Literal Faith and Symbolic Faith

This entry will examine how an O'Darby sort of Christianity differs from the sort that predominates at all Christian forums. You'll understand why I'm in a near-constant state of bewilderment while many of the other participants think I'm not a Christian at all.

This morning I listened to "The Christian Worldview," hosted by David Wheaton. His website is here: Home.

Wheaton is an extreme literalist inerrantist. You simply "aren't a biblical Christian" if you think the earth is older than "about 6,500 years." He has dark concerns about Billy Graham and everyone else who isn't an extreme literalist inerrantist. Nevertheless, I listen most Saturdays because the program is often quite interesting and I like to stay in touch with this species of Christianity even if it bewilders me.

Today he played a short portion of a sermon by John MacArthur. MacArthur is, of course, a legend. He is now 84 and has been pastor at Grace Community Church for an astounding 55 years.

MacArthur was in full fire-and-brimstone mode: Jesus is returning soon and by God this time He isn't coming as some meek Lamb. He's coming with unbridled wrath, His sword unsheathed and looking for vengeance. Rivers of blood will flow. Those who aren't saved are going to spend eternity in fiery torment that will make their worst day on earth look like a picnic.

YEAH, BABY, PREACH IT! Wheaton thought it was wonderful.

It's not just that I don't believe this. That would be too simple. No, my bewilderment is with people like MacArthur and Wheaton, undeniably sincere Christian leaders.

"What on earth is going on inside your head?" I ask the radio. "Are you pretending, have you somehow convinced yourself that this is actually what the Creator of the universe is like, or WHAT? Simply as a human being living in the real world, how could you possibly believe this – or live with it, and even worship it, if you did?"

American Family Radio, on which Wheaton's program is heard, is densely populated with Christian hosts like this. Sincere, mature Christian men and women who espouse beliefs that don't so much strike me crazy or awful as simply bewilder me.

I mention in my testimony (first blog entry) that I entered a Southern Baptist seminary as a Christian newbie and quickly realized I didn't have the depth of faith or understanding to be embarking on a career in the ministry (whereupon I dropped out). But it wasn't just that I lacked the depth of faith and understanding.

No, even then I knew at the deepest level that I could NEVER believe the stuff I was expected to believe and would at least have to pretend to believe in order to survive in a Southern Baptist ministry. As simple as that: "I could NEVER believe this stuff, so let's move on and spend several decades figuring out what I CAN believe."

Since I just turned 74, you might think I'd be attracted to the certainty and security that Christians like MacArthur and Wheaton claim to have. After all, the finish line is at least on the horizon. Exactly the opposite is true, however. Not only do I still not believe the things I knew 50 years ago I could never believe, but now I absolutely embrace the mystery, the uncertainty, the ambiguity.

I've previously mentioned Stages of Faith, the hugely influential book by James W. Fowler published in 1981. Fowler was a United Methodist minister, a theologian, and Professor of Theology and Human Development at Emory University. Based on extensive interviews, he identified six stages in the developmental process of faith, from infantile to something like enlightened sage.

We won't bother with all six stages. Suffice it to say that believers like MacArthur and Wheaton – and, indeed, most believers – are at Stage 2 or 3.

As summarized at The Stages of Faith According to James W. Fowler |, these stages are characterized by "an anthropomorphic image of God, "religious metaphors often being taken literally," "identification with a religious institution, belief system, or authority, and the growth of a personal religious or spiritual identity. Conflicts that occur when one’s beliefs are challenged are often ignored because they represent too much of a threat to one’s faith-based identity."

Surely you'll agree this describes most participants on Christian forums and most Christians you know. No problem with this, right? One can be a perfectly sincere and faithful Christian – even a Christian leader – with this sort of Stage 2/3 belief.

Contrast stages 5 and 6:



You can see why – at least I hope you can – why someone at Stage 2/3 might well view someone at Stage 5/6 as "not a real Christian" or might even think any sort of Christianity is impossible (especially at Stage 6).

