Revelation is not given to the idle, the curious the spiritual sightseers those looking for a quick fix, the clinicians of all things physical and concrete.
Look at the gospels read the stories the world of the spirit is so very different so foreign so removed from the world of the empirical.
In the world of the spirit there is no ‘left over evidence’ no physical proof, the experience of the spirit cannot be reduced to the letter, sight and sound are not needed here, they are of little value.
When we bring sight and sound, touch and feel into the picture they are the equivalent of ‘not seeing the wood for the trees’
In the opening words of the book of John it says this; “we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten son” this was not a description of the physical flesh and blood Jesus this was revelation, Paul would describe this in Ephesians as the ‘eyes of your heart be enlightened’
Now it is clear in scripture that this was not by the common experience, this revelation and conviction was hidden from the masses.
Some people can read the gospels even the whole New Testament then put it aside and declare the Christian faith a fraud, they ‘cant see the wood for the trees’ human comprehension or understanding is woefully inadequate and ill-equipped for the things of the spirit.
Like walking through the dark in unknown terrain, the mind constantly checking its ‘footing’ it will by its very nature look for what is known for what can be determined as certain or true, this is akin to shining the torch on your own two feet as you walk, the only thing that can be declared with any certainty, is where you feet are, this will never do.
In the gospels you will read this it is quite profound; “ we would see Jesus”
Now it could quite easily have said ‘we would meet Jesus” or ‘we would find Jesus’ no! We would see Jesus.
There are a number of occasions in the gospels where people even the disciples had the experience of ‘seeing’ Jesus.
The story of blind Bartimaeus in the gospels is a beautiful paradox, Jesus leaves Jericho followed by a vast crowd, I think it would be safe to say that most of them had no idea who he really was, if one reads the text this is apparent in one small detail; e.g.: the crowd walked before him not behind!
He calls out to Jesus, for healing, he then stands before Jesus, and the very fist thing he sees when his eyes are open is Jesus
Thomas, days after the resurrection of Christ saw through his humanity and like a lifted veil had a brief glimpse of his divinity, he reaction was one of stunned amazement, listen to his words; “My lord and My God” physical evidence, words, rationalism were now of no value, as Paul says in Ephesians “that the eyes of your heart may be opened”
A lifetime of study, seeking, reading, searching, and the obsessional gatherer of facts can be brought undone in a split second. In scripture it says this “the letter kills but the spirit gives life”
I’m reading a book at the moment; ‘Four views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World’
I find each case equally compelling, it’s possible within scripture to find enough text to support most opinions, my argument is not based on theological argument, my own understanding of scripture is at best rather limited, its based on another premise, one that’s not very often taken in to consideration, I would call this ‘relational or experiential theology’
Many people have been wrongly convicted in our court system, even though the evidence may support the innocence or guilt of a person, different outcomes prevails.
Our legal system is such that the jury can’t know from any personal frame of reference the character of the person on trial; this is the ‘unknown’ relational element. Of course they attempt through the collection of data, to establish the truth or untruth of the claimant, but at the end of the day the verdict is based on an objective consideration of all the evidence, but having said that there is always an element of risk. If the character of the person on trial were known before any so called convictions, this would bring a strong relational element into proceedings, now this may or may not change the outcome, but one thing can be said with some conviction; this so called evidence might be a secondary consideration.
My point in using this example is that theological arguments never take this relational element into consideration; this is especially true on the subject of inclusivism
To be continued…
We have had a tendency as Christians to throw in such scriptures as “ who can know the mind of the almighty” or “ as far as the heavens are above the earth, so are my ways above yours” these scriptures are used as a way of ‘ending any further discussion’ they are used as a way to end any further dialogue.
When we don’t understand things or more to the point are not happy with a particular view and prefer our own to be the bench mark, we pull out these verses, and throw it out there like a big wet blanket, the consequences of this, is we end up with really ‘dumb’ irrational views on things, to be fair it makes sense that we might do this, where else can one go with a view that has a natural leaning to mystery and romantic irrationality.
I find some aspects of Christian theology truly mind bending and mind-boggling, we are called to be contortionists of the most agile order.
On one hand we preach that Gods love is unconditional, knows no boundaries, knows no limits, no heights, has no earthly way of being measured in its scope because it is so profound. In the Old Testament time and time again the theme of ‘enduring love’ comes through, and further to this the children of Israel of given more chances to ‘come back’ to ‘repent’ In all the books of the Old Testament we read this of God, that his ‘anger lasts only for a moment’ and that his love ‘covers all’ that his love ‘forgives all’ we are taken on a very special very intimate expression of Gods love for humanity in the song of Solomon.
We skip over into the New Testament and find a love that defies any rational understanding it is so encompassing, we further read the account of the prodigal son, this demonstration of love is almost shocking, it grabs you by the shirt and says sit up and look, pay attention, to further cap this of we read of love In the famous chapter 1 Corinthians 13 this chapter is a description of who God is! He forgives all, he bears all, and he loves all. One is left in no doubt whatsoever about the breadth and depth of his amazing love.
Having said that, this is what we preach, Christ love is so small, so limited, and so finite so conditional that if you don’t understand it, if you don’t even hear it, if you have good reason for rejecting it you will still spend eternity as the condemned under the wrath of God, and some Christians even go as far as to say, that you will spend eternity in a lake of fire for ever and ever. To complicate matters even more, we are told that people are lost, that people have there minds ‘blinded’ but none of this makes any difference they are still guilty before a wrathful agro, hateful God.
I find this stuff deeply disturbing, I can only come to one conclusion there must be two gods, or we have gotten this stuff wrong and if not, I’m not sure I want to be a Christian anymore.
We go about our days happy in the knowledge that our very children might end up in this place because of exclusivism, how would you feel having a ball in heaven knowing that your children are ‘writhing’ in some god forsaken place.
But all this is OK because we can’t understand the ways of God
.
Recent Comments