Have you ever wondered about the many
paradoxes embedded within Christianity? The greatest paradox is this: God's
absolute, eternal, and transcendent Being stands apart from this present world,
while at the same time God's historical, temporal, and immanent Becoming
infuses the world and calls all human beings to know and love him.
Compass psychotheology offers a bridge-building
theory that brings together therapeutic psychology with Trinitarian biblical
theology. Seeing Christianity through the Compass lens provides insight into
contemporary trends within the Christian faith. This insight may facilitate
healing where there is presently disturbance and divisiveness.
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| God's Being & Becoming |
On the one hand, there is the paradoxical tension we
can characterize as the Fundamentalist/Progressive polarity.
In the
Fundamentalist view, the absolute truths of the Bible reveal God's Being as
holy, humanity as fallen, and conversion to Christ as the purpose of the
Church. The application of Scriptural propositions forms the basis for personal
living that resists the eroding forces within culture.
In the Progressive view,
God's Becoming is manifest in the unfolding process of history, the gradual
enlightenment of humankind from superstition, and the accomplishments of
science, education, and God's urgent call to social justice in every
generation. One follows Christ by accepting the universal love of God for
people, and seeking to live a compassionate life of service.
On the other hand, there is the paradoxical tension
we can characterize as the Evangelical/Pentecostal polarity.
From the
Evangelical perspective, God's Being stands over against a sinful world and
requires the evangelization of the nations, and the application of well-formed
theologies that articulate doctrine and guide ethical choices.
In the
Pentecostal view, God's Becoming takes center stage, with a prime emphasis on
the power of the Holy Spirit as the action component of God. The Holy Spirit is
experienced in the joy of conversion and baptism, the glory of worship, and the
awe of healing, prophecy, and personal guidance in daily life.
Compass psychotheology places these polarized
traditions within the compass paradigm and offers the following interpretation.
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| Christianity Being & Becoming |
Placing these two sets of polarities within the
Compass Model allows each to form a rhythmic continuity with the other,
yielding a dynamic synthesis that encompasses a continuum of truth, integrating
Being with Becoming. These are complementary polarities in holistic
integration, a process that Donald Bloesch says, "is not to be confused
with taking the middle road for it embraces the truth in both camps and negates
the untruth in these positions as well."
Thus, there lies within this compass paradigm a
challenge for each of the four traditions: a challenge that each tradition both
value its foremost contributions, while at the same time valuing the key contributions
of the others.
The Fundamentalist and Progressive traditions, for example, are challenged to value both the need for conversion to Christ and living by biblical truths, as well as fostering an openness to science, culture, and dialogue with non-Christians in respectful ways.The Evangelical and Pentecostal traditions are challenged to value both sound theological doctrine, and the Holy Spirit's power to impart gifts of service and joyful worship in the Lord.
In such a way, the paradox of God's Being and
Becoming is honored within the Body of Christ, a goal affirmed by Gordon Fee
when he writes in his commentary on 1 Corinthians 3:23: "Our slogans take
the form of 'I am of the Pentecostals'...'I am of the liberals,' or 'of the
evangelicals,' or 'of the
fundamentalists,’ but to be 'of Christ' is also to be free from the tyrannies
of one's own narrowness, free to learn even from those with whom one may
disagree."
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