We do not need to know what the social justice gospel is, for it has been written, as a film, with Alanis Morisette playing God. The writer (Silent Bob) claimed it was not heresy, but Catholicism with fart jokes. (It’s Dogma, and it is easy to find). But the film is depressing. Every one moans and lies. The black apostle moans about racism, and the last scion of Mary is angry because her lover abandoned her. The only truth telling person is the messenger.
(Morisette does not speak, which is the one wise thing in the film)
And at one point he tells the heroine that he had to tell Jesus — at about 12 — of his fate, and Jesus asked him to take this away. And the messenger wanted to. But that would be to damn all others, and remove any moral value from our choices, to render our errors without meaning.
Christ was no fool. He did not want to do this. He did not want the pain, the shredding of his dignity, the mockery, and he did not want to die. But he was obedient even to death.
For Christ obeyed, his father, to whom he gave allegiance. To his salt he was loyal.
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgement of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
(John 12:24-32 ESV)
To keep the film analogy going, Eastwood once said that it is a terrible thing to kill a man. You take everything from him that he has, and all that he would be. But we have our duty. If Christ was loyal to death, it is reasonable that we also are loyal to him, though it may cost us all.
For this world like compromised Christians. This world prefers Dogma to the gospel: the gospel is hated. It must be either smothered by post modern silence and social action, or the church made corrupt, and full of clowns.
So the full harvest of this generation is miserable, without hope, and shuffle tamely to perdition.
This is not why Christ came. It has never been easy to follow Christ: it has been moderately difficult to lethal. At this time it remains quite difficult, for many of our churches have compromised, particularly in an acceptance of sexual immorality and the foolish choice of wealth as a proxy measure for righteousness, or in the lands held by Islam, following Christ has lethal consequences. This generation is facing a judgement: for they have forgotten that it is indeed a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
We may not be saved from the coming difficulties: they have been coming — and one of the motivations for me taking my job in Dunedin was to be in a small academic town, away from crowds, for the safety of my (then) smaller children. But even on my cold Southern Island the memes of this world corrupt. That very safety can be a trap, for the liberal or progressive political activists say we are safe, and prosperous, with a moat around us… nothing can happen to us (Apart from earthquakes, volcanoes and Tsunamis — we have had all of these im my lifetime).
As if we cannot get away from the choice that has existed since Christ. We either live by the regulation and the rules imposed by the world and be good Americans and Germans… or we accept that Christ does nto fit neatly into our society, adn we follow Christ rather than this world.
For our obedience is a greater witness than our words. It is not Christ’s preaching that saves us, but that very death on the cross he feared, and the resurrection that followed.
