Holiness And Boredom

A bit of an odd title, you may think - or you may be entirely happy with the idea that the two are linked. It is, I understand, quite a common idea that holiness is boring; or, at least, doing the things that lead to holiness are. I know where this idea sort of comes from, but I've never really understood how it developed. From what I know, the idea is all to do with the idea of asceticism being the ultimate 'good'; and, even for those of us who still live in the world, the idea of self-denial being what holiness is all about. After all, one fruit of the Spirit is self-control, isn't it?

But self-control does not mean self-denial; not at all. In the same way that the word temperance has changed meaning - it originally meant 'moderation', now it is used to mean 'abstinence' (particularly from alcohol - another idea that the Bible doesn't teach) - there has been an overreaction in the direction of caution. People didn't want to teach grace as being completely unlimited, because it felt like there would be no incentive to grow, to change. Or something like that.

                                                     

As we know, or at least think we do, that God loves us, but doesn't want us to stay how we are, we want to co-operate; and we also want some sort of reassurance that we are doing the right thing, that we are 'getting it right'. And it's not so very far from there to coming up with rules and regulations; so that we may see how well we are doing - and how well others aren't. And that becomes a cage; it is restrictive, painful, annoying, and yes, boring.

That's not what God wants. He wants to give us life - a full life, an abundant life. And life means growth. We can't be perfect straight away, just like we can't be fully grown immediately - but the idea is that we can and will grow into full maturity. However long that takes. And one thing we can be sure of is that it will take longer than we would like it to. Growing is something that takes a loong time sometimes, and it's not entirely in our control - but we can encourage it to grow the way we want to grow. By what we eat and how (much) we exercise, for example. And what we do spiritually has exactly the same effect. That's what holiness is all about in the end. And, essentially, it is the end...

The Gospel According To Tom Wright

I've recently finished reading a book by Tom Wright, and am just about to start another. And when I was reading it, I was actually quite taken aback at what he was saying-although his ideas haven't really changed, just developed somewhat. For those of you who don't really know who he is, when I was at uni in the mid nineties, he was recommended as one of the top New Testament scholars in the world; and he still is today. And he's still a Christian. So that makes him worth reading in my eyes.

Which led to the reason I was taken aback. He is still known as a premier New Testament scholar, yet his ideas seem to be very little known. What I mean by this, is that although he probably wouldn't disagree with most of what is taught in churches; he thinks there is a lack of clarity over both what Paul taught, and who Jesus was. Who He is, God and the Son of God isn't really in doubt; but because we don't really understand His background and His role, we misunderstand (at least some of) what He said that is recorded in the Gospels.

So Tom Wright believes - at least, as far as I understand him. I've so far only read 5 of his books, and am reading a 6th, but what he says isn't something I often hear in churches. At least, not clearly expressed. And those ideas have definitely affected the way I think and understand some of the New Testament. For some time now, I've thought that my favourite verse in the Bible, the one I would say expresses what I might call the Gospel most clearly is John 10:10, and to my mind, what he describes 'the gospel' as is very much an expansion of what Jesus says here.

What he says Paul thought of as 'the gospel', and what he taught can be summed up quite simply. To Paul, 'the gospel' was that the God who created and loves the world had reclaimed His rightful place as ruler and king; that He had done this in and through the person of Jesus; and that the resurrection proves this. I see this as both simple and elegant; and cannot honestly see anything that anyone who knows Jesus could really disagree with, though they may question it. Which is fine - God isn't threatened by questions, and I'm pretty sure Tom Wright isn't either.

This is a good place to start, but it's where it leads that is really challenging - both in lifestyle and ideas. For instance, one of the first places it goes can be summed up in the phrase 'if Jesus is LORD, then Caesar isn't'. Which really means something to the early Christians who were being persecuted by the Romans, and by those being persecuted across the world today. But it also means something to us as well. If Jesus is God, and is king and absolute ruler, then nothing is as important as Him, and what He thinks. Nothing and no-one. Not a political party, or campaign, or desire for comfort or to be right, or our own opinions or ideas, are as important. So that 'if' is of primary importance; and if we choose to say we believe it, our beliefs and values should change. And will.

But that does not mean that we should ignore or not care about the state of the world; if anything, we should care more, be more involved. Partly because on a basic level, what He cares about we should; but also because the reason the world is in such a mess, why it basically doesn't work properly is because He isn't in His proper place. Tom Wright talks in places about the various ways people have seen the relationship between God and His creation, and shows 3 different ways, which can be referred to as pagan, greek, and hebrew thought. The first is that God is everywhere and in everything; the second is that earth and heaven are two very separate realms, which rarely interact; and the third is that yes, God is everywhere (He can't not be), but Heaven, where He rules, happens only where He is acknowledged as LORD. Once we accept the third description, we are left with a huge challenge; that of inviting Heaven to Earth. Or maybe building it. Something of each, I think. Wherever we go, whatever we do, we have that possibility - and responsibility.

So, I'll leave it there, hopefully having given something of a flavour of his ideas. I don't want to say much more, because frankly, I'm about at the limits of my understanding now. But I hope I've whetted your appetite to discover more; he's written plenty. I would suggest one of the best is 'Creation, Power and Truth', which is quite short, but powerful.