Sermon Series: The Heart of Christianity – based on the work of Marcus Borg, "The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith", HarperSanFrancisco, 2004)  First Preached 2005; adapted for 2008

Sermon #1: The Heart of Christianity in a Time of Change
Genesis 2: 5-9, 15-17; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11

Where are the dinosaurs?  That’s one of the first questions kids wonder about these days when they encounter the stories of creation in the book of Genesis.  They know about dinosaurs: ask a six year old boy how to spell Bible or Jesus, and most wouldn’t have a clue.  Ask them what the word Brachiosaur means, and they could tell you.  They might even be able to spell it!  Most kids today absorb the beginnings of a theory of evolution along with their Dinoghettis and their Saturday morning cartoons.  Some Christian parents have a hard time with this, because they think it is required of them that they believe that the world was created in seven days, that animals and humans were created within the same week, and that humans were fully developed homo sapiens at creation. Some Christians send their children to what are called "Christian schools", so that their minds will not be contaminated by the notion of dinosaurs or cave people; others just shrug their shoulders and try to find a way to believe in both evolution and a literal understanding of creation.  Others, raised as Christians, but unable or unwilling to compromise their scientific knowledge and what is generally accepted to be fact, toss the baby out with the bathwater, and decide that they can’t relate to a religion that asks them to deny what they know to be true.  This series of sermons based on Marcus Borg’s book, The Heart of Christianity, is for those last two groups of people – and to help those of us who are here today, talk with those people – who may be our children, or grandchildren, or ourselves.  

This will not be new at all for some of you; but for others, perhaps, this sermon series may feel like a journey into the wilderness: it will be unfamiliar territory.  For some it may even feel like temptation - you may be shaken by what you hear, and feel threatened by it.  Let me urge you to trust the Spirit: to trust that God will lead you in your understanding and your spiritual growth, as Jesus was led in those days he spent in the wilderness.  That is what Lent is about, in part: a time in the wilderness in which to hear the voice of God.

Many people today struggle with the Christianity they have grown up with.  They have a yearning for spiritual experience and moral guidance, but have trouble accepting all the things they think come along with Christian faith.  My hope is that I can make a beginning with you, a beginning of another way of understanding and living the Christian faith, that speaks to this quandary many Christians find themselves in.  If it is not for you, so be it - but it may give you the language to talk to those you love in a way you haven’t been able to before now.  I can’t present everything about it in the 10 or 15 minutes of sermon time, but my hope is that some of you will choose to explore these ideas with me after the service. 

In the next couple of months, I want to talk to you about what is sometimes called, "The emerging paradigm" or "emerging church" - a development in understanding Christian faith and how it is lived in the world, that differs in many ways from the old paradigm, an older way of understanding. 

To begin with, let’s talk about the older way of understanding faith - the way that many of you were taught as you were raised in the church - as was I, to a certain extent.  It is a way that has proved fruitful and fulfilling for many - has produced saints and leaders for the church, and has enriched the lives of countless generations of Christians, and continues to do so today.  Marcus 
Borg calls it "The earlier paradigm". Though its seeds were sown early in the history of the church, it is actually a modern phenomenon, which developed from the 16th century on, and became entrenched in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

It is shaped by a number of attitudes, which I’ll talk more about in the weeks ahead:

Briefly: The Bible is a divine product with divine authority; it can only be interpreted literally and factually - in other words, every word of the Bible exists by the will of God, and is both true and factual. It really happened, and it’s what God really wants.  In this understanding, there were really two people named Adam and Eve from whom the whole human race is descended, and as Paul writes, it is because Adam sinned, that all other human beings are born with sin as well. 

There is a softer form of literalism that is willing to acknowledge that some of the stories of the Bible are symbolic: for example, the seven days of creation may represent geological epochs, and the story of the Fall may be a way of talking about the reality of human sin.  But in this softer form of literalism, the major events of the Bible did happen and the Bible records them accurately - the Exodus, the reign of King David, the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus, etc - these stories are absolute fact.

In this view of Christian faith, the Bible is also intended to reveal both doctrine and morals for all time: what the Bible teaches is what we should believe and how we should act, without condition.  One way to put it would be "The Bible is not only the Word of God, it is the words of God".  For Catholics, this understanding of the Bible also applies to the traditions of the church.  For many Christians, the creeds have the same sort of authority.

