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Category: Imagination

Looking at how AI and other emerging technologies spark new avenues of meaning for Christian theology and practice.

The Great Emergence: How Decay Precedes Renewal

In previous blogs, I discussed compelling traits of an emerging Christianity and illustrated how these traits were showing up in the global church through an example in Brazil. In this blog, I describe and engage with key ideas from Philis Tickle’s book, The Great Emergence. One cannot speak of emerging Christianity without engaging with this seminal work. The Great Emergence, published in 2008, lays an illuminating historical framework to what we now are calling emerging Christianity.

Why is this book so influential on this topic? We like stories that connect the dots and show how the past correlates to the present, providing directions of where the future may go. Tickle does that well by convincingly showing how Christianity in North America is experiencing nothing short of a reformation. Furthermore, through compelling images and well-researched trends, the book gifted us with language to describe the ongoing dialogue over the essence of the Christian faith in North American soil. In short, It helps clarify this tumultuous time we are living in.

Undergoing a Rummage sales

Tickle argues that every 500 years, the Christian church goes through a process of renewal. She describes it as a “rummage sales” where the community scans the attic to get rid of items no longer needed. In my neck of the woods, this is often called a “garage sale.” The idea is that the institution goes through a process of reevaluating its beliefs, doctrines and practices. For example, in the last “rummage sales” Martin Luther and others questioned the validity of selling indulgences. Hence, this practice was one of these items “sold,” giving way to new ideas and practices for relating with the divine.

Furthermore, by placing our historical moment alongside these great shifts in he church, she is also arguing that the process has been ongoing for at last 200 years. That is, considering a larger historical context, she identifies important trends that lead us to our current predicament. It is not like all of a sudden a group of Christians decided to complain about the church’s shortcomings. Instead, she sees the process as part of an enduring tradition of renewal in the church.

For example, one of the first blows to the authority of Scripture was the American Civil War over the issue of slavery. When Christians were willing to take arms against each other over an issue that the Bible was ambiguous on, that eroded the overall trust in its authority. This painful historical experience invited questions many dared not ask before.

She also points to the AA (Alcoholic Anonymous) 12-steps program as a marker for the shifting from religion to spirituality. By allowing its adherents to pray to a “higher power of their own choosing,” AA introduced language for a generic faith untethered from religious doctrine. One no longer needed to belief in a God but only acknowledge the existence of a larger entity outside one-self. This further deepened the democratization of belief in the American religious market. The group essentially de-coupled the spiritual parts of Christianity from its religious roots.

Through multiple examples, The Great Emergence describes a process in which Americans exchanged traditional Christian beliefs and practices for new alternatives. In her view, the Pre-modern framework of the biblical faith was ill-equipped to answer questions arising from a fast modernizing world. As this inadequacy amplified through technological and scientific advances, Americans looked to find meaning from other sources.

The Swirling Center

To me, the most compelling portion of The Great Emergence is where she speaks of a swirling center. She uses it as a metaphor to explain how this emerging Christianity came about in the American religious context. Let me set up the metaphor first to better explain how it works. Tickle divides the many Christian denominations into a quadrilateral of four groups: Liturgicals, Social Justice Christians, Renewalists and Conservatives.

For those unfamiliar with these terms, let me describe what they mean. Liturgicals are Mainline Protestants (Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Methodists) and Catholics whose churches emphasize formal worship with communion every week, recited prayers and hymnbooks. Social Justice Christians, often found in mainline churches, tend to be politically progressive emphasizing service and activism over religious rituals.

Renewalists are the fastest growing segment of the global church often associated with the Pentecostal movement. They tend to emphasize experience (whether through prayer, music and the belief in miracles) over doctrine and rituals. Conservatives is the dominant group within the Evangelical fold who emphasize evangelism and often align with right-wing political positions.

Proceeding further, she proposes a forming center where communities borrow from other quadrants in order to transform their own practices as shown in the picture below:

Taken from pg 136 of The Great Emergence

That is where you have evangelical (Conservative) churches getting into social justice issues; Liturgicals holding healing services (inspired by Renewalists); Conservative Evangelicals looking for meaning in the spiritual disciplines (inspired by Liturgicals); Renewalists aligning themselves closely with right-wing political positions (inspired by Conservatives). These are just a few examples that illustrate this swirling center where communities interact with the different quadrants. They do that in order to fill the gaps that their quadrants’ dominant tradition left behind.

The swirling center is prevalent in non-denominational congregations that, by default, draw people that grew up in different quadrants. As Renewalists, Conservatives, Liturgicals and Social Justice Christians join informal networks and alliances, they naturally learn from each other building new combinations of practices. The result is an overall blending of traditions which often characterizes the emerging church.

Conclusion

Indisputably, Christianity is undergoing profound change in the North American continent. However, the overwhelming sentiment towards these developments among the faithful is one of grief over what is being lost. Phylis Tickle’s argument that we are experiencing reformation instills hope. What is happening is not simply decay but death before resurrection. The rummage sales is here to throw out unnecessary artifacts from tradition so Christians can experience God through new pathways. The turmoil is not just about deconstruction but a first step in reconstruction.

Furthermore, Tickle also suggests that this reformation is bringing Christians together. The swirling center is facilitating a cross pollination never seen before in history. The sectarianism inherited from the Reformation 500 years ago is being corrected. Innovation is not coming from any particular corner of the Christian household but in the center where they all meet. Hence, she suggests that underneath all this turmoil lies the hand of a transformative God longing to bring his children together.

Looking for the Bright Side in the Corona Pandemic

I would like to step aside from my usual lane of writing to reflect on how the Corona pandemic is affecting us in unexpected ways. As I write this from the US, my kids will be homeschooling starting on Monday while myself and many other co-workers will be working from home. To be fair, I already worked from home but having the kids at home with limited choices of public places to go will certainly be a change in routine. I am also blessed to have my wife be a stay-home mom which makes our change in routine less dramatic.

Yet, I can only imagine how many other families, especially those where both parents work are coping with this new situation. Rarely have I seen a global event have such wide-spread routine-braking impact like this one. Certainly local communities have experienced much worse tragedies, yet, their impact was more localized.

