Christianity is a lifestyle - a way of being in the world that is simple, non-violent, shared, and loving. However, we made it into an established "religion" (and all that goes with that) and avoided the lifestyle change itself. One could be warlike, greedy, racist, selfish, and vain in most of Christian history, and still believe that Jesus is one's "personal Lord and Savior" . . . The world has no time for such silliness anymore. The suffering on Earth is too great.
Interpretation
The quote critiques how Christianity has shifted from a lifestyle of love and simplicity to an established religion that can be practiced without true adherence to its core values.
Richard Rohr's quote emphasizes that Christianity was originally intended as a way of life characterized by love, non-violence, and community. He argues that the evolution of Christianity into a structured religion has led many to lose sight of these essential principles, allowing individuals to profess faith while embodying conflicting values such as greed and violence. As the world faces significant suffering, Rohr calls for a return to the genuine lifestyle of love that Christianity promotes, rather than merely adhering to religious practices without substance.
In practice
During a sermon focusing on love and community, a minister might use this quote to emphasize the importance of living out faith through actions.
My scientist friends have come up with things like 'principles of uncertainty' and dark holes. They're willing to live inside imagined hypotheses and theories. But many religious folks insist on answers that are always true. We love closure, resolution and clarity, while thinking that we are people of 'faith'! How strange that the very word 'faith' has come to mean its exact opposite.
The gift of darkness draws you to know God’s presence beyond what thought, imagination, or sensory feeling can comprehend.
I cannot illustrate huge differences between male and female spiritualities except in their starting points, style and fascinations along the way. This is significant, however, and has huge pastoral implications: men must be challenged in the world of doing; women must be challenged in the world of relating.
Much of the Christian religion has largely become “holding on” instead of letting go. But God, it seems to me, does the holding on (to us!), and we must learn the letting go (of everything else).
We do not think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.
I've had the good fortune of teaching and preaching across much of the globe, while also struggling to make sense of my experience in my own tiny world.
As we get older, we tend to grow quite fond of the planets of belief we have constructed for ourselves. We build elaborate defense mechanisms to ward off attacks from competing ideas or new data. The system makes us comfortable but resistant to change, no matter how much change might be called for.
A statement is persuasive and credible either because it is directly self-evident or because it appears to be proved from other statements that are so.
Our collective future depends on opening channels of compassion, acceptance, and understanding of others.
One hurries through, even though there's time; the past, the continent, is behind; the future is the glowing mouth in the side of the ship; the dim, turbulent alley is too confusedly the present.
No one comes from the earth like grass. We come like trees. We all have roots.
It costs something to be a true Christian. It will cost us our sins, our self-righteousn ess, our ease and our worldliness.
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