The Myth of a Christian Religion

by Gregory A. Boyd

  • As discussed in chapter 6, as you pray blessings on people, be sensitive to the Spirit possibly leading you to engage in a random act of generosity.

  • One of the best ways to help people in Third World countries is by extending them short-term loans to establish businesses. This is a relatively inexpensive way to make an enormous, lifelong difference in the lives of impoverished individuals and their families. For more information, see kiva.org/index.php.

  • If you participate in the political process, make poverty a primary issue in assessing the candidates and parties you support.

  Help your church manifest the generous Kingdom. Talk to God and others about what your church can do to better revolt against the Powers that fuel greed and poverty, and what you can do to more thoroughly manifest the beauty of God’s generous Kingdom. Here are some suggestions:

  • Pray and think about whether your church looks like a “giant Jesus” in its relationship with the poor. What can you and others in your congregation do to help it become more like a collective Jesus in this area?

  • Does your church’s budget reflect God’s heart for the poor? If it doesn’t, use whatever influence you have to help make alleviating poverty a higher priority.

  • Learn what your church is doing for the poor and become part of it. If it’s doing little, talk to the leadership about starting a ministry to the poor.

  • Volunteer to lead a book or film discussion group on poverty. A small group curriculum many churches have found helpful in waking Christians up to the biblical call to care for the poor is Compassion By Command ( www.compassionbycommand.com).

  • If you’re in a suburban church, encourage the leadership of your church to enter into mutually beneficial partnerships with inner-city churches and volunteer to participate.

  • Encourage the leadership to enter into relationships with other churches in your community to match resources and talents in the various churches with the needs in your community. A great ministry that helps churches around America do this is Love in the Name of Christ (Love INC). For information, go to loveinc.org. As with all other areas that are central to the Kingdom revolution, if the leadership of your church refuses to make confronting greed and poverty a high priority, prayerfully consider with your small group whether in fact this is the larger church body God is calling you to align with.

  CHAPTER 12: THE REVOLT AGAINST THE ABUSE OF CREATION

  Return to the Source. We mistreat the land and the animals entrusted to us primarily because we are self-oriented idolaters. To the extent that we are not full of the Life that comes from God alone, we tend to assign to nature only whatever value it has for us. Trees become little more than potential houses and paper while animals become little more than potential food and profits. We can only be freed to experience and appreciate the intrinsic value of nature and animals when we are freed from this idolatrous self-focus.

  I encourage you, therefore, to continually return to the true source of Life. Spend time basking in God’s love for you. Experience his reminders that you are perfectly justified by his grace (Romans 5:1), freed from all condemnation (Romans 8:1), blessed with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3), and are made to be his partner in caring for the earth. Together with your community of Jesus followers, engage in spiritual disciplines by which you help one another increasingly deepen your capacity to experience God’s transforming Life and thus appreciate the intrinsic value of nature and the animal kingdom.

  Process this chapter. Together with friends prayerfully reflect on this chapter. Did any of it convict, surprise, or confuse you? Do you feel you’ve been faithful to God’s call to be a loving landlord of his earth and a faithful caregiver to his animals? How might you live differently because of what you’ve learned? Ask God to reveal ways in which your treatment of the earth’s resources and of animals has been influenced by the norms of our consumer culture and by personal convenience rather than by God’s revealed will.

  Become a faithful landlord of God’s creation. Talk to God and friends about the little ways you can be better stewards of God’s resources. Remember, our primary Kingdom motivation is not utilitarian in nature (that is, the measurable difference we make in the world). Rather, our sole motivation is to be faithful to God’s call. We are to have faith that every little thing we do to care for the environment makes a significant difference not because we can measure it but simply because we’re advancing God’s will “on earth as it is in heaven.”

  Here are a few practical suggestions for you and your Kingdom community to consider:

  • One of the greatest sources of energy consumption and pollution is our use of cars. So I encourage you to drive less. Car-pool with others. Ride the bus, bike, and, yes, walk whenever possible. Next time you purchase a car, buy one that uses less gas. If you can afford it, consider a hybrid, or, if you want to get really radical, do what my friend Shane Claiborne did: purchase (or make) a vehicle that runs on vegetable oil!

  • Use less energy at home. Turn off lights when they’re not in use. Use energy-saving light bulbs. Make your home more energy efficient. Lower your thermostat a degree or two in the winter and get used to wearing a sweater indoors. Run the air conditioner less in the summer and get used to sweating a little more indoors. The Kingdom is all about self-sacrifice.

  • Conserve water. Water is a precious commodity all the more so as the world’s population grows and the globe warms. Don’t run water when you’re not using it. Take shorter showers and water your grass less often. (These resource-saving measures will also save you money. It might help keep you motivated to tally these savings and use them for some Kingdom cause.)

  • If you choose to eat meat and use animal products (including eggs and dairy products), consider buying products produced on free-range farms rather than on factory farms (free-range farms are farms where animals are free to roam about and are treated humanely rather than being packed in overcrowded warehouses and abused). Free-range farms also tend to have much less negative impact on the environment than factory farms. For example, it takes a year’s worth of shower water to produce a single pound of factory farm beef!

