"I believe that if you seriously talk to anybody, everybody would be opposed to war… if the war were on their head. If bombs were dropping on their house, they would be opposed to it. Period. The way war is clinically portrayed, through the media, gives people a sense of separation. Think about the kind of panic that spread throughout this country when those three planes crashed. People were terrified. Three planes crashed. In Iraq you had thousands upon thousands of planes dropping millions of bombs. What do people think is going on here? It’s not cartoons. I think that everybody would be opposed to war if they really had to contend with it. I think that any war is wrong. I'm always going to be opposed to it. I understand violence in times may be necessary, but it’s never okay.
As a pacifist, there are a lot of people who call me out and say, 'What if somebody was attacking your mother or someone? Would you use violence?' I would. That's life or death. It may be necessary, but it doesn't make it okay. It has to happen sometimes. At the same time I don't think the kind of behavior that has been exhibited in Iraq and for the past thirty or forty years, has been necessary whatsoever."
-Ian MacKaye (of hardcore and post-hardcore bands Minor Threat and Fugazi; emphasis added)
(source)
"Resembling or showing the spirit of Christ."
-Worldnet (Princeton University Dictionary) Definition for Christlike
__________________________
Yes, I have just started this article with two quotes, one of which is a definition. Crucify me upon ye olde stick of cliches. There is a point though.
I was reading something on gun violence the other day when a crazy thought popped into my head: Gandhi is one of, if not the most Christlike public figure in the past few hundred years. And...he's not a Christian.
Let me call back to a discussion I had way back last year in my dorm. Reynolds, the dorm I stayed in for my first two semesters, was the "Christian" dorm: not officially, but since you had to sign an official document stating that, whilst staying at Reynolds, you would abstain from drugs, alcohol or tobacco (in and out of said dorm) ... well, the only people who that appeals to in the slightest are Christians (or, more accurately, Christian parents). So, a good 85% (that number is arbitrary but looks right) of my hall last year were, at least vocally, Christians.
One night this really interesting thing happened.
A few of us were hanging out, some from Reynolds and some not, and we got onto some political topics, and eventually found ourselves discussing warfare (I swear I had nothing to do with it ... that is a lie of course I brought it up).
The ensuing conversation challenged my belief in God more than any I've ever had before or since (up to now). And here's why: on one side of the argument were two or three Christians, and on the other was a liberal atheist...and me. I was the sole Christian arguing against every other Christian. What were we arguing for?
Love, and peace, and self-sacrifice, and serving others instead of taking command of them. These are the things we argued for. As in, these are the points the Christians were arguing against.
These are God's people? Not to sound too judgmental, but I wanted nothing to do with them.
(I doubt they will, but if those parties involved are reading this, I apologize if you feel insulted and ask only that you keep reading)
Let's talk Gandhi again. Gandhi was far from perfect (in his autobiography he'll remind you of this approximately 14 times per page). Gandhi's life, to him, was purposeful only insofar as his so-called "experiments in truth": the process by which he attempted to seek out what he called "truth".
I can hear the response already: "This is your local pastor speaking, and here's the sad truth about Gandhi:
Gandhi was a smart and good man, and he indeed sought out truth. But he needed only to realize that truth existed, he knew of it, and it could be his: truth is Jesus Christ. Christ illuminates our lives and leads us to understanding the truth of the world that is Him. Gandhi, despite all his goodness and gentleness and Christlike-ness, failed to notice the truth right in front of him, so he is burning eternally in hell."
...
I recently changed my Facebook religious information. At first I just took away "Christ Follower". But I realized that, if I were to be Facebook stalked by any prospective girlfriend who was herself a Christian (I can literally feel the judgment you all inflict upon me), she would see "Liberal" under "Political" and no mention of Christianity (except for Christ being listed as an influence) and promptly have absolutely nothing to do with me. But when I went to write back my religious affiliation, something was bugging me.
Have I really found Christ?
To follow someone, you must know where they are. You must see them very, very clearly, otherwise you may go in the wrong direction. And the truth of the matter is, sitting here 2000 years later in a world and culture that looks completely different, it's really, really hard to see Christ. Do you know how I know this?
Because the people who claim to follow him so often look nothing like truth.
Are they false followers? Do they not read what Christ says? Do they not understand it? Are they deceived, or deceiving?
None of the above.
They're following, yeah, but everything is so blurry they're not following very well. Jesus is way, way off in the distance, and some of us are convinced He's that direction while some of us are totally convinced he's the other direction.
