Those who say that liberal Christians are practicing a form of salad bar Christianity are, I believe, missing the point. They would say that liberals are picking and choosing what bits of the Bible they like and dismissing those that they do not like; sometimes referred to as pick 'n mix Christianity. But in my opinion ALL Christians and Churches do the same. Indeed, the Bible would be incomprehensible if some level of interpretation or discernment were not made. What is important is to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. So, it is not really a matter of personal preference it is a genuine enquiry as to what is Truth. It is not about accepting blindly dogmas and doctrines handed down by our Church Fathers without proper reflection and personal enquiry. We must also remember that the Bible itself is a collection of writings that were canonised by our Church Fathers. They had to decided what went in and importantly what gospels and letters were to be left out. Was this a form of pick 'n mix?
But for me the real point is that some things are non negotiable. To be a Christian we are called to be Christ like....to love others, even our enemies, to forgive and be non-judgmental. To be as a child to enter Heaven. To be peacemakers and so much more. We are not Christians because we have ticked off the check list of creedal beliefs if we do not practice the love that Jesus taught.
Salad bar Christianity? I don't think so.
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I agree with much of what you have to say here. The context of the discussion which prompted my tweet was a salad bar approach to doctrine, but to liturgy. Even conservative orthodox Christians should admit that they're selective in the doctrines they affirm. All sides alike are certainly engaged in the practice of "interpretation or discernment."
ReplyDeleteThat said, I must respectfully take issue with the ease in which you seem to be willing to call into question the history of interpretation and discernment of the church. Granting and recognizing that the Church Fathers used discernment in creating the canon is one thing. It's quite another thing to imply that such discernment should be lightly questioned or, worse, rejected.
Finally, "We are not Christians because we have ticked off the check list of creedal beliefs if we do not practice the love that Jesus taught." I could not agree with this statement more. However, I hope you would agree that creating an either/or distinction here would be false. I think this has become more meaningful to me as a both/and. I am most able to practice the love of Christ precisely because I submit to the creeds of my church dating back to the Church Fathers. Perhaps the church has been selective and discerning in the past partly because they saw alternative interpretations as hurtful to the practice of Christ-like love in the church (in addition to the simple fact that they saw themselves as embracing the truth).
In the end, I hope my comment on Twitter did not cause any undue offense.
Grace and peace.