tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66576738353578596032024-03-05T07:09:50.541-06:00The Mind of a Bearded Theologian"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us" - A. W. Tozer. This is where the things that are on my heart or things I am being taught by God and by others about God end up. This is my Theology, taking on meaning of Theos (God) and Logos (Word). So this is my God talk. These are pieces of the most important thing about me.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-314650040588972852016-03-31T00:34:00.000-05:002016-04-04T09:54:34.996-05:00Living Out Our Exiled Citizenship<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've been studying Philippians quite a bit recently. It is becoming one of my favorite letters and has a lot to say about our current ecclesiastical and political environment. I find the central thesis of the letter to be 1:27-29 and later in 3:20.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Whatever happens, live out your citizenship* in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved - and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Quick history and geography lesson. Philippi was the site of several major battles between Julius Caeser and Brutus versus Octavian (later called Augustus) and Mark Antony. After Octavian and Mark Antony won, they rewarded the entire city of Philippi with Roman citizenship. They also made Philippi a city where Roman military vets could settle down after serving. All of this would make the city one of the most patriotic places in the ancient world (Sprinkle, 153). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did you also know that terms like Lord, Savior, and Son of God were applied to Caesar before ever being applied to Jesus? The "peace" of "our Lord and Savior" would more commonly refer to the Pax Romana, or the "Peace of Rome" gained by Caesar through military conquest. They would even send heralds to various Roman cities and pronounce the gospel of military victories. The good news of Rome was spread throughout the land, and certainly would have been ever so present in Philippi where military vets took pride in the freedom they had gained their people (Sprinkle, 155-158). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is all beginning to sound familiar, isn't it? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nationalism and Patriotism are both the products of pride in one's geographical identity and were ways of life for the Philippians, but Paul calls the church away from such identity and allegiance, and to see themselves as citizens of another kingdom entirely - pledged to a different king.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Paul assures them in chapter 3 that if there is anyone who should take pride in their earthly identity, it is Paul himself. Roman citizen, Pharisee, every reason to have pride. However, Paul considers all of these a loss for the sake of Christ, indeed, he considered them <b style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;">garbage</b> that he might know Christ (3:7-8). That word we translate as garbage is a little stronger than what we can translate without Focus on the Family breathing down our necks. Needless to say, Paul considers all nationalistic identity markers pretty worthless compared to finding identity in Christ. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He illustrates this completely and utterly with Jesus himself, who modeled something so completely opposite of pride. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Who, being in very nature God,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">rather, he made himself nothing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by taking the very nature of a servant,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> being made in human likeness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And being found in appearance as a man, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> he humbled himself</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by becoming obedient to death - </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:6-8)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is what the Philippians' relationships are supposed to be like, because they are told to live in unity with one another (2:1-5). Christ's humility is given as the reason they are to act selfless, and put others' needs before their own as they seek to be unified.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I feel as though Nationalism and Patriotism are often held up as positive things because they help unify nations. Here though, Paul is writing to a group of people who are not of this world, and so any identity with earthly nations tends to merely get in the way of unity. Nationalism creates "us" and "them" while Christ encourages us to see others as brothers and sisters. Nationalism puts up walls while Christ tears them down. Nationalism creates fear of others and asks for better defense while Christ gives the peace that surpasses all understanding and asks for patient suffering and endurance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Perfect love casts out fear, or should I say that it trumps it?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is not a call to whitewash nationality, ethnicity, and all other cultural background of the people around us. Those things can indeed help us understand each other and appreciate each other as long as they are viewed properly. This is instead a call for us as Christians to view people through a different lens entirely - the lens of Christ. We find unity not through excluding everyone who is different than us but by putting others before ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4) and loving each other despite our differences. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This also doesn't mean that we don't work for the welfare of the place we live. Jeremiah certainly encouraged the people of Israel to seek peace and do good in the place where God had sent them as an exile (29:7). However, the trick is remembering that you're still an exile, and your citizenship remains somewhere else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I pledge allegiance to no nation because ultimately, my allegiance is unequivocally pledged to Christ. While nationalism and patriotism create boundaries between us, Christ tears those boundaries down and helps us see each other as we truly are - children of God. Perhaps when we stop seeing lines, we can truly make the world a better place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">*While many translations choose to render this word as "walk in a manner" or "conduct yourselves" - the word itself has something to do with citizenship since the root word is <i>polis</i> (having to do with city) and the overall context of the letter seems to insinuate such a reading.