So much false, distorted, and misleading information in and around Christianity, and human attention and abilities are so limited, that we need ways of swiftly recognizing and disposing-of clear wrongness (regardless of the vast volumes are teaching and commentary that affirm the wrongness).
Because of human inattention and inability; the most effective way of disguising and perpetuating wrongness, is by combining complexity and abstraction - therefore our best antidote is to keep things personal and direct.
Christians have the great advantage that Jesus made it clear (in the teachings and recorded behaviour of the close-friend eye-witness account of the Fourth Gospel "John") that we should think of God's relationships with Men, in terms of a family.
Since nearly everybody has sufficient experience, backed by innate knowledge and instincts, to know how an ideal family ought to behave; then we can evaluate statements/ assertions about God and divine purpose by this family comparison.
Such a comparison disposes of a great deal of common (mainstream, official, and traditional) assertion about the basis structure of the plan of salvation for Mankind in context of the spiritual war of this world.
In particular, we can infer that salvation is not really "a plan" - at least, not if a "plan" is the kind of thing that is used by a national military leader in order to win a war.
The proper analogue of "victory" in the war of this world ought to be (not one nation defeating another, but) the salvation of an individual person: which is their transformation into resurrected eternal life in Heaven.
This fits with what Christian-committed parents wish for each and every one of their beloved children.
Such parents are Not seeking a spiritual "group-victory", analogous to the material victory of a tribe or nation; because such a victory would reasonably (and necessarily) require the spiritual sacrifice of one or (almost certainly) many of their beloved children in order that the family-as-a-whole might defeat then enemy, and triumph in some (hoped-to-be) overall way.
However; loving families don't aspire to work by such "spiritual sacrifices"; they do not consign one or more children to damnation (perhaps hell) in order that the others, or the group-as-a-whole might be saved.
No!... instead, ideally loving families would seek always for the best - spiritually - for each and all members.
The family conceptualized as a group is of secondary concern, and the "unit" of family is derived from the individual members and their mutual love.
The family analogy reveals the wicked ultimate consequences of talk on the lines that God has "already won" the spiritual war of this world; and/or the common assumption that salvation is groupish - of tribes, nations, Mankind.
Such talk is analogous to saying that a nation has "already" won a war, despite that fighting continues and thousands are still dying and being hurt and maimed.
Such a statement makes sense on in terms of the the primacy of nation; but when individual beloved persons are primary, then a war is "won" only person by person.
And a war continues uncertain for as long as there are any persons whose spiritual destiny is not decided.
So, in following Christ; the only "victory" is the salvation of particular persons, and such victory is actually an eternal transformation of that person's nature - and this is not an end-point for him, or the world; but a new beginning.
Life itself, family life (where the persons involved are all eternal beings), is the unending participation of each individual in ongoing divine creation.
And divine creation is an aspect of love; the consequence of love, the purpose of love - which is why the ideal family is so exact an analogy.
Divine creation is not of its nature "winnable". Creation is to be lived; and lived well; with each individual who chooses resurrection making his own unique contribution towards its open-ended and ever-lasting growth.
I wholeheartedly agree with what you have written here.
ReplyDeleteLately I've been thinking quite a bit about why this simple, personal, and direct way of explaining how God works resonates with so few people. I don't profess to have an answer, but perhaps the disappointments (and, often, worse) people experience in their family lives tarnishes this way of thinking about how God works or what a relationship with God and others should be like. Put another way, family experiences seem to be very far away from best or ideal for a great deal of people. Very few families in this world appear focused on what is best for their members spiritually. If families don't function here, why would they function at a "higher level," so to speak.
Of course, this shouldn't mar how one knows a best or ideal family ought to behave, but it inevitably does or at least seems to -- to the point that I suspect many become convinced that God and beings aligned with God cannot possibly work in that manner. Too messy. Too idealistic. Too dependent. Whatever.
Along those lines, the whole "category error" also presents an obstacle. Most Christians cannot conceive of God functioning in any kind of family dynamic. Sure, there is a Father and Jesus is called Son but that is for the benefit of our comprehension rather than an accurate reflection of the relationship. God is an a category all his own. He is Absolute. Ultimate. He requires no family. Family requires God.
@Frank "Put another way, family experiences seem to be very far away from best or ideal for a great deal of people."
ReplyDeleteIndeed, there's something in this - especially with the pervasive and continuous and highly-effective anti-family propaganda in the West over the past century.
But, objectively speaking, if family relationships are suboptimal, then compared with what? *On average* family relationships are the best relationships most people ever have - overwhelmingly so.
e.g. A question I sometimes put is that - even now - how often do you hear of somebody's best friend moving house and relocating hundreds (or thousands) of miles away; in order to help-out long-term with childcare or sickness?
Yet family members do such things very frequently - I know of multiple examples, including several within my own close and extended family.
I think the category error is more deeply rooted.
(Often against their spontaneous feelings) People have been taught, and indeed the major Christian churches* absolutely insist upon it as core and definitive that God is utterly, qualitatively, un-like human beings in essence - and Jesus is (by the Trinity doctrine) the same entity as this incomprehensibly abstract entity.
After all this kind of thing has been hammered home for centuries, and endorsed by all the vast weight of high status institutional influence; then the family analogy is relegated to an error of ignorant, simple-minded "anthropomorphism".
So, for almost al Christians for multiple centuries - when the family analogy conflicts with the assumptions of official theology - it is the familial understanding that must always give-way.
*Excepting Mormons/ CJCLDS.