A More Expansive Truth
Loyal Apostasy as World Loyalty
"Blessed are the apostates, for they seek a more expansive truth."
The loyal apostate is more receptive to the call of truth, feeling it within her mind and heart, than to the call of the conventional religion into which she was born or that she embraced earlier in her life. The truth to which she feels called is more expansive, more honest, and more in harmony with the way things truly are, or seem to her given the best of her lights.
Her apostasy—the renunciation of her conventional religion—took time and did not come easily. She found herself torn between competing claims repeatedly. She did not wish to abandon the community she loved or harm those who would be hurt by her apostasy. Consequently, she remained silent. She was a quiet, loyal apostate. She continued to be a part of her community, but it was not easy. She felt hypocritical.
She took solace in an idea she learned from process theology: that the very soul of the universe, God, is present in us and to us as the call of Truth—with an uppercase 'T'. The Truth is not something we possess or claim to own. It always transcends any concept of truth we possess, be it scientific, religious, philosophical, or aesthetic. However, we can be loyal to it by being open to visions more expansive than those that have characterized our past. Sometimes, the process of being open is painful because the conventional truths that have shaped our lives, and that we have embraced, have power over us. We fear disagreement and doubt. Yet, the call of Truth is even more compelling. We cannot hide from it. We feel hypocritical if we do.
Religion, at its best, is a home for loyal apostasy. It never absolutizes itself, purporting to possess a final vision. It is perpetually on the journey towards a more expansive vision. When conventional religions function as sanctuaries fostering openness to the call of expansive vision, there is no necessity for renunciation. They encompass a spirit of process, of openness, of questioning within their cultural atmosphere. They are companions to the doubters. The loyal apostate has found her spiritual home.
The need in our time, not only in conventional religion but also in ideological politics and fanatical nationalism, is for loyal apostasy. It is for people who feel called by a more expansive vision that is good for all, and not just good for themselves or their tribe. The philosopher Whitehead calls it world loyalty.
They - we - need to have the courage to be apostates, and perhaps not so quiet about it. Here apostasy is not simply about personal spirituality, it is about the future of the the world. The courage requires faith in something more truthful and generous, more life-nourishing. We may or may not call it God. We may call it Love or Justice or Hope or Grace. But we must renounce the smaller visions: those that make us and others more self-centered and self-serving. This means that we must renounce partisan politics as well as partisan religion, partisan nationalism as well as partisan faith. The grace to be a loyal apostate, to embrace world loyalty over partisan loyalty and tribalism, is a gift from heaven.
- Jay McDaniel
Her apostasy—the renunciation of her conventional religion—took time and did not come easily. She found herself torn between competing claims repeatedly. She did not wish to abandon the community she loved or harm those who would be hurt by her apostasy. Consequently, she remained silent. She was a quiet, loyal apostate. She continued to be a part of her community, but it was not easy. She felt hypocritical.
She took solace in an idea she learned from process theology: that the very soul of the universe, God, is present in us and to us as the call of Truth—with an uppercase 'T'. The Truth is not something we possess or claim to own. It always transcends any concept of truth we possess, be it scientific, religious, philosophical, or aesthetic. However, we can be loyal to it by being open to visions more expansive than those that have characterized our past. Sometimes, the process of being open is painful because the conventional truths that have shaped our lives, and that we have embraced, have power over us. We fear disagreement and doubt. Yet, the call of Truth is even more compelling. We cannot hide from it. We feel hypocritical if we do.
Religion, at its best, is a home for loyal apostasy. It never absolutizes itself, purporting to possess a final vision. It is perpetually on the journey towards a more expansive vision. When conventional religions function as sanctuaries fostering openness to the call of expansive vision, there is no necessity for renunciation. They encompass a spirit of process, of openness, of questioning within their cultural atmosphere. They are companions to the doubters. The loyal apostate has found her spiritual home.
The need in our time, not only in conventional religion but also in ideological politics and fanatical nationalism, is for loyal apostasy. It is for people who feel called by a more expansive vision that is good for all, and not just good for themselves or their tribe. The philosopher Whitehead calls it world loyalty.
They - we - need to have the courage to be apostates, and perhaps not so quiet about it. Here apostasy is not simply about personal spirituality, it is about the future of the the world. The courage requires faith in something more truthful and generous, more life-nourishing. We may or may not call it God. We may call it Love or Justice or Hope or Grace. But we must renounce the smaller visions: those that make us and others more self-centered and self-serving. This means that we must renounce partisan politics as well as partisan religion, partisan nationalism as well as partisan faith. The grace to be a loyal apostate, to embrace world loyalty over partisan loyalty and tribalism, is a gift from heaven.
- Jay McDaniel