With that said, I would like to join others in the blogosphere who are choosing to shed light on the upside of this crisis. By doing so, I don’t mean to trivialize the suffering of those affected by the virus or the disruptions stemming from it. Quite the opposite, I would hope that what I say here will signal that their suffering is not in vain. Maybe this is the crisis that will bring us together in surprisingly beneficial ways.

Grateful for Technology

I am thankful for the technology available to us in this time. Those facing the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 were not as lucky. Over tens of millions died and millions more had their lives severely disrupted. I am grateful for communication technologies that have allowed news of this virus to spread quickly. Government and other institutions that undergird our society had the ability to coordinate with some lead time.

In spite of the misinformation spread through social media, this vehicle also brought quality and accurate information to the general public. “Flattening the curve,” a term only familiar to statisticians, soon became popular jargon to explain why we need to practice “social distancing.” In fact, many of the voluntary closures are not result of top-down management mandates but the collective action of an intelligently informed population. We quickly learned that to love our neighbor, especially the elderly, meant to stay away physically.

Furthermore, I am grateful for screen and phone technologies that now allow a large portion of the population to work or study remotely. Businesses, schools and government organization were able to quickly pivot to a remote workforce diminishing the already pervasive impact in the economy. To be fair, it is still very likely the global economy will enter a recession but it could have been much worse. As many become homeschoolers and remote workers, society does not have to stop completely.

The Advent of Global Cooperation

Rarely have I seen such display of global cooperation as in this crisis. Governments are talking to each other, businesses are offering paid-sick leave even when not required, schools are offering lunches even in days they are closed and neighbors are offering to buy groceries for those who cannot do it for themselves.

In American politics, we have experienced even a limited time of bipartisan cooperation to address this crisis. Corona is bringing together even the left-most Democrat with the right-most Republicans. They are realizing that their petty differences must recede when our whole livelihood is at stake. Certainly the federal response to the crisis could have been much more swift and effective but fortunately I see a society rising to shore up for the deficiencies of governmental action.

Even more encouraging has been the responsible self-quarantining of high-profile leaders, showing by example what we can all do to mitigate the Corona virus’ impact. From Justin Trudeau to Senator Ted Cruz, leaders are stepping up with their personal lives encouraging many to follow suit. Furthermore, Delta CEO announced that he would forgo his salary for 6 months in order to contain layoffs from this crisis. These are all examples of leadership that are worth celebrating.

Hope in Unexpected Places

Many have now heard about the singing in the streets in quarantined towns in Italy. People who are now confined to their homes found unexpected ways to show solidarity to each other. They can’t meet but their voices can connect them through empty space. It only highlights the fact that we humans are wired for community. We may often fight but we can’t live isolated from each other.

Apparently, Earth is grateful for this virus too. CO2 transmissions have fallen drastically globally as people self-quarantine or and avoid public gatherings. In a surprising twist, a deadly virus to humans is proving to be life giving to our beloved dirt home. My wife even speculated that this virus was simply Mother Nature screaming at us to emit less pollution and slow down global warming. She may well be right. This may be Earth’s plot to stop our insatiable pursuit of destructive technological progress.

Indeed, the Corona pandemic will continue to affect us in unexpected and enduring ways. Above all, this crisis is forcing us to stop, rest and do less. It could have paradigm shifting effects in how we relate to each other especially through cyberspace. I am particularly curious on its impact in the thousands of churches that will be holding services online in this period of social distancing. Could cyber connection become a dominant form of communicating ideas and enacting rituals? Could virtual church become part of mainstream rather than a fringe movement?

It is too early to say. Yet, my encouragement to all reading is to look for the opportunities arising from this crisis. Life will be different for a while but it may very well be a lot more beautiful than you expected.

Emerging Christianity Goes South: Pastor Parades in Rio’s Carnaval

In the last two blogs, I described major traits of an emerging Christianity. I talked about how believers were finding ways to live out their faith outside prescribed boundaries of institution and tradition. Yet, the best way to describe this movement is by showing how it is being lived out in action. I was elated to learn how a recent developments in my native Brazil do exactly that. In this blog, I want to show how Pastor Henrique Viera’s participation in this year’s Carnaval (Fat Tuesday celebration) best illustrate this emerging Christianity. It also comes to show that this is not confined to the centers of the West in North America and Europe but is finding creative outlets in the Christian South.

Reproduction from Twitter

Carnival as an Act of Decolonial Subversion

For the English reader unfamiliar with Carnaval, let me introduce you to its origins. Imagine you are a member of the First Nations living in the Americas for centuries when European colonizers arrive. They slowly take over your land. Yet not satisfied with that, they also decide to impose their culture on you. Eventually they bring African slaves, people steeped in their own culture themselves, that now are forced into a new land through lifelong servitude.

They start teaching you their religion through imposed holidays. They introduce to you the concept of Lent, which is a 40 day (roughly six weeks) period of penitence in preparation for Easter. Supposedly Easter, is a great celebration worth waiting for. Yet, given Europeans poor ability to celebrate and master skills on guiltying, you quickly realize this was more of a ploy for social control than a true celebration.

One day, they talk about Fat Tuesday. That is, in the day before the Catholic church reminds you of your eventual death, they offer you a brief period of respite where you can indulge yourself. Understanding that Lent is an extended period of self-denial, the church recognizes the need to temporarily let you be free to do whatever you want. The native American look to the African slave and say: that’s our chance!

They flip the script on the whole religious celebration and decide to focus on that Tuesday. In that day, for a brief moment, they could be free. They decide that the short indulgence should be the focus. In the absence of of truly festive Easter, they will take the license to “sin” and do it in great style. Eventually the Tuesday becomes a 5 day event where people parade in the streets and as the poets would say, happiness reigns. The colonized flipped the script on the colonizer, appropriate a brief pause before penitence and transform it into weeklong all-out celebration. Hence, you get Carnaval.

Protestants Opt Out of This Party

Protestants are late-comers to this party. They come to Brazil in the mid-19th century and take a modest foothold. It isn’t until the 20th century that Protestantism, through Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism, would transform Brazilian religious environment. In the positive side, they came mostly free of the colonial baggage. Instead, Brazilians perceive them as an alternative to Catholicism.

