A number of years ago the National Council of Churches declared a week in October to be “Peace and Justice” week. They created an interesting poster to promote the emphasis. The poster depicted a globe or world held aloft by many different colored human hands. What they didn’t realize is that this was really no different than the Greeks having Atlas hold the world or the Arabs having a turtle hold up the earth. They are all inadequate cosmologies. In the corner of the poster with the hands of religion holding up the earth was a dove. A dove of peace I presume. Tellingly (and ironically), this dove was flying AWAY from the globe not toward it. (“Resident Aliens” by Willimon and Hauerwas).
Religion still thinks that human effort is needed to “help” Christianity be relevant and effective. But the Gospel still says that our call is a call to Lordship and that it is only an emphasis on genuinely living with “Jesus as Lord” that will make a difference.