I have a joined a reading group at church (initiated by Luke Glanville) that is going to work through Miroslav Volf's book, Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Otherness, Identity, and Reconciliation. This was listed by Christianity Today as one of the 100 most influential Christian books of the twentieth century.
Hopefully, I will post more in the future. Here is just a snippet. With regard to the metaphor of "embrace" Volf states (page 29):
Hopefully, I will post more in the future. Here is just a snippet. With regard to the metaphor of "embrace" Volf states (page 29):
the most basic thought that it seeks to express is important: the will to give ourselves to others and "welcome" them, to readjust our identities to make space for them, is prior to any judgement about others, except that of identifying them in their humanity.
The cross leads wherever you choose to point it.
ReplyDeleteWhen it is pointed by the church as a power and control seeking institution it inevitably creates what is described here:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~spanmod/mural/panel13.html
http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/cruelty.html
Jesus of course had NO worldly power, and was not the slightest bit interested in it.
He was of course executed with the connivance and approval of the ecclesiastical establishment of his time and place.
And of course Jesus did NOT create Christian-ISM or the religion ABOUT him.
He certainly did not (AND COULD NOT HAVE) created the absurd death-and-resurrection idea which became the central tenet of Christian dogma-tism.
Dead human beings are INCAPABLE of creating religions about them-selves.