Category: Bible

Take, Eat. This is My Body.

Published by mhelbert on December 17, 2018

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“Star Wars – A New Hope.”
Remember that?
It was called Part IV.
Part 4? We didn’t have Part 3, yet!
(Or, parts 1 & 2).
Interesting place to start a story. Right in the middle.
But, I digress.
I do want to touch on the idea of a “New Hope,” though.

In recent posts I was pretty hard on most organized religion. Especially, Evangelicalism. That’s where I came from, so I’m most familiar with it. But, I don’t want to leave everything up in the air. There must be a better way to live and express the Faith that has been passed on from the beginning.

Many, (most?), have tried to box faith up in some kind of systematic way. People pore over the ancient texts trying to find common thoughts and ideas. They look for patterns of behavior in the characters who live within the pages. They try to separate the “Do’s” from the “Don’t’s.” Then, they package it up nicely and place a bow on top. This System is then presented to the faithful as the True way to Truly live Truthfully. What this ‘truly’does is enable people to do something, then pat themselves on the back for having done…it…whatever ‘It’ is.

I think that this process skews the truth rather than revealing it. It distills the Truth into bite-sized bits that people can munch on. But, in truth, it dilutes the Truth rendering it pretty much useless.

I share all of that so that maybe I can offer an alternative.

DISCLAIMER:
I really don’t know anything. I just want to toss this out there for consideration.

Ok, back to the alternative.

A couple of weeks back I wrote a kind of self-portrait in my journal how I felt that I had become hard. Descriptors like ‘granite’and ‘ice’ came to mind. I reflected on how I had built walls to keep people out. The walls had parapets from which I could cast down rocks and burning oil to keep folks away. After all, weren’t they all foreigners? Invaders? Enemies who desired to suck my life from me. Then…

“Take, eat. This is my body broken for you.”

“Take, drink. This is my blood poured out for you.”

WHAT?!

What kind of nonsense is that? That’s what Jesus said before He was crucified! What does that have to do with me?

I sat on that. Reflected on that. Chewed on that like a cow chews on cud.

I began to realize that as a person called to follow Jesus, I shouldn’t be surprised by the thought of self-giving. After all, isn’t that what God did?

“Take, eat.”

But, God?

“Take, drink.”

Really?

As Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem for the last time, he took the Twelve aside to tell them for the third and final time what was going to happen. He said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem.” Previously, Jesus had only told them that “He” was going to Jerusalem. Now, he said, “We.”

“We are going to Jerusalem where I will be mocked and whipped and crucified.”

The story continues and Jesus promises two of his disciples that they, too, will share the cup that he was about to drink.

Where am I going with this?

The Church has created a place where people can feel good about themselves. We are glad to be a part of the ‘chosen few.’ We look forward to living forever, resurrected to new life. Yet, we forget that we have been asked to walk with Jesus to the bitter end.

“Take, eat. This is my body broken for you.”

Not just Jesus’ offering. It must be mine as well.

“Take, drink. This is my blood poured out for you.”

Jesus blood gives life. So, then, should mine.

This is the better way. This is not a ‘System’ that people can follow and feel good about themselves. There is certainly no “Us” or “Them” here. This is how granite is crushed and ice melted.

This is Truly the way to Life.

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Into the Hands of a Loving God

Published by mhelbert on December 12, 2018

There are a lot of people who grew up in Evangelical churches that followed a kind of Calvinist path. They now call themselves ex-vangelicals. Or, Exvies for short. While their stories are varied, they allshare certain similarities. They speak of authoritarianism, patriarchy, and the abuses that go with those. Purity culture and sexuality are mentioned a lot.Especially, those who are LGBT people. And, they share how difficult it was for them to leave the Evangelical bubble. (I would add that it’s just as difficult to remain within that bubble.) One thing that underlies their concerns, however, is the toxic theology that props these Neo-Calvinists up. What is it about Evangelical theology that is so toxic?

I’m glad you asked that question.

