We've Got the (Table) Flipping Story Wrong.

It’s a visceral story with a visceral point.
… And remind me, what is the point, exactly?

—
… “Jesus flipped tables and so should we” ???

… “Jesus got angry, and sometimes we should get angry too” ???

… ”It’s okay to react in anger when people are sinning” ???

… “Never go to a church where they’re selling stuff in the lobby” ???
—

Those are just a few interpretations I’ve heard of the classic Bible Story of Jesus flipping tables…

Also, fun fact: it’s one of the very few stories from Jesus’ ministry retold in ALL four Gospels.
• Matthew 21:12-16
• Mark 11:15-19
• Luke 19:45-48
• John 2:15-22

So apparently it was pretty memorable for the people who saw it.
I mean… I think we can all agree that if we’d been there it’d be seared into our minds too.
Core memory unlocked.

You know what I think about this passage?

…I think few Bible stories have been so misused in order to justify anger OUTBURSTS like this Bible story. 

Confession: Anger is a part of my story. 
Also, great therapy is a part of my story.
Also, by God’s sheer grace, the Gospel is a part of my story.

And Let me tell you an angry-person secret:
Angry people LOVE this passage.

Because as long as I think that what you’re doing is ungodly, then I can storm into your life, your home, your bedroom, or your social media feed and do some guilt-free, Bible-justified old-school table flipping.
… And then walk away with a sense of self-superiority - leaving you to sit in the wreckage and think about what you did. 

And golly it feels good…

The righteous anger coursing through my veins as I pound my fingers into the keyboard.
Every key I smash is another one of your teeth. *BAM*
Every poke to the keypad is another poke to your eyeball. *POP*
Every point I make, landing square on your chin, cheek, and nose.

**POW, BOOM, WHAMMO!**

As long as you are “wrong,” then my angry reaction is “righteous.”

It’s the angry Christian’s loophole.
Jesus said, “anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment” (Mt. 5:22).
And Jesus’ brother said “be slow to anger” (James 1:19-20).
But then… all bets are off because Jesus flipped tables… so now I can too…
As long as you’re wrong. 
And surprise… You’re always wrong.

I used to believe that.
I used to believe social media tirades were justified as long as the other person was wrong.
I’d hit “send” because I believed my verbal blows were somehow Christlike…

I literally believed I was doing Christ’s work by rushing into your feed, screaming a sermon, and whipping you with my words.
I mean, Jesus flipped tables after all!

I’m a man in recovery from the bitter poison of human anger and saved by divine grace. 

But since the great fire-sale of 2020 I’ve seen this story pointed to over and over as if it were an iron-clad defense for emotionally erupting on sinners.

And here’s what I know now: When church people see this story as justification for reacting in anger then we’ve utterly misread, misinterpreted, and misunderstood this story. 

Like… we’ve missed the text and context - the whole bible-study-kit-and-caboodle - by a mile.

… Here’s the story as it was relayed to me as a child:

Jesus arrived at the Temple court during some Jewish holiday and was stunned to see animals being sold. When He saw this, He was electrified with jealous anger! How dare they sell things in God’s house! Jesus quickly grabbed a whip and began swinging it like a wild man at the money-changers, driving them all out of the Temple while throwing their tables over and screaming, “this is my Father’s house and you’ve made it into a den of thieves!” 

It’s got some key things right… and some very key things wrong.
Ultimately, it’s an egregiously inaccurate alteration of the story’s key details. 
And Satan loves it. 

Satan loves it because he uses it to convince you that the application for this passage is: “Go flip your ungodly neighbors’ tables…” 

But the real application is more along the lines of getting you asking the question, “If Jesus walked into the courtyard of my heart, would He find any tables that need flipping?” 

…And perhaps a deeper question this passage is trying to get us asking may be: “Is the way I conduct my spiritual life keeping outsiders from getting closer to God?”

** Just pause for a second… I mean, if you literally think this passage teaches that you should flip ungodly people’s tables in ‘righteous’ anger, then there’s a big part of me that just wants to say, “I dare you.” Please. Go for it. No church (no matter how much you think they’ll support you) will actually support you once you end up on YouTube after an angry table-flipping spree at the local farmers market all because you saw Brenda selling taro cards and dream crystals. Really, if you’d actually just do what you think this passage is teaching, then you’d prove my point far quicker than this stupidly-long blogpost.**

Okay, let me give you a few reasons why I’m CONVINCED we’re missing the point of this passage… 

1. No version of this story says Jesus WAS “angry.” 

…Yikes. I know, you don’t believe it. But re-read all four gospel accounts for yourself. 

In NO version of this story, in ZERO of the 4 gospels, does it say that Jesus got “angry.” Was He? Maybe… I don’t know… and neither do you. 

Apparently, to the witnesses who later recorded the event, anger wasn’t the most prominent emotion they thought Jesus was exuding. It’s not like they didn’t have plenty of words for “anger” in Greek - and I think they’d have used one of them if “anger” was what they felt defined this moment.

But all the disciples were aware that Jesus was experiencing one prominent emotion: Zeal.

John’s version says, “His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me’ (Jn. 2:17). 

