Thursday, September 13, 2012

On being Not Nice

"But it is manifest that the Roman pontiffs and their adherents defend godless doctrines and godless forms of worship, and it is plain that the marks of the Antichrist coincide with those of the pope's kingdom and his followers." 
Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, The Marks of the Antichrist, written by Philip Melanchthon.

"The common people . . . have no knowledge whatever of Christian teaching, and unfortunately many pastors are quite incompetent and unfitted for teaching.  Although the people are supposed to be Christian, are baptized, and receive the holy sacrament . . . they live as if they were pigs and irrational beasts, and now that the Gospel has been restored they have mastered the fine art of abusing liberty....
If any refuse to receive your instructions, tell them that they deny Christ and are no Christians.  They should not be admitted to the sacrament, be accepted as sponsors in Baptism or be allowed to participate in any Christiain privileges.  On the contrary, they should be turned over to the pope and his officials, and even to the devil himself."
Martin Luther's Preface to The Small Catechism

"Such shameful gluttons and servants of their bellies would make better swineheards or dogkeepers than spiritual guides and pastors."  (Referring to pastors.)
"Indeed, even among the nobility there are some louts and skinflints who declare that we can do without pastors and preachers from now on because we have everything in books and can learn it all by ourselves.  So they blithely let parishes fall into decay, and brazenly allow both pastors and preachers to suffer distress and hunger."  (Referring to lay people.)
Martin Luther's Preface to The Large Catechism (parentheticals added)

These quotes from Philip Melanchthon and Martin Luther have something in common.  They are not nice.  They were not intended to be.  The idea for this post came from a sermon that I did this summer during the five weeks of John 6.  It became apparent to me on careful reading (over and over) that Jesus was saying things fairly regularly that were just not nice - and clearly not nice.  It was equally apparent that Jesus was not trying to be.  Then it struck me that what Jesus was being was KIND.  He cared about these people.  He loved them. In fact He loved them too much to coddle them when that is not what was best for them.  I preached a sermon on John 6 I entitled, "Not Nice, but Kind."  It seems to me that the Church is being hamstrung by niceness.  Everything is about being nice.  But everything NOT about being nice.  Niceness is not a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.  But kindness is. 

Paul cursed a magician and false prophet in Cyprus, making him blind!  (Acts 13: 4-12)  And Peter cursed a magician who had converted in Samaria.  (Acts 8: 18-24) Not nice.

So what's the difference?  Here's what I shared with my congregation.

"Nice" does not want to upset anyone.

"Kind" is more concerned with the other’s good, whether they get upset or not. Kind wants the best for the other.

"Nice" wants to be liked.  "Kind" wants the other to live well.

"Nice" likes people. "Kind" loves people.

Jesus loved people too much to leave them where they were - to leave them alone.  Jesus led them to where they needed to be.  Often Jesus was not nice.  But He was kind.

Here's the thing.  The Christian Faith is based upon a series of truth statements.  Many people today try to pretend that is not so.  But it is so.  We call them Creeds, or also in the Lutheran tradition, Confessions.  And in today's culture many people are offended by truth statements.  They don't like them. 
Now granted, Christianity is a relationship with God in Jesus Christ.  But we don't get to just make up who we think Jesus is, or who we want Him to be.  We share truth statements.  Someone may decide it is not "nice" to make truth statements that exclude other religions or thought.  But nice is not the issue.  The question is, "It is true?" 

A colleague and friend recently wrote (or quoted, I don't remember) that we ought not to say "This is true."  Instead we ought to say, "I believe this to be true."  My first thought was that Martin Luther made the statement famous: "This is most certainly true."  But aside from that, I am willing to start there.  Of course the truth claims that make up The Apostolic Creeds and The Lutheran Confessions could possibly be wrong.  But I would take it a step further.  "This is what I believe.  This is why I believe it.  (This would take a bit of time because there are LOTS of good reasons.)  And this is why if it is true, then a statement contradicting it is not true."  That seems fair to me.  Now someone may still be offended that I am claiming that something is universally and objectively true irrespective of whether that person chooses to believe it or not.  And further, I am claiming that what someone else believes is not true.  But I really can't help what might offend any particular person. 

Martin Luther had a tendency to name-calling.  I laugh at it and enjoy it, but I would not recommend it as a argument technique.  We don't have to be obnoxious.  In fact, we shouldn't be.  But on the other hand, we need not pretend that Christianity is not made up of truth claims, when, in fact, it is.
An apologist is one who defends the Christian faith.  There is no need to apologize about being an apologist. (Sorry; couldn't resist.)

Two reminders as I close.  The first is that to confess is "to agree with God."  That is, to agree with God about WHAT IS TRUE!  Second, and last, all Lutheran pastors have taken an oath to teach and preach the truth statements that are included within The Creeds and The Lutheran Confessions.  It's not an option, although many treat it as if it were.  That is why I have tried not to just spout my opinions in this blog project.  There is WAY too much of that on internet blogs already.  I have quoted The Lutheran Confessions, including The Creeds, to bring us back to the truth claims which have formed our faith.

“Christianity is a statement which, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
C. S. Lewis