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| Chimney Rock |
Many conservative/evangelical Christians feel that evolution, errancy and academic biblical scholarship represent a threat to Christianity - a slippery slope. As you begin to embrace these views, you run the risk of plummeting down to the depths of atheism, never to return. In contrast, some evangelical and most progressive and emerging Christians are able to embrace these viewpoints that were once deemed off-limits, with their faith still intact (perhaps a bit altered and refined). As a result, they argue that the slippery slope is an imaginary phenomenon. They make the mistake of projecting their experiences on others by offering blanket statements about the compatibility of secular scholarship with Christian faith. I can't say I blame them, and likely would have made the same assumption had my experience paralleled theirs. There is no need to link posts or name names here, as my goal is to educate and edify. As such, please allow me to call out a misconception that I feel is both damaging to those seeking Christianity and insulting those that have left.
My Christian friends, I implore you not to relegate the slippery slope to the halls of fiction. The slippery slope is not a myth, albeit one that is necessary to be intellectually honest with the current scientific, historical and archeological data before us. While minimizing the difficulties might shield one from attacks from fundmentalists, it belittles the struggles of seekers, doubters, agnostics and ex-Christians. In contrast, if you accept the slippery slope, you'll gain compassion and understanding for those of us whose journey has been more treacherous than yours. You'll understand the dangers of the slippery slope and consider ways to aid those of us that struggle. Most of all, you'll refrain from refering to atheists as apostates simply as a way to imply that they were sinners looking for an excuse to leave. This strategy cuts off the lines of communication before they have a chance to begin. Instead, let me suggest that conversation can only be fostered when you have the humility to validate the questions of your conversation partner. It is not a sign of weakness.
My opinion has been shaped by how embracing academic scholarship has played out in my spiritual life. The combination has not, by any stretch of the imagination, been a healthy relationship. The steps of the slippery slope have included evolution, mythological Adam and Eve and Flood, influence of ANE myth on OT interpretation, controversy over virgin birth and divinity of Jesus, failed end-of-world prophesies of Jesus, and the different atonement models. I know I'm not alone, as evidenced by my lengthy blogroll of doubters. I wish that I could offer advice for these struggling, disillusioned post-evangelicals. I want so desperately to tell them it will be okay -- to provide a resolution to my own dark night and label my doubt growing pains to a more satisfying faith. All I can do is commiserate in your descent down or climb up the slippery slope, and whether you wind up back in Christianity, complete unbelief, or somewhere in between, I won't think any less of you. And to my atheist or ex-Christian blogging friends, I am sorry that your opinions never seem to be taken seriously. You are often bullied and cursed and unloved, and I'm thankful that my eyes are open to seeing this abuse. Had I not confronted the slippery slope in my own life, acknowledged the difficulity in trancending it and the possibility that the slope exists because there is no God, I would not have had such empathy, and for that I am thankful.
I write this post with utmost respect for anyone who has found the slippery slope to be untrue in their life. I admire (to the point of envying) your ability to transition, adapt and evolve while still remaining within Christianity. But I'm tired of feeling crazy for my unbelief. When I am told the slippery slope is a myth, my questions and struggles are trivialized, and the road back to Christianity looks hopeless.
If you have battled the slippery slope, I'd love to hear you share your experiences -- what has encouraged you or been damaging. Has the slippery slope been a gradual staircase-like descent or a rapid free-fall? Did you end up retaining Christian faith, transition to agnosticism or atheism, or are you still undecided or searching?
Thanks for this post. You expressed something that has been on my mind.
ReplyDeleteI'm often befuddled by how people can accept so many of the conclusions of modern scholarship/science and yet still maintain a robust faith.
For example, if Jesus was indeed a failed apocalyptic prophet (as the most obvious reading of the gospels seems to indicate), why should I believe what he supposedly said about morality or the resurrection?
Anyway, I definitely agree with you that there is a slippery slope of sorts. However, the term "slippery slope" connotes too much negativity in my opinion. I mean the process of "sliding down the slope" may be extremely unpleasant, yet if the end result is the truth/reality, I guess it's not all bad...
This is a thoughtful and respectful post. Thank you LAC.
ReplyDeleteI tried to hold on to a progressive &/or liberal &/or emergent type of faith in Christ for a short period of time as I was walking away from the church and then my conservative evangelical Christianity. As you know, I couldn't do it. I could no longer witness to a Christ that possibly wasn't, if you know what I mean. It's because I took my former belief seriously that I ended up leaving it. I personally needed inerrancy and a truly holy Bible and a real resurrected God. When all that came into question it was my own personal integrity that allowed me to let go of all of it.
