T<\/span>he title of Woody Allen\u2019s 2009 movie, \u2018Whatever Works\u2019 captures the mood of post-modern ethics. Starting with the presupposition that great thinkers like Jesus or Karl Marx were great teachers, the movie contends that religions work from the fallacy that people are inherently good. Life as we know it now, is all there is. There is no God; no final accounting. Part of life\u2019s challenge is to find moments of love and joy. So, we need to do, \u2018Whatever Works\u2026\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n The moral subjectivism of the movie seems so plausible, tolerant, and so mature. There\u2019s no guilt in life, only disappointments. Because we all die we should do whatever works to make us happy.<\/span><\/p>\n One of the strengths of\u00a0societies that have been framed by the \u2018Common Law\u2019<\/b>, introduced in England in the 9<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0century by Alfred the Great, is that they\u00a0have a moral framework<\/b>. Much refined over the following centuries, this \u2018Common Law\u2019 is framed with reference to the Mosaic Law and Jesus\u2019 Sermon on the Mount\u2019. This in turn has shaped the laws of England and Britain as a whole, as well as the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n King Alfred, a professing Christian, was not only a capable military strategist but also a wise and visionary ruler. It seems that because he knew the Christ who had taught the\u00a0Beatitudes<\/i>, he worked for peaceful solutions even with the most ruthless of his enemies. As one historian comments:\u00a0Alfred\u00a0had the wisdom to realize that the sword, though powerful to defend, could settle nothing permanently, and that only the conquest of the heart could endure\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/span>(Arthur Bryant,\u00a0The Story of England: Makers of the Realm<\/i>, 1953).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Why did King Alfred respond the way he did? Clearly he understood not only Jesus\u2019\u00a0Beatitudes,\u00a0<\/i>but also Jesus\u2019 following words:\u00a0“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot…\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i><\/span>(Matthew 5:13).\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Salt<\/b>. In Jesus\u2019 day salt was used for a number of purposes \u2013 as seasoning to bring out the flavor of food, and also as a preservative. At a time of no refrigeration, salt was rubbed into fresh meat to prevent it from rotting. Jesus is saying that his followers are to act as a preservative in the world \u2014 to slow down the decay. This is what King Alfred was endeavoring to do in 9<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0century England. And as we look back over history, we see he was laying the foundation for a great nation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n This becomes our challenge today.\u00a0If we are to stand against the dehumanizing elements of our world, we need to be ready to understand the counter-cultural life Jesus calls us to live<\/b>. We also need the grace and the wisdom to live it. Only when we are willing to stand up and do this as God\u2019s people will we stop the rot. But this will only happen if we ourselves don\u2019t become insipid. That\u2019s why Jesus goes on to warn against salt losing its saltiness.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, strictly speaking salt can\u2019t lose its saltiness. NaCl is a stable compound. However, in the ancient world salt was obtained from salt marshes rather than through the evaporation of sea water. There were many impurities in it. And there\u2019s also a play on words here that Jesus\u2019 first hearers would have picked up.\u00a0\u2018Salt\u2019 in Aramaic is\u00a0Tabel<\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0And there\u2019s a word very close to it,\u00a0Tapel<\/i>\u00a0which means fool.\u00a0\u2018Watch out,\u2019 Jesus is saying, \u2018that you don\u2019t become insipid, wishy-washy followers and so make fools of yourselves.’<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What a warning.<\/b>\u00a0\u2018If you call yourself a follower of mine,\u2019 Jesus is saying, \u2018your life will be different.\u2019 So we need to ask: How do other people see us? Do we go to church but our life remains unchanged? Is our life shaped by the culture or by the Bible? Are we just as unforgiving, just as greedy and selfish as everyone around us? \u2018If you call yourself a follower of mine,\u2019 Jesus says, \u2018let your life be transformed by my\u00a0words, for\u00a0You are the salt of the earth<\/i>.