Do You Trust The Abbreviated Jesus?

Posted byChaplainmikePosted inJesus Shaped, Post-Evangelicalism, Rants

The other day a strange feeling came over me.

Don’t get me wrong about what I’m about to say here. It was just a feeling. I’m not claiming any powers of discernment or certainty.

I got the distinct feeling there’s something wrong with a lot of people who say they are Jesus-followers/believers.

If you want to supply your own vocabulary, like “Aren’t saved” or “aren’t Christians,” do so at your own risk. I’m not saying that. (There’s other blogs for that game, if you are burning to know.)

No, but it was as plain as daylight to me that when I hear a lot of people talk about Jesus, I feel like I am hearing….an abbreviation.

I said abbreviation. A shortened version of the real word. You see the abbreviation, you’re supposed to know what it means. We all agree on the abbreviation.

Don’t we?

We all know what the shorthand version stands for.

Right?

Or maybe we don’t.

I’m beginning to get the feeling that when people say Jesus, I can’t trust the abbreviation.

I’m getting the feeling that we are talking about a kind of “mini-Jesus.” A diluted, declawed, demoted savior who is a symbolic representation for a kind of anemic, watered-down, un-Biblical, culturally acceptable Jesus.

I get the feeling that if you move beyond the standard biographical paragraph, you’re going to discover that the Jesus you are hearing about has considerably less to say than Jesus as we meet him in the Gospels.

You are going to discover that he has little or nothing to do with most of the Bible, especially the Old Testament and the more demanding parts of the new.

You are going to discover that there is a remarkable resemblance between the abbreviated Jesus and the current version of political correctness. (Isn’t it unusual how Jesus takes an interest in whatever happens to be the current rage on CNN-MSNBC-CBS-FOX-USATODAY?)

I am not sure this abbreviated Jesus believes in hell.

I actually think the abbreviated Jesus doesn’t like to be bothered with issues of morality, character or behavior. He’s mostly interested in larger political and cultural issues, or your experience at your local church, or how you’re doing in your relationships.

The abbreviated Jesus has quite a bit in common with contemporary “life coaches,” talk show hosts, political apologists, faith-based advocates, teachers of “principles,” community organizers, and family values lobbyists.

The people who talk about the abbreviated Jesus don’t seem to know much about the Bible. Not at all.

But they still have a surprisingly strong opinion about the meaning of all kinds of things Jesus said and did in the Bible.

The abbreviated Jesus can convincingly seem like the real Jesus, until you look and listen closely. Then it appears that he’s lost his laptop, his luggage and his cell phone. So for right now, he is reading it all off the teleprompter.

The abbreviated Jesus doesn’t vary much from the script.

In fact- and this is what really got my attention — the abbreviated Jesus would only get crucified if there were some terrible mix-up.

The abbreviated Jesus is Jesus without the Biblical context, Jesus without church history, Jesus without Jesus theology, Jesus without costly discipleship, Jesus without offensive teaching or mysterious parables. The abbreviated Jesus is so easily explained, so comprehensible and user-friendly that anyone can follow him, even without instructions.

In millions of cases, the abbreviated Jesus is Jesus without the church. He is Jesus who lets you pick your friends, pick your community and pick your comfortable seat. He is OK with whatever your plans are for the weekend. He is not making demands on your time. (He is a major spokesperson for unplugging the fourth commandment.) He is not making any demands on your money that don’t follow your emotions. (He wants you to feel personally fulfilled about whatever you choose to support.)

The abbreviated Jesus seems to always need one more book to really get down to what he actually means.

He has a lot of preachers who understand him, and a lot of churches where his way of doing things has become very popular.

Aside from abortion and gay marriage, the abbreviated Jesus is pretty happy in America. There’s so much for his friends to do and enjoy!

I don’t trust the abbreviated Jesus.

Sometimes, he has been in my house, my head, my heart and my preaching. And I don’t like him.

He is flat. Empty. Easy. Moldable.

He is not full of the Holy Spirit. He is full of us.

Frankly, he seems to be full of….well…..there are words here that my daddy used, which I’m not supposed to use on this blog. If you don’t know what they are, write me. Or ask a farmer who knows the real Jesus.

I am announcing that I’m afraid of the abbreviated Jesus and his followers. I am afraid of his “church,” his books and his kind of “discipleship.”

I am uninviting him from my life and my interactions with other Christians.

I want to know Jesus. The untamed, old school, offensive, mysterious, demanding, awe-inspiring, transformational, life altering, crucified, risen, ascended, revolutionary Jesus.

Spell it out: He is the creator. The mediator. The fulfiller and establisher of the law. His the passover lamb. He is the head of the church. He is the heart and key to Holy Scripture. He is the meal on the table. He is life in the living water. He pours out the Holy Spirit. He is the rider on the white horse. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the eternal God.

