Christian faith — modern and viable

I am a devout evangelical Christian, who practices his Faith in the unique tradition of Baptists. I ponder the process that gave me this identity and that keeps me locked in my devotion and commitment. I have no conscious desire to leave the Faith given to me. I have affirmed my Faith by conscious choice many times.

My Faith has very ancient mythological roots in Mesopotamia, an area defined by the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates. My religious tradition has been handed down through a myriad of myths, legends and fables mixed with a bit of history. My historical religious roots go back to a wandering Aramean named Abraham, an orphaned Israelite named Moses, an unmerciful murderer named Joshua and a ruthless tyrant king named David. Through all of these imperfect men, a flawed religious tradition was created. Debates intensified. Prophets and priests argued about God, the path to God and doing the will of God.

For reasons beyond explanation, an itinerant teacher from an insignificant village in a poverty stricken rural area in northern Palestine sorted through these ancient traditions and attracted a large following that is still stretching around the world 2,000 years after he was cruelly murdered by crucifixion.

How did I, the grandson of an alcoholic Missouri hillbilly, end up embracing this story as my own? How have I become a devoted follower of the rabbi, Jesus from Nazareth? Why would I end up calling this Jewish prophet the lord of my life? I accept a working model that it was an evolutionary process that has successfully adapted in an always changing world. We live a life that is always changing. While there is wisdom that is to be drawn from the past, history never repeats. The very nature of life keeps throwing us forward. Further, the future is not predictable. The movement that is constantly taking place is not merely evolutionary or a predictable process. The whole universe and every particle component are in motion constantly. Interaction makes prediction an exercise in futility.

I was reared to be a follower of Jesus. It served me well. However, I have concluded that Jesus must be modernized constantly. If Jesus was to be relevant to an ever changing world, he must always be changing as well.

The world in which Jesus lived was not the same world in which we live. Rome is not the same as Washington DC, and Jerusalem is not Salt Lake City. The economic system of rural Galilee was not the same as modern London, Paris, or Seattle. The court systems of Palestine were not the court system of the United States. The walking paths (sometimes called roads) of Jesus’ world cannot be compared to freeways. Knives and swords are not the same as drones, machine guns and jet fighters. The understanding of demon possession can hardly be compared to our understanding of mental illnesses.

Translating Jesus into a modern world becomes very difficult. Some would say it is impossible. The search for a relevant historical Jesus has been a major concern for Christian Bible scholars over the past 150 years. Scholars mark three major efforts. The first two ended with scholarship despair. Scholars concluded that getting a handle on the life of Jesus was impossible. More recently a new generation of scholars is more optimistic about getting an accurate picture of the life that Jesus lived and the framework in which he thought. My reaction to more recent scholarship is that we are discovering a different Jesus than had been laid upon us. The search for a Jesus, who is relevant to a modern, ever changing world, is a new, exciting task.

Problem number one in translating Jesus into a modern world are the creeds that were written hundreds of years ago to bring about common understandings among devout Christian believers. In their era, the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed made sense. While in seminary, I concluded that they are dated statements that I could not embrace. They are examples of irrelevant language and irrelevant concepts. I concluded that all theology is dated and loses relevance in the advancing ages. I continued my search for a Jesus, who could relate to ever-passing, ever-changing human life.

A section from Paul’s letter to the church at Galatia triggered some new thought on the subject. (I argue with Paul about a lot of things, but I also have high regard for him as a theologian of first rank.) In the 5th chapter of Galatians, Paul wrote “And the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” When reading this passage my attention stuck on the word “kindness.” I recognized it as a word that is used often in the Gospel writings. After some thought, I concluded that Jesus was exceedingly kind, and that kindness was a virtue that transcends time.

I suspect that the word “love” also transcends time. However, its meaning has been

corrupted by poor usage, and it has lost it significance as a Christian virtue in a modern world.

I have made two decisions. I want to be a kind person in all that I do. And second, I will use the word “kind” often in speaking of Jesus in our modern setting. The kindness of Jesus effectively translates into our modern world.

Kind regards to all.

The End

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.