A Common Sense Gospel

[Greg Barrett]

On other websites I've often hesitated to post this brief clip because, when taken out of context, it angers some Christians. And, for the record, I count myself solidly among Christ's followers. Even in its full context and in this moderate Southern Baptist church it bothered enough of the congregation that the relatively progressive minister followed up the next week with a sermon about my "sermon." In effect, he sought to reassure his flock that I was not one of those universalists who believe all paths lead to salvation.

In this clip I am quoting from the Apostle Paul's writings, i.e. Galatians 5:22-23, a profound piece of the New Testament that had been read aloud earlier in the service. Goes like this: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." [emphasis added]

In reporting from every continent and from the towns and slums of Christians, Buddhists and Muslims I've seen what I believe is the Holy Spirit vibrantly alive in people of various religions and in people who profess no particular religion. I've witnessed the Holy Spirit in the actions of abbots and imams and nuns and priests and others who are giving selflessly of themselves to help people in need. In short, God is a verb! That's the point I'm making here. The Holy Spirit that was made available to us is expressed (or not) by us. It's our choice, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. In my opinion it doesn't matter squat whether or not you were dipped backward into the waters of your native tribe. Jesus said, "Follow me." Not cheer for me. Not admire me. Not flaunt me on golden necklaces. FOLLOW me, i.e. put the lessons I'm teaching into action.

And what were the most important lessons? The New Testament (NIV) quotes Jesus this way: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." [emphasis added]

In the foreword to The Gospel of Father Joe: Revolutions & Revelations in the Slum..., Archbishop Desmond Tutu writes, "Biblical scripture attempts to focus our attention on the poor and the downtrodden more than two thousand times. We’re told explicitly how to treat them. No wiggle room is left for moral interpretations or federal treasuries stretched by war. ... Jesus tells us, 'As you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.'”

The day I spoke in that 97-year-old Baptist church approx. 18,000 to 20,000 children died from preventable causes, e.g. malaria, cholera, malnutrition, etc. In other words, they died from poverty.

The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed and one-third is starving. In the time it took you to watch the 90-second clip, approx. 20 more children under age 5 died. In the time it took you to figure out whether or not I did the math accurately (19,000 divided by 24 divided by 60 and multiplied by one and one half), probably 20 more died. In the time (roughly 60 mins.) it took the Baptist minister to appease his congregation and assure them that I'm not a universalist, approx. 1,200 of the world's poorest kids died.

I sign books with advice attributed to Siddhartha, the first Buddha: "Point toward the moon." I take that to mean that we need to focus ourselves on the most critical wisdom given us by the world's prophets, saints and Christ. To a person, those lessons stress the importance of choices that are selfless (spirit) versus selfish (ego). Siddhartha never claimed to be the Messiah. About five centuries before the birth of Christ, the Buddha said that a fully enlightened Buddha endowed with perfect wisdom and conduct would arrive some day and light the way to a purified, righteous life. But, just as the Buddha had warned of his own teachings, he said that the validity of any lesson proclaimed by this perfect Buddha (or Messiah) would have to be tested in the living of it. In other words, we would not KNOW it unless we put it into practice. Belief will only bring us so far on our spiritual journey. Real truth or Truth is discovered in the "doing." It is experiential.

In the grand scheme, whether or not I am a Universalist, a Baptist, a Catholic, a Pagan, a Buddhist, Jew or Muslim, doesn't really matter. Am I a living expression of the Holy Spirit? Minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, in thought, word and action? That's the point I was trying to make in this controversial clip. Maybe I botched it.

In Matthew 25:41 (NIV), Christ is quoted as saying, "For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me."

The working title of one of my current book projects is Gandhi Ain't in Hell Ya'll: A Native Southern Baptist Returns Home with a Modern Gospel. It examines some of this thinking ... and the reaction to it.