Thread by @JoLuehmann

We continue the education because we don’t let anybody use the Bible as a weapon anymore!!

Part III on Jesus being the way, the truth and the life, begins here:

(1)

Here is part II on LGBTQ+ and divinity with a link to part I on proselytizing.

(2)

https://twitter.com/JoLuehmann/status/1276364881264914432

Much has been said of Jn 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Entire books have been written, because as I have said several times, the Bible can really be used to support any one stance on anything. (3)

People have used it to excuse genocide, rape, abuse, theft… and they have used to heal, love, create beauty, embrace… I choose to read it in such a manner that my interpretations lines up w/“Love your neighbor as yourself”.
(4)

Destruction, gate keeping, ostracizing ppl is never the goal. At least not mine. That being said:

First let’s think about that real quick. Imagine taking one short line out of an entire convo to push for a point you want to make! That’s dishonest, and also manipulative.
(5)

Here Jesus is telling his disciples he is going to be killed and they’ll have to continue the work of moving the Kingdom of Heaven fed. Thomas asks him how they’ll know their way w/out him. And in that context Jesus says:
(6)

Now, does that mean that divinity can only be found through Jesus? Well the Bible doesn’t seem to suggest that all, first let’s look at more things the Bible says and then we’ll come back to John 14.
(7)

Psalm 19 is a song David wrote about God that begins like this:
(8)

Romans is a letter written to the church in Rome attributed to Paul. Romans 1:

(We could talk about this verse in regards to social justice and how there is actually no excuse not to do it! But maybe we’ll do that another day.)
(9)

Job is a wild book about a man that gets tortured by the devil with God’s stamp of approval (which 🥴), his friends are accusing him of having done something to deserve it and he responds in Job 12
(10)

You get the point. The Bible itself speaks of God being found beyond Jesus and Christianity.

Now, back to John. That vs is about Jesus telling his disciples that for the metaphor of God as Father, nobody can get to that notion but through the son, through the Christ.
(11)

He’s talking to them about how to continue the work he begun, for them, in that context. And that makes sense, because a father needs a son. How can you understand divinity as a caring father if you can’t see yourself as a nurtured son.
(12)

Moreover, that makes sense because he was leaving and they didn’t know how to continue the work without him!

Let’s revise the three words nonetheless:

The Way - ὁδός - hodos - Meaning a travelled road, a journey, a way (of thinking, feeling, deciding).
(13)

So being the way doesn’t mean at all being the only way. But being the journey to the Father, again, because you can’t understand divinity as father unless you see yourself as son.
(14)

The Truth - ἀλήθεια - alētheia - What is true in any manner under consideration.

Which yes. This was inside a conversation, to specific ppl, in extraordinary circumstances. Doesn’t mean Jesus is mandatory for a relationship w/God, or Christians have a monopoly on God.
(15)

The Life - ζωή - zōē - the state of being alive. A living soul.

Which simply means Jesus’ way was the way of the living. If you’ve followed me long enough you’ve heard me talk about how being alive requires intentional awareness, existing isn’t living,
(16)

and the invitation is to awaken and live, not to just exist for a few decades and then die. Doing the work of moving the kingdom forward requires intentional living, it won’t happen if we just check of boxes to ensure our acceptability and belonging aren’t threatened.
(17)

None of this words seem to indicate you can’t have other ways, other truths, or find life outside of Jesus or Christiany. Jesus was speaking about his relationship w/divinity as Father. He was having a particular convo w/his friends in the midst of a particular scenario.
(18)

Now Father is not the only metaphor for divinity. Through history and in the Bible, there are metaphors to speak about divinity and many ways in which ppl related to divinity: Rock, shield, healing, the one who sees, great physician, counselor, a dove, wisdom, light, bread…
(19)

Now we have to talk about the idea that ONLY by professing Christianity you have a relationship with God. That means that your God is neither all-powerful, nor all good. My ancestors, the indigenous people of what is now Colombia didn’t hear of Jesus or
(20)

any notions of Christianity until the XVI century. That means that for 1500 years after Jesus died they had no idea about Jesus. But make no mistake they knew plenty about divinity. A lot of what indigenous people KNOW about divinity, we’d all be wise to learn.
(21)

An all-powerful God who hides behind one expression of divinity to minimize the probabilities that anybody may have relationships with divinity, is not a good God. And a good God who can’t meet others beyond one expression of divinity is then not all-powerful.