To the question:

I’d ask again, when did Jesus’ teachings become impractical, idealistic, unrealistic?

Nathan responded:

One way of answering that question would be to say that they were always impractical, idealistic and unrealistic (at least when seen from the perspective of a worldly pragmatism), but we who have been called to proclaim the gospel of Christ are not called to proclaim what we think will work; we are called to proclaim what God is calling us to, as revealed in the scriptures. Our God given task is to call people to faithfulness, not to effectiveness. The idea that our role is to endorse and advocate the practical, the functional and the effective is, in my not so humble opinion, part of the sell-out that we evangelicals have fallen prey to. That’s why you can walk into so many of our churches now and hear, not Biblical preaching, but practical and palatable topical preaching with the Bible pushed into a support role to provide a few random texts to back up our presentations of how to live effectively, efficiently, successfully and happily. The Gospel is reduced from the taste-it-now promise of a new world (worth laying down your life for) to an attractive set of hints and tips on how to make the most of life in the old world.

That said, I still don’t know how to adequately answer the question about whether violence ever has a place. I am not yet quite able, intellectually, to become a true pacifist, even though I concede that I cannot find a single shred of evidence that Jesus was or is anything other than a true pacifist.

Peace and hope,

Nathan