Too Much of a Good Thing?
I have been a Christian for a number of decades now, and a pastor for over 12 years. In all that time I have bumped into, and sometimes crashed into, various oddities in the Christian tribe. One of those quirks has to do with Christian holiness. On the one hand are those who promote a strenuous rigor through various fastings, prayings, askesis (the Greek word for athletic or military training from which we get “ascetic”), techniques, and mechanical maneuvers. It has been my regular experience that this kind of scrupulousness breeds a subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, self-righteous vanity. This approach reads only half of the New Testament, the “do this” or “let us” directive portions of Sacred Scripture, which consume and wipe out the Gospel-promises. I think that much of North American Evangelical Christianity sits in this campsite, which is why you see loads of books and hear oodles of sermons that address the Twelve Steps to Success, or 40 days to being a better you or a ...