Deconstruction versus Construction
Please don’t take this the wrong way, but hear me out. There’s a “new” fad out there called “Faith Deconstruction.” It is a horrible concept. Horrible. Not knowing how widespread it has or will become, it is still an old and worn technique, “a rose by any other name” still has thorns. This approach most likely will simply replace one bad strategy with another. It is like trading in one junker just to buy another piece of junk. It is like digging a hole deeper so you can climb out. Trading one bad concept for another, especially regarding the Bible, this can be a very tragic decision.
What seems to have instigated this “movement” is the misconceptions of Bible words that have been twisted into something they are not meant to convey. That is a sad thing, a very sad thing. For example, “faith,” as it has come to be understood, only means indoctrinated religious, scientific, or philosophical mindsets we have been taught to accept uncritically. Mindsets can be stubborn little things and keep people from any path toward discovery. For example, in the original Greek language there is a very important suffix not usually carried over to English Bible translations. So, when I read the word “faith,” it sometimes has lost its suffix, but it actually becomes “faithfulness.” To save time, I always interlace those two choices while reading Scripture to see which one makes more sense, more in line with the text or context. The best example I discovered is in the Scripture “Have the faith of God.” Impossible I would assume. Wouldn’t you? Really? Have God’s faith? But this reading of the same verse, “Have the faithfulness of God.” is certainly a target everyone can shoot for. Right?
“Belief” is another one of what I call “religious words,” that is to say, commonly used words that have become virtually meaningless or rather, impracticable. To make this more clear, allow me to use the negative, “unbelief.” The five dollar word for “unbelief” is “cynicism.” Unbelief is also referred to as “hardness of heart” or “slow[ness] to understand.” The Grecians thought of the inner person as “mind” while the Hebrews thought of the inner person as “heart.” Apply both to see what I mean. It really helps. Both perspectives of unbelief simply mean cynicism.
Anyways, what the Bible ‘s Gospel entails is self-reflection, taking responsibility for one’s thoughts and actions. We are supposed to turn from them, “to repent,” and to turn to God. What happens in true repentance? We are trading in our ways and their consequences for God’s ways and their consequences. The consequences of God’s ways are beyond wonderful, and they are free for the asking. That’s why it’s called the “Good News of Jesus.” Not only that, but we are trading walking around by ourselves in some dark forest to walking with Jesus on a well lit path.
This all might look similar to “faith deconstruction,” but “the devil is in the details.” The Gospel idea of repentance means God changing us by the renewing of our minds, meeting us where we are, freeing up our ways of thinking, as one Gospel song attests “breaking every chain.” We are given guidance in the ways we handle troubles. We are provided an “ever present help in times of trouble.” We receive down payments on our ultimate destiny, the home prepared for the Believer. By using the ongoing, interactive, dynamic, and personal relationship granted as a gift from God, we seek the new construct, slowly rebuilding our new home. Believers are not evicted, but we are given the choice of relocating, not being forcibly moved out. That’s been my experience anyways.
“See to it that nobody enslaves you with philosophy and foolish deception, which conform to human traditions and the way the world thinks and acts rather than Christ.” (Colossians 2:8 CEBA), and “You abandon the commandments of God to follow human traditions.” (Mark 7:8 GW)
What I am trying to emphasize is that the Bible blueprint is not “deconstruction.” Neither is it a wrecking ball. The person who you are is not destroyed somehow. It does not throw out all engineering principles and grab some wrinkled old sketches from the waste basket. It demolishes the shaky foundation. It uses “tried and true” building techniques and hires a referenced, recommended professional contractor who has the know-how and experience to design the new house strong, to build it right, and to build it to last forever…
Please don’t waste your money on “deconstruction.” Invest in reading the Bible for yourself and hiring the right people to answer all your questions. And be forewarned, there are a lot of fly-by-night scammers out there.