So how do we find him?
We search.
My Facebook page now says "Christ searcher" (a term I apparently made up), and I think it describes how I view myself now. I've struggled much with Christianity over these past few months, and I understand that just by saying I do not have Christ but am instead looking for him, some will group me with Local Church Pastor's Gandhi up there and say I'm destined for hell.
So be it if that's what you believe, but I'm not really sure that it's true.
Do you remember that Ian MacKaye quote we started with? Ian MacKaye says those things, those Christlike things, despite the fact that he's not a Christian. He talks about other things like the importance of community, and his words echo Christ. But he's not a Christian.
People like Ian MacKaye, people like Gandhi, are searchers. They're looking for truth. And the really funny thing is, they're closer to truth than most Christians. Why is that? Why is it that what they hit upon is more Christlike than what Christians hit upon?
Maybe it's because, in our extended analogy of Christ being far away and everyone looking for Him, the "Christians" are all marching off in one direction because they're convinced they've already found the one to follow. There's a whole cluster of them all stampeding one way, so many that they can't really see the person they're following - but they know He's there, because they were told He was this direction by the people in front of them.
There's this funny thing about crowds.
Often they can all be so sure that they're following a specific person, but if you were to back up and look at the crowd from above, you'd notice something amazing: they're not following anyone. The only person they're following is themselves: they're so sure it's not true that they'll fight you to the tooth about it, but it's true. They all march off, farther and farther away from the truth.
There are these other groups, though. Little, tiny pockets of groups of people who know that Christ is far away. That He's there for us to find, that truth exists out there, but obscure, and distant.
In these little groups, the view is much clearer. Everyone can weigh in, everyone can use their eyes, and everyone can look around and say "you know, it looks like we need to go that way". And maybe they'll go that way and realize they're not quite right: but they're so small that a course correction is easy and quick. And they narrow in as best as they can on the truth in the distance.
That's a Christianity that makes sense. That's a Christianity that describes Christians living for Christ, looking for Christ in all things, and not just parroting what they were told to.
I really hope I catch a lot of flack for this, not because I enjoy stirring the pot (...very much), but because I want my community, you, all of you reading this, to course correct.
"Yeah, Jon, truth is this way, but you're going too far East."
"You're completely wrong, Jon - Christ is over here, do you see Him? He's in the distance, between those mountains."
"You're pointed right at Him from what I can see - good eye, let's keep moving this way."
I want to be joined by a group, not of Christ followers, but of Christ searchers.
Because searching is just following on a bigger scale.
"To try to find something by looking or otherwise seeking carefully and thoroughly."
Let me call back to a discussion I had way back last year in my dorm. Reynolds, the dorm I stayed in for my first two semesters, was the "Christian" dorm: not officially, but since you had to sign an official document stating that, whilst staying at Reynolds, you would abstain from drugs, alcohol or tobacco (in and out of said dorm) ... well, the only people who that appeals to in the slightest are Christians (or, more accurately, Christian parents). So, a good 85% (that number is arbitrary but looks right) of my hall last year were, at least vocally, Christians.
One night this really interesting thing happened.
A few of us were hanging out, some from Reynolds and some not, and we got onto some political topics, and eventually found ourselves discussing warfare (I swear I had nothing to do with it ... that is a lie of course I brought it up).
The ensuing conversation challenged my belief in God more than any I've ever had before or since (up to now). And here's why: on one side of the argument were two or three Christians, and on the other was a liberal atheist...and me. I was the sole Christian arguing against every other Christian. What were we arguing for?
Love, and peace, and self-sacrifice, and serving others instead of taking command of them. These are the things we argued for. As in, these are the points the Christians were arguing against.
These are God's people? Not to sound too judgmental, but I wanted nothing to do with them.
(I doubt they will, but if those parties involved are reading this, I apologize if you feel insulted and ask only that you keep reading)
Let's talk Gandhi again. Gandhi was far from perfect (in his autobiography he'll remind you of this approximately 14 times per page). Gandhi's life, to him, was purposeful only insofar as his so-called "experiments in truth": the process by which he attempted to seek out what he called "truth".
I can hear the response already: "This is your local pastor speaking, and here's the sad truth about Gandhi:
Gandhi was a smart and good man, and he indeed sought out truth. But he needed only to realize that truth existed, he knew of it, and it could be his: truth is Jesus Christ. Christ illuminates our lives and leads us to understanding the truth of the world that is Him. Gandhi, despite all his goodness and gentleness and Christlike-ness, failed to notice the truth right in front of him, so he is burning eternally in hell."
