Joshua Harris, well known author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, made headlines in 2019 when he announced that he had divorced his wife, retracted his previous position concerning LGBTQ+ marriage, and professed that he is no longer a Christian.
In the official media statement Harris shared about this monumental change in his worldview he wrote, “...I have undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus. The popular phrase for this is “deconstruction,” the biblical phrase is “falling away.” By all the measurements that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian. Many people tell me that there is a different way to practice faith and I want to remain open to this, but I’m not there now.” [1]
This announcement might come as a shock to many, but if you have been paying attention to Christian popular culture over the last decade you have seen many prominent Christian voices come out in opposition to previously held beliefs, sometimes walking away from the faith completely. For many of those who have made these huge alterations to their faith, they have described this journey as their “deconstruction”, a loaded term which can have a couple different connotations.
What is Deconstruction?
Christian deconstruction, as a culture and methodology, has become more than a reexamination...
Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. ... 13 They on the rock [are they], which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
At a superficial level, a Christian might use the word deconstruction to describe a process of faith examination. The impetus for personal deconstruction might be spurred by any number of things: the death of a loved one, a scary medical diagnosis, a failure in the church, or exposure to a persuasive alternate faith perspective. In moments of crisis, it's not uncommon to have a trial of faith, a reconsideration of what one believes and why. Such an investigation might assist in discovering that a previously held doctrine was misunderstood or that somewhere along the way you were misled by an instructor, spiritual elder, or parent. In other words, for many people, “deconstruction” might be understood as the process of proving out your faith through personal critique.
But a more exact understanding of deconstruction comes from the writings of 20th-century philosopher and post-structuralist Jacque Derrida. Derrida coined the term “deconstruction” in response to what he thought was the imposition of Western philosophical bias on culture, thought, politics, and writing. Derrida believed that the written word holds too much ambiguity to be understood from one perspective. Deconstruction was intended to challenge the relationship between text and meaning, exposing the complexity, instability, and failure of written symbols to consistently produce a singular interpretation. [2] [3]
In establishing this philosophical approach, Derrida, Jean-Luc Marion, Paul Ricœur, as well as many other deconstruction proponents, ushered in a new form of postmodern textual criticism that has greatly impacted contemporary theology. The deconstructionists have “radicalized” the biblical hermeneutic, slowly undoing traditional Christian doctrine. There are many biblical scholars including N.T. Wright, Carl Raschke, and John Caputo whose deconstruction has had an influence on pastors and cultural personalities such as Rob Bell, Michael Gungor, Kevin Max, Brian McLaren, Kathy Escobar, Andy Stanley, and many others associated with postmodern Christianity.
In its most innocuous form, deconstruction may be promoted as a healthy reassessment of personal bias and ingrained denominational positions, but upon closer examination tends to institute new bias that is inherently critical to the concept of biblical certainty. The Christian deconstructionist’s approach is often exactly what Derrida intended it to be: the employment of philosophy, liberal forms of literary criticism, scientific theory, historical record, and other human disciplines intended to scrutinize the literality of long-held biblical teachings in order to replace them with more abstract and progressive perspectives. Christian deconstruction, as a culture and methodology, has become more than a reexamination; it is a premeditated tearing down of biblical authority.
The Flaws of Deconstruction
The very tool designed for tearing down and building up is being reduced to a door stop.
Isaiah 28:12 To whom he said, This [is] the rest [wherewith] ye may cause the weary to rest; and this [is] the refreshing: yet they would not hear. 13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
In my early twenties, I worked in construction off-and-on to help get through college. My stepdad was a remodeler and contractor and he would hire me to go into homes and demolish the spaces and make them ready for the remodel. I was entrusted with this job because, well, frankly, someone needed to do it. This was generally violent work: tearing down dilapidated ceilings and walls, peeling layers of wallpaper, and removing light fixtures. The tool of my trade was the claw of a hammer, unrefined yet effective.
My stepdad, on the other hand, was in charge of the remodeling: framing, plumbing, electricity. In my years working with him, I gained a profound respect for his knowledge and ability. The things that he could do with just a hammer were extraordinary: nailing, nudging, bending, leveraging. It was not only effective, but artful.
From this illustration, I find a simple yet profound principle: deconstruction is vain without construction. Many of those who define themselves as deconstructionists do so at the risk of emphasizing what they are destroying rather than what they are preserving or building. The danger of a Christian identifying themselves as deconstructionist is that it assumes that there is a greater responsibility to take your faith system apart than there is to build it up.
Additionally, sound construction always requires a faithful tool (the Bible) in the hand of a faithful tradesman (the Believer). Not everyone knows how to use a hammer well, or even respectfully. (Case in point: the time a friend bludgeoned me over the head while trying to nail a board I was holding.) Deconstruction is a systematic approach for casting doubt on all forms and structures believed to hold the potential for bias, including the historic, linguistic, and doctrinal aspects of the Bible. The position asserts a value for knowledge and understanding, yet is intrinsically skeptical of any doctrinal claims held to be holistic and absolute. The deconstructionist ideology is not an open-minded or awestruck perspective of God, but rather a narrow view of his divine authorship. [4]
The flaw of contemporary Christian deconstruction is that Christians are learning to look at the hammer itself with doubt, questioning its sufficiency for the work. The very tool designed for tearing down and building up is being reduced to a door stop. For the Christian deconstructionist who is convinced their hammer is unreliable, the natural end is a failure to build a habitation worth occupying.
