Space For Doubt

In 1986 NASA’s space shuttle program was in full swing. The launch of the Challenger was coming up next and people were excited to know a teacher would be going to space. There was a thrill of enthusiasm in the air.

Behind the scenes, engineers from Thiokol, the company in charge of the rocket boosters were concerned. They hadn’t tested their seals in temperatures as low as what was forecast for the launch window. They initially voiced their concern to NASA personnel that the flight may have additional risk because of the cold.

Despite their initial hesitation, after some off-line discussions with company executives, the whole team came back with a green light for the launch. It was a unanimous thumbs up. The launch moved forward and the subsequent failure of one of those o-rings resulted in the deaths of all astronauts on board.

Remembering this story made me wonder how many SDA pastors and educators have internally recognized significant issues with SDA doctrines, yet outwardly toe the line? This has been on my mind lately. The answer is most certainly a non-zero number, and it’s hard to blame them. Going against the grain could result in a forced career change, or even just a like-for-like job change, and that is daunting. That’s even before counting the deconstruction aspect and social dynamic shift that could result.

The line that divides quiet compliance in conveying false information and lying seems to be wide and fuzzy. At some point though, the ramifications of this quiet compliance will manifest, generally not to the benefit of the complier (multiple executives of NASA and Thiokol resigned or went into early retirement). The avoidance of outward dissent will convey a group-think mentality that can be steered into self-serving moral and ethical erosion by a small number of clever people. You know…kind of like all of human history suggests will happen with this power dynamic.

It’s not a fear that the SDA church will decay into a murderous cult . No nothing of the sort. The concern is that SDAs are presenting a resistance to change that does them no net good. Yes, for many people a rigid unchanging doctrine is preferable. There’s comfort in certainty. It is comforting to know you’re doing and believing all the right things. They have their Amazing Facts that, upon close inspection, are often anything but. There’s the belief that they have the entirety of the end times prophecies figured out and broken down step by step. Definitive answers explaining some of the bible’s strangest verses. Too often displaying an arrogant certainty that they are just so incredibly right (and seemingly not caring how that attitude lands with others).

For an ever increasing share of people, this rigidity is causing the opposite reaction. Frustration with and distancing themselves of the very institution this doctrinal rigidity was meant to “protect”.

I recently came across a social media post that triggered some deeper thought on this. The message is great and it has merit. Being a universalist and believing everyone will be saved doesn’t prevent me from believing that God can’t still be aggrieved by our actions. It won’t prevent us from being held accountable by earthly authority or social consequences from failing to love one another. But I digress, back to this wrong theology issue.

Thinking on this more, there seemed to be additional layers to this thought. Not just getting theology wrong, but knowingly believing in a wrong theology. (That doesn’t make sense in my head as I personally can’t believe in something I think is wrong, but many seemingly can 🤷‍♂️)

Wait though. We can dig deeper. What about knowingly teaching a wrong theology? That seems like a worse thing right?

Let’s go even further. Not just knowingly teaching a wrong theology, but teaching it out of a place of falsely thought moral superiority, pride, and selfishness. Or perhaps falsely claiming that God wants them to teach or “protect” this theology? How does God feel about that? Is this where the line is crossed into God being offended?

The bible seems to advocate for holding teachers and people in positions of power to a higher standard. That makes sense. If you believe something in error, it only affects you. If you teach an error, it multiplies to not just those you teach, but those who repeat what you teach to others.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. – James 3:1

There’s also this additional step of punishment for elders (teachers of theology):

“Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.” – 1 Timothy 5:19-21

For the phrase “so that all the rest may stand in fear” to have teeth, there must be an action that is taken. It’s the “rebuke them” part. Think “hold them accountable”. If no one speaks up, no leader will ever have cause to stand in fear. Whose duty is it to speak up? It should be other elders or people in positions of power. If they remain silent however, what is the next proper course of action? For the entire laity to also just remain silent and be compliant? Should they speak up and voice their concern? What leads to a worse outcome, quiet compliance and group think, or a diverse pool of minds able to dissent?

It would seem a reasonable take to infer that the spirit of the law would cover false teaching as a sin. The bible talks about false teachers and false beliefs pretty negatively. Generally it uses the term false prophets, but prophets often served functionally as teachers in the Old Testament. It’s a well supported position to hold that anyone who teaches false things that undermine God’s sovereignty and character would fall under the same umbrella of offense.

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” – 2 Timothy 4:3-4

A great number of teachers? Like the amount present within the American Evangelical system? A system that preaches the prosperity gospel, either in full or in the lite version? (see my post on this here )

Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. – 2 Peter 3:15-16

Hard to argue with that. Misreadings of Paul have resulted in the Calvinist Predestination ideology. Some of his writings have been taken to force people into obedience to an evil worldly authority. (Let’s watch and see how fast Romans 13 gets carted out onto the scene by the religious right with this new administration in the USA)

As far as “the other Scriptures,” misreadings have resulted in incorrect literal takes on very obviously non-literal texts.

The phrase “to their own destruction” doesn’t have to mean their loss of salvation or death. The word here for destruction is apōleia and can mean (in addition to actual death) ruin, waste, loss (something physical, spiritual, or eternal). Therefore it could be the decline and collapse of “their” church. A destruction of their influence. Or perhaps being subject to ridicule and mockery by people more experienced and educated when they attempt to push their ignorant stance on topics they actually do not understand. A destruction of their reputation. Perhaps finding hardship in bringing in new converts. A destruction of their appeal.

We know that Job’s friends implied characteristics about God that He did not approve of. He admonished them for this in the end. Clearly this wasn’t acceptable. What if some currently held doctrines are in error, and so imply false characteristics of God?

My journey has brought me to a place where I feel a deep sense of betrayal by the in positions of faith leadership in the first 34 years of my life. How can so many seemingly smart people get through schools of divinity (becoming pastors), be educated on many of the areas that surround content like this blog covers, and wind up minding the status quo at the end? Are they not teaching or discussing any of these problematic things in SDA seminaries? How can you read these topics with your own eyes, and yet not have profound questions on the validity of certain doctrines and biblical texts? I know if any of them did question things, they probably just keep silent. They have families to feed just like me and need that paycheck. My feelings of betrayal also come with a feeling of understanding, but they still exist nonetheless.

“When you grow up believing that your religious worldview contains the key to absolute truth and provides an answer to every question, you never really get over the disappointment of learning that it doesn’t.” – Rachel Held Evans (RIP)

Rachel Held Evans was a wonderful human. Her book Evolving in Monkey Town, explored her journey from religious certainty to a faith which accepts doubt and questioning. At the time of her death, she no longer considered herself to be an evangelical due to the movement’s close association with the Christian right in the United States. Emma Green from The Atlantic noted her legacy as “her unwillingness to cede ownership of Christianity to its traditional conservative-male stewards.” And also her “very public, vulnerable exploration of a faith forged in doubt empowered a ragtag band of writers, pastors, and teachers to claim their rightful place as Christians.“

I resonate with all of that. The world needs more Rachels. The church needs more Rachels.

Peace