Friends: Believers have been running away from God since the beginning … the very beginning.  Now we have a 21^st century name for it and an oh-so revealing book, The Deconstruction of Christianity. Read it. Blessings, Bob

--- --- ---

Spirituality Column #918

June 18, 2024

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Something Else … Again

By Bob Walters

“…for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me.” Paul, 2 Timothy 4:10

Demas (DEE-mus), while not a Sunday school poster boy, was part of Paul’s crew. And I’m betting only you particularly astute Bible readers recognized the name. I didn’t.

But all of us in church recognize the move. With breaking hearts, we’ve watched people walk away from Christ. I don’t mean folks who move on to another church; I mean those who reject the truth and promise of Jesus, and reorient their lives away from the reality of God.  They want something else; they want their own truth.

Adam and Eve did it in the Garden. Examples are listed throughout the Bible, seen throughout history, and modern culture now has a name for it: Deconstruction.

I often read material with a lot of big words, but “deconstruction” was a new one for me this summer in the context of dismantling one’s faith. And it’s a pretty big thing that, I guess, I’ve been insulated from. Now I know. 

It’s sort of an annual thing, actually, that I ask our E91 pastor Rick Grover what he’s reading, and a recent volume he recommended was The Deconstruction of Christianity, by Alisa Childers and Tim Barnett.  Oh my … let the truth fly.

We’ve all seen public polling the last few decades pointing to declining church attendance and a rise of a demographic called the “nones,” those who claim no faith identity. Turns out there is an entire, thriving online marketplace of “deconstruction” websites, coaches, and forums. I had no idea.

But in our age of “do your own thing,” “be your own person,” and “find your own truth,” deconstructing one’s Christian faith is the hot new philosophical fad.  Except … it is a “fad” as old as mankind. I heartily recommend this book because it not only explains the modern movement, but is an easily read and marvelously astute manual of biblical context and philosophical help.

Too often – whether religion, politics, education, or culture – I’ve read screeds of “what’s wrong with things” that expose problems but offer no answers or prescriptives.  The Deconstruction of Christianity is an arsenal of scriptural and relational firepower that pays back its depressing information with well-constructed defense of truth.

Demas, the authors point out, was evidently a “significant player in the early church,” mentioned by Paul as a “fellow worker” in Philemon 1:24 and Colossians 4:14. By Paul’s last letter, 2 Timothy, Demas “in love with the present world” likely hadn’t just abandoned his friends, but – reluctant to share their suffering – left his own faith as well.

“In love with the present world”? Demas had traded eternal hope for earthly comfort; he denied his divine savior for physical temptation. It is still easy to see that in the world today, Christianity has been culturally re-categorized from its proper role as creation-level objective truth to just another subjective choice of existence.

The authors point out that the “Deconstruction” industry went viral around the time of the 2020 Covid pandemic and that, ironically, it was fueled prominently by high-profile faith denials by contemporary Christian pastors and music artists such as the purity movement’s Josh Harris and Hillsong worship leader Marty Sampson.

It’s an interesting if disturbing story. “Exvangelical” is more or less the call sign for the deconstructed, but that also infers a faith that was once there but now abandoned.  They have searched for something else in their lives, but this book makes a strong and highly accessible case for the divine value of what we already have.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) has been keeping copious notes.  More soon.    

Friends:  You’ve likely heard the phrase, “Figures never lie, but liars always figure.” The father of lies continues busily attacking Christians, with plenty of eager human help. Truth is better. Blessings, Bob

--- --- ---

Spirituality Column #919

June 25, 2024

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Liars Always Figure

By Bob Walters

“I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the father but through me.” – Jesus to the Pharisee Nicodemus, John 14:6

Given the evident corporate enormity of the modern and so-called Christian deconstruction movement, I’m struck by the cheapening of what its adherents are willing to call truth.  They figure God is a bad deal. Truth is, Satan is a skilled liar.

We’re going to continue this week with thoughts on the book I’m reading, The Deconstruction of Christianity, by Alisa Childers and Tim Barnett. The authors accurately portray and describe the movement, and bear true witness to all the God, Jesus, Spirit, Bible, and church evidence that God’s truth supersedes human knowledge.  Truth is the thing God built into His creation, regardless of our belief.

And we all know who’s at the other end of truth: the father of lies and promoter of man’s distrust of God, Satan.  Deconstruction is our newest word for Satan’s work. 

At its rock bottom is this redefined notion that the magnificent “I” – and not a glorious God – is the appropriate fountainhead and arbiter of truth.  In order to validate the deconstructionist view of truth, it is actually necessary to first destroy the idea of truth, deny truth’s existence, and rewire – or rather, unplug – God’s created reality. This is what “deconstruction” in this context means. “Deconstruction,” the authors write, “isn’t about submitting to the truth, it’s about people choosing their own truth.”

If these deconstructionists – those who redefine and tear apart Christian values and doctrines, and not only leave the faith but encourage, assist, and celebrate others to do the same – coherently valued truth, they would not leave “truth” up to the vagaries of human opinion, conversation, passions, convenience, fallenness, and pride.

