The church I grew up in was a fundamentalist Presbyterian Church. We heard a great deal about hell and what we had to do to escape it and how we would find ourselves on the fast train down. The three biggies I can remember as a child who was “taught” was that if we drank, smoked or had sex before marriage, we were guaranteed a hot spot. Not far behind was swearing. To this day I have a difficult time swearing! We were told “the Bible says” you can’t have sex before you are married, smoking and drinking are wrong. I am still looking for those passages…
In that same church, I don’t ever remember hearing about the poor or oppressed or the injustice in the world or being peacemakers. Everything we were taught was from the perspective of how we could “win” people to Jesus so that they would be saved (and not go to hell). What is remarkable to me now that I am older is how absolutely everything was presented. The interpretation of scripture that was presented was the ONLY interpretation possible.
As I have grown up and matured and listened to people from all faiths and backgrounds, I have come to realize that as soon as someone claims to know the mind of God or claims to have the “right” or “only” interpretation of scripture, they are dangerous. One of my pet peeves is when I hear people talk about obeying the Bible and yet they are choosing which parts are to be obeyed in this day and age. Seriously, if you are going to tout obedience to scripture then at least be consistent and cover your heads and don’t eat shellfish and follow the cleanliness laws and be sure women never speak in church, etc…
Honestly, how can anyone live in this world of ours and think for a second that God is easily understood and manageable? How can anyone stand up in a pulpit anywhere and tell people exactly what constitutes truth? Do they really think the God who created double rainbows and the solar system and cultural diversity is really that simple and one-dimensional (as if God’s sole desire is that we should be saved and tough luck for the poor and oppressed)?
Is God so limited that there is only one way to understand truth? At Montclair Presbyterian church we care as much about the Bible and Jesus and truth as anyone else. The difference is that we believe God is multi-dimensional and that we may never arrive at a place we call “the only truth” or “the only way.” We believe this life is about the journey of discovering God and being able to see God in each other more than it is about arriving at a place called “God” or “truth.” If you want to journey with us, you are most welcome.