My husband sent me an email message one day telling me not to text him (it was my day off and I was particularly frustrated about something at home). What I heard and interpreted was, "I don't want to hear from you." What he was actually saying was, "I'm going to be in meetings and my phone buzzing from text messages can be distracting."
What is said and what we hear or interpret can sometimes be way off base. It creates a lot of misunderstandings.
Oddly enough, we sometimes run into this problem when we read scripture as well. We can all read or hear exactly the same thing - and interpret it very differently. We can even have the same experience - and still come to a different conclusion of what that experience meant or how to respond to it.
During my years at seminary, I had it beaten into my brain that "experiential faith" was problematic, because experiences could vary and experience always needed to be held up and tested against the truth of scripture. Because experience... can be flawed. Experienced reality can be highly ambiguous and obscure God's intentions for our lives and our world. Our experience may not reflect what God desires for us. For instance - if I am a starving child in the midst of a refugee camp, having witnessed my family's execution and having been tortured or raped - my experience does not reflect what God's desire for human relationship actually is. But my perception and view of God can definitely be shaped - and skewed - by this experience.
So as a general rule of thumb, this is true and a good practice. People can go a lot of bizarre places based solely on their experience without the proper balance of scripture to temper and guide the interpretation and understanding of the experience.
That said, there is one ultimate problem with dismissing the reality regarding the experiential nature of faith too out of hand. While one should always be a little careful of getting too caught up in our experiences, we cannot negate its impact and importance. The main reason... is scripture itself.
Scripture is, at its core, the recordings of people's "experiences" with the divine. How they encountered God and their interpretation of that encounter - what it meant and why it was important. Their writings reflect the world they lived in, the problems they faced, the arguments they were engaging, and to a degree, their own individual "style." God inspired them to write what they wrote - therefore it is still His Word - and yet it is also a work of humanity. This is why the Bible can sometimes be difficult to read. While it tells a continuous story of God and his relationship with humanity, when different people write, they use different styles and methods to get their message across. It's like trying to read a novel that sixty or so different people wrote all smashed together - some writing narratives, some writing poems, others writing letters - and many times even in different languages - all trying to move the story along... their voices and thoughts all unique to who they were, what they were going through, and what they were trying achieve by their writings. All had slightly different perspectives. We typically would view such a work as disjointed and difficult to read. In and of itself, this compilation of writings that brings together the larger story of God and is able to inspire faith and belief in millions throughout the world is miraculous if you really think about it.
This is precisely why we refer to it as the "living" word of God. Despite the thousands of years, despite the multitude of writers, despite all the language shifts, it still speaks into our lives. Throughout the eons, whatever circumstance people are in, God's word - even when it's the same the word that was spoken 2000-3000 years earlier - still evokes a response.
Now, where it gets tricky is that this word is typically heard very differently by people depending on their circumstance, time, place, and - yes - experience. But it is living because it continues to move people and create faith in them, just sometimes in different ways.
For instance, Jeremiah's experience of God's word in the midst of Judah's destruction by the Babylonians was very different than David's experience of God as he forged a united kingdom. Jeremiah was moved to write the book of Lamentations as a result of his experience - a book crying out to God, expressing his angst and sorrow over what had become of his people. David was moved to write many of the Psalms, poems and songs of praise that lifted up all that God was doing. We sing many of the Psalms of David in our worship services. We don't tend to sing the lamentations of Jeremiah. And yet - both were faithful servants of God called to serve in the midst of their circumstances. Both are a part of the "experience" of God.
I was recently reading an article from an author of the Pentecostal tradition who shared her life's struggles and faith journey. Now, I'm not a Pentecostal for a variety of personal reasons that I don't think need to be discussed here. It's sufficient to simply say I am drawn more toward the Lutheran faith tradition. But her story was inspiring - and deeply moving.
Additionally, as I read her story, heard her experience of God speaking into her life, I found myself going, "That is, almost verbatim, the same words God used with me when He spoke into my life at a very pivotal time." I felt the exact same "knowing" and understanding that it was not a hallucination. It was real and breathed new life into me. It helped me view scripture and God's message in a whole new light. During my time at seminary, I heard many other similar stories - God's voice breaking in wherever we were at and moving us all in new directions. It's something that connected all of us, and what connects me to this writer as well.
