There was a guy named John Darby, a British (Anglo-Irish to be exact, since we are talking about history now) evangelist in the 1800’s.  He did something amazing, and, in my opinion awful.  He invented the Rapture.  It never ceases to amaze me how little we care about history.  If something “feels” right, we can accept it as truth – this is the bedrock of Western Civilization.

The reason that Darby’s rapture theology stuck is precisely because it “felt” right to so many people.  And it felt right because it reinforced the Greco-Roman worldview that American culture was built on.  But before we get into all that, I guess we need to go back to the foundation of Greek philosophy, and the invention of another lie – Homer’s afterlife and Plato’s paradise.

Homer invented ghosts.  Cool invention!  His classical literary work may be the most impressive in history (The Iliad and The Odyssey) especially considering he was blind and had it all committed to memory!

For Greek culture, the Iliad and the Odyssey were far more important than a good book.  They formed the foundation of how they understood the world.  These two incredible works were literally the DNA of the Greek worldview carried in story form.

Homer saw the afterlife as gloomy, shadowy, and dark.  He called it Hades.  It was an underworld.  There is this famous scene in the Odyssey where Odysseus visits Hades – the underworld of the dead – for information.  (Usually, in Homer’s stories, they went to bring someone back to life – See! Everyone longs for resurrection!) He visits his recently deceased friend.  His friend is a vapor, a ghost that is hard to glimpse. He won’t sit still – he moves.  The place, Hades, is frightening, there is weeping and wailing.  This isn’t hell, this is where ALL people go when they die, according to Homer.  And this was not just a story according to the Greeks, it was their bible!

A couple hundred years go by; Greece is growing in power and prominence and influence.  And a tradition begins with one man – an incredible historical figure – Plato.  Plato takes what is a largely gloomy and negative view of the afterlife, and puts a positive spin on it.  Before I get into what exactly that positive spin is, let me raise another important question – why did Plato do this?  The answer is important.

Plato felt that a strong belief in the afterlife gave the person a sense of stability that this world cannot provide.  You hear that?  The afterlife, for Plato, has nothing to do with this life.  As long as a person can hope for something better in the future, we can overlook the bad things now. (Sound familiar?  It is hauntingly close to what we preach as the gospel today.  I hope the rest of this section explains why we preach Greek philosophical afterlife, rather than the actual gospel of resurrection).

Now Plato knew, and he was right, that Homer’s gloomy and negative view of the afterlife would not provide the sort of stable hope that a more positive view would.  So Plato did something that is, for the contemporary Christian, important to understand.  He invented paradise, sometimes called “heaven”.  I don’t mean he invented heaven as in the heaven in Scripture (defined as “God’s realm not removed from earth but invisible) rather I mean heaven as in a distant, removed from earth, place.  As if you could get in a space-ship and take a left turn at Jupiter and be there in two light years.  And wherever this place was, it was serene and perfect, and your “soul” rested there in a bodiless existence for eternity. Plato says that when humans die:

“The soul takes flight from the body, to the world that is invisible but there arriving she is sure of bliss and forever dwells in paradise.”

That is just fantastic Greek Philosophy – but it’s not biblical.  Plato invented it. It is the bedrock foundation of the first heresy of the church, Gnosticism.  For the Gnostic, and for Plato, the people who attain a kind of spiritual, mental, psychological enlightenment, the right kinds of knowledge – they get to go to paradise when they die.

Fast forward a little ways about 300 years or so.  Jesus comes to earth, the true Israelite.  All Jewish hopes rest on him.  He never once challenges the Jewish hope of a remade world where God is king.  In fact, he reinforces it with statements like, “Truly I tell you that at the renewal of all things.”  And he even teaches something radically different from Plato when he tells his followers to pray, “May your kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth just as it is in heaven.”

And so, to gloss over history in an incredibly unfair summary, two worldviews grow up beside one another.  One catches on like wild-fire – the Platonic worldview.  By the time Martin Luther and John Calvin come on the scene as pioneers of the Great Reformation, they just assume that the central question of scripture is “Where does your soul go after you die?  Heaven or Hell?”

