One of the interesting things (and sometimes acutely cringy) about writing a blog over a number of months and years is re-reading earlier posts and evaluating them in the light of your current thinking.
Back in February 2009 I wrote about the polarisation between the ‘wordies’ and the ‘activists’ – looking back to this post I realise that I have continued to travel a journey that for me, now places the argument in a completely different context.
It has dawned on me gradually, that the ‘word and deed’ thing is a complete hoax, a distraction from tackling a deeper, more foundational issues;
What being a Christian (and therefore by association, church) is for
What the Gospel is all about; and
Who are the inheritors of the Kingdom of God
Many reading this will inherently bristle with indignation, because they have, like me, grown up holding to the key verses, that like sound bites are wheeled out in defence of our meta-narrative – a story in which we have turned our limited understanding of the nature of God in to our ‘Total God’ concept. This understanding of the story that starts with a most egalitarian statement, that…
‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whosoever believes on Him will not perish but have everlasting life’
…but more often than not is played out through a familiar pattern of human judgements leading to a ‘misconceived’ rescue strategy; a strategy of which I often wonder if God is a stakeholder at all.
I have become utterly weary of the idea that identifying myself as a Christian means, that in order to be considered ‘orthodox’ I must buy in to the majority view of what church is for, despite most of the notions and mantras involved being supported by a very particular (and close up) reading of mainly Pauline scriptures.
Is it possible that Paul and others within the early church movement were a bit like you and me, or does the ‘inerrancy of scripture’ demand that, without due attention to the story line context, we bestow a magical power on the words of those early travellers?
I turn to a brief section from one of my other posts from early 2009:
Back in February 2009 I wrote about the polarisation between the ‘wordies’ and the ‘activists’ – looking back to this post I realise that I have continued to travel a journey that for me, now places the argument in a completely different context.
It has dawned on me gradually, that the ‘word and deed’ thing is a complete hoax, a distraction from tackling a deeper, more foundational issues;
What being a Christian (and therefore by association, church) is for
What the Gospel is all about; and
Who are the inheritors of the Kingdom of God
Many reading this will inherently bristle with indignation, because they have, like me, grown up holding to the key verses, that like sound bites are wheeled out in defence of our meta-narrative – a story in which we have turned our limited understanding of the nature of God in to our ‘Total God’ concept. This understanding of the story that starts with a most egalitarian statement, that…
‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whosoever believes on Him will not perish but have everlasting life’
…but more often than not is played out through a familiar pattern of human judgements leading to a ‘misconceived’ rescue strategy; a strategy of which I often wonder if God is a stakeholder at all.
I have become utterly weary of the idea that identifying myself as a Christian means, that in order to be considered ‘orthodox’ I must buy in to the majority view of what church is for, despite most of the notions and mantras involved being supported by a very particular (and close up) reading of mainly Pauline scriptures.
Is it possible that Paul and others within the early church movement were a bit like you and me, or does the ‘inerrancy of scripture’ demand that, without due attention to the story line context, we bestow a magical power on the words of those early travellers?
I turn to a brief section from one of my other posts from early 2009:
‘The research [in to Neuroeconomics] is showing that the context within which decisions are arrived is key; for example a state of uncertainty or fear. Herd behaviour appears to be fuelled by the fact that our brains are highly social and look for external input to aid the decision making process in relation to such extenuating contexts’. I wondered about this in relation to my faith and my relationships with those around me. The spirit as my common currency with others on the journey, but my individual ‘neuro-fingerprint’ (the collection of teaching, experience, values etc) giving me a unique take on the challenges for Christians in the Twenty First Century. I wondered about the ‘herd instinct’ of certain groups of Christians and their perception of a ‘special relationship’ with God, and how that ‘God’s on my side’ attitude can lead to an isolationist approach that doesn’t recognise input from ‘people of peace’ out there in the ‘real’ world. I wonder whether the current context of uncertainty and fear will 'find out' the local church, or will we be being stoned with the migrant worker, rather than standing by holding coats?
I am recognising the folly of ‘people as projects’ which is rarely expressed that way, because it sounds so arrogant. Nonetheless, it is the logical conclusion if we talk about living intentionally, with our main goal being to get people across a finish line.
Once we identify ourselves as those in the ‘saved’ camp, it is incredibly difficult to only see those outside as different / less fortunate / wrong or rebellious. How quickly we forget the amazing truth ‘…that God so loved the world that he gave his only son…’. Whilst we still had our backs firmly turned towards God, Jesus died to demonstrate the dawning of a new kingdom.
