Be Angry, and Sin Not ... But be Angry

The world is changing. No news there, except I refer to the world as it relates to ‘Christianity’. And that is a good thing, the changing I mean.

Someone close to me told me recently not to get caught in the church-bashing trap. And they are right, I suppose. There are enough bashers around. But then …

I think of my Example, my Forerunner, my Lord and Master, my friend. And I wonder … what was he like in his approach to the world of his day? Interesting question, methinks. I love to read/hear about Jesus and how he handled stuff. I’m not Jesus, and I don’t live back then, but I’m a follower of his, and maybe the world hasn’t changed as much as we tend to think, at least in some respects. Solomon said that there really isn’t anything new under the sun. Evil is still evil, good is still good, and wickedness is a common thing, at all levels, in all our hearts. Mankind still needs a savior and Jesus is still very much into that; he is in the business of reconciliation.

The world needs to be rescued, and that’s where Jesus-people come in. Or should. But then … What on Earth is happening? Seems to me something is wrong, has gone wrong, maybe went wrong a long time ago. Seems to me it needs fixing.

Jesus came here, Emmanuel, God with us, to strike at the heart of what was wrong, and to institute the righting of it all. He began a kingdom under the authority of God himself to reconcile and rectify and justify and make things right. And he paid for it in spades.

Before he left though he said he would build his church, and I tend to listen to what he says, and surely believe he did, at least according to Luke’s record in the Acts of the Apostles. In fact it rather busted-out in not too many years, and a groundswell of Jesus-people began to change the world, beginning in Jerusalem and spreading through Judea and outward to all parts of the Earth, just like Jesus said.

But what was he like? How did he deal with things here on Earth? As I read the gospels I am struck by some very basic things about Jesus and how he lived. One is that he went about doing good. He healed, and fed, and blessed, and taught about God … his mission in that regard was to loosen the bonds that bind humanity to sickness and starvation and demonization, and abuse at all levels. The Sermon on the Mount is hugely applicable here.

Another striking aspect of his ministry was righting the misconceptions of his people as to the Messiah’s mission and how that would pan out. He did this through his lifestyle and his teachings. His private instruction and discourses with The Twelve refers.

The third thing Jesus focused on was taking down the religious authorities of his day. He was a master at that, and very bold in doing it. The reasoning is apparent: God left his nation, Israel, in the spiritual hands of the priesthood, and they abused their authority, period. God’s people were being misdirected and his character misrepresented. And that made Jesus mad.

So then, that’s it in a nutshell, as I see it. His aim was to undo the consequences of the Fall and its effects on humanity and creation as a whole; his tenure on Earth instituted that agenda and initiated the kingdom in embryonic form, the proverbial mustard seed, now planted.

So, back to the issue: criticizing the ‘church’. My 40-year tenure in the Protestant/Baptist/Fundamentalist church has led me to the point of frustration/disillusionment/regret/done-with-that syndrome. I began questioning ‘stuff’ a decade ago, and my journey has led me to the point of rebellion. I’m a rebel. I’m rebelling against what has become ‘Christ-ianity’ (maybe ‘Christendom’ is a better descriptive) because I believe it to be quite unlike what Jesus had in mind when he said he would build his church. In fact I contend it is anti-Christ. .. oops, sorry .. .

If that is so, if there’s misdirection and misrepresentation coming from the spiritual guides of the church, then it needs to be addressed. I began by saying the world of Christianity is changing, and I am encouraged by it. People have begun to put shoes on their (my) disillusionment and are challenging the traditions. They are revisiting the theology and interpretations and commentaries, and are tossing all sorts of flammable material into the fire. And I’m glad.

I do not agree with all that is emerging, but the process is what I exult over. I join in the rebellion, happily, and look for change, because what I see in the annals of Christian history and hear from the pulpit and see on the tele and read in the books is, to me, quite disparate from the person of Jesus, the incarnation of God. I revel in the rebellion.

Further, I call out the ‘church’ in all its forms to submit itself to the process, to ask forgiveness across the board: that God forgive it for the misapplication of Scripture and the misrepresentation to the world of who God is; that the world itself forgive it for the massive abuses foisted on it under the name of Christ; that those who have left and are leaving the church forgive it for the abuses unloaded on them; that the poor and the impoverished of whatever form, the abused, the fatherless and widows, the forgotten aged, the children enslaved in pornography and child-labour camps forgive it for our contribution to the problems and neglect of their conditions… ask for it, humbly, and be thankful if there is a response, for there is nothing more reprehensible than abuse under the name of Creator God, nothing.

Jesus took the religious leadership of his day to task for it, and I see no reason to forgive the church apart from its penitence and repentance, or before the church asks forgiveness of the world. Jesus told the public of their abusive ways; he derided their wickedness; he called them ‘Hypocrite!’ to their very faces, in public, in the synagogue; he told them they misinterpreted the Scriptures, and burdened the people with unbearable burdens; he called them all sorts of names, like ‘vipers’ and ‘white-washed sepulchres’; he handmade a whip in the temple and used it do undo the merchandising institution of the leadership. He never backed away from conflict with them, but rather took them on, confronting them at every turn, even after they set out to kill him.

Aside:- imagine the scene: Jesus walks into the temple and (again) reflects on, and is angered by, the merchandising of God’s house. His anger deepens and morphs into rage. He gathers materials, sits down, and begins to weave and plait a whip. This takes time. Some people notice and watch as the weapon is constructed, wondering what he’s doing, what he’s making. And all the while his anger strengthens as he purposes the thing he is about to do, in the temple, in the house of his father, in the very seat of religion. Imagine it.

My question is this: if Jesus took the battle directly to the religious leadership of his day, and exposed their wickedness and deceptions to the people, and if I am a follower of Jesus and see similar deception in the present day, am I above my master? Shouldn’t I be in the trenches battling against the spiritual wickedness in Christianity today, while doing all I can to adjust, to help, to become Jesus to this world?

So when you say ‘forgive’ I say ‘challenge’, I say ‘confront’, I say ‘question’, I say ‘don’t accept the same ol’ stuff, but test the spirits to see if they are of God’. It is not enough to allow it to continue unchallenged; that is a great evil. If there is abuse under the guise of the cross how can we allow it to persist? How dare we?

We are to be Jesus to the world, and we need to look to right the wrongs, to help wherever we can to relieve the suffering and abuses in this fallen world, doing our bit to advance the kingdom, to spread the love of Jesus to the underprivileged and the hurting, the maimed and blind and hungry and cold and homeless and persecuted and … we are to be the saviours in our world, the rescuers, the ones people run to for help.

Failing that … who then are we? And what on Earth is this life for?

NB. Earlier I said it might have been better to use the word 'Christendom' than 'Christianity'. I take that back. It is precisely Christianity that I describe here, and any other word would simply cloud the issue. It is the Christian church as it stands today, particularly in the West, that I decry, none other.