OPINION:
Dear Dr. E: I hear a lot about “Deconstruction” today in the big evangelical churches. Many pastors and Christian authors seem to imply this is a good thing. They are even comparing the current “deconstruction” movement to the Reformation and saying that this is healthy for the church and Christianity and that without “deconstruction,” we wouldn’t even have a Protestant church today. Can you comment on this and help us understand whether the move to “deconstruct” contemporary Christianity is a good or bad thing? — SINCERELY SEEKING CHRIST FROM SANTA BARBARA
Dear Sincerely Seeking: One of the best sources on Christian deconstruction I have read recently is the book written by Alisa Childers and Tim Barnett. It’s titled “The Deconstruction of Christianity: What it is, Why it Matters, and How to Respond.” It is excellent, and I highly recommend that you read it. Here’s just a brief excerpt that addresses your question:
“One popular claim from deconstructionists is that deconstruction ’has long been seen as a healthy expression of Christian faithfulness.’ As proof, we’re told to just ask Martin Luther.
“Martin Luther is famous for challenging the Church on what he saw as serious abuses and initiating the Protestant Reformation. Many deconstructionists compare what they are doing with what Luther did: reforming. For example, Derek Webb, former lead singer of the Christian band Caedmon’s Call, [recently] tweeted, ’Deconstructing is part of reforming. I’d like to think your church deacons would be comforted knowing that we’re following the Reformation’s cry of semper reformanda (always reforming), calling out teachings and practices that the Church should repent of and leave behind.’ But is that what’s actually happening? Are deconstructionists just doing what the Reformers did?
“Always reforming (Latin: semper reformanda) is an expression many Christians are familiar with, though few know where it comes from. Theologian Michael Horton traces the phrase back to a devotional book written by Jodocus van Lodenstein, a Dutch Reformer, in 1674. The whole Latin phrase is ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda secundum verbi Dei, which means ’the church is Reformed and always being reformed according to the Word of God.’ The last part of the sentence is significant. The Church isn’t always reforming to keep up with contemporary culture or to get rid of old, dusty orthodoxy. Rather, it is always being reformed according to Scripture. That’s what the Protestant Reformation was all about.”
Childers and Webb continue: “Although the process wasn’t always tidy in its execution, the goal was to remove aspects of Christianity that had deviated from divine revelation. There would have been no Reformation without Scripture. The Reformers… weren’t responsible for reforming the Church. The Word of God reformed the Church. The purpose of the Reformers was to recover the original, not tear everything down, and create something new. [As] Pastor Kevin DeYoung says, ’The moto of the Reformation was not Forward but Backward – as in back to the sources!’ But that ultimate source of truth is God’s Word, not something else. DeYoung concludes: ’Semper reformanda is not about constant fluctuations but about firm foundations. It is about radical adherence to the Holy Scriptures, no matter the cost to ourselves, our traditions, or our own fallible sense of cultural relevance… The only Reformation worth promoting and praying for is the one that gets us deeper into our Bibles, not farther away.’
SEE ALSO: Ask Dr. E: Can we really trust what is in the Bible?
Childers and Webb summarize all this by asking this key question: “Is deconstructionism [like that of] Derek Webb encouraging people to be constantly reforming in light of Scripture? No… What [Webb] describes as deconstruction isn’t reforming according to God’s Word; it’s rejecting God’s Word. That’s not what Luther did. And that’s not what early Christians did. For example, the Bereans were commended because they ’were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so’ (Acts 17:11). The Bereans only ’received’ Paul’s message after seeing if it lined up with Scripture.”
So, here’s the take-home in answering your question: “When Christians find themselves struggling with questions about their faith, a better practice is Reformation, not deconstruction… Deconstruction is a process of rethinking your faith without requiring Scripture as a standard. By contrast, Reformation is the process of correcting mistaken beliefs to make them align with Scripture. The key distinction is the role God’s Word plays in the process.”
C.S. Lewis was quite clear about all this when he warned about the dangers of elevating our subjective selves above the objective Word of God. “Unless the measuring rod is independent of the things measured,” said Lewis, “we can do no measuring.” The measuring rod of Christianity is the Bible, not Derek Webb, not you, and not me. All today’s deconstructionists are doing is tearing the house of God down without any hope of rebuilding anything that makes any sense.
If you are seeking guidance in today’s changing world, Higher Ground is there for you. Everett Piper, a Ph.D. and a former university president and radio host, takes your questions in his weekly ’Ask Dr. E’ column. If you have moral or ethical questions for which you’d like an answer, please email askeverett@washingtontimes.com and he may include it in a future column.
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