With the launch of the Protestant Reformation, we sort of ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’ and have no use for the great catholic (not Roman Catholic) debates of the first 300 years of Christianity.  Those debates settled theological disputes like Resurrection, New Heavens and New Earth.  Who cares?! Right?  Let’s just sing “I’ll fly away…” and “This world is not my home” and die already so we can fly off with Plato on the clouds someday!

Secular Western Culture, particularly the British and American empires, are founded on Greek worldviews.  And the religion that rises within them assume some of the things that everyone knows – like “heaven is some place in the sky you go after you die.”

It works out nicely for those in power too, because God, in particular Jesus and his kingdom people, have nothing to do with this world anymore.  It is only about convincing people to believe this or that so they can go somewhere after they die.  Who cares if we kill the natives!  Who cares if we enslave the blacks!  Who cares if we rape the earth!   This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through!  Which is interesting to me:  Those in power were upset with the earliest Christians, saying in Acts 17:6-8:

“These people who have been turning the world upside-down have now come here also!  They are acting contrary to the laws of the emperor, saying the true king is Jesus.”  The people and the city officials were disturbed when they heard this…

Interesting – in and around 35 AD, Christians were changing the world, turning it upside-down.  Everything was changing to reflect the truth that Jesus now sat at the right hand of God and is the world’s true king.  This was a threat to those who were benefiting from the world as it is.  Fast-forward to the 1700’s and even now… Christianity is just a religion.  Nothing really changes.  It’s just a system of belief.  At best, Christianity gives people a Platonic hope for escape from earth some day.

So, there was this guy named John Darby who came to America in the 1800’s.  He was the first guy to preach this thing called “the Rapture”…. cool invention, I suppose, for a Greek Philosopher.

When God created the heavens and the earth, he had made for himself a dwelling place.  This is obvious from within the basic story of Genesis 1 & 2 itself, and becomes even more obvious after a basic exegesis of that text.  ”Sabat” is the Hebrew word for rest in Genesis 2:2, and it has nothing to do with “disengagement from responsibilities”.  It means, rather, “engagement without obstacles.”  That God rested on the seventh day of creation means that he could engage his new cosmos with great pleasure, without obstacle or problem.  In other words, the creation, the heavens and the earth, the “good” cosmos of God was the first temple.

This is, after all, what Temple means.  Ancient Hebrews meant exactly this when they wrote the word temple in their literature.  It literally means the “habitation, dwelling place, or resting place of God.”  Again, resting place is not a place of disengagement or laziness.  It is a place of beautiful engagement devoid of obstacles.  This is what God does in his Temple.

But something had happened with his glorious temple.  It now had an obstacle – sin.  And that sin was giving birth to more obstacles, the sum total of which could rightly be named “evil.”  So God, rather than being physically present in his temple of creation (as he was apparently in Genesis 1 – 3), enjoying the favor and fellowship of his beloved “very good” humanity, now had become separated from his temple, his creation, his cosmos.

But God would not abandon his creation, though it was fallen.  So he planted the seed of his presence again.  He called from among the nations his own nation, through Abraham.  And among his people, he had a temple for himself.  God’s presence has returned to his beloved “good” creation, even granting some renewed glimpses of favor and fellowship with his “very good” people.

Thus began the long history of God’s people with their God, the presence of whom was made known in the temple.  Sometimes they were exiled, so they longed for the temple presence of God again.  In the deepest droughts and driest deserts of their temple absence, there arose some prophets to declare God’s Messiah was coming.  The Messiah had two jobs: (1) to drive away the enemies of God, the obstacles and, (2) to rebuild the temple so that God could be present with his people again.

So along came this man. His name was Jesus.  And he claimed to be this Messiah, which meant he would accomplish what God promised through his prophets.  This Jesus would defeat the enemy, remove the obstacles.  And this Jesus would re-establish the presence of God.  The people were excited.  This was good news.

But God’s people, the Jews, just like me and you, just like all people, had in their minds a much smaller vision of glory than God did.  God would not just defeat the enemy of the Jews (and certainly not in the way they hoped he would, as with military might), rather he would defeat the world’s enemy – evil itself.  And God would not just rebuild the temple, the one with bricks and gold and stones, made by human hands, rather he would restore the first temple – all of creation.

