In a way, this is a post that has some of its underpinnings in two previous posts here and here, although this post is a reaction to something that did not prompt those two posts. Suffice it to say that this post is in the same vein as the previous ones.
I was reading an article by someone in the emergent church who was criticizing another church that claims to be emergent. The criticism came on various levels, but the statement that troubled me was that the author emphasized that one of the tenants of the emergent church is relationship over doctrine. It bothered the author that the church claiming to be emergent seemed to have slipped back into doctrine. If you know nothing of the emergent church, let me just say that the emergent church is a movement that seeks to be post-modern (on its own terms), emphasizing experience and feelings rather than reason or fact. Thus, it wasn't surprising to me what this author said, but I immediately took issue with the statement.
You see, in our feel good culture, saying relationship over doctrine fits right in. After all, your experience of God should come from your relationship, not your doctrine. This is a relativist's perfect way of viewing Christianity. However, there is a fundamental problem with this idea and that is that relationship and doctrine cannot be separated.
A good definition of doctrine is from the World English Dictionary: "a creed or body of teachings of a religious, political, or philosophical group presented for acceptance or belief." Of course, words like "creed" and "religious" are anathema to relativists simply because they rub up against their worldview. If everything is relative, then you can't have a creed or be "religious" because those terms imply absolute truths. Thus, doctrine is a hated word. Rather, let's seek relationship.
Relationship is defined as "a connection between two people." Ah, this sounds good to a relativist's ear. No worry about facts or absolute truths. This is just two people sitting around getting to know each other and, of course, accepting whatever each of them say.
But wait... How is a relationship even formed? How do I get close to someone? You see, my relationship with someone is directly tied to what I believe about that person. I am a friend with someone because I know I can trust her, go to her when I need her, talk to her openly, be loved by her freely, etc. because I believe her to be trustworthy, loyal, faithful, loving, etc. In fact, if you asked me to tell you about this friend, I would be forced to give you a list of all the beliefs I have about her that make her a friend to me. I could tell you on what our relationship is based and show you why I have her as a friend.
It's the same for God...
I trust him because he is sovereign.
I pray to him because he is faithful.
I know he loves me because he died for me.
I know he loves because he is a Trinity.
I am free of guilt because of salvation and redemption, acts of Jesus.
I know I have a purpose because he has a plan for me.
I am moral because of the Holy Spirit's conviction.
I have assurance the whole earth won't flood because I know he keeps his promises.
I could go on for quite a while. My relationship with God is directly tied to what I believe about him. I cannot separate my relationship from my belief. And if I sat down and listed it all out, what I would come up with would be a series of statements, a body of teachings, a creed.
The problem with the idea of relationship over doctrine is that they cannot be separated at all. They are one. My doctrine forms the basis for my relationship. Show me a person who throws out doctrine and I'll show you a person that is easily blown down in the wind when feeling fails to satisfy. When the going gets tough, when the trials come, it turns out the base has been removed. Only when I am secure in the truth of what I know about my God will I be able to withstand the heartaches of the world (see cartoon above). Because my relationship is based on my truth; I have a strong relationship with my God because I know his truths.
Now, to be clear, the error can move the other direction. Indeed, the emergent church has swung far on the pendulum mostly in reaction to a church that often declared doctrine over relationship. This, too, is a costly error. The students I teach know that God is about relationship. It's a statement I have used over and over and over. God wants to have a relationship with us. The entire Bible is about his desire for relationship. And yes, this relationship is based in what I believe about him. Yet some Christians are so focused on the truths that they throw relationship out the window. Show me a person who does this and I will show you someone with a stagnant faith and a lack of love.
We don't need to swing either way on the pendulum. What we need to do is realize that relationship and doctrine are not at odds. Each side needs to come back to the middle, to where doctrine and relationship meet.
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