Recently, a new video on YouTube went viral. Over 16 million views, and I have to say, I find it refreshing that the message of this religious video was that Jesus is bigger than religion. I have to say I was surprised by the people who posted this on their Facebook pages (only because many of these people were those I considered to be strict literalists of the Bible), but I was so happy to see that more people are catching on to the message Jesus Himself gave us thousands of years ago. (The video I'm referencing can be seen if you click here)
What did Jesus teach us when He was here? In order to know, we must go to the Bible. However, we must go to the Bible with caution, and we must realize that the Bible was written by men, and not God Himself. The completion of all original Greek manuscripts which make up the 27 books of the New Testament was in the first hundred years AD. Over 2000 years ago, in other words. By 500 AD the Bible had been translated in over 500 languages. The first Anglo-Saxon or English-based Bible was translated in 995 AD. The FIRST PERSON TO PRODUCE a copy of the "COMPLETE" Bible was Wycliffe in 1384. The first completed Bible printed in English with the Old and New Testament was in 1535 AD. The first Bible printed in America was in 1782. In other words, this is a FANTASTIC book (no other book has remained a best seller for thousands of years), but it is man-made. Yes, the Bible talks about God and is absolutely inspired by God. But the author is not God. There are numerous authors and numerous translations. Saying this does not make us sacrilegious. In fact, knowing this DEEPENS our relationship with God because we can better understand the discrepancies in the Bible. Instead of deep down wondering why there are contradicting statements in the Bible, we can realize God is not as petty as humans, and ultimately, the Book was written by humans, and not God. We go to God as individuals, deep within our souls, and know the Truth. This is a far more spiritual practice in my opinion.
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| Source: Corner of Hope |
Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson were slave owners. They weren't dismissed; they are still upheld as our forefathers. Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Workers Movement, had an abortion and several affairs. MLK Jr. had numerous affairs. Mohammad was a polygamist. Abraham Lincoln had depression. Joan of Arc was schizophrenic. Gandhi would not allow his wife's physician to give her antibiotics, and this decision ultimately contributed to her death. Winston Churchill smoked cigars, "Which is one of the things I like about Winston Churchill, but I digress..." according to Reverend Dr. Roger Ray.
Dr. Ray has stated that the primary conflict in the gospels is "a conflict between a religion of piety and a teaching of radical compassion..." (Pious/Piety meaning deep commitment to religion; an unwavering devotion to worshipping God) He goes on to say, "All of us who have kids...we don't want our kids to have a criminal record. We want our kids to not get pregnant in high school, we don't want them to contract STDs or AIDS, we want them to be productive and responsible and enjoy a good reputation. But if your kid needs treatment for an addiction, do you want the rest of the world to view them for the rest of their lives predicated on the fact they went to treatment? Should they be treated like a 2nd or 3rd class citizen for the rest of their lives?....So often we act like we're being pious when in fact we are just gossiping. We skewer a person like pinning a bud to a poster board, and we identify them as a "welfare recipient" or an "alcoholic" or a "gay person" or a "drop out" or an "adulterer." WHEN JESUS CAME TO EARTH, HE WAS THE FIRST TO STOP THIS BEHAVIOR. HE stopped labeling people. He broke bread with EVERYBODY. Why are Christians (I should clarify...why are fundamentalist Christians) the first to dissasociate with somebody who made a bad decision? To label somebody by the one most negative event in their life? "Alcoholic" discredits all the other achievements and accomplishments that person with a drinking problem might have.
Dr. Rogers goes on to explain that Jesus was not a rabbi, He didn't get the black robe, He didn't go to seminary. Some people called him Rabbi, but he wasn't a priest, He was born of a poor family in dubious circumstances.
Oh, and by the way, Jesus was MIDDLE EASTERN. I know all of our pictures of Him in America are of a Caucasian, light-skinned Jesus. But that's a lie. He was born in Bethlehem, come on, people! Let's see an accurate portrayal of what the Son of God looked like!!!
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| American Jesus. Source: Wisdom of Religion |
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| More accurate painting of Jesus. There. That's a little better. Source: Matt Stone Blog |
They killed Jesus not because HE said He was the Messiah; they killed him because he said THEY WEREN'T. When Dr. Rogers made this point in the podcast I was listening to this morning, my hair stood up on my arms. Jesus wasn't killed because He claimed to be the Way. He was killed because He said the established leaders in maintream religion were NOT the way. They saw their power being threatened, and they killed him. They didn't kill him like most Jewish killings, by being stoned to death. They killed him by crucifixion, the way reserved for people who are inteded to be humiliated until their last breath. To scare people so they will never make the same mistake. Jesus provided criticism of the established order of banking, government, and of religion. And he was killed in the most humiliating way possible. And when He died, He uttered, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do."
