The Chicken or the Egg?

Which really does come first - the chicken or the egg? While I'm sure you've heard this proverbial question posed a million times (now a million and one - you can thank me later), I think it might actually speak to a potential methodological issue currently found within the bounds of Christian thinking. For the purposes of this entry, lets have the chicken metaphorically represent reality while the egg plays the role of our understanding of reality. Further, to tailor this discussion more specifically to the Church, I suggest we take 'God' as our particular object of reality and 'theology' or 'doctrine' for our understanding of that reality. Now hold on to those categories and let's jump in.

I'm sure I am not the only one who sits in church every week hearing over and over again from the pulpit what I should believe; perhaps you might oblige me to call it the 'Content of Christian Cognition'. I know that Jesus loves me (and all the other little red, pink, purple, green, and blue children for that matter). I know that God is good. I know that there is a Holy Spirit. Frankly, like many of you, I have gorged myself on all varieties of farm-fresh 'eggs', but have I so far failed to properly consider the the generative source of my nutrition?

The Evangelical church pushes for understanding that has only a vague correlation to the underpinning reality. We are taught to cram all this 'Content of Christian Cognition' into our gray matter in order to be a good Christian, but we all honestly doubt if it has any actual relevance to reality. Subsequently, I would like to suggest that understanding divorced from Reality produces cognitive dysfunction. And I think this dysfunction is evident in our churches - people living two distinctly separate lives (religious vs. 'normal').

You see, when theologians of the past formulated the great Orthodox creeds and doctrines of the Church, they did it not bifurcated from a dynamic interaction with the Divine reality behind the theology (the chicken behind the egg if you will), but wholeheartedly immersed in the process of loving God and seeking to understand Him.

Unfortunately, the years has distilled this approach to thinking about God down to fact-transfer. Now we are often guilty of merely passing on information from one generation to another completely void of any life-giving vitality. This methodological misfire needs to be addressed because it is seriously damaging the health of Christian integration.

So, I say knowing proper doctrine is no substitute for experiencing proper doctrine. Every piece of Orthodox theology that you know didn't appear in a vacuum. It evolved from potent interaction with the Divine reality. I encourage you to discover that reality for yourself. Bask in the wonder of our God. Speak with Him. Learn from Him. Let His Spirit permeate your heart. Sit with Him and let Him integrate all that 'Content of Christian Cognition' with the reality of His presence.

What am I trying to say? Put succinctly, understanding follows after reality (the Chicken before the Egg). Christians need to be reminded of the Reality that gives cause for their understanding. When this begins to occur, Christian theology will again find its lasting and affective foundation individually and corporately. Only then will we determinately stick with Eggland's Best and not accidentally switch out to Ener-G.