On a morning walk just thinking thru some things.

I think I finally understand why so much of American White Evangelicalism insists on militarizing Jesus and viewing him as “Ultimate Warrior®”

…it’s because of how power has been depicted. And it is broken. 1/8

“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

Wait. What? That doesn’t make any sense…

You can literally only reach that conclusion if you watch ONE type of movie.

The one where the good guys *need* guns cuz they lack power outside of it. 2/8

In other types of movies… kung fu movies for example… there’s often one good guy with no gun stopping lots of bad guys with guns because they’ve developed a discipline and a power that resides in their body and not what they can acquire materially. 3/8

Now granted, these are movies. They’re scripted, rehearsed, and staged.

But story arcs and narratives (even fictional ones) often give us insight on the culture.

One says power is accumulation and subjugation. The other says power is discipline. 4/8

Now if we are to take Jesus in his own words… it is clear which version of power he endorses. His public ministry began with a period of 40 days of self denial. He encouraged his followers to drop what they had to follow him.

His power is one of sacrifice. 5/8

A deity whose power is expressed in giving, creation, and new life is difficult to reconcile with a society that incentivizes accumulating, destruction, and death.

So with a few minor (or major) tweaks… we can make that deity work for us. 6/8

“Jesus was a revolutionary who expressed power through radical love and sacrifice. becomes “You guys are reading Jesus wrong. The Bible says he’s coming back with all power in his hands to defeat the enemy. See? Warrior. Listen to us to find out how to be more like Jesus.” 7/8

At the root of a faith that weds evangelism to colonization and missions to “modernization” is a fundamental misunderstanding of Jesus’s power.

The next revival will not be grounded in affirming doctrine, but in rediscovering the power of love. 8/8