Go and Do Likewise: Following Jesus into our Common Humanity

Praise for Go and Do Likewise

Terry’s wonderful book is written about a topic I have been focused on for all of my teaching career. Coming from an ordained Lutheran pastor gives his interpretation of religious pluralism more currency than is possible in a university classroom setting. I can hardly wait for its publication so I can add it to my own library. But more importantly, his interpretation of religious pluralism needs to be part of the religious education curriculum of local church communities.

Paul O. Ingram, Professor Emeritus, Pacific Lutheran University

This book helps us to better understand the beauty of Christianity and explains how it has been misused to rationalize hatred and dehumanization of others. Rev. Kyllo teaches us to use our wisdom traditions to honor one another and to help create meaningful relationships with others. It is a powerful message.

Rabbi Allison Flash

This remarkable book is filled with wisdom and hope. The author beautifully models the precious truth that to love Jesus is to make a commitment to tame the ego and open the heart, to celebrate God’s diversity on earth, and to be of humble service to all of Creation.

Imam Jamal Rahman, author of Spiritual Gems of Islam

Rev. Kyllo’s book Go and Do Likewise is a must-read for all those who wish to reverse the recent uptick in racial and religious bigotry which has led to physical and emotional assaults on the most vulnerable in our society. The only thing that enables evil to thrive is when good people are silent. Read this book and give it as a holiday or birthday gift. We all will be safer if you do.

Rabbi James Mirel

Seattle WA

Terry Kyllo’s new book Go and Do Likewise: Following Jesus into our Common Humanity examines how Christianity can get off course and back on course by investigating deeply the sources of the Abrahamic tradition. Fear tends to divert the core teaching of Jesus and other wisdom traditions around the world into insular in-groups who often protect themselves by vilifying and dehumanizing others. We all know deep down that love diminishes the artificial barriers between ourselves and others, where we can more easily work for the common good of all beings on this vibrant planet. This book works to restate and recover the many ways that the Abrahamic tradition, and more specifically the Christian tradition, is called to relate and partner with diverse traditions and peoples. Rev. Kyllo is not interested in labels like conservative or liberal. He is very interested in a humble and honest investigation of the Bible by better understanding the cultural, historical, and linguistic context in which the verses were written. This book strives to have a faithful-and-open-to-revision understanding of Jesus’ ministry and how it applies today. It is my joy to highly recommend this book to any person of faith who is willing to actively work for more harmony and understanding in our troubled world.

Rev. Genjo Marinello, Abbot. Seattle Zen Temple

Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji

As we pursue justice in this balkanized world, we desperately need coconspirators to create a more just and humane world. In this work Terry Kyllo points us in the direction of collaboration rooted in the teaching and life of Jesus. As we engage faithful community-building behaviors this work is an important contribution to building the infrastructure of trust necessary to form healthy coalitions.

Rt. Rev. Edward Donalson III, DMin | Provost Fellow for Ecumenical Relations SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AND MINISTRY | SEATTLE UNIVERSITY

