It is hard to communicate a simple and clear concept of what I believe it is to be a Christian.
Hard to induce people to grasp that such reality is about a person choosing to follow Jesus Christ to eternal resurrected life in Heaven...
Rather than Real ChristianityTM being a matter of paid-up membership (in good standing) of... whatever Christian-themed club church you have decided-upon, or were socialized-into.
I was recently asked, in perfect sincerity:
Is there a name, book, school, or prophet of what you are trying to express?
And when the penny began to drop:
I see. Then it would be just your own idea.
Just my own idea...
That's "just" says it all, in a nutshell.
What it means to be a Christian is indeed just my own idea.
Or, to put matters differently; I take personal responsibility for my fundamental beliefs and conduct.
If you want, instead, to join and obey the rules of a big club church religion based on a name, book, school, prophet, tradition, complex theology, international bureaucracy or whatever...
If, that is, you choose to hand-over responsibility for ultimate beliefs and conduct to some institution/ organization or another; there is every inducement to do so.
Or you could instead "just" be a Christian, to the best of your discernment.
12 comments:
You don't get it because you're a Brit and think all churches are the Anglican Church. American Churches don't have near as many rules. Like is a Baptist swimming in church regulations? No way. A dude at non-denominational megachurch? Absolutely not. That's in fact WHY they are so big. Anglican churches here, where they exist, have 5 old people in attendance and that's it.
@GW - You don't know what I "get" since you apparently haven't read this blog! If you had, you would know that these issues you raise have been discussed in literally thousands of posts over more than a decade.
But you seem not to been bothered that All the denominations of Christian churches closed themselves - willingly, enthusiastically, in lockstep - for many months in 2020; in conformity to the global totalitarian bureaucracy.
Thereby contradicting (in different ways) multiple of their core assertions, revealing themselves as insincere hypocrites, liars, and of insignificant Christian faith.
And they have not repented.
Most people value security above all else. Freedom? Not so much. The clubs profess to offer security and that's enough for most Christians. Freedom entails immense responsibility. It's burdensome. Who needs that? Better to just pawn off the bulk of it on someone or something that promises to take care of us.
For me, being a Christian boils down to how Jesus desires that we follow him. In security? Or in freedom? Everything else stems from there.
@Frank - I'm not sure that Security is the Main priority for most people, given the policies that so many routinely approve/tolerate from their rulers; such as unlimited mass immigration, anti-farming and anti-energy strategies, or provoking superpower wars.
My best guess is that it is more a matter of social animal behaviour - a very fundamental desire to feel included in some kind of society. This is - of itself - inevitable, and probably a healthy instinct in a more natural society.
But nowadays the natural and spiritually effective fulfilment of the social instinct is denied - and the instinct is channelled into harmful, spiritually-destructive, directions.
Comment from Robert Brockman:
My church and the ones adjacent to it saw through the Birdemic madness and didn't close. One priest in particular who was put under serious pressure by the hierarchy to close said, "I was a cook before I was a priest, I can be a cook again." Eventually the hierarchy realized that they had been wrong to pressure him and promoted him to archpriest instead.
So I am pleased to report that big chunks of Orthodox Christianity in Texas didn't fold and are now stronger. We still have lots of problems but we got through this issue at least.
@Robert Brockman - Your story shows how vital it is within churches for there to be individual discernment and a willingness to go-against church authority and official teaching.
I would simply like those who see this necessity to be *honest* enough to acknowledge that - in such cases of individual versus church conflict about fundamentals - individuals are ultimately responsible for their own salvation and theosis, and it is Not acceptable to hand over this responsibility to any institution and to plead the primacy of "obedience".
Comment from Daniel F:
""just" be a Christian, to the best of your discernment."
As far as how this plays out in practice, how wide a range of "true Christians" would we expect to see under this understanding? While this standard, by its nature, allows for a lot of gray area, yet at some point, would there not be some line crossed, over which such a person is not a Christian? I am not thinking of people who outright deny basic ideas of Christianity, like rainbow churches worshipping Gaia and not mentioning Jesus at all.
Rather, I am thinking about the people who "to the best of their discernment" are attempting to pursue Jesus Christ as they see understand it. Put another way, the rainbow church is operating in bad faith and deep down knows it. Many ordinary people going to ordinary churches are, on the other hand, quite sincere in their approach even if (from our perspective) it is wrong-headed in many respects.
For instance, the vast majority of Christians I come across in my milieu are wrong on every one of the Litmus Tests, and pursue what I regard as largely a worldly and secular Christianity (i.e. one focused largely on external "good works" that do not really require Jesus Christ in order to be pursued). And yet, these people are, almost invariably, quite sincere, quite "good-hearted", they think they are doing the right thing, they believe this is what Christianity means, they focus on Jesus Christ as they understand him, they are kind, etc etc.
