Jesus didn't come to...
Submitted by Jules on April 16 2002 16:35:58
In reply to Hypocrisy submitted by Billy Budd on April 15 2002 10:31:17
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...start a new religion; he came to do away with religion. Jesus didn't come to teach a new way to reach God; he came to show that God is reaching out for us. Jesus didn't come to found an institution; he came to start a movement. Jesus didn't come to teach a set of beliefs or a set of morals that would define who was 'in' and who was 'out'; he came to include the outsiders. Jesus didn't come to send people to church; he came to send people into the world. Hi Billy, What you've experienced of the organised church is almost the opposite of what Jesus came to do! It's no surprise, though, because any movement has to change from being radical to being institutional if it's going to survive. Your experience is all too common, and all of us who are church-going, doctrine-holding, religion-observing people need to keep checking that we haven't lost the plot! I can't offer you any easy answers for the way forward, except to suggest that you make following Jesus a higher priority than conforming to the organised church. In my experience there are churches out there that follow this principle. But I wonder sometimes whether we've reached the point in organised Christianity where someone needs to do what Jesus did all over again - subvert the organised religion, reach out to those that the religion marginalises, and send people out to spread the good news! With Christian love, Jules |
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