Believe it or not, accept it or not, America is one of the
most idolatrous nations in the history of civilization. There are more versions
of God, more versions of Jesus, and more versions of Christianity in this
county than any other country in the world, or so it seems. The old song from
Sinatra rings especially true in American religious thought: I did it my way.
This is precisely where America is when it comes to religion. Now, this would
not be so upsetting if it were not for America’s roots in the deep riches
Christian intellectual thought. At one time, perhaps she was a different kind
of nation. But those days have long since passed. In fact, they passed into the
annals of history long ago, more so than most Christians want to admit. America
has been playing catch-up with the rest of the secular world, and she has
managed to do just that. In fact, from the vantage point of many observers, she
is on the verge of taking over the prized lead position.
In Mark 8:27, Jesus asked His disciples an extremely
important question related to our topic: τίνα με λέγουσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι εἶναι; “Who
are men saying I am?” Of course Jesus already knew the answer to this question.
His question was for the benefit of the disciples. Jesus’ question was met with
a variety of answers: John the Baptist, Elijah, or perhaps one of the prophets.
Jesus then asked His disciples who they thought He was. Peter, so impudent and uninhibited
thundered, “You are the Christ.” It is a very good question and one that every
person coming into the world must answer sooner or later. Who is Jesus? The
views are multifarious. But for Peter, the answer was obvious!
Some will say that Jesus was a good man. Others say He was a
very wise philosopher who gave us some great principles to live by. Moreover,
He even demonstrated how we could live out those principles in every-day life.
Some say Jesus did not exist as a historical figure and that he is the
construction of an over imaginative religious mind. Such a view is without
historical merit and discredits those who hold it. Others admit He is the
founder of the world’s largest religion. But they say He was nothing more than
a fascinating man among fascinating men.
Some say Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God,
but not God of very God. In other words, He was a very special man, and perhaps
the most special of all men, but he was a man nonetheless. His Messianic status
should not be defined as deity. This view can even be discovered in supposedly
evangelical Churches in the twenty-first century. The Mormons say that Jesus
was the offspring of a god. He was the brother of Satan. He rose above all others
because of his obedience and as a result, he has been promoted to the status of
god. In fact, we too we can reach this status if we work hard enough at doing
the right things long enough.
Jesus, after revealing Himself to His disciples informed
them of His mission. He told them that He would be delivered over to the Jews
and Romans and eventually He would be killed. He also informed them that after
three days he would rise again. This was His mission as the Messiah. Evidencing
that they had other intentions and plans for Jesus, Peter stood up and rebuked
Jesus for this view. Peter had envisioned a literal, immediate King that would
ascend to the throne of David and establish the Kingdom of God here and now.
Peter and the other disciples had an agenda for the Messiah. They had certain
presuppositions about what the Messiah would do once He finally arrived on the
scene. Indeed, being murdered by the Jewish and Romans leaders was not part of
their vision for what the Messiah would do.
You see, the disciple’s version of the Messiah and God’s
version of the Messiah were not exactly the same. In God’s version, the Messiah
would establish His spiritual kingdom immediately, providing for the redemption
of His elect. Thus Christ said He would build His Church on the Rock! It was
this Church that Christ’s blood redeems from all of fallen humanity. This was
the mission of the Messiah. This isn’t the only time that man’s beliefs for an
ideal state contradicted God’s plans. In fact, it happens to be the case that unregenerate
men always create a version of God, Christ, the Church, and God’s plan that is
quite different from His.
In America, Jesus is a loving person who wouldn’t judge or
condemn anybody. The American Jesus is a very different Jesus from the one
presented in Scripture. America’s Jesus is as flexible and nimble as the
individual wants him to be. This Jesus is the best pop-psychologist we could ever
hope for. He can be an all-loving, non-judging, happy go lucky, care-free, do
whatever you makes you feel good about yourself kind of Jesus. The important
thing is that in America, Jesus is whatever you want Him to be. He is accepting
of the gay lifestyle just as it is. After all, sex is love, and gay sex is gay
love. Abortion is understood because Jesus respects a woman’s right over her
own body. Jesus loves women. Divorce is perfectly acceptable under any
circumstances. Jesus wants us to be happy. He understands we make mistakes when
we get married sometimes and He is not going to hit us over the head for just
wanting to be happy. The American Jesus is tolerant of everything except
intolerance and of course any version of Jesus that contradicts him. The
American Jesus is the founder of an American Church where anything goes,
everyone is welcomed, and God is whatever or whoever the individual wants him
to be. The American Jesus gave us the Bible, and he allows us to update it
accordingly in order to keep pace with modern enlightened viewpoints, and
science of course.
When Jesus rebuked Peter He said something very interesting
to him. Get thee behind me Satan for you do not serve the interests of God, but
of man. In other words, Peter’s idea of Jesus’ mission was a man-centered idea
that served the interests of man and not God. Peter simply wanted to preserve
Jesus’ life. He wanted Jesus to ascend the throne now! He wanted to throw off
the Roman yoke. He wanted God’s theocracy to begin immediately. Now, at face
value, I cannot find fault with any of these things in and of themselves. The
problem is that Peter was giving no consideration to God in his reasoning.
Peter’s idea was the product of autonomy. He thought Jesus had come to fulfill
his ideas of what the Messiah should be and do. Peter thought Jesus was
supposed to create a particular state of affairs. Peter was wrong.
The American culture has done precisely the same thing with
its version of Christianity. We, too, have a particular kind of Jesus in mind
when we hear that name. We also have a particular state of affairs in mind that
we think Jesus should be producing in our lives, our communities, our Churches,
our country, and even the world. We impose our cultural freedoms onto God,
Christ, and the Christian Church thinking we can create a God, a Jesus, and a
Church from our own imagination. We feel quite at home making these
adjustments. We can make them everywhere else in our lives, why not the sacred?
From this particular state of affairs, many of us force onto Jesus an idea that
is simply not real. Rather than accepting the Messiah for who and what He is
and submit to His work in the earth and humbly accept His mission and work in
our lives and world, we begin with our desired state of affairs and force that
state on Jesus. And in so doing, we create a false Jesus. In other words, when
turn the Jesus of Scripture into the idolatrous Jesus of a sinful heart. We
have created 300 million Jesuses in America. And when we stand them in our
mirrors, the image we see staring back at us is all too familiar.
“Jesus is reverenced in the cultic setting and in actions
otherwise (and in Jewish groups) reserved for God.” [Hurtado, At the Origins of
Christian Worship] From her inception, the Church has recognized that Jesus is
God of very God. As God, He is the sovereign Lord over all of creation and has
full right to our undying loyalty and devotion. What right do we have to
reshape Jesus or repurpose Christianity to be what we want it to be? Such an
act is not only preposterous, it is idolatry.
No comments:
Post a Comment