Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Love One Another: Healthy Sectarianism

In Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:27 Jesus famously tells would-be disciples to “Love your enemies.” However, John’s Jesus puts it differently and with emphasis: Jesus’ is, “Love one another” (13:34-35; 15:12, 17). The Johannine Epistles take up this “new commandment” and make it the sign of true discipleship (1 John 3:11-24; 4:7-12; 2 John 5).

Which is more noble, to love everyone, even one’s enemies, or to love those in one’s own group? The first reaction for most people is to favor “Love your neighbor.” Indeed, that’s the ethical teaching for which Jesus is most famous. It’s easy, as Jesus says, to love your friends but hard to love everyone. We all know those people who can be gracious and charitable within their group but vicious to those outside.

I’d suggest that we pay attention to “Love one another.”

For one thing, the Bible speaks with multiple voices. It’s a conversation, not a monologue. On a host of questions the Bible offers apparently contradictory advice – and we should attend to both sides. Is wealth a blessing from God or a spiritual danger? Does human suffering represent God’s judgment or a call to mercy?

We should also look out for the social and literary contexts of biblical teachings. Over the past forty years or so, scholars have expended lots of energy on the social context of Johannine Christianity. One of the most striking things about John’s Gospel is the blend of high-flying spiritual and mystical language (“In the beginning was the Word”) with signs of deep social trauma. As Jesus says to his disciples, “If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you” (15:18). Social scientists call that sort of religious outlook, in which the larger society is considered hostile and dangerous, a sectarian worldview.

Let’s look at the full context of that verse:

This I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you.

Without going into detailed hypotheses about why the Johannine Christians came to believe that the world hated them, let’s simply notice this one thing: the “love one another” command results from the perception that the world is a hostile place. The Johannine Christians survive because they love one another.

(We might note that the “love one another” command is not limited to the Johannine literature. Paul was big on it, and so was the author of 1 Peter.)

I would suggest that Christians need to think about loving one another. At times faithful discipleship will elicit hostility. If followers of Christ speak out against violence, against a culture of greed, against the stigmatization of Muslims, against the oppression of queer folk – or, if we speak for peace, for a compassionate society, for blessing all people – we will experience hostility. Precisely at those times, loving one another goes hand in hand with loving our neighbors and our enemies. A sectarian outlook is a healthy thing for serious Christians.

In the great prayer of John 17 Jesus prays that his followers “all may be one, even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (17:21). Loving one another is one way in which we love the world. Or to put it technically, a healthy sectarian outlook nourishes our catholicity.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I never looked at this issue from this perspective and reading your post was an "AHA!" moment.

I think that emerging Christianity is struggling with what it means to love or even to be Christian. I think that emerging Christianity is struggling with what it means to be "catholic" or "congregational," what it means to believe in free will and/or predestination. I even wonder whether emerging Christianity really cares about those distinctions because ultimately all of us want the same thing: to live productive lives, to do what is right and what it is all said and done to go to Heaven.

Pablo Picasso said once that "Art is a lie that tells us something about the TRUTH."

Your post illuminates the tag-o-war/struggle/search that is illuminated by the modern art. ABC's FLASHFORWARD's cliff-hanger ended with a question: "what if it is free will AND the destiny?" Many episode's of ABC's LOST raise questions like "what does it mean to love?" and "is there a difference between 'them/others' and 'us'."

Thanx you for your post....

Anonymous said...

Amiable dispatch and this enter helped me alot in my college assignement. Thank you as your information.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Keep posting stuff like this i really like it

Anonymous said...

I share a love-hate relationship with virtual memory because of how prices are always falling. I hate buying Micro SD Cards for my R4 / R4i at (seemingly) a crazy bargain price only to see it become a whole lot cheaper a couple of weeks later.

(Submitted by Nintendo DS running [url=http://kwstar88.zoomshare.com/2.shtml]R4 SDHC[/url] TF3)

Anonymous said...

Buy Passports, Driver’s License, ID Cards, Visas, USA Green Card, Citizenship +1 (209) 645-1402 | noveltydocumentsonline@gmail.com

High Quality passports, Real Genuine Data Base Registered and unregistered Passports and other Citizenship documents? I can guarantee you a new Identity starting from a clean new genuine Birth Certificate, ID card, Driver’s License, Passports, Social security card with SSN, credit files, and credit cards, school diplomas, school degrees all in an entirely new name issued and registered in the government database system.

Contact us now for more information .
Email:::::: noveltydocumentsonline@gmail.com
Text/Call/ WhatsApp ---- +1 (209) 645-1402

We are able to produce the following items
BRITISH PASSPORT,

CANADIAN PASSPORT,

FRENCH PASSPORT,

AMERICAN PASSPORT,

RUSSIAN PASSPORT,

JAPANESE PASSPORT,

CHINESE PASSPORT,

AND REAL PASSPORT FOR COUNTRIES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION. REAL DRIVERS LICENSE, I.D CARDS, BIRTH CERTIFICATES, DIPLOMATS, MARRIAGE

Contact us now for more information .
Email:::::: noveltydocumentsonline@gmail.com
Text/Call/ WhatsApp ---- +1 (209) 645-1402

herbalincensekush said...

buy alprazolam,ketamine,mdma,crystal meth,fentanyl at https://shop4herbalincense.com
Order Fentanyl, Oxycodone , Xanax Bars , Percs , Roxicodone at low cost..With us , you get meds discreet with no prescription. We've worked to create a fast,
efficient and fair system for order processing. We know you want your order quickly, at the lowest possible cost.Check some of our highly purchased meds;

We are the best supplier of pain medications and research chemicals .our prices are affordable .
For more details contact our website through any of the details provided below
Management,
Visit: https://shop4herbalincense.com
E-mail : k2bestherbalincense@gmail.com
Call: +1 (925) 338 95853 (USA/Canada)
whatsapp: +1 (925) 338 95853

Anonymous said...

Best Article buy Roxicodone Online Excellent post

Best Article buy Adderall Online Excellent post

buy percocet Online


buy Dilaudid Online


buy Ecstasy Online


buy Hydrocodone Online

Anonymous said...


buy Lorcet Online

buy Lortab Online

buy Methadone Online

buy Norco Online

buy Opana ER Online

buy Oxycodone Online

buy Oxycontin Online

buy Percocet Online

buy Phentermine Online

buy Roxicodone Online