my struggle with dispensationalism

Warning: it's a long one. If you don't care about theological reflections, then go ahead and skip to the next blog on your list. If you might be interested and have a couple minutes on your hand, then knock yourself out. If you don't know what dispensationalism is and care to read further, check out this post on wikipedia...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispensationalism. It's unbiased and paints a pretty good picture of this end-times theology. I'm going to reflect a little more from a personal perspective. The beginning of this thread stems from Pat Robertson's comments about Sharon.

Why I'm uncomfortable with dispensational theology:

1) It's relatively new. I think that the Spirit gives insight into God's revelation through Christ and scripture, but I tend to shy away from theological trends that stem from someone getting a special revelation, which is the case here. There is a strong link between John Darby (the "father of modern dispensational theology) and a 15 year old girl named Margaret McDonald, who in 1830 claimed to have a special gift of prophecy and vision of the end times while in special trances. Darby, himself, claimed to have a special revelation of these things as the foundation of his teaching. It's one thing to gain insight into the teachings of scripture; it's a whole different ballgame when one claims to have had visions that supercede scripture. I struggle with that...

2) It's very western-centric in nature. Part of dispensational teaching has to do with a literal 7 years of hell on earth called the great tribulation. Dispensationalisms teaches that the Church will be removed before that time comes. We, in the West, don't do well with pain and suffering. So we like the theology that says we don't have to do it. It works well in conjunction with "health and weath" teaching which says that God's will is always that we are healthy and wealthy. It's a little bit too "Polyanna" for me. What about the people in Africa who are undergoing incredible tribulation for their faith...do they get rescued before it gets bad? How do you tell a woman who watches her children be murdered before she is raped and killed that God will rescue her before she goes through the tribulation? To try and identify a future time in history that is going to get really, really bad in a uniquely western approach to biblical interpretation and has more to do with our personal context than biblical context.

3) I think it plays fast and loose with biblical context. In some places it chooses to be literal. In other places it chooses to be figurative. And in most of those cases, there is little biblical context to support the decision to interpret the passage that way. There are different ways to read differnt genres of biblical literature. But biblical context is king when determining how to go about doing that. Dispensational theology requires that one sets aside basic biblical hermenteutics in order to skew scripture to fit. In a broad sense, it requires using passages of scripture in ways that the authors never intended. For example, Revelation was not written by John to be a code-book of secret future events. It was written to caution "sleeping" churches and to encourage those Christ-followers who were being impaled by beams and used as torches to light Nero's garden at night. The big message of the book is to say, no matter how bad it gets (and it will get bad) Jesus will be victorious. Jesus came into the world the first time as a humble baby. He will return as a victorious king. Hold out hope for salvation.

4) It's like a secret code. The gnostics were a group of people in the first century that believed they had secret information about spirituality. That secret information was rejected by early church fathers within the first couple centuries of church history. Whenever someone claims to have secret or special knowledge about future events, they are immediadely discredited by Jesus himself, who said that no one (not even the Son) knows the details of the end of time. The Bible affirms that there will be an end, but doesn't intend to give details of that end. Anyone who claims to know who the Great Bear and Whore really are...just don't. Most of that teaching is on the same level as the DaVinci Code...it's fiction and makes for sensational stories.

5) My absolute biggest problem with dispensational theology is that it relegates Jesus Christ to "best supporting actor" on the stage of history. Disp. theology teaches that God's ultimate plan for human redemption lies in the physical state of Israel. Disp. theology teaches that Jesus' death and subsequent formation of the Church through the empowering of the Holy Spirit is a "divine paranthesis"...a big oops or Plan B. God's real intent is to save the world through Israel. Frank, in his response to my post on Pat Robertson (see previous post and comments) writes, " Israel IS and always will be the focal point of the Bible. EVERYTHING especially today in this day focuses around Israel!" Sorry, Frank...that is as unbiblical as you can get. Jesus Christ always has been and always will be at the center of God's redemptive plan in human history. The entire Old Testamen points toward him and his work of salvation. And the entire New Testament points toward Christ at work in his followers until the end of time. The central figure in all of biblical history is Jesus Christ.

To buy into dispensation theology, one must believe that God "saves" people in two ways -- through Jesus and through the sacrificial system of Israel. Many dispensational teachers get all lathered up when they begin talking about the priestly garments that are beings crafted and the special animals that are being bred in anticipation of a return to the sacrificial system in Israel. There is a belief by most that salvation can be gained through obedience to the Law, as given to Moses. But the New Testament could not be more clear that reliance on the Law and animal sacrifice for salvation is an abomination to Jesus Christ. Jesus was the only sacrifce that actually does away with out sin. Jesus was the great high priest, according to the NT book of Hebrews...he did his job and then sat down at the right hand of God -- this signifies that his salvific work is completed...done...no more needed.

For the most part, I can accept that there are very learned people who acribe to dispensational theology. One of my "beefs" with this camp is that they tend to discount anyone else's interpretation as valid. I don't want to do that here. However strong my resrvations and my beliefs that dispensational theology, as a whole, undermines the grace and love of Christ, I want to communicate my thoughts in a way that opens the door to conversation as opposed to shutting it down. My writings here are merely a reflection of my thoughts. My understandings have morphed over the years -- I was securly in the dispensational camp at one time on my faith journey. But since that time I have studied and been challenged by brilliant teachers who have helped me formulate a different understanding of God's redemptive plan, biblical interpretation, and the future. I'll reflect on those more in posts to come.

Peace,

M@