"… Our perception and understanding of who we confess as God’s anointed One, the Christ of faith, should be in radical continuity with the identity and praxis of the historical Jesus. To accept Jesus in faith as ‘Lord and Savior’ requires allegiance to the values, commitments, and purpose reflected in his life; his praxis is the first norm of what we teach about the meaning and implications of Jesus’ life for disciples now."
— Thomas H. Groome, from Sharing Faith: A Comprehensive Approach to Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry
This. Too often our churches treat "being Christian" as "being able to believe impossible things." Like, if you can believe that Jesus rose from the dead and turned water into wine, check! you are a Christian.
I often wonder how folks who spend so much time memorizing that book can come to such a conclusion-- which is also why I think our churches are so dangerous! They too often teach our children to believe whatever the church says to believe and to read biblical passages from a particular vantage point-- one that often emphasizes believing, but seems to miss that JESUS SPENT ALL OF HIS TIME HELPING PEOPLE and he probably wouldn't be too impressed with disciples who don't, like, help other people.
I read a radical Jesus and I aim to speak my own radical truths with as much fearlessness as he did.
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