Most Evangelicals, at least in the U.S., grow out of the rich soil of what historians call, The First Great Awakening. This was a religious phenomena that swept the New England colonies in the early to mid 18th century, (1730-1755). One of the leaders of that movement was a man named Jonathan Edwards. He was basically a Puritan who held to a kind of Reformed, or Calvinist, theology. Now, I know that this doesn’t mean a lot to any of you who don’t study these kinds of things. But, stick with me here. I promise that you will find something to take home with you.

Anyway, Edwards and others preached a message that people must be born again in order to receive God’s salvation. That meant that each individual person must make a personal commitment to ‘receive’ Jesus into their heart as personal Savior. They were called the ‘New Lights’ of the Church. And,what they said resonated with people who lived in the Colonies. Life was hard. Things were changing at an unheard of pace as the world rushed through the Enlightenment. To many, the world looked as though it was spiraling out of control…going to hell in a hand basket.

Enter Edwards and friends. They preached a message that condemned the world. All things that were not explicitly FOR God were necessarily Against God. These would all burn in hell. That “all things”included people. They taught that any person who did not choose to follow God THEIR way was already the object of God’s wrath. God was portrayed as a great Judge who was prepared to slam the Divine gavel down and pronounce sentence…eternal,physical torment in the unquenchable flames of hell. Edwards preached a sermon in 1741 that still influences Evangelicals today. It was entitled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. I’m not going to link to it because I believe that the sermon is false and, by the estimation of some, heretical.

The gist of the sermon, and Edwards’ theology, is that the wicked are under God’s just wrath here and now. If they don’t ‘repent’ and accept Jesus, the God will have No Choice but to send them to their rightly deserved judgment in hell. God, in Edward’s opinion, was oh so pissed with humanity because of sin. One in particular. Yeah, that one that the first humans, Adam and Eve, committed. Because they ate the forbidden fruit, all humanity lived under God’s curse. Because of their disobedience, all humanity was disobedient. And, as a result God’s righteous anger was kindled.

Scary stuff!

What’s scarier is that this is what modern evangelicals still think and believe. In the church that I was a part of for about 30 years, Edwards and others like him, Billy Graham, Tim Keller, et al. were held up as formidable spokesmen for the Real True Gospel, (RTG). Some of the leaders ofthis church would speak about Edwards wistfully. “If only I could preach the RTG like Edwards. Ahhhh….” They thought it was a good thing that when people heard Edwards read that sermon originally they were grabbing onto the church’s pillars and crying out in fear, “What must we do to be saved?” These people were deathly afraid that the ground beneath them was about to open up and swallow them at the very moment! Yeah, this is the kind of response that many, including the leadership of my old church, wish they could garner.

One of the associate pastors there has a stock phrase tha the pulls out of his gospel holster regularly.

He states, “God hates your guts!”

Please. Let that sink in a bit.

God.

The Father of Jesus Christ.

Hates your guts.

In fact, if it wasn’t for Jesus stepping up to the plate and sacrificing himself to appease this God, we’d all be on our way to eternity in a burning garbage dump.

To him, and all of the other Evangelical people who hold to this belief I have but one thing to say…

I’m sorry. But, you are mistaken.

Now, I could take a lot of time to explain my position. And, really, who cares outside of a small circle of friends?

And, so what? Who cares what these Evangelicals think anyway? I mean, let them blow steam all they want. It doesn’t affect me at all.

Well, maybe it actually does. But, that’s a topic for another post.

Below is a link to a short video by Brad Jersak. While I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says in it, for the most part I believe he is spot on. I encourage you to take a few minutes and take a look/listen to what he says.

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What Did Jesus Think About Violence?

Published by mhelbert on December 11, 2018

Yesterday I shared a link to a podcast produced by Dr. Peter Enns. It featured a guy from Canada, Brad Jersak. Brad was a Protestant Evangelical whose life journey led him to embrace the Eastern Orthodox Church. He shared some really good thoughts in Enns’ podcast. So, I visited Brad’s own website to learn more about him. As I perused his About page and some of his previous blog posts, I came upon in which he shared a post by Brian Zahnd. You can read it by selecting the link below.