So Jesus ushered in God’s reign and rule in a way that is even more present and powerful within this world than the days of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.  He is tabernacling his presence all over his world.  Again, it doesn’t happen the “way” we hoped it would, and not by the means of the usual weapons we entrust our hopes to.  Rather he is tabernacling his presence where-ever there is surrender and weakness (Please read Marva Dawn’s “Powers, Weakness & the Tabernacling of God).

And this renewed presence of the Creator God is not in buildings made with human hands, but it is like the wind or the breath… it is by the Spirit.  It is difficult, no, impossible to contain.  It is God’s force, at work in the world.  Doing what?  Restoring all things.  Through what means?  Through the continued building up of his kingdom.  Through whom?  Through his Spirit-empowered community/people.  To what end?  To this end:

“ Then I saw a new heavens and new earth, for the first heaven and first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’ And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.  Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be  their God and they will be my children.” (NRSV, Rev. 21:1-7)

Hitch your trailer to the wagon of the new age, the age to come, where all things are made new.  Work toward that end.  Store up treasures for yourself in that future.  For the old order of things is coming to nothing.  God had a holy intention when he made the heavens and the earth, and though he was interrupted by evil, he will not be denied.  We are going back, back to the restoration of all things. (Acts 3:21)

There are a million biblical arguments I could make.  There are a million theological arguments I could make.  This one is just logical.

When Jesus Christ came out of the grave (the tomb was empty, it wasn’t as if his rotting corpse remained and his “soul” floated around for 40 days) it was called his “Resurrection.”  Then after a period of about 40 days (of eating fish, walking and talking, touching, and appearing to over 500 people), he ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.  First, he was resurrected.  Then he ascended.  Those are two different events.  They are not two ways of saying the same thing.  And that is important.  Because what we are promised in the New Testament over and over again, at almost every turn of the page, is NOT ASCENSION!  We are promised Resurrection.  Never once are promised ascension.  Not. One. Single. Time.

The Christian hope held out in the gospel has NOTHING to do with leaving earth and going off somewhere in the sky when we die.  That, quite frankly, is heresy.  Rather, the Christian view is Bodily Resurrection.

Not ascension.  Resurrection.

But it is an incredibly important question to raise!  Otherwise, we simply assume we know the reasons why, and what his death meant.  And why should we assume that everyone on earth knows why Jesus died?  After having conversations around these questions for several years now, it is obvious, at least to me, that most Christians do not know the answers to them, let alone the rest of the world.  When I first raise these questions, I get these sorts of answers:

“Jesus died so we can go to heaven when we die.”

“Jesus died for our sins.”

“Jesus had to die to redirect God’s wrath away from us to himself.”

“Jesus’ death means forgiveness.”

“Jesus’ death had something to do with atonement.”

I don’t really want to challenge those.  Those are good answers, although the “go to heaven when we die” thing isn’t exactly biblical language.  But there are problems with this sort of language.  First, these are all about atonement for sins.  Jesus’ death was certainly atoning in nature, but it is almost painfully obvious in reading the four gospels that this is not all the cross means (esp. Mark 8).  These answers also tend to be “next-life” heavy, making the question, “what does Jesus’ death have to do with our world now?”  very troubling for some of us.  That question generally upsets Christians, especially if they have made the Christian religion about something that only deals with the afterlife.

The Cross of Jesus, the Messiah, is the “Way of the Kingdom”

To understand this, Mark 8, 9, & 10 are important, especially chapter 8.  Also, this is a central theme in the letters of Saint Paul.  A very helpful book is “Cruciformity: Paul’s Narrative Spirituality of the Cross” by Michael Gorman (I have written about this before on endsandmeans.org in a brief series called “Discipleship, the Cross, Suffering, & the Cruciform Church” – forgive the repeat of some of that material.)

In Mark 8, Jesus frames his identity question. “Who do the people say I am?  What are they saying about me?”  The disciples tell him the word on the street:  He’s a prophet, John the Baptist reincarnate (weird considering they are the same age), or Elijah – come to prepare the way of the Lord…

But what about those following him?  He asks them… “Who do you say I am?”  Peter steps up.  ”You are the Messiah.”

