Re-Booting Christianity

Images of the challenges and opportunities with re-booting Christianity in a multi-cultural and fractured world: the entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem at the Damascus Gate, worship in the reputed upper room, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, at a small baptist church near the new commercial area, and at the Garden Tomb.

There comes a time when the user operating system of an electronic information device becomes so overloaded or corrupted that there is little choice but to shut down and start over. Just over two millenia since the birth of Christ and nearly half a millenium since the posting of 95 theses by Martin Luther, early in this third millenium may be such a time.

Why Re-Boot? Seven theses are posted for consideration:

1) Jesus intended heterodoxy, not orthodoxy — via a message and a relationship custom-fitted to each individual believer.

2) The doctrine of the trinity is not scriptural, but rather was promulgated for political purposes, has unnecessarily severed Christians from counterpart monotheistic faiths, and should be reopened for renewed debate and synthesis.

3) Distinctives of the Christian way include Jesus’ divine mission, death by crucifixion and resurrection; most of all else is open for personal interpretation — working out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

4) A careful reading of the New Testament demonstrates that salvation may be available through multiple paths mediated through divine encounter  – all tailored to individual needs and capacity to receive.

5) While the Protestant Reformation served to rediscover the concepts of salvation through grace and the priesthood of believers, this reformation remains undone.

6) Judgment clearly is a biblical concept; however, ‘hell’ as a place of eternal damnation should be viewed as a concept not clearly delineated in the Scriptures as currently received — giving way to a God of the perpetual 2nd chance.

7) The scriptural canon has never been closed and should be considered open for review in the light of increasingly available archaeological/textual evidence.

For some, these statements are more than a mouthful - or take some time to chew and digest. For smaller bites, check out our more detailed explanation, by clicking on Re-booting Christianity. Or visit the Academy page to check out all of the no-charge publications available.