Some emerging thoughts

I haven't spent much time engaging with the Emerging Church Movement (or conversation) but in a training session I've organised tomorrow for the Student Ministers at the Cathedral they will be talking about it so I've been doing a little bit of reading.

Scot McKnight in a Christianity today article describes one emphasis of the emerging church movement as orthopraxy (right living). Here's what he says:

A notable emphasis of the emerging movement is orthopraxy, that is, right living. The contention is that how a person lives is more important than what he or she believes. Many will immediately claim that we need both or that orthopraxy flows from orthodoxy. Most in the emerging movement agree we need both, but they contest the second claim: Experience does not prove that those who believe the right things live the right way. No matter how much sense the traditional connection makes, it does not necessarily work itself out in practice. Public scandals in the church—along with those not made public—prove this point time and again.

Here is an emerging, provocative way of saying it: "By their fruits [not their theology] you will know them." As Jesus' brother James said, "Faith without works is dead." Rhetorical exaggerations aside, I know of no one in the emerging movement who believes that one's relationship with God is established by how one lives. Nor do I know anyone who thinks that it doesn't matter what one believes about Jesus Christ. But the focus is shifted. Gibbs and Bolger define emerging churches as those who practice "the way of Jesus" in the postmodern era.

Jesus declared that we will be judged according to how we treat the least of these (Matt. 25:31-46) and that the wise man is the one who practices the words of Jesus (Matt. 7:24-27). In addition, every judgment scene in the Bible is portrayed as a judgment based on works; no judgment scene looks like a theological articulation test.

I found myself really disagreeing with this. While I'll agree that Christians should live differently, I'm convinced that our living flows out of our knowledge. It's been a favourite saying of mine for the last month or so - 'preach at the heart and changed behaviour will follow'. Like most things clever - it's not mine, I borrowed it from a friend (thanks Amelia!).

Throughout the Bible we see ethical commands couched in terms of theological understanding - Col 3:1-17 is just one example.

I'm convinced that it is because of who we are that we live a certain way - not living a certain way that makes us who we are. What do you think?