How to Speak Christian Correctly
The last post talked about how some Pauline texts see our participation in light as far more than a moral issue, but as participation in God’s gift of life to us. Now let’s draw some conclusions.
Much of our preaching in the United States, of many theological stripes, seems locked into an adversarial approach to the world outside our own circles of belief and practice. Many of us have taken sides that have little to do with the gospel. And some of us have tried to stand above the fray as though we were God, neutral observers of other people’s sins, even when the very survival of downtrodden people is at stake. (We should all go back and read Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” about the white moderates who tried to avoid taking sides and so ended up supporting segregation with all its horrors. We’re repeating the same mistake today.)
Whatever our theological differences, important or trivial, it is too tempting to think of God as a tribal deity whose love is confined to “Us.” The rhetoric of “Us vs. Them” distorts the biblical witness in several ways, stifling its power to promote spiritual growth and healed relationships.
First, this rhetoric fails to understand the multiple possibilities inherent in a metaphor like “darkness and light.” To take our example of Pauline texts, we see the transition from darkness to light as one located in time but ongoing, as an inevitable corollary of God’s redeeming work yet dependent on human choices, and as involving all humanity yet also embracing forces beyond human control. Living in light always requires vigilance and work, yet it is also God’s gift. Only God can bring light out of darkness, and the church cannot limit God’s work to its own projects and priorities.
Second, we see in Paul the use of light and darkness as part of exhortation, imagination-heavy pleas to embrace alternative realities. “Leave darkness” is a call, and an invitation. It must remain that. We should never assume that we have left darkness behind for good. We must exercise vigilance not only about others’ souls, but also about our own. The world cannot reasonably be divided into two permanent camps, with all of those in the “Not Us” group being the same. Light and darkness remain options for everyone at all times. This is why we must choose wisely, including choosing our words carefully so they do not feed the diseases of our culture.
If we wonder why our preaching puts off many people, we should not simply resort to biblical texts that speak of human unwillingness to hear. Many of those texts address the people of God, so they refer at least as much to insiders as to outsiders. Rather, we should ask ourselves if perhaps we have misused the biblical imagery, turning a plea for spiritual maturity into a weapon aimed at those whose hunger for God may be as great as our own. Perhaps the critics of our preaching have found that we have distorted the biblical witness.
Instead of words that help a tiny persecuted minority survive in a hostile world, our preaching has sometimes become the tool by which the large institutional church crushes vulnerable people. The American church must leave its delusion of being a persecuted minority and realize that the darkness often lives within us, not just outside of us. Paul helps us see that important truth. We have the opportunity to learn from him, and the other biblical writers, healthier ways of celebrating God’s mercy and its availability to all. Faithful imagination and courage can lead the way. I hope we will join this greater purpose that Paul set forth so well.
