The Rambo Jesus Must Get Left Behind

For almost all of the twentieth century Fundamentalist Christianity claimed hegemony over ‘orthodoxy.’

In the twenty-first century they have lost their self-proclaimed right to determine what constitutes heresy and boy are they pissed!

The past fifteen years have brought about a sea change in our understanding of the gospel and more and more scholars, pastors and just regular folk are recognizing that the Janus-Faced god of Calvinism is tumbling down.

All of the armchair theologians who troll Facebook and Patheos have been given warning: The recovery of the good news of the message of God in Jesus Christ is here to stay. No amount of name calling will make it go away. You have accused us of ‘throwing out Bible verses’, of ‘cherry picking’, and of ‘misinterpreting Scripture.’ You have called us antichrist, servants of satan, and heretic and you have picketed our gatherings, come on our blogs and trolled away. You don’t like it that we follow Jesus.

You want a Jesus who is a tough guy like you think you are, who is full of piss and vinegar, like you think you are. You want a Jesus who won’t take any shit, like you think you don’t do. Splendid. Have your Jesus. He never existed and never will exist. Your Jesus is a figment of an overwrought apocalyptic imagination fueled by the need for revenge. Your Jesus limits salvation to your in group.

Want to know what I think?

Your Jesus is a punk.

Your Jesus is an idol.

Little wonder that people are leaving Christianity by the millions every year.

You have turned forgiveness into a capitalist commodity.

You have turned the church into a country club.

You have turned the gospel into The Way of the Violent Colonizing Oppressor, of which there have been a thousand varieties since Constantine.

Your god is in need of medication. Your god is always tense with one attribute fighting the other attribute for primacy.

Your god really doesn’t love because your god has a big ego that demands and expects to be worshipped. I would say your god has a Messiah complex but I am afraid you wouldn’t get the pun.

Your god is dying on the vine. You can shout all you want that authentic followers of Jesus are all wrong.

You can defend your sacrificial reading of the Bible all you want. But we see you for what you are: self-justifying, narcissistic, gnostic trolls.

We are no longer afraid of you. We sing our hearts out to the Living Lord. We do our theology with joy and gladness. We care for the poor, the weak and those oppressed by religion in the name of Revelation, the person Jesus Christ.

“The times they are a-changing.” Why? Ecclesia semper reformanda. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Abba sent by and through Jesus the Son is calling his people to an authentic living of life that reflects his own. Our communities of faith, and peace, and social caring are growing. Our networks are getting stronger and gaining momentum. Why? Because the power of the gospel is always directed toward the downtrodden, the outsider, the marginalized.

So stop for just this one moment and ask yourself this question: wouldn’t you rather follow Jesus than your religious version of the American Rambo? May that Jesus forever get Left Behind.