However, as I read her story, it begged the question - how can two people have almost the exact same experience, and still not totally agree on everything when it comes to matters of faith? (And as a caveat - I have not spent enough time talking with or getting to know the intricacies of this author's religious viewpoints - what we agree on or disagree on specifically. She self-identifies as Pentecostal, I identify as Lutheran. I'm working off the overarching different understandings and practices that tend to be inherent between Pentecostals and Lutherans as a whole, not this particular person's specific viewpoints which I truthfully don't know all that well and am not attempting to criticize in any way.)
This almost identical experience inspired faith in her where there had previously been none, while it solidified my already existing faith and set me down the path I am currently on. She heard these words coming out of an abusive childhood and subsequent suicide attempt. I heard these words after a fairly "normal" and loving upbringing, though was going through some turmoil for different reasons. As a result, she found herself for reasons that are her own drawn to the Pentecostal movement. I found myself drawn to the Lutheran tradition, in particular its emphasis of grace and forgiveness. Yet the words spoken to us were the same, and had in many ways the same effect - yet also set us down paths that were somewhat divergent. Despite being drawn to different traditions, God's word breaking in on our lives shared the same ultimate goal - to put us both to work in the building of God's Kingdom.
Is this not the same situation we have when we read scripture in general? We all read and hear the same Word of God - but we interpret and respond to that word very differently depending on our background, our understanding, and our life experiences. Let me illustrate further... saying "You're beautiful" to someone will sound different depending on whether you're a model earning thousands of dollars a day because of your looks, versus a several hundred pound sixteen year old who is made fun of and bullied every day at school because of how she looks. The former will have an easier time believing what she hears and will react a certain way. Society upholds and validates those words for her. The latter by contrast may have difficulty believing those words as they are completely contrary to everything she has experienced among her peers and society. And yet, in the way that matters to God, that overweight sixteen year old typically possess a deeper beauty than can be seen on the outside. (I am speaking in generalities - not trying to say every model has a wonderful self-image or that every overweight teen has a poor self-image - it's simply an analogy to make a point). But they hear - and react - very differently to these same words breaking into their lives - either affirming what they already think, or contradicting what they have been led to believe about themselves.
God's word does the same thing. It can affirm what we already know and believe. Or, it can contradict what we see and hear on a regular basis. It can comfort, or it can cause fear. It can resolve some doubts, or raise more questions.
This does not mean there's something wrong with God's Word. It means how we ALL hear God's word is potentially flawed and definitely not always the same. Our experience alters our perception and understanding. We have a "filter" problem between our eyes/ears and our brain. Like what I interpreted and read into my husband's request to not text him.
It's not a new problem - we see this problem being played out among the early Christian communities and apostles as well. Peter and Paul didn't always see eye to eye or share the same ministry methods. Paul was attacked and found himself having to defend his ministry to the Corinthian congregation. Misunderstandings and hurt feelings abounded even then. Our brokenness continues to be a source of strife even in matters of how we practice and understand our faith in the one who reconciles us back to Himself.
It is easy for us to spout scripture in order to make an argument regarding a particular conviction we might have - to condemn others for not being like we are or believing exactly the way we believe. We all do it. I know I'm guilty. As Christians, we all find ourselves drawn to different parts of scripture because they have more meaning to us in our lives because of our current or past circumstances. We cling to and uphold more vigilantly those parts that speak to us and affiliate with those denominations or non-denominations that fall more into line with how we understand God's Word.
Thus we cannot escape or deny how our experience shapes our understanding. This is why I believe we fight so much among the different branches of Christianity. Every Christian has a unique experience that shapes their understanding of the divine. That shapes their understanding of who and what Jesus is and means to them. That shapes how they hear words like, "you are a child of God." How they hear those words shapes why they are drawn to one particular tradition or another. How they hear God calling shapes how they respond to it.
So who is right and who is wrong?
Maybe that's the wrong question. Perhaps it isn't a question of right and wrong response or interpretation, but a question of what is it that moves us all toward God's vision of reconciliation and building his Kingdom on earth? I know I will continue to disagree with other people's understandings and interpretations of scripture, not be comfortable with certain expressions of faith, and even view some theologies as being harmful as opposed to helpful... but as long as we continue to strive toward the same goal, perhaps there is space for us to recognize that we are all simply small parts of a much bigger picture.
