Thinking Outside the Religious and Theological Box

                             Thinking Outside the Religious and Theological Box

                             By Dr. Juan A. Carmona

 

One of the many things that we are challenged to do in our day and age is to ¨think outside the box.¨ This means that we are asked and invited to give room to the possibility that there are other beliefs and ideologies that might be as true and valid as the ones we hold to.  In other words, the challenge is for us to attempt refraining from being ¨dogmatic,¨ ¨closed minded,¨ and ¨opinionated.¨  We are also challenged to question our assumptions and presuppositions behind our opinions and tightly-held beliefs.  This is true in the area of religion/theology and political ideology.

While I would be among the first to advocate for open-mindedness, I would also be the among the first to ask the question, ¨If we succeed in thinking outside our box, do we then go into another box or frame of reference?¨  In other words, do we replace one box of belief and ideology with another box?¨ Is it possible to go ¨boxless?¨

In the area of religion and theology, these are difficult questions.  One of the many things that make it difficult to answer these questions is that we strive for deeply-held convictions with the hope that what we believe and think is precisely what God wants us to believe and think.  In other words, we want to align our thinking with what we believe is God´s thinking.  Instead of allowing the voice of God to say ¨my ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are not your thoughts,¨ we prefer to reverse the batting order and say ¨my thoughts are the same as God´s thoughts.¨

Are there particular things that God wants us to believe?  Is there an enclosed set of beliefs that God expects and requires us to subscribe to?  In the final analysis, does God really care what we believe?

This writer (yours truly) does not believe for one single moment that God relates to us on the basis of belief and ideology. The God of Scripture and the Judaeo-Christian-Islamic tradition relates to us on the basis of how we treat one another, and whether or not we strive to insure justice for all.

In my years of work as a prison chaplain, I discovered the joy of transcending religious ideology by working together with chaplains and residents of different faith groups.  The presence of God was there in our meetings and joint task with the residential community.  We were there as agents of God´s liberating activities first, and then Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or whatever second.  We not only thought but also acted ¨outside the box.¨  

The box that God invites us to is the box of compassion, integrity, justice, and love.  God is not concerned with dogma or ¨theological correctness.¨  God calls and invites us to participate in the construction of the Beloved Community. May we be moved to join God in this process.

In the Name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer. Amen

Juan A. Carmona