Saturday, May 03, 2008

Hippie Christian?

Here is another page from my old website...




Hippie Christian???

I can not speak on behalf of all Hippies nor can I pretend to be the spokesman for every Christian. I can only offer my own opinion as an individual who grew up in the 60s and experienced both worlds firsthand. In 1969 I had a personal encounter with the true and living God and Father of all creation through His son Jesus Christ. I then joined what has been called the most powerful move of God in modern times which swept through the youth and Hippie subculture of America and became known as the Jesus Movement.

Just one man's opinion...

If we strip away all of the politics and materialism that has crept into the modern church and go back to First Century Christianity we will find an interesting parallel between true Christianity and Hippiedom sans the drugs and free love. Rather than reducing Jesus to a long hair Hippie cliche complete with beard and sandals I would prefer to focus on Jesus' message and its relationship to Hippie culture. It is important to note that the banner of peace, love and cosmic connection under which most Hippies gather is at the very heart of Jesus' teachings.

We can find the core of Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's Gospel chapters 5 through 7. If only these three chapters of Jesus' words survived the past two millennium we would have all the truth necessary to live in peace and harmony with both our Creator and our fellow pilgrims here on planet Earth. The Sermon on the Mount is what could be called the Hippie Christian Manifesto. It contains such treasures as The Beatitudes, The Lord's Prayer, The Golden Rule, and Turning the Other Cheek.

But beyond those treasures, beyond the call to avoid hypocrisy, beyond the mandate to shun materialism, beyond the proclamation that peacemakers are God's children, greater than all these we find in the Sermon on the Mount a theme that offers a connection to the Creator of the universe. Jesus does something totally revolutionary and unheard of before His time, He presents God as our Father.

Jesus is the consummation of our Hippie quest for not only peace and love but also Jesus provides the cosmic connection that binds all of us together as Children of The Light.

Going to church does not make you a Christian nor does wearing tie-dye make you a Hippie any more than sitting in a garage changes people into automobiles. Christianity and Hippiedom are both heart things and together they become a lifestyle more true to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount than what modern Christianity offers today.

Being a Hippie Christian is possible, and it is most likely less of a contradiction than being an American Christian. If we all were to follow the truth contained in the Sermon on the Mount there would be less of a distinction between Hippie and Christian.

Peace, Love, and Light through Jesus the Christ!
Kevin (Cloud)

23 comments:

Ruthie Luff said...

Kevin,
I am a part of an amateur theatre company and this year we are doing HAIR. At first I had a lot of reserves about doing the show because of my Christian beliefs. To try and justify my feelings, I've been researching a lot into the Hippie ideal and I've been having difficulty meshing the two conceptions together--at least to some degree. What you said about Christ's teachings and the movement of Peace and Love that the hippies protested, makes a lot of sense. I do not necessarily believe that the hippies of the 60s had it all figured out, nor do I completely agree with the lifestyle they advocated (as depicted in this show), but I think you've helped me see how a Hippie Christian is possible and, more importantly, I am more comfortable portraying a character in this light with this perspective. Thanks for your insight!
Peace

Hippie Christian said...

I am grateful that your research lead you here. Thank you for your kind words!

If your troupe is looking for other 60's productions to perform you might be interested in Godspell check out these links...

www.musicalschwartz.com/godspell.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godspell

Have fun with your play, be the Light that they are looking for.

Ruthie Luff said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ruthie Luff said...

Thanks! We did Godspell last year!

Unknown said...

Beautifully worded bro, my signature for the Christian Hippie Board where I have just started posting is..

"A Christian is saved by faith not by short hair, long hair, suit and tie or tye dye shirts."

Keep the faith bro.

Jaredsma said...

Hi. I'm so grateful to have found you, via a link on a person's Ransomed Heart site post. And I'm grateful that you've added the link to Lifestream and Wayne J. Recently, I've been mulling over the suggestion that I am lost in the past, and that I really just need to make a commitment to any local church, to hop in, just to prove that I'm a dedicated Christian. I may find a church some day, but I'm just validated and relieved by your blog and other similarly minded. Are you aware of Randy Stonehill's (latest, I guess?) album Edge of the World? On it, there's a song called "We Were So Young" that includes Larry Norman, Ruff Taff, Phil Keaggy, (Noel) Paul Stookey, Love Song and Annie Herring along with Randy. When I first found it I placed it on 'repeat' and don't want to admit how many times I listened to that song. I'm saddened that the new generation of Believers aren't even aware of the original "Christian contemporary musicians", which strikes me as absolutely ridiculous that they aren't even visited on radio stations that claim to have 'early' hits (the 90s, maybe?) I fondly remember Jesus '73, the original "Christian festival"; noone but one person I know - 'cause we both went - has ever heard of it. The message engraved on my heart there was the utmost importance of the unity of the Body, and that it breaks God's heart when we aren't. This fact is one that enables me to relate to people kinda entrapped in their denominations, churches broken up by personality or other differences which are probably just a matter of unforgiveness or such, and other things not in keeping with the unity God demands.
Anyway, thanks for sharing such an important truth in the Truth.
Ciao and blessings and all that good stuff,
Jude (Judith)

Buckley Wheatish said...

