The Gospel According to Bono

"The Left mocks the Right. The Right knows it's right. Two ugly traits. How far should we go to try to understand each other's point of view? Maybe the distance grace covered on the cross is a clue."

Sorta sappy I know....

But isn't it true that Christianity is not about being right. That certainty is a myth. As J. Jacob Jenkins says, "Christianity is the continual understanding that we haven't all the answers. We haven't arrived. We are to always be aware of our imperfections since the moment of our salvation. Every step after that moment is paved by the same humility."

Love as an End! Thoughts from a flaming moderate!

A while back I wrote a piece on the problems of fundamentalism. This is part II, I guess. To recap...fundamentalism is mostly a dead end which can only serve to fossilize the gospel. And you notice that I didn't use the word' ultra-conservatism' as my example. I believe that ultra-liberalism can be dangerous as it too, seeks to prove how everyone else does not have a brain. I know...this simplifies it entirely too much and delutes everyone's ligitimate emotions about the issue.

But it is worth considering that a more, middle-of-the-road (and risky) approach could be discovered in laying down our agendas. Think about it. If I have an agenda before arriving at an interpretation of something or someone, then I have partcipited in a form of fundamentalist thought. For example, if I show compassion toward someone because I only want to lead them to Christ (or reveal Christ in me) then I am insincere in my action and thought. I'm not sure Jesus honors that at all. I admit that I am guilty in this area more than I would like to imagine.

J. Jacob Jenkins writes that it took him half his life to realize the value of love. In the first half of his life he believed that the only purpose for a Christian was to turn a skeptic into a follower and to win souls for Christ. But over time he learned to love as an end, not merely as a means.

We shouldn't reach out to someone because we can bring them to church. We should reach out to them.

We shouldn't befriend someone so that we can share Christ with them. Befriend them.

We shouldn't make friends with neighbors so that we can invite them to a church event. We should get to know our neighbors.

I am certain that Christianity is something that we are suppose to breathe in each day. Being a Christ-follower should be something that comes as natural as a breath of air instead of us reasoning through a certain situation in order to find out if it fits into our own moral and ethical guidelines. Our own morality, left on its own, has a tendency to let us down. It is undependable.

But what is dependable, unwavering, and never-changing is the new covenant based on Christ. Jesus never said that we, as followers, were to be so agenda-conscious (and so certain about it) that His teachings become unclear. We are only asked to 'return the favor' and be dependable, trustworthy, and unwavering in our commitment to him as he is to us.

Missing the Divine Dance!

Say No to Fundamentalism! I'm going to attempt something here that I've rarely been able to accomplish. I'm going to speak about fundamentalism without using the words conservative or liberal. I believe that fundamentalism can be an error in both camps so my goal will be to keep things civil. Sounds whimpy I know...but I believe it can be done.

J. Jacob Jenkins in his book, Buried Alive, writes about the first time he danced with a girl. He's not sure that anyone would describe it as dancing but his first attempt at it came with sweaty hands and shortness of breath. But everyone knows when the girl that you have a crush on wants you to dance...you dance. But Jenkins figured out a method. It was a formula to help him get through his very first dance with someone he really didn't know. Due to his fear of screwing up and making a fool of himself, he decided to keep his feet firmly planted on the ground. This way nobody's toes would get squashed and the superficial crush could continue.

I took some liberties with Jenkins' account but you see where I am going with this. John Michael Montgomery once said, "Don't worry about what you don't know. Life's a dance. You learn as you go."

There is no real danger and no true risk of injury if we all just keep our feet on the ground. Just sway our hips back and forth, play church, and be nice. We all are guilty of making Jesus out who we want to be. But one thing is undeniably true: Christianity is intended to be life-giving and free. It offers a unique opportunity for purpose of existence and it provides special lenses in which to see and appreciate beauty. By playing it safe and not lifting our feet off of the fundamentalist foundation, we completely miss the joy of the dance. Fundamentalism demands ALL of our time and fossilizes the true nature of the gospel. Do you sense that I have an opinion on this?

I marvel at the way that people, myself included, have decided to come up with personalized (or institutionalized) formulas for living as a Christ follower. Usually, as Jenkins writes, this formula is nothing more than walking through life with a stiff neck and held breath. "Above all, love each other deeply" and "Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us" should make us ponder about our motives for living.

May we never forget: Christ is the end of the Law!

More on this to come.

Tolerance!

I am pro-tolerance! I would hate for America to return to an age of intolerance. Bigotry is awful! As is prejudice, hate, and narrowmindedness (if I could so use that word). Look at all the different people up above. They all smile. But they are all different. In general, there is nothing wrong with it. There must be tolerance if a society is to survive.
But my question is how does tolerance and the expression of faith work together. Jacob Jenkins (or J. Jacob Jenkins...you know that after writing a book one has to include a rarely used initial in order to bleed credibility) has a book that deals with seven lifeless sins. One of them is tolerance. He shares a dream that he later confesses was no real dream but the thought of it becoming true was surely a nightmare. (Stay with me now...)
In short, the hypothetical dream involved his death. But he was allowed to witness his own funeral and this was not the scary part. The scary part came when everyone who spoke about him referred to him being NICE. This was his nightmare. He woke in a sweat, not because he felt he was looking into the immediate future or that his wife was smiling or something. Rather, he could see that the path his life was on would only result in his close friends and his family referring to him as NICE! Only NICE! Not dangerous, risky, brave, or unpredictable. Just NICE! It reminded of me Dallas Willard's quote that "Jesus was more than just nice...he was brilliant."
It seems that Christians, especially here in America, have placed niceness upon such a pedestal that it has become the ultimate goal in life. What ever happened to the scandalous offense of the gospel? Does the gospel mess up people's life anymore? Maybe Stanley Hauerwas is right when he claims that "cynicism is a virtue." Haurewas even found it within himself to give a half compliment to the fundamentalist Southern Baptist preachers. He proclaimed once that although their meanness does not often resemble the love of Christ, at least the @*%# stand up for something.
My point is, and I follow Jenkins' line of thought, that we are all too afraid of offending another person. Congenial Christianity says, "Don't offend anyone...just tolerate." Toleration is surely Christian but is it possible that the type of toleration that has swept through out country now taking the sting out of the gospel. Has relativity consumed the country in such a way that it doesn't tolerate room for truth. (And now you free to ask..."But what issss truth?) John Stott said, "truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love; love becomes soft if it is not strengthened by truth." I remember when I merely mentioned this to a group of teenagers. They looked at me like I had horns coming out of my head when I brought up falling in love with Christ so much that they consider their beliefs to be special. Our interpretation of God is too safe. Our interpretation of Jesus' life is one of niceness. We must respect others faith, lifestyle, and creed but we need not throw away the scandalous nature of our own.