Jesus the Deconstructor
"You have heard it said... but I say..."
~ Matthew 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43
What comes to mind when you hear the word "deconstruction" as it applies to Christianity? Does it have positive or negative connotations for you?
Sadly, in Christian pop culture, the term has been misused and misunderstood to mean, "I'm throwing away my faith and leaving God and the church!" This is not deconstruction. Rather, that outcome is better described by the words "destruction" or "demolition."
WHAT DOES "DECONSTRUCTION" ACTUALLY MEAN? [i]
The Cambridge Dictionary defines deconstruction as breaking something down into its separate parts in order to understand its meaning, especially when this meaning is different from how it was previously understood.
According to the man who coined the term (philosopher Jacques Derrida), deconstruction assumes some kind of reconstruction is part of the process. He specifically used this term to set it apart from the more negative term “destruction,” or “tear it all down and walk away.” In Derrida’s mind, deconstruction was a way to better understand the whole, and perhaps reconstruct it in a better fashion.
Whenever you reformulate another person's words, you are deconstructing. Dr Bruce Benson provides a great example of this: if you're sitting in a classroom listening to a lecture and miss something, so you lean over to classmate and ask, "What did she say?" and rather than reiterating the teacher word for word the classmate says, "Oh, she was just talking about the homework and telling us not to worry about it," that's deconstruction. Your classmate disassembled the teacher’s instructions and reassembled them in way to help you understand how it applied to you.
In other words, deconstruction naturally happens every day.
JESUS THE DECONSTRUCTOR
Jesus engaged in deconstruction. He deconstructed all kinds of beliefs and understandings about God and how to follow him. “You have heard it said… but I say...” is deconstructionist statement (disassembling and reassembling).
His conversation with Nicodemus (John 3), the woman at the well (John 4), and his message to the Pharisees about how they teach others to treat their parents (Mark 7) are all examples of Jesus deconstructing someone’s faith and theology. He didn’t demolish those things, but he took them apart and reassembled them more appropriately.
DECONSTRUCTING THE BIBLE
Regarding the Bible, deconstruction may seem like a dangerous topic, but it’s not, because you deconstruct the Bible every day.
Deconstructing the Bible is when you look at the author's original meaning, take it apart, and put it back together in a way that applies the author's meaning into our context. In other words, deconstruction happens when we stop to think and wonder how to live Scripture written 2,000 years ago in today's culture.
Bible commentaries and teachers constantly deconstruct: “Here's what Matthew says. Given the culture of his time, it seems what Matthew is getting at is... We might apply it to our lives in this way…” That's deconstruction.
When we read the parable of the Good Samaritan and ask, “Who are the people in my context this would apply to?” we are deconstructing the message of the parable. Every time you read a passage and ask how you can apply that to your life in this day, you technically engage in deconstruction.
Again, deconstruction does not obliterate the Scriptures. However, it can (and probably should) change (or perhaps even demolish) the way we apply those Scriptures in each generation.
DECONSTRUCTING TRADITION: THEOLOGY IN MOTION
In one sense, theology must be done for every generation. It is constantly in motion. There is never a point where our understanding of God becomes frozen (or at least it shouldn't). That’s why there were so many church councils in the early years of the church and so many tomes written by church fathers and theologians over the centuries – to continually work on and refine the church’s understanding of God and how we apply that understanding in our present day and age.
At one time, followers of Jesus felt that new converts should follow Jewish traditions. God deconstructed that belief by pouring out his Spirit on the Gentile household of Cornelius, and church leaders had to reassemble their theology a better way.
Theology in motion gave Pentecostal and charismatic followers of Jesus the freedom to take a fresh look at the Scriptures, disassemble some long-held beliefs, and reassemble them more in line with what they were experiencing in churches and revivals around the world.
At no point should we say, “We’ve figured it out. There’s no more work to be done.” Once we freeze theology and tradition with certainty, we lose the desire to learn and instead grow cold. Aristotle said when we think we know something, no one can teach us about that thing.
Imagine if the church decided in AD 50, or 500, or 1500, or 1965 that it had following Jesus figured out. What if we were still frozen in the 1800s while the world had moved on to the 21st century?
We must always be deconstructing. We must always be looking at our faith, theology, and practices, deculturalizng them from 20, 200, or 2,000 years ago and contextualizing them for today. The message of the gospel doesn't change, but when we take it apart to look at its components and see if there is a better way to reassemble the author's intent from 2,000 years ago, we deconstruct.
Sometimes small things need deconstruction, like maybe how a person shares the love of Jesus (tracts don’t work anymore). Other times big things need disassembling and reassembling. The way the church handles Jesus and the bible has not always been healthy, and there are times we must renegotiate our faith. In the past, the church has used Scriptures to defend slavery, residential schools, segregation, and patriarchy. These are all examples of the need to deconstruct our understanding and application of the Scriptures in our present time.
NOT EVERYTHING IS DECONSTRUCTIBLE
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention at this point that there are some things that cannot be deconstructed. For example, love is not deconstructible. It cannot be reduced. Derrida himself said justice cannot be deconstructed.
However, the way the church applies those concepts in the world can be. We can take the concepts of love and justice and deconstruct instances of hate and injustice.
PAUSE and REFLECT: DOES GOD WANT TO DECONSTRUCT YOU?
Is your understanding of God and how to follow him frozen in time, or is it growing and deepening over time?
Jesus challenges anyone who claims certainty. If you know that your way to follow God (or worship him, or share his love, or “be in the world but not of the world”) is the only way, or the best way, I think Jesus would challenge that claim.
Where might Jesus be pressing in on you to learn, grow, and evolve as his follower? Where might he be inviting you to deconstruct some too-long-held practices or beliefs?
We deconstruct best when we do it with Jesus. So what area of theology (understanding God), ethics (the way we live in the world), or practices (how we express our worship and obedience) might Jesus want to take another look with you?
Remember, Jesus doesn't want to demolish our faith. He wants to rebuild and strengthen it so that we might be fully alive in him and be salt and light in the world today.
So, for the sake of the gospel, keep learning, keep growing, and keep deconstructing.
[i] Special thanks to Dr Bruce Benson and his lectures on this topic.