Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Otherwordly religion
Chris Erdman in the blog Odyssey quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer on the appeal and dangers associated with "otherworldly" (i.e. focus on afterlife, heaven, etc.) religion, and offers some of his own valuable reflections:
"... there are many for whom Jesus is only a cypher for a ticket out of this world at some later date while they going on living in this world the same old way and by the same old rules that govern a dying world. Shame on this masquerade of religion that betrays the essence of the message of Jesus that meant to birth a whole new earth. The Jesus of Suburbia is escapist, otherworldly, and fails to take seriously the Jesus who makes us children of this earth with a mission for good in it."
Monday, August 22, 2005
The Problem with Religion
While not of great depth, MC Wright has an article, "The Problem with Religion" at THEOOZE.
Jesus' entire ministry evolved around bashing the established religion, breaking its taboos, and offering people an invitation to something far beyond religion, an encounter with divinity.
The result of Jesus' life was an escape from religion where people were required to earn God's favor by becoming something God said they really could never become: holy, other, like Him.
Technorati Tags: religion, Jesus, EndReligion
Jesus' entire ministry evolved around bashing the established religion, breaking its taboos, and offering people an invitation to something far beyond religion, an encounter with divinity.
The result of Jesus' life was an escape from religion where people were required to earn God's favor by becoming something God said they really could never become: holy, other, like Him.
Technorati Tags: religion, Jesus, EndReligion
Friday, August 19, 2005
Brian McLaren on religion
A must read book promoting a positive shift occuring among some followers of Jesus is A Generous Or+hodoxy by Brian McLaren, leader in the Emergent movement.
Here are some significant quotes pertaining to religion:
Technorati Tags: McLaren, Brian McLaren, religion, Christianity, Kingdom of God, EndReligion
Here are some significant quotes pertaining to religion:
"In the previous chapter, I suggested that Jesus didn't come to start another religion, which would include the Christian religion. I wasn't kidding. I do, in fact, believe that. That the Christian religion formed as it has is not surprising. It was no doubt necessary and in many ways good, and I know God is in it, and I am in it, too. But "the Christian religion" is neither the ultimate goal of Jesus nor the ultimate goal of God, in my view. Rather, the goal of Jesus is the kingdom of God, which is the dream of God, the wish and hope and desire of God for creation-like a parent's hopes and dreams for a beloved child." (p. 267)
...
"... I believe a person can affiliate with Jesus in the kingdom-of-God dimension without affiliating with him in the religious kingdom of Christianity. In other words, I believe that Christianity is not the kingdom of God. The ultimate reality is the kingdom of God, and Christianity at its best is here to proclaim and lead people into that kingdom, calling them out of smaller rings, smaller kingdoms. Christianity at its worst, using the definition in this paragraph, can become a sin when it holds people within its ring and won't let them enter the kingdom of God. Jesus diagnosed the religious leaders of his day as doing this very thing." (p. 282 note)
Technorati Tags: McLaren, Brian McLaren, religion, Christianity, Kingdom of God, EndReligion
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Cultural Christianity
Some excellent thoughts from Chris Erdman, a Pastor who writes on "Preaching Jesus Up Against the Jesus of Surburbia":
"What often passes for Christianity may be religious but is not Christianity--not yet at least (and one wonders if it ever will be given such a start). Culture Christians are not terribly interested in Jesus of the Bible . . . So much of this non-Christian Christianity is really about creating a safe world where I'll never have to love my enemy, deny myself my create comforts, or die as a witness to Jesus Christ. This is a gospel but it is not the Gospel."
Read the entire post here.
"What often passes for Christianity may be religious but is not Christianity--not yet at least (and one wonders if it ever will be given such a start). Culture Christians are not terribly interested in Jesus of the Bible . . . So much of this non-Christian Christianity is really about creating a safe world where I'll never have to love my enemy, deny myself my create comforts, or die as a witness to Jesus Christ. This is a gospel but it is not the Gospel."
Read the entire post here.
Friday, August 05, 2005
The Religion-Relationship Farce
Obviously, not everyone agrees with our anti-religious understanding of Jesus' message. There is value in hearing other perspectives.
In the August 2005 edition of Next-Wave Ezine is an article entitled "The Religion-Relationship Farce" by Chris Munroe. Munroe views religion is much broader sense than I would, so to start with we share some semantic differences. He states that:
"Neither Jesus nor the New Testament rejects religion, [all emphases are original] but rather religious hypocrisy. Jesus did not come to do away with the law of religion, but rather to fulfill it (i.e. releasing its inherent potential and purpose). Therefore the work of Christianity is not to abolish religion, but rather to lift and refocus it."
Beyond this, the real point of interest in Munroe's article is his attack on those who use the abuses within religion as an excuse to reject it in favor of a individualistic and privatistic faith, commonly expressed as "I don't have a religion, I have a relationship." He argues that this is not a good exchange.
"Now for the record: there are just as many hypocritical or misled "relationship-Christians" as there are hypocritical or misled "religious-Christians" (distinctions which are absurd). Claiming to have a relationship instead of a religion in no way guarantees a person is a faithful or effective follower of Jesus Christ. Conversely, a religious person is not spiritually or automatically disqualified as a genuine disciple. "
I don't think Munroe and I are too far apart, despite his reluctance to give up the religious nature of Christianity. I agree that a "relationship" orientation of Christianity (as is often promulgated by Evangelicals) is dangerous, and does not accurately reflect the Good News of Jesus.
Rejecting religion does not mean we retreat into our isolated cocoons, a tendency far too common in North America. Certainly we must reject the rigid and sterile forms that develops out of religion. But, following the Way of Jesus does require more than just seeking internal peace through some spiritual relationship with God. It's much more. It requires that we live out our faith in our lives and in community with others who follow this Way. These are tangible expressions which I am unwilling to call "religion", and which are far more involved than settling for a simple "relationship".
In the August 2005 edition of Next-Wave Ezine is an article entitled "The Religion-Relationship Farce" by Chris Munroe. Munroe views religion is much broader sense than I would, so to start with we share some semantic differences. He states that:
"Neither Jesus nor the New Testament rejects religion, [all emphases are original] but rather religious hypocrisy. Jesus did not come to do away with the law of religion, but rather to fulfill it (i.e. releasing its inherent potential and purpose). Therefore the work of Christianity is not to abolish religion, but rather to lift and refocus it."
Beyond this, the real point of interest in Munroe's article is his attack on those who use the abuses within religion as an excuse to reject it in favor of a individualistic and privatistic faith, commonly expressed as "I don't have a religion, I have a relationship." He argues that this is not a good exchange.
"Now for the record: there are just as many hypocritical or misled "relationship-Christians" as there are hypocritical or misled "religious-Christians" (distinctions which are absurd). Claiming to have a relationship instead of a religion in no way guarantees a person is a faithful or effective follower of Jesus Christ. Conversely, a religious person is not spiritually or automatically disqualified as a genuine disciple. "
I don't think Munroe and I are too far apart, despite his reluctance to give up the religious nature of Christianity. I agree that a "relationship" orientation of Christianity (as is often promulgated by Evangelicals) is dangerous, and does not accurately reflect the Good News of Jesus.
Rejecting religion does not mean we retreat into our isolated cocoons, a tendency far too common in North America. Certainly we must reject the rigid and sterile forms that develops out of religion. But, following the Way of Jesus does require more than just seeking internal peace through some spiritual relationship with God. It's much more. It requires that we live out our faith in our lives and in community with others who follow this Way. These are tangible expressions which I am unwilling to call "religion", and which are far more involved than settling for a simple "relationship".
