First of all, "deconstruction" isn't an "ism". It's not an ideology. It's a process. It doesn't need an "ism". And your reasoning reflects the ubiquitous Christian refusal to speak to or even listen to testimonials of people who have actually left. Yes, the school incident is horrific. I'm sure it touched some people to now question. There are many such incidents of financial and sexual misconduct, and other terrible things in the church, but what I've seen as I've traveled in this deconstruction world is that those things are triggers, not reasons. They now push the person to reflect, to observe their OWN experience, to seek their own authenticity. Sometimes it takes a lot of these - as the Christian culture demands one to install a cloaking device of sorts against anything that would call Christianity into question. There are excuses made from pulpits, articles that "deep dive" explanations of the situations (like this video and your many "but...." conditions), demands for "forgiveness". But the long and the short is this: People who already have problems with Christianity as an institution, the bible in its conflicted dots-don't-connect state which they dare not air in public, now have a platform on which to lay those twinges that something isn't quite right. It IS a jump-off to now examine those other thoughts they've had. I know. I was one of you for 40 years, 4 decades of my life invested in lies. Every now and then I'd get a twinge of something not adding up, not connecting, not making any sense whatsoever, but as a Christian you beat those down,. The stakes are too high. If you make a mistake, you'll fry in hell (you think). And the social consequences of leaving church are MASSIVE and PAINFUL: "friends" turn on you, the gossip, the ugly confrontations, loss of spouse, mother/father, home, job and even children depending on where you live. Some people just smile and go along to get along, fearing the ramifications of their own authentic voice until the pain of staying is more than that of leaving. You struggling to try to invalidate claims of a murderous, immoral "god" in the "Old Testament" is one of those disingenuous bs leadership messages that helped me leave, by the way.
Jenna, I'm so sorry for what you've been through and what you have experienced. Unfortunately, Christians are far from perfect and can handle things very poorly, I've noticed from my own personal experience. It can be really hard to separate those that follow, or claim to follow, God, from God Himself. I actually was part of a cultish denomination of Christianity, I worked for and was involved in a few ministries that were extremely toxic situations. It took years of being apart from that to be completely healed from it. I went through a time of deconstruction, and it mostly involved deconstructing through the actions and manipulations of the people and the culture of that experience. There are many ways of going through deconstruction - it's not a new term. It dates way back to Greek philosophers and isn't originally attached to evangelical Christianity. Through that deconstruction, I realized it was the people, NOT God, who were in the wrong. God Himself remained the one constant I could trust in a whirlwind. I could have chosen to "throw the baby out with the bathwater" as did a few people I was in ministry with. I went through many stages of feelings - betrayal, hurt, anger, which I am sure you are going through. Now that I am on the other side and have processed through everything, I'm the happiest and healthiest I have ever been... and an even stronger believer in Christ. Christians SHOULD be doing constructive deconstruction all the time - which was something I did not do while I was a part of the cult. In fact, we were encouraged NOT to question anything, never to seek outside interpretations of the Bible, and that anyone who suggested interpretations that were contrary to those of our leadership were false and not living up to what God wanted (which was a complete falsehood). Doubt is a normal, regular thing in Christianity, if it wasn't, why would there be such an emphasis on the element of faith? Philippians 2:12-13 states: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Paul encouraged those in that church to seek their own relationship with God, and not to just blindly follow. Peter said something similar in 1 Peter 3:15: "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." We as Christians are strongly encouraged to take the responsibility to seek out our OWN relationship with God. As I read the Bible more and grow, I search out answers for myself so I am more solid in my faith. I welcome doubts and things that appear to be contradictory, because that gives me the opportunity to study on my own and form my own answers. In fact, it was in doing this that I realized all the false doctrine I had been taught in my cult days. I really like how Jon Bloom says it in this article (For the record, I'm not really a fan of John Piper, but this article was good. source: www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-does-deconstruction-even-mean). He states: "For example, in the final episode of the podcast, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, Paul Tripp says, We should all be deconstructing our faith - we better do it. Because our faith becomes a culture, a culture so webbed into the purity of truth that it’s hard to separate the two. And we better do some deconstructing or we’re going to find ourselves again and again in these sad places. (Aftermath, 36:57) If you listen to Tripp’s full quote, it’s clear that what he means by “deconstruction” is a critical dismantling not of historical orthodox Christian beliefs, or rejecting the oversight of New Testament-endorsed faithful, godly, spiritual leaders (Hebrews 13:7), but of cultural influences that distort and redefine the faith in unbiblical, harmful ways." We need to carefully examine our actions and those of the culture around us, deconstructing them, to see if they truly align with Scripture and with the Character of God. As far as the Old Testament references you made, it's important to properly study out God's character and why He did things the way He did. We have to approach the Bible with the context in mind as well as the culture of the times in mind. I encourage you to look objectively at the Old Testament and consider many interpretations, and keep seeking. If you have questions and are looking for a genuine, kind discussion, feel free to message me as this page is not really an appropriate place to discuss. Thanks!