He doesn’t need my explanations, endorsements or euphemisms. He isn’t reading my note cards and nodding. He doesn’t tolerate my sin. He’s the life of God for the sin of the world. He’s righteousness, sanctification and holiness. He’s the Kingdom bringer, the executor of judgment, the one who is worthy to open the scroll and read the books. He’s the light of heaven and the conqueror of hell, death, sin and the grave.

He’s the one in whom all history, poetry, story and theology come together into the great I AM. He’s the mystery and the Word that reveals God to all persons. He’s the Gospel itself, the meaning of every message and the open door of God’s mercy.

You cannot abbreviate him.

You fall at his feet and worship. You get up and follow. You die and he raises you on the last day.

That’s Jesus, and I’ve got a feeling a lot of people really don’t have a clue.

82 thoughts on “Do You Trust The Abbreviated Jesus?”

  1. Do you actually mean to say that Jesus is not quite the real Jesus without “church history” and “theology”?

    No abbreviations; no extensions.

    Oh, and by the way…good luck!

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  3. I think perhaps the Pharisees of John 8 were looking for abbrieviated Jesus. When the real Jesus told them he was the I AM, they picked up stones to kill him.

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  6. The abbreviated Jesus is everywhere in the name of relevance… — T.C.

    Don’t they know that nothing gets stale faster than over-relevance?

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  7. Praise HIM !!!!!!! LORD we praise YOU for the awesome GOD that YOU are. Forgive us O GOD for failing to always see YOU as YOU really are. Help us to behold YOUR glory, and to live to that end always and forever. Search us O GOD, cleanse us, test us, strengthen us to live for YOU alone JESUS, LORD of all. WE give YOU our lives. Bless YOU LORD JESUS.

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  8. “He’s the creator. The mediator…the passover lamb” – iMonk.

    It’s weeks like this that make me jealous of Roman Catholics. The daily readings from the Missal are building toward Christ the King Sunday. Today’s reading is from Revelation 5:1-10, where the hosts of heaven fall down to worship…not a ferocious lion, not a snarling bull, not a fire-breathing dragon, not a super hero…but a lamb. Not just a lamb, but one that “seemed to have been slain”. Behold the unfathomable ways of God! We try to make Jesus into a weak, anemic, conciliatory lap dog. In doing so, we entirely miss the point. Jesus became far weaker than we can ever imagine: conceived, born, suffered, crucified, died, buried, descended. But as Paul proclaims: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11). From utter weakness, the Father raised Jesus above all powers, so that Paul also can proclaim, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). To make the point painfully clear, the resurrected, ascended, and soon to come Jesus is portrayed still as a helpless, powerless, slain lamb. Those who know the ways of God fall prostrate at the site, rather than fear the prospect of stadiums full of hungry lions. To say the least, looks can be deceiving.

    Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

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  9. Thanks for another great post. I hear you loud and clear. The main abbreviate version of Jesus that I run across is one that wants all his children to be healthy, wealthy and powerful. In one form or another I see Jesus stripped of his cross. The passage about denying ourselves, taking up our crosses and following him have been whited out. All talk of suffering for him is completely absent.

    Thanks again. Keep writing. 🙂

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  10. I grew up in the church. I worked in the church. I am now finishing seminary. I have gone through the struggles of becoming a post-evangelical. I am now wondering what it mean for us to BE post-evangelicals.

    I understands the emotions of this discussion. I am there every day. At the same time, I am cautious about how quickly many of us want to echo agreement and yet, we are all still wandering in the post-evangelical wilderness.

    I want to know what happens next?

    Are we doomed to wander? What does it mean for us that so many feel akin to post-evangelical sensibilities but are still lacking kinship with each other? We may have the courage to leave a bad situation (if one can call this courage). Do we have the courage to embody a healthier alternative?

    Will there be a remnant? What do we do now?

    I would love to hear your thoughts.

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  11. I’m sure someone could create goals and definitions that separate sermons from blog entries – but I would love to hear what you wrote preached, word for word. I hear and experience the passion coming through in the written words; I would love to have the passion and presence of Spirit-filled spoken words plant the seeds of truth even deeper so they produced a bumper crop of the real Jesus being displayed in my life.

    Great post, Michael – do you preach as good as you write?

    In short, AMEN!!

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  13. Hey, an example of the amputated Jesus showed up in my Email box recently:

    “HE ARRIVED THIS MORNING, WE HAD PRAYER,
    SPENT SOME TIME JUST TALKING, HE HELD ME FOR AWHILE ,
    AND THEN, HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO YOUR PLACE.

    When he gets to your PC, escort him to the next stop.
    Please don’t allow him to sleep on your PC.
    The message he is carrying is very important and needs to go round.
    May God bless you as you do this – AMEN.

