A Word About Deconstruction

The deconstruction business is booming. Everyone and their mom has a book or an Instagram reel or a Facebook post about how they are finally starting to examine their beliefs. They then realize that in their heart of hearts they have been aligned with the spirit of the age all along. In an apparently inexplicable pattern, this good-faith intellectual and rigorous consideration of doctrine always seems to end with the deconstructionist in lockstep with current cultural values and trends. How can this be? If deconstruction is simply testing one's faith, should it not occasionally end in doubling down (digging in the heels like Balaam's ass as Wodehouse would put it) on Christianity and its doctrines? Where are the deconstructionists who go from nominal to evangelical or from MINO (Methodist in Name Only) to Reformed Baptist?

These people exist. Oddly enough, they do not link their transformation with this hip term. They instead label it as "Christian growth". They might even use a word like "sanctification" (whatever that means). But more on these trad folks on another day (that is what the kids would call them, right?).

Why are people using this word to describe their faith journey (another one of those hip terms)? Well, other than the fact that it has more vibes than a coffee shop in downtown Portland, deconstruction possesses a certain amount of cultural capital. People out there understand what you are talking about when you release it into the ether or at least they think they do. You will get some head nods and probably a pat on the back (maybe not from the super COVID-conscious but you know what I mean).

But the problem with words that carry cultural capital is that they carry cultural capital. The reason someone chooses to use the word is the same reason that word will get in the way when they try to "Christianize" it. Words that have entered the common vernacular enter with a meaning, a context that is not easily shifted. Deconstruction means something in the real world, and it is not pretty.

The background of the term comes from postmodernism and literary criticism. It involves taking language, a concept, or a literary work and breaking it down into pieces, leaving no stone on top of another. Language is not stable; therefore truth and reality are not stable. Everything must be uprooted. From there, the plan is to "build back better" as one of our political parties likes to say. The problem with this is that deconstruction has a million wrecking balls and not one shovel or backhoe to actually build something. It may claim to examine critically one piece at a time, but the whole idea undermines the only way in which absolute truth can be pursued. When foundational doctrines and presuppositions go the way of the dodo, the only blueprint left for building is one's own image.

This is why we should not be surprised that so many deconstructions look almost identical. Malcom Muggeridge once noted that "If God is dead, somebody is going to have to take his place”. Once the Bible is jettisoned as the revelation of reality about God and man (whether the deconstructionist admits he or she has left the Scriptures behind or not), something has to fill that vacuum. A self-serving philosophy that takes up every culturally popular position is more than happy to fill that slot.

Some may interject at this point that to them, deconstruction is merely testing one's beliefs and practices against the Bible and detaching from that which is not truly biblical. But calling that deconstruction would be like fixing a leaky faucet or renovating a bedroom and calling it demolition. If you are shoring up your faith or recalibrating it according to the Scriptures, that is not deconstruction in any meaningful sense.

Others would say they are separating from opinions they held deeply at one point because they are not biblical. Jinger Vuolo (formerly Duggar) has written about this, calling it disentanglement. This term captures this process much more accurately. The goal is surgical precision, cutting away cancerous or false ideas so that the body of faith can continue to grow in a healthy manner. This leaves a thriving faith, following Paul's injunctions to renew our minds and tear down false philosophies. Deconstruction is not surgical; it tosses a stick of dynamite in the middle of the building and lights the fuse.

This leaves at least two groups of folks embracing the deconstructionist label. To those who are reinforcing their faith with intellectual engagement or ensuring their foundation is Scripturally sound, do not use this term for that kind of operation. That is called sanctification, or Christian growth. All Christians should seek to have their doctrine refined and their convictions backed up by Scripture. But using postmodern categories to define this process is misleading. The relativism of Derrida is not what your theological formation is missing. If you are truly looking for objective answers, postmodernism is the absolute opposite of what you are doing.

Asking questions is not the problem. Christians throughout the history of the church have asked and answered the most difficult questions imaginable (and they didn't even need TikTok influencers to do it). They came to the Word of God and built up from there. There is no other solid foundation. If you have asked a hard question, know that someone else has already asked it and found an answer that strengthened their wall. Search the Scriptures and the writings of wise Christians that are time-tested and have been trusted for centuries. The answers are there if you want to find them.

There is another group that I am much more concerned about. These are those who are running headlong into apostasy and have latched on to this idea of deconstruction. The term lends an air of respectability to the progression. But it does nothing to change the reality that these folks are on the way to a shipwrecked faith. Deconstruction is great for blowing things up. It offers zero ways to reconstruct your life and doctrine in any coherent way. If you are caught up in this pursuit, I urge you to turn round and run to Christ.

It does not matter what you call it. To deny Christ is deadly and is the way of not only deconstruction, but plain old destruction. To those on this path, repent and believe. The Son of God came into the world to save sinners like you. His blood, and His blood alone, can restore you and wash you in the life that you know you need. Today is the day. Don't harden your heart.

So be wary of those who claim the deconstruction label. They may just think they are using a cool word. Or they may be demolition experts. In either case, you are better off seeking out those who will help you lay bricks and reinforce foundations. Trust me, you do not need the dynamite. And to those who insist on trafficking in postmodern lingo, this Marshwiggle urges you to be more careful with language. In the words of the legendary Inigo Montoya, "You keep on using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

For help on this topic, check out these resources:

Becoming Free Indeed - Jinger Vuolo

Christian Deconstruction Pt 1 - John MacArthur

The Deconstruction of Christianity - Alisa Childers and Tim Barnett

Deconstruction: Where It’s From And How to Stop It

Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be - Kevin DeYoung and Ted Cluck

Photo by Haley Hamilton on Unsplash