Showing posts with label Big Tent Christianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Big Tent Christianity. Show all posts
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Big Tent Christianity eBook @bigtentx
A few months ago, I participated in the Big Tent Christianity synchroblog. After that, the organizers compiled all of the participants' posts (including mine) into an eBook. I realized I never shared that on this blog, but if you liked to see it (for free), download it! :)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Big Tent Christianity
Next month, there is a conference called Big Tent Christianity occurring in North Carolina (no, I don't have enough money to go :) ). I'm participating in part of a synchroblog as a part of that conference. The theme for the synchroblog is:
When I hear "big tent Christianity," I think back to Archbishop of Split (Spalato) Marco Antonio de Dominis' phrase, "in essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, in all things charity." There's a few ways that is translated, but this is the essence of the quote.
I think this should be a motto for all Christians in dealing with others. There are essential ideas in which we should be unified. However, I think there are really only a few absolute essentials (i.e. God exists and Jesus is our Savior) that truly define Christianity. Much else truly are nonessentials. Not that there are not absolutes, but we also cannot know them all because of the fallibility of humanity. And even when we do, they are not salvific issues (in my opinion). We need to be able to accept differences in opinion about these issues. We may need separate communities because differences of opinion can definitely impact the way a community operates. However, as a friend of mine recently said, we need to remember that we're all on the same team.
The most important part of that quote to me is the last part: "in all things charity." Even the essentials should be questioned in order to make sure they are valid and in order for people to truly understand them. Further, we are all in different places in the journey of understanding and faith. We need to have grace for each other (and ourselves) in that process.
However, I think a big part of charity is not having arrogance. We need to not instantly question the validity of each other's faith because of disagreements (even over essentials). One of the things I've discovered is that a lot of disagreeing parties are not as different as they think. They problems occur because they use different language, so they are not communicating clearly.
Christianity should be a place where people can explore themselves, God, and Truth in a safe place. That necessitates charity. It's a hard thing to do, and no one will do it perfectly, but I'd like to see that happen more and more.
What does “big tent Christianity” mean to you? What does it look like in your context? What are your hopes and dreams for the Church?
When I hear "big tent Christianity," I think back to Archbishop of Split (Spalato) Marco Antonio de Dominis' phrase, "in essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, in all things charity." There's a few ways that is translated, but this is the essence of the quote.
I think this should be a motto for all Christians in dealing with others. There are essential ideas in which we should be unified. However, I think there are really only a few absolute essentials (i.e. God exists and Jesus is our Savior) that truly define Christianity. Much else truly are nonessentials. Not that there are not absolutes, but we also cannot know them all because of the fallibility of humanity. And even when we do, they are not salvific issues (in my opinion). We need to be able to accept differences in opinion about these issues. We may need separate communities because differences of opinion can definitely impact the way a community operates. However, as a friend of mine recently said, we need to remember that we're all on the same team.
The most important part of that quote to me is the last part: "in all things charity." Even the essentials should be questioned in order to make sure they are valid and in order for people to truly understand them. Further, we are all in different places in the journey of understanding and faith. We need to have grace for each other (and ourselves) in that process.
However, I think a big part of charity is not having arrogance. We need to not instantly question the validity of each other's faith because of disagreements (even over essentials). One of the things I've discovered is that a lot of disagreeing parties are not as different as they think. They problems occur because they use different language, so they are not communicating clearly.
Christianity should be a place where people can explore themselves, God, and Truth in a safe place. That necessitates charity. It's a hard thing to do, and no one will do it perfectly, but I'd like to see that happen more and more.
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