Three Great Teachings of the

Abrahamic Tradition

Adapted for This Moment

Love God more than your

in-group and tradition

Love your neighbor

as you love yourself

Steward a thriving ecosystem and

an equitable economy

Table Of Contents

Introduction and Acknowledgements 11

A Brief Word about Biblical Interpretation 14

Section One: The Meaning of One Creator 18

Chapter One: Our God, Not Yours 19

The Doorway 21

Neighbors in Faith 22

Many Faiths 25

Three Questions 26

Chapter Two: The Challenges We Face 28

Two Challenges 28

A Strategic Response 30

Hope 31

Chapter Three: Religion, Interfaith, and Wisdom Traditions 33

A More Equal Space 35

Redefining Interfaith 37

Chapter Four: Human Unity and Divine Oneness 39

Recognizing Others as Human 40

Honoring Mystery 43

Not Just Monotheism 45

Chapter Five: Baptism and Identity of Belovedness 47

Jesus’ Baptism 48

Our Baptism 50

Our Baptismal Identity 51

Section One Bible Studies 53

Jesus Honoring Our Common Humanity 53

Hey, What About This Verse? 55

Section Two: Abrahamic Blessing 58

Chapter Six: Abraham’s Call 59

Lessons for Today 62

Response to Dehumanization 64

Chapter Seven: Pluralism 66

Pluralism in the Abrahamic Tradition 66

Pluralism in America 68

Implications of Pluralism 71

Chapter Eight: Proposing Modesty 73

Our Story About Our Family 73

Stories about Life 74

Living in a Multi-Storied World 76

Chapter Nine: Diminishing Status 79

God’s Dream in a Roman Nightmare 79

Let the Children Come 83

We Are All Children 84

Chapter Ten: Doctrines of Discovery 88

A Brief Word about Domination 89

In this Sign You Will Conquer 89

Crusades 90

Discovering Other People and Their Stuff 91

On This Continent 93

Remember Your Identity 93

Dividing Spoils 94

Re-Membering Us 95

Section Two Bible Studies 97

Jesus Honoring Our Common Humanity 97

Hey, What About This Verse? 98

Section Three: Born into Empire 101

Chapter Eleven: Jesus’ Life in Nazareth 102

Exile at Home 103

Distracted 104

Working for Unity 106

Chapter Twelve: Jesus’ Way of Leadership 107

Not Their First Rodeo 107

A Deeper Look at Jesus’ Baptism 108

Jesus’ Stump Speech 110

Chapter Thirteen: Our Common Temptations 113

Short Term Needs 114

Status Keeping 115

The Big Cheese 116

Our Temptations 117

Chapter Fourteen: Jesus’ Vision of the Kindom of God 120

Countering the Domination Distortion Field 120

Dividing Wisdom 121

Uniting Wisdom 123

Among You 125

The Church 126

The Creator’s Freedom 126

Section Three Bible Studies 129

Jesus Honoring Our Common Humanity 129

Hey, What About This Verse? 131

Section Four: Three Great Teachings 133

Chapter Fifteen: Let There Be 134

We Don’t Own God 135

A Second Is Like It 136

A Third is Like Them 138

The Kindom of God is When 141

Chapter Sixteen: Story of Origin and Our Jewish Neighbors 143

Supersessionism 144

Faithfulness in a Time of Crisis 145

Our Original Dehumanization 148

Emerging in a Time of Occupation 148

White Nationalist Narrative 153

Within the Abrahamic Tradition 155

Chapter Seventeen: Practice of Love 158

Willingness to Risk 158

Who Are We Called to Be With? 160

Beyond Thoughts and Prayers 161

Chapter Eighteen: The Meaning of Sacrifice 165

Chapter Nineteen: The Sacrifice I Desire 174

Practice as Preparation 174

Sacrifice 175

Lost Meaning 177

Risking Life for Love of Life 179

Chapter Twenty: Why Do We Do Domination? 182

The Cow Pie 182

You Will Be Like God 183

Good and Very Good 186

Third Option 188

Section Four Bible Studies 191

Jesus Honoring Our Common Humanity 191

Hey, What About This Verse? 192

Section Five: The Slander Machine and a Human Strategy 195

Chapter Twenty-One: Slander and Dehumanization 196

Hacking Human Nature 199

Hate Groups 202

We Have Power 203

Chapter Twenty-Two: Human Strategy 205

Common Wisdom 206

Assets In Each Other 208

Chapter Twenty-Three: Meaning and the Mysterious Supreme 211

The Only Only 214

Holy Envy 216

Chapter Twenty-Four: Your Why and Effective Messaging 219

Challenges to Change 220

Keys to Change 221

Communicating for Change 222

Messages that Work 224

Section Five Bible Studies 225

Jesus Honoring Our Common Humanity 225

Hey, What About This Verse? 226

Section Six: The Earth is Not the Titanic 228

Chapter Twenty-Five: Blessing Despair 229

Restoration of the Good and Very Good Creation 231

The World’s End Zone 233

Healing the Nations 234

Living Toward Hope 234

Chapter Twenty-Six: Singing a Deeper Song 236

A More Faithful Vision 238

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Broken Doors, Open Gates 242