Let me ask you two related questions I am asking myself at the moment:
1.) Why is it so easy to go along with idea of the ‘Gospel’ being about selling a new way, a new identification, a new allegiance, through some strategy of world domination, that requires me to see out and in, to judge orthodox and heretic, to pronounce worthy and worthless, and at the same time…
2.) Why am I less keen to align myself to a faith that demands openness, a giving of myself, a love for the world (that God clearly expresses by coming in to the world to be poor) that means sacrifices from which I, more often than not, recoil.
I think the answer to the first lies in a desire for self importance, but also a deep seated lack of confidence in a God who clearly needs a hand with saving the world – we layer our own political bigotries and world view on top of God’s saving grace, instead of allowing Gods grace to drive us to stand against ideologically driven injustices.
The answer to the second is to do with a restrictive and occasionally infantile understanding of how God views his creation, leading to a completely inadequate response to what we see happening in our communities and further afield.
We too often settle for the perspective of the children in ‘Honey I shrunk the kids’ where a simple blade of grass holds dangers untold, rather than the view from eagle’s wings. We simply fail to underestimate the power of the Spirit of God to hold us.
I for one am on a quest, that will most certainly take the rest of my life, to respond to Gods saving grace through learning and practicing what it is to be, a new creation. It’s also a quest that I hope others can accept as ‘legitimate’ and one which will enrich rather than reduce our understanding of a mysterious God.
This is a quest to bend my will to that of Gods, to communicate through my very life the love God has for each and every one of my neighbours in this interconnected world of ours. When I recall that Jesus appealed to Saul, a man zealously stamping out the early church, I remain hopeful that he can use me in some small way to reveal the kingdom of God.
Let us lay down our inglorious past of judgement, delineation, coercion and small mindedness, to take up the challenge of ‘Loving our neighbour as ourselves’
Let us put aside our grand evangelistic strategies that seek to tip the balance and supplant the other, holding our every opinion about what God does and doesn’t do or intend to do as sacrosanct. Instead let’s join the meek of this world in a place of submission and service to one another – for surely then we will inherit the Kingdom of God.
Once we identify ourselves as those in the ‘saved’ camp, it is incredibly difficult to only see those outside as different / less fortunate / wrong or rebellious. How quickly we forget the amazing truth ‘…that God so loved the world that he gave his only son…’. Whilst we still had our backs firmly turned towards God, Jesus died to demonstrate the dawning of a new kingdom.
Let me ask you two related questions I am asking myself at the moment:
1.) Why is it so easy to go along with idea of the ‘Gospel’ being about selling a new way, a new identification, a new allegiance, through some strategy of world domination, that requires me to see out and in, to judge orthodox and heretic, to pronounce worthy and worthless, and at the same time…
2.) Why am I less keen to align myself to a faith that demands openness, a giving of myself, a love for the world (that God clearly expresses by coming in to the world to be poor) that means sacrifices from which I, more often than not, recoil.
I think the answer to the first lies in a desire for self importance, but also a deep seated lack of confidence in a God who clearly needs a hand with saving the world – we layer our own political bigotries and world view on top of God’s saving grace, instead of allowing Gods grace to drive us to stand against ideologically driven injustices.
The answer to the second is to do with a restrictive and occasionally infantile understanding of how God views his creation, leading to a completely inadequate response to what we see happening in our communities and further afield.
We too often settle for the perspective of the children in ‘Honey I shrunk the kids’ where a simple blade of grass holds dangers untold, rather than the view from eagle’s wings. We simply fail to underestimate the power of the Spirit of God to hold us.
I for one am on a quest, that will most certainly take the rest of my life, to respond to Gods saving grace through learning and practicing what it is to be, a new creation. It’s also a quest that I hope others can accept as ‘legitimate’ and one which will enrich rather than reduce our understanding of a mysterious God.
This is a quest to bend my will to that of Gods, to communicate through my very life the love God has for each and every one of my neighbours in this interconnected world of ours. When I recall that Jesus appealed to Saul, a man zealously stamping out the early church, I remain hopeful that he can use me in some small way to reveal the kingdom of God.
Let us lay down our inglorious past of judgement, delineation, coercion and small mindedness, to take up the challenge of ‘Loving our neighbour as ourselves’
Let us put aside our grand evangelistic strategies that seek to tip the balance and supplant the other, holding our every opinion about what God does and doesn’t do or intend to do as sacrosanct. Instead let’s join the meek of this world in a place of submission and service to one another – for surely then we will inherit the Kingdom of God.
