In this monologue episode, LDF host Dan Wotherspoon shares some of his recent thinking about the ways Western Christianity has misinterpreted (or ignored) Jesus’s actual teachings in such a way that we have the rise of Christian Nationalism, increased Patriarchy, name calling, scapegoating, cruelty and devastating harm to individuals and families, and the notion that Christians have the right to pass judgment on everything! Dan approaches these issues by first asking if Christianity is correct in its views that the primary problem in the world is “sin” (particularly individual sin), which therefore requires a “Savior” to overcome the effects of it and allow us to be “saved.”
Dan takes us through a fast survey of other religious traditions that don’t see “sin” as the primary problem. Eastern traditions don’t talk about it in any depth, naming instead things like people being out of harmony with the Tao, out of balance with one’s surroundings, suffering because crave things to go the way we want them to but never will, etc. These traditions produce many adherents who clearly have been transformed, who see clearly, act harmoniously, are compassionate, eschew violence, and so forth. We Christians might say they are “Christlike,” yet we know they became so without any thought of “sin” and “Saviors.”
So how do we learn to Jesus and his work differently? As we read scripture, we see that he proposed the two great commandments are forms of “Love.” Wholehearted, fully conscious, love. He teaches of the virgins who were able to enter into his presence and why they were allowed. His responses to the temptations in the wilderness reveal much about him and what he is about, while also suggesting for us that we might meet the challenges in our lives and fearfulness in the same way. He talks about the Kingdom of God being “within” us–not “out there” nor a place to go to. And much more.
Listen in! See if he makes a compelling argument that Christianity’s ability to transform us in Godlike ways requires us to see Jesus and his actual messages in new ways.
Mentioned in this episode:
Phil McLemore, “The Yoga of Christ,” Sunstone, June 2007
Phil McLemore, “Mormon Mantras: A Journey of Spiritual Transformation”, Sunstone, April 2006
Cynthia Bourgeault, The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind (Shambala, 2008)
Burton Mack, A Myth of Innocence: Mark and Christian Origins (Ausburg Fortress, 1988)