Living in a Post-Theological World

So what are we to do in this post-theological world of Christianity when all the dogmatic certainties upon which we had relied so heavily now seem thin and uncertain, or have slipped away almost entirely? It is a huge question, and one that any sincere seeker must begin to wrestle with.

If we cannot rely on past certitudes and orthodoxies with absolute assurance, then what we are left with is the bedrock of our own experience. But doesn’t this seem equally unstable—to have to rely on our own abilities? So let’s think about it this way. Is this not exactly what we do when we grow out of our infancy, childhood, and adolescence (and out of our parents’ care) and become responsible adults, accepting the responsibility of taking care of ourselves and our families? It feels like an awfully lonely world sometimes. We feel vulnerable and naked to the stronger forces around us, but we manage somehow, and by this experience become stronger as we live, learn and grow.

That is exactly where we are now theologically as we navigate these waters learning from our own experience and from one another tracking between both failure and success. At this juncture, though we may feel vulnerable and alone, we are not without resources both inward and from above and beyond ourselves. At this spiritual “tipping point,” then, we must step forward into a new way of being Christian and spiritual that entails, first, letting go of all the old expectations, and second, accepting the task of learning the new skills and principles of wisdom.