I’ve heard many people saying that the God of the Bible permits, and in many cases, encourages violence. They cite several passages from the Scripture to validate their positions. As most of you know, I don’t agree with them. Not even a little bit. When I look at the person of Jesus I see the true imago dei, the truest rendering of “Let Us fashion Adam in Our Image.” Jesus is the fulfillment of that. He is the Icon of God. There is no violence there.

But, again, many of my Evangelical friends will say, “Whoa! Jesus did speak about violence and wrath. He even told his disciples to get swords if they could.”

Read this for a different take on that.

What did Jesus believe about violence? Jesus believed what he said when he was asked about it…

“No more of this!”

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Is There Truly Only “One Way”?

Published by mhelbert on December 10, 2018

If you have known me long enough, then you know that I question pretty much everything. Yesterday at church the Priest stated that he was a “good little rule follower.” As I sat in the pew I thought, “Oh, you poor, poor man.” You see, I’ve never met a rule that didn’t really, really want someone to come along and push against it. I know, it’s a tough job. But, someone’s gotta do it.

So, it’s know surprise when I push back against theologies that claim to be “the only, true way.” To be honest, most religious sects do make those claims. But, I’m only really familiar with neo-Calvinism. I was well-steeped in a theology that made/makes truth claims that, well, simply cannot be sustained. There are other ways to look at “Truth.” I have provided a link to a podcast with Pete Enns. Pete is a kindred spirit and someone whom I respect as a scholar. Pete’s guest in this episode is someone who came out o neo-Calvinism and landed in Eastern Orthodoxy. I’d encourage you to take 42 minutes to give this a listen.

Here is the link to “The Bible and Orthodox Faith”

Again, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. And, click on ‘Subscribe’ in the sidebar if you would like to receive notifications from this blog.

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Who Are You God…Really? The Training Begins!

Published by mhelbert on October 21, 2018

It’s been awhile since I last visited my question,
Who Are You God…Really?
Most of my available time has gone to studying rather than writing.
But, this journey is long.
If I don’t stop and get my thoughts out they may get lost along the way.
Previously, I’ve been here, here, and here.

I’ve discovered that God enjoys being with and in the Cosmos.
God seems to have fun getting dirt under the Divine fingernails and
making stuff.
And, God likes to make stuff with others.
I found that Jesus called some others to follow him so that he could make them
into something that they were not.
They were fisher-people. Not, People-Fishers.
Those are what Jesus wanted them to become.
How did Jesus think that he would do this?
The writer of Matthew wrote down his ideas about that.

Jesus gathered his disciples and, like Moses before him, went up to the Mountain.
What mountain? And, why there?
The answer to the first question has been asked and speculated about ever since
the Church began. And, for the sake of brevity I’ll just say that no one knows for sure.
It’s a question that will not be answered because it may not have an answer.
“Whoa, Mike! Are you saying that Matthew was just making up this mountain story?”
Well, yeah, maybe.
There could very well have been an actual event that took place where Jesus talked to
his disciples on some mountain. In fact, considering the terrain where they lived, it was probable.
But, that’s not important to Matthew or this particular story.
Mountains have been the location for divine interaction in many cultures over the ages.
Just considering the Hebrew Scriptures, mountains are the places where deities dwell.
They are considered closer to Heaven because of their height. Check out the story of Babel.
Why were people building a great tower? To get closer to Heaven.
How about Mount Olympus? Ziggurats and other tall places?
Mountains were places where the gods hung out. The place where divine proclamations were made.
What better place for Matthew to have Jesus go in order to begin training his disciples?
I’m not going to go into a detailed description of all that happens here. Unless you’re Biblical scholar I’m pretty sure that I would lose you, (if I haven’t already), within 2 sentences. Plus, that’s not my purpose.
I want to know who God is. And, in the 21st century who really cares.
I’ve already shown that the purpose of this hike was to begin training for Jesus’ followers.
If I was one of those guys with Jesus I think that I would have been expecting him to do what other Rabbis did.
We would sit at Jesus’ feet and Jesus would teach them how to follow Torah, the Law.
Jesus would show us all of the things that others had taught for at least the previous 400-500 years.

