Category Archives: Sermon On The Mount

The Dispensationalist Dodge

13 Replies

We’re looking at how people work to get around applying Jesus’ teachings to their lives, especially the Sermon on the Mount. I’ve referenced a blog by Michael L. Westmoreland-White that got me to thinking about these specific points; he in turn credits John Howard Yoder and Glen Stassen.

The first “dodge” that Westmoreland-White points to is the Dispensationalist Dodge. This simply says that Jesus’ teachings were given not for the age of the church, but for the future realized kingdom. In our fellowship, with a generalized rejection of pre-millenialism, it’s more common to hear the argument that Jesus’ teachings were meant to tell the Jews how to live during those 3 years of his public ministry; after his death on the cross, those teachings became null and void. You especially hear this from people who don’t want to have to wrestle with Jesus’ teachings about divorce.

As regards the pre-millenial view, as Westmoreland-White says, even if we accept their viewpoint about the coming Kingdom, much of what is described in the Sermon on the Mount doesn’t fit such a time period. The problems with strife between brothers and sin in general shouldn’t be present after Jesus’ return. It just doesn’t make sense. (I wrote an earlier post about the chronology of the Kingdom, if you’re interested in discussing that).

As for the “these teachings only applied to Jews” or “these teachings only applied before the cross” views, neither of those fit with the reality of what the gospels are. Just because they are placed before Acts in our New Testament, doesn’t mean that they were written before the events in Acts took place. The gospels are Christian literature, written by Christians for the use of the church. Do they contain Jesus’ teachings just as a novelty? “Look at the tough things Jesus said while he was here.” Why would Christian writers go to such lengths to preserve Jesus’ teachings if they weren’t relevant to their readers?

If we want to be called Christians, we must strive to follow Christ’s example and Christ’s teachings. Not as a means of salvation, but as a means of being who we were called to be. Can I believe in Christ and not believe that his teachings about how we should live represent the best way to live? Can I say that I follow Christ, yet show no concern about living the way he said we should live?

We won’t do it perfectly. Surely we all know that. But only by striving after that goal can we be truly transformed into his image, by the power of God’s Spirit.

Is the Sermon on the Mount stupid?

21 Replies

Last week I received from Netflix one of those high-brow videos, Weird Al Yankovic’s greatest videos. I enjoy Weird Al’s sense of humor and wanted to watch the videos, but not enough to actually buy the DVD.

One of those songs was meant to be a parody of the 80s techno bands, like Devo. The song is called “Dare To Be Stupid,” and is filled with admonitions to do stupid things: take wooden nickels, bite off more than you can chew, etc.

In the middle of the song, there was a line that really caught my ear: “You can turn the other cheek.” For most of the famous aphorisms, the “stupid” advice was to do the opposite of what common wisdom advised. So why did Jesus’ teaching become an exception to the rule?

Because for most people, it sounds stupid. Turn the other cheek? How ridiculous is that?

Over the next few days, I want to share some things that I read last year on a blog by Michael L. Westmoreland-White. I want to spend time discussing how Christians typically deal with the Sermon on the Mount, because, as Westmoreland-White says, “Since the Sermon on the Mount is the largest block of Jesus’ teaching we have recorded in the Gospels, how we treat it is a strong indication of how we’ll treat Jesus altogether.”

Just to let you know where we’re headed, Westmoreland-White names five “dodges” to get around the Sermon on the Mount (and he acknowledges both John Howard Yoder and Glen Stassen as sources):

  • The Dispensationalist Dodge
  • The “Preterist” Dodge
  • The Public/Private Split
  • The “Inner Attitudes” Dodge
  • The “All That Matters Is The Atonement” Dodge

For now, I’d like to hear your thoughts on how most Christians react to the Sermon on the Mount. Do you think they see it as applying to them? Do you think they think the teachings are hyperbolic, reflecting things beyond our reach? Do most people pick and choose which parts to cling to? Or do they join the “Dare To Be Stupid” song and condemn Jesus’ teachings as foolish?