So very well articulated. I think it goes without saying that many of us will come into contact with some kind of hurt from within the church in some capacity. I have had many things I've had to untangle from teachings in my childhood and young adult years. But being ready to deal with it slowly, in the way untangling requires, with humility and forgiveness goes such a long way in helping our faith not crumble. Especially in my experience.
Clever words make it harder to see the false dilemmas. To be fair, Alex is right that deconstruction is not a word christians like him should use because it is very different from sanctification and it can end in apostasy. It's wild to say almost all deconstructions look identical and his argument that deconstruction is practically synonymous with relativism (regardless of the origin of the term and we can talk about linguistics another time...) is weak (how true we think it is will likely just be based on our own limited experiences with those who have deconstructed). The subject is complex and nuanced and really deserves a much more careful examination, especially if someone is going to position themselves as a spiritual authority on the subject. To assume that people transitioning perspectives are thoughtless, reckless “demolition experts” or people who are so inflamed with hurt they went dumb is... shallow and careless. I get that it's hard to fathom people honestly, seriously, critically sifting through evidence and coming out the other side feeling confident in beliefs different than your own (it must be false, deceptive info right?) And I can definitely see why deconstruction is threatening to fundamentalism (otherwise why warn against engagement?) I understand why Alex would believe that in addressing incongruities, deconstructionists are incapable of building a cohesive worldview. Nevertheless... I'm just here to say... it's possible the clever words here don't paint a completely accurate picture. But hey, if you'd rather all nod in agreement and pat each other on the back, that's your prerogative.
Angie, I am genuinely glad to hear that you've given your beliefs slow and careful thought. Humility and forgiveness will always help to heal and clarify. Regardless of our different perspectives, I'm sending you and your family love (if you don't mind me sending that into the ether ;) and hope you are enjoying the winter season.
Hey Alex! I really enjoyed reading this piece - you have a lot of great points. Just want to bring another perspective alongside of what you shared.
I wholeheartedly believe the experience of those whose growth in their walk with Christ could best be described as "detangling." Learning and growing, and shifting our beliefs to become more in line with the nature and character and word of God is part of life in Christ! At the same time, there are many - myself included - whose journey of faith would best be described as blowing up the whole house and starting fresh. I kind of feel like I went through a deconstruction before that was really even a term, the deconstruction TikTok and Instagram phenomenon was certainly not around. In order to fully follow Jesus, and embrace his word in every part of my life, "detangling" would've been far too gentle. It required me allowing everything to be burned up and examining everything I have been taught to believe. Very long story short, I was raised in a religious cult (same as Jinger in many ways) but had a radical encounter with Jesus at age 17. This set me on a journey of leaving everything I'd known to follow Jesus. It was because the Bible had been used and abused and misinterpreted so severely that I had to allow the fire of God to consume everything and allow his Spirit to reveal the truth. For me, going from dead religion to a living relationship with Jesus meant that I could trust him in this process, and that I could let go of even the need to be right or understand everything. Everything exploded in my internal and external world, and it was terrifying. But through it all Jesus was so faithful to Shepherd me through that dark night of the soul. cut to where I am now - I'm in my 30s and serving in ministry at my local church, I love Jesus with everything I have, I hold to the scriptures as the infallible word of God, a historical view of marriage and sexuality, ect. I say all of this to say, the result of blowing up my life was not apostasy, but fidelity to Jesus and his truth. But ironically, there are those from the world I left well over a decade ago who would say that I am not even a true believer because so many of my beliefs have changed. For lots of people, a simple detangling along the normal lines of sanctification and growth will be enough. But there will be people who will have to go through a deconstruction/demolition. it does seem like the word deconstruction has grown to often (not always!) be synonymous with abandoning orthodoxy, but for me personally, the term "detangling" isn't extreme enough for what my experience has been. Maybe we need a new word? 😉 Lol
Anyways, I love this conversation and your heart to see people come to Jesus as the only source of truth and healing! Blessings to you and Emily!
Hi Baylie! Thanks for reading and for commenting. Praise God for the work He has done! I am not trying to say that 'disentanglement' will accurately capture everyone's process. It sounds like in your case, there was a ton of work that needed to be done, more than just separating good from bad. I am thankful that He has brought you through that dark night! My issue with the term 'deconstruction' is that it originates from postmodernism and does not allow for absolute truth as a foundation. Without absolute truth, and the Word of God in particular, no one can rebuild a Christian faith. As long as the Word remains the standard, we might need to go down to the studs to build on the solid rock. My concern is that deconstruction as a concept not only blows up but has no power to rebuild. It may be that another word besides disentanglement could be used for those bigger house projects. Let me know if you find a good one. Thanks for keeping the conversation going and God bless you!
Hi Alex! I definitely share your concern that the word "deconstruction" originated from postmodernism - and that would be no issue at all or extremely problematic, depending on who you're talking to. Like you said in the article, a lot of people use that word without knowing the full meaning, and that word serves as a kind of catch-all for many different stories, experiences, and outcomes! I just finished a book recently called You Are Not Alone by Phil Manginelli on secularism and deconstruction. It's a pastoral and historical take on secularism and how postmodernism has brought us now to metamodernism, and how that impacts those who have experience spiritual trauma and also those who are questioning their faith. A lot of the concerns you raised were also expounded on in that book and it reminded me of that. I think you'd find it super interesting!