Yet, North American evangelical missionaries with Puritan roots were quickly scandalized by Carnaval. The amount of skin shown was too tempting to these North American, mostly male, missionaries who quickly condemned the feast. Even as Evangelicalism indigenized, this initial rejection took hold. This is where they started the custom to disengage and skip the whole thing altogether.

By taking this approach, most churches and protestant theologians would rarely engage with the celebration and its decolonial roots. Instead, they considered it exhibit “A” evidence of a fallen world brimming with sin. In other words, it represented everything Christianity wanted you to stay away from. If anything, it only reinforced a other-wordly, personal morality-focused theology imported from North America. In rejecting the celebration altogether, evangelicals also missed the opportunity to influence it towards an alternative that could curb its sexualized excesses while still affirming its joyful components.

Preaching the Gospel in Mangueira’s Parade

The last two sections gives a brief context of the magnitude of what happened this year. When Pr. Henrique Viera paraded in the Mangueira’s parade, he consciously challenged the dominant long-lasting narrative of Carnaval being a celebration off-limits to faithful Christians. While I am emphasizing the pastor’s participation here, none of that would have happened without the inspired and prophetic theme song of Mangueira’s parade this year.

The main event of Carnaval is a yearly parade where samba schools from poor areas of the city compete for that year’s title in the Sapucai. Each school develops an original theme song, floats, costumes and a lot of samba choreographies to go with it. This year, Mangueira chose to center their parade on “the Jesus of the people.” In their own words, they wanted to show a Christ who had “a woman’s body and native American blood.”

This was not a thoughtless attempt to offend religious sensibilities through perverting Christianity’s main symbols. Instead, it was a political statement. Following along liberation theology roots, they wanted to show how Christ is present in the victimized of our age. It was an act of protest against the forces that have robbed the Brazilian nation of an equitable future. Hence, they shockingly declare that these were the same forces that killed the Nazarene 2,000 years ago.

This is why the pastor’s act was so significant. The Protestant new comer, inspired by Catholic liberation theology, participated in the Pagan feast of Carnaval in order to highlight a central aspect of the Christian message. The parade symbolizes a bridge between Catholic, Evangelical and the colonized joining in to speak out for justice. This to me is a great example of an emerging Christianity, one that is willing to stand in solidarity with the oppressed outside the gates of institutional boundaries while still proclaiming the essential truths of the gospel.

Learning to Breathe and Stretch: Yoga as a Spiritual Practice

Greatly encouraged by my lovely wife, I decided to start taking Yoga classes in the local gym this year. I must say my first classes were long painful lessons in my body’s inflexibility. Yet, as I stuck with it, I come to enjoy it and sense an impact not just in my physical but also mental and spiritual health. In this blog, I reflect on how practicing Yoga as little as twice a week has come to be an important practice in my spiritual walk.

I Suck at Yoga and that’s Good

For starters, I am not the athletic type. I would much rather read than go to the gym. Yes, I am a bona fide nerd who realized I was more than a head on a stick. Recently, I’ve been reluctantly taking on physical exercise because I know it is good for me. It feels like eating raw vegetables. As I get older, I realize that sedentary behaviors won’t help me live long. Also, I come to enjoy the endorphins that get released after an exercise session.

It goes without saying that my flexibility is fairly limited. In class, doing some of the poses move muscles I didn’t even know I had. Furthermore, I still cannot tell left from right without looking at my hands. So, when the teacher describes the next pose, it might as well be Greek. I get by through watching more advanced practitioners beside me. Often times, I find myself turning right when everybody else it turning left. That is when I delicately and slowly correct my position.

Needless to say, it is a humbling experience to join a class where people are lot more advanced than I am. As I am straining to balance or simply stretch, I am surrounded by master Yogis who turn their bodies into pretzels. That is when I think to myself: “Are you fu&%$ing kidding me?” Yes, lately most of my spiritual experiences have been accompanied by under-breath cussing.

I say this not just to amuse but to highlight the fact that doing something I suck at is actually a good thing. It serves to humble me while also destroying my illusions of competency and self-reliance. Slowly, I am learning to embrace the suckiness as I drench my mat with sweat while others stretch much further with little effort. Besides, I am not setting out to be a master yogi. I just want to learn to breathe.

Yoga is not Just Exercise

I suspected that there was more to Yoga then uncomfortable stretches. This only became more clear as I started practicing it. The class starts and ends with mindfulness exercises where we are quieting ourselves and focused on breathing. This is no “transcendental meditation” but it is baby steps to help us connect mind and body. As mentioned above, now that this nerd is discovering that he is more than a head, connecting with the body is becoming an important centering activity. It is so easy to ignore our bodies are when we forget that we are above all breathing beings.

Often times I have experienced a strong sense of peace and calm after a class. I’ll move slower, be less worried and at times become a better human to my wife and kids. This has been a great antidote for the anxiety I feel on the weekends. Usually, my week is intense between family, work, reading and writing. Yet, when the weekend comes, I feel a bit lost not knowing what to do with myself. Hence, doing Yoga on Saturday mornings has really helped smooth out anxiety and help structure the weekend.

I also sense that the effects of it lingers. First, I usually feel sore for the rest of the day but it is a satisfying soreness. It is like I pride myself in making these muscles work. At times, I have also noticed being more aware of what is going on emotionally with myself and even be more present. For someone who often lives in the clouds of ideas and future plans, anything that helps me be in the present is a big positive.

Walking into Uncharted Territory

When I wonder why I didn’t try this before, I know exactly why. In my evangelical upbringing, Yoga was considered a dangerous practice from a competing religion. What I experience today could scarcely classify as that. My Yoga teacher does not emphasize its Hindu roots. Just like Chinese food in America, it is a westernized, secularized, watered down version of the original Hindu practice.

