Theological Musings

As I continue deeper into my exploration of emerging worship, I thought it was time to dive into Brian McLaren's "A Generous Orthodoxy" - a book that some in the movement treat as a manifesto. I just purchased the book and have only read the forewards and introduction before I'm off to the first of smy daily meeting. There was enough material there, however, for me to throw out a couple of thoughts I'm wrestling with. Since the emergent movement found its roots in evangelical communities, I've wondered how my non-creedal identity as a congregationalist would fit with the creedal commitments of many in the evangelical commuties (Please note: I say evangelical communities in the plural because I passionately believe it would be wrong to present the false notion - that the media is obsessed with portraying - that there is only one evangelical community). Needless to say, when McLaren wrote the generous orthodoxy of his book "upholds and affirms the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds" I wondered how well I could relate to McLaren. While I was please to see his stated awareness of the political and cultural influences that shaped the formation of the creeds in the 4th century and beyond, he simply dismissed these awarenesses with a rather causal statement ("not a pleasant thought). I would have like to see him wrestle with this more (maybe he'll do that later in the book). Nevertheless, the non-creedalist in me is compelled to read on because McLaren does seem to embody the spirit of generosity in the book's title. For the readers of this blog who may not know much about me, one thing I will say is that I view the creeds as a sort of conversation partner in my spiritual journey as a Christian. They challenge, stretch, and engage me by inviting me to explore my spirituality in relation to my spiritual ancestors across the millenium. While I love the relational nature of the understanding of God spelled out in Trinitarian doctrine, for instance, I will say that I am a STRONGLY commited monotheist that emphasizes the essential oneness of God (the threeness for me simply represents three aspects of the ONE God). I have really celebrated my exploration of post-modernism because I'm starting to understand why I have such a difficult time fitting in the boxes created by the modernists. Parts of me are very evangelical - a strong belief that our faith ought to be transformative and ought to compell us to live out that faith in every aspect of our lives. The only problem with me claiming an identity as a 21st Century evangelical is that I don't believe in things like the inerrancy of Scripture and take a creedal approach to religion. There are other parts of me that are very mystical in nature. I feel, for instance, that a personal, first-hand EXPERIENCE of God is essential in one's spiritual growth. I am bothered, however, by some mystics propensity to get lost in self and self exploration of God. I believe very strongly that your first-hand experience of God ought to take you out of self by compelling you to then respond to God and God's creation through acts of service and devotion. Maybe you can see why people have such a hard time labelling me. I still get a kick out of those times when - as a person committed to the all-inclusive reign of God - I stand up for a person or a group and others assume I'm standing up for their inclusion because I agree with that individual or group. I'm getting more patient with people's attempts to label me, however. I just wish they would put the energy they devote in trying to label me back into their personal relationship with God. I should have a good portion of McLaren's book digested by tomorrow so check back and see where the Spirit has led me in my theological explorations. Til next time...