“Who am I to judge…?” Part II: Rhetorical Road Blocks

(continued from Part I)

The essence of the obviously rhetorical, “Who am I to judge…?” question is simple.

McLaren is doing what he can to build relationships with people of other faiths.  If McLaren thinks he is doing what God is leading him to do, then…

“What right do we have to question the guy’s choices or motivations?” (My paraphrase.)

At first glance that seems like a pretty reasonable question.  If for just a moment it gave me great pause and made me go…

“Hmmm…  Who am I to judge?”

“Who the heck do I think I am?  GOD?!”

So I started asking myself the same questions other Emergent Church devotees have asked me on occasion.  What right do I have to question the choices of a world-renowned author and speaker like McLaren?  He has a bazillion books in print.  People love this guy.  He calls himself a Christian.

In raising a skeptical eyebrow toward McLaren’s latest effort to recreate Christianity in an increasingly cuddly, broadly inclusive, less threatening image, was, I, in fact, “judging” McLaren?

(I wonder if Martin Luther asked himself something similar before he took a hammer and nail and tacked a silly little piece of paper to the Wittenburg door?)

If I haven’t telegraphed the punch line sufficiently up to this point, perhaps it’s time to come clean with my bias.

McLaren is way off base on this one. McLaren is wrong on so many levels I could probably write an entire book on the Ramadan subject alone.  I have no problem saying he’s off base, either.  The Biblical evidence against what he’s doing is at least as strong, if not more so, than the evidence for his observation of Ramadan.

But this message really isn’t about whether I think McLaren’s observation of Ramadan is “wrong” or not.

Whether you and I agree on the Ramadan issue is irrelevant.  (Wanna sit down and debate it sometime?  I’ll be happy to meet you at a Starbucks and buy the java.)

No, this electronic novella is instead about the innuendo and baggage hidden in the folds of that increasingly relied-upon code phrase...

“Who am I to judge…?”

That truth is that this rhetorical question puts a pretty firm, subliminal barrier around any further dialog on any given subject.  It is a question intended to send a clear message to any Christian follower who ever dares to question the choices of a Christian leader…

“It’s time to end the debate and I’m the one ending it.”

At this point one thing is clear.  For me to further question the legitimacy of McLaren’s supremely enlightened, new-found Islamo-Christo buddy system would immediately qualify me as “judgmental.”

Not “thoughtful.”  Not “discerning.”  Not “informed.”  Not “wise.”

“Judgmental.”

No true Christian ever wants to be called “judgmental.” Most of us will back down in the face of that objection before risk being labeled a “Pharisee” by any other brother or sister in Christ.

“Who am I to judge…” in the context of doubting a Christian leader’s choices is truly the equivalent of a theological barbed wire, electrified fence.  It’s a bright chalk line on the pavement, a finger on the nuclear trigger.  For some folks it’s also code for, “You’re starting to sound like a closed-minded, right-wing whack job, buddy boy, so cut it out!”

Here’s the problem.

I know with some fair degree of certainty that I am not some hard-line, right-wing McLaren hater. In fact, many of my conservative Christian friends accuse me of being too liberal when it comes to some, though certainly not all, social issues.  Heck, I voted for Obama fer cryin’ out loud, so how right-wing can I really be?  More than that, I also relate to McLaren’s self-conscious attempt to rebel against the narcissistic, prosperity-Gospel-driven, “America is the chosen land,” excesses of Christianity over the past couple of decades.  I understand the guy McLaren has become. I probably would be “that guy” if it weren’t for one teeny, weeny little problem.

The eternal truths of the Bible always bring me back from the brink of relying too greatly on the power of my own intellect.

None of this means, however, that the, “Who am I to judge…?” question didn’t start the chipmunks inside my brain from taking turns on the tread-wheel of spiritual reflection.

That line, “Who am I to judge…?” unleashed a flood of thought-provoking questions for me as a well-intended student of the Bible.  I don’t think my buddy wanted me to obsess over those five words, but it was too late.  That question is loaded with baggage and subtext that just begs to be explored!

In part IV we’ll break out the pith helmet and whack through some of the many questions the “Who am I to judge…?” line provokes.  For now, though, we need to pursue another, foundational question.

“If I doubt McLaren, am I doubting God Himself?”

NEXT – “Who am I to judge…?” – Part III

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