Faith Deconstruction

The Good, the Deadly and the Alerting

Last week, I heard yet another story of someone leaving the Christian Faith after deconstructing. If you don’t know what deconstruction is, this definition from Jon Bloom’s article  ‘What Does ‘Deconstruction’ Even Mean?’  on desiringgod.org will help: “Deconstruction is a critical dismantling of a person’s understanding of what it means to be an evangelical Christian.” 

The Good

Many people from the Christian community go through intense periods of doubt where they seek answers to difficult questions about human existence as it relates to the God of Christianity, the Bible and the Church. Some of them come out renewed, stronger, and more confident in the authentic Biblical Faith. Usually this group has had to shed a lot of misconceptions they had about God, the Bible, and the Church, mostly through Christian Apologetics. This process is good and necessary, and though many Christians are hesitant to call it ‘deconstruction’, others see it as a healthy form of it.

The Deadly

Others, unfortunately, end up renouncing the Faith or de-converting. The range of unbelief is vast, nuanced, and can go all the way to full-on atheism. You can find in this group some who still call themselves Christians while denying the essential teachings of the faith such as the Deity of Jesus, his atoning work on the cross, his resurrection, or the authority and inspiration of scripture. The words of Peter about this are frankly terrifying: ‘For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.’(2 Peter 2:20-21). Whether you believe in eternal security or not, the result for these people is the same: they are away from Christ right now. We should pray that they return to Him or come to Him for the first time.

The Alerting

The scary thing is that wisdom calls me to consider that I too could succumb to deadly deconstruction.  I cannot think that I am too strong to fall. I must ‘take heed lest [I] fall (1 Corinthians 10:12). As is often the case, people are slowly and subtly led away from the faith by various destructive lies. It does not happen overnight. 

Abide, Abide, Abide

So, should all Christians walk around scared of deconstructing? No.

We can be alert without being fearful, our hope and assurance lying in Jesus’s very words. See, Jesus told us the reason that some fall away from him.’ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers’ (John 15:5). Ultimately, we know that ‘no one comes to Christ unless the Father draws them’ (John 6:44) but Jesus promises that: “If you abide in my [Jesus] word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 ). From the parable of the sower, we also learn that the difference between those who (immediately or later) fall away and those who don’t abide in Jesus’ Word (Matthew 13:18-23). Jesus promises that abiding in him and his words is the only way to not ‘wither and be thrown away’.

I can imagine some of my reformed brothers and sisters frown a little right now. Yes, I too believe in eternal security but we cannot ignore the fact that Christians are frequently warned in scripture about falling away. What if one of the ways that the Sovereign God keeps us in Christ is by his power working in us as we (take these warnings seriously and) abide in his word?

A Few Words of Wisdom

A few words of wisdom from the collective experience of strong believers that I have encountered in my lifetime:

• Commit to regular reading/listening and study of the bible in community and on your own: the frequency, amount of time, medium, or time of the day does not have to be the same for everyone.

• Commit to walking your Christian life with a community of believers: Don't buy into the lie that you can be a thriving Christian on your own. You need a local community of Christians around you .

• Don’t hide the doubts you have about the Christian Faith, but wisely submit them to God and some people in your church.