Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

Thirsting for Life (the fourth saying of Jesus from the cross)

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality

“After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), ‘I am thirsty.'”

The Gospel of John is characterized by a very high Christology that is often read back into the stories of Jesus. This is undoubtedly at least one of the factors that guides the way the author (John’s community) shapes and reformulates the sayings of Jesus into lengthy dialogues and monologues. Sometimes in John’s narrative the divinity of Jesus trumps his humanity.

This brief word of Jesus from the cross found exclusively in John’s Gospel is a case in point. Jesus’s expression, “I am thirsty,” on the surface seems to reflect a very human Jesus, but in introducing these words, John presents Jesus as being in complete control, intentionally fulfilling Scripture. (All the Gospels emphasize the fulfillment of Scripture in the passion story, but John does this more than the others. The reference here seems to be to Psalm 69:22, which in the LXX (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) contains the same Greek words John uses for “sour wine” and “thirst.” Sometimes the connections the Gospel writers make with the Hebrew text are finely stretched. It was their way of emphasizing that God was at work in and through these events.)

John’s picture is very different from the portrait painted in Mark’s Gospel of a Jesus who is mostly passive and cries out, echoing the words of the Psalmist, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” There is no sense of… [Read more…] about Thirsting for Life (the fourth saying of Jesus from the cross)

Dear Neighbors

by Brettany Renee Blatchley in Christian Issues, LGBT

America is my home. I love it for its landscape, its history, and especially its people. I grew-up here; I work here; I shop here; I go to church here; I raised a family here. I laugh, cry, live, and likely I will die here.

May I please share something intimate and important, something most people do not guess about my medical history? You see, I am a female person who has become a woman through her transgender nature and experience. My doctors and I have worked for years to help my body match the way my brain is wired. There are complicated reasons for this, and (for my case) the science is pointing to how I was formed in my mother’s womb.

Goodness! Why is this relevant to anything?

Well, it is important because I also use public bathrooms and change-areas. Yes, I know that’s “personal information,” and it should be … really, it should be. But what once was private for me, sadly may no longer be the case.

Some among us, mostly well-meaning people, grossly misunderstand people like me, and consider us to be a threat, even evil, for just existing as our authentic selves. Many assume God feels this way about us too.

That is difficult enough, but they also want it to be illegal for me to use the same bathroom and changing facilities that other women use, facilities I have used for years without incident.

In their eyes, nothing my doctors say, nothing science says, nothing I say, not my legal status, nothing that has or ever could be done to my body can… [Read more…] about Dear Neighbors

I’m an Evangelical Voter. No, Really …

by Michael L. Ruffin in Christian Issues, Current Events

I’m a Christian evangelical. To my way of thinking, “Christian” and “evangelical” are synonymous, since a Christian should live a life that bears witness with their attitudes, words, and actions to the good news of Jesus.

Somewhere along the way, though, people came to regard “evangelical” as synonymous with “conservative” and even with “fundamentalist.” Some folks think it’s not possible to be a “liberal evangelical.” Actually, one could make an excellent case that many liberal evangelicals reflect more of the way of Jesus in their ways of thinking, talking, and acting than do many conservative evangelicals.

It’s been interesting to observe how many of my more conservative evangelical sisters and brothers have approached the question of whom to support in recent elections.

When Barack Obama was running for president, lots of folks insisted that he was a Muslim and refused to believe his assertion that he was a Christian. I’m not sure it mattered to them whether he was Christian or Muslim. They weren’t sure which was worse: being a Muslim or being a liberal Christian. They figured that if Obama was a Christian, he wasn’t Christian enough, because he wasn’t their kind of Christian.

I understand that mindset, since I also sometimes judge the reality and quality of someone’s Christianity. Mainly, I’m troubled when a professing Christian seems to exhibit little awareness of what Jesus did and said. We’re supposed to be following him, after all, so I’m suspicious of… [Read more…] about I’m an Evangelical Voter. No, Really …

Why no preacher quotes Jesus on Family Sunday (the third saying from the cross)

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality

“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home” (John 19:25–27).

John’s Gospel is full of words and phrases that have multiple meanings and convey a rich symbolism. Many interpreters argue that these words of Jesus from the cross to his mother and the beloved disciple should be understood symbolically and theologically, rather than historically. In fact, these words closely resemble the formulas used for rites of adoption in the ancient world. Jesus had other blood brothers who had been present alongside his mother in Cana and they would have naturally been the ones to care for their mother. Assuming that Joseph had been dead for some time, Jesus’s mother would have been in their care.

