Who would be the Christ of today? Was his mission political or apolitical? Would he left or right, vote Democrat or Republican? Would he stand with a posh, jet-set priesthood, or stand with a homeless and deprived? The non-short version.
More than a century ago, the prominent Russian novelist Dostoevsky wrote a compelling story of faith, morality, free will, and doubt. His epic novel, The Brothers Karamazov, holds a unique poem, widely known as The Grand Inquisitor. Here, Dostoevsky frames the crucial question into a somewhat predictable, cliched, yet potent parable that echoes even today: If Christ would return, would he share the same faith as the one portrayed in the novelist’s poem? Would he find a place where he could feel at home, or would he turn away as he did after casting out the merchants from the temple? What would be his comment on the many flaws of modern Christianity? The pretentious lifestyle, consumerism, corporate ethos of evangelical mega congregations, liberalism of mainstream Protestantism, the flirtations with nationalism and right-wing populism of Eastern Orthodoxy, the clericalism of the Roman Catholic Church, and moral decline in general? Would he share the pulpit with the jet-class priesthood, or would he stand with the homeless and deprived? Who would be the Christ of today? A highly-esteemed member of the community, a corporate slave, or a despised homeless man from whom the majority turn their head?
@MarkDriscollMinistries @TheNewEvangelicals @CandaceOwensPodcast