Mark 7:1-9

1 Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2 they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; 4 and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" 6 He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, "This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.' 8 You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition." 9 Then he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition!

Now whilst I am no advocate of eating without washing my hands I have to say that I can think of few passages of Scripture that provide a more accurate commentary on the state of the church.   The American mid-terms thrust "Christianity" very much into the spotlight. Time Magazine in it s US Election Preview edition November 6, 2006 carried a feature that polled 1,721 random Americans on their perception of God. The findings were in my view disturbing. The feature article called Faith in Figures reproduced a snapshot from The Baylor Religion survey called American Piety in the 21st Century. How Americans see God painted a depressing picture of the American view of God.  According to the survey  a bewildering 31% of  Americans polled believed in an Authoritarian God; 23% believe in a Benevolent God; 16% believe in a Critical God, finally 24% believe in a Distant God. 

The article offered the following definitions: 

An Authoritarian God is perceived as being deeply involved in daily life and world events. God is angry at sin and can punish the unfaithful or ungodly.  According to the pollsters this view is most widely held among African Americans.

A Benevolent God is deeply involved with daily life and world events but is mainly a positive force reluctant to punish.  Interestingly, the survey found that people younger than 30 are the least likely to hold this conception.

A Critical God does not really interact with the world but is unhappy with its current state and will exact justice.

A Distant God who does not interact with the world and is not angry. God is more a cosmic force that set the laws of nature in motion.

I found myself reading and re-reading the article thinking to myself, who is this God that they are speaking of? None of the descriptors come anywhere close to describing the God of love that we encounter in the pages of Scripture and is certianly not the God of agape who indwells us. It is to my mind the god that man has made in his own image and likeness.  Is this not proof positive that what we have sought to offer the world is Christianity without Christ!   As I read the survey I was all the more convinced that we have urgent business to attend to and that is the preaching of the Gospel to the saved.   All of this left me thinking to myself Houston we have a Problem!

The following week Newsweek Magazine entered the fray carrying a special feature entitled America s Complex God with the suggestive sub-title Like George W Bush, The Religious Right Is At a Crossroads [November 13, 2006]. It was an informative piece and offered an interesting potted history of, to use a charming American colloquialism, the off the reservation brand of Christianity known as fundamentalism.   According to the article fundamentalists apparently emphasize Biblical truth What we call literalism. The Virgin Birth was authentically true, they said, as were the resurrection, the accounts of Jesus miracles and the creation story in Genesis. [So far so good I know not everybody in the Exchanged Life camp is a literal creationist, but forgive me for still being one or if you are so inclined forgive me for not laying awake at night pondering the gap theory.] 

As you read the article it becomes clear that for you to align yourself to these central beliefs is to also associate yourself with the self-evidently non-Jesus brand of Christianity that is fundamentalism. As Carl Thomas, sited in the article captured my dilemma perfectly What are Christians known for?  We re against abortion, against same sex marriage. But what are we known for?  His plea resonates with that of former White House aid David Kuo. He told Newsweek that It will be generations before evangelicals put so much faith in another president based simply on his religious convictions, Jesus needs to be about more than being a precinct captain. Jesus message of love is the really transcendent message that I care about the most.   {Amen to that Mr Kuo].

Perhaps Emmerson Fosdick, the urbane NYC Baptist Preacher from the 1920 s had a point when he preached a sermon in which he separated the world into Fundamentalists and other Protestants. Fundamentalists were opposed to change, history and progress , he said; the challenge for everyone else was to embrace it.   Let's embrace our message of uncondtional love and uncondtional acceptance of all people, let it not be said of us that  "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! 

Let's wash our hands of any religion that isn't spelt LOVE.

Agape

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