Today’s reading from Exodus says Moses, Aaron, and other warlords “sacrifice young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.” They did so believing the “Lord” would then not sacrifice them, “the Lord did not lay a hand on these chosen Israelites.” The reading from Hebrews tells us Jesus’ “own blood” is “sacrificed” to the “Lord.” It writers believed the “Lord” would then not sacrifice all humanity, “Jesus entered once for all into the sanctuary… with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption… since a death has taken place for our deliverance from transgressions.” They believed the “Lord” killed Jesus, whose shed blood appeases the “Lord” from killing everybody else. Lordy! Who would believe in such a Lord?
Unfortunately, rulers of institutional christianity believe in such a Lord. Ruling believers posit that people are sinful and deserve to be sacrificed by the “Lord” in a violent flood and plague and war and slave quarter and minimum wage and police beating and ad infinitum. But, Bible believing people who believe Jesus died for their sins, in other words, believe Jesus was sacrificed to the “Lord,” believe they thus deserve to be saved from the Lord’s sacrifice of them. This belief system is part of the religion of Militarism. Militarism divinizes a dominating Lord, that is vengeful, and violent. The religion dominates, harms, and violates the human soul and all the world. Unfortunately, the religion of Militarism dominates, harms, and violates Christianity in its institutionalized form. More and more people are leaving institutional christianity because of it, yet, without realizing that Militarism is the reason they are leaving. Also, some never arrive at a new home. For example, Pastor Vern Swieringa is like many pastors who left a particular congregation after members submitted to the former president, accepted QAnon beliefs, and/or supported or participated in a violent Biblical Nationalism action, the January 6th insurrection. Evangelical pastor Josh Harris, who once excommunicated people from his church group, as a precursor to a vengeful God excluding them from heaven, now regrets the suffering he caused and of his leaving says, “By all the measurement I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian.” Bart Campolo, though raised by well-known evangelical paster Tony Campolo, left because he no longer believes in institutional christianity’s violent God, “the notion that God requires a blood sacrifice to forgive the sins of humanity is easily the saddest, most hurtful, and most discouraging doctrine ever invented.” Ryan J. Bell left the pastorship of a conservative evangelical congregation in Hollywood after 20 years when he decided God, or at least the God he preached, did not exist, asserting, “people are increasingly comfortable re-evaluating their ethics without reference to religion.” People would do well to re-evaluate their ethics without reference to religion, of which there is only one, Militarism. It invaded Christianity in 313 when Constantine falsely claimed conversion to it, all the while he was actually converting Christianity to Militarism. The peaceful home Jesus had made for humanity was broken up and remodeled as institutional christianity, a shelter for Militarism. Emperor Constantine was helped shortly thereafter by Augustine who more firmly institutionalized Militarism’s cult, creed, and code which diverted people from Jesus’ faith home. Both men institutionalized Militarism’s cult of a supreme being into Christianity through the priesthood class – diverting people from house church communion. They institutionalized Militarism’s creed of supremacists making subordinates justifiably suffer into Christianity through atonement theology – diverting people from our essence of love. They institutionalized Militarism’ code of salvific violence into Christianity through the Just War Tradition – diverting people from Jesus’ healing power. When people leave priesthood, justified suffering, and the blood sacrifice of warriors they are not leaving Jesus nor Christianity. They are leaving the institution still dragging around the dead carcass of the “Lord.” They are leaving the religion of Militarism. Hopefully, they are leaving to make a home amongst those creating Communion, Love, and Healing Power.
Militarism’s cultic worship, creedal suffering, and code of blood sacrifice ends when we decide to gather as commoners in communion, share our abundant love and resources, and receive the healing power of the earth for ourselves and others.
Prayer: Spirit, guide me peacefully through life.
Question: What is it I need to leave and where is it I am called to arrive?
June 6, 2021 Gospel Mark 14:12-26 Corpus Christi