Book Review: The Deconstruction of Christianity - Highly Recommend

In college, I took a literary criticism course. I hated that class. We discussed Derrida and deconstruction theories of language. Derrida and others despised the idea of absolute truth. They argued that language is unstable and offers too many meanings. To me, it was a lot of pointless discussions like, "Cat is not rat because it has a 'c' instead of an 'r'," and other such nonsense. 

Religious deconstruction is all the rage these days. I have plenty of friends who talk about stepping back from the faith of their upbringing to reevaluate. They want to reclaim the good parts of Christianity and reject the bad parts. Alisa Childers and Tim Barnett explain with candor and clarity what "deconstruction" is, why it attacks those who claim "faith," and how to respond. I fall outside of the deconstruction camp because I believe in the inerrant and steadfast Word of God. I believe in absolute truth. So many want to relativize truth and say, "Well, that's your truth. I have my truth." To claim your own authority, separate from the Bible's authority, puts one on shifting sands. Yet, deconstructionists, who call themselves "ex-vangelicals," parse God's Word, picking and choosing parts to support their own societally sanctioned standards. They magnify Christ's love but disregard the hot holiness of His love. They share the sound bite, "No one condemns you," ignoring, "Go and sin no more."

The Deconstruction of Christianity articulates this agenda. The goal of an ex-vangelical is not to "re-construct" their faith, but to "de-construct" a belief system they feel is outdated and oppressive. Indeed, they see historical Biblical Christianity as "toxic," "patriarchal," and "confining." They seek a custom-made spirituality, separate from the moral "rigidity" of the Bible. They run from the Bible's authority and demand their own. Ex-vangelicals reject 5 things: 1) a literal reading of the Bible; 2) the belief that women should be submissive to men; 3) the sanctity of heterosexuality; 4) American exceptionalism; and 5) political/moral conservatism.

Part II of the book outlines the how, what, and who of deconstruction. I weep for these individuals. Often they are deconstructing as a reaction to a crisis, be it suffering, doubt, politics, or abuse. Gregory Koukl, author of Tactics, calls individually determined truth "the primal heresy." He likens it to the lies Satan presents in Eden. Many progressive leaders are brazen. Pastor Chris Kratzer encourages his followers to "spend less time reading the Bible and more time writing your own." The authors of this book remind readers that every ex-vangelical is made in the image of God and scarred by sin. They are captives who want to seek God on their own terms.

Part III offers hope for responding to those who reject the Bible and historical Christianity. I love that the first piece of advice is to pray. Second, believers should stay involved and share the burdens of their deconstructing friends. Third, seek God's wisdom for how to best assist them while being loving and sensitive. Finally, set boundaries and abide by theirs. It takes courage to stand on the truth of God's Word in a sin-scarred world that seeks individual authority and relative standards of right and wrong. But it is so important! Their final destination looms. This is a life or death matter. Everyone should ask themselves, "Where do my beliefs look more like the world than God's Word?" Toward the end of the book, the authors offer a prayer template. I copied it for myself and intend to use it when praying for my relatives and friends who have been enticed into the ex-vangelical camp. If you have a heart for the lost amid a cacophony of swirling perspectives, this is a must-read!

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for

doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;"

- 2 Timothy 3:16 KJV

*Alisa Childers is also the author of Another Gospel?, one of my top reads in 2021.