It's a new paradigm ~ give it some thought
"The greatest evidence of my righteousness is how well I love, not how much I sin." (kh)
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
A Book to protect against ~ Wahabbi Christianity
This isn’t a political manual ~ it’s a good tome that helps us remember what the fragrance sometimes smells like.
The tendency to construct a Christ in our own terms of reference and to reject any evidence that challenges our life situations and assumptions is human and universal. For many hippies in the sixties, Jesus was much like themselves - an agitator and social critic, a dropout from the rat race, a prophet of the counterculture. For many yuppies in the eighty’s, Jesus was the provider of the good life and the Lord of the spa, a driven young executive with a messianic mission, the prophet of prosperity and the chauffeured limousine. After all, didn't he promise us a hundredfold in this life?...
Blaise Pascal wrote “God made man in his own image and man returned the compliment.” Through five decades I have seen Christians shaping Jesus in their own image- in each case a dreadfully small deity. In his classic work Your God Is To Small, J.B. Phillips enumerated several of the caricatures: Resident policeman, Parental hangover, Grand Old Man, Meek and Mild, Heavenly Bosom, Managing Director, God in a hurry, God for the elite, and God without God head etc…
The same tendency persists today in Christology especially in the disciples of “Jesus Torquemada.” In the fifteenth century they persecuted and tortured anyone who dare to disagree with their limited interpretation of Scripture. Torquemada, whose Spanish name means “orthodoxy of doctrine” died an old man in 1498, responsible for two thousand burnings at the stake and the exiling of 160,000 Jews from Spain as undesirable aliens- all for the glory of God. Torquemadeans are alive and well today in every Christian denomination and non-denomination. The same mean mindedness, jealousy, ostracism, and hatred still divide the body of Christ. (The Signature of Jesus ~ Brennan Manning pgs. 152-153)
The tendency to construct a Christ in our own terms of reference and to reject any evidence that challenges our life situations and assumptions is human and universal. For many hippies in the sixties, Jesus was much like themselves - an agitator and social critic, a dropout from the rat race, a prophet of the counterculture. For many yuppies in the eighty’s, Jesus was the provider of the good life and the Lord of the spa, a driven young executive with a messianic mission, the prophet of prosperity and the chauffeured limousine. After all, didn't he promise us a hundredfold in this life?...
Blaise Pascal wrote “God made man in his own image and man returned the compliment.” Through five decades I have seen Christians shaping Jesus in their own image- in each case a dreadfully small deity. In his classic work Your God Is To Small, J.B. Phillips enumerated several of the caricatures: Resident policeman, Parental hangover, Grand Old Man, Meek and Mild, Heavenly Bosom, Managing Director, God in a hurry, God for the elite, and God without God head etc…
The same tendency persists today in Christology especially in the disciples of “Jesus Torquemada.” In the fifteenth century they persecuted and tortured anyone who dare to disagree with their limited interpretation of Scripture. Torquemada, whose Spanish name means “orthodoxy of doctrine” died an old man in 1498, responsible for two thousand burnings at the stake and the exiling of 160,000 Jews from Spain as undesirable aliens- all for the glory of God. Torquemadeans are alive and well today in every Christian denomination and non-denomination. The same mean mindedness, jealousy, ostracism, and hatred still divide the body of Christ. (The Signature of Jesus ~ Brennan Manning pgs. 152-153)
Friday, August 14, 2009
A Wahabbi Christian ~ Beware the mind-riots!
I started to write a letter today entitled "How to be a Wahabbi Christian." Wahabbi's are a narrow and virulent cult within Islam that fuel the prospect of Terrorism and a world without peace. The religious teachers, named mullahs often foment decrees denouncing anything that smacks of a difference with their own views. I wonder, what would a Wahabbi American look like? What would a Wahabbi Christian look like? To whose view would the fanatic submit his mind? It is an intriguing thought!
Today I was thinking how many current talk radio hosts or so-called entertainment news commentators spend their time creating crisis and fear in the hearts and minds of the people of God and the nation as a whole. The total amount of misinformation and "no-speak" makes it incredibly difficult to ascertain truth when it comes to political affairs. And the amount of time Christians give to this process amazes me.
