Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. My sermon today, if I may call it such, is about redemption. And I will intentionally use the word ‘redemption’ throughout, in preference to ‘salvation.’ So, although I will be talking about the individual redemption of, say, you and I, I will primarily be dealing with the collective redemption of Christianity itself. For just as mankind today finds himself in a fallen state, likewise Christianity itself has experienced a similar fall from grace. And in order to redeem itself, Christianity must abandon nearly 2,000 years of error, falsehood, and an almost complete abandonment of the true message of Jesus. It must learn to re-embrace the heart and soul of his teachings, which are embodied in the original communal and egalitarian principles of Christian Socialism. Although these founding principles have been largely obscured by later deviations, the bible is still infused with its spirit. We see this manifested in passages such as Acts 2:44-45:
(44) And all that believed were together, and had all things in common; (45) And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
This message is repeated in Acts 4:34-35:
(34) Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, (35) And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
It is clear that Jesus’ message of redemption for mankind was of an eminently practical kind. When he preached about the ‘Kingdom of God’, he was talking about a return to the Socialist and egalitarian principles that prevailed before the Fall. This redemption was not rooted in the ‘belief’ in some barbaric blood sacrifice which would bear fruit in a distant post-apocalyptic future, or in some nebulous afterlife. It was a message that was rooted in this life, and was directed toward the building that ‘Kingdom of God’ in the here and now. In this sense, we can best understand Jesus as a social reformer who is not concerned so much with ‘right belief’ as he is with ‘right practice.’
Jesus brought the message that mankind could redeem himself by abandoning his avarice and greed and returning to his communal, egalitarian heritage that existed at creation. Mankind cast himself out of this Paradise with the original sin of private property. They were blinded with greed and lust for power and tried to claim the bounty of the Earth’s ‘common treasury’ as their own, and set themselves up as kings or clerics to rule over others. They turned their backs on their communal and egalitarian past which hastened their fall from grace. It was mankind who expelled himself from Paradise. And so he existed, oppressed by tyranny and privation, until Jesus brought his message of redemption.
But Jesus’ message was badly corrupted in the decades between his death and when his wayward followers wrote down their interpretations of what Jesus supposedly said. But by then the dynamism and anti-establishment principles contained in the early Jesus movement had largely been lost. The emerging Christian churches had become vehicles for the maintenance of the status quo. This transformation was finalized with the great ‘Constantinian Shift’, when the Church became the new ruling power. With the Church in a position of power, all thought of a communal and egalitarian transformation of society were quietly dropped.
Now, the question, my friends, is ‘why didn’t Jesus write down his message himself?’ Why did he leave it up to future generations to write down, with all the possibility of error and distortion that that brings? The obvious answer, my friends, is that Jesus didn’t want it written down at all. If he had, he could have easily done it himself. But by writing down what Jesus said (or what people thought Jesus had said), two things occurred. On the one hand, many false teachings became codified within the Bible. And on the other, a subtle shift occurred within Christianity. It went from being a practice based religion to being a text based one. This had a profound and lasting impact on Christianity. It went from being about ‘right action’ to being about ‘right belief.’ By committing it to the printed page, his followers became like the Pharisees themselves, more concerned about the letter of the law than with its spirit. In the few decades between Jesus’ death and when the Bible was written down, Christianity had gone from being a communal, egalitarian program of social reform to being a cult about the personhood of Jesus which increasingly distanced itself from the his actual teachings. Make no mistake, Jesus did not want a bible at all. His parables were meant to be a flexible and broadly applied process of how to live in this world, and not some tight, inflexible dogma about an afterlife.
But since that time, there have been many people who have suspected that the teachings of the Christian Churches are at odds with the teachings of Jesus himself. There is the example of the 17th century Christian Socialist, Gerard Winstanley, who was the founder of the ‘True Levelers’, or the ‘Digger’ as they are more commonly known. Two quotes from him are especially revealing:
The earth with all her fruits of Corn, Cattle and such like was made to be a common Store-House of Livelihood, to all mankinde, friend and foe, without exception.
In the beginning of Time, the great Creator Reason, made the Earth to be a Common Treasury, to preserve Beasts, Birds, Fishes, and Man, the lord that was to govern this Creation; for Man had Domination given to him, over the Beasts, Birds, and Fishes; but not one word was spoken in the beginning, That one branch of mankind should rule over another.
He correctly saw that the message of Jesus had been a communitarian and egalitarian one. He organized the Diggers with the goal of ‘leveling men’s estates’ and actualizing that message. Others have followed him in rediscovering these central principles. We have the example of two 19th century Christian Socialists, Étienne Cabet, and Herbert Newton Casson. Cabet said that, “Communism is Christianity... it is pure Christianity, before it was corrupted by Catholicism." And Casson put it even more succinctly by observing, “Socialism is Christianity reduced to practice.” Since then there has been a constant undercurrent of Christian communalism, from the many failed communal and Utopian Socialist experiments of the 19th century, to the Shakers, and to the Hutterite communities and the Catholic Worker Movement of today.