Zeal, yes. “Consuming” zeal, in fact.
Jesus felt an undeniable conviction to correct what was wrong in the temple.
A drive to get it done. 

But anger? I mean, maybe… but the text doesn’t say…
And we know that God doesn’t get angry quick.
In fact, it’s one of God’s core attributes - He is “slow to anger” (אָרֵךְ אַף) - Ex. 34:6.

This is why James told believers later on to “be quick to listen and slow to anger.”
To be slow to anger is to be like Christ. 

And Jesus certainly wasn’t “surprised” either…
This wasn’t ‘The First Annual Den of Robbers Market’ being held in the temple court.
This wasn’t His first Passover Rodeo.

Jesus didn’t suddenly grow a conscience and realize all in a moment how blisteringly jacked up things were.

No, He was used to this.
He’d seen this happening at Passover year after year after year since childhood… 

So, I think chances are good that Jesus didn’t experience some sudden spike of fury or explode with unexpected rage. 
Jesus had carefully planned this moment… 
Maybe for years. 

He was simply “zealous.”
He’d always been zealous for His Father’s house. 
Even since childhood (Lk. 2:48-49).

Jesus is zealous… and we should be too.
Jesus is slow to anger… and we should be too.

Losing yourself in anger is unspeakably easy.
To lash out requires no effort at all.
Trust me on this.

And yet, there are a lot of church folks who think their righteously angry outbursts are noble and Christlike. I think that’s often just an excuse for lacking maturity. Moreover, I think it’s a cover for lacking the Spirit’s fruit of “self control” (Gal. 5:22-23).

But to feel someone else’s spit dribble down your face,
Their punches break your jaw,
Their whip tear into your back…
And to still say, “Father, forgive them…”

…ooof, THAT’S hard.
Those are some toned muscles of self-control.
That’s a person who’s looking a lot like Jesus.
Bearing the Spirit’s fruit. 

And I think that might be the miracle and a main facet of this story:
That under circumstances that might make anyone else seethe with anger,
Perhaps Christ isn’t quite as angry as we would be.
Perhaps He’s slower to anger than your average-Joe-Christian.

No person is slower to anger than Christ.

…Perhaps… He was perfectly calm.
Wouldn’t that be a surprise?
Wouldn’t that upend your expectations?
Wouldn’t that be so like Christ?

And it’s Christ we follow.

-

2. Jesus DIDN’T WHIP people.

Okay, so the story doesn’t say Jesus was “angry.”
Another thing it doesn’t say (though I heard this growing up) is that Jesus started whipping people. 
Time to set it straight: the story doesn’t say Jesus whipped anyone. 

Jesus wasn’t assaulting people.

The most detailed version of the story says “And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.” (Jn. 2:15). 

Jesus made a scene, scared the animals, and turned over some tables and coin jars in order to get people to go somewhere else. And they did. And after they left, the blind and lame started coming to Him for healing (Mt. 21:14)…

Remember, Jesus is slow to anger…
And speaking of “slow to anger,”
It took time for Jesus to make that whip.

It didn’t appear out of thin air…
Jesus didn’t just carry a whip on His belt like Indiana Jones…

John 2:15 says Jesus made the whip right there, on location.

I don’t know how long it takes to make a whip… but I’m guessing it took long enough for Jesus to think pretty hard about what He was about to do. 

When he started cracking the whip He was calculated, not frantic.
Intentional, not unrestrained.
Collected, not chaotic.

And after He’d cleared out the riffraff from the courtyard, Jesus was calm enough to immediately start ministering to the sick and teaching the crowds (Mt. 21:14, Mk. 5:17, Lk. 19:47).

I’m not calm enough to preach after running 100 yards, let alone preach and heal people after getting in a whip-fight with a few dozen people and an untold number of animals.  

But Jesus doesn’t appear to be out of breath or frazzled from an adrenaline rush.
I think this is yet more evidence that Jesus probably wasn’t quite as angry as our modern retellings have led us to believe. 

I don’t know about you, but I can’t see myself wanting to be seen by a doctor who just spent the last 10 minutes assaulting his staff. But Jesus was so approachable in the moments immediately after this event that the sick and lame felt safe coming to Him for a healing touch.

But you know who was mad?
The Temple staff.

Matthew says they were “indignant.” (Mt. 21:15)

Not because He’d made a mess… but because He healed people.
Not because He’d flipped tables… but because He taught people.
Not because He’d called merchants ‘robbers’… but because the masses called Him ‘Son of David.’

Matthew’s version doesn’t call Jesus’ actions “angry” or “violent” … Matthew calls His actions “wonderful” (again, see Mt. 21:15).

Yet ANOTHER reason to think that perhaps Jesus wasn’t as angry as we’ve imagined.

Think about it… take everything you know about Jesus’ earthly ministry and seriously ask yourself: “can I really imagine Jesus whipping people? Physically threatening people? Physically hurting people?”

It wasn’t Jesus’ anger towards sinners that upset religious folks… 
It was His friendliness towards sinners that got their robes in a twist. 