What Jesus actually did, though, was to turn everything upside down.
He began by telling them that they were to be happy when things went wrong!
When they mourned, they should be happy.
When they were hungry, they should be happy.
When they were merciful…happy!
When the found themselves persecuted, yep, happy again.
This wasn’t what all the other Rabbis taught.
They taught that when people were comfortable, rich, well-fed, etc. that was a sign of God’s blessing.
Then Jesus turned things up a notch. He began to tell them that the popular way of
understanding the Jewish Law was in need of some tweeking. He had the audacity
to change the words! He said, “You have heard it said…” and quoted something from
the Torah or the Rabbinic tradition. Then said, “Yeah, but I tell you…” and contradicted the earlier teaching.
Now, there is a lot to unpack in all of this.
Not gonna do it.
What I do want to see is what Jesus actually did that gives glimpse into God’s mind.

He reinterpreted the Torah in the light of his current time and need.

This is important for us today. Too many theologians, both professional and armchair,
teach that the only correct way to understand the Scriptures and our theology is to
reiterate over and over what someone said 200 or 300 or 500 years ago.
They say that God’s Word never changes. Whatever Calvin or Luther or Wesley or
any of those guys says about it MUST BE CORRECT!
Well, if we’re to take Jesus, (and Paul), as exemplars in Biblical interpretation, then I have no choice but to
call Bullshit on that.

Jesus clearly believed that the Scriptures, (like the Sabbath), were made for us humans.
Not the other way around.
God, it seems, wants people…Us…You and Me to engage the text as we are today…in this culture…
with our own needs and desires in mind. We don’t need to bow our knees to the way that someone else has
interpreted the text.

Does that mean to each his/her own?
No. I don’t think so. The Biblical text still needs to be interpreted and lived in community.
But, what it does mean is that we, as a community, may travel the Way of Jesus
with a freedom that will Break the Chains that Bind.

Please feel free to share this post with your friends!
Also, please use the comments section to share your thoughts with me. Thanx!

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Break Out the Clay and Let’s Make Something!

Published by mhelbert on August 4, 2018

Sometime after his baptism, Jesus left his home in Nazareth and took up residence in a city called Capernaum that was on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. One day as he was strolling along the shore he saw a couple guys fishing. Jesus said to them, “Come here! Follow me! And, I will make you fishers of people!”

There has been a lot of ink spilled about these few words.
“They were fishermen fishing for fish, so Jesus called them to fish for people.”
The image of the fish, the Greek word Ichthus, has been used for followers of Jesus since the beginning.

But, that’s not what struck me. I mean, I don’t fish and don’t particularly enjoy it. And, that idea simply doesn’t enter into my quest for an answer to my question,

“God, who are You…Really?”

What did jump out was the word, Make.

So, when I read this verse, I stopped and spent quite some time chewing on it.
Jesus could have just as easily said, “Hey, guys! Come on! We’re goin’ fishin’ for people!”
But, he didn’t. He said that he would “make” them human netters.

What was it about that word that made me stop? Was there any significance beyond what is obvious?

The word as written in the Greek has a fairly wide range of meaning. Not unlike the English version. One source stated that in this verse we should understand the word to mean ‘appoint.’ As in, “I will make you CEO of this corporation.” That seems a little thin to me in this context.
“I’m going to appoint you ‘Fishers of People!’ You’ll get a raise and a corner office.”
Nah, doesn’t work for me. Besides, what, other that knowing how to cast a net, made Jesus think that these two guys were qualified for that?
Answer: He didn’t, and they weren’t.

