However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”—the things God has prepared for those who love him— 1 Corinthians 2:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 2, 2014): 1 Corinthians 2

Christian Identity is semi-Christian movement, or maybe better non-Christian movement, that is shaped by a white supremacist theology. The group has been accused of violence, including bombings against pro-homosexual and pro-abortion groups, against anyone who refuses to see this world the way that they see it. Christian Identity is severely homophobic and anti-Semitic. The origins of the church is thought to extend from a belief that all white people groups are really the descendants of the ten lost tribes of Israel, that the white people of this world are the original people of God spoken about in the Hebrew Bible – a belief that does not stand up under close scrutiny. The result is a poor reflection of the Gospel of Christ.

The adherents of Christian Identity are not alone. Every faith group seems to have radical groups hiding somewhere in their circle of influence. In many ways, Christian Identity has the same tendency and the same relationship with Christianity as radical Islamic Fundamentalism has to the mainstream movement of Islam. They are caricatures of real authentic faith. And in many ways they are caricatures based on a very worldly conception of spiritual issues. Whenever we respond with violence and discrimination, we are actually reflecting a godless response to the reality of our world.

Paul attempts to lift the point of view of the Corinthians by quoting Isaiah. Unfortunately, we have often read these words as if Paul was speaking of heaven or a reality after this life. But the context of Paul’s quote would indicate that he is not speaking of some far distant reality, but rather of the very current reality in which we live. Paul seems to be indicating that through the Spirit we have an opportunity to see this world in which we live in a very different way. Without the Spirit, such second sight is impossible.

And without that sight of the Spirit, we begin to respond to this world in the only way that we know how. We respond with violence and with the same discrimination that seems to come naturally to us. Without the Spirit, we cannot see this world the way that God sees it. And without the Spirit, Christianity as a force that is intended to shape this world for the better will descend into a belief system that is prone to hate and a destruction that is found at the heart of self-preservation. There is simply more to life, and to spirituality, than this world will allow us to understand.

For Paul, the division that was tearing apart the Corinthian Church was very natural. And the only response was to see this world in the way that God sees it – to see this world in a way that no one has conceived that it could be, outside of the Spirit that God has poured out over his church.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 3