Maintaining authentic faith in today’s world requires a rejection of many popular yet unhealthy traditional beliefs. Several examples follow.
Biblical literalism. The claim that everything in the Bible must be taken literally is patently absurd. The earth is not six thousand years old. Nor is it flat. A talking serpent didn’t tempt Eve in a mythical garden of Eden. The God revealed in Jesus does not condone genocide, slavery, polygamy, subjugation of women, or the execution of gays. We must always remember that God did not write the Bible. People did. And they did so with all the scientific and theological limitations of their ancient time frame. Although we should take Scripture seriously, we don't always have to take it literally. Doing so is theological malpractice.
Blood atonement. Many congregations love to sing the old hymn “There Is a Fountain.” The first stanza says: “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins; and sinners, plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.” The traditional theology of substitutionary atonement that “Jesus died for our sins” needs to be jettisoned in the modern era. While that metaphor made sense to an ancient world that practiced animal sacrifice, it’s theologically offensive to think God required a bloody sacrifice of his Son in order to forgive humanity. That’s divine child abuse, not divine justice or love.
Eternal hell. The belief that a loving God tortures people forever in unquenchable agonizing flames of hell is theological pornography. Sharon Baker is right. It’s time to "raze hell." As Charles Templeton vividly articulated, “The idea of an endless hell is a monstrous concept. That a so-called loving Father would condemn his children . . . to be tortured forever, with no hope for reprieve, is barbarous beyond belief and can only be dismissed as ancient sadistic nonsense.”
Exclusive salvation. Thirty percent of the world’s population is Christian. Twenty percent have no religion. The other 50 percent are non-Christian believers including Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Jews. To claim that Christianity is the only way to God and that 70 percent of the world’s non-Christian population is “lost” without any hope in this life (or the next) is intolerable theological arrogance. In today’s world, authentic believers must respect religious diversity, affirming value and beauty in all faiths and even no faith.
Other examples of unhealthy religion could be cited including partisan religion, nationalistic religion, self-righteous judgmental religion, anti-LGBTQ religion, prosperity religion, angry religion, absolutist religion, anti-science religion, end-times “rapture” religion, and religion that promises —God providentially protect believers from harm, which is demonstrably false.
Tomorrow some thoughts on positive reconstruction.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to be the good.
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I am leading a River Cruise to Belgium and the Netherlands March 19-27, 2022. If you are interested in reading about the trip or joining in, the link is below.
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/files/uploads/RC22_031922T_TulipTime_002_FINAL-1.pdf
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