I then discovered that the same verb was used in the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures to describe God’s activity in the creation story in Genesis.
God ‘made’ stuff. The image that comes to mind in this story is of someone molding and fashioning something. Much like a sculptor or potter. The artist uses some kind or raw material, stone or clay, and pinches here and pulls there. Here a chip, there a chip.
Was this a little closer to what Jesus was saying? “Hey you, guys! Come! Follow me and I will mold and form you into people who may cast a wide net in order to bring many people together into God’s Kingdom!”
This, I think, gets to the heart of Jesus’ call. He wasn’t merely asking for company on the road. Nor, was he auditioning people to see who might best fit into his plans. He desired to train people, apprentice them, so they could ultimately follow in His footsteps.

Another thing of interest here is the manner in which Jesus called these men to follow him. In first century Judaism prospective disciples sought out a Rabbi, or Teacher, that they wanted to learn from. The Rabbi would then discern whether or not it was a good fit. But, the point was that the would-be learner took the initiative. In Matthew’s account, it was Jesus, the Teacher, who went in search of disciples. He didn’t sit on a high seat somewhere and wait for people to come to him. He sought them. This was quite contrary to the cultural status quo of his day. What self-respecting Rabbi would ‘sell’ himself like that? Well, apparently Jesus would. And, he didn’t ‘sell’ himself. He gave himself.

I know this seems like quite a simple overview of what is a large, involved subject. And, it is. There is a lot that can be gleaned from these few words. And, perhaps, just as many questions.

What about the negative side of fishing? An unsuspecting fish is suddenly snared by a net, snatched out of its world, and taken to a place where it will ultimately die. Doesn’t sound very good for the fish. Nor, would it seem good for people who would be captured by some intrusive person who decided that the other looked like a good target. Maybe there’s a thought there for those who say they are just ‘evangelizing’ to consider.

There’s also the larger question that Jesus’ calling begs for an answer. How? What was the method that Jesus intended to use in order to mold and fashion these men? And, how would the negative aspect of fishing be turned into a positive? Especially, for the ‘fish’?

Maybe I’ll come across some answers to these questions as I continue to seek an answer to my question. Maybe not.

But, I did learn a couple things about God from this portion of the text.
I found that God isn’t content to wait for the Cosmos, and we who live in it, to come to the Divine throne. No, God actively seeks to create! God desires to get the Divine fingers into the mud and the clay so that new things can be made and fashioned. And, it appears that God desires human assistance. God goes out of God’s way in order to call people to join in the work of building a new World.

Right here. Right now.

Nowhere in this passage is it written that Jesus said, “Hey, follow me and I’ll show you how you can eventually make your way into the Celestial Palace where we’ll sing and dance and be happy forever!”

NO!

He called these people to come and be transformed into people who could live in God’s Kingdom…now.

That, I think, is Good News.

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Let It Be So, Now

Published by mhelbert on July 31, 2018

The first time that the writer of Matthew noted the actual words of Jesus was when Jesus traveled to the Jordan River to be baptized by his cousin, John. Why this time and this event I’m not sure. Why didn’t the writer have anything to say about Jesus’ younger days? But, except for Luke and his record of Jesus as a 12 year old, the Canon is silent.

John had been baptizing people who came from all over Palestine. He was apparently a simple man. His clothing was common and the food he ate was what he could gather from nature. Even the message that he preached to those seeking baptism was simple, “Repent! For the Kingdom of God has come near!” He freely baptized anyone who came and confessed whatever sins they may have committed. And, John was not afraid to get right up in the face of people who thought that they were oh so pure. He was more than happy to help them ‘discover’ the error of their ways.

Into this strolled Jesus.

He walked down to be baptized. John tried to deflect him by saying, “Whoa! I’m the one who should be baptized by You! Yet, you came to me?” John recognized something about Jesus that apparently no one else did. To John, Jesus was the master and he the student. Masters didn’t do things like this. So, naturally, John “tried to hold him back.”
It’s kind of ironic that John, acting as the lesser of the two, made a presumption about Jesus and tried to enforce it. He recognized Jesus as Master, and then told him, “No! You can’t do that!” Imagine saying No to your boss!

Jesus didn’t respond by saying, “John, John…you simple man. You have no clue what you’re saying. Don’t you realize who I am? Now, stop talking nonsense and do your job.”

