Saturday, May 24, 2008
A Call To Betrayal
I've met so many Christians who feel the primary task of Christianity is the call to preserve our religion even if Jesus' message gets lost in the mix. I can sympathize with their emotional reaction, but the result is a type of faith that feels more like a competition for dominance than a call to sacrifice. I don't know if this was the product of a religion birthed in a pluralistic society fighting for survival, the spirit of protestant reformation gone wild, or a byproduct of the modern individualistic fixation on winning at all costs. I've heard people go so far as to suggest that the very words of Jesus are "bad advice" if not packaged up with the branding of Christian symbols, language, and stories. Some part of that doesn't sit right with me. I guess there is a reason that Madison Avenue marketing firms focus so heavily on the concept of brand loyalty. We seem to take the bait.
The cost of Christianity, for so many, is thought to lie in the demand that we die to ourselves for the sake of our Christianity. The cross we are called to carry is thus one upon which we are to be put to death. But what if this cross we bear had another meaning? What if the Cross that we are called to carry is not for us at all but rather, like the cross that Simon of Cyrene labored beneath, is really for another - a cross for us to crucify what we love? Is it possible that the cross we labor beneath must be used to crucify our Christianity? How many of us can really know what it is like to destroy what we love for the sake of what we love - to be the most faithful of betrayers? Yet perhaps it is precisely this that we are being called to: engaging in that most difficult task of putting our religion to death so that a religion without religion can spring forth. - Peter Rollins, "Fidelity Of Betrayal" (p.24)Is it possible that the worst thing that ever happened to Christianity is when it won? At some point the subversive anti-imperial message of Jesus became the dominant religion of the empire. Something had to give. Either the empire had to become like Christ or Christianity had to become like the empire. The empire won the first battle and Christians came along for the ride because the name of Christ was more important to them than the values of Jesus. What if Christians had been willing to betray that which they loved most - then very name of Christ? If the empire steals the brand, then shouldn't our fidelity to Jesus demand our betrayal of his name?
5 comments:
I agree with your last paragraph. I think this is a provocative question and it summarizes what I think is a fundamental historical problem with Christianity.
Hi Mike,
Julie Bogart brought your blog to my attention - she and I are long-time friends and she correctly figured that I would like reading your thoughts here!
I think that Christianity's alignment with empire, whether in Rome, Europe, England, the USA or even what we may see happen in Asia, Africa or other parts of the world, results in a generic shift of what the religious movement seeks to accomplish and its effect on humans. I agree with your insights on the detrimental implications of Christianity's so-called "victory". Another book on this subject you might benefit from reading (if you haven't already) is Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer's Jesus Against Christianity.
Also, I invite you to check out my blog (PoMoXian) and my email discussion list (also called PoMoXian!) that you can link to by following my profile. I look forward to reading more here and will probably add you to my list of blog-links as well!
I'm with you. I too have been reading this book and really gaining a lot from it. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on how this would look practically for us in today's world - to betray Christianity.
Hi Adam,
I know for me it started with leaving the institutional church. No longer giving time and 10% of my resources to what is basically a price for services provided back to its members. Instead, using those resources to actually help the people it was designed to help. No longer looking for community in religious settings, but taking religious values into relationships found elsewhere.
Providing prophetic criticism of the system and its mistakes (blogging?). It might mean rejection terms and language if they have been stolen by empire and loaded with the wrong meanings.
I hope there is more. I'm open to more ideas.
Great thoughts on this book Mike. I can't wait to read more.
Post a Comment