McLaren suggests, in chapter 10 and following, that the way we understand and frame Jesus' ministry while he was on earth changes everything about how we seek to follow Jesus! He suggests that the traditional ways of framing Jesus' purpose on earth are limited, and do not include the fullness of Jesus teaching and acting... and that we need to consider an emerging set of interpretations of the gospels. I highly recommend that you read his treatment of these topics for yourself! For this space, allow me to summarize just one of his key points:
As McLaren points out, the traditional understanding of Jesus' purpose is that he "came to solve the problem of 'original sin', meaning that he helps qualified individuals not to be sent to hell for their sins. In a sense, Jesus saves people from God, or more specifically, from the righteous wrath of God, which sinful human beings deserve because they have not perfectly fulfilled God's expectations, expressed in God's moral laws. This escape from punishment is not something they earn or achieve, but is rather a free gift they recieve as an expression of God's grace and love." I think all of us find this understanding of Jesus' purpose quite familiar, and maybe even comfortable.
The emerging perspective (which is coming from a very careful reading of the gospels) that he names goes like this: "Jesus came to become Savior of the world, meaning he came to save the earth and all it contains from its ongoing destruction because of human evil. Through his life and teaching, through his suffering, death and resurrection, he inserted into human history a seed of grace, truth and hope that can never be defeated. This seed will, against all opposition and odds, prevail over the evil and injustice of humanity and lead to the world's ongoing transformation into the world God dreams of. All who find in Jesus God's hope and truth discover the privilege of participating in his ongoing work of personal and global transformation and liberation from evil and injustice. This is not something they earn or achieve, but rather a free gift they recieve as an expression of God's grace and love."
Clearly, McLaren is calling us to consider a shift away from an emphasis on individual salvation for the sake of protection from eternal damnation to hell... to an empahsis on the salvation of the entire planet through individuals and groups of Jesus-followers working together to bring heaven on earth. This is not a denial of the reality of heaven after death for believers. Rather, it is a turning away from personal, individual salvation as an end-point... and turning towards the idea that our moment of faith in Christ is the beginning of a lifetime of heaven here on earth, as we come alongside Christ in bringing hope, love and justice to all persons!
How do you respond to this shift in focus???
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Week #4: What is Your Framing Story?
A major theme of the book is an examination of the ways that each individual person, each organization and each society is driven by it's dominant "framing story." A framing story is a guiding principle that guides everything we think and do. In my own family, part of our story is that we are "outdoors people." I grew up along streams and lakes fishing with my father and grandfather in the spring and summer... and the stories told in the car while journeying to those places shaped who I am. The stories told and experiences shared with those men taught me respect for wildlife, good practices of care for the earth, and gave me a grateful appreciation for God's creative goodness and love. In retrospect, I am sure I learned as much about what it meant to be a human being, a Masland and a person of faith on those trips than anywhere else, even church! That framing story still shapes who I am to this day... how I treat people, how I view creation, and how I take care of myself on days off. Likewise, our corporate framing stories provide the same kind of guiding principles to us as groups of people.
In McLaren's words: "If our framing story is wise, strong, realistic, and constructive, it can send us on a hopeful trajectory. But, if our framing story is dysfunctional, weak, false, unrealistic or destructive, it can send us on a downward arc, a dangerous, high-speed joyride toward un-peace, un-health, un-prosperity and even un-life." (p.67)
He continues: "If our framing story tells us that we humans are god-like beings with god-like privileges... we will have no reason to live within limits, whether moral or ecological. Similarly, if it tells us that the purpose of life is for individuals or nations to accumulate an abundance of possessions and to experience the maximum amount of pleasure... during our lives, then we will have little reason to manage our consumption. If our framing story tells us that we are in life-and-death competition with each other, that only the fittest will survive, and that every species is in violent struggle to compete... then we will have little reason to seek reconciliation and collaboration and nonviolent resolutions to our conflicts.... But, if our framing story tells us that we are free and responsible creatures in a creation made by a good, wise, and loving God, and that our Creator wants us to pursue virtue, collaboration, peace and mutual care for one another and all living creatures, and that our lives will have profound meaning if we align ourselves with God's wisdom, character and dreams for us... then our society will take a radically different direction, and our world will become a radically different place."
What do you think about McLaren's idea of "framing stories"? Is he right about the power of our framing story to drive us in different directions? What do you believe is the dominant framing story in our culture? In your own individual life? In your church? And, how are these framing stories different from what you believe God has in mind for you/us.
