Skip to content

Category: Imago Dei

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

There are few things in this life that can agitate me to extreme frustration and anger than the misuse of the Name of Christ by those who profess to be ardent followers.
Yeah, I know, I have a particular lens through which I view life. My worldview colors my observations and opinions. This, of course, renders what I think and say of little consequence to any who hold differing thoughts.
That’s ok.
I don’t make any claim to know anything at all, let alone what you or anyone else should think.
That being said, I am at a loss right now to express the sadness and dejection that I feel regarding the Church in the U.S.
I just finished reading the first of three memoirs written by Frederick Douglass. It’s entitled, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.”
I really want to educate myself about the history that none of us who grew up in the bleached whiteness of Northern suburbia ever heard in school. I desire to know the truth that gave breath and life to Douglass and du Bois and King and Malcom. What inspires those who march behind banners of ‘No Justice; No Peace’? How can anyone explain the seemingly wanton destruction of property as a form of justifiable protest?
We are told that the roots of all of this lies in the 400 years of slavery, Jim Crow, Jim Crow, Jr., voter suppression, discrimination, and humiliation.
So, I am looking back in time to those who experienced such breaches of human dignity and enacted atrocities that no civilized culture should ever embrace.
So, I read.
And, in this very first volume of Douglass’ not only do I find the utterly deplorable account of human evil against another eikon of God, I find the Church in the U.S. indicted as co-conspirator.
I grew up in the era when many Protestant denominations began to join hands with those who worked, (and suffered), for equality among races. They, at long last, began to lift their voices in harmony with their African American Sisters and Brothers. Soon, a thing called the “Social Gospel” became evident in the work done by these folks.
Almost immediately, a backlash from other less accommodating churches was unleashed.
I always thought it strange that any church should be against offering a hand to lift those trodden down through no real fault of their own. Excepting the amount of melanin in their skin.
Yet, as I studied church history in seminary I began to see another force at work.
The church of the South was instrumental in propping up the structures of slavery. It served a Balm of Gilead to the harassed consciences of women and men who knew in their hearts that what they were doing was an affront to God. At least, that’s how it looks to me. The slavers needed to know that what they were doing was in some way a just and righteous thing to do. The church of the South provided that assurance.
In my mind, though, I considered the counterparts of these, the church of the North, to be, in fact, righteous! Didn’t they house and protect the runaway? Weren’t their benevolences a means of setting the poor, former slaves on a track of self sustenance?
Well, maybe.
In the appendix to Douglass’ memoir I found in it information about the “Christianity of this land” that seems to include the Church in the U.S. at large.
He set this “Christianity” in contrast to what he named the “Christianity of Christ.”
Of this, he wrote,
“To receive the one [Christianity of Christ] as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked…I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slave holding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land.”
Pretty strong language.
And, rightly given.
As I reflected on these words I wondered, “what has changed in the 175 years since this narrative was written”?
I looked around, hopefully, to see if there were any, as the prophet Elijah once wondered, if there were any faithful in the land who may be found.
And, happily I saw sparks of hope glittering in the land. I allowed myself a moment to indulge that hope.
Then, I saw that Douglass’ “Christianity of this land” still in ascendancy and power.
For what have we gained as a community of faith when children are still snatched from their families at our southern border? What progress have the faithful made when our cities are still segregated by the remnants of ‘Red Lining’? How can we go to pray to a kind and loving God when our constituents rail against offering a hand to lift our Sisters and Brothers from the chains of ‘White Culture’ that still fetter and bind them?
So, for those who think that I unjustly hold up the dirty laundry of the Church in the U.S. for all to see, please know that I do so only to shine the light of Christ into the darkness of an unjust and cruel community that is complicit in the continued suffering of humans made in the Image of God.
Nor, do I exempt myself from culpability. I have lived my life in the White Light of Privilege that has allowed me to move about freely and without any encumbrance due to the color of my skin. So, before any accuse me of hypocrisy please know that i stand accused and convicted in the systems that have levied such a high cost to our own humanity as we degrade others.
I, too, must work hard to change myself and to see the transformation that God has asked of any who would carry the Banner of Christ.

