Title: The
Great Open Dance: A Progressive Christian Theology
Author: Jon
Paul Sydnor
Date: 2024
Publisher:
Pickwick Publications
Description: The Great Open Dance offers a progressive Christian
theology that endorses contemporary ideals: environmental protection, economic
justice, racial reconciliation, interreligious peace, gender equality, and
LGBTQ+ celebration. Just as importantly, this book provides a theology of
progress—an interpretation of Christian faith as ever-changing and ever-advancing
into God’s imagination. Faith demands change because Jesus of Nazareth started
a movement, not a tradition. He preached about a new world, the Kingdom of God,
and invited his followers to work toward the divine vision of universal
flourishing. This vision includes all and excludes none. Since we have not yet
achieved the world that Jesus describes, we must continue to progress. The
energizing impulse of this progress is the Trinity: Abba, Jesus, and Sophia,
three persons united by love into one perfect community. God is fundamentally
relational, and humankind, made in the image of God, is relational as a result.
We are inextricably entwined with one another, sharing a common purpose and a
common destiny. In this vision, we find abundant life by practicing agape, the
universal, unconditional love that Abba extends, Jesus reveals, and Sophia
inspires.
Review
Jon
Sydnor has written a book which he says offers “a progressive Christian
theology that endorses contemporary ideals: environmental protection, economic
justice, racial reconciliation, interreligious peace, gender equality, and
LGBTQ+ celebration.”
There
are parts of the book which indeed point to some good understandings of faith
and how it is lived out in our culture.
But
overall, while he may be “progressive”, I think he leaves behind a lot of
“Christian theology” and not just the parts that should be left behind. He
leans more on Eastern philosophies, especially Buddhism, than he does on
Christianity.
Sydnor’s
vision of a kinder, gentler and more caring world is rightly rooted in an agape-centered
Christianity. His understanding of Christian theology again rightly makes room
for an intellectually engaging, inclusive, pro-science approach that offers a
protest against both the injustices and the distortions of theology in the world.
My
problem with Sydnor’s approach is that his view of spirituality is so broad
that it is not just open to others, but there is no difference between Christianity,
Buddhism, Hinduism and other philosophies.
On
one level this is true. We are all made in the image and likeness of God, we
are all God’s ikons. And the trinitarian God, who is in relationship – Father,
Son, Spirit – invites us into that relationship, out of his love.
In
his first chapter, one of Sydnor’s sections is entitled “The Persons of the
Trinity Relate to One Another in a Divine Dance”. He writes: “[t]hey [the
Persons of the Trinity] dance freely, spontaneously, always in relation to one
another but never determined by one another, co-originating one another in
joyful mutuality.” And then Sydnor concludes: “We, being made in the image of
God, are made to dance—with God, with one another, and with the cosmos.”
Sydnor’s
worldview, is deeper and wider than that of most of western Christianity. He
rightly roots it in the perfect, unconditional, love of God expressed by the
Greek word agapé.
Sydnor
says that “people want faith to give them more life, and people want faith to
make society more just, and people want faith to grant the world more peace.”
He
then states that he has “written this book in the conviction that Trinitarian,
agapic nondualism can do so.”
In his third chapter, Sydnor cites Ephesians 4:6:
§
There is one God
and Creator of all, who is over all, who works through all and is within all
(The Inclusive Bible, 2022).
§
There is… one God
and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (NIV, New
International Version, 2011).
§
There is… one God
and father of all who is above all and through all and in all (Greek, my
translation).
Sydnor,
points out that “all” means “all” – an all-inclusive worldview. It seems like a
small point, but when Sydnor chooses to use a translation that changes “father”
to “creator” he actually argues against this relational view of God.
Sydnor
argues that “the unconditional, universal love of God for all creation” leads
to the question: “What would society look like if its members truly trusted God
and enacted the divine love?” Sydnor’s conclusion is: “it would be
universalist.”
The
problem is Sydnor, it seems to me, understands universalist as a make up your
own belief system. The trinitarian God of scripture invites us all into the
dance. God invites us all into relationship. God pours out his love and grace
into all of his creation.
And
this agape love will lead God’s people to advocate for equality between all,
cherish the environment, learn from others who are different, welcome those who
are rejected by others, and promote a generosity of economics. And in this
there is change; there is shalom: peace, flourishing; there is freedom.
God has created people to be free. And to be free
means that we can make choices.
§ We can choose to respond to God or turn away from God.
§ We can choose to move toward one another or away from
one another, toward joy or discouragement.
§ God desires, longs for all of us to come to him –
that’s what the incarnation is all about. God wants us to experience all that
he has for us.
§ But God does not impose that on us. God allows us to
choose the direction of our activity, while always inviting us to work toward
the reign of love.
Would
I recommend this book? No. Sydnor’s argument is overly complicated. Despite
talking about the Spirit, he ultimatrley makes no room for the calling
Conclusion
This book was provided free
of charge by Speakeasy and Mike Morrell.
Views expressed here are my opinion.
#TheGreatOpenDance
