c l a s s i c a l
From Aaron Taylor, at Middle East Experience, we find the latest offering titled "Jesus Loves His Enemies . . . And Then Kills Them All." The piece attempts to perform the classic tu quoque, by which Christian texts are shown to be "just as violent" as statements found in the Qur'an, if not "far more violent and warlike" in both tone and practicality.
This post was promoted by post-postmodern emergent enthusiast Brian McLaren, which is surprising not in the least. Mclaren confesses that, due to Christ's many "love thine enemies" messages (cf. Matt. 5:9, 10, 11, 21-22, 38-39, 43-45), he was forced to find "alternate understandings of eschatology" (link), the reason being Jesus' violent return (more on that below).
Aaron Taylor, in my opinion, misunderstands Christianity in toto. He underscores the fact that, "the Second Coming of Christ is a central theological
belief of Christianity. When Jesus returns to earth, the gloves will be
off: no longer will he practice nonviolence or pacifism. Enemies will
be mercilessly killed, not loved." His views of God, Christ -- both His message and mission, not to mention His atoning sacrifice -- the work of the Holy Spirit, as well as Scripture are entirely distorted.
God
God has enemies (Rom. 5:10); and while He has the capacity for loving His enemies (John 3:16-17), even salvifically so, extending to them grace and mercy and forgiveness and salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, should anyone spurn such grace then enemies of God they remain. "How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who have spurned the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant . . . and outraged the Spirit of grace?" (Heb. 10:29 NRSV) The author reminds us that it is "a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31).
Does God delight in the eternal death of the wicked? No (Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11), but God is also just, and justice must prevail.
Jesus: His Message and Mission
That Christ taught His people to love their enemies is undeniable (Matt. 5:44); that Christ loves sinful and wicked people is also undeniable (John 1:29; 6:51; 15:13). But Christ's message was not that He would save all people regardless of their faith, or lack thereof: quite the contrary. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God's wrath" (John 3:36 NRSV).
Jesus, the same Christ who taught us to love, also taught us about judgment: "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28 NRSV); "The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22). This loving Jesus is also the one who casts souls into hell.
Christ came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). But He will not save those who reject Him (John 3:36). What shall He do with those who reject Him? Should He turn a blind eye to their utter despite? According to the likes of Taylor and McLaren, yes!
The Work of the Holy Spirit
The Spirit of God's role among sinners is this: "he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8 NRSV). Rebellious sinners care not about their sin, about being righteous or the knowledge of the requirement of righteousness to enter heaven, or about the certain coming judgment. But note the latter: there is a coming judgment! That eschatological reality cannot -- must not -- be overlooked.
Scripture
What people like Taylor and McLaren ultimately reject is the authority of God as presented to humanity in God's inerrant Scripture. When the inspired scriptures explain hell or judgment or God's wrath, their faulty "Jesus-is-only-love" hermeneutic must reinterpret such woeful realities in order to maintain some semblance of consistency. Like the damnable heretic John Shelby Spong, such persons construct their own version of God, one that suits their own fancy, but one who will one day say, "I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers" (Matt. 7:23 NRSV).
The fundamental flaw in Taylor's post, in McLaren's advocacy of the post and in his own theology, as well as the theology of heretics like Spong, is their denial of the divinity of Christ Jesus Himself.
If the Bible were four times more violent than the Qur'an -- and it is not -- what would we, then, conclude? Would we reject Christianity because of violence? Does the degree of violence substantiate the claims of any religion? Are we permitted to conflate justice with violence?
The difference between Christ Jesus and Muhammad is that Jesus is the eternal, divine Son of God. Muhammad was just a man. He may have referred to himself, as do others, as Allah's final prophet. (See "God is Not Allah and Vice Versa.") But he is just a man, neither eternal nor divine. Therefore, as a man just like every other man, he was sinful: "since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23 NRSV).
Not so with Christ: "For our sake he made him [i.e., Jesus] to be [a sin offering] who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21 NRSV). The reason why Christ, as the eternal, divine Son of God can return and in righteousness slay His enemies is because He is God; Christ acts on God the Father's behalf, and He will "tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty" (Rev. 19:15 NRSV).
This God has, day after day, for thousands of years, endured rebellious sinners who refuse to acknowledge Him, refuse the gracious offer of salvation through faith in Christ, who laid down His own righteous life for undeserving wretches; and sinful, rebellious people have the audacity to point their contemptible finger at the holy Creator and judge Him as unethically, unjustly and immorally violent.
Such enemies will be overthrown by our righteous and holy Christ when He returns, and the righteous and just slaughter will be most warranted.
