Wednesday, 07 January 2009
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A Translatable Gospel: Part I
by mr maple 
The Gospel is about much more than just "4 Spiritual Laws" or John 3:16. It is more than just a message for the spirit because humanity is more than spirit: humanity is mind, soul, body, and community. Because the destructive power of sin has invaded all of these parts of self, the gospel, or the message of God’s redeeming work, speaks of the power to reclaim all these things. The gospel is more than about fighting against personal sin; it is about fighting injustice in the community. It is more than praying for the sick; it’s about healing them and serving them in love. It is more than giving money to the poor; it’s about restructuring our own communities and lives so that the light of Christ can shine to them through us. Our tendency is to contain and compartmentalize the Gospel and its effects to a few limited things. We try to divorce the Gospel and our faith from as much of our lives as possible, much like the way we avoid suffering in our uncompassionate responses to life. We don’t like things that challenge our established patterns of thinking, even when they hold the promise of life. This is why so many people found Jesus’ teachings to be "too harsh" and why the Pharisees plotted to kill him. Our hearts are more sinful and deceitful than we can imagine, often twisting the Gospel to our own selfish ends that are often seen in preaching messages of activism, self-righteousness, and cultural assimilation. We forget (or deliberately ignore) the scope and strength of our Savior and salvation.
"God at one and the same time upholds a given political or economic system, since some such system is required to support human life; condemns that system insofar as it is destructive to full human actualization; and presses for its transformation into a more human order. Conservatives stress the first, revolutionaries the second, reformers the third. The Christian is expected to hold together all three." Walking With the Poor, Bryant Meyers, pg. 45
And so what it means to "preach the gospel" and engage in missions is to declare a message of redemption from the destructive work of sin for all these things. What it means to "live the gospel" is to work towards the establishment of God’s kingdom in all areas and with all things. This is the message and the power of the Gospel worldview.
And yet the Gospel dictates that all these problems (spiritual, mental, physical, and material) have fundamentally spiritual problems. The problem of sin is a spiritual one; hence the problem of poverty is a spiritual one. This is why so many humanitarian relief and aid organizations have experienced so much frustration. Just as we cannot be separated from the social systems we are part of, so the gospel cannot be separated from the solutions it offers.
The concept of "holistic missions" revolves around a principle of holiness that reflects such coherence and pervasiveness. "Holiness" means more than perfection in a legalistic sense; it means perfection in an absolute sense, where all our relationships (social, political, economic, intrapersonal, etc.) function in perfection. To teach about holiness is to teach about coherence and reconciliation in the Christian life with everything, placed in the context of God’s grand narrative for creation from its beginning to its end.
What are your thoughts?
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- From: mrmaple
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Comments (12)
this was exactly what we were talking about in a class at church... have recommended this post to the attendees not on xanga/revelife
People say I don't know a buttload of crap about the gospel, but I DO!
Uh...actually, poverty is not a spiritual issue. If you knew anything about NGO's and capitalism, and FREE TRADE, then you would know that the latter two have been PROVEN (did you get that?) to be significantly increasing the gap between the rich and poor.
And what is with CHRISTIANS thinking we "cannot be separated from the social systems we are part of"...this is a ridiculous, weakening statement to Christians. You're saying you can't live without the capitalist market? Or the powdered milk which has caused mass poverty in Jamaica, or this so-called "Democratic" government which ignores Human Rights abuses in Egypt simply because Egypt has our back in Iraq, and we don't want to lose them?
Absurd. You can separate yourself from the material world and focus on God. You are too lazy, though. You think you are doing good by God's word in trying to "spread his word"? Well, wow, that's a contradiction and a half right there! You just admitted that you need any type of society--whether it be socialist, anarchist, or what have you--in order to sustain the religion...yeah, OK. Have fun with that!
Or you could ACTUALLY GET UP AND DO SOMETHING...like give everything up in the name of God, and take a life in the middle of the woods and grow your own food, and do nothing but talk about God. But, oh, right, then you wouldn't have schooling for your children or Wal-Mart for your everyday low prices...and we all know those are more important.
I like where this is going. Jesus for good.
here's what i think: when people start to question the status quo and ask God for answers and really listen for them, good things are going to happen. good things are already happening.
@reDFog3@xanga - poverty is absolutely a spiritual issue! everything is spiritual, politics included. everything we do has spiritual ramifications. our personal and national stances on political issues like free trade are not somehow separated from our spiritual beliefs and who we are as people. we as a nation believe that God created us equal, but some are more equal than others; we believe that the US is the best country in the world; we believe that you get what you deserve, all the time, so if you're trying to support a family below the poverty line, whose fault is that? yours. we believe children are the most important resource of any nation, as long as that nation is our own, and especially if they haven't been born yet. we believe that if you just get off your lazy bum and find a job like a real republican, everything will be a-okay for you and yours; we believe that blow-out christmas bashes are more fun and important than ending world hunger [which we could have done by now]; and we believe that poverty is necessary in order to maintain the upper class...we as a country need to examine our own hearts and assumptions and realize what we're doing to the earth and the rest of the people on it. until people become aware of how far they've drifted from what they claim to believe, they won't take action.
@TrumvilleOrbison@xanga - HELLO? It is not a "spiritual" issue if people do not even consider spirit in the first place. There is no issue. IT IS NOT SOLEY A SPIRITUAL ISSUE BECAUSE IT CAN BE SOLVED BY ATHEISTS. Ouch, did I just take a dive into reality? Yes, well Atheists have a heart to, and they believe in right and wrong, so does what you have said make any sense? Uh, no, I am sorry.
I am a Christian, do not get me wrong, but I know Atheists/agnostsics and they are great humans (maybe not Christians, but it is not my place to judge)...I have personally traveled to Uganda and stayed there for a period of years, among other places.