Refining Love 242

You’re My Brother 244

Two Images 246

Intrinsic Worth 248

Bible, Not Bullying 251

Reconciling and Healing God 256

Taking Us to the Bank 259

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Weaving a Story of Hope 262

Liberation from Egypt 263

Jesus and the Kindom of God 263

Blessing Forgotten 265

Threads 266

Blessing to All the In-groups 267

Our Choice 270

Section Six Bible Studies 274

Jesus Honoring Our Common Humanity 274

Hey, What About This Verse? 275

Endnotes 278

Introduction and Acknowledgements

This book is the result of many conversations with the tradition of Jesus, scholars of the Christian and Hebrew traditions, Christian communities seeking a more faithful way to follow Jesus, and leaders of many wisdom traditions. I have spoken to hundreds of leaders about what is leading to a loss of social trust in the United States and what we can do about it.

Over time, I realized that each tradition brings an analysis of the positive and negative potentials of humans and human communities. I began to ask leaders to analyze our current situation and what strategies can bring out our best. Each tradition brings different gifts and perspectives. Yet I found that our traditions hold much wisdom in common.

Some shared analyses: We are lonely and isolated, we are divided into exclusive in-groups, and we are dehumanizing each other.

Some shared strategies: We grow in trust when we know each other, work for the common good together, and honor each other in public spaces.

I believe that the Abrahamic tradition, like many wisdom traditions around the world, began in response to exclusive in-grouping and dehumanization, leading to injustice and violence.

This book is an attempt to restate and recover the many ways the Abrahamic tradition, generally, and the Christian tradition, specifically, calls participants to honor, relate to, and partner with diverse in-groups and traditions. The intent of the book and the online course is to help Christians find our why for honoring, relating to, and partnering with people of other traditions.

As a cradle Christian, I was taught just the opposite: I was taught that, in Christianity, God calls forth an exclusive in-group that can and should use dehumanizing language against other communities of wisdom until they convert. Under this, of course, I felt the threat that I would be outcast from the Christian community and rejected by God if I behaved or believed differently.

Over my life, I have found that it is life-giving to recognize that the Creator’s deepest value is to bless all the families of the world. The Creator called Jesus to gather a community that recognizes all people as equally human and the earth as our sacred trust for future generations.

We honor our own humanity when we honor the humanity of diverse people.

I wish to thank all the leaders of faith communities who have shaped this work: Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Atheist, Agnostic, Zoroastrian, Indigenous, and many more.

I particularly wish to thank:

Father William Treacy and Rabbi Raphael Levine for their legacy of leadership in building unity within the human family.

Professor Paul Ingram who embodied curiosity and integrity.

Professor Phil Hefner who encouraged a young seminarian to keep thinking.

Each of the congregations I have served: Grace Lutheran, Salem Lutheran, Celebration Lutheran, Christ Episcopal, St. James Episcopal, St. Paul’s Episcopal, The Catacomb Churches, and St. Philip’s Episcopal.

Dan Erlander for his vision, integrity, humility, and humor.

Elders Kay Knott and Jay Bowen of the Upper Skagit Tribe for their friendship and teachings.

Rabbi Daniel Wiener of Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle for his leadership and wise questions.

Aneelah Afzali of the Muslim Association of Puget Sound for her leadership and partnership for our common humanity.

Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg and Imam Adam Jamal for their insight and wisdom.

Pastor Andy Rutrough for our many conversations.

Viveka Hall-Holt for her assistance in the writing and editing of this work.

Pastor April Boyden for proofreading.

Pastor Karen Van Stee for reviewing the book in its late stages.

The Paths to Understanding staff: Ean Olsen, Carla Penderock, Viveka Hall-Holt, and Ana Mehmood.

The Paths to Understanding Board for their support, encouragement, and feedback: Gregg Davidson, Jeff Renner, Liz Gimmestad, Rachel Taber-Hamilton, Jennifer Bereskin, Sumia Dakhil, Bridgette Scheppat, Allison Flash, and Jasmit Singh.

