Pub Theology

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PUB THEOLOGYAn excerpt from

CONFESSIONSOF A BIBLE THUMPER:

From Evangelical to Hereticon My Quest for a Reasoned Faith

by Michael Camp

www.michaelcampbooks.com

Copyright 2011 Michael Camp. All rights reserved.
http://www.michaelcampbooks.com/http://www.michaelcampbooks.com/


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PUB THEOLOGY

Thirty-seven years after that remarkable week in Dallas, Texas [at Explo - a large Evan-

gelical conference in 1972], my friend Dan and I entered our favorite watering hole in Silverdale,

Washington. We got lucky. We scored the last two unoccupied stools. Silver City Restaurant andMicrobrewery has some of the best food in Kitsap County (near Seattle) and an impressive ar-

ray of award-winning microbrews. Dan and I frequent the pub to shoot the breeze. While most

patrons talk about sports, work, and their personal lives, we have an obsession. We talk about re-

ligion and spirituality and how they influence politics, public policy, and popular culture. Sports

come in a distant second.

Dan is a semi-retired dentist who served in the Navy. He and his wife Gina, a dental hy-

gienist, regularly put their Christian faith into practice by volunteering on a Dental Relief Team

that goes to Senegal, West Africa every year, a practice I deeply admire. Im also impressed with

Dans ability to stay trim despite his love of beer. Some people have all the luck. There he sat,

slightly balding and gray but in great physical shape, putting my bursting belly to shame. At least

I still had a full head of hair.

I would describe Dan as a progressive evangelical and an anomaly. Although he attends a

fairly conservative evangelical church, he is politically and socially liberal. Like Ann Lamott, he

has a hard time loving George W. Bush. Hes one of the few who welcomes my crazy ideas. Gina

too, but shes a bit more skeptical of some of my conclusions. Tonight Dan and I were meeting

our wives for dinner, who were to meet us later. It was 6:30 and I had put in my name for a table

for four. Since it could be as long as a thirty-minute wait and Gina and my wife, Lori, werent

meeting us until then, we made a beeline for the bar.

Whatll you guys have tonight? asked a tall middle-aged man behind the counter.

Ah, lets see; give me a Ridgetop, I said, referring to their Ridgetop Red Amber Ale .

Oh, and Brent, well start a tab since were waiting for a table for dinner.

My love of beer had matured. I had graduated from Colt 45 decades earlier. After Dan or-

dered a Fat Woody (a Scotch Ale) and Brent the friendly bartender served us, we looked around

Pub Theology from Confessions of a Bible Thumper 2


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a bit to see who was there that night. The pub area with its row of tall oak tables surrounding the

actual bar is open so one could see most of the art-deco-style restaurant beyond. You could also

see the adjacent small but state-of-the-art brewery through towering windows with its four mas-

sive silver brew kettles.As usual, the place was packed and buzzing with noise and laughter from a variety of

people families and couples in the restaurant and groups of men, women, and couples in the

bar area one of the communitys most popular pubs in this small Navy town.

Sometimes Dan and I come with a friend named Steve. Steve is a theologically conserva-

tive evangelical with a moderate streak. He enjoys a brew or two on occasion. Out of this motley

crew (Lori and I, Gina and Dan, and Steve and his wife, Sarah), it is usually Gina, Dan, and I

who like to ask the tough questions about the Christian faith that weve noticed most believers

are hesitant to address. Questions like, Why did God command the Israelites to destroy whole

towns, sometimes including women and children? Why do some of the actions of the God of

the Old Testament seem at odds with Jesus clear teaching on love? Why do evangelicals tend to

be militaristic despite Jesus pacifist teaching? Why would a God of love create an eternal hell?

Why doesnt the church readily support environmental causes? This night, Dan wanted to talk

about my book. He had recently read a draft of the manuscript. Since he actually liked it, it must

have been way beyond the shitty first draft stage.

You touched on so many things that resonate with me, he said. Weve talked about a

lot of this stuff before, but now I see it with more depth. For example, your adventures in

Dallas I never went through the Jesus Movement like that.

After Brent plopped down our glasses of beer, Dan continued. It was fascinating reading

about you experiences with your two friends. Im curious. What do you think was real and what

was phony at this Expo?