So, tell me, do you shop at Wal-mart? Do you buy gasoline? Because if you go, you are a walking contradiction, contributing to all you hate. But, wait, you don't want to stop doing any of these things because life is easier right? because you can "spread the word", because because BECAUSE. Stop handing out excuses and actually suffer more than you already are, because I know you can, and I know you have the strength to do so.
By your tenacity you have the heart and the spirit, and as both a fellow human ad a Christian, I ask you to truly give up everything in your life that you ever placed a hint of importance on, and place it all to God.
@reDFog3@xanga - i think you misinterpreted what i said. i am perfectly aware that atheists have hearts and morals and values and a sense of right and wrong. i never said anything to the contrary, and i honestly think you're assigning my use of the word "spiritual" a definition i did not intend to give it. i'm a christian too. you are not the only one who knows that all of humanity has a heart and a brain and inner convictions. you don't know anything about me, where i've traveled, what i've seen, where i shop, and yet you berate me because i'm not you. stop accusing me of things when you've never met me and don't even know who i am. stop ascribing the small-mindedness of america in general to individuals without taking the time to get to know them, and stop pretending you know what i do and why i do it.
the way i see it, spiritual refers to having a spirit. as in, the "you" inside your body. your humanity. i did not mean to imply that christians hold the answers to all the world's problems, or that only christian people can take action, or anything else you appear to be sticking to me.
@TrumvilleOrbison@xanga - Well, I must offer my apologies ad admit that I at one point thought that you could be referring to "the spirit" in terms of loose spirituality, but I cast it aside, but it is partially your fault as well for nto being specific enough, especially considering the topic of this post.
Thus having said that, I'm assuming that by you 'fierce' reaction that you do not live in a capitalist economy/country and do not partake in it? (I am not being sarcastic, it is a serious question...it is just that it is rare to fine others who have this same lifestyle).
@reDFog3@xanga - you're right, it is partly my fault for not specifying. i am white, middle class (but i have no money), i live in the us. in the bible belt. my family are all conservative christians and republicans. i was raised to think this is how "normal" people live, but let's just say that for the past several years i don't really fit in around here.
and of course, color, geographic location, family demographics, whatever, are all things that you don't get to choose for yourself and don't matter anyway. when i was really little, i used to wish i was black, until i figured out that people are people. they were just so beautiful, and i was jealous. ;] when i have money, which isn't often, i pay attention to how i spend it. i am currently saving up to buy a share of a deep well for a village in a developing country. instead of large chains, i prefer to support fair-trade markets and local vendors. there is quite a bit about my "standard of living" and all that crap that i plan to change, but for now, i live with my parents, and i do what i can. i know it's not much yet, but i'm working on it. i only say this to make the point that if you don't know someone, you don't know them. my country is responsible for a heck of a lot of the crap going on in the world, and i know it. that doesn't mean we all approve of it and are just sitting on our hands doing nothing.
@TrumvilleOrbison@xanga - I do not know you, but I want to reassure you that there is no need to defend or berate the hand you've been dealt. The truth that "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation" applies to every person who is in Christ. You may or may not be consciously seeking to repudiate your heritage; but, even if not, your obedience to God's call on your life is not subject to the judgment of others nor do you have to align yourself with standards that others claim are more righteous than yours. Serve God in the manner that He requires of you and love Him above all. The rest will take care of itself.
Whenever people begin to cite "truths" that reveal their prejudices against society as being "truth", they are requiring you to subscribe to those prejudices without your own investigation of the claims and your own assessment of the truth. There is a lot of that sort of thing going around!!
@quest4god - thanks. :] kind of like this prayer:
"lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right." on one level, i know my skin color and socioeconomic status don't mean anything and aren't indicative of who we are as people, and "white people" certainly shouldn't be all lumped together in a box that says we're all racist and all we want to do is dominate everyone else. at the same time, i realize that because of things i have no control over, such as my skin color and my socioeconomic status, i have benefited the system, if you will, whether i chose to or not. i feel that if i automatically benefit a corrupt system, i share at least some responsibility for the system's continuance.@TrumvilleOrbison@xanga - It's a llittle weird of me - commenting to a comment. I wish I could say all that is on my heart concerning this. Please bear with me!
First of all, I would exhort you to consider yourself free from condemnation....as in Romans 8:1. You were born into this world without having had any say as to what color your skin is or where you lived (what country), or who your parents were. To try to atone for your place in this world in akin to counting God's gift of life and His blessings as a curse instead of an expression of His love. It may be that God has a plan for you that does include dealing with injustice and prejudice. If so, that burden is acceptable. But if you let the evils of the world keep you from seeing God's hand in all of this, you are not giving Him credit or honoring Him as God. We have not been assigned the task of bringing about the Millenium. God has had that plan in place since the beginning of the world. Quite simply, the gospel of Christ. That is not to say that you should be content to let evil reign when there is some good you can do, but your commision from God is to make disciples. ( And you are not alone in this. )
In this country we have the freedom to express ourselves without fear. So many people have abused that freedom by throwing around accusations and libelous statements against others, robbing them of their character and reputation. These same people seldom have any proof - only hate. It has become the fashion to bash republicans, white people, Americans, Christians, males, protectors of our rights and freedoms (such as police and soldiers) and so on and on and on.....If these libelers and slanderers would spend even a tiny bit of that energy doing good, they would be accomplishing at least a little. (And I so mean a little) Please don't allow yourself to join their ranks in this mindless hatred.
Another thing....The problem of race is a bogus supposition that their are actually different races of people and that they are not all equal and not all of the same blood. As long as we continue to bring race into every equation we are perpetuating that myth. God never intended the stratification of classes that man has always tried to contrive. (Even the Hindus have stratified castes) It's been going on for a long time.