Book Review – The emerging Christian Way – Part 4
Chapter 3 – New Creeds – by Tom Harpur
Most Canadians will be familiar with Tom Harpur, a veteran journalist, TV Host and perhaps the most widely known religious author in Canada. I have often enjoyed Harpur’s insights, so was eager to see what he would have to say about this “emerging Christian way”. While I was deeply disappointed with his recent book “The Pagan Christ” (Walker & Company – March 2005), the title of this chapter caught my interest.
Harpur begins by eloquently bemoaning how an overly moralistic and literalist shift in Western Christianity has robbed us of the wealth and beauty of the Imago Dei- the image of God. Rightly critiquing (in my opinion) what total depravity has done to Christian theology, he calls for a renewal of the Christian creedal affirmations based on a more hopeful, purposeful direction. He goes on to demonstrate the negative impact this has had by citing the mental health crises that abound, namely low self-esteem. Though his argument has merit, this “proof” seemed overly simplistic and unqualified. One could argue, for example, that the dissatisfaction of the consumerist ideal is one of many more significant contributors to this problem.
At first, it seems as though Harpur is introducing a theology of theosis as the premise for this chapter. However, drawing less from Eastern Christianity than he does from Eastern mysticism, he never mentions theosis. Harpur’s vision is one that embraces what he calls the “Christ Principle”, or more telling, the “Christ Consciousness”. This Gospel was the truly Good News of what Jesus discovered within himself, then proclaimed that we could find it within ourselves as well. Where theosis says we become by grace what God is by nature, Harpur posits that we already have within us the fullness of the Divine nature.
In providing background, Harpur affirms the critique of other theologians, such as retired bishop, John Spong, who warn (in the words of one of Spong’s books) why Christianity must change or die. But while he agrees with the diagnosis, he charges a lack of adequate or promising solutions, calling for more positive attention to change. I found this particularly frustrating, as Harpur seemed to give the lions share of the chapter to oft repeated, oft unfair critiques of his own. However, in his defense, a footnote revealed that this chapter was, in fact, a slightly altered version of a chapter from his most recent book, “Finding The Still Point”. That being said, more attention should have been paid to pointing a new way forward.
Harpur argues, the tradition of the Jesus Seminar, that we have not critically or carefully enough examined the Scriptures, especially the four Gospels- the life and teachings of Jesus. If we would do so, we would discover that Jesus was not instituting a new religion, nor claiming a unique divinity as the Person of God. Rather, he proclaimed the Kingdom of God, God’s active presence everywhere through the individual (and collective) realization of our own divinity. Jesus was sent by God to proclaim this discovery to us all.
It is here that Harpur gets to the heart of his thesis- that the ancient creed of the faith (he specifically names the Apostles and Nicene Creeds) are antiquated beyond use, keeping us in the bondage of the ignorance that he claims modernity (including, for example, science) has freed us from. He exposes the failures and compromises of both liberal and conservative expressions of Christianity. More accurately, he briefly chastizes the “liberal” church for abandoning its vocation to care for souls in its attempt to communicate relevantly with the secular world. He then goes on to critique the “ultra-conservative” and “fundamentalist” expression in much more detail and with much sharper teeth. While it is accuratein some details of some sectors, it ends up characterizing almost all of Evangelicalism with extremes.
No longer able to declare with integrity most of what is in the ancient creeds, Harpur calls for them to be retired. He advocates writing new creeds together, creeds that affirm this Gospel of our emerging divinity as proclaimed by Jesus. While acknowledging it as imperfect, he quotes a tentative creed he wrote, as seen here:
“We believe, and put our trust in God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, from the farthest-flung galaxies to the most microscopic forms of life; God is above and around and within every one of us, and yet so far beyond us in transdence that our minds cannot fathom the mystery and our only response is wonder and worship. And we believe God sent Jesus, anointing him in the power of the Spirit, to declare by word and deed the gospel of personal and social liberation from the power of fear and all injustice and oppression. Though he was cruelly and unjustly murdered, God raise him from death and God’s seal is set forever on Jesus’ message and ministry. In him we know that God is love, and that forgiveness and acceptance are ours always. In him we are called to realize God’s kingdom in our own lives and in the lives of others. In him we are called to join with God in making all things new. We believe God has granted to us and to all humanity the same Spirit that was in Jesus, creating community and empowering us to be like him. We believe in a dimension of existence yet to come. We seek to build God’s kingdom here, but also look beyond to a day when wars will end and God’s New Jerusalem will be revealed. We believe. God help our unbelief.”
Whether it is the inclusion of thinly veiled gnosticism or its denial of the Incarnation, I am deeply disappointed with Harpur’s “new creed”. As in Chapter 1, the critique of Western Christianity shares many dynamics with the “emerging church movement”, but is differences again are far more than nuances, but contradictions that make these two vision incompatible. Perhaps it was due to it being a part of a larger book, but I found that this chapter offered nothing new or beneficial that has not been stated elsewhere without such compromise.