  • Since growing, packaging, storing, and transporting food requires energy, buy seasonal, organically produced, locally grown food whenever possible.

  • Consume less and waste less. For example, don’t buy new clothes if used clothes will suffice. Upgrade your computer rather than buying a new one. Use both sides of paper. Never throw away good food. Buy refilled printer cartridges rather than new ones. Compost food scraps (or give them to your pet guinea pig like I do). Use your own coffee mug when out and about rather than going through paper or Styrofoam cups. Use bottled water as little as possible (its generally not healthier for you!) and recycle the bottles you do use.

  • Join community environmental groups (litter pickup groups, gardening groups, etc.).

  • Research and support a global organization dedicated to bringing clean water to people in need. Organizations like Lifewater International ( lifewater.org), Africare ( africare.org), Watercan ( watercan.com), and Blood Water Mission (bloodwa termission.com) save lives by providing (among other things) wells and irrigation for needy villages.

  • Buy environmentally friendly products (for tips, check out eco-friendly product websites such as ecomall.com).

  • Become a student of environmental issues. Read up on and discuss these issues with others. (For suggested readings, see gregboyd.org.) Consider joining Christian environmental groups such as the Evangelical Environmental Network ( creationcare.org) and Restoring Eden ( restoringeden.org).

  • If you choose to participate in the political process, be informed on environmental issues that are being debated and become knowledgeable about where various candidates stand on these issues.

  Become a faithful animal caregiver. Consider committing to never participating in unnecessary violence toward animals by becoming a vegan or a vegetarian. (A vegan does not consume any anim
al products, including eggs, dairy products and honey, and does not use any animal-derived products such as fur, leather, and silk. A vegetarian commits to never eating any animal flesh but may eat eggs and dairy products and may use other animal products.)

  Of course, this is not a biblical doctrine, for after the flood (Genesis 9:4) God allowed meat eating (drained of blood). Also, Jesus ate fish and possibly other meat (John 21:12 – 13). Nor does abstaining from meat make one more spiritual (I’ve met far too many subtly self-righteous vegans and vegetarians). On the other hand, refusing to participate in unnecessary violence toward animals manifests God’s original nonviolent ideal for creation (Genesis 1:30) as well as the final nonviolent state of the world that will exist when the Kingdom has fully come (Isaiah 11:6 – 9). Moreover, while eating animals is a matter of survival in some situations, refraining from killing animals when we don’t need to reflects greater mercy toward them.

  Many people also find that veganism and vegetarianism have significant health benefits. My cholesterol level and weight both dropped significantly after I became a vegetarian, for example. Some find vegetarianism has spiritual benefits as well. I have found that my pledge of nonviolence toward animals has significantly increased my capacity to enjoy the intrinsic beauty of animals and nature and made me a more peaceful, peace-loving person.

  Here are some practical suggestions on becoming a more faithful animal caregiver for you and your covenant community to consider:

  • Purchase clothing, furniture, household items, and cosmetics produced without inflicting violence on animals. Information about animal-friendly products is available at such websites such as Leaping Bunny ( leapingbunny.org) and Humanitaire ( shophumanitaire.com).

  • Some radical “animal rights” activists might want to tar and feather me for saying this, but if you can do so responsibly, consider owning pets. Aside from the personal and social benefits (see, for example, petrealtynetwork.com), caring for pets manifests the proper relationship humans were to have with the animal kingdom. When you love and care for an animal, you manifest a little slice of the Kingdom! If you decide to acquire a pet, consider getting it from an animal shelter. If you choose to purchase one from a pet store, first investigate where the store acquires their animals from, since some pet store suppliers treat and breed animals in inhumane ways.

  • Become a student of issues related to the treatment of animals. Read and discuss these with others. Join a Christian group dedicated to the merciful treatment of animals. A good place to begin is all-creatures.org (though I should note that many of these groups are focused on political causes related to animal “rights”).

  CHAPTER 13: THE REVOLT AGAINST THE ABUSE OF SEX

  Return to the Source. Paul says that the primary way we’re transformed is by mentally gazing on the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17 – 4:6). I don’t believe we’ll be able to swim upstream against the pervasive promiscuity of our culture in a healthy way unless we’re being transformed by a compelling vision of Christ’s love and are continually finding all of our worth, significance, and security in him.

  Make regular dates to be with Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to point you to the beautiful, living Lord (John 15:26; 16:13 – 14). Cultivate a Life-giving relationship with him throughout the day. Talk to him and listen for him to talk to you. Continually remind yourself that you’re surrounded by his love at every moment. Regularly engage in worship experiences and the spiritual disciplines with a community of like-minded Jesus followers. Your revolt against the diabolic Powers that fuel immorality will only be as successful as your relationship with Christ is vibrant.

