Pages 739-740 … on John 3:16
You then go on to bring up the ever popular John 3:16 (which has absolutely nothing at all to do with the actual issue at hand: namely, your own sinful & fully inappropriate public condemnations of homosexuals), and yet what you & other conservatives fail to realize about this verse is that – at least for Jesus (whose opinion should hold the most weight for you & yours) – the verb “believe” does not mean what you think it means …
You see, Paul thought (and conservative “Paulinist” Christians like you & yours still think) that “believe” is a passive mental verb; that to “believe in Christ” means to intellectually claim that he was Divine &/or emotionally affirm him as one’s personal Lord & Savior.
And yet, for Jesus, “believe” was an active, physical verb; that for him real “belief” was reflected primarily in one’s actions; that for him true “belief” was a Way of being towards others; thatfor him to “believe in him” meant to openly & courageously emulate his Life of Love – and to purely enliven his Truth of present-moment Salvation – and to boldly walk his Way of selfless Kindness towards others; especially those others felt to be “least deserving” of the same. Hear the Word of God …
“For I have set you an example, that you also should DO as I have done … If you know these things, you are blessed while you DO them … Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will DO the works I DO.” ~ Jesus Christ (John 13:15-17 + John 14:12)
Just as importantly, we can easily tell which of these two very different Biblical interpretations is more accurate when we apply Jesus’ own “Fruit of the Tree” test to the relevant Scriptures …
*Initially, when we use your faith & worship-based Paulinist interpretation of “believe” to John 3:16, we get a Jesus-based theology that contains a large number of major contradictions, not only between this verse and almost all of Jesus’ parables (see the Parable of the Sower for a dramatically clear example – Matthew 13:3-12+18-23), but also with many other statements from Jesus made in the very same Gospel (see John 3:21, John 5:29, John 5:41, John 7:16, John 8:50-54, John 12:44, John 13:15-17, John 14:20, John 15:8 & John 15:12). This confusion serves to dampen the power of Jesus’ teachings and also opens the door wide for “believers” thereof to allow the darkness of arrogance and bigotry and persecution to enter their worship and infiltrate their relationships with others …
*On the other hand, when we apply Jesus’ own “larger” (i.e. more Loving & less exclusivist) interpretation of “Belief” to John 3:16, we receive a Christ-based ministry that was devoted to radically amending overly callous Old Testament laws and giving everyone a practical alternative thereto (The Way of Christ) – an alternative that encouraged the worshiping of a non-judgmental God who embodies the essence of perfect LOVE (see John 5:22 + Matthew 5:48); doing so with radical acts of selfless service and self-sacrificial Kindness (see John 13:15-17 + Matthew 16:24) – especially given to one’s cultural enemies (in yours case, homosexuals – see Matthew 5:40-44 & Luke 10:29-37) … And it is this interpretation that provides the words of Jesus with their maximum potency and gives him & that gives his sacrifice the greatest honor.
The former interpretation (from you & yours) attacks non-Christians (again, a problem totally unrelated to this thread, which deals with a gay Christian minister) and leads to the bad fruit of disappointment, anger, frustration, fear, conflict, sadness & suffering – while the latter interpretation (from Jesus himself, along with all followers of his Way) embraces Christians & non-Christians equally (and homosexuals & heterosexuals alike as well) and leads to the GOOD FRUIT of Peace & Harmony & Justice & Joy & Unity & LOVE.
I have put both interpretations into practice in my life, I have found The Way of Christ to be far superior to either the unway of the Old Testament or the unway of Paul, and I thus simply err on the side of believing in – and thereby radically enlivening – the teachings of Jesus Christ; and I unabashedly recommend that everyone do the same!
;