Continuing our journey through Brian McLaren's book 'A New Kind of Christianity,' we are now entering the 12th chapter. Brian jumps right to the questioning as he asks which Jesus should we follow?
He points out some of the diverse versions of Jesus that have been materialized through history and recent times.
Here's a quote as to the vast expanse of Jesuses many people choose to follow.
"Insipid-diaper-halo Christ, White Supremacist Jesus, the colonial Jesus, the Eurocentric Jesus, the Republican or Democrat Jesus, the capitalist or communist Jesus, the slave-owning Jesus, the nuclear bomb-dropping America-first Jesus, the organ-music stained-glass nostalgic-sentimental Jesus, the the anit-science know=nothing simpleton Jesus, the prosperity-gospel get-rich-quick Jesus, the institutional white-shirt-and-tie Jesus, the Native American-slaying genocidal Jesus, the cuddly omnipotent Christmas Jesus, the male-chauvenist Jesus, the homophobic 'god-hates-fags' Jesus, the South African pro-aparthied Jesus, the Joe-Six-Pack Jesus, the anti-Semitic Nazi Jesus, the anti-Muslim Crusader Jesus, and so on" (122).
As you can see there is a Jesus for just about any cause imaginable to humankind. And often it's well-meaning, bible-believing Christians who support such abhorrent versions of Jesus. Though, I'm not ready to pridefully say that I've got the 'true' understanding of Jesus; I must say that the above list represents versions of Jesus that are incongruent with the Jesus I find in scripture. A Jesus who was crucified, dead and buried. Who chose to die for instead of kill his enemies. Who, when he had been risen from the dead did not come back with vengeance and a sword but with words of peace and forgiveness towards his disciples who had abandoned him, denied and rejected him.
And this Jesus gave the disciples including one man Saul who became Paul a message of reconciliation--that God was reconciling the whole world to himself through this Jesus who was crucified, dead, buried and now resurrected, living and seated at the right hand of the father.
And this Jesus who gave this word of peace and reconciliation birthed a movement called the church who are the body of Jesus, living out his presence and love daily in the world from that time on.
It's sad that we so easily get caught up in false versions of Jesus. Jesus and the early churched warned against these false versions of Jesus, "One day there will come those who preach what their itching ears want to hear." I believe this represents a long list of false teachings that have been present within and among the church.
An inherent flaw exists in that kind of thinking. We are to be learning and striving to live the way of Jesus, not making Jesus in our image to fit our goals, meet our agenda. We are to be reshaped to meet his goals and his agenda; which is to actively live his reconciliation and forgiveness and love to the world.
May more of us enter into the continued searching and seeking for the real Jesus; and continually model our lives after him.
0 comments:
Post a Comment