a merry schismatic christmas (part 7)

a lot has happened since i first started this little series. i began it to explore the tensions that often form between family and friends who have different religious and/or political views. i wanted to more deeply understand what perceptions about key philosophical and theological ideas under girded my view of God, humans, this world, jesus, heaven & hell, salvation, and the purpose of being a christian as opposed to those of family and friends. my hope was that i could pinpoint the differences in order to better and more simply explain my views and understanding.

the purpose of doing this is communication. the different perceptions at the root of these tensions do indeed incite the, sometimes ugly, squabbles families and friends may get into over the topics of religion and politics. but many times the real source of the most bitter arguments come from of a lack in effectively communicating ideas. in identifying key areas of disagreement i believe i can better communicate my views and create constructive dialogue rather than frustrating debates. thus, here is my list, a progression if you will, of the philosophical and theological differences that i believe fuel the tension between the christianity i practice and the christianity of my family and friends:

-a dualistic versus holistic understanding of the sacred and secular-->
-an intrinsically evil creation versus and intrinsically good creation-->
-a God who will ultimately scrap his creation for a new one versus a God who will ultimately restore and reconcile his creation he loves-->
-a future/post-mortem focus versus a here and now focus-->
-being a christian is primarily about escaping earth/going to heaven when one dies versus being a christian is about bringing the kingdom of God to earth through one's life (i.e. thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth...)

i understand that this is only part of the solution, and i would also point out that none of my above points violates any historic orthodox christian doctrines. so outside of these differing perspectives, there is much room for agreement. but the other part involves time.

when i first began spending time with my wife's family, i would have never made an attempt to discuss any of this with them, and not because i was afraid. one reason was because of what i outlined above. i didn't have a clear understanding of what we would be disagreeing over. however, the other is this: it is much easier to reject the ideas of someone you do not know, or barely know than someone you've come to know and love. i can reject all atheists as morons until i unknowingly befriend one who i find to be brilliant, loving, sincere and compassionate. once that bond is made it becomes more difficult to simply reject one's deeply held beliefs. you want to understand them. you don't want to simply toss that person aside. that atheist, conservative, democrat, buddhist, muslim or catholic becomes a person.

in the year since i started this series my wife has been lectured by a family member about our attending mars hill, and how we need to "be careful." the label of "emergent" finally came out when my wife was told by a different family member there are things she doesn't agree with us on because we're emergent. my high school best friend and i had a huge debate/discussion about the rapture and the end times. this political season brought about many awkward moments, most notably my aunt being heartbroken that i was voting for "that other guy." out of my wife's family though i have had the most fruitful conversations with her brother whom i find to be a kindred spirit. i have also had good casual discussions with my mom who reads this blog. she agrees that you just can't figure God out, and that you can't cram him into a box, which is the first step to all-out emergent heresy ;). we'll see what this christmas will bring. i'm most eager to see if people on my wife's side will finally just come out and confront me. we shall see. and i hope to continue to re-work and expand on some of my previous installments.