...
I recently changed my Facebook religious information. At first I just took away "Christ Follower". But I realized that, if I were to be Facebook stalked by any prospective girlfriend who was herself a Christian (I can literally feel the judgment you all inflict upon me), she would see "Liberal" under "Political" and no mention of Christianity (except for Christ being listed as an influence) and promptly have absolutely nothing to do with me. But when I went to write back my religious affiliation, something was bugging me.
Have I really found Christ?
To follow someone, you must know where they are. You must see them very, very clearly, otherwise you may go in the wrong direction. And the truth of the matter is, sitting here 2000 years later in a world and culture that looks completely different, it's really, really hard to see Christ. Do you know how I know this?
Because the people who claim to follow him so often look nothing like truth.
Are they false followers? Do they not read what Christ says? Do they not understand it? Are they deceived, or deceiving?
None of the above.
They're following, yeah, but everything is so blurry they're not following very well. Jesus is way, way off in the distance, and some of us are convinced He's that direction while some of us are totally convinced he's the other direction.
So how do we find him?
We search.
My Facebook page now says "Christ searcher" (a term I apparently made up), and I think it describes how I view myself now. I've struggled much with Christianity over these past few months, and I understand that just by saying I do not have Christ but am instead looking for him, some will group me with Local Church Pastor's Gandhi up there and say I'm destined for hell.
So be it if that's what you believe, but I'm not really sure that it's true.
Do you remember that Ian MacKaye quote we started with? Ian MacKaye says those things, those Christlike things, despite the fact that he's not a Christian. He talks about other things like the importance of community, and his words echo Christ. But he's not a Christian.
People like Ian MacKaye, people like Gandhi, are searchers. They're looking for truth. And the really funny thing is, they're closer to truth than most Christians. Why is that? Why is it that what they hit upon is more Christlike than what Christians hit upon?
Maybe it's because, in our extended analogy of Christ being far away and everyone looking for Him, the "Christians" are all marching off in one direction because they're convinced they've already found the one to follow. There's a whole cluster of them all stampeding one way, so many that they can't really see the person they're following - but they know He's there, because they were told He was this direction by the people in front of them.
There's this funny thing about crowds.
Often they can all be so sure that they're following a specific person, but if you were to back up and look at the crowd from above, you'd notice something amazing: they're not following anyone. The only person they're following is themselves: they're so sure it's not true that they'll fight you to the tooth about it, but it's true. They all march off, farther and farther away from the truth.
There are these other groups, though. Little, tiny pockets of groups of people who know that Christ is far away. That He's there for us to find, that truth exists out there, but obscure, and distant.
In these little groups, the view is much clearer. Everyone can weigh in, everyone can use their eyes, and everyone can look around and say "you know, it looks like we need to go that way". And maybe they'll go that way and realize they're not quite right: but they're so small that a course correction is easy and quick. And they narrow in as best as they can on the truth in the distance.
That's a Christianity that makes sense. That's a Christianity that describes Christians living for Christ, looking for Christ in all things, and not just parroting what they were told to.
I really hope I catch a lot of flack for this, not because I enjoy stirring the pot (...very much), but because I want my community, you, all of you reading this, to course correct.
"Yeah, Jon, truth is this way, but you're going too far East."
"You're completely wrong, Jon - Christ is over here, do you see Him? He's in the distance, between those mountains."
"You're pointed right at Him from what I can see - good eye, let's keep moving this way."
I want to be joined by a group, not of Christ followers, but of Christ searchers.
Because searching is just following on a bigger scale.
"To try to find something by looking or otherwise seeking carefully and thoroughly."
Jon,
ReplyDeleteI have mucho respect for you.
You write so well...er..good...er.. don't go correcting me on grammer, I'm not an english major!
I think I may purposely write poorly just to mess with you.
No, but, seriously, lol, great stuff.
Jon, I think you are being challenged by the world and what you see around. I like that you are a Christ searcher... the historical Jesus is 2000 years ago, but He also is just as real now. I think he wants us to search, heck he initiates that search in our hearts. His word says "Seek and you will find." I join with you in searching, "what does it really mean to be a Christ follower?" and it may be that we have lost our way. keep searching, keep writing.
ReplyDelete