INTRODUCTION
“...there is absolutely no question in my mind that I am a Christian. Jesus is my Christ….perhaps I am not a very good Episcopalian because I do not always subscribe to some of their creeds and basic theology. For example, about two thirds of both the ancient Nicene and Apostles creeds do not relate to me in the 21st century.”
“About fifteen years ago I added a fourth question having to do with Christian ethics. I would inquire, ‘What is the foundation of Christian ethics?’ It was almost like asking, ‘Who is the Holy Spirit?’ Primarily, I would receive blank stares. Someone might then ask, ‘What do you mean by ethic?’ So I would try again. ‘What is the ethical/moral standard by which Christians needs to make moral/ethical decisions?’ There would be a few guesses: ‘The Ten Commandments?’, ‘The Beatitudes?’, ‘The Bible?’, ‘Jesus?’, ‘What Father (clergy) tells me to do!’ Occasionally someone would say, ‘The Great Commandment’ or maybe even ‘Love.’”
CHAPTER 1 “…in light of the ethics of Jesus, Paul was wrong most of the time. He was for slavery, against women, homophobic, had no idea what marriage was/is really about, and gives terrible advice about raising children.”
CHAPTER 2
“My God is not the image of a woman, or a man. He/she does not live up there, wherever that might be. My God did not make the world in six days. She/he is not a ‘Master Puppeteer,’ ‘Benevolent Dictator,’ ‘The Terminator,’ ‘Santa Claus,’ a ‘Christian,’ ‘Vengeance’ or ‘Dog Spelled backwards,” to mention a few misconceptions.”
“The so-called wrath of God is often interpreted as the anger of the person “up there” who is running the show. It’s like human anger, but has the ability to zap bad folks instantaneously. His wrath results in people with disabilities, 9/11, gang killings, cancer, heart attacks, hurricanes, murders and all the rest of the negative things that happen in our lives.”
“I have no idea if the tomb was really empty. Neither does anyone else, except as a faith response.”
CHAPTER 4
“I don’t know if in his time Jesus was seen as a radical revolutionary (he was so quiet about it). But looking back some 2,000 years, there is no question that he revolutionized his world and still is revolutionizing our world with his radical thinking.”
“Some 1,900 years later I feel that institutional Christianity is in much the same place as were the Pharisees back then. There are too many laws, rules, regulations and rubrics. I would like very much to be an instrument of change, to try to bring the church back to where it needs to be, so that it is effective in today’s world. If it is to be, we need to make certain that its foundation is about love, not law.”
“Jesus realized that adhering to the Law was not the solution to having a relationship with Yahweh (God). Fact is, he saw the Law as a major problem within Judaism and suggested some changes. The problem with adhering to the Law is that it becomes the most important thing, and the reason for the law (to love Yahweh) becomes lost in the shuffle. Jesus could see that “loving” the law, crossing every “t” and dotting every “i” had become much more important in Judaism in his time that ‘loving’ people, all people, in every sort and condition.”
CHAPTER 5
‘Forgiveness is another feature of agape. It must be given freely and quickly, no matter what the circumstances. This does not mean forgive and forget. That is one of those trite phrases that does not make any sense. When something happens to or against us, we are going to remember that incident, perhaps for the rest of our lives. For me, the better saying is, ‘Forgive and move on with your life.’ Many people cannot do this.”
CHAPTER 7
“We have, in the previous six chapters, been building a case suggesting that the primary message from Jesus was about love. Not any kind of love but the highest kind, agape. Not necessarily an easy love to put into practice because one must understand the concept before using it successfully. In no way is it going to fit neatly in between ‘the fourth and fifth commandments.’ At times, with the ethics of Jesus (based on agape) ‘leaving-the-toilet seat-up’ would be the proper thing to do. At other times, depending on the circumstances, the toilet seat must go down.”
“CHAPTER 8
“REMINDERS: 1. Agape love is not about liking. 2. Tough love is about love. 3. Beware of your prejudices. 4. The opposite of love is not hate. (It’s indifference.) 5. Beware of your conscience. It should NOT be your guide. 6. Love and justice are the same because justice (moral) is love distributed.
STANDARDS: 1. Agape love is the foundation of the ethics of Jesus; only one thing is right and good, agape. 2. Agape must include acceptance of ourselves and every other human being, whether we like them or not. 3. Agape demands that we forgive self and others immediately. 4. Each and every ethical/moral decision is different and needs to be made depending on the circumstances, not a rule or law.”
CHAPTER 9
“Someone ‘invented’ the idea that Jesus be literally ‘resurrected’ because it fit into their agenda. (This is Paul’s doctrine of atonement.) The real message should have been that Jesus’ preaching and teachings were so powerful that, even though he was crucified ‘dead and buried’ people felt he was still there with them.”
“My feelings are that once the mainstream churches start to understand and put into practice the ethics of Jesus, that will be the time when they start to become alive and relevant again. Doctrine, liturgy, building buildings and maintaining the institution will start to take a back seat to our going into the real world to tackle such issues as poverty, racism, sexism, and all the other ‘-isms. ’People will once again be attracted to churches because they are relevant and leading the charge for social justices.”
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