Drew Tatusko: Thirteen Principles (‘AA for the church’)
Posted: July 6th, 2010 | Author: Peter | Filed under: Emergent, God, Jesus, church, community, deconstruction, emergence, emerging, emerging church, fear, heresy, holy spirit, introspection, postmodern, truth | 4 Comments »I’ve had this link saved for the last two months and keep forgetting to give blogger Drew Tatusko a shoutout!
In his post, Drew lays out the need for emerging Christian communities and churches to adopt an Alcoholics Anonymous-esque ethos for approaching God and spirituality:
Thirteen Principles
- We can only understand God when we admit our powerlessness to become like God.
- We will never fully know God.
- No religion can ever therefore claim to have sole authority of the Truth of God’s revelation.
- Religions that make these exclusive claims to Truth demand conformity.
- Religions that demand conformity tend to abuse non-conformists who do not assimilate.
- In history God is continually revealed among the religious non-conformists.
- We live in a world of religions where conformity is valued more than non-conformity.
- This situation has resulted in countless cases of spiritual and religious abuse, about which many we never hear.
- Abuse and conformity also by necessity squeeze out the revelation of God in favor of the human desire for social control.
- Yet God desires those who do not conform in order to reveal who God is.
- Even as Jesus, Muhammad, Siddhartha Gautama, Moses, and others underwent persecution because their society challenged them, so those who do not conform to religious norms live today.
- Those who refuse to be assimilated into a religious structure lack a space to experience God’s revelation in their midst and in community.
- This space is thus sorely needed and is what The Thirteenth Step is designed to be.
We are:
- Powerless
- Incomplete
- Mindful
- Non-conformist
- Healing
- Loved
- Unique
- Compassionate
- Receptive
- Attentive
- Whole
- Together
- Safe
Click here to read the full post!
If only we were so (a) spiritually honest, and (b) theologically humble.
Really great stuff Drew, keep up the great work.
MIND BLOWING! Seriously. I just had to comment on my own post, because it isn't mine. It's Drew, and Drew, you knocked it out with this post! Damn!
I love it. Point 12 is awesome. Thanks for sharing.
So when Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life", "…none may enter the kingdom (of God) except through Me", "I am the door, none may enter except through Me" and other quotes that establish that He, Jesus, is the only avenue through and by which we can receive salvation, and so forgiveness for our sins, and then enter into eternal life, we are to simply accept that Jesus was speaking in relative terms, that He was/is but one way among some/many to God?Points 3 and 4 are contrary to the teaching of scripture and of Christ Jesus. Jesus said He is the Truth – an exclusive "claim". And Jesus did demand conformity… to Him: deny yourself, pick up your cross, daily, and follow Me.I don't disagree with the other points, they have validity. But they must not be the foundation of our beliefs, merely cautionary warnings.Let us beware the "vain philosophies" that speak against the sole Authority, Christ Jesus.
[...] come as good news, as balm for our modern and postmodern souls, because, as Emerging Church blogger Drew Tatsuko has pointed out, “religions that make these exclusive claims to Truth demand conformity; [...]