What do you think about Gellman's concluding statement?

MSNBC Newsweek Web Exclusive
By Rabbi Marc Gellman
Newsweek
Updated: 8:30 p.m. CT March 22, 2007

In God’s Image
The death of Captain America and the movie ‘300’ raise questions about the duty of the truly religious to protect freedom—even with their lives.

March 22, 2007 - The great spiritual questions of our time concern the use of power to secure freedom. The world of Islam has never faced the jarring revolution of the Enlightenment, which severed Christianity’s ties between faith and power, and, lacking a Muslim Voltaire, some segments of Islam still pine for a restored caliphate in which the sword is wielded by mullahs and the line between religion and the state is obliterated. In the West, this melding of faith and secular power was rejected 400 years ago. Rendering worldly power unto Caesar left faith free to focus on the promise of personal salvation.

One crushing obstacle to personalized religion always remained, however, and that was the threat to freedom. Religion can choose to live outside of what Marx called “the noisy din of world history” only as long as that din does not become a deafening roar. Fascism, communism, and now jihadist terrorism compel religions to ask whether faith can truly survive without freedom.
If faith is truly transcendent, then it does not matter who rules our broken world because this world does not matter. If, on the other hand, God wants us to be free not only of sin and death but also from oppression and tyranny, then faith must encourage its believers to take up arms against the oppressors. This question is tearing religious people apart. One can easily carry a protest sign reading NO WAR FOR OIL, but can one carry a sign reading NO WAR FOR FREEDOM without doing damage to one’s soul?

This same conflict lies behind the comic-book death of Captain America and the cinematic death of Leonides in the movie “300.” The Spartan Greeks, led by Leonides, could have chosen to live under the rule of Xerxes and the Persian Empire. They could have traded their imperiled freedom for a secure life of slavery. The choice of Leonides and the 300 Spartans to die in a doomed but heroic battle is the clear choice of those who believe that nothing—no faith, no material wealth, nothing—justifies the surrender of freedom to tyranny.
Captain America was created by Joe Simon in 1941 as a fictional ally in the war against Hitler and Nazi fascism. In the most recent issue, Cap was gunned down in New York City after 65 years of fighting for freedom and the American way of life. Pop culture mavens said that Cap's death symbolized the death of the American passion for freedom and of the kind of heroes who give their lives in its defense.

Neither Leonides nor Captain America were religious, but both of them stood for that part of the religious world that believes in a God who fights for freedom. They both stood for the proposition that freedom is the foundation of all meaningful life. Religiously speaking, this is the belief that God gave freedom to all people made in His image, and that those who oppose freedom must be prepared to fight God. Leonides and Cap were echoing Moses' message to Pharaoh.

It’s obvious to me that movies and comic books can make this case better than any subtle novel and more authentically than any spin-tested political speech. Comic books, and the graphic novels that evolved from them, are about the struggle of good against evil. Other art forms can make the claim that everything is gray, nothing is true, and nothing eternal. Of course these latter claims may be right, but if they are, then the age of heroes is over and both Cap and Leonides are really dead.

Embracing the need to spiritually justify the fight for world freedom carries its own perils. Chief among these dangers is what we now see in the world of Islamic fascism: the use of religion to extol death and tyranny. The biblical name for this is idolatry, and the seductions of idolatry are hard for some to resist. In the end, though, the spiritual truth of freedom's cause is eventually clear to all.

Leonides and Captain America were heroes not because they entered the field of battle with a shield of Vibranium or were in possession of abs of steel, but because they entered battle with a spiritually authentic idea: that God is free and we are made in God's image to be free as well. We were not placed on planet earth to avoid death. We were placed here so that we could avoid surrendering our God-given freedom to tyrants.
Remember Cap.
Remember Thermopylae.

conversations with a house churcher

Hi Kurt!
Heidi and I have lived in three different cities (Grand Rapids, Salt Lake, and Spokane). In all three, we started out by gritting our teeth a little and heading to the "big box" church, and naturally gravitated toward friends with a real desire for true fellowship, etc. Our times with these friends we also considered "church".In Salt Lake, our little group went for nearly 10 years. The question of "Who is in charge?" was never really asked, not once. We all had the number of a bank account that we could anonymously deposit money in; when we became aware of someone in need, we would just get together and agree to help them. We would eat meals together, wrestle through different issues (one of us was even a philosophy professor), pray, etc. Father was completely in charge of building that group, and His hand was evident when He blew us all to the four winds : )Now we have been in Spokane for a couple of years, and we have made contact and gathered with quite a few different people. God hasn't built anything real cohesive yet (that we can see), but something is bound to happen, I think!Have you ever perused the material on Wayne Jacobson's site, www.lifestream.org? That has been quite helpful to me in moving from religious obligation thinking in Seminary to walking in freedom...May He guide your journey!
Jim in Spokane

I'll definetly take a look at Wayne's site. Yeah the uneasiness that patiently waiting for things to gel brings is unsettling especially when you spent the last years of your life trying to make the church efficient and effective.How did you find that you met the people in your churches? Were they mostly people that shared your discontent with the status quo or were any of them totally unintiated "unbelievers" when they began coming?Lastly is there a reason that you believe that the ideals that you wrote about in your "Priesthood" blog couldn't be applied in a fresh larger-size church start?I feel like I'm trying to start from scratch in building a church, but I'd like to incorporate any wisdom you have on the subject in doing so and not have to learn every lesson the hard way. I have no one here, other than my brother, who understands yet. That is something I need to be praying about!
Eager for your response,
Kurt

