Off the chart, to the left of 0, let us place the Olympian
gods. Theirs is the way of power which is based on falsehood, expressed through
indifference, and ends in death. We may place near 0 the most powerful human
societies, the falsest human cultures, and the cruelest human beings.
Off the chart, to the right of 10, let us put Jesus
Christ. His is the way of freedom which is based on truth, expressed through
love, and leads to eternal life. We may place near 10 the strongest voluntary
societies, the truest human cultures, and the most loving human beings.
Olympian gods ~ Power Freedom ~ Jesus Christ
0
10
At 5, let us put the greatest righteousness possible
through conformity to the Law of Moses or, more generally, to a
biblically-based moral code. This was the greatest righteousness possible
between the Fall of Adam and Eve and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In those days, we humans had only a wholly Olympian
personality. Our Olympian personality is one constrained to do right by
promises of rewards and to avoid wrong by threats of punishments. It is also
one which cannot discern the difference between right and wrong without the
Law.
The Bible mentions few people who attained this level of
righteousness. Noah was one: Noah was a
righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9,
New American Standard Version, here and following). Zechariah and Elizabeth,
parents of John the Baptist, were two others: They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all
the commandments and requirements of the Lord (Luke 1:6). The apostle Paul
put himself in this category: as to the righteousness which
is in the Law, found blameless (Philippians 3:6).
Others certainly deserve honorable mention:
Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Ruth, Samuel, David, Hezekiah, Josiah, Nehemiah, Job,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel.
Olympian gods ~ Power Legal
Righteousness Freedom ~ Jesus Christ
0 5 10
Noah
Zechariah
Elizabeth
From 0 to 5, we have the Olympian half of the range. From
5 to 10, we have the Christian half. We may also split each half in half. From
0 to 2.5, we would have Olympian Olympians and from 2.5 to 5 we would have
Christian Olympians. On the other side, from 5 to 7.5 we would have Olympian
Christians and, from 7.5 to 10 we would have Christian Christians.
Between the Fall of Adam and Eve and the resurrection of
Jesus Christ, we human beings, as well as our societies and cultures, were
solely Olympian. There is a meaningful difference, though, between being
Olympian Olympian (0 to 2.5) and being Christian Olympian (2.5 to 5). During
those 4,000 years of history, God really wanted us closer to 5 rather than 0;
that is, witnessing to greater freedom, truth, love, and vitality rather than
to greater power, falsehood, indifference, and death. Being at 5 isn’t the same
as being at 10, but it’s much better than being at 1. It’s important for us to
appreciate that difference.
To move societies, cultures, and personalities closer to
5, God called Abraham (1921 BC) to learn the way of freedom from him. God then
continued to instruct the descendants of Abraham in his ways of freedom through
the Law and the prophets. There were times when we, as God’s people, were
somewhere between 2.5 and 5 because of our greater commitment to Yahweh than to
the gods. Most of the time, however, we were, along with the rest of humanity,
somewhere between 0 and 2.5.
Power Legal Righteousness Freedom
0 Olympian 5 Christian 10
Olympian 2.5 Christian Olympian 7.5 Christian
With the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God gave
every human being, whether Christian or non-Christian, a Christian personality;
that is, a personality structured in terms of Jesus Christ the one truly human
being. From then until Judgment Day, every human has both a wholly Olympian and
a wholly Christian personality.
What matters now is the balance. Our Olympian and
Christian personalities struggle against each other every moment. At any
moment, our Olympian personality might make us act in a way that comes close to
0; at the next moment, our Christian personality might have us acting much
closer to 10. But how are we doing, on average, during a whole day, week,
month, year? The same question applies to our church as well as to our broader
society and culture.
As Christians and churches, we should be witnessing
to the freedom, truth, love, and vitality of Jesus Christ with sufficient
clarity and consistency to put us somewhere between 7.5 and 10.
Sadly, this is not the case. Today’s Global
Technological System (GTS) is the most powerful embodiment of the will of the
Olympian gods ever devised. Under its dire influence, all human societies,
cultures, and personalities are rocketing toward 0. This includes Christians
and churches. Not only is the GTS dragging us along. We still continue to
celebrate it, and the gods behind it, without even knowing it.
The purpose of this range of possibilities,
Christian and Olympian, is to increase our awareness of where we are as Christians
and churches and as societies and cultures. It should also help us to identify
examples from the past that we should either emulate or reject. Finally, it
should enable us to see that the GTS is pulling all societies, cultures, and
personalities toward Hell so that, finally, at least we Christians and churches
might do something creative in response to it.
Copyright
© 2018 by Steven Farsaci. All rights reserved.
