I Don't Know If You Can Handle My Jesus

My apologies if this is scattered. I have a bunch of things prancing through my head (yes prancing) and I think they all have a common thread, but we shall soon find out

I spent much of this week, and especially the last few days, studying. Tonight I had another encounter of the Mormon variety. You know those encounters, you're a little unsure of how things are going to go, they say a few cool things, some weird things, and before you know it you're back home, having lost 2 hours, but your pants are pressed, your shirt is buttoned, and you think somehow your teeth seem whiter than they did before. At least I was able to pick up some chicks on my way home. By the way, if you don't know me that's a sarcastic lie used to make people grin or possibly chuckle if they have not developed a tolerance to me.

So I was studying because tonight it was 4 on 1. Four Mormons on one lowly rejected Christian. I didn't know how things would go tonight, but I always like to prepare as if will be a debate, especially when the odds appear so stacked against me. I'm not attempting to sacrifice any Mormons at the altar of Steve's Knowledge, but I don't want look foolish either (I seriously spent 3 minutes thinking of a witty way to say the latter half of that last sentence, but all of them seemed inappropriate or made no sense).

Our night was heavily consumed with Baptism. The attendees of Scripture Smackdown '08 were Kyle and Steve (the Mormon missionaries) , Morgan and Morgan (a father and daughter duo with the same first name... weird), and myself. Missionary Steve said little as usual. Dad Morgan was in and out of the room, but generally liked to gloss over the differences with long simple statements that resounded to "Can't we all just get along?" I appreciated these and they helped refocus us, but at the same time they sometimes tried to give negligence to the importance of an issue at hand... luckily they only helped me refocus to what crucial element was at the heart of the topic. Daughter Morgan was really neat. She'd listen. She'd agree if I said something that may not agree with what she said, but was correct. She had a sweet way about her that was patient, kind, and knew scripture really well; so it was nice discussing these things with her. Kyle was usually the leader. He likes to talk and try to dominate his way into being right, but not in a horrible way. He will not admit he has interpreted a verse wrong when I put it in context. He will say he can see where I'm coming from, but he will not say that he was mistaken and hold to his original viewpoint. That bugs me more than anything.

The talk was concerned mostly around the idea of baptism. They believe you must physically be water baptized to be saved (in a manner of speaking). I do not agree with this though. I believe it is really an issue of a repentant heart and a life that takes on the calling of Christ. We talked about water baptism vs. spiritual baptism and other stuff that didn't matter much. At the heart the problem was that even though I've been baptized, it doesn't matter. The authority of my baptism wasn't correct for me to have fulfilled that command they believe God ordained. I don't believe it's man's authority but God's authority through Jesus. I was baptized in the name of Jesus just as the Mormons were. This is the issue, and it seems like one they struggle with too to a certain extent.

I believe in a Jesus that is all about the heart. I believe in a God who is all about what Jesus has shown Him to be about. God cares about our heart. His punishment is for our heart. His blessing is for our heart. His example is for our heart. Through these his Spirit of Truth dwells within our heart. This is why the Spirit is so much greater than the law. The law is Jewish. The law is religious. The law is rigid. But the Spirit is universal. The Spirit is flowing. The Spirit is life-giving.

This isn't to say that the law is pointless and void. Like Jesus said, he did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. But the law as a religious ritual is dead. It is about taking the wisdom that the law showed and incorporating it with the passion of hope and love. This isn't a religion of exclusivity, but it's a life choice to which all are welcome. I think of Jesus with the Samaritan woman saying that a time is coming and is now here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. I think of Jesus talking to a Roman centurion, probably believing in mythological gods, and yet Jesus says that he hasn't seen such great faith in all of Israel as he has seen in this man. It's just... available. It's not set on rules. It's set on hoping in the impossible Jesus hoped in. It's about loving God and loving others. It's about having a pure, repentant heart that desires to live out the hope it professes. Beyond that, what does it matter?

We've made a legalistic religion out of a Way. That's what the early church called itself. It wasn't a religion. They were Jews before and they were still Jews. The difference was the life they lived. Jesus can go further because he's not bound down by legalism. He is uplifted by a universal call to trust in God and not man, to realize how he unfairly (for Him) stuck with us, and to love in good nature and good work. This allows Jesus to live outside of religion. You can corrupt doctrine, but you cannot corrupt the Truth.

When I got home tonight I went to FriendlyAtheist.com. The first article I noticed was about Mormonism ironically. A young man faced with what his church doctrine actually endorses made him question it. His questioning led him to research. His research led him to more doubt. His church led him to no answers. And no answers led him to atheism. All because Jesus had a anchor of doctrine tied to his feet. When this man grabbed onto Jesus, despite all the good Jesus brought; the undeniable good found in Him, you're still going to sink from the weight of legalism. You can't swim freely with an anchor chained to your feet.

I could relate to this story. How the more I learned the more I doubted some of the things I had been spoon fed as truth. The reluctance for anyone to try to supply a real satisfactory answer is leading me away from them. Luckily God has proved Himself. I will not give up on the Gospel of Jesus because of the bad news of rigid, unchallenged doctrine.

I continued on to the comments and found another story of interest. In some ways I felt like this story is my story. Surely not exactly, but a majority of the feelings (both good and bad) are identical. We have become division mongers. We separate against anything different in fear of contamination. We don't even realize sometimes if something is becoming infected until we can compare elsewhere. Tap water looks fine until you put it by distilled water.

I'm not opposed to doctrine completely. I adhere to doctrine, as does every other person (I believe). They are the rules of what you believe, even if you believe in nothing. The danger comes in making those rules stiff to keep outsiders out, while not allowing additional truth to sneak in. We adhere to doctrine for its wisdom, but if we do not give it room to grow we may all either be squished like playdough or squeezed out of the box we have put faith in. Thus why you find cookie-cutter Christians or ex-Christians so often.

I haven't fully discovered Him, but I definitely believe in a Jesus that is for everyone... not just theologically or theoretically, but pragmatically.