For the sake of conversation, here’s a pushback: in the final paragraph, you said, “trust me” - and I think right there is the key for those who have actually needed to dynamite their beliefs. For many of us, we DID trust people who twisted and abused Scripture so effectively, that a full demo is needed - and for some they may never come back. As one that almost didn’t, I see so much grace from the Father from those who were so burned they never want anything to do with religion again. And we’d do well to listen and grieve and love, instead of distance ourselves. I know my faith looks completely different than it did - in fact I’d venture to say the God I worship doesn’t resemble the one I was taught about - full demo. So. Yeah, it’s a movement, and maybe some don’t care enough…but I’m right in the thick of it with so many people I dearly love, and all I see is deep pain, abuse, trauma, grief - not selfishness or flippancy. Deconstruction is a dismantling. For some it CAN be a disentangling, but we each have our own story, and each journey with God is individual, so it would be kinder, I feel, to validate all those stories without requiring a happy ending, trusting the truth we believe to hold up and not be afraid of being led astray, instead of distancing ourselves.
just thoughts from someone who’s comfortable with having blown it all up, and with deconstruction as a whole. no one’s journey with God is a threat to mine.
If Scripture is subordinate to you and its purpose is to confirm your own experience and feelings, that is by definition making a god in your own image. The biblical term for that is idolatry, not Christianity.
I engaged in this conversation in good faith, as someone who has endured spiritual abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual harrassment at the hands of “Christians” in authority over me, in multiple different situations, multiple places, over my childhood, teenage years and young adult life. Some of those stories you are very familiar with.
I’m telling you, as plainly as I can, that GOD HIMSELF meets His children in creative and powerful ways in their woundings - that line up with scripture without being scripture itself - that may make the Organized Church uncomfortable, because it forces us out of our head knowledge into our relationships, not unlike Jesus challenging his disciples to go beyond their religious tradition when seeing the outcasts of society and see the Story of God. I know this to be true, because I’ve experienced Him in these dark holes and trenches, when I felt like I could never trust a leader, set foot in a church, or open a Bible again. You can call that idolatry, you can challenge my beliefs, and those of others who have been on similar journeys, but ultimately it is you putting God in box, and possibly pushing others farther from their Creator by choosing not to listen to understand.
I don’t wish my story on anyone. It’s been excruciating. I’m grateful for where I am, though, and the relationship with the Divine that’s been forged in my pain. And again, I initially engaged in good faith, because this is the road I’ve walked for ten years. But this is costing me more than I’m willing to give. Have a good evening.
The reason you know anything in that first paragraph is because God has revealed it through the Scriptures. Jesus is infinitely more compassionate than anyone, and He both comforted the burdened and hurting and gave continual warnings about the consequences of departing from truth. If Jesus and Paul don’t meet your standard of compassion and “carrying space”, you’ve got a real problem on your hands.
Not true. He met me outside of the text when I was too in pain to open it. Later I found that what I experienced of Him IS in Scripture. But even if I never opened it again, would what I experienced of Him still be true if He Is Truth? Can God guide a soul with the Holy Spirit alone if that is what’s necessary? Can we allow for Him to reveal Himself in Creation and through others if the Bible can’t be consumed? Almost like there’d be a verse about that if so…OH WAIT.
Anyways. If you want to hold fast to this idea that, across the board, those who deconstruct are building a false god to themselves because God can’t be met outside of a specific interpretation of Scripture, that’s fine. Again, to blunt, that sounds like building God into something you want Him to be yourself. I digress. But again, it seems you’re actually preaching to the choir, and the ones who could’ve used your compassion and listening ear will be pushed farther away and will find their community and answers elsewhere. It costs you nothing to hold this position, but it costs the hurting ones everything, because you’re once again proving to them that God is not Big Enough to handle their questions, wounds, or doubt. That is why I care so deeply. I am still a “Christian” (I prefer “follower of Jesus” these days) because of Holy Spirit’s creativity and patience to comfort and guide, and those who listened to understand, not to correct and caution. THAT is why I advocate for kindness, compassion, unity and humility when handling those on these journeys, and that is why I struggle to leave this topic alone.
This is deconstruction in a nutshell. We can’t trust Scripture, we can’t trust truth, we’ve got to pursue God on our own detached from that. That is not only to throw out the baby and the bathwater, but to demo the bathtub. What is presumptuous is to pursue God on your own terms and spurn His chosen and perfect means of revelation. Once you have done that, the only conversation we can have is on a merry-go-round going nowhere. And that’s where we are.
The Spirit knows our groaning. Come unto Me all who are burdened and you will find rest. The Spirit will teach you all things. The Comforter. He is working to draw all to Himself.
things that I believe are true of God, regardless of our belief or unbelief. He is infinite in His love for His creation and His gentleness and patience in pursuit of the broken. He is not bound by what we think Must Be Done.
If you find yourself struggling to understand or carry space or compassion for those in the difficult and disorienting process of deconstructing, I’d suggest you defer your commentary to those who can.
Hi Liza! Thanks for the pushback. It's an important conversation to have! I understand for many, there may be a lot of work to do to tear down what is unbiblical and rebuild (sometimes down to the very foundation). The point that I am trying to make is that you still have to have a foundation to come back to. You mentioned people twisting the Scriptures, and that all needs to be untwisted, but you must have a standard to go by in order to do that. I feel compassion for those who were lied to by people they trust. I want them to have a faith that is rebuilt on God's Word properly interpreted, not on the ways people have wrested it to their own destruction. Deconstruction, by its true definition, does not allow you to do that. It leaves no standard for you, just your own truth. And a dismantling that leads someone to remake God in their own image will not save them. When I see that, I am compelled to urge them to come to Christ. Sometimes the most loving thing you can do for someone is warn them. And that is not something I have seen with these deconstruction stories. The pain and grief are real, and so are the consequences of walking away from Christ. For anyone who has questions, we should rally around them and seek to help them find answers. But we must encourage them to find them where they can actually be found: in Jesus Christ and His Word. I do want these people to find a happy ending, in the arms of the everlasting God. I don't see how postmodern deconstruction can take them there. I appreciate the conversation. And I promise I am not at all threatened by anyone's journey :)
Thanks so much for this reply, Alex! I think I see where our perspectives are different a little clearer now. For me, and for so many others I know, there was no foundation left to trust. Even my favorite translation of Scripture (ESV) was called into question. And so the Great Testing became, was God enough to meet me outside of Scripture and traditional church, since even the Bible no longer felt trustworthy. What’s wild, is in the rebuilding I’ve done, some of those “fundamental truths” that I thought years ago were absolutely true, really aren’t, or at least are up for debate. It was very scary and untethering to look around and wonder if I could trust anything anymore.
