I have a problem, and it may be because I am interested in Christian Anarchism rather than any other interpretations of the Christian faith based on the Bible, that the constant reference to Jesus in public song and preaching leaves me cold. Well, that is not quite true, I can listen to old hymns, new hymns and some genuine prayer (which is rare), which consoles me and takes me away from my thoughts of the miserable life I am leading. But when the listening finishes and the misery returns I have to concentrate on what we mean by our faith and belief in Jesus.
For me, my faith and belief goes far beyond any worldly expression of these things. Eventually we will all die, therefore any expression of our faith in Jesus is precisely that it is worldly. Thousands, if not millions, of people express their belief in Jesus in song and prayer, but nothing changes, so why bother? That is, we sing and give praise to Jesus, we all have a lovely time, but when it is over all we have left is the misery of our life in this world, or for those fortunate few who feel and experience that everything is huncky dory and they go their way believing that they have done something good for everyone. And of course they have, or most of them anyway, I guess there are many who are doing it for their own grandisement but everyone else is doing good for others because they see the misery and suffering and want to do something to help in relief. But I do not think it is bringing any of us closer to Jesus, in fact it mostly preserves the statist society about which I hate by absolving governments from doing more to help. All governments are interested in is making sure the wealthy remain wealthy, increasing the divide between the rich and the poor, and spending on the military to help maintain the status quo.
I therefore have never put a great deal of thought or effort into helping the needy. The only significant thing I could do for Jesus is to die for Him. He suffered terribly for us on the Cross and we should be prepared to do the same. Christian martyrdom says it all, and even a little book like "The Overcomers" by Richard Wurmbrand catalogues many examples of how true Christians can, and should behave when in adversity. For those not familiar with his work he describes prisoners in a Russian jail, how they put up with the abuse and torture from their captors, and then some guards became Christians. Whether they went on to die for Jesus I do not know. Of course I am not advocating fighting a "just" war in the name of Jesus, what I am advocating is that we should never retaliate when others treat us badly. The Lord's Prayer is so simple: "Please forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us".
Intentional communities (see the Wicky entry for a description of these), may offer some sort of respite from our statist society, but they too do little to effect any lasting change. Perhaps in the long term they may be influential, but as Christians we really only rely on the Second Coming of Jesus. If I had known about these communities in my early twenties, and a commitment to Jesus to give up my worldy desires which at that time I did not have, I would have applied to become a member of one of them. It would have given me a happy but frugal life, and one which I now desire. I am nearly eighty years old, with only the companionship of my wife to keep me going. Her love provides me with all of my needs and care.
So here I am again, some time has elapsed since I last posted an entry, but I was pleased and inspired by over 300 visits to my last entry on why do not Christians call themselves anarchists.
For me, my faith and belief goes far beyond any worldly expression of these things. Eventually we will all die, therefore any expression of our faith in Jesus is precisely that it is worldly. Thousands, if not millions, of people express their belief in Jesus in song and prayer, but nothing changes, so why bother? That is, we sing and give praise to Jesus, we all have a lovely time, but when it is over all we have left is the misery of our life in this world, or for those fortunate few who feel and experience that everything is huncky dory and they go their way believing that they have done something good for everyone. And of course they have, or most of them anyway, I guess there are many who are doing it for their own grandisement but everyone else is doing good for others because they see the misery and suffering and want to do something to help in relief. But I do not think it is bringing any of us closer to Jesus, in fact it mostly preserves the statist society about which I hate by absolving governments from doing more to help. All governments are interested in is making sure the wealthy remain wealthy, increasing the divide between the rich and the poor, and spending on the military to help maintain the status quo.
I therefore have never put a great deal of thought or effort into helping the needy. The only significant thing I could do for Jesus is to die for Him. He suffered terribly for us on the Cross and we should be prepared to do the same. Christian martyrdom says it all, and even a little book like "The Overcomers" by Richard Wurmbrand catalogues many examples of how true Christians can, and should behave when in adversity. For those not familiar with his work he describes prisoners in a Russian jail, how they put up with the abuse and torture from their captors, and then some guards became Christians. Whether they went on to die for Jesus I do not know. Of course I am not advocating fighting a "just" war in the name of Jesus, what I am advocating is that we should never retaliate when others treat us badly. The Lord's Prayer is so simple: "Please forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us".
Intentional communities (see the Wicky entry for a description of these), may offer some sort of respite from our statist society, but they too do little to effect any lasting change. Perhaps in the long term they may be influential, but as Christians we really only rely on the Second Coming of Jesus. If I had known about these communities in my early twenties, and a commitment to Jesus to give up my worldy desires which at that time I did not have, I would have applied to become a member of one of them. It would have given me a happy but frugal life, and one which I now desire. I am nearly eighty years old, with only the companionship of my wife to keep me going. Her love provides me with all of my needs and care.
So here I am again, some time has elapsed since I last posted an entry, but I was pleased and inspired by over 300 visits to my last entry on why do not Christians call themselves anarchists.