“The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” - Matthew 11:19

Of course, Jesus IS coming back as the Great Judge (cr. Ps. 2; Dan. 7; Rev. 19, etc.)…
And when He does, He’ll judge unbelievers and He’ll dish out perfect justice. 

That Day will be scary.
…Jesus will be scary.

But He intends for us to base our behavior on His earthly ministry and commandments, not His future judgement (cr. Matt. 16:24, 28:20; Rom. 12:17-19; 1 Cor. 11:1; Phil. 2:5-8; 1 Pet. 2:21).

The Old Covenant allowed for ‘eye-for-an-eye’ justice (Ex. 21:23-25).
But Christ followers are under a New Covenant (Lk 22:20).
In the New Covenant, Jesus says:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” - Matthew 5:38-39

Tall order, Jesus!

Jesus whipping people (or even threatening people with a whip) just doesn’t square with His own teaching. It runs against an absolute flood of other passages outlining Christian conduct about confronting conflict and sin. (cr. Matt. 18:15-20; Luke 4:22; Rom. 12:17-18, 13:13; Gal. 5:22-23, 6:1; Eph. 4:15, 29; Col. 4:6; 1 Tim. 2:8; 2 Tim. 2:14, 23-24; Titus 3:1-2 and MANY others).

Again, I often find that this story - the story of Jesus flipping tables - is the SINGULAR passage that angry Christians point to in order to justify their righteous fits of anger…

But if your interpretation of a passage runs counter to the rest of scripture’s teaching on a given matter, it’s more likely that your interpretation is off and less likely that the passage is condoning an exception to the rule.

-

3. The money-changers were ‘church people,’ not outsiders.

Now I want to make an even stronger contextual point: the animal-sellers and money-changers WERE NOT covenant-outsiders.

There isn’t even a slight chance that Gentiles would have been allowed to sell sacrifice-animals to Jews in the Temple during the Passover feast… much less that a Jew would’ve been allowed to buy a sacrificial animal from a Gentile. 

For a Jew to buy a sacrificial animal from a Gentile would’ve meant risking that the animal wasn’t truly unblemished or had potentially been exposed to idolatrous practices.

Sanhedrin 104a (in the Talmud) says, “any Jew eating with a gentile would bring exile upon his children.” So, if a Jew was forbidden from sharing dinner with gentiles on a plain old weekday, then it’s unthinkable that a Jew could buy a sacrificial animal from a Gentile during one of the holiest national holidays.

Why is this relevant? Because angry Christians use the table-flipping-story to justify angry behavior not only towards believers, but towards unbelievers as well.

Here’s a really important Bible-theme for Christians to understand… and honestly, this fact could change everything for you: JESUS NEVER GOT MAD AT UNBELIEVERS during His earthly life. 

But here’s a list of the types of people Jesus DID get angry or frustrated at during His exemplary life on earth:

• Church leaders who think they’re better than non-church-people (Mt. 9:10-13).

• Church leaders who think they’re better than other church people (Mt. 23:29-36).

• Church leaders that get offended when Jesus doesn’t play by their made-up rules (Mk. 3:1-6).

• Church people who marginalize non-church-people in order to make a quick buck (Mt. 21:12-13).

• Church people who marginalize children because they think Jesus is only for grown-ups (Mk. 10:13-16).

• Church people who don’t trust Him (Mt. 13:53-58).

• Church people who reject the cross (Mt. 16:21-23).

• Church people who lose their faith because of difficult circumstances (Mt. 8:23-27).

• Church people who reject the resurrection (Mk. 16:14).

• Church people who call down hellfire on unbelievers (Lk. 9:51-56).

• Demons (Mt. 17:18; Mk. 1:25, 9:25; Lk. 4:35, 4:41, 9:42).

…Notice any themes? 

And even IF Jesus was angry during the table-flipping episode, it wouldn’t be out-of-character for Him… Because He did react in anger and frustration towards church people and church leaders pretty often.

But in every recorded interaction between Jesus and non-Jews, Jesus never got angry at unbelievers.

Not the Roman Centurion (Lk. 7:1-10), Syrophoenician woman (Mt. 15:21-28), Samaritan woman (Jn. 4), Gerasene demoniac (Mk. 5:1-20), the Greeks at Passover (Jn. 12:20-22), and not even Pilate or Herod or the Roman soldiers who crucified Him… (Mt. 27; Lk. 23:6-12)

And when a Samaritan village rejected Jesus, James and John wanted to call down hellfire; but instead of meeting them on their emotional level, Jesus rebuked the two brothers for their trigger-happy attitude. (Lk. 9:51-56).

It doesn’t matter how ungodly an outsider is. 
It doesn’t matter how mean, wrong, sinful, or smelly they are… 
Jesus never got angry with unbelievers. 

The sins that got Jesus to react in anger were the sins of His people.

Again, what I’m NOT saying is that Jesus won’t return to judge unbelievers one day. He will without any doubt.

But I think something we don’t expect is that He’ll judge religious insiders BEFORE He judges religious outsiders (clearly described in Malachi 3:1-4). 

Again, the sins Jesus reacts most fiercely to are the sins of people who call themselves “His” people.

Chances are high that Jesus would “flip the tables” in your church and in your heart before flipping tables at the local strip club.