Here is where American Christianity tends to take a wrong turn.  Peter’s confession has NOTHING – can I say this in stronger terms? – NOTHING – to do with Jesus’ divinity. Israel was NOT expecting a divine king, a God-messiah.  That was not in their purview.  Mark, Peter, and certainly Jesus himself all end up claiming that Jesus is indeed the son of God, divine, but that is NOT WHAT THIS TEXT IS ABOUT!  And it is important to differentiate the two claims (that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore divine, and that he is Israel’s Messiah, and therefore the rightful King).  Later, Saint Paul, will put those two claims together to restate Israel’s monotheism in terms of Jesus being the King, and God himself in the flesh, and therefore Jesus is the King of the entire cosmos!  But in this story, we cannot separate what Jesus is about to say concerning the Cross and his own death from the fact that he is King (Messiah).  The Cross, whatever we decide to say about it, has something to do with the kingdom of God!

Jesus has come announcing the gospel of God (Mark 1:14-15).  And that gospel is this:  ”The time is now.  The kingdom of God has broken into the world.  Re-order your entire lives around this new truth.”  

And this confession, awareness, and realization that Jesus is the Messiah, of Israel, and (it is soon to be revealed) the entire world, is a statement about that kingdom news (gospel) that Jesus came preaching in Mark 1.  Jesus is the king of the kingdom of God.  He is the Messiah.

Now, we need to pause at this point in Mark 8, and ask some questions of the text.

What does it mean to Peter, and the other disciples, that Jesus IS the long awaited Messiah of Israel?

Well there are several ideas that were popular notions at that time about what the Messiah would do.  At least 4:

(1) According to the Zealots (James and John), he would storm the city, take Rome by revolutionary force.  A violent overthrow of the occupying pagan forces.

(2) According to the Pharisees, he would renew the Temple to its glory, establish his reign through legal purity in such a powerful way that Israel would be restored to power and glory.

(3) According to the Sadducees (and the Herodians), he would collude with the powers, politically maneuver himself into a position of authority and power, and restore Israel to its rightful place in the world.

(4) According to the Essenes,  he would provide escape somehow, some form of rescue, away from the powers that threaten the true Life of Israel.

(To learn more about these 4 “ways” or “options” read my post “The 4 and the One”)

These 4, and other ideas about how to change the world, have been tried over and over.  (1) Revolutionary Overthrow and Violence (2) Religious Power, Hierarchy and Purity (3) Getting our hands on the mantle of power, through the normal political channels (4) Withdrawal from the world.  They never work, and (if I may offer a prophetic word to American Christians) they still don’t work to bring real, authentic, Christ-centered transformation.

Now, back to Mark 8.  Peter has just confessed, Jesus is the Messiah.  Jesus affirms his confession and tells them some shocking news – the WAY in which he will be king is by going to the Cross.  He is rejecting to four conventional ideas about HOW the Messiah will bring transformation and renewal (and any other ideas out there).  Instead, he is going to die, even a death on a cross.

Peter, and I imagine the other disciples with him, are upset by this revelation.  ”NO!  You will not die on a cross like all the other false messiahs!  You will sit on the throne!  Rule with power!  Change everything!”

Peter is rebuked by Jesus: “Get behind me, Accuser! You are thinking in conformity with the fallen world.  I am thinking in conformity with God.”

And there is more news for the disciples, and all would-be followers of Jesus.  Not only is the Way in which he chooses to be Messiah the Cross, but the cross is the WAY OF THE KINGDOM FOR ANY WHO WOULD JOIN HIM.

Peter gets a sort of a “That’s not all…” with these incredible CENTRAL words to Mark’s gospel:

“If any of you want to come the way I am going, you must say no to your own selves, pick up your cross, and follow me.  Yes: if you want to save your life, you will lose it.  But if you lose your life because of me and the message  you’ll save it.”

This is what it means to be a disciple, a Christian, a citizen of the kingdom of God.  It takes the shape of the cross.  We die to self.  We follow Jesus… all the way to the cross.  We serve the world in the same way.

This is something Saint Paul makes central in his letters – cruciform discipleship.  It is in Colossians 1;  2 Corinthians 5;  Philippians 2 and many other places.

The Way of the kingdom of God is the Way of the Cross.   The cross is the Way of discipleship.

So, to review, the Cross has a dual meaning, frequently missed in teaching and preaching.