So that’s what I’m highlighting - cautioning people to hang onto the “truth” of the word of God, means a whole different thing to someone who’s been abused by Christianity. And so while postmodern deconstruction can feel dangerous, I strongly feel that Christians separating themselves from the ones asking questions and reworking their entire faith, may actually be contributing to the problem. If the truth is the truth, regardless, then your faith will not be swayed by validating those who have questions, anger, and frustration. And holding space for those people with questions and who are doing that full demolition who need a complete restart with their faith, may actually need you to live out your life in front of them rather than point them back to a book they may or may not trust. Be in their story for the long haul, trust the process, and don’t look for or expect a specific result. Love (even in 1 Cor 13) doesn’t require agreement…a hurting human needs safety before healing can start. (and that’s a whole other conversation ha!)
I’m fully aware that my story has a “happier” ending, because through the help of teachers and resources outside of the ones I grew up with, I have come to trust the Bible again, and I’ve found a deep security in knowing Who Created me and my divine purpose. (Truly sometimes I don’t know why I made it out the other side knowing God still…it feels like straight mercy) But I also view Scripture, God Himself and faith through a completely different framework than I had before. And honestly, like Baylie said, there’s a lot of people who knew me 10 years ago who would question the validity of my faith now because of those changes.
Personally, I struggle to see deconstruction conversations exclusively in a cautionary tone. I’d love to see the Church asking itself WHY people feel like they need to deconstruct their view of God completely, and be more curious about why people are doing that full demolition of their faith. Maybe we’ve had a lot wrong the past couple hundred years as the Church, and this is the inevitable self correction, not unlike a reformation. (another conversation, haha)
And as far as you’re not feeling threatened by others, I actually didn’t mean that as a personal attack on you, sorry! More that I’ve learned that someone questioning everything doesn’t feel scary to me, because I trust that God has special mercy for those that grew up in the church with a twisted view of Him, and even if they never can open a Bible again, He’s pursuing them as wholly as He was before, and they are capable of finding Him in those new ways, and that in no way challenges my own relationship with God.
Thanks again for engaging with this - I know you’re a deeply thoughtful person which is why I figured you’d be open for discussion :)
Hi Liza! I agree that we see this very differently. If a completely new foundation is set, it would seem to me that there are two options. One is either departing from the Christian faith or entering into it. That can only be determined by whether the foundation aligns with the Scriptures rightly interpreted. If we cannot agree that there is an objectively right way to interpret the Bible (whether we perfectly line up with it in every single way is another question), there is no way for us to find absolute truth. Everyone does what is right in their own eyes.
If the foundation is rotten, I am in favor of demolishing it and coming to the true Christ and a true understanding of the Scriptures. But how can one demolish the foundation if it is the solid rock of Christ? I must encourage people to hold on to that truth even if they are confused about it because that is still the only legitimate foundation. We are not separating from people when we do that; we are inviting them to come to Christ. If people have departed from that foundation (the nature of God, the nature of man, the work of Christ and how we are saved, the infallibility of the Bible, etc), isn’t the only loving thing to do to acknowledge that they have departed and urge them to come back? Love (even in 1 Cor. 13) cannot be separated from truth.
I do want to clarify that I do not view everyone who uses the term ‘deconstruction’ as someone leaving Christianity. Some people use it to describe strengthening their faith or even coming out of a false church. I view that as an improper use of the term. Deconstruction by definition undermines truth, and I do not see how you can build a solid foundation while using a term that objects to the absolute truth you are building on. In its proper sense, deconstruction would be abandoning any foundation and seeking to rebuild one’s own truth with only relativism as a foundation (which we both know is impossible).
I do think the church should examine how we can build the foundations stronger. How can we strengthen those roots in our children, in new believers, and in ourselves? But again, that can only come back to the Bible. The Protestant Reformation was necessary and powerful because it called the church back to the Scriptures and away from the traditions of man that had left the Bible behind. We cannot pursue reformation or even the restoration of a single soul outside of that framework.
God is pursuing us, and He has chosen to do that by revealing Himself to us through His Word in text and the Word of God in flesh, Jesus Christ. Thanks for engaging. I do think this conversation is very important. And I am impressed at how you put out such a long reply with all of your kiddos running around :)
To your last point - I resurface after days because of said children, ha. I do most of my social engaging when Josh is home and is primary parent haha. Or I just let them run amuck.
I do understand your perspective, and would’ve held a similar one myself until deconstruction.
I venture the question, more rhetorically, how do you know that your specific interpretation of Absolute Truth is True? The Bible is a revelation of God to us, but ultimately it is words that get translated and used and applied differently across time and culture, and therefore requires a deep humility when handling, and is ultimately useless without walking with Holy Spirit, because God Himself is the Living Word, and is always consistent, and shows us His heart if we listen, regardless of how many different ways there are to interpret a specific verse or concept in Scripture. I’ve learned to be comforted and content with questioning and wrestling, and ultimately relying on my relationship with God outside of Scripture when I don’t understand or can’t overcome a specific text or story that was used to abuse or divide, or even simply is above my pay grade.
And with that again, MANY things I was told were Absolute Truths turned out to be historic points of contention, meaning we DON’T know, and we’ve never really known. And so that leads to “wait, if we’ve been believing that and we didn’t have to be, what else is a lie?” - which often leads to…full deconstruction. And you could
say “that’s fine as long as you believe Jesus is the Son of God” but again, for some, they may need to question THAT if their trust has been shaken. And I genuinely think that’s okay. Jesus MUST be bigger than our confusion and need to sort out what we believe, and He pursues us with love because He is also grieved by the abuse done in His name. We can trust His story in our lives and the lives of those we love who are hurting because of organized religion. I DON’T need to point an abused person back to verses that that trigger their pain, because I can love them like Jesus and trust their journey is His and theirs to walk. If He is the foundation and can’t be demolished, then we don’t need to worry about burning it all down and starting over, because He’s not going anywhere.
