Several years ago in an effort to represent the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the thinking world, CS Lewis posed the following: Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic or who He claimed to be the son of God, the savior of humanity. CS Lewis posed that he was an ego maniac that believed and taught something that is just not true: that Jesus was the Son of God and the only way to heaven, which would make him a lunatic, a crazy person self-deceived and deceiving of others. Or what was worse is that he knew he was not the son of God but lied, presenting intentional untruths about himself and others to deceive. Or Jesus was and is who he said he was and is, the Son of God, the Savior of humanity.
Here is CS Lewis reframed from a look at the Gospel in us as the church, in a new and fresh way...
If I say I have compassion and sit in judgment condoning or condemning other communities of faith, I lie and do not the truth. I lie to myself, others, and to you while believing you are going to hell and being okay with that despite a little sadness. Would that sadness be with me for all eternity and therefore interrupt the joy of eternity. How sad that my theology about who Jesus is would create such a dilemma. EIther I reject the Christ I love and embrace or I embrace the sadness that you will be in hell and I can do nothing about it just embrace that sadness forever. How sad. How unacceptable to the balance of love and peace to embrace sadness when there is a better way. Either it is a lie that I care about you, or I am crazy to believe such a splitting Jesus, or Jesus is the the Son of God and Savior of humanity but in a very different way than I have though.
Jesus is the only way to heaven, as heaven is governed by and promoter of the way of love and peace. Earth is about being governed by the alienation of opposite ideas, and beliefs. It is either Jesus is a liar, a lunatic or the savior as I frame him. That is ecclesiastically splitting, theologically exclusive, and antagonistic.
Jesus and the community of faith that embraces Jesus must give up the internal lie, "that we care about people". Even though they are going to hell we keep that to ourselves and live in love and peace with them. That is lunacy and we are not lunatics. We do not impose of belief in Jesus as the only way because we know it is not true but then we do not shift how we believe that that allows that truth to not sentence our loved ones and colleagues to hell while we pretentiously stand by apparently indifferent though saying we are filled with compassion and care and calm. Rather with compassion, care and calm, we learn to shift our frame and not our belief.
Jesus is not the way (in an excluding way), nor is Jesus a way (as if the way of Jesus is just another way), the way is Jesus (the way is defined not as a particular ecclesiastical belief or theological postulate about Jesus that others must assent to, The Way is the way of love an peace regardless of loss or defeat, win or victory, sacrificing life itself only to embrace life beyond death, which is the message of Jesus resurrection). All who live in love and peace are living in the way of Jesus even if they reject the theological and ecclesiastical Jesus they are going to heaven for they are living out the way of heave, teh way of Jesus and that living sacrifice is the essence of the gospel.
The gospel is good news for all for it is in all to live in "love and peace". It is not a lie, and we are not lunatics, and Jesus is who he said he was in a new and refreshing way that fulfills his will not through ecclesiastics or theological antics but through reality living. God's will, "that they may all be one".
I am either lying to you about my compassion for you or my sadness toward you if I am okay with your going to hell but say nothing to you about that
Lunatic
Lie to myself and say it is okay that u do not believe in Jesus because I do not really believe that all who do not believe in Jesus will go to hell. He'll god will figure it out. I just live the Gospel but do not use words. How crazy.
Jesus is who he said he was is forever shall be, a person who in his person remains at peace/balance and with compassion/ love for all. The way of Jesus is not a particular way defined by a particular
religious group, with words The way of Jesus is a particular way of being and living that is beyond words.
This is the good news of the gospel. It dispels the religion of words, repels the way without God, and expels all that denies the truth that The Kingdom is Within and must be released from all restraints and constraints. Free to be is the Gospel. It is good news.www.peacecripplers.blogspot.com
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