EP 11: FOLK THEOLOGY AND FALSE DICHOTOMIES
Christine chats with Kate Boyd about the “messy middle” of disentangling faith from culture in order to gain a clearer vision of God. They lament the “Folk Theology” that permeates both church and culture and explore some false dichotomies such as Eternal Life vs. Abundant Life. Kate also shares how we can draw together the strands of theology, history, and culture and become disciples that believe, act, and become according to the Way of Jesus.
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Our Guest
Kate Boyd
Kate Boyd is a writer, Bible teacher, and host of the Happy & Holy podcast. She helps believers who find themselves in the messy middle between loving the church and leaving it to more confidently walk the lines between doubt and certainty and faith and action with love and grace for all. She has traveled the world to interview and tell the stories of believers on mission, and inspired by those encounters, she creates spaces to facilitate wholehearted discipleship in the church at home. She is studying theology with an emphasis in church history and biblical languages at Perkins School of Theology.
NOTE: Featuring a guest, resource, or organization on The Holy Shift does not necessarily constitute a blanket endorsement of their entire body of work.
We’ve highlighted some key points from this episode below. Feel free to share these on your blogs/feeds with proper attribution to the writer/speaker/podcast. Or stay tuned—we will be posting several of these verses and quotes, along with clips from this episode, on our IG page and you can save/share from there.
Scripture
Psalm 24:1: The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.
John 1:3: And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without the Word.
John 10:10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
John 10:27-28: My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Matthew 22:37-39: Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 6:9-13: This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
Quotes
“Nobody ever wants to admit to having misunderstood—or worse yet, misrepresented—God. And yet, we’ve all done it. It’s inherent to worshipping something that is divine.” Christine Chandler Prater
“I used to live for ‘the box’ and then I realized that I didn’t fit in any of the boxes anymore…so I started opting for boundaries instead of boxes.” Kate Boyd
“There is a difference between tradition and truth. A tradition is just a way that truth is lived out, exercised, or celebrated.” Christine Chandler Prater
“There is this tension to faith, and I don’t know if we will ever get it right. But we are supposed to keep trying.” Kate Boyd
“The gospel of the kingdom is both vertical and horizontal… Christianity is an individual invitation to change the way we do communal living.” Christine Chandler Prater
“Jesus wasn’t just asking us to live according to some rules so that we get a bunch of cool stuff when we are disembodied later in heaven, but that we are called even now to reflect the culture of heaven on earth as much as we can. And the end of the story isn’t escape. It’s renewal.” Kate Boyd
“Sometimes we forget that there is a “Holy And‘ in the promises and commands of Jesus. There’s eternal life AND abundant life. There’s a kingdom that is already AND also not yet.” Christine Chandler Prater
“The kingdom of God doesn’t mean that we’re in charge. It means that God is in charge.” Kate Boyd
“Be willing to be curious. Be willing to be surprised by God. Be willing to be wrong. And, above all else, be willing to be humble and gracious to your brother and sister in Christ.” Christine Chandler Prater
Resources
what we’re reading
what we’re listening to
other recommended/related resources
- Stuff about/from Scholar, N.T. Wright
- Gospel of the Kingdom (BibleProject)
- “How Can We Live ‘On Earth as it Is in Heaven?’” Article by Sue Schlesman
- Take The Holy Shift Quiz
- Buy a Bible
- BibleHub
- DWELL Bible App
We would love to hear from you! Are you in the "Messy Middle" of faith right now? Where have you accidentally believed folk theology or created a false dichotomy? What steps are you taking to disentangle culture/tradition from truth?