Leave a Comment

Religious Right: Hangin’ With Hookers

From Chicken Little: Fish out of water.

Sometimes I feel like that proverbial “Fish Out Of Water.”
Most of my vision and attention is on Christianity, specifically the Bible, and how it intersects with culture and church.
So much damage has been done to people because of the weaponization of both theology and Biblical study.
How many LGBT young people have been shunned by family and community as so-called religious leaders use the Scripture as a bludgeon to hammer these young folks like a blacksmith shaping iron?
“Hey, you Pious Pricks! These are humans made in the Image of God! Not something that you may objectify and form into your own likeness in the way that you have molded your god!”

Yet, sometimes I’m drawn out of the world of religion and into the world where people actually live and breathe. Hell, many of us argue that this ‘real world’ is the only place that religion is able to find its true footing. After all, Yahweh came and pitched God’s tent right here on Terra Firma in order to prove Divine Love for the Cosmos. When you think about that, it’s pretty amazing!

Today is one of those days that I find myself drawn into the world where faith and praxis intersect with culture. I am committed to trying to shine the Light of God and Faith into the darker recesses of our humanity. Places where injustice and oppression find themselves attempting to grow in God’s Garden like weeds and thistles.
(As an aside, I have been waging war on real thistles in my yard and garden. These intrusive weeds are ubiquitous to our area and are damned hard to kill. We have finally found a treatment for them. But, it requires cutting each individual plant and ‘painting’ the curative on the newly cut stem. Time consuming for sure. A pain in the back? Yep! But, it is effective. I’ve noticed a huge reduction in new sprouts. Maybe, just maybe, I can win this battle!)
That image is really quite relevant to the growth of weeds in the church at large. And, White Evangelicalism in particular.
Since the early 1980s when people like Jerry Falwell, Sr., Jim Dobson, Kenneth Copeland, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker, and others christened the so-called ‘Moral Majority’ and began to tout their brand of christianity there has been a decided shift in the winds of politics.
White Evangelicalism seemed to be drawn inexorably into the maelstrom of power. Since so much of their dogma was relegated to the outbox of relevancy, they chose to fire weapons of faith at their newly created Culture Wars.
In actuality, it wasn’t all that new. Religious powers had tried to enforce their particular brands of culture and morality on the world for pretty much Ever.
In the 1980s, however, their reach, or overreach, hit the airways of mass communication.
In a way that was good. It gave the wider world a chance to see the immoral power struggles that embraced religion in real time.
It was also, however, a means to ‘rally the troops.’ These conservative religious people sounded the clarion call to alert everyone that the world was on fire with atheists and communists and all sorts of mean & hateful people who were going to eat babies and wreak havoc on Mom, apple pie, and the ‘murican way!
Heaven have Mercy on us all!

What actually happened, though, was not a rescue mission to save the culture. It was not, in fact, even a religious call to repentance and faith.
The primarily White, conservative, Evangelical church became the de facto religious wing of the Republican party.
They traded their birthright, and absolutely abdicated any claim to the moral high ground, for a bowl of oatmeal.

The apostle Paul wrote, (you really didn’t think that I could resist bringing the Bible into this, did you?), a lot about how faith and culture should interact.
One image that I found while studying Paul is that of a person paying for sex with a prostitute. Paul was NOT writing to people who weren’t part of the Church. He wrote specifically to those who claimed to follow Jesus. And, while he was writing about a person actually interacting with a prostitute, the image, I think, bears on what is happening in the world of White Evangelicalism.
Paul wrote, “Don’t you know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, ‘The two shall be one flesh’” (1 Cor. 6, NRSV).

I want to be clear that I believe that conservative religious people, particularly White Evangelicals, have climbed into bed with conservative politics, especially the Republican Party, and have engaged in relationships that have made you One Flesh with them.
How far can you fall before you reach the bottom?

I adjure you to consider the position that you are in. It’s precarious to say the least.
God is NOT for or against any political party or position.
God seeks the fruit of truth and justice.
All other fruit is tasteless and rotten.