Yet, regardless of that, I still catch myself feeling jealous by the fact that it came from a different religion than Christianity. Why couldn’t our traditions figure this out? Why did we insist on head-knowledge practices that do little for the body? There is historical precedent for meditation in the practices of Middle Age Christian mystics. Yet, that is not the same as full body practice that helps connect mind, body and spirit. In view of this realization, I wish I had discovered this earlier.

In this spiritual journey, sometimes I am finding the answers outside of the gates of familiar Christian teachings. I don’t see this is an endorsement of Hinduism as a religions but a recognition that they know something we don’t. I would be spiritually poorer if I ignored their contribution and wisdom.

In all sincerity, I found that practicing Yoga has made me a healthier human being. In some ways, it has also helped my relationship with God. As I become more self-aware, I am also better able to hear the Spirit’s voice who often whispers quietly. That whisper can often be drawn out by the noises around and inside me. It is in learning to slow down and breath again that I am also finding my way back to the Giver of breath.

Compelling Traits of an Emerging Christianity: Part 2

In the previous blog, I outlined three traits of an emerging Christianity. In short, it is de-emphasizing heaven in order to do more on earth; it is integrating with science and finding its way back to nature; it is walking away from strict Monotheism in order to find PanEntheism. In this blog, I present three additional traits of this emerging Christian spirituality.

As expressed before, this is not a detached analysis or description of trends. Instead, it is a discovery as I find a fellow travelers who are undergoing a similar faith journey. Most certainly, these trends do not trace back to one movement or institution. Instead, it is more like a loose federation of communities doing reflection and arriving at similar conclusions.

Embracing the Unfamiliar Other

Undoubtedly, the most bitter fight within the Christian church over the last thirty years has been over LGBTQ issues. Mainline denominations have been torn apart, families come undone, congregations fractured over and lives have been lost through suicide over this issue. The conservative side has made opposition to same-sex marriage a political warring cry. Progressive congregations have also imposed their own political crusades over building ownership and bishop positions based on this issue.

We have all lost in this war and the casualties continue to mount. Yet, no one has suffered more than LGBTQ Christians who seek refuge in a household that either refuses to accept them as they are or turns them into a political commodity for righteous posturing. Regardless of these tendencies, LGBTQ are the unfamiliar other who are now at our footstep. How we respond says a lot more about true theology than all our biblical knowledge could express.

Thus, it is encouraging to see an emerging Christianity that stands with the LGBTQ community fighting prejudice and upholding their dignity in society regardless of how that fits or not into their theology. This standing with the other is not limited to this community but has extended to other marginalized groups. Whether it is fighting against sex trafficking, being a voice for refugees and undocumented immigrants, protesting with the me-too movement or declaring that black lives matter – there is an emerging Christianity who is learning to take on the burden of the oppressed.

The emerging movement is replacing national loyalties with a global citizenship that expresses solidarity with the downcast even at a cost of reputation, comfort or personal benefit. It is grounded in an understanding that us versus them is not the way of the cross. In Christ, there is only us and when one of us suffer, we all do. A passion that will only end when all God’s children are free from injustice, oppression and want.

I confess that acceptance of the LGBTQ community has been a long journey for me. Holding on to a traditional view of marriage was a strong conviction of mine based on centuries of Biblical interpretation. However, I now see that conviction as less important than upholding the humanity of LGBTQ people. Not only that, but I want to learn to love and celebrate their uniqueness as gifts from God. I may not fully understand it but believe in the call to accept them along with the call to stand in solidarity with them in their struggle for justice.

In a personal anecdote, recently I took to the streets to protest the Trump’s administration grievous travel ban that discriminated against refugees. At that point, when most of my fellow evangelical Christians either supported the ban or shrugged in indifference, it was a gay Christian friend who was willing to join me in that protest. As an immigrant, defending refugees was a personal matter, one that my friend took it as his own. Maybe I can learn from him to take his struggle for justice as my own as well.

Rejecting Violence as a Means to Power

Inspired in the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, emerging Christians are choosing the path of non-violence. As Christians question their role in supporting empire, American or otherwise, they are also learning to reject the its ways of violence. That is, it is not enough to stand with the oppressed but it is important to be mindful how to do it. Non-violent political resistance then becomes the antithesis to American militarism, one that continues to maintain a cozy relationship with the Christian church.

This theme is well represented in a network of Christian leaders that call themselves the red letter Christians. They seek to take the teachings of Jesus, oftentimes expressed in old Bibles by the use of red letters, above all other sections of Scripture. Counting with a diverse array of people such as Shane Clairbone , Tony Campollo, Rev Dr. William J Barber and Randy Woodley, they represent a new generation seeking to speak out for justice through non-violent protest.

Yet, this trend is not limited only to political movements but is gaining wide-spread acceptance not only in progress mainline congregations but also in evangelical ones. Pastors Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd, influential evangelical preachers in their own right, emphasize that non-violence is at the heart of Christian discipleship. That is, it is not simply a tool to gain political power but should inform all aspects of our lifestyle. This became clear to me recently when watching a screening of J.E.S.U.S.A documentary. This is no longer a fringe idea of radical groups but it is starting to take hold in mainstream Christianity.

I confess this is the hardest trait for me to grapple with. A total commitment to non-violence goes against our evolutionary wiring of fight and flight. It is highly admirable but also extremely difficult to follow. I also fear what that would bring to any community that followed this at wholesale level. Would they be annihilated? The deal that Constantine offer the church, bless my empire and I’ll grant you protection, continues to be alluring till this day. I want to join my emergent Christians on this one but as a father and husband, the idea of giving up self-defense is a hard concept to embrace in this emerging Christianity. With that said, while this makes me uncomfortable it is hard to deny the centrality of non-violence in the life and teachings of Jesus.

Growing Detachment from the Institutional Church

This is probably one of the most striking traits of all. Unlike past movements in Christianity that often evolved into new institutional forms, this emerging Christianity is taking ground at the edge of institutional confines. It is blossoming in the church front yard and at times even outside its gates altogether.

Some have found community by meeting in pubs, living rooms, libraries and now, most importantly, through the vast virtual spaces of social media. I can honestly say that I have found more Christian community in some Facebook groups (I guess this tells my age!) than in any congregation I have been part of. Most certainly this does not replace flesh and blood fellowship. However, it certainly enhances and at times becomes a conduit for long-lasting friendship and fruitful face-to-face encounters. I now have some relationships that could not have started prior to the advent of social media.

