Is Your Deconstruction Headed For Apostasy? Good vs Bad Deconstruction

I’ve watched the deconstruction phenomenon happening for several years in the American Evangelical world. Christian celebrities like Derek Webb, Joshua Harris, Michael Gungor, Paul Maxwell, and a host of others have all come out with their stories of walking away from the faith. These public figures have paved the way for thousands of exvangelicals to share their experience of leaving the church and often the faith altogether. The causes for this rapid increase in deconstructions are many and varied, and among them are Evangelical support of Trump, shallow churches, changing sexual morals, personal sin, pain or abuse by the church, and a host of others. While one could write a book on the possible causes of the exvangelical movement, I want to address something different. Is there a difference between good deconstruction and bad deconstruction?

I don’t like using the word deconstruction to describe something good, since the word itself implies the leaving or walking away from the faith. But for the sake of our discussion when I talk about the good form of deconstruction, I mean the refinement of our Christian beliefs and the rooting out of false ones. To some extent, everyone has false beliefs of some kind, and as such, we all should be “deconstructing” the bad ones and replacing them with true beliefs. But how can you tell a good deconstruction from a bad one? How can you know if you, or someone you love, is marching down a road toward apostasy or if they are headed toward a more biblically faithful worldview?

As I have read or watched deconversion stories (of both kinds), I have noticed a basic difference that tends to predict where the individual will land. Both types tend to shed beliefs, but one lands closer to historical Christianity and the other far from it. Bad deconstructions typically place a greater weight to personal feelings/emotions, current cultural moral views, and moral intuitions. Good deconstructions typically place greater weight on being serious about understanding truth, and specifically the truth of Scripture. So let’s take a brief look at each form and give it a bit of texture.

Bad Deconstruction

Bad deconstructions often appear, on the surface, to be the fault of some church or group of Christians. “My church seemed to be very judgmental of the LGTBQ community.” “My pastor spoke out against the BLM movement and supported Donald Trump.” “This group of Christians deeply hurt me and don’t seem to care, even though they profess to love Jesus.” “My church just seemed to be out of touch with the trauma experienced by women other people who aren’t hetero-normative.” Some of these complaints are very legitimate, some have a level of validity, and others none at all. But underlying many of these complaints is a belief held more closely than the truth of Scripture. I’ll use an example to illustrate my point.

Some who deconstruct are very put off by what they perceive as a harsh or judgmental spirit toward the LGTBQ community. Sometimes this is a valid critique and other times it isn’t. However, what is common is a sympathy toward the LGTBQ community and the adoption of the general posture of culture: it is not for me to judge. When the church speaks out against this sin, with any level of boldness, the soon-to-be exvangelical finds it offensive and thinks it a bit judgmental. They have allowed a moral intuition, shaped by culture, to place them in judgment of other Christians. This intuition about the way Christians should view the LGTBQ community then begins to affect the way they read Scripture. Texts are twisted, verses are cherry-picked, all in an effort to uphold the intuition. But this will not do, since the Scripture does not allow for such cherry-picking. Therefore, doctrines start to be discarded, using the culturally-shaped moral intuition as the filter. This slide continues until nothing of substance is left and the deconversion is complete.

In short, a strongly held emotion or moral intuition has taken the position of supreme authority in the person’s life. Perhaps it's social justice, or disgust with the Republican party, or some other view. This new authoritative belief or emotion now guides the thought process, and the church and Scripture must submit to its authority. Scripture has lost supreme authority (though lip-service may be given), and soon the effect will show. This may not end in a full deconversion, but a robust Christian worldview will no longer survive, indeed, it cannot survive. Sure, some bad and unbiblical beliefs have been identified, but since the core authority driving the criticism isn’t Scripture, soon Scripture itself is discarded, at least in part.

Good Deconstruction

Good forms of deconstruction identify the same bad beliefs and fruit that the exvangelical had identified. However, instead of using something other than Scripture as the means of authority and filter of critique, the Bible itself becomes the measuring rod and beliefs are tested against its claims. While initially this may look much like the bad form of deconstruction, at its root it is much different. One places ultimate authority in a belief or intuition outside of Scripture and the other stands ready to submit to whatever Scripture may reveal. Let’s look at a practical example.

Many evangelicals were deeply troubled at what seemed like unconditional support for Donald Trump amongst professing Christians. Trump was a deeply prideful and immoral man and so many Christians seemed to be loyal fans and supporters. While Trump may have held many of the right positions on big issues, in many ways he was an evil man according to Scripture. Instead of joining the moral revolution of "never-Trump," the good deconstructionist will return to Scripture to make sense of the situation. He will see a call to love the church, despite her flaws. He will call out the moral problems with unconditioned support of Trump, and lovingly turn the hearts of fellow Christians toward Biblical truth about the matter. Being faithful to the Gospel and submitting to God’s authority is more important than the cultural noise of hating Trump.

This trajectory is a good one. Like the Reformers, it seeks to always be reforming, continually testing beliefs and practices against the Word of God. Initially it may look the same as the bad form of deconstruction, but in the end it will bear much different fruit. It will end with a deeper trust in Jesus, a greater love for the Church, and a renewed confidence in Scripture. Old beliefs may be discarded, but they are discarded because the Christian wants to be more Biblical.

Conclusion

If you or someone you know is wrestling with questions, and feeling a disconnect between what is professed and what is seen in reality, I would encourage you to get to the heart of the matter, literally. Does you want to be more godly and align with God’s Word, or are you driven by cultural pressure or emotional/moral intuitions you feel so strongly. If God’s Word disagreed with your emotions or intuitions, would you be willing to submit? While your initial moral outrage may be justified, beware of its motivation. Beliefs always have a trajectory. The seed, once broke open, will grow into a full grown tree. Pay heed to the seed you plant, lest the tree that grows is one that leads away from Jesus.