I guess the question is, does their approach represent "the best of their discernment"? Or could their discernment be improved? In my experience, for a number of reasons, many people are impervious to discerning the kind of Christianity you/we are talking about here. They are going about their lives, and Christianity as they understand it forms a part - maybe a very important part - of their lives. And yet there is little chance of their changing their approach or their discernment. They remain very sincere, "good" people. Are they Christians as we are discussing it here?
Again maybe this comes down to a matter of definitions as well as a worldview that says -- correct me if I am misstating your perspective -- we ultimately get what we want, and the people I have just described do not really want Christianity (as properly understood). It does not mean damnation or hell for them, just a different sort of relationship with God after this life.
@Daniel F - The question of discernment only comes in for Christianity, after somebody has decided that he personally wants what Jesus offers.
So, it doesn't really matter how nice and sincere or well-meaning a person may be - if what he most really, deeply, desires for himself is Not what Jesus has made possible for us - but instead something else; then presumably discernment and behaviour are not relevant.
I agree that Christianity is about following Christ. But one note: He said the kingdom of the heavens is at hand. Already here. I would argue that Christ came to open up the opportunity of accessing new life with God (aka walking by the Spirit not the flesh aka learning in the yoke with Christ aka living as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven - lots of ways to say it) now. Not merely following Him to attain it after death, but learning to walk in fellowship with God NOW and continuing that walk beyond death into eternity (obviously in a more limited way here and more fully after death). But there’s still real access now, through discipleship to Christ.
So I would say real Christianity is about choosing to follow Jesus Christ IN (ever-increasing) eternal resurrected life TO heaven.
I bet you’d enjoy reading Dallas Willard, if you haven’t. He taught beautifully on these themes of real discipleship to Christ, and the substitute “gospels” that fill our churches today.
@Kate - To put matters bluntly, I don't believe that Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God was in this world - because it isn't true. If it was, there would be no need for resurrection to eternal Heavenly life.
It is half-true, in the sense that God's creation is in this world - but so is death (corruption, degeneration, disease), and so is evil - so this world cannot be the Kingdom.
Discipleship to Christ is a very abstract concept - it all depends on how it is made concrete. Most of the ways people do this seem wrong-headed, arbitrary, and very feeble. Such as cherry picking Gospel stories and parables, or snippets of Epistles, and making rules based on them.
(Feeble indeed, if the 2020 birdemic is anything to go by - when self-styled disciples of Jesus, supposedly dedicated to following him; actively celebrated closing their churches and ceasing to do their discipleship stuff - and instead gibbered with fear while locked up indoors, clamouring to the government for ever more "safety").
The kingdom of God is primarily a spiritual reality on earth now, although of course it has effects in the physical world. I respectfully disagree with your statement that it’s not here - I think Jesus was saying it is here, for example when He said “the kingdom of God is at hand” or “the kingdom of God is within you” (or among you). I think the kingdom of God is anywhere under God’s rule - where He is treated as king. Like in the Lord’s Prayer - praying for more and more of God’s kingdom (aka will) to come on earth, in my life. Of course there are other kingdoms here now too, which might be your point about it being halfway here. And people currently have the choice about how much they want to engage in God’s kingdom. And His will involves wanting people to learn to be co-creators with Him, it’s not like He just gives a set of ikea instructions to follow.
And as far as discipleship being a vague concept in most churches, I very much know what you mean. I think apprentice maybe gets at the idea more clearly - learning how to live properly and well from Christ. Learning from His words and stories of Him in scripture, learning from others who have loved and followed Him, learning from observing the world He made, learning from trial and error in our own lives, and also learning from thoughts and impressions and intuitions directly from Him, which can be confidently, though not infallibly, recognized. I agree that it all depends on how (if?) it is applied.
@Kate - I agree, of course, that God's creation is what makes this world. In *that* sense the Kingdom of God is here. As I said, the idea is partially correct.
But it is my conviction that Christians do not have a firm grasp upon the primary reality of what Jesus did - which is made clear in the Fourth Gospel, but only there.
I suspect that an element in the confusion about the Kingdom of God, comes from the idea that Jesus was that Messiah who would save the Jews from Roman rule, and set up a united Israel. Later theologians have been unwilling to give up this wrong idea, and seem to have adapted it, rather than discarding it.
It's a matter of "first things first" - and (I think) far too many Christians are so concerned about secondary and optional matters of a this-worldly nature; that they do not recognize the primary, core, absolutely-necessary thing that Jesus did.
For instance, many Christians through history have made salvation into something that can never be assumed, and is regarded as satisfying the demands of a stern judge.
When salvation is made uncertain, and made to depend on earthly intermediaries, and made to depend on God conceived as a stern judge (rather than a loving Father, or parents) - then the *expectation* of salvation is prevented from influencing our mortal lives in the way that it ought to.
Whereas Jesus wanted those who desire that salvation He offers to be absolutely confident about it, as something that they or anyone can have For Sure -- so long as they desire it above earthly things (and will make the needful sacrifices/ repentance - leaving behind all evil - to enable resurrection).
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