5.01.2005
The Gospel
I've been in discussion online about the basic question of what's the gospel. In Brian McLaren's books A New Kind of Christian, The Story We Find Ourselvels In and A Generous Orthodoxy, he speaks very loudly of us being heirs of Abraham's promise and of us being a blessing TO the world, not just receiving blessings IN the world. This resonates very deeply with me because I see it as anti-narcissism which seems to be a good thing.
The Jews both succeeded and failed in this part of the Abrahamic Covenant, just like, I believe, we are today. We are both a blessing and not a blessing. However, we are mostly on a hunt to do two things (and not just according to BMc but also general observation and non-Christian pundits):
1. Get our butts in heaven (and in more extreme cases, making sure OUR butts are the only ones in there or if other butts are in, then they are relegated to a lower status than us)
2. Getting God (or circumstances or other people) to do things for us. This may include getting prayers answered, getting legislation passed, or Bad Things not happening to us while they happen to other people.
In the current Fudagelical paradigm, is there anything more to the Christian life? So when we talk about the Good News of Jesus Christ, is that it? Is there no Good News for people who aren't one of us? Is the Good News of Jesus confined to those two core Christian principles or is there something else we are missing and missing Big Time just like the Jews did?
I'm inclined to think there is.
If you ask me it is an unhealthy focus on The Left Behind Series and missing the fact that it is a transition to the Millennium.
The Jews both succeeded and failed in this part of the Abrahamic Covenant, just like, I believe, we are today. We are both a blessing and not a blessing. However, we are mostly on a hunt to do two things (and not just according to BMc but also general observation and non-Christian pundits):
1. Get our butts in heaven (and in more extreme cases, making sure OUR butts are the only ones in there or if other butts are in, then they are relegated to a lower status than us)
2. Getting God (or circumstances or other people) to do things for us. This may include getting prayers answered, getting legislation passed, or Bad Things not happening to us while they happen to other people.
In the current Fudagelical paradigm, is there anything more to the Christian life? So when we talk about the Good News of Jesus Christ, is that it? Is there no Good News for people who aren't one of us? Is the Good News of Jesus confined to those two core Christian principles or is there something else we are missing and missing Big Time just like the Jews did?
I'm inclined to think there is.
If you ask me it is an unhealthy focus on The Left Behind Series and missing the fact that it is a transition to the Millennium.
