This may come off sounding harsh, but I find that most contemporary Christians lack imagination and intuition; this is especially true when it comes to the mysteriously arduous task of conceptualizing spiritual freedom.
The freedom-giving aspects of Christ's earthly mission have been - to use George W. Bush's infamous garbling of two distinct words - "misunderestimated."
Misunderestimated in the sense that the freedom Jesus offers has been both misunderstood and underestimated.
To begin with, any conflation of the authentic spiritual freedom Jesus offers man with some form of perceived materialistic, individualistic, liberal freedom the given world purports to offer is erroneous and off-base.
Worldly freedom based solely on materialism, individualism, liberalism or any other temporal 'ism' is slavery, not freedom. Slavery because all leftist "isms" are opposed to God. As such, all leftist 'isms' are also opposed to freedom. Moreover, they are also opposed to the divine potential and spiritual purpose of each unique human person, which means all "isms" are also opposed to man, both individually and collectively.
As Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor lamented, Jesus's mission did not take mastery of people's freedom, but increased it. Put another way, Christ expands rather than restricts freedom; but the freedom Christ expands has nothing at all to do with social status, wealth, politics, hierarchies, and other worldly considerations, all of which lead to slavery if they take precedence over the primacy of the spiritual.
How does Jesus expand freedom? In three distinct ways: freedom from, freedom for, and freedom with.
The first aspect of Christ's mission on earth was to reveal freedom from the sin and death of the objectified, 'given' world.
Once a person embraces freedom from sin and death, he can approach freedom for everlasting life. Once this choice has been made, mortal life transforms and the potential to become free for the purposes of God and Creation become accessible.
Finally, Jesus offers man the potential to be free with God. Being free with God entails the recognition and utilization of the divine aspect of man; the understanding that each person can freely and actively work with God to contribute something unique to Creation, something God alone would not be able to contribute.
Properly understood, Christianity expands rather than restricts freedom. Not the worldly, materialist, anti-spiritual, I-gotta-be-me, amplification-of-false-selves sort of un-freedom espoused by materialism, individualism, liberalism and other anti-God leftist "isms" -- but the Creation-aligned, fully spiritual, divine-personal, I-gotta-be-the-true-me, communication-of-the-divine-self sort of authentic Christian freedom epitomized and exemplified by Jesus Himself.
Contrary to popular opinion, embracing the expanded freedom Christ offers does not denote arrogance or waywardness; on the contrary, it is a deep expression of love.
Christians misunderstand the expanded freedom Jesus offers. They also underestimate man's potential to access and harness this expanded freedom.
The freedom-giving aspects of Christ's earthly mission have been - to use George W. Bush's infamous garbling of two distinct words - "misunderestimated."
Misunderestimated in the sense that the freedom Jesus offers has been both misunderstood and underestimated.
To begin with, any conflation of the authentic spiritual freedom Jesus offers man with some form of perceived materialistic, individualistic, liberal freedom the given world purports to offer is erroneous and off-base.
Worldly freedom based solely on materialism, individualism, liberalism or any other temporal 'ism' is slavery, not freedom. Slavery because all leftist "isms" are opposed to God. As such, all leftist 'isms' are also opposed to freedom. Moreover, they are also opposed to the divine potential and spiritual purpose of each unique human person, which means all "isms" are also opposed to man, both individually and collectively.
As Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor lamented, Jesus's mission did not take mastery of people's freedom, but increased it. Put another way, Christ expands rather than restricts freedom; but the freedom Christ expands has nothing at all to do with social status, wealth, politics, hierarchies, and other worldly considerations, all of which lead to slavery if they take precedence over the primacy of the spiritual.
How does Jesus expand freedom? In three distinct ways: freedom from, freedom for, and freedom with.
The first aspect of Christ's mission on earth was to reveal freedom from the sin and death of the objectified, 'given' world.
Once a person embraces freedom from sin and death, he can approach freedom for everlasting life. Once this choice has been made, mortal life transforms and the potential to become free for the purposes of God and Creation become accessible.
Finally, Jesus offers man the potential to be free with God. Being free with God entails the recognition and utilization of the divine aspect of man; the understanding that each person can freely and actively work with God to contribute something unique to Creation, something God alone would not be able to contribute.
Properly understood, Christianity expands rather than restricts freedom. Not the worldly, materialist, anti-spiritual, I-gotta-be-me, amplification-of-false-selves sort of un-freedom espoused by materialism, individualism, liberalism and other anti-God leftist "isms" -- but the Creation-aligned, fully spiritual, divine-personal, I-gotta-be-the-true-me, communication-of-the-divine-self sort of authentic Christian freedom epitomized and exemplified by Jesus Himself.
Contrary to popular opinion, embracing the expanded freedom Christ offers does not denote arrogance or waywardness; on the contrary, it is a deep expression of love.
Christians misunderstand the expanded freedom Jesus offers. They also underestimate man's potential to access and harness this expanded freedom.
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