1 Comment

More Questions to Think About

I’ve spent a lot of time at this blog thingy writing about my trials and tribulations as a card carrying member of the Fundagelical Tribe. A lot of the reason for that is simply so that I can process my thoughts and feelings. After all, this is my blog and I can write whatever I like.
So, if I want to use it for therapeutic purposes, so be it!

I’ve spent the last 15 or so years deconstructing much of the theology and church stuff that I had been indoctrinated with. It takes a while to get 30+ years of stuff cleaned out so that you can take a clear look at what’s there. Good and not so good.
Deconstruction can only go so far, though. Eventually, ya gotta start to con-struct something new. I began that process by reading and studying progressive religious leaders. At the top of that list were Brian McLaren, Rev. Dr. William Barber II, Rob Bell, the late Rachel Held Evans, and many others. I found their perspectives on following Jesus rather than holding on to some kind of orthodox dogma refreshing as well as freeing.
These folks pointed toward what McLaren called, “A New Kind of Christianity.”
For me, that book proved life-changing. I suddenly found a stream that flowed with crisp, clear water that I slake my thirst for spirituality. I thank God for this grace that opened my heart and mind to the possibility of a Really, Big God who embraced us and loved us. This was quite different than the little, vindictive god that I had been taught about for so many years.

Now, after the search for life in the Church I have found a home. At least for now. I no longer think in terms of concrete ideas or doctrines. I have killed the idea of certainty and grown in its place a kind of light touch for things. For, who knows, I may learn something tomorrow that will again shake the foundations of life and faith and catapult me into an entirely new reality. It’s happened before. There’s no reason to think it won’t happen again.

Anyway, I digress.

The reason that I’m writing this today is to call out my progressive pals.
Yes, we have much in common. We seek to see justice carried out in our world…Now!
We believe that God cares about the Earth. After all, God did say that it was “Very Good.”
We know that Jesus cares about the Least of These and desires that we care for them.
The “Other,” the widow, orphan, and foreigner are as precious to God as any who would claim to follow Jesus. We MUST consider them precious.
I agree with most Progressives who see that God has placed in every human a Spark of the Divine. There is that Imago Dei, Image of God, that may be found in everyone. We must honor and help fan that Spark to Flame.

These are all good things. These are all Scriptural things.
These are all Godly things.

Yet, there is a lack.

While I feel more comfortable with Progressives, there is still something that prevents me fully embracing fellowship, Koinonia, with them. There is a blockage of some sort that inhibits unconditional acceptance.
I think that for many, (most?), Progressives there is a feeling of “Yes! We made it!”
They consider themselves ‘Woke’ believers who are on the path to a truly just world. All we need to do is get more folks ‘Woke’ like us! (I’m surprised there’s not a book by that title out there!)
For many of these folks the creation of a new World in which there is equality and justice and food and water and peace is something that the arc of history is inexorably bending toward. We just need to do our part to help bend it.

The Early Fathers had a name for this.
Pelagianism.
I’m not going to explain that right now. Y’all are capable of using Google.
But, in essence, it’s a theology of self-sufficiency that Augustine and others rightly rebuked.
This is not to say in the least the We Are Not Responsible for working for justice and peace. Jesus set us the example to do just that.

However, Jesus qualified his example.
He told people who questioned him that the things he did and taught were nothing more than what he saw his Father in Heaven doing and saying.
There is a lack in Progressive theology that doesn’t give enough importance to the Spiritual part of the equation. If equation is even a proper word to describe this.
They have the human side moving well. Progressives are front of the line for helping those in need. Money, time, energy, and gifting are all willingly, and rightly, offered in the work that we all have before us. For people to sit on their hands and say that they’ll ‘Pray for You’ is a cop-out that totally misses the mark of Faithfulness. Those folks continue to ‘fall short of the glory of God.’
The Progressive folks seem to skip over the parts of Scripture that call out our neediness for the Grace of God. Paul wrote about these folks as being ‘of the flesh.’ Basically, that’s theology-speak for someone who has a connection with the Spirit of God, yet continues to do things according to the merely human. They don’t feed and grow that spiritual connection that is truly the Life Line for anyone who desires to follow Jesus.

