Jesus story

Jesus
“Go and do likewise”
Christian
Moral Living
Jesus is normative by way of analogical
transfer from his story to our own
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An analogy is a proportion between two items
2 is to
4
as
prime analogate
What is the value of
4 is to
X
analogue
x?
2 is to
4
prime analogate
as
4 is to
X
analogue
X = 8 where the proportion is a doubling of the first number
X = 16 where the proportion is a squaring of the first number
A prime analogate may embody more than one
proportion (e.g., doubling or squaring).
All analogues must embody a real proportion in the
prime analogate.
Some proportions may be more salient than others.
NT text is to
its world
as
Christian actions are to
their world
Christian analogical imagination
1) plunges down into the particulars of the story in
order to bring up a concretized proportion; and
2) relies upon narrative context to determine which
proportions are morally salient or paradigmatic.
For example, Jesus’ attitude toward violence as displayed in his response to
the money changers in the Temple finds its full meaning when
understood in context of his death on the cross as well as his responses
to a wide range of harms and injustices.
COMPLETELY OPEN
Amorphous, Spineless Jesus
Jesus can be whatever
anyone wants him to be
COMPLETELY DETERMINED
Frozen, Lifeless, Iconic Jesus
Jesus has been exhaustively
defined once and for all times
Jesus as
a Museum
Exhibit
Jesus as a
Gumby Doll
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-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
Silly Putty Jesus
Paint by Number Jesus
Underdetermined
Overdetermined
A powerful, living Jesus
Partly Determined + Partly Open
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-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
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a) Outlines a structure and sets limits
Certain actions would be “out of character” (e.g., the
Holocaust could never be the kingdom of God);
don’t provide exhaustive architectural plans.
and
b) Is dynamic and allows new possibilities
If the world of the story is true than new things become possible
(e.g., the lion might lay down with the lamb).
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Concrete
THE STORY HAS A PARTICULAR SHAPE
THAT FORMS
PARTICULAR DISPOSITIONS
A) SHAPE: Jesus lived in a definite time, place, culture, etc.
Jesus = a Jew who lived 2,000 years ago in Palestine.
The story creates a concrete world into which we can enter.
B) DISPOSITIONS: One can develop a readiness to think, feel
and act in ways engendered by the story,
e.g. acting compassionately and seeking to heal as
Jesus did with the woman caught in adultery in John 8.
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Universal
The concrete world of the story
+
the concrete dispositions engendered by it
=
MORALLY RELEVANT IN EVERY SITUATION
I have given you a model to follow,
so that as I have done for you, you should also do.
John 13:15
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The story has universal but not exclusive moral normativity.
Other Christian sources of normativity:
1) human nature
2) practical logic
3) common wisdom
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1) MYTHICAL ARCHETYPE
vs.
2) HISTORICAL PROTOTYPE
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% & #
'
(
)
* # & + *
[archein
- to begin, to rule + typos- type, form]
-- an original model from which all things of the same type are copied
Examples: (1) a cookie cutter;
(2) a carbon for copying
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' # , ) '
( + ) , # , # & + *
[protos- first +typos- type]
-- afirst instance that exhibits the essential features of a later type.
Examples: (1) A violin made by Antonio Stradivari of Cremona;
(2) The first flight-
worthy airplane (1903 Wright Brothers)
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If Christian is the “type,” which of these two
best portrays Jesus as a concrete universal?
or
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-
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Christian ethics can never be mass produced
by repeating the same formula
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1919 Ford Model T
Go and Do Likewise = follow the “rhyme”
NOT copy or imitate
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Historical = CONCRETELY determined
Prototypical = UNIVERSALLY relevant for all subsequent
instances of the same type
Magna Carta
- a charter of rights forced
upon King John by English
lords in 1215
- later constitutions captured
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the “rhyme” and “spirit”
of the original
“Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples . . .” John 13:34-35
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+
#
+
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Flexible: bends with the wind
-- adjusts to make the “fitting”
response for the circumstances
Firm: remains rooted
-- holds to convictions and values
Integral: bounces back to
original shape
-- maintains moral integrity and
equilibrium across diverse
circumstances
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$
.