I think there is a slippery slope and those who think it's a myth? I think maybe they slid as well, just not as far as some of the rest of us?
Thanks for posting on this. I blogged once about how there is no slippery slope, but eventually came to realize that, in a sense, I think there is one, or perhaps two, but in different ways than I used to think. From one perspective, trying to keep to middle ground between extremes can be like walking a narrow ridge between two slippery slopes. But the way I prefer to use the metaphor now is by thinking of education as a climb up a slippery slope. It is hard for us to change our thinking, and often even once we have done so we revert to ways of thinking, speaking and acting that don't reflect what we really believe at present.
ReplyDeleteSo I think there is a slippery slope. But I think you've made it up the hill rather than slid down it. And I suspect that somewhere deep down, however attractive the old certainty and the feeling it gave can be, the troubling uncertainty of understanding the situation better, and having more accurate information and perception, is not something we would want to give up, if we had it all to do over again.
But that is just my own perspective, and I suspect that others would disagree. I hope my offering several different angles on this will not seem to be trivializing or insulting someone else's experience. What I offer here is the perspective of my own experience, and I realize that it may well be different from that of others.
Bravo, LAC, on this post.
ReplyDeleteFor me the slope started when I began to compare my creationist beliefs with the evidence of science and found them deeply flawed. That process took some time, details on my blog.
Eventually I came to a point where I had to make a decision to continue to believe in a Christian God despite my doubts, or embrace the fact that I had been wrong all those years and just deal with it.
So I stopped fighting the slope and enjoyed the ride. Atheism is not the cesspit I once believed it was.
Thanks, LAC, for this. I'm one of those you say you envy, because I've been able to hold on to the faith while still taking seriously science and scholarship. Sometimes I wonder if I'm really good at deluding myself into syncretism. But I honestly feel that it's very possible to hold on to the central claims of Christianity and to live the Christian life, even if it means redefinition of many of them and rejection of some. I think my study of theology has shown me that Christians have always negotiated what it might mean to be a Christian and have reach different conclusions in different times and places. So it seems natural that that process is still going on and that I'm invited to take part. I think I've come to see all theological claims as tentative and none as capturing the truth completely. I've found it quite possible to live with that. To me, that doesn't mean that I give up on theology or the faith or that I take it any less seriously. I remain convinced of the basic truthfulness of the Gospel, even if I'm working on what that means.
ReplyDeleteNot quite sure where I was going with that, but maybe it makes sense? Thanks again for the blog. Really good. I needed the reminder, I think, that dismissing the slippery slope, as "politically" expedient as it might seem (to counter the claims of creationists, for example, that the acceptance evolution inevitably leads atheism), it might hurt some brothers and sisters.
The term slippery slope has a negative connotation for me as it was
ReplyDeleteused frquently in church as a way to keep us far from sin. We were
told not to take one drink of alcohol, because then we'd be "one drink
drunk" and heading down the path to alcoholism. Dancing set one on the
slippery slope toward premarital sex. Given that context, I see why
many bristle at the term being used. It's a show stopper. It prevents
one from even considering evolution. It protects orthodoxy from
scrutiny, from science, from biblical scholarship.
That being said, my experience could be described as a gradual descent
down a slippery slope, though to me that conjures images of someone
falling out of control into a valley of sinfulness. I have experienced
my faith crisis more as eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. As my eyes have been opened to new ways of
understanding the world, my beliefs have changed on a number of
topics. Though at times I have been startled or disturbed by what I've
seen, overall it has been an enlightening and fulfilling experience,
one deliberately undertaken, not some out of control freefall that
occured because I carelessly stumbled down into a ravine.
I read your blog as often as you post because I feel such a connection to you. I was raised fully fundamentalist evangelical Christian and had absolutely no doubt. I studied biology in high school and college (Bio major) and managed to get through all the education knowing that whatever the scientists think - really it was God who created the world in a literal 7 (well 6) days. But after life experiences similar to yours, I asked the question - could this be true. and as I looked into evolution with a real question in my mind - could this be true - I saw that, yes, it could. And for all the reasons you have mentioned I slid down toward atheism. For me there was no stopping. I can't see the point in believing some other version of Jesus/God that lied in his book about a literal 7 days (among other lies). It makes more sense to me that a culture wrote these books about the myth they wanted to believe. It makes more sense to me that humanity in evolving needed to bring themselves together and religion fit that bill. And it was scary going through that. I'm not sure if my journey was as difficult as yours. I had to make the journey alone - no support from husband, family as they all are still fundamentalist evangelical Christians, but once I started I found the intellectual satisfaction of knowing the truth was better than the cognitive dissonance. And like "limey" said above, I found that atheists are not terrible people like I had thought they were.