Again, I still hold scripture with reverence, and I believe it is a powerful powerful word that shows us the heart and story of God. But again we’re talking about deconstruction, which is very specifically a movement oh people who were raised in or believed in Christianity and have since either left or broken down everything they believe and rebuilt. So in this specific context, we can assume these are people who are very familiar with scripture, not new folks coming in and finding it be life and refreshing to their journey. Is there room for those who have been taught a twisted “Word” to step away from the “truth of scripture” which to them might be a meaningless phrase, and relearn the Truth? I have to think yes. It’s not relativism, it’s a revisiting of the age old wrestling with God that so many have done before us.
(highly recommended the work of Marty Solomon for going deeper with some of this)
The substance of our disagreement seems to be whether or not we can pursue truth untethered from Scripture. You believe that we can, I do not. If we remove Jesus as He has been revealed in Scripture, we do not even know which Jesus we are talking about. We can only be talking about a Jesus we define on our own. And that is not Christianity. We can talk about whether an objective interpretation is correct, but if we lose the reality that there is an objective interpretation, we do not even have a place to start. That is what I see with deconstruction. It blows everything up, and it does not leave with any legitimate starting place for rebuilding.
Our knowledge of God (especially growing up in the church) is usually inextricably linked to those have taught us. What if those who taught you were wrong? Then you would be looking at Scripture through a specific lens that leads away from the truth, all while you *think* you’re following Absolute Truth. Then something happens to expose a new interpretation, and all of a sudden you wonder what else you don’t know?
To say that someone cannot build a relationship with God outside of what you consider to be absolute truth based on your human understanding of scripture as taught you throughout your life by different leaders, teachers, parents and your own study - is honestly presumptuous. Is God Himself not bigger than the Bible? Is He not able to reveal Himself and guide and meet the hurting and wounded where they are? Does He panic if we don’t come around fast enough, or set aside certain theologies? Is He confined to our understanding? And if He’s not afraid to be questioned and wrestled with, why are we when others do?
a week later, and I’m still sitting here surprised that deconstructing is considered dangerous. if the Truth can’t hold up to the *actual* definition of deconstruction (piece by piece analysis and examination of belief - done by some in more complete ways than others) and God Himself can’t handle our questions or Holy Spirit meet us in our actual experience outside of the pages of a *specific interpretation* of a sacred text, what kind of insecure, limited, fragile god and religion is this? is it any wonder people are questioning? arguably deconstruction could be what keeps a person’s faith practice alive, and keeps the religion as a whole from deteriorating into dogmatism and intellectualism. an inevitable reformation cycling around.
if that’s somehow idolatry…then, so be it..? at least it’s more consistent over here.
You have not established any coherent view of how Scripture informs your experience and feelings. Your closing argument appears to be that the views Christians have held for 2000 years are fragile and limited while you yourself are both remarkably humble and extraordinarily accurate with no identified standard other than yourself. I believe this conversation has run its course.
Hey Alex, after reading the back and forth here, I'm curious how you came to the conclusion that Liza is saying scripture is subordinate to her with the purpose of confirming her own experience. I think you could be missing her (at several points in this conversation, but especially here). To clarify, I can clearly see that there are areas where your perspectives diverge, but I can't see how your comment here is anything but a distortion of what she shared. It sounds like you've pegged her as an idolater who worships herself. Again, I can understand points where you both diverge, but after the whole of what she shared, is that actually what you think? I realize this conversation has been longer and may have already taken away too much family time already, so no pressure to reply if you are needed elsewhere.
Thanks for reaching out, Candice! The reason I made that comment is because the argument was made that sometimes Scripture, because of how it has been abused, must be separated from in order to establish a personal connection with God. When that is done, the foundation of faith becomes not Scripture but one’s own feelings and experiences.
That clearly puts Scripture in a subordinate position. It does not instruct or correct feelings or experience; its job becomes to verify that experience or those feelings. At that point, the god with whom the personal connection is made is not the God of the Bible. That has been set aside. It is instead a God constructed from one’s own personal blueprint. How would you define a god based on a personal blueprint instead of how God has chosen to reveal Himself in Scripture? I would define that as idolatry.
Yes, of course someone could make a god in their own image from an experience. But if God actually does reveal himself to someone, then they aren’t making a god in their own image.
This seems entirely possible and some biblical examples would include Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Paul… then you’ve got every time a muslim who has had a vision of Jesus believes or other salvation stories where God reveals himself to someone in the midst of life when they aren’t reading the bible or hearing one of its verses.
So if a Bible believer encounters an experience that causes them to take a break from reading the holy book, all is not necessarily lost. Not only have their minds been impressed with what they have already learned, but there’s the Holy Spirit who apart from bringing truth to remembrance teaches, comforts, guides, transforms, convicts, empowers, intercedes and seals believer’s salvation…right?
Yes, the Scriptures themselves show examples of that as you bring up. But how would you know the difference between a true experience of God and a false one? It would have to be by testing it against the Bible. Without that, you have lost the legitimate standard by which you can measure your experiences and feelings. I'm not arguing that you can't know God unless you have the Bible in front of you (prayer is an obvious testament that you can). But you cannot set aside the infallible authority God Himself gave to instruct our faith and practice.
I am glad to see that this conversation is no longer costing you more than you can give 🙂 How do we know that Moses had a true experience of God and that Mohammed and Joseph Smith had a false one?
So very well articulated. I think it goes without saying that many of us will come into contact with some kind of hurt from within the church in some capacity. I have had many things I've had to untangle from teachings in my childhood and young adult years. But being ready to deal with it slowly, in the way untangling requires, with humility and forgiveness goes such a long way in helping our faith not crumble. Especially in my experience.