With the growth of textual criticism of the bible, there are a growing number of Christians who are coming to realize that they’ve been bamboozled by the Christian churches. They have a deep yearning to strip away the 2,000 years of accumulated error and mythology that has grown up around Jesus. They wish to go beyond the narrow confines of creedal and sectarian divisions and embrace the truly universal message of redemption that Jesus brought. This is a message that goes beyond Jew and gentile. It relevant to both Christians and non-Christians. Believers and nonbelievers. Once we realize that Jesus’ message is about personal redemption through social transformation, then we see that it is truly a universal message that is applicable to people of all faiths. Or people of no faith. This realization, my friends, has arguably made me a better person.
I apologize to the judges about the length of my sermon (about double the recommended word count). But I felt this was necessitated by my complete reinterpretation of christianity. I ask that you display the level of forgiveness that Jesus himself would have, and that my sermon should be judged in the 'spirit' of the competition, rather than by the letter of its requirements.
The judges are deligently reviewing entries and consulting about critieria, methodology and such. It is not too late to enter, but the time is drawing to a close soon. I personally want to thank all who have entered and worked so hard to share a sermon in this competition.
I also want to thank the judges, DoctorScribbles, Bbarr, and Mimor for their hard work. I can tell you that my evaluations have taken a lot longer than I anticipated. Results will begin to be posted after 1PM eastern time tomorrow.
The topic of the next round will be named by Bbarr.
Originally posted by kirksey957Are we allowed to submit an entry for the next topic if we did not participate in round one? I started a sermon for the first topic, but I have not and will not be able to finish it tonight. I think I didn't find out about it soon enough. Anyway, if we could participate in later rounds, I would appreciate it greatly.
The judges are deligently reviewing entries and consulting about critieria, methodology and such. It is not too late to enter, but the time is drawing to a close soon. I personally want to thank all who have entered and worked so hard to share a sermon in this competition.
I also want to thank the judges, DoctorScribbles, Bbarr, and Mimor for their h ...[text shortened]... e posted after 1PM eastern time tomorrow.
The topic of the next round will be named by Bbarr.
PSALM 19: 1
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Well, here I am at the last minute with only my thoughts to draw on. I didn't prepare a thing. No rough draft, no research, just me, this computer, and my bible. I'm not gifted with study habits or writing skills. This is strait off the cuff. Spur of the moment. Spontaneous.
I have become reasonably comfortable with this forum, now, after six months of regular attendance. I went through the whole range of emotions struggling with finding a way into your minds with what I believe is the truth.
In another thread the issue of mind reading was debated. I think the consensus was that we really can't, but in a way, as we debate with one another, we can read each others mind. In a limited way of course, but as we exchange our thoughts about the issues, we reveal who we are. At least to the degree that we allow ourselves to be known.
My biggest issue in this forum hasn't been whether or not there is a God, because I can understand and except the fact that someone doesn't believe there's a God. But what really bothers me is, (if there were a God, and for the simple sake of argument), why one won't acknowledge the possibility that the creator of the universe is able to communicate his will to man, in writing, and preserve it through the ages?
Show me where in all of the record of human history you will find the story about the creator of the universe becoming a man and do what Jesus did! For me it's just too plain to see. The story is just too incredible not to be true. The resurrection? Think of the hope being offered. Eternal life! There just isn't anything to compare it to. No other faith is so fantastic.
If there is a God, is the word of God the word of God? Or if there is a God, is he too weak to keep his word free of corruption? But some say the bible is corrupted.
VERSE 2-4
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3- There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4- Their line is gone out though all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,...
I have to laugh, you know, at the strange feeling I get at the idea that someone would read this and decide to believe in Jesus as their saviour. I would be astonished.
How has the word of God made me a better person? A better person than who?
PHILIPPIANS 2:3
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
I'm sorry if this is too long. It took me about an hour to do it. Man, am I glad this is over with!
Originally posted by wittywonkaIf your first round entry is posted here by noon tomorrow, I'll be able to judge it. Of course you can participate in later rounds. This competition is more about community edification and understanding than about winning.
Are we allowed to submit an entry for the next topic if we did not participate in round one? I started a sermon for the first topic, but I have not and will not be able to finish it tonight. I think I didn't find out about it soon enough. Anyway, if we could participate in later rounds, I would appreciate it greatly.
Originally posted by bbarrI'm going to call time on the entries as I gave the deadline of Saturday. However, if you would like to individually judge his, that is fine. We had seven entries. Actually eight, but one was even too much for the moderators.
If your first round entry is posted here by noon tomorrow, I'll be able to judge it. Of course you can participate in later rounds. This competition is more about community edification and understanding than about winning.
Originally posted by YugaI'm glad you like the idea. The "competition" was open to anyone regardless of their faith orientation. This round even had an atheist in it. BBarr, one of our judges, will let us know later today of the topic for the next round.
This is a wonderful idea. And it would be great to see people espouse various schools of thought (not solely Judeo-Christian and natural law ethics).
Later this afternoon I will begin posting my results in a different thread. If you want to read the sermons by Hand of Hercate, Vistesd, Whodey, Rwingett, Josephw, Epiphinehas, and Pawnhandler, you can find them in this thread.