Cheesus.... or Jesus? A Response to Giles Fraser.

I entered pretty late into the furore surrounding Giles Fraser's latest article for The Guardian, only picking up on various exchanges about it on Twitter, yesterday evening. Nevertheless, having now read the article I decided to make a couple of observations.

 

First off, let me point out that I have no axe to grind... I respected the moral principle behind his resignation from St. Paul's Cathedral and I'm sure we have our differences on the theological spectrum... but in a broad church you take those things on a case by case basis... or at least,  I believe spiritual maturity requires us to do so.

 

I believe Fraser was attacking the superficial spirituality and language of cliché that sometimes plagues the Church. Quite why he singled out the evangelical wing of the church on this issue is beyond me... perhaps *he* had an axe to grind, perhaps not. Nevertheless I think his article comes across as portraying a syllogistically flawed argument, something like this:

Some Christians are evangelical

Some Christians are clichéd and superficial

Therefore all evangelicals are clichéd and superficial.

 

As a teenager, the youth group I was a member of had a pretty evangelical outlook. As we grew in faith and maturity... we recognised that some of the terminology was clichéd and a little alien to the outsider: Terms like "saved", "washed in the blood of the lamb", "slain in the Spirit", were among these. Whenever a brainstorming chart was being used in a seminar/preaching session, you could bet your bottom dollar that among the first responses would be "Jesus", "the Bible" or "peer pressure".

 

Never once would I have said that all my contemporaries were superficial Christians. It is just that sometimes, just sometimes if you hang around the same people often enough you pick up the trappings of a language. This is true in all walks of life.  It doesn't invalidate the principles behind the terminology, it just means that sometimes the terminology is unhelpful.

 

Fraser takes issue with the term "personal relationship". I get where he's coming from on this... the term is used so very often that it has become a bit of a cliché. However it is not like the word "Inconceivable" in The Princess Bride. In most cases people who invoke the term know *exactly* what it means and how important it is.  What is important though, is that the principles behind what a personal relationship with God means, and why it is so vital in Christian development are equally covered.

 

I dare say I have an evangelical outlook, I try not to use the terminology when I preach or talk... but I hope to God I get the principles across.

 

I don't like the idea that Fraser implies that I see Jesus as "buddy Christ". Yes I, do see him as the closest companion in my life journey... but if that truly means anything it has to have an effect on us and not just be a term. It leads to some pretty strange emotional places. For the apostle Paul it meant contemplating the desire to lose his own salvation if it  meant that others would gain it (he obviously knew that was not a place he would or even could go to, but it was a feeling he was expressing). For a friend of mine (and indeed myself), it sometimes means getting worked up when seeing a representation of The Passion - yes, theologically you know the crucifixion is the absolutely essential and inescapable destiny of Jesus... and you know that your own salvation (and that of others), depends on it happening... but as a developed Christian one who truly has a "personal relationship" with Christ... you kind of get pretty upset when you see someone representing him suffering.

 

This week, on Maundy Thursday... I'll be making my annual midnight pilgrimage up a local hill. I go there every year because I remember that on the night he was betrayed, Jesus's friends fell asleep and left him to suffer in anguish on his own... as he awaited the inevitable fate that awaited him. 2,000 years after the event, this does not sit well with me. There's precious little I can do but that which I can... I do. So just for an hour I try and get myself as close to the events as I can. I head out onto a remote hill overlooking town - in the cold... alone and vulnerable, and I read through the gospel accounts and I pray for Jesus.

 

As I said... "personal relationship" when genuine can lead you to strange places.

 

And as a Christian I have to say, I know how shockingly poor and bankrupt a Christian I can be sometimes... I know how dependent on God's grace I truly am. I have no place or time to patronise people because I know only too well how pitiful I am. I'm just as broken and in need of God's compassion as everybody else on this God favoured planet.

 

But this was not all Giles Fraser said and its not the part that upset most people I conversed online with.

 

He went on to suggest that the evangelistic position is one that somehow hardens a person against empathy towards the suffering of others.... but this is utterly wrong. I'm not saying this is not a possibility... but I will say that in my experience most evangelicals I know are most passionate about the concept of personal relationship because of tragic cost - always the tragic price that Christ paid and often the tragic cost of personal circumstances that the nearness of Christ's presence helped them through in a very real way.

