Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard speaking of Scripture and we who claim to follow its Author, of the power of the Living Word to form and inform our hearts and lives, said:
"The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be ‘good Christians’ without the Bible coming too close. Oh priceless scholarship, where would we be without you?" {Italics Mine}
Some may find this humorous, some may find this blasphemous, and some may find this deadly in its accuracy. I see traces of the first with a prominent dose of the last: a sharp angle of accuracy for the doctrinal know-it-alls, whatever their denomination {or non for that matter}, and a quick jab of humor for those who take themselves just a little too seriously. Lighten up, ladies. For those who see it as the second, your pseudo-scholarly halo may be on a little too tight. Unloosen it a tad and your head won’t hurt so much. You’ll feel a whole lot better. And yes, I did say “feel.”
Regardless of how you find or don’t find Kierkegaard’s quote, in a world as deceptive as ours, flashing its images forever before our eyes, the postmodern faith of Capitalism and Consumerism dominating the Christian landscape as far as the eye can see, something needs {or many things, in all reality} to be reevaluated in the light of Jesus’ Message and Mission. Who we are at the centre of our souls, that is, those parts of us that line up with Jesus’ Message of deep humility, profound faith, unflinching courage and uncompromising compassion, limitless love and righteous wrath, tender mercy and supernatural strength, and Mission— “to seek and to save what was lost… to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free” {Lk. 19:10 and Isa. 61:1}— need to be nourished and nurtured by the water of the Word, strengthened by the Spirit and sustained by our practice; and what we do that doesn’t, i.e., the ways we live that violate the Law of Love and the Kingdom of Grace, need to be jettisoned, tossed overboard as quickly as possible. And in my opinion, the sooner, the better.
-- Ric Webb
Pastor-Teacher
Heart's Journey Community
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