"And The Oscar Goes to . . . Jesus!" (Link fixed)

[Anonymous]

The title of a new post on BCC is corny, but there are some really profound things in it about worship, its intrinsic nature among humans and how it manifests in culture and personally. I am providing a link, along with an excerpt from one of the author’s follow-up comments. I recommend not only the post but the comments, also.

“And The Oscar Goes to . . . Jesus!” (http://bycommonconsent.com/2014/02/11/and-the-oscar-goes-to-jesus/)

Quote:

In the book Celebration of Discipline, the author talks about humankind’s longstanding habit of finding a mediator between ourselves and God. In the church, I think (many members) do this with General Authorities and other leaders. There is safety in allowing someone else to approach the divine on our behalf. Then we can worship them, elevate them, revere them, rather than do the terrifying work of approaching God on our own.

I know individual faith journeys can be frightening, especially at first when former paradigms are shattered, but I am convinced to the core of my being that it is worth it in the end.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for posting on this Curtis (though I think the link is broken). Very thought provoking.

Quote:

There’s a good reason that young celebrities often turn into total quivering messes. In some ways, worshiping is the opposite of knowing someone. We worship our perception of that person; we create idealized or romanticized stories about that person and those are the substitute for that actual person. Knowing someone for real means we have to deal with all the parts that don’t fit out neat narrative about them, and it takes them off that pedestal of worship. Yet we do worship people. Until they become real.

By this definition – we definitely worship JS. Just sayin’

Quote:

In the book Celebration of Discipline, the author talks about humankind’s longstanding habit of finding a mediator between ourselves and God. In the church, I think (many members) do this with General Authorities and other leaders. There is safety in allowing someone else to approach the divine on our behalf. Then we can worship them, elevate them, revere them, rather than do the terrifying work of approaching God on our own.

I wonder if we don’t also do this with Jesus. He is the official mediator of Christendom is he not? Have we not set him up to be the intercessor between us and God? Is this more effective than trusting in JS or the Pope, the High Priest or the Virgin Mary to represent us before the divine throne? I imagine there are lots of interesting answers to such questions.

Quote:

Indeed, reality is where everything is happening. But illusions are largely what we worship, anyway. We make a Jesus Christ who not only approves our message, but is actually constructed out of our messages and the messages that affirm us. Even our supposed self-abnegation is an attempt to find affirmation in an illusory divine. Reality, even divine reality, is manifold, and contains all kinds of things we don’t want to engage. Hence the need to be super-brave.

I’m not sure that I’m getting everything that this quote is saying but I believe it is saying that the Jesus of our mind is a mental construct, a combination of historical teachings with our inner hopes, desires, and longings. We can personify all of that with the name Jesus and then worship it but that doesn’t make it any more “real” of effective than someone that might worship a statue.

Perhaps someone else can further explain this quote to me or express their opinion on the ideas contained therein.

[Anonymous]

I fixed the link. Thanks!

[Author]

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