The Bare Bones of Christianity

What doesn’t Jesus want of us?

When we think of Christianity, we usually think of church. If you’re a Christian, you have to attend a church. So >>> three hymns, announcements, offering, and a long sermon. Or >>> a strict liturgy loosely based on Catholic Mass. Or >>> high church liturgy as in the Mass, the Episcopalian service, the Orthodox faiths with their garments, incense, and chants.

Then you might think about the abuse scandals, gay priests, evangelists begging for a bigger jet, the hypocrisy, the lackadaisical way many Christians live, the egregious use of religion in politics, and last but not least, the restrictions. Can’t do this, can’t do that. The gender hierarchy. Worldly pastors. Hurt people.

Well, if that’s what you think, you’re not wholly wrong, but you’re not even close to right. 

To understand the kind of religion Jesus Christ established, read the four Gospels. People like to say that Jesus didn't establish a religion at all, but actually, he did. He gave us two sacraments, communion and baptism, and commanded us to keep them. Sacraments need some kind of regulation or institutional explanation, and that also applies to his teachings. It helps if you love history and can grasp what the first century mind was like. Society was extremely hierarchical. Of course, women were subservient to men, but younger men were expected to honor older men, younger brothers were ruled by older brothers, the poor were less valued than the rich, and slaves and children were at the bottom tier. People were superstitious. They believed in demons but had no defense against them. They believed that ritual could change reality. They thought the gods were capricious and fearsome and needed to be appeased. A wrongful application of ritual could bring sickness or death. They hedged their bets by worshiping a whole raft of gods, each with their own particular demands.

Think about this...Jesus said nothing about what we can or cannot eat. In fact, in Mark 7 Jesus discusses the misapplication of religion and calls his followers dull for thinking that God cares what goes in your mouth. Why would that matter, he asks. He lists the sins that God does care about.

Jesus said nothing about what you can wear or not wear. He didn’t appear to care how his followers were dressed. He wisely said nothing about head coverings or hair length, and the fact that he didn’t is one of the signs of his timeless divinity.

He said nothing about gender. He equally praised the faith of both men and women. It’s true that his 12 apostles were all men, but that may reflect the demands of the culture. He never told a woman to quit praying, quit sitting at his feet, quit evangelizing, or that she must worship behind closed doors.

He never mentioned the curse on women in Genesis 3 in which they are to be forever subservient to men. He never told slaves to remain in the service of their masters, nor did he tell masters that it was OK to buy and sell a human being.

He did not require ritual fasting, the keeping of feast days, or the promotion of one special day dedicated to God.

He did not call for temples, basilicas, chapels, or grottos in his name, because his body would be the future temple. He said nothing about holy medals, statues, or protective amulets. He did not point to a particular location that is holier than any other. Not even Jerusalem received that blessing.

He only required two rituals…communion and baptism, but those sacraments were for extra grace and nurturing, for a means to worship in a community of other believers, and for a way to express our love for God. There is no threat of doom or punishment if a Christian is not able to access them.

The religious accoutrements above were added on after his death. They're all fine, but they reflect changing times, cultures, and locations. They manifest human understanding and values, especially of the male gender. All of it can be done away with and you could still have the bare bones of Christianity. And that’s what Jesus really wants…the bare bones. So what are they?

What does Jesus really want of us?

Where to start? How about John the Baptist’s admonition, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” There’s this thing called sin which we should feel some remorse for, but in our modern times we don’t want to use the word. 

Then there’s John 3:1-17,

“Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.' 3Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'

4Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?' 5Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not be amazed that I said to you, You must be born again. 8The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'

9Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can these things be?' 10Jesus answered and said to him, 'Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 11Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 12If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. 14As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.'”

The idea here of being born again is not to make us into people who vote Republican and believe the earth is 6,000 yrs old. If that's you, great, but Jesus is talking about a spiritual regeneration that occurs when we invite God into our lives. There’s no magic formula to make this happen. We are saved by God’s grace and mercy through our faith. Even experimental faith or slow-growing faith can bring this renewal of spirit into our lives.

OK, what else? There’s Matthew 25:31-46. I won’t reproduce the passage here. You’ve heard of the parable of the sheep and the goats? The sheep care for the poor, the sick, those in prison, the hungry. They provide support and comfort to the disenfranchised in life and clothe the naked. The goats are too busy living for themselves and their own families. They want the best in life. Of course, we all do, but this is a passage you should read. There are "Christian" goats. The goats go into perdition. No luxury there. Selfishness tends to piss Jesus off.

Matt. 5-7: This is an extended sermon extolling humility, honesty, forgiveness, and right relationship with God. Read the passage, absorb the spirit of it, and apply the lessons to other situations.

Mark 12:28-31: “28Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked Him, 'Which commandment is the most important of all?'

29Jesus replied, 'This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.'”

Granted that it can take time to learn to love someone. God understands that. He’ll give you all the time you need as long as you have breath.

As for dogma, the Apostles’ Creed is a succinct statement that all Christian denominations should be able to agree on. It may take some time, some Bible studies, or some Sunday School to understand why the Fathers of the emerging church wrote this foundational confession, but it comprises the basic tenets of the Christian faith:

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.

Jesus loves us, but he doesn’t like everything we do. Read the Gospels. Keep the two greatest commandments, and when you come to the gates of the great city, St. Peter may just find your name written in the Book of Life.

This post can also be seen at https://medium.com/@janetkatherineapplebysmith/the-bare-bones-of-christianity-424de213e26d and at https://theologylighthouse.substack.com/p/the-bare-bones-of-christianity.