The word of the week for this week could also be “assumptions”. What is being assumed, for the purposes of this edition, is belief or unbelief.
I have a friend who is an eminent theologian here in Vancouver. He previously taught at Duke Divinity School in North Carolina (it’s Jason Byassee). When Jason and his family moved to this part of the world not that many years ago he told his young children at the time that unlike where they were coming from, in Vancouver, you can not assume that everyone goes to church. This is true.
In fact, in my experience in the evangelical church, the assumption worked the other way. The default understanding when meeting someone or interacting with someone was to assume that they are not a believer. This is interesting when you think about it, and it points to the divisive ways of understanding that so often distort Christian faith.
Assuming that someone is a believer or an unbeliever demonstrates a framework of faith that is focussed more on ourselves than on God.
Hopeful theology calls us to reconfigure what it is that we assume. As I write this, I think about a couple of interactions, one recent, in which distorted assumption led to some level of curiosity for me. The first was some time ago. I went to a local bagel shop to purchase some bagels for my family. I placed the order, identifying the dozen bagels that I wanted. The person serving me then asked a question that was interesting given the context: “Will that be for here or to go?” I paused. I thought that if I waited, even for a brief moment, the person would catch the unnecessary nature of their question and smile. They didn’t. Then what I wanted to say was, “I’ll take eleven of the bagels for here, and you can wrap one up to go”, but that would have been mean, so I just said, “They’re to go.” I would argue that the server in this situation likely should have made an assumption.
The other incident took place just two nights ago. I was out for a beer with the eminent theologian mentioned above. We had a lovely time making wonderful statements about God in a local pub. I had one beer. We said good-bye and I headed home. Within a few blocks of the pub there were three traffic lights. There was less traffic than normal and I made two of the lights that normally are red. I was feeling pretty good. There was a Prince song on the radio, “Let’s Go Crazy”. I didn’t think that I was speeding. Immediately after a left turn through an advanced green light I saw police lights in my rear-view mirror. Upon being pulled over I started to think through what I must have done wrong. When the officer approached my window she asked, “Have you had anything to drink tonight?” I said, “Yes, I had one beer.” She asked when I finished. I told her about half an hour ago (all true). She said that she could smell the beer and asked if I was sure that it was only one. I said that I was entirely sure. She said that she was going to make sure by having me provide a breathalyzer sample. She told me that if it was just one beer then it shouldn’t be a problem. I got nervous. So then, out of the car, over in front of the police vehicle and some official legal talk, before my first ever breathalyzer. For a moment, I thought about what might happen if the test was near or over the limit. I thought about who might be driving by, as I was not far at all from home. She talked me through how to take the test and then administered it. She then, with some apparent glee, held up the machine with the result lit up, “See, 0.0. You register zero” (I’ve registered zero on other things but this was my first breathalyzer). After I had a wave of relief come over me, I asked the officer, “Why did you pull me over? Was there something that I did while driving that alerted you?”
She replied, “Nope. Not at all. I followed you out of the pub.”
All in all, the interaction was quite positive. She told me to have a great night and that I was free to go.
What is it that we assume about others? Sometimes assumptions are helpful. Sometimes they are necessary. I am confident that officers assuming they will apprehend impaired drivers simply by following them out of pubs proves to be correct at times.
In regards to evangelical faith, the believer/unbeliever assumption is mostly problematic. I would like to help you move past it. Hopeful theology demands something better. Karl Barth argued that the believer/unbeliever dichotomy was unhelpful in aiming for a healthy concept of God. He said that it sets up a false division that actually prevents us from seeing God’s character and love. It leads to an unhealthy view of God and an unhealthy view of other people and an unhealthy view of self. Barth cautioned that, if we insist upon using the term unbeliever, we should use it only to refer to ourselves. If we think of ourselves as believers and others as unbelievers then we wind up thinking that we have a corner on God that other people do not have. For Barth (and for hopeful theology) the thing that should be assumed is not belief or unbelief, but rather the goodness of God over all.
In other words, what God has done for us, God has done for ALL. Barth was accused of universalism and rejected the term. I am sometimes accused of universalism. I always reply that I do not consider myself a universalist, but I am grateful to be accused of being one. What is universal, according to Barth, is the love of God. What is universal is what Christ has done for all. What has been done for me has been done for everyone else.
It is a kind of freedom to let go of the believer/unbeliever division. This freedom does not erase the distinction between people who claim Christian faith and those who do not. Acknowledging this distinction is gracious. However, in the freedom that dropping the division brings, there is a healthier assumption that shapes worldview, the love of God for all.
Hmm interesting and helpful. However, different people's perception of God can really affect their lives.
I agree. In my opinion, there is only one God, Higher Being, Universe, etc. There is no need for us to create an arbitrary separation based on what our relationship is to this Higher Being. God doesn't care what path we take since they all lead to the same ultimate place. Glad things worked out okay with the officer!!!! That must have been scary even if only for a moment!