To recognize we continue to be flawed people who misunderstand God's word as much as we misunderstand each other, even those we're closest to, all the time.
What is said and what we hear or interpret can sometimes be way off base. It creates a lot of misunderstandings.
During my years at seminary, I had it beaten into my brain that "experiential faith" was problematic, because experiences could vary and experience always needed to be held up and tested against the truth of scripture. Because experience... can be flawed. Experienced reality can be highly ambiguous and obscure God's intentions for our lives and our world. Our experience may not reflect what God desires for us. For instance - if I am a starving child in the midst of a refugee camp, having witnessed my family's execution and having been tortured or raped - my experience does not reflect what God's desire for human relationship actually is. But my perception and view of God can definitely be shaped - and skewed - by this experience.
So as a general rule of thumb, this is true and a good practice. People can go a lot of bizarre places based solely on their experience without the proper balance of scripture to temper and guide the interpretation and understanding of the experience.
That said, there is one ultimate problem with dismissing the reality regarding the experiential nature of faith too out of hand. While one should always be a little careful of getting too caught up in our experiences, we cannot negate its impact and importance. The main reason... is scripture itself.
Scripture is, at its core, the recordings of people's "experiences" with the divine. How they encountered God and their interpretation of that encounter - what it meant and why it was important. Their writings reflect the world they lived in, the problems they faced, the arguments they were engaging, and to a degree, their own individual "style." God inspired them to write what they wrote - therefore it is still His Word - and yet it is also a work of humanity. This is why the Bible can sometimes be difficult to read. While it tells a continuous story of God and his relationship with humanity, when different people write, they use different styles and methods to get their message across. It's like trying to read a novel that sixty or so different people wrote all smashed together - some writing narratives, some writing poems, others writing letters - and many times even in different languages - all trying to move the story along... their voices and thoughts all unique to who they were, what they were going through, and what they were trying achieve by their writings. All had slightly different perspectives. We typically would view such a work as disjointed and difficult to read. In and of itself, this compilation of writings that brings together the larger story of God and is able to inspire faith and belief in millions throughout the world is miraculous if you really think about it.
This is precisely why we refer to it as the "living" word of God. Despite the thousands of years, despite the multitude of writers, despite all the language shifts, it still speaks into our lives. Throughout the eons, whatever circumstance people are in, God's word - even when it's the same the word that was spoken 2000-3000 years earlier - still evokes a response.
Now, where it gets tricky is that this word is typically heard very differently by people depending on their circumstance, time, place, and - yes - experience. But it is living because it continues to move people and create faith in them, just sometimes in different ways.
For instance, Jeremiah's experience of God's word in the midst of Judah's destruction by the Babylonians was very different than David's experience of God as he forged a united kingdom. Jeremiah was moved to write the book of Lamentations as a result of his experience - a book crying out to God, expressing his angst and sorrow over what had become of his people. David was moved to write many of the Psalms, poems and songs of praise that lifted up all that God was doing. We sing many of the Psalms of David in our worship services. We don't tend to sing the lamentations of Jeremiah. And yet - both were faithful servants of God called to serve in the midst of their circumstances. Both are a part of the "experience" of God.
I was recently reading an article from an author of the Pentecostal tradition who shared her life's struggles and faith journey. Now, I'm not a Pentecostal for a variety of personal reasons that I don't think need to be discussed here. It's sufficient to simply say I am drawn more toward the Lutheran faith tradition. But her story was inspiring - and deeply moving.
Additionally, as I read her story, heard her experience of God speaking into her life, I found myself going, "That is, almost verbatim, the same words God used with me when He spoke into my life at a very pivotal time." I felt the exact same "knowing" and understanding that it was not a hallucination. It was real and breathed new life into me. It helped me view scripture and God's message in a whole new light. During my time at seminary, I heard many other similar stories - God's voice breaking in wherever we were at and moving us all in new directions. It's something that connected all of us, and what connects me to this writer as well.
