Is It Cake?
This summer, my oldest got into the Netflix show “Is It Cake?” Naturally, we have watched both seasons multiple times, attempting to spot the details depicting which objects are cake. We have gotten pretty good at spotting the cake. Still, the layers and construction of the cakes fascinate me more than the final product’s outward appearance. Ultimately, the baker or host cuts into the object to reveal the multiple layers of delicious and supported cake.
Like these cakes, our faiths have multiple layers.
What I have come to realize is that most of our faiths are similar to cake; they are supported by each other into a cohesive whole object that few of us cut into to check out. Modern “deconstructionists” cut into only one of the layers and expose it for its faults. Yeah, the layer has flaws, but it also fails to realize how those faults are supported and how those faults support the whole.
All faiths have multiple layers, but for this post, we will narrow it down to the basic two: Divine Affiliation and Human Tribalism. Let's use a less traditionally religious example to illustrate the two.
Imagine you work on Wall Street, New York City, New York, USA, in the greatest wealth generator humanity has ever known. Your divine affiliation might be the dollar, a mythical symbol of your success and standing in the world around you. But you don't just chase wealth. You chase it from Wall Street. Your tribe is at the center of wealth generation. It is easy to look down on those who pursue wealth from a blue-collar job or even another stock exchange in another country, or worse yet, the people who work in Jersey. Those aren't your people. They aren't a part of your tribe because the primary way we determine human tribe and divine affiliate is location. And you can be kicked out of either if you don't submit enough (earn enough, in this case) to the tribe and its deity. That's how you know what you have faith. You are kicked out for not measuring up when there is a measurement rod.
But let's get back to the cake; I mean layers of faith.
The goal isn't to destroy when we look at the cake in a deconstructive capacity. It’s to deconstruct by taking a slice out and looking at what kind of mix you have. What part of Divine Affiliation supports your Human Tribalism and vice versa?
Over the next bit, we will keep bumping up against the necessity for a multi-layer cake. What does that look like, and how do you bake something different or better? I hope you understand that many people will try to convince you to create a one-layer cake. But that's boring and probably won't taste good over the long haul. Also, you don't have to recreate my cake. Make your fabulous creation. I will show you how with my own story, but see that story as descriptive, not prescriptive.
For me, Divine Affiliation is easy to nurture; I spend a fair amount of time thinking about and writing about faith. Human Tribalism, however, is a line that I don’t find much guidance on. I will put it into words in the coming weeks, and maybe I will be wrong, or perhaps you can encourage me to lean into an area. Regardless, I hope the cake is exciting and challenges you to understand better what you have. I hope it inspires you to examine what kind of faith cake your children are receiving because the sooner you think about it, the better tasting that cake will be.