On the Importance of Doing Theology

A few days ago I turned in my term paper for a course called Apocalyptic Thought in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Apocalyptic literature is a genre of literature that concerns visions or prophecies of the end times. The Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Book of Revelation in the New Testament are the two most famous examples of apocalyptic literature in the Judeo-Christian tradition. But the notion of an apocalypse is not limited to Judaism and Christianity. There is actually quite a long and rich history of apocalypticism. The course I took examined apocalyptic developments within the Mayan and Aztec civilizations, Native American tribes, African tribes, and a number of more contemporary religious groups, including Jonestown, Aum Shinrikyo, the Branch Davidians, and Heaven's Gate. Many of these fringe apocalyptic groups are labeled "cults."

I wrote my term paper on ex-cult respiritualization. In other words, what happens to an ex-cult member's spirituality when he or she leaves a cult and re-enters mainstream society? One landmark study suggested that the majority of these people join fundamentalist churches. Just so we're all on the same page, here's a pretty good definition of "fundamentalism," courtesy of dictionary.com:

fun·da·men·tal·ism: a movement in American Protestantism that arose in the early part of the 20th century in reaction to modernism and that stresses the infallibility of the Bible not only in matters of faith and morals but also as a literal historical record, holding as essential to Christian faith belief in such doctrines as the creation of the world, the virgin birth, physical resurrection, atonement by the sacrificial death of Christ, and the Second Coming.

It was not terribly surprising to me that ex-cult members end up in these kinds of churches. Cults tend to manifest many of these same characteristics: a rejection of modernism/secularism, the infallibility of particular people (e.g. the cult leader) or texts, rigid adherence to particular doctrines, etc. Because of these similarities, it is a much easier transition from a cult to a fundamentalist church.

One of the things I learned throughout the course and throughout my research for this paper was just how destructive cults are to individuals within the cult. In almost every case, cult members are brainwashed to believe that they have no value outside the cult, that everyone outside the cult is damned, and that thinking too much or questioning the cult leader's claims will lead them astray and jeopardize their salvation. These are the kinds of claims that someone leaving a cult will need to overcome in order to find healing.

Do fundamentalist churches provide this kind of healing? Given the similarities between cults and fundamentalist churches, I argued that fundamentalist churches only perpetuate the kind of thinking individuals are exposed to in a cult and do not provide a clean enough break from these kinds of destructive claims. In his essay on "Guidelines for Clergy" in a book called Recovery from Cults, Richard Dowhower writes that ex-cult members must learn how to do theology, what he describes as "engag[ing] in a thinking, feeling process by which the person reflects upon the ultimate meaning of his or her own life experience, and articulates that meaning in a rational and consistent manner." Rather than being force-fed doctrine without any sort of critical reflection, individuals must learn to formulate their own beliefs in a way that is consistent with their own life experiences. He goes on:

The immediate objective is to raise, develop, and heighten the spiritual gift of discernment. Persons whose spirituality matures and develops in a consistent manner are able to discern the difference between the spirits: those legitimately attributable to God and those that are not…. I proceed from the assumption that there are claims to truth that are theologically respectable on the basis of internal coherence, validation in the history of religious thought, and the capacity to give meaning to life experience. Most groups known to be intentionally destructive have truth claims, or theologies, that are wanting.

Often times the groups that require rigid adherence to particular beliefs do so because they know that critical reflection about these doctrines will lead people to disbelief. They mandate belief in order to prevent people from thinking too hard and realizing how inconsistent and irrational their belief systems really are. Dowhower rightly upholds the existence and validity of truth claims that are rational and consistent with one's life experiences and the history of religious thought. But we must always be free to test these truth claims against reason, life experience, and the history of religious thought. If we find something in these truth claims that doesn't make sense, or doesn't conform to what we know to be true based on our experience, or that diverges wildly from what centuries of religious people have claimed to be true, then there is good reason to reject these claims. Doing theology is the process of testing the reasonability and consistency of one's claims to truth.

Fundamentalist churches may be safe places for ex-cult members, but I think these churches walk a fine line between mandating uncritical acceptance of questionable beliefs and allowing individuals the freedom to think critically about what they believe. Regardless, doing theology and engaging in critical thinking are essential to one's spiritual health.

Taxes and "Income Redistribution"

Watch this clip of Bill O'Reilly's interview with Hillary Clinton. If you're pressed for time, fast-forward to around 2:00 to hear what Bill has to say about "income redistribution":

In case you can't or didn't watch it, here's what he says:

You're going to raise taxes on the wealthy and that's income redistribution. You know what that is. And income redistribution is why some conservatives don't like you. Alright? It's because you take from the wealthy and you give to the less affluent. That's socialism....

I always think it is so fascinating to hear people like Bill O'Reilly--people who are so adamant about preserving so-called Christian "moral values"--reject any proposal that seeks to offer support to the poor in our society. Concern for the poor is one of the most fundamental themes in the Bible. In Acts 4:32-35, for example, we are given a description of the earliest Christian community that formed in the years immediately following Jesus' death and resurrection:

³²Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. ³³With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. ³⁵They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

Here's what The People's New Testament Commentary has to say about this passage:

Luke [the author of Acts] wants to show that the teaching of Jesus was not merely an ideal but was concretely practiced.... The picture of authentic discipleship presented here is the antithesis of the view that Christian faith brings wealth and success. Faith results in giving, not in getting.... It is Luke's way of holding before the reader a picture of discipleship in which Jesus' own lack of selfishness and his concern for others was actually realized. His true followers did what the rich young ruler refused to do (Luke 18:18-30).

If you're not familiar with the story of Luke 18:18-30, here's a brief recap: A young ruler asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him he must obey the commandments, and the ruler replies, "I have kept all these since my youth." What follows is the part that is important for our discussion:

²²When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” ²³But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. ²⁴Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

The rich young ruler had kept all the commandments, but the thought of distributing his wealth to the poor was just too much. Sound familiar, Bill O'Reilly? In Acts 4:32-35, we are shown a community that has learned its lesson from this story of the rich young man. Everyone shares everything in common, and nobody is in need. It may be a utopian picture, but it's in our scripture, so we can't just throw it out.

Concern for the poor is a theme that runs throughout both the Old and the New Testaments. The prophets of the Old Testament are especially vocal about caring for the poor. Here's Amos:

^6:4Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; ⁵who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music; ⁶who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! ⁷Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.

Amos was really, really upset:

^8:4Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land.... ⁷The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. ⁸Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who lives in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt? ⁹On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight. ¹⁰I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.

The prophet Micah sums up the prophets' message in 6:8: "He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Unless you're Bill O'Reilly, apparently, in which case it's perfectly acceptable to despise the poor and horde your wealth.