Dale Cresap's blog

There are several different categories of crime. You have heard of white collar, violent, domestic, and others. Have you ever heard of spiritual crimes? Do you think this is real even if it isn’t reported in the news? Do you think spiritual crimes would consist only of things commonly understood as sins? Does this bring to mind a small number of categories? What about interfering with someone else’s spiritual development, conducting yourself in such a way that drives others away from the Kingdom of God? What would be worse than that?

Do you see me as a King? I was asked this question at my trial as if I were a threat to the Roman empire. I answered that my kingdom was not of this world. I went on to say that if it were my followers would fight, but it was not and is still not. Have you noticed that there is a connection between violence and the Kingdoms of this world? This question of violence is just as prevalent in your time as it was in mine. But I am the Prince of Peace. I taught at great length about the Kingdom of God and invited my followers to enter it. How do you deal with the issue of violence?

Do you understand the importance of not grieving the Spirit? The Bible says you shouldn’t, and this is one commandment that should be obvious. In this context do you think only in terms of activities conventionally understood to be sin? What about excessive control? Have you ever been in a church that was so formally and rigidly structured that the Spirit had no room to maneuver? Have you ever faced such constraints yourself? Was that grievous to you?

Have you read in my word that it is sharp and powerful, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of men? Have you seen this in action? Do you think of the Bible as static objective truth? But the passage says that it is living. Can you find anything you are looking for in the Bible? Have you seen hateful people find things in there to justify their hatred, and loving people find things to justify their love? So if you believe in the promise of finding what you seek, be careful what you seek, for the promise is not that everything you seek will be beneficial for you.

Do you know the difference between ceremony and ritual? These words are often used interchangeably, but ceremonies are positive affirmations of the status quo, like parades, and rituals include a dark element. Do you see this in the sacraments of baptism and communion? Baptism is a ritual of burial, albeit in water rather than earth, but the Bible makes this plain, and communion is an invitation to identify with my death by drinking my blood and eating my flesh. If properly understood these are not things to engage in lightly.

Do you live in a classless society? Some countries are acknowledged to have a caste system and others pride themselves on not having one, but can such a thing really exist? The Bible says much about the distinction between the rich and the poor and indicates that this is enduring, for the poor you have with you always. I do not require draconian policies to put an end to this difference. You have seen failed attempts to achieve this. But don’t pretend that the difference doesn’t exist. Remember that you have a duty to the least of these.

What do Christian parents tell their children? That they must complete their education and then start a career before marrying and having children, or finding a way to serve me? This may be good advice and it is respectable in your culture, but where do you find it in my teachings or elsewhere in the Bible? Where is it written that you must take care of your own needs and secure your own future before following me? I direct my followers on many paths, and each of these is right for that person.

Do you have money? Everyone wants to. Do you find that people are treated differently depending on whether they have money or not? Do you do this? An objective reading of the Bible would suggest that it is better not to have money, for the poor are rich in faith, and how hard it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God, harder than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.

Have you heard of anything that backfired? Weapons can be dangerous to the user as well as the intended target but now this term commonly refers to a plan or action. Have you seen this happen with sarcasm, ridicule and contempt? The one who speaks in this manner intends the blow to land on his victim, but it says nothing about the person it is directed against and everything about the one who speaks it. For the words you speak are a reflection of your own character, not of anyone else’s.

Do you think that my grace is bestowed on a select few of great worthiness? If you understand the concept of grace you realize that this position doesn’t make sense, but you can hold one position as an abstract derivation of theological principles and another as a way you perceive and experience life. Will I not lavish grace on the least of these who represent me in the world?  Consider my statements that I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance, and that I will leave the 99 in the fold to seek the one lost sheep.