Individualism and its most powerful contemporary ally, consumersim, are not the disease but they are a symptom and a constant temptation.  We do our people well to point out their false promises of fulfilment and significance.

No, this doesn’t resonate with me at all.

I reflect on the character of Jesus’ ministry (and Paul to a large extent also) being entirely relational and focussed in community living.  His constant meal sharing, telling of stories to friends and groups, healing ministry, gathering of disciples, wisdom teaching and so on speaks strongly to me of the primacy of our relationships being an agent of ‘the kingdom of God’.  On balance in the synoptics, I think there is far less material on personal santification issues than how the ‘kingdom of God’ is realised through our relational context.

Much of the authentic Pauline writings are less doctrinal creeds about personal sanctification, but more encouragement and exhortation about how to live in Christian community.  Take the Corinthians as an example - he passionately exhorts them to overcome their differences…. chapter after chapter. 

I’m not convinced the historical Jesus or Paul would support your conclusions about individual first, community second.  I suspect that for them, certainly in the context of 1stC Palestine, the dualistic separation of individual from community is meaningless.  This separation is a later western cultural development that was concurrently reflected in personalised/individualised theology and articles of faith.

Cheers.

Hi Tony,

Yes, there is common ground on what we are both saying: that the atomisation of western secular society is occurring and is rooted in the cult of the individual, which springs forth from our broken humanity.  We might use different language, but I think we agree on this.

A significant difference remains however, and perhaps I was a somewhat opaque in my previous post…apologies (I tend to write short, generalised posts rather than long detailed ones you have probably noticed)  Setting ourselves right with God is enacted through our community living where the ‘Kingdom of God’ can break through and transform peoples lives. Individualism has no power to do this. I believe this is the model that Jesus sets before us.  Re-reading the Last Supper story with this lense is most instructive.

Mediated salvation through the Church is something entirely different.

Reading 1Cor15 recently has also clarified this in my mind about Paul’s position on how ‘salvation’ is enacted, ie through community.

Cheers.