Clever words make it harder to see the false dilemmas. To be fair, Alex is right that deconstruction is not a word christians like him should use because it is very different from sanctification and it can end in apostasy. It's wild to say almost all deconstructions look identical and his argument that deconstruction is practically synonymous with relativism (regardless of the origin of the term and we can talk about linguistics another time...) is weak (how true we think it is will likely just be based on our own limited experiences with those who have deconstructed). The subject is complex and nuanced and really deserves a much more careful examination, especially if someone is going to position themselves as a spiritual authority on the subject. To assume that people transitioning perspectives are thoughtless, reckless “demolition experts” or people who are so inflamed with hurt they went dumb is... shallow and careless. I get that it's hard to fathom people honestly, seriously, critically sifting through evidence and coming out the other side feeling confident in beliefs different than your own (it must be false, deceptive info right?) And I can definitely see why deconstruction is threatening to fundamentalism (otherwise why warn against engagement?) I understand why Alex would believe that in addressing incongruities, deconstructionists are incapable of building a cohesive worldview. Nevertheless... I'm just here to say... it's possible the clever words here don't paint a completely accurate picture. But hey, if you'd rather all nod in agreement and pat each other on the back, that's your prerogative.
Angie, I am genuinely glad to hear that you've given your beliefs slow and careful thought. Humility and forgiveness will always help to heal and clarify. Regardless of our different perspectives, I'm sending you and your family love (if you don't mind me sending that into the ether ;) and hope you are enjoying the winter season.
Hey Alex! I really enjoyed reading this piece - you have a lot of great points. Just want to bring another perspective alongside of what you shared.
I wholeheartedly believe the experience of those whose growth in their walk with Christ could best be described as "detangling." Learning and growing, and shifting our beliefs to become more in line with the nature and character and word of God is part of life in Christ! At the same time, there are many - myself included - whose journey of faith would best be described as blowing up the whole house and starting fresh. I kind of feel like I went through a deconstruction before that was really even a term, the deconstruction TikTok and Instagram phenomenon was certainly not around. In order to fully follow Jesus, and embrace his word in every part of my life, "detangling" would've been far too gentle. It required me allowing everything to be burned up and examining everything I have been taught to believe. Very long story short, I was raised in a religious cult (same as Jinger in many ways) but had a radical encounter with Jesus at age 17. This set me on a journey of leaving everything I'd known to follow Jesus. It was because the Bible had been used and abused and misinterpreted so severely that I had to allow the fire of God to consume everything and allow his Spirit to reveal the truth. For me, going from dead religion to a living relationship with Jesus meant that I could trust him in this process, and that I could let go of even the need to be right or understand everything. Everything exploded in my internal and external world, and it was terrifying. But through it all Jesus was so faithful to Shepherd me through that dark night of the soul. cut to where I am now - I'm in my 30s and serving in ministry at my local church, I love Jesus with everything I have, I hold to the scriptures as the infallible word of God, a historical view of marriage and sexuality, ect. I say all of this to say, the result of blowing up my life was not apostasy, but fidelity to Jesus and his truth. But ironically, there are those from the world I left well over a decade ago who would say that I am not even a true believer because so many of my beliefs have changed. For lots of people, a simple detangling along the normal lines of sanctification and growth will be enough. But there will be people who will have to go through a deconstruction/demolition. it does seem like the word deconstruction has grown to often (not always!) be synonymous with abandoning orthodoxy, but for me personally, the term "detangling" isn't extreme enough for what my experience has been. Maybe we need a new word? 😉 Lol
Anyways, I love this conversation and your heart to see people come to Jesus as the only source of truth and healing! Blessings to you and Emily!
Hi Baylie! Thanks for reading and for commenting. Praise God for the work He has done! I am not trying to say that 'disentanglement' will accurately capture everyone's process. It sounds like in your case, there was a ton of work that needed to be done, more than just separating good from bad. I am thankful that He has brought you through that dark night! My issue with the term 'deconstruction' is that it originates from postmodernism and does not allow for absolute truth as a foundation. Without absolute truth, and the Word of God in particular, no one can rebuild a Christian faith. As long as the Word remains the standard, we might need to go down to the studs to build on the solid rock. My concern is that deconstruction as a concept not only blows up but has no power to rebuild. It may be that another word besides disentanglement could be used for those bigger house projects. Let me know if you find a good one. Thanks for keeping the conversation going and God bless you!
Hi Alex! I definitely share your concern that the word "deconstruction" originated from postmodernism - and that would be no issue at all or extremely problematic, depending on who you're talking to. Like you said in the article, a lot of people use that word without knowing the full meaning, and that word serves as a kind of catch-all for many different stories, experiences, and outcomes! I just finished a book recently called You Are Not Alone by Phil Manginelli on secularism and deconstruction. It's a pastoral and historical take on secularism and how postmodernism has brought us now to metamodernism, and how that impacts those who have experience spiritual trauma and also those who are questioning their faith. A lot of the concerns you raised were also expounded on in that book and it reminded me of that. I think you'd find it super interesting!
For the sake of conversation, here’s a pushback: in the final paragraph, you said, “trust me” - and I think right there is the key for those who have actually needed to dynamite their beliefs. For many of us, we DID trust people who twisted and abused Scripture so effectively, that a full demo is needed - and for some they may never come back. As one that almost didn’t, I see so much grace from the Father from those who were so burned they never want anything to do with religion again. And we’d do well to listen and grieve and love, instead of distance ourselves. I know my faith looks completely different than it did - in fact I’d venture to say the God I worship doesn’t resemble the one I was taught about - full demo. So. Yeah, it’s a movement, and maybe some don’t care enough…but I’m right in the thick of it with so many people I dearly love, and all I see is deep pain, abuse, trauma, grief - not selfishness or flippancy. Deconstruction is a dismantling. For some it CAN be a disentangling, but we each have our own story, and each journey with God is individual, so it would be kinder, I feel, to validate all those stories without requiring a happy ending, trusting the truth we believe to hold up and not be afraid of being led astray, instead of distancing ourselves.
just thoughts from someone who’s comfortable with having blown it all up, and with deconstruction as a whole. no one’s journey with God is a threat to mine.