And if that offends you, well… welcome to following Jesus.

-

4. Jesus MADE A SCENE because the CHURCH-PEOPLE WERE keeping non-church-people out.  

God wants non-covenant-people to draw near to Him…
…to pray to Him.
…to find Him. 
…to become covenant-people. 

In Isaiah 56:7, God exclaims, “…my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations!”

The Temple in Jesus’ day was constructed with this incredible idea in mind: a place for people of all nationalities to pray. Not just ethnic or religious insiders.

And so the the Temple included an outer court for Non-Jews aptly called “The Court of the Gentiles” – A place for them to come near to God’s presence, Worship, and Pray.

SO COOL, RIGHT?

Yes… except that during Passover this court became a zoo for Jews only. 
A market for selling sacrificial animals. 
Gentiles could come back and pray some other time. 

Imagine Jesus going into the Temple year after year, seeing outsiders being pushed aside so that Jews could sell overpriced pigeons to fellow Jews. 

This year, Jesus decided to do something. 
Calculated. Premeditated. Coordinated.

This was the year He’d cause a scene, shoo the gaggle of merchants out the door, and let a flood of poor, sick, and needy outsiders into the court so that they could get as close to His Father as possible. 

And this was the week He’d blow up the whole paradigm and render the whole sacrificial system obsolete. His death would cause human hearts to become God’s temple. Jewish hearts. Non-Jewish hearts. Welcome to the holy of holies, friends. 

God’s angry when His people keep outsiders from drawing as close to Him as they can.

Now here’s an ironic question: 

Q: What keeps outsiders from drawing near to God?
A: A church full of angry people. 

How depressing - our Poor interpretation of a story about Jesus making space for outsiders to get near The Father… IS KEEPING PEOPLE FROM WANTING TO GET NEAR The Father!

-

Looking to the Cross

And, dear reader, remember that there’s never been a greater outrage than the cross.

His arrest was a sham.
His trial was a sham.
His crucifixion was a sham.

But at His arrest He told Peter to sheath his sword (Jn. 18:10-11).
And at His trial He stayed silent (Mt. 27:12-13).
And at His crucifixion He said, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing” (Lk. 23:34).

There is no outrage like the outrage of the Cross.
And the Crucified One didn’t mock back or fight back.

But when a sinner posts something sinful on your social media feed
Do you find yourself hoping God will send hellfire on them?
If so, it’s likely Jesus would turn and rebuke you
Like He did James and John in Luke 9:54-55.

And maybe you’re thinking:
”There are a lot of things I can imitate in Jesus, but surely His crucifixion isn’t one of them…”
Dear reader, a cross is precisely what we’re called to. (see Mt. 10:28, 16:24; Lk 14:27; Phil. 2:5-8).

Only His death can pay the price for sin.
But only our death can point the world to His death and resurrection (cr. Col 1:24).

Ever met someone who said, “I accepted Christ as Lord after one of Christ’s followers lost their temper with me.”?

… I didn’t think so.

-

Let me be clear: Emotions are Good.

There is nothing inherently wrong with anger.

God created emotions.
God Himself has emotions (If you don’t feel emotions, see a doctor).
God get’s angry.
… And God’s anger always produces righteousness…
… but ours never does.

“The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” - James 1:20

It’s good to be angry at injustice.
But it’s a poor decision to let anger take the wheel and start driving your behavior.

I’ve heard a lot of friends say, “don’t trust your emotions.”
Well said…
But I would add, “don’t trust your mind either.”

Sure, Jeremiah said “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9).

But Isaiah said “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

A lot of intelligent minds have made the worst types of decisions.
Intelligent minds have met together to lay out plans for mass genocide.
More than once.

So don’t trust your emotions outright.
And don’t trust your mind outright.
But weigh everything you think or feel by what Scripture says is true.

-

And speaking of Scripture… 

If this table-flipping story makes you imagine Jesus angrily whipping non-believers, then re-read it… carefully.

And if this story causes you to justify your angry outbursts towards outsiders, then re-read it… repentantly.

And if this story causes you to marvel at the goodness of Jesus who zealously clears out space for outsiders like you and I to get close to the Father, then re-read it… exuberantly… again and again and again.

-

I’m Sorry.

Friend, if you’re a non-Christian and I’ve ever lashed out towards you in anger, I am SO sorry. That’s not the way of Jesus.

And friend, if you’re a Christian and I’ve ever treated you with fleshly anger, I am SO sorry. I’ve got no excuses. 

“The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” - James 1:20

“When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.” - 1 Corinthians 4:12-13

“And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil.” - 2 Timothy 2:24

“Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” - Matthew 5:38-39

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.” - Galatians 6:1

“Speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” - Titus 3:2

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” - Colossians 4:6

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” - Ephesians 4:31-32

“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” - Romans 12:17-18

“Everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” - Matthew 5:22

“If when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” - 1 Peter 2:20-23

“But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth… Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” - Colossians 3:8, 12-14

The Word "Deconstruction" Is Broken.

I’m trying to appreciate your idea of ‘deconstruction.’

