Mindful Faith
How Reason and Experience Influence Our Theology
“The real scandal of the Evangelical mind is that we are not allowed to use it.” — Pete Enns
The two previous lenses of faith, Scripture and tradition, are less contested in Evangelicalism compared to the last two lenses of faith we will explore; reason and experience. Since the latter rely more on individual human analysis, they are typically held at arm’s length among more conservative Christians who will claim verses such as, “His ways are higher than our ways (referencing Isaiah 55:8–9)” or “There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end leads to destruction (Proverbs 14:12).” Aside from these verses being taken out of context, this tactic, although well-meaning at times, is a deterrent to truly wrestling with faith within the human experience. Without the legitimate exploration of reason and experience, lenses that influence literally everyone (whether they realize it or not), one will be lacking necessary voices to be an informed and well-rounded theologian. The problem I have with the conservatives that distrust reason and experience is that they are blinded from the ways reason and experience have shaped their walk and faith journey. Scripture and tradition, the two lenses held most high by conservatives, are almost always filtered through reason and the experience of a person’s life before one can claim a theological stance on any given issue.
Reason and experience are so closely related when it comes to theology because we use logic to interpret and apply our experience theologically. Therefore, instead of writing two separate blog posts, we will examine these lenses in conjunction with one another.
Regarding Reason:
“Although unanimity with respect to the nature and criteria of good reasoning will never be achieved, theologians who ignore this one rule of thumb are at risk: theology needs to be as clear, coherent, and well informed as possible.” — Stone and Duke, How To Think Theologically
As the book mentions, what constitutes good and sound reasoning is up for debate among many. One of these topics includes the field of scientific discovery. Many look to science as one of the criteria for reason within theological reflection. The practice of scientific observation is humble and self-aware, readily admitting its faults in search of greater truth (something we can and should take note of in theological reflection). Of course, if you look back hundreds of years ago, there are scientific theories that were just plain wrong, misguided, or revealed that we haven’t seen the whole picture, such as geocentrism, the flat earth theory (although some would argue with me on this one), the development of atomic theory, etc. Just because science has gotten it wrong or we realized we hadn’t seen the whole picture, doesn’t mean science isn’t a reliable source.
Although the Bible was never meant to be a science textbook, the Bible does have some faulty ways of viewing the world; ideas that have been disproven as scientific discoveries have abounded, such as the belief in something called the “firmament,” which was a widely held assumption claiming that the earth was covered by a dome keeping waters above us at bay. The flood narrative in Genesis features this belief as the “floodgates” were opened from heaven, letting the water above crash onto the earth below. Whether or not you believe the flood narrative to be historical fact or a mythological tale, we can all agree that this firmament doesn’t exist, although this is found in the Bible. This is where reason and experience come in. With scientific discovery, we now understand that the blue sky isn’t water being held from above, but the conditions of our atmosphere and the scattering of light. Through the years, people have used reason and logic to discover that what they once believed was false. They see and test what is true and what isn’t. I was once told to be wary of science because of how often scientists come back and say their findings were disproven. The beauty of it is found in the humility of scientific discovery, putting the search for truth above a prideful way of holding on to tradition and beliefs that just don’t work anymore. Don’t hear me saying that reason equals science and vice versa. That’s not what I’m saying. It’s just one of the sub-lenses of which many view and operate within our world. This discovery that the Bible got it wrong in one area, could leave some to distrust the Bible altogether, but the problem is, in my opinion, we have expected the Bible to be what it was never intended to be, holding it to standards that the authors would think is absurd, but we will save that discussion for another post.
This post is less about exploring what criterion for reason is good, right, and acceptable and more about being aware of what influences are involved in your theological reflection through the lens of reason. This has been repeated over and over from me, but it is so true: it is so important to recognize why you believe what you believe. Challenging one’s beliefs is crucial to growth, both personally and theologically.
Regarding Experience:
The Bible itself was born out of an overflow of the human experience. Those who have a problem with experience playing a role in the way we determine our theological stance should have a hard time reading the Scripture that they hold so dear, for the words written down were words of the human experience. Joy, pain, desire, and the entire range of human emotions flood the pages of Scripture. The entire book of Psalms is an ode to experience. Experience with the divine. Experience that changed people’s theology. For example, when Jews came into contact with Jesus, their experience with him challenged the way they once interpreted the Torah. There is no denying that experience plays a huge role in the theological analysis of our lives.