If Scripture is subordinate to you and its purpose is to confirm your own experience and feelings, that is by definition making a god in your own image. The biblical term for that is idolatry, not Christianity.
I engaged in this conversation in good faith, as someone who has endured spiritual abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual harrassment at the hands of “Christians” in authority over me, in multiple different situations, multiple places, over my childhood, teenage years and young adult life. Some of those stories you are very familiar with.
I’m telling you, as plainly as I can, that GOD HIMSELF meets His children in creative and powerful ways in their woundings - that line up with scripture without being scripture itself - that may make the Organized Church uncomfortable, because it forces us out of our head knowledge into our relationships, not unlike Jesus challenging his disciples to go beyond their religious tradition when seeing the outcasts of society and see the Story of God. I know this to be true, because I’ve experienced Him in these dark holes and trenches, when I felt like I could never trust a leader, set foot in a church, or open a Bible again. You can call that idolatry, you can challenge my beliefs, and those of others who have been on similar journeys, but ultimately it is you putting God in box, and possibly pushing others farther from their Creator by choosing not to listen to understand.
I don’t wish my story on anyone. It’s been excruciating. I’m grateful for where I am, though, and the relationship with the Divine that’s been forged in my pain. And again, I initially engaged in good faith, because this is the road I’ve walked for ten years. But this is costing me more than I’m willing to give. Have a good evening.
The reason you know anything in that first paragraph is because God has revealed it through the Scriptures. Jesus is infinitely more compassionate than anyone, and He both comforted the burdened and hurting and gave continual warnings about the consequences of departing from truth. If Jesus and Paul don’t meet your standard of compassion and “carrying space”, you’ve got a real problem on your hands.
Not true. He met me outside of the text when I was too in pain to open it. Later I found that what I experienced of Him IS in Scripture. But even if I never opened it again, would what I experienced of Him still be true if He Is Truth? Can God guide a soul with the Holy Spirit alone if that is what’s necessary? Can we allow for Him to reveal Himself in Creation and through others if the Bible can’t be consumed? Almost like there’d be a verse about that if so…OH WAIT.
Anyways. If you want to hold fast to this idea that, across the board, those who deconstruct are building a false god to themselves because God can’t be met outside of a specific interpretation of Scripture, that’s fine. Again, to blunt, that sounds like building God into something you want Him to be yourself. I digress. But again, it seems you’re actually preaching to the choir, and the ones who could’ve used your compassion and listening ear will be pushed farther away and will find their community and answers elsewhere. It costs you nothing to hold this position, but it costs the hurting ones everything, because you’re once again proving to them that God is not Big Enough to handle their questions, wounds, or doubt. That is why I care so deeply. I am still a “Christian” (I prefer “follower of Jesus” these days) because of Holy Spirit’s creativity and patience to comfort and guide, and those who listened to understand, not to correct and caution. THAT is why I advocate for kindness, compassion, unity and humility when handling those on these journeys, and that is why I struggle to leave this topic alone.
This is deconstruction in a nutshell. We can’t trust Scripture, we can’t trust truth, we’ve got to pursue God on our own detached from that. That is not only to throw out the baby and the bathwater, but to demo the bathtub. What is presumptuous is to pursue God on your own terms and spurn His chosen and perfect means of revelation. Once you have done that, the only conversation we can have is on a merry-go-round going nowhere. And that’s where we are.
The Spirit knows our groaning. Come unto Me all who are burdened and you will find rest. The Spirit will teach you all things. The Comforter. He is working to draw all to Himself.
things that I believe are true of God, regardless of our belief or unbelief. He is infinite in His love for His creation and His gentleness and patience in pursuit of the broken. He is not bound by what we think Must Be Done.
If you find yourself struggling to understand or carry space or compassion for those in the difficult and disorienting process of deconstructing, I’d suggest you defer your commentary to those who can.
https://open.substack.com/pub/kristenlavalley/p/breaking-free-from-anxious-spirituality?r=ufldf&utm_medium=ios
https://open.substack.com/pub/kristenlavalley/p/i-didnt-want-to-leave-but-i-had-to?r=ufldf&utm_medium=ios
Hi Liza! Thanks for the pushback. It's an important conversation to have! I understand for many, there may be a lot of work to do to tear down what is unbiblical and rebuild (sometimes down to the very foundation). The point that I am trying to make is that you still have to have a foundation to come back to. You mentioned people twisting the Scriptures, and that all needs to be untwisted, but you must have a standard to go by in order to do that. I feel compassion for those who were lied to by people they trust. I want them to have a faith that is rebuilt on God's Word properly interpreted, not on the ways people have wrested it to their own destruction. Deconstruction, by its true definition, does not allow you to do that. It leaves no standard for you, just your own truth. And a dismantling that leads someone to remake God in their own image will not save them. When I see that, I am compelled to urge them to come to Christ. Sometimes the most loving thing you can do for someone is warn them. And that is not something I have seen with these deconstruction stories. The pain and grief are real, and so are the consequences of walking away from Christ. For anyone who has questions, we should rally around them and seek to help them find answers. But we must encourage them to find them where they can actually be found: in Jesus Christ and His Word. I do want these people to find a happy ending, in the arms of the everlasting God. I don't see how postmodern deconstruction can take them there. I appreciate the conversation. And I promise I am not at all threatened by anyone's journey :)
Thanks so much for this reply, Alex! I think I see where our perspectives are different a little clearer now. For me, and for so many others I know, there was no foundation left to trust. Even my favorite translation of Scripture (ESV) was called into question. And so the Great Testing became, was God enough to meet me outside of Scripture and traditional church, since even the Bible no longer felt trustworthy. What’s wild, is in the rebuilding I’ve done, some of those “fundamental truths” that I thought years ago were absolutely true, really aren’t, or at least are up for debate. It was very scary and untethering to look around and wonder if I could trust anything anymore.