Jesus’s mother appears twice in the Gospel of John, at the beginning and end of his ministry: at the wedding in Cana and at the cross. These two scenes form a bracket around Jesus’s ministry. At the wedding scene there is a foreboding of what is to come. When she asks him to do something to remedy the problem of running out of wine, Jesus says, “Woman, my hour has not yet come,” alluding to the hour of his death. (By the way, calling her “woman” was not intended to be derogatory or degrading in any way. Jesus also addressed the woman of Samaria (4:21) and Mary Magdalene (20:15) by this same… [Read more…] about Why no preacher quotes Jesus on Family Sunday (the third saying from the cross)

The Jihad of Jesus

by in Book Reviews, Islam

For many people, the word jihad is likely to conjure up images of bearded men wearing suicide vests, of black-robed militants brandishing AK-47s, or of clandestine terrorist cells plotting to overthrow the United States.

But what if, instead of representing violence, hate, war, and death, jihad was understood as a nonviolent struggle for peace, justice, understanding, and love?

In his book The Jihad of Jesus (Wipf & Stock, $22), Dave Andrews draws upon Christian and Muslim history, theology, tradition, and scripture in a quest to reclaim jihad as a powerful challenge for both Christians and Muslims “to practice the radical, alternative, participatory, empowering, nonviolent jihad of Jesus” (163).

Andrews readily acknowledges the checkered history of both these Abrahamic faiths, and offers a sobering and honest examination of the violence that has occurred in the name of Christ and Allah throughout history. This leads him to address an all-important question head-on:

“Are the atrocities that are done in the name of Christianity or Islam true indicators of the nature of Christianity or Islam, or not?” (53)

His answer to that question is one that he realizes many people will characterize as “heresy, even blasphemy” (71). Andrews believes that, yes, the cruelties perpetrated in the name of Christianity and Islam are not mere aberrations of inherently peaceful faiths, but instead are a natural out-working of the “closed set… [Read more…] about The Jihad of Jesus

Even Jesus fell short of perfect love

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues

I suspect most of you are familiar with the story. Mark and Matthew both tell the story with some variation (Mark 7:24-30; Matt. 15:21-28). It’s really quite remarkable that two of the canonical Gospels include it. A Gentile woman (Syrophoenician in Mark, Canaanite in Matthew) “begged” (Mark) Jesus to heal her daughter (“cast the demon out”). Jesus said, “Let the children [referring to Israel] be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs” (Mark 7:27). Refusing to be deterred, she persisted with wit and faith, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” In response, Jesus healed her daughter.

Evangelical commentators try to vindicate Jesus by either redefining love in more exclusive terms or by engaging in exegetical gymnastics with the text so that the text means something other than what it actually says. Even mainstream interpreters trained in historical-critical methodology generally resist questioning Jesus’s morality here. While they know that Jesus employs a racial slur to refer to Gentiles, they also know who pays their salaries. Even most mainstream Christians regard Jesus as flawless/sinless.

The straightforward meaning of the story suggests this woman taught Jesus a lesson in love and inclusion. Though it would seem somewhat difficult to deny the obvious, it is much easier when you are protecting your theology or your job. Being a pastor I understand this quite well. I’m fortunate that… [Read more…] about Even Jesus fell short of perfect love

Substitutionary atonement distorts the good news (the second saying from the cross)  

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus makes three statements from the cross. The first we considered in the last blog: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” The second word above is also a word of lavish grace uttered to a criminal hanging on the cross next to Jesus.

Only Luke has this promise of Jesus to the criminal. In Mark and Matthew both criminals ridicule Jesus. It’s possible that Luke’s version was part of the oral tradition passed down to him, though I think it is more likely that Luke intentionally altered Mark’s account to give us a snapshot of the gospel as he understood it.

According to Luke this criminal exonerates Jesus: “We are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Three times in Luke’s passion narrative Jesus is exonerated. First by Pilate, then by this criminal hanging with Jesus, and finally by the centurion at the end of the crucifixion scene who says, “Certainly this man was innocent” (23:47). This is Luke’s way of saying that Jesus was blameless of the charges leveled against him.

