nuance

Taking a turn
So far we have looked intently at the idea of division between Reformed and non-Reformed people - especially the division over the 5 points of Calvinism, or as we simplified it, RPF vs. RFF. Regeneration and conversion are the hot-button points of debate between Reformed and non-Reformed people, and that is a good place to start the discussion about being post-Reformed.

That is, being post-Reformed entails an emphasis on Jesus and the biblical story, not a particular theological view of conversion or regeneration. Not only that - it also entails a passionate pursuit of community among those of varying views on this issue, even within local church communities; and it entails a passionate commitment among the leaders to preach the middle way.

We saw that being post-Reformed is about believing in a universal church that is working to reconcile the world to God through Christ. It is about thinking globally and forsaking lesser concerns to join in that all-important work.

And so we’ve turned to a theme that is truly bigger than theological debates like RPF vs. RFF - we’ve turned to the nature of theology itself.

The un-theology
For me, being post-Reformed is a departure from theology-mania, a departure from intellectualism. It is by no means an abandonment of the intellect, or of theology for that matter, but it is most certainly an abandonment of the mentality that theology is the be-all and end-all of good Christianity.

Because it ain’t.

Theology - thinking about God - is a means to an end, and the end is knowing God personally and living for God practically. The bumper sticker is right, cocky intellectual naysayers be damned: Christianity is not about religion, it’s about relationship.

It is here, in this relational emphasis, that the Spirit emerges as the key to good Christianity; the Spirit, who comforts us with the very presence of God within, who unites our hearts to his heart, who moves our souls to live for a higher purpose - this Spirit is the primary thing, the main thing, in what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Just look at the biblical story - it is replete with tales of the Spirit moving among and within men and doing the work of God in the world. The Spirit formed the formless earth, forms the formless church, and forms our formless hearts.

In this sense, my post-Reformedness is an un-theology; it is a theology that points away from itself to an indulgent spiritual and emotional connection with the God of the universe. When Jesus the person - not the theological fact - is in view, theological facts become like the coding behind a beautiful web page - that is, pointless in an of themselves. They are insignificant except that they bring us to the picture of this person; and knowing the code is literally unimportant compared with seeing the picture and loving the picture and experiencing the picture.

So again, this leads us to a style of doing church that is passionate to break down unnecessary theological barriers for the sake of the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And again, this does not entail the abandonment of truth or theology itself but rather an ability to see what truth is most important in bringing us to the point of it all, that is, God himself manifest in Jesus himself by the Spirit himself.