I’ve written recently about Catholic guilt, so what does
Protestant guilt look like? Ryan and
Jeffrey, two friends who both grew up in evangelical protestant households,
kindly agreed to a conversation about their beliefs. I found them to be remarkably similar to the
beliefs shared in a recent conversation with some Catholic counterparts, all of
whom have rejected the faith they were raised in and all largely due to the
guilt they felt within Christian belief.
Early in the conversation, Ryan and Jeffrey assured me of
their strong evangelical upbringing with some “been there, done that” comments,
so I felt it unwise to try to rehash the Gospel. Instead I tried to be a good listener and
understand how their beliefs have changed and where it has led them. What I found was that as former evangelical
protestants with their Bible background, they have tended to reinterpret selected
Bible passages to make them fit with their new belief system.
Both have rejected belief in a conscious existence after we
die, preferring instead the idea of our energy joining some sort of larger
spiritual life force, and their concept of a personal God has been replaced by
an impersonal higher power, or perhaps the eastern idea that god and humanity
are one. They see their religious
upbringing as a first step toward a more spiritual and universal belief system,
so they still respect the teachings of Jesus enough to be able to judge others
by that standard. But without God or a
conscious eternity the Bible must be interpreted through an entirely different
lens, with our temporal existence taking on much more importance than our
eternal one and the Bible being reinterpreted in temporal themes, such as
social justice or universal love.
I believe it is easy to get the Bible to agree with almost
any interpretation we may impose on it, if we take only the parts we want and
disregard the rest. With the creative
use of symbolism and selective reading and taking passages out of context, one
can make a case for most any belief system.
But if we are willing to take the entirety of the Bible as God’s word,
then a straightforward reading reveals a common meta-narrative throughout of Creation,
Fall, Redemption, and Restoration, along with a coherent and consistent theology
of a personal God with many harmonious attributes, and an unfolding plan for
humanity involving a promised Messiah from a chosen people in a particular
historical timeframe.
After hearing more about their background and beliefs, I feel
Ryan and Jeffrey have abandoned that straightforward reading meant for all who
will receive it with a child-like faith.
In 2 Corinthians, I believe Paul advocates such a straightforward
reading when he wrote “…we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not
use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting
forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the
sight of God.”
So where does “Protestant guilt” fit in? I feel that distorting God’s word as Paul
describes is an easy and understandable error for unbelievers who have not been
exposed to its truths. Paul goes on to
say “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot
see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image
of God.”
But for unbelieving Protestants like Ryan and Jeffrey who
have nonetheless been indoctrinated in an evangelical Bible church culture and
rejected it, this whole process of opposition can involve a lengthy period of “deconstruction”,
with a lot of guilt and shame every step of the way. It requires a lot of intellectual and
emotional energy, and creates a lot of bitterness, as I heard during our
conversation and received as I identified with the evangelical beliefs they had
been running from.
So what value could such a conversation have for unbelievers
who have already learned the truths of the Bible and gone to such great lengths
to reject it? I’m not sure. Maybe I might have in some way been able to
stand in for their former church and believing family members who couldn’t
listen to their rejection of the Gospel without reacting emotionally. I hope I somehow opened up some lines of communication
despite all the bitterness. I stated at
the outset of our conversation to Ryan and Jeffrey that I understand I can’t
convince anybody, that this not my purpose.
It is a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, and I just want to cooperate
with a work that only God can do.
Thanks Ryan and Jeffrey for allowing me to record our conversation,
lots to talk about! It can be seen on my YouTube channel HERE at https://youtu.be/WE8D88Fa-Q0
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