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a
deconstruction faith:
by
john o'keefe
I
was recently helping a friend do some “remodeling” in this
very cool, and very old house he and his wife just moved into.
It was fun; we walked around the house with sledgehammers
smashing holes in walls that he felt needed to come down.
We both took turns pretending to be the Incredible Hulk
and rip old wallboard off the frame.
It was fun, at first – kicking walls, ripping
wallboard, pretending to be superhero’s ripping down walls to
save people in distress, but the fun soon turned to hard work.
The
“plan” (I use quotes because no plan ever goes right in a
reconstruction) was to remove some walls and put an addition on
the back end to extend the living space – it soon turned into
“the best laid plans of mice and men.”
The plans were all drawn up and ready to go – we know
exactly what walls needed to come down (we figured) and exactly
what walls needed to stay up (we figured).
My friend hired “experts” to help with the planning
and the design of what he kept calling his “new home.”
As we were doing all the work we kept saying it would
have been easier to simply tear it down and start again.
It was so true. When
we finished all the redesigning and reconstruction we found the
house looked exactly the same, it just had a bigger living room.
Nothing had really changed.
The reconstruction just made one room bigger and cost a
ton of cash. This
got me to thinking of the difference between
“reconstruction” modern approach to theology and
“deconstruction” postmodern approach to theology.
The differences between the two are vast and are centered
on our cornerstone to the understanding of our relationship
before God.
Surface
or deep changes:
When
I think of reconstruction (reforming, refinishing,
restructuring, and all the other umpteen million “re” words
you can think of), I think in terms of surface changes; nothing
too deep and nothing too substantial.
Like my friends house, while a few walls are missing, the
basic structure has not changed.
I tend to view modern theology in the “re” term,
nothing of real value, just surface changes. Here is how I see it working in the modern world of theology
– you “seek” God (even though God has never moved we still
demand that God meet us where we want God to meet us), you
accept God (usually in front of many people), you pray the magic
prayer (the sinner’s prayer, even though you never confess
your sins, you just tell God you’re a sinner) and then you go
about your life pretty much the way you did before.
The changes are all surface; you are “reconstructed”
from who you were before, “renewed” before God.
Postmodern theology, I believe, calls us to a deeper
understanding of that connection between self and God – we are
called to a “deconstruction of self” and to stand before God
as a blank slate ready to be molded by God into what God wants
us to be. A
deconstruction theology says that what we have right now, who we
are right now, is nothing before God and we need to let God do
all the changing in our lives.
Modern theology does not challenge us to “change” –
just to reform, and that is not a depth change, but a surface
change. As we
started to look at building “new” walls (actually we just
moved the walls) we even started to use some of the 2x4’s we
took from the older walls. So, in reconstruction we can use some of the older material
to help form some of the “newer” parts.
Who
is the architect?
In
a modern reconstruction theology, you – the individual – are
the ultimate designer of what will happen.
Just as my friend decided that he would be the one who
determined how the house would look in the end, so it is with
modern reconstruction theology.
We go before God and “tell” God to change us, and
“tell” God how to change us and “tell” God what we want
God the change – we are the one who “control” our
“transformation” (reconstruction). We determine what walls will come down and what walls will
stay up. On the
other hand, I see postmodern deconstruction theology as telling
the architect to design the best building for the site, and
trusting that it will be just that – the best.
I believe trust is the center of this relationship –
moderns reconstructionists trust themselves to control their
destiny; they are the controls of their models. While I believe a postmodern deconstructionist person knows
that they cannot determine their own future, and we willingly
surrender our lives to a God we know and trust.
Some differences between the two are:
Reconstruction
says:
I make deals with God for the best possible outcome.
It is a band aide fixture to the required brokenness.
This approach starts with the basic assumption that at
our core, we are basically good people and we are only in need
of surface changes. Basically,
it’s a fancy new cost of paint for a fancy new look.
Deconstruction
says:
No deals, it’s just me and God, and God rules –
standing before God totally broken.
The starting assumption is that the foundation we call
self is in need of dramatic change.
Closing
With
a reconstruction faith, we have a faith that says – go to God,
confess you’re a sinner, God will forgive you, but the basic
look will still be the same. I have seen this more times then not. In a reconstruction modern faith we see the fallen lining the
streets of the fundamental/conservative/liberal theology and
mindset (reconstruction modern theology is not necessarily a
“conservative” theology – it cam also be, and often is,
liberal). We need
to keep in mind, what when we are wearing the armor of God the
only part of our body that is exposed is our back.
So, the only time we can fall is by “friendly fire”
– people stabbing us in the back.
Over the past few years I have seen people fall out of
favor with the reconstruction moderns, only to be ridiculed and
insulted for ever – even after seeking forgiveness and
repenting.
Just
a few are Bakker and Warnke.
These men fell out of favor, and remain out of favor for
most, if not all, evangelical reconstruction modern Christians
– the question then becomes, “can a person truly receive
forgiveness in modern reconstruction theology?”
After all, with God it is forgiveness 100%, yet with
moderns it is 60%. I
have heard pastors teach, “God forgives, we remember.”
What makes us better then God?
If God forgives the heart of repentance, who are we to
say otherwise? Who are we to say that forgiveness is or is not granted?
Who are we to say that repentance on the part of one is
right and on the part of another is wrong?
A faith that deconstructs the person brings them bare
before God and God does the work, and we must accept what God is
doing in people. When
we do this, we see our faults and our sins.
When we do this we do so with honesty and with an open
heart. Standing
before God as a person seeking His grace, is far more valuable
then standing before humanity seeking theirs.
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