Jesus – Chris Morton

God has been murdered

Chris — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 13:54:06 +0000

This is the one who patiently endured many things in many people:

This is the one who was murdered in Abel, and bound as a sacrifice in Isaac,

and exiled in Jacob, and sold in Joseph,

and exposed in Moses, and sacrificed in the lamb,

and hunted down in David, and dishonored in the prophets.

This is the one who became human in a virgin,

who was hanged on the tree, who was buried in the earth,

who was resurrected from among the dead,

and who raised mankind up out of the grave below to the heights of heaven.

The one who hung the earth in space, is himself hanged;

the one who fixed the heavens in place, is himself impaled;

the one who firmly fixed all things, is himself firmly fixed to the tree.

The Lord is insulted, God has been murdered,

the King of Israel has been destroyed by the right hand of Israel.

This is the lamb that was slain. This is the lamb that was silent.

This is the one who was taken from the flock, and was dragged to sacrifice,

and was killed in the evening, and was buried at night;

the one who was not broken while on the tree,

who did not see dissolution while in the earth.

who rose up from the dead, and who raised up mankind from the grave below.

Bishop Melito of Sardis

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Did Jesus really make a difference?

Chris — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 21:02:24 +0000

The great question about Jesus must always be: Did he make a difference? Is our world, in a century that began with the Turkish genocide against Armenians, reached its nadir with the “scientific” holocaust of six million Jews (and five million others), not to speak of the slaughter by their own governments of Russians and Chinese in the scores of millions, and now comes to its end with genocides in central Africa and “ethnic cleanings” in the Balkans that are still, horribly enough, ” in progress-–is our world any better than the one inhabited by the Celts and Romans of twenty-four centuries ago?

Thomas Cahill, Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus (Hinges of History)

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Criticizing the Church of our Youth

Chris — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 13:52:41 +0000

A favorite pastime among most of us who have been in church most of our whole lives is criticizing the church of our youth. They were so legalistic. So shallow. So judgmental. So clicky. So attractional. So etc., etc., etc.

In fact, I would say that much of what we pass as theology is really just a criticism of those who raised us.

I’m spending this week teaching a Middle School church camp. I have no doubt that someday, those students will grow up to criticize their church. However, if they look back at this camp they’ll remember three things:

They learned about Jesus: who he was, and how to live like him.
They were treated as intelligent, and encouraged to think.
They had fun.

If I do my job well, all they will have to criticize is the food.

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Birthday Parties for Whores

Chris — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 14:52:13 +0000

Jesus said that prostitutes were getting into the kingdom before the religious leaders.

Here’s Tony Campolo’s classic story from The Kingdom of God is a Party. I’m excited to share share this story at a middle school camp this week. We can throw our theological terms around all day, but stories like this are the Kingdom of God.

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So That’s Why You Should Watch Your Mouth….

Chris — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:15:56 +0000

Let me tell you this: on judgment day people will have to own up to every trivial word they say. Yes: you will be vindicated by your own words – and you will be condemned by your own words.”

Jesus, from Matthew 12:36-37 Kingdom New Testament

Their speech – and remember that they had just accused Jesus of black magic – will show what’s really in their hearts. Casual words always reveal deep attitudes; Jesus said it long before Sigmund Freud did (in the famous ‘Freudian slip’, the secret someone is trying to hide pops out of their mouth before they can stop it). As a result, casual words will be used on the day of judgment as a reliable indicator of what really matters, the state of the heart.

N.T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone

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