To Be "Born Again"
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from http://www.beliefnet.com
A Path of Death That Leads to Life by Marcus Borg"In the first century, taking up one’s cross did not mean simply bearing
one’s burdens patiently, as it does for us when we speak of our cross as
whatever suffering or inconvenience comes into our lives. Rather, the cross
was a means of execution, as clear a symbol of death as the electric chair
or gas chamber is in our time.""Thus, to follow Jesus—to take “the way” seriously—meant embarking upon the
path of death. But clearly, it did not mean seeking physical death, even
though some Christians in the first few centuries understood it that way.
Rather, it referred to a death in the midst of life.""The way of Jesus involved dying to an old way of life and being raised into
a new way of life.""This psychological-spiritual understanding of death and resurrection is
also central to Paul. In a letter written in the middle of the first
century, some 15 years before Mark, Paul says about himself, “I have been
crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in
me” (Gal. 2:20).""Paul speaks of himself as having been crucified, as having died in the
midst of life. His old way of being is dead. The result is a new way of
being, which he speaks of as Christ living in him."
Yes, I do understand that the central theme of Christianity is supposed to be
our personal death and resurrection. But if these two words are not intended to
be taken literally, and we are not supposed to literally die and return from
being dead, then what do they actually mean? What do Christians actually,
practically, and literally mean, then, when they speak of taking up the cross;
of dying and being born again?Does this mean that we are supposed to give everything we own to the poor and
go preach on street corners and perform miracles? Does it mean that we must
quit our jobs and leave our families and become Peace Corps volunteers? Does it
mean we should go into other people's churches and temples and throw things
around and call them "spawn of satan" because they don't believe as we would
have them believe so we can be arrested and jailed for it?If taking up our crosses and following Jesus means any of these things, I see
very few Christians actually doing it, and I'm relieved. But if it doesn't mean
doing these things in a literal and practical sense, then what does it mean?
What does Paul mean when he says his old way of being is dead? Paul was an anti
Christian zealot who became a pro Christian zealot. All that really changed was
the belief system that he was so zealously protecting and promoting. His nature
as a person, however, didn't seem to have changed all that much, especially
when we read his letters railing about "fornicators", etc. He was certainly
still a zealot.It's difficult to follow, literally, the path of Jesus because Jesus either had
no family or he abandoned them, he either had no job or he abandoned it, and he
either owned nothing or he divested himself of it. And he obviously had a very
charismatic presence and a gift for speaking. He was very wise and could
perform miracles. For the rest of us this is not the case. Most of us do have
jobs and families and commitments and responsibilities that we can't just throw
away. And most of us do not have the charisma and wisdom to survive as a
vagrant preacher. To be perfectly honest, I see little to admire about someone
who would abandon all these very real commitments and responsibilities to go
off and preach to everyone else about how they ought to be living.So if Paul isn't much of a model, and Jesus' model is beyond our grasp, then
who's model do we follow? How do we determine what it means in real, actual,
practical and literal terms to be "born again": to "give up our lives for
Jesus' sake"; to "take up the cross and follow" ... who? Follow how?It's easy for Christians to preach metaphors and parables and stories about
divine magic. But eventually the symbols have to represent something real. The
metaphors have to represent some real changes in the nature of people's lives
and behaviors or they really don't mean anything that matters to anyone. Sure,
we can drop our previous theology and take up a new one but will that really
change who we are? Will it really change how we live and how we treat other
people for the better? Will it really relieve us of our physical, intellectual,
emotional and spiritual afflictions? Will it really bring healing and peace and
help us to then share this healing and peace with others?Religious theology and biblical metaphors aren't really about God. The story of
Jesus isn't really about Jesus. These things are about us or they're about
nothing that matters. They can either help us change for the better or they
aren't helping us at all. I couldn't care less about what Easter rituals the
church down the block will be performing over the next several weeks. They're
foolish and irrelevant unless they're capable of helping the participants
change their own hearts, minds and spirits in a way that brings them healing
and joy and peace. And there is little to learn from a sidewalk preacher who
has no practical experience with upholding the responsibilities of working a
job, raising a family and providing them with the necessities of life except
how to be a bum. I already know how to be a bum.Taking up the cross and following Jesus; dying to self and being born again,
isn't about running away from life, love and responsibility through religion.
It isn't about stifling who we are and throwing our lives away so we can preach
about how others should live. It's about becoming more fully ourselves by
letting go of the fears that are stifling us. And many of those fears are
religious fears. It's not about becoming perfect (sinless and error free) it's
about becoming that which our Creator intended us to be. Ourselves. Mistakes,
peccadilloes, and all. That which needs to die is that which was never meant to
be part of us in the first place. When it's let go of, we can finally be who we
were meant to be.That's how we really become "born again". What gets born anew is us. What dies
and falls away are all those sick fears we have about not being good enough,
holy enough, blessed enough, worthy enough for God or anyone else to love us.
What dies and falls away is the mistaken idea that we have to earn God's love
and favor by following religious rules or by professing some theological system
of belief. What dies and falls away is the sickness of perfectionism that keeps
us judging ourselves and everyone else and then condemning everyone universally
for not "measuring up". What dies and falls away is the constant guilt and self
loathing that cripples our spirit and binds our ability to love ourselves or
anyone else that results from this constant attitude of condemnation. What dies
and falls away is the hopelessness we feel and project toward others because we
have come to believe ourselves so unworthy and condemned. What dies and falls
away is the prudish and petty notion that a human being's natural instincts for
intimacy and security are inherently "sinful" simply because they are natural.Simply put, what dies and falls away is the poisonous notion that because we
are who we are, we are not good enough. What remains, then, is that we ARE who
we are and we are good enough. We are good enough for God to love, and for
anyone else to love, too. And we really are that good. Could we try to
be better? Yep. Will we? Sometimes, sometimes not. But it's OK, because we are
dearly loved and truly worthy even when we stumble, and regardless of how far we
might fall. Coming to know this is what it means to be born again.Enjoy those Easter rituals, or ignore them. It doesn't matter to me, or to God.
The only question is will they help you to see that you are loved and worthy of
that love, and will they help you show this wonderful truth, this "good news",
to other people? If so, why not immerse yourselves in them? If not, don't give
them another thought.Peace,
Dave