Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven
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| Sunny Days in Heaven Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven |
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Tuesday, June 04, 2002 Heaven to Betsy Roy at Dispatches from Outland (link on right) has a beautiful exposition on the nature of the kingdom of heaven as a message and not merely about a messenger. Here are two paragraphs: This is a great paradigm shift: "The cross act was first narrowly interpreted as mere vicarious suffering and then mistaken for the whole of the redemptive action of God. Christ's life and teaching were therefore noessential to the work of redemption and were regarded as just poignant decorations for his cross, since his only saving function was concieved to be that of a blood sacrifice to purchase our forgiveness." (p. 36) The message of Jesus was of new life; this includes but is more than forgiveness of sin. For early believers, resurrection was the central fact of the Gospel, not crucifixion. It proved the reality of new life in God's kingdom. Life = Salvation (see John 10:10, 1 John 5:12, Eph. 2:5) In a number of recent discussions with Catholics, I keep coming up against this wall of belief that implies - me and eucharist and that's all I need; that's how the job gets done. Many ignore the fact that Jesus had no need of the Eucharist and managed to work his way inside the kingdom of God and into the heart of wisdom. He preached repentance, forgiveness of sins, and the Kingdom of Heaven adding a number of cautions and helpful hints.My experience is that people get a whole lot farther with that Jesus than the dead guy on the cross in frozen agony shouting out in silence - I did this for you! John is right when he says that unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it will not bear fruit; but I do not believe that Jesus was a suicidal fanatic who planned his own death (and sought it out) in order to prove a point (and win Lordship.) We may sympathize with his agony and passion, and even feel guilty about it since we're the same kind of people who did him in; but his living message ought to be more important than his death and resurrection. That is what he lived for, after all. To talk to people about goodness, truth, reality, and being; wisdom, hope, charity, and faith. posted by Mark Butterworth | 8:07 PM | |
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