Repenting of Certainty: Great Reformation 5.0

4) Repenting of Certainty:
Post 4 of 6 on my list of reforms in honor of the 500th anniversary of the protestant reformation. The first word is repenting of Christendom, which is a reformation of power. The second word is repenting of Capitalism, which is a reformation of trust. The third word is repenting of Consumerism , which is a reformation of identity. Today’s word is repenting of Certainty, which is a reformation of authority.

Here is the big idea: The myth of Certainty has eroded social, moral, and institutional authority because it is incorrigible. (We are right, we know we are right, and our energy is directed at defending our rightness). We have religious incorrigibility and political incorrigibility and this has lead to a disintegration of public trust and cooperation. Any hope of rebuilding a sense of social cohesion and capital moving forward will come from institutions that demonstrate wisdom and corrigibility. “Don’t trust us because we say we know everything…we don’t. Here are our systems that help us make course corrections. We will be transparent with our failures. We ask for forgiveness. We invite your input. We value how to learn and grow. We value communal discernment over doctrinal and ideological defending. We value corrigibility over certainty. And most of all…We are FOR human and creational flourishing for all people in all places.

Luther’s reformation, 500 years ago, emerged in the space between Copernicus and Galileo. The discoveries of these great scientific pioneers destabilized the authority of the institutional church. The church was no longer seen as the single mediating voice in defining reality for the masses. Likewise, the heart of Luther’s reform was a challenge that undermined the authority of the Pope and magisterium with his famous appeal to Sola Scriptura (The Bible as authority). The revolutionary shift from “Papal to Paper” authority was later mirrored in the political sphere in the revolutionary moves from Kings to Constitutions. 

Luther’s Sola Scriptura came of age with the science of Isaac Newton. Newton gave us fixed laws that would help us build the modern world. We could now finally graduate from a magical world-view to one of metaphysical and epistemological objectivity. We could know things. We could know them reliably. We could know for ourselves and know for certain how the world works and how to master it. The children of the enlightenment were optimistic and confident that the age of reason would usher in a brave new world. Authority was democratized and rational.

Faith in this environment was valid to the degree that it was reason-able. Rationale theological systems and arguments for God became the curricular responsibility and goal of religious education. Clergy were credible and licensed according to their ability to articulate right beliefs. Doctrinal certainty and rationality became the religious by-products of the modern era. Certainty and perceived religious authority were directly proportional. Being a Christian was primarily about believing in beliefs…the right beliefs…and our religious institutions were certain about this. To the degree that we were certain, was the degree of authority we possessed in proclaiming our authority in knowing for certain. We had created one big self-reinforcing circular argument of legitimacy.

“Just as there are physical laws that govern the physical universe, so there are spiritual laws that govern your relationship with God”. This is how Bill Bright’s famous gospel tract opens. It is thoroughly Newtonian and I had it memorized. The biggest questions of existence could be boiled down to 4 Spiritual Laws. And if you could recite the prayer on page 10, you got saved. Spiritual Cause and Effect was now ready for mass distribution. The laws of science could put a man on the moon, but couldn’t get you to heaven. You needed spiritual laws for that. And thus, the afterlife became the knowledge niche that only religion could fill.

The new sciences of this century have disrupted the stability of the modern world view, in a similar way that the scientific revolution disrupted the pre-modern world view. The universe isn’t closed and fixed after all. It is moving and expanding. The building blocks of the universe aren’t blocks. They are relationships of energy. We can’t know for certain what sub-atomic particles will do. We can only posit probabilities. Now none of this is a slam on past knowing. In fact the discipline of science can teach us how to be more corrigible.* Corrigibility is built into the practice of science. And the new sciences are giving us a needed gift of mystery and humility that faith should have never abandoned. 

Learning that the earth isn’t the center of the universe did not lead to the death of faith 500 years ago. Neither will incorporating a 13.8 billion year old universe or evolution into our growing understanding what it means to be human on this planet. Faith can evolve and mature. I believe it is best to give yourself permission and faith permission to change and grow. This isn’t a weakness. It is how it is supposed to work. You don’t need to fear being wrong. Faith can be a corrigible journey, more than a destination of certainty. As the apostle Paul said, “we see through a mirror, dimly” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Here is the good news. The WITHNESS of God was never dependent on our rationale capacities. The WITHNESS of God is not dependent on our possession of right beliefs. The WITHNESS of God is not dependent upon us at all. The primary question that I have come to ask is whether I am living awake or asleep to the presence of God in me, in you and in all creation. This isn’t a new age guru construction. Read Colossians 1:15-20. I think religious practice can play and is best when it plays a vital role in helping communities wake up and live awake. I think it is its gift. And I want to be apart of helping this gift find its full expression in the world.

I adore the bible, but the bible was never intended to be a Pope. It is a sacred library. It is the testimony of a community pointing to the living word of God. The Living Word who gives expression to a mysterious creational and relational unity of Divine life that shares authority in relationship with human beings. This is a remarkable tradition! And students of Jesus are called to bring this witnessing tradition as a conversation partner with what we see the Spirit doing today. We are called to bring this witness as a conversation partner with science, psychology, and politics, and to family dinners, and other religious traditions. Conversations that will lead to greater discernment in order to make even better decisions that further the shalom of God in the world. Jesus gave his students the authority to “bind and loose” (Matt. 16:19). This is the authority to make decisions and instructed them to continue to learn and grow through discerning the presence of the Spirit who will lead you into all truth (John 16:13).

Religious vitality in the next 500 years will be held in communities of best practices. Holistic centers of mentoring and learning that are experienced in cultivating flourishing lives with God, self, others and creation. Religious authority will be entrusted to those with demonstrated ability to graduate students of transformative love. Authority will be measured and valued in terms of the fruit of the spirit, rather than the certainty of ones beliefs. As Jesus said, “They will know you are my disciples by your love” and “you will be recognized by your fruit” (John 13:35, Matt. 7:16).

Grace and peace everyone,

David

*For more on the current emerging reformation, learning from the corrigibility of Science, Papal to paper authority, and church as school of love, I recommend reading “The Great Spiritual Migration” by Brian McLaren. See also the "Sin of Certainty" by Peter Enns. P.S. I should also add that a good percentage of my post is probably rubbish. I'm just not sure what percent and what parts, but I am open for correction.