Question: Which of your beliefs has changed that made the label “Evangelical” no longer correct for you?
This is a difficult question to answer in brief. However, I shall make an attempt. I will preface this by saying that I consider myself, in part, an Anabaptist who is on a slow pilgrimage toward the Orthodox Church. However, I admit I am in the desert, so to speak, on a journey between lands. I really enjoy it here and am in no rush.
It is also worth noting that I have retained the core elements of Anabaptism: Jesus as the very centre of faith, Jesus is the revelation of who God is, social justice and peace as inseparable from the Gospel, the importance of learning and discipleship in community, non-violence, and loving others generously—to name a few. Meanwhile, I have attempted to divest myself of the Evangelical elements and influences that invariably crept into the churches I attended as a youth.
I no longer believe that God is like Zeus. By this, I mean I no longer believe that God is an enraged deity who harbours a barely restrained hatred for His creation. I believe that Jesus Christ is God and reveals exactly who God is and what God is like: God’s very core essence is Divine Love.
I no longer believe that God was punishing Jesus on the Cross as a substitute for the punishment He wanted to pour out on humanity in an enraged, murderous fit of wrath. This an unworthy depiction of the Creator God who is Love and who wants to restore humanity to a complete and peaceful wholeness of mind, body, and spirit.
I believe that in the Incarnation, Life, Death, and Resurrection, Jesus Christ revealed the full reality of who God is and what God is like. I believe that Christ overcame Death and Sin thus restoring to humanity the ability to be restored to God in an unhindered, completely open and free relationship. Because of this, we are invited to be transformed and transfigured as the image and likeness of God within us is freed to become like Christ.
This journey, I believe, is ongoing and perhaps unending. Why is this important? Because I no longer believe that the point of the Gospel is to avoid hell and get to heaven. In fact, I find this such a shallow definition that it borders on offensive. The message of the Gospel is that we are saved from Death and Sin so that we are restored, redeemed, and renewed to the fullness of connection with God that He has always intended for us.
I no longer believe that we can say “God is Love… but”. Christ is the Viewpoint through which we look at all of Scripture—from Genesis to Revelation. God is revealed in Jesus as the One who pours out all of Himself for the sake of others, creation, and all of reality, in a supreme act of Love. Thus, we must consider the stories, depictions, and words of Scripture in the light of Who Christ Is.
I no longer believe that we read the Bible as a flat, court-like dictation. We must acknowledge that there are human voices in the writings, doing human things, and expressing human biases. Let me be clear: I believe the Bible is the sacred revelation of the story of God. I also believe when we read it through Christ as our Viewpoint we discover a far richer collection of writings than we can if we treat the Bible as something divine in and of itself. Questions and discussions are what bring Scripture to life. Where this is not permitted, the Bible loses its ability to speak because the role of the community and Holy Spirit are shut down.
I no longer believe that God’s intention is to condemn billions upon billions of human beings to an eternal place of torture.
I no longer believe that God is violent—ever: Not in the past, the present, nor the future.
I no longer believe that God withholds love from anyone based on their gender, sexuality, race, religion, or any other categories. I believe that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again for all of humanity.
I no longer believe—and never have—that God endorses any political power over another. In fact, I think God opposes the oppressive political powers and always stands with the weak, the marginalized, the persecuted, and the vulnerable. Equating a particular political ideology with Christianity as though they are intertwined is, in my opinion, wrong. In fact, I would go so far as to say it grieves the Holy Spirit.
Question: If you are no longer an “Evangelical,” where does your belief in and experience of the Charismatic fit?
This is such a great question. I love Holy Spirit and I deeply value the obvious presence and ministry of the Spirit. As I have walked my pilgrimage out of the Evangelical stream, I wondered if I would lose this aspect of my Christian experience. However, what I discovered and learned is that the Charismatic reality of the spiritual gifts belong to the Church—not to a narrow cross-section. In fact, my personal experience of the spiritual gifts I have been given have deepened and become more mature.
I believe this is because my theology became unapologetically rooted in God as Love and as the apostle Paul teaches us, it is Love that makes the spiritual gifts powerful and worthwhile. As I have spent time in the Orthodox Church, I have discovered that their services are filled with the Presence of God as deeply as any Charismatic Church. It appears differently because it is a liturgical service but it is in no way “less.”
I hesitate to go into too much detail, but I will share that I often experience the gift of tongues during the Divine Liturgy, I hear God’s voice speaking words of comfort, encouragement, and insight. I have heard many stories of divine healing (even one very recently from the person who was healed). I continually encounter the charismatic gifts of hospitality, wisdom, teaching, and prophetic insight. All of this occurred completely outside of the evangelical/charismatic churches. It was arrogance on my part in the past to think that the Charismatic reality of the Spirit’s Presence and Gifts existed only within such a small part of the Bride of Christ. I am happy to report that the Charismatic gifts and presence of Holy Spirit are alive and well beyond the walls of Evangelicalism.
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