Oh how I wish more people would have spent some time in a journalism class!
I’m so tired of people quoting only half of a statement because that’s all they chose to hear.
I’ve got the day off today (nice) and I woke up and read another section of “Jesus for President.” Bought it last night before going to the Dallas Museum of Art with Laurie.
I was good and ready to write a quick blog post about the what I had read before when my friend John forwards this to me from a site he forwards stuff from pretty constantly:
EXCERPT:
There is a word that describes John Dominic Crossan and that word is Heretic.
On a related note: Brian McLaren of the Emergent Church in his latest book Everything Must Change quotes favorably from Crossan’s latest book. McLaren and Crossan reinterpret the message of the gospel in such a way as to practically eliminate the doctrine of Christ’s Penal Substitutionary Atonement (This is the Biblical teaching that tells us the Jesus was pierced for our transgressions and died as our substitute on the cross in order to propitiate God’s wrath against our sins). After quoting Crossan on pages 122 and 123, Brian McLaren concludes that rather than die for our sins, “Jesus will use his cross to expose the cruelty and injustice of those in power and instill hope and confidence in the oppressed.”
That is not the Biblical gospel!
That is a bunch of Emergent goblidy gook!
But here again the scriptures tell us plainly what the gospel is and so we ask who are you going to believe?
Mark 10:45 [Jesus said] “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Arrghh! I’ve read the book. I knew exactly when I read the email which portion of the book it came from. I had to jump up immediately. Head out to my truck and grab the book.
My response
again… taking one line out of an entire chapter.
McLaren NEVER says, “rather than die for our sins…” McLaren is making the point about Jesus’ framing story compared to that of Ceaser Augustus.
Now I’ve got to type this whole thing out to prove my point……. geeze….
The empires “good news” is a framing story of peace through domination, peace through redemptive violence, peace through centralized power and control, peace through elimination of enemies. (Sounds a lot like modern America doesn’t it*) It involves the gods legitimizing those in power so that resistance to their sacred regime becomes not only treason but also heresy. The imperial narrative that drives them to dominance often drives them to self-destruction. Jesus’ alternative framing story, as we’ve seen involves God bringing down those in power (Luke 1:52-53) so that the poor can be legitimized (Luke 4:18) and so that the religious collaboration with the empire can be exposed as hypocrisy. The empire uses crosses to punish rebels and instill fear and submission to the oppressed: Jesus will use a cross to expose the cruelty and injustice of those in power and instill hope and confidence in the oppressed.
*my note
I have to wonder – would we really have that much to talk about, blog about, write about, get angry about if we’d only quote the whole dang thing. Maybe if, rather than listening for a sound bite to put on YouTube we’d actually take a couple hours (or maybe minutes) and read the entire chapter or book, or listen to the entire message.
Example 2
I have to share this from Kevin Hendricks re: the recent hub-bub about Jeremiah Wright:
Wow. The craziness is flying over comments made by Barack Obama’s pastor, Jeremiah Wright. I’ve read reactions from people stronly opposed to Wright, and from people defending Wright (or at least giving some helpful context — Knightopia links to several more).
Some of what Wright says is clearly off the deep end (i.e., the government invented AIDS to wipe out people of color). But I think some of his comments are right on. Like the “God Damn America” comments:
“The government gives them the drugs [referring to the Iran-Contra Affair], builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America.’ No, no, no, God damn America, that’s in the Bible for killing innocent people — God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.” (Seattle Times)
The ABC News story left out the last sentence, which I think helps give some context. Wright is preaching prophetically, like the prophets of old, who spoke out against injustice. I love America and the freedoms we have, but it’s not anti-American to speak out against injustice committed by America. That’s patriotic. (I wish Obama would have made that point.)
And America has some injustice going on when there are more black men in prison than in college.
Jonathan,
You’d have a point about McLaren if it wasn’t for the fact that he has consistently attacks the doctrine of Christ’s Penal Substitutionary Atonement.