    Walking for Jesus!
    Say a prayer, then pass him on to bless others.
    Our assignment is to love and spread the gospel throughout the world.
    Have a blessed day and touch somebody’s life today! I just did.

    He’s walking around the world – via e-mail!!
    Pass it on, so he can get there.
    When you forward, put where he left in the subject box.”

    Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy don’t it? No?? Well, me neither. Maybe you have to be spirtual, not religious to get it. All I know is that the amputated Jesus doesn’t look anything like the Jesus I encountered when I started reading the Bible to prove it wrong nearly 25 years ago.

    The Jesus of scripture is awesome (in the truest sense of the word). The amputated Jesus is just awful (in the worst sense of the word). One raises the dead – the other praises the dead.

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  17. iMonk:

    Outstanding post, my brother. When I was in high school, my step-mom (a new ager) said that she liked Jesus, but hated the church, and that Jesus came to earth to “bring peace and balance in the universe.” Full of recent Bible reading, I let her have it, proclaiming about swords and who is my mother and brothers, etc. Not very Jesus-like, I know, but it made me mad to think of a new-ager coopting Jesus into something He is not.

    In my travels I have met the Republican Jesus who is your life coach and wants you to feel good about buying the Camry instead of the Expedition for your third(!) car. I have also met Granola Jesus, always ready to work at the soup kitchen but never asking “Who do you say I am?” to anyone.

    I agree with an earlier commenter who said if Jesus came back He would have plenty to say about “those people” with their wrong ideas but He wouldn’t then shut up but continue to address all of mine. Who wants that?

    I only know that with great humility I can say “though He slay me still will I trust Him,” and “Thank you, Jesus for being so gentle with my life.”

    Keep it up, boss. You doin’ good.

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  18. I was struck today that I have actually been reading you on the web for YEARS now after having accidentally stumbled across your page one fateful afternoon. Often what you have written is bouncing around in my head long after I have read it. This post is excellent. I will be sharing it.

    Thanks for continuing to put your heart out here.

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  19. Loved the post! I wonder though, if as humans we can fully grasp Jesus unless He is put into multiple abbreviations, just as we can never fully grasp another person but must put them into our personal judgement boxes such as loudmouth, shy and quiet, charismatic, etc. Can we relate to Jesus in a multi-dimensional way or do we always approach Him within one dimension? I know it is something I struggle with.

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  21. Yeah, and the photo at the top: Jesus is half-price this week, on clearance. Why? Because we couldn’t sell enough of Him at full-price, so we’re clearing him out so he won’t be a drain on our bottom line.

    Does that irony make anyone besides me shudder a little?

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  22. I was almost shouting when I read the last few paragraphs of the post. Or weeping. But then, I am a pentecostal… 😉

    Maybe I have a slightly different takeaway from this than some, but here’s my thoughts. There’s the Abbreviated Jesus of all our preconceptions. Then there’s the Actual Jesus, as revealed in scripture, but also as the Living God who is, even as we discuss Him, at the right hand of the Father, and interacts with his people through his Spirit. Living in the present tense, as it were. This is the Jesus that I want to know, even if it’s inconvenient or disturbing or upsets my little apple cart. Here in just a few years, I’ll be out of this body and into eternity, and at that point my theological constructs of Jesus are going to be moot. I’ll be face to face with the real article.

    When that day comes, I would rather not have to explain how I used my abbreviations of the real thing to justify my own lusts of flesh or power, or my pride of life…

    Lord, let me live today transparently before you, walking with you, open to you, not trying to mold you into some abbreviation of your true self.

    Thanks, Michael. Great post. Good discussion too, everybody.

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  23. I think one of the reasons we have an abbreviated Jesus is that we like to cluster ourselves around identities. As MLK Jr. said, the most segregated part of American life is sunday morning. Usually, the identities we cluster around have to do with race, politics and income, and in order to keep these unruly clusters from fragmenting, the bonds between members must be cemented. What better way to keep the church together than to preach sermons that keep the members feeling unified, except rather than find unity in a Jesus who challenges, we find unity in a Jesus that tells us that we are doing fine, we just need a couple of adjustments here and there. We find unity in a Jesus that tells we are being persecuted by “them.” We find unity in the idea that our sins are not willful, but are like illnesses and Jesus is our weekly allergy shot…

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  24. I don’t trust the “Jesus” that “ministers” to children at VBS. Jesus should not be colored in coloring books. That’s the weirdest thing ever to me – it’s a vision of Jesus that asks and offers absolutely nothing but the figurehead, the organizing principle, the extension of the parents’ gaze and authority and it creeps me out majorly.

