Rooted Up

Subtle nuances in “Christian-ese,” or the language used by Christians has muddied our understanding of what it central to Christianity. It is only, it has only ever been Jesus of Nazareth.

About this series

For more about why this series was written, please see the first post.

Chapter Five: A Ditch on Either Side

There is a possibility that some who read Jesus Manifesto will think to themselves that there is no real depth to what is being presented, I strongly disagree. It is my conviction that Jesus Manifesto is an attempt to reveal the forest of trees surrounding the American Church.

There are so many representations of Christ, interpretations of what he is, who he is, and what Christianity is all about that we are tempted to assume they are all important facets of a dynamic belief system. We cannot see the forest for all the trees.

Also, we fail when we devalue Christianity as merely a system of theological or ethical beliefs. It is not a religion, He is a person!

If Christianity is not the person of Jesus of Nazareth and nothing more and nothing less, then preachers who predict the end of the world, or Christians who protest at veterans’ funerals, and the denominational divisions in the Church are simply facets that make up Christianity.

Indeed that is what the world perceives the Church to be; a large, fractious, corrupt and hypocritical group of people centered on a flawed, but mostly well-intentioned ethical system with intricate theological doctrines that has contributed great works and great sorrows to human history – just like any other religion.

If “Jesus Christ” is some kind of short hand for you that translates to “the correct belief system” then that will show up in your approach to Church and interactions with other people. Such belief motivates some Christians to show up at other churches preaching that if they are not baptized immediately after accepting Christ as their savior they risk going to hell if they die in a car accident on the way home.

If “the kingdom of God” is synonymous with the correct ethical behavior then this too will also impact your relationships with other people. It is what motivates some Christians to bomb abortion clinics, or judge that others are going to hell because of a prior divorce. And it has led many to seek to impose the will of the “moral majority” on the rest of the nation.

There is a repetitiveness to Jesus Manifesto, and I hope that you don’t miss it by skimming over the text. Read every word. Digest it. Repetition in this case is meant to drill something into your psyche, something that the Church has overlooked – that Jesus Christ is it, and nothing else matters.

No, nothing else comes close to Christ. Christian theology, doctrine, ethics, and morality all fall short of Jesus Himself. Do not miss that simple, complex, mysterious and all sufficient truth that has altered reality ever since it became known at Pentecost and has since empowered men and women to change the world when once having grasped a similar revelation of Jesus.

Does your church communicate this kind of theology, this kind of ethic?

Read the other posts in this series:

Jesus Manifesto: Directionally Challenged

Jesus Manifesto: Held Hostage (Chapter 1)

Jesus Manifesto: Unveiled (Chapter 2)

Jesus Manifesto: Biography (Chapter 3)