The life of a disciple is not simply a matter of thinking and doing the right stuff. It is that, for sure. But, it is also so much more.
It is sitting silently in God’s Presence listening.
It is communion with the Holy Spirit that directs and empowers the actions that we take.
It is child-like trust that God has ours and the Creation’s best interests in hand.

If there is one thing that I would encourage my Progressive sisters and brothers to understand, it’s that while we are in fact Children of God, Beloved and Cherished, Image Bearers of the Divine, we are also humans who Need God’s Empowering Spirit.
We cannot change the world and make it more just and loving without this.
The Kingdom of God cannot be established without God directly involved in bringing it to fruition.

Simply having our “Better Angels” guiding us is not enough.
We must walk in the Light and Spirit and Grace that is God’s Alone.

Leave a Comment

1 Corinthians_Unity pt. 1

Anyone have an aspirin?

Yesterday I wrote a response to a reader’s questions.
At issue is whether or not seeking unity is possible when there are others who hold such diametrically opposed positions on faith, belief, and praxis.
In fact, it would seem that some of the differences that we see in today’s American culture are insurmountable. We would be better off simply not engaging with those folks. It would be better for our own sanity and peace.
We could always cite texts within the Bible that state things like, “what does darkness have to do with light? Therefore, don’t associate with darkness.”
Makes sense. Right?

Of course it does.

That may be the crux of the issue.

I wrote a few days ago, Here, about how evolution may play a role in how we view “Others.”
In order to protect our tribe so that we can flourish, reproduce, and live our lives, we construct barriers that insulate ourselves against those others.
Those barriers include ideas and beliefs. Even if we find ourselves in physical closeness with one another, say for commerce or other concerns, we still keep the barriers up. In this way we can clearly see any potential danger from outside influences.
I highlight Influences because that is precisely what it seems that we do when when we listen to the voices of our own echo chambers.
Whether those voices are conservative or liberal, Democrat or Republican, Muslim or Jew,
working class or ivory tower Elite, we naturally gravitate toward the voices that resonate with our tribe.
As I wrote then, I think that this kind of thinking is at the heart of many of the issues that we deal with in our society today.
It’s all Us or Them.
And, nary the twain shall meet.
Period.

This was part of the problem that St. Paul saw in the fledgling church at Corinth. They had divided up into factions that ‘Liked’ one personality over another. Paul came right out and called these schisms. These schisms threatened to derail all of the work that Paul and friends had done with this church. The Koinonia, or Fellowship, that Paul saw as foundational to the Gospel that he proclaimed was in danger of fracturing.
And, Paul was not having any of that nonsense.
For, to him, it was nonsense.
Over the course of this letter he will lay out what he sees, why it makes no sense, and what he expects the followers of Jesus in this community to do about it.
So, we’ll touch on some of that later.

What I want to address now is the idea of Unity that Paul calls for.
Does Unity really mean Unity?
I mean, I can achieve some level of unity with folks who think like I do.
But, what about everyone else?
Do I need to strive for Unity with “Them”?

The short answer is ‘Yes,’ we do.
Neither Paul nor Jesus leave us a way out of that.

Jesus told his followers:

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

[The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Mt 5:43–48). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.]

Pretty clear. Jesus felt pretty strongly about the idea of loving the “Other.”

Even in some of our own traditions the words of our Baptismal Covenant ask us,
“Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?”
“Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?”
(Taken from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.)

I realize that all of this sounds difficult, if not counter productive to our own aspirations to work for peace and justice in society. We are simply going to have to admit that we will be up against stiff opposition from other tribes who are trying to maintain their own boundaries and integrity. Just like we are.
So, let’s fight and press our position, our Rights, until we defeat those other folks.
After all, we ARE right!
Right?

Well, definitely, maybe.

While unity and respect, if not outright Love, are what’s called for, simple acquiescence to what those other folks think is NOT.