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  25. It seems fundamentally that it is a Jesus without reading, because the only way you can properly internalize all of the things discussed is to read about different topics over the course of a lifetime- hopefully beginning at home/church. But Christians don’t read any more- people don’t even read the Joyce Meyer and Max Lucado books, though they are on the shelves- every person I know who buys those sort of books (and Lucado, at least, is better than nothing, though not very impressive to me) admits to getting 50-60 pages in and quitting.
    I don’t see how any sort of Christianity can survive without reading (that may be true for any religion) and its not something that’s taken seriously

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  26. Imonk,
    Great post. I like it because it is true. I too though will not go as far as to say that those guilty of an abbreviated Jesus are not Christians. They may hold some unChristian ideas, but then all Christians do at one time or another.
    I have seen the same phenomenon I call it the Jesus Idol, The Jesus we fashion in our own image. Preached on this a couple of months ago. For instance I am tempted to believe in a Jesus that not only eats and drinks with sinners, but gets drunk with them. Others believe in a Jesus that would never consider making wine for wedding goers who may have already imbibed a little too much, accounting for the fact that there wasn’t enough wine.
    It isn’t to say we don’t believe in Jesus, and aren’t willing to listen to him. But when we do listen to Jesus he has a tendency to smash our beloved idol by the same name.

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  27. Word. The post was great and insightful and I agree, and the comments and discussion have been useful and interesting as well. One the one hand, you have to start somewhere with teaching people (who are like little children) about Jesus, and I chose to introduce Him to my four year old as a friend. On the other hand, if He is never revealed as more than that, more than accessory, what is He worth? My Jesus is calling me out today, challenging me and making me awfully nervous.

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  28. Our Jesus is and always has been an abbreviated Jesus since we can never fully comprehend him. What marks our time off from others is that we seem to be in a proud race to promote and market our shiny, sleek, more useful, trophy Jesus.

    You (iMonk) have not gone far enough. We are long past an abbreviated Jesus. We are now several generations into abbreviations of abbreviated Jesuses.

    I have expressed a similar idea by thinking of Christ as a clothing accessory, as something like a cool beret or hair style that marks us out as unique and interesting, makes us feel a little better about ourselves, helps us in our work and sex life, and wherever else we come up short.

    As an accessory, I can take him off when he gets in the way or ceases to provide an added value. Since I am the same with or without him, I simply use and wear him when it suits me, enhances my perception of myself, or gives me leverage in a particular social situation.

    To the degree these things are true in my life, God forgive me.

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  29. I would suggest that the problem with ANY idea of Jesus, is that we can either chose to accept a set of premises about Him (and leave it at that – abbreviation?) or pursue a life of trying to work out what this character in History is about, both in community with others and in love, the desire for truth and humility.

    I actually disagree with at least one of the descriptors iMonk uses to describe the “non-abbreviated” Jesus. However I think I have a long history of thought and reasoning, including discussion with other believers, to rely on for holding this opinion. I also am ready to change my opinion provided the right level of discernment/ discussion is provided.

    In any case, I would suggest that we all have an “abbreviated” Jesus. The key, and perhaps the point iMonk is making (please inform me if I am wrong) is how we ensure that we continue to expand/ refine what we know/ believe about Him within the guidance of the Spirit, and in the community of Love, through the scripture – which of course is the starting place for Christian theology.

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  30. Howdy internet Monk

    loved the article and was wondering if it was okay if I shared it in our local paper

    i find people not only believe in the abbreviated Jesus but they are abbreviated Christians thinking they are going to an Abbreviated Heaven when the reality is they don’t read their bible and like Abraham they want God to bless their Ishmaels (sin)

    thanks for the article and especially the part of old school Jesus I like that in fact I am madly furiously in love with Him

    blessings

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  31. Great post.

    I think the abbreviated Jesus is what we produce when we try to change Jesus to fit into our world rather than change ourselves to fit into His. It’s a rejection of introspection and meaningful conversion. Thanks for distilling it for us. I’d add that this seemingly innocuous Jesus actually greatly undermines faith formation and the respect for Christianity in the wider culture. When Jesus becomes and biblical Barney or Elmo agnostics who might be attracted by the true faith are deceived into believing Christianity is a Saturday morning cartoon.

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  32. No, I don’t trust an abbreviated Jesus. I’ve left two churches that tried to tell me I should.

    I probably don’t trust a whole Jesus either, because none of us knows the whole Jesus. Or the whole God. We all now only know in part; see through a glass dimly. And wait.

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  33. A Jesus who does not call us into a community that resembles Jesus’ own movement is likely an abbreviated Jesus.

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  34. Sam,

    That was one thing that used to frustrate me. Whole sermons would be based on a few verses, generally from Paul and not the gospels.

    Jesus is too wild, too untamed for most of us.

    I just wonder what it was like seeing Jesus with the woman caught in adultery. Seeing her, as the church leaders did, as trash, and then transformed by Jesus into a loved, (and therefore beautiful) person. Yes, with mistakes but forgiven.

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  35. Every church we have attended reads books about the Bible, and only bits and pieces of the the Bible. Sermons, small groups and even “Bible studies”, to my amazement, use the Bible as a secondary resource. The primary resource is some book that tells us someone’s opinion and interpretation.

