{"id":253,"date":"2009-03-04T10:27:36","date_gmt":"2009-03-04T10:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/tonyjones\/2009\/03\/the-sermon-on-the-mount-is-an.html"},"modified":"2009-03-04T10:27:36","modified_gmt":"2009-03-04T10:27:36","slug":"the-sermon-on-the-mount-is-an","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/tonyjones\/2009\/03\/the-sermon-on-the-mount-is-an.html","title":{"rendered":"The Sermon on the Mount Is an Ideology?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The right-wing Christian Post picked up on the Dallas youth pastor fight club silliness<\/a>, and did a follow-up interview with the Keysi Fighting Method instructor, Jeff McKissack.  CP picks up on my blog post,* then gets this odd defense from McKissack:<\/p>\n

“Over the years I have encountered truly sincere people who believe we
\nshould always ‘turn the other cheek’ … at all costs. The problem with
\nthat ideology lies in the fact that it does not only foster martyrs,
\nbut victims as well,” he argues.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Let’s think about that for a minute.  The Sermon on the Mount is an ideology?  I suppose that, as defined<\/a>, “turn the other cheek” and the other exhortations in the Sermon on the Mount could be considered a “doctrine<\/a>, philosophy<\/a>, body of beliefs<\/a> or principles<\/a> belonging to an individual or group.”  <\/p>\n

But let’s be honest.  McKissack is using “ideology” in a pejorative sense, implying that an overarching commitment to non-violence trumps common sense.  He appeals (surprise, surprise!) to Jesus’ post-Last Supper statement in Luke 22 to the disciples, “and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.”<\/p>\n

So here’s where, as usual, hermeneutics comes in. I realize that some readers will argue that every jot of scripture is equal to every other tittle.  Leviticus = John = Ephesians = Amos.<\/p>\n

Well, if common sense is at issue, is it really commonsensical to argue that Jesus’ remark about swords is equivalent to the Sermon on the Mount?<\/p>\n

Of course not.<\/p>\n

*Christian Post didn’t give me the benefit of an inbound link, so I’m not linking to them either.  Yes, that’s how I roll.  \ud83d\ude42<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The right-wing Christian Post picked up on the Dallas youth pastor fight club silliness, and did a follow-up interview with the Keysi Fighting Method instructor, Jeff McKissack.  CP picks up on my blog post,* then gets this odd defense from McKissack: “Over the years I have encountered truly sincere people who believe we should always…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-church"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Sermon on the Mount Is an Ideology? - The New Christians<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/tonyjones\/2009\/03\/the-sermon-on-the-mount-is-an.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Sermon on the Mount Is an Ideology? 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