That’s a topic for another post.
For now, take the time to think about your own positions on the pressing issues that face us today.
Then, take a moment to place yourself in the position of someone who may not agree with you.
Can we empathize with them at all?
Or, are they so far off of the rails that only a crane will help right them on the tracks?

Because, looking intently at the “Other” and discerning the flicker of Divine Light, that Imago Dei, that may still dwell within them is what Jesus did.
For those of us who claim to follow Jesus, he is our Exemplar in these things.
He treated both friend and opposition this way.
Perhaps, we should learn how He did that and follow.

Leave a Comment

On A Positive Note…

I have spent a lot of time over the years trying to expose the negative side of the Church.
The abuses of authority; the harmful theology; the elevation of ME above all else.
These criticisms are well deserved. People have been harmed by the Church. And, it really doesn’t matter what flavor Church. Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox are all culpable in the abuses.
The public results of these abuses, besides lives ruined, includes the loss of any claim to the so-called Moral High Ground.
In other words, the Church has destroyed her ability to be a Blessing to the Cosmos.

So, what should things look like?
Honestly, no one can say for certain what God has planned for it.
But, we can sketch a few things.
Things that, rather than tearing down, may reveal a way forward in Love and Faithfulness.

So, let’s start.
In the beginning….

The writers of Holy Scripture were people just like us. They lived in a particular time, place, and culture that colored the words that they wrote. So, for them such things as a cosmos that was created Ex Nihilo was just the way things were.
These writers presented their readers with a problem. The problem was, God created the Heavens and the Earth. In God’s abundant Love humans were made for the expressed purpose of caring for the Earth as God’s Special Envoys. The intent was for humanity to embody God’s glory as Eikons of God. They would rule jointly with God over the creation.
But, there was a problem. Humanity could not live up to God’s calling. They were, after all, made of the same stuff that the cosmos was…dust.
Soon the problem came to a head when humanity took it upon themselves to listen to and embrace other creatures. Idolatry and the corruption that comes with that began to mar the Very Good Cosmos that God had made.
But, God was still convinced that humanity MUST be a part of God’s plan for guiding and caring for the World.
So, God ‘elected’ a family.
For those who know a little about the story of Israel, you will have heard of a guy named Abraham. God chose Abraham and his descendants to become the agents of God’s blessing for the Cosmos. The story continues through Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, to the selection of a community, Israel.
Israel’s history was checkered at best.
But, God had made a covenant with Abraham that, because of Abraham’s faithfulness to God’s promises, stated that the entire Cosmos would be blessed.
God took that Covenant seriously and was faithful to it in spite of Israel’s inability to live up to its calling.
In time, God, who had chosen Israel as the people through whom the blessing would come, raised up One Person from Israel.
This One Person became God’s own Image-bearer. An image-bearer who would do what the original humans, nor Israel, could.
Through the death of Jesus the problem of humanity’s inability to live up to God’s Glorious Calling at the beginning was solved. The resurrection of Jesus from the grave proved God’s faithfulness to set things right.

Ok, nice story.
But, so what?

God had done something that no one expected.
Because of the faithfulness of Jesus, all of humanity had the opportunity to share in Jesus’ faithfulness. We, in fact, have been joined together into the family of God’s Promise to Abraham. We are benefactors of God’s Covenant with Abraham.
God, in God’s own love and Being, put us into a Community.
A living Community where God’s own Spirit lives and brings life.
We are not a bunch of individuals going about our own personal business. Living in our own personal salvation.
No.
We are, as Peter wrote, ‘A royal priesthood and a Holy Nation.’

We. Belong. Together.

Together we are to be a blessing to the whole Cosmos.
Together we reflect the Glory of God to each other, to God, and to the World.
Together!
Together!

That is our hope and our calling.
And, that’s a good thing.

Leave a Comment

Happy Easter!

It has come!
Look!
The Eighth Day has dawned!

From out of a tomb, a womb, made of Earth,
a “New Adam” has arisen!
One who is the True Image of the Living God!
The One who is the True Steward of Creation!

With truth and justice He serves and protects that which God
has placed in His hands.

Cosmos redeemed!
Hope restored!

The Promise kept!

