The Humanity of Christ
Conservative Christian Extremism vs. New Age Extremism

From: L.M. Enterprises <htrails@solve.net>
To: Davids_Outcasts@listbot.com <Davids_Outcasts@listbot.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 1999 1:30 AM
Subject: [888] The Humanity of Christ

David's Outcasts - http://www.GreaterThings.com/OpenForum/Davids_Outcasts.htm

The Humanity of Christ
by Lynn Ridenhour

I'm more interested in what a religious person doesn't say than what he does say. For what a person doesn't say is at the core of heresy. If you listen to a person long enough, you begin to "hear" what he never says. By the way, heresy is not falsehood preached. The terrible thing about heresy is that the person is right in what he affirms but wrong in what he leaves out.

A heretic preaches the truth lopsided. He's constantly affirming while constantly denying. While constantly leaving out crucial doctrines. For example, constantly leaving out the humanity of Christ. Most heresies affirm the divinity of Christ while denying the humanity of Jesus. Not much has changed.

Remember, the nature of our brother Lucifer--is to preach the truth lopsided. His strategies started in the garden of Eden and haven't changed. Even in our day. Lucifer was preaching heresy to Adam and Eve in the garden. And he's still preaching heresy today. Most New Age teachings, for example, constantly affirm the divinity of Christ while it constantly downplays the humanity of Jesus. The movement is consistently affirming while invariably leaving out--that's heresy. Truth presented lopsided. I'll say it again-I'm more interested in what a religious person doesn't say than what he does say. Yes, the terrible thing about heresy is that the person is right in what he affirms but wrong in what he leaves out.

Back to the garden.

In Genesis chapter two, verse 17, for instance, the Lord told Adam ".of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

Enter Lucifer, the heretic.

In chapter three, verse three, our brother tells Eve ".of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath saith, Ye shat not eat of it [Lucifer is preaching truth] NEITHER SHALL YE TOUCH IT-that's heresy] lest ye die." Sooner or later our brother builds upon Father's truth, and before we know it, we're embracing extra-biblical teachings.

Heresy is always truth with a new twist!

In verse 17 the Lord says nothing to Adam about not touching the tree. Our brother, Lucifer, knew he was adding to Father's words.

Back to our day.

Here's truth with a new twist: affirming Christ's divinity while downplaying [even denying] his humanity. Our brother Lucifer, I'm convinced, has conservative believers running all over the country defending the wrong emphasis. Conservative Christianity (inside and outside of the restoration) has always been the great defender of the deity of Jesus Christ. We've written volumes regarding-Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh.

Rightfully, we should be great defenders of the magnificent theme-the Incarnation of Christ. Incarnational theology is, indeed, at the heart of Christianity. God became a Man in the meridian of time but remained God throughout eternity. Two became one while remaining two. What a triumphant mystery. And the mystery is not 50-50-- fifty percent man and fifty percent God. It's one hundred percent man and one hundred percent God. The mystery of godliness is what I call the Incarnation.

My point?

Biblical Christianity affirms both Christ's divinity and Jesus' humanity! The blending of his humanity with his deity is the glory of theIncarnation. All heresy finds a way sooner or later to chip away at the grandest of theme in all of scripture: the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Heresy typically presents this grand truth lopsided. Usually with the emphasis upon Christ's deity to the exclusion of his humanity. Heresy says--real spirituality is recognizing the Chrsit within, following the Christ within, spiritualizing the Christ within--all true spirituality is within.

Take Catholicism, for instance. Catholicism has for centuries affirmed Christ's deity while denying (through the doctrine of Immaculate Conception) his humanity. Catholics have no problem with Christ's deity; it's his humanity they're not sure about.

I find it interesting-most Catholics and New Agers feel uncomfortable when the emphasis turns to the historical Jesus--his humanity. Even the name "Jesus" doesn't quite set with them. At times pejorative labels such as "Jesus freaks" and ".those fundamentalist, conservative Christians" surface.

You know why? The New Age movement constantly reaffirms the existential Christ within while downplaying as carnal the historical Jesus. That's heresy--constantly affirming while constantly denying. I end with what I said in the beginning.

I'm more interested in what a religious person doesn't say than what he does say. For what a person doesn't say is at the core of heresy. If you listen to a person long enough, you begin to "hear" what he never says. By the way, heresy is not falsehood preached. The terrible thing about heresy is that the person is right in what he affirms but wrong in what he leaves out.

A heretic preaches truth lopsided. He's constantly affirming while constantly denying. Constantly leaving out crucial doctrines. For example, constantly leaving out the humanity of Christ. Most heresies affirm the divinity of Christ while denying the humanity of Jesus.

Not much has changed since the garden.

  Feedback

I must comment, that I am uncomfortable with your replete usage of the word "heresy" in reference to thinking different from your perception of the truth.   It sounded too much like inquisition language.  I think you could make the same point about the humanity of Christ without being quite so dogmatic.  Usually your tone is much better than this.

-- Sterling