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[vc_row el_class=”olive-branch-bg-r”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ever since I started learning about mimetic theory<\/a>, people have accused me of being a heretic.<\/p>\n If you delve deeper into mimetic theory, this may happen to you, too.<\/p>\n I want you to know that being a heretic okay. You still belong. And in fact, you belong in some pretty good company.<\/p>\n I’m a pastor. My grandfather was a pastor. His two brothers were pastors. And two of my uncles were pastors.<\/p>\n A family member of mine recently accused me of teaching and preaching blasphemy at my church. Why? Because I proclaim a God of nonviolent love<\/a> who embraces our LGBTQ siblings<\/a>, wants us to act on climate change<\/a>, care for immigrants<\/a>, and end the racism<\/a> that continues to infect our nation.<\/p>\n Apparently, I completely misunderstand the violent nature of God and I pander to minorities. This makes me a heretic, at least I have a family member who vehemently claims them to be blasphemous. He even asserted that everyone in our family, including our grandfather and uncles, would agree with him.<\/p>\n Ouch.<\/p>\n At first that accusation stung. It told me that I don\u2019t\u00a0<\/em>belong. It told me that we ever had a family vote, it would come down to 27 against 1.<\/p>\n Because mimetic theory teaches us that, whether we realize it or not, we all have models<\/a>. Our models are people who influence us. We are usually unaware of our models. We usually don\u2019t think that others influence us in profound ways, yet they do.<\/p>\n My grandfather and uncles were great models for me. The showed me how to be a good pastor. Whenever we visited them during my childhood, they showed us hospitality and were a loving presence. Unfortunately, they have all passed away, so I can’t ask them if they think I am blasphemous. But to be honest, I don’t really care.<\/p>\n Because they are not my ultimate models of faith. As Christians, Jesus is our ultimate model. Jesus calls us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. He says this because Jesus wants us to be more like God. And for him, God loves everyone. Everyone is included. Jesus took this teaching to the extreme when he said<\/a>,<\/p>\n You have heard that it was said, \u201cYou shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.\u201d But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and he sends his rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.<\/em><\/p>\n When I first heard this, I thought, \u201cOh right! God sends the rain to punish people.\u201d But that entirely misses the point. It rarely rained in the middle east where Jesus lived. Rain would have been seen as not only refreshing, but a necessity for life. In sending the sun to rise and the rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous alike, Jesus claimed that God\u2019s life-giving love shows no partiality. It is for all people.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section el_class=”post-quote”][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1566306295282{background-image: url(https:\/\/ravenfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/0c0caab3a0b06f49d1f4e4069f7acecc-e1562958862845.jpg?id=19638) !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css_animation=”none” el_class=”quote”]<\/p>\n Call me a heretic, but Jesus should be our primary model of faith, not the Bible.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n The charge of heresy comes down to one\u2019s interpretation of the Bible.<\/p>\n There are some Christians who don\u2019t believe Jesus is the ultimate model. Rather, they believe the Bible is the ultimate model. You can see this reflected on countless church websites on their \u201cWhat We Believe\u201d page. They often have bullet points in an order that goes something like this:<\/p>\n Those are a paraphrase from the first four bullet points of a denomination called the Orthodox Presbyterian Church<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Orthodox Presbyterian Church would call me a heretic because we have a pretty big disagreement. I don\u2019t believe that the Bible is entirely trustworthy and without error when it comes to revealing God.<\/p>\n Rather, I think the radical love of God revealed through Jesus is entirely trustworthy and without error.<\/p>\n The problem is that some Christians elevate the Bible above Jesus. But we are not Bibl-<\/em>ians. We are Christ-<\/em>ians.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s why this is a problem. \u00a0Jesus says, \u201cFollow me.\u201d He does not say, \u201cFollow the Bible.\u201d Nor does he teach us to follow Moses or Joshua or Jeremiah or Isaiah or the book of Revelation or even Paul. He says, \u201cFollow me.\u201d<\/p>\n But what do we do with those passages in the Bible that seem so un-Christlike?[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]There are passages in the Bible where God seems to act with violence – even genocide. For example, Joshua, one of the \u201cmodels\u201d of faith, was entering a town called Jericho. He walked around the walls, they came tumbling down, and then Joshua said<\/a> this to the people:<\/p>\n Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. The city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers we sent.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n I mean, congratulations to Rahab and her family, but everyone else in Jericho was killed. Men, women, children, cattle, the whole city was \u201cdevoted to the Lord for destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n Christians who \u201cbelieve in the Bible\u201d will look at such a passage about God and say that this story is \u201centirely trustworthy and without error.\u201d<\/p>\n Which, I don\u2019t know about you, but kinda makes me wanna barf.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”20214″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1566393555121{background-color: #f6ebdf !important;}” el_class=”optin”][vc_column][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row el_class=”olive-branch-bg-l”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n Call me a heretic, but Jesus should be our primary model of faith, not the Bible.<\/p>\n Can you imagine Jesus saying, \u201cHey guys, God told me that we need to kill all the men, women and children of the land. We need to devote them to the Lord for destruction. So, take out your swords and kill them all!\u201d?<\/p>\n Jesus never would have said that. In fact, he told his followers to<\/a> \u201cPut your sword back in its place, for all who live by the sword will die by the sword.\u201d<\/p>\n All of Jesus\u2019 teachings are pro-nonviolent love. Even when Jesus went to the temple<\/a> and made a whip to drive everyone out, he never hit anyone with it.<\/p>\n In fact, this scene in Jesus\u2019 life was anti-violence. In driving out the people and the animals, Jesus interrupted the sacrificial system of the Temple. The people thought God wanted them to kill animals in order to please God and make atonement. But Jesus knew that God doesn’t desire the bloody sacrifice of humans or animals. Rather, in halting the sacrificial system, Jesus affirmed<\/a> the prophet Hosea’s declaration<\/a> that God “desires mercy, not sacrifice.”<\/p>\n As Christians, our primary model for faith is *not* the Bible.<\/p>\n Our primary model for faith is Jesus.<\/p>\nAre You a Heretic? Who’s Your Model?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Why Do Some Think God\u2019s Radical Love for All People Is Heretical?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Violence in the Bible<\/h3>\n
Why Jesus Matters<\/strong><\/h3>\n
So You’re a Heretic. Embrace It.<\/strong><\/h3>\n