Jefferson Bethke - This Thing Called Christianity: A Dance of Mystery, Grace, and Beauty

2015 by Jefferson Bethke

Derived from material previously published in Its Not What You Think: Why Christianity Is About So Much More Than Going to Heaven When You Die.

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Abridgement by Sam ONeal.

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Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version). Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-0-7852-3270-4 (HC)

ISBN 978-0-7852-3280-3 (eBook)

Epub Edition April 2020 9780785232803

Printed in the United States of America

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CONTENTS

I f you went to a public middle school, you probably read a few classics for English class. I remember reading To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men, among others. Hands down, though, my favorite novel was Lois Lowrys The Giver (which was also made into a movie).

If youre not familiar with that story, the basic premise is that an entire society is controlled by a group of elders who set up a system that strips all choices and emotions from humans lives. Each person is forced to take an injection every morning that takes away these things.

Both the book and the movie communicate that every living person follows these rules, and seeing only black and white is the normal standard. Theres no color, no life, no joy. But because of the injections, and because everyone takes them, they dont know thats not normal. They believe the world is black and white, and that its devoid of colors and the blessings that come with them, and its simply the way to live.

The main character, Jonas, starts to dream and have faint visions in color. He cant even describe what he thinks he saw, but when he stops taking his injections fully, everything begins to show up in color. Its so radically life-giving and beautiful, he doesnt have language for what hes seeing. Its too vibrant and hypnotizing. Nothing changed about the world he is living in, except now his eyes have become able to perceive what was always there. He quickly and clearly realizes the world isnt what he thought.

I believe our world has been stuck in black and white for centuries. For millennia. Culture after culture has pushed the same false narratives and empty promises on how to find purpose and meaning in our lives. Success creates value. Winning brings happiness. Put yourself first. Like the characters in The Giver, we dont realize that the picture of life weve been sold is incomplete. Theres much more for us to find. Much more for us to be.

Finding those new colors, those new experiences, begins with finding Jesus. He is the source of true vibrancy in this world and in all of creation. And in an incredible act of generosity, he made the ultimate sacrifice to reach out and offer us something newto spark a color revolution in our black-and-white world. That spark is called Christianity, which is nothing more and nothing less than people like you and me rejecting what the world is pushing and choosing to follow Jesus instead.

Its my goal in this book to show you that this thing called Christianity is a dance of mystery, truth, grace, and beauty. Its the antidote to everything dull and gray and hopeless. And its ours not for the taking, but for the living.

In my own study and journey with Jesus and the Scriptures, Ive come to realize there are certain things about the first-century world that make Jesus and the Scriptures even more vibrant, beautiful, and compelling. When you understand his world, you begin to understand him all the better.

When we enter into the world of Jesus and take him for who he was, our lives begin to turn to color. Details we hadnt noticed before jump out at us. Stepping back into the first century gives us new eyes to see who he was, what he did, and why we are still talking about him today.

I hope through these pages you might begin to see the vibrancy of following Jesus in a whole new way. Im not a pastor or theologian, and I dont have numerous degrees so people need to call me Doctor or Professor Bethke. But over the past several years Ive fallen more in love with Jesus and the story of God and his church by gaining a better understanding of Jesus as first-century rabbi and letting him speak without my own interpretations and expectations getting in the way.

Every morning as I walk with Jesus, I ask him to open our eyes more and more each day. Because when we see Jesus clearly, then we can follow him. And thats the blessing of Christianity: we get to follow not some generic god but Jesusthe one whos always catching us off guard, creatively challenging us, pursuing us, and loving us.

Ive written these pages as someone wholike youis on a journey to see Jesus more vibrant and alive, and for who he truly is more and more each day. Will you join me?

I ts been said that only a handful of basic story plots have been told throughout all of human history. Theres rags to riches, for example. Theres comedy and tragedy. Theres hero versus monster and romance. There are also more complex stories that use the same basic plots but just combine them or bounce back and forth between one and another.

Its a little humbling when you think about it. All the movies, all the books, all the plays on Broadway that have ever been written or produced can all be boiled down to the same few structures. The same few stories.

What about you? What story are you walking in? Whats the plot? Whos the main character? Whats the goal?

We all have answers to those questions whether or not we know them. To many, the plot is that life has no meaning, so you may as well enjoy it while you can. The main character is yourself. And the goal is to enjoy itgain as much as possible, as easily as possible, with as little pain as possible. When I was in college, this was basically the story every one of my friends was living in.

Others live in a story that is driving toward Utopia. Its about continuing out of primitive religions, philosophies, and ideas, and making the world a better place one step at a time. Sadly, they dont realize that the most advanced full century weve ever lived in, the twentieth century, is also on record as the bloodiest. It seems enlightenment of ideas and philosophy arent going to achieve a utopia.

So whats the true story? Which is the best story?

The truth is, what we know as Christianity is the greatest story ever told. And it all starts with the first three chapters of the very first book in the Bible: Genesis. It starts with the story of creation.