In the Absence of Power and Light

On Wednesday morning my Christian book club has been reading and discussing Barbara Brown Taylor's book An Altar in the World. One of the chapters I have been thinking about this week focuses on a personal time in Taylor's life where she and her husband lived several days in their rural home without power and light due to an ice storm. Many of us have had this experience through the years, but her spiritual insight is interesting.

Since we equate Christianity (even Christ Himself) with the idea of power and light, she raised the question as to what happens when we are without them. For her, she realized that the absence of power and light for a few days caused her to move from being self-centered to other-centered. She had an epiphany that she had to be even more responsible for not only herself but also her animals, in this case, dogs, cats, and horses. She found herself breaking up the ice which formed in their water several times a day, keeping them extra warm with kerosene heaters, and making sure they were dry and well fed. How could this analogy apply to current day church theology?

Many believe, and have described it in their books, that we are living now in a post-Christian world. To them, the old theology of the past seems to be failing the average believer. Some even question the inerrant nature of the Bible and its historical record. They see the Bible's authority eroding in our modern age. They suggest that, in the absence of traditional power and light, we replace old views of the past with community and fellowship of believers instead. After all, isn't that what happened after Jesus' Resurrection. When He was no longer able to be with them physically, and before Pentecost, the disciples had to form small groups and develop closeness to keep the ideas of Christ's teaching alive.

I have found it difficult as a conservative believer for the majority of my life not to believe in the divine Truth of Scripture. Yes, I have modified my belief somewhat and moved away from a very literal interpretation of the Word to a more metaphorical and symbolic interpretation. Even with these changes, I cannot move into the idea that we fallible humans can provide the authority once held through the Bible. We are simply too human to do so. If we begin to place our faith in fellowship, we are sure to be disappointed.