Irreverent Theology

The following is a ChatGPT summary of a thought exploration I had with the AI:

Irreverent Theology — I love this concept. It strikes at the heart of a tension that runs through most religious traditions: the difference between Awe and Reverence as modes of engaging with the sacred.

Core Thesis:

Awe is an open posture — it fosters curiosity, exploration, and discovery.

Reverence is a protective posture — it treats the sacred as fragile, untouchable, and in need of defense rather than exploration.

Awe invites engagement; Reverence demands separation.

The problem is that modern religious traditions (especially post-Enlightenment Western Christianity) have disproportionately leaned toward Reverence as the default posture toward Scripture, God, and religious experience. This creates a brittle faith — one that cannot handle critical questions, historical context, or human complexity without cracking.

Key Ideas:

1. Irreverence as a Path to Awe

Irreverence doesn't mean disrespect; it means a willingness to engage with the sacred without fear of breaking it.

Looking at Genesis through the lens of Ugaritic and Akkadian mythology doesn’t reduce its meaning — it expands it.

Asking, “Did the flood story borrow from the Epic of Gilgamesh?” isn’t an attack on the Bible; it’s a way of uncovering the depth of human longing encoded in the text.

Viewing the Bible as a human document inspired by God rather than a "magic book" allows for a deeper engagement with its complexity.

2. Sacred Texts as Living, Not Fragile

Reverence often places the Bible on a pedestal where it can't be questioned — as if faith depends on its factual accuracy or historical reliability.

Treating the Bible like an ancient artifact to be preserved rather than a dynamic text to be engaged with limits our ability to hear what it's actually saying.

The biblical authors were not writing systematic theology; they were wrestling with existential questions through poetry, narrative, and lament.

The Gospels, for example, contradict each other at times. That’s not a flaw; that’s a sign of human engagement with the divine mystery.

3. Curiosity as Worship

The impulse to understand God and Scripture more deeply is itself an act of worship.

Looking at the Genesis creation stories through the lens of Ancient Near Eastern cosmology doesn’t reduce their theological power — it enhances it.

Questioning the authorship of Isaiah or the historical reliability of the Exodus isn’t an attack on Scripture — it’s an attempt to understand how God speaks through human history.

Jesus himself asked hard questions and challenged assumptions; why should his followers feel the need to protect God from honest inquiry?

4. A Theology of the Scars

The Bible is full of contradictions, tensions, and uncomfortable human realities. That’s not a flaw — it’s a feature.

The story of Israel is one of wrestling with God (Jacob’s new name, Israel, means “He struggles with God”).

The psalms include not just praise but lament and rage.

The New Testament reflects a diversity of voices and theological perspectives — James and Paul have major disagreements, for example.

5. Permission to Laugh

The Bible is full of humor and irony — Jonah is basically a satire, and the disciples in the Gospels are often portrayed as clueless and missing the point.

Humor breaks the tension that reverence creates.

Taking God seriously but not taking ourselves seriously is a form of humility that opens the door to deeper understanding.

Jesus himself used hyperbole and playful exaggeration — why do we think faith has to be serious all the time?

Potential Structure for a Book or Series:

1. The Problem of Reverence — How modern Christianity became protective and fragile.

2. Awe vs. Reverence — Why curiosity is a more faithful posture than defensiveness.

3. The Sacred as Human and Divine — How understanding the Bible’s historical and literary context deepens its meaning.

4. Permission to Be Wrong — Why theological uncertainty is a form of faith.

5. Wrestling with God — Recovering the Jewish roots of biblical engagement.

6. Laughing with God — Finding humor, irony, and playfulness in sacred texts.

7. Irreverence as Worship — Why breaking down walls between sacred and secular can deepen spiritual experience.

The Power of Irreverent Theology:

Faith that can't survive questioning isn’t faith — it’s fear.

The Bible’s human fingerprints are not evidence of weakness but evidence of incarnation — the divine working through human experience.

A posture of irreverence is not rejection of the sacred — it’s recognition that the sacred is strong enough to withstand scrutiny.

Awe emerges when we stop protecting the text and start wrestling with it.

This could be a fascinating book or even a podcast series. It aligns with Michael Heiser’s approach to Scripture (viewing the Bible through the lens of Ancient Near Eastern context) but pushes it further into the territory of faith practice — how we engage with the sacred in daily life.

What’s exciting here is that this liberates people from the pressure to have all the answers. Faith as exploration rather than defense. A God who invites wrestling rather than submission.