The Secret Message Part 3

Chapter 2 - The Political Message of Jesus

1. How do you respond to the author's decision to begin with the political dimension of Jesus' message?

To be honest I wasn't completely surprised that McLaren started off with this. Like many others who are involved with Emergent he has been labeled "liberal" by the religious right because he chooses to not blindly fall in line with the Republican party simply because they supposedly say the right things. Like McLaren I haven't always viewed the message of Jesus as political, and it has only been recently that I have begun to see things a little differently.

This chapter opens with the story of an American pastor being interviewed on British television. The pastor is asked why Christians in America unconditionally support the U.S. war in Iraq when that foreign policy seemingly contradicts the teachings of Christ. Eventually the pastor replied with, "Well, the teachings of Jesus are personal. They have nothing to do with politics and foreign policy."

Is the message of Christ personal and private?

So here we have a question that should probably be debated more often than it is...maybe it has been but I've only read about it here and in Jim Wallis' book God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It.

Here is an excerpt from chapter three, Is There a Politics of God?, of Wallis' book:

So is there a politics of God? Many of our politicians give a lot of lip service to God these days, but do they really understand the public implications of belief in God? We don't typically hear much about the politics of God, even from our pulpits. Powerful forces would keep God private, or under control, or as an endorser of ideological agendas, or of the political status quo, or (worse yet) of fund-raising activities. Today, religion usually serves more to silence the politics of God than to announce it to the nations. p. 31

This leads into the next question:

2. What might the political impact be of saying that Jesus' message has nothing to do with politics?

The political impact is what we are currently witnessing here in America and across world. Poverty is rampant, children are dying from lack of food and clean water (this to me is the most outrageous...we live in a country with at least one type of buffet in almost every town! I was a server at a large chain buffet for a while...you know what buffet stands for...Big Ugly Fat Fucks Eating Together...sorry soapbox moment), Nations believe that fighting violence with violence actually makes sense.

McLaren points out that Jesus referred to his message as good news...nothing new right I grew up singing songs in Sunday School about the good news. What I didn't know was that the term good news was a "public term used to evoke the political announcements of the Roman emperors." Once again I reminded of my simple minded church upbringing that never went any deeper than don't drink, don't swear, don't have sex before marriage...damnit, it just pisses me off. Anyway, McLaren goes on to give an example of who the good news might be announced today:

I've become convinced that if the good news of Jesus were carried in a newspaper today, it wouldn't be hidden in the religion section (although it would no doubt cause a ruckus there). It would be a major story in every section, from world news (What is the path to peace, and how are we responding to our neighbors in need?) to national and local news (How are we treating children, poor people, minorities, the last, the lost, the least? How are we treating our enemies?), in the lifestyle section (Are we loving our neighbors and throwing good parties to bring people together?), the food section (Do our diets reflect concern for God's planet and our poor neighbors, and have we invited any of them over for dinner lately?), the entertainment and sports section (What is the point of our entertainment, and what values are we strengthening in sports?), and even the business section (Are we serving the wrong master: money rather than God?). pp. 10-11

So I feel my eyes have been open to truth that I have yet to encounter on my journey. That the message of Christ is not completely about spending eternity in Heaven after we pass from this earth and has more to do with how we are to live and conduct ourselves in our brief existence here on earth. Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying that eternal aspect isn't important but that it's more of just the end result. This will definitely be covered more in later chapters, but let me see if I can explain it like this: As I was growing up my main reason for being a Christian was because I wanted to spend eternity in Heaven...I believed I was and still am a sinner and in need of a Savior but that the benefits of my faith only came after death, i.e. Heaven. The benefits, the kingdom of God is at hand now and available to all, but I'm starting to jump ahead of myself, so more on this later.

There are still three more questions for this chapter but I'm going to go ahead and wrap up this post here and conclude Chapter two a bit later. Adios!

The Secret Message Part 2

Chapter 1 - Troubling Questions About Jesus

I have thought about how I would like to blog about my thoughts as I read this book and I think I am going to post the questions from the aforementioned study guide and my responses to them...so here goes.

1. What impact did the barrage of questions at the beginning of this chapter have on you? How many of the questions have you asked yourself?

