Inner & Outer

There is a dualism within Christianity that I find to be unhealthy. This is the notion that there is an "individual" and a "social". On the surface this is true. Yet, those of us in the mainline traditions tend to ridicule those who have what we call "individualistic" religion. Likewise, evangelicals tend to consider us to be closet socialists! For years I have worked to present the gospel as both. It is both individual and social. In fact, there is no meaningful difference.

I preached about this for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I compared and contrasted him with Billy Graham. People tend to see them as preaching very different gospels. I say this is not true! There is only one gospel (Galations 1:7). Both of these giants of 20th century Christianity preached the gospel of Jesus Christ...the gospel of peace, justice, and reconciliation. Dr. Graham focused on the individual experience. Dr. King focused on the social experience. To claim that these are two different things is a false dualism. You as an individual human being are one with all of creation. Likewise all of creation is one with you. I find that the Buddhists tend to understand this better than do many Christians.

Personally, I have a different understanding of salvation than does Dr. Graham, but I respect him. I saw him interviewed on Larry King. On this show Dr. Graham shared that he and Dr. King met to discuss Dr. Graham's spiritual crisis. Dr. Graham shared that he wanted to do more for the civil rights movement. Dr. King shared that he believed Dr. Graham was honoring his calling preaching in stadiums while Dr. King was honoring his calling preaching on the streets. Again - it is the same gospel.

Dr. Graham insisted that his gatherings be desegregated. In the deep south of Jim Crow I cannot think of another person who could make this happen. Dr. King had a deep personal spirituality along with his calling to work for justice. Social justice and inner transformation are not two competing factions.

All of creation is within Christ. We are all within Christ, individually and collectively. There is no meaningful difference. If one is committed to social justice but does not resolve her/his psychological issues (we all have them), then they are not being faithful. Likewise, if someone focuses exclusively on their inner-growth without working for social justice, then they are not being faithful. To truly grow one must care about the whole. To truly care about the whole one must work on inner-growth. These are not two different things. They are one. We are one. God is one.