Christianized

In the Freshman Series of these Pages, the word Christianized was used.  I use it to relate to forms of Christianity.  Some are good in contexts, serving people well in nature’s reality.  When serious and sincere they are attempts to mimic Christ, life and/or culture, to the degree assumed.  In this sense it takes advantage of the higher level of common grace than strict humanism affords, and permitted of God.  The analysis of the approach is clearest in relating to values.  The culture of the context may be identified as righteous as far as persons can invoke righteousness (right) on their own.  There are broad passages in Scripture that appear to permit this for those who wish to find values, but reject the experience of personal God – likely also to reject the depravity of human nature.  They may admit mankind is flawed, but not to the degree that a redemptive God is firm about immortal issues.  Cyrus may have been such a person, even sending the remnant back to their homeland, and easing the burden of Israel in Babylonian exile.  He may also have become a believer in the God of Israel.  His conduct with Israel was magnificent.  There were others.  Hiram, holding close friendship with David and Solomon, may have been such a person. 

Religion, even in a Christian form, can become an obsession.  Obsession is to the mental/spiritual life of a person what addiction is to the body.  Even genuine Christians may become obsessed so to dilute faith with some other factor of the human condition.  The obsession of Hitler destroyed him.  The obsession of the church in defending Christianity against heresy led, in part, to the Protestant Reformation, and the competition with Protestant offshoots.  There will always be some movement afoot to meet the obsessions that distort life, even if the matter relates to God.  Obsessions get out of hand, creating enormous contradictions.  The long periods in which even the church participated to burn, hang, torture human beings were periods when the ideals taught by Scripture and the church were violated in the name of the Church and Christ.  In reading a dictionary of church history the reader is appalled at the number of persons tried, tortured and murdered in the name of God – as was Joan of Arc, tried and burned.  Even the bones of John Wycliffe were removed from his grave to be violated.  Much of this was justified on a pagan theory that the end justified the means.  The point was to end the life of a person, a carrier of alleged falsehood, but proved in court so to justify the harsh sentences for the good of the greater population.  Even the methodology was generated from pagan practices.  All this provided some dark chapters in the magnificent mission story of the Church.  The only way it can be neutralized is through repentance – which has been done publicly, and may need some emphasis so to clarify the Christ meaning of the Church and ensuing ministries.  We also need to remember that the sentences were accepted and carried out by civil authorities – as was the case with Jesus Christ.  Guilt does not rest on legal governments alone.

Spotted history is evidence of obsessions that do not fit the biblical concepts of the Christian meaning and experience.  It is clear that the Church in its spiritual meaning is to love enemies, and do good even to those who despitefully act against Christians.  There are no exceptions.  Christians are instructed to take it.  To treat any entity in a negative way is to violate the principles of Christ as laid out in his words, actions and Scripture. The human obsessiveness, sometimes seen in those who are presumed to be a part of the culture, and may be, will always be a threat to the meaning of that culture.  It does not appear only in religion.  Hitler is mentioned above as obsessed in secular contexts that led to the deaths of millions of persons, and the waste of enormous quantities of resources meant for the good of all persons no matter what their forms of belief might be.  Obsessive people, even Christian obsessives, do not perceive the fact that God is quite able to take care of himself, and is involved with the human race for no reason necessary to him and the orthodoxy of his Kingdom, but for love of his creation, made free, to return as his children for fellowship. God is a family person, represented in the God-head – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  He invites us, human beings of his creation, to join that fellowship in the ultimate sublime.  No person can explain to full satisfaction how this all joins together.  God excuses us, to cover the mystery in the call to personal faith.