Theological Origins

Honored

Original Me is hoping and intends to be real for both those of us who see ourselves as religious and also for those of us who see ourselves as non-religious. I’m hoping we can cut through all the noise and find the person that God created you to be. All of us have had different experiences. I submit to you that God (the Relationship of Father, Son, Spirit) meets all of us in the place we are in – religious or non-religious.

Growing up in church, I “gave my life” to Jesus on several occasions at a young age. I remember being in Children’s Church wanting to make sure I was “right with God.” In each of those moments, I experienced a profound sense of being Loved by God. Most of my questions as a Christian have not included doubting that God loved me but have been wondering if I have done enough (my part that God “requires of me”). I’m assuming that many others can identify with similar thoughts and questions.

My Christian experience has been diverse within the protestant tradition. My religious heritage and identity would label me as a conservative Christian, and indeed still am. To what degree depending on how you understand what it means to be “conservative.” The Church Reformers (Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Melanchthon, Bugenhagen and Oecolampadius) were considered “liberal” in their day. What I’m sharing with you for some may feel like it’s not consistent with what you understand to be conservative. For those feeling this tension, I want to communicate to you the most clearly. What I’m sharing with you is not me being influenced by another person’s teaching. What I’m sharing is me being influenced by the Holy Spirit. I think God knew (knows) that I’m too hardheaded to be persuaded by another person’s thoughts.

“I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” – Galatians 1:12

This is what God did for Paul and for me. I believe God does this daily for people by meeting us where we are at.

I think God knew I needed to hear from God for myself, not from other people. What I’m sharing with you has been my experience. Thankfully, over time I have found that many have already been on similar journeys. God gently and gradually introduced me to human voices saying the same things that I had heard from the Holy Spirit with&in me. I believe I experienced God’s compassion and grace extended to me to reassure me that I was not alone.  I believe God met me where I was at. I think God will do the same for you. Your journey will and should be different from mine. Perhaps you reading this today is God meeting you where you are at on your own unique journey with&in the Relationship of God.

Some of you will identify with my journey more than others. Either way, I hope you are open to God speaking to you as you continue reading and going deeper into who God sees you to be. What flavor of religion has my journey been? I grew up in an Assemblies of God Church through elementary and high school. As I transitioned into the college years and young adulthood, I encountered other flavors of Protestant Christianity, which included Church of Christ, Baptist, Methodist, County Jail Ministry, etc… I was a science teacher and football coach for 2 years before going to medical school. During that period, I started a Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at the school I taught at. In this small town, I went to three different Churches on Sundays – the Methodist Church on Sunday mornings and both the Baptist and Church of Christ on Sunday evenings as they started at different times. I’m pretty sure some thought I was strange in doing that. I did it for two reasons. Number one, I enjoyed it. Number two, I wanted the kids at the different Churches to feel comfortable with me in regards to participating in FCA.

After moving to Little Rock for medical school, I attended Fellowship Bible Church, which is more in line with the tradition of someone like John Piper or Tim Keller. Some of you may or may not understand the differences in these traditions and how they understand Scripture and God’s nature? It’s too involved to try to explain here but know that these traditions differ in their images of God, but also have some of the same unhealthy imagery of God. While I was in Little Rock, there was a group of physicians who were Messianic Jews. One of them was Jack Sternberg. His book, “Christianity – Its Jewish Roots,” along with Zola Levitt Ministries introduced me to a deeper understanding of God desiring an intimate relationship with us as Jesus’ Bride, not just a loving King and servant relationship.

Most of my misunderstandings of God’s nature (that I didn’t know that I had) came out of the interpretations originating in the teachings of some of the Western Church Fathers who understood Scripture through a prominent transactional filter, which results in the widely embraced doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement (PSA). Some of the differences between what we have been taught and what I’m sharing is the same as some of the differences between what the Eastern and Western Church Fathers understood and interpreted. (Earlier, I shared I was not educated in these differences by man, but instead, I was confronted by the Holy Spirit about what I believed about God’s nature and subsequently myself.)

