{"id":5668,"date":"2014-03-06T05:00:11","date_gmt":"2014-03-06T05:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/?p=5668"},"modified":"2014-03-06T00:18:26","modified_gmt":"2014-03-06T00:18:26","slug":"if-jesus-gave-a-ted-talk-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2014\/03\/if-jesus-gave-a-ted-talk-1\/","title":{"rendered":"If Jesus Gave a TED Talk (#1)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This is the first of a series of posts where I re-imagine Jesus\u2019\u00a0<\/em>five big sermons<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>as\u00a0<\/em>TED<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>Talks, in which he\u00a0E<\/span>ducates<\/strong>\u00a0people in God\u2019s new\u00a0D<\/span>esign<\/strong>\u00a0for a world that runs on the\u00a0T<\/span>echnology<\/strong>\u00a0called love. While Jesus\u2019 message about the kingdom of God is a positive one, I\u2019ve strived to preserve his apocalyptic flavor.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Blessed are the poor<\/strong>, because\u00a0this oppressive\u00a0political-economic system\u00a0is going down in flames.<\/p>\n

Woe to you who are rich<\/strong>.\u00a0 Same reason.<\/p>\n

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice<\/strong>, because a big plate full of that is on its way.<\/p>\n

Blessed are those at the bottom of the heap<\/strong>, because the heap\u2019s about to get turned.<\/p>\n

You are the salt of the earth; and from the\u00a0ashes of this civilization, we are going to cook up something really tasty.<\/p>\n

Do not think I am a doomer.\u00a0\u00a0I have not come to abolish your hopes but to fulfill them.<\/strong>\u00a0I tell you the truth: \u00a0Not the smallest good dream from the most obscure sage, seer, or prophet shall by any means go unaccomplished.<\/p>\n

Humans have a long history of trying to build good and just civilizations, which have an equally long history of destroying themselves. Some among us today are experts in civilization design, but the new kind of society God is building in the world right now\u2014it\u2019s going to leave the experts in the dust. \u00a0What we\u2019re creating will transcend the inevitable rise and fall of civilizations.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to re-think everything you thought you knew about designing human communities:<\/p>\n

1. Re-think POWER.<\/strong>\u00a0You have heard it said: \u201cThou shalt not murder,\u201d but I say we can do better than that. Imagine a society that resists all kinds of violence, even its \u201csoft\u201d forms where we dehumanize one another through language, litigation, and scapegoating.\u00a0 If someone slaps you on the right cheek, don\u2019t take to fighting; don\u2019t take to flight; instead, take a\u00a0stand<\/span>.\u00a0 Wage peace aggressively.\u00a0 Love thy enemy. For real.<\/p>\n

2. Re-think SEX.<\/strong>\u00a0You have heard it said: \u201cThou shalt not cheat on your partner,\u201d but I say we can do better than that. Imagine a society that resists all kinds of sexual dehumanization and exploitation.\u00a0 People are not sexual objects for us to acquire and then discard.\u00a0 It\u2019s time for our species to explore the frontiers of what it means to be\u00a0faithful<\/span>\u00a0to one another.<\/p>\n

3. Re-think MONEY.<\/strong>\u00a0 Imagine a society that resists all fear-based instincts for hoarding and devouring resources.\u00a0 We haven\u2019t yet learned from the birds\u2014they don\u2019t even have jobs, but they are well taken care of.\u00a0 You matter at least as much as birds; try to believe that. The only wealth worth anything is relationships and trust between people.<\/p>\n

4. Re-think CULTURE.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Every society in history has enforced it rules and norms through the manipulations of shame, holding grudges, and public-relations campaigns disguised as religious observance. \u00a0But I say: Don\u2019t be religiously impressive.\u00a0 Don\u2019t try to control others by shaming them and giving them your un-asked-for pearls of wisdom.\u00a0 If you want a door opened, knock on it; if you want something, ask for it.\u00a0 A healthy culture can be built only by people with healthy boundaries.<\/p>\n

Whether you feel fine about it or not, it\u2019s the end of the world as we know it. Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to collapse.\u00a0 Most people right now are choosing to go down with that ship.\u00a0 A storm is coming, but they continue to build their mansions on sand.<\/p>\n

Those who hear my words and put them into practice will be like those little mammals who watched from the shadows as the meteorite landed on the dinosaurs.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

The question remains:\u00a0 How do we get this new society started?\u00a0 What\u2019s our strategy?\u00a0 Stay tuned.\u00a0 We\u2019ll talk about that next week.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

John Stonecypher<\/a><\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>is a theologian\/blogger\/speaker living in Denver with his wife and 3 sons.\u00a0 His other writing projects include\u00a0<\/em>The Jesus Benyosef Project<\/a><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<\/em>Geeked-Out Soul<\/a><\/em>, where he blogs about geek spirituality.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the first of a series of posts where I re-imagine Jesus\u2019\u00a0five big sermons\u00a0as\u00a0TED\u00a0Talks, in which he\u00a0Educates\u00a0people in God\u2019s new\u00a0Design\u00a0for a world that runs on the\u00a0Technology\u00a0called love. While Jesus\u2019 message about the kingdom of God is a positive one, I\u2019ve strived to preserve his apocalyptic flavor. Blessed are the poor, because\u00a0this oppressive\u00a0political-economic system\u00a0is going […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1790,"featured_media":5684,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[804,238,1274,806,807,803,805],"class_list":["post-5668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-beatitudes","tag-jesus","tag-lent","tag-matthew-5-7","tag-paraphrase","tag-sermon-on-the-mount","tag-ted-talks"],"yoast_head":"\nIf Jesus Gave a TED Talk (#1)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This is the first of a series of posts where I re-imagine Jesus\u2019\u00a0five big sermons\u00a0as\u00a0TED\u00a0Talks, in which he\u00a0Educates\u00a0people in God\u2019s new\u00a0Design\u00a0for a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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