Religion in the City: Choose a Box

by Chris Craig on Jun 27, 2009 in Religion in the City | 8 comments

He said, “I find your articles hard to read”, when he approached me sitting outside The Chop Shop restaurant in downtown Lakeland. I often find myself winding down after a long day of work, hanging with friends and a burger. And this evening, as I laughed at really bad jokes with friends outside the restaurant, a man walked up and sat down next to me. “I find your articles hard to read, I will put you in a box”. We both laughed for a moment and then he explained that he reads my column each week and he cannot quite figure out what camp I am in. On one hand I say I’m Christian, yet I quote other religions. At the same time I quote religious scriptures, I also speak of them as parable, story or myth.

After quite a long conversation about opinions and views, the man simply asked if I was a liberal or a conservative. I smirked and said “yes!” I believe my calling as child of God is to search out what is truth in stories, what things are right and loving in religious traditions and beliefs. Which often means sifting through religious myths and traditions and determining which ones, today, bring about new life and love and which ones simply need to pass away.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

My struggle has always been that the theologically conservatives say that decisions about what is right and true have already been determined for their followers in our sacred scriptures. The more fundamentalist Christians, Orthodox Jews or extremist Muslims believe that their followers should attend their religious communities, hear their truth, read their truth and then simply live out what their traditions have told them is true. The Quran, Bible and Torah are very clear about which books and beliefs are right and true for their communities. Conservatives would go as far as to say that it is never the role of the believer to pick and choose from their faith or tradition, those choices have already been made for them.

At the same time, the theologically liberal often give the impression that God has no opinion. That people are to simply pick and choose from their traditions at will. That God has left man to create a religion in his own image, establishing belief systems which suits him at the moment. This liberal system gives its believers a life and religious “God light” message. In my opinion, there is nothing worse than listening to a church sermon which has the theme, “I’m okay, you’re okay”!

The reason I answered the man’s question about whether I was conservative or liberal with the word “yes” was because I believe the truth of God’s love and desire for his creation is wrapped up in His relationship with creation moment to moment. The man was right, I am no more conservative than I am liberal. I do not believe in a God which will punish me for choosing what is right, any more than I believe in a God which is absent and who does not care about my choices. I write about a God who embraces Her creation while they are living and discerning what is right, just, and loving in the moment. A God which cries with a mourning mother while she loses her child in the hospital. A God that stands with a soldier as he fights for what he knows is right.

I do not believe in a God which has left His creation alone to live with the choices it has made. The essence of God’s love has to be bigger then a box or book his children want to place Him in. My relationship and understanding of God’s voice in my life cannot be put in a conservative or liberal box. It is through prayer, meditation and research that I am taught and led to discern what traditions, scripture and beliefs need to be kept and which ones need to pass away.

For those of you reading this column and discerning its meaning or lack of meaning for your faith life, don’t let the world put you in a box and don’t put me in one either.

Let us love, not in words or in speech, but in truth and action. (1 John 3:18)