Really, I want to…
but I can’t…
because I’m not sure I know what you mean when you say that word. 

When you say it, I don’t know whether to hug you, high-five you, cry with you, or laugh with you.

I wish we could be on the same page here. Because, again, I really want to understand whatever it is you mean by “deconstruction.” 

I bet you’re frustrated too…
by how many wildly different experiences that seemingly simple term tries to account for.

It’s like a professional football team trying to share a single baby blanket…
It’s …confusing …and uncomfortable …and awkward for everyone.

De-con-struc-tion.
Four syllables, yet pitifully insufficient.
Abysmally ambiguous.

I think that word is broken…

But if we could fix it… 
then maybe we’d understand each other better, because… 
I’ve had doubts myself... 
Maybe I’ve even ‘deconstructed’… 
Maybe even several times.

I mean, I have plenty of doubts right this very moment… as we speak… and, believe me, some of those questions are ones I’d REALLY like answered!

Seriously, I have a living note called “Big Hairy Questions” about God, the Bible, and faith. A couple of them are playful, but most are deadly serious. The list grows and it shrinks and then it grows again. And some of the questions have been in the queue for a while now.

My list of questions keeps me honest… with God and with myself…
because there have been times I fail to admit to myself that I’ve got doubts…
And, during those times, I think the denying actually hurts more than the doubting.

A few years back, I sat on a question for months without realizing that it was a question I even had.
It suffocated my soul and choked out my prayer life.

My spirit shriveled.
My soul shrank.
It hurt me.
It scared me.

At other times, I’ve taken my questions to the grindstone. I’ve dug in and researched HARD. Gotten up early. Stayed up late. Gotten straight-up nerdy about it - hanging out with dead scholars instead of not-dead friends. 

Okay. Here’s me being vulnerable:
Can I share something that’s haunted my ‘Big Hairy Questions’ note for a while? 

Question: “God can’t change, right (Mal. 3:6)? But at some point he became a human (Jn. 1:14)… So, how can God become something, but not change?” 

Answer: Still pending…

Ugh! I lose sleep over questions like that! 

And I don’t have it in me to settle for pithy, quick, cheap, thoughtless answers like, “Well, God is mysterious and beyond human comprehension so you’ll just have to trust Him.” That boat doesn’t float when my big doubting rear is sitting in it. What I need is for someone to show me in the Book how it works!

Picture me pounding my index finger into the cover of a big fat Bible during each word in that last sentence: “Show. Me. In. The. Book!” 

Inevitably, with patience, my questions find answers… Every single time.

The ‘Problem of Evil’… not such a problem right now.
The Reliability of the Bible… settled.
The Relationship Between Faith & Science… they’re getting along great in my world!

Eventually, my heart settles and I end up glad I didn’t give up or lose my faith.

Maybe that’s not your deconstruction story… 
Maybe you’ve lost more than sleep over your doubts, concerns, or questions…
Maybe you’ve lost your religion too…

And maybe you miss it.
Or maybe you don’t.
Everyone’s got a different story.

I know lots of people who have left the Christian faith who seem to still have their worlds in tact… They’re still good, successful, happy people. In fact, some of my friends say they’re happier than ever without Christianity. 

Personally, I’m not in it because Christianity makes me happiest…
I have lot’s of quick fixes up my sleeve if I were after ‘happy.’
No. I’m in it because I think the Bible’s true.

I know myself - If I lost my faith I’d eventually be a pretty ugly lump… but only after trying to remake myself into the most selfie-friendly version of me possible. You’d love that guy… for a while at least. 

Then I know others who not only lost their faith…
but their marriage…
and their kids…
and their health…
and their lifesavings…
and every drop of their joy…

When they pulled the plug on religion,
They didn’t expect their entire world to shut down too.

Generally, deconstruction is not an exhilarating or pretty experience...

Side-effects of Deconstruction may include:

• A sense of lostness or aimlessness.

• Deep feelings of loneliness, shame, and fear.

• A sense of self-betrayal.

• Depression.

• Friend-loss.

If symptoms persist, then good luck.

In most of my conversations with fellow deconstructors, I find they are thoughtful hurting people who slowly woke up to find themselves in a ‘doubt-land’ they never intended to be in. Often, they wander around doubt-land in circles… mistaking self-isolation for bravery… intending on wandering back into faith-land “someday soon,” but never quite seeming to get there.

Of course, Big Hairy Questions aren’t the only road to doubt-land
Sometimes it’s just one Basic Question…
Like CS Lewis wrote after his wife died:

“Meanwhile, Where is God?… Go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence.”

To all the happy Christians who haven’t been through pain that completely unmoored them - may the rug never be pulled out from under your blessed and pampered feet.

And to all those who have felt abandoned by God when it mattered most, I see you.

But again… that’s just one type of story.

And the problem still lingers: when you tell me, “I’m deconstructing,”
I don’t know whether I should be happy for you…
whether I should hold you in a bear hug…
or whether I should cry for your family and shake you until you snap out of it.

So, I really do mean it: I NEED to understand what YOU mean by “deconstruction…”

Because, again, I just don’t know whether we’re talking about the same thing. 

