Some Thoughts on Deconstruction and Deconversion
Richard Klaus
January 20, 2023
PART ONE
Introduction:
· Excited to be here again!
· I’m not an expert on deconstruction
o Offer some thoughts and resources
o Begin the process of thinking together…
· Spectrum of people on a journey
o Sensitive to those who might see themselves in the process of deconstruction or deconversion
o No talk hits everybody where they are…
o Grace…
§ From me to you
§ From you to me
· Notes: Whiterosereview.blogspot.com
1. Deconstruction… what it is not, what it is
a. “First, critiques of deconstruction need to define their terms.” --Jackson Wu, “Contextualizing Deconstruction and ‘Deconstruction’”[1]
b. What deconstruction is NOT:
i. Not mere deepening of one’s theology or theological development
· “Public critiques from evangelicals regarding deconstruction are on the rise over the last few years. Do you ever wonder why? I mean, what could be the harm in thinking critically about matters of faith? Wouldn’t any denomination or church movement encourage such thinking as a means for people to grow in their faith?” --Eric Scot English “Why Evangelicals Hate Deconstruction”[2]
ii. Not mere doubt, confusion, disorientation
1. “Thus, we now have a stifling, stagnating situation in the evangelical community: People do not feel safe in expressing doubt or lack of belief about some doctrinal point—even the question of whether they actually believe in God. The result is that people hide what they actually believe from others, and even from themselves, all the while continuing to use faith-talk to avoid being socially ostracized in their local fellowship. Because we do not fully understand assensus (and fiducia; see below), we have unintentionally created a situation in which people do not know how to distinguish what they believe from what they say they believe. Thus, they substitute community jargon for authentic trust.” --J. P. Moreland & Klaus Issler, In Search of a Confident Faith, p. 22
2. “To effectively address this situation, we must create safe, honest, nondefensive fellowships in which people are given permission to be on a faith journey, with all the warts, messiness and setbacks that are part of such a journey. We must also address general and specific intellectual doubts, provide insights about the affective, emotional hindrances to growth in confidence in God, and become more intentional about bearing credible witnesses to each other regarding answers to prayer and other supernatural experiences that strengthen faith.” --Moreland & Issler, p. 22
c. What deconstruction is: Looking for New Testament examples…
i. Repudiation of faith or key elements of the faith
1. Mark 4.13-20: Four soils
a. Second soil: receive with joy but are temporary; fall away because of persecution
b. Third soil: “worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful”
2. 2 Timothy 4.10: Demas… “having loved this present world has deserted me…”
ii. Reconfiguration of the faith or key elements of the faith
1. Acts 20.29-30—savage wolves… speaking perverse things
2. 2 Corinthians 11.3-4, 13-15—another Jesus, Spirit, gospel
3. Galatians 1.6-9; 2.4-5; 3.1 (cf. Philippians 3.2)—another gospel
4. 1 Timothy 4.1-3—deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons
5. Titus 1.10-16—empty talkers and deceivers
6. 2 Peter 2.1—false teachers; destructive heresies
7. 2 John 10—deceivers teaching Jesus has not come in the flesh
d. New Testament on false teachers:
i. Romans 16.17-18
· 17“Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from the. 18For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.”
ii. 2 Timothy 2.23-26
e. Spiritual warfare in the realm of ideas
i. 2 Corinthians 10.3-5—“For though we walk in the flesh…”
ii. Colossians 2.8—“See to it…
iii. 1 Timothy 4.1-3—deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons
2. The book of Jude as relevant to this issue
a. Contend earnestly for the faith in light of false teachers (vv. 3-4)
b. The necessity of the Scriptural revelation—OT and NT
i. “Remind” (v. 5)—three OT examples (cf. v. 11)
ii. “Remember” (v. 17)—“the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
iii. “Certainly both Jude (here [v. 5] and verse 17) and 2 Peter 1:12-13, 15; 3:1-2) lay great emphasis on ‘reminders’. They are crucial for a historical religion.” Michael Green, 2 Peter and Jude (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries), 177.