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Works Cited:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sprinkle, Preston. <i>Fight: A Christian Case for Nonviolence. </i> Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2013. Print.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-15737211331788990462016-03-03T08:36:00.000-06:002016-03-03T08:36:59.551-06:00How Star Wars Made Me Realize I Was Donald Trump<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was having lunch with my good friend Tyler Parette when we started talking about ethics, politics, and religion, as is pretty normal for the two of us. It was Wednesday right after Super Tuesday and so clearly we had a lot to talk about. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Explaining our train of thought would be a winding journey you wouldn't want to go down without context, but we ended up talking about how we should stand up to injustice and the things we see as wrong in the world. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jesus was a pretty influential dude to Tyler and me, so we naturally brought up the idea of treating others how we would want to be treated. If we were experiencing some sort of injustice, we would surely want someone to stand up for us and help out. However, what does it look like to live by that principle to the one perpetrating the injustice? That's a much more difficult question at times, and it requires compassion for the person that is hard to give compassion to. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is where I spouted off - "Star Wars!"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Maybe the greatest moral lesson that Star Wars ever taught me was that the path to the dark side could be accomplished by improperly fighting the bad guy. Darth Vader did not start out being bad. He was corrupted by fighting against the Sith improperly. Despite what one thinks about the series as a whole, it is hard to deny that a pivotal moment for Anakin Skywalker, later to be known as Darth Vader, is when he is convinced to kill Count Dooku. When he chooses to act like a Sith in order to defeat the Sith, his journey takes a turn that leads him to be one of the most legendary villains in all film. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Luke Skywalker is later faced with the same conundrum. He is told to release his anger against his father, the villain, because in doing so, his path to the dark side will be complete. The Sith win when good men act in Sith ways. This is ultimately where Luke differentiates himself from his father - he refuses to go to the dark side. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An ethicist I've utilized extensively named Immanuel Kant had this to say about our behavior:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><u>"Act as if the maxim of thy action were to become by thy will a universal law of nature."</u></i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The basic idea here is that you should only act in ways where you would want the rest of the world to follow your lead. You don't want to be lied to, cheated, or stolen from so don't lie, cheat, or steal. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I might've made a mistake on Monday. I love watching John Oliver, and his segment on Donald Trump pleased my political and comedic nature. I shared it along with absolutely tons of other people. For the most part, I appreciate the humor that Oliver brings to the table and the way he is able to engage difficult topics. But admittedly, on Wednesday I realized that I myself had confessed to hypocrisy. When I shared the post by John Oliver, I said that "John Oliver went after Trump in a way supporters may appreciate...somewhat crass and telling it like it is."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you were a kid, did your parents ever let you slide because you didn't hit your sibling as hard as they had hit you? I really doubt it...if you grew up in a sensible home. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was Oliver's segment funny? Absolutely yes. Was it correct in its information? Yes, although who you ask will probably affect that answer. Was it also crass and belittling in at least a similar if not less so fashion as Trump? Also...yes. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How would you want someone who you disagree with to engage you in conversation? You are then obligated to engage with them in such a fashion, despite what they do. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gandhi is attributed with the common phrase - "Be the change you wish to see in the world." This is more of the bumper sticker version, which reads:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><u>"If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do."</u></i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's a story of a Quaker that was going around preaching pacifist beliefs. After one of his lectures, a man came up to him and said - "stranger, if the whole world were of your mindset, I'd gladly turn and follow." The Quaker then replied - "So, you have decided to be the last person in the world to do good, I have decided to be the first and set the example." </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We cannot wait to see what others do. The world may not change overnight because of your personal decisions and transformation. However, if we don't start with ourselves...it surely isn't going to get any better, and we really may just end up going to the dark side.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is really easy to make fun of Donald Trump. However, I can't be a Jedi if I am acting like a Sith. We cannot reduce ourselves to the actions of those who we desire to change. None of the world's problems will be solved by doing that which is causing the problem. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When others do things that we find wrong, merely slapping a label on them like misogynist or bigot is more likely to further solidify their beliefs than to change them; and if it doesn't solidify their opinions, it surely solidifies our opinion of them. This does not mean that we don't stand up against what is wrong in the world. However, it does mean that we must do so in a way that calls out actions instead of people. <u>We must grant our opponents the same humanity we wish ourselves to be given. By externalizing problems from people and approaching them with compassion, we move in that direction.</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As my friend Tyler so poignantly said, this is a call to civility. If you find yourself thinking "that stupid conservative/liberal" during this truly polarizing political season, you're already in the wrong. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, lest you write off my thoughts quickly and go back to your daily activities of sharing memes varying in humor and offensiveness, I beseech your consideration with one more all too common quote from Dr. Seuss speaking on conservationism but yet applies to all realms of human action. