APOLARITY

Assayas, Michka. “Bono: Grace over Karma.” Excerpted from Bono in Conversation with Michka Assayas.

Palmer, Martin. The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity.

The former is an article I read just tonight; the latter, a book I have been digesting for the last month or so. The article caught my eye with a quote about Karma:

Bono: You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that “as you reap, so you will sow” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff.

Assayas: I’d be interested to hear that.

Bono: That’s between me and God. But I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I’d be in deep shit. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.

This quote brought me back and finally gave me incentive to write about The Jesus Sutras. It is an historical account of the first Christian mission to China (led by the monk Alouben) in 635, a piecing together of various strands of evidence: a long-lost Christian monastery now used as a Buddhist temple (with Christian statues in the eighth-century pagoda), a sutra (holy writing) of stone in a stone library, and “The Jesus Sutras,” a collection of scrolls found hidden in a secret library that was sealed around 1005.

From these fragments, the author pieces together a framework for what these early Christians believed, how they acted and interacted with the myriad of cultures and religions around them. The result is a fascinating depiction of a Christianity that is adaptive, hospitable, and relevant.

These early Chinese Christians drew upon imagery from their understanding of the Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Jainism and Shamanism of Tang Dynasty China, which allowed them to present a radical image of Christ as the Dharma King, sending “your raft of salvation to save us from the burning streams” – even saving us from karma and reincarnation.

It struck me as an amazing way to interact and dialogue with the Chinese culture, to come at it with such an intimate knowledge of the people’s beliefs, fears, and understandings of life and the afterlife. Our modern Western Evangelical Protestant understanding of the gospel always tends to hinge on the sacrificial death of Christ as atonement for our sins, relying on the legal metaphor of God as judge, accepting some and damning others (for a real kick in the head, check out The Last Word and the Word After That by Brian McLaren). But how would we make ourselves understood to a culture that doesn’t understand the afterlife in those terms, but rather see them as endless karmic reincarnations, i.e. we are doomed to be forever reincarnated until we get it right here on earth?

I’ve rambled enough, you tell me what you think…

Beyond knowing, beyond words
You are the truth, steadfast for all time.
Compassionate Father, Radiant Son,
Pure Wind King – three in one…

Supreme King, Will of Ages,
Compassionate Joyous Lamb
Loving all who suffer
Fearless as You strive for us
Free us of the karma of our lives,
Bring us back to our original nature
Delivered from all danger.

Sutra of Praise to the Three Powers, A.D. ca. 780-790
(see page 203)

“Religious and Non-Religious Spirituality in the Western World”

It’s a Lausanne issue paper about emerging spiritualities and new religions. Essentially, it is a updated response by a main evangelical body about how we can best relate to other religions (especially those once branded “cults”) and bring the light of Christ in an incarnational way. It is 70 pages long, including an extensive bibliography; but I just skimmed it, and it was amazing.

One highlight was describing a ministry that was using Tarot cards to open people up to talking about spirituality. While clearly stating that divination from the cards is a non-Christian and dangerous practice, they pointed to the artwork on the cards (taken from Renaissance Europe – with imagery from Dante etc.) and told the story of the gospel.

Great reading, and very thought-provoking.