Instead, Jesus simply said, “Let it be so now. For this way is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness”.

I can see a smile on Jesus’ face when he said this. In a way he said, “Yeah, I know. But, there’s something going on here that’s bigger than both of us. So, John, please do this.” He did not simply dismiss John and his concerns. In fact, he honored John’s inclusion, “For this way is proper for US…” Jesus, Son of God and all, demurred and humbly asked his cousin to render this service to him.

So, I learned that God has a streak of humility. God doesn’t seem to need to strut into a situation and throw the Divine reputation around. “Hi. I’m God. And, you’re not.”

No, Jesus showed that he needed others in order to fulfill his calling.

What about the rest of what Jesus said? What’s all that about ‘fulfilling all righteousness?

I found at least EIGHT different ways to understand this statement. The text itself only contains 8 Greek words. Yet we have at least that many ways to explain them! (For those who think that a ‘simple’ reading of the Bible is the best way? It’s not!)

One of the reasons states that this baptism was an act that needed to be performed. Jesus was, in effect, checking an item off of his Messiah ‘To Do’ list. But, there’s not a lot of evidence to back that up.

Another was that, like the folks over at the Qumran community, he was performing a ritual cleansing. But, if Jesus was Divine, this was an unnecessary formality. The early Church recognized the doctrine of Jesus’ sinless nature. So, what was he being cleansed of?

There was only one reason out of all the ones I found that seems to fit. It fits Jesus’ humility shown to John as well as his humility to God the Father. It also fits what we may assume was Jesus’ perception of his role as Son.

He was somehow aware of what the Father desired and knew that this was simply the right thing to do.

Jesus acted on a gut feeling that God desired him to go to his cousin, yeah the weird one, and allow his cousin to baptize him.

How much of this act did in fact have some basis in Jewish custom and ritual? Don’t know; don’t care. It’s not important.

What is important, and I think the point here, was that Jesus desired to please God.

So, Mike’s paraphrase of this verse would be something like, “Please, John, do this for me. It’s the right thing for me to do to please God at this time.”

What does any of this have to do with my question, “Who are you God…Really?”

I think that there are a few things here that I can learn.

1) God can be pleased. Or, better, we can do things that make God smile.
2) Jesus revealed sensitivity to both God and John. God must also be sensitive to what we think and say.
3) Jesus was humble. He chose to honor his cousin. He didn’t use the “God card.” He chose to John in this simple act of pleasing the Father.
4) Some things may not be morally or theologically right or wrong. Would Jesus have been less than divine if he hadn’t gone to John? No, I don’t think so. But, for him, doing the right thing was, well, the right thing to do.

One thing that was not mentioned here was that God somehow “led” Jesus to be baptized. I just finished a book by Richard Stearns who has been the CEO of World Vision for the last several years. In this book Stearns wrote again and again how God led him to become CEO. He shared examples of what he understood to be supernatural interventions that guided him from a lucrative position in business to become the head of an international aid agency. But, behind all of that, he wrote about his and his wife’s own passion to be involved in cross cultural missions. They had been involved in various missions’ conferences and had read literature about missionaries and the work that they did. But, his education and vocation didn’t seem to fit. Eventually, he said that he could no longer ignore the ‘signs.’ God was, in effect, forcing his hand. I don’t believe that God’s in that kind of business. Yes, I think that we are each capable of seeing various routes to take and what the various outcomes may be. That is where we discern what may be the best path for us. We may know what would be pleasing to God. But, ultimately it’s up to us to make the choice. Or not. God doesn’t coerce a decision one way or another. God doesn’t stack the deck for us to make one decision over another. We are co-workers with God in redemption. There’s a big world out there with lots of need. God simply asks us what we are going to do. The decision is ultimately ours. Just as Jesus’ decision to be baptized by John was his own.

And, it pleased the Father.

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Who Are You, God…Really?

Published by mhelbert on July 25, 2018

“Don’t worry! We’ll pray that God heals you!”
How many times have people said that? People who truly believe that.

