Snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

Another snippet from The Thrill of Orthodoxy: Rediscovering the Adventure of Christian Faith by Trevin Wax.

“What put Christianity in the crosshairs of the Roman authorities was its refusal to bend the knee to Caesar’s ultimate authority, out of commitment to this explosive combination of inclusivity and exclusivity. This little sect not only insisted on the exclusive claim that Jesus is the only way (and not the idols of Rome), it also issued an inclusive call to everyone, regardless of ethnicity, to repent and believe and become part of a new worldwide family. That was the surge of energy that shocked the Roman Empire, the earthquake that eventually brought down the ancient Roman religions. It wasn’t exclusivity on its own, or inclusivity on its own, but the combination of both. That’s the thrill of orthodoxy…”

Photo by Tamal Mukhopadhyay on Unsplash

Snippet: Shrinking Jesus (Thrill Series)

Snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

Another snippet from The Thrill of Orthodoxy: Rediscovering the Adventure of Christian Faith by Trevin Wax. This is from a chapter called “The Narrowness of Heresy.”

“Every generation faces the temptation to attach Christianity to a political or social program, whether on the right or the left or somewhere in between. But as soon as we begin judging orthodoxy by the standards of the world, instead of judging the world by the standards of orthodoxy, we are bound to downplay and eventually deny aspects of the faith that don’t fit our times. In doing so, we divest Christianity of the strangeness that makes it compelling. In trying to make the faith more suitable, its distinctiveness will be lost. In attempting to make the dish more palatable, the food will lose its tastiness.

“…Heresies, no matter how much they may be marketed as expansive and inclusive, are always smaller and narrower than orthodoxy.

“…Imagine opening a can of paint to put a fresh coat on a room in your house. You look inside the can to find a warm, vibrant, solid color, but halfway through the job you realize that you are just a bit short. Rather than buying another gallon, you instead take what’s left and begin to add water to it. Your intent is to simply cover more area, to expand the potential of the paint. In the end, you may be able to cover more of the walls because you have added to the quantity, but you have diluted the color in the process. What was once powerfully pure is now weak and translucent. Similarly, when people try to expand or broaden orthodoxy to encompass more beliefs and practices—to cover more area—these theological errors do not enlarge Christianity but shrink it by dilution.

Similarly, when people try to expand or broaden orthodoxy to encompass more beliefs and practices—to cover more area—these theological errors do not enlarge Christianity but shrink it by dilution.

“…By seeking to “expand” Christianity, we shrink Jesus into just another localized deity, a personal private savior, and we sacrifice the worldwide mission to spread the glory and fame of his name.”

Photo by Filipp Romanovski on Unsplash