 

Fraser suggests that the newly enthroned Archbishop of Canterbury - Justin Welby may be "inoculated" against evangelical cheesiness because he has suffered the bitter blows of personal tragedy, yet in the same paragraph expresses the fear that this merely masks a latent evangelism picked up from Welby's theological heritage.

 

I am greatly encouraged by Justin Welby (not least after meeting him last week). Aside from Fraser's comments, he's not without his critics in the evangelical wing either and personally I see this as a good thing. He strikes me as a man willing to listen and share the concerns of all those he is pastorally responsible for, not least those he theologically disagrees with. He seems assertive about his own beliefs and doesn't fall into the pitfalls of aggression or passiveness. This is what the church needs - to openly talk about its disagreements in a frank uncondemnatory way... and I suspect Welby may have a gift for this.

 

I'm reminded of the parable Jesus told a Pharisee named Simon, after receiving his criticism for being anointed by a "sinful" woman. The point that Jesus drove home was that the amount of affection we display is a response to the amount we realise we have been forgiven. This isn't just about sin though, is it? Jesus does not merely promise forgiveness... but life in abundance. When we are in the midst of the fiercest storm and the deepest spiritual need... He is there. When we have known times in our lives where clinging to that promise has meant absolutely everything to us... it fundamentally changes us and makes us more loving to those on the outside.

 

I know that thus far, I have by God's grace avoided the most tragic of personal circumstances... but I also know that there was a very long, dark time in my life when I felt trapped in a situation and had nobody I could talk to about it. In those times I know God did not give up on me and I know in the fullness of time it was He who directly delivered me out of that place. That experience and the knowledge of the patience and love of God for me during all that time changed everything for me... and having been faced with the insufficiency of my own ways, I know that my debt to Christ is immeasurably supermassive and that tempers any illusions I might ever had of being somehow superior.

 

In conclusion, it is not our various theological positions that define the depth of our relationship with God and our compassion towards others... it is our understanding of how dependent we are upon the vast storehouses of all that God provides in the harshest and fairest of seasons alike.

 

One more thing. Giles Fraser expressed fears for Justin Welby on the basis of his spiritual history with Holy Trinity Brompton. Let me redress the balance by reminding you of another part of his history.  For many years, Welby was on the frontline of the Ministry of Reconciliation at Coventry Cathedral. Perhaps then, it is fitting that following the fallout this article has caused... whatever our views, we contemplate together the litany of reconciliation... and remember that when we judge one another we mar God's image within us and need to be reconciled to one another... and to Him:

 

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God...

The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class,

Father Forgive.

 

The covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own,


Father Forgive.

 

The greed which exploits the work of human hands and lays waste the earth,

Father Forgive.

 

Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others,


Father Forgive.

 

Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the homeless, the refugee,


Father Forgive.

 

The lust which dishonours the bodies of men, women and children,


Father Forgive.

 

The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in God,

Father Forgive.

 

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.





If you wish to read more of what others have contributed, I am adding links below that I have discovered on the topic that provide additional commentaries:

God and Politics UK
Peter Ould
Hannah Mudge
alwaysperhaps
 

Where are you?

In my last post, whilst reviewing Lady in the Water, I spoke of what I considered to be the saddest question in the Bible:

"Where are you"?

It comes from Genesis 3, picture the scene if you will:

Mankind has just fallen... but doesn't know it yet. Adam and Eve have gained the knowledge of good and evil... but have done so at a terrible price - they have severed the relationship between themselves and God through disobedience. God enters the Garden and calls out to his beloved friend - his precious ones... and they are nowhere to be found. Eventually he finds them cowering in a hedge and they are cast out of Eden.

Now God is omniscient and he knows exactly where Adam and Eve are hiding (I bet he isn't much fun at hide and seek, Ackey 123, or sardines), therefore the question is not a geographical one.

So why does he ask it?

I believe he asked it because he was challenging Adam and Eve to be honest about what they had done. However, I believe the question carries a deeper significance and meaning that resonates down through the ages even to us today. Lean in real close and you might here a whisper in the wind or a murmur in the darkness...

"Where are you?"

God still calls out to every one of us... desiring to know where we are.

So... where are you?

Maybe you came here on a random Google search looking for an answer to some other question... and if so, I hope you found it... but I hold a deeper hope that whilst here you take/took the time to try and answer to where you were?

Are you hiding in the brambles? (ouch!)

You may believe that your life is wonderful and you have no need for God... and if that is you, then good luck to you - though I do hope you will reconsider that position.