ReplyDeleteThanks LAC for this post. I needed the reminder
ReplyDeleteMan, I hope I haven't given that impression, LAC! While I have insisted that it is possible to retain faith despite facing facts - and that I have done so relatively easily - I know from watching you if nothing else that this painful process should not be trivialized. I once wrote a post touching on this about the importance of not representing a transition from creationism to evolution acceptance as something that could be accomplished with most of the other theological assumptions of conservative Christianity untouched. When people don't recognize that it's all eligible for the scrap heap, not just one or two little theological areas but the whole kit and caboodle, they just aren't being honest with themselves. If there's a way to survive the slide down the slope with intellectual honesty intact, it's certainly not by pretending there is no slope.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, if I have been one that you feel has underplayed the probability of sliding down that slope, I sincerely apologize, and I'll watch my words very carefully! Thanks for the good post.
All-- In retrospect, I wonder if I should have been a bit more clear about what I was referring to...I'm pretty sure it is no one actually reading my blog;). So no worries. I cannot really name one post either...it is the general approach taken by some blogs (and the ASA) of focusing on the evolution debate, pointing out errors in the ID movement, while missing out on the big picture .. particularly the NT questions I (and Nathan touched upon). I believe that is where the challenge for Christianity lies...not in proving evolution. But perhaps I find little challenge in accepting evolution with my science background, but can't make much sense of who to trust biblical scholarship with my higher biblical criticism/history/archeology ignorance.
ReplyDeleteI will followup on individual comments soon.
It was a slippery slope descending into atheism for me, but it was a certainly a struggle to make threads reconnect for a while. Thanks for your honesty in this post.
ReplyDeleteHi LAC...
ReplyDeleteWe've corresponded before, but I'm going by a new name now. I've always enjoyed reading about your journey in your blog. Thank you for your honesty.
I was at Chimney Rock last year doing a service project for a poverty-stricken woman in that area last year. Great to see the picture! Brings back memories.
www.beautynmess.blogspot.com
LAC,
ReplyDeleteI went to the ASA meeting this past weekend and thought of you. It was somewhat helpful and it gave me some hope. There were some very interesting talks and discussions. I even met someone who was trying to put together a homeschooling resource.
Thanks for this thoughtful post, LAC. But, could this all depend in large part on a person's faith background in the beginning?
ReplyDeleteI think for some people the slippery slope is very real, and should not be trivialized. But, for most people in the mainline of the church, it's not such a huge issue because their faith in Jesus Christ was never intertwined with things like the inerrancy of the Scripture, or special creationism in the first place.
So, it's more difficult for them to relate. I can see how many might wrongly think that this is all just a huge justification for people to leave the faith, but need some intellectual support, and reason for doing so.
Rebecca.
It was certainly a slippery slope for me, though not having been Christian per se, a shorter one. But like James said, I think of the journey more as an ascent into wisdom and knowledge than a descent.
ReplyDeleteNathan: Like you, I just cannot seem to reconcile embracing Christianity while believing that Jesus erred. At least not right now.
ReplyDeleteZoe: To be honest, I think I'm done with emerging/progressive Christianity. I don't feel I resonate with their rejection of some of the values I still admire from my conservative Christian upbringing. Socially, I think I would fit better with a mainline denomination like the PCUSA or Methodist, but neither seems to address the Biblical questions I have, basically as an agnostic.
James: Thank you for sharing those linked, which I had missed. I commented directly on those posts.
Limey: Thank you for stopping by and reading. Your story certainly validates my own thoughts about the slippery slope.
Arni: This all makes sense, and thank you for your honesty. I definitely sense more understanding of the challenges with Biblical scholarship from the biblioblogs like yours, James' and Steve's, than from the more science-focused or emerging blogs.
Doordonot: wow! I never thought of the slippery slope in terms of issues of sin like you mentioned, and I can see why the term would have even more negative connotations.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: Thank you for sharing your story...it is testimonies like yours that keep me motivated to keep this blog alive. I love connecting with people from all over the world -- I only wish I could do this locally.
Drew: Glad you liked it.
ReplyDeleteSteve: Thanks for linking this...I also commented there. I always appreciate your honesty on your blog, particularly that post, which was absolutely wonderful.
David: Thank you for sharing your experience w/ the slippery slope. It is really interesting for me to hear thr diversity in hiw people experience and approach the slippery slope, both spiritually and emotionally, and where they finally reach a place of peace ( if you can call it that, b/c no matter what I think there will be some tension)!
Mep: Thank you for stopping by and sharing your blog link. Asheville is such a beautiful city...and I am so lucky that it is only 3 hours away.
