Bad Theology Kills- Introduction to series
Updated: Apr 10, 2020
I was on a Zoom call with colleagues from around the globe. In Canada the severity of the pandemic was just starting to sink in, but for our friends in other countries the crisis was already very real.
"There is this one lady we know who keeps going out! Her mother has Covid and so she wants to take care of her, so she goes all over the city buying supplies and getting food. People around her keep getting sick. She is getting people sick! She must be a a-symptomatic carrier, but she doesn't realize it. She just keeps saying "Everyone around me is sick except me. Praise God! He is keeping me well so I can care for others!" She thinks its a miracle. We think she is killing people."
My friend was greatly distressed and trying to figure out how to convince this woman to stay home and stop spreading the virus.
Bad Theology Kills.
I've had 10+ blog posts written and sitting in draft form, waiting for the right time. The series is called "Bad Theology Kills" and after that little story above, I think you know what its about. And I bet you see why I've decided to release this series now.
The series is based on this simple understanding that whatever we believe will highly influence how we behave.
Simply put- You believe that water will quench your thirst, so you drink it.
More complexly- You believe people will like you better if you're thin, so you starve yourself.
Even more complexly- You believe in a God who highly values caring for the poor, so you volunteer once a week at a soup kitchen.
When our beliefs are toxic, they lead us to actions that do damage to others around us.
Throughout history christians have behaved badly, and done damage to others, because of a bad set of beliefs.
Simply put- We* believed racial hierarchy was a part of God's design, so we criminalized interracial marriage.
'nuff said.
the·ol·o·gy /THēˈäləjē/
noun
the study of the nature of God and religious belief.
religious beliefs and theory when systematically developed.
Theology- Our beliefs about who God is and what He is like and how He designed us and our world greatly influences how we walk around and operate in this world. It effects how we treat others, how we treat ourselves, how we vote, what foods we eat, what drinks we drink.
Theology matters.
Over the coming weeks I'm going to be questioning and exposing some toxic theology that I witness around me causing people to behave badly and do damage. Some of the subjects we are going to tackle include:
- Women
- People with disabilities
- Miracles
- Death
- Some common phrases people think are scripture but aren't.
Feel free to give a suggestion of others!
My hope is that I'll be able to start a conversation that leads to some questioning of beliefs that do damage. I'm hoping that rooting out some in-grown toxic theology will make our world a more peaceful and good place.
Let's go.
*Referring here to white-western christianity