Christ, Violence and Scripture

No matter how hard one may try in their strength and power, what they do can never fully subdue such violence as their violent tendencies will eventually give way if not addressed. Such confrontation cannot come from anyone/thing outside of one’s self, as they cannot fully resolve the issues as they too have unaddressed violent tendencies. Left unbroken, this continual cycle leaves many without hope. Yet, what is needed to resolve such perpetual violence is one singular act of violence by One (Christ) who is without brokenness.

It has been said that when addressing violence, one should focus on the institutions, systems, and structures in places where they hope to enact change. I find that this is the sentiment many adhere to in hopes of developing a more just and fair society, and although I do not disagree that systems and structures need to change, I find that such things are secondary when it comes to the root issue. 

Context and Interpretation: Violence is not new. Now, this is not a shocking revelation that requires a great deal of evidence to prove, as all it takes is for one to pause long enough and see how conflict and violence permeate all aspects of society.

@ZachCCamp

Why does Christianity seem to be failing?

Questions plague our mind:

Why follow Christ?

Why be a part of a community to then be burned by that community?

Where is God?

My life is full of pain - hurt - disappointment 

What good is Christ?

What good is God?

What good is the Church? 

YET - say we get rid of all such things

Where does your pain go?

Where does your hurt go?

Where do you go?

The reality of such experiences does NOT become nullified when God and the Church are embraced.

No - on the contrary 

The reality of "God with us” becomes more real than any other experience in our life

Christ is NOT some abstract - lofty idea.

But a Person to be interacted with

AND - from such an encounter - we participate in the redemptive work He set forth in the world.

The pain may not go away

The hurt may linger

YET - we do NOT avoid such things - nor say they do not exist 

BUT - when Christ’s reality becomes our reality - something transformative takes place

That - as we travel through such hardships:

we find a deep joy in the midst of sorrow

we find deep peace in the midst of chaos 

we find a deep love that Christ shows toward us that we then show to others

Why do we struggle with lust?

Whether it is sexual, physical, or emotional - at some level, we may wrestle with such temptations.

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A desire for more.

We embrace a fantasy rather than reality.

All of which inevitably leaves us wanting - more.

A pursuit that leaves us dissatisfied.

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Jesus says come to me all who are thirsty - and you will thirst no more.

BUT for many of us - that just leaves us more confused.

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What Jesus is getting at is for us to come to grips with the reality of our humanity.

Our desire for more comes from our desire for God.

No matter how much porn, sex, alcohol, food, experiences, etc. - you will never find that desire met.

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Now - for a short period - yes - you will be satisfied

BUT - it will eventually fade - and you’ll be left wanting more.

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THUS - when Jesus says come to me and you’ll never have to thirst again - what He is saying is

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What He is not saying is:

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BUT once again - Jesus does not leave us on our own

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In your choosing of following Jesus - the temptation to lust will not magically go away

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AND - when you do give in to a temptation

What does it mean to deconstruct your faith?

It's a complex topic, however - generally speaking - there are two spectrums :

OR

A gross oversimplification to say the least, but what if there was a third option?

NOW - before we get there, a couple of notes:

HOWEVER

Having questions and doubts do not make you a bad Christian

Now if you don't want to follow Jesus - that's fine - you don't have to follow Him

SO - if you're deconstructing with the end goal already in mind of not wanting to follow Jesus or be a part of His Church - then you may just shrug off this third option

So what is the third option:

As a follower of Christ - when moments of doubt arise - we are to bring them before our Risen Christ

You see - this third option is renewal:

And so a proponent that leads many to deconstruct their faith is: the Church.

There are things that the Church does that are not Christ-like: but please know, Christ is not leaving His Church

We may have worn the Christian merch when we were younger

The way of Jesus is a proposition - not an imposition

There will come a time when you read something in scripture that rubs you the wrong way, and you'll have questions about it. So how do you wrestle with God well?

What do we do when lustful passions & desires are raging within us?

What do we do when we feel distant from a God who is described as being near?

When moments of temptation arise, and the verse that says - "resist the devil" comes to mind - like me, you might think - "what the crap does that mean?" What/how do you resist the devil? One practical way is to not sit in those thoughts that you know are bad - but take every thought captive under the authority of Christ.