This emerging spirituality have exploded the parish model that limited Christian community to 90 minutes where we stared at each other’s back of heads in auditoriums. It may include opportunities for gathering with others but it also includes reading books, participating in affinity groups with neighbors, listening to podcasts and wasting precious hours arguing over irreconcilable matters through Twitter. All of this is a way to experience community, now more and more independent from the tutelage of the institutional church.

I would like to discuss this more in detail in a follow up blog where I review Phyllis Tickle monumental book, The Great Emergence that 12 years ago gave language to this phenomenon. For now, it suffice it to say that this emerging Christianity is rising from the confines of religion into the open spaces of the public square. It is not always clean, orderly and far from perfect but it is most certainly beautiful.

Compelling Traits of An Emerging Christianity: Part 1

When you start off on a journey, it often feels lonely. You wrongly assume that you are the exception and everybody else is staying behind. As most often is the case, any spiritual journey starts with a crisis, an enduring dissatisfaction and a stinging sense of loss. One also feels a stranger in their familiar environment which incidentally can lead to believe that they are alone in experiencing this internal turmoil.

Hence it is refreshing and emboldening when that sojourner meets others undergoing the same struggle. It is no surprise that a significant portion of people like me, who grew up in evangelical homes, are now, even if at differing degrees, experiencing dislocation in their faith journeys.

People will react to a crisis on a myriad ways. Some will dig their heels holding stronger to familiar convictions, others will abandon them completely. A third group will try to find their way through this crisis by traversing the tension of holding on to past convictions while also opening themselves to new pathways. This is where I find myself. Thankfully, as I can now attest, I am not alone.

In this blog, I want to cover three main traits that are converging to form an emerging Christianity which this third group is seeking. I don’t know if one can speak of a movement yet but more of coalescing of streams that are finding commonalities in these three areas. In each one of them, Christians are rejecting false binary choices to embrace living in the tension of seemingly opposite poles. By holding themselves in those tension points, they are finding room to grow, hope and transcend.

Thinking Less of Heaven to Do more on Earth

Dr. N. T. Wright is likely the most influential bible scholar of our times. He is one of the few scholars that achieved pop star status while still being highly respected in academia. His books have become a staple for many wanting to better understand the New Testament the Christian faith in general. I had the privilege to see him speak once in Pasadena, when I was a student at Fuller.

After hearing his lecture, I was struck by how emphatic he was about challenging Christians to stop focusing on the after-life. The thrust of his argument through multiple books is that the early Christians were not looking for a disembodied heaven but yearning for that reality to come down to earth. While this is not in itself a novel point, it does get to the heart of a detour historical Christianity took in the last few centuries.

Inspired by NT Wright’s writings and others, I see an emerging Christian spirituality that is progressively de-emphasizing the afterlife to become more engaged in the here and now. To me, this has been nothing short of a life-changing. While still going to church, the focus of my service now has shifted to my family and my community. Whether it is volunteering in my kid’s school or other non-profits, giving to organizations that are doing humanitarian work to spending quality time with my children, my focus has changed.

This does not mean that I no longer believe in heaven or denounce any church affiliation. It just that it is no longer the exclusive avenue and focus of my service. I stopped worrying about trying to get more people in heaven and instead started to work to make earth more like heaven. I am also finding more meaning in these activities rather than seeing them as means to a more important spiritual end.

Integrating with Science to Find Nature

I have written before about the importance of theology engaging with science. There is growing interest in this intersection as seminaries bring scientists in for dialogue. Biologos, an organization started by a Christian Physicist and director of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins, is at the forefront of this movement. While still small, the trend has great potential. It starts by rejecting the false option between thinking and believing and forsaking the unproductive ideological battle over the origins of life. Once these steps are in place, the interaction between faith and science can yield exponential fruits.

This is not limited to seminaries and technical schools but is also taking shape in other ways. For example, there is an increased acceptance of mental health issues within the evangelical community. This became front and center a few years ago when megachurch pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren lost his son to suicide. As Christians become open to an area that in the past was seen through an exclusively religious lens, I see them growing in understanding and accepting the blessings of scientific inquiry. It is no longer a threat to faith but part of God’s action on earth.

To me, the integration with science has translated into a greater preoccupation with nature. The emergence of eco-theology, namely a theology that seeks to connect humans to God through the natural world, is another promising trend. Theological reflection must transcend the human-divine axis to include all living beings. This goes beyond creation care to recognizing God’s action through animals, plants and whole ecosystems. A vision that limits salvation to individual guilt removal is ill-equiped to face the challenges and questions of our age. Salvation must encompass the whole cosmos.

The theological encounter with nature is also not just limited to action to protect the environment. It must address the sinful alienation brought upon a technological vision that separates rather than integrates humans into their habitats. The path toward a new Christian spirituality must walk through the green pastures of nature and eventually arrive at PanEntheism.

From Strict Monotheism to PanEntheism

PanEntheism, not to be confused with pantheism, proclaims the reality of divine presence in the material world. Unlike pantheism that saw nature itself as God, Panentheism keeps God’s transcendence while also affirming God’s immanence. Forgive my theologese, what that means is that it declares God to be beyond this universe but also present in it: A God who is both distant but also near. Confusing? Good, theological thinking thrives in the uncomfortable tension between opposing ideas.

To be clear, this is not a move away from monotheism, but bringing monotheism closer to physical reality as prescribed in the first trait above. It is about taking religion from something “out there” to the dusty mess of daily living. Some theologians, such as Moltmann, have associated that presence more specifically with biology. That is, the Spirit of God is present anywhere there is life, intelligent or not. Yet, such view is not a recent novelty but goes back in history to Francis of Assisi and to Dutch reformed theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper.

When taken seriously, panEntheism can have paradigm shifting implications to the Christian faith. In a sense, it recognizes that even before there were sacred scriptures, God was moving and speaking through the natural world. On the one hand, it magnifies further the largesse of the Creator who stands outside (and in) time. On the other hand, it should caution us in our attempts to divide the world between insiders and outsiders of God’s club. Even a tradition that is 2,000 years old is only a speck in the history of the cosmos.