This work is nothing unless we move from our books and education hours into public partnerships in which we know, work with, and publicly honor people of all cultures, wisdom traditions, and economic situations. A crucial first step toward action is to become clearer about our why. The key is to take that why and leap into a relationship with others who are leaping with us – even if we only see each other after our own lonely leap. The discussion questions, activities, and additional resources on our website can help us move into relationship and action.

We do not have to live divided from one another. We can go together into our communities and create a better future together.

Download Discussion Questions, Action Steps, & Resources:

https://pathstounderstanding.org/gdl/

A Brief Word about Biblical Interpretation

In the late 1970’s, a quiet revolution in Biblical interpretation began. A few Biblical scholars explored using the tools of cultural anthropology to study the Christian Scriptures. In addition to other tools such as the original languages, ancient history, and the literary study of the texts, they wanted to understand the culture of the day. They recognized that when we read the Christian Scriptures, we are doing cross-cultural work.

They studied ancient texts, looking for clues about the 1st century culture of Jesus. They also went into rural villages in Israel and Palestine and asked locals to interpret many stories. They used some tools of cultural anthropology to deeply respect the texts in their original contexts. Over time, they began to gain a sense of the culture of Jesus’ day and how it compared to our own.

Now, this is not about gaining certainty in interpreting a text. We can never be entirely certain about the meaning of a text written today, let alone one from two thousand years ago.

Still, we need to consider that Jesus grew up in a certain time and place. He spoke languages. He used terms of his day, referencing the technology and stories that were known to most people in his time. Yet, it seems clear to many theologians and Biblical scholars that the church lost much of the context of Jesus’ day in the early centuries of the church. Without that context, we often apply own cultural contexts onto the text itself.

Bruce Malina, Richard Rorhbaugh, John Pilch, and others put together resources to help us get in the ballpark of interpretations around Jesus’ time. While we can never be sure we have it totally right, there are certain traditional interpretations that we can now understand to be inaccurate. Further, the stories in the Bible were meant to have multiple interpretations. But this does not mean that they mean whatever we want.

Some Christians claim to be conservative, while others see themselves as liberal. Neither of these are of much interest to me. Often, arguments between these two perspectives are more about intergroup rivalry than a search for a humble and honest interpretation of the Bible. We quite naturally apply our desire to confirm our current viewpoint onto the text. The question is rather one of faithfulness to Jesus, the Jesus who lived in a 1st century, Roman-occupied, Jewish context. If the work of faithfulness challenges or changes some of my own assumptions, well then, so be it. If it challenges or changes yours, I hope you will lean into the discomfort.

I do not mean that every part of our tradition should easily be set aside. We need to hold our interpretations and traditions together. On the other hand, just because Christians have taught something for a long time doesn’t mean these teachings are faithful to Jesus. Following Jesus’ example, we use tradition, reason, and experience to critique how we understand and live out our tradition today. We will need to set aside some teachings and practices in order to be as faithful to the vision of Jesus as we can.

To do this, we are invited to continually become more aware of how we read and interpret scripture based on our own culture or unexamined thinking.

Here is an example that might help illustrate how we may be invited to grow in our interpretations: What does it mean when Mary sat at Jesus’ feet in Luke 10? For centuries, people have interpreted this text to mean that Mary was a faithful female follower in a subservient position to the male Jesus. Martha, on the other hand, was seen as a disrespectful woman distracted by her insignificant woman’s work.

Through the work these and other scholars have done using the social science approach, we now understand this passage differently. In that century, women were not accepted as teachers or leaders in the public square or the Temple. Sitting at Jesus’ feet was a position that meant Mary was accepted into Jesus’ rabbinical school. Martha sees this and she knows that severe punishment awaited people who broke these social and religious norms. Martha was a courageous friend and leader who was saying, Are you sure you want to do this? Do you know that they will punish you both and the household besides?

Jesus’ response is not a put down of Martha but a way to say, Yes, we know we are breaking the rules–because I believe women should be among the leaders and teachers in society. Sadly, the larger cultural view that only men could lead and teach eventually overcame the church, and this interpretation was lost.

