Friday, October 19, 2007

What label do you carry?

What label do you carry?

Recently I got into a controversy over the way I described our church – specifically “conservative/evangelical”. Some have argued that these words carry too much political baggage. Let me explain my reasoning.

There is a lot of talk about labels, why we use them, the problem of people misunderstanding them, non Christians not having a clue about what they mean, etc. However, we live and breathe by labels. They are the means by which was can talk about things without always having to place extended preambles and post scripts describing what we mean. We all label our churches. Are you a Cumberland Presbyterian? Many people don't have a clue as to what that means. Are you are Presbyterian? Many don't understand what that means either. How about a Christian church? Again, this is another misunderstood label. Well, then, a church. Again - another label. It seems we just can’t avoid labels in everyday life.

Next, you don’t use the same label in every situation. I am a dad, when talking about my sons, a son, when talking about my parents, a brother, when talking about my brother, an uncle when talking about my nieces and nephews, a pastor when talking about my church, and a programmer when talking about my 8 to 5 job.

I describe our church as evangelical/conservative in the church section of the newspaper. I do this because people who are looking at this section are either those who already know what denomination they want to attend and are just trying to find out times and location - or - they are looking to visit a church and are trying to figure out in advance what they might expect.

I choose this label shortly after the PCUSA had their General Assembly in 2006 in which they, in essence, allowed moral questions to be put to a local option. I wanted to reach out to those from Presbyterian backgrounds who didn't agreed with the direction the PCUSA church was going (around 100,000 per year).

I have a son who hangs out with many from a non-church background and I am quite sure they spend little or no time on the church listings. If I were advertising our church to this group, I would use different, more instructive terminology.

What about having a medium theology? Well, after having grown up in this denomination, then graduating from seminary (in the United Methodist church), later attending the Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church, Disciples of Christ Church, Southern Baptist Church, and Assembly of God Church – I had never heard of medium theology until I went to PAS (Program of Alternate Studies). If you try and look up medium theology on wikipedia - there is no reference. For some people, saying you have a medium theology would mean you believe your steaks should not be overcooked.

So is the Cumberland Presbyterian Church conservative in it's theology (officially - not what any individual might think)? I believe so. According to the COF, we believe in a literal Adam and Eve who where our first parents, rebelled against God and became inclined towards sin in all aspects of their being. We believe that in sinning, all people become guilty before God and are under His divine wrath and judgment. We believe that repentance is necessary to be saved. We believe that the holy scriptures are The infallible rule of faith and practice. We believe that marriage is defined as between a man and a woman. We believe that Jesus Christ is the second person of the trinity, that he died and rose physically from the dead. And we believe that Jesus is coming back.

Maybe a contrast will help illustrate. The following (edited) material comes from Wikipedia.

Liberal Christianity is sometimes called liberal theology. The word "liberal" in liberal Christianity does not refer to a leftist political agenda or set of beliefs, but rather to the freedom of thought and belief associated with the philosophical and religious paradigms developed during the Age of Enlightenment. The liberal Christian tradition continues today with the work of Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, John Shelby Spong, and Douglas Ottati.

Biblical hermeneutics (theories of interpretations)

The theology of liberal Christianity was prominent in the biblical criticism of the 19th and 20th centuries. The style of scriptural hermeneutics within liberal theology is often characterized as non-propositional. This means that the Bible is not considered an inventory of factual statements but instead documents the human authors' beliefs and feelings about God at the time of its writing—within an historic/cultural context. Thus, liberal Christian theologians do not discover truth propositions but rather create religious models and concepts that reflect the class, gender, social, and political contexts from which they emerge. Liberal Christianity looks upon the Bible as a collection of narratives that explain, epitomize, or symbolize the essence and significance of Christian understanding.

Liberal Christian beliefs

Liberal Christianity, broadly speaking, is a method of biblical hermeneutics, an individualistic method of interpreting the word of God in scripture, not a belief structure. Unlike conservative Christianity, it has no unified set of propositional beliefs. The word liberal in liberal Christianity denotes a characteristic willingness to interpret scripture in an intellectually independent manner—with no preconceived notion of inerrancy of scripture when its passages are literally interpreted.

Conservative Christianity Generally those seen as belonging to conservative Christianity give priority to traditional values and traditional beliefs and practices.
Conservative Christianity and Liberal Christianity have quite different biblical theories of Biblical interpretation.

Points of difference include the authority and importance of the Bible, literal or metaphorical interpretation of scripture, divinity of Jesus Christ and reality of his resurrection from the dead, need for organized missionary work and personal sharing one's beliefs in salvation through Jesus Christ, and the view of women in both marriage and ministry.

General beliefs of Conservative Christianity
  • Conservatives have a "higher" view of scripture being the authoritative "Word" of God. A belief in the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity. Bible prophecy and Bible inerrancy are often affirmed. This often includes the understanding that the Bible is the final authority in all matters on which it speaks.'
  • The doctrine of original sin is foundational to some groups in Conservative Christianity.
  • Conservative Christians see the resurrection of Christ as the most important actual event in the history of the world. They place a central focus on Christ's redeeming work on the cross as the only means for salvation and the forgiveness of sins.'
  • Conservative Christians generally believe that the Bible, in its original manuscripts, is inerrant when its passages are literally interpreted.
  • Conservative Christians take at face value biblical teachings such as Jesus’ statement: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).'
  • Encouragement of evangelism—the act of sharing one's beliefs in salvation through Jesus Christ with others—through both organized missionary work and personal evangelism.'
    Many Conservative Christians believe in a literal heaven and hell as biblically described.'
    Engagement in Society

Though often stereotyped as uncaring for the needs of society, conservative Christians have frequently led in building hospitals and medical clinics, disaster relief work, having food banks and kitchens, institutions of higher education, primary and secondary schools, adoption agencies, and technological missions that teach agriculture, help drill water well drilling and install water supplies, and many other services, through churches and parachurch agencies.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, British conservative Christian William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was the leader of the parliamentary campaign against the slave trade.

So, am I a conservative Christian – is our church a conservative church – based upon the above? The only thing I can say is ABSOLUTELY!

Pastor John