A Fresh Perspective

Abraham Maslow contended that any adequate understanding of religious faith must take into consideration “peak experiences.” By peak experiences Maslow was referring to experiences of existential communion with an Ultimate Reality that transcends the limited self. Mystics who have had such experiences have reported that they felt a deep, expansive sense of belonging to every other person and to all creation, where they could see the beauty and goodness of all things. The mystics of various religious traditions call this Reality different names: God, the Really Real, the Presence, Cosmic Christ, Spirit, Source of Life, Ultimate Reality, Ground of Being, etc. The beliefs we use to describe this experience and Reality will always be inadequate. A living faith is the means by which we connect, commune, and cooperate with the Divine Spirit that is within every human being (we are all made in God’s image). Our beliefs are merely pointers, our human way of trying to grasp and explain it.

One of the ways many traditional Christians have avoided real change/conversion has been to make the gospel of Jesus primarily about going to heaven and avoiding hell. I think this is particularly true for many of us who have made “heaven” the reward for believing the right things. We use all sorts of language for this: accepting Christ into one’s heart, making a decision for Christ, having a born again experience, trusting Christ as personal Savior, etc. (all these expressions mean different things to different people). The problem is that many Christians who feel they have made this “decision” think that they are guaranteed heaven and see no real need to change now. With the promise of heaven secured, one’s ego can easily pad and protect itself in ways that avoid dealing with the pride, negativity, and greed that resides there. When whole groups of people (evangelical Christians?) are committed to ego protection and defense, real personal or communal transformation rarely happens.

I am currently teaching the Gospel of Luke on Wednesday evenings and this week’s text raises issues that those of us who preach and teach an inclusive gospel must deal with. The text is Luke 17:20–37 where the kingdom of God is presented as both a present and future reality. My focus here is on the part that deals with the kingdom as future. In response to a question raised by some Pharisees as to when the kingdom will come, Jesus tells them that the kingdom of God is in their midst (could be translated “within” them). Either way, the emphasis is on its present reality. But does this mean that there will be no future realization/fulfillment of the kingdom? Jesus seems to be responding to this implied question in his teaching to his disciples in Luke 17:22–37. The kingdom formula seems to be: Already here, but not yet in any complete sense; in our midst, but still to come; has come and will come; now and in the future. Many of us have a hard time keeping this balance. Paul seems

In chapter 5, "Dying" to Live," Bell writes about the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is important in any serious discussion and exposition of the good news to expound the significance of the death and resurrection of Christ. The first disciples very early in the development of the Jesus movement interpreted the death and resurrection of Jesus in a redemptive way. Even though the powers that be crucified Jesus, the early disciples believed that God was at work in and through the cross, using it as a means of redemption. But the crucial question: In what sense is Jesus’ death redemptive? How does Jesus’ death have saving efficacy? How does it work? I was disappointed that Bell did not offer an explanation. Bell rightly acknowledges that there are different metaphors and images employed in the New Testament to speak of Christ’s death. Bells writes: “Is the cross about the end of the sacrificial system or a broken relationship that’s been reconciled or a guilty defend