I've been reading The Irresistible Revolution living as an ordinary radical by Shane Claiborne. I'm only into it 5 chapters and it has really stirred my heart. I'm ready to be an ordinary radical. I wanted to share a portion of chapter 3. So here we go! Enjoy!
In Search of a Christian
I remember when one of my colleagues said, "Shane, I am not a Christian anymore." I was puzzled, for we had gone to theology classes together, studied Scripture, prayed, and worshiped together. But I could see the intensity and sincerity in his eyes as he continued, "I gave up Christianity in order to follow Jesus." Somehow, I knew what he meant.
I wondered what it would look like if we decided to really follow Jesus. In fact, I wasn't exactly sure what a fully devoted Christian looked like, or if the world had even seen one in the last few centuries. From my desk at college, it looked like some time back we had stopped living Christianity and just started studying it. The hilarious words of nineteenth-century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkeegaard resonated in my thirsty soul:
The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church's prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament. (Soren Kierkegaard, Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard, ed. Charles E. Moore (Farmington, PA: Plough, 2002), 201.
I knew we were not going to win the masses to Christianity until we began to live it. So I went on a quest. I went looking for a Christian. I looked around hoping to find someone else who might be asking, What if Jesus meant the stuff he said? And I kept coming across dead people. (pages 71-72)
After reading this I connected with it. I see how lots of dead people can talk Christianity, but living it seems to be a dead end. Just the other day I was talking to a stranger, and listening to his words he spoke. Within the first 5 minutes he used the Lord's name in vain and a couple of other choice words that Christians should not speak. In our conversation he claimed to be Christian. How does foul language represent Christ? Are we not called to bear good fruit?
Over time I've become discontent living in "Disneyland America", sad but true is some Christians seem to have forgotten that this is not our home. Are we just passing through or are we planning to stay forever? Instead of seeking Christ we seem to have decided to seek our own desires. Did we forget that the Bible says "this world is passing away"?
Church, let me encourage you. Our lives should reflect Christ. Our walk should match the Word. Let's live in away that shows we are rich in God and poor in the things of this world. Many unbeliever's are looking into the church and seeing no difference between their life and a believer's life, causing them to think why do I need this Jesus Christ? They don't understand that we are born separate from God. They don't understand that Christ brings us home to God. They don't understand that you can't serve God and money, nor love the world and Christ. They don't understand and neither does the church.
Let's take the words of Jesus seriously. Let's be living sacrifices in this fallen world. Christ must become greater; we must become less. Let's get it and live it!
Keep pressing, keep praying, keep growing in the Lord!
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3 comments:
Soren Kierkeegaard calls the Bible "easy to understand." Do you believe the same, Sean? In your prior post, you promote an alternative course of Christian understanding, from which I must ascertain that the answer is, "no." Does not such an alternative course lead only to a man, and not to God? Rarely do the minds of philosophers meet on smooth sides. In citing them recklessly, you expose yourself for the barren wall that you are, resonating not with your own song, but merely echoing the songs of others in a raucous symphony of dissonance.
Be your own philosopher. I promise to be mine, and nothing more.
Systematized "comprehension" of God is simply an expression of the ever more-strained ropes that bind the body of human observation to the ragged and antiquated inference of the origin of a world not yet understood by our ancestors. It is an expression of the very self-defense Kierkeegaard observed more than a century ago, and which may be seen even more plainly in our time. The Bible is easy to understand, yes; it is a star in the sky. We, like our ancestors, see its wondrous light, yet we know now that the star itself has moved on, delivering to us through its narrow beam only an infinitely small window on some past cosmos.
The Evangelical Christian is yet another such expression. Desirous of the Christian God yet believing his own eyes, he is deeply conflicted. He takes up the mantle of Deliverer, but perverts it to sow seeds of the same conflict, for misery and doubt need only company, and the star that has moved on can provide none. The Evangelical thereby seeks refuge from God in God, a seeming contradiction explained only as a misunderstanding of God's true nature.
Do not be conflicted; the true God is not a deceiver.
Infinity,
Thanks for your post. I'd first start by saying that I do believe the Bible is easy to understand. God through His Word gives us very clear instructions on how a Christian should live and act in this world. (Col 3:1-17, 1 Thess 4:1-12, Titus 3:1-11, 1 Peter 1:13-25) We as Christians are called to live holy, not unholy.
My prior post is not about holy living, but how it is important for the Christian to study and grow in the knowlegde of God and the things of God. (God, God's Attributes, Jesus Christ, Satan, man, sin..etc) This way as Christians we can better defend our faith and Jesus Christ and stand strong. How will a world understand there is only one way to God and that is through Jesus Christ unless Christians prepare themselves to contend for the true faith.
The act of studing and living are two different things, both very important for the growing and maturing Christian.
To be honest I like what Soren Kierkeegaard says, but I have no clue who he is or when he even lived on this earth. I've been reading a great book and his qoute ended up being in the chapter I wanted to share on my blog.
I'm still growing in Christ and by God's grace will do so until I meet Him face to face. I would ask that you please pray for me, pray that I would contiune to mature in Christ. Pray that I would bear Christlike fruit.
In His grip,
Seann
OH YEAH THIS IS GOOOOOOOOOD
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