What is Christian Deconstruction? (and why might we eventually move beyond it)?

Deconstruction is growing in popularity these days as many of us try to make sense of the faith we grew up with, and make sense of the failings and shortcomings of that faith.

Order→Disorder→Reorder

The name of this substack is inspired by Richard Rohr’s framework of Order→Disorder→Reorder, with Order being defined as the religious tradition we grew up with, which would be Christianity for many of us in the West. Disorder can be defined as what occurs when we begin to question, doubt, or at least closely reexamine that religious tradition. And this journey from Order→Disorder is often referred to as Deconstruction.

There are a few definitions of Christian deconstruction, but it basically means taking a hard look at Christianity (and the Bible) with an objective eye and separating out what’s useful and true from what’s not.¹

This can involve understanding what the Bible is and what it isn’t. It can include studying the historical facts around Jesus and his early followers. And deconstruction will likely involve a self-examination of how we relate to what we uncover as we do this work.

Deconstruction Isn’t New

People have been revisiting their faith for centuries, often with atheism or agnosticism as the end result. This was my particular path, twice. I’ll tell more of that story eventually, but it was the second time it happened that I discovered that just because I could no longer believe in the Christianity I’d grown up with, it didn’t mean I’d be forever excluded from having a spiritual life. Or even that I’d have to give up my belief in “God.”

There’s nothing inherently wrong with atheism or agnosticism. I know and love many atheists and agnostics, and they’re often among the most brilliant and interesting people around. But sometimes (not always) there can be a longing, or at least a curiosity, for some sort of “spiritual life.” (Whatever that means for the individual.)

This happened for me upon discovering some of the work of Ken Wilber, specifically his book “The Religion of Tomorrow,” which introduced me to the concept of Integral Christianity, which seeks to take the helpful, higher consciousness parts of the Christian tradition and discard the more archaic, low-consciousness aspects of the tradition.

From there I discovered Richard Rohr and his book “The Universal Christ,” which gave me a peace with the tradition I’d grown up with, insight to accept that tradition for what it was and what it wasn’t, and a curiosity to continue to explore a path forward.

And even more recently I’ve discovered the path of the mystics. Mysticism is the experience of the Divine as pure love, and our experience of humanity as a sort of school that allows us to grow towards that love.

The mystics of all faith traditions, especially at the highest levels, tend to agree on almost everything (even if their underlying religions have different names for those same things) and their beliefs and experiences have remained consistent across time, cultures, and religious backgrounds.

Moving Beyond Deconstruction

And so our goal at Reorder is not only to deconstruct, but to also seek to discover hope and meaning beyond the chaos of deconstruction.

We’ll look closely at the Bible to understand what it is and what it isn’t, both from spiritual and historical standpoints. We’ll explore other faiths and traditions to understand what they have to say about ultimate reality. We’ll look at science, history, and current events as paths to explore. And we’ll call on personal experience to try and tie all these things together.

Ultimately we’ll work to discover what Richard Rohr calls Reorder.

Our primary focus will be Christianity, but we believe there will be something here for everyone, regardless of the faith or tradition of one’s upbringing.

We don’t have all the answers, but we’re excited to be asking these questions with a like-minded community.

Greater & More Mysterious

Deconstruction can often lead to a feeling that "God"² has been diminished, undermined, or even eliminated. But I’d suggest the Divine is far greater and more mysterious than we could possibly know or imagine.

We’re not closing the doors on the Divine, rather we’re opening ourselves to something far more powerful and expansive.

This is what we’ll be doing at Reorder. We hope you’ll join us.

What you seek is seeking you.

Rumi

We’re so glad you’re here! Have a deconstruction question or a topic you’d like to know more about? Let us know in the comments section…

1. Thank you, Bruce Lee.

2. The word “God” can be problematic for many as there’s often so much baggage associated with it. Others have used names such as Source, the Divine, the Universe, Ultimate Reality, etc.