Following Jesus or humanism?
I'm busy reading Brian McLaren's 'A New Kind of Christian' (my first introduction to McLaren!). In the light of that, emergent thinking generally, and my philosophy that we need to acknowledge our shared humanity over and above our differences ... I've been wondering what I would answer to the question: Are you first a Christian or first a part of our 'shared humanity'. In other words, do I primarily find my identity in Jesus or in being part of this 'human community'. It seems more important to me that we find a meeting point in the turmoil of the human condition than that I identify myself as a follower of Jesus, as separate from people walking on a different journey in a different direction. Is emphasising our shared humanity a humanist idea or a deeply Biblical one?
A have a feeling that Neo (from McLaren's book) or others entrenched in emergent thinking might gently ask me at this point, "But wasn't Jesus human? Wasn't he part of the 'turmoil of the human condition'?"
Any thoughts?
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Christianity the true humanism
Hi Cori,
Some years back already, J.I. Packer skillfully and responsibly addressed all these questions in his "Christianity, the True Humanism".
Regards
Willem
Jesus makes me human
For me without Jesus I do not feel human at all. When I accepted that I needed to follow him I felt alive and connected with the human race for the first time. I am not saying that those who do not follow Christ are not humans, but for me it is a must.
Mere humanity
Interesting thorts... Was listening to a message the other day and the pastor commented on this verse: 1 Cor 3.3 :"You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?" Interesting ending, one might say? Is Paul expecting something more from Christians...
I also feel that the heart of verses like Gal 3.28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." is this: that before I am anything I am one with Christ (a Christian) which makes me "equal" with all other Christians, no matter who they are in society or life.
This should never cause us to draw away from the world, though. Jesus sends us in to share this "mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Col 1.27)
I think one of the realisations we need to come to is that God has called us to be different (Rom 12.1,2). The sooner we get used to that and move on the sooner God can use us, and the sooner we will stop compromising in our own lives because we are trying to please so many different people with different requirements of us. (Eph 2, 1 Cor 2)
First- second
I think all the points being made are good. There are two things frm my side. First, I would just say I have read a lot by George MacDonald that talks about this, and i think it has to do with the paradigm that the true man/woman is primarily a spiritual being. We are something degenerate without the spiritual connection. The other idea is that if Adam is the first man who brought sin, and Christ is the second Adam, does he not truly represent humanity?
Just some ideas that float aound my head. Let me know how they effect you.
just like something
i noticed you used the word "the" in your post. i once read a letter from a serial-killer who used the word "the." shouldn't we, as christians, be different than the serial-killers in the ways we communicate.
maybe you get my line of reasoning. just because there are some people who we may not like that use humanist language, that does not mean that all humanist language is in error. theological humanism is good.
i think a pretty staple idea among emergent leaders is that humans were created in the image of God, and, therefore, we all share a humanity that reflects the image of God. i would also add, with some, that I believe Christ was the perfect human, the embodied example of what it means to be fully human.
so, i think that the two ideas 'humanism' and 'following christ' have to be antithetical. i think they go hand in hand.
separate yet human
Thanks, everyone, for your responses and thoughts.
To be in this world, yet not of this world; to be set apart, yet very much human; to die to our 'carnal self' and rise to our 'spiritual self' - I guess this is one of the many tensions we grapple with daily!
Response to Rob - I guess I'm always afraid that some Christians may see 'different' as 'superior'. So often I have heard people say that we're not superior but forgiven and yet there's still this sense of smugness, this sense of, 'we've got the ticket and they don't'; 'we're on the lifeboat and the others are sinking'; 'we have the cure and they're dying from the disease'.
I also worry about the whole in-group/out-group thing, which, again, can lead to superiority, arrogance, isolation, pushing the out-group further and further from ever encountering Jesus. But just because these things worry me, it doesn't mean that what you said isn't 'right'. I'm just not sure how to deal with our 'separateness' in Christ without it becoming what I've described above.
Willem - thanks, I enjoy Packer and will follow that up.
I like Johnny, Ryan and and Luke's ideas (all from different angles) that in Christ we become fully human, that Christ reflects what it ultimatly means to be human...
Thanks, everyone!
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