Baptism and bath water

Roger Olsen provides a fascinating discussion of Christian tribalism in "On not throwing the baby out with the bath water." Using Paul's dictum of putting everything to the test and holding on to the good (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22), he delves into practices that divide and separate us as Christians.

Olsen uses his own upbringing in a fundamentalist household as a starting point of the discussion.

I grew up in a form of Christianity most of you can’t even imagine. Sometimes I’m even embarrassed to talk about it. Whenever I meet someone who also grew up in it I want to grab them and sit down and talk at length. I want to say “Hey, let’s form a support group!” Often I find they went one of two directions with it—either deeper in or farther away.

You see, the religious form of life I was raised in was almost cultic in its extreme legalism. I’ve come to refer to us as “urban Amish.” We lived in a city, but we regarded everything and everyone around us as bound for hell unless they repented and joined our group or something very much like it.

That resonates with me because I have been told by family or acquaintances that I am not truly born again and need to join the true tribe of Christ. While I understand the impulse to celebrate what we find meaningful, the idea that there is one way and only one way to walk in faith is irritating to the say the least. It can be downright toxic.

The baby and bath water list provided by Olsen rang many bells with me and had me cheering. Here are some of my favorites.

We should not throw the baby of faith out with the bathwater of anti-intellectualism or the baby of reason out with the bathwater of rationalism.

We should not throw the baby of truth out with the bathwater of totalizing absolutism.

We should not throw the baby of feeling out with the bathwater of emotionalism.

We should not throw the baby of biblical authority out with the bathwater of wooden literalism and strict inerrancy.

We should not throw the baby of accountability out with the bathwater of hierarchy.

At its core, tribalism is about defining in-groups and out-groups. You have to behave and believe in specified ways to be accepted within a tribe. There is nothing inherently wrong with that until the tribal boundaries become absolute and everybody in other tribes are viewed as wrong, evil, and hated. When you view your brothers and sisters in Christ with contempt because their practices and creeds are different from yours, then the body of Christ becomes sick and ineffectual.

Our baptism is, as Olsen put it, "Christ-centered consciousness." That is the living water we share. That  matters more than whatever sect, denomination, or tribe we are members of.