So that’s what I’m highlighting - cautioning people to hang onto the “truth” of the word of God, means a whole different thing to someone who’s been abused by Christianity. And so while postmodern deconstruction can feel dangerous, I strongly feel that Christians separating themselves from the ones asking questions and reworking their entire faith, may actually be contributing to the problem. If the truth is the truth, regardless, then your faith will not be swayed by validating those who have questions, anger, and frustration. And holding space for those people with questions and who are doing that full demolition who need a complete restart with their faith, may actually need you to live out your life in front of them rather than point them back to a book they may or may not trust. Be in their story for the long haul, trust the process, and don’t look for or expect a specific result. Love (even in 1 Cor 13) doesn’t require agreement…a hurting human needs safety before healing can start. (and that’s a whole other conversation ha!)
I’m fully aware that my story has a “happier” ending, because through the help of teachers and resources outside of the ones I grew up with, I have come to trust the Bible again, and I’ve found a deep security in knowing Who Created me and my divine purpose. (Truly sometimes I don’t know why I made it out the other side knowing God still…it feels like straight mercy) But I also view Scripture, God Himself and faith through a completely different framework than I had before. And honestly, like Baylie said, there’s a lot of people who knew me 10 years ago who would question the validity of my faith now because of those changes.
Personally, I struggle to see deconstruction conversations exclusively in a cautionary tone. I’d love to see the Church asking itself WHY people feel like they need to deconstruct their view of God completely, and be more curious about why people are doing that full demolition of their faith. Maybe we’ve had a lot wrong the past couple hundred years as the Church, and this is the inevitable self correction, not unlike a reformation. (another conversation, haha)
And as far as you’re not feeling threatened by others, I actually didn’t mean that as a personal attack on you, sorry! More that I’ve learned that someone questioning everything doesn’t feel scary to me, because I trust that God has special mercy for those that grew up in the church with a twisted view of Him, and even if they never can open a Bible again, He’s pursuing them as wholly as He was before, and they are capable of finding Him in those new ways, and that in no way challenges my own relationship with God.
Thanks again for engaging with this - I know you’re a deeply thoughtful person which is why I figured you’d be open for discussion :)
Hi Liza! I agree that we see this very differently. If a completely new foundation is set, it would seem to me that there are two options. One is either departing from the Christian faith or entering into it. That can only be determined by whether the foundation aligns with the Scriptures rightly interpreted. If we cannot agree that there is an objectively right way to interpret the Bible (whether we perfectly line up with it in every single way is another question), there is no way for us to find absolute truth. Everyone does what is right in their own eyes.
If the foundation is rotten, I am in favor of demolishing it and coming to the true Christ and a true understanding of the Scriptures. But how can one demolish the foundation if it is the solid rock of Christ? I must encourage people to hold on to that truth even if they are confused about it because that is still the only legitimate foundation. We are not separating from people when we do that; we are inviting them to come to Christ. If people have departed from that foundation (the nature of God, the nature of man, the work of Christ and how we are saved, the infallibility of the Bible, etc), isn’t the only loving thing to do to acknowledge that they have departed and urge them to come back? Love (even in 1 Cor. 13) cannot be separated from truth.
I do want to clarify that I do not view everyone who uses the term ‘deconstruction’ as someone leaving Christianity. Some people use it to describe strengthening their faith or even coming out of a false church. I view that as an improper use of the term. Deconstruction by definition undermines truth, and I do not see how you can build a solid foundation while using a term that objects to the absolute truth you are building on. In its proper sense, deconstruction would be abandoning any foundation and seeking to rebuild one’s own truth with only relativism as a foundation (which we both know is impossible).
I do think the church should examine how we can build the foundations stronger. How can we strengthen those roots in our children, in new believers, and in ourselves? But again, that can only come back to the Bible. The Protestant Reformation was necessary and powerful because it called the church back to the Scriptures and away from the traditions of man that had left the Bible behind. We cannot pursue reformation or even the restoration of a single soul outside of that framework.
God is pursuing us, and He has chosen to do that by revealing Himself to us through His Word in text and the Word of God in flesh, Jesus Christ. Thanks for engaging. I do think this conversation is very important. And I am impressed at how you put out such a long reply with all of your kiddos running around :)
To your last point - I resurface after days because of said children, ha. I do most of my social engaging when Josh is home and is primary parent haha. Or I just let them run amuck.
I do understand your perspective, and would’ve held a similar one myself until deconstruction.
I venture the question, more rhetorically, how do you know that your specific interpretation of Absolute Truth is True? The Bible is a revelation of God to us, but ultimately it is words that get translated and used and applied differently across time and culture, and therefore requires a deep humility when handling, and is ultimately useless without walking with Holy Spirit, because God Himself is the Living Word, and is always consistent, and shows us His heart if we listen, regardless of how many different ways there are to interpret a specific verse or concept in Scripture. I’ve learned to be comforted and content with questioning and wrestling, and ultimately relying on my relationship with God outside of Scripture when I don’t understand or can’t overcome a specific text or story that was used to abuse or divide, or even simply is above my pay grade.
And with that again, MANY things I was told were Absolute Truths turned out to be historic points of contention, meaning we DON’T know, and we’ve never really known. And so that leads to “wait, if we’ve been believing that and we didn’t have to be, what else is a lie?” - which often leads to…full deconstruction. And you could
say “that’s fine as long as you believe Jesus is the Son of God” but again, for some, they may need to question THAT if their trust has been shaken. And I genuinely think that’s okay. Jesus MUST be bigger than our confusion and need to sort out what we believe, and He pursues us with love because He is also grieved by the abuse done in His name. We can trust His story in our lives and the lives of those we love who are hurting because of organized religion. I DON’T need to point an abused person back to verses that that trigger their pain, because I can love them like Jesus and trust their journey is His and theirs to walk. If He is the foundation and can’t be demolished, then we don’t need to worry about burning it all down and starting over, because He’s not going anywhere.
