Is the term Non-denominational Misleading?

Let’s start with a dictionary’s definition of the term, “open or acceptable to people of any Christian denomination.” This definition gets at both the usual meaning of the term, but also its difficulties. Before looking at the difficulties, let’s consider some other ways the term is used. One way is to highlight that a particular worship service, church, or even Christian is not formally tied to a particular denomination of the Christian faith (e.g. Southern Baptist, Roman Catholic, or United Methodist). Sometimes, the term means that a particular resource or curriculum or book is meant for all Christians and not just for one particular group of Christians.

Some Christians, who wish to stress their allegiance to Christ first and foremost, and are hesitant about denominations and the divisions they seem to cause, identify as non-denominational. Often, but not always, these individuals are from or have been greatly influenced by Evangelical or Fundamentalist expressions of Christianity. Others still, who identify as Christian, but are not particularly active in their faith or in the life of the Church will also sometimes use this identification. Often these individuals have a general sense of connection to Christ and His teachings, but have no particular connection to any denomination.

All this is understandable and generally works on the surface level, but when you go below the surface, difficulties can emerge. For example, to be a member of a specific Christian denomination situates an individual with a particular framework of the Christian faith with its own approach to worship, congregational life, and distinctive beliefs. Each denomination is also rooted in a particular historical tradition that makes it both similar to and different from other denominations. Every Christian and every Christian church has been influenced by one or more particular frameworks of the Christian faith (whether they know it or not). 

The person who is explicitly a member of or attending a denominational church is aware of this. They know that the Roman Catholic Church has a particular understanding of the Christian faith and they can research that understanding, read about its history, and study its teachings. A person who identifies as non-denominational runs the risk of not knowing the particular framework of Christian faith they influences them. Sometimes non-denominational Christians will claim they are only following the teachings of the Bible. However, the reality is that every understanding of the Bible is influenced by a particular framework or perspective.

Those perspectives may be Roman Catholic, Southern Baptist, Anglican, Nazarene, etc. with various ways of nuancing those terms (e.g. a liberal Roman Catholic perspective). To state it another way, a person may claim to be non-denominational, and indeed not hold official membership in a denomination; yet, their understanding of Christianity, how they read the Bible, how they practice their faith in daily life, etc. match up almost entirely with a particular denomination or tradition of Christianity. Again, the danger here is that these persons may not be aware of this and thus blind to what is shaping their faith in Christ.

In the same way, a church may identity itself as being non-denominational, but in almost every other respect (how they conduct worship, how they govern themselves, how they approach the Bible, what they believe about X and Y issues), are like a Baptist Church. Christianity has a rich and venerable history. Whether denominations are good or bad is another question (click here), but to pretend that any Christian or Church stands outside of a wider stream of influence or Church history or differing ways of understanding Christianity is to choose to be blind about the richness of Christianity and one’s personal understanding of it.

So what should a Christian do? 1) Choose a denomination; this should not be done lightly, but after a rigorous period of discernment 2) At least recognize what traditions/denominations are most similar to your own understanding of the faith or which of them have shaped your understanding of Christianity the most. A person might say, “I’ve attended a number of churches. I guess I’m officially non-denominational, but my understanding of Christianity is very Pentecostal (or Lutheran, or Baptist, etc.). 3) You could say, “I’m a Christian, but I’m not really sure where I fall in the Christian spectrum, so right now I identify as non-denominational.”

Are hostile atheists actually helpful to Christianity?

The answer is a fair helping of yes and a fair helping of no.

Before we proceed further it must be said that most atheists are not particularly hostile to Christianity or any other world religion. Most atheists simply do not believe in the claims of religion and go about their lives accordingly. Most are not on a personal campaign to attack, discredit or otherwise give religious people a hard time. Further, there are many atheists whose lives of compassion, service and moral integrity exceed that of many Christians. This should remind us that atheists and Christians (and all people of good will) should partner together for the common good; indeed, for Christians, our faith demands this of us (Matthew 22:35-40).

Let’s start with a fair helping of no.

The attacks on Christianity from hostile atheists like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Bill Maher, and others have encouraged an acceptance of a negative view of Christian faith in wider society. Is there plenty of misbehavior among Christians to warrant some criticism; of course! But much of the attacks are directed toward one particular understanding of Christianity and very often a caricature of Christianity and not Christianity at its best or even in its usual expressions. Knocking down straw men is not very difficult and when bringing a critique against a belief system or way of life it’s wise to critique it as its best, not just its worst. 

