Man I'm Not Sure This Is Right Part 2
So after extended discussion with several friends regarding the aforementioned post (here), some similar themes began to appear with regularity. I again offer these in humility, recognizing that several years ago I would have read this post and believed this person DESTINED for Hell, since I was a proper Methodist and voted strictly pro-life. This list (not even remotely comprehensive) are simply obstacles that seem to keep the Kingdom in check, while convincing people (myself included) that religion offers them the fullest in terms of a relationship with Christ (when has relationship with a system ever outweighed relationship with a person?)
As I sat at breakfast this morning with a friend who shared her story with me, I was struck with the audacious manner in which she encountered Christ. In short? Moved here 3 years ago from Germany, had ZERO exposure to God/Jesus, went through severe trauma once here in the US, had a few conversations with some people who know Jesus, then was writing an email one afternoon WHEN THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE FLOODED HER LIVING ROOM WITH LOVE, AND SHE DRANK IT IN FOR AN UNDETERMINED AMOUNT OF TIME UNTIL SHE WAS DRUNK ON THE STUFF, AND NOW SHE CAN LIST OFF ALL THE WAYS HER LIFE LOOKS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT (including being totally freed of bitterness, which had a stranglehold on her life). So I'm happy to report Jesus is alive and well and working HOWEVER HE DAMN WELL PLEASES (so the list below doesn't hinder our God, it just points to how we mess up the Kingdom with regularity).
* SUCCESS-The Kingdom only works when it's lived out in small numbers. Once it becomes a mass movement, it becomes an ideology and loses its soul.
* MONEY-A movement that was founded on people renouncing all possessions got seduced into sanctifying the "right" to possessions.
* MORALITY (this is from a friend...and is scandalous)-Eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is judgment and is at the root of all sin. The Kingdom revolution is a revolution of the Spirit -- which is the antithesis of living on the basis of ethics. The New Testament and the early Jesus-movement "had no morality." Once Christianity became a ruling power and a successful mass movement, however, it had to control people with rules.
* RELIGION. The Jesus movement (The Kingdom of God) is anti-religious. But people crave religion. They have "religious needs" that the Jesus movement undermines. When the movement became a mass movement, it became a Christianized version of pagan religion.
* PRAGMATISM. The Kingdom was founded on the singular concern to be faithful to God, not a concern to fix the world. Once Christianity became successful, however, it wrongly assumed responsibility to rule the world and got practical. Since most of Jesus' teachings are impractical, they had to be set aside.
* VIOLENCE. Non-violence never seems practical, so it was among the things that needed to go.
* POLITICS. (Already discussed)-Jesus' apolitical/anti-political movement was transformed into the PR dept. of politics. Christianity has almost always pathetically given divine sanction to whatever political regime it found itself in. Using ingenious theological arguments right out of the Bible, the Church defended the monarchy when it found itself under a monarchy and the Republic form of government when under this type of government. So too, it defended Socialism under Socialism, Communism under Communism and of course Democracy under a Democracy. The movement whose heart is to revolt against all government to manifest the reign of God is reduced to a silly defender of whatever government happens to be in charge.
* POWER. The heart of the problem is that we fear the freedom the Kingdom offers us. It's the radical freedom of possessing nothing -- including power. We rather crave the security of things, of power, of rules, and of pretending we are free (e.g. by having a "vote") when in fact we are in bondage. The Spirit was meant to set us free, but this requires relinquishing all these things.
Please discuss at will...
PS-Much of above list comes from a friend who shares similar thoughts...modified to my taste and writing style...
As I sat at breakfast this morning with a friend who shared her story with me, I was struck with the audacious manner in which she encountered Christ. In short? Moved here 3 years ago from Germany, had ZERO exposure to God/Jesus, went through severe trauma once here in the US, had a few conversations with some people who know Jesus, then was writing an email one afternoon WHEN THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE FLOODED HER LIVING ROOM WITH LOVE, AND SHE DRANK IT IN FOR AN UNDETERMINED AMOUNT OF TIME UNTIL SHE WAS DRUNK ON THE STUFF, AND NOW SHE CAN LIST OFF ALL THE WAYS HER LIFE LOOKS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT (including being totally freed of bitterness, which had a stranglehold on her life). So I'm happy to report Jesus is alive and well and working HOWEVER HE DAMN WELL PLEASES (so the list below doesn't hinder our God, it just points to how we mess up the Kingdom with regularity).
* SUCCESS-The Kingdom only works when it's lived out in small numbers. Once it becomes a mass movement, it becomes an ideology and loses its soul.
* MONEY-A movement that was founded on people renouncing all possessions got seduced into sanctifying the "right" to possessions.
* MORALITY (this is from a friend...and is scandalous)-Eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is judgment and is at the root of all sin. The Kingdom revolution is a revolution of the Spirit -- which is the antithesis of living on the basis of ethics. The New Testament and the early Jesus-movement "had no morality." Once Christianity became a ruling power and a successful mass movement, however, it had to control people with rules.
* RELIGION. The Jesus movement (The Kingdom of God) is anti-religious. But people crave religion. They have "religious needs" that the Jesus movement undermines. When the movement became a mass movement, it became a Christianized version of pagan religion.
* PRAGMATISM. The Kingdom was founded on the singular concern to be faithful to God, not a concern to fix the world. Once Christianity became successful, however, it wrongly assumed responsibility to rule the world and got practical. Since most of Jesus' teachings are impractical, they had to be set aside.
* VIOLENCE. Non-violence never seems practical, so it was among the things that needed to go.
* POLITICS. (Already discussed)-Jesus' apolitical/anti-political movement was transformed into the PR dept. of politics. Christianity has almost always pathetically given divine sanction to whatever political regime it found itself in. Using ingenious theological arguments right out of the Bible, the Church defended the monarchy when it found itself under a monarchy and the Republic form of government when under this type of government. So too, it defended Socialism under Socialism, Communism under Communism and of course Democracy under a Democracy. The movement whose heart is to revolt against all government to manifest the reign of God is reduced to a silly defender of whatever government happens to be in charge.
* POWER. The heart of the problem is that we fear the freedom the Kingdom offers us. It's the radical freedom of possessing nothing -- including power. We rather crave the security of things, of power, of rules, and of pretending we are free (e.g. by having a "vote") when in fact we are in bondage. The Spirit was meant to set us free, but this requires relinquishing all these things.
Please discuss at will...
PS-Much of above list comes from a friend who shares similar thoughts...modified to my taste and writing style...
January 22, 2008 at 11:29 AM
Best 2 posts evah. top