Explo, not Expo, I corrected him. Well, I believe God was there at Explo. Yet, there

were some strange things that didnt jive. I mean it was weird. People acted like Jesus was

tucked away in their back pockets. Then there were the pushy witnessing exchanges. I dont



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think God was cheering those on.

I can see how that would make you feel antsy, Dan said. Ive encountered those ear-

nest evangelist types myself.

Yeah, it really was uncomfortable. It was like at every corner youd meet someone whofelt obligated to get you saved. Including the speakers who made you feel foolish if you didnt

make a commitment to Christ. Another thing was the The Four Spiritual Laws tract. Knowing the

Bible better than I did in the 70s, I see that not everything in it was derived from scripture. For

instance, that phrase accept Him as your personal Lord and Savior, is not even in the Bible.

Right, I always wondered about that, Dan acknowledged. I never saw where that came

from. Another thing. Ive always been fascinated that Jesus never evangelized like modern evan-

gelists do.

Thats a great point, Dan. He didnt try to get crowds to accept him as Messiah. He

only told select people to follow him.

You also mentioned they pushed The Rapture doctrine a lot; you know, the same stuff in

todays Left Behind series by whats his name.

You mean Tim LaHaye, I offered.

Thats him. That whole thing seems to contradict Jesus teaching on love.

We both marveled how people can believe God threatens non-Christians, regardless of

how good or bad they are, with seven years of harrowing trials and pestilence unless they convert

to Christ. Even though Christ was the one who told people to be like God and love their enemies.

I was also thinking of another angle. The imminent nature of The Rapture encourages an indi-

vidualistic view of salvation.

Fear of The Rapture the end of the world and all that distracts people from what

really matters, I added. As I spoke, the memory of dire warnings from end-times books rang

in my ears: a looming worldwide tribulation is coming soon, under the diabolical control of the

Antichrist. People become protective. They end up worrying about saving themselves and their

friends and family from future judgment rather than making the world a better place.



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Yes! Dan agreed. And people lose hope that things can get better. They just think

things are supposed to get worse. Im curious, what did that book you loaned Gina say? What

was it Last Days Delusions or something?

Last Days Madness . Thats one of the books that refute The Rapture theology andfuturist ways of looking at Bible prophecy. As I talked, I began to remember its points (I also

remembered that Gina was fascinated with this topic and thought of bringing it up with her later

on). First, it revealed the paucity of biblical evidence that the pre-tribulation Rapture is based

on. There is absolutely no basis for it in the Bible. It is surmised that Christ will return before

seven years of tribulation and then this assumption is read into certain Bible passages rather than

derived from a fair reading of them. It is founded on a faulty interpretive grid.

Second, was the prophetic system that assumes almost everything Jesus and the New Tes-

tament writers said about a coming judgment will occur in the far future, in other words, in our

lifetime. Despite the fact that those same passages indicate the events would occur soon within

a generation of the original first century audience. These were good examples of people abus-

ing the Bible; consciously or unconsciously mistranslating or misusing the Bible for a purpose

for which it was not intended. I have to assume that authors like Lindsey and LaHaye are well

meaning, I said after summarizing what Last Days Madness concluded. But its incredible how

sloppy the scholarship is they work from.

Why is that? Dan wondered. It must be a real blind spot for people to read into scrip-

ture whats not there.

When people take things literally or out of context and dont try to understand the histor-

ical background, the original language things like that its actually not hard to do, I offered.

Ive fallen into that trap myself.

Dan and I continued to talk as we sipped our microbrews. We would agree that these is-

sues we were addressing manipulative evangelistic techniques, Bible abuse, and unwarranted

end-times beliefs reinforce the problems with religion organized and created by humans to

control others as distinct from religious inspiration , the belief that there is a Higher Power, a



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First Cause, a God or gods if you will, with a stake in or a stamp on our existence. Jesus had a

problem with religion not religious inspiration . When he confronted the Pharisees, he exposed

the fallacy of man-made religion and the way it stifles peoples freedom and the free flow of

Gods grace.Right then, my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. Lori was calling to tell me shed be a bit

late. We already knew that she and Gina would arrive separately, as they were both running their

own errands.

