Theology and praxis

Over the years I have witnessed many examples of love, compassion, kindness,  care, concern, call it what you will, in action.  Not only is such activity to be seen in helping individuals at point of need: it is witnessed also in campaigns for systemic change, for social justice, for action to deal with causes of poverty, deprivation,  discrimination, marginalisation and exclusion.  It is the doing that matters, not the thinking about doing.  Doing good is not the preserve of any one group, all can assist and campaign: it doesn't matter if you are white, black, male, female, gay, straight, poor, rich, atheist, humanist, Christian, Muslim etc.

What motivates an individual to show love etc. for others? What is the trigger or experience of an individual that calls them to respond to the needs of others?  What ethical/moral considerations come into play?   

Some Christians tell us that God is love and this, along with the teachings of Jesus, informs their actions.  For them, theology determines praxis.  Until very recently I thought along similar lines, now I have my doubts that this is an accurate reflection of how things are.  For many people of faith helping others is not determined by prior theological reflection, rather they read back from action to discern theological support for what they are doing.  Is the relationship between theology and praxis symbiotic?  I believe it is.

We need to free ourselves from the constraint of a theology informing us what we should or should not do when it is based on fundamentalist/literalist interpretation of ancient texts.  We need a theology that reflects and responds pro-actively to situations in the world of today, otherwise it will be ignored as being irrelevant. We should understand our theology and scripture through the lens of love.

What the Church of England requires  has been well expressed by Revd. Colin Coward, the founder of Changing Attitude England. The CofE should be:  

"A Church that refocuses its' teaching and life on the essence of Jesus' life and teaching - 'life in all its fulness'."

So what are my conclusions? Anything I write is provisional as neither I nor anyone else can discern  'truth'. Writing in a Church of England context I consider the church should ditch its fundamentalist, literalist, conservative, evangelical baggage. Instead we should be seeking a church with a theology and praxis that is firmly fixed on the principle of love. A church that seeks to preach and act out the teaching attributed to Jesus to be found in the great commandments, the parables, the Sermon on the Mount and sundry other places in the gospels and  understood in the context of their  meaning and application in today's world.

What matters is not a set of beliefs. What does matter is behaviour, action, loving neighbour, not as theory but as practical action; helping individuals at point of need and campaigning for systemic change to achieve social justice.