This applies to Christian disagreement among themselves and with others (atheists included). This encouragement of hostility and misrepresentations of Christianity has discouraged the faith of large numbers of Christians, deterred many truth seekers from seeing Christianity as a worthwhile option to explore, and has, perhaps, contributed to some walking away from faith, which necessarily involves participation in the community of faith. Atheists are free to argue against the faith, just as Christians are free to argue for the faith. Debate and criticism can be intense, but it should be conducted fairly, truthfully, and with the best intentions of good will. 

And now, for a fair helping of yes.

Hostile atheists do an incredible amount of good for Christians and Christianity in general. Some atheists have had terrible and sometimes tragic encounters with Christians in particular (who likely manifested behavior that contradicted Jesus’ teachings) or the Christian Church in general. Christians need to be reminded of the immense weight that our actions carry. We need to apologize for our own sins and failures and those of our sisters and brothers who carry the name Christian. When atheists bring these examples up, it’s an opportunity for us as Christians to own our faith, to grow in our faith, and admit to the wrongs done in Christ’s name.

Not all atheists have had some terrible encounter with a Christian; rather, many atheists object to Christianity on intellectual grounds. This is often true of the hostile atheists who get lots of “screen” time in our society. They object to “blind faith” and to claims that don’t seem to have evidence or logical warrant. These guys do a wonderful service to Christians, because they force us to think more clearly about our faith. Often the beliefs, practices, and conception of god they are attacking are not actually reflective of the mainstream of Christianity. It’s a shame that our fuzzy thinking is not addressed more regularly in the lives of our congregations and families.

God can and does work through whoever God wishes to accomplish the good, the beautiful, and the true; however, beyond the Spirit’s direct intervention, much of the “good” that atheists can do for Christians depends on our response. Sadly, whether talking about religion or politics or anything else, we seem increasingly less able as human beings to disagree agreeably and to maintaining goodwill and even friendship with those whom we passionately disagree. If we are open, the hostility of a small number of atheists can force us to be more humble, to live lives that reflect our stated beliefs, and be clearer about what those beliefs actually are. 

Another Mary: Saint Brigid of Kildare

Today is the feast of Saint Brigid of Kildare, one of the three patron saints of Ireland (the other two being Saint Patrick and Saint Columba). Her day also falls on the ancient (and still observed, especially by neo-pagans and some Celtic leaning Christians) feast of Imbolc, which is one of the four festivals that fall between the four major seasonal feasts (spring and autumn equinoxes and summer and winter solstices). It has many associations, but is seen as the half-way point of winter in the northern hemisphere, a time to anticipate the coming of Spring, even in the midst of dark nights, cold days, and snowy landscapes (Canada, eh?).

Brigid, in the great Tradition of Celtic saints, is reputed to have been a nun, a miracle worker and healer, a teacher to many other male and female saints, as well as an abbess and keeper of the flame at the important monastery in Kildare (which has been re-established, click here.) Many charming and insightful tales surround her life. For example, one Easter Sunday a leper came to Brigid looking for assistance. After some conversation, she offered to heal him but he stated that he received more from people in his leprous condition than he would in a healthy one. The abbess convinced him otherwise and through a blessed mug of water healed him.

There is some controversy and uncertainty about all of the historical details of Saint Brigid’s life. It is often pointed out that Brigid was the name of an important goddess in pre-Christian Ireland and that many of the goddess’ attributes can be found in the saint of the same name. Some see this as clever infiltration by the pre-missionary pagan tradition in Ireland continuing under Christian disguise; others insist on historical argument that Brigid was a real person and in her person embodies the unique elements of what some call: Celtic Christianity; others say her life and or legend was a sign of the failure of the Church to purge itself of a pagan past.

Others still, see her veneration as an example of the Church at her best, taking the God given best of a particular culture and its spirituality and bringing it into conversation and relationship with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Saint Brigid embodies a historical tradition of wise female teachers and healers of the faith, who exercised extraordinary spiritual influence over men and women, sometimes surpassing the influence of their male counterparts. We know such communities of nuns existed in Ireland and still do today. We can thank Saint Brigid, in part for this reality, for her life and legend continue to inspire people to follow Mary’s Son, Jesus Christ.

Speaking of Mary, the mother of Jesus, Brigid herself, is often referred to as the Mary of the Gaels. This makes her a sort of second Mary in traditional Irish spirituality. Whether referring to the Blessed Mother or St. Brigid, it must be said that while Christianity has a rich history of saintly, feisty, and dynamic women of faith, they often receive less of a hearing than their male counterparts. This impoverishes our individual spiritual lives, our congregations and ultimately our witness to the wider world. May the observance of St. Brigid’s day inspire us to change this dynamic, as together, we look and labor for the Spring, which will shortly be, now and forever.