Mad at Christianity, the church, a pastor, the Bible, other Christians? Fine. Did we learn nothing about elemental, fallen human nature? Truth is God’s; humans, uh, lie.

“Faith” becomes not so much about “truth” as about alternate reality and about freedom from the “oppressive doctrines” of Christianity. Never mind that Christ frees us from death; a deconstructionist sees freedom as a function only of this life, not eternity.

Enter the alternate realities of current culture. Wokeness insists biological truth is a lie.  Postmodernism denies the existence of objective truth. Nihilism denies the existence of meaning.  “I can do what I want and be what I want and that’s my truth” is the self-focused mantra of the cancel culture which demands, but does not give, tolerance.  Accepting God’s love and forgiveness is Christian oppression and a lie. Ugh.

The book, by the way, does a wonderfully accessible job of presenting the often opaque philosophical and theological – not to mention common sense – aspects of truth.  As scholars try to define truth from time immemorial, Jesus is truth in eternity.

It occurs to me that our knowledge, valuable as it is, does not do what we think it does when it comes to identifying truth.  My college philosophy professor had no Godly beliefs though he could explain any religion and did a great job of teaching how to spot nonsense.  I am pretty sure truth is something that is in God, and only in us as we allow the Spirit to put it there. Faith is not “believing in something;” faith is God’s truth in us.

I was a little worried when I began reading The Deconstruction of Christianity that I might see some logic in the movement’s tenets.  Nah.  I see human pride, of course. And a sad kind of spiritual murder.  And I can certainly imagine Satan yucking it up.

We figure we know truth better than God, and the father of lies knows we don’t.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) is happy to trust God’s truth. It’s better than Satan’s.

Friends: I never worry about God but I sure do worry about various and dismaying aspects of current culture, politics, and the church. Here’s some relevant reading.  See the column below.  Blessings, Bob

--- --- ---

Spirituality Column #925

August 6, 2025  

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Weird Times    By Bob Walters

“…fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10 ESV

Are we having fun yet?

Sorry (not sorry) to be flippant, but “dismayed” is what comes to my mind observing recent events and developments both silly and serious on religious and cultural fronts.

How about the opening ceremonies of the Olympics? As quick as there was Christian outcry of blasphemy and heresy, there was leftist pushback about artistic rights of interpretation. The media largely applauded desecration of Christ and accused the offended of not understanding pagan characters and gender-fluid representation of historic French legends, literary figures, and pagan gods. Mon Dieu! How can we be so provincial?  

OK … it’s France.  But why was the little boy amid the drag queens?

While the Olympics grab little of my attention – not to be crass but they really just don’t – I’m glad for the Simone Biles led U.S. gymnastics team and swimmer Katie Ledecky’s multiple golds, abhorred by Brittney Griner’s kneeling rather than respecting the American flag, and at first confused about the women’s boxing controversy because media was overwhelmed by gender agendas.

Turns out … the “man” in question was born with all “girl parts” and was raised as a daughter, is still a daughter, but at puberty was discovered to have “Differences in Sex Development” (DSD), which means an XY (male) chromosome and more testosterone than estrogen. Her pro boxing record against XX chromosome women was only 9-5. I’m far less dismayed now with “Olympic Boxing” but retain vigorous cynicism of most media and online “news” sources for their lack of inclination to report a story accurately and in context.

And here at home, we have the “woke” political party calling the normal political party “weird.” It’s going to be a long (and weird) three months (exactly) to the Nov. 6 election.

But that’s the Olympics and politics. My recent purely religious reading includes books and articles that shine a bright and welcome – though dismaying – light on modern Christian practices, academics, preachers, and churches both Catholic and Evangelical.

In June I reviewed The Deconstruction of Christianity (LINK Something Else, Again) about organized efforts by former Christians to help believers “un-do” their faith in Jesus.  In July I wrote about universal salvation LINK What Will You Love? and atheists who crave Christian culture but reject God (LINK What Atheism Means).

For the philosophically literate, a Catholic friend recommended The Religion of the Day about not just cultural “wokeness” vis-à-vis religious beliefs. The book plumbs the depths of Gnosticism and its relevance to Marxism’s surprising but logical link to today’s Woke ideology. Gnosticism has been a Christian heresy since the beginning of the church, and is alive and well today in our crumbling political and social structures. Brilliant stuff.

Next up on my reading list is Megan Basham’s Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda (good articles HERE and HERE). The book matter-of-factly reveals notable evangelical preachers, churches, and institutions – Andy Stanley, Rick Warren, United Methodist Churches, and the Southern Baptist Convention to name just a few in a very long list – who have received millions of dollars from various and muscular LGBTQ advocacy groups. It’s a real thing, not hype; language is a lethal weapon.

So … dismaying?  It is a very old story that humanity in general and the church in particular need to get their acts together. God is still with us and He will strengthen, help, and uphold us.  Jesus saves, but sorry if I’ve been focusing on religion’s rough underbelly.

As much as all this “news” makes me want to shake my head in dismay … I have no doubt all these ills are about the world, not God’s eternal righteousness, goodness, or truth.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com), a former journalist, has lost faith in journalism not God.