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to change. It's not."</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-57016339575516057632015-12-05T14:00:00.000-06:002015-12-07T13:23:58.361-06:00Why I'm a Christian Pacifist: We Are Rome<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My first post was built largely around the idea that our actions should foreshadow how we want the world to be, setting the example as Jesus did. This was a law of ethical behavior by a guy named Immanuel Kant, and before him, a guy named Jesus (Matthew 7:12). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For this post, we are going to look at his second major law of ethics: "act as to treat humanity...in every case as an end withal, never as a means only." A means to an end is something you <i>use</i> in order to get something you <i>want</i>. Your job may be a means to an end. You may not really enjoy your job, but it's the means by which you pay the bills and keep yourself and family well fed. We have become a society that treats people as means to an end. We <u>objectify</u> people daily. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you seen The Hunger Games? I feel as though many have either seen the books, read the movies (jokes) or at least know what they are generally about. Children are basically offered up every year in violent spectacle where they are forced to either kill or be killed, and all of this is televised for the entertainment crazed elite. Most would be right in drawing parallels between The Hunger Games and the Roman Coliseum, as they are essentially the same thing. However, the books and movies also bring criticism to 21st century media, particularly reality television (which doesn't represent a shred of reality). In the coliseums of the ancient world, what was offered was entertainment. Human life (usually slave, criminal, or for a good stint, Christian) is a means to an end of entertainment for the social elite who would sponsor it. Today, we have Jerry Springer, The Bachelor, UFC, Fox News...and basically every shooter video game of all time. I've known plenty of people who know The Bachelor is not a good representation of reality and instead just watch it for how silly or crazy the people are. But aren't we still laughing at their pain? UFC fights have become some of the most expensive televised sporting events out there, and while it is indeed two consenting adults, they definitely get in a head space where the other person is no longer a human but "in the way" of their victory and glory. When have you ever seen two fighters go out afterwards for some molten lava cake at Chili's? They dang near have to hate each other, and we just eat it up. And I'm too often right there enjoying the spectacle with everyone else, lest people see me as on a high horse. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is when I realize that <u>We Are Rome.</u> Yet we who are Christians are called to not live as Romans. Go read the entire Sermon on the Mount after finishing this. It still blows my mind how crazy some of Jesus's commands really are. Do you see a theme in them though? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Through many years of study and ministry, I am convinced that objectification is the base of almost all sin. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Human life is seen as an object to be used instead of as a person to be loved. We are supposed to use things, not love them. We are supposed to love people, not use them. Think about it. Objectification always involves treating people as the means to an end. The bully objectifies the bullied in order to relieve themselves of some repressed anger or a bad home life. The lustful objectify the opposite sex and see them more for their physical bodies than their inner qualities. The gossiper treats some unfortunate soul as the means by which they can have a good laugh and get that next bit of fun information. What you say when you stub your toe is of little consequence compared to how we often curse and degrade other people with words that aren't even considered vulgar (stupid, idiot, freak). Many wars have been fought where human life is seen as the means to an end such as land or resource acquisition (kingdom expansion; oil). Still, it must be admitted that even if we don't see these as justified, war and violence still treat life as the means to an end of justice or security. I would go out on a limb and challenge you to look at what is considered sin in the bible and not find some pattern of either reducing another person's intrinsic value or your own value. Surely, we are often told by the world what is to be valued and then devalue ourselves based on such overwhelming narratives. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In subsequent posts, we will deal with alot of Scripture in great detail, but for now, just think about Jesus's command to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). If there is anyone that is easy, if not necessary, to objectify in times of conflict, it is enemies. I can still remember people who claimed Christ celebrating the death of Osama Bin Laden when the news broke. "We Got Him!" was all too common of a phrase. Now, I am not defending Bin Laden's actions in the least, for surely he and his followers have built an ideology around objectifying people as well. However, Jesus says that we were to love and pray for Osama Bin Laden. Now, some might feel that he still needed to be punished, and I can understand such sentiment. However, if we are to even remotely live out this non-objectifying enemy love that Jesus talks about, it should not be a celebration, but a tragedy.<br /><br />Even if you feel as though such retaliation was perhaps necessary, it should still be a mourned event. Even if you feel that there are times for killing and war, it should be with an incredibly heavy heart and sense of sadness that such decisions are made. Let me illustrate with a quote I've used before by Arthur Holmes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"War is evil...its causes are evil...its consequences are evil...it orphans and widows and horribly maims the innocent...it cheapens life and morality...wars that are intended to arrest violence and injustice seem only in the long run to breed further injustice and conflict. To call war anything less than evil, would be self-deception" (117).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Arthur Holmes was not a pacifist, but a Just War advocate. He believed war was necessary and justified at times, but this was his view, and I think that being a Jesus follower hearkens us to at least admit how objectifying our society has become and how evil violence really is - even if some still think it is necessary at times.