What's disturbing to my spirit is how I see Christians reacting and allowing their spirits to be poisoned by these so called defenders of the democracy. And remember, our democracy isn't the Kingdom of God, nor is the Republican or Democratic party. Brothers are separating from brothers on issues of half-truths propagated by media machines.
And what's a bit scary is that it's not too difficult to see how people turn against people based on half-truths, or supposed truth, or political position. Virulent is a kind word describing some of the reactions I've witnessed. We kill so easily with our tongue!
Their goal is to create a mind-riot in you. They want to create an emotional state of fear that says the Master’s Kingdom is under siege - IT IS NOT! They want to create a state of concern that champions their cause (or ratings), at your expense, for their profit – NOT FOR OUR KING!
Consider the following:
1. The kingdom of the world trusts the power of the sword, while the Kingdom of God trusts another power.
2. The kingdom of the world seeks to control behavior, while the kingdom of God seeks to transform.
3. The kingdom of the world is inherently tribal in nature and heavily invested in defending itself, its group, its ethnicity...The Kingdom of God is universal.
4. The kingdom of the world has earthly enemies, while in the Kingdom of God, warfare is spiritual, and love for enemies is paramount. (Taken from: The Myth of a Christian Nation - Boyd)
Ask yourself the following question: How much did Jesus let news of the day influence His political view?
Ask yourself this, “Do I like it that zealots in the Gulf spread lies in order to upset the masses and create riots or acts of terrorism?” Some of my brethren act as if God isn’t in control or God is off sleeping somewhere and not ordering acts of worldwide scope.
I encourage you and ask in a humble spirit ~ be careful who you allow to create a mind-riot within. Be careful that you’re not sacrificing your testimony for the Kingdom of God for a testimony of a political party.
Ken Harbour
Proverbs 6:16-19 6 There are six things which Jehovah hates; Yea, seven which are an abomination unto him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood; 18 A heart that devises wicked purposes, Feet that are swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that uttered lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren.
Today I was thinking how many current talk radio hosts or so-called entertainment news commentators spend their time creating crisis and fear in the hearts and minds of the people of God and the nation as a whole. The total amount of misinformation and "no-speak" makes it incredibly difficult to ascertain truth when it comes to political affairs. And the amount of time Christians give to this process amazes me.
What's disturbing to my spirit is how I see Christians reacting and allowing their spirits to be poisoned by these so called defenders of the democracy. And remember, our democracy isn't the Kingdom of God, nor is the Republican or Democratic party. Brothers are separating from brothers on issues of half-truths propagated by media machines.
And what's a bit scary is that it's not too difficult to see how people turn against people based on half-truths, or supposed truth, or political position. Virulent is a kind word describing some of the reactions I've witnessed. We kill so easily with our tongue!
Their goal is to create a mind-riot in you. They want to create an emotional state of fear that says the Master’s Kingdom is under siege - IT IS NOT! They want to create a state of concern that champions their cause (or ratings), at your expense, for their profit – NOT FOR OUR KING!
Consider the following:
1. The kingdom of the world trusts the power of the sword, while the Kingdom of God trusts another power.
2. The kingdom of the world seeks to control behavior, while the kingdom of God seeks to transform.
3. The kingdom of the world is inherently tribal in nature and heavily invested in defending itself, its group, its ethnicity...The Kingdom of God is universal.
4. The kingdom of the world has earthly enemies, while in the Kingdom of God, warfare is spiritual, and love for enemies is paramount. (Taken from: The Myth of a Christian Nation - Boyd)
Ask yourself the following question: How much did Jesus let news of the day influence His political view?
Ask yourself this, “Do I like it that zealots in the Gulf spread lies in order to upset the masses and create riots or acts of terrorism?” Some of my brethren act as if God isn’t in control or God is off sleeping somewhere and not ordering acts of worldwide scope.
I encourage you and ask in a humble spirit ~ be careful who you allow to create a mind-riot within. Be careful that you’re not sacrificing your testimony for the Kingdom of God for a testimony of a political party.
Ken Harbour
Proverbs 6:16-19 6 There are six things which Jehovah hates; Yea, seven which are an abomination unto him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood; 18 A heart that devises wicked purposes, Feet that are swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that uttered lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren.
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