Pathway Friends: Skip to end for questions for Sunday School or to rehash read entirely.
Last weekend I had the opportunity to teach at our church "Pathway". Over the past couple of years I have been studying two things passionately: the life and ministry of Jesus and the nature of the gospel (in light of former). I've posted some of the notes from my message (entitled Living the Epic Story) below along with some questions that I am still struggling with and believe are worthy of attention among christians. My bias (as we all have them on every topic) is that I believe that contemporary Christianity has focused too narrowly on issues of sin and salvation and in doing so has created an anemic faith. My arguement is that instead of "telling the Gospel story" perhaps there is room in Christianity for "living the gospel story". This is the first of many messages focusing on learning to live out the gospel reflecting on the narrative of scripture and not simply relying on a few passages. Most specifically these are the questions that we will reflect on Sunday during our Sun School gathering:
Generally for the message I presented the dicotomy between the Worldview of the Ancient World vs. the Worldview of Ancient Judeism
All other ancient beliefs about god(s) have the following beliefs behind them…
(A very simplified list)
1. Almost all ancient deity stories include an element of “god” making war against the chaos (usually associated with great monsters). For instance the Greek god Zeus makes war with Uranus (god of sky) and Gaia (goddess of earth) and their children. By defeating them, he establishes world order.
2. The God or gods are generally associated with a particular place like the Nile River and were claimed by their adherents to have battled other deities and won, thus making them the champion God or creator.
3. God or gods were distant, removed by both space and emotion from their creation.
4. Humans were either pawns in elaborate games between the gods or else they loathed by the gods or both. One’s only hope was to appease them in this life through sacrifice and hope that in the next life one could settle in a land in whom’s god they have found favor.
Early Judaic Worldview (of Genesis account):
1. God works within the confines of chaos and intimately speaks order into the world.
i. Spirit = wind or breath
2. There is not an account of God making war to assume his position; it is a given in the text.
3. God is intimately involved in all aspects of creation. He even calls most of them “good”.
4. God is very intimately involved in the creation of man.
i. In His image (v. 27) selem
ii. A blessing (v.28)
iii. A commission: rule over the earth
At the core of these differences in worldview is the idea that Early Jewish teaching (be they oral or written) taught that God was right among His people and intimate with his creation. This worldview was radically different from the ancient cultures that Judaism (even at it’s earliest start) was emersed in. They really believed that God was among them.
As I think of how we begin to live out the gospel, I am often faced with the same question that many face when they find themselves in the position of sharing the gospel. What do I believe about God? And I wonder how I would answer that question if asked now. Would I begin with “I believe God is right here, right now”? Better yet, if someone I knew was curious about faith would they say to me “You live like someone who’s convinced that God is right in your midst”.
Questions to think about for Sunday’s Meeting:
1. What is (are) our cultures Worldview(s) about God/Religion? (Bear in mind that there may be more than one viewpoint)?
2. More specifically what do they believe about God's proximity to His creation?
3. Does Contemporary Christianity believe the same things?
4. What would our faith (as a community) look like if we really believed that God was right among us?
5. Is there anything preventing us from really living this way?
6. Do I live like God is right here with me? How so? How not?
