Cross as Destruction of Structures

The cross is a violent act, a violent moment in time. On the cross we see a man brutally displayed in all his humanity and without dignity.

Yet, the cross is a self-defeating act, too. For, on the cross, we find a man, destroyed, beaten, by the powers of his age. But the violence done to Jesus is violence done to the structure(s) of the time, the powers, the State. By employing violence on a peace-making Rabbi, the son of God, they employ violence on themselves. Thus, the cross is self-destruction - of the powers and the violence upon which the State is (too often) predicated.

Love - Antithesis

Love is kind - "I wanna kill people so I'm gonna join special ops," guy at school.

Love does not dishonor others - "God hates fags," Westboro Baptist Church.

Love keeps no record of wrongs - "We will never forgive, we will never forget," Anonymous.

Love is patient - "Come quickly Lord Jesus."

Jesus Is Not For America

That's right.

Nor is America for Jesus. In fact, much of America is antithetical to Jesus. Or, more frankly, Jesus stands opposed to much of America (at least as it is).

Jesus stands and says love your enemies; America goes to war regularly and has since Vietnam (basically, we've been in a war for thirty plus years straight).

Jesus says turn the other cheek; America seeks its own interests and spits at anyone who gets in the way.

Jesus says he is the Light; America, via the mouth of George Bush, claims to be the light and hope of nations.

Don't get me wrong, America has some wonderful parts and facets. But as that shocking and odd band we all love states, "We've baptized the Empire into the Church and hailed it sanctification." The American Church has become pathetic. We've gone to bed with the State. Am I saying don't be patriotic? No, but consider your nationalism and hold it in check.

God Bless America and Other Grumpy Anecdotes

#1

The Fourth of July, more than anything else, is simply a holiday for the religion of America. Americanism is its own religion and the Fourth of July is its Christmas.

#2

Just having faith is a wonderful sentiment but, honestly, means nothing.

#3

All this is my self-aware attempt to seem intelligent.

#4

The Church is not to go to bed with the State and have the love child we see embodied in America today.

#5

As far as I'm concerned the reaction people have to gay marriage is reflective of their true heart; they can say they love gays but when they take bible passages to dehumanize them, their words mean nothing.

#6

Jesus as the center, not religion.

#7

"I discovered later, and I’m still discovering right up to this moment, that it is only by
living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. One must completely abandon any
attempt to make something of oneself, whether it be a saint, or a converted sinner, or a
churchman (a so-called priestly type!) a righteous man or an unrighteous one, a sick man or a
healthy one. By this-worldliness I mean living unreservedly in life’s duties, problems, successes
and failures, experiences and perplexities." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

#8

Belief in a God is, in some sense, a crutch.

Gay and Beautiful and a Little Thing Called Love

I really do love the Supreme Court sometimes. Sometimes they make decisions which make sense; also, they're really good at instigating conversation. And with the overturning of parts of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) it's started a revitalization of the marriage debate. It has also managed to bring out the Christians in full force. "Oh no! America is going to hell! Go back to God!" are the cries of our wonderful Christians. But guess what? It's doing nothing. Nothing whatsoever. 

  

      I understand. But seriously? Running to Leviticus 19? If you're a Christian and you use Leviticus as your go to reason for why gays shouldn't be allowed to marry your hermeneutic is rather pathetic. Picking a verse, at random, from the Old Testament Law will not do. Be consistent. If you take this verse, which is not only moral but explicitly civil in nature (who else is going to enforce the death penalty for gays?), you need to take more. Oh, but you say: "There are different types of Laws in the Old Testament." Of course there are. But not in the sense you mean (moral, civil, and those relating to the sacrificial system). There is no clear indication that the Bible, in the OT or NT, ever delineates such a distinction. So unless you're a theonomist, which most Christians are not, don't run to the OT Law. But what about Romans 1? and 1 Corinthians 6? Both of these have a context and neither of these tell us what the government can or cannot do. 

   

     But the  fundamental problem is how we as Christians respond. As Rachel Held Evans so aptly states, "But it reminded me of one important, reality-based fact: Most people begin to recognize their sexual orientation when they are just kids, when they are young and vulnerable like this little girl. So when we, in the Church, discuss homosexuality as though it were an issue faced by “other people” who are “out there,” when we resort to stereotypes and language about hell and judgment and damnation, we may be doing serious damage to the most precious and vulnerable among us. Even our casual conversations with one another can be picked up by little ears and internalized in destructive ways." And her point stands validly. Go to almost any gay person and ask them when they realized they were gay you will get an answer that varies from young child to teen years. Either way one takes it words have consequences. Am I saying that if you have a conviction that being gay or gay action is wrong that's fine and wonderful. Consider, though, how you go about sharing this belief. Will you damn gays and call them abominations simply to be faithful to the Biblical witness? Or will you love them and say it a manner that admits you're just as much a worthless sinner as they? Because, frankly, all it sounds like from my side of the pew is a bunch of pissed off white Christians who think America is going to hell. They seem to be more concerned with America than with people and loving them. That pesky ol' second greatest commandment, right? 

    

     So, seriously. Get off your high horse. Get into the streets. Pray. Love. Interact. The Incarnation of Jesus demands that we as Christians live as part of this world, that the bodies we have are clean, that the Creation is healing and groaning to be fully restored, and that we must live separately. And stop focusing on that last point without the others. Because when you do, when you "hope all things" in people they have opportunity and you can grow and learn. 

People, Please...

Stating that America was founded on Christ is absurd. If America is founded on Christ then why are we not glorifying, nationally, a man who died a salvific death that was also political death? Maybe because, shocker here, we were never a Christian nation. Sure, we stole from Christian morality but that does not make us a Christian nation. At best it only makes us a moral one. And even that is an exaggeration. Do I love America? Sure, but don't tell me that you fight to get us back to the good ol' days of us as a Christian nation. Never existed. It truly is like finding Neverland.