Early one morning near the beginning of the trip in Costa Rica, I was sitting on the motel steps reading the Bible when the motel manager, Efraim, came out to talk. He saw my book and went back inside to get his. He proudly showed me the maps, study helps and large letters.
Later in the week he mentioned an evangelical radio station, so I asked if he was protestant or Catholic. He made it clear that he had no religion. "But you have a Bible," I prodded.
"Yes, I like reading the Bible very much. But I have no religion. I'm not a Christian. But only God can save this world."
"Only God?" I asked confused.
"Yes, politicians are only..."
He spent the next 30 minutes venting his frustrations with politicians. Very insightful and engaging. His hope of a better world is with God, not man, yet he holds no religious affiliation. You gotta love a guy like that!
(Pura Vida 1)
6 comments:
honestly, this world would probably be a lot more peaceful place if more people were like efraim. religion sure causes a lot of problems (especially when politicians get their greasy little hands in it). as gandhi said, "christ, yes. christianity, no."
*dana
That Gandi, he was a sharp one. And yet some part of me wonders, if Gandhi had been around for the pre-Constantinian Christianity, would he have then said yes to both. No way or need to know, just something I asked myself when I read the quote.
How much of modern Christendom really has anything to do with true Christianity? I just wonder sometimes.
It's good to hear from you, Dana. Peace
"How much of modern Christendom really has anything to do with true Christianity?"
ahh...there's the rub, eh?? =)
in that vein, you might enjoy my new favorite book, "the hidden gospel" by neil douglas-klotz. it's a lovely & poetic read of the words of jesus, as he might have spoken them in his original language & culture, without so much of the western political baggage of 2000 years of this institution we call "christianity."
namaste =)
*dana
I've never heard of it, so I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation. Interesting.
In reading about that book just now, I also came across this one--Jesus Before Christianity (Nolan). Again, interesting.
And I wish Ray Vander Laan would write more. Not that I've finished reading everything on his website.
I should add a comment or two just in case someone is saying, "You talk like that, Jeff, but I know you're still an Adventist."
Very true. I don't want to be misleading on that. The labels "SDA" and "Christian" mean different things to different people. To some they are pretty negative, but I carry them anyway because they do describe pretty major aspects of my worldview.
However, I do have a lot of respect for people who walk on other paths. I really appreciated getting to know Efraim, and I really respect his walk.
Two sites that have made me think over the past year are Christarchy! and Young Anabaptist Radicals. Both groups are committed to living what they believe, and more-or-less reject an externally imposed doctrine. Both are pretty far from the center of main stream Christianity, and I think they're both pretty close to the heart of God.
Not that I'm a qualified judge of who is or is not close to the heart of God. :)
Maybe they're just close to my heart, and I presume God values whatever I value. It's not anthropocentric or egocentric or anything. Second :)
Only barely related: Someday when I have an income, I'd like to subscribe to Geez Magazine. Not that I don't already have enough to read.
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