"laestadian, apostolic, gay, lgbtq, ex-oalc, ex-llc, llc, oalc, bunner" LEARNING TO LIVE FREE: The Christian Paradox

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

The Christian Paradox

Here is a paragraph from "The Christian Paradox" by Bill McKibben, in this month's Harper's magazine.

Only 40 percent of Americans can name more than four of the Ten Commandments, and a scant half can cite any of the four authors of the Gospels. Twelve percent believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. This failure to recall the specifics of our Christian heritage may be further evidence of our nation’s educational decline, but it probably doesn’t matter all that much in spiritual or political terms. Here is a statistic that does matter: Three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that “God helps those who help themselves.” That is, three out of four Americans believe that this uber-American idea, a notion at the core of our current individualist politics and culture, which was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin, actually appears in Holy Scripture. The thing is, not only is Franklin’s wisdom not biblical; it’s counter-biblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor. On this essential matter, most Americans—most American Christians—are simply wrong, as if 75 percent of American scientists believed that Newton proved gravity causes apples to fly up.

8 comments:

  1. I SO agree! I recall a family member quoting that to me (God helps those who help themselves) when I had made the comment that I do volunteer work as part of my Christian beliefs. It struck me as anti-Christian then, and it still does.

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  2. Yup. Jesus told the masses to pull themselves up by their sandalstraps, stop with the leprosy and go get their own dagnab loaves and fishes. Tough guy, JC.

    Someone told me today that her OALC mom said, while exhorting her to return to church: "faith comes before family." What does that MEAN? Anyone out there familiar with this pearl?

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  3. God helps who he wants. And we Christians should definitely do whatever we can to help our neighbours - to love each other as Jesus asked us to do.

    Martin Luther said about the section "give us this day our daily bread" that we may and should trust God will provide us the bread (and everything else we need) if it is his will. This however, does not leave us to just passively stand there, mouth open, waiting for a fried turkey to fly in. We should work hard for our daily bread (so called Lutheran work ethics), and if it is God's will the work will be blessed and provide us the bread.

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  4. Yes, Anonymous, we should work hard for our daily bread, but I think this refers to US and should not, therefore, be imposed on OTHERS by us. In other words, suspending judgment and helping someone JUST BECAUSE. I get rather tired of people complaining about someone who doesn't have the "Work Ethic" when they have no idea what's going on in that person's mind or life. Maybe helping them is just what is needed to get them back on track. I find this whole argument just another part of OALC position on judgment of everything. That Holier Than Thou attitude: "If they were more like me, they wouldn't be in this pickle!"

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  5. Hi Sisu, couldn't agree with you more (no surprise, right?) There's that Phariseean attitude again: "Thank you, God, for making me a hard-working, non-thinking, believing-my-sins-forgiven-and-therefore-among-the-few-saved 'Christians,' having had the massive good fortune (which I must have deserved) of being born into the only Living Faith on this planet and didn't have to crawl and swim to Hancock or Battle Ground all the way from Africa. The rest of you are on your own, and certainly not my concern unless you plant yourself in front of me and I am therefore obligated to preach the 'living truth' to you." Ugh.

    As for this "faith before family" business: That comes directly from the admonition by Jesus to leave your father and mother and husband and wife and children and follow him. "OALC uber alles" is the translation. V

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  6. Oh, dear, my own judgmental attitude was showing in my last posting, wasn't it? I guess it is human nature to be judgmental. We just have to be careful and concerned with the things we choose to be judgmental about.

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  7. Guess I'm being judgmental too, huh? Can't help being judgmental about judgmentalism (I think I made that up). But if they are being excessively judgmental and pious, it really is none of our concern any more, is it? I'll try to remember that. V

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  8. Virginia, you truly are a GEM! TY for the chuckle, even if it sad at the same time because it's the truth.

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