| Here are some things that I just randomly thought about that ONLY a genuine Christian believer could say with any inner integrity. I also think that it runs a brief orthodoxy check for self-affirmed Christian believers. See what you think...
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1) Jesus of Nazareth (Mary's son) is the same person as the uncreated Son/Word/Logos of God, who is the continual immanent ground of being for all things that exist. So, Jesus' personal presence is immediately within each human that exists. We can enter an immediate, personal, intimate love relationship with Jesus that transcends our discursive reason in silent, numinous presence.
2) The universe, including Earth, belongs to the resurrected Jesus...right now. Not later. Now. This is just an aspect of his current Lordship.
3) Jesus' resurrected, glorified body--which is fully "participating" in "God's honor and glory"--is assurance of the eternal importance and interest in Creation. We can be assured that God is not just gonna let it collapse into the Void utterly. The Void CANNOT be the "final destination" for Creation. This belief grounds faith, hope, and love.
4) Love of God and "neighbor" are Jesus' immutable directives for any who recognize Jesus' current Lordship. It is simultaneously the natural movement of authentic humanity.
5) The 4 Movements...
creation
incarnation
resurrection
deification
It's where God freely self-experiences and self-expresses as "Immanuel" (God with us)
It's also where God makes something "other" (us) to be beautiful as God is beautiful.
6) The uncreated Holy Spirit of Jesus--the Empowerment of the 4 Movements--is a direct personal presence to which every human has direct, immediate access, given the relationship of uncreated and created. That is "gift." It is our "task" to raise our awareness of what is already the case.
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I just don't see how any non-Christian could actually believe these things enough to practically structure their lives accordingly. And anyone who DID articulate these as genuine inner convictions could be nothing other than a Christian. A person could believe in a universalistic worldview with an uncreated creator who is unconditionally loving...and not believe any of the above. In other words, general benevolent theism truly IS distinct from genuine Christianity...as being a mystic/saint is distinct from a "knight of faith" (SK).
Whatcha'll think? 
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Post Edited (One Love) : 8/12/2011 1:35:52 PM (GMT-5) |