However, you may believe that your life is a mess... that you have little to offer people or God and that the walls are closing in on your life... and all hope is lost. If that is you, I'd like you to consider inviting Jesus into your life. On the other hand you might actually be a Christian but find yourself stricken by adversity, struggles or the storms of life around you. If either of those are you... I want to reassure you of God's love for you through a few passages. Jesus applied these words to himself with regards to his mission:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."

Luke 4:18-19

Jesus' mission... is YOU.

"Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."

Luke 15:3-7

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Luke 19:10

I put it to you therefore, that Jesus Christ... is God's response to his own question. Not content with asking where we are spiritually... he sent his Son to find us and save us... even at the cost of his life. What then, shall we do in response to this?

Finally I want leave you with a song that has touched my heart recently. I do not believe it is a "Christian" song... but it certainly speaks to me of God's love and I hope that it speaks something to you of the insurmountable love God has for every one of us... especially you:

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me."

Revelation 3:20

Amen

The following poem is by Adrian Plass. I felt it appropriate to share it on Good Friday, it is a challenge to us to really considfer the cost of discipleship and take up our own cross:

When I became a Christian I said, Lord, now fill me in,

Tell me what I'll suffer in this world of shame and sin.

He said, your body may be killed, and left to rot and stink,

Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - I think.

I think Amen, Amen I think, I think I say Amen,

I'm not completely sure, can you just run through that again?

You say my body may be killed and left to rot and stink,

Well, yes, that sounds terrific, Lord, I say Amen - I think.

But, Lord, there must be other ways to follow you, I said,

I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed.

Well, yes, he said, you could put up with the sneers and scorn and spit,

Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - a bit.

A bit Amen, Amen a bit, a bit I say Amen,

I'm not entirely sure, can we just run through that again?

You say I could put up with sneers and also scorn and spit,

Well, yes, I've made my mind up, and I say, Amen - a bit.

Well I sat back and thought a while, then tried a different ploy,

Now, Lord, I said, the Good book says that Christians live in joy.

That's true he said, you need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow,

So do you want to follow me, I said, Amen - tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Lord, I'll say it then, that's when I'll say Amen,

I need to get it clear, can I just run through that again?

You say that I will need to joy, to bear the pain and sorrow,

Well, yes, I think I've got it straight, I'll say Amen - tomorrow.

He said, Look, I'm not asking you to spend an hour with me

A quick salvation sandwich and a cup of sanctity,

The cost is you, not half of you, but every single bit,

Now tell me, will you follow me? I said Amen - I quit.

I'm very sorry Lord I said, I'd like to follow you,

But I don't think religion is a manly thing to do.

He said forget religion then, and think about my Son,

And tell me if you're man enough to do what he has done.
Are you man enough to see the need, and man enough to go,

Man enough to care for those whom no one wants to know,

Man enough to say the thing that people hate to hear,

To battle through Gethsemane in loneliness and fear.

And listen! Are you man enough to stand it at the end,

The moment of betrayal by the kisses of a friend,

Are you man enough to hold your tongue, and man enough to cry?

When nails break your body-are you man enough to die?

Man enough to take the pain, and wear it like a crown,

Man enough to love the world and turn it upside down,

Are you man enough to follow me, I ask you once again?

I said, Oh Lord, I'm frightened, but I also said Amen.

Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen; Amen, Amen, Amen,

I said, Oh Lord, I'm frightened, but I also said, Amen.

I just want to say thank you to Jesus for being man enough to pass through Gethsemane... to endure the cross for salvation.... mine and yours. The cross has said it all. As Jesus said, it is finished.... completely completed... the great Amen.

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" Luke 9:23-25

As I said the other day, enjoy your life... but enjoy it in context. The lives we live today are merely the tip of an iceberg that runs into eternity. You cannot see eternity, but it is there nonetheless. Don't sacrifice that which is eternal for that which is temporary. The Bible speaks of wisdom being supreme and that though it may cost you all you have, it is worth attaining. How much more so is salvation? Accepting the free redemption offered by Christ is the highest wisdom.

For he is no fool

Who gives what he cannot keep

To gain what he cannot lose

Supernatural Wounds

Recently I came across someone who had received what I would call a "supernatural wound". They had been exposed to something arcane as a youngster and it had resulted in them having a profoundly damaging experience.

