Freedom as Embracing Suffering We Could Otherwise Easily Avoid

In An Historian’s Approach to Religion (1956), English historian Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975) noted that, from the earliest days of civilization in our fabled land of Olympia, we humans have always devoted ourselves to false gods. In ancient times, we worshiped what he calls the “parochial community” exemplified, in the 5^th century BC, by Athens. Later, when even the best municipal states—like Athens—failed to deliver on their promises of enhancing life and preventing death, we humans switched our devotion to the “oecumenical” or imperial community. Rome remains our best ancient example of this. Eventually, even Rome proved to be unworthy of our adoration.

Contrasting Religious and Biblical Understandings of Human Nature

In his book, An Historian’s Approach to Religion (1956), Arnold Toynbee speaks of two forms of nature: non-human and human.

He states that humankind decisively defeated non-human nature as early as the Old Stone Age which ended 12,000 years ago. This is not to say that non-human nature does not at times bite back, even in our own times, through tornadoes, hurricanes, deep freezes, scorching temperatures, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. “On the whole, however, she ha[s] yielded to Man like a docile sheep” (22).

Not so human nature. “…Human Nature has shown itself as refractory, and as recalcitrant to human control, as a goat or a camel or a mule. When Man tries to coerce Human Nature, he defeats his own purpose; for, so far from cowing it, coercion merely stimulates its obstinacy, rebelliousness, and animosity” (22).

Turns out Current Equality Is Obedience to Vulcan Not Jesus

In The Technological System (trans. Joachim Neugroschel, 1980), Jacques Ellul demonstrates how technology is the key factor determining the structures, processes, and goals of today’s societies, cultures, and personalities (pp. 51-75).

One example he gives is “the transformation of a hierarchical society into an egalitarian one” (70). To help us understand the significance of this transformation, he gives us a little history lesson. “Traditional society, all traditional societies, are hierarchical…There have [70] never been any egalitarian societies, and hierarchy was part of the general-cultural universe” (70-71). All individuals within an organized social group, and all organized social groups within a society, have always been hierarchically organized.

Freedom through Reading Good Books Well

The Global Technological System (GTS) is parasitic, collapsing, and meaningless. As the counter-creation of the Olympian gods and our most arrogant monument to them, the GTS embodies their path of power which is based on falsehood, expresses itself through indifference, and ends in death.

As prophetic Christian witnesses, Jesus Christ frees us, each day, to challenge the GTS. These challenges, for now, will be small but not insignificant.

One important way of witnessing to the freedom of Christ is by acknowledging how the norms of the GTS shape our thoughts, actions, and objects. A second way is then by being meaningfully different.

Kissing the Easter Bunny Good-bye on Resurrection Day

Right now our churches are primarily Olympian. And while every person has both an Olympian and a Christian personality, right now even within each of us Christians our Olympian personality dominates. The influence of the painfully Olympian Global Technological System (GTS) is just that strong.

Mercifully, Jesus Christ decisively defeated all the powers of evil—including the conventional yet false Olympian gods behind the GTS. What’s more, his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness knows no bounds. Consequently, he persists in calling his churches back to him. He even calls and enables you and me to live as prophetic Christian witnesses tasked with showing his churches the differences between serving the gods and serving him. Today we will reflect briefly on the differences between Easter and Resurrection Day.

When Going to Church Is a Disastrous Distraction (Mark 11:15-18)

This is the week of Passover. Pilgrims from many lands are pouring into the holy city of Jerusalem. One important reason: to have a priest sacrifice an animal on their behalf in the Temple, the holiest place on Earth, as prescribed by the law of Moses.

To help these thousands of foreign visitors make the prescribed sacrifices, moneychangers inside the outer court of the Temple take their foreign coins and exchange them for Temple shekels. Pilgrims then take these shekels and choose which animals they wish to have sacrificed on their behalf. All the animals available inside the outer court are guaranteed to be clean, unblemished, and acceptable to the priests.

When Going to Church is Good but Not Enough (Jeremiah 7:3-11)

In 721 BC, Yahweh allowed an Assyrian army to destroy the Kingdom of Israel because the people of Israel had stubbornly abandoned him for other gods. With that destruction, those ten northern tribes disappeared from history. When they abandoned their meaning, they lost their existence.

One hundred years later, the Kingdom of Judah faced catastrophe for the same reason. But Yahweh didn’t want to lose them too. To avoid that, he sent Jeremiah to speak liberating if irritating words of truth to his people.