  Process this chapter. Reflect with friends on the material in this chapter and how it has impacted you. Did any of it convict, surprise, encourage, or discourage you? Prayerfully reflect on your past sexual behavior in light of what you’ve learned. How will you live your life differently?

  Repent and restore. If you’ve been involved in sexual sin, I encourage you to confess it to God and repent of it. Repentance (metanoia) doesn’t mean you necessarily feel remorse for past sins. This is a common and unfortunate misunderstanding, leading some to think that unless one feels deep regret their repentance isn’t genuine. The fact is that what we feel is largely the result of our cultural conditioning. Consequently, in our promiscuous culture people often don’t feel that sex before or outside of marriage is wrong—even when they believe it is.

  Some pastors (especially youth pastors) try to motivate Christians to stay pure by telling them that if they engage in sexual sin they’re going to feel miserable. This argument sometimes backfires, however, for Western Christians often feel great about their sexual encounters. I’ve even had people tell me that a particular sexual relationship outside of marriage “feels blessed by God.” When these people discover their pastor is wrong about what they’d feel, they sometimes conclude that the pastor is mistaken in telling them sex outside of marriage is wrong.

  The truth is, feelings are not reliable indicators of truth. Our motivation for obeying God shouldn’t be based on what we feel.

  Repentance simply means “to turn.” It may be motivated by feelings of regret, but it may be motivated by the fact that a person now understands that a certain behavior is wrong. When we understand the importance of honoring the sign of the marriage covenant and that our past sexual activity has been sinful, it’s time for us to turn from it—regardless of how we feel.

  Repentance may also involve making amends. When Zacchaeus, the tax collector, repented of his thievery, he committed himself to paying people back more than he had stolen from them (Luke 19:8). Restoring things isn’t about paying for our past sins, for our sins are forgiven the moment we confess them and repent. Rather, it’s about bringing closure to things we’ve done by making them right, insofar as this is possible.

  When we have sex with people outside of wedlock, we not only dishonor God and desecrate the sign of the covenant, we also violate the people we had sex with. It’s often appropriate, therefore, to ask forgiveness not only from God but also from the people we have wronged. Many find this humble act to be profoundly healing and liberating.

  Of course, bringing up the past with those we’ve wronged isn’t always possible or wise, especially if the past sexual partner is now married. It’s thus important to seek guidance from God and others before doing this.

  Receive forgiveness. Once we’ve asked for forgiveness from God, it’s important to trust that he has given it. Scripture promises us that “if we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). On faith, we need to accept that our sin has been completely forgiven and our unrighteousness removed.

  Here too, we should not treat our feelings as if they were reliable indicators of truth. For a variety of reasons, certain people may have lingering feelings of guilt even after they’ve confessed their sin. If they’re not careful, the accuser (Revelation 12:10) can use this to drive them into self-condemnation. Some are driven back into immoral sexual activity because of this, especially if their sexual activity was used to medicate pain in their life (as it often is).

  If you continue to feel guilty after repenting, I encourage you to confess your sin to fellow disciples with whom you are in relationship. Allow them to speak God’s forgiveness to you. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer observed, we sometimes experience Christ most powerfully through the words and actions of fellow disciples. 4 I also encourage you to be transformed by the daily renewal of your mind (Romans 12:2). Throughout the day, recite passages such as 1 John 1:9, reminding yourself that you are completely forgiven. 5

  Be immersed in community. Behind Western culture’s fall into sexual decadence is the mantra “My sex life is nobody’s business but mine.” The advent of the birth-control pill, which itself was part of the sexual revolution of the ’60s, helped divorce sex from social consequences. This fed the intense individualism and moral relativ
ism of our culture, creating our present privatized, recreational view of sex.

  People may talk about their sex life all they want—often shamelessly flaunting their sexual exploits on blogs or in books—but so long as “no one gets hurt,” the current thinking goes, no one can question anyone else’s sexual activity. This is a distinctly modern perspective. Traditionally, it has been understood by all cultures that the welfare of the general public hangs on the preservation of sexual morals. Everyone’s sexual fidelity is, to this degree, everyone’s business. In the West we have lost this communal wisdom. 6

  Whether married or single, all who take the Bible’s call to live a chaste life seriously need people in their lives whom they trust enough to give permission to ask tough questions about their sexual behavior. Especially in a culture such as ours in which we’re bombarded with relentless lies about sex and in which temptations lie in wait at every turn, we need people to notice when something in our life is going astray and who care enough to confront us.

  Here’s a broader application of this principle I’d encourage single people to adopt : don’t do anything sexually with another person in private that you wouldn’t do in public.

  The privacy of sexual intimacy is a unique privilege of the “one flesh” marriage covenant. It’s part of the precious diamond married couples share. A married couple gets to enjoy each other in ways that would be totally inappropriate in public. The married couple has purchased this privilege, as it were, by pledging their lives to one another. Outside of this covenant, I would argue, no one has a right to privacy regarding their sex life, at least not from a Kingdom perspective. Make the general public your accountability partner.