community and belief

Pete Rollins, The Fidelity of Betrayal:

First- let me apologize for the length of this passage. I couldn't find a suitable way to break it into 2 posts. Second, I would much appreciate your comments on these thoughts of Rollins'.

"...if a Christian is sharing his or her faith, the discussion will likely concern a set of beliefs that one is asked to accept--beliefs that will often include the existence of God, the deity of Christ, the existence of sin, and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. If these are accepted then the individual will be asked to engage in certain behavior, that is, to pray, repent, and join the local church. Then, once this has taken place, that individual will be welcomed into the Christian community, being invited to get involved in the life of the church."

"This approach works with the underlying idea that belief is of prime importance in Christianity, followed by behavior, followed by belonging. In contrast to this let us briefly consider the birth of an infant. When a child enters the world she does not begin with a system of beliefs that must be accepted before she belongs to the family. The infant, in a healthy environment, begins her life with absolute unconditional acceptance. The infant belongs to the family as the family now belongs to the infant. As the child grows she gradually learn to engage in the various rituals in which the family engages. These will include times when the family members eat together, play together, relax together, and so on. Then the child will begin to form a set of beliefs about the world into which she is already embedded. these will generally begin by mimicking the beliefs of the parents. Then these beliefs will likely come into conflict with hose of the parents, as she attempt to wrestle with the world for herself and test limits. And finally she will often come into some equitable relationship with the parents' beliefs, agreeing with some and disagreeing with others. Within a healthy, loving family each of these stages will be welcomed and allowed room to breathe."

"This approach thus places belonging first, followed by behavior, followed last and least, by belief. This model is what we find in operation within a broadly Hebraic approach to faith, and approach that emphasizes belonging to the community and engaging in the shared rituals of the community... What is important is that, regardless of the doubts and beliefs we have, we know that we have a vital place in the community and are encouraged to remain involved in the traditions--traditions that, at their best, provide ample space for doubt, ambiguity, and uncertainty."

For an interesting parallel observation, see Tony Jones' post Is Virtual Community True Community?.