Michale Stipe from R.E.M. and producer of the movie Saved! talks about faith in a great interview I came across after reading a blurb on it in Relevant magazine. Here is a snippet.
Faith in general–and I am speaking about Christian faith in particular because it’s what I’m most familiar with–is an individual thing. But I think it’s easy to get lost in it and to maybe allow other people to tell you what is and is not right. I think a true Christian, and I’ll use my parents as the shining example in my life, recognizes what the teachings of Jesus represent and what that means to them, and then, in the not-simple day-to-day living and breathing those teachings, what paths do you take, what choices do you make, what do you support, what do you not support?If there’s a schism in this country, it might be not between the people who have faith and the people who don’t have faith, but people who have faith that is, in my opinion, pure to the teachings of Jesus and people who have taken that and turned it into something for other reasons, be that power, be that intolerance or ignorance. And that’s where a schism might have occurred in this country presently.
I think this is a great message to the church to renew and reclaim following the life patterns of Jesus in our Christian practice. There is an interesting similarly with Kanye west in how his parents influence his faith. Read the full interview on Beliefnet.com
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This excerpt from Stipe’s interview gives pause to two things for me. First and most evidently, it is, as Andrew says, "a great message to the church." Sometimes it takes someone outside looking in to remind church people that there is a larger world out there that Christ challenged us to live in in wholly radical ways. Second and somewhat critically, I see comments like the opening line in the excerpt–"Faith in general…is an individual thing."–as not that much different than the sort of Christianity the rest of the comments mean to refute. That is, part of the problem with Christians who do not have a faith "pure to the teachings of Jesus" is that they have been habituated to a sort of faith that is purely individualistic. Indeed, I think Christian faith is never "an individual thing." A faith that remains an individual thing will certainly devolve into something that looks out for the individuals (the "other things" Stipe refers to). Stipe seems to hint at the communal aspects of faith when he appeals to his parents (I suppose Kanye’s reflections would hint at the same, though I have not read that interview). But, the communitarian nature of faith is more than drawing from a few examples. It also means living in and with the messiness of community. Nonetheless, I appreciate the thoughtful reflections Stipe offers. I do hope that as the church today continues to emerge that it will always look to the teachings of Jesus and to the community that is the body of this one who is the Christ.
Chris,
I couldn’t agree with you more on the individualistic thing. I do thing North American Christianity is too individualistic. I too think we are called into community to pursue and practice faith.
But my sense is that he was saying that faith isn’t cookie cutter kind of thing where once everyone agrees on a certain set of rules or beliefs then you have faith. I that regard I think Stipe is right is right. I think his thoughts and those of others who are outside of the mainstream of the Christian culture should be explored and engaged.
The Christian sub culture in my opinion, has become a bit of closed ghetto of thought and practice, which I think has caused us to miss some great opportunities to enrich our faith and practice. I appreciate the imperfect perspective that people like Stipe bring to the conversation it challenges me to really think about my own faith and spiritual practice.