Andre Trocme was a pastor in Nazi-occupied France. He and his small town risked their lives – and some lost their lives – to save many hundreds of Jews from the Nazis. He wrote this in a book about Jesus published a number of years after the war.
Jesus’ approach stood in unique opposition to the prevailing assumptions of his day … He did not come in the sectarian guise of his time, offering redemption only to those belonging to a particular group (e.g. Pharisees, Essenes, Zealots …), nor did he adopt a primarily adversarial stance. He came with a prophetic message concerned for the good of all …
Meaning, among other things, that Jesus did not come, live and die in order ultimately to turn all humans into early 21st century American mega-church style evangelicals. So where does that leave us?
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I deplore that I have to essentially say the same thing, as anonymous #1. I am inwardly homeless, though I am still officially a church-member.
There is a lot of thirst in our culture stemming from our lack of knowledge and adoption of such a non-adversarial stance, that preaches, strives for, anticipates the good of all, – and SINCE we do not know this stance we cannot imagine that it will satisfy us.
But according to my experience, most people ARE aware that they have not these resources within themselves. And in this, I am totally united with them, though I’d like to see more admitting of it. For without admitting, there is no honest praying. –
But with admitting, there would be mourning. And mourning, a biblically recommended way for healing, IS contagious.
You do and teach a lot of it here on this site, Larry. Thanks.
It leaves some of us unchurched.