If there is one thing Christians are good at it is ignoring Christ. No, I don’t mean we pretend that the Bible doesn’t exist or that Jesus didn’t say this or that thing. Rather, we do everything to explain away what Jesus said, to tell ourselves and others that despite what it sounds like, Jesus didn’t really mean what He said. That way, other than giving some faint lip service to some vaguely humanistic and definitively idolatrous concept of “being nice” we can still get away with doing whatever it is we want to do. But in doing so we lose not only the power of Christianity but the heart of it as well – we lose Jesus. I see it and experience it all the time. It is the very problem that I have dedicated my life to resisting and changing, the very purpose for which this site was created. This article is about why we ignore Jesus and what we can do to change this inclination so that we can more truly follow Him.
Tag: take up your Cross
Remembering The Power of The Cross on Easter
It is well known within and without of Mormonism’s cultural bubble that Latter-day Saints don’t wear crosses, nor do we consider the Cross as the symbol of our faith. Why this is will have to wait for another time. This Holy Week I instead want to explore the symbol of the Cross not in our society but in our theology. Unlike our discourse, every book of LDS scripture is awash with the symbol of the Cross and the Suffering Savior, the Crucified Christ, as the symbol of discipleship and the focus of faith. What do the scriptures have to say about the symbol of the Christ and what does it mean for what we believe and how we should teach about the Atonement of Jesus Christ? What does it mean for our Christianity? How should Latter-day Saints look at the Cross, especially as we go into the Paschal/Easter season? This is what I explore in today’s article as I prepare my heart and mind for celebrating the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ the Lord.