If I haven’t learned anything I’ve learned the messages we send
out are many, layered and often mixed. Our biggest
issue ultimately is our inability to control the thoughts feelings &
actions of others. Boy if I could do
that, I would never have to take responsibility for my own. So lets lay it on the line...If I have learned nothing of religion &
even those who claim no religion, I have learned that how we seek,
investigate, experience, think about, interact with the higher
place/energy/being found within & without our individual material existence…that
place within us that tells us how we make sense of our world & the experience
of it… I have learned no matter what version of philosophy, religion, spiritual
practice, cultural context…it repeatedly speaks & points to life giving truth…
AND due to the human condition is just as quick to be used in every attempt to
control what makes “me” uncomfortable in others – which in reality actually
becomes a very destructive force to life, love & freedom.
There is much to criticize about what we call the Holy Bible,
from the actual text, to the context, to what is in & what is not, to how
it is used. I am one of the first to
raise the hard questions that become blatant spotlights on what seems contradictory,
paradoxical & and if read believing it is the “inerrant word of God,” it often
reflects a God who seems at best bipolar & at worst sadistic. I personally have come at it from a number of
perspectives. My introduction was
fundamentalist indoctrination, which served to feed into & reinforce the
belief within me that even though I instinctively understood there was power
that was not my own, that was a part of creating me, it hated me. I believed I was worthless, and had to earn
my value by becoming everything I was not, this would include the attempt to
control my very thoughts, feelings & beliefs. Emotional manipulation was the weapon, recruitment
the goal. Whether one thinks of evil as
an entity – the devil, a force – energy/will or as a self determined act, admittedly
it worked its damage well, the evil that attacks me most is emotional, mental & spiritual insecurity.
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A few things which have become clear with time, study, experience
is that our material lives – that includes the breathing we do in this time
& place on this earth, in these bodies – has limits – we can call it
natural law – our physical body only last so long. We hold within us varying degrees of
knowledge, skill, gift, understanding, vision.
We come with a variety of biological, historical & cultural
experience. The point being I’ve come to
recognize, I have little knowledge & experience to judge another person or
the path in life they walk. I also recognize
no one else can legitimately hold judgment over mine. Consequences are a whole other can of worms.
Some things scripture has taught me, through story, context &
experience…Full & abundant life requires Love – unconditional acceptance of
what is – a love that holds within it truth & freedom. Humans hold within them all that makes life
possible & all that can destroy that very life in this time & place. The Gospel or Good news found in the story or
life of Jesus is not whether he was man, God, prophet or not, healer, heretic, messiah,
symbol real or fiction. The Gospel or "good news"is quite frankly and on many levels simply offensive. It at once holds us to account for our own thoughts,
beliefs & actions AND at the same time frees us by giving us permission to be just what we
are. The offense is that it is in living
life that abundant life is found, not in some formula of control – of myself or
of others. The irony is that one
develops self control, wisdom, and experiences comfort, peace of mind &
heart in the midst of pain, violence & chaos.
Take one short New Testament story that has been much used to
justify taxation that has nothing to do with taxation. The story can be found in several places,
including Matthew 22:15-22. The setting…One
large oppressive military state has taken over the region & imposed their
own laws, blending an odd mix of being allowed to keep ones religious practice
as long as the “feds” (emperor/senate/Rome) had priority in everyday life. The consequences for not adhering to the law –
local, religious, cultural or national could & often did end in death.
The characters…some religious fundamentalists, and a few “sheeple
herders” who are not happy with the new
kid on the block, his ideas & practice threaten their comfort zones – that is
it triggers their fear. He is preaching
to the sheeple that have longed for a different way to live out from the under
oppression. These who have sought him
out do to the rumors they heard about what he had to offer. The religious nuts (Pharisees) are determined
to stick with the control script, the sheeple herders (Herodians) are just out
to cover their own ass, come together to form a tenuous alliance in order to mark
their turf to this infidel – he wears the wrong gang colors & has a big
mouth.
The set up…taxes…paying them supports the state, not paying
them can get you killed…either way the question posed is a set up…Jesus was no
idiot – he may or may not be many things – but idiot is not one of them. One of the rules that sets up several stories
on money in new testament, is that only Rome could distribute silver
coins. One of the religious rules was
that one could not even depict human face on something like a coin, it was
tantamount to idol worship, to even use a coin with an image is blaspheme. Jesus says show me the coin used to pay the
tax & asked the question “who’s image is on it?” His response is “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s
& to God what is God’s.” He doesn't explain what that is, how that is, or even the ritual to make sure to do it
right…he simply threw it back in their lap…with the truth…You are free to
choose”
It begs the question, “what will you choose?”
