 "The
Church's fixation on the death of Jesus as the universal saving
act must end, and the place of the cross must be reimagined
in Christian faith. Why? Because of the cult of suffering and
the vindictive God behind it." Alan Jones, p. 132
"The
other thread of just criticism addresses the suggestion implicit
in the cross that Jesus' sacrifice was to appease an angry god.
Penal substitution [the Cross] was the name of this vile doctrine."—p.
168
Later Jones suggests that the doctrine of the Cross is a myth made up by man. p. 133
Other
Quotes
by Alan Jones in Reimagining Christianity
"The
image of the child Jesus sitting on the Buddha's lap appeals to
me and captures the spirit of this book. It is an image of the
Kingdom. "The Kingdom" is a sort of shorthand signifying
an inclusive community of faith, love and justice." p. 12
"The phrase, 'I am a practicing Christian
but not a believing Christian' is extraordinarily wise."
p. 16
"Christianity as a set of beliefs doesn't
work for me. At the same time, I acknowledge the need for ritual
and celebration in my life and find fulfillment and joy in many
traditional practices. I light candles and ask for the prayers
of the saints.... These disciplines ... do not require me to believe
literally in angels and the Virgin Birth." p. 31
"I see the mystical and contemplative as the
necessary grounding for social action and involvement in issues
of justice." p. 88
Excerpt
From Emerging
"Christianity"
From
Gnostic Roots to Occult Revival
by Berit Kjos
A
flood of mystical temptations are sweeping through churches and
culture. They beckon us "let go" of the old inflexible
Word and explore the new ways of the world and spirit. Naturally,
a growing consensus of "open-minded" seekers claim that
God's truth is "too divisive" to fit their new vision
of global unity and experiential spirituality.
“It
used to be that Christian institutions and systems of dogma sustained
the spiritual life of Christians. Increasingly, spirituality
itself is what sustains everything else," wrote Pastor
Brian D. McLaren, a "key figure" in the Emerging Church
and author of A New Kind of Christian. "Alan Jones
is a pioneer in reimagining a Christian faith that emerges
from authentic spirituality. His work stimulates and encourages
me deeply.”1
Do you
wonder what McLaren means by "authentic spirituality"?
Or by "reimagining a Christian faith?"
I did. So I read Reimagining Christianity. In it, Alan Jones, the
Episcopal Dean (priest) of San Francisco's gothic Grace
Cathedral, offers some provocative clues:
"I am no longer
interested, in the first instance, in what a person believes.
Most of the time it’s so much clutter in the brain....
I wouldn't trust an inch many people who profess a belief’
in God. Others who do not or who doubt have won my trust. I
want to know if joy, curiosity struggle, and compassion bubble
up in a person’s life. I’m interested in being fully
alive. There is no objective authority...."2
Wrong! There is an objective authority: our Sovereign God, Creator of the universe.
He has revealed His will and authority through His Word! But,
as in Old Testament days, today's masses "love evil more
than good!" (Psalm 52:3) Despising His authority, they deny the only Truth that can set
us free! Their earthly destiny is summarized in 2 Timothy 3:7: "...always
learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."
In Reimagining
Christianity, Jones explains that "Any journey toward
belief must begin with the task recognized by mystics
throughout history. They realized that merely knowing about
things (science) wasn't enough. In fact, it was a distraction."3 Then he points to a major goal of mystical insight -- one
that is emphasized in Purpose-Driven as well as emerging churches:
"They realized
that there was a deeper and potentially frightening task of self-knowledge. Knowledge of God and knowledge of self were
sides of the same coin. It was a knowledge that had no end....
Those on a spiritual path share this vision of the universal
and unending character of our Journey to and in God.
The principle is that all things are lights guiding our way—even
a stone or a piece of wood—but they are not what we seek.
What stops our drive for facts from going haywire? The discovery
of a higher form of knowing."3—From
Gnostic Roots to Occult Revival, by
Berit Kjos
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