Well, Jaredsma (Judith), I too attended the original "Jesus 73" 3 day Jesus Music Festival in Pa.

For a bit of a refresher or reminder on it, you may want to catch the blog at: http://internetservices.readingeagle
.com/blog/religion/2006/06/
jesus_73_1.html

What an event. None of us could possibly have known the full significance of what we were witnessing and its place in CCM history.

Blessings,
G Brown
Dallas

Chris said...

I know I'm a bit late, but I've recently come upon your blog, and I really like it. I've been a Christian for about thirty years, and agree completely with the message of the Sermon on the Mount. Although I was a child during the original hippie movement (I was born in 1968) I can also relate to the ideals of brotherhood, peace and caring for other people and the environment.

It saddens me to see the message of Jesus twisted into the so-called "prosperity gospel", contempt for the less fortunate and even thinly-veiled bigotry that so many modern "christians" possess today. And non-believers see this message of hatred and selfishness spread by those claiming to be Christian, think that this is the actual Christian message and are turned off of the faith.

It's going to be a long road to bringing Christ's name back to the glory which it deserves and changing the attitude of society. But it is sure nice to know I'm not the only one who feels this way. God bless you!

Janelle said...

Thank you! I have been saying the same thing now for a while, and it feels like I get flak from both sides... but it does make perfect sense. Thank you for laying it out in this way. You are an inspiration and I admire your candor and willingness to share. :) God bless ya!
Peace and love,
Janelle

Hippie Christian said...

Thanks Janelle for posting. So many time the conversation centers on "Am I Hippie enough" or "Am I Christian enough". We just need to be who the Creator made us to be.

Peac & Love!

D.M. said...

Hi, I'm a little late to this post but I am a fellow Christian who is hippie-ish, and having stumbled upon your blog and reading your posts, I must say that the vast majority of what you've posted I agree with!

I would love to fellowship online with you and your family!

Peace, grace and agape love to you.

D.M.

Hippie Christian said...

Hey D.M. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

Peace & Love

D.M. said...

You're welcome brother! :)

sumtymzwhy said...

Hey Hippy Christian,

I'm commenting a little late.. four years or so.. But I just wanted to say that it's a beautiful thing to find such a kindred spirit.. We're not like falling off trees these days. Used to be if you threw a stone you'd hit two of us..

Thanks for being true o being you, the "Hippy Christian" expression of Christ.

Another Kevin
sumtymzwhy@yahoo

High above the forests lie the pastures of the sun, where the two who learn the secret, now are one... Moodies

Hippie Christian said...

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your comments...

Actually I wrote this about twelve or so years ago for my old website HippieChristian.org that I have since shut down migrated a lot of the content over here to this blog.

True, it seems we have all but vanished into thin air. I think we are more like victims of our polarized society.

Some have become disillusioned with organized religion and have drifted into the "un-churched" or even New Age side of the spectrum, others have been sucked into the ultra right conservative mega church phenomenon, leaving us Hippie Christians holding the middle.

Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (a good Irish name!)

Anonymous said...

Hi there! I'm a Christian hippie too and it is so nice to find other ppl who think the same way! I am a bit too young to have lived the true hippie years as such, but in my heart I do believe in Jesus and the hippie ideals. I am even thinking of getting a tattoo which reflects this...trying to think of a design at the mo actually :)

Hippie Christian said...

Hi Carrie,
It truly is a heart thing! Hippies are ageless / timeless.

Peace,

Kevin

Anonymous said...

Hi Kevin! Thanks for your message! so glad to hear from you!

Yes you are so right about that!!!

PEACE!!!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Frank George IV said...

hey hippie christian, my name is frank, and im a young hippie/new age christian and i am so happy i found this blog, i am constantly telling people "you can be a hippie and a christian, they are the same thing" it makes me so glad there are people preaching like you do, and utilizing our greatest tool... the Sermon of the Mount, after i saw you used that i read it and realized how much of a hippie freak jesus really was! thanks,
peace and light be bestowed upon your soul and timeless heart for eternity
namaste.

Hippie Christian said...

Hi Frank, glad that you found my blog. It is cool that folks are making the connection of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and Hippies.

Peace, Love & Light!
Kevin

Debra11 said...

Thank you Kevin for teasing through the connection between hippie and Christian values. I’m only 38 but I’ve always longed to be a part of the 60’s lifestyle. I love Bob Dylan too much too much to not love hippie culture. More than anything I love Jesus! Your blog has been both enlightening and affirming!!

Hippie Christian said...

Hi Debra,
Thank you for your kind words.

Dylan went through a period when he recorded several Christian songs like Gotta Serve Somebody on his 1979 Slow Train Coming album.

Keep the faith!

Peace, Love & Light!
Kevin