I have a question for smarter people than me. When did Christianity become about the how much we know instead of how much we love?
Your thoughts are appreciated.
June 3, 2008 by Jonathan Brink
I have a question for smarter people than me. When did Christianity become about the how much we know instead of how much we love?
Your thoughts are appreciated.
Posted in love, theology | 22 Comments
Well, not being the same age as Christianity I am not sure I can answer this properly!
From my side I think it was after the first 6 months or so of being saved when I was continually asked: “Have you read this book, Have you been on this course, Have you seen this DVD, Have you been on this conference etc etc????
I then decided I would not be caught out again – EGO!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, after some 27 years I am realising how off track I have been 😦
Of course the right answer to a question phrased like this is, “I don’t know.”
Rick, LOL.
Pops, maybe we can all stay off track from this one.
ha, this question is genius! the greatest example of a paradox…
I think there have always been traces of it … it just flares up bigger from time to time.
It is certainly something I struggle with as a teacher/leader. I have come to the place where I am basically unwilling to teach those who already know so much but aren’t doing what they know. I am only willing to help them engage in the dance of loving God and loving others.
Folks like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, who didn’t even read the local paper, have been helpful to me in keeping a perspective. This whole internet thing, on the other hand, really presents a huge challenge. Sometimes if feels like massive eavesdropping … not “have you read all the books” but “did you see the comments over at…”
Since I doubt I’m smarter than you, I’m probably not qualified to answer this. 🙂 But some thoughts anyway, from what I know of church history…
I think part of where we got off track with this is when the Greco-Roman mentality began to dominate the way we look at faith and the Bible. Greco-Roman thinking focuses on abstracts and ideas–“what is God like?” while the Hebrew way of thinking has always been more tangible–“what does God do?” I think over time, because most of us tend to think like Greeks and Romans rather than Hebrews, we started seeing Christianity as a set of ideas and beliefs rather than a lifestyle of following Jesus.
I know I’m trying to answer a loaded question that really isn’t a question. It’s an indictment, and one we deserve. This *needs* to be about how much we love, not how much we know. The question itself demands more than talk. Thanks for asking it.
Probably a problem right from the beginning. Didn’t Peter write in one of his letters about people saying “I follow Apollonius”, etc. That’s possibly an early case of people choosing between multiple dogmas (teachers).
Was Christianity originally about how much we love? Should it presently be?
Hmmm. . .
That would make “christianity” about us and that causes me to question the question. . .
Just found out etymological meaning of pride is: verb in the reflexive sense “congratulate oneself”
Perhaps our perception and emphasis on Christianity is more focused on us and what we do rather than. . .
need i say more?
Theology used to be first for me, in fact I left my church and friends and was transformed into a not-so-nice person for a while. I let most of it go for a time and started to realize that theology is secondary to love (which is really a different theology).
I have been recently exploring the notion of the theo-poetic (rather than theo-logos, or “god words”) via John D. Caputo and the paradoxical nature of negative theology as articulated for the masses (read: me) by Peter Rollins when he says that “That which we cannot speak of is the one thing about whom and to whom we must never stop speaking” (How (Not) To Speak of God, xii).
Caputo’s articulation of Derrida’s thought regarding the gift, forgiveness, love and the like have moved me very deeply.
Sorry, not sure how I ended up with a smiley in place of a parenthesis.
Stormface – parenthesis are theology whereas a smiley is love!
🙂
this is such a good question! the elevation of knowledge over love, it’s been in full force for a long, long time…in the past, people i was around considered people “spiritually mature” if they knew a lot about the Bible, had education, and good jobs. that was “elder material”. yet doing relationship, loving others, receiving love, being vulnerable & caring, those weren’t qualities that were measured in spiritual maturity. something is very wrong with that when jesus made so clear that it was all about love….mercy, not sacrifice. some of the most spiritually mature people i know (in terms of loving) know little to nothing about bible facts & knowledge…those are the people i want to learn from, that’s for sure!
4th cent with Constantine establishing a government-oriented religion and rewarding “knowledge” over “heart” for purposes of positioning. Although, ecclesiastical power and placement during those times was much to do about favors owed and who knows who. We’re still recovering from this era some 1700 years later.
