Deconstructing the Deconstructionists

Deconstruction is all the rage these days. Once-faithful followers of Jesus have torn their faith down to the studs, taken a hard look, and decided: “Nah, I don’t believe.”

This trend helps explain the great church exodus researchers Jim Davis and Michael Graham detail in their August 2023 book, The Great Dechurching. The authors say 40 million churchgoers have vanished since the dawn of the 21st century.

The problem isn’t just those walking away, though. Deconstructionists have taken to podcasts, online forums, and other venues to declare their newfound lack of faith.

The topic has spurred countless discussions and books, including a new release by Ian Harber, a Christian media producer and writer. In Walking Through Deconstruction, he explores how he nursed doubts about faith before returning to the fold.

The hubbub raised by doubters, deconstructionists, atheists, and others with an axe to grind against the church is understandable. There have been multiple abuses, misdeeds, and other failings of leaders and members alike.

Still, the church is the institution Jesus founded. And evidence continues to surface that no matter how hard the critics try, they can’t kill faith.

As we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus this Sunday, I say: Three cheers.

Losing Faith in Atheism

I took note of Christianity’s resilient roots a couple months ago, when Christianity Today published an article by New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat.

In “How I Lost My Faith in Atheism,” Douthat (author of Believe: Why Everybody Should be Religious) explores his inability to uncover solid reasons for atheism’s stance.

He said he can understand how a reasonable person can entertain doubts about God’s nature or intentions, or claims that Christians make about the divine.

And yet, the idea that the universe and human existence have no plan, intentionality, or purpose still strikes him as ridiculous.

Douthat said that to believe “that our existence is finally reducible to the accidental, to the undesigned, to the bouncing billiard balls of hard material determinism—I don’t see how anyone can reasonably believe this” (emphasis his).

I should add that as the film critic for National Review and previously a senior editor at The Atlantic, Douthat brings some impressive credentials to this discussion.

Another Conversion

As if to underscore Douthat’s observations, a month after reading his article, I saw this feature on a Baptist news service. It told of Wikipedia cofounder Larry Sanger’s declaration that he is no longer an atheist.

In the article, Sanger describes growing up in a conservative Lutheran church, but drifting away from faith after his parents divorced.

A philosophy major in college, Sanger continues to ask questions about the Bible and faith like he did in his younger years.

“Perhaps God’s purpose for me is to show people how you can be a very active question asker,” he told Baptist News Global (BNG). “You can interrogate the Bible, so to speak, and it invites interrogation.”

Sanger told BNG that he is still trying to determine basic questions like infant baptism vs. believer’s baptism. But he won’t give up the ability to make up his own mind about things based on what he sees in the Bible.

“I am sola scriptura and like it or not, that means each person ultimately makes up his own mind as to what the Bible says. You’re guided by the Holy Spirit, but there’s a range of conclusions that can be drawn.”

I can’t help but think that observers like Douthat and Sanger are evidence of a divine counter-move. As trends go, it may be the deconstructionists who are losing steam. Happy Easter.