I have faith in a God whose delight is in creating and making all things new, whose minimalist nature rejoices in experiencing life as evolution and growth. When things get too big, they collapse and so it is on earth as it is in the universe we find ourselves in. All of this is said to put into perspective what I am calling for, a true reformation of Christianity.
Christianity has been fractalized and fractured into thousands of shards that has been the result of trying to guard and maintain control of Christian belief. The irony in this fractalizing process is that all of the pieces basically look alike; are merely small mirror images of what they broke away from. Although Christianity is considered the largest religion in the world, it is extremely fractured and is beginning to collapse under its collective weight. Ecumenism, finding common ground, has not led to preventing this collapse as the relevancy of the Christian Church (as a whole) is what is giving way.
What leads me to consider the time is right for a true reformation to take place is that we are entering into a post-Christian era. Scriptures frequently reference agrarian images to make a point about the minimalist nature of God. Pruning comes to mind; as in, cutting trees and vines back to a manageable size in order to encourage growth.
A true reformation is not about trying to put all the fractalized shards back together again, but about creating a new way of communication between them; a new sense of communion, community, and solidarity within the multifaceted frameworks that exist. There is so much old language that we try to hold on to and imbue with meanings that are hard to convey because such terminology maintains its original meanings. For example, the term atonement comes to mind. In some circles, atonement has been changed to at-one-ment. It's cute but confusing as doesn't eliminate atonement's original meaning. The point is we cannot rid ourselves of the past, but we can shelve it and learn from it.
The Protestant Reformation was not a true reformation by any stretch of the imagination, but rather a grab for power by the various potentates of the time to wrestle control from the papacy. It did not change the hearts and minds of people about God, Jesus, or the Church. It merely broke up the Roman Catholic church. It resulted in no change in understanding God or Jesus or our relationship to that which God loves, which is what a true reformation must result in.
JESUS AS REFORMER
The premise for reformation exists in all religions. Every founder of a religion and every religious prophet was, at heart, a reformer of an existing religion. Jesus was, at heart, trying to reform Judaism; to reclaim and bring to light its foundational truths about God. There is nothing new in what Jesus taught. Everything Jesus taught was based on the foundational truths he saw in Judaism and are found in the Hebrew Scriptures. What was new in what Jesus taught was Jesus' application of them. They appeared new because they were not being applied and hadn't been for generations; a fact that generates most, if not in all, true reformation movements.
What was also new is that he did not attempt to keep everything in the Hebrew Scriptures as relevant and sidestepped what he saw as unhelpful. Like most reformers of an existing religion, Jesus was viewed as a threat. Not much has changed in that respect.
Fundamentalism finds fertile soil in every type of religion. Jesus was no fundamentalist. He didn't try to make everything that appeared to be fundamental to Judaism as being foundational to Judaism.
On the other hand, Jesus did not throw things out. He sidestepped them. He dealt with them only if people brought them up and then would redefine their meaning as rooted in what he saw as foundational to Judaism and being essential to one's understanding of God and our relationship to each other.
Christianity, the religion that emerged from Jesus's attempt to reform and reclaim the religion that was close to his heart, has followed the same problem he was trying to get away from; the cumbersome rules and regulations that divide us and prevent personal and communal growth; that encumber access to our common creator, our father (to use Jesus terminology) for God.
Christianity has become weighted down by its institutional structures and is finding it difficult to help its adherents adapt to a changing world. Frankly, it is sinking in a world of new information about who we are and the universe we live in. It is finding it difficult, if not incapable, of throwing things overboard in order to keep things afloat and sail on the winds that are driving our times. It is time to revisit who Jesus is and what God is about.
WHAT'S THE POINT?
After eighteen hundred years of indoctrination and orthodox dogma, is there any hope that things can be turned around?
Yes.
When we see a lessening or decline in something, there is a chance for new growth. Decline does not mean defeat or an end, but rather it can provide a time of flexibility and reflection. Personally, I see a need for Christianity to get things right and set things right because the world needs to enact what Jesus taught and to emulate what Jesus practiced during his time on earth.
I can only hope and pray that the Being-in-which-we-live-move-and-have-our-being, God, uses this relatively obscure blog of mine in a creative process that results in a true reformation of the followers of Jesus and offers a connection between the innumerable people who love God and recognize God's love for them. I undoubtedly will end up saying things that will be viewed as heresy by some and mindless rambling by others. I can only beg forgiveness on both accounts and ask that you bear with me.
In what is likely to be several post, I wish to convey that a true reformation is about seeking and embracing what is true about God and, for Christians, what is true about Jesus. I also wish to convey that a true reformation is about entering into a kenotic act; of a willingness to let go of long held beliefs that profit no one or fails to bring anyone closer to God. A true reformation is about allowing God's creativity to shape our hearts and minds.
What I am talking about is sifting through roughly eighteen hundred years or more of Christian theology, some of which I will undoubtedly ignore and some I will sided-step. Ironically, perhaps the best way to start sifting through things is by injecting new ideas in order to flush out old ones. Here too I am mindful that what I'm injecting as new may, in fact, be ideas that have been around for centuries which, in the light of more information about ourselves and our universe have taken on greater luster.
Until next time, stay faithful.
Norm
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