(1) The Messiah of Israel becomes King, not by storming the city, not by withdrawing or escaping, not by creating religious power, and not by getting tangled up in the politics of the day.  The Messiah becomes Messiah, God becomes King, Jesus becomes the true Ruler of the world, by taking on all the power, abuse, selfishness, idolatry, militarism, brokenness, shame, on himself – dying on a cross. 

(2) This “way” that he chose to become King, is now the way of the Kingdom he launched. 

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And one final word:  None of this makes sense without resurrection hope.  What makes Jesus different than the other false messiahs that were crucified, is that he was raised from the dead.  He was raised in the flesh (Luke 24:39).  And as he was in his resurrected form, we have hope that we will be like him (too many NT verses to quote here, but start with the firstfruits language of 1 Cor. 15).  What is more… “at the restoration of all things…” (Please read Matt. 19:28-30 and hold it together with Mark 8 – if you do you will discover that the news that the Way of the kingdom is the Way of the Cross is not bad news… it’s good news.  God is going to restore all things with Resurrection Power, and the meek will inherit the earth!). 

We are currently at the climax of The Story: A 31-week journey through the grand narrative of scripture, from Creation to New Creation.  And now, I have been assigned week 26: The Hour of Darkness - which is the part of the Story where the King, Jesus, dies on a cross.

And I want so badly to tell that story as it stands in the Gospels.  I don’t want to skip ahead to Pauline theology and say what the cross means in theological terms: Atonement, Forgiveness,  Justification, etc.

When we detach the story of the cross from the story of the kingdom like that, then we don’t even need the rest of the gospel story.  We just need the virgin birth, a sinless-moral life, and death on a cross.  Sometimes, the way we preach it, I wonder if we even need resurrection at all!  (Even though Paul clearly says it is the most important thing).

The Story of the Cross is first and foremost the climax of the Story of the Kingdom.  God launches his kingdom  in and through his kingdom agent, his Messiah, Jesus Christ.  And the gospel IS the announcement of that kingdom come (Mark 1:14-15).

Now, there is Peter and James and John: All of us, me and you, embodied in them.  They want so badly for God’s reign to be established.  They see the brokenness, the loneliness, the despair, hurt, the sin, the abuse, the mourning and crying and pain and suffering.  And this Messiah has filled them with hope.  They have witnessed the miracles. They have heard the kingdom vision.  They sense God is in this man, Jesus.

So Jesus rides into the city to take his place on the throne.  He is going to take it by storm, right?  He is going to crush his enemies, right?  We are about to go to war, right?

Wrong.

We are about to die.  On a Cross.

Because the new world God is making, by his Spirit, is ushered in not by power or might – but by weakness.

So I recently read Marva Dawn’s INCREDIBLE little book “Powers, Weakness & the Tabernacling of God”, and she has this great little section outlining the theme of weakness as the Way of the New Testament people of God.  They chose weakness rather than power to bring about God’s will on earth as it is in heaven.  The options of power require no faith.  The option of weakness to change God’s world requires much faith.

Here is her outline from pages 53-55:

Galatians: Paul’s announcement of the gospel came in physical infirmity (4:13); he is crucified with Christ (2:20) and wants to boast of nothing except Christ’s cross, by which the world is crucified to him (6:14).

Ephesians: We are loved and made alive together with Christ, saved utterly and exhaustively by grace, even though we are dead in our sin (2:1-10); though Paul is the very least of all the saints, yet grace was given him to bring the Gentiles news of Christ’s boundless riches (3:8).

Philippians: Imprisonment helps to spread the gospel (1:12-14); the community is urged not to live in selfish ambition or conceit, but rather to imitate Christ’s emptying (2:1-10); Paul can be glad and rejoice even when he is being poured out as a libation and offering for others’ faith(2:17-18); Paul’s goal is to share in Christ’s sufferings and to become like him in his death (3:10).

Colossians: Christ’s servants can actually complete what is lacking in Christ”s afflictions for the sake of the church (1:24-26); declaring the mystery of Christ leads to prison (4:3).  

1 Thessalonians: In spite of persecution the Holy Spirit inspires joy and witness (1:6-10); Paul had been shamefully treated and encountered great opposition (2:2).