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Like my first post, I'm not trying to say that this is in and of itself a strong argument for complete pacifism. I think Scripture makes the argument, and I surely want to get there. However, in and of itself, this is not all that is needed. <br /><br />However, it is a starting point because of how far I see we've fallen. War and violence have become games...literal games. Now, I know there is research that shows violent video games do and don't have a great impact on our brains. However, what does it say about us that we are entertained by war (Call of Duty) and violence (Grand Theft Auto)? What does it say about our society that so-called Christian political leaders like Sarah Palin <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7vdAlzh-jo" target="_blank">claim</a> that waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists? What does it say that so-called Christians like Phil Robertson think the <a href="http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/09/03/%E2%80%98duck-dynasty%E2%80%99s%E2%80%99-phil-robertson-isis-convert-them-or-kill-them" target="_blank">solution</a> to ISIS is "convert them or kill them"? What does it say that the president of Liberty University, one of the most influential Christian universities in this country, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHmwD2VElyE" target="_blank">encouraged</a> the student body to get their concealed carry permits so that they could "end those muslims before they walk in and kill us" and "teach them a lesson if they ever show up here." We have slipped back into thinking like Charlemagne who converted the nations by essentially saying "be baptized or we will kill you."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Even if you end up in a place similar to Arthur Holmes and think things like war and violence are sometimes necessary, can we not agree that they are evil and tragic? Can we not agree that Jesus loves even the most loathsome of this world and that beckons us to at least move away from the objectifying views we too often hold against our enemies in this world? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The way of Jesus calls me to see every single person in this world as a child of God with intrinsic value before I see them as anything else. Addicts, criminals, terrorists, and even those Christians I feel do not represent the name of Jesus well are all loved and cherished individuals, and no matter how much I may disagree with their thinking and action, I am called to love them and not objectify them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When in Rome, don't do as the Romans do, but instead try to see every single person in this world through the eyes of Jesus. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dear reader, I have been reading through some writing from an ethics and theology professor I had in my graduate program, Vic McCracken. He is also writing on this type of topic and is writing from a different perspective than I am. I strongly suggest you go and enjoy some very well informed contrasting viewpoints. Click <a href="https://christianethicsbites.wordpress.com/2015/07/02/on-speaking-hesitantly-about-a-thing-that-i-have-never-experienced/" target="_blank">here</a>!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Works Cited:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Arthur Holmes, "The Just War," in Robert G. Clouse (ed.), <i>War </i>(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1986), 117-135 (117). </span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-25935471222876511652015-11-11T23:07:00.000-06:002015-11-20T17:33:51.325-06:00Why I'm a Christian Pacifist: The Way Things Should Be<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've been about as blatant about my views on the use of violence by Christians while still tiptoeing around the "P" word as I probably ever could have. You can talk about Jesus loving people all day long and get hardly anything but praise. However, when you drop the word "pacifist" - people become uneasy. That doesn't mean I'm alone. I've shared many conversations with people who believe basically the same things that I do throughout the years and have been surprised in some ways. However, it yet remains a rather taboo word, and in part, for good reason.<br /><br />I'm honestly not crazy about the word pacifist. To the generations before me, it even might bring up some negative images of hippies protesting the Vietnam War and throwing tomatoes at veterans returning home. Let me be clear that such behavior towards anyone is appalling to me, and is also far from the teachings of Jesus in my perspective. This is not about hating veterans or burning flags. This is about dealing with the words of Scripture in a meaningful way and really wrestling with what they say. There are also 20+ forms of pacifism out there, and so that does make it confusing. For this reason, I tend to also use terms like Christian Nonviolence, since the term is less culturally loaded, depending on my context. But, Christian Pacifism is what I believe in - specific pacifism that comes from reading Judeo-Christian Scripture. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Desiring to be open and honest while wrestling with Scripture has prompted me to do a series of posts on why I am a Christian Pacifist. I want to start the conversation and challenge your worldview. But by all means, as we go through this, don't just believe everything I say. Study, have conversations, and only after diligently seeking, make any adjustments you feel you may need to. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I want to first clearly define what I am talking about. Violence in and of itself is not easy to define. After all, it's not all about force. Slipping poison into someone's food is violent, but a surgeon cutting a person open with a knife is not. So, what we will go off of is the way that two ethicists named Glen Stassen and Michael Westmoreland-White define violence:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>"Violence is destruction to a victim by means that overpower the victim's consent" (18).</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That definition can be an important one, because I feel that there is room to still respond to aggression nonviolently (even if we still need to "wrestle" with it in our own minds to be sure we are in alignment with Christ). Do you know some sort of weird Jujitsu arm-bar-lock-hold-thing from your days in martial arts? Maybe there is indeed a way that such could be put to use yet. We call those things "nonviolent" means for a reason. Destruction is more specifically what we will look at. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, the first issue I want to address as to why I'm a proponent of nonviolence requires that we go back all the way to the beginning of Scripture - to a garden. Now, whether you take every detail of the Eