Biblicism and The Teen Exodus
This is a story of two quotes and the way they intertwine.
While reading part three of Daniel Kirk’s review of The Bible Made Impossible
“This brings us to something Smith mentions only briefly but that, to me, is the most important reason we have to get beyond evangelical biblicism: it is pastorally disastrous.
Students who believe in this kind of Bible but then leave the world that makes it plausible by going to, say, a public university or a differently oriented seminary or, worst of all a PhD program and there encounter the real Bible for the first time–well, they lose their faith. Or, they have to go through so much intellectual reconfiguring of their faith that its persistence stands in question.”
I’ve seen this as well, in others and in myself. When the Bible I was presented – Bible as handbook to life, theological encyclopedia, instruction manual, etc. – turned out to look quite unlike the Bible we actually have, it took years to make peace with my newly reordered faith.
In some ways, I’m still working through the after effects of that shift. And while it has ended up strengthening and maturing my faith, for many it does the opposite.
Case in point, this study.
“New research by the Barna Group finds they view churches as judgmental, overprotective, exclusive and unfriendly towards doubters. They also consider congregations antagonistic to science and say their Christian experience has been shallow…
…Researchers found that almost three out of five young Christians (59 percent) leave church life either permanently or for an extended period of time after age 15.”
I wonder how many of the teens and 20-somethings walking out the doors of the church are doing so, at least in part, because of the results of biblicism.
They are taught that the Bible must be this or that, and that if (your issue here ______ ) is true the Bible isn’t.
Then they go into the world and see the intellectual sacrifices they are being asked to make, and walk away from the whole thing, all while we blame secularism instead of our our failure to properly teach and equip them in light of the Bible we actually have instead of the Bible we’ve imagined for ourselves.
Not that this is the only reason, but it’s a big one, because especially for evangelicals what we imagine the Bible to be will inevitably shape the way we understand church, mission, and piety.
So if the Bible is a handbook to life, we hold mens Bible studies and act like reading the right passage together will magically fix our marriages, and if we think the Bible is a theological encyclopedia we spend our time digging for “exegetical gems” amid the dross of the text. And then when attending the men’s group doesn’t fix our marriage, and the ‘exegetical gems” become harder and harder to fit together, we think the Bible has failed us.
But perhaps if we had an honest conversation about the sort of Bible we have, we could start to engage it in a way that brings hope, and passion, and curiosity, and life, instead of confusion and false promises.
Because the way we are doing it right now is, as Daniel said, pastorally disastrous.
No argument from me on this one, Mason. But I think the issue is greater than our Biblicism alone.
I teach Intro to NT and Intro to OT at a small Christian University from time to time. These classes are filled with freshmen and sophomores–18 or 19 years old. Most of them are “church kids,” open and eager to learn, yet nearly totally unaware of the scriptures at all. They are Sunday-school all stars, who have memorized the books of the Bible, or individual verses, yet hey have no grasp of the Biblical narrative, or how to study the scriptures. They’ve been told, “the Bible says . . . ” and have believed what they are told without ever reading the Bible! They have never (never!) engaged in simple actions like, say, reading all of Philippians from start to finish. They do not know the difference between OT poetry or NT narrative.
A second (and final) point. In my experience most young adults walk away from the entire church culture, not just our Biblicism. They see the gap between life and faith as demonstrated in the church. They see many inconsistencies in the lives of their church family–most especially lack of love and acceptance, and not surprisingly, they leave. Who can blame them?
I’d certainly agree that there is more too it than Biblicism, but there isn’t less, and I think many of those issues you pointed towards are deeply connected to how we use the Bible and understand what sort of book it is. Why read the larger narrative for example, if the book is simply a collection of commands/promises-of-the-day/doctrinal points?
True that!
I feel exactly the same way, Mason, and I’m still working through it. I am still knee deep in trying to figure out how to read the Bible and what it means in my life after de-converting from the new Calvinism 3-5 years ago. Sometimes I feel like there are toxic elements in my understanding that will handicap me from ever being able to read with a clear conscience again. I am praying and hoping that isn’t true.
David,
I wrestle with that as well, there are topics or even whole passages that I can’t read without it becoming an exercise in working through my baggage. But, over time, I’m slowly seeing things without those grids and debates determining everything, and I hope the same will be true of your journey here.
Also – do you have a specific post addressing your experience in the neo-Reformed community?
Not a specific post, no. I’ve talked about Calvinism tangentially within other posts, and I’ve talked about leaving that church, but since the pastors and several other atttendees from the church we were at read my blog, I’ve had to be very careful with how I discuss that period in my life.
However, this latest Driscoll mess has been a bit of a watershed moment between us, and I think I might start discussing things more plainly. I still love those people I went to church with, but to be completely honest, I think I’ve been living too much in fear of them, still trying for their approval, and it’s not doing anyone any favors.
Well if you’d would feel more comfortable writing about it away from your blog at first, I’d be happy to open up a day here for you to guest post.
I would love that, Mason. Thanks! I need some time though to think through what would need to be expressed. Even though we’ve left that church, we are still in the process of disentangling ourselves and trying to figure out what those friendships mean and the shape they’re going to take going forward. I will let you know when I am ready to look at doing this. I really appreciate you suggesting it.
in the town where i live, kids can go to a christian activity five days in a week–yet most of these kids will graduate from their faith and only a small fraction would we consider hiring as summer staff at our christian camp, because their faith is a mile wide and an inch deep.
youth ministry and the Church at large is lacking in discipleship. too often we make faith about sitting, listening and right answers when it’s the active practice of reorienting one’s whole life toward Christ.
i grew up believing that scripture was God’s Word without the ancillary promises of it being tidy or easy to digest. having had a largely positive experience in the Church and all its cultural shapes, i have a bit more hope:)
Suzannah,
May have asked this before, but what sort of Church tradition did you grow up in? I’m consistently encouraged by the experience you had, gives some hope that it doesn’t have to look like what I’ve often seen.
i grew up in the PC(USA) church. although it has a reputation for being quite liberal, (and the exodus toward the Evangelical Free seems to confirm that), there are still many congregations that are traditionally conservative and desire unity over schism.
now we’re part of an episcopal church, and just after we joined it became embattled in its own should-we-stay-or-should-we-go-now controversy. i don’t even know why i mention this–except to say all churches have their drama. i don’t want to come off like little miss sunshine:)
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This is the first of your blogs I’ve read, so forgive me if you’ve already explained this, but I heard you speak about the Bible you were handed by your church tradition and the Bible we actually have and I would love to hear your definition of the Bible we actually have. You spoke of the Bible not being a theological text or a handbook on how to live life and I’m curious what you view the Bible as, if that makes sense. Thanks for the discussion!
Well the Bible was presented to me as a mish-mash of things, but all of it came back to it being a static repository of timeless truths. Some of those truths were theological, so the Bible became a theological encyclopedia. Some of those truths had to do with everyday life so you could find “Biblical” diets, or dating advice, or what have you.
I don’t think the Bible works that way though, any many of the ways we use it are unhelpful at best.
Instead I view the Bible primarily as a narrative. A true narrative, but one in which teachings and events make sense as part of the larger story of each book and the Bible as a whole. So there is progression from one part to the next, narrative arch, and what was fitting in act one or act two is not always fitting in act four.
If you’d like to dig into this a bit more I’d highly recommend this essay by N.T. Wright “How Can the Bible be Authoritative” http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Bible_Authoritative.htm