Emergent Exegesis and the Slide Toward Revisionism

The Emergent Church died earlier this year. The voices which carried on the "conversation" at the dawn of the 21st century continue to reverberate, but their words have been exposed as little more than the recycled arguments of liberal Protestantism masquerading as the latest evangelical fad. Emergent leader Brian McLaren typifies the movement's swift slide down the slippery slope of theological revisionism. In his latest attempt to be "a new kind of Christian," he is joining with Muslims in the celebration of Ramadan. He hopes it will be something of a learning experience.

Ramadan is the Muslim holy month of fasting for spiritual renewal and purification. It commemorates the month during which Muslims believe Mohammed received the Quran through divine revelation, and it calls Muslims to self-control, sacrificial generosity and solidarity with the poor, diligent reading of the Quran, and intensified prayer.

This year, I, along with a few Christian friends (and perhaps others currently unknown to us will want to join in) will be joining Muslim friends in the fast which begins August 21. We are not doing so in order to become Muslims: we are deeply committed Christians. But as Christians, we want to come close to our Muslim neighbors and to share this important part of life with them. Just as Jesus, a devout Jew, overcame religious prejudice and learned from a Syrophonecian [sic] woman and was inspired by her faith two thousand years ago (Matthew 15:21 ff, Mark 7:24 ff), we seek to learn from our Muslim sisters and brothers today.

I will not address here the obvious question of syncretism, as others have already done so. Instead, I would like to focus on McLaren's reference to Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman (McLaren's inattention to correct spelling should not go unnoticed here), as it reflects the kind of shallow, agenda-driven exegesis which the Emergent movement has imported from liberal Protestantism.

It is Mark's account (Mark 7:24-30) in which the woman is identified as "a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth." But it is Matthew's more detailed account (Matthew 15:21-28) which lays bare McLaren's assertion that Jesus was, in this case, the student and not the teacher.

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Jesus' seeming attitude of indifference toward the woman is not a reflection of "religious prejudice," as McLaren would have us think. Rather, it is a means by which he teaches his disciples an important lesson about perseverance and faith. The Syrophoenician woman has a faith that is ahead of its time. It is a faith that sees beyond the present animosities that exist between the Jews and Gentiles to the day when all of "the lost sheep of Israel" will be gathered in from all the nations.

McLaren claims that "Jesus, a devout Jew, overcame religious prejudice and learned from a Syrophonecian [sic] woman and was inspired by her faith." Jesus is indeed inspired by the woman's faith, but he has no "religious prejudice" to overcome. His unusual comments to the woman draw out her faith, proving it to be genuine. She is not just another curiosity seeker coming to Jesus for a quick fix to a distressing problem. By persevering, this Gentile woman demonstrates far better than many a "devout Jew" that she is a true daughter of Abraham.

McLaren sees his participation in a pagan religious festival as somehow emulating Jesus. But the Jesus he wishes to emulate is one who had to "overcome religious prejudice." To make himself appear more like Jesus, McLaren has to make Jesus appear more like himself.