matrix theology

It is easy to live in the shell of thinking that we have formed over our lives (both long and short) and convince ourselves that we have arrived, that we have it all down.  We convince ourselves that we know all there is to know in order to make decisions.

One pastor friend of mine was asked what beliefs he had changed since graduating from college some thirty-five years ago now, and he replied with pride, “Absolutely none!”  He answered that way because he believes he learned the truth and he will hold to that truth with stubborn rigidity and unfailing loyalty.  I admire his devotion, but I have to wonder about whether this is really the way we should be thinking.

Theology and doctrine are after all human pursuits.  They are developed by human beings based on the Bible.  They are not the Bible.  And human pursuits such as interpretation and translation are just that – human.  They are not divine, although they are keyed to the task of seeking divine truth. 

The ancient rabbis knew that no man or group of men could ever get everything right.  They believed that there was always room for improvement.  One particular rabbi, Hillel, taught that every rabbi must consider his yoke.  (Yoke was their word for a way of understanding Torah.)  He encouraged everyone he taught to rethink everything for themselves and understand Torah in their own way.

If a student came to Hillel and offered an explanation or commentary of Torah that made things overly complicated or added rules or just plain did not make sense, Hillel would respond, “You have destroyed Torah.”

When a rabbinical student would come to him and explain something from Torah in a way that made it clearer or rang truer, Hillel would say, “You have fulfilled Torah.”

Jesus once said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to destroy Torah or the Nevi’im (prophets).  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17)  Jesus came to simplify Torah, to reinterpret the Jewish law in a simple more direct way – namely, the way he lived his life.  The best way to live a righteous life is to live like Jesus did – selflessly loving everyone and calling them to love God and each other.

You see, that’s why we never arrive.  We never have it down.  We never get it perfect.  We have to always be questioning and seeking a better, clearer way to think about God.  Doctrine and Christian living are not destinations, they are journeys and we will always be on the journey.

We do not arrive; we emerge.  We are constantly emerging from patterns of thinking, from ways of living, often from stuff we do not even know is influencing us.  We are really sometimes oblivious to parts of things, and we have to be willing to open ourselves up and rethink the way we are thinking.

We emerge.  All our lives, we emerge.  We fail when we think that we have everything under control.  It is only when we accept that this thing we are doing – anything we are doing – is bigger than us and we are just part of something even bigger than that.  We are just emerging.