Orthodoxy and Orthopraxis
I recently found this quote from Shane Claiborne's book The Irresistible Revolution, about their Simple Way community:
"Most Christian congregations and communities have statements of faith articulating their orthodoxy (meaning "right belief"), but that's usually where it ends. For us, belief is only the beginning. What really matters is how we live, how what we believe gets fleshed out, so we also have a statement of orthopraxis (meaning "right living, right practices"). And this is where most belief-oriented faith communities fall short. They tell us only what they believe, but they do not tell us how their beliefs affect their lifestyles."
It seems that I frequently get into conversations about orthodoxy and orthopraxis and what it means for us in a post-modern and, as some would say, post-christian world. I have no answers and I also have questions; however, I do think that since the last generation focused such a great deal of time and energy into the orthodoxy that it would behoove us to spend some considerable time thinking about what it might mean for us to "practice what we preach."
"Most Christian congregations and communities have statements of faith articulating their orthodoxy (meaning "right belief"), but that's usually where it ends. For us, belief is only the beginning. What really matters is how we live, how what we believe gets fleshed out, so we also have a statement of orthopraxis (meaning "right living, right practices"). And this is where most belief-oriented faith communities fall short. They tell us only what they believe, but they do not tell us how their beliefs affect their lifestyles."
It seems that I frequently get into conversations about orthodoxy and orthopraxis and what it means for us in a post-modern and, as some would say, post-christian world. I have no answers and I also have questions; however, I do think that since the last generation focused such a great deal of time and energy into the orthodoxy that it would behoove us to spend some considerable time thinking about what it might mean for us to "practice what we preach."
posted by Tera Yakel | 6:21 AM
1 Comments:
Good stuff.
I think it was also in Irresistible Revolution that Shane (or someone he's quoting) says that evangelism would be Christians shutting up for 10 years and serving and loving people. I think that a large part of loving people is telling the truth, and telling the truth about reality and what empires and corporations tell us is reality. But I "get" what Shane means by that. The reality we "believe" in as members of the Kingdom is really much more about what we "do" than what we "think."
Post a Comment
<< Home