In this dispatch, John makes a poignant observation about Tony’s observation of a passenger on a flight, and her observance of a religious ritual, asking a question that is sure to generate some dialog among those observing this conversation.
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I find it fascinating in this text that the Emergents are trying to break out of the old church mold, out of the patterns and the pretexts of the modern and into the postmodern. But some of the language and the rituals belie this very clearly in the book.
Chapter one, page one and two there is the story of Tony fumbling around an ‘elite’ New York editor, coveting her mac book pro as he takes out his dell dinosaur. He hides the fact that the book he is reading is the Bible. And he does not talk to her- only observes. He notices her as she slips the mac book away and takes out her prayer beads- a rosary- and notes that she is praying to the ‘Blessed Virgin’ He confesses that this does not compute.
What does not compute to me is the fact that there is at least three open doors of conversation in this little story that could have been walked through to open a conversation about the Gospel. I am always looking for these open doors to walk through, to be fair. But the one that is painfully obvious to me is that she takes out the rosary and begins to pray.
To this, Tony responds as if this is something that is perfectly okay, to pray to a human, creating a idol in the mind and giving worship to one who is not God. At the very least, he could ask her how she prays and why, and lead to the Gospel. But you see, this is the synchronicity pablum and problem that emergents have. They must find truth in the other, and in doing so, they make God a liar.
Fast forward to chapter two, where Tony claims that emergent lands between the Scylla of secularism and the Charybdis of fundamentalism, a postmodern posture where emergents are open to the identity of the other. The other is defined as those who are in different cultures and practice different faiths, and have different lifestyles.
This is why the emergent village supports and praises movements like Faith House in Manhattan, an attempt to bring together all the worlds monotheistic religions under one roof. It is why Tony’s own church (and his wife) practice Yoga on Sunday Mornings at Solomon’s Porch (while the rest of us are at church). It is why Solomons Porch fellowship area is plastered with sayings, not from the scripture, but from Christian, Hindu, and Muslim mystics. It is why open homosexuality and women pastors and elders are openly embraced there despite clear Biblical teaching. It is why there is never a standard mentioned, why there is no Statement of Faith, why there is nothing but open-ended conversation.
The Bible is not even considered to be truth to be believed by faith, rather it is literature that is to be deconstructed as any other literature. And while they are trying to break free of the modern, they have this belief in the ancient-future movement where they take practices of the Roman Catholic church and use them in their communities. The Iconography, candles, incense, even the sign of the cross are used regularly. Throw in practices of contemplative prayer, and other disciplines that seek by experience and practice to draw closer to God, and you see why with Paul we scream “are you so soon following a different Gospel?!”
There is no standard in the Emergent conversation, no rock solid foundation. Only the bedrock of shifting sand which they gladly accept and embrace. Only problem is, you cannot embrace sand very long before it all slips through your fingers.
~ Pastorboy
Doug
pastorboy
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