“Christian Response” to The Secret
Posted on | May 13, 2007 | No Comments
It happened to me again yesterday, I was confronted via an article in the local newspaper with someone (actually two people working together this time) claiming to have “the Christian” response to some topic – in this case the movie “The Secret“. Again, my brain about exploded. Why, because several things were happening again:
- Someone was standing up and claiming to be “right” on a spiritual/”Christian” matter – who are we to know?
- Someone was claiming that it’s even possible for there to be a single “Christian” response to anything – how many denominations of Christian are there now? IF there was “one” “Christian” answer, shouldn’t it come from the Pope? Yet, we as Christians don’t all accept his word as speaking for all Christians. Heck, a lot of Catholics don’t feel in their hearts that the Pope speaks for them. So, where do a couple of everyday Joann’s get the authority to give THE Christian answer to something that doesn’t even need to be questioned in the first place?!
- The responses they were claiming to give were simply a matter of how we semantically label “God.” Do you think God cares what name we use, don’t you think that a the spirit of creation and “Godness” is above our human labels. I’m betting the Spirit is happy whenever a Human follows the rules of loving one another as ourselves – no matter what label we use for the creator.
- The responses they gave, while Biblical, were based on a single, literal, interpretation of scripture taken out of context.
- Worst of all, their approach ultimately requires people to turn off their brains, blame God for their circumstances, and abdicate one’s own personal accountability for one’s infinite, undying soul. As we will see, I believe God gave our souls these bodies and this short lifetime to improve ourselves spiritually by engaging our brains, souls, and bodies, in every way we can in order to get closer to that spirit of creation.
Why does that get me all worked up? Because history has shown over and over again that when one person stands up and says “I’m Right – this is THE ONLY WAY TO THINK,” bad things like political or religious despotism follow. Think holocaust, the inquisition, witch hunts, and wars of aggression. When someone stands up and says “this is the only way” my default position becomes “that’s the one way I’m NOT going!”
With this in mind, please note that in this post I’m not saying any of this is the only way. The ways to God are as infinite as God, who are we to know a single way? Fundamentalist Christians will say “but Kevin, JESUS CHRIST was and is GOD. He knew the way.” They’re right. Jesus Christ knew the way to God. He knew the way to himself. And he tried to communicate this knowledge to his followers. Some of that knowledge and truth found its way to us in the Canonical Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John (especially Mark and John), and from the letters of Paul.
The next logical response is that if Jesus knew “the way” and we agree on that, then when he said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except THROUGH me” in John 14:6, they tend to remove this from the context of the conversation being recorded and interpret this statement to be one of EXCLUSION of every other spiritual path. Countless people have been murdered throughout history (otherwise known as “converted by the sword”) by the thinking that in this verse Jesus is excluding all other paths to God.
When read in context, Jesus is using this statement to introduce the “Spirit of Truth” several verses later, right before he says what is in my opinion the single most important sentence in the Bible, John 14:20, which states “On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”
Christ in You… You have the power of Christ in you.
How are you using it? Are you being a good steward?
Before reading any further in this blog, read John 14 and 15. It’ll take you about 2o minutes tops. If you read these two chapters of the Gospel and come away thinking Jesus intended Christianity to be exclusive of all other faiths and paths to God, then I’ve got my work cut out for me in this blog – and you’ll probably hate it.
If you’ve frequently wondered how a loving Christ could found something that has been so splintered, distorted, and the actual source of evil at many times in history, then becoming accountable for your own spirit may help restore your faith.
Finally, let’s take a look at the words of Jesus himself on the subject:
John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.” Luke 9:49-50
I think it’s about time “Christians” stop judging and start loving.
Comments
Book Recommendations
About Kevin
Kevin E. Houchin is an attorney, artist, teacher, author, and principal of
Houchin Consulting, PLLC, a copyright, trademark, arts & entertainment,
business development, and branding firm located in Scottsdale, Arizona.
To schedule Kevin for keynote speeches, workshops, or seminars, call 970.231.2426
or email
kevin@kevinhouchin.com.