Many scholars are now highly confident that this interpretation of Mary as a rabbi-in-training is in the ballpark of faithfulness.¹ It can and should be used to support the church welcoming the leadership of people of all genders.

Once we get a better feel for the context of Jesus’ words and actions, we can then see the direction that he is leading us. This gives us a clue as to how Jesus continues to lead in our context. Striving to understand Jesus’ context and our own contexts is critical to discerning how to respond faithfully to his leadership.

Today, the social sciences are among the most important tools Biblical scholars use to interpret scripture. They don’t always agree on everything, but they do agree on many things.

In 1999, I began to read the work of social science scholars. As I prepared to preach each week, I read their work and began to gain a feel for the cultural landscape of the 1st century, Roman occupied, and Jewish context of Jesus’ ministry. It challenged and changed many of my views.

Again, I don’t claim to be right. I only claim to strive to have a faithful-and-open-to-revision understanding of Jesus’ ministry and how it might apply today.

I reference 1st century culture often in this book. There are so many references that I have decided not to footnote each one. It would simply be too much! However, I want to honor the work of these and other scholars and invite you to begin or continue your own journey toward understanding Jesus in his context of Judea two thousand years ago.

I encourage you to read the Social Science Commentaries published by Fortress Press. Start with the one on the Synoptic Gospels.²

I have learned much from N. T. Wright’s trilogy Christian Origins and the Question of God, Sally McFague, Wes Howard Brook, Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Marcus Borg, and Walter Wink. There are so many more. I have also learned from engaging with people in Bible study, wondering with them how the texts might have been understood by the first to hear them.

We cannot know with certainty. Indeed, certainty is wise to avoid because it often comes with an unwillingness to learn, risk, grow, and love.

However, I think we are likely to be nearer to understanding what Jesus’ leadership meant as we become informed about the likely cultural, historical, and linguistic context in which he lived. To do so takes Jesus seriously.

Section One: The Meaning of One Creator

Key Question: What does our wisdom tradition propose about the unity of humanity?

Summary: The focus of this section is what the Abrahamic traditions teach about the unity of human beings. I’ll begin by describing the challenges we face today and framing the language we use to describe interfaith work. I’ll address the meaning behind monotheism, which is central to this book. Finally, I’ll talk about how we are centered as Christians in our baptismal identity–and that part of being beloved of God is that we can grow and change.

Chapter One: Our God, Not Yours

My first powerful memories were of my Mother coming home from the hospital with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. We expected her imminent death, judging from others in our town who were diagnosed with it.

My home church was a haven for me. Pastor Walla was kind. His wife Mary gave all of us children hugs when we came to church. I felt embraced there in many ways. Sitting in the second pew on the right, I could see the stained-glass window of Jesus carrying a lamb, with the mother walking beside. This image promised that I could be carried, even if my Mother could no longer carry me.

I learned about God’s creation, God’s love in Jesus for all people, and the Holy Spirit’s continuing presence. I learned to respect the power of tradition to both humble and empower us for a life of meaning and service.

My great grandfather, Jens Wiggen, immigrated from Norway to the United States in the 1870s. Famine and overpopulation led Jens to get in an eighteen-foot wooden boat with twelve other people and cross the Atlantic for the promise of free farmland. Getting his six hundred acres, he joined other Norwegians to start Selbu Lutheran church, named in honor of their hometown. The story of his arrival told by my family never mentioned the Palus Peoples who were forcibly removed from their homes in the fertile Palouse hills.

My church, while offering many good lessons, also limited my capacity to relate to people of diverse cultures and traditions in ways I am still grappling with:

Christianity is the only way to God

Christianity is God’s only way to us

Christians are superior

Love is primarily expressed in making others to be like us

God cannot accept non-Christians, even though God would like to

God gave this land to us

Counting down to Jesus’ second coming and his destruction of the earth

My church taught that Jesus came to the earth because the Jewish people had been unfaithful to their covenant with God. Thus God had to find a new way to offer salvation to humans. The new covenant of the Christians superseded the old