I found this story to be intriguing. An evangelist decides Christinaity is not for him, but late in life regrets the loss of his closeness to Jesus. B.R., I thought this might interest you.
Charles Templeton: Missing Jesus thegospelcoalition.org
B.F.: Thanks, I'll check it out.
B.F.: That's a sweet story. I don't really see where the regret comes in, though. It sounds from the article like he took a different spiritual path than Billy Graham, and that in this late-life interview, he talked about how much he loved Jesus. Now, I can see the inherent conflict in loving Jesus but not following a particular church or Christian leader. That's my conflict, too.
Me: It seems to me that he didn't take a different spiritual path, he rejected spirituality entirely. He separated himself from the Jesus he loved and ended up missing the relationship.
Your last statement is precisely correct and profound, and it is exactly the same for me. But to me there is no inherent conflict, because Jesus as a person is not related to church or Christian leaders or movements or denominations. That's why I always make the distinction between religion (the man-made system of beliefs and practices) and faith (the personal expression).
The way I see it is that Jesus provides the way to connect to the divine. He tells us this quite specifically. He doesn't say to give up cussing or do nice things for people or give 10% to the church or wear a tie. He says we cannot change ourselves so as to connect to him. He says that connecting to him is how we become changed.
The real conflict that I see is giving up myself for the sake of that relationship. I don't see how I can do that.
B.F.: Deep stuff. I don't think we're meant to give up ourselves for the sake of a relationship with Jesus. I feel my relationship with him when I'm answering my callings, helping others, improving relationships and interpersonal communication, exploring my passions, being selfless, connecting with nature, and generally acting in my own definition of good and righteous. When I go against those instincts, I feel the guilt and shame that most people refer to as sinning. I could never escape Jesus, but I can ignore the sway he has on my conscience, and then I would feel less connected to him. It seems if anything, that's the real regret from Charles Templeton; he stopped accepting and cultivating his personal relationship with Jesus, and though he still probably had a good life, he saw in the end that there were opportunities he missed.
Me: Jesus sets the terms for the connection to the divine. I don't think that you or I get to decide what he requires. Which means we are really on a jouney of discovery to find out what that is, and where our preferences don't coincide with his are the places we give up ourselves.
B.F.: Now I see what you mean by that. I feel similarly, but I'd replace "ourselves" with "our egos" or "the way we're attached to thinking about our lives". Whatever we do, we are ourselves. The distinction is whether we choose the turn in the path that Jesus is showing us, or the turn in the path that serves ourselves. An example: I'm a filmmaker, and have had many opportunities to make shallow art, pull focus onto myself and thus achieve my egoic desires. However, the older I get, the more often I opt for the alternative opportunities, which involve helping other filmmakers, making art that serves a deeper humanist purpose, and letting go of my attachment to the normal definitions of success and fame. Make sense?
B.F.: There's a word we haven't mentioned but I think we'd both agree is a strong element: ACCOUNTABILITY. Like a recovering addict is accountable to his sponsor and support system to keep himself on track with sobriety, so am I accountable to Jesus for my actions and choices.
Me: "Fascinating. I want my story to show that aggressive, protective element of Jesus, but it's tricky territory without a clear understanding of the Biblical context." It would be interesting to couple what we've been discussing here with with the warrior/king element of Jesus we discussed previously, and see how that might impact the idea of accountability.
B.R.: Oooh love it. How do we start? Maybe I need some reading assignments?
Me: I need to confess my inadequacy at this point. I am much more confident of my political theories than my spiritual ones. I have thought about the nature of divinity quite a bit over the years, and the more I discover the more I find I don't know.
Jesus is the quintessential paradox. Friend/judge, peacemaker/warrior, demanding/gentle, exalted/accessible, harsh/forgiving, holy/intimate. I don't know where to begin.
B.F.: Now I see what you mean by that. I feel similarly, but I'd replace "ourselves" with "our egos" or "the way we're attached to thinking about our lives". Whatever we do, we are ourselves. The distinction is whether we choose the turn in the path that Jesus is showing us, or the turn in the path that serves ourselves. An example: I'm a filmmaker, and have had many opportunities to make shallow art, pull focus onto myself and thus achieve my egoic desires. However, the older I get, the more often I opt for the alternative opportunities, which involve helping other filmmakers, making art that serves a deeper humanist purpose, and letting go of my attachment to the normal definitions of success and fame. Make sense?
B.F.: There's a word we haven't mentioned but I think we'd both agree is a strong element: ACCOUNTABILITY. Like a recovering addict is accountable to his sponsor and support system to keep himself on track with sobriety, so am I accountable to Jesus for my actions and choices.
Me: "Fascinating. I want my story to show that aggressive, protective element of Jesus, but it's tricky territory without a clear understanding of the Biblical context." It would be interesting to couple what we've been discussing here with with the warrior/king element of Jesus we discussed previously, and see how that might impact the idea of accountability.
B.R.: Oooh love it. How do we start? Maybe I need some reading assignments?
Me: I need to confess my inadequacy at this point. I am much more confident of my political theories than my spiritual ones. I have thought about the nature of divinity quite a bit over the years, and the more I discover the more I find I don't know.
Jesus is the quintessential paradox. Friend/judge, peacemaker/warrior, demanding/gentle, exalted/accessible, harsh/forgiving, holy/intimate. I don't know where to begin.
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