A Generous Orthodoxy - Post II

(Pg. 34 in the book, from the opening chapter titled "A Generous Refund")

McLaren writes: Scandalously, the generous orthodoxy you will explore (if you proceed) goes too far, many will say, in the direction of identifying orthodoxy with a consistent practice of humility, charity, courage, and diligence.

In the following paragraphs he talks about how many Christian denominations equate orthodoxy with right thinking while leaving out the orthopraxis of right living. He goes on to say that orthopraxis should be the end result of orthodoxy - there should never be a separation between what we believe and how we act. In my own words, we should be congruent - always trying to live out what we believe in every situation life puts us in.

It's hard (as evidenced by religious leaders in many Christian denominations, as well as by practicing members of all world faiths) to always and everywhere live out our beliefs; we need orthodoxy to help show us the way to take. We need wise and knowledgeable people to help light the way into God's presence here on earth and in the hereafter.

But if we ourselves don't start to take that light and use it ourselves, at some point we'll grow tired of following and either just sit and stay where we're at, or worse still we'll take a different path altogether, one where we try not to think about the absence of light and instead focus on just surviving in the dark. Without practice, the knowledge in and of itself is useless.

Case in point: I play the trumpet. I can read music, I know my scales, I have a good grasp of the theory behind taking a long piece of tubing and making music come out it of. However, I my ability to make good sounding music come out of my glorified copper pipe has lessened as I get further and further away from my high school days. Back then my music theory may have been weaker, but I practiced my trumpet every day, sometimes a total of 4 or 5 hours a day (marching practice before school, during band, during lunch, during private lessons, marching practice after school, then finally at home). No I'm lucky if I put in 30 minutes once or twice a week. My orthodoxy is sound - I know how my lips should be just so, how my air flow should be aimed just so, how my body should be just so, how my fingers should move just so, etc. But if I never actually take out the trumpet and play . . . well, my orthopraxis is shot - I can no longer wail as once I did.

So I like this opening to the book - it meshes well with my own struggle to live out my beliefs and test my actions against the teachings of Jesus and the church. May we all come to the point where there will be no distinction - either personally or corporately as church - between word and deed.

Blessings & Peace,

Hugo