"Give me that old time religion...it’s good enough for me!"

Well, it’s not good enough for me.

Not if what we mean by old time religion includes pagan vestiges of eternal punishment or unbridled racism or murderous revenge. It’s not good enough for me if it tries to justify unholy crusades or the oppression of people. I don’t want anything to do with a religion that is just an excuse for one group to feel superior over another. If the best I can hope for is a religion like the one that’s been passed down for the past few thousand years, I’ll pass, thank you and I’d recommend you do the same.

"It was good for the Hebrew children..."

And perhaps it was back a few millennia when the Hebrews struggled for survival in an alien world. A theology that emerged out of a history of animal and, perhaps, even human sacrifice, might have been fine in its day but I know I’m not interested.

One of the marvelous aspects I’ve discovered about being a Christian is the continual call to critique my faith. Over and over again in scripture, Jesus points out the danger of becoming complacent in our religion, self-righteous in our spirituality. New occasions teach new duties is how the old hymn tells it and it is profoundly true. The Good News of God’s love is not written in stone but shaped and molded by circumstances. It needs to take new forms to be shared and lived out. Christianity is a religion that must be always reforming, always changing, always discovering new ways to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The hallmark of our faith is that God surprises. God did it with mumbling Moses. God did it with an enemy named Saul and God most certainly did it beginning in a lowly manger.

If ever we think we have a lock on just how God chooses to work that amazing grace, we can be pretty sure we’re wrong. The very act of God becoming flesh, becoming a human being like me or you, was the announcement that all bets are off. There is no telling what God may do next!

"You have heard that it was said, "Love your friends and hate your enemies but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

No wonder he was killed.

He tried to change that "old time religion".