The way of Jesus

The article below in quotations is by Stuart Delony.  It struck a chord, it mirrors much of the jottings in my blog.

"I’m not interested in theological gymnastics that try to explain how God is one essence and three persons without stepping into heresy. The Trinity, as doctrine, has been a church gatekeeping mechanism for centuries—but for me? It’s never been the thing that made faith feel real. What has? The way of Jesus. Not the “believe in Jesus” part. The walk like him part. You know, the inconvenient stuff: Confronting corrupt power. Standing with the outcast. Refusing to play religious games. Loving your enemy. Rejecting ego. Moving through the world with justice and humility. 

That’s the kind of “orthodoxy” I care about now. And if your belief in the Trinity doesn’t lead you to that kind of life? Then congrats—you’ve nailed the theology exam and missed the actual point. Arguing about doctrinal purity while people are being crushed by systems of violence, exclusion, and religious manipulation is just ecclesiastical masturbation. It’s for people who want to feel spiritually superior without getting their hands dirty in the real work of healing and justice”.

The way of Jesus is well-stated by Kurt Struckmeyer:  

"radical love

 lavish generosity

extravagant forgiveness

inclusive hospitality

compassionate action

selfless service

a passion for justice

creative nonviolence 

simple living."

Of course similar attributes are to be found in followers of other faiths and those of no faith.  They are not a Christian monopoly.

Love of neighbour is a call for social justice, for systemic change as required.  From a Christian perspective the writings of Martin Luther King Jnr, Gustavo Gutierrez, Leonardo Boff, Jurgen Moltmann, Desmond Tutu et. al call for justice for all, for inclusion, for love.  They are beacons of hope.

One can be a campaigner for social justice without being a Christian, or for that matter a follower of the way of Jesus.  For me the ideas attributed to Jesus provide a framework, an example, to follow.  The Jesus of scripture was a radical, a revolutionary, a challenger of entrenched attitudes held by the religious and state organisations of his day.  In other words, following a line of Old Testament prophets, he challenged a society to change.  He was a campaigner for the poor and marginalised, he took the battle to his opponents, face to face.  No armchair critic, not an academic in an ivory tower.