2 Thessalonians: The saints have been steadfast and faithful in the midst of persecutions and afflictions (1:4); with toil and labor, Paul had to work night and day (3:8).

1 Timothy: Admitting the same toil and struggle (4:10), the apostle urges the rich not to be haughty or to set their hopes on riches, instead of God (6:17-19); Timothy is urged not to let any one discount him for his youth (4:12).

2 Timothy: Timothy is exhorted not to be ashamed, but to join Paul in suffering for the gospel (1:8-10; 2:3); the apostle suffers hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal (2:9).

Titus: Paul names himself a slave of God (1:1); the saints are reminded to be subject to the powers (3:1); they were saved not by anything they had done, but entirely by mercy (3:5). 

Philemon: Onesimus the slave is a child to Paul (10), has been useless (11), but is to be welcomed for the sake of the imprisoned Paul (17-21). 

James: The saints are urged to face trials with joy (1:2-4); the lowly can boast in being raised up (1:9-10); with meekness they are to welcome the implanted word that has the power to save them (1:21); true religion is to care for the orphans and widows (1:27); to recognize that God has chosen the poor to be rich in faith (2:5) and thus to welcome them (2:8-17); the humble are graced (4:6-10); the prophets provide examples of suffering and patience (5:7-11).

1 Peter: The people of the royal priesthood follow one rejected by mortals (2:4-10) and live as aliens and exiles (2:11; they follow in the steps of the one abused, wounded (2:23-25) – the one who suffered (3:18; 4:1, 12-14; 5:1); they should clothe themselves with humility (5:5-10).

2 Peter: No prophecy ever came by human will, but by the gift of the Holy Spirit (1:20-21); the saints wait for God’s fulfillment, which is delayed because God is patient to save (3:11-15). 

I John:  We deceive ourselves if we think we aren’t weak with sin (1:8-9); we need Christ’s atoning sacrifice (2:1-2);  we are children of God, but what that is we do not yet know (3:1-2); love is revealed not by us, but by the atoning sacrifice of the Son (4:7-10). 

Jude: It is Christ who keeps us from falling, makes us stand without blemish, offers mercy as we rest in God’s love (21, 24).

Those are, what you might call “the minor examples” from the smaller pastoral epistles and letters.  There is of course the central theme of weakness to Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church (1:18-31).   Romans is busting at the seems with the theme of weakness.  In chapters 14-15, Paul, having finally reached a place in his letter to deal with pastoral issues, does so from the conviction of weakness as the power of God.  Acts is perhaps the most obvious example of weakness in scripture, whereby the infant church does amazing things simply by following a crucified Messiah, carrying with them the hope that they will be vindicated by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.  2 Corinthians has its beautiful statement in chapter 5 about embodying Jesus’ death to carry forward his ministry of reconciliation.

I get it.  The cross is about atonement too.  But I cannot help myself from thinking that we have lost the full biblical vision of the cross and kingdom, both embodied by Jesus, as example for us, his followers – a new way to be in the world and serve it.

When I survey the culture and wider-world around me, with a particular eye to the Christian sub-culture, I cannot help but think we have lost this message of weakness. In matters of politics, it seems we have opted for the way of the Sadducees: see how much power you can get and wield it for God.  In matters of religion: it seems we have opted for the path of the Pharisees: using God’s word as a tool to gain social status above those beneath us morally.  In matters of revolution: it seems we have opted for the way of the zealots, assuming violence is our only tool (both in language and in action) with which to change the world.  In matters of something we have termed “secular” (as if there are some things that God cares nothing about):  it seems we have opted for the path of the Essenes and withdrawn from the wider culture as a sign of rebellion against the refusal to be hyper-religious.  And all of the above have one thing in common: they are power-plays.

And against all this stands a story.  The story of the cross.  And it means more than atonement, though it means that too (and the need for atonement means you are too weak to provide salvation for yourself).  It means weakness is the WAY of God’s kingdom.

So that time that Peter tells Jesus that he is the Messiah, Jesus tells him what sort of Messiah he will be.  ”I must die…”  Peter is mad.  He has another vision of how to accomplish God’s purposes in the world – power.  James and John agree with Peter – power is the way.  So Jesus, after he tells them that the way is the cross, tells them this:

“And if you want to come after me, you must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me…”

That is the way of the Kingdom.  The Cross is more than a single blood-sacrifice for sins.  It is the sum-total theology of weakness.  And that assumption is plastered all over the pages of the New Testament.

