NEIL: I’m trying to be constructive. Really, I am. I’m trying to stay positive and optimistic about the prospect of forging a common vocabulary and finding common ground with progressive Christians but right this minute I’m getting very discouraged.
NEIL: We start out in agreement on a number of things. For example, we agree that a secular government (which is what we have in the U.S.) shouldn’t disallow marriage between two people of the same sex just because of a religious objection. We start out speaking a similar narrative about being inclusive, about personal autonomy, and about human dignity. We even start out agreeing that it’s barbaric to tell people they will be posthumously tortured if they don’t believe the right things or if they use their genitals incorrectly. We’re on the same page so far. That’s awesome. Feelin’ good about that.
NEIL: But then I suggest that human beings aren’t broken—they aren’t sinful or lacking something essential to their wholeness—that they just are what they are and they’re not “supposed to be” something else and then the conversation changes. They feel compelled to say something is fundamentally wrong with human beings or else the conversation cannot go forward. For them, this is a non-negotiable.
ME: I’m with you, Neil! Humans aren’t broken. We aren’t sinful. We are lacking nothing essential to our wholeness.
Yay! We’re perfect!
We’ve found more common ground!
NEIL: If you don’t believe me, then try it sometime. Try to suggest that we are fine the way we are. Not perfect, mind you. Not flawless or infallible.
ME: Wait…uhhhh…what? We just agreed that we’re not broken, sinful or inadequate. Now you’re back-pedaling! Don’t be a wimp, Neil!
If we’re not broken, then why aren’t we flawless and infallible?
NEIL: They won’t have it. You can’t take this away from them. It is too precious. They’ll start straw manning you, saying things like “Well, speaking for myself, I know I’m not perfect. Are you saying you’re perfect?” That’s also a false dilemma. Why are our only two options either “broken” or “perfect”? I reject that framework because it is a setup. You’ve been sold a bill of goods.
ME: Here’s how this works, Neil.
If something is not “flawed” then it is “flawless”. That’s not a ‘false dilemma’. Those are the only two options. You can reject that “framework” if you want but then you can’t say “humans aren’t broken”. You have thrown out the “framework” that made that statement possible.
NEIL: Even in its most positive and affirming expressions, the progressive Christian gospel offers you a goodness that is derivative. Rather than seeing you as the source of your own capacity for good, they insist you can receive someone else’s vicarious goodness, because clearly you need it. “Apart from me, you can do nothing,” Jesus said. There just isn’t any way to spin that which won’t make you look at least a little pathetic.
ME: I am not the source of the water I drink. I am not the source of the calories I burn. I am not the source of the air I breathe. I do not keep my heart beating.
Why would I see myself as the source of goodness?
If I decide to stop breathing for a couple of minutes, I’ll pass out. That’s a least a little pathetic, isn’t it?
NEIL: I tried to find common ground with this. I promise I did. I’m giving it my best shot. But if this is what even the progressive Christian message is going to be selling, then I’m not buying. I have come to recognize this voice of self-loathing despite its various disguises and I’ve seen it for what it is. It’s not healthy, and it’s not good.
ME: Goodness, Neil. You’re a hypocrite! That’s what some people call “broken”.
Self-loathing, which you describe as “not good”, could also be called “broken”. Do you even know what you’re so upset about?
NEIL: Tune in next time. In the meantime, repeat after me:
I am NOT your project. I do not have space in my life for people who can’t accept the person I am because they think I am lacking something essential to my life. Find someone else to fix. I am not broken.
ME: No, Neil. You repeat after me:
I am NOT perfect. I am imperfect. That means the same thing as “broken”. It means the same thing as “sinful”. I did not create myself. I cannot sustain myself. My life came from a source outside myself. I’m refusing to repeat this because I’m arrogant.
ME: No condemnation for murderers. No condemnation for sex offenders. No condemnation for dictators. No condemnation for rapists, racists, pedophiles, corrupt politicians, drug lords, perverts or villains of any kind.
How is this better news?
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God called it: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
(Rom. 1:18–22 ESVi)
Poor Neil. He makes it so easy. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.
Wow, talk about incoherence and utter nitwittery. Okay, let’s reword “not perfect” for Neil from a thesaurus…imperfect, lacking, flawed, fallible, defective, off, mistaken, inexact, impure, lacking, damaged, inadequate, injured, insufficient, warped…..yeah, why do Christians keep bringing this stuff up.
Of course, we should back our claim that there’s nothing wrong with the world with empirical evidence. Since we’re just fine, nothing needs to change or improve, right? There’s no crime, no violence, school shootings, no wars, no abuse, no enslavement of other human beings, no greed, no hunger, nothing to fear from other human beings at all in any part of the world…we’re just fine! LOL!
I’m offended that he calls self loathing “unhealthy”. Who is he to decide what is healthy or not? What a closed minded bigot this guy is! It’s intolerance like his that makes self loathing people loath themselves (which is fine if that’s how they want to feel).