Breaking Down Deconstruction

People who claim to be “deconstructing” are systematically dismantling their faith, some to rebuild stronger and some to leave the faith altogether. How can we help them reconstruct on the sure foundation of God’s word?

I grew up among builders. My grandfather was a brick mason, and my uncle built houses that my other uncle designed.

I’ve seen homes erected from the foundation up, walked through skeletal walls that soon filled with insulation and sheetrock, watched roughened hands slap mortar onto burgundy bricks and stack them in perfect rows. Building takes time—and a whole lot of work.

I’ve also seen homes demolished and cleared away, ridding the site of an irreparable and dangerous eyesore, a building deemed “condemned.” Those dilapidated homes marked for destruction always made me feel ill, a reminder that any building left uncared for, unrestored before it’s too late, will be destroyed.

It’s easy to think of building and demolishing whenever I hear yet another friend, Christian artist, or celebrity claim that they are “deconstructing” their faith.

They explain their deconstruction as the process of questioning their faith and not knowing what to believe anymore, or of leaving Christianity altogether, at least for now. Their motivations often seem valid. They see hypocrisy in the church go unaltered, legalism continue unchecked, abuse in all forms concealed by church leaders or even deemed permissible. They see parents and churches unwilling to admit their own shortcomings, failures, and sins—and perhaps continue in them. They ask, “If this is the faith, what good is it? If God is real, why do so many Christians represent him so poorly—or are they actually representing God accurately?”

I understand these people because I was one of them. I grew up in a Christian home, was homeschooled, and attended a Christian college, yet the God so often preached from the pulpit seemed more concerned with rules and judgment than having a personal relationship with me. I struggled to see God as good and his Word as truth and love. As I doubted and questioned, I found myself confronted with the terrifying fact that I had no idea what I truly believed or why I believed what I did. I didn’t know the word deconstruction back then as it relates to faith, but if I had, I would likely have applied it to myself—at least for a time.

Though it’s a relatively new term, deconstruction got its start in Genesis. It’s as timeless as Satan’s question to Eve in Eden: “Did God really say . . . ?” At its core, deconstruction challenges the authority of God’s Word.

As Jesus left the 99 to pursue the one lost sheep, so we must shepherd the lost and doubting among us, answering their questions, sharing truth, and equipping them to rebuild and strengthen their faith. Helping those currently deconstructing requires constant awareness of our own spiritual condition, an understanding of deconstruction (and, more importantly, of reconstruction), and the wisdom to help them through their individual faith dilemmas.

Constant Spiritual Maintenance

Each person is responsible for his or her faith, regardless of mistreatment or abuse in the church.

Each person is responsible for his or her faith, regardless of mistreatment or abuse in the church, but we should be willing to repent of the stumbling blocks we may have caused by our self-righteous practices, hypocrisy, or sin. That might include apologizing to those who claim to be deconstructing or counseling them through the pain they’ve suffered from others who claim to be Christians.

Before we can help others reconstruct their faith, we must be sure of our own faith and sure we have not been a stumbling block with our own sin. As the church, we must hold each other accountable to the written Word of God, “purging the evil person among you” if there is no repentance and reform (1 Corinthians 5:11–13). Covering up sin does not protect the church from criticism and a soured testimony, but rather renders it ineffective for Christ and subject to judgment for the hindrance it becomes to a lost world.

Constantly growing in the Lord means that we don’t have all the answers all the time, that we don’t get it right every time, and that we still have questions ourselves. Knowing these truths should keep us humble and enable us to authentically embrace a “deconstructing” Christian with compassion and empathy. We can say, “I know what you’re going through because I’ve asked these questions too. Can I show you what I’ve learned from God’s Word?”

Deconstruction or Inspection?

Christians through every era have grappled with hard questions and doubts, but only recently have they claimed to be deconstructing. The word deconstruction concerns me, a college professor of English literature, because it has roots in the deconstruction philosophy of Jacques Derrida from the 1970s. Literary formalists explain a text by analyzing its language, metaphors, allusions, and other elements. Meanwhile, literary deconstructionists dismantle a text or idea in search of meaning, yet they believe that truth exists only in subjective interpretations and not in objective fact. In other words, deconstructionist readers create their own meaning rather than discern the inherent meaning of the text.

How does this convoluted philosophy apply to the Christian faith?

Put simply, deconstruction is the systematic dismantling of the faith that deconstructing Christians once knew. But that dismantling manifests in two general forms: Some examine their faith to determine what is true, biblical, and worth holding on to. Others condemn Christianity altogether or construct their own interpretation of God’s Word.

Whatever walls, ceilings, or windows people are deconstructing from their faith, their real crisis is at the foundation: their belief in God’s Word. As they work through doubt and questions, they will reach that foundation. What they do at that point is crucial, for they will either accept God’s Word as the authority and source of all truth and reconstruct their lives on it, or they will reject it and forge their own meaning, which is, in the end, meaningless.

