Good News/Bad News
©2021 by Vernon Miles Kerr, VernonMilesKerr.com
Originally posted as a rough draft to Twitter, August 7, 2021
#FirstCuppaJoe #MorningMeditations
This a.m., out of habit, I started praying the “Our father…” Then my conversation turned to complaining about how confusing the Judaeo-Christian tradition is: “Modern Humans have been at least a million years on the planet…why wait till only 4 or 5 thousand years ago to deliver the ‘user’s manual’ ?”
I then asked, why did the Jesus of the Bible tell Christians to go into all the world, and try to sell people on his religion? Or did he? I then thought, Evangelion in Greek just translates to “good news.” Tell, don’t sell. The “selling,” the manner of selling, has caused all the problems, hasn’t it? Not just minor problems, big bloody, genocidal problems.
My favorite Methodist Uncle’s car has one of those blue “Tolerance” bumperstickers with the symbols for many of the world’s religions on it. While I agree that we should #tolerate what people do in their own churches and homes, even their own bedrooms—in NO WAY should we tolerate those who come out into society and cajole, browbeat or even beat non-believers into believing.
Yes, that user’s manual we call “The Bible,” has so much good, ancient, wisdom in human relations—lots of which we’d be well-served to learn. Too bad the Early Church’s misinterpretation of “go tell everyone the good news” has made The Holy Bible, detested, even ridiculed by the world — even the “Western” world of its origins.
Vernon Miles Kerr 
2 great examples of humanity that are glaringly overlooked in the Evangelical zeitgeist…
A man ignored religious laws, much to the angst of religious leaders, by providing charity to the destitute on the sabbath.
The second was when the same man stood in the way of a religiously sanctioned stoning–murder.
Altruistic acts of charity and mercy are strangers to this modern Western dogma of “salvation by-way of a paid membership”. The “sacred” isn’t found in the self-righteous acts of apostles, it’s found in those who give of themselves to others without adorning themselves in superficial piety.
The eye of the needle was a difficult passage for a camel. Yet, somehow, Joel Osteen’s Maserati seemingly contorts quite nicely through that gate? Hmm.
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That ‘s a great comment, Billy. I’d like to see it as a threaded reply to my original tweet. Well written.
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