In the next two chapters of The Great Emergence, Phyllis Tickle endeavors to offer an analogy for understanding the construct of religion (as a cable tethering boat to land) and the events and changes that take place prior to a time of great change within the church.
I will leave the cable metaphor for another time (it is really quite helpful) and instead today consider one of the great insights you brings about these times of change. One of the seismic events that takes place within the church (and society for that matter) during these times of change is a change in the the answer to the question, “Where now is the authority?”
The authority upon which we base our lives, our understanding of God, and our view of the world is a vital piece of any time and culture. Looking back throughout earlier times of change, it is easy to see that they were in part the result of and in part the answer to changing answers to the question of authority.
Prior to Luther, this challenge to authority had been brought to the forefront of culture and the church by a division in the Papacy that left the church with first two and then three different Popes. Who was the authority? Could there be one authority? How could the church be wrong? This coincided with the changing authority of the church in areas of science as well as the earth was discovered to not be flat nor the sun a revolving celestial body around the earth. Where then could we find authority?
Luther of course lead us quickly to the answer, Sola scriptura, scriptura sola. From this time there has been a complete transformation within the church and the cultures it affects because of the shift in authority. No longer was the church or a pope considered infallible, instead each person was tasked to the priesthood of all believers. Each believer was to read scripture for themselves. This shift into the authority of scripture alone and conversely one’s own interpretation of it has had world changing affects. Of course Guttenberg and his printing press are largely responsible for enabling this change to take place.
So then, is there a shift in authority going on now that would help us understand the changes taking place around us? It is hard to not feel the shift in authority isn’t it? It is a shift from the individual to the corporate nature of authority. It is a shift from top down to interactive and connected learning.
Take encyclopedias and education for example. For a long time expertise in any academic fair came from the top down. Those who were most knowledgeable, as defined by the hierarchy, would write scholarly reports and teach the brightest students. They in turn would teach and write for the next level of students, and eventually learning was passed down to the masses.
Encyclopedias were the perfect image of this. They were stagnant, unchanging, untouchable and authoritative. Now we have Wikipedia. Corporate, interactive, inviting response from the masses. Knowledge is being shaped and formed by a multitude of different voices, regardless of hierarchical structure.
This seems to be the shift in authority that is taking place in our world. The connectedness that the internet has created has reshaped the ability to learn and the voices that impact our lives. Without the internet it is hard to believe that the Emerging Church could exist or that much of what is shaping the church right now would be taking place.
So what do you think? How is authority changing in our world? How is this affecting the church? How is this affecting the world around us?
January 15, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Seems there is often a lack of authority or an abuse of it. Many who think they have it use it to boast their own egos rather than for up-building which leads to more brokenness and rebellion. In tandem there seems to be an overall lack of true authority which promotes apathy.
I wonder about the whole wiki thing since it is difficult to trust the credibility of the postings.
The emerging church thing is confusing to me. The church emerged long, long ago and the Spirit continues to empower us today. We don’t need the internet so much as a willingness to humble ourselves before God and serve in love both within church community and in the world. We need to connect with one another face to face under the authority of Christ. When we do this the hierarchy crumbs and the ground we stand on together is leveled.
January 15, 2009 at 3:33 pm
I think you are accurately describing some of the downsides of sola scriptura; there has been a real lack of accountability because of the artificial community our autonomy has afforded us.
The wiki thing too, undoubtedly has its ups and downs, but what it does is level the playing field and enable more voices to be heard. In the church I think this has been for the better. After all without this change we wouldn’t be having this exchange right now.
January 19, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Hey Greg,
How is the cold?
Where now is the authority?
Does the Christian’s authority change with time and culture, or is it unchanging?
Given what Tony Jones is currently advocating on his blog:
Queermergent was created today in order to create a safe space for those Christ-followers who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Queer to partake in mature discussions regarding the LGBTQ community of faith within a 21st Century, postmodern, emergent/emerging church context. Queermergent is also a space for those that are not from the LGBTQ community but desire to understand us more, ask questions, and contribute to the queer conversation in a life-affirming way. As we journey along together we will hopefully be changed for the better. Thanks be to G-D!
Gee…
Why such spelling for our Creator and Redeemer?
Anyway…
By what authority do you think people, like Jones, the above-mentioned Queermergent blogger, and other emergents find this acceptable?
Is an authority shift that finds the Queermergent point of view/belief system acceptable?
And…
Wasn’t Luther just bringing the Church back to the original Authority (God’s Word) in a generation that had strayed from that Authority?
Wasn’t that seismic shift a return to truth and right rather than a change to some new belief and practice?
In fact, throughout the Old and New Testaments, can’t we track a constant human tendency to attempt the throw off of God’s authority in pursuit of self authority?
Isn’t much of of the emergent church, if not all, an attempt to throw off God’s authority (His Word) in pursuit of self authority (as, in part, demonstrated by Jones’s advocation of the Queermergent)?
What does Scripture say about the Christian’s Authority?
January 20, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Paul,
The cold is interesting for now. Of course it is only January, ask me again in March.
As far as Tony Jones goes, I differ with Tony on the issue of homosexuality. The Queermergent thing is something I am not sure how to approach at all. There absolutely needs to be space for people who desire a connection to God their creator and savior and struggle with homosexual tendencies to be ministered to and to share their experiences.
I am not sure how Tony decided to be part of that, but that is strictly his deal. That is not anything I am part of or desire to be.
As far as the question of authority, I think that the answer to the question about Luther is yes and no. Luther was pointing the church back to a truer faith, one that existed before the overwhelming institution of religion that church had become. But, no, what Luther was advocating was in ways very different than what had been taught before because of the availability of scripture.
Scripture, its interpretation and its teaching had long been reserved for the spiritually elite. Luther wanted to shift away from spirituality dominated by an elite class of clergy and help raise up a church where the priesthood of all believers was the driving force.
That was a shift in authority different than what the church had experienced before.