Let’s keep it just between you and I. If you winced at this opening line more than likely you’re in that certain age bracket that was taught grammar in school. No doubt you learned how to diagram a sentence and were drilled in the roles and relationships of the various parts of a sentence. You know that pronouns take the objective case. While your appreciation might not be as grand as that of Winston Churchill who reputedly said that the sentence is the greatest institution in civilization, you understand that the ability to craft a solid sentence requires instruction in its basic components and rules. Though grammar was one of the three phases of the trivium which was the foundation of classical Christian education centuries ago, you – having studied it – are its modern-day beneficiary. You know why the opening line of this paragraph should be Let’s keep it between you and me’.
‘Praxy’ without ‘Doxy’. What happens when orthopraxy (right behavior) is not supported by orthodoxy (right doctrine)? It is a question worthy of our consideration. I think of it when I read flyers from Catholic universities which claim to be ‘rooted in the Catholic tradition’. The risk of being ‘rooted’ in any tradition is that its adherents follow its practices while no longer knowing why they came into being. They act in ignorance. Without such knowledge tradition dwindles into irrelevance and eventually non-existence. An ongoing education as to why a tradition exists and what it signifies assures its ongoing vitality. Even the strongest tree with the deepest roots will not flourish if its roots are not nourished by regular refreshing rain.
Today, so many of us who self-identify as Christians would, upon self-reflection, find ourselves in this category of ignorant actors, namely practitioners of Christianity (its orthopraxy) uninformed of the doctrines of Christianity (its orthodoxy). While we endeavor – even sincerely – to lead ethical and charitable lives, we do so more on account of cultural or traditional expectations than divine commandments. For some of us Christianity is merely a philosophy founded by moral leader, a great one to be sure, but only a man with high standards. For others it is that comforting Happy Holidays sentiment celebrating love and togetherness with no reference to sacrificial redemption or the atonement of sin.
Here, I am not speaking of the so-called ‘nones’ of our society, those individuals who honestly disclaim allegiance to any religion.( One wonders what traditions (‘praxy’) they espouse and, if any, why they do so. What will be the fate of their traditions if there are no vibrant roots (‘doxy’) to sustain them? ) Rather, I refer to those men and women who consider themselves christian (with a small ‘c’). These attribute any moral or charitable impulses they experience to a vague concept of Christianity. With no clear orthodoxy to inform them, their tradition (their ‘praxy’) will have the same fate as that of the ‘nones’, namely decline into nothingness. (Does the word nihilism come to mind?).
Is it possible to be a Christian (capital ‘C’) without having some understanding of the Trintiy, the Incarnation, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? The nature of sin, the role of forgiveness and grace?
Orthopraxy and orthodoxy: when acting in tandem they enrich our lives with purpose and fulfillment. Our donors at NCCF appreciate this. They exercise the first in response to the latter. And so the Kingdom advances.