    How can we possibly know the real Jesus if we don’t know the Bible really well?

    What we know is the Jesus the church and books have taught us, which is a pseudo-Jesus, or as you call it an “abbreviated” Jesus. A whole lot seems to get changed and left out.

    The real Jesus is an outrageous radical. If He showed up to spend a few months on earth, I can’t think of a single church I’ve ever seen or heard of that wouldn’t run Him off in short order. He is way too radical and demands way too much.

    Jesus would probably have something to say about abortion and gays if He were here. But would He not also have a whole lot to say about lots and lots of other stuff that we don’t want to hear, because that is the way most of us are living? A real Jesus in Heaven and a watered-down sweet Jesus in our fantasies works a lot better for most of us.

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  36. “A Jesus that does not challenge an American in the area of money is the abbreviated Jesus.”

    Amen on this. We Americans have often replaced Jesus with our devotion to financial success. I find myself regularly convicted in this area as I am often tempted by the need for “just a little more”. Yet I know from experience that through whatever I am given, my needs will be provided for. Perhaps it comes down to trust – another of my struggles. How genuinely are we willing to trust what the Bible tells us about God’s provision for us in ALL things. Perhaps not in the way we would choose or expect, but in God’s wisdom. How would those who follow the “abbreviated” Jesus react to that?

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  37. Micheal,

    Great post, am really enjoying it ,please don’t apologize for not having answers, its the question thats the point!

    I think the reason we end up with an abbreviated Jesus is that we/church keep trying to define Him because we/church are trying to sell a salvation gospel as opposed to modeling a Kingdom Gospel and teaching true Discipleship!

    Why is it that if I happen to mention over tea & cookies at church that I happened to overhear Joe Blow down the street saying the “sinners” prayer they all start jumping up & down, but if I say I overheard him saying the Lord’s prayer the response is more like “gee is he saved ?”

    I sure do agree with Tony, and often wonder how ( or if ) lonely Jesus must have felt at times, or was that offset by his closeness to the Father. And how do I get that!! ( for that I need an answer, sorry )

    Bless you all

    Hans

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  38. Great post. This goes with the post on why so many people leave the church. An abbreviated Jesus leads to an abbreviated church.
    Could you also put the annotated Jesus in the same box? You know the Jesus that preached on avoiding movies and card games and mixed bathing, to say nothing of secular music and wine at a wedding? I read a lot about him [no caps as he is not my Him]. Some where between Grinch Jesus who specifically stated women can never wear pant suits and men all wear ties to church and you MUST whoop your child, and this abbreviation you describe so well, is the Jesus of the bible.
    He can’t be added to or taken from.If Rev. 22:19 warns us about modifying a book, how much more severe will the judgment be for modifying our Savior?
    If you find a denomination that neither adds nor subtracts, please, I beg you, tell me, for I fear we have all fallen short of the Glory of God.

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  41. “The official line was, “Jesus is the Son of God,”, which really settles nothing.”

    Agreed, and I think that’s what Michael is approaching here: this can be watered down to the point where “Jesus is the son of God (but so are we all!)” is being put forward. It’s back to that question “But you – who do you say that I am?”

    I wish I could proffer a coherent opinion, but I’m being horribly distracted by that picture. Are those Jesus dolls? Jesus action figures? What are they? They’re not Catholic, since they’re not the Sacred Heart, and they look like they have arm joints, so – are they action figures/dolls?

    I thought Protestants didn’t have images or statues like us idolatrous Papists? Sorry, but those boxes of whatever-they-are are haunting me 🙂

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  44. “My Dad isn’t what you would call an apostle Paul or even a regular church-goer, but I would like to hope that the Jesus he believes in is the “real” one.”

    I sympathize, and it makes sense: if Jesus is a hole that we pray into. But if believing in Jesus is like acting, you’re either playing or you’re not. Everything that seems ‘subjective’ to other people is perfectly clear when you have an objective yourself. For this line of thinking, I find it hard to equivocate Jesus and his teachings as some eminently passive thing that we just have faith in, which IS easy to abbreviate and grow old with, and feel like somehow that just misses the point completely.

    I don’t want to sound strident, and I hasten to add, that I don’t think I know Jesus either. I just know that I don’t, and am sure that anybody who knows what I know about Jesus doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

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  46. Just don’t replace the plastic Jesus with the Freddy Krueger Jesus. That didn’t work in the Dark Ages; it just drove the people to inappropriate devotion to the saints (Jesus is terrifying and unapproachable; better go to him through a broker).

