GERARD’S CREDO

In spite of all fundamentalist dogmas, commandments and prohibitions, Gerard Blankespoor has developed his own substantive credo from 1976 until today.

Formed by his daily life as a policeman and everything he encountered on the street, as well as by his theological reflection of what belief in day-to-day reality should mean, he has developed, where necessary nonconformist and even defiant ideas and beliefs.

He regularly conflicts with fundamentalist institutions in the Netherlands and individual believers with the same oppressive views, particularly because of the practical consequences of the faith Gerard stands for.

After all, not beautiful, pious words, but actions make the difference clear to all people, who is a Christian and who is not!

The foundation of Gerard’s credo, is God’s unconditional love for ALL people,  as showed by the actions and words of Jesus Christ himself.

For Gerard there is no difference between a hetero- or a homosexual, a muslim or a buddhist, man or woman, white or black, criminal or well-behaved citizen etc. (in rehabilitation center De Schakel the Muslims could pray in their own way in a separate room); we all are a creation of God.

Every person is, at his/her level, a accountable being who is responsible for his/her own life. He/she must also deal with the consequences and put his/her life back on track where necessary and possible.

If people need help, then Christians have a calling to help to the best of their ability in both word and deed.

It is not about who this person is, what he believes or not, what he has done or not, put off by society and/or religious groups or not.

God’s love is unconditional for everyone.

Prejudice, condemnation, stigmatization, labeling and in the worst case giving up on a sinner who can no longer be saved, is at odds with the words and actions of Jesus Himself.

If we are his followers, then the old has passed and the new has come.

Then there is no room for nonsensical dogmas that put homosexuals in a corner.

Then there is no more religious law (dogma), which forbids to remarry on the basis of those same dogmas.

Then there is no condemnation for dissenters, based on a fundamentalist formulated “truth”.

In other words, there is space and freedom and acceptance from and for everyone, regardless ….

Then the Bible does not become a deadly penal code, but a new directive for life, inspired and lived by Jesus Christ as an example.

Then only that, which negatively affects life on earth, such as murder and manslaughter on humans and animals and the exploitation of the earth itself for its own gain, is something that a Christian has to counteract as a moral obligation.

Many Old Testament dogmas and ecclesiastical teachings from many groups can be put in the trash can; after all, Christ teaches us differently.

He teaches us to give room to His Spirit within ourselves to root out envy, jealousy and hatred.

Only in this way we can live in the service of each other in various ways and on all levels of human existence.

We can not and do not have to do this on our own.

That is impossible!

That is where the faith in Christ comes in.

By making a personal choice for Him, His Spirit is given room within ourselves to organize our lives together with Him in such a way that the love of Jesus Christ becomes visible in us and to other people.

Through Jesus Christ, God gives us room to take responsibility and to bear responsibility for His creation, including fellow human beings and other inhabitants of this earth, as responsible beings to God and each other.

Again Christianity makes the difference with other religions.

Not that Christians are better than they are, but because they have become different through Christ.

Therefore all people have been given room that God has meant for them.

One can enjoy each other fully again, enjoy human love and the accompanying sexuality, without falling into a neurotic sexual thinking, imposed by people who think they have God in their back pocket.

However, God does not impose Himself on anyone.

He has given us the latitude, whether or not to respond to His call, whether or not, more or less, to be responsible for ourselves and others.

He takes us for who we are.

He ultimately judges each person without condemnation.

We, as a human being, can arrange our life on earth as we wish, by the room He has given us.

This creates a God-, man- and world view, where man can be truly free, including to be free from the ecclesiastical dogmas, commandments and prohibitions that the church and its leaders misuse to enslave man once again and to bring them under the control of those rulers.

Faith in Him means becoming free within yourself and living for a higher purpose, no longer being manipulated by governments and (church) powers.

Hope unto Him, because there is life after death, the new heaven and earth are coming.

Love from and through Him, is experienced and propagated in the present of here and now, that there is always a perspective for everyone.

The Canticles of Love, in 1 Corinthians 13, is a beautiful description of both words and deeds of Jesus Christ, our example to follow.

The pedagogical-agogic method, based on a hermeneutical-nouthetic basis, developed by Gerard Blankespoor through theological reflection from 1987 and evolved further over the years and refined with the scientific insights gained during his studies at the Free University at Amsterdam and applied in rehabilitation center De Schakel, is largely shaped and supported by the above described credo.