In church world we are always talking about repentance. And typically that means telling people, "Stop doing that sin." You know the usual suspects on the sin list: adultery, lying, drunkenness, gambling, porn, etc. Wouldn't the world be a better place without all those sins? Of course.
But the people calling for repentance usually focus on all the sins they never do.
Some long time leaders in the Christian faith, however, are engaging in a new kind of repentance. They are changing their minds about the way the faith is practiced. I'm thinking specifically about Hank Hanegraaff. He was on the radio as "The Bible Answer Man." He fielded all kinds of questions on live radio, offering orthodox, Protestant answers.
But a few years ago, Hanegraaff ended his radio program and converted to the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith. Apparently he repented of the Western, Reformed perspectives that informed his theology. Rather than having an "answer" for everything about the Bible, he now embraces the idea that there are actually some things that can't be explained. There is mystery in the Lord and his creation.
Most Protestants believe that there has to be a good answer for everything. If we can't find a good answer, then we are obliged to speculate and fabricate until we find something that mostly works. Logic is regarded as infallible.
I'm about ready to repent of the Western mindset of an-answer-for-everything. Mystery is built into just about every aspect of life and creation. I can wrestle with it and marvel at it. But I don't have to solve it.
Living in this tension stretches me, and I hope it makes me more like Jesus.
