In reference to Paul's preaching in the synagogue to the religious Jews in Thessalonica.
"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,...These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." (Acts 17:2, 11 KJV)
"And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures,...These Jews were more receptive than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the message very eagerly and examined the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so." (Act 17:2, 11 NRSVue)
Whether Christian, religious or faith deconstruction is bad or good, depends upon the starting point. In evangelical circles this is equated with rejection of the Christian faith, as that faith is defined by that particular segment of the church. The Wikipedia describes it thus:
"Deconstruction is a process of personal religious re-examination. People who deconstruct have described destabilizing feelings of anxiety, guilt, anger, confusion, and fear, as well as curiosity, awe, and liberation. As an open-ended process, the outcome of deconstruction is uncertain."
Those noble Jews in Thessaloniki were doing deconstruction as they examined the scriptures. I can testify to the truth of that description in Wikipedia. I at first experienced anxiety and confusion, but as I studied more deeply in the scriptures, and examined the historic Christian faith, I surely did experience anxiety and confusion at the first but then came liberation and awe of the truth and liberation in God's unadulterated word, as historically understood down through the centuries of church history. It can be uncertain in some respects as we are never too old to learn, but it ultimately must be solidly based on the scriptures as taught historically in the church, "the pillar and support of the truth", 1 Tim. 3:15 NRSVue (by "church" I mean the body of Christ, not the RCC or any other particular denomination)
My starting point was in an "Independent, fundamentalist, dispensationalist Baptist church" where we were fed on the Scofield Reference Bible, the writings of John R. Rice in the home, and preachers from places like Bob Jones University. Thankfully I was taught to see that salvation was in the shed blood of Jesus the Christ, the Lord of Glory on the cross, but apart from that, many erroneous and maybe heretical doctrines I had absorbed.
How did my initial anxiety and confusion become liberation and awe become? At first my study was solely in the KJV, an English version God has blessed for 400 years. My home became like a layman's theological seminary and I did study, and as with the Thessalonians, examined the scriptures every day. This required study that included textbooks on interpretation, examination of the historic documents of the church in the Creeds and Confessions, as well as reading from those coming out of the Protestant Reformation based on scripture, and aligned with the historic teachings of the church.
In evangelical circles today, "Christian deconstruction" is a dirty word, but are they truly trying to defend the faith once for all delivered to the saints, as historically held in the church? Or, are they more inclined to defend the modern 'evangelical' distortion of the historic Christian faith? I have been challenged many times for using theological writings and commentaries from centuries past, but isn't our Bible from many more centuries in the past, and it has not changed, so what is truly new under the sun as to doctrines of the faith in this day?
"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,...These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." (Acts 17:2, 11 KJV)
"And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures,...These Jews were more receptive than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the message very eagerly and examined the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so." (Act 17:2, 11 NRSVue)
Whether Christian, religious or faith deconstruction is bad or good, depends upon the starting point. In evangelical circles this is equated with rejection of the Christian faith, as that faith is defined by that particular segment of the church. The Wikipedia describes it thus:
"Deconstruction is a process of personal religious re-examination. People who deconstruct have described destabilizing feelings of anxiety, guilt, anger, confusion, and fear, as well as curiosity, awe, and liberation. As an open-ended process, the outcome of deconstruction is uncertain."
Those noble Jews in Thessaloniki were doing deconstruction as they examined the scriptures. I can testify to the truth of that description in Wikipedia. I at first experienced anxiety and confusion, but as I studied more deeply in the scriptures, and examined the historic Christian faith, I surely did experience anxiety and confusion at the first but then came liberation and awe of the truth and liberation in God's unadulterated word, as historically understood down through the centuries of church history. It can be uncertain in some respects as we are never too old to learn, but it ultimately must be solidly based on the scriptures as taught historically in the church, "the pillar and support of the truth", 1 Tim. 3:15 NRSVue (by "church" I mean the body of Christ, not the RCC or any other particular denomination)
My starting point was in an "Independent, fundamentalist, dispensationalist Baptist church" where we were fed on the Scofield Reference Bible, the writings of John R. Rice in the home, and preachers from places like Bob Jones University. Thankfully I was taught to see that salvation was in the shed blood of Jesus the Christ, the Lord of Glory on the cross, but apart from that, many erroneous and maybe heretical doctrines I had absorbed.
How did my initial anxiety and confusion become liberation and awe become? At first my study was solely in the KJV, an English version God has blessed for 400 years. My home became like a layman's theological seminary and I did study, and as with the Thessalonians, examined the scriptures every day. This required study that included textbooks on interpretation, examination of the historic documents of the church in the Creeds and Confessions, as well as reading from those coming out of the Protestant Reformation based on scripture, and aligned with the historic teachings of the church.
In evangelical circles today, "Christian deconstruction" is a dirty word, but are they truly trying to defend the faith once for all delivered to the saints, as historically held in the church? Or, are they more inclined to defend the modern 'evangelical' distortion of the historic Christian faith? I have been challenged many times for using theological writings and commentaries from centuries past, but isn't our Bible from many more centuries in the past, and it has not changed, so what is truly new under the sun as to doctrines of the faith in this day?
