Unless you’ve been living under a rock, which might be preferable given the current climate of our culture, you’ve probably seen many memes floating across the internet, littered on social media outlets either garnering lighthearted approval or pointed rebuff. Memes are those “virally transmitted image embellished with text, usually sharing pointed commentary on cultural symbols, social ideas, or current events.” (1) At the cost of being drastically oversimplified, memes usually highlight some sort of truth, lopsided as it may be. The word “meme” comes from the Greek word μίμημα (mīmēma), meaning something counterfeited or copied or “anything imitated.” Thus, a meme is a “unit of cultural information spread by imitation.” (2) Like all viral malignancies today, memes have been created on every aspect of life and culture. For better or worse, Christian theology has not been excluded. It’s our aim to dissect these memes and see what we can learn from them.
Welcome to Christian Memes!
The meme we’re looking at today looks like a classic Jehovah Witness rendition of a peaceful Jesus flipping over the tables in the Jewish Temple during the holy days of Passover. This account in the Bible is commonly referred to as The Cleansing of the Temple. All four gospels in the New Testament record this event, and it could have possibly happened twice since the gospel of John includes more than one Passover. Regardless if this happened once or twice, the explicit text on the image reads:
ME: “LOVE AND LIGHT”
ALSO ME: “I’LL FLIP ALL THIS SHIT OVER!”
So, what is the meaning of this meme? What truth does it convey? What cultural or social idea is it pointing us to? Is it just speaking of the general duality of human nature that embodies both peace and anger? Is it similarly referring to the problem of the human condition that has shown that we cannot perfectly control our own emotions? And was this condition shared by Jesus himself?
Regardless of the intentions of the maker of this meme, it shows us a conundrum that arouses questions like: How can a peaceful and mild Jesus turn over tables in anger? Isn’t that incongruent with Jesus’ personality and overall message? And if so, doesn’t that cast a shadow on the Bible in general?
While these are all valid questions to consider, I believe this meme should ultimately teach us to have a sound and balanced interpretation of the Bible and in turn the character of Jesus Himself.
Maybe more now than ever, especially in the western world, we live in a time of extreme religious relativism where it is easy to pick and choose palatable aspects from all belief systems and arrive at our own spirituality where we become the arbiters of right, wrong, good, and evil. Sadly, many Christians have done the same thing. While some might not pick and choose from various religions, they have largely decided, from the many verses within the Bible, which to focus on and which to not or which to believe and which to not. Not surprisingly, this has evolved into a one-sided, unbiblical view of who Jesus was and what he taught.
His words in John 3:16 that state “God so loved the world” have essentially erased his words that he “hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans” in Revelation 2:6. His promise of leaving peace with us in John 14:27 have replaced his words that He did not “come to bring peace to the earth, … but a sword” in Matthew 10:34. Likewise, Jesus’ words on Christian unity, “that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me” in John 17:23 have dissolved his words in Luke 12:51 that state he actually came to bring “division.” And some of the most misunderstood words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged” have been conveniently swapped over his words in Matthew 12:36, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.”
What are we to do? A meek and mild Jesus doesn’t flip over tables in anger. Furthermore, throwing over someone else’s work bench isn’t quite fashionable today in our culture of tolerance. If our aim is to create our own individualized and comfortable theology, then we need to continue down the path of only memorizing verses that comfort us and are safe to share with our unbelieving friends. But if our aim is to have a true and biblical understanding of the person of Jesus, we need to consider those words and narratives of him in the New Testament that do not seem to fit into our preconceived ideas of who he should be and begin to amalgamate them into our knowledge of God from whom the bible reveals him to actually be.
No doubt there is mystery in knowing God, and no one has a complete and perfect theology, but trying hard to have a biblical understanding of Jesus is far better than having a cultural or nominal one, where our theology is easily influenced by Christian memes. We need to consider “the whole counsel of God” referred to by Paul in Acts 20:27. When we consider the whole counsel of God or Scripture’s big picture, we will hear things that are difficult to grasp. But that is good. Any student of the Bible knows that a true biblical theology does not fit perfectly into a box or a system. Our understanding of the Scriptures need to take in the whole counsel of God for a balanced and honest picture of a God that both loves us and yet hates sin so that we arrive at a Jesus who simultaneously teaches love and peace, while also flipping over the tables of money changers in the Temple. We may not like or want that version of Jesus, but it is true and therefore we need it.
Micah Coate, President and Host of Salvation and Stuff
Accessed April 16, 2022 from https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-meme-2483702
Accessed April 16, 2022 from https://lsj.gr/wiki/μίμημα
Accessed April 16, 2022 from https://www.britannica.com/topic/meme
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