Just my impression, most definitely incomplete, but this seems to be an era shifting away from the missional pulse of the first 3 centuries of the church.
Jeff Mq, don’t underestimate my capacity do really stupid things.
Jim, knowledge puffs up. And fills us with hot air.
Becky,
I would offer that Christianity is absolutely about love. And here is why. It’s a trick answer.
Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandments. The question was a trick meant to trip him up in the conflicts of the Jewish laws. But his answer was very simple.
Love God and Love others as yourself. (I’m paraphrasing).
He rendered the purpose statement of life is to love. Why? Because love is not about the self. It’s the complete life that focuses on others. But it also requires loving the self. The self was always the standard we uses to measure our love for others.
I would offer that our brokenness cannot be healed unless we include the restoration of the self in the process. This is the inward journey and one we live with 24/7. But it requires that we BE loved by our Father. And once we are we can then love.
Storm, you are a very smart guy.
Kathy, that is brilliant and oh so true. I think its why Jesus really liked children. They weren’t smart enough to know it all yet but they sure could love.
Jon, I think that was a huge part of it.
When the outside world robs us of our childhood.
Jonathon Brink
i absolutely agree that “Christianity” is about love! I just don’t believe Christianity is about ‘how much we love’. I find that when I “try” to love, try to be unselfish, try to be all those wonderful “Christian” things then my focus is on me. Whereas, like you said, I am receiving the love of God, truy having my focus on Jesus, then I find myself loving without “trying”. Having read more about Missio Dei, I suspect you understand what I am saying. All I know is that if people could love God and love their neighbour as themselves (in which the commandments are summed up) then obviously there is no need for Jesus to have filled all the obligations on our behalf. It would appear that we need to be saved, for it appears that we just can’t make the cut on our own.
And the lies, the wounds, the pain we have suffered at the hands of others in the result of mankinds inability to love as He loves. . . Until we find our wholeness in Jesus. Until we are matured there is bound to be a lack of love. But as Jesus is formed in us (not by us trying to be a good Christian – which is just a bunch of acting that looks good, but smells stinky to the discerning nose) his love is poured out in and through us and there you have a lover of God and a lover of neighbours.
10 years ago i was at a Christian college, trying so hard to be a good christian, but unable to shake off the regular depression and futility that assailed me from time to time. There came a man who spoke at a conference I was required to attend. One thing I remember: he said, “You can study and know all about God, but do you know him?”
I was struck by those words and I realized that i was all caught up in learning about Him and was far from knowing Him in the process. But it took me becoming so ill that I was unable to finish a course I’d already received an extension for, therefore receiving an F, that I realized the stupidity of my ways and strivings. And in that newfound humility I kept hearing the words from the Proverb verse, “Lean not on your own understanding” And not a month later he showed me how much I craved the attention of people. . . And a few days later I saw for the first time what Jesus had really done for me. i was transformed. Depression gone, fear gone, joy and assurance and amazement had taken their place. Jesus had done it all for me. The author and finisher of my faith. He loved where I could not, He forgave where I could not, He fulfilled what I could not.
And I drank freely.
In my wretchedness He had shown me that I am holy, pure, forgiven, because of Him. And in these last 10 years he has been maturing me, increasing in me. . . And my faith has become ever more deeply rooted in Jesus and still is. I know I judge less, but it’s because I try not to, but because I have seen truly how He doesn’t judge me, so why should I judge? It just makes sense. But it is a process of healing, a process of receiving His love and my mind being transformed. I still do stupid things (quite obviously), but I try not to focus on my failings for that sets me back to trying to be a good Christian with a love standard to fulfill. I run to the place where Paul describes, ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” All glory goes to God! He gets the credit! Christ in me! In Him i live and move and have my being.
Once that was just a verse I had to memorize and understand the context of etc etc. Now it’s a reality.
Okay, i’ll stop now. Thanks for posting your post, for it has reminded me and stirred up my faith in Him!
Cool blog. Knowing about Jesus is not enough indeed.
“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder.”
— James 2:18-20 [NRSV]
I’d say Christianity has always been filled with those who know more than they feel in their heart. Just look at the Pharisees and Sadducees. They thought they knew it all when the Son of God was right in front of them.