I have been reading, off and on, through Robert Webber’s “The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life”  The book is broken down into two parts:

Part One: The Crisis – How Spirituality Became Separated from the Divine Embrace

Part Two: The Challenge: Returning Spirituality to the Divine Embrace

The entire first section is basically a historical sketch of spirituality in the Christian tradition.  In 4 compelling chapters, Webber traces the ins and outs, ups and downs, of Christian Spiritual Life through the major time periods:

(AD 30 – 1500) Rescuing Spirituality from Dualism and Mysticism

(AD 1500 – 1900) Rescuing Spirituality from Intellectualism and Experientialism

(AD 1900 – 2000) Rescuing Spirituality from Legalism and Romanticism

(AD 2000 – ) Rescuing Spirituality from New Age Philosophy and Eastern Religions

I was reading through the chapter on AD 1900 – 2000 this week and I thought Webber offered a very interesting and clear picture of 20th century legalism – something my own fellowship has suffered from immensely.  And not to beat a dead horse (I rarely ever talk about legalism though), but I think his sketch of legalism is worth sharing here.  (Also, I think it is sort of funny that he does it in list form – you know… so legalists can understand it.)

First, a Story

Webber affirms his families faith.  He makes it abundantly clear that he both loves his parents and appreciates their deep faith and love of God.  In particular, he remembers how much his parents served others at church, and cared for their family of faith in actions of compassion.  But, he remembers clearly the moment he discovered they were legalists:

My first conscious experience of evangelical legalism occurred when I was eight years old.  During that summer I was sent to a YMCA youth camp for a month.  Each week the kids were taken into town to see a movie.  Since I didn’t know better, I went.  When my parents heard that I went to a movie, they were shocked and quickly instructed the camp leader that I was not allowed to attend any more movies.  So for the rest of the summer, when others went to a weekly movie, I remained on the campground alone under the supervision of a camp leader who was appointed to watch over me.  The question of whether or not to go to a movie is in itself not the issue.  My parents’ refusal to allow me to go to a movie was symptomatic of a much larger and pervasive issue within the evangelical world – its legalistic mentality. (pg. 81)

Now, a Definition 

“Legalistic Mentality” – according to Webber, a legalistic mentality “constitutes a particular way of seeing reality.  A legalistic mentality defines spirituality in terms of what a Christian does not do.  Those who question the established dos and don’ts are regarded as rebels and are often ostracized in one way or another from the community.  Unfortunately these dos and don’ts often get int he way of seeing the real ethics of Christian Spirituality such as growth of character; the concern for justice, and the care of the poor and the needy.” (pg. 81)

The Doctrinal List

All evangelicals agree that the Bible is the final authority in matters of faith and practice; legalism adds that biblical authority can be expressed only with full, plenary, verbal inspiration of the Bible.  

All evangelicals agree that God is the Creator; legalists add a literal interpretation of Genesis 1 and insist that the Scripture teaches that God created the world in seven days.

All evangelicals agree that the Bible is to be interpreted by God’s people; legalists insist that there is only one valid interpretation of every text reached through the biblical, historical, exegetical methodology of interpretation.

All evangelicals agree that the church is called to reflect on Scripture and develop a theology of the Christian faith; legalists insist that there is only one kind of theology – propositional truth.

All evangelicals believe in the church; legalists insist that their church or fellowship is the only pure church and all others are apostate

All evangelicals believe in the second coming of Christ; legalists insist that their particular view of the end-time (i.e., pretribulation rapture or premilliniarian) is the one true eschatological worldview.

All evangelicals believe in the ethical life supported by the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love modeled by Jesus; legalists deduce teachings from ethical admonitions of Scripture and create a handy list of dos and don’ts to be followed scrupulously.

All evangelicals believe in the spiritual life; legalists define spirituality as reading the Bible daily, praying regularly, going to church every time the door is open, witnessing to everyone you meet, and maintaining rules that define said spirituality.

(pg. 82)

What would you add, delete, or change?