When Christians draw lines between themselves and others, Jesus remains a relentless and scandalous crosser of these lines. He quietly slips to the other side. Whenever an attempt to imprison him is made he disappears from sight and appears elsewhere. Thus is lived out the paradoxical nature of Christian identity. A Christian is simultaneously a member of a community and an outsider. It is as if Jesus still prefers to be with the outcast, however wrong their beliefs or behavior, rather than with those who are self-righteously sure that only they are right. The intolerant Christian isolates himself or herself from the Christ of universal tolerance. Jesus' truth is greater than all the opinions about him put together.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
The paradoxical nature of Christian identity
Every single sentence of this is powerful and worth pondering on its own:
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Wow! I like this guy. Lawrence Freeman has nailed the Christ in whom I believe. This is a keeper. I tend to be pretty critical about the details of what teachers, philosophers, theologians and other thinkers say. This may be the first time I’ve read something where I don’t feel I have anything I can challenge, criticize or add.
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