I do understand, though, where people can become uncomfortable with this, regarding those who claim personal experiences that place oneself in a position of superiority or claiming God told them to do something contrary to the whole counsel of Scripture and what we believe God’s character to encourage.
There are exceptions to analyzing experience, but we can not ignore all experiences just because some abuse the lens for oppressive self-fulfillment (no matter how real they may think their experience was).
There is a litmus test for experience that informs theology. Jesus says the two greatest commands are to love God and love others. If your specific experience and its influence on your theology contributes to that goal, then go for it. If it causes harm to others, it can’t reasonably be a valid source for theological reflection.
This is why experience and reason are so closely related because experience relies on reason to validate its status in most cases.
Even when I was conservative in my mindset, I was never the most conservative around. I once dated a person whose ex believed that if someone were to accept Christ, and on the way to get baptized had an aneurysm and died, that they would be separated from God for all of eternity, burning in a literal lake of fire, all because they didn’t follow the Bible’s “command” to get baptized. My significant other at the time and I both disagreed with that horrible assumption. We reasoned, surely God would know a person’s heart enough to know they were seeking him/her. They were about to get baptized; one of the most public displays of faith in Evangelicalism. Our reasoning and experiences with God helped us conclude that the necessity to follow the letter of the law was not reflective of the God with whom we had come into relationship.
Another example of how experience and reason shifted my theology, as I became more and more progressive in my faith, was my stance on LGBTQIA+ issues. I will write a way more in-depth post about this in the future, but long story short, after experiencing the love of God through the acceptance of others, and other various confirmations, I could no longer believe that God opposed gay relationships that were guided by love and a desire for authentic connection. After all, we are called to love one another. My hope was and is to seek out someone with whom to share life and grow. After seeing the love of my friends that were supporting and encouraging me to be myself, and seeing the fruit of God in their lives, my reason and experience led me to a whole new stance on LGBTQIA+ issues.
As nice as it is to become more free, inclusive, and open with theology, there will always be those who oppose. “The heart is deceitful above all else… (Jeremiah 17:9)” they say. This is a scary one, usually used to discourage any form of experiential decisions regarding issues of faith, suggestive of our “sinful nature” and how depraved we are.
Well, this same heart that is deceitful is the same one that wants to see the naked clothed, the hungry fed, and the outcasts included.
I don’t like the assumption that our hearts are bent toward evil because I just don’t believe that anymore in light of the fruit I see in people’s lives. Even to the logic of my more conservative friends, I agree that our emotions may deceive us from time to time, but a broken clock is right twice a day. Just because something is sometimes wrong doesn’t automatically make it untrustworthy in all circumstances.
Again, a good rule of thumb is: if it’s helping you love God and your neighbor more, there is no law against such things.
Feel free to consciously allow your experience and reasoning influence your theological stances. It already does, but freedom comes when you can acknowledge it and analyze it in a deeper way.
I am not asking us to try to explain away everything. I think it is good to embrace mystery. Not everything within faith can be logically explained. I believe I have had encounters with God that science wouldn’t be able to explain, but that doesn’t mean science isn’t valid or credible. That doesn’t mean reason and logic don’t have a place when examining faith. Part of faith, though, is embracing mystery. Not all questions will be answered and we have to be okay with that. However, the problem I observe is when people are asked to throw aside logic and experience when it comes to loving one’s neighbor, claiming the Bible is ultimate truth, when some interpretations are hurting those we are called to love. This is where reason and experience are the most crucial, in terms of how practicing our faith affects others. Here’s the thing; we are all limited in our perspective. We all have blind spots. I am not saying everything should be up to experience and reason, but I am calling us to allow these lenses a space at the table. They’re already there, so give them a seat of honor.
Rather than treating these lenses of reflection like a dog you feed the scraps under the table, pull up a chair, bring out the fine china, and see what reason and experience have to say about your faith.
This is the last of the introductory posts for The Deliberative Theologian. Every post so far has laid the ground work for this blog. We are just getting started, so buckle your seatbelts and get ready for the ride that is deliberative theology (Too cheesy?).
