If This is Heresy, So Be it
So today, not for the first time, I was told that “the Devil has clearly entered [my] life and taken hold,” that I am “woke” and therefore “support and preach” atrocities. To be fair, I know myself far better than the accuser does and am, indeed, a failed Christian at many levels (more than I care to admit) - none of them however, humorously, related to this particular accusation.
Considering the current state of affairs in which the demonization of empathy, the broad use of dishonesty as a rhetorical device, and the cruel scapegoating of minorities - much of which is being done in the name of “Christianity” - even I (and I’m not that outspoken) knew it was coming.
So I thought maybe today I’d share a little credo I’ve been working on.
It is, of course, a work in progress, but I am happy with the way it’s shaping up.
To some, I suppose, this may confirm my depravity and theological “wokeness.”
I, on the other hand, see it as a deeply biblical confession of faith and offer it in hopes that it will be a source of comfort to those (many!) of my friends who wonder if Christianity has lost its soul.
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I am happy to discuss any of these points but will not debate trolls.
I believe…
…in the triune God who is good.
…in a God who has graciously reconciled us with divinity and with one another through the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and ongoing intercession of Jesus, and that this reconciliation is entirely a divine gift and not, in any way, deserved or earned by human action, choice, or potential.
…no human being or institution has the right or the authority to decide to whom God’s grace is extended or to act (individually or structurally) in ways that inhibit or prevent the experience of that grace.
…that humanity is, and always will be, a unique combination of body, mind, soul, and circumstance and that salvation is the perfect healing, integration, and wholeness of each of those areas both individually and communally.
…that sin is anything that prevents or inhibits the experience of salvation or stands in the way of God’s desire for ongoing, intimate, and interactive relationship between divinity, humanity, and the world in which we live.
…that all human worth is based on the Image of God – in which all are created – and any attempt to deny or withhold the experience of that worth is also sin.
…that God intends for us to begin our experience of that salvation on this side of death - here and now - even though we will only experience it fully in the new heavens and new earth.
…that God gives this perfect healing and wholeness freely and calls us to make it tangible in the world around us to all people, especially those whom society alienates, scapegoats, and treats as insignificant.
…that wealth, power, and authority are spiritual liabilities to those who have them that can only be overcome when generously and sacrificially used for the well-being of those who do not, and that they are never to be horded by individuals or held hostage in systems that only benefit the few.
…that God can – but for some reason we cannot fully explain, rarely does – miraculously cancel the natural consequences our selfish, individualistic, xenophobic, and divisive behaviors.
…that all sickness and dysfunction experienced by individuals and societies is the result of both individual and corporate as well as both current and generational human choices.
…that God will not forever ignore or quickly forgive cruelty done in the name of Christ.