So...What DOES It Mean?

We must grab onto the modernist trapeze if we are going to swing out to the fuzzy middle. Most of us won't do it, and that's okay. As I said in my last post, no one is obligated to enact the suggestions that I post today. But for those of us who want to see the LCMS take on a new vitality here in the U.S. and A, we're going to have to take some risks and give up some things that we've been told we need to hang onto. The platform we're standing on is crumbling right out from under us, so it's time to hold our breath, take a firm grip of the trapeze, and jump off the platform. How?

First, we're going to have to give up our rigid stances on Scriptural interpretation and at least entertain the possibility that we've gotten it all wrong. For instance, at least entertain the possibility that Genesis 1 was written by a priest during the time of the kings of Israel and see what new insights we get from that, putting Mosaic authorship away for the time being. Instead of talking about the Bible as a book that magically appeared from heaven and has given us everything we need to know about science, relationships, morals, doctrine, etc., start talking about the books of the Bible as products of their time, recognizing that we live in a different country, a different culture, a different time in history, and a different worldview. Also, we need to portray the Biblical authors as ordinary humans living in extraordinary circumstances, giving up the idea that they had special pipelines to God. This means that we may even have to purge the idea of Scriptural infallibility (or at least redefine what we mean by that).

Second, we're going to have to change how we talk about God. It's time to abandon the God who goes "zap" (to borrow a phrase from C. Randolph Ross)-- the outside interventionist who comes to the rescue when we're in trouble and performs a miracle. We have to stop talking about God as either a cosmic superman or a celestial puppeteer. This God died a long time ago. People might tell us that they believe in this kind of God to keep us pastor types happy and off their backs, but deep down they reject him. Think about what this would do to the practice of prayer and worship.

Those two things alone will give us plenty to talk about, so I'll stop here and continue with more things in my next post.

Comments?