So this has been a busy week again. Sorry for the lack of posts, comments, or returned emails. I’m working on it. So once again I give you a weekend rant out of frustration.
This past week on Andrew Jones’ blog, he hosted some comments from Chuck Colson who was promoting his new book The Faith. Now I’ve not been a fan of Colson for awhile now. I remember being disappointed when he was chosen to speak at my college graduation, appalled by his CT opinion piece saying that not dressing up for airplane trips is a sign of the moral decay of our society, and always uncomfortable with his personal definitions of postmodernism. But I know he’s popular in certain circles and is the voice for some segments of Christianity. So I generally quietly disagree and just try and ignore him. I was a bit offended though by his comments this past week when he wrote (about his book) – “You will notice in chapter 4 of the book that I distinguish between the “emergent community” which rejects the Bible, and the “emerging movement.” There’s much about the emerging movement that I applaud.”
I know others have commented on how absurd that statement is, asking for him to name just one emergent church that rejects the bible. While the part of me that stands for truth and reality echos that call, I know that such an accusation is easily flung about (it surfaced here just this past week). “Rejecting the Bible” is of course code for “does’t think the same way as I do.” But it is never phrased that way. “Think as I do” is warped into “biblical” or “how all Christians have always believed.” I’ve written here before that such concepts are basically a myth and demonstrate a complete lack of historical perspective. The assumption that the modern evangelical belief of the last 150 years or so represent “all Christians ever” is fairly arrogant, but apparently it’s easier to believe the myth than act humbly.
I guess I’m just sick of the repeated accusations that I reject the Bible. People who don’t know me (or other emergents) revel in spreading this lie and refuse to accept the truth of our actual beliefs and experiences. Do they hate and fear us so much that they choose falsehood over the truth? Yes we may disagree, arrive at different interpretations, or develop divergent doctrines. But “rejecting the Bible”? Are you kidding? I know how I interact with the Bible. I dig deep into it each week, I see it as God’s word, I let it teach and inspire me. I desire to discover more about it and the world it describes. I don’t worship it, or make it fit into modern boxes. But I most assuredly don’t reject it. So I would appreciate it if people would stop spreading rumors that I (and my friends) do. Talk to us, engage (gasp) with us, disagree with us, but stop telling lies about us. Please.