Mark: I would love to hear more of your experiences at the ASA...sounds like a great blog post. I'm glad it gave you some hope. I think I know who you are referring to about the homeschooling material. I corresponded with him a few times after finding his blog Evolving Creation which describes his truly awful experience as theistic evolutionist at a church. There is definitely a great need for secular homeschooling resources for science, particularly at the high school level, but even at the elem level. While there are public school texts, they aren't always suitable for non-classroom use. History is another problem too.
Rebecca: Your observation has even been true in my marriage--my husband, raised in a healthy environment of a PCUSA church, still remains a Christian, albeit with a more liberal intellrctual perspective and lots, lots of unknowns.
Annie: Thanks for sharing yet another unique perspective of the slippery slope. I think the take-home message is that we simply cannot make generalizations...each person's journey is so unique.
Oh dear God, that should have said "It was NOT". Wow. so sorry for the typo.
ReplyDeleteI think about that all the time.
ReplyDeleteFor 6 years I read articles by people who were still Christians (like I was), proclaiming that "there is no conflict at all!"
Well if there's no conflict, why do I feel this way?
why's anyone arguing about anything? Obviously it matters, otherwise you wouldn't have all these millions of people saying it matters. It mattered to me, and look what happened to me.
These "the slippery slope doesn't exist" people, I'm convinced, have no stake in their beliefs. It's not costing them anything. They work at their lab, write an article, go home to their nice family, and proclaim that there's no slippery slope.
They can come down here to the bottom and bite me.
Thanks LAC, I always enjoy your perspective on things and this is a question I've thought about a lot. I'm one of those who kept their faith while giving up aspects of it and I'd say that's still a work in progress - but isn't all of life?
ReplyDeleteI do think a big part of it is our expectations of the level of evidence and certainty. If we are taught to expect to be certain, then uncertainty will equate to unbelief. If we are more comfortable with a level of uncertainty we will be able to go on believing. This is quite an individual thing focusing around background, training, personality etc. I think that's partly why it seems easy for some people and harder for others, but perhaps another reason is that some people are just more prepared to put their emotions on the table, others like me are more reserved about that.
BTW have you seen this? Only slightly related but certainly involves a slippery slope!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.maniacworld.com/Day-In-The-Life-Of-A-MC-Escher-Drawing.html
David: Thanks for the clarification. I know you identify as Christian now, so initially I interpreted you comment to mean that you went through an atheistic phase and then transitioned back to Christianity.
ReplyDeleteSteve M. I think you've made a good point about lifestyle. I transitioned from YEC to Evolution, slowly during the 9 years I was in college and grad school without loosing faith, but not without some cognitive dissonance. At the time, I wasn't active in church (no kids), and was just too busy and distracted with labwork to really tease out the questions. I think many people remain in that state for a lifetime. I was okay maintaining the dissonance in secret in church, and would have continued if it weren't for the authoritative form of inerrency and theology at my church that forced me to re-examine those questions.
Jon: My husband and I are perfect examples of how unique personalities and backgrounds can alter the friction on that slope...keeping you from falling. Neither one of us is particularly emotional or charismatic, but I definitely "hurt" more whereas he is much more resilient to critique. He also had a more moderate childhood in a mainline church. In addition, in most of the church communities we've been involved in, men are just more open and tolerant, whereas women can be more secretive and judgmental. It's not just about Christianity--when we pulled our daughter out of school to homeschool, my husband received only support from his peers, whereas I received critique from some.
Jon, I can relate completely to your comment.
ReplyDeleteI'm expecting in some real measure "to see through a glass darkly. " A level of uncertainty, and unanswered questions seem normal to me, and only adds to the depth of my faith. For instance, to me the mystery of the incarnation is awesome. I like it that every analogy used to describe the atonement of the Lord seems crude, and falls short in comparison to the deep reality of God in Christ "reconciling the world to Himself." I think our human minds are finite, so, how could it be otherwise.
But, I can see how someone who has a different manner of thinking, and temperment, especially coming from a fundamentalist background might find all this to be a stumbling block. Our faith is truly a work in process.
God grant that we could be accepting and supportive of each other regardless of where the other person is at..
Rebecca.
I don't link to this post in all of those posts I wrote under "Links to this Post." In fact, I wrote many of these posts before this particular post was even written. Is there a gliche in blogger somewhere?
ReplyDeleteJames: I see those links....but I'm not sure why blogger is doing that. Blogger has been very buggy for me lately. If you happen to figure out how to fix it let me know.
ReplyDeleteIt could be because you're on my blogroll, which mentions the latest posts of the blogs, and that was the last post you wrote. I may try to contact Google. I tried yesterday, but there was a character limit, but maybe there's a way for me to ask them my question.
ReplyDelete