From Walter Brueggemann’s The Bible Makes Sense
“We live in a society where we nearly have forgotten what humanness is about. And that is why the Bible must be taken seriously. It preserves for us alternative images of humanness. It holds for us promises of a new age coming upon us. It bestows upon us, by the rule of God, power to become whom we are destined to be. We are offered ‘power to become children of God’ (John 1:12) so that we may leave off being either slaves or orphans and we may stop building institutions to contain either slaves or orphans.
“The Bible holds for us an invitation to another humanness. We need not be triumphalist. We need not always be securing ourselves at the expense of others. We need not regard ourselves as the last defense of what is right. It is enough that this notion of humanness in the image of God finds joy in caring, life in dying, strength in meekness. That is not commonly believed among us, even by those who use such words. But these affirmations have resilience and credibility among those who are not prepared to settle for current one-dimensional self-understanding. That is the issue around which our work must cluster. To that issue the Bible has a singular pertinence.
“In the poor man Jesus of Nazareth, we have a new sense of our humanness. In his community we have a fresh discernment of being a distinct people in the history of the world, a people that lives always between the cost of Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday. The Bible insists upon our facing that call.”
…from a society of slaves and orphans into adoption as children. It’s a good system.
“a people that lives always between the cost of Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday” THAT’s living in hope! Happy Saturday!
Beyond substitutionary penal atonement, do Christians really believe — or live like — there’s more to their faith? Do we believe that the Christian way of living is the very best way to live, or are we so hung up on eternity that we miss the life and opportunity to find our humanity that we can find now?
I’m not ready to throw the baby (Jesus) out with the bathwater by saying that the substitutionary elements of the cross are not important — they are. But the good news — gospel — for our generation might just be that they haven’t known life until they’ve followed the way of Jesus, the very best way to live.
(Brueggemann is a genius, by the way)
Thanks, Steve. Great note.
BESIDE THE POINT: Interested in the Ryder Cup? Keep up with my buddy Grant’s PGA.com blog from Ireland here.
Christians in my part of the world are so desperate to prove that they are different. The cover their churches and even their services with imagery and sometimes even dress like they are living under Levitical law. I want to show that the way of Jesus is much more than rules; however, the religious climate i am now ministering in requires a constant evaluation of whether or not I am proclaiming the eternal promises of God today. Believer = wacko here in Brasil, and I try to live out the joy of grace in the reality of extreme suffereing. Pray that others will try to do the same.
RQ-
Sometimes I wonder if Believer = wacko might be better than what we have in the “Bible Belt”, where everyone is expected to have some kind of religion and everyone sort of takes it for granted. (Pardon my over-generalization to make a point) I think there are over 25 churches of my “denomination” within 10 miles of my house, but we don’t ever really get together much and don’t gain strength from each other. I have dear friends in Salvador, Brasil, who would gladly, I’m sure, drive a hundred miles just to meet with us (if we were that close). Sometimes I forget that the single most distinguishing trait for disciples of Jesus is our love for each other. It’s not my doctrine, my giving, my differences from those around me, my teaching, my prayers… it’s my love. That love should be, and can be, present in extreme suffering as well as religious indifference. That love is a light everyone is drawn toward, like a warm fire in a snow storm. And… I will pray that others will live out the joy you describe.
It won’t be long before “believer = wacko” throughout the entire Western world. It’s already happened in Australia and the U.K., and the U.S. is not far behind. The Christendom Era — a period beginning with Emperor Constantine in the early 300s AD in which Christian values and beliefs were assumed throughout much of the West — has been dying a slow, painful death over the last half-century. This is not disputed, but it is frequently bemoaned, especially by church-types here in the States.
With the reality of post-Christendom America upon us, the question becomes “what now?” How does this change (or restore) what ministry and mission looks like, especially on domestic soil? What is “good news” to a twentysomething in Massachusetts who was born into a non-Christian family and will grow up with no Christian faith whatsoever (after centuries where Westerners were “born Christian”)?
I think Brueggemann’s assertion that the Way of Jesus can restore — to a certain point — our humanness is a clue to what the gospel looks like in post-everything America. It also has implications for what ministry and “church” look like.
How about banning the word “post-modern” from our vocalubary? I think people have a hard time defining it anyway.
“We live in a society where we nearly have forgotten what humanness is about. And that is why the Bible must be taken seriously.”
We need to take the gospels seriously. The rest of the Bible seems to alienate us.
Now back to waiting for Texas and Iowa State to resume play.
Steve Jr.,
Perhaps the problem IS “substitutionary penal atonement.” Not the emphasis placed upon it, but the whole idea. That’s radical, but my thinking on this has largely been shaped by Rene Girard’s work. I think more people in the Churches of Christ need to be exposed to Girard.
Best,
Richard
PS-For readers wanting a start on Girard start here: http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=16-10-040-i
We will be praying Psalm 30 in our morning worship. Bruggeman quotes you provided will preface the prayer. Our church has been living the cost of Good Friday this week because of the tragic death of a beloved 25 year old young man. Woven in our sorrow were hints of Easter morning and today we will remember our disorientation and declare our hope for reorientation. Thank you for providing words that express our hearts.
May God’s healing be on your congregation today, Bobbie. As you know, that church means more to me than can be expressed. I’ve been praying for your young minister this week as he’s grieved with others who are grieving.
One of the most ignored truths of the Christian faith is that we who have been born from above have been made “partakers of the divine nature”. Today, as I go to the market place, or to lunch, I go with divinity as a very real part of who I am.
Therefore, the potential exists to expose someone to divine love. Walking in the Spirit is denying self and allowing Spirit to be in control. The Christ life is not a result of determination to “be”, but rather the surrendered willingness “not to be”.
Grace and Peace,
Royce Ogle