The White Temple is one of the most startling artchitectual complexes in the world. It is one man's vision and understanding of the world shaped by his Asian culture and his Buddhist upbringing.
Here I am standing in front of the main temple on the site. It is an amazing building. And you are not supposed to take pictures inside and so I did not. But in the creator of the White Temple's understanding of god, humanity must go through hell, in order to reach heaven. Here is his depiction of hell.
It is a really graphic horror . . . one that will give you cold chills. And the other horror that evangelical Christianity does not address in any adequate manner, is that that this fellow's perspective that you must go through hell to reach heaven is the mainstream understanding of the majority of the world. I am not stating that he (they) are correct, only that evangelicals are the miniscule minority with the PollyAnna concept of reality.
The wealthy culture surrounding Western Christianity makes it a destitute thought-system in the two-thirds world. We have sacrificed so little, suffered too little, been hungry so little, been thirsty for clean water so little, lacked for so little, that we have little to offer the two-thirds world which is in a daily sumo-wrestling match with these life and death issues.
The perspective of the world we say we are called/trying to reach is, you have to go through hell to reach heaven. We say that Christ already has, so that no one else is required to do so. In the 2/3's world few of them have heard of Christ's perspective. So do they now go through hell and stay there, or do they reach heaven? And whose fault is it either way?
It seems to me that we do not seriously believe our own theology. Not when 95% of what we make in life is spent on us, and only a tiny fraction of "the church" lays down their life for these said beliefs. No wonder they don't believe us, even the few that get to hear.
4 comments:
Truly amazing artwork. And I agree. And I do understand the PollyAnna metaphor, but really when you think about the story, she was the one person who had love and faith enough to touch the lives of other people and change their perceptions of themselves and the riches they had.
And that is my point. Yes, much of Western culture is extremely self-absorbed because we can afford to be. But in my own case, I'd say I suffered with terrible guilt over what I wasn't doing, and that helped no one. I do prison ministry now, and what I have found, and would greatly encourage people to do, is make a direct connection with one person. I know people are afraid to walk through magnetic doors. But I've come to know so many behind bars and love them, it is no sacrifice. Mentor one person. Write letters. Use the internet-meet people in Asia or anywhere through churches, ministries-once it's personal, you will never be the same. I have friends who teach English in China, and that is how they reach students, but so often it's the friendships that are formed that make lasting impressions.
Yesterday I wrote a letter to a man who has a double life sentence-he'll never be out of prison. I told him it doesn't matter. He whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Westerners need to be free to let go of the thorns and thistles, cares of the world, that choke us. That is also a prison.
Thank God Western Christianity isn't the only one speaking to the rest of the world, that believers in places like China and Ethiopia have much to say to their neighbors about who Christ is in their worlds, and who saves them from the terror in that photo.
It's an amazing thing to be a part of such a diversely equipped Body.
Wow, David. What a startling image. Thanks for sharing the photos and the perspective.
I'm going to take the really shallow perspective, but hey, you live in the hairy armpit and I live in the dustbin capital of the world.
My question is this: Who has to dust all those hands? They must use a lot of Clorox.
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