\u2019<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CULTURE SAYS ‘WHATEVER WORKS’? he title of Woody Allen\u2019s 2009 movie, \u2018Whatever Works\u2019 captures the mood of post-modern ethics. Starting with the presupposition that great thinkers like Jesus or Karl Marx were great teachers, the movie contends that religions work from the fallacy that people are inherently good. Life as we know it now, is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":" The title of Woody Allen\u2019s 2009 movie, \u2018Whatever Works\u2019 captures the mood of post-modern ethics. Starting with the presupposition that great thinkers like Jesus or Karl Marx were great teachers, the movie contends that religions work from the fallacy that people are inherently good. Life as we know it now, is all there is. There is no God; no final accounting. Part of life\u2019s challenge is to find moments of love and joy. So, we need to do, \u2018Whatever Works\u2026\u2019<\/span><\/p> The moral subjectivism of the movie seems so plausible, tolerant, and so mature. There\u2019s no guilt in life, only disappointments. Because we all die we should do whatever works to make us happy.<\/span><\/p> One of the strengths of\u00a0societies that have been framed by the \u2018Common Law\u2019<\/b>,<\/span> introduced in England in the 9<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0century by Alfred the Great, is that they\u00a0have a moral framework<\/b>.<\/span> Much refined over the following centuries, this \u2018Common Law\u2019 is framed with reference to the Mosaic Law and Jesus\u2019 Sermon on the Mount\u2019. This in turn has shaped the laws of England and Britain as a whole, as well as the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.<\/span><\/p> King Alfred, a professing Christian, was not only a capable military strategist but also a wise and visionary ruler. It seems that because he knew the Christ who had taught the\u00a0Beatitudes<\/i>, he worked for peaceful solutions even with the most ruthless of his enemies. As one historian comments:\u00a0Alfred\u00a0had the wisdom to realize that the sword, though powerful to defend, could settle nothing permanently, and that only the conquest of the heart could endure\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/span>(Arthur Bryant,\u00a0The Story of England: Makers of the Realm<\/i>, 1953).<\/span><\/p> Why did King Alfred respond the way he did? Clearly he understood not only Jesus\u2019\u00a0Beatitudes,\u00a0<\/i>but also Jesus\u2019 following words:\u00a0\"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot...\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/span>\u00a0<\/i><\/span>(Matthew 5:13).\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Salt<\/b>.<\/span> In Jesus\u2019 day salt was used for a number of purposes \u2013 as seasoning to bring out the flavor of food, and also as a preservative. At a time of no refrigeration, salt was rubbed into fresh meat to prevent it from rotting. Jesus is saying that his followers are to act as a preservative in the world \u2014 to slow down the decay. This is what King Alfred was endeavouring to do in 9<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0century England. And as we look back over history, we see he was laying the foundation for a great nation.<\/span><\/p> This becomes our challenge today.\u00a0If we are to stand against the dehumanizing elements of our world, we need to be ready to understand the counter-cultural life Jesus calls us to live<\/b>.<\/span> We also need the grace and the wisdom to live it. Only when we are willing to stand up and do this as God\u2019s people will we stop the rot. But this will only happen if we ourselves don\u2019t become insipid. That\u2019s why Jesus goes on to warn against salt losing its saltiness.<\/span><\/p> Now, strictly speaking salt can\u2019t lose its saltiness. NaCl is a stable compound. However, in the ancient world salt was obtained from salt marshes rather than through the evaporation of sea water. There were many impurities in it. And there\u2019s also a play on words here that Jesus\u2019 first hearers would have picked up.\u00a0\u2018Salt\u2019 in Aramaic is\u00a0Tabel<\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0And there\u2019s a word very close to it,\u00a0Tapel<\/i>\u00a0which means fool.\u00a0\u2018Watch out,\u2019 Jesus is saying, \u2018that you don\u2019t become insipid, wishy-washy followers and so make fools of yourselves.'<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p> What a warning.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u2018If you call yourself a follower of mine,\u2019 Jesus is saying, \u2018your life will be different.\u2019 So we need to ask: How do other people see us? Do we go to church but our life remains unchanged? Is our life shaped by the culture or by the Bible? Are we just as unforgiving, just as greedy and selfish as everyone around us? \u2018If you call yourself a follower of mine,\u2019 Jesus says, \u2018let your life be transformed by my\u00a0words, for\u00a0You are the salt of the earth<\/i>.\u2019<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-word-on-wednesday"],"yoast_head":"\nSALT OF THE EARTH<\/h2>\n
COUNTER-CULTURAL LIFE OF JESUS<\/h2>\n