wearing the belt of truth

Wearing the Belt of Truth, as an offensive weapon

This comment follows on my recent post regarding our words being productive, and not careless...

I have been reading Powers, Weakness, and the Tabernacling of God by Marva Dawn. I've had the book for probably seven years (I bought it because of the "Tabernacling" part in the title, Jewish roots stuff, you know). It's excellent.

It's just four substantial chapters. Chapter One is entitled "The Principalities and Powers: Created, Fallen, and Then?" Chapter Two, "The Tabernacling of God and a Theology of Weakness." Chapter Three, "Churches Being, and Acting as, Fallen Powers."

One of the big concerns she addresses is stated there in the title of the third chapter - when churches are and/or act as fallen powers. This happens in many ways. For example, we misuse power when we make worship about catering to people's desires (and complaints), and not so much about the worship of almighty God and the preaching of Christ crucified and risen; when sermons and other public announcements or teachings are manipulative to get people to build up a little egocentric kingdom and not to drive them to Christ crucified and risen, and dependent in powerlessness on the power of the Holy Spirit... and when the church essentially cooperates with the powers of the world (eg. mammon & materialism in general, might makes right or right makes might right...).

This all comes out of a beautiful theology of weakness (hence some of my recent sermons) which, God willing, I will comment on soon here.

In the concluding chapter, "What, Then, Shall the Church Be? Images of Weakness," she counter-intuitively uses the armor of God as her organizing theme. Of course, the armor of God section there in Ephesians 6, calls us to be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might (not our own strength!). Secondly, she argues that we can consider all the armor from an offensive standpoint - not just the sword of the Spirit, as we have all generally considered them (myself included).

Truth: this first concerns our doctrine. Do we have good theology? She argues for "the theology of the cross" to be the principal message, and not "the theology of glory" (ie. that we can overcome suffering and struggle in the time of this present darkness...). The powers of the world seek to undermine truth and communicating truthfully and faithfully in a host of ways - some of which are very, very subtle. (I understand "The Truth Project," an apologetic teaching series, addresses some of these concerns.)

Wearing the belt truth will also include everything we do as a church, in decision making, in our relationships, in our calling and equipping others to help in this work of ministry. (Of course, it does not mean using truth coercively - to attack, demean, gossip, defend or make ourselves powerful). And it will include our posture corporately and individually toward the world, in our jobs, in raising our families.

Marva writes that her main point in this section "is that the Christian community is the place in which we practice 'truthing' with each other, so that our language and work and politics and relationships throughout life flow out of the same character and thereby cast out the workings of the powers that produce deception, manipulation, accusation, and other untruths in the world." (p. 137) She goes on, "Wearing the belt of truth as an offensive weapon will call us all, individually and corporately, as Thomas More declares in Robert Bold's play, A Man for All Seasons, to 'serve God wittily, in the tangle of our minds.'" (p. 138)

"It is crucial that we recognize the 'tangle,' for the 'truthings' of our life all hang together and influence each other, even as a small untruth leads to much larger consequences. Ephesians 6 lists truth first because its absence effects everything, but if the belt is used properly it can keep things together." (p. 138)

She concludes this section on the belt of truth, "Caring about truth in every dimension of the Church's life and of Christians' lives is a necessary foundation for the justice building, peacemaking, hospitality, and gospel proclaiming that we will discuss as we continue to consider what it might mean for us to wield God's panoply" (complete array of armor). (p. 138)