We see then that healthy deconstruction is not deconstruction at all but rather a faithful inspection of God’s Word and our own hearts toward it. Home inspectors acknowledge the wear and tear, the good and bad of a structure, and restore it brick by brick. So too must the inspectors of faith examine themselves and reconstruct or restore their faith, following the blueprint of God’s Word. We must ask ourselves, “Why have I believed this? Why is this belief here?” and then refer to the Bible, prayer, Christian mentors, and other trustworthy sources to find answers.

The work is long and hard, sometimes even painful. As it takes time and patience to restore a building with the precision and care necessary to avoid damaging the whole structure, so it takes time to restore and rebuild faith.

Unhealthy deconstruction is, well, deconstruction in its original philosophical intent. Its purpose is to find the contradictions between the Bible and culture, deem them irreconcilable, and place the authority of self and culture above God’s Word. The very nature of this deconstruction allows us to create truth for ourselves—or even declare that it doesn’t exist. Many who say that they are deconstructing must understand that their struggle is really about who gets to decide truth: self, culture, or God.

How to Be a Wise Foreman

Invite Questions

It grieves me still that I grappled with doubts and questions in almost complete aloneness, afraid to ask questions because of the judgment I’d receive for not already having the answers. It grieves me more that I felt angry for struggling, for expecting myself to be perfect. According to Scripture, my questions weren’t wrong. The 12 disciples spent much of their time during Jesus’ earthly ministry watching and listening to Jesus, and later asking him “why” or “how” or “when.” Some of the disciples doubted Jesus’ resurrection. When Thomas famously quipped that he would not believe until he saw the nail scars, Jesus lovingly appeared and stretched out his hand. Like Christ, we must “have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire” (Jude 22–23). Questions could very well lead to a greater, stronger faith and equip us all to reach others.

We shouldn’t be rattled by questions. In fact, Scripture shows the benefits of asking and tells us to be prepared to answer questions about our faith (1 Peter 3:15). Jesus never shied away from answering questions: he responded to Satan, scoffers, and sincere seekers alike by going back to the truth in God’s Word—just as we must do.

There should be no guilt or shame for the sincere questioner, and there should be no superiority or pride in the listener, only compassion. Like American author Flannery O’Connor, we must see the potential for growth in every doubt:

[Doubt is the] process by which faith is deepened. A faith that just accepts is a child’s faith and all right for children, but eventually you have to grow religiously as every other way, though some never do. . . . It is much harder to believe than not to believe. If you feel you can’t believe, you must at least do this: keep an open mind. Keep it open toward faith, keep wanting it, keep asking for it, and leave the rest to God.1

Teach Apologetics

It’s notable that many who are “deconstructing” their faith cite the “obvious fact of evolution” and “errancy of the Bible.” In 2020, popular YouTube and podcast entertainers Rhett and Link shared their process of deconstructing their faith and ultimately converting from evangelical Christians to “hopeful agnostics.” Now Rhett claims to have “deconverted” entirely. He explained that his doubt in the Genesis creation account started the dismantling of his faith.2

Though I never wrestled with my belief in a literal Genesis creation, I struggled to understand why God allows evil to persist, why victims of suffering and oppression go unavenged, or why God cares how people choose to live.

Christian families can assist the church by addressing common questions and equipping the church with mentors, biblical thinking skills, strong church influence, and access to biblical apologetics resources. Without proper teaching on the authority of the Bible, an understanding of who God is, and consistent discipleship, people are vulnerable to the constant false messages of this world and don’t know how to apply the Bible to their lives and their thinking.

While apologetics training and biblical teaching can’t guarantee that a seed of faith in a person will take root and flourish, such teachings can gird minds and hearts with the truth so that when they are tested, they have the tools to stand strong.

Let Them Leave

Sadly, many who rush to deconstruct may have little desire to retain their faith. Paul maintains that “the Spirit expressly says that in later times, some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared” (1 Timothy 4:1–2). To these people, deconstruction is little more than a trendy, “intellectual” way to deconvert and leave the church—and the church should let them go. There is wisdom in knowing when to let people leave so that they can live with the integrity of their faithlessness, understanding that the church should pursue them with the Holy Spirit’s leading and eagerly await to restore them (Galatians 6:1).

Rebuild Stronger

In my own faith restoration project, many times I found myself with the Apostle Peter, asking, “Lord, to whom shall I go? No one else has the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). I realized that the world’s answers lead to the empty pursuit of self, a meaningless existence, and the false promises of peace and happiness that come with living your truth, doing what makes you happy, and searching for identity. Such pursuits reveal only an ever-widening void in our hearts that cannot be filled with the things of this world or explained by the world’s philosophies (Colossians 2:8).

Though many have confessed their floundering faith to me in recent months, I have more cause for hope than despair. As they sort through their doubts, many have told me that they want their Christianity to be genuine. They want their faith to be their own. This desire is good and reveals the opportunity for the church to help them establish a solid foundation on God’s Word. Let us say with Paul, “Like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it” (1 Corinthians 3:10).