Escaping From Folk Christianity

(Downtown Monroe)

Just as folk Buddhism has largely usurped real Buddhism in Thailand, so has folk Christianity long over run real Christianity in America. For example, "Clement Akoto, 52, a D.C. resident...  said he does not see a conflict in his wide-ranging beliefs. Akoto, a Catholic who attends Mass every week, said he believes in astrology and communication with the dead and ghosts." The August survey reported by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life "shows Americans' beliefs to be more complex than might be expected." Can a person believe in Jesus and astrology? It is, of course, logically possible to believe such a mixture of things. The Pew survey shows Amerians actually do conflate such things in the soup of their beliefs. Citing another example, 22% of those claiming the label of "Christian" also believe in reincarnation, the rebirth of the soul in another body.

In our attempts to introduce people to the Real Jesus we battle against a number of folk beliefs that have little or no connection to the Jesus of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Here are some "folk Christian" things I think I see, followed by a few methodological considerations.

Folk (faux) Christian ideas include:

• the "prosperity gospel"; viz., the idea that Jesus wants to make you rich, as if that were on his kingdom-expanding agenda
• the "drug Jesus"; viz., the idea that we can "smoke a little Jesus" and get high on Jesus and that abiding in jesus is somehow analogical, physically and mentally, to drug-induced highs
• the "alcoholic Jesus"; viz., the idea that "getting drunk on Jesus" is like an alcoholic drunk who staggers around incoherently and just generally makes a fool of himself and alienates himself from other sober people (as if that was the kind of behavior seen in the early church when they were accused of drunkenness, which of course it was not)
• the "rule-concerned Jesus"; viz., the idea that, e.g., the clothing we wear is either especially displeasing or pleasing to God; that wearing hats and slacks in the sanctuary is an abomination to God; that Jesus is primarily concerned with external physical appeaance at all (which he was not, but was concerned with the human heart)
• the "hymn-singing Jesus"; viz., the idea that Jesus was especially fond of the "old hymns," with "old" meaning the 19th century in Europe and America (forgetting that Jesus and the early church is 1800+ years older than this)
• the "orderly Jesus": viz.,  the idea that Jesus is very concerned about the length of religious services and is especially bent out of shape when the service "runs too long"
• the "pageantry Jesus"; viz., the Jesus who desires that buku bucks be spent on lavish, panoramic church programs that entertain people
• the "mega Jesus"; viz., the idea that size = relevance as regards God's Kingdom, and that size is needed to change the world
• the "balanced Jesus"; viz., the idea that Jesus came to show us how to balance our lives (while in actuality the Jesus-life is fundamentally imbalanced, with the love of God encompassing all things)
• the "non-7-11 Jesus"; viz., the idea that Jesus despises repetition (7 verses sung 11 times) in worship singing (thus forgetting the idea that tribal worship is always repetitive, even functioning in Hebrew culture as a form of meditation which is, precisely and essentially, repetitive)
• the "butler Jesus"; viz., the idea that Jesus is a divine butler sent to satisfy all our human goals and the establishing of our own personal kingdoms
• the "political Jesus"; viz., the idea that Jesus believes in the hope of nations and political systems and that our hope is in achieving "Christian nations" (while actually saying things such as "My kingdom is not of this world)
• the "American Jesus"; viz., the idea that "America" is the summum bonum of Jesus' plans and purposes (while saying, again, that his kingdom is not of this world... not at all)
• the "rule-giving Jesus"; viz., the idea that Jesus came not to set us free but to pile on more rules for us to follow, thus increasing our current oppressed condition
• the "King James Jesus"; viz., the idea that Jesus himself spoke in King James english and anyone who reads the Christian Scriptures, even in their original autographs, has just purchased a ticket to hell
• the "striving Jesus"; viz., the idea that Jesus did what he did and said what he said because he tried a lot harder than we do (instead of Jesus' John 14-17 teachings on remaining/dwelling/abiding in the perichoretic Triune unity of the Godhead)
• the "make a decision Jesus"; viz., the idea that Jesus wants us to make some decision for him, as if that was the essence of "salvation" (getting sozo-ed) 
• the "angry-at-you Jesus"; viz., the idea that Jesus gets really ticked off at you and at times is in a very bad mood regarding you, and then appoints religious people to point this out to you and judge you and condemn you
• the "formulaic Jesus"; viz., the idea that there are a series of steps involved in the real following of Jesus (as opposed to a relationship with Jesus, which can never be reduced to some formula)

A Few Methodological Considerations in the quest to escape folk Christianity and follow the Real Jesus

• Read the 4 Gospels. There you will encounter the Real Jesus
• Read the Pauline letters as further complementary and supplementary revelation about the Real Jesus
• Identify core elements of the Real Jesus. For example, Jesus warns us about money, and has a preferential option for the poor.
• Interpret following Jesus through his basic message, which is the message of the kingdom of God/heaven. In knowing Jesus, everything stands or falls with this.
• Discern nationalistic, ethnic, and temporal frameworks that spin the Real Jesus in the wrong way.
• Daily be in relationship with Jesus (see John 14-17).
• Soak yourself in Jesus' words in Matthew 5-7 (the incredible "Sermon on the Mount")
• Hang around and fellowship with people who, above all, want Jesus and his kingdom.
• Finally, never presume to have the final word on Jesus. History is filled with good people who put a spin on Jesus that we now see to be historically conditioned. Probably you and I are doing that to some extent, too.