If you don't believe there's an absolute truth, the following will makes no sense. And if you think we are no more than the atoms that make up our bodies, then we barely have a place to begin a discussion. But if you believe that we are more than the atoms we're made of, and there's a truth which stands independent of personal preference, then there's a problem.
We had a good service this morning, despite my recent moanings. What was particularly good, so far as I was concerned, was that there was no beating around the bush. The point was clearly made: this is the foundation of the Christian truth, and if you don't like it, you can argue with it, but you can't rewrite it. All this was in the context of the letter to the church at Pergamum - so much like my city where we harbour seductive heresy to the point that many in the church actively endorse relativistic truths as normative, while dabbling in mysticism for comfort, and defensively subscribing to syncretism. So why am I irked? I am irked because of why some seemed to be offended. Not that they were offended - that can be a healthy if its an offence by the truth - but that they were offended because they were not being left alone in their comfort zone of reinterpreted and self-constructed idealism. I suspect there are far more people than we'd care to admit who are attending our churches and who live with their comfortable version of Jesus 2.0, re-released in soft colours as seen in our life's web browser, nicely tweaked to satisfy, but intellectually indefensible as being anything more than our creation of a personalized religion. If the central message of the Bible is true, then the offence is by that truth. We're not talking about a subtle interpretation of one verse here or there, but about holding on to the central threads that bind it together in a rational, logical, and cohesive whole - a whole that is unique among religions, and incompatible with all other religions. Christianity is not intellectually compatible with any other faith - not unless we cut it and slice it and massage it until its a malleable pulp ready to be shaped into what we want. Unadulterated Christianity says we went from from a normative created state into a broken and twisted nature, fractured our relationship by the fact that logically the holy and unholy cannot be mixed without leading to the destruction of both. Yet there is a marriage forged by one all consuming sacrifice to regain intimacy, to restore our normative being. There are two ways to be home; never leave, come full circle back to where you started. So when people start twisting truth simply because its made them uncomfortable, I get irked. Argue with it, by all means. Disagree as much as you like. But be honest. If you want to rewrite scripture, go for it, only don't call it Christianity. If you want syncretism to rule the day, for "Love is all you need" to be the mantra on everyone's lips, then be my guest and go right ahead. But don't brand your private religion with a Christian label. That's why I'm irked. When there’s not enough gumption to reason through a point of offence, I get irked. When someone stops short, staying on a point of illogicality because that's the limit they "can live with", then that's not living. Either there is truth, or there's not. If there is truth, we may not fully comprehend it, but at least we can recognize it. So if you want to wrestle with all the mystery and supposed paradox, then let's do that, but don't stop short. Because the letters to "the seven churches that are in Asia" are hard warnings. And to Pergamum, the warning of harbouring seductive heresy comes painfully close to describing some in my church, many in our churches, and is prevalent in my city.
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Why?
Probably the best therapy is to express yourself. Why do you think psychiatrists make you lie on the couch and talk, while all they do is murmur "hmmm", "uhuh", or "go on"? Archives
May 2017
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