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
Luke 24:1-12 NRSV.

May we all hope in the reality that Messiah Jesus has risen indeed!

Leave a Comment

Breaking Out To Become Light

I’ve written before about the use of the word “Metamorphosis” in the Gospels and Paul’s Epistle to the Church at Rome. How it’s translated as “transformed,” or “transfigured.” I’ve also written that those words really seem to lack in nuance. Compare the image of transformed, like water when heated transforms into steam, with the image of Metamorphosis, a beautiful butterfly breaking free from its previous form.

This past Sunday the lectionary selections were from the Gospel according to Matthew and 2nd Peter. Both shared the story of Jesus’ transfiguration.
In that story we see Jesus going to the top of a mountain with his three buds, Peter, John, and James. While on the mountain Jesus was transfigured. His face shone brightly and his clothes became radiant. The Light that Is God filled Jesus and He shone as a source of light, not a reflection of it.
Stop here and think about that.
Visualize it in your mind’s eye.
What did that look like?
I’m just thinking, Wow!

As I listened to our parish priest talk about this, suddenly gears began falling into place.
I saw something beyond the exegesis that I shared at our Bible study that morning.
Our priest alluded to what I began to think.
That the Church, AKA the Body of Christ, may be the only Light that many people see. He went on to encourage us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Helping the poor, the outcast, the Other, and leaning into humanity just as God did in Jesus.

I get that.
That’s how we who follow Jesus should not just act, but should BE to the world around us.

I saw something else, though, in these texts.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus told his followers, “You are the light of the world.”
Ok, cool. How do we do that? How do we become that Light that Jesus talked about?

Paul wrote to the Church at Rome and told them, “Hey, folks…don’t follow the ways of this world. Don’t let your life be formed in that mold. But, rather, allow your mind to be renewed so that you may Metamorphosize.”

I think that if we who follow Jesus truly desire to walk that path, we too, must experience that Transfiguration that Jesus experienced.
Somehow, our minds are capable of renewal and we are capable of experiencing transformation that will, in fact, make the Church a source of Light in this world.
A beacon of love and hope where all are welcome.

Unlike many who claim to be christian, who choose to remain in larval or pupate form, who eat and eat and eat, and take and take and take, we are asked to grow beyond that narrow life. We are asked to look to a Big God Whose Light may course through us a shine from deep within.

Let us seek God’s renewal.
Let us BE transformed.
Let us BE LIGHT!!!

Leave a Comment

The Flesh Ain’t So Bad After All

Chains come in many shapes and sizes. When I think of chains that bind my mind conjures an image of Jacob Marley confronting his old partner Ebenezer Scrooge. I’m sure that you remember that. Marley trudges up the stairs of Scrooge’s house. We here the Thump of his footfalls. There is the sound of metal dragging and clunking up the wooden steps. Marley enters the room completely bound in iron links with locks and iron boxes attached along the length of the chain.

The purpose of this blog is to look at the chains that we willing allow ourselves to be caught up in, and to get out the keys and the bolt cutters so that we can be freed from this burden.

So, I ask questions.
Most of the time I have no answers to those questions.
Just asking may be enough to remove a link or five.

One thing that I’ve questioned over many years is, “What is the flesh”?
For those of us who have our spiritual roots in the World of Evangelicalism, the answer is pretty clear.
The flesh in the New Testament refers to the sinful nature of all humans as a result of Adam and Eve disobeying God.
It is something that we are born with.
It is something that must be overcome and defeated.

In short, it is an evil stain on our humanity that is wholly corrupt.

As a result, there is nothing that humans can possibly do that will please God.
Only through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ can we have any hope at all of putting our Flesh to death and becoming people pleasing to God.

Pretty cool, huh?

Now, there are some philosophical underpinnings to this idea. A thing called Neo-Platonism influenced theologians. In that philosophy the entire physical cosmos is corrupt. It doesn’t live up to some Ultimate Ideal that exists in some other reality.
(Don’t worry. I’m not gonna chase that rabbit.)

My question, though, is “Are they correct”?
Is the Flesh evil, or at least, contrary to God?

