2 minute read
The same historical evolution of the Christian faith has been described by various writers. First it was a community of Jesus followers in first century Israel, then it moved into Ancient Greece and became a philosophy. After a few centuries, it spread throughout the Roman Empire and became an institution. Over the next 1,500-odd years, Christianity settled into every nook and cranny of European society and became a culture. Finally it sailed across the Atlantic and became a business in America. In my estimate, each permutation has moved us further from The Way of Jesus.
That point is worth reiterating. Christianity is not an ancient philosophy by which believers live nor is it a bureaucratic institution to which believers submit. Christianity is not a traditional culture that believers defend nor is it a profitable business that makes market-driven decisions that believers trust. If we try to make it any or, heaven forbid, all of those things, we completely lose sight of the countercultural life, ministry, and teaching of our Lord. Century after century, it seems like Jesus followers will try anything and everything except following Jesus’ original vision.
What is Jesus’ vision? Richard Rohr offered this subversive insight: “Christianity is a lifestyle – a way of being in the world that is simple, non-violent, shared, and loving. However, we made it into an established ‘religion’ (and all that goes with that) and avoided the lifestyle change itself. One could be warlike, greedy, racist, selfish, and vain in most of Christian history, and still believe that Jesus is one’s ‘personal Lord and Savior’… The world has no time for such silliness anymore. The suffering on Earth is too great.” Agreed. It’s time to move on from such misspent tradition.
The world of computer programming distinguishes between bugs and features. A bug being an accidental error while a feature is an intended use. In the case of Christianity, some of its bugs are almost two millennia old. They’ve been present within Christian culture for so long that they’re now taught and defended as intended features. Christianity as a philosophy, institution, culture, or business instead of a lifestyle is a fine example of such a miscategorized bug. Clericalism, patriarchy, Just War Theory, asceticism, and radical individualism being a handful of others.
The original beatniks had great affection for the ancient, countercultural rabbi from Nazareth. They loved the Sermon on the Mount’s wisdom and especially the compassionate Beatitudes, but could never wrap minds how that could’ve possibly morphed into the Western Church and its Christian culture of the mid-20th century. Six decades later, I feel the exact same way. It’s time we stop trying to tame, temper, neuter, obscure, or redefine The Way of Jesus to make it palatable to the powers that be. It’s time to reemphasize the subversive nature of this countercultural lifestyle.
