So which one do you have? If you are honest with yourself it's probably one or the other. This is often what anchors us in the faith. Radical ideas about liturgy (or Xn practices in general) are usually found in more theologically conservative churches and radical ideas about theology are usually found in more liturgically conservative churches. I grew up theologically conservative and liturgically liberal. As I age I'm becoming more theologically liberal, not for the sake of it I think that many of my ideas are just less orthodox than they used to be. Certainly not unusual for someone my age. But, as this happens I'm increasingly looking for patterns of life and liturgy (Xn practices) that I can use to help anchor me. I suspect that somewhere between practice and belief God hangs out. God's a pretty slippery sucker. As I try letting go of some theology in order to get a better hold of God I find myself needing some practice to hang on to. Maybe belief and practice are like the two side rails on a pathway. God is in the middle and if we just hang on to one we'll completely miss God we have to let go but we need the other rail for when we fall off the path again.
2 comments:
you can do it more perf
Hi Chris! Ive been thinking a lot about this question lately. I used to think that orthopraxy was far more important than orthodoxy, but of course its not that simple. But rather than ground ourselves in one or the other, I think we need to allow each to be formed by the other as we dance closer to God, relying on the Spirit to keep our anxieties at bay while we dance.
I think that dance happens at an individual and communal level. It's important that we have people in our believing community who are passionate about each and engage in continual deep dialogue with each other, also sharing their insights with the community.
Having said that i do agree that we tend towards conservatism in one or the other, as a way of managing our anxieties in place of trusting in God and each other. But ideally a community can relax its grip on both its belief and practice, not to let them blow away with every breeze, but to be offered for thoughtful review by those amongst them who are passionate about orthodoxy and orthopraxy, and to dance as a body with God as he teaches to the body what is needed at each moment in time.
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