However, as I read her story, it begged the question - how can two people have almost the exact same experience, and still not totally agree on everything when it comes to matters of faith? (And as a caveat - I have not spent enough time talking with or getting to know the intricacies of this author's religious viewpoints - what we agree on or disagree on specifically. She self-identifies as Pentecostal, I identify as Lutheran. I'm working off the overarching different understandings and practices that tend to be inherent between Pentecostals and Lutherans as a whole, not this particular person's specific viewpoints which I truthfully don't know all that well and am not attempting to criticize in any way.)
This almost identical experience inspired faith in her where there had previously been none, while it solidified my already existing faith and set me down the path I am currently on. She heard these words coming out of an abusive childhood and subsequent suicide attempt. I heard these words after a fairly "normal" and loving upbringing, though was going through some turmoil for different reasons. As a result, she found herself for reasons that are her own drawn to the Pentecostal movement. I found myself drawn to the Lutheran tradition, in particular its emphasis of grace and forgiveness. Yet the words spoken to us were the same, and had in many ways the same effect - yet also set us down paths that were somewhat divergent. Despite being drawn to different traditions, God's word breaking in on our lives shared the same ultimate goal - to put us both to work in the building of God's Kingdom.
Is this not the same situation we have when we read scripture in general? We all read and hear the same Word of God - but we interpret and respond to that word very differently depending on our background, our understanding, and our life experiences. Let me illustrate further... saying "You're beautiful" to someone will sound different depending on whether you're a model earning thousands of dollars a day because of your looks, versus a several hundred pound sixteen year old who is made fun of and bullied every day at school because of how she looks. The former will have an easier time believing what she hears and will react a certain way. Society upholds and validates those words for her. The latter by contrast may have difficulty believing those words as they are completely contrary to everything she has experienced among her peers and society. And yet, in the way that matters to God, that overweight sixteen year old typically possess a deeper beauty than can be seen on the outside. (I am speaking in generalities - not trying to say every model has a wonderful self-image or that every overweight teen has a poor self-image - it's simply an analogy to make a point). But they hear - and react - very differently to these same words breaking into their lives - either affirming what they already think, or contradicting what they have been led to believe about themselves.
God's word does the same thing. It can affirm what we already know and believe. Or, it can contradict what we see and hear on a regular basis. It can comfort, or it can cause fear. It can resolve some doubts, or raise more questions.
This does not mean there's something wrong with God's Word. It means how we ALL hear God's word is potentially flawed and definitely not always the same. Our experience alters our perception and understanding. We have a "filter" problem between our eyes/ears and our brain. Like what I interpreted and read into my husband's request to not text him.
It's not a new problem - we see this problem being played out among the early Christian communities and apostles as well. Peter and Paul didn't always see eye to eye or share the same ministry methods. Paul was attacked and found himself having to defend his ministry to the Corinthian congregation. Misunderstandings and hurt feelings abounded even then. Our brokenness continues to be a source of strife even in matters of how we practice and understand our faith in the one who reconciles us back to Himself.
It is easy for us to spout scripture in order to make an argument regarding a particular conviction we might have - to condemn others for not being like we are or believing exactly the way we believe. We all do it. I know I'm guilty. As Christians, we all find ourselves drawn to different parts of scripture because they have more meaning to us in our lives because of our current or past circumstances. We cling to and uphold more vigilantly those parts that speak to us and affiliate with those denominations or non-denominations that fall more into line with how we understand God's Word.
Thus we cannot escape or deny how our experience shapes our understanding. This is why I believe we fight so much among the different branches of Christianity. Every Christian has a unique experience that shapes their understanding of the divine. That shapes their understanding of who and what Jesus is and means to them. That shapes how they hear words like, "you are a child of God." How they hear those words shapes why they are drawn to one particular tradition or another. How they hear God calling shapes how they respond to it.
So who is right and who is wrong?
Maybe that's the wrong question. Perhaps it isn't a question of right and wrong response or interpretation, but a question of what is it that moves us all toward God's vision of reconciliation and building his Kingdom on earth? I know I will continue to disagree with other people's understandings and interpretations of scripture, not be comfortable with certain expressions of faith, and even view some theologies as being harmful as opposed to helpful... but as long as we continue to strive toward the same goal, perhaps there is space for us to recognize that we are all simply small parts of a much bigger picture.
To recognize we continue to be flawed people who misunderstand God's word as much as we misunderstand each other, even those we're closest to, all the time.
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