I recently received a copy of If the Church Were Christian: Rediscovering the Values of Jesus. Written by Philip Gulley, a former Catholic turned Quaker minister, If the Church were Christian is a brief, highly readable, and impassioned call for a a rethinking of our faith along progressive lines.
We are a society that has grown fond in the past decade of polemical tracts from across the political and theological spectrum. The Christian marketplace groans under the weight of books calling for reform and transformation of one sort or another. Few in the church look at contemporary Christianity and say “Yes, this is exactly what Jesus intended.” But even fewer make a coherent case for what the church ought to look like, and of those, hardly any do so with the grace and the winsomeness of Gulley.
A little over a decade ago, I read John Shelby Spong’s Why Christianity Must Change or Die. Though as a liberal evangelical, I shared most of Spong’s progressive views on sexual liberation and economic justice, I winced at the former bishop’s tone. Spong hectored and belittled those who clung to more traditional views; he couldn’t resist mocking those for whom the Virgin Birth and the resurrection were precious articles of faith — and fact. Spong did little to win the hearts and minds of traditionalists; rather, despite his good heart and his excellent politics, he became an easy target for them because of his tendency to be so relentlessly intemperate. I’ve been waiting ever since for a progressive manifesto that argued for the same end goal — but did so with a far greater respect for those who continue to hold conservative views. My wait is over.
Gulley will make many Christians uncomfortable with his insistence that we’ve elevated text and tradition over the message itself. Creeds and councils, he writes, tend to codify rigidity and make us “too fearful and too compliant, too willing to endure the spiritual abuse they engender.” He argues eloquently that we need to do a better job of following Jesus, living as he lived — and it’s hard to follow anyone when you’re down on your knees. Worship is, in the end, far easier than emulation. Gulley writes that the church convinces itself (and us) that
“his way of living was only possible because he was God, providing humanity an excuse not to be like him.”
When I read that, I thought of one of my favorite passages in my favorite Gospel, John. Almost everyone knows John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” I like what comes just six lines later:“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” In other words, we are called — even intended — not only to live as Jesus lived but to accomplish more than he accomplished. When was the last time you heard a sermon on John 14:6, and its prophetic call for what we might call in all seriousness the “messiah-ship of all believers”? This is part and parcel of what Gulley is talking about.
Gulley is equally eloquent when calling for reformation on the subject of sexuality. His chapter on love and sex concludes:
We are adults, and it is long past time to talk openly and honestly about our needs, desires, and orientations, without fear of shame, ridicule, or rejection. It is, as the apostle Paul so famously declared, time to put away childish ways.
Traditionalists sometimes accuse we liberals of being akin to hormonal adolescents, demanding approval for every whim and fleeting impulse. As Gulley points out, they’ve got it back-to-front. It is those who cling to a childlike notion that the received knowledge of the past cannot be questioned, that obedience trumps reason and experience, who are stuck in a primitive developmental stage. His is a book for adults, and it is a call to grow up. It deserves a wide readership.
Sounds intriguing.
It reminds me a bit of the Housemartins song “Get Up Off Our Knees”:
I also would recommend Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus by Robin Meyers. It’s a bit too liberal for even my tastes (and, believe me, everyone I know considers me either liberal or too liberal), but he raises a lot of good and similar points to what you describe Gulley as raising.
Ohhh. a touchy subject. One that, I feel always boils down to “What traditions are we willing to give up” and “Why?”. I agree that we as Christians (Both those who follow the ideals of Christ and that He died for our sins but are not active in a church, AND those who are. Until we are willing to sit down and talk about issues that we would rather ignore (Example: Is homosexuality a sin or not), then we are going to keep spinning our wheels in the mud.
Please understand, I am -not- against just throwing away our traditions. Some traditions are the way they are meant to be, others however are VERY questionable. (Example: The idea that a woman’s place/roll in a family should be based on religious traditions is one I could see happily go out the door.) Be that as it may, I think we also have to accept that some of the things we do/like MIGHT be deemed evil/unacceptable. If I am into bigamy, and the Church says “No, that is evil!” after such openness, then I should be willing to accept I am doing something wrong.
(Note: No, I am not a bigamist but I felt that was the safest example without it turning into a ‘flame war’.)
I do, as well, strongly disagree that the way the church is now keeps us “too fearful and too compliant” or that it is the Church that has us thinking “worship is easier then emulation” (to paraphrase).
No, we can’t do what Jesus did do to his birth and his purpose on Earth. But I don’t think not being ABLE to do something should stop us from TRYING. Journey more important then the goal and such. But we need to accept even Jesus saw some things as evil, and did not do them. (After all, when did you hear about Jesus stealing? Or not obeying Father/Mother? Or lie about his neighbor?)
Not the Church I’ve experienced. As I child I remember the nuns teaching us the lives of the Saints – none of them Christ, all of them living lives of herioic virtue trying to emulate Him. Saints we studied as exemplers of what we should strive for. We are still today canonizing saints. What church is he talking about?
“We are adults, and it is long past time to talk openly and honestly about our needs, desires, and orientations, without fear of shame, ridicule, or rejection. It is, as the apostle Paul so famously declared, time to put away childish ways.”
If his best argument is just “stop being childish!” I’ll take a pass.
The only need and desire Christ expressed was a need to follow his Fathers will. I’m puzzled how, if worshiping on our knees is not to emulate Christ, how is it that sitting around and talking of our needs, desires, and orientations would be to emulate Christ?
Wow! This is a really powerful review, Hugo! When you think about it, the amount of ‘rules’ that Jesus placed on his followers are surprisingly few, compared to the numerous rules that churches espouse. Thanks for being on this tour!
In the past I’ve enjoyed PG’s folksy “Porch Talk” pieces as pleasant beach reads. Thanks for drawing my attention to this weightier side of his work. By the way, Hugo, (and this message is years too late) you are much missed at Pasadena Mennonite Church.
church is too hard why cant they play vegie tales there? i dont understand the prechr he dont make no sense
Thank you, Annika! It’s been five years since I left, but I do miss my time at PMC. It is a wonderful community, and I recommend it to many.