Despite my lay theologian investment in the study of Scripture and theology throughout the majority of my life, I was not entrusted with what the Orthodox Church believed about God. That said, I want to also acknowledge a diversity of views within the Orthodox Church, just as you will find in any sect or denomination. Moving forward in time, I have become better educated on these differences. A prevailing thought for me has been, why in the world was I not taught these differences?

Some of these differences can be identified in Origen’s work (or work attributed to Origen). Origen is widely regarded as one of the most important Christian theologians. Yet, some claim him to be a heretic (or at least that he held some heretical beliefs). His teachings were specially influential for Eastern Christianity; especially with Athanasius of Alexandria and the three Cappadocian Fathers (Basil the Great (330–379), who was Bishop of Caesarea; Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – c. 395), who was Bishop of Nyssa; and Gregory of Nazianzus (329–389), who became Patriarch of Constantinople). Here are two of many helpful links:

Apostolic Fathers

I heard a pastor at a local church recently reference some beliefs associated with Origen as being heretical. Why? Because that’s what he was taught. It is what he believes. Most of us have inherited these beliefs, in part because we have been taught to the exclusion of Origen and the Eastern Church Fathers. Odds are you have never been presented with these debates within Christianity, but you have been given some of the conclusions the Western Fathers passed down to us, whether you have recognized it or not. Not knowing the contributions of these Church Fathers (and Mothers) or the influence of these theological debates is unfortunate, even harmful to the cause of Christ. Whether you have heard of these early Eastern Christian leader’s names or not, you have been impacted by the absence of their beliefs and perspectives about Scripture and God.

What do I mean by that? I think we have been taught Christian doctrine that requires these beliefs reported to be associated with Origen (and other Eastern Church Fathers) to be heretical to allow some of the doctrines we’ve been taught to have validity. It’s a mentality of one person not being able to be right unless the other person is wrong. Some of these “heretical” teachings attributed to Origen were not from Origen, but instead followers of Origen. Origen did not teach them. As important as Origen is in this discussion (maybe the most pivotal voice in these debates), it’s not just about Origen. There are a host of others. Notice that I said debates. I submit to you that we have been taught that there is No Debate. I hear this type of thinking and teaching frequently. Even though the truth is that Perfect Love casts out all fear, there exists a fear of Love being too strongly identified with God. “God is Love” contradicts and offends some of the conclusions of the Latin Fathers and their theories of AtOneMent like PSA. I hear many quotes and references of C.S. Lewis used to try to support some of the conclusions in the Christian theology of the Latin Fathers, yet C.S. Lewis’ most significant influence was George MacDonald. Someone I appreciate and respect is Tim Keller. Yet, to my point, Tim said that George MacDonald is not a Christian because of the real differences I am referencing for you to consider.

Evidently, certain theological perspectives in Latin (Western) Christianity (Roman Catholicism and subsequently Protestantism) needs Origen to be heretical to justify the dogma we have been taught in the West. Critical contributors to these teachings of our mainstream Western Christian beliefs are: Augustine, Jerome, Epiphanius, Chrysostom, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Cyril of Alexandria, Justinian, John of Damascus, Tertullian, Aquinas, et al. That said, I am not suggesting that these men (and what they taught) should be ignored. I am saying it is time we recognize and confront the problems some of their teachings have handed down to us. In a recent teaching I heard, one of the main points of emphasis was, “We need the Jesus that was and is, not the Jesus we want him to be.” I appreciate the intention because that is a statement that everyone can agree with because it implies clarity and universal understanding for everyone. However, the point of reference is from that of the person speaking this type of statement. The implication is you need the Jesus that looks like what the speaker has been taught and what the speaker is teaching you. There is no ill will in that. I believe the speaker is coming from a place of conviction, a sense of responsibility and love. And yet, somewhere at the foundation of such a statement, there lingers some unrecognized, subconscious fear that Jesus is not alive and can’t represent the Relationship of God(F,S,S) to the listener? It seems that there is little room allowed for the Holy Spirit to approach each person uniquely, that somehow each person’s experience with God is supposed to look the same. The speaker I’m referencing (and many others) are saying that you must be certain, and to be certain we can’t allow for variation in God’s approach to us as God’s unique creations. They are convinced that God desires certainty over mystery. What if we find the Relationship of God better and faster through diversity and mystery? Perfect Love is a mystery, cannot be controlled and certainly doesn’t feel certain.