Since I was reading out loud to Lauren it was kind of starting to piss me off only because it was getting weird reading aloud all those questions, but that's just me being weird. Seriously though, I love questions especially those that challenge and call into question the "typical" churchy thinking...typical postmodern reaction right? The one question I absolutely love and am excited to read how McLaren fleshes it out is this:

"What if Jesus' secret message reveals a secret plan? What if he didn't come to start a new religion - but rather came to start a political, social, religious, artistic, economic, intellectual, and spiritual revolution that would give birth to a new world?" pp. 4

I love the idea of a revolution...not of fighting and violence but a revolution of the mind! Just the other night Lauren and I re-watched Moulin Rouge and I just love it when John Leguizamo's character Toulouse-Lautrec screams about being children of the revolution.

2. "It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere." Respond to this statement, and to Brian's analysis of it.

When Lauren asked this question to me the other night my first was response was that I thought it was horseshit. Yeah I know harsh. I only respond harsh because I relate that phrase to the statements praising President Bush that he is a man of conviction and he stands by those convictions no matter what and that if a person changes their opinion about something they are labeled a "flip-flopper". What good are convictions if they are wrong. Just because the President stands by his decision to invade a much weaker country doesn't make him anymore right and he sure as hell shouldn't be praised for it...but I digress.

McLaren's response may be a little better than my own:

"A lot of people say, "It doesn't matter what you believe, as long as you're sincere." They're partly right: sincerity is a precious thing, and arguments about who has the correct beliefs have too often led to arrogance, ugly arguments, and even violence. But believing untrue things, however sincerely, can have its own unintended consequences.

For example, try believing that God will be pleased if you fly an airplane into a tall building, that you can get away with embezzling funds, that you have a personal exemption from sexual propriety, or that your race or religion makes you superior to members of other races or religions. You will become someone nobody respects, including (eventually) you.

But seeking to believe what is true - seeking to see things as closely as possible to the way they really are, seeking to be faithful to what is and was and will be - puts you increasingly in touch with reality and helps you become a wise and good person. It can also make life a lot more meaningful, and enjoyable." pp. 6

I'll give McLaren this one, his response is better than mine. :-)

3. Brian talks about the potential message of Jesus being understood by Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and others, in addition to Christians. You may wish to invite members of various religions to be part of your group, if they aren't already. What might their presence add? Why might Christians need outside perspectives to help them understand the founder of their own religion?

Well, since Lauren and I are reading this book as a couple it might be a little weird to invite somebody else into this intimate moment between a husband and wife. Okay, poor attempt at humor. Anyway, I fully acknowledge that outside perspectives should be welcomed with open arms into a group discussing anything.

In this part of the chapter McLaren discusses how important it is to understand the Jewishness of Jesus since he, himself was Jewish. This may be a no brainer for some people, but growing up in the South in an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church (yeah that's a mouthful) this never occurred to me. I mean we were never outright told that Jesus was a pasty white boy who held to the exact same beliefs and practices as we did, there at a predominately white American church...it was more subtle or maybe it was just what they didn't teach us. It has only been within the last few years that I have realized and come to appreciate the Jewishness of Jesus and how knowing that information creates a completely different image of my Savior.

So that concludes this chapter. I am totally digging on McLaren's gentleness, and shepherding voice...not like an overbearing, over emotional, self-rightious pastor preaching at you but rather a brother who is still on this same journey and just wants to share it with you.

The Secret Message

Last week I ordered the latest book by author, pastor and emergent leader Brian McLaren, The Secret Message of Jesus. Lauren and I decided we would read the book together just to spend quality time together and also to have another person to discuss the things we would be reading. Usually when one of us starts a book, the one reading wants to discuss the content of the book and the other is left wondering what the heck is going on or just not wanting to hear it in fear of knowing too much before getting the chance to read it.

Anyway, all that to say we are delving into our first McLaren book together curious to see what he thinks this "Secret Message" really is. I have printed off a study guide for the book that I found on McLaren's website, so we will be using those questions to discuss the chapters.

So Wednesday night we read the introduction and first chapter of the book.

Immediately I found myself relating to McLaren as he spoke about his own spiritual journey. One interesting thing from the introduction was his mentioning of The Da Vinci Code, and his question of why the vision of Jesus that Dan Brown creates is more interesting, attractive and intriguing than the typical version of Jesus we hear about in many churches. I felt this way as I read Brown's book, just thinking to myself of how well I really knew or understood the person of Jesus. By the way, just in case anyone was wondering, I don't accept Brown's writing as fact...it is fiction and those who are threatened by fiction need to reevaluate their faith, but I still came away from that book thinking that perhaps my understanding of the person of Jesus was just as inaccurate as the depiction in The Da Vinci Code.

Next post will cover Chapter 1