I want to say, No, it’s not.

In fact, I want to stand in direct opposition to that entire notion.

For those who want a pithy quote to hang on to,

“The Flesh Ain’t So Bad After All.”

What?!?!
I can hear all of my evangelical friends crying out, “Heretic! Fuel the Bonfire!”

Not so fast, my friends.
There may be more to this story than your leaders have figured out.

Perhaps the most important thing that I learned in seminary was that the Bible was NOT written to us. When those ancient people, living in ancient cultures, spoke and wrote those ancient words, they were not thinking, “Gee, I think I need to write something to those folks living in America 2,000 years from now.”
The trouble is, many people believe that they did.
They think that the words in Scripture can be cut from their original context and pasted into ours.
Wrong.
They can’t.

The current thoughts in evangelicalism about the language of “Flesh” is an example of that.

The Apostle Paul is the authority that most of these folks turn to. After all, he wrote more about the Flesh than any other New Testament writer.
They cite texts about how that works of the flesh produce death. The list of the so-called works of the flesh is given in a negative context to the so-called works of the spirit.
By the end of the day we are presented with a dichotomy or warring people parts.
Flesh Bad/Spirit Good!

The problem with this lies in our Western concept of humanity. The Ancient Greeks influenced not only our philosophy, but our theology as well.
They fired their best shot at understanding the relationship of Spirit and Flesh.
And, they missed the target entirely.

When Paul wrote about the flesh he was writing about one thing, and one thing only.
This skin tent that we all live in.

That’s it.
Period.

I don’t know about you. But, I don’t see anything moral or immoral about that.
It’s necessary for us.
Can’t live without it.
It holds our bones together and keeps our innards from spilling out on the floor.

So, why all the Bad Flesh language today?

The ancient Semitic view of a person was one in which we are all a complete and unified Soul. Body, spirit, the whole shebang is a singular and inseparable unit.

There is a difference between the parts. But, all are necessary for a person to be Whole.

I want to suggest that the difference lies, not in the Flesh alone, but in the appetites that we have and how we live with those.

I think that there is a sort of asceticism that Paul and the other writers encouraged. They seemed to desire that people learn how to discipline themselves, to control their appetites, in such a way that appetites did not control them.
In their view the flesh is not evil, but can get unruly. We can become enslaved to the instincts and desires of our physical body. These may then push us beyond our needs and into the realm of doing real harm to ourselves and others.

The early Church decided in their Councils that physical things are not evil. After all, God looked at creation and said that it was “Very Good.”
Jesus, the Son of God throughout all eternity, put on a “Tent of Flesh” and became human.
Just like you and me.

No, the whole idea that our flesh is somehow an evil that must be defeated is Wrong!
It is Deadly!
It needs to go away to the Pit where it belongs.

We are Human.
We are Worthy.

Leave a Comment

Ta-Nehisi Coates Writes

I just finished reading Ta-Nehisi Coates’ novel, “The Water Dancer.” I’m not going to review it here. I found the story compelling even though, IMHO, the telling of it was lacking a bit.

There was one part of it that really did affect me. A look inside of Coates’ mind through the mind of his character, Hiram Walker.
Let me summarize…

Walker is a slave on a Virginia plantation as the Golden Age of the Virginian Gentry is waning. He happens to be the illegitimate son of the landowner and a slave woman. Eventually, he became a part of The Underground. This network of people worked to smuggle slaves into the North and freedom.
One of the chief instigators in this network is a white woman who is part of the Virginia Gentry. She spent time in the North and became enlightened to the plight of the slaves. The result was a deep shame in the system of slavery that demeaned her people and was a blight on their legacy.

Through the eyes of Hiram we get a glimpse of something that very few of us ever consider.

Objectification.
To Objectify.
To reduce a person to an object.

How did I get to this from that story?
First, let’s consider why we objectify others.

Fear.

Yes, Fear.
Fear of those who are Not Us.
Fear of losing wealth; identity; power; property; self.
Fear of being shamed.
Fear of becoming Equal To.

I could go on listing things that we fear. But, I think you get the idea.

