Addison Road

I’ve been musing today about the orthodoxy (right belief) vs. orthopraxy (right practice) dilemma. (I would argue that it should not be a dilemma, but it seems to keep cropping up in arguments between traditional evanglicals and emerging church-types. Instead of arguing the futility of bifurcating these two fundamentals of Christianity, I’m just going with the flow. The argument against the argument will have to save itself for a future post.)

Here’s the thing: I don’t think anyone would want to argue that right belief shouldn’t lead to right practice, that good theology shouldn’t lead to good Jesus-following. I think the problem comes when we can’t agree on what “right practice” looks like…what fruit should be borne of right belief. [Generalization alert.] The ultra-con evangelicals I know look for and celebrate the fruits of goodness, faithfulness and self-control. The ec-ers I know look for and celebrate the fruits of love, joy and peace. (Neither are especially hot on patience.) This results, inevitably, in a ridiculous circular process of finger-pointing and accusation, leaving everyone utterly convinced of their own righteousness and their adversary’s heresy.

The last thing I want to do is trivialize the myriad and important distinctives that are the basis of the traditional-versus-emerging church problem. It increasingly seems to me, however, that a values barrier exists that is about as surmountable as Pike’s Peak in January. (Not impossible, but highly inadvisable.) How does meaningful comparison take place when the units of measure are incompatible?