Essentially they were offered via a friends, a book that allegedly contained magic spells that "really worked". What the book turned out to contain was various satanic rites. Once exposed to this, the person struggled with it for some time. They now have a fledgling faith, but are still haunted by the things they have read. They told me that it is at these times, when they hear God reminding them that He still loves them no matter what they have done... and reassuring them not to let it get to them. I would still class it as an open wound however, it's a source of attack that needs closing off.

I know what that kind of wound is like. I once misinterpreted what a scripture from Mark's Gospel meant... and felt condemned by it. I struggled and struggled with it for about 6 months. It lead to me opening up to people for the first time, because I couldn't control my problem alone... it was eating me up from the inside out. It helped me to lean more on God rather than worship him from a distance, so that was positive... but once the positive had been eked out... the wound needed closing. People prayed with me and helped me to understood what Jesus was getting at., that the issue was one of a "continual denial of grace" and not as plain as it seemed in the text.

However it's because of my own experience that I recognise the need to resolve issues like this in other people. The best way to disarm the enemies lies and curses is to remind people of God's blessings and promises. So here are a few scriptures for any spiritually damaged Christians out there. People who know what a direct spiritual attack feels like. These are DEEP truths, let God speak them into your heart as you read them:

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." - John 10:27-30

"The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34: 7-8

"The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all" Psalm 34:17-19

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him" Psalm 103:8-13

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." Isaiah 49:15-16

"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day" Psalm 91:4-5

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him."
Psalm 91:14-15

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:31-39

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

If any of you doubt you are righteous, then know that if you have accepted Jesus sacrifice you are considered righteous by faith through Christ. God sees you as his child.

God said it in His Word, you believe it in your heart, that settles it forever.

If you struggle with anything like what I have mentioned above, I strongly recommend you pray through it with a leader at your church. They won't think you are crazy and will take you seriously. If you have a serious wound, it is better to have it treated than to struggle on and needlessly suffer.

Three Little Words

Often, the shortest statements we make, are the ones that are the most profound and fundamental to who we are. They are also the ones that can cause us the most bother. Take the following statement:

"I love Jesus."

Three little words, three powerful words. Yet even as we speak, some 200 million Christians worldwide suffer for saying those very words, or demonstrating a belief that represents that statement.

200 million...

that's a lot...

To put it in perspective, that's roughly two thirds of the US population... all suffering for professing Christ as their saviour.

I'm not talking about here in the UK, or in Europe, or North America, or Australia. In these places, most of the time the hassle you are likely to receive will largely just consist of hard hearted words, scorn, ridicule and/or individual hostility.... or just people taking the rip out of you.

No, I'm talking about countries that are hostile to the Gospel message; where it is illegal, or culturally frowned upon. Places where if you worship Jesus you face the very real prospect of imprisonment, beatings, torture, abuse, rape, mutilation, slavery and even murder. Just for saying those three little words. Three little words we take for granted, but which for some people mean the very difference between life or death... in a world where those words can literally cost you everything.

We had a visit today from the Open Doors foundation. You can find a link to them somewhere on my page. They have existed for 50 years, and they have been supporting oppressed Christians in many ways. They have given financial aid, theological training to leaders, and most famously they are Bible smugglers. They take the Word of god into countries where it is banned. That is cool!

However the speaker today brought a message to our Church, not requesting help on any of those fronts. This is unusual, because most organisations who come ask for financial aid to further the good work they do.

No, we were merely asked to pray for these people... because that is the gift we offer that our persecuted brothers and sisters value the most. It encourages them to know that we who are not oppressed, remember them in our prayers. They draw real strength from that... and they have every reason to, in many circumstances they have no-one to rely on for provision but the Lord.

In fact, they pray for us. They know being a Christian in the decadent world has its own trials. They pray because there are so many distractions, such as financial worries, materialism and the busy nature of our lives that can take up valuable time.

I praise God for their faith, and I am ashamed at some of the basic things that can cause me to lose heart some times.

So, if you have the time to spare. Go over to the Open Doors website (link on my page). If not, perhaps you would pray the following prayer which we said this morning for persecuted Christians:

Petition for Persecuted Christians

I pray:

• you will stand strong in your faith and steadfast in persecution.
• your persecutors may come to know Christ.
• God will supply the needs of your family.
• you will have your own Bibles in your own language.
• you will enjoy freedom to preach the Gospel.
• you will be able to teach your children about the Christian faith.
• you will be free to worship and meet other Christians.
• you know you are not alone - the Lord is with you now and always.
• we can all work for justice, that truth and righteousness will prevail.
  

Amen

Finally let us remember...

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" ( Matthew 25:40)