Hi Kurt,
Jim here again, writing back to you to answer a couple of your questions...and maybe ask you a few more, too.I appreciate the boldness it takes to step out of being the full time "paid" minister. You are now one of literally thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of people who feel as if God has some special purpose for them, but doesn't fit in at the big box. Welcome to our club : )As far as the Discontented go, you will find in every large church a pocket (or several pockets) of people who really understand true fellowship, don't value the paid positions just for their own sake, don't feel real at home during the "sermon" time, etc. Now, it may not be time for you (on the INSIDE of you) to openly fellowship without regard to the walls yet - but nothing in principle stops you from doing so, from ignoring the walls of the box just as God does. We did not have people come into the kingdom at the same time as they came into our fellowship - we were weak in straight evangelism, though all of us were working hard on Mormons that we knew - and this is an exhausting process! Here in Spokane, as I said, we are waiting for God to gel something together, and I hope that we can be in touch with many who actually need Christ...enough keeping him to myself!And I am convinced that all of these things can work on the large level, but you'll have to work very hard on keeping things decentralized as much as possible. Things will need to be planned (because large groups of people have to have SOME organization), but if you can leave ministry in the hands of as many people as possible, not dictate what the Spirit is doing, pray with them like the life of the church depends on answered prayer (which it always does), it can be done. Be careful: most American Christians are looking to be led around through most of their Christian walk - they don't know any different. This is why I can't hold it against the typical Pastor that he leads - it is what the people are looking for. But Father wants a priesthood of all now - the real servant leader will lead all others to the throne with him!If any of that was unclear, let me know. I can also let you know of a few groups that seem to be holding on to that tenuous balance. All groups will fall - but the Kingdom will go on no matter what sign is hanging in the doorway.I'm very excited to hear about your adventure...if you wouldn't mind keeping me posted, I would be elated.
Jim in Spokane

Jim
I literally just prayed a day or 2 before I got in touch with you to the Lord saying that I felt all alone and that I had know one who genuinely understood me and why I am thinking differently, save my brother. And WHAM God sends me you and Wayne Jacobson. Thank you for replying! I have been devouring the articles on Wayne's page and am several chapters into "He loves me," which is so right on. I really appreciated the calm you communicated about your own current situation and your patience about it. That just seems so much more true to the story of the Bible. My mom was sharing the sermon that a new pastor at their church shared this last Sunday. Usually she does this with an "You would have loved it" stapled to the end that really means I wish you'd come back to church and stop scaring me. But this week she shared how the sermon was a guilt enducing speech about shoving the "Good News" down peoples throats and how the congregation was really dropping the ball in this area. She was disturbed by this but still some what accepted the guilt. After I shared some of what you had shared with me about letting go of control and allowing the Holy Spirit to do his thing and some of what I had read in Wayne's articles along the same lines I think she felt relieved and could understand a little better why I am where I am today. Wayne's chapter on using Hell to scare people into accepting Christ was REALLY good too. Anything you have to scare people into accepting isn't truely GOOD News is it? :-)You said that you didn't have people come into the kingdom at the same time they came into your fellowship. Is that to say that they came into the kingdom before or after? Or put another way is your meeting for people who at some level acknowledge God or everyone? That may not be fair though as anyone crazy enough to come to some "heretics" house church must be open to God at some level. Or maybe I'm asking for your definition of "fellowship?"I agree that ministry MUST be left in the hands of the group rather than controlled by the "leaders" especially in the case of a big box church. And I appreciated "All groups will fall" too. Why are we so afraid of that? All living things die, the parts decompose and become parts of new things.What would you say is the general size of the house churches you know of?BTW, I was born in Spokane and my boss is a Mormon.:-)
I really appreciate your time
Kurt in Omaha

Kurt,
Believe it or not, it is VERY encouraging to hear about how Father is working in your heart. You're starting to see some of the reason Wayne has had such an impact on me...or God using Wayne, of course. If you haven't emailed him also, you really should - he's just a normal guy who is great to get to know - and his experiences have formed his ideas. I found a lot of encouragement from his "Transitions" audio series - I burned them on to CD (he allows that) and listen to them in the car. I know the message is from God, because my mind is not centered on Wayne when I'm done listening...it's centered on Jesus. I think Americans feel most open with groups of eight or ten - so that's what I have seen in the house churches I have been around - three to five couples plus children, and maybe a single person here or there. The schedules of my brothers and sisters have been busy enough that our times together have been centered on real worship - which kind of leaves behind those not yet in the Kingdom. As we become more involved in each other's DAILY lives, unbelievers should naturally be swept up into our relationships - I really have a desire for this to happen.So...ever thought about coming back to visit your birthplace? We could have some great conversations, you and I (and the long-time home churchers around me). If you seek some daily encouragement, I could invite you (or you could sign on yourself), if you like, to the KoinoniaLife Discussion list, a yahoo group that I am a moderator of. Wayne is there, and several other amazing people...and many others. Think about that.And, for your own by-the-way: I was born and raised across the Missouri from you there in Iowa (but on the banks of the Mississippi - also along I-80). : )I hope to befriend Mormons here in Spokane (there are a lot) - but I am not sure how cloistered they are.
Jim

Kurt
-Something else you said came to mind this morning:"I really appreciated the calm you communicated about your own current situation and your patience about it. That just seems so much more true to the story of the Bible."I do have to admit, it is very hard not to just try and "take charge" in this area. Compared to Salt Lake, I am relatively lonely so far in Spokane. This group of people floating around will come to my house often if I just make the date, call them all and generally take charge. The Spirit is prompting me not to build anything on my own, though. This is not easy to let go at times. I can imagine you understand that feeling very well.
Jim