Lori might be a tad late, I let Dan know.

Oh, something else interesting happened at Explo, I continued. During the last con-

cert, Kris Kristofferson performed (He was a soft-rock musician well known in the 70s).

Oh yeah, Kristofferson, Dan said. He became a famous actor. I didnt know he was

part of the Jesus Movement.

Well, its unclear how much he was. According to reports by members of Love Song, the

event promoters held him up as a new convert to Christ. You know, they basically paraded him as

a trophy at the concert. The crowds were surprised and excited that he apparently was a Chris-

tian. Thing is, he wasnt the right variety.

Not meeting their expectations, huh? responded Dan. Ive heard of other musicians

who have suffered that fate too, like B. J. Thomas. Performers have some kind of Christian expe-

rience and suddenly theyre expected to use their celebrity status to reach the lost or spout some

religious agenda. After his conversion, Christians booed B. J. Thomas at concerts because he still

played his secular songs. Can you imagine that?

I know. I heard that too, I said. Its the idea that converts are obligated to fit a certain

mold. And buy into an evangelistic mentality. You know, getting someone saved like Kristof-

ferson is, as some people would say, an incredible opportunity to reach young people for the

Lord.

Right. Whether the saved celebrity wants to, or feels called to, or not, Dan added.

I continued. So, at this last concert, Kristofferson and his band were heard swearing and



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seen smoking cigarettes in their backstage room. As a result other devout performers freaked out.

They apparently doubted the authenticity of Kristoffersons faith; kind of like Teds wannabe

girlfriend I told you about did when he lit up a Marlboro.

Thats too bad, Dan said. These celebrities are human. If they experience Jesus whydo we think they should immediately clean up their act and fit some stereotype?

Exactly. Not to mention that the expectation to quit smoking and swearing is just a

man-made behavior code. I made the point that the use of profanity and the practice of smoking

cigarettes are superficial indicators with no direct correlation to a persons heart condition. So

what if he smokes and swears?

Our conversation continued for a while before we changed the subject. Something

dawned on me as I recollected things; it was at Explo I first saw how organized religion insists

on gauging ones spirituality in terms of how well one conforms to a narrow view of behavior,

speech, and thought codes. I saw signs of it back then, but I didnt understand its ramifications

until years later.

Reminiscing with Dan triggered thoughts of many other experiences through the years.

As Dan and I checked out the Celtics-Cavaliers basketball game on one of the wall flat screens,

more memories flooded my mind. I didnt realize it, but this evening would prove to be more

than a time out with friends. My reflections on my journey and the others reactions would

become a mirror on which to gaze to see who I had become. And reveal what the present-day

implications are for a more reasoned faith. Dan was a sympathetic listener. Not everyone would

be. It was going to be a long night.

Watching the Boston Celtics got me thinking about the next step in my search in the mid

to late 1970s. It was then I discovered something about God outside organized religion that blewme away. It opened up a whole new path to experience the Divine that didnt exactly mesh with

what I saw at Explo.


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Thanks for reading! Now that my editor has gone through the whole manu-script, Im currently polishing up Confessions of a Bible Thumper, my spiri-tual epic about my tenacious quest for a reasoned faith something I thoughtI found within evangelicalism. That is, until I made eight startling discoveriesthat turned my theology on its head and made me a heretic among my peers.No worries, I didnt run into the arms of angry atheists, but ultimately found aspiritual home grounded in a Bible taken in its historical and cultural context.If you want to know more about Confessions , visit michaelcampbooks.com ,read my blog, Deep Thought Pub , and/or follow me on Twitter . If you wantto contact me directly, email me at [email protected] . I wouldlove to connect with you and hear your thoughts.

http://www.michaelcampbooks.com/http://www.michaelcampbooks.com/http://deepthoughtpub.blogspot.com/http://deepthoughtpub.blogspot.com/http://twitter.com/Michael_W_Camphttp://twitter.com/Michael_W_Camphttp://twitter.com/Michael_W_Camphttp://twitter.com/Michael_W_Camphttp://deepthoughtpub.blogspot.com/http://www.michaelcampbooks.com/

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