|
Dear San Marco Church Family: Last Sunday I gave a summary of 6 challenging distortions of Christian faith that people commonly encounter. The concept comes from a recent book by Rev. Dr. Michael Beck entitled “Distortions.” I have received feedback from some of you, specifically seeking to learn more about the distortions of Christian Nationalism and Conservative Family Cults. I plan to share more about these distortions in this Sunday’s message, but in today’s blog I will focus on the category of Conservative Family Cults. The Conservative Family Cult distortion arises when scripture is used to emphasize a hierarchical family structure that elevates the role of men over women and prioritizes the nuclear family structure over the body of Christ. Often by referring to the teaching of the Apostle Paul, this distortion may lead to the exclusion and judgment of the LGBTQ community and the rejection of women pastors and church leaders. The problem arises when selected scripture passages are used in isolation to lead to very rigid and misguided conclusions. Personally, I always evaluate any conclusions about scripture based upon Jesus’ approach to the particular topic, focusing upon Jesus’ teaching in the 4 gospels. Regarding gender roles in the family, Jesus is silent. In fact, in Matthew 12, there is the story of Jesus teaching the crowds when his mother and brothers come looking for him. When the crowd tells Jesus his mother and brothers are looking for him, he responds by saying, “Who is my mother and my brothers?” Then, looking at the disciples, he says, “Here are my mother and brothers. Whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” For those of us who treasure our nuclear family, this teaching is difficult. Yet I think Jesus is reminding us that he calls us to love all God’s children equally. Similarly, in the New Testament book of Galatians, Paul says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, their is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” So here we see both Jesus and Paul dismissing gender distinctions and even nuclear family distinctions as not a priority in his kingdom. Sadly, Conservative Family Cult thinking is common even in today’s world. Just a few weeks ago, the Southern Baptist Convention reinforced its position that scripture prohibits women preaching and serving in church leadership. To me, this is a distorted understanding of scripture because it fails to use Jesus’ teaching as the primary lens through which we see all scripture. I appreciate those of you who have asked questions about this topic. It’s not too late to email me with additional questions at stevehart100@gmail.com. Thank you for your prayers and support of San Marco Church! I look forward to seeing you in worship Sunday! Steve Hart
|
