Christus Victor and Nonviolence

[baumgrenze]

I just read through Derek Flood's Christus Victor website.

http://www.sharktacos.com/God/cross_intro.shtml

Just start here and go to the next section as you reach the end of the one you've just read.

To tempt others to do what I just did, here's a sample paragraph:

"It is crucial in our attempt to understand the way of the Suffering Servant that we do not loose sight of the fact that Isaiah is presenting something to us here that is intended to be a shock. It is not meant to be reasonable and normal, but scandalous and jaw-dropping. The way of suffering is hard to grasp. It is something huge and wonderful. It cannot be understood in calculated legal theories. God pulls the rug out from under us with the cross and leaves us gasping for air turning our worldly concepts on their head and beginning a revolution in us. What seems at first to be weakness is the way of unremitting strength. What seems to be loss is the victory of God. If the cross does not knock the wind out of you, if it does not blow your mind, then you have not understood it.

We must never lose sight of how radical this Way is. This is not merely some system or principle, but who God is and how God works. Christ does not illustrate nonviolence, nonviolence illustrates Christ. We must go beyond grasping the principle and grasp the Person. It is not just a method but living and active power, rooted in creativity. It is a revelation of God's saving power – of grace in action on a cosmic scale. Christ embodies this Kingdom and through looking at the Suffering Servant in action we see God in action. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor 5:19). On the cross Christ reveals the suffering God."

Go and read the rest. When you are done, tell your friends.

John

[awediot]

Originally Posted by baumgrenze

I just read through Derek Flood's Christus Victor website.

http://www.sharktacos.com/God/cross_intro.shtml

Just start here and go to the next section as you reach the end of the one you've just read.

To tempt others to do what I just did, here's a sample paragraph:

"It is crucial in our attempt to understand the way of the Suffering Servant that we do not loose sight of the fact that Isaiah is presenting something to us here that is intended to be a shock. It is not meant to be reasonable and normal, but scandalous and jaw-dropping. The way of suffering is hard to grasp. It is something huge and wonderful. It cannot be understood in calculated legal theories. God pulls the rug out from under us with the cross and leaves us gasping for air turning our worldly concepts on their head and beginning a revolution in us. What seems at first to be weakness is the way of unremitting strength. What seems to be loss is the victory of God. If the cross does not knock the wind out of you, if it does not blow your mind, then you have not understood it.

We must never lose sight of how radical this Way is. This is not merely some system or principle, but who God is and how God works. Christ does not illustrate nonviolence, nonviolence illustrates Christ. We must go beyond grasping the principle and grasp the Person. It is not just a method but living and active power, rooted in creativity. It is a revelation of God's saving power – of grace in action on a cosmic scale. Christ embodies this Kingdom and through looking at the Suffering Servant in action we see God in action. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor 5:19). On the cross Christ reveals the suffering God."

Go and read the rest. When you are done, tell your friends.

John

Interesting (and in depth...will have to read more later)-

It seems to address some of the core differences between Eastern and Western orthodoxy and the different beliefs about "original Sin" vs. original guilt...

Take a glance at River of Fire if your so inclined... The illogic of seeking sanctuary from the same thing that is going to harm you, does a number on many overly faithful Christian minds.