Again, I still hold scripture with reverence, and I believe it is a powerful powerful word that shows us the heart and story of God. But again we’re talking about deconstruction, which is very specifically a movement oh people who were raised in or believed in Christianity and have since either left or broken down everything they believe and rebuilt. So in this specific context, we can assume these are people who are very familiar with scripture, not new folks coming in and finding it be life and refreshing to their journey. Is there room for those who have been taught a twisted “Word” to step away from the “truth of scripture” which to them might be a meaningless phrase, and relearn the Truth? I have to think yes. It’s not relativism, it’s a revisiting of the age old wrestling with God that so many have done before us.
(highly recommended the work of Marty Solomon for going deeper with some of this)
The substance of our disagreement seems to be whether or not we can pursue truth untethered from Scripture. You believe that we can, I do not. If we remove Jesus as He has been revealed in Scripture, we do not even know which Jesus we are talking about. We can only be talking about a Jesus we define on our own. And that is not Christianity. We can talk about whether an objective interpretation is correct, but if we lose the reality that there is an objective interpretation, we do not even have a place to start. That is what I see with deconstruction. It blows everything up, and it does not leave with any legitimate starting place for rebuilding.
Our knowledge of God (especially growing up in the church) is usually inextricably linked to those have taught us. What if those who taught you were wrong? Then you would be looking at Scripture through a specific lens that leads away from the truth, all while you *think* you’re following Absolute Truth. Then something happens to expose a new interpretation, and all of a sudden you wonder what else you don’t know?
To say that someone cannot build a relationship with God outside of what you consider to be absolute truth based on your human understanding of scripture as taught you throughout your life by different leaders, teachers, parents and your own study - is honestly presumptuous. Is God Himself not bigger than the Bible? Is He not able to reveal Himself and guide and meet the hurting and wounded where they are? Does He panic if we don’t come around fast enough, or set aside certain theologies? Is He confined to our understanding? And if He’s not afraid to be questioned and wrestled with, why are we when others do?
a week later, and I’m still sitting here surprised that deconstructing is considered dangerous. if the Truth can’t hold up to the *actual* definition of deconstruction (piece by piece analysis and examination of belief - done by some in more complete ways than others) and God Himself can’t handle our questions or Holy Spirit meet us in our actual experience outside of the pages of a *specific interpretation* of a sacred text, what kind of insecure, limited, fragile god and religion is this? is it any wonder people are questioning? arguably deconstruction could be what keeps a person’s faith practice alive, and keeps the religion as a whole from deteriorating into dogmatism and intellectualism. an inevitable reformation cycling around.
if that’s somehow idolatry…then, so be it..? at least it’s more consistent over here.
You have not established any coherent view of how Scripture informs your experience and feelings. Your closing argument appears to be that the views Christians have held for 2000 years are fragile and limited while you yourself are both remarkably humble and extraordinarily accurate with no identified standard other than yourself. I believe this conversation has run its course.
Hey Alex, after reading the back and forth here, I'm curious how you came to the conclusion that Liza is saying scripture is subordinate to her with the purpose of confirming her own experience. I think you could be missing her (at several points in this conversation, but especially here). To clarify, I can clearly see that there are areas where your perspectives diverge, but I can't see how your comment here is anything but a distortion of what she shared. It sounds like you've pegged her as an idolater who worships herself. Again, I can understand points where you both diverge, but after the whole of what she shared, is that actually what you think? I realize this conversation has been longer and may have already taken away too much family time already, so no pressure to reply if you are needed elsewhere.
Thanks for reaching out, Candice! The reason I made that comment is because the argument was made that sometimes Scripture, because of how it has been abused, must be separated from in order to establish a personal connection with God. When that is done, the foundation of faith becomes not Scripture but one’s own feelings and experiences.
That clearly puts Scripture in a subordinate position. It does not instruct or correct feelings or experience; its job becomes to verify that experience or those feelings. At that point, the god with whom the personal connection is made is not the God of the Bible. That has been set aside. It is instead a God constructed from one’s own personal blueprint. How would you define a god based on a personal blueprint instead of how God has chosen to reveal Himself in Scripture? I would define that as idolatry.
Yes, of course someone could make a god in their own image from an experience. But if God actually does reveal himself to someone, then they aren’t making a god in their own image.
This seems entirely possible and some biblical examples would include Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Paul… then you’ve got every time a muslim who has had a vision of Jesus believes or other salvation stories where God reveals himself to someone in the midst of life when they aren’t reading the bible or hearing one of its verses.
So if a Bible believer encounters an experience that causes them to take a break from reading the holy book, all is not necessarily lost. Not only have their minds been impressed with what they have already learned, but there’s the Holy Spirit who apart from bringing truth to remembrance teaches, comforts, guides, transforms, convicts, empowers, intercedes and seals believer’s salvation…right?
Yes, the Scriptures themselves show examples of that as you bring up. But how would you know the difference between a true experience of God and a false one? It would have to be by testing it against the Bible. Without that, you have lost the legitimate standard by which you can measure your experiences and feelings. I'm not arguing that you can't know God unless you have the Bible in front of you (prayer is an obvious testament that you can). But you cannot set aside the infallible authority God Himself gave to instruct our faith and practice.
*bush implodes in flames* “I AM YHWH”
Moses: “ehhh let me check the book. oh wait I haven’t written it yet - guess we’ll never know if that’s true! Darn I wish my experience was reliable.”
I am glad to see that this conversation is no longer costing you more than you can give 🙂 How do we know that Moses had a true experience of God and that Mohammed and Joseph Smith had a false one?
I know how to protect my peace. Today is a new day.
How did MOSES know his experience was real, is the right question in this context.