In my view, this does not diminish the revelation brought forth by the Christian faith, maybe, shall I humbly say, it only fulfills it. It complements it, bringing its implications further into its conclusion:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

Colossians 1:15-17

Defining Public Theology for a New Decade (Part II – Moving Outward)

In the previous blog, I described the move inward exploring the first part of the following statement:

Public theology is prayerful reflection flowing out of love of God for the world as a way to instill hope and longing for the good planet.

The “public theology is prayerful reflection flowing out of love of God” section spells out the move inward through contemplation, prayer and reflection. It defines not just what it is but also its motivation, which in this case it is divine love, or charity. In this blog, I want to explore the second portion of the description above that traces a path outward towards our planet.

For the World

One of the most overlooked failures of evangelical (and mainline to a certain extent) theology in the last century is its inability to connect people with the world they live in. For the most part, it has built its main argument on the premise that we live in a fallen world beyond hope of repair. It does that so in the second breath, it can say that God is the only solution. In other words, it exacerbates the problem so it can better sell a solution. After all, a world that is intrinsically good needs no saving.

By building its argument as a sales pitch for the salvation of the soul, Christian theology left a legacy of disengagement. It has often produced disciples as the saying goes: ‘too heavenly minded to be any earthly good.’ It is great for filling stadiums and auditoriums but terrible for producing civic engagement. This is not to say that Christians in general, and evangelicals more in specific, have not engaged in productive action to help the common good. It is, however, to recognize that this came in spite of not because of this prevailing ethos that narrowly focuses on after-life fire insurance.

Oftentimes, civic engagement was a means to the goal of preaching salvation. Hence, public theology for this new decade, must re-define and re-orient this ethos of service away from being a means to being an end. Instead, it should see serving the world as the goal, a tangible incarnated reflection of our worship to the Creator. Because God ‘so loved’ the world, we, in turn, love the world too.

The world here is not just human beings but our whole planet, everything about this rock in our galaxy. Hence, we love this planet enough to work with people from all faiths to address human-generated climate change. We need to include notions of sustainability in our concept of holiness. The righteous person is the one who not only cares for their human neighbor but also for the global neighborhood. If we fail at loving the ground we live on, loving other humans may be a mute point if our planet cannot sustain life.

Of course, turning our gaze to the world also means loving other humans. I believe this we demonstrate this best by how we love both the marginalized and the very people that oppose us. Let’s also be honest: to be opposed for supporting or failing to challenge systems that oppress the poor, the different and the stranger is not the type of persecution we should be after. Yet, regardless of how or why we are opposed, loving our adversaries is at the heart of the Christian faith.

As a Way to Instill Hope and Longing

As I mentioned in the last blog, we do not live out this public theology without expecting to persuade others. Yes, I dare say, we do look for followers. We do seek to evangelize and to persuade those outside our institutional gates to consider their ways. We proclaim a message to build the common good also praying for metanoia – change of minds.

Yet, this is no longer a sales pitch to ask them to make a public confession of allegiance to our savior, nor an appeal for them to join our community and be baptized. If that happens, then we rejoice and receive them with open and hospitable arms. However, we aim for a much more audacious transformation. We dare, and are naive enough to believe that the whole Earth will be filled with the glory of God. That is, we dare believe the world can and will get better. The glory of God is Shalom, all living beings co-existing in mutual love and harmony. All living beings working to preserve, improve and develop this earth towards a better future.

Words are empty and often ineffective conduits to produce hope and longing. That is why this public theology must transcend mere proclamation and translate into concrete actions that in fact instill hope for a better world. It should manifest itself in grand visible gestures that run counter the narrative of death and disillusion propagated by our screens. It also happens in small personal acts of sacrifice. Small but enduring acts that demonstrate that we love those near and far well. Acts that express that we love this earth well.

For the Good Planet

The word “good” is often associated with the inferior option of excellent. That is not what I mean here. Goodness here (with a capital G) has to do with a vision of a planet where life flourishes, justice rolls down like rivers and all creatures live in harmony. To me, that is what it means to work for the common Good. It is not simply a flimsy notion of seeking compromise at all costs. Instead, it entails a vigorous negotiation in which all parties involved come out better than they started. Furthermore, I believe it is inspired in the vision of the Jewish prophet Isaiah as demonstrated in the painting below and in the quote right under it:

Edward Hicks (American, 1780-1849). The Peaceable Kingdom, ca. 1833-1834

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
    the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
    and a little child will lead them all.
The cow will graze near the bear.
The cub and the calf will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.
    Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.
Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,
    for as the waters fill the sea,
    so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord

Isaiah 11:6-9 New Living Translation

Isaiah envisions a world in which reconciliation is not just a human affair but one that encompasses all creatures. The enmity that was the modus operandi for the survival of the fittest gives way to cooperation and solidarity. It is the belief that we do better together than divided; produce more when in peace than in war; and flourish brighter when cooperation replaces domination. That is at the heart of Isaiah’s vision – a world where all creation peacefully coexist.

This is not a utopian vision of human progress. It is a radical, and even illogical, hope that God can use anything and everything to the flourishing of life in this planet and beyond. It is not only a hope of an event in the distant future but a patient longing that each day we inch closer to this reality.

To me, that is the vision of the good planet: one where life flourishes and love is the rule.

Do we dare believe in the Jewish prophet’s vision?

Defining Public Theology for a New Decade (Part I: Moving Inward)

In the previous two blogs, I cleared the way for defining theology by first explaining what is not and then emphasizing the importance of location. These entries serve as a necessary preamble to the definition provided at the end of the second. In this blog, I will break down this definition to further flesh out what it means. By doing so, I intend to establish some markers of what I think is the key task of public theology for our time.

Let me begin by re-stating the definition:

Public theology is prayerful reflection flowing out of love of God for the world as a way to instill hope and longing for the good planet.