…But I want to.
I want to know for sure that we’re talking about the same thing.

So here’s a hare-brained idea: How about a scale?

The Bible doesn’t have a scale for deconstruction per se… but it does have stories about people who had big hairy questions and faith crises of their own… whose experiences were very different. Some of them did their research in a book, and others did their ‘research’ in a bottle. 

And since you have a faith background… and since your faith-deconstruction has to do with… well… “faith”… I’m hoping you’re okay with this scale using faith-y language.

I’ve labeled each of these “D1” through “D7”  (as in “Deconstruction Category 1” through “Deconstruction Category 7”). I’ve categorized them based on the experiences of real humans in the Bible (except for D4 - that’s based on people in a couple of Jesus’ parables).

D1 - Berean Deconstruction

You had a handful of big questions about the faith - including many inaccurate things you’d been told as a child by adults you trusted. You took these questions to study, to prayer, and to conversation with other believers. You never stopped believing and behaving like a person of faith even though the questions were there in your mind. After a time, you found answers that completely put your questions to rest.
(Text: Acts 17:10-14)

D2 - Peter & Thomas Deconstruction

Something you experienced shook you to your core. It was mostly unwelcome and out of your control. It rattled your faith, instilled serious doubt, and you felt like you were drowning. All you could see was wind and waves, like Peter… or the ghost of your crucified friend, like Thomas. Maybe you didn’t know what to do, but you never stopped getting together with other Christians. In time God helped reframe those experiences for you. Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed you… or pressed your hand into His side so your doubts shrank or evaporated altogether. 
(Text: Matthew 14:22-33; John 20:24-28)

D3 - John The Baptist Deconstruction

You couldn’t have given more to Jesus in your early years. You were all in, in absolutely every sense. Blood and sweat. Bone and breath. But somewhere down the road it all turned out to be a bundle of unmet expectations… and maybe that was your own naïve fault. You wonder if Jesus is anything more than a good teacher from ancient Israel - and it terrifies you to think about what it means if all your dearly held beliefs are actually wrong. It’s clear where the doubt came from, but unclear where it will end.
(Text: Matthew 11:1-19, 14:1-12)

D4 - Rock & Sand Deconstruction

You were a happy Christian but a life-flood or two (or ten) came in and swept your faith out to sea. It wasn’t so much that you deconstructed your faith as much as life’s circumstances did the work of deconstruction for you. The storm(s) exposed some rot in the wood of your faith-structure and it felt like the more rot you tore out the more rot you found. It’s also possible that, after the rot-pulling left your faith depleted, you found very little compassion in your “christian” community. Their abandonment + the cruelty of the storm + the shell of your faith produced the answer: IF God exists at all, then He’s cruel and his Church is equally so. Becoming a Christian again might not be entirely off the table but big things would have to change. 
(Text: Matthew 7:24-27, 13:20)

D5 - Demas Deconstruction

Christianity wasn’t for you. It worked while it worked but now it doesn’t. It was good when you were younger, but now you’re more drawn to another more compelling truth - possibly “your truth” or perhaps “no truth!” Many things the Bible puritanically called “sin” you now realize are just fine… fun even. You’re probably tired of Christians who judge you for doing what you want; because it’s not like it hurts them. As you considered leaving Christianity you may have been unwilling (or didn’t think) to seriously consider any Christian perspectives on the matter - God, parents, church-people, and the Bible were unwelcome in the process because they were the very things on trial for you. Their truth is fine for them, but they should chill out or leave you alone to live your life. 
(Text: 2 Timothy 4:10; Matthew 13:22)

D6 - King Solomon Deconstruction

You suddenly and drastically unchained yourself from toxic relationships that wanted to hold you back from being true to yourself - including God and church. Honestly, you had a thousand reasons to unhitch from the Christian faith. Then, when people wouldn’t celebrate your pursuit of the things that made you feel most like the real you,  you cancelled them on principal. You didn’t need that negativity in your life. You’ve found a new tribe and style that celebrates you for you. It’s possible you’ve found a new tribe and new style more than once in order to keep improving yourself and in order to keep the toxicity from creeping back in.
(Text: Ecclesiastes 1-12, Matthew 13:22)

D7 - Hymenaeus and Alexander Deconstruction

Spare the details - the fact of the matter is you quickly and vehemently rejected the Christian faith and now fiercely oppose it with brute incredulity. Your entire being rejects Christianity as a body rejects rotten food. Christians are a plague: manipulators of the poor and vulnerable, brainwashers of children, indoctrinators of the weak-minded. They are crusaders and inquisitors; a fascist and biggoted blight on the world. It’s a rich white man’s religion designed to thrive by oppressing those who refuse to conform to man-made norms thereby perpetuating its own existence. You’d sooner listen to the dry-heaving of an ill pig than a Sunday sermon. Their God is a genocidal, infanticidal, misogynistic, homophobic old man who is said to have murdered His own Son! Your former church and ‘friends’ cut you out of their lives - something you publicly decry as hypocrisy yet simultaneously couldn’t care less about. They call you “unrepentant” but you don’t have anything to repent of. They may use words like “apostate” or “blasphemer” or even “heretic” to describe you… to which you take a bow and say “I’d like to thank the academy and my former pastor for this award.” 
(Text: 1 Timothy 1:18-20)

Certainly, more tick-marks belong on this scale.
I mean, 7 categories couldn’t possibly encapsulate every story. 
And no two stories are the same. 

