(Ir)religiosity

Tony Jones hits the nail on the head in this video.

If you follow his blog then you’re aware that Tony has been blogging about homosexuality lately and called for an open and honest discussion without reference to the six clobber verses that are all too often taken out of context.

The problem, of course, isn’t that Tony wants to abandon scripture and rigorous exegesis as he and others are accused of suggesting. The problem is that too many of us are limiting our hermeneutic to a handful of verses, the immediate context of which is either replete with other off the wall stipulations that we have long since abandoned, as in the Hebrew bible, or uses vocabulary which is ambiguous at best and more than likely refers to sexual behavior that is hardly analogous to those in long-term monogamous homosexual relationships in today’s context, as in the case of Paul’s letters. The problem is that we are guilty of a dangerous selective literalism that not only creates a highly myopic and repressive ‘canon-within-the-canon,’ (we are all guilty of our varying emphases) but that it blatantly ignores, as Tony points out, the overall trajectory of scripture — a trajectory of liberation, redemption, and restoration in which God’s interaction within humankind and all of creation is steeped with grace tempered with justice.

There is a meaningful, constructive debate to be had here. But until we find a way to mend this gap it seems that communication is at a standstill. We’ll just keep going around in circles rehashing the same old points and probably yelling louder and getting more emotional in the process. Most of the comments on Tony’s blog are a case point.

So, as far as I can tell (and I’ve read most of the comments) Tony’s question is still an open and unanswered one:

If you are one who thinks that homosexual sex is sinful, can you please explain to me WHY a gay or lesbian person who is in a long-term, monogamous relationship would not be able to wholeheartedly follow Christ?

My only stipulation is this: You may not quote one of the six verses in scripture that mentions homosexuality. Instead, you must use theological and/or philosophical arguments to attempt to convince me that when you have genital contact with someone of your own gender, it somehow inhibits your relationship with Christ.

That’s the claim that Tony Jones makes in The New Christians.  I first read the book last year when it came out (read my short review here), but I’m re-reading it now for a class I’m taking on the Emergent/ing church at ANTS (Oh, and Tony is actually teaching it.  So that’s cool) and that quote really jumped out at my this time.

“The Bible is propaganda.”  Pretty provocative.  But it makes more sense when you think about it.  Tony explains further:

Propaganda has a point and a purpose.  It doesn’t claim to be objective.  It’s trying to convince someone of something.  It’s trying to get people to join a cause, join a movement.  Isn’t that exactly what the Bible is? . . .It is a living, breathing document that makes a claim on its readers’ lives.  It’s like the pamphlets surreptitiously printed by Paul Revere and his compatriots in 1776 — propaganda in that sense.  It’s God’s manifesto, Jesus’ Little Red Book.

I think Tony is right.  The bible is propaganda.  Maybe if we actually owned up to the fact that we have an agenda — of realizing God’s kingdom, of pursuing justice, promoting peace, and participating in cosmic restoration and renewal — we might be more effective in bearing witness to the hope that lies within us.

What think ye?

I’ve never met Tony Jones. I’ve never even spoken to him (well, not verbally anyway, he did comment on my blog once, it was like having a celebrity dropping by my house). And yet, I wouldn’t hesitate to call him a friend. I think that captures the essence of Emergent. Friendship. Generative friendship that transcends physical proximity and traditional definition. Emergents have friends all over the place some of which they’ve never met. They find them on blogs, at conferences, in books, and at coffee shops. They join the larger conversation through email, instant messaging, and other forms of new media. It’s a brave new world out there and emergents are eager to explore. Tony embodies that.

His latest book, The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier, for the first time, authoritatively describes what it means to be emergent. And of all people, Tony is perfectly positioned to make such a judgment. His candid story of the beginnings of what is now Emergent Village is absolutely fascinating and his writing style is wonderful as he weaves in and out of encouraging, hopeful stories and tangible examples of persons living missionally in their contexts.

I know that I echo others when I say that TNC picks up where Brian McLaren’s early writings left off. Brian put into words that feeling, that deep, visceral intuition that we all had about the church and our culture. And now, finally, Tony has come along to add the meat and potatoes, so to speak, the substance, the theology, and the rationale behind what we’ve all wanted to be a part of for several years now. He has written the book we’ve all been waiting for. Some of us knew what it meant to be emergent, but we couldn’t tangibly describe it, we couldn’t quite place our finger on it, and in that respect Tony has done us all a great favor. He has set out to show what an emergent Christian looks like and he has done a wonderful job. TNC is the emergent book to date and I have a hunch it will remain the emergent book for quite some time. And now, instead of stammering and sounding cryptic and elusive when someone asks me what this “emerging church business is about,” I finally have a single book to give them!

I’ve always said that emergent is the last hope for the church in our post-Christian age. And quite frankly it has saved Christianity for me. That being said, I’m very, very glad that Tony wrote this book. It desperately needed to be written and I am confident that 20-30 years from now we will all point back to TNC as a defining moment in the history of emergent. If you consider yourself an emergent or you’re curious, this is most definitely a must read.

If you haven’t, do yourself a favor and go pick up a copy.

Maybe I should start calling this “Hump Day Video” instead as this is the second week in a row the content hasn’t been from YouTube. Oh well.

I know I’m several weeks behind everyone else (not totally my fault, by the way, I’m in school mind you!) when I say I’m just finishing up Tony Jones’ latest book The New Christians (review to come shortly). I am very, very impressed. And excited. And encouraged. And a host of other things. People like Tony and communities like Emergent Village are why I stay in “the church.” And as far as I’m concerned Emergent is the last great hope for the Christian project these days. If it wasn’t for that network of friendship (of which I wish I were more connected) I’d probably bid Christianity in its quasi-organized form farewell. But, like I said, more to come in the form of a review.

For now, an interview with Tony: