Discussion Notes for Jesus' Alternate Plan, The Sermon On The Mount by Richard Rohr

Introduction and Chapter 1
  Need to start with the title of the book. For some the idea of Jesus having a plan, much less an alternate one, may be knew, given that many have been taught that Jesus' sole purpose was to die. (At least this is Mel Gibson would have one believe.)
  An alternate implies a contrast with an already existing plan. Rohr defines this for us in the first paragraph of the first chapter of the book, in which he describes political cultures (manipulation of power), economic cultures (manipulation of money), and religions cultures (manipulation of some theory about God). He says "these are the directions that human cultures take whenever they are left to their own devices." Marcus Borg would call this the "normal of civilization." All of these are based on some form of violence, usually denied by most participants and hidden from the casual observer.
  Rohr touches on evil, but doesn't expound on it in these last sentence. Orthodoxy teaches evil = the world, the flesh, and the devil... in that order! (See Rohr, "What Do We Do With Evil?)
  To be a follower of the Way of Jesus is to know and practice what Jesus taught of this alternate way. The topic of the book focuses on the Sermon On The Mount as one of the core teachings. In part 1 of the book (chapters 1 thru 5) Rohr is preparing the reader to be ready to hear the sermon,. In part 2 Rohr helps the reader to understand the Sermon.