The Spirit vs. the Letter

[catscradle]

Thinking about the Pope on the evils of gay-marriage. Not just the Pope, but the majority of Christian denominations out there. Not all, but most. Not even exclusive to Christianity. Most organized religion is all about the idolatry of the written codes, the idols of reason, and salvation through obedience to laws. Christianity today doesn't make it about the spirit of the New Tesatment writers because they are afraid that such spirited freedom leads directly to gay marriages, gun laws and teenage abortions. So once again we have a fence built around the law -- the ancient call to protect God from Humanity by legalisms. On both the left and right, Catholicism, Protestantism - with its denominational, ministerial, and ecumenical councils, its political action committees, its preoccupation with palaces proffered as church buildings, its elaborate financial schemes and fund-raising...

Remember the God who could care less about the sins of the adultress, but embraced the broken and contrite heart? Jesus broke rules, he didn't make up more. And look what happened to him.

So I'm quoting some scripture so many dogma-hawks seemed to have forgotten.


Proverbs 10:12 "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions."

Proverbs 15 "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

Romans 7:6-7 "But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter."

2 Corinthians 3:6 "our sufficiency is from God; who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."

Matt 5:43-47 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?"

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

Comments

[wiebke.livejournal.com]

Amen.

Part of why I am so utterly baffled by a lot of religious types / sects is I was raised in a church that WAS all about the SPIRIT of the New Testament (and the Gospels, not Revelation). The primarily directive seemed to be the Golden Rule, not following strict rules or doing certain rituals, because in the end love and caring for people was the highest priority. During my confirmation prepation I questioned my minister and was told there was no Hell and that "Sin" was a term generally used to scare people into submitting to pressure from institutions.

I don't go to church now b/c I think I learned what I needed to know.

[catscradle.livejournal.com]

I think the main problem with the whole Jesus story is that for most folks, his ideas and practices are as revolutionary now as they ever where in his own time. I mean, treat everyone, including the lepers and prostitutes and fornicators with the same dignity as one wishes for themselve? I guess it doesn't make for good social control. Next thing you know dogs and cats are living together, MASS pandamonium!

Glad there are some churches that remember that God's love and our love for each other still rank up there as importnant.

[beeblefish.livejournal.com]

Ah Jesus, I think he was one of the wisest and most tragic figures. He saw the power of religion, but more than saw it - understood it. And he wrenched it from its course and recrafted it in a way he thought was best taking the best of all the religion and philosophy he knew.. and it nearly worked too. Sigh.
How could so much pain be caused by such good ideas. My friends hosted this radio show where they had a prominent local anti-gay marriage politician on. (It was a queer radio show.) And the heartbreaking thing was that he wasn't mad or bad or full of hate, but love. He wanted to save these people, for them to not handicap their futures and to have properous and proper lives. And then my friends were very antagonistic too, ready to fight off the gay-basher for all they were worth. But it needn't have been confrontational. They wanted the same things, just differently. It breaks my heart, it truly does.