In his book “a new kind of Christian” he likens it to cosmic child abuse. There is a recurring pattern and history with McLaren regarding Christ’s death on the cross and that patter is to re-imagine, redefine it and steer us away from what the scriptures clearly teach on it.
But if you want to defend McLaren then could you provide use with ONE verse that says that Jesus died on the cross to show us the cruelty and injustice of those in power.
Oh and the site you reference he has edited the quote you’ve taken issue with.
Amen, Jonathan!
It bugs me when people take things out of context and don’t cite their sources. No wonder we can’t have any productive conversation.
V.J….
You mean to tell me you don’t think the cross exposed “the cruelty and injustice of those in power?”
You don’t think it instilled “hope and confidence in the oppressed.”
So you’re saying Jesus deserved to die on the cross? Him dying and being punished was a just act of the Roman government and the Jewish leaders? Boy I’d hate to see what happened to those who didn’t live a perfect life.
And you’re telling me that the cross doesn’t give you hope? Maybe you’re not oppressed enough. Maybe you think you’re good enough that you don’t need hope. Even the theology of Christ’s Penal Substitutionary Atonement should give you loads of hope. The fact that you’re undeserving of anything and God offers you ultimate grace doesn’t give you hope? Don’t know what will.
Maybe that’s why folks like me aren’t interested in that brand of Christianity.
Jonathan,
My point was that there are absolutely ZERO passages of scripture that say that the reason why Jesus died on the cross was to expose the cruelty and injustice of those in power. ZERO. It is the Bible and the Bible alone that decides what the true brand of Christianity is and we have no authority to change or re-imagine that brand.
The scriptures paint a far different picture than the one painted by McLaren. Let me give you just two examples of what the Bible does say.
Isaiah 53:4 Â Â Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
1Cor. 15:3 Â Â For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
Now I never said that Jesus deserved to die on the cross. You put those words in my mouth.
Fact is, I am the one who deserves to die by crucifixion. I deserve to suffer God’s wrath and punishment for the sins that I have committed every single day of my life. Fact is, so do you.
So the Cross gives me hope. Not because of some lame morality drama that Jesus was playing out in order to expose the cruelty of Imperialism. The cross gives me hope because I know that Christ bore my sins and paid the penalty for them in my place through the pain and suffering and blood of His crucifixion.
The Framing Story of the New Testament is not one of defection from Imperialism but instead is the fulfillment of the Framing Story of the Old Testament. That framing story is mired in the blood and sacrifice of animals for sins, first at the Tabernacle and then in the Temple.
McLaren by re-imagining and tinkering with the meaning of Christ’s Crucifixion is leading you and others into grievous error. Repent and Believe the Biblical Gospel instead of McLaren’s neo-liberal Emergent fantasy gospel.
I don’t think McLaren or anyone else is saying that the ONLY “the reason why Jesus died on the cross was to expose the cruelty and injustice of those in power.”
Now, I’m not going to attempt to speak for McLaren re: any books other than “Everything Must Change (I’m not even really trying to speak for him regarding – Everything Must Change). I’ve only read Everything Must Change so I’m not going to try and tell you or anyone else what he may or may not be saying elsewhere. I’m telling you what I read and how I interpreted it. My first, foremost and main point in the blog post above was to say that he was misquoted in this instance. But since you did ask, here’s one reference I can look at and say that Jesus exposed the cruelty and injustice of those in power.
Col 2:15 (NIV) : And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Col 2:15 (NKJV) : Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Col 2:15 (KJV) : And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Or I love the way Eugene Peterson puts it:
He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.
I also think that while you may or may not agree with my interpretation of this scripture, my understanding of Scripture and my understanding of Jesus’ life was that He seemed to make it a point to show the errors of those in power quite frequently. And rather than coming at them with swords and spears like they did, He said, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.”
Maybe that picture doesn’t say the same thing to me – but to me it reminds me of Tiananmen Square where peaceful demonstrators stood in front of advancing tanks willing to stand for their beliefs. To me that exposes the cruelty and injustice of those in power. And I think Jesus’ lived a life that did just the same. And why you’re against that viewpoint, I don’t know. But I wish you saw the same thing.