“It’s also a reminder that this could get us killed, just as it killed Christ.”
I’ve read the command to Love many, many times, but I’ve rarely heard the ‘reminder’ that this could get us killed, that following the Christ-in-Jesus can mean following him to death, as Bonhoeffer did.
If you have not already, I suggest you find an opportunity to read “The Last Week” by John Dominic Crosson and Marcus Borg. It strengthened my conviction that Christ was a revolutionary killed by the civil and religious powers because he threatened the system. That and John 21:15-17.
Your writing about the obscene opulence of some of these cathedrals brought back some thoughts i had years ago when I became disillusioned with organized religious denominations. We were in Charlotte, NC and passed by that Cavalry Church and I was just appalled at the sight of it. I had the same thoughts that you did, "How many people could just one of those stained glass windows feed?"
I was raised Catholic, so the crucifix was a big symbol around my family. I really get your point about Christ and the crucifixion. It never made sense to me for Christ to have martyred himself when he had much more to do. It always seemed to me that he was lynched for his teachings. Which brings me to my next sad point, which is that much of today's American Christianity would have done the same thing. So much of what constitutes Christianity in the US is the antithesis of what I believe Christ was about. Its almost like the cross is being used as a weapon to push division and hate.
“It’s also a reminder that this could get us killed, just as it killed Christ.”
I’ve read the command to Love many, many times, but I’ve rarely heard the ‘reminder’ that this could get us killed, that following the Christ-in-Jesus can mean following him to death, as Bonhoeffer did.
If you have not already, I suggest you find an opportunity to read “The Last Week” by John Dominic Crosson and Marcus Borg. It strengthened my conviction that Christ was a revolutionary killed by the civil and religious powers because he threatened the system. That and John 21:15-17.
Your writing about the obscene opulence of some of these cathedrals brought back some thoughts i had years ago when I became disillusioned with organized religious denominations. We were in Charlotte, NC and passed by that Cavalry Church and I was just appalled at the sight of it. I had the same thoughts that you did, "How many people could just one of those stained glass windows feed?"
I was raised Catholic, so the crucifix was a big symbol around my family. I really get your point about Christ and the crucifixion. It never made sense to me for Christ to have martyred himself when he had much more to do. It always seemed to me that he was lynched for his teachings. Which brings me to my next sad point, which is that much of today's American Christianity would have done the same thing. So much of what constitutes Christianity in the US is the antithesis of what I believe Christ was about. Its almost like the cross is being used as a weapon to push division and hate.