The other day I learned that my old church has taken a break from studying Genesis and is now going through the first letter of John. So I decided to sit down and reread it. As I remembered, there was a lot of good stuff in there about not hating your neighbor and keeping the commandments, walking the walk, not just talking the talk, so to speak. But sprinkled in here and there were some things that caused me great concern, especially after hearing one member's bigoted remarks about Muslims.
John says in several places that anyone who does not recognize Jesus as Messiah is a liar and an antichrist. Keeping in mind that this was written several centuries before the Council of Nicaea officially declared the doctrine of the Trinity to be the one true interpretation, it is hard to know now what John meant when he said Messiah. Did he mean God/Son of God? I don't know. What is clear is that John is telling his community that anyone who believes something different about Jesus than what John says they ought to believe is on the side of the devil. Is a liar. Is deceived. Is the antichrist.
There is no room in John (or in any of the other New Testament writers) for those who have considered the matter and said, there is just not enough evidence to convince me. No, if you don't believe, you are a liar. You belong to Satan. And since you are a liar and belong to Satan, well, there's really no point in trying to understand your point of view, is there? These are not verses that lead to dialogue; these are verses that lead to walls. So my "friend" can say what he said about Muslims because he already "knows" where they are coming from. You don't have to take anyone seriously--in fact, you shouldn't take anyone seriously--if they haven't passed the Jesus test. Because the New Testament says that there are no valid reasons for not accepting its claims. None. Case closed.
Anyway, it makes me even more convinced that I did the right thing by leaving and joining the Unitarian church. Which, though my friends don't yet realize it, makes me one of those liars and antichrists that John is talking about. That's because they don't know much about People's Church or haven't thought about it. Once they do, I predict things could get very interesting. And again, as I said to this guy, it is personal. It is right here in your living room. I am right here in your living room. I am one of those people. Not an abstract concept somewhere out there. You know me. You have broke bread with me. Now, you are going to be put to the test. Your Bible is very clear about people like me. Will we still be able to remain friends?
In contrast, the interim pastor of People's, in her sermon last Sunday made the remark that there will be no trashing of Christianity or any religion as long as she is there. Apparently the Unitarian Church went through a period a few decades ago when there were a lot of people in control who were secular humanists and/or atheists, and anyone who was a believer in any kind of god (but particularly the Christian one) had a pretty rough time of it. She herself said that of all the churches she had attended, the only time she ever experienced intolerance was in the Unitarian Church. After the sermon, during the comment period, several people said that yes, they had sometimes felt alienated because of their minority opinions and that this is not what the Unitarian Church is supposed to be about. Everyone is supposed to be welcome. You can disagree with what a religion teaches, the pastor said, but you may not trash it or its members. All have something valuable to contribute.
I am not saying that Christians should give up their beliefs or not talk about them. The challenge, as I see it, is how do churches like my old church express what they believe as the truth yet at the same time respect the opinions of others who do not believe the same way. And I'm afraid they won't get much support from the New Testament for that. John does not present any evidence why his interpretation of who and what Jesus was is the correct one; instead he resorts to name-calling. And sadly, too many people who call themselves Christians have followed in the same footsteps.
Well, they can keep on doing that. And we will gladly continue to make room in the Unitarian-Universalist church for those who are sick of that sort of thing.
John says in several places that anyone who does not recognize Jesus as Messiah is a liar and an antichrist. Keeping in mind that this was written several centuries before the Council of Nicaea officially declared the doctrine of the Trinity to be the one true interpretation, it is hard to know now what John meant when he said Messiah. Did he mean God/Son of God? I don't know. What is clear is that John is telling his community that anyone who believes something different about Jesus than what John says they ought to believe is on the side of the devil. Is a liar. Is deceived. Is the antichrist.
There is no room in John (or in any of the other New Testament writers) for those who have considered the matter and said, there is just not enough evidence to convince me. No, if you don't believe, you are a liar. You belong to Satan. And since you are a liar and belong to Satan, well, there's really no point in trying to understand your point of view, is there? These are not verses that lead to dialogue; these are verses that lead to walls. So my "friend" can say what he said about Muslims because he already "knows" where they are coming from. You don't have to take anyone seriously--in fact, you shouldn't take anyone seriously--if they haven't passed the Jesus test. Because the New Testament says that there are no valid reasons for not accepting its claims. None. Case closed.
Anyway, it makes me even more convinced that I did the right thing by leaving and joining the Unitarian church. Which, though my friends don't yet realize it, makes me one of those liars and antichrists that John is talking about. That's because they don't know much about People's Church or haven't thought about it. Once they do, I predict things could get very interesting. And again, as I said to this guy, it is personal. It is right here in your living room. I am right here in your living room. I am one of those people. Not an abstract concept somewhere out there. You know me. You have broke bread with me. Now, you are going to be put to the test. Your Bible is very clear about people like me. Will we still be able to remain friends?
In contrast, the interim pastor of People's, in her sermon last Sunday made the remark that there will be no trashing of Christianity or any religion as long as she is there. Apparently the Unitarian Church went through a period a few decades ago when there were a lot of people in control who were secular humanists and/or atheists, and anyone who was a believer in any kind of god (but particularly the Christian one) had a pretty rough time of it. She herself said that of all the churches she had attended, the only time she ever experienced intolerance was in the Unitarian Church. After the sermon, during the comment period, several people said that yes, they had sometimes felt alienated because of their minority opinions and that this is not what the Unitarian Church is supposed to be about. Everyone is supposed to be welcome. You can disagree with what a religion teaches, the pastor said, but you may not trash it or its members. All have something valuable to contribute.
I am not saying that Christians should give up their beliefs or not talk about them. The challenge, as I see it, is how do churches like my old church express what they believe as the truth yet at the same time respect the opinions of others who do not believe the same way. And I'm afraid they won't get much support from the New Testament for that. John does not present any evidence why his interpretation of who and what Jesus was is the correct one; instead he resorts to name-calling. And sadly, too many people who call themselves Christians have followed in the same footsteps.
Well, they can keep on doing that. And we will gladly continue to make room in the Unitarian-Universalist church for those who are sick of that sort of thing.
