Knocking Holes in the Darkness

Basic Material: Chapter 5 of When Christians Get It Wrong, by Adam Hamilton

Focus: Dealing with homosexuality and other issues that have traditionally been tough issues for Christians.

Discussion Points:

Adam Hamilton tells a story in his final chapter about Robert Lewis Stephenson. Apparently, once in his youth he was sitting on the porch one night, looking off in the distance at a man lighting gas lamps along a dark street.  Someone saw him there and asked him what he was doing. Stephenson replied, “I’m watching that man out there knock holes in the darkness.” This is the essence of our mission as Christians. God is love, and His love is our light. We knock holes in the darkness by spreading God’s love.

Amazingly, until Jesus came to show us that our interpretation of God’s plan was a little off course, our faith in God was wrapped up primarily in laws, and our worship of God had become a religion of exclusion. This is why Jesus was ridiculed by spiritual leaders of his time (and sometimes even questioned by his disciples), because they saw his actions with sinners as completely foreign to their way of thinking. In many instances, from their perspective, Jesus was making himself unclean through his interactions with other people. Even John the Baptist, after hearing some things that he thought were quite strange, sent a group of men to ask Jesus whether he was truly the Son of God (see Matthew 11:1-19).

We have to remember that during Jesus’ time, things were much different. For example, a Jew would never enter the house of a gentile, or have any contact with them. There were also many foods that Jews would not eat. Then there were the 600+ laws that Jewish people were trying to live by. Christians are not bound by these laws, and thankfully so. We are no longer bound by ritualistic sacrifice of animals. We are no longer bound by laws that urge us to kill our daughters if they enter in prostitution. We are no take the Sabbath as the last day of the week, and we certainly work and shop on the Sabbath. We do not ask women to be silent in the church, or refrain from wearing jewelry and fancy dresses. I doubt that any of us believes God would ask us to slaughter innocent women and children. There were also many religious leaders at the time who did not believe in the possibility of resurrection (e.g. the Sadducees). Yet, all of these things are in the Bible.

What gives Christians the right to observe one set of scriptures, and ignore others? Even more importantly, what gives Christians the right to use scripture to condemn people to Hell? Rob Bell gives an interesting quote in his book The Velvet Elvis, where he says, “To grab a few lines of Jesus and drop them down on someone 2,000 years later without first entering into the world in which they first appeared is lethal to the life and vitality and truth of the Bible.” I believe this is important for Christians to keep in mind when they are quoting scripture and making strong statements about others’ life styles.

We also have to keep in mind that there are many things that we simply do not know, and even more that we would still be ignorant of if they had not been recorded. For example, suppose Jesus never had the conversation in Mark 12:18-25, or suppose that like many things Jesus said (over 3 years with his disciples), the conversation was never recorded. For your reference –

Mark 12:18-25 - Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too.  At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

How many other things were said that were never recorded? Let’s suppose that the thief next to Jesus on the cross had such a quiet conversation with Jesus that no one else heard. Then we would all assume the thief went to Hell, and we would be wrong.

We know that many of the religious leaders (including Christians and Jews) in the first century believed that Peter’s vision of the great sheet (recorded in Acts 10:9-16) was incorrectly interpreted, and that Peter was sinning against God by interacting with gentiles. Peter and other Christians stepped out in faith to believe that none are unclean, and all our worthy of God’s love.

Acts 10:9-28 - About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?” The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.”

Further Discussion:

1. Homosexuality is a difficult issue for the Church. There are some who proclaim homosexuality to be a sin that automatically damns a person to Hell. What are your thoughts?
2. Are Christians who are focused on the Hell and judgment missing the forest for the trees?