Start with Part 1 for the rundown on what’s going on here
I just finished the first book in this challenge. This post is going to start with a sad story: my Kobo ate all of the highlights and notes I made in this book. Lesson learned that I should have started writing this blog post while I was reading.
The Book
The Gist
The author of this book paints a picture of how to live in a diverse society through his actions. This is done tastefully without making himself look pious or holier-than-thou.
Following 9/11, he encouraged his church to reach out to a nearby mosque. They gave support in different ways, one of which was offering to run errands with members of the mosque if they felt unsafe going out alone.
He and his wife befriended their Muslim neighbours in their first apartment complex.
All of this was done out of love. Not out of a desire to convert. He stressed throughout the book that he was 100% Christian. This wasn’t a diet Christianity that he was practicing and insisted that this is how Jesus would have behaved in the same situation.
Finding Meaning
I’m someone who flirts with being some mix of Agnostic, culturally Christian, a Red-Letter Christian or Buddhist (depending on the day). I don’t necessarily find my self holding on to a single holy text. I do, however, find myself clutching on to dogma in other ways.
In my earlier posts, I talk about going zero-waste and living a more intentional/deliberate life. Let me tell you; there’s some cult level dogma out there. You can run down a very toxic rabbit hole that consumes your life and you forget why you’re even doing this.
In the book, McLaren talks about the “Us vs. Them.” We perceive the “enemy” to be the “Them” when, in reality, the “Us” can be more dangerous. We do things to make sure the “Us” knows we’re on the same team. In the context of Christianity, this might look like an anti-Semitic post on Facebook. That post might get you closer with the “Us” but it doesn’t get you closer to Jesus, it’s not showing love.
There’s a part of a chapter where he talks about different ways of there being an “Us vs. Them” conflict within different major religions. Again, my highlights got eaten, so I can’t recall the specific examples, but just off the top of my head I’m thinking of some possibilities:
- Christians being conflicted about gay marriage.
- Jews being conflicted about Israel-Palestine.
- Muslims being conflicted about the hijab/niqab.
All of these things might be seen as getting in the way of the “love” taught by their respective prophets.
I saw this happen in the zero-waste movement a lot. One time, I saw someone post on Reddit how excited they were that they remembered to bring their reusable mug to the airport. One less thing in the landfill!
This was someone who was new to zero-waste. The top comment on that post? Chastising them for flying in an airplane and using disposable utensils with their meal.
This commenter was appealing to the “Us”, trying to appear holier than thou of the zero-wasters. The “Them” in this case could be seen as fighting consumerism and global warming. The “Us” becomes toxic. The “Us” can make you lose sight of what you actually believe in.
My main takeaway, here, don’t be so quick to judge. Don’t be an ass. It helps no one.
Next Reading
Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs, Customs and Rituals
