Betraying Jesus

On my Christmas list this year, along with a few ducks and some ARV's, is Jim Wallis' updated release of The Call to Conversion : Why Faith Is Always Personal but Never Private. There's an excerpt posted here.

Here's the opening paragraph, which I could have posted under the Leftist Insurgents series:

I remember a conference in New York City. The topic was social justice. Assembled for the meeting were theologians, pastors, priests, nuns, and lay church leaders. At one point a Native American stood up, looked out over the mostly white audience, and said, “Regardless of what the New Testament says, most Christians are materialists with no experience of the Spirit. Regardless of what the New Testament says, most Christians are individualists with no real experience of community.” He paused for a moment and then continued: “Let’s pretend that you were all Christians. If you were Christians, you would no longer accumulate. You would share everything you had. You would actually love one another. And you would treat each other as if you were family.” His eyes were piercing as he asked, “Why don’t you do that? Why don’t you live that way?”

Today in class we were talking about exactly this idea; that is, how we struggle to "incorporate" our beliefs in to our reality. I was reminded of something I heard someone once say... I think it might have been Dallas Willard but I won't swear to it. Whoever it was said that most Christians are actually "functional atheists", in that their lives do not reflect what they claim to believe. I buy that.

Thoughts?

Thanks to Jordon for the link.

Comments

[David]

We're told not to be judgemental, and in so doing are no longer discerning. And we have made faith a private issue. Increasingly I am convinced that while it is not our task to judge the faith of another it is certainly not beyond evaluation in some broad terms. Moreover the more I read the gospels without a constant pastoral voice telling me to "keep it all in balance" and to "pace myself", the more I realize that "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven", and other expressions of gospel-living are radical in the extreme.

The lie we have bought into is that Jesus came primarily for us as individuals, to straighten our accounts and to make it easier for us to sleep at night, when in fact He came to do that so we'd be freed up to die to ourselves and live extravagently sacrificial lives.

Where are the legions of christians who are flocking to bring balm to the millions with HIV/AIDS in Africa and at home? Where are the believers who say no to this north american culture and yes to living like the rest of the world, even for the sake of solidarity with the poor?
And more to the point, why am I not among them.

As I read Stephen Lewis it is page after page of indictment to see that we've not been the vanguard on issues like gender equality, debt-forgiveness (it's in the Lord's Prayer for God's sake!), and food aid.

More and more I think, in taking the long way to answer your question, that we simply do not believe what we say we believe. We might think it. We might kind of want it. But we do not believe it. Conviction leads to action, usually to action that's impulsive and often needs no strength of will to act - it just happens. Our actions reveal our beliefs, what we think or wish we believed doesn't seem to matter much.

i find this all very sobering. I thought "emergent" was simply going to allow me to have my own private relationship with Jesus but in the process have come full circle and into some really hard - but irresistable - realities about the call of the Christ.

no wonder I feel the need to buy goats - I feel a strange affinity to them these days. Perhaps next year I'll be able to buy sheep. (matt 25)

[stephanie]

I was meditating on Mark 7 this morning about going through the motions and how it does, or doesn't affect the heart. Then I read this and it dovetails perfectly.
This is a great quote, and something for me to chew on today, and be very aware of putting it into practice.
Thanks Mike.