Public Theology

Why add a qualifier to theology? As I demonstrated in the previous blog, the context from which theology emerges is crucial. It will define the audience, concerns and scope of the task. In this case, by calling “public”, it becomes clear that this is speaking beyond the institutional church and even beyond the Christian community. It means that its language must transcend traditional Christian symbols or at least make an attempt to translate them to a common language.

Furthermore, it aims to enhance the common good. In that way, it cannot be sectarian or simply exist to support or strengthen the church’s institutional influence in society. If it extends the Christian church influence as a byproduct, then that is a bonus. It cannot be, however, its primary goal. Yet, it must assume that by working towards the common good, most will benefit, including the Christian community.

Consequently, it should communicate through humble persuasion as one voice in a larger dialogue. The humility means that it must be willing to listen and learn from others believing that God often speaks through those outside the Christian community. That humility should not diminish its desire to persuade. If it is to speak in the public square, the theologian must believe that what they say is worth listening and even following. That is, it must not be void of conviction, but instead should seek to invite others into a new understanding.

Prayerful

Prayer is not a monologue or just speaking to an “imaginary friend”. It is, at its essence, a communal act. While one can pray alone in a room, when the individual prays, they are never alone but are supported by others through a human chain that connects them through time and geography. Beyond that, prayer is about accessing deeper sentiments in silence. It is about a turn inwards and a letting go of thoughts and rationality. It is an invitation to operate below consciousness.

Yet, prayer is not always about quiet reverence. It can also be about pleading loudly with others in lament, protest or even desperation. Many in the North are not accustomed to this type of disruptive prayer yet our brothers and sisters in the South practice that daily. For them, it is simply a way of life.

Moreover, prayer, within the Christian tradition, entails believing in a personal God that is invested in the fate of this world but also transcends it. It is trusting in a God that both suffers with but also rescues his creation. Because of that, prayer also invites us to both suffer with and take action on behalf of the poor, oppressed and the lost. When we act like the God we pray to, we also pray.

Reflection

To develop theology, one must take this prayerful life and engage it in reflection. In age where information flickers in front of us at light speed, reflection is about slowing down and thinking deeply. It is about pondering on intractable questions that plague the community. While it includes personal reflection, it transcends the individual and tends to be others-oriented. Even as we consider our own struggles we do so in the hope that our reflection may help others who are facing similar struggles.

This process of prayerful reflection cannot stay in one’s individual interiority but must flow out through writing, speaking or artistic expression. The reflection is not complete until sincerely and effectively communicated to others in the public commons. The communicator lives in the tension of urgency and limited understanding. There is a constant sense of unfinished task in crafting the message along with a persistent call to speak out. They communicate as they gain clarity and as events call for responses.

Flowing out of Love of God

The animus of the prayerful reflection described above must be love. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, all the work we do without love would be meaningless. Because the word love in English lost its meaning through multiple applications, it is important first to define what it is. Here we borrow the Greek term agape, often translated as charity. Charity is a self-less love that puts other’s benefit before our own. It is actually a higher goal than loving one like oneself. I also believe we humans cannot do this exclusively even as we strive for it continuously. It is, therefore, a transhuman type of love.

Hence why in the definition I speak of “love of God,” using the multiple meanings of the preposition “of” in that sentence. First, it is a love that emanates from God, from a Being that is beyond human limitations. Second, it is love directed to God as a response to God’s love to us humans. It is God loving God in and through us. Just sit and ponder on that. It does not make sense at face value forcing us to go deeper than a logical understanding.

Another point I want to make is that how we do theology matters. We must be often vigilant of our motivations and passions animating our action. This does not mean we must “feel” love every time we do theology only that we often remember why we do what we do. Losing sight of motivations that do not flow out of love is often where we get lost. The how and the what are important in this activity.

Conclusion

Let me end here for part 1. So far, I have reviewed how public theology is prayerful reflection flowing out of love of God. There is so much more that could be said but the paragraphs above act as a starting point to this definition. In the next blog, I’ll go over the remaining parts, summing up a complete sketch of a vision for a non-clerical, Christian, earthly-grounded theology for our time.

What is Theology? (Part II: Location Matters)

In my previous blog, I started on this path to define theology by first outlining what is not. In short, while associated with ministry, biblical studies and doctrine, theology cannot be confined to any of these. You would think I would be ready to define it but there are few more items to clear before getting to that. Before I risk losing you with a long preamble, let me jump right into it.

The Question of Context

For many centuries, the underwriting assumption was that theology was absolute and universal. That is, it spoke of a timeless truth that could be expressed uniformly in every context. In the late 19th century, there was even an attempt to make theology an exact science based on facts. The idea was to paint theology in a frame of objectivity in order to prove its legitimacy. While this eventually proved to be a misguided enterprise, some segments of the Christian church especially the more conservative parts of evangelicalism, still hold on to that notion. In part this stemmed from the need to defend theology from the challenges coming from science and historical criticism.

if theology is not Bible interpretation, or doctrine, then it no longer needs that rigid legitimacy that these theologians sought. In other words, because theology is a solidly human endeavor it has the freedom to make mistakes, postulate tentative ideas and even push the boundaries of Christian knowledge into what in the past would be classified as heretical. By dissociating itself from institutional obligations, theology can be a rigorous but free pursuit of knowledge and understanding of God, humanity and all of creation.

Under this new terms, theology does not aim to be objective but instead to start with an awareness of its preconceived assumptions. Hence, there is a “where and a “who” behind every theological proposal. Throughout history, theology was mostly done by middle-aged Euro-descendant clergy. Inevitably, that shaped and formed the content and transmission of theological thinking. For one, it often meant that theologians were writing for their peers who were male clergy like them. This theology was then transmitted as divine knowledge and often times used as a tool to legitimize the authority of the group that created it.

This who and where (and when) of theology can be aggregated under the term of location. All theology is developed in a milieu of culture, geography, socio-economic and political factors, namely, its location. Theological thinking, pursuing the knowledge of God, occurs in the theater of human existence. Inevitably that experience shapes, guides and forms the message.