In the case of Hiram’s white benefactor, she feared the shame that was a necessary part of her complicity in owning other human beings.
Don’t believe me?
Who is the subject of her philanthropy?
The slaves?
Look again. Closer.
She, and her people, are the subject. According to Coates’ portrayal, she works in order to assuage her own guilt and shame. She, and her white society are absolutely guilty of heinous crimes against humanity. So, she does what she can to combat that system.
What we learn from Hiram is what she does not do. Perhaps, she cannot do.
That is to see the slaves as Human Beings.
Real people with real lives and real needs and real feelings.
To her they are simply objects to be used in her personal battle against her personal demons.
To Hiram, they are family.

Now, I want everyone to understand that I think that kinds of efforts that people like Coates’ female benefactor are good and necessary.
Any and all efforts to alleviate suffering and instill a sense of humanity and self-worth to people is positive and should always be encouraged.

There is more, though.

We can still be what may be called ‘Good’ in our actions.
We must also become Good in our Intent.
Empathy is what stands against Objectification.
Empathy may be defined as an ability to share and understand the feelings of others.
I would take that a step further and say that Empathy is our ability to live in the skin of those who are Not Us.

We humans are naturally Tribal.
From the first time we left the arboreal life and set out across the Savannah we have grouped together for self preservation. This is ingrained deep within our DNA.
That is where Homo Sapiens came from.
It’s time now for Homo Empathicus to emerge.
Our survival as a species may depend on that.

For sure our identity as Image Bearers of God demands it.

2 Comments

Advent: A Season of Expectation, Pt. 2

Yesterday I shared a little about what people at the time of Jesus’ birth expected from Messiah. This person was supposed to show up and lead the people of Israel just as the warrior king David had a millennia earlier. Messiah would defeat Israel’s enemies and ultimately set up an Empire. This Messiah King, according to the Scriptures, would reign in righteousness, justice, and power. The entire world would come to Jerusalem to worship the Messiah and to receive justice from him.

But, what actually happened?

Well, Jesus showed up.
Born among family and animals and placed in a feeding trough.
Escaped as a refugee to Egypt when the existing empire got wind of His existence.
Returned to Israel and grew up in a small backwater town.
Worked with his hands and learned how to deal with people.

Not the kind of king that was really expected.
In fact, as Jesus began to share what he believed was the truth about God and God’s reign, all of those folks who expected a Warrior Messiah turned on him.
Why?
Because he didn’t live up to their expectations.

If Jesus was truly the Messiah, then what exactly did that mean?
If He was not here to defeat Israel’s enemies and set up a Messianic Empire, then what did he actually do?

In the beginning….

At the very beginning of the Bible there is the story about how God made the heavens and the earth. All things were created and the Cosmos set in motion.
After a while, the humans there decided to think for themselves and deviate from the path that God had set before them.
They hid from God.
Then, the story tells us that in the cool of the afternoon, God came walking through the garden. God called out to the people, “Where are you?” This is told in such a way that we are supposed to think that this was something the God did regularly. God walked through the garden with a desire to spend time with them.
This theme of God coming to people with a desire to spend time with them is found throughout the Bible.

That idea found its completion in the person: Jesus.

The writers of the Gospels tell us about Jesus who came and pitched His tent among us. They write about the Jesus who hangs out at weddings and really likes good wine.
Jesus shows up at parties and hangs out with lepers and cripples and women. He held little children on his lap and told his grown disciples that God’s reign was going to be filled with people just like those children.
Not warriors.
Not politicians.
Certainly not Emperors.

It seems that the expectations that Israel had were off just a tad.
Instead of a Warrior King, they got a Servant King.

That Servant King desires to reign over a kingdom filled with people who are like those children that He held.
Childlike faith.
Childlike wonder.
Childlike…you fill in the blank.

I look around us today and see people who still think that a Warrior King is God’s plan.
They believe that Empire can save them.

But, is that what God has shown us?
No.
God desires to walk with us in the cool of the afternoon.
God’s reign is built on Love and Relationships.
Not power and Empire.

Leave a Comment