Transforming the ISMS

"Are they a Christian?" many question with a condescending tone. This is the question that I hate answering because it is usually asked in judgment and condemnation. If you are a Christian, at this present moment, you may be shaking your head in disagreement. Yet others are questioning, "Why?". It is because unless someone is a Christian they are going to... HELL... oops... OK... there I said it?!?   

This past week I was having coffee with my significant other when we started discussing the "isms", like Mormonism, Baptism, Communism, Buddhism, Judaism, etc. The conversation got sour when she insisted that Christianity is the only "ITY", and therefore it is the one and the only way to God. I must admit, she got me thinking. As we were arguing our points of reasoning I stopped and looked up the ism and ity suffix meaning. 

Ism is defined as a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy, typically a political ideology, religious sectarian understanding, or an artistic movement.
ITY is used to form abstract nouns expressing state, condition, or quality:  

This debate stopped in its tracks when I realized that Christians are right, maybe not on the understanding of the "hell" thing, but rather, on the fact that Jesus is the only way. Please keep reading, as it is the understanding of what this means that has got everyone from non-believers to dogmatic retrievers in such disagreement and/or state of flux.

All isms are designed to find the state, condition, or quality of the ITY. What?? If we take the word Communism most will understand this as a political ideology and theorize the best way to implement the ism which includes the social and economic, wait for it... COMMUNITY. The community in this example is a result of the ism. So people who follow communism will ultimately be an expression of the community in which they live. Unfortunately, unity is lost in the community if there is no obedience or agreeance to the ism. 

Let us try another example.
Humanitarianism is the ism of humanity. The condition, state, or quality of any humanitarian effort is examined through the promotion of human welfare and social reform. A good humanitarian will have a conviction to do the best he/she can for the welfare of all humanity. It is the state of doing, the humanitarian efforts, that creates the state of being in humanity. Should we ask, as people who make up all of humanity, if someone is a humanitarian? How would we know if someone is a humanitarian? The condition of their heart, the state of their being, and the quality of their works will be manifested in a good humanitarian, I think everyone would agree with this. We are all human but not every human is seen as a humanitarian, it is our efforts that dictate whether or not humanitarianism is benefiting humanity.

In the case of the Christian, should we ask someone if they are a Christian? I have been exposed to both sides of the debate, and understand where the trains of thought have stemmed from to ask such a question of someone we don't know. We should be able to observe someone and determine whether they are a Christian without ever asking them, right? Well now, that is muddy. After 25 years in Christian circles, I can usually tell from outward appearance, outward works, or outward speech the ism or denomination an individual identifies with. These isms do not make a person a follower of Christ, any more than thinking that Jesus was a donkey because he was born in a manger. Not to be condescending just an observation.

I am very aware that many isms will not transform into a condition or ITY, and vice versa. But it got me thinking that when dealing with the structure of healthy or good unity, community, humanity, or Christianity we judge on the condition of the heart. This brings me to the thousands of isms that surround any ITY. Are the isms of an IAN or IST exposing the condition, state, or quality of the ITY?
Let's try this again. Does practicing Baptism (ism) under the Christian (ian) or Methodist (ist) faith exposing the condition, state, or quality of Christianity (ity)? If a good humanitarian does not call themself a Christian are they automatically refused entry into the Kingdom of God? 
Another extreme. What about people who join cults, biker gangs, or secret societies, are they automatically extinguished from the Kingdom of God? Can you be a Heaven's Gate unitarian, Hell's Angel Christian, or Illuminati humanitarian? In the context of the group community, absolutely. In context to the communities outside the groups, probably not. For the sake of this blog, I may consider writing about this at another time, but... we can't serve two masters. 

Calling ourselves a humanitarian, civilian, Samaritan, Libertarian, or Christian comes with the responsibility of fulfilling the conditions, state, or quality of the community it represents. Jesus uses the parable of the good Samaritan to drive home the point that it is not the isms that one is associated with, it is a condition of the heart. Jesus used the most despised community of the day to show that the Samaritan's quality of action was due to his good state of mind. It is said that "The mediator between the head and the hands is the heart" or like the bible says "You will know them by their fruit".   

The narrow road, that so many Christians fail to understand, is the condition, state, and/or quality of the heart. Jesus says that "I and the Father are one", "The Kingdom of Heaven is within", "I sit at the right-hand side of God", and "Love one another". Christ was directing us to pay attention to our hearts, as this is where the throne of God resides. Everyone has a heart that mediates between the mind and hands. Choosing who we put on the throne will determine how we think and how we put our heart's desire into action. If we are good we will live in heaven, or the opposite is true. The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, and the love of Christ reside in the same place, the heart. Choose this day whom you will follow, comes to mind quickly, and I choose to follow a heart of flesh, not to be confused with a fleshly desire. Selflessness over selfishness. Love over hate. Hugs and gentle kisses over arms crossed dismissiveness. OK, kisses might be a strange act in our culture today, but you get the point

​If the narrow way is the heart, then the broad road that leads to destruction is the isms. Now I hope you understand why I find questioning someone's heart repugnant. As someone who loves the teachings of Jesus, I am reminded that we are to edify and build one another up. We are to encourage one another to do good deeds, not for boasting but so everyone will enter the kingdom seat of God. The next time someone asks me if someone is a Christian, I need to remember myself of this. I need to answer with something like, "I know that they have a heart that does the right thing" or "I understand why they struggle to do good". It does not matter what group, sect, or affiliation someone associates with, as long as the ism has a positive result to the ITY. 

​In my conclusion, the isms don't determine the man or woman or society, it is the condition, state, or quality of the ITY, mediator, or heart we choose to be. We need to do the right thing, can I encourage us to be the vessels for the change the world so desperately needs. This is done by transforming our isms into great communities or cities of unity and charity.

​By the vessel,
William John

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