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to New Media Communications Home Page It is unavoidable that we do a bit of "retrofitting" of our theology into a lifestyle which seems to us to be acceptable. In other words, we make unconscious decisions regarding our theology --- we go with that which causes the least bit of what sociologists call "cognitive dissonance". What seems to work for us in terms of the most socially acceptable approaches to lifestyle and attitudes is what we tend to see in our interpretation of scripture. The slave owners saw a way to justify slavery in the 19th century, as did the religious leaders in their treatment of Jesus.
It's not the ideal that this happens, anymore than the fact that we "fall short" of what God wants us for us in many situations. But fall short we do, and we do it as societies and cultures within societies in order to dictate some sense of what we perceive as the "way things are". In many cases in American culture, since there are such strong ties to religious faith within certain cultural groups, the urge is strong to emphasize certain portions or interpretations of the Bible that can "harmonize" a particular cultural approach with the authoritative writings. Thus one's cultural mores have associated with them certain approaches to interpreting the Bible. I had the opportunity in my sociological studies in college to look at influences of social class and status upon one's choice of denomination, and how certain "styles" of worship and interpretation predominate within certain cultural groupings.
It is a constant struggle to separate the wheat from the chaff in our perspective on life within a theological perspective. How much of the intended sense of the original scriptures have survived centuries of constant re-interpretation and assimilation of various cultural influences down through the years of Judeo-Christian history?
It is often assumed that one's own approach has remained most faithful to the tradition. Some of the more naive groups assume that they have remained pure, confusing moral certitude with faithful response. I have watched as the denomination of my roots, the Southern Baptists, have moved far to the right. This is not so inherently evil were it not for the fact that along with this they have adopted a tact of "weeding out" the diverse voices that speak from a less conservative approach. At Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where I received my Master of Divinity in 1981, no teachers remain today that were there when I graduated.
It seems that the nation's largest Protestant denomination has taken on the character of the larger socio/political culture of conservative Christianity, and aligned itself with the mainstream right-wing movements. Everywhere I hear Southern Baptist leadership echoing the approaches of the Christian Coalition, whose very name assumes that they speak for Christians, and that the causes they are championing are the causes and alignments which naturally flow from a theological perspective on society.
Well, to coincide with the press coverage of the Christian Coalition's "Contract with the Family" last week, Sojourner's magazine held one of their own in which they offer an alternative Christian voice to the theological spectrum; a voice which often is ignored by the sheer vocality of the Christian Coalition.
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