curiousaboutchrist.net

I believe that belief in the transcendental realm in definitive to being a Christian. This is where I begin in my deconstruction of Faith. My Faith (that is the noun identifying the corpus of beliefs I hold that define me as Christian) compels me to acknowledge that I would not accept someone affirmation that they were Christian, if they told me they did not believe in a spiritual, or transcendental realm. Yet this is not distinctly “Christian.” In fact you would be challenged to find any religion that did not say the beginning point is acknowledging the “spiritual” or “transcendental” realm.

What do I mean by transcendental realm? Transcendental refers to the belief in a non material realm. Such a realm would:

• Exist outside the restrictions of matter.
  • Time does not apply to this realm
  • Space does not apply to the realm
• Since it is outside the empirical realm, my confidence in the transcendental cannot be “known” in a rational manner. It is believed based on reflective judgment.
• The laws that define existence in the transcendental realm are not natural laws, since it exists outside of matter.

All of the constituent parts of my definition of being a Christian assume the existence of the transcendental. I stated five parts of my definition of Christian in the former blog:

• I believe in the reality of a transcendental realm.
• I believe in a sovereign ruler of both the transcendental and empirical realm.
• I believe in the Trinitarian identification of the sovereign ruler.
• I believe Jesus of Nazareth is the incarnation of YHWH.
• I believe in the atonement as taught in the canonical New Testament

You may argue with these points, but I have decided after reflection that I would require a declaration of these beliefs before I would accept someone’s declaration that they were a Christian.

If there is no spiritual reality, then there cannot be a will ruling over the material and spiritual realm. No transcendence, no God. If there is no spiritual reality, then the whole discussion of trinity is babble. If there is not transcendence then incarnation is meaningless. If there is no transcendence, then atonement (which serves to justify the material to the sovereign ruler of the spiritual) is meaningless.

The major difference in Christianity is the incarnation. In the Abrahamic religions the crucial distinction in prophesy. It is not that man by meditation and rite can “find” God, but that God through the prophets, and finally through the incarnation, seeks man. The paradigm for the Vedic religions is the temple or the Buddha meditating by a tree. At sacred places by human effort, one can contact the spiritual world. In the three great religions descended from Abraham, God breaks in. The paradigm for Christian is the Shepherd who leaves the flock in search of the lost sheep, and when he finds that sheep, he picks the animal up and brings it to safety and plenty.

It is not my intent to argue for the transcendental realm. There are many works of philosophy which serve this purpose. Immanuel Kant, and Søren Kierkegaard have covered this debate among others. I simply affirm that the transcendental realm exists.

Test my assertion. Can one be a Christian, and reject the existence of a transcendental realm? I look forward to any comments, contribute to this discussion!

    I grew up in a conservative Christian home. I was raised attending the churches of Christ, non instrumental, cooperative, and Bible class observing. Each of these terms could be defined and explained if required, however most of the controversies would lead to endless chasing rabbits. I choose to avoid those for the present series of blogs. I want to concentrate on the definition of Christian. I attended two colleges that were associated with the community I described above. At that time, the decade of the 1970’s this group was considered the “mainstream” of the churches of Christ. I worked professionally as a preacher and congregational minister within this group as a full time worker for thirteen years, although I had worked on a volunteer basis since my early teens, and I continue to work with this fellowship to this day,

    In the coming blogs, I want to address certain absolute principals which define Christian. The idea of deconstruction comes from academia; it means to break down a belief into its constituent parts. To do that I need to identify the most basic components of the Christian Faith (I use Faith here as a noun, meaning the corpus of beliefs that I hold identify a person as a Christian.) This is a personal list; you may wish to include other subjects for your own deconstruction. I hope to publish a five to six hundred word article on a weekly basis on this discussion, for an indefinite period of time. This is my blog, and I will choose the parameters of this discussion.

    What then are the constituent parts of my Faith?

• I believe in the reality of a transcendental realm.
• I believe in a sovereign ruler of both the transcendental and empirical realm.
• I believe in the Trinitarian identification of the sovereign ruler.
• I believe Jesus of Nazareth is the incarnation of YHWH.
• I believe in the atonement as taught in the canonical New Testament.

These five parts will be deconstructed and defended further in the coming blogs. I invite you to join me on this journey. I must conserve time and space in this discussion, and thus it will certainly not be comprehensive. From time to time I will recommend further reading available from far more authoritative sources. You can use my personal discussion for your own journey as you please. Questions and contributions to this discussion are encouraged. Please do not contribute anonymously. If you do not wish your comment to be on the record, do not attach it to this blog.

    I am not serving in an authoritative role currently with any denomination. I am writing this material from a purely personal framework, and should not be assumed to state some official pronouncement.