This take can only be achieved by taking what Jesus himself said about his death (“The Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many… This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me….This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood”) and chucking it out the window. Progressives so often complain that the apostles “perverted” the true meaning of Jesus’ words and then proceed to “restore” what he allegedly said by (rather like conservatives) simply chopping out of the record whatever they don’t like and replacing it with their own words. It is, in fact, possible to see that Jesus was crucified by the Romans and to understand that he very clearly said that his life was offered for the sins of the world. Indeed, as the story of the Temptation makes clear, human empires of oppression are an obvious manifestatoin of sin. That’s why the devil offers him all the kingdoms of the earth–and why he rejects the offer. This take is a classic false dichotomy.
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3 Responses
Well that’s…interesting.
It is enough to get me to look him up. This seems to be one of his main themes, along with not trying to get to heaven, but to make heaven on earth.
I guess he’s one of those who believes the epistles are false additions to the Bible…assuming he is ok with the Bible at all. One of the posts I came across seemed to mock it.
That sermon title is ridiculous. Maybe it’s a bait and switch? Maybe?
Read the Gospels. You know what you find? Jesus preaching against the Romans. Not once. Nor John the Baptist either. John told soldiers to be just and fair, and the one time we know of Jesus interacting with a Roman, He had nothing but praise for the man. So please stop this nonsense that Jesus “stood up to Empire.” The Kingdom of God is beyond the petty squabbles of human empires. Your empires will be dust before you know it.
More on that point, Jesus clearly delineated the spiritual and the temporal sphere: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s”
In other words: be good citizens, abide the law, and don’t stand up to the rulers unless they try making themselves into (false) gods.