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Dispositions to “do likewise” characterize
an individual as a member of the type “Christian.”
Jesus story
E.g. Breaking bread
with outcasts.
Our stories
Compassion
E.g. Solidarity with
the poor.
#
)
Jesus story
-->
Our story
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For those who have
identified with it as
their “focal
meaning,” the story
of Jesus integrates
three aspects of
experience into a
coherent world:
PER
ION
T
P
CE
!
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!
ITY
T
N
IDE
MO
TIV
AT
IO
N
!
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Like a window,
a story:
Match?
Class exercise:
Match each arrow
with a number
1. Illuminates
sheds light on the
‘why’ behind the world
I see.
PERCEPTION
2. Frames
foregrounds
(and backgrounds)
the world I see.
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MOTIVATION
3. Reflects
allows me to see
my reflection.
IDENTITY
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1. Frames
2. Illuminates
3. Reflects
PERCEPTION
MOTIVATION
IDENTITY
If the WHOLE WINDOW =
STORY OF JESUS then
PE
f
o
s
Len
ION
T
P
RCE
WINDOW FRAME = a lens of PERCEPTION;
The story frames our reality and what we
perceive as important, valuable & treasured
IDENTITY
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REFLECTIVE GLASS = a mirror of who we
are or our IDENTITY; The story shows us
our flaws & gifts
MO
T
9
IVA
TI O
N
TRANSPARENT GLASS = illuminates why &
how we should act, our MOTIVATION;
The Story suggests a reality and reveals its
meaning and our purpose
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+ * )
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1. Images are the primary language of the brain:
humans perceive and remember through images.
2. Stories “image” the world.
3. A story exerts its power by generating realistic
imaginative experiences equipped with meaning.
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+ * )
* + # ', 0
Stories provide a perspective or context for making sense
of experience. Events take on meaning as they fit
into the world of the story. Parts make sense when
fit into a whole.
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Organizing images dispose us
Examples
Scripture encourages us to perceive and act toward a fellow human being
through the following images:
1) the good Samaritan: hospitality
2) created in the image of God: a gift to be treasured
3) the Body of Christ: a possible companion in God’s Kingdom;
4) “whenever you did it to the least of my sisters and brothers . . .
you did it to me”: an encounter with God
These images may dispose us to feel compassion, anger at injustice, etc.
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%
Evoke our moral energies by providing a “why”
that moves us to feel and act.
Our “why” shapes “how” we feel and act
- - our intent and means for achieving it mutually
inform each other
'
"
!
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Christian identity emerges through IDENTIFICATION with
other persons, their stories, and their causes.
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Christians identify with a common
1) group - disciples of Jesus
2) story practiced in a community
e.g., Eucharist, serving the needy
3) cause, e.g. the Reign of God
This means taking on the specific roles involved in each
aspect of Christian identification.
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Mature Christian identity avoids both
A) identity diffusion
- - lack of conviction and focus; inability to
initiate projects or sustain commitments
B) premature foreclosure of identity-- jumps into a “ready
identity, inability to manage uncertainty.
ade”
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Mature identity requires continual growth through exploring
different roles on the way toward ever deeper commitment.
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Humans need a sense of identity that is storied:
dynamic (ongoing),
dramatic (plot driven), and
unified (unifies diverse experiences into a
meaningful and comprehensive whole)
For Christians the story of Jesus unifies the story of God
across the Old and New Testaments and provides the
most authentically dynamic, dramatic, comprehensive,
and unified source of Christian identity. This story
continues today.
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3
The Iconic Jesus =
reduced to a single image
God transcends any single image
controlled by human expectations
God bursts our expectations
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2
3
The Living, Risen Jesus takes on different concrete
forms in different circumstances.
The Living Spirit of God is dynamic and multifaceted.
The Holy Spirit acts as a prism by offering multiple
expressions of God all unified by one ongoing story.
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