I really like your call, Bob, to fully identify with what those following Jesus’ life on earth would have felt this upcoming Holy Week. That’s a real challenge to me today, here as a stiff upper lipped tea-drinking Brit. Thanks.

But Alario’s response that the people who celebrate across the world are those who do so only at the expense of US Army servicemen, and your response, Bob that much of the joy they feel and the mourning the rest of the world goes through is hate crime against your people is plain rubbish.

I can understand that there might be a perception that your country and its actions in the world cause all the suffering for which you might be guilty (some rightly so — one of my friends responded to Bush’s most recent international words on terrorism after the bombings in Madrid earlier this month by denying that the terrorist wants to destroy the western way of life but that he wants the western way of life to stop destroying his — others not), but there is a lot of joy and pain across the world that has nothing to do with your fifty stars and thirteen stripes.

Returning to the topic in hand, it might be claimed that the ‘old believer’s course’ has echoes of gnostic religion: having survived the initiation in the social action work, the meditation course in the deep countryside, and the period of abstinence from something dear, you may learn the secrets of the faith…

That criticism aside, I think it’s a good idea, because I rate orthopraxy (acting out Christ’s love and kindness — not just behaving in some proper way for church) over othodoxy (the theology somehow being right and agreed upon). This, surely, is the greatest need the church has today, to show more Jesus and less division, and the old believer’s course involves people doing before believing they’re obligated to do, which then avoids them feeling guilty when they fail to do.

And again, to Alario, there’s more than one way to skin that cat. Your friend asks you about the bible passages he’s been reading after his experience of Mel’s film. One might feel the need to talk about atonement theory, but there’s quite a few varied understandings of it developed throughout history (let’s not get too worried about arguing them, please), including the penal substitution that you mentioned. I’d say that the detail that one would want to share at this point (as I keep finding myself saying too much) might not be necessary. You could examine these other explanations of what the cross achieved in order to explain to people who may not have the same expectations of an angry God needing to be pacified that you do.

The mind-blowing notion that Jesus makes it Okay between us and God does me just fine.

Take care.
love Ken.