Article
If we were to ask the proverbial man in the street what Christianity is all about, the most likely answer would be something to do with ethics in general and sexual conduct and gender issues in particular. The majority would not be able to mention the key life events of Jesus: his birth and his death. Those least likely to be able to attest to these events would be in the 20% poorest segment of the population who know nothing about the teaching of Jesus and, supposedly, Christianity, on socio-economic justice.
As a starting point, here are some simple statistics:
- There are some 31,273 verses in the Bible
- There are some 400 references to the use of wealth and power, some 355 of which are relevant today
- There are some 328 sex and gender references only 138 of which are relevant today.
Incidentally, there are only eight references to homosexuality, none of which is relevant today and some of which are highly suspect.
It is also important to note in passing that the vast bulk of the Bible is predominantly concerned not with how we treat each other but with the command to worship God.
These statistics raise a number of discussion questions:
1. Do the Western Christian Churches place too much emphasis on:
- Ethics and not enough on worship which is the major preoccupation of the Bible?
- Individual conduct in general and sexual conduct in particular, as opposed to collective conduct in general and socio economic /justice in particular?
2. How can we make sense of the concepts of:
- Evil
- Sickness
- Free will
- Imperfection?
3. Is the Mission of Jesus about:
- Sin and damnation
- Comfort and hope?
KC IV/14