Redneck Mystic
Active Member
Bonhoeffer was a German theologian perhaps best known for his book, THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP, in which he contrasts what he called “cheap grace” with the real thing.
When I look at America’s versions of Jesus worship, I wonder what happened to the Jewish man who said such things as: judge not and God will not judge you; first take the beam out of your own eye and then you will see clearly enough to help your brother remove the speck from his eye; turn the other cheek; pray for and do good to your enemies; forgive those who trespass against you; love your neighbor as yourself; do unto others as you want done unto you; you cannot worship God and mammon; it is more blessed to give than to receive; be a generous giver, good measure pressed down; if a man asks for your shirt, give him also your cloak; if a man takes you to court, settle with him along the way, lest the judge puts you in jail; take no thought for tomorrow, because each day has enough trouble of its own; put your trust in God and what you need will be provided to you; the way to life is difficult and the gate narrow and few enter; many are called but few are chosen; the work it great and the laborers are few; as you sow, so shall you reap; if you abide in me and my ways, you will come to know the truth and the truth will make you free.
And this from Acts of the Apostles, about Peter’s community:
Instead, what I see Christendom saying in America is, if you believe Jesus was the Son of God, and he died on the cross for your sins you had not yet committed, and he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and sat on the right and of God, from when he will will return and judge the living and the dead, then you are saved by him and will have eternal life, no matter what kind of life you live, and no matter what Jesus says and does when he comes back to judge the living and the dead.
Christendom America's salvation through Jesus is a heap easier to sell to slow thinkers and the gullible and persuaded them to give their money to churches and ministers, than the grace Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew and the grace Jesus taught his disciples in the Gospels.
Contrast Jesus's way to what this self-appointed prophet is selling.
Contrast that prophet to Jesus's disciples and Bonhoeffer.
Contrast Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and their congregations to Jesus’s disciples and Bonhoeffer.
Contrast any minister and congregation in America to Jesus’s disciples and Bonhoeffer.
Then tell me, please tell me, how can American Christians honestly claim they are saved by Jesus simply because they believe he saved them?
Actions always speak louder- otherwise, Jesus in the Gospels would not have spent so much time telling people to change their ways.
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