In Luke’s telling Jesus became a scapegoat to put an end to all scapegoating; he became a sacrifice to put an end to that whole system of sacrificing the innocent victim. Spiritually, socially, and psychologically, humans have always needed to find some way to deal with sin and guilt. Historically, humanity has employed sacrificial systems to that end. In… [Read more…] about Substitutionary atonement distorts the good news (the second saying from the cross)  

Christian and Sexually Empowered

by April Kelsey in Christian Issues

A few years ago, the Church decided to start talking about sex–particularly, married sex. The Church wasn’t doing enough to address it. The sexual revolution had occurred, and the Church had suddenly acquired a reputation for being stuffy and avoidant on the topic. Young people wanted to know about God’s design for sex. Couples wanted to know that sex within marriage was wholesome and healthy, not shameful or dirty. So, the Church has been talking about sex. A lot.

What it hasn’t been talking about, though, is sexual empowerment.

Those words may seem foreign, even unthinkable, in a Christian context. But I believe embracing sexual empowerment is absolutely vital to having a healthy, thriving marriage.

First, it helps to define what sexual empowerment is. Our secular culture, like our churches, have a poor understanding of the term. To many people, sexual empowerment is equated with raunch and promiscuity. We claim that strippers and sex workers are empowered because they lack sexual inhibitions. They have thrown off traditional mores and use their sexual skills to profit for themselves. But that’s not what empowerment really is.

Empowerment is about exercising authority over what is rightfully yours. It is about knowing what you want and how to get it. It is about giving enthusiastic consent within the boundaries that you set. Sexual empowerment has nothing to do with aluminum poles and lingerie; rather, it is about confidence and… [Read more…] about Christian and Sexually Empowered

An Open Letter to Ted Cruz

by Matthew Distefano in Current Events

Dear Ted,

You and I claim to worship the same God. We probably read our Bibles a bunch and, only because I recently started attending a Methodist church, our Sunday mornings are probably spent in “similar” fashion. But, in light of some of the things you and your “people” have said on the campaign trail, I cannot help but think we actually worship a different God—at least one with very dissimilar qualities. No doubt if you knew my theology you would agree with me on that one. And so, instead of simply prattling off all the reasons why I believe you are in the wrong and I am in the right (as if that would get us anywhere), please allow me to ask you three quick questions about how you approach faith, the Bible, and the like. I think this will help me understand just how you arrived at some of your conclusions. Thanks.

When you told the American Family Association that “if you fear God, you obey God’s precepts,” what did you mean by that? I know you listed a few things after this statement (like living by holiness codes, individual responsibility, and free enterprise) but are we to follow all biblical precepts? For instance, if two men get into a fight with one another, and the wife of one intervenes to rescue her husband from the grip of his opponent by reaching out and seizing his genitals, should we cut off her hand and show no pity like Deuteronomy 25:11–12 commands? Or how about this one: are we to follow Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, in… [Read more…] about An Open Letter to Ted Cruz

The Quest for the Historical Jesus: Part Five

by Christian Chiakulas in Christian History

This five part series is written by Christian Chiakulas. Part one is here, part two is here, part three is here, part four is here, and part five is here.

A sketch of the Historical Jesus is called a “reconstruction,” but ironically, from a Christian perspective, it appears that much more has been stripped away than added.

That reaction isn’t wrong. We’ve lost an entire gospel (John), many sayings and miracles, the Christmas stories, and thousands of years of theology and exegesis, all in pursuit of the Historical Jesus, the real man who lived 2,000 years ago and founded one of the world’s great religions.

Some Christians might wonder: what is the point of all this? If so much of the traditional Christian story is ahistorical, what’s the point of even being a Christian? If it’s impossible to definitively know exactly what Jesus said and did, why should anyone follow him?

These questions are very personal to me. My Christian faith was destroyed when I first learned about the Historical Jesus. The stories I had so earnestly believed were like beams holding up the walls of Christianity: without them, the edifice collapsed.

So what’s left to found a religion on? When you take away all that, is it still worth being a Christian?

Of course! First of all, just because something isn’t historical doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Maybe Jesus wasn’t actually born in Bethlehem, but that doesn’t make the meaning of Christmas any less profound. Maybe Jesus was wrong to… [Read more…] about The Quest for the Historical Jesus: Part Five