First of all, "deconstruction" isn't an "ism". It's not an ideology. It's a process. It doesn't need an "ism". And your reasoning reflects the ubiquitous Christian refusal to speak to or even listen to testimonials of people who have actually left. Yes, the school incident is horrific. I'm sure it touched some people to now question. There are many such incidents of financial and sexual misconduct, and other terrible things in the church, but what I've seen as I've traveled in this deconstruction world is that those things are triggers, not reasons. They now push the person to reflect, to observe their OWN experience, to seek their own authenticity. Sometimes it takes a lot of these - as the Christian culture demands one to install a cloaking device of sorts against anything that would call Christianity into question. There are excuses made from pulpits, articles that "deep dive" explanations of the situations (like this video and your many "but...." conditions), demands for "forgiveness". But the long and the short is this: People who already have problems with Christianity as an institution, the bible in its conflicted dots-don't-connect state which they dare not air in public, now have a platform on which to lay those twinges that something isn't quite right. It IS a jump-off to now examine those other thoughts they've had. I know. I was one of you for 40 years, 4 decades of my life invested in lies. Every now and then I'd get a twinge of something not adding up, not connecting, not making any sense whatsoever, but as a Christian you beat those down,. The stakes are too high. If you make a mistake, you'll fry in hell (you think). And the social consequences of leaving church are MASSIVE and PAINFUL: "friends" turn on you, the gossip, the ugly confrontations, loss of spouse, mother/father, home, job and even children depending on where you live. Some people just smile and go along to get along, fearing the ramifications of their own authentic voice until the pain of staying is more than that of leaving. You struggling to try to invalidate claims of a murderous, immoral "god" in the "Old Testament" is one of those disingenuous bs leadership messages that helped me leave, by the way.
Jenna, I'm so sorry for what you've been through and what you have experienced. Unfortunately, Christians are far from perfect and can handle things very poorly, I've noticed from my own personal experience. It can be really hard to separate those that follow, or claim to follow, God, from God Himself. I actually was part of a cultish denomination of Christianity, I worked for and was involved in a few ministries that were extremely toxic situations. It took years of being apart from that to be completely healed from it.
I went through a time of deconstruction, and it mostly involved deconstructing through the actions and manipulations of the people and the culture of that experience. There are many ways of going through deconstruction - it's not a new term. It dates way back to Greek philosophers and isn't originally attached to evangelical Christianity. Through that deconstruction, I realized it was the people, NOT God, who were in the wrong. God Himself remained the one constant I could trust in a whirlwind. I could have chosen to "throw the baby out with the bathwater" as did a few people I was in ministry with. I went through many stages of feelings - betrayal, hurt, anger, which I am sure you are going through. Now that I am on the other side and have processed through everything, I'm the happiest and healthiest I have ever been... and an even stronger believer in Christ.
Christians SHOULD be doing constructive deconstruction all the time - which was something I did not do while I was a part of the cult. In fact, we were encouraged NOT to question anything, never to seek outside interpretations of the Bible, and that anyone who suggested interpretations that were contrary to those of our leadership were false and not living up to what God wanted (which was a complete falsehood). Doubt is a normal, regular thing in Christianity, if it wasn't, why would there be such an emphasis on the element of faith? Philippians 2:12-13 states: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Paul encouraged those in that church to seek their own relationship with God, and not to just blindly follow. Peter said something similar in 1 Peter 3:15: "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." We as Christians are strongly encouraged to take the responsibility to seek out our OWN relationship with God. As I read the Bible more and grow, I search out answers for myself so I am more solid in my faith. I welcome doubts and things that appear to be contradictory, because that gives me the opportunity to study on my own and form my own answers. In fact, it was in doing this that I realized all the false doctrine I had been taught in my cult days.
I really like how Jon Bloom says it in this article (For the record, I'm not really a fan of John Piper, but this article was good. source: www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-does-deconstruction-even-mean). He states: "For example, in the final episode of the podcast, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, Paul Tripp says, We should all be deconstructing our faith - we better do it. Because our faith becomes a culture, a culture so webbed into the purity of truth that it’s hard to separate the two. And we better do some deconstructing or we’re going to find ourselves again and again in these sad places. (Aftermath, 36:57)
If you listen to Tripp’s full quote, it’s clear that what he means by “deconstruction” is a critical dismantling not of historical orthodox Christian beliefs, or rejecting the oversight of New Testament-endorsed faithful, godly, spiritual leaders (Hebrews 13:7), but of cultural influences that distort and redefine the faith in unbiblical, harmful ways."
We need to carefully examine our actions and those of the culture around us, deconstructing them, to see if they truly align with Scripture and with the Character of God.
As far as the Old Testament references you made, it's important to properly study out God's character and why He did things the way He did. We have to approach the Bible with the context in mind as well as the culture of the times in mind. I encourage you to look objectively at the Old Testament and consider many interpretations, and keep seeking. If you have questions and are looking for a genuine, kind discussion, feel free to message me as this page is not really an appropriate place to discuss. Thanks!