One of the concepts authored by a great preacher of the 20th century, Leslie Weatherhead, was the idea of a “Christian Agnostic.” By this term, Weatherhead meant that he was a follower of the life and teachings of Jesus, but in terms of describing the nature of God, Weatherhead recognized – in the most engaging and inspiring of ways – that there is so much we cannot know or describe.
It would be better therefor, in the face of the complexity and vastness of creation and the profound mystery of God that believers speak of God with great humility and a profound sense of awe. Again, there is just so much we do not know! In this sense we ought to be agnostic.
In light of this, we would be far better off to develop a spiritual posture of wonder rather than spewing human-authored theological assurances and doctrine. We would be far better off to adopt the spiritual posture of the ancient prophet Micah 6:8 or even Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, than seeking out all opportunities possible to spout off mind-numbing definitions of the true believer and consequently labeling those who do not share the point of view, a heretic. We would be far better off expanding our understanding of neighbor than justifying all manner of punishment – both here on earth and even in a human designed definition of eternity – for damning an “offending soul” to hell.
I have held such a view, found myself aligned with the likes of Leslie Weatherhead, and felt visceral disdain for theological doctrine for many, many years.
Indeed, it all started in earnest with my first encounter, as a teenager on a church camp retreat, with two youth counselors seeking to instill within our questioning minds THE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN. This doctrine, we were told, was essential for our soul as its affirmation would result in our being saved from our fallen human nature by the ATONEMENT OFFERED EXCLUSIVELY TO US IN THE SAVING BLOOD OF JESUS.
Such disquieting memories were among my reactions in recent days to the political action of 168 older, irritable but self-assured and overwhelmingly white, men who are bishops in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. These 168 “defenders of the faith” out maneuvered 55 opposing fellow episcopal clerics and even the cautionary advice from the Vatican, to authorize a study of the Eucharist (Holy Communion) with the goal of justifying the denial of the Eucharist to catholic politicians (read Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi) who support abortion rights.
Beyond the absolute hypocrisy of such white, male, republican-like action there is most certainly the utter tragedy of such a decision.
There was no such concern by the U.S. Bishops when former US Attorney General, and Roman Catholic, William Barr, allowed for separating immigrant children from their parents. There was no such action for studying how to withhold the Eucharist from Barr for tear-gassing American Citizens marching for justice for all people. To be sure, consistency is never a problem for advocates of doctrine.
Religious doctrine may prove useful in being a catalyst for beginning our own faith journey and expression. Doctrine can be a helpful catechism. But that is where it should stop. But, in the hands of religious officials, doctrine is all about power and control. It is about imposing penalty, subverting questions, making money and all manner of constructing religious language that is claimed to be the inerrant word of God. This is when doctrine becomes spiritual tyranny and one more ever-present example of the great difference between religion and a living, vital faith.
Roman Catholic religious structure and U.S. bishops do not have a corner on routinely confusing religion with vital, life-affirming faith. The Protestant, Evangelical organizations that have justified building border walls and giving a “moral pass” to a morally decadent, former President who championed their religious views would be an example that doctrine serves political purposes, social segregations, and angry, white people wanting to make America Great Again; an America where white, Anglo-Saxon men are in their rightful place of unquestioned leadership.
Let’s get real then about the blood of Jesus.
Jesus was executed by the religious authorities of his time. His teachings of God present in all people – ALL PEOPLE – ran afoul of enforced doctrine that completely ran counter to the Hebrew biblical witness. Jesus was executed because he threatened the religious leaders who were defending their definition of the faith, their power, their position, and THEIR SOURCE OF INCOME. They conspired with political authority desirous, above all else, of unimpeded taxation policy and revenue. Such doctrinal authority engineered the spilling of the blood of Jesus.
Doctrinal authority spills the blood of Jesus over and over again. The presence of a loving, healing, neighbor-loving, just and peace-promoting Jesus is killed off by doctrinal sycophants in every age. Such religious authorities are great at denying access to and making a holy communion possible. But they do not do much to save the world.
The great thing is that the true spirit of Jesus rises again and again as well.