I submit to you that perfect Love (Jesus) cast out all fear, meaning that in the light of the real Jesus, false perspectives of Jesus are not feared. Yet still, there is a need to condemn someone like George MacDonald and Origen that threatens the construct of God they have given. Jesus’ faith includes a reliance on the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth. Different perspectives are not feared. Jesus is not fearful of people misunderstanding Him. God (in Jesus) dove headfirst into our confusion about God. When you hear someone tell you what not to believe about Jesus (the fullness of God in human form), they are demonstrating a lack of faith in the Holy Spirit to meet you where you are at. A focus on what not to believe about Jesus strongly suggests that what they believe about Jesus has no power to transform your life.

If they cannot comfortably present to you the primary difference between the Western (Latin) Church Fathers and Eastern Church Fathers, then they are not trusting you and the Holy Spirit to come to your own conclusion about God. Maybe they don’t understand that there are differences? Ask yourself as a pastor, theologian, or average person; am I comfortable enough with my convictions that I can present the different (sometimes contradictory) perspectives of the Christian faith, or do I need others to believe the same as I do for me to feel that my faith is valid? If so, why? If God meets us all where we are at (and I believe that God does), then why can’t we extend that same energy of Grace to each other?

Am I Eastern Orthodox? Am I saying you need to be Eastern Orthodox? No. I am saying that what much of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity holds to be true is more consistent with what the Holy Spirit has revealed to me than some of what I’ve been taught most of my life. So, what does that make me? If I’ve got to have a label, maybe it is Evangelical Orthodox Mystic? I don’t know? Part of me doesn’t care what my label is. There is also a part of me that doesn’t want to be misunderstood. 🙂 What does Evangelical mean? What does Orthodox mean? What does Mystic mean? Everyone will have different ideas. What do they mean to me?

  • Evangelical – someone who has joy in living and sharing the good news.
  • Orthodox – someone who adheres to the perspectives of Jesus, the Apostles and Early Church Fathers’s as demonstrated in the Nicene and Apostolic Creeds.
  • Mystic – someone like Jesus, John the Baptist, Paul and John, just to name a few who talked about and invested their lives in the “unseen.” They taught about the Kingdom of God existing in side of people. They told stories that revealed us as God’s desired home (God’s temple). They understood union with God to be a an invitation revealed to us in Jesus as the Groom and Us as the Bride. We are mystified as to the how and why of God Loving Us in the context of Unconditional Love. We know we don’t deserve to be Loved, yet we ponder the mystery that we are. Being Loved by God is what defines us, not our failures (sins).
John Calvin

The Protestant Reformation downplayed mysticism. However, even the most active reformers can be linked to Medieval mystical traditions. Martin Luther, for instance, was a monk who was influenced by the German Dominican mystical tradition of Eckhart and Tauler as well by the Dionysian-influenced Wesenmystik (“essence mysticism”) tradition. He also published the Theologia Germanica, which he claimed was the most important book after the Bible and Augustine for teaching him about God, Christ, and humanity. Even John Calvin, who rejected many Medieval ascetic practices and who favored doctrinal knowledge of God over affective experience, has Medieval influences, namely, Jean Gerson and the Devotio moderna, with its emphasis on piety as the method of spiritual growth in which the individual practices dependence on God by imitating Christ and the son-father relationship. Meanwhile, his notion that we can begin to enjoy our eternal salvation through our earthly successes leads in later generations to “a mysticism of consolation”.