I know for a fact that your story isn’t perfectly represented by this scale.
I’m a bit of a desconstruction-scale-mutt myself.
Maybe in the next edition we can get a slider on this bad boy.

Or maybe you didn’t like one or more of the categories…
Because they don’t fit into your definition of “deconstruction.”
And I suppose that’s the point:
We’ve all defined it differently.

To some, deconstruction is apostasy.
To others, doubt.
To others, it’s about tradition.
To others, it’s about Jesus.
To others, it’s about pain.

I don’t mean for this scale to be an ending place…
some file-box where we organize people into neat folders and then push the big metal door shut.

In fact, I don’t want you to use the scale at all. 
I would gag if people actually began using the scale-language…
Like, “I don’t know about you but I’m more of a Peter-deconstructionist myself.”
Or, “You know Shirly? Ya, she’s really going through a Solomonic deconstruction.”

The scale shouldn’t be used.
But the principal presented in the scale should be understood:
”Deconstruction” means different things to different people.

And now, maybe you’ll let me tell you how I feel about it all…
How I feel about the fact that all us deconstructors deconstruct differently. 

It feels, to me, like there are healthy and unhealthy ways to deconstruct. 

It feels like there are ways to deconstruct that provide dignity for one’s story without condoning or ignoring the parts of it that were wrong or painful.

And then there are ways to deconstruct that spit on your own story while it lays in a shallow grave. It hurts you and the people who contributed positively to your story. 

I guess it goes back to the scale. D1-D2 people typically deconstruct thoughtfully and thoroughly. They have conviction but they’re also open to new ideas. They include God and others in the process of their deconstruction. They’re like the Bereans of Acts 17. They didn’t pack their bags and flip the bird to their mud-stuck parents. They cracked open their Bibles, pushed their noses into the papyrus, and collaboratively duked it out. Luke called them “noble” for how they deconstructed (Acts 17:10).

On the other hand, D5-D7 people often leave a wake of destruction behind them on their journey. In fact, they might cancel you for even suggesting that. They live for the moment and won’t slow down enough to admit that the way they’ve chosen to re-image their lives has hurt their loved ones and themselves. They move so fast that their vision of their past is blurry… so blurry that sometimes they forget and mislabel the faith-events of their childhood. They tend to paint sweet little Sunday School teachers as bloodsucking brainwashers. And in the present, they rack up decisions they’ll regret one day… and if they won’t regret it, their family will. They’re like Solomon - the wisest knucklehead ever to live.

When Solomon (a D5’er) got old, he didn’t see his deconstruction journey as one to be copied… He ends his deconstruction autobiography by saying this,

“Everything has been heard and this is the end of the matter:  Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecc. 12:13-14)

That’s Solomon’s way of saying, “Don’t do what I did! Keep following God no matter what!”

The Bible seems to say that some types of deconstruction are “noble” and that other types shouldn’t be copied. 

Of course, we deconstructors are people. And every deconstructor’s journey has an origin story, doesn’t it? MAYBE yours started with a Big Hairy Question. Or maybe it started with a big creepy pastor who should’ve been fired (or imprisoned) for being creepy but his loyalty-blind board defended him and not you. (They should really re-read Solomon’s last words… yikes!)

Maybe your Christian dad is King David the sweet Psalmist after God’s own heart (2 Sam. 23:1; 1 Sam. 13:14)… and gosh, good for you. But sometimes your Christian Dad is King David the cheating, lying, murdering, distant father (2 Sam. 11-15) who gave you mountains of advice that he didn’t seem to take himself… That could put a stick in just about anyone’s faith-spokes!

And maybe your Christian dad is BOTH…
Sheesh… no wonder David’s boys were all… special.

The adults who raised us as children have immense influence on our adult-faith… and sometimes they leave a knot that can only be untangled by divine miracle. 

I’m not here to throw stones. You’re a human being with a long list of experiences that have brought you to where you are. I just want to be on the same page. And I want you to be a healthy person with healthy relationships.

And of course, I’d be really selfish if I didn’t want you to experience what I experience with Jesus every day - because it’s sweet.

And I hope you know how kind Jesus is to doubters… 
If you’re a doubter… Jesus loves you…
(cr. Matt. 14:31, 28:16-20; Mark 4:39-40, 9:23-27; Jude 22)

So… let’s get on the same page. I don’t know whether it’ll end in a hug or with you shaking your head… just know that I can’t applaud your deconstruction journey if it’s hurting you or the people who love you. I love you too much to do that.

And know that your story isn’t over yet. 

So… where have you been? Where are you at? And, most importantly, where are you headed?

[Thanks to Josh Kluth and Matthew Wick for refining and contributing to key thoughts within this article.]