I am committed to thinking of Jesus based on His actions and His philosophy. I will not conform to a religion that tells me what is right or wrong and how not to live my life. Jesus Himself didn't do this. The ONLY people Jesus rose his voice at were people of authority telling other people how bad they were. Jesus stood up for people. He was tolerant of ALL THINGS and ALL PEOPLE except INTOLERANCE. Intolerance was the only action Jesus wouldn't stand for. As a CHRISTian, I strive to live my life in the same manner. I have a long way to go, and I'm not claiming that I have all the answers...far from it, in fact. I still slip into gossip, I can be too quick to judge at times, and I definitely raise my voice when I'm frustrated with those closest to me. But I am working harder at this, and the reason why is because of who I believe Jesus was.
Ghandi said he would be a Christian if it weren't for Christians. He said he "liked our Christ; I do not like your Christians." I hope I can defy this and show people through my actions what Christianity means to me.
***To see where most of my inspiration for this post came from, I'd STRONGLY recommend listening to the podcasts by Dr. Roger Ray, called Progressive Faith Sermons. They are free, and can be downloaded right to your iPod for spiritual inspiration on your way to work, or while you work out. Just click on the link above called "Progressive Faith Sermons." I hope you find as much enlightenment as I have. I can feel myself growing closer to God, and it is my sincere hope we can all do this. This might not be the way for you, and I'm not one to say what is. But if you're in a rut, give it a try. Thanks for reading this novel of a post. I am impressed with your attention span!
To label someone as a Christian, from the statements in your post, is no different than labeling someone as an alcoholic or an adulterer. You are using sweeping generalizations and putting most or all Christians into the same box. I agree that there are some fundamental issues with the way a lot of churches in our culture today approaches, preaches, and practices the gospel however, what is not being questioned is the level of health in the church. If the hypocritical Christians you encounter are even attending church, chances are they are in one that is not receiving sound doctrine but is more concerned with flashing lights and rock bands on stage in order to appeal to the masses and get butts in seats rather than focusing on the importance of the message. This has been my experience anyway. I attend a small, personal church where we get into real conversations and dig deeper and hold each other accountable and constantly strive to walk in the way of Jesus. That's what it all comes down to. The Old Testament never states that having multiple wives is okay. People had them, but it doesn't make it right. If you look at the lives they were living, they weren't exactly being blessed. As for the child sacrificing, this represents a God who punished. Who was angry with our sins and wanted to show that to us. The New Testament is Calvary. Jesus came so that if we believe in him and have faith in him we are justified and vindicated and our sins are forgiven for as often as we ask. People will still be punished for things such as homosexuality and adultery etc if they deny God. But, if they are Christians and truly believe and actually have a relationship with him, they are forgiven. It is our role to forgive and accept just as Jesus did. Not every one is capable of doing this. And yes, some Christians are far more radical than others. But please don't blanket statement Christians as what you think they are all up to. Otherwise you are no different than the ones you are criticizing. I am proud of my faith and I'm also proud of my church. It is really my first experience in a healthy church that truly practices what it preaches. Until you have that experience, I am afraid your opinion will not change. Loving, accepting, and forgiving people, regardless of who they are or what they have done, is biblical and Christian. Changing doctrine and interpreting it in a looser way other than what is written in black and white is not Christianity. It is our culture trying to influence the church when in fact it should be the church that influences the culture. The Bible does not sway based on what is happening in our world. It lives and is everlasting. True, men wrote down the words on the pages. But these men were writing and speaking what God spoke to them. And the words printed in red are what Jesus himself says. That does not change. The meaning and the relevance and the truth is not countered by translations. That is not having faith in God or in Jesus. I think some of your own personal views are way out of line with Christian fundamentals and you can't be on both sides. Read scriptures about marriage and the relationships between husband and wives. Your views on these things do not match up to the Bible 100 percent and that is your choice and it is fine. My point and opinion of this post is not aggressive nor judgmental and I really want you to know that. It is just to point out the inconsistencies. Unless digging into the Bible daily and understanding it as a whole, it is very easy to just pick out certain scriptures or read certain stories and come to a conclusion based on those alone. You must read it and apply it to the whole of itself. I feel I'm starting to ramble. I was just deeply upset by this post and am confused as to whether or not you would call yourself a Christian. And if so, perhaps you should seek sound doctrine. It does not sound like you have been exposed to much of it.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to read this very laudatory blog posting and I want to say, simply, "thank you" for your generous affirmations. I do want to make one correction (and it is possible that I said the wrong word in one of the podcasts so it could be my mistake and not yours) but the primary conflict in the gospels is between the PURITY system (not piety) and Jesus' message of radical compassion. This is explained in very illuminating detail in Marcus Borg's book, Meeting Jesus Again (for the first time). It is a short book but very helpful and I have used it in my Life and Teachings of Jesus course at Drury University for several years.
ReplyDeleteBut this anonymous posting above is disturbing. It is as if wishing something were so makes it so. Could anyone read the Bible and not notice how often giving a king hundreds of wives was recounted as being a blessing directly from God. Indeed, in 2 Samuel 12's famous confrontation with David, the prophet assures him that God would have given him many more if he wanted.
The account above may, in fact, be the real weakness of small house churches with no educated leadership. They become small, angry, self congratulatory groups who gather to share their ignorance and come to believe that their prejudice is tantamount to the word of the Lord.