I've been reading Amazing Grace, by Kathleen Norris. (That's a photo of her at the top of this post).
It's a collection of short essays, each tackling the "language of Christian religion."
Norris is insightful, provocative and wise in her writing. She has a gift for getting to the heart of the meaning behind words that we use to communicate our Christian faith
Here's some examples:
Heresy/Apostasy
"There is a certain pride inherent in apostasy, which often manifests itself as a remarkable faith in oneself, as in 'I alone know what is right for me.' Teachers, tradition, the family stories and the beliefs of the common herd are all suspect; suspicion rather than trust is what defines the apostate. And it defines our age. The individual stands alone, a church of one, convinced that he or she is free of the tyranny of any creed or dogma..."
"If I had to come up with a synonym for apostasy... for the most part, it is simple vanity."
I would think that humility would be the proper response to the incomprehensible vastness of God, not a desire to appear as if we understand God in totality, without anyone's help.
Creeds
"At their best, creeds are simple storytelling. They relate the history of salvation, as understood by Christians... I've horrified people who otherwise demonstrate little regard for the Christian faith, by admitting that I carry my doubts with me into church, particularly my doubts about the creeds..."
"As my own relationship with worship and the creeds began to mature I came to consider that the creeds are a form of speaking in tongues. (When preaching) I usually select the Nicene Creed, because then no one can pretend to know exactly what they're saying. 'God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God.' It gives me great pleasure to hear a church full of respectable people suddenly start to talk like William Blake."
I freely admit that each time we speak the Nicene Creed out loud in my home church, there is always a phrase or two where I stumble over its meaning. That doesn't make me less a Christian, but perhaps a more honest one.
Admitting we don't understand is often the first step towards deeper faith.
Orthodoxy
"'Orthodoxy first means right worship, and only secondarily doctrinal accuracy.'
"How else could it be, in a religion centered on the incarnation of the divine into a human being? We know, of course, that it can indeed be otherwise. Much of the exasperation with what people term 'organized religion' comes from the fact that the Christian church has often given so much weight to doctrinal accuracy that the life-giving potential of worship, and faith itself, gets lost in the shuffle."
It sometimes boggles my mind to realize the unrecognized dissonance on the part of certain Charismatic thinkers who, on the one hand, insist on a very literal interpretation of the Bible, and on the other, are wide open to the Holy Spirit's soaring miles above it.
God-Talk
"God-talk is speech that is not of this world, it is a false language. In a religion that celebrates the Incarnation - the joining together of the human and the divine - a spiritualized jargon that does not ground itself in the five senses should be anathema. But the human tendency to dis-incarnate language is a strong one."
"The idolatry of God-talk, like all idolatry, is a symptom of our desire for control."
"If we seek a God that we can 'handle' that will be exactly what we will get. A God we can manipulate, suspiciously, like ourselves, the wideness of whose mercy we've cut down to size."
Since the day Jesus ascended into heaven, followers of God's son have been trying to put him in a box. God's son has already risen from one box (the grave) and I don't think he's too interested in getting into another.
Worship
"Worship requires people with open ears and hearts. At its root, the word 'liturgy' simply means 'the work of the people.'"
I had a pastor once who, speaking of worship, cautioned: "Be sure that your preference doesn't become a prejudice."
I'm not saying that I necessarily agree with everything that Norris has to say. But I think she's terrifically interesting.
I admire Norris' courage and her ability to thoughtful tackle what so easily can divide us.
The Christian religion is, at it's best and most powerful, when we open ourselves up to experience the mystery of a God whose love for us become Incarnate.
What do you think?
Photo Credit: www.kings.uwo.ca
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