Then, the other dies.

“Well, God always answers prayer. Sometimes the answer is “No”.
Or, “You must not have had enough faith”.
Or some other rationalization that lets God off the hook.

The Christian Bible is full of stories about genocide and rape; murder, lying, and cheating.
Unbelievably, these things are not only allowed, but in many cases commanded by God!
“Well, you know that God’s ways are not our ways. And, God’s thoughts are way beyond ours.
Only God can see the whole picture.”

Yet, that same Bible contains some of the most tender and intimate love stories ever penned.
And, not just The Song of Solomon.
God is portrayed as a loving parent, lover, and friend.
God defends and encourages.

My own observations are, however, a bit, er, different.

I look around and I see a world in which God is not a leading actor.
God doesn’t answer prayer. At least not in any physical way that can be analyzed and proven
to be a supernatural event.
People are afflicted and they die from causes that are entirely natural.
It really annoys me that a tornado can sweep a city off of the map and a survivor can thank God
that she was spared.
But, her next door neighbor was killed.
Where was God for that person?

There have recently been several cases in the U.S. and Canada where parents allowed a child
to die because their religion states that ‘Prayer alone will heal!’
To that… I call ‘bullshit’.

So what?

My mind has wandered.
A single question has been forming like an image on a piece of film swimming in developer:

Who are You, God…Really?

I ask this because it has become abundantly clear to me that the God I have been taught
about is NOT the God of the ‘real’ world.
The God that I learned about in Sunday school and Communicants’ class and innumerable sermons simply
does not exist. He’s a fake; a phantom.
That God is not omnipotent and is certainly NOT omniscient. That God does not answer the prayer of the sick and needy because that God cannot answer the prayer of the sick and needy.

So, Who are You, God…Really?

Please don’t think that I’m trying to stick it to anyone or their beliefs.

This is a real and honest question that I’m asking.

I truly want to find an answer.

If God truly is God, then there should be no problem with asking.

Questions should be no threat.

I talked to my Spiritual Director about these things.
We both saw the path that I should take.
Jesus told his disciples, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.”
So, we decided that searching the Gospels would be a good place to start
looking for an answer to my question.
Now, I’ve pretty much lived in the Gospels for the last 5+ years.
But, even after all of that time, this question still vexes me.

With that in mind, I have embarked on a new journey.
My path lies through the words written by ancient men who created stories
about the one person in history who claims to have seen God. (”I only do the things that I see the Father doing.”)

At the end, if there is one, I hope to have at least an inkling of who this God that I worship really is.

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White Evangelicals, Why??

Published by mhelbert on June 3, 2018

Recently, I’ve begun to reevaluate what I’m doing with this blog thing. What I considered thought provoking proved to be less than sparkly. Some of the more poetic ‘ditties’ have garnered a slightly better response. Overall, I’m discouraged.

But, Hey! That’s never stopped me from forging ahead. So, it won’t now. Maybe.

Anyway, I have decided that the coverage of religious things from a scholarly point of view is not a happening thing. That will slowly fall away.

However…

When religious issues cloud common decency, I may need to write something.

Ok, religious issues ALWAYS cloud common decency. And, most of the time common sense as well. I promise to try to be selective about which issues I choose to wrangle.

Today is one of those days.

Pew Research did a survey that asked how people in the U.S. feel about admitting refugees to this country. Politically, the results were predictable. Twenty-six percent of Republicans think that the U.S. bears a responsibility to admit foreign refugees. Dems; 74%.

No surprise.

The Pew people also asked the question to various folks based on religious/non-religious affiliation.

This is the response that I want to focus on.

White Evangelical Protestants responded in lockstep with the Republican Party. Twenty-six percent of these respondents said that the U.S. has no responsibility to offer help to refugees. Another way to view it, 68% of Bible-believing, Hallelujah-ing, self-proclaimed followers of Jesus Christ Almighty say that refugees from foreign countries shall have NO succor here!

None! Nada! Nyet!

