James Allan Francis, published in “The Real Jesus and Other Sermons” (1926)
Saturday, October 19, 2024
A Legacy of Humble Origins
"He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never had a family or owned a home. He never set foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never wrote a book, or held an office. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. While He was still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends deserted Him. He was turned over to His enemies, and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had – His coat. When He was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure for much of the human race. All the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever sailed, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as this One Solitary Life."
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If no one is good, at all, then radical protestantism must conclude that god is insane.
ReplyDelete- Banishment from Eden
- Destruction of the Tower of Babel (because we were becoming godlike! “nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them”)
- The Flood
- Giving Israel Judges
- Famine and fleeing to Egypt
- Slavery in Egypt
- The Ten Commandments
- The Mosaic Laws
- Giving Israel a King
- Sending how many prophets?
- Exile twice!
- Sending the Son in human flesh and personhood
- Sending the Holy Spirit to teach us everything
- Sending angels to guide and warn (Book of Revelation in case the Protestants don’t know and protest)
God tried how many times in human history to appeal to human Will to be good? And kept doing it and doing it and doing it and doing it and doing it and doing it.
But… no one is good? Not one? And god knew this? But didn’t send the Son to save us after the first couple of tries?
The radical protestant god is insane. They worship a ridiculous god.
Or…
Holy Scripture does not give us history but made up stories. Feel free to choose this one Marshall, and you other thugs, because depravity is maintained - but only in the fictions of the Bible that need a ridiculous god to drive the point home. Was there even an Israel that god loved? Or is the OT just an object lesson so we read the NT right?
Or…
Holy Scripture frames the activity of god as the force of divine love for humanity breaking into our lives across all history… CONSTANTLY appealing to our capacity to love as beings made in the image and likeness of god and juuuuuust a little lower than the angels.
But, then, we are good. But fragile. Sometimes weak, definitely imperfect. But we progress under god’s constant presence in one form or another.
Depravity is only a needed doctrine for those who thrill for brutality. An unconscious confession, a subconscious desire to project evil on others, a tortured conscience that feels guilty.
Choose Marshal: 1. An insane god or 2. Biblical narrative isn’t about realities. It’s just a long propaganda effort to sell depravity.
You can’t choose 3, Marshal. Choosing love and kindness as the heart of the universe will break who you are.
Awesome. You've cracked the cosmic code that eludes the rest of us mere mortals. Tell me, how did you arrive at such a staggering conclusion? I mean, it must be exhausting to weave a narrative so simple that you can dismiss the entire saga of divine interaction and moral struggle as merely the ramblings of an "insane" deity. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteLet’s dig into your shortlist of divine misfires, shall we? Banishment from Eden? Clearly just God’s first attempt at a parenting fail, right? Forget the whole concept of free will; let’s treat humanity like toddlers who just can’t keep their chubby little fingers out of the cookie jar. And the Flood? Well, that must have been God’s version of a really dramatic disciplinary action. Who needs a conversation when you can just go for the cosmic reset button?
And yeah, let’s scoff at the Tower of Babel, shall we? It’s not like all those humans were trying to create a world where they could collectively ignore God. Nope, just a bunch of overachievers who needed a reality check. You have to admire God's dedication to the cause—sends prophets, judges, enslaved people, kings, and even his own son. But sure, let’s just chalk it up to God's incompetence. Brilliant deduction!
You’ve also crafted a delightful little binary—insanity or propaganda. How cute! But here’s the kicker: you might want to rethink that, considering the rich tradition of interpretation that acknowledges humanity’s struggle with goodness and fragility. Oh, but who needs to grapple with complexities? It’s way easier to pigeonhole everything into neat little categories that fit your narrative. That wouldn’t have anything to do with your desire for a simplistic moral universe, would it?
Oh, and your dismissal of love and tenderness? Almost poetic, really! You seem so fiercely eager to deconstruct others’ views while holding tightly to your own cynicism. It's as if you think projecting your shadows onto the universe is the key to enlightenment. Here’s a thought: maybe the heart of the universe—between the chaos and the contradictions—is tethered to a divine presence that offers grace for every setback.
But keep it up! You’re obviously onto something profound, like a philosopher in a debate club that nobody else wants to join. Enjoy your self-imposed exile from the richness of nuance! We’ll just be over here, hopelessly caught up in love, kindness, and the occasional divine mystery, trying to make sense of the beautiful mess that humanity is. Meanwhile, you can revel in your tidy, well-defined little cosmos of despair, relishing the sheer joy of feeling superior. Happy hunting!
Jesse, what a flight risk you are. I didn’t crack anything. Rational Christianity has detailed what you just read for over a century.
ReplyDeleteYou’ve been left behind. By generations.
Flight risk? Given your track record of blissful ignorance, I'd be more worried about you making it through TSA. As for "Rational Christianity," congrats on babysitting it for a century. Just hope the creaks in your old bones do not get louder.
DeleteTrump is talking about Arnold Palmer’s genitalia as part of his “closing argument.” You make such good choices.
ReplyDeleteRight, because the secret to a thriving nation must be buried in the intricacies of a golfer's physique—who needs real life solutions, anyway? For all that we know, you just might be a weirdo who wears his pants inside-out and backwards in public.
DeleteI delivered you some searing burns. You might need some aloe for those.
ReplyDeleteLukewarm adolescent thinking doesn’t burn anything, Jesse. Jesus says he just spits it out. And before bed I brush my teeth.
ReplyDeleteThat’s your capacity to disturb with any truth.
And your response just replicates the radical protestant blindness to your view of a god who keeps acting in spite of “knowing” humans are “totally deprived”. You squirm under the faces thinking this is my view. You seem unable to grasp that I presented your world. Not mine
Feodor, it is truly inspiring how you managed to bring dental hygiene into a theological context. If only you applied the same diligence to your arguments as you do to brushing your teeth, we might actually make some progress. At least your pearly whites will gleam while you completely miss the point.
ReplyDeleteHow charming that you believe your perspective on truth carries any weight. It is almost endearing in its naivety. Your remarks ooze a delightful mix of delusion and self-congratulation. Disturbing with truth? That requires more than just an assertion; it demands a foundation of understanding—something you seem to lack entirely.
Perhaps it has slipped your notice, but genuinely disturbing someone with truth necessitates intellectual rigor and a willingness to explore ideas beyond your cozy echo chamber. Yet here you are, firmly entrenched in your simplistic views, unable to appreciate the complexity of the subject. If your perception of “truth” were graham crackers, the s'mores we'd create would be bland—lacking both substance and flavor.
It is almost cute how you assume that I merely reflect a narrow view rather than challenge it. If you think I am blind to the complexities of faith, perhaps it is you who needs to elevate your understanding. My perspective recognizes the depth of the divine-human dynamic, far beyond your simplistic categorization. Maybe try engaging with the substance rather than tossing around pretentious labels—it might enhance your argument or at least make it less laughable.
Your claim that I am "squirming" is just a desperate attempt to distract from your own inability to accurately represent others' views. Instead of engaging with actual arguments, you project your misinterpretations onto them. Perhaps if you spent less time fabricating drama, you would actually grasp a coherent argument.
Need a bit of aloe for that burn?