Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart. - William Shakespeare
Last weekend Tiff, the girls, and I went to the bookstore. My first stop is always the religion section when we go there, and this time was no different. I scanned and scanned the tomes in the Christian section looking for something interesting to read. I admit I was surprised at the sheer number of books that dealt with anger and frustration towards the church and scripture. Regular readers of this blog would probably expect that I was happy about this phenomenon. The reality is that I am over it.
The time comes for any movement when it must stop being about what it isn’t and figure out what it is. All the many people, myself included, who have railed against institutional Christianity have yet to come up with a real alternative. Most of the emergent churches that I have sampled first hand are nothing more than traditional church with dimmed lights and candles. There isn’t anything deeper under the surface that is new. Yes, the pastors and congregation are more open and welcoming, but I wonder how they would react to a “normal” Baptist preacher in three piece suit who wanted to join their worship?
The emergent movement hasn’t been all bad. I think it was a much needed stage in my faith development that I needed to go through. I have made friends in it and learned a great deal from the leaders of it. The emergent school of thinking made me hungry for a church that is filled with people from all racial and socio-economic backgrounds. It also made me desire a church that admits that the Christian faith is not easily defined. This church that embraces mystery and the ineffability of God.
My church must have room for quietness and contemplation and a liturgy that brings you closer to God. Oh, and I must admit that I am tired of the concept of the masculine God. It devalues the female gender and allows us to create a God who is a macho warmonger. My church must believe that God is neither male or female. God is God and transcends our human concepts of gender.
The more I searched, the greater my surprise, when I realized that there is indeed a church that affirms all of these ideas. Even more shocking is the fact that this church is one in which I have spent a great deal of my life. This church is the Roman Catholic Church.
