Ways to Find Authentic Faith Through Rule Breaking

It's OK to Break Them

There are certain unwritten "rules" of modern Christianity: don't doubt, don't be angry, never ask questions, and grieve in secret. With these rules can come great pain, heartbreak and sometimes even break your faith. When our faith is governed by these rules, our relationship with God becomes stifled, unsustainable and dishonest. When we begin to break these unwritten rules, we can begin to grow in faith in the God we love. Here are four ways to find authentic faith through rule breaking, based on the book "Outlaw Christian" by Jacqueline A. Bussie. Her book serves as a rallying cry to believers who care too much to let suffering go unquestioned and doubts unanswered.

Doubting Is OK

As Christians, we are brought up to believe that doubting or questioning God's presence, goodness, or power is sinful and shameful. However, doubt is present throughout the Bible. In Matthew 27:46, Jesus accuses God that He abandoned Him. Bussie explains that "instead of condemning doubt, we should listen to Christian thinker Paul Tillich, who in Dynamics of Faith said 'Doubt is a necessary element of faith...Living in faith includes...doubt about itself...and the risk of courage.'" This isn't the kind of doubt that doubts everything, or promotes disbelief or unbelief in God. It's the kind of doubt that asks the question, "how do I know what I know" and "how do I know what's true'". With this form of doubt, we ask practical questions that turn our gaze towards God and helps us to better understand why we believe what we believe. Bussie explains that most people's primary question isn't, is God real or does God exist but does God fair and just? Will God answer my prayers and so on. Despite your current notions about God, doubt strengthens our relationship with Him.

Let Go of the Clichés

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Sometimes, when we’re so focused on being an A+ Christian, we try to give the “right” answer and ignore not only our personal sorrows, but the sorrows of others. When people are at points of crisis, Christians will respond with sayings like “God has a plan”, “God is testing your faith”,“Everything happens for a reason”,”Time heals all wounds”,“He/She is with God now”. While these phrases aren’t intended to hurt a person’s feelings or ignore their pain, they come off like tossed clichés. When religious people do this, they are constructing what is known as a theodicy – a justification of God’s goodness, justice and omnipotence in the face of the world’s radical evil and suffering. While theodicy lies at the center of a life of faith, how we think about theodicy impacts how we respond to suffering. Bussie explains “clichés attempt a feeble reconciliation of these two truths (1) God is good and just and all powerful, and (2) God does not stop – or chooses not to stop – pain, death, cancer, war, earthquake, unemployment, divorce, or fill-in-the-blank with suffering from your own life. These clichés even if partially true – wound us because they are oversimplified and superficial. They pay no attention to the unique experience of me or you, the person who is suffering.” People who are suffering often aren’t looking for explanations from you, but want to feel safe in God’s arms again. They don’t want a cliché assertion that ignores the pain they are experiencing.