    I’m not the biggest fan of Saint Augustine, but for this prayer I am grateful to him: “Give what You command, and command what You will”. Jesus doesn’t forgive our sins and then turn around to threaten us again with the terrors of the law. But unlike the plastic Jesus, He doesn’t patronize or enable us in the mire of our habitual sins. Instead, He sends the Holy Spirit to daily kill the old Adam and raise up the new man within us, that we can live the life that God demands – although not perfectly yet in this side of the resurrection; that is why we never stray from the shadow of the cross.

    After Paul despairs of his own ability to fulfill the law in Romans 7, he goes onto Romans 8:

    “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” -Romans 8:11-13.

    I’m grateful that Jesus perfectly fulfilled the requirements of the law on my behalf. But I am also grateful that He left us the Holy Spirit to change me into His own likeness. It’s an exciting message.

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  47. I’m going out on a limb and suggesting that the reason it can be tough to understand how dangerous it is to abbreviate Jesus is that there are many “liberal” and “conservative” ways to abbreviate Jesus. THe danger is that we convince ourselves that OUR abbreviations are pointing to the real, risen Christ when we have elided out the real JEsus in favor of our postage stamp portrait of Jesus. In the place of the Lord who challenges us I can be tempted to substitute a Jesus who affirms whatever my pet agenda is. At that point the abbreviation becomes dangerous because that becomes my potential “witness” to others. My understanding of abbreviated Jesus is when I have conversations with people who use Jesus to underwrite their concerns rather than letting the message of Christ confront their concerns. This is my understanding of what abbreviated JEsus is and why it’s dangerous. It can be tempting to see my own abbreviation of JEsus as the right one and the abbreviations of others as wrong when both need to be corrected.

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  48. Certainly the price of having my own point of view and blogging my own faith journey experience is that I’ll intersect someone else’s questions or experiences at a different place.

    If this was perceived as a “Conservatives have the real Jesus and progressives don’t,” then either I really wrote poorly or someone has misread.

    In my setting, I sense a negligible understanding of the person and significance of Jesus. I sense little understanding of Jesus shaped spirituality and little appreciation of the fully shaped Biblical discipleship that Jesus devoted himself to.

    What I perceive is a Jesus functioning in a highly edited, highly spun, highly rewritten, highly coached and packaged way.

    I can’t make it any plainer than that. I purposely don’t tie this kind of post to some specific theological controversy.

    I said at the very beginning that I was not playing teampyro here and saying that someone who disagreed with me wasn’t a Christian. And I am not writing to give a checklist of “this is the real Jesus and you can’t disagree.”

    I apologize that the post isn’t answering all the questions it raises.

    peace

    ms

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  49. Basically, Monk, you’re the Batman of the faith and I like to think of myself as the Joker. You present a very accurate and challenging idea, and I throw in a choatic sliver of truth. Where would I be without you? Keep the blogs coming; they’re great.

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  51. I catch your drift, Monk. And I agree that the church should examine itself against scripture instead of traditions of men. Good discussion topic…

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  52. Michael, this is not about your blogging. I have lurked here and I quite enjoy it. However, the topic you brought up transcends just your efforts here. My unspoken premise is my own cloud of doubts and the reactions I have received from people close to me. I’m looking for a better way to handle myself, as much as anything else.
    Hyperbole aside, out of the list you provided, I can see legitimate (now there’s a loaded term) reasons someone might hold to any of those (I hold a few myself), and legitimate gripes with all six. Kyle is right, where do we draw the grace line and suffer the discussion, even if we are confident in our convictions one way or the other?

    Scott, I was not trying to zing you regarding resurrection. I’m sorry it seemed that way. I, like most, have taken it as a given… even now I am wondering if I should.

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  54. Well yes, but I suppose the question is this: If the post is so obscure that it’s inspired this discussion, then it’s obviously not doing what I wanted it to do, which is cause people to ask a few more questions than just “Do someone mention Jesus? Cool!”

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  55. My point is that it requires a total connection with the Spirit to make judgements about what the “real Jesus” would do. And I would be very hesitant to label the god of someone else’s faith a “fake” Jesus. That’s all I’m saying. My Dad isn’t what you would call an apostle Paul or even a regular church-goer, but I would like to hope that the Jesus he believes in is the “real” one.
    That’s all.

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  56. I think iMonk is talking about abbreviations of Jesus where people say they love and follow Jesus but differ from the unbelieving world in very few ways or no ways at all. I don’t think he’s talking about doctrinal/theological differences per se, but about differences in commitment to a way of life that makes demands on people and forces a certain forsaking of the ways found in the general populace. Am I right?

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  57. So what’s the larger point here guys? We don’t know enough about Jesus to talk about, pray to, worship or disciple people as followers of Jesus?

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  58. >…has no conception.

    The word “no” may be hyperbole.

    Justin: I’m not quite following what your line of questioning is about here. I’m willing to stay with it, but it seems you have some unstated premise regarding the post, or my blogging in general, that needs to be aired.