While I am disheartened by this, I am not surprised. In the late 1970’s, early 1980’s, White evangelicals climbed into the Republican bed when Jerry Falwell, Sr. decided that the government could, and should, legislate morality. And they’ve been rolling around under the sheets ever since. So, the fact that the poll results are pretty much identical between the two demographics is predictable.

Many people, (and when I say many, I mean MANY), have tried to analyze this. The question; Why do so many people who claim to follow Jesus Christ, friend to the outcast, turn their backs on outcasts? How can people who hold up their sacred text as inerrant and infallible suddenly forget about the hundreds of references to caring for widows, orphans, and foreigners?

I’m not going to rehash what these people conclude. You can Google it yourselves.

What I want to do is look at this from a slightly different angle.

White evangelicals in the U.S. feel that this country was founded on some non-existent ‘Judeo-Christian ideal. From the Puritans’ “City on a Hill” to the founding fathers’ so-called Christian bias, the U.S. is God’s country! It belongs to White Jesus come hell or high water! Just ask pseudo-historian David Barton. On second thought, don’t ask him. He’s a lying moron. But, you get the picture.

With that foundational belief it’s entirely understandable that White evangelicals would want to do whatever they possibly can to keep the country ‘pure.’ Can’t have any of those Muslim infidels dirtying up the pool now, can we. Oh, and those brown people from south of the border? No, no! Unclean! Put bells on them to warn everyone that their ‘uncleanness’ is coming. Ewwww!

I can understand this. People in general want to protect themselves and their loved ones from perceived threats. It’s human nature. Quarantine the people with measles. I get it.

But, what can we learn from their sacred text about this? Is there something written that can shed some light on what Jesus, himself, might think?

I think that there is.

In the Gospel according to Mark there is a passage that gets little attention except for those who want to keep wayward children in check. The passage is in chapter 7. I’m providing a link rather than inserting the entire passage. Mark 7:1-15.

To set the stage, Jesus’ disciples were having a quick bite to eat. They apparently just picked up food and started scarfing it. Jewish tradition, however, required that people take time to ceremonially wash their hands and the utensils before eating. The Pharisees and other religious folks were appalled. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! Jesus, what are your disciples doing?!?! Why, they’re breaking our taboo! They are putting unclean food into their mouths! Oh, the shame!”

Jesus took this opportunity to teach an important lesson.

First, he called out their hypocrisy. “Oh, yeah! Y’all want to call this out? This is simply a tradition that has been handed down by people. What about how you flaunt what Moses actually handed to us from God Almighty? You have taught people to break the Law of Moses when it comes to honoring their parents. Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)—then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother.”

I want to focus on that word, “Corban.” It is a carry-over word from the Hebrew Scripture. In its simplest form it refers to an offering or gift made to God. However, as time moved forward, the idea began to develop that Corban could be claimed over anything that represented a sacrifice. In this way a person could be called Corban. They would then, for all practical purposes, be dedicated to God. Their lives would move from the secular to the sectarian. Other objects, including money, could also be Corban. This would exclude the item from ANY secular use. It was wholly dedicated to God. So, when the Pharisees taught that money that could be used for the secular purpose of helping parents was declared Corban, that money became unusable for that help. It went into the Temple coffers, period, end of discussion.

Jesus in effect told them that they were guilty of transgressing the Law of Moses by insisting that their own man-made traditions took precedence over that Law.

In a similar way, the tradition of washing had been elevated to a binding activity. The Pharisees taught that anything that was eaten by unwashed hands from unwashed bowls actually made the person who ate “unwashed,” or unclean.

To you, White evangelicals…

It’s nice the way that you set aside the commandment of God for your own hypocritical traditions. You say, “This land was given to us by God. It is Corban! How can we offer it to these ‘others’?

Yet the commandment of God is clear. “Care for those who are lost and hurting. Love them as you love yourself. Is this not the greatest commandment after love of God?”

Pull your heads out of your collective backsides and see the Light! What you call ‘Corban’ causes destruction and death!

Is this how your god behaves? It’s no wonder people are walking, no, running from your pews!

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