the Manifesto
In The Secret Message of Jesus (Brian D. McLaren, W Publishing), the author speaks of Matthew 5-7, which is often called the Sermon on the Mount, as "Jesus' kingdom manifesto". In these verses Jesus tells His listeners they would never enter the kingdom of God unless their righteousness exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees. So Jesus is saying a couple of things here. One, that the teachers of the Law (scribes) and the religious leaders (Pharisees) weren't going to enter the kingdom of God. If their followers had to be more righteous than their leaders to enter, then obviously their leaders weren't going there either.
In light of the third anniversary of our invasion of Iraq and the thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of casualties done in a major part at least in the name of Christ, let's look at one particular part of Jesus' commands.
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?" (Matthew 5:43ff).
As I've mentioned in previous posts, there is no "public" Christianity as opposed to "private" Christianity. You can't do things in the name of your country that you wouldn't do as a private citizen.
In chapter 17 of The Secret Message of Jesus", McLaren writes:
"The crucifixion of Christ can...be seen as a radical repudiation of the use of violent force...For the early church, it apparently meant that the kingdom of God would triumph not by inflicting violence but by enduring it-not by making others suffer but by willingly enduring suffering for the sake of justice-not by coercing or humiliating others but by enduring their humiliation with gentle dignity". And "it's no surprise in this light that the heroes of the early church were not Crusaders, not warriors, not men of the sword but rather martyrs, men and women with the faith and courage to face lion, ax, cross, chain, whip, and fire as testimony to their allegiance- not to the standards of this world but to the standards of the kingdom of God".
Next (probably) the theory of "Just War" and where it came from.
In light of the third anniversary of our invasion of Iraq and the thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of casualties done in a major part at least in the name of Christ, let's look at one particular part of Jesus' commands.
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?" (Matthew 5:43ff).
As I've mentioned in previous posts, there is no "public" Christianity as opposed to "private" Christianity. You can't do things in the name of your country that you wouldn't do as a private citizen.
In chapter 17 of The Secret Message of Jesus", McLaren writes:
"The crucifixion of Christ can...be seen as a radical repudiation of the use of violent force...For the early church, it apparently meant that the kingdom of God would triumph not by inflicting violence but by enduring it-not by making others suffer but by willingly enduring suffering for the sake of justice-not by coercing or humiliating others but by enduring their humiliation with gentle dignity". And "it's no surprise in this light that the heroes of the early church were not Crusaders, not warriors, not men of the sword but rather martyrs, men and women with the faith and courage to face lion, ax, cross, chain, whip, and fire as testimony to their allegiance- not to the standards of this world but to the standards of the kingdom of God".
Next (probably) the theory of "Just War" and where it came from.
posted by Bob | 21.3.06
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