Should I Say "True Christianity"?
by Brian Robertson
My eyes ground to a complete halt at the last sentence on your home page: " Welcome to the world of true Christianity." In place of "true," you could have written "alternate" or "another" or "mystical." But to use "true" means that some might interpret this as implying that other approaches to Christianity are false. That path leads to the killing fields in Bosnia Herzegovina, Sudan, Pakistan's low level civil war, Iraq's not so low level civil war, etc. But perhaps I am being too finicky.
Regards,
Bruce Robinson
ReligiousTolerance.org
Given the entire essay that the quote was featured in as well as the nature and content of this site, the meaning of the words "true Christianity" was the exact opposite of the rather telling leap you made. I think you may have read what you were obviously primed and prepared to react to, not what was there.
Having said that, I realize my words are often a kind of shorthand for something larger. and I certainly don't mind trying to express things more closely to what I feel. Sometimes, clarification on my part is needed, and, thanks to you, I believe you pointed out one such example! I went back and expanded things a bit on the front page.
I think fundamentalism, the exploitation of which has created exactly the kind of nonsense and danger you refer to, is based historically far more on politics and dictated doctrines than on "the experience of the individual and God" -- meaning spirituality.
If you grant me a moment, I'll talk about "true" Christianity, but first, a clue. I frankly find it impossible to take Jesus' teachings as well as the experiences of a lineage of mystics throughout Christianity's history and to believe that the inclusiveness and compassion of Jesus somehow leads directly and logically to your examples of political and nationalistic actions. There is such a thing as "false" or "sham" Christianity. It is the political masquerading under a poorly fitting cloak called "Christianity," but is not designed to deal with the spiritual but, rather, to push voters' buttons so they press the right buttons at the polling booth.
However often CNN and others pull out the fundamentalists and hold them up as an example of Christianity when they want to nab a Christian viewpoint for a talking heads program, such a move is just flat wrong. The victors write history, as the saying goes, and the fundamental or doctrine-based Christianity which you rightly criticize and warn against, is based on just one of the early strains of Christianity.
Others at the earliest times of the religion included followers of Jesus who felt no particular need to leave the Jewish religion (and Jesus' praise for his brother James seems to have pointed in that direction), efforts in the writings to villainize the Jews in order to appease Rome which directly enabled that wing of the religion to be acceptable to the Roman empire, Peter's own particular take which ran into trouble with Paul from the getgo, a slightly whacky gnostic tradition which did have its benefits, a vibrant involvement by women in early Christianity, a spiritual community which produced the remarkable Gospel of Thomas (almost a casualty in the rush of the river that led to fundamentalism) and so on and on.
So, to get to the point, which of those is the true Christianity? This is as permissable a use of the word "true" as having the courage to ask, "Is the country that has brought such misery and untold danger to the world by the excursion in Iraq the true America?"
For myself, Christianity is living a life that involves the active experience of God, and Jesus of Nazareth points beyond himself to that experience of the Transcendent. If we use the life and teachings (as best they can be recovered from years of abuse) of Jesus as a compass, I would submit you have arrived at a yardstick with which to measure true Christianity. As the essay where the words appeared stated, by having openness to different approaches and ideas between those assembled for the imaginary dinner and, above all, tolerance (note the word) you approach the true spirit of Christianity.
Such "Christianity" is not about doctrine, politics, manipulation and the such. It is about accepting an invitation to experience the Ultimate. It is not based on faith if by faith you mean a checklist of beliefs that will get you admitted to the club -- be it a church or a political party or heaven itself. If by faith, however, you mean the ability to let go and have faith that there is more to life than what you see on the front page of the newspaper or in the concrete, visible world, and to live with that experience, you have arrived at Christianity's true spirit once again, fueled by the example and figure of Jesus.
I have traveled in this world too many years and seen too many things to believe that God is as narrow, petty-minded and nationalistic as we are as humans, no matter how eager we have been to project those qualities on God. In view of that, the real story of the Bible is not that God can be horrendous to enemies and can demand death for masturbation and eternal damnation to people of different color or sex or sexual preference. The book moves from our image of God, flawed and dangerous and deadly, to the likeness of God as evidenced by Jesus' life and teachings. It is a book about a voyage in our understanding, not a newspaper report of God's behavior throughout history. Fortunately, as evidenced by countless people, that spiritual voyage didn't end with the last page of the Gospels, but it continues now in stores large and small, in people famous and unknown.
Here is the irony given what you wrote. It is this true Christianity that allows us, as Christians, to see the horrors found in our religion and to admit the horrendous mistakes in things such as the Crusades, Iraq, and countless other examples, including some which you referred to in your comment.
So, for me, this site is a look in the direction of one's own experience, not an identity available only through the acceptance of any political or spiritual dogma. It tries to see spirituality as inclusive and not exclusive. It seeks to understand Jesus' authentic teachings and actions and his role as a pointer beyond himself to God. True Christianity attempts these things and more, no matter which particular or different form they take in each person's relationship to the Mystery.
Best,
Brian