Unpassages & Unprayers (Pt. I)

A PreAMBLE:

Popular passages and prayers often lose their potency over time. They become too familiar. Too assumed. Too mantra-esque. But if we consider their converse - what they’re NOT saying - we can be filled with a tremendous relief. I’m so glad Jesus said “God so loved the world” and not “God was so mildly disgusted with the world.” Sometimes, thinking deeply about what the Bible does NOT say frees us to be profoundly moved by what it DOES say. The world’s leaders may say, “I have come to be served,” but Jesus says “the Son of Man came to serve.” The world may say, “follow your heart,” but Jesus says, “follow me.” What a relief. These “Unprayers” and “Unpassages” are meant to to jostle and electrify your soul with the wonder of what Scripture really says. 

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Come to me and I will give you a shovel…

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you a list of your failures… and a shovel… so that after a lifetime of restless labor you might lay in a shallow grave. Take my displeasure upon you, and fear me, for I am temperamental and a tyrant at heart, and you will find sickness for your souls. For my yoke is crushing and my burden will break you.

Not Matthew 11:28-30

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The Prayer of Prosperity

Our Father
Who lives to please me
Prosperity be Thy name
My kingdom come
My will be done
On earth as it is in my head
Give us our days that we might live them for ourselves
And give us something better than bread for bread is boring and we would eat it thanklessly
And forgive us our sins so that we may sin with clean consciouses against those who have sinned against us.
And lead us not into poverty, pain, or discomfort, but deliver us unto pleasure
For mine is the Kingdom, and the honor, and the ingratitude forever and whatever, amen.

Not Matthew 6:9-13

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Our Battle is not against flesh and blood, EXCEPT…

Our battle is not against flesh and blood - except for the ones Paul forgot to warn us about… the:

• Gaygashites
• Lesbusites
• Transvites
• Queergashites
• Libralites
• Bidenites
• MAGAites
• Progessivites
• Muslimites
• Homelessites
• Druggieites
• Smokerites
• Drinkerites
• Addictites
• SexEdites
• ProChoiceites

Not Ephesians 6:12

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Quick to speak, slow to listen

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to anger. It’s completely illogical, but your anger will convince people that you’re right. They will weep and cry and apologize if you belittle them or raise your voice. If you refuse to listen, they’ll be compelled by your confidence and self-righteousness. You’re right! So speak up quickly and bulldoze anyone else’s point of view before they have the chance say anything! For the anger of man might not produce the righteousness of God, but it will produce feelings of superiority in you - so go for it! 

Not James 1:19-20

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UnPsalm 1

#Blessed is The Self-Made Man

#Blessed is the self-made man 
who is well-networked, 
and has friends in high places,
and eats with movers and shakers;
his delight is in his polished social media profiles,
and on his own portfolio he obsesses day and night.
-
He is like a rose bush 
planted by pools of stagnant water
that sometimes yields pretty-looking flowers, but eventually thorns are all that’s left.
-
In all his self-centered dealings, he prospers. 
Obscure and spiritually needy people are not so - 
but are like children that the Spirit will never drive away.
-
The losers won’t get the promotions!
The Jesus freaks won’t get invited to the parties!
Fame and fortune favor the bold and the good looking - 
but the way of the humble-hearted is a drag.

Not Psalm 1

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The Mega Commission

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to your local pastor. Go therefore and unquestioningly fulfill the vision he told you he ‘heard from God’ - build a large building, put him on a stage, fill his pockets with money, and treat him like a celebrity. Pay minimal attention to the nations, filled with dirty and dying people who probably deserve what’s coming to them. Instead, take field trips to the nations once a year, and underpay a handful of others to do the church’s full-time ‘dirty work.’ Baptize people who for decades haven’t taken their faith seriously but want to check it off the list and get a cool t-shirt. Teaching them how their material comfort and their faith can coexist without so much as a prick to their consciences - all while using excerpts of my teachings to support your agenda. And behold I never knew you - never, even to the end of the age.”

- Not Matthew 28:18-20

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Berate My Sheep

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “BERATE my sheep. Whip them with your words. Deflate them with your diatribes. Squash them with your sermons!”

He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Or perhaps, AFFIRM my sheep. Let them lead themselves. Let them feed themselves. Let them slaughter themselves.”

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Or perhaps, FEED my sheep - But feed them the thorns and thistles of modernity. The poison of worldly pleasure. And the sludge of self-help.” 

Not John 21:15-17

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The Iron Rule

You have heard it said “Do not resist the one who is evil.” But I say to you, an eye for an insult and a tooth for a taunt. Again you have heard it said, “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek then turn to him the other also.” But I say to you If anyone slaps your cheek, then slap back harder so as to draw blood. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, then counter-sue and take from him his very livelihood and his bread. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, make haste and exact from him one mile with interest. Rebuke the one who begs from you and embarrass those who would borrow from you. And you have heard it said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” But I say to you, curse your enemies and punish those who persecute you.

Not Matthew 5:38-44

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Train up a child in… the correct political party

Train up a child in the correct political party, inundate them with screens, validate their outbursts, give them trophies for free, let the children’s pastor form them, let the youth pastor entertain them… so that when they are old they shall not depart from closed-minded self-centered entertainment-craving me-ism.

Not Proverbs 22:6