    Examples of what I mean:

    1) Opting out of organized worship and Christian community entirely.
    2) Opting out of evangelism entirely.
    3) Declaring living together before marriage a non-issue
    4) Having little or no understanding of how Jesus fits into the message of the entire Bible.
    5) Declaring that following Jesus is basically about (fill in political cause of the day.)
    6) Assuming that Jesus = the cultural definition of a spiritual person

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  59. Justin:

    You are correct to point out my omission of the resurrection. The resurrection is essential and without we are above all people to be pitied. Thanks for pointing this out.

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  60. I agree that would should look to follow the Jesus that is living at the right hand of the Father. Though I fear that in our zeal to speak as the “real Jesus” we may neglet the woman caught in adultery who is in desperate need of grace. I fear we may leave behind the doubter who denies Jesus a few times. If we are to follow the “real Jesus” of scripture then what about women preachers/teachers? What about turning a cheek and blessing your enemy (aka terrorists)? Where is the “real Jesus”/grace line drawn?

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  61. The “rant” is simply what it feels like when you realize you are in a conversation with people who say they are Jesus followers, but they have no conception of major issues endorsed by Jesus.
    I guess my question is, how do you–how do we-make that determination that someone has no conception? Compared to what? You already said not all will agree. Why limit allowed disagreement to obscure seminary topics?

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  62. Abbreviations are necessary and legit. It’s only when they become ambiguous that anyone would question their legitimacy. But then it’s not a disagreement with abbreviation itself, but with someone else’s understanding of that abbreviation, or confusion over the abbreviation.

    Abbreviation happens in the bible all the time.

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  64. Gumby… er, Scott, 🙂

    I came from a church tradition (Stone/Campbell/Restoration Movement) that basically said, “no comment” in regard to the Trinity, lest they be accused of being Catholic or Oneness Pentacostal or Unitarian or Jehovah’s Witness or [insert other disfavored denom. here]. The official line was, “Jesus is the Son of God,”, which really settles nothing.

    In response to your first response to me :), like you I hold all those things about Jesus to be true, but I would add that none of it matters one whit without a bodily-resurrected Jesus. Any discussion of who he is that leaves out or minimizes the Resurrection, IMO, is an abbreviated Jesus. So, where does that leave the discussion, as I have asked iMonk? Not all will agree with me.

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  65. >…but then why the rant? What, then is our purpose for decrying the abbreviated Jesus? or any other doctrinal sacred cow?

    Because there are big differences between what is being referred to in any discussion involving Jesus. There are huge differences between what is being referenced in conversations about Jesus.

    I experience this all the time. The idea of an “abbreviated” Jesus isn’t describing the difference between theories of the atonement or nuances that only seminary graduate students can explain.

    The “rant” is simply what it feels like when you realize you are in a conversation with people who say they are Jesus followers, but they have no conception of major issues endorsed by Jesus

    peace

    MS

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  66. …don’t we all have deficits in our theology somewhere?

    Agreed, and that is my point. I think this point should color how we approach our imitation of Priscilla and Aquila [showing the way of Jesus more perfectly].

    I don’t see how theories of atonement determine if we are talking about the real Jesus or not. That’s reformation theology.

    A good illustration. Personally, I think my favored theory of atonement deeply impacts my theology of Jesus. They are interdependent, IMO.

    We won’t agree perfectly.

    I don’t mean this to be a hit on you, personally [because I love a good rant]… but then why the rant? What, then is our purpose for decrying the abbreviated Jesus? or any other doctrinal sacred cow?

    I’m not sure how disagreement = distortion.

    I don’t say that it does. But distortions are bred out of disagreements, especially when one or both sides decides being correct and proving it is most important.

    …I feel like I’m getting worked by a Catholic apologist or someone whose been dealing with one.

    I’m no catholic, nor have I been dealing with one. I am sorry to make you feel worked–that is not my intent. I’m just asking questions for sake of discussion.

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  67. I just don’t believe this post is about the various options of theological nuance within Protestant theology. The division I am describing is about much more basic comprehensions of Jesus in his context and as he’s presented in scripture.

    C.S. Lewis said we don’t need to be nutritionists to benefit from a meal.

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  68. Justin: Paint me green and call me Gumby, but your comment about “trinitarian nuances” makes absolutely no sense.

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  69. Bravo imonk!

    I don’t want the abbreviated Jesus, I want the one that went willing to the cross. Then suffered the hell I put Him through when His Father turned his back on Him, because He couldn’t look at my sin.

    I want the one that stood up and spoke out against the actions of the people, oh my, even the Christians. I want the one that feeds His sheep through His elected shepherds.

    I see people in churches today almost skipping down the aisle to salvation. I don’t know about them, but I believe my Bible says you will be broken and Jesus will lift you up.

    I guess I’m going to get off track, but the church today has gotten away from conviction from God to be saved, to walk up here and repeat after me.