I was introduced to Stages of Faith years ago when I first posted on a different Christian forum. A guy whom I really came to like immediately said, "Uh-oh, you're going to have some problems here" and steered me to Stages of Faith, suggesting that what I was saying was indicative of Stage 5.

So what is my Christianity like as a Stage 5 weirdo? Well, my Christianity is basically symbolic. I believe that all the doctrines are symbolic of deeper truths – deeper truths about the Eternal Transcendent Other who is God, His mysterious ways and His unfathomable plans and purposes. I "accept" the doctrines in this way and at this level. I do not understand any of them in a literal, ontologically real way.

Stage 2/3 Christianity always strikes me as small, cramped, petty and fundamentally inhuman. I simply cannot believe – not "refuse to believe" but CANNOT believe - that the Creator of the universe is an angry, petty tyrant who pretty much despises His creation, spends His time looking for reasons to be offended, and relishes the thought of the day when He will finally unleash His wrath and send billions of His creatures to eternal torment even if they led what looks to the rest of us like pretty godly lives. As symbolic truths, expressing a deeper reality, perhaps. As literal truths, no.

My intuitive speculation is that the whole ball of wax is God's plan. Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, atheism, every whacked-out belief system there is – all God's plan. Hideous evils, diseases, wars, tragedies – all God's plan. Somehow, we will see in the end how this was all God's plan and how it all works out without vengeance, rivers of blood and fiery eternal torment. My Christianity is my symbolic understanding of all this – i.e., as best expressing, in a symbolic way, what it's all about. There would be no point in me trying to go into greater detail than this, but I have no problem calling my beliefs Christian rather than Buddhist or Hindu.

Those at Stage 2/3 are shrieking and tearing their robes at my blasphemy. They cannot tolerate views like mine. Not only am I "not a real Christian" but I'm quite possibly demon-possessed. Weirdly, or maybe not, this attitude is always a one-way street. I have no problem acknowledging those at Stage 2/3 as real Christians, as my Christian brothers and sisters, even if I simply COULD NOT believe what they say they believe. They, right up to the level of John MacArthur and David Wheaton, simply bewilder me.

I do understand the appeal of Stage 2/3 Christianity. It provides certainty and security, even if I think it's largely a faux or pretend certainty and security. This sort of Christianity is much easier to get your mind around than what I'm describing. One simply has to accept what one is told to believe, not think too hard, and be prepared to live with some degree of cognitive dissonance. It gives one a landing spot with social benefits and all the trappings of institutional Christianity while poor O'Darby is stuck fellowshipping with himself and his cats.

The problem for me is, I simply COULD NEVER believe or even PRETEND to believe what I would have to in order to function as a Stage 2/3 Christian. At some deep human level, it would be impossible for me to accept a Creator or a creation as Stage 2/3 posits them to be. Hence, I am a Christian whose Christianity is largely symbolic and who embraces the mystery, uncertainty and ambiguity this entails. I'm simply bewildered by those like MacArthur and Wheaton who are somehow able to believe and accept what they say they believe and accept.

Is there something wrong with me? Do I lack faith? Am I not allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal to me all the truths He reveals to those at Stage 2/3? This is the type of response I tend to get on Christian forums. If I'm not a Stage 2/3 literalist inerrantist, then ipso facto there is something wrong with my Christianity.

But wait, what Fowler describes is the developmental process of faith. Stages 5 and 6 represent growth and maturity, an evolution from the earlier stages. Stages 5 and 6 do not - emphatically do not - describe someone who has lost his faith or whose faith has regressed. This doesn't mean those at Stage 5/6 are "better" Christians, but it certainly doesn't mean they are "lesser" Christians or "not Christians at all." Since I would be an entirely pretend Christian if I attempted to fit into the milieu of Stage 2/3, I really have no choice but to accept the symbolic Christianity I'm capable of believing.

YMMV – and I'll bet it does!