In McLaren's words: "If our framing story is wise, strong, realistic, and constructive, it can send us on a hopeful trajectory. But, if our framing story is dysfunctional, weak, false, unrealistic or destructive, it can send us on a downward arc, a dangerous, high-speed joyride toward un-peace, un-health, un-prosperity and even un-life." (p.67)
He continues: "If our framing story tells us that we humans are god-like beings with god-like privileges... we will have no reason to live within limits, whether moral or ecological. Similarly, if it tells us that the purpose of life is for individuals or nations to accumulate an abundance of possessions and to experience the maximum amount of pleasure... during our lives, then we will have little reason to manage our consumption. If our framing story tells us that we are in life-and-death competition with each other, that only the fittest will survive, and that every species is in violent struggle to compete... then we will have little reason to seek reconciliation and collaboration and nonviolent resolutions to our conflicts.... But, if our framing story tells us that we are free and responsible creatures in a creation made by a good, wise, and loving God, and that our Creator wants us to pursue virtue, collaboration, peace and mutual care for one another and all living creatures, and that our lives will have profound meaning if we align ourselves with God's wisdom, character and dreams for us... then our society will take a radically different direction, and our world will become a radically different place."
What do you think about McLaren's idea of "framing stories"? Is he right about the power of our framing story to drive us in different directions? What do you believe is the dominant framing story in our culture? In your own individual life? In your church? And, how are these framing stories different from what you believe God has in mind for you/us.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Week #3 The Sin of Overconfidence
In Chapter 5, McLaren discusses the history of the development of "post-modernism" and why he sees it as a gift to all of us that MUST stay! He gives a myriad of examples of "Christian people" displaying overconfidence, and the ways this attitude has led to systemic sin. He notes that each of the following atrocities were carried out by people who called themselves Christian and were displaying excessive confidence in who they were, and what they should have and do:
1. The Holocaust in Europe... exterminating everyone who was not "like us".
2. European countries that had held sway over multiple nations for years, creating suffering before, during and after their release in the middle of the 20th century. England had "colonial holdings" in India, Pakistan, Burma, Ceylon, Iraq, Tanzania, Sierre Leone, Kuwait, and South Africa. France in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Algeria. The people of these nations had suffered under the ruling hand of England and France. And, they have suffered in the violence that followed the colonists pulling out.
3. The Civil Rights movement showed the ways that white privilege had held non-whites in systemic poverty for hundreds of years... an example of over-confidence that we are still learning to let go of!
4. The mis-treament of Native Americans could only have happened with white Europeans believing in "manifest destiny"... the idea that God had given the land to us! This confidence led to the suffering of millions.
5. The environmental crisis has also come about because of our overconfidence... the extinction of species, the pollution of water and air, etc. have occured because we believed we could have and do everything we wanted, and the earth would continue to sustain us.
As he points out, post-modernism is simply a way of describing people who have come to terms with their "second thoughts" about human over-confidence. In McLaren's mind, this humility to admit that we CAN do wrong is the beginning of wisdom, and the first step toward true repentence, and fruitful change.
This chapter reminded me of the story of the Tower of Babel in the book of Genesis. How do you respond to this section of his book?
1. The Holocaust in Europe... exterminating everyone who was not "like us".
2. European countries that had held sway over multiple nations for years, creating suffering before, during and after their release in the middle of the 20th century. England had "colonial holdings" in India, Pakistan, Burma, Ceylon, Iraq, Tanzania, Sierre Leone, Kuwait, and South Africa. France in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Algeria. The people of these nations had suffered under the ruling hand of England and France. And, they have suffered in the violence that followed the colonists pulling out.
3. The Civil Rights movement showed the ways that white privilege had held non-whites in systemic poverty for hundreds of years... an example of over-confidence that we are still learning to let go of!
4. The mis-treament of Native Americans could only have happened with white Europeans believing in "manifest destiny"... the idea that God had given the land to us! This confidence led to the suffering of millions.
5. The environmental crisis has also come about because of our overconfidence... the extinction of species, the pollution of water and air, etc. have occured because we believed we could have and do everything we wanted, and the earth would continue to sustain us.
As he points out, post-modernism is simply a way of describing people who have come to terms with their "second thoughts" about human over-confidence. In McLaren's mind, this humility to admit that we CAN do wrong is the beginning of wisdom, and the first step toward true repentence, and fruitful change.
This chapter reminded me of the story of the Tower of Babel in the book of Genesis. How do you respond to this section of his book?
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