We’ll call this understanding the Literal-Factual approach to Christian Scripture and tradition.

Then we move on the question of what it means to be Christian. Christian life, within this understanding, is focussed on the afterlife, and what to believe or to do to be saved.  The earlier paradigm claims that if we believe everything in the Bible, we will gain eternal life.  Christian faith then, is primarily about believing the right things, as in: "Do you believe that Jesus Christ is your personal Lord and Saviour, and that he died for the sins of the world?" If one does not believe in this manner, one will be condemned to eternal punishment.  To be fair, one’s relationship with God and one’s actions toward neighbours are also important, but there is an emphasis on believing the right things within this paradigm, that is not found elsewhere in the church.

Christian life is primarily about what God requires of us, and how we will be rewarded or punished in the afterlife according to those requirements.

This earlier paradigm is the one we hear the most about in North America, largely due to the dominance of certain types of Christianity on the media.  However, you can find both the earlier and the emerging paradigm in nearly every denomination, and in nearly every congregation.

So let’s talk about this emerging paradigm, this way of understanding Christianity that has emerged over the last one hundred years, but has really started to take hold in the last 20 or so.  In this paradigm, we see the Bible historically, metaphorically, and sacramentally.  Don’t let those words intimidate you!  I’m going to illustrate what I mean!  

Let’s go back to the story of Adam and Eve and their fall from grace.  A historical reading of that story recognizes its parallels with other ancient Near Eastern myths about an early paradise; it recognizes that the serpent was an ambiguous figure in that period, representing the positive and negative aspects of wisdom and knowledge.  It realizes that these stories were likely not written down in their present form until the time of King Solomon at the very earliest.  It recognizes that this story was told by the ancient Israelites to their own people, to say something important about the way the world was.  It was not written for or to us, but can still enlighten us.  

A metaphorical reading of the story recognizes it as an attempt to tell in story something true about the human condition.  We all recognize that there is something wrong in the world, and in humanity.  We know that our innocence has been shattered, that paradise is no longer in reach, that there is something in us that is deeply flawed.  We might see this story as a story about the loss of innocence, and the gaining of knowledge, and the consequences of knowing right from wrong - not to mention the consequences of making the wrong choice!  Paul’s letter to the Romans is in part, interpreting this story of Adam and Eve metaphorically.  Adam represents the fall of all humanity, the universal experience of sin, while Christ represents the new, redeemed humanity, made righteous through God. 

A sacramental understanding of Scripture may be harder for us to grasp.  We don’t talk a lot about sacraments in our United churches.  A sacrament is a physical sign and revelation of God’s presence and action in our lives.  As we celebrate communion, we name that God is present in the breaking and the pouring, and that we are fed and nurtured by God’s presence.  The Scriptures, too, can be seen as sacrament - not as the "words" of God in a literal sense, but as revealing God’s presence in the lives of people of the past and in our  lvies in the present.  

The Christian life, in this understanding of Christianity, focuses less on requirements and rewards, and more on relationship.  It is about the transformed heart, the committed life, here and now, not in some future time or place. To be Christian does not mean believing in Christianity, but living a relationship with God that is shaped by Christian story and tradition.  Through the images and practices of Christian scripture and tradition, the Spirit reveals God’s will to us for this time and this place.

That’s a really quick sketch of where we will be going in the next few weeks.  If you feel like you’re lost in the wilderness already, don’t lose heart!  There is as much in common between the old and the new as there is difference.  Both traditions affirm the reality of God, the centrality of the Bible, the centrality of Jesus, the importance of a relationship with God as known in Jesus, and our need (and the world’s need) for transformation.  The emerging paradigm is not superior to the other paradigm, or vice versa - each has its gifts, and each has its dangers.  If the way you have been raised to believe continues to issue forth in faithful living, righteous action, and a deep and personal relationship with God, then "Praise God!" and keep on believing.  But if that older way has become a stumbling block in your journey with God, then know that there is another way to be truly Christian, and truly faithful. 

Today, we’ve begun to see this new way - a way to the heart of Christianity.  I’d invite you to take a few moments to think about what you’ve heard, and to pray for God’s guidance in understanding. May God bless us as we embark on this journey of learning and discovery. Amen.