Some Christians are fearful of Christian Mysticism for the same reasons the Pharisees were fearful of Jesus. I say that as if I’m pitting Christian Mysticism against any other group or sect identifying as Christian. I’m not meaning to suggest that. The idea of being a believer in Christ and a mystic should be synonymous. I also suspect that what I mean by Christian Mysticism may be different than someone else’s perspective of Christian Mysticism.  Translation… people misunderstand out of the fear of what they don’t understand. We often feel threatened by what we don’t understand or can’t control. Mystery is something not completely understood and not controlled. Mystery requires faith. God likes faith!

Those of us growing up in the West do not understand Scripture and God the same way as over 200 million other Christians do. (The reality is that there are differences within the Eastern Orthodox Church also, just as there are differences within each denomination or sect of Christianity.

Why am I sharing all this with you? To say that most of the scriptural perspectives I’m sharing are more consistent with the Eastern Church Father’s understanding of Scripture and God. I’m not suggesting you should believe what they believe. I am saying, don’t discount what they believe as if it is less Orthodox since they are largely the ones who defined what is Orthodox. Maybe that thought should raise questions about what you think is orthodox and what isn’t? Where did your beliefs about what you believe is Orthodox come from?

If I word something that seems a little different than what feels comfortable to you, a difference in understanding of orthodoxy might be why? If your conclusion is that you don’t see it the same way, that’s OK. I trust that the Holy Spirit is continually inviting all of us deeper into the truth about the Relationship of God. My request (even in disagreeing with me on any point) is that you not dismiss what I’m sharing just because it doesn’t sound or feel consistent with what you have understood. I hear you and feel you in that. Why? Because I’ve been where most reading this are at. I have experienced what you are experiencing. As I shared earlier, if God had not directly revealed some of these perspectives to me, you would not be reading this. I needed the Holy Spirit to tutor me. I needed God to heal my blindness so I could see and understand God and myself better. As hardheaded as I am, the Relationship of God did not give up on me.

I’m learning that what I have surrendered along this journey is just the beginning, and what I have gained from that surrender infinitely keeps growing. What I have surrendered is finite (like a vapor that becomes less and less as the substance of what I surrender disappears) in the light of the Infinite Love of the Relationship of F,S,S! I provide no effort to be who God says I am (my identity as ONE with God in Jesus). Out of my identity in Jesus, my efforts should flow organically. My part is only in agreeing with Jesus’ faith in me, not my faith in Him. I live out of my identity instead of living out of striving to find it. My hope is in Jesus, whose victory over who I am not is already won. IT IS FINISHED!

Religion can be a burden that you no longer need to carry. As a matter of fact, Jesus came to free you from it – and He has! The question we are all facing is, will we now agree with who Jesus says we are and let God be God uniquely in us as God wants to be? The Relationship of God (F,S,S) is who makes me, me. Jesus’ (the fullness of God in human form)’s expression uniquely with&in me is my identity. Nobody can be themselves without God. Those who are lost are trying to be someone they are not. You can’t be who God created you to be without re-cognizing (re-knowing) God’s presence that uniquely manifests in you. God isn’t just generically in us but is uniquely special in each of us.

Jesus desires for you to be fully known. If this sounds a little different from what you have previously understood, then good. It is supposed to be different. There is a reason you are hearing this now. Only your Original Me (You+God) can take this journey that you’re invited on. No one else can take it for you. Your blind self (you minus God) cannot take this journey for you. The you that is blind to God will only remain lost. What do you have to lose? Nothing, except your lostness. What do you have to gain?

  • Everything.
  • Yourself as God sees You!
  • Your inclusion with&in the Relationship of the F,S,S!