Andy Gill
Unpacking the Mechanics of this Anesthesiological Heresy….
Westernized Eurocentric theology is like a benzo…
People like it because it temporarily gives them a quick fix.
This quick fix is addictive.
It feels good.
Which, this is why it draws in the masses.
But, it also is exactly what’s ruining hundreds of thousands of lives…
Because, both encapsulate a lie in different ways; both wrongfully [temporarily] convincing a person that everything is alright; when in reality, it’s not.
You might be asking “What’s the problem with this?”
Well, it’s ignoring the bigger problem(s) that, if left undealt with, will inevitably make matters worse. Like, certain forms of anesthesia this form of theology paralyzes the person; or, at the very least it prohibits one from functioning at their full capacity.
It’s true, anesthesia isn’t always bad. In fact, it can be used for great things (e.g. not being awake when you’re getting your body cut open)
But, if your church is attracting desperate and hurting people (which it is), lending them feel-good platitudes isn’t ideal.
In fact, if a doctor is only and always prescribing drugs to solve your problem, 9 out of 10 times it’s dismissively damaging (are you following me?).
This is why Jesus cleared out the masses. This is why He said shit that in our institutionalized consumeristic version of Christianity would otherwise get Him fired and exiled for. For instance:
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. – Jesus (Luke 14:25- 27)
I can already hear the CEO hinding beneath the guise of pastoral ministry thinking, “Jesus could’ve had a book deal if He had just refrained and utilized “self-control” and not said dumbass -ish like this…”
Swinging this back around…
I look at the activists before our iPhones and before this Information Age of technology, and, six things stand out:
Hard work, selflessness, loyalty, community, patience, and grit.
They worked hard and with consistency (hard work), but they never worked alone (community). They all were committed and didn’t just abandon, bail or jump ship at the first sight of things getting rocky (loyalty). They understood the necessity to endure for elongated periods of time (patience) facing literal blood, sweat, and tears – day in, and day out (grit).
Consumeristic Christianity caters to the comforts of the congregants. I mean, if we’re getting really real here, try turning off the Air Conditioning in any given nondenominational suburban Church or, just change the time of your Sunday service… you’ll lose half the congregation within a month.
They were able to do this because they were driven by something bigger and greater than themselves.
Our version of Christianity is none of this. The American gospel is horseshit.
“People who accomplished great things… often combined a passion for a single mission with an unswerving dedication to achieve that mission, whatever the obstacles and however long it might take.” – Angela Duckworth
Privileged Christian American folks, can we at least be humble enough to acknowledge the fact that “we never hit a triple; we were just born on the third…”?
(Side Note: Historically speaking I think that the progressive educated American millennial possesses the most brittle spirit that ever existed in activist history. I’m 90% sure that the term “white fragility” was created just because of the privileged American; the most painfully ironic form of entitlement I’ve witnessed is listening to POC children of American millionaires [now millennial] and [literal] billionaires attending college while claiming oppression; we are the same people who break down crying when one points out how ridiculously ignorant we/they sound; it’s as if our privilege doesn’t allow our brains to differentiate between being inconvenienced and being oppressed[1].)
I digress…
Getting back on track… It’s this unhealthy businessfication of our church; it gets scary when our pastors are using, and seemingly now addicted to, the same product they’re selling.
Which, in tomorrow’s post I’ll unpack why this businessfication of Church leads to segregation.
What if we just put our iPhones down and disconnected for the purpose of reconnection?
Plus although we might not be addicted to the same form of “anesthesia” I’m personally left convicted by asking, “what’s my anesthesia” more specifically, “What’s keeping me from following Jesus and being a modern disciple of Christ’s within our 21st century?”
[check back tomorrow for this post, finally tying all of this in to “why Sunday is still yet the most segregated day of the week?” -if you enjoyed this post head over and check out my Facebook Page to follow along with other and future “-ish”]
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