1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We hear quite a bit these days about people who have "deconstructed" their faith. Some have even announced they no longer consider themselves a Christian. Perhaps because of personal tragedy or disillusionment, they have adopted ideas that do not line up with Scripture and will not give them the abundant life God intends for us to have. God desires for us to seek Him wholeheartedly when we are challenged or discouraged - God is inviting us to grow closer to Him, not to reject the teachings of the Bible in order to experience more of what we think we ought to have.
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We are now in Day 15 of the Faith Radio Advent Guide, "25: A Christmas Advent-ure," concentrating on Bible prophecies of the coming of Jesus to earth along "The Timeline to Transformation." Jesus fulfilled what was written about His first Advent, which can give us certainty that prophecy surrounding His second Advent, His second coming, will come to pass, as well. That can give us great hope for the future, and we have to, as the apostle Paul suggests, continue to fight the good fight, to persevere, and to remain faithful to Jesus.
Isaiah chapter 11 illustrates for us characteristics of the Messiah. We are told that He would come from the "root of Jesse." Jesse, you may recall, was the father of David, and the Bible establishes that Jesus would reign on David's throne; He was a descendant, through his earthly parents, from this incredible royal line of individuals. A passage in Isaiah 11 says:
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
This is a description of our Savior, who provides a solid foundation upon which our lives can be built. But, unfortunately today, you have professing believers in Christ who want to "tear down," or "deconstruct" their Christian beliefs. Now, it's one thing to set aside erroneous religious beliefs, but the new deconstructionists seem to have discovered some sort of new religion that might be loosely based on the Bible, but rejects some forms of Biblical orthodoxy.
A piece appearing on The Christian Post website from writer and theologian Samuel Sey says this:
Deconstructionism is an approach to critiquing literature and beliefs. People who deconstruct their faith critique the Bible (literature) and beliefs (Christian theology).
Specifically, deconstructionism is a postmodern concept that expands on Nietzsche’s theory that there’s “there is no such thing as facts, just interpretations.”
Sey goes on to state:
In postmodernism, deconstructionism is a strategic approach to critiquing and attacking Western philosophy as an oppressive philosophy designed by Europeans to manipulate people into accepting harmful ideas as truth.The bottom line, as Sey puts it: "when people say they’re deconstructing their faith — they’re simply repeating what Satan said to Eve in the Garden of Eden: 'Did God actually say…?'"
In the same way, people who deconstruct their faith critique and attack (Western) Christianity as an oppressive theology designed by Europeans to manipulate people into accepting harmful ideas as Biblical truth.
A Relevant magazine article recently says that the word, "desconstruction" is "an academic term for the systematic pulling apart of the belief system you were raised in. It’s what happens when the questions you’ve pushed down your whole life finally bubble over the surface, and you’re forced to stare honestly at your doubts. The infallibility of the Bible. The omniscience of God. The finality of hell."
Sey also offers some specific ideas under assault in his Christian Post piece, originally published at his blog called, Slow to Write. He states: "when people say they’re deconstructing their faith, it means they’re critiquing and attacking doctrines they believe have been constructed to harm others — doctrines like the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, the divinity and exclusivity of Jesus, complementarianism, Christian sexual ethics, justice and more."
The Relevant article quotes Mike McHargue, who is known as a “Christian turned atheist turned follower of Jesus," who says:
“Sociologists tell us that—and it varies a percent or two year by year—but 43 to 44 percent of people will go through a major faith transition at some point in their life,” he says. “And that’s any faith transition. So that can be from one Christian denomination to another denomination; that can be from belief to atheism; that can also be—and this happens—from secularism to some form of religiosity. But 44 percent is a huge number.”
Another Relevant article, by Tyler Huckabee, traces the meaning of the term:
It originated with French philosopher Jacques Derrida, who coined the term as a criticism of Platonism. But in more recent years, the word has become popularized by theologians like Father Richard Rohr to refer to a cultivation of religious belief. Rohr argues that most Christians begin their faith journey with construction (deciding what they believe, usually by hearing it from others) and then later on, enter a phase of deconstruction (rethinking some of their original beliefs). Anything can ignite a deconstruction process. Sometimes, it’s spurred by internal doubts and tensions. Sometimes, an external event — like spiritual abuse or a church leader scandal — and kick off a deconstruction process.Huckabee contends that, "Over the last few years, as deconstruction has filtered into mainstream discourse, its nuances have been stripped away. Many people now just use “deconstruction” to refer to “deconversion.”
Sey points out:
The evangelical seeker-sensitive movement attempted to attract young people to churches by elevating culture over Scripture. However, elevating culture over Scripture eventually introduced many young Christians to postmodernism and the emerging church.
In the same way, the evangelical social justice movement today attempts to attract many people to churches by elevating our culture’s positions on racism and justice over Scripture. Naturally, that is introducing postmodernism and deconstructionism to Christians.
It’s interesting, some of the evangelical leaders preaching critical race theory — race-centric postmodernism — are some of the evangelical leaders warning Christians against deconstructionism.
Adam and Eve deconstructed their faith, and it resulted in disaster. If you deconstruct your faith, it will result in disaster for you too. So do not deconstruct your faith. Instead, ask God to decrease your doubts and increase your faith. Say to Christ what one person said to him many years ago, “I believe, help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24)."
In light of this material I 've shared, I would say this: Evaluate, yes. Deconstruct, no. Tear down the unbiblical? Yes. Hold on to he Scripture? Absolutely. We should always be allowing God to change us, but we should always allow the teachings of the Bible to guide us through that growth process. Any "reconstruction" should be guided by Scripture, not our own ideas or own fickle emotions.
It seems the perceived need to deconstruct may just be a lack of belief in the sufficiency of Scripture. Perhaps one is feeling his or her faith perspective isn't working - I would submit that's not the fault of Jesus or His teachings. And, culturally speaking, Scripture is sufficient for addressing the problems and dilemmas we face - individually or collectively. We should be leading the discussion, not responding to it by acquiescing. Do we believe that the Scriptures are sufficient or do we want to change it to fit our own beliefs or cultural teachings?
But, our faith walk, while it grows and changes and hopefully deepens and becomes more vibrant and passionate, should not be adjusted by our own whims and emotions. Remember Hebrews calls Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. The Isaiah 11 passage reminds us of the identity of our Savior, and it tells us about who we should be in Him. When we are feeling discouraged, our response should not be to try something else, but to discover more of what God has in store for us.
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