Why has the church, at times, tortured and murdered people? What motivates
killing and persecution “in the name of Jesus” or “for the glory of God”? (See
the post
from yesterday about how the church has tortured people.) A variety of
political, social, and theological explanations could be offered, and they might
all be valid. But the core motivation for this barbarism is the same as it is
for all other forms of barbarism: idolatry.
This idolatry surfaced when Christian leaders derived some element of their
core worth from the rightness of their beliefs—along with, no doubt, the value
of their nationalism, the prestige of their positions, the luxury of their
wealth and the power of their offices. Whatever affirmed, protected and advanced
these idols was judged “good,” while whatever negated, threatened, or hindered
these idols was judged “evil.” And since the stakes are often eternally high in
religious idolatry, it seemed obvious to these leaders that they needed to
glorify God by exterminating their enemies—Christ’s teachings about blessings
and doing good to them notwithstanding.
As church history clearly demonstrates, unless self-sacrificial love is made
the all-important doctrine that teaches us how to hold all of the rest of our
orthodox beliefs, being orthodox provides no more protection against idolatry,
judgment, and violence than does being unorthodox. This, again, simply
illustrates the point that the Kingdom cannot be identified merely with orthodox
religion, or any religion.
Jesus exposed this idolatry in a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector
at the temple (Lk 18:10-14). A Pharisee was inside the temple praying. He
thanked God that he was “not like other people—robbers, evildoers,
adulterers”—or like a certain tax collector standing outside the temple. In
contrast to these sinners, the Pharisee reminded God that he fasted “twice a
week” and gave “a tenth” of his income to the temple.
On the other hand, a tax collector stood outside the temple. He didn’t think
himself worthy enough to even go inside. In fact, he didn’t even dare lift his
face toward heaven when he prayed. He merely “beat his breast” and muttered,
“God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Jesus said that the tax collector rather than the Pharisee “went home
justified before God.” And so it will be, Jesus concludes, that “all those who
exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be
exalted.”
The “holiness” of the Pharisee was a religious “holiness” that exalted itself
by contrasting itself with others. The Pharisee—and this epitomizes all
idolatrous religion—tried to ascribe worth to himself by detracting worth from
others and by feeling special before God on this basis.
Religious idolaters have a pharisaical “holiness” that’s rooted in how they
contrast with others. Jesus, on the other hand, manifested a holiness that was
compatible with his deep identification with “sinners,” a holiness that was
rooted in the life of God that embraces all others. It’s little wonder,
therefore, that prostitutes, tax collectors, and other sinners steered clear of
Pharisees and other religious leaders, but gravitated to Jesus.
Far from feeling like they received worth from religious leaders, tax
collectors and prostitutes rightly sensed that they lost worth around them. Far
form being fed life, these sorts of sinners felt they were used as a source of
life for these people. In other words, these sinners felt judged.
How different things were around Jesus. Clearly, prostitutes and tax
collectors knew this holy rabbi didn’t condone their sinful behavior, any more
than he condoned the behavior of robbers, evildoers, and adulterers. Yet, Jesus
didn’t get life from the fact that he wasn’t like them. This wasn’t his
“holiness.” He didn’t need to get life by contrasting himself with others. He
didn’t need the cheap, parasitic “holiness” of religion.
This is also why Jesus was free to love and serve people as they were.
Because he didn’t need to derive worth from others, Jesus was free to ascribe
unsurpassable worth to others. Again, this begins to explain why prostitutes and
tax collectors wanted to hang out with him.
This is the unique and beautiful holiness of the Kingdom, and it contrasts
with the ugly “holiness” of religion in the strongest possible way.
No comments :
Post a Comment