In the first episode of the podcast The Deconstructionist, hosts Adam Narloch and John Williamson genuinely present deconstruction as a philosophical approach that offers Christians an opportunity to critique their faith with the intent of rebuilding. That is a noble idea, yet in practice deconstruction demands that everything be called into question, including the authority and simplicity of the word of God. Narloch and Williamson encourage “spiritual pruning”, but then say to “prune all the way back to the stump if you need to.” If you have ever cared for a plant, you would know that when you prune it to the stump, you drastically increase the likelihood of deforming or even killing the plant. This is true of our lives as well. Pruning can be healthy, but not when pruning is actually the hacking away, abuse, and castigation of God’s precepts. [5]
A Proper Form of Deconstruction
Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Examining faith is not new to Christianity. With that said, how you approach a faith examination is important and it should be done with absolute honesty and according to principle.
1) Raise Hard Questions
It is reassuring to know that the Bible actually invites us to question what is and isn’t true. God is not afraid of our doubts.
One positive thing that can be taken from the current Christian deconstruction movement is that it promotes a fearlessness of culture and ideas. There is a lesson here for Christianity as a culture: we must not be afraid of allowing our faith to fall under scrutiny or question.
None of us have things all figured out, so Christian maturity should assume that there might be things in our worldview that are incorrect.
It is reassuring to know that the Bible actually invites us to question what is and isn’t true. God is not afraid of our doubts. This was the testimony of the Bereans, a people group in the narrative of Acts who exemplified a mature process of scrutiny.
Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming [thither] went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
Notice that the Berean Jews’ critique was not directed at God’s word, but the words that may or may not have been of men. The spirit of deconstruction assumes that the Bible, just as Derrida would suppose, is a literary book open to criticism. In the case of the Bereans, the scriptures were the divine tool by which they compared everything else.
Every Christian will find themselves in moments of doubt or crisis. When we do, there is only one place to go: not skeptics, scholars, or mystics, but to the safety of the word of God.
2) People Aren’t Perfect, but God’s Word is
people and cultures are flawed, but God is not.
Friends, family, teachers, pastors, and society have and will fail us. As humans, we are all wicked and imperfect and susceptible to deceit.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 For [there is] not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
The mature Christian isn’t frightened, enraged, or dismayed by the fact that they don’t have everything figured out. Life is hard and learning is hard. Sometimes we adopt ideas that are incorrect. Sometimes people nurture dysfunction into our lives. Sometimes our bias gets in the way. Sometimes those we care about fail us and sometimes our own intentions misdirect us.
We need grace and forgiveness for ourselves as well as those who have invested in us for good and for bad. We need to remember that people and cultures are flawed, but God is not.
Psalm 19:7 The law of the LORD [is] perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD [is] sure, making wise the simple.
God’s words are sure and stand the test of time, ready for whatever difficulties you may face. Try them and try everything by them (2 Sam. 22:31; Ps. 12:6).
3) The Bible Holds the Answer
The answer for imperfect people is not perpetual deconstruction…
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Christian maturity knows that wherever error exists in our perspectives, scripture is not the source of that error but rather the sufficient agent to correct it.
The Reformers are a great example of how a culture of believers were willing to scrutinize the systemic bias and authoritarian structures that surrounded them. What was clearly different about the Reformers compared to the modern deconstructionist is that the Reformers leaned into the sufficiency of scripture and proclaimed Sola Scriptura (scripture alone), while the deconstructionist leans out to the plurality of the information age proclaiming Omnia Aequalis (all things equal).
The answer for imperfect people is not perpetual deconstruction; otherwise, nothing will be preserved and we will stand amidst our own ruins with no place to call home. Additionally, the answer for imperfect people is not human construction, or else what is built will be flawed and collapse around us. The answer for an imperfect people is a home remodeled by a perfect builder with the perfect tool.
In Closing
…can we withstand the results of our own criticisms?
1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
When an individual faces a trial of faith that shakes the foundation of their reality, it is natural for them to step back and re-examine their beliefs and biases. But how they approach those moments may fundamentally alter their faith forever. Becoming a Christian presupposes that one has put their faith in Jesus Christ according to the gospel message found in scripture; at this level, a believer declares the reliability of the Bible. If in a moment of self-assessment a Christian refuses to use the Bible as a divinely reliable source, then the default tool for rebuilding becomes man’s wisdom. To properly address moments of faith crisis, it is imperative that one assumes that the scriptures will sustain, stabilize, and sanctify us.
In an age where young people have not grown up under clear biblical teaching, an age where churches have failed to teach sound doctrine, is it any surprise we have a generation that desires to call everything into question? Ultimately, the Bible will withstand the criticisms of men. After all, it’s held its own for quite some time. The question of our age becomes, can we withstand the results of our own criticisms? (Prov 16:25)
If we are not fully prepared to defend a hermeneutic that compares scripture with scripture, deconstruction will inevitably lead to the destruction of biblical faith (1Co 2:13).
If you’re interested in the discussion of biblical authority, check out this episode of the Postscript with Pastor Alan Shelby.
Brandon Briscoe is the pastor of C&YA, the college and young adults ministry of Midtown Baptist Temple.
[1] “Joshua Harris Falling Away from Faith: 'I Am Not a Christian'.” The Christian Post, The Christian Post, www.christianpost.com/news/joshua-harris-falling-away-from-faith-i-am-not-a-christian.html.
[2] Derrida, Jacques, and Paul De Man. Memoires: for Paul De Man. Columbia University Press, 1986.
[3] Critchley, Simon. The Ethics of Deconstruction: Derrida and Levinas. Edinburgh University Press, 2014.
[4] Wax, Trevin. “3 Ways 'The Blind Men and the Elephant' Story Backfires.” The Gospel Coalition, The Gospel Coalition, 29 Oct. 2017, www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/3-ways-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant-story-backfires/.
[5] Battles, Ryan. “Ep 1 - Deconstruction: What? and Why?” The Deconstructionists Podcast, 11 Sept. 2017, www.thedeconstructionists.com/ep-1-deconstruction-what-and-why/.