Doctrine and Theology aren't new. You haven't reinvented the wheel.

-

 What has become Christian theology has always been debated. It was hashed out and formed over years of treatise writing and attempts at rhetorical persuasion that led to the creeds and interpretations we have today. 

To think there is one simple all encompassing and easily understood theology that answers all problems and questions is the height of hubris.

We lean into interpretation and understanding informed by our experiences and overall understanding. Early theologians and church fathers are amazing examples of this. We have regional variances. We have philosophical differences (Plato, the stoics, and the cynics were all often competing influences). And we have strongly various represented priorities.

How did the ancient church handle this? Debates. Then a vote. Then a declaration of what was doctrine and what was heresy.

It still happens today.  And it's not new.

The debates over what we call Christian or not wouldn't surprise the early church fathers, the wouldn't surprise leaders during the east-west schism, and it wouldn't surprise religious and political leaders during the reformation. 

Why do we think that we're special now? That research has removed us from the influence of experience, priorities, new translations, and charismatic leadership. 

We're just like the past. Hopefully we can learn to live better and with less conflict than they did.

I think growing up Mormon simultaneously isolated and inoculated me from some of the depth of the discourse of what is and isn't Christian. We were never included in the discussion cause we were always told we weren't Christian. I always found that hilarious because I believed in Christ so strongly. I didn't understand how people couldn't see that.

Now I can. And I've finally moved past the frustrating feelings of inadequacy that accompany feeling misrepresented in my faith.

I now realize both that there has been a long history of nontrinitarian belief and of calling it heretical. Arianism exists. Unitarians exist. This wasn't new and it's not unique. And that makes me feel less small and less alone in the best of ways. 

I know there are disputes and disagreements about scripture and canon. Learning about the Apocrypha, how and what to use has deepened my faith.

Having leadership guide and direct us. Not new right. We have a prophet. There's also a pope. We have have bishops and elders, so do so many people.

My faith is not "better" than anyone else's. I have to have the humility and holy envy to always remember that. I hope other people do too. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Feeble Attempt at Building Bridges and Hoping to be Understood

-
Image
This is my feeble (if long-winded) attempt at bridge building and understanding. I started this piece weeks ago. I shelved it after the Charlie Kirk assassination. I picked it back up after President Nelson passed and then had a night where I could stop writing here and elsewhere following the shooting and arson of the chapel in Grand Blanc. I'd be lying if this was easy to commit to paper. But I have to. Rarely have I felt this level of compulsion to write. To share what I have to say.  Let me try. Here's a start. My faith is not what it once was. Surety has been replaced by hope. Which probably isn't a bad thing. The focus is more on fundamentals of belief and the actions they bring.  I have absolutely struggled with the theology, doctrines, practices, policies, and culture surrounding the faith of my youth. I'm open and honest about that. But I worry that's not always returned. The honest assessment that we all struggle with the teachings and guidance of such a l...
Read more

Guns

-
Image
I own an AR-15. I built it from parts. More assembled it than built it. But that's how you put them together. Especially when you've spent a long time determining how you want to configure your rifle, what the use case(s) would be, and what makes sense to you as the user.  It's a facsimile of a dissipator. 16 inch barrel with full length rifle sights. But instead of a full rifle length gas system it has a mid length gas system hanging out under the handguard. Which instead of an A1 or A2 guard is a Magpul MOE. I run it with iron sights, just cause that's fun to do. Now to many people the writing of those paragraphs would paint me as holding very specific policy plans and goals. But there in lies the rub. The complexity and experience of being someone who owns firearms, really likes them, but thinks we can do more as a society to address the issues they cause.  I started writing this last year and kept stopping and starting. I couldn't ignore various events and the p...
Read more

Sleepless nights can be for praying

-
Image
 Dear God, What are we going to do? I fret. I worry. I toss and turn. I can't lose the sleep that I'm not having. It's a forgone conclusion.  So I'm just talking. Without thinking. Letting these thoughts race.  There are too many suffering. Too many worrying. So much more than me. I have been given much alongside my trials, my tribulations, my sorrows. I can't ever lose sight of that. But tonight. These days. I struggle to go to work without shaking. I struggle to concentrate. And I don't think I'm alone.  I may be considered a snowflake for this. A bleeding heart. That's just who I am. I care.  I know these prayers are usually private. That's the way I was raised. And in my streams of consciousness that's usually how it goes. But right not my heart is breaking. And words on a page makes the most sense to me. Is cathartic. Necessary for me. What can I do? Other than shouting in the void. Other than the limited work I keep doing day after day.  It...
Read more