The Difficult Message of Christianity

Peace beyond all understanding.

In a recent "discussion" with a fellow seminary student I had to convey a difficult concept in Christian Pacifism which I had not yet really formulated beyond the recesses of my mind. The more I thought about it later at night the more I couldn't help but toss and turn about this difficult task in the Christian message...which has led me here.

I cannot help but understand and read the message of Christ and see an overwhelming need to fight the traditional world conquering mentality that we are born with. Most fundamentalist Evangelicals will tell you that they could never vote for a candidate who is in favor of abortion. Admittedly I am equally opposed to the practice of abortion...I am pro-life. Yet, I am not pro-life in the sense that politicians use the phrase to divide and polarize society...I mean, I am really pro-life. I am pro-American life, pro-Christian life, pro-atheist life, pro-Iraqi life, pro-Muslim life, and yes...even pro-terrorist life. You see in all of this tangled web of hate we have jumped on the Old Testament vengeance train with so much vigor and intensity that we seem to have put all those pesky little annoying Jesus quotes on the back burner. You know the one's "bless those who persecute you," "turn the other cheek," "pray for your enemies," "if someone wants your coat, give him your cloak as well," "if someone forces you to walk a mile, go two," "do not resist the one who is evil." You know all of those things seem to get in the way of our desire for vengeance...which really doesn't even belong to us but is "Mine, says the Lord."

You see it seems to me that in our nice little Christian suburban minds we easily force out those things which leave us with cognitive dissonance about our beliefs. We water down and belittle Christianity to a system of beliefs which we don't really have to deal with. We make the Bible nothing more than a good advice book about our moral superiority as good evangelicals. We make Christianity...for lack of a better term...easy. Because I mean cummon, isn't it ridiculous to not exact revenge on someone who breaks into your house. I mean you have rights...as an American to have that person arrested. You aren't going to ask that person to take your car too are you? If someone kills your wife or child...you certainly have a right to demand that this person be given the death penalty for taking something precious of yours...don't you?

I mean to not have the thief arrested, or the murderer convicted...or the perpetrators of massive violence like the kind we saw on September 11th avenged would just be complete insanity wouldn't it?

It would.

It is insanity.

It is difficult.

It is impossible.

Well...kind of...

Isn't it, however, the life we are called to. Where in the world did we get this idea that Christianity was supposed to be easy. It is more than just a religion that we can fit into our system of beliefs...jammed, folded, and pushed like an overstuffed suitcase. It is hard. It is difficult...to forgive when you have nothing within you that wants to forgive. To sacrifice everything you have worked your whole life for...so that someone who doesn't deserve it can come and take it all away. It is beyond difficult...it is insane.

I mean...who lives their life in such a way that they sacrifice everything they have earned to a thief? Who lets someone kill the one they love and get away with it? Who allows themselves to be so taken advantage of that the rest of the world would look upon them and say..."My God...this is injustice if I've ever seen it before!"

Oh yeah...there was that one guy. Jesus, was it? Hmm...the center point of the faith. Yeah...I seem to remember reading something about him. You know...the guy...the turn the other cheek, don't resist your enemies, walk two miles guy. Yeah...him.

You see when we morph our belief system into one that fits our world we bastardize it. We water it down. We reduce it...until it's worthless. Until it's worse than worthless...until it's propaganda. The kind of which a culture hates. Because it's contradictory, not in it's inherit nature...just in the way we make it... you know...easy. When at it's core Christianity is not easy. It is...difficult.

Very Difficult.