God
God has enemies (Rom. 5:10); and while He has the capacity for loving His enemies (John 3:16-17), even salvifically so, extending to them grace and mercy and forgiveness and salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, should anyone spurn such grace then enemies of God they remain. "How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who have spurned the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant . . . and outraged the Spirit of grace?" (Heb. 10:29 NRSV) The author reminds us that it is "a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31).
Does God delight in the eternal death of the wicked? No (Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11), but God is also just, and justice must prevail.
Jesus: His Message and Mission
That Christ taught His people to love their enemies is undeniable (Matt. 5:44); that Christ loves sinful and wicked people is also undeniable (John 1:29; 6:51; 15:13). But Christ's message was not that He would save all people regardless of their faith, or lack thereof: quite the contrary. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God's wrath" (John 3:36 NRSV).
Jesus, the same Christ who taught us to love, also taught us about judgment: "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28 NRSV); "The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22). This loving Jesus is also the one who casts souls into hell.
Christ came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). But He will not save those who reject Him (John 3:36). What shall He do with those who reject Him? Should He turn a blind eye to their utter despite? According to the likes of Taylor and McLaren, yes!
The Work of the Holy Spirit
The Spirit of God's role among sinners is this: "he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8 NRSV). Rebellious sinners care not about their sin, about being righteous or the knowledge of the requirement of righteousness to enter heaven, or about the certain coming judgment. But note the latter: there is a coming judgment! That eschatological reality cannot -- must not -- be overlooked.
Scripture
What people like Taylor and McLaren ultimately reject is the authority of God as presented to humanity in God's inerrant Scripture. When the inspired scriptures explain hell or judgment or God's wrath, their faulty "Jesus-is-only-love" hermeneutic must reinterpret such woeful realities in order to maintain some semblance of consistency. Like the damnable heretic John Shelby Spong, such persons construct their own version of God, one that suits their own fancy, but one who will one day say, "I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers" (Matt. 7:23 NRSV).
The fundamental flaw in Taylor's post, in McLaren's advocacy of the post and in his own theology, as well as the theology of heretics like Spong, is their denial of the divinity of Christ Jesus Himself.
If the Bible were four times more violent than the Qur'an -- and it is not -- what would we, then, conclude? Would we reject Christianity because of violence? Does the degree of violence substantiate the claims of any religion? Are we permitted to conflate justice with violence?
The difference between Christ Jesus and Muhammad is that Jesus is the eternal, divine Son of God. Muhammad was just a man. He may have referred to himself, as do others, as Allah's final prophet. (See "God is Not Allah and Vice Versa.") But he is just a man, neither eternal nor divine. Therefore, as a man just like every other man, he was sinful: "since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23 NRSV).
Not so with Christ: "For our sake he made him [i.e., Jesus] to be [a sin offering] who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21 NRSV). The reason why Christ, as the eternal, divine Son of God can return and in righteousness slay His enemies is because He is God; Christ acts on God the Father's behalf, and He will "tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty" (Rev. 19:15 NRSV).
This God has, day after day, for thousands of years, endured rebellious sinners who refuse to acknowledge Him, refuse the gracious offer of salvation through faith in Christ, who laid down His own righteous life for undeserving wretches; and sinful, rebellious people have the audacity to point their contemptible finger at the holy Creator and judge Him as unethically, unjustly and immorally violent.
Such enemies will be overthrown by our righteous and holy Christ when He returns, and the righteous and just slaughter will be most warranted.
Destruction comes from the evil within. It is sin, not God, which ultimately destroys both body and soul in Gehenna. It means we should fear spiritual or mental harm even more than physical harm. Christ Himself suffered exceeding physical harm, but His mind and heart remained unharmed by evil. For instance: when someone wrongs us, we suffer. And when we wrong someone else, we also suffer. But the first suffering cannot be compared to the second. Because the former is passing and external, whereas the latter is internal, and as everlasting as the soul, and from its torment nothing can deliver us, except repentance. But even repentance is a torturous process, because it implies that we acknowledge the true face of the darkness and ugliness inside our hearts, and that sight is unbearable to the mind. The mind cannot process sin, just as our bellies were not made to digest feces. That's why all sin comes of necessity sugar-coated. Its end is always emptiness, hollowness, and the destruction of the mind.
ReplyDeleteLvka is correct, these folks miss the emphasis upon our sinfulness. God is just to punish us for OUR sins. We are not God seekers or God fearers. We hate God and despise His rule over us (Romans 1:18-32). We are rebels against God (Romans 3:10-18) and every one of us is guilty before Him of sinning against Him and His law (Romans 3:23; 7:7; 1 John 3:4). We deserve hell. By His grace, we receive heaven (Ephesians 2:8-9).
ReplyDelete