them with a hammer or that Zeus will strike them with a lightning bolt, either.

There are many advantages to faith deconstruction. Sylvia Salow, a spiritual coach, says, “The Dark Night of the Soul feels like a mini-death of our soul. When, in fact, it’s a mini-death of our ego…. The Dark Night of the Soul isn’t the end. It’s the beginning. You’re born again.”

So, How are We to Live?

So, where do we find ourselves, if we can NOT accept speculative doctrine, supernatural events and unkind practices, without questioning them? Which Christian beliefs are essential to our faith? How much cognitive dissonance between our church’s teaching and our lived experience is too much?  Do more liberal Christianities make sense, or do they also keep too much of the baggage?

For some who stay in church, it can seem easier and more comfortable to “go along to get along,” by continuing to attend church despite their misgivings about contemporary Christian teachings. For many, the job of challenging one’s beliefs and finding a more meaningful spirituality can seem daunting. They simply might NOT have the energy, interest or time for the task.

Is there a silver lining to all of this questioning? Fortunately, there is no need to speculate and no benefit (and possibly some harm) in accepting theories that can neither be proven nor disproven. Why not hold our beliefs lightly, balancing curiosity and skepticism, remaining open to the mystery, paradox and wonder that surround us? There are many advantages to faith deconstruction.

Many seekers feel a sense of authenticity when they do NOT have to pretend to believe the unbelievable things that the church requires them to believe. In addition, they feel a sense of freedom when they do NOT have to experience the cognitive dissonance between their church’s teachings and their lived realities.

Many seekers feel a sense of immediacy, a lived presence in the here and now, rather than a regret about the past or a worry about the future. When we realize that we might have only this life, then we appreciate the daily joys (and frustrations) of it. Our actual earthly lives assume a compelling urgency and a measureless value that our imagined eternal lives do NOT offer.

They feel a sense of relief when they do NOT have to be lectured that they are destined for “eternal conscious torment,” as they are “intrinsically disordered” or “totally depraved” or “unworthy.” We would NOT accept these appalling characterizations anywhere but in church. And we only accept them in church because we attribute these ideas to God or to someone “inspired” by God.

There are Many Advantages to Faith Deconstruction

Many people who leave church find connection, joy, meaning and reflection outside of church. In fact, some of us find more of these qualities outside a church than we once found inside a church. My Exvangelical friends say that they now have real friends, NOT church friends. They tell me that they now approach strangers as potential friends, NOT as potential converts.

The authenticity, freedom and relief that deconstruction offers can allow us to enjoy our lives, to live in the here and now, unfazed by speculative and unsubstantiated fears of divine judgement. Also, we can see that we are responsible for finding our own meaning. We can see that God has NOT determined a meaning for us. (Or that God has NOT shared the meaning with us.)

During my journey, I became more open to the mystery, paradox and wonder that surround us. Also, I became more inspired by Jesus’ teachings, which seem clearer without the doctrinal lenses. I wrote that many former Christians continue to embrace Jesus, but they do NOT embrace the political division and theological speculation that characterize contemporary Christianity here.

Right Belief or Right Practice?

I do NOT believe that Jesus was God, that he was born of a virgin or that he resurrected from the dead. Also, I do NOT believe that I have a soul, that I will be judged or that I will live forever. Still, Jesus’ words and works inform and inspire me. I believe that Jesus’ message had more to do with how he lived than with how he died.

Often, my Christian friends ask me if I have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. “You tell me,” I say. “I was so inspired by the story of the rich, young man that I quit my job and sold my house to spend my life in service. I have lived a new life, transformed by the words and works of Jesus, NOT by going to church or reading a book or reciting a creed. Do I follow Jesus? Do you?”

The Bible is subject to different interpretations, and Christian doctrine can be difficult to understand and even more difficult to embrace. Often, Christian doctrine conflicts with reason or science. But unconditional love is the heart of many traditions. Love is NOT difficult to understand or embrace. Also, it is NOT difficult to practice, if we are convinced of its necessity and of its power.

There are many advantages to faith deconstruction. Often, we experience or observe some of the disadvantages, such as anger, denial and depression. But many people who leave church can find connection, joy, meaning and service outside of church.