This earthiness of theology is not a reason for concern but joy. It celebrates the gift of incarnation, when God decided to make a home among us, sanctifying all of the material world. That gives us the confidence that even our human thoughts about God can somehow be divinely inspired.

If in the 19th century, the aim was to achieve a pure truth the emanated from a perfect God, a 21st century planet steeped in ecological crisis yearns for a theology made of star dust, sweat and blood.

Introducing Public Theology

What is the location from which theology emerges from today? While the institutional church will continue to influence and nurture theological thinking, I believe the location of theology is moving to the public square. For one, even pastor theologians, developing thinking for their congregation will no longer be free of outside scrutiny. That is, they won’t be able to afford preaching a worldview that is shielded from the societies and communities surrounding that congregation.

In a globally connected age, all theology is public theology.

Public theology happens outside of church walls. Now, that does not mean that it loses its commitment to the Christian faith and its traditions but developed for the human community. That includes but is not limited to the church community. It is not done in opposition of church theology but as a dialogue partner who listens but also speaks truth to it. It proclaim its message in the public square as an invitation to all who are willing to listen.

It does not impose itself as the only legitimate source of truth. However, it is also not afraid to speak truth. It is committed to the Creator and to creation. It is open to science, technology and other religious thinking while still rooted in a Christian foundation.

Above all, it cannot count on legitimacy from the patronage of political power, the longevity of tradition or even by economic value. Instead, it must prove its relevancy by the merits of its claims and also by how it responds to criticism. It is by default open to scrutiny, and must always flow out of love. The last point is crucial. Without love, public theology is a pointless exercise in speculative knowledge.

A Working Definition

After a long preamble that began in the previous blog, I am now ready to finally answer the question: what is (public) theology? More specifically, how do I define it and use it here in this blog. I don’t claim that it is the authoritative definition but a working definition nonetheless. So here it goes:

Public theology is prayerful reflection flowing out of love of God for the world as a way to instill hope and longing for the good planet.

I submit this definition for consideration as a starting point. In the next blogs, I’ll break down this definition to expand on each part.

What is Theology? (Hint: it is NOT what you think)

In my seminary years, I was often amused by people’s reactions when I told them I was studying theology. Some looked confused, others elated, some indifferent while others awkwardly tried to change the subject. The standard assumption was that I was training to be a pastor or a priest. That is true for about half of those who enter seminary today. However, theology is much more than preparing to serve in a Christian church. In this series of blogs, I would like to dive into defining this term in a hope to set a baseline of understanding on the topic while also dispelling some myths.

Christian or Religious

As I step into a multi-cultural cyber space, I cannot start defining theology without first addressing the question of sources. At face value, theology means “the study of God” or the “divine.” This immediately begs the question: which conception of God? Different cultures speak of a higher being through diverse conceptions. We often assign this type of thinking to the broad term of religion. So, is theology religious thinking?

I would contend that it is not. Theology proper as a discipline emerged in the West within the Judeo-Christian school of thought. This is not take away from thinking emerging from other religious contexts. In fact, one could argue that theology has been developed in at least all the Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Islam and Judaism). For the purposes of this blog, I am narrowing it to Christian theology. It would be disingenuous not to do so when that is the tradition from which I am rooted in and have studied for all my life. This is not a matter of legitimacy but only of narrowing the scope and of expertise.

Does that mean that theology is irrelevant to non-Christians? I would disagree. It is true that Christian and a non-Christian will approach theology differently. However, I firmly believe that theological thinking has something to say to all humanity, regardless of ethnicity or religious background. That also means that it must be open to scrutiny from the outside as well. If cannot be transmitted as an imposition but as a proposal at the common table of humanity. It cannot be the ultimate arbiter of truth in a multicultural public place but it certainly can and should have a voice.

What (Christian) Theology is NOT

Theology is not ministry. As my anecdote above illustrates, the most common misconception is to associate theology narrowly with the pastoral profession. Candidates to the ministry do study theology along with other disciplines. However, studying theology does not in itself prepares one for ministry. At its best, it offers a mental framework that undergirds the work of ministry. It can provide a cohesive worldview from which the minister can operate from. Yet, to do that well, the minister needs practice, mentoring and other skills beyond what theology offers.

If theology is not ministry, one can often confuse it with doctrine (church teaching) or dogma. This is especially true in reformed circles. Doctrine has to do with teachings of the church passed on through time. While not always, they often denote rigid statements of belief which serve primarily to define the boundaries of what is Christian and what is not. Also, they often emerged through the the history of the church when disagreements arose about a new idea or practice.

This is not to say that theology and doctrine are mutually exclusive. Doctrinal statements both spring from and inform theological thinking. The main difference is not as much of content but of orientation. Doctrine is meant to be a conclusion while theology is meant to be a question. That is, doctrines are often developed to settle debates. Theology, and healthy theology at that, aims to continually raise questions. It is constantly evolving and it is often times independent from the institutional church.

Finally, theology is not biblical interpretation. This is a common misconception in the evangelical culture I grew up in. In fact, in some circles, theology was seen as unnecessary given that all we need is in the Bible. That is gross myopic misconception of both what theology is and what the Bible is for. Christian theology often flows from, emerges and in some cases start from the biblical text. However, healthy theology also wrestles with and challenges the text. While the Bible is crucial source for theology it certainly not the only one. They both seek to make sense of the divine and the Bible carries a historical legitimacy and authority that theology often lacks. With that said, it is important to differentiate the two.

Theology is a way to make sense of the Biblical text. In fact, I believe no one approaches the Bible without some theological framework. Theology is the path to connect the dots of areas that the Bible is silent or even where the text transmits diverging ideas. Theology enriches biblical interpretation while the Bible grounds theology.

Conclusion

So far, I have only described what theology is not. You may wonder: “So, what is it?” I will present a working definition in the next blog. Yet, that would have not been possible before addressing the confusion around this term. I hope this short listing of what is not can clear the way for re-discovering theology anew. I firmly believe in re-introducing theology in the public sphere as we move towards a Post-Christendom society (one where Christianity is no longer the official religion). In order to do that, the first step is rejecting assumptions that are often taken for granted. Only then can we start formulating it as a source hope and wisdom for our planet.