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  70. I don’t see how trinitarian nuances determine if we are getting a substantial (never perfect) presentation of Jesus. Unless one believes there is a perfect theology out there that we can espouse, don’t we all have deficits in our theology somewhere?

    I don’t see how theories of atonement determine if we are talking about the real Jesus or not. That’s reformation theology.

    Extreme distortions that eat into the broad consensus of Jesus studies? Sure. But all of us will present Jesus as we are convinced of what he means and what the Gospel is. We won’t agree perfectly.

    I’m not sure how disagreement = distortion.

    Anytime I hear “Whats the “one true”” something, I feel like I’m getting worked by a Catholic apologist or someone who’s been dealing with one.

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  71. Justin,

    I think the unabbreviated Jesus to whom we point the world is the God who is Jesus. We must never forget that Jesus is the second person of the Triune God. This means He created the world, parted the Red Sea and closed it up again upon the Egyptian armies, killed Nadab and Abihu as recorded in Leviticus 10, and caused the earth to swallow up Korah, Dathan and Abiram in Numbers 16. We could go on and on.

    God is Jesus (I think I read that somewhere on another website). And as such God/Jesus is not someone to approach lightly. C.S. Lewis was right to portray Christ as Aslan the Lion who was certainly not safe but very good.

    This is what makes the incarnation so absolutely, stunningly beautiful and almost incomprehensible. Oh, what wondrous love is this! We should fall on our faces in gratitude and joy that this God would become man and take our place at the cross. We should be grateful for 1 Timothy 2:5-6 – “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”

    It seems to me that this is Christianity. This awesome God, who is absolutely like no other, could have just crushed sinful humanity like He did in the flood. But instead He decided out of His everlasting love to mediate between sinful men and His holy Self. God who is Jesus did this. Jesus could have rightly stoned the woman caught in adultery. He could have justly killed every sinner that approached Him. But instead He freely loved and forgave her and the rest. I feel like singing “And Can it Be?” right now.

    This is why grace IS amazing. If we declaw Jesus and separate Him from the Trinity, grace no longer is so amazing. And I fear this is what is happening today.

    At any rate, this is the unabbreviated Jesus I would present to the world.

    Peace to you,

    Scott

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  72. Well, yes it’s denominational, but it’s also theological. I’m mostly thinking of the trinitarian nuances, the penal-subt’t-atonement vs. covenental vindication discussion, individual vs. kingdom salvation, social vs. spiritual gospel, etc. Theses things are subtleties in differing interpretations and perspectives, all of which have their extreme distortions.
    In our detraction of a watered-down Christ, are we in return championing a distorted Christ, even if more substantive? Is there room for the differences in perspective or is there only one, correct Christology? If so, which one?

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  73. Justin:

    What unabbreviated Jesus’s do I have to pick from? If you’re talking denominational labels, I’ll let the Spirit lead on that one.

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  74. I sometimes wonder which is sadder: The people who follow the abbreviated Jesus and believe they’ve got the real thing, or the people who reject the abbreviated Jesus and believe they’ve rejected the real thing.

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  75. Just to be a voice of dissent… a few questions. 1) Which unabbreviated Jesus should we present to the world?2) At what point does our conviction of and confidence in our chosen unabbreviated Jesus begin to distort him, if not begin to abbreviate him all over again?

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  78. Solid. The thing that challenges me is how do we find people to do life with and fellowship with and evangelize with when we can’t even get everyone worshiping the same King. It is frustrating when you feel so passionately about something only to see it frequently and arbitrarily watered down. Keep bringing the real.

    Peace.

    Tony
    http://www.kingdombard.com

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  79. VERY true. Unfortunately, this has been my experience as well. Sometimes I wonder if my Bible is simply different than some people’s. They talk about “Jesus,” but it doesn’t resonate with the picture I get from scripture. He’s just their “buddy” or something.

    I love C.S. Lewis’ quote…to paraphrase: Is he safe? No, but he’s good.

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  80. Wait a minute. Are you saying that when people say things like, “Abortion/Gay Marriage/Killing Puppies is okay because Jesus loves everybody,” they’re possibly mistaken?

    I’ve always been a little confused (read: ticked off) by those and other similar statements. Like, since Jesus loves you, you can do whatever the hell you want and he’s okay with that, because, gee whiz, Jesus loves you.

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  81. Yes, Michael, you’ve totally nailed it! This read is like a contemporary Bonhoeffer piece on cheap grace.

    The abbreviated Jesus is everywhere in the name of relevance, outreach, whatever; but he’s so neutered and tamed from what we read in Scripture that he is completely irrelevant because he doesn’t have anything TRULY helpful to say. Never a word of Law of Gospel, just some easy, unoffensive drivel that does nothing but sedate us into thinking everything is just peachy.

    Thanks for the prophetic words!

    T.C.

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