iv. Beware of those who would separate Jesus from the OT scriptures or from his apostolic representatives (i.e., “Red-letter Christians”)
3. False teachers in Jude
a. “Jude effectively reminds us that defectors from true revelation and sound morals are to be expected in every generation.” D. A. Carson and Douglas Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, 694.
b. Verse 8—“Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.”
i. “… it probably indicates that the false teachers supported their antinomianism by laying claim to divine revelation in their dreams.” Michael Green, 2 Peter and Jude (TNTC), 182
ii. Dreaming in OT as that which is opposed to the Word of God
1. Deuteronomy 13.1-5 (esp. vv. 3, 5)
2. Jeremiah 23.25-32; 27.9; 29.8-9
3. God’s Word comes from the outside—outside human authority and experience. False teachers generate their own word
c. For Jude the measuring rod is the deposit of the faith which is grounded in Christ Jesus as defined by his apostles and pre-dated and predicted by the Old Testament.
i. The content and contour of the faith is the standard by which to judge personal experience.
ii. This is a dividing line of discipleship. This needs to be a settled conviction for the individual Christian.
4. Jude’s perspective on how to deal with false teachers and those influenced by them—guidance for those who are (or know those who are) deconstructing
a. Verses 17-22—Perspective on…
i. False teachers (vv. 17-19)
ii. Yourselves as believers (vv. 20-21)
iii. Those who are being influenced by false teachers (vv. 22-23)
b. “In vv. 17-19 Jude reminded his readers that the apostles predicted the opponents would arrive. Their presence did not constitute a surprise nor, ultimately, a threat to the faith once for all handed down to the saints. Then in vv. 20-21 he gave positive exhortations to believers. They must not think the faith will be preserved simply by attacking the false teachers and revealing their errors. The readers must be attentive to their own relationship with God. They must remain in God’s love by growing in their understanding of the faith, by praying fervently in the Holy Spirit, and by waiting eagerly for Jesus to return and grant them his mercy. We come to the third stage of the argument in vv. 22-23. Verses 17-19 focus on the opponents; and vv. 20-21, on the readers. Now Jude explained to the readers how they should respond to those who had been affected by the false teachers and perhaps even how they should treat the false teachers themselves. The exhortation is threefold. First, those who were wavering under the influence of the false teachers should not be rejected or ignored. By showing mercy to them, as they struggle with doubts, such people could be reclaimed. Second, others were close to being captured by the teaching and behavior of the opponents. Believers must not give up on them. Their lives could still be salvaged, and they could be snatched from the fire that threatened to destroy them. Third, others had already been defiled by the false teachers. Perhaps Jude even spoke here about false teachers themselves, although this seems less likely. Probably Jude spoke of those who had fallen into the libertinism of the false teachers. Even in this case mercy should still be extended. But the readers should be extremely careful, avoiding the danger of being stained by the sin of these opponents.”
--Thomas Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude (New American Commentary), 487
5. Why do people repudiate the faith (deconversion)?
a. Scot McKnight and Hauna Ondrey, Finding Faith, Losing Faith: Stories of Conversion and Apostasy(Baylor University Press, 2008)—chapter one: “Leaving Church, Finding Freedom: Anatomy of Apostasy” (pp. 7-61)
b. Why people leave (or, say they leave):
i. Scripture
ii. Science
iii. Christians
iv. Hell
v. God of the Bible
c. “In my study, at least one and nearly always a combination of the above five major elements forms the core of a crisis in the viability of one’s orthodox Christian faith.” (p. 42)
6. Why do people reconfigure the faith (Progressive Christianity)?
a. Many of the same reasons as above.
b. LGBTQ issues
7. Conclusion to Part One
a. Not going to address all these issues tonight!
b. Open up the discussion
c. “To effectively address this situation, we must create safe, honest, nondefensive fellowships in which people are given permission to be on a faith journey, with all the warts, messiness and setbacks that are part of such a journey. We must also address general and specific intellectual doubts, provide insights about the affective, emotional hindrances to growth in confidence in God, and become more intentional about bearing credible witnesses to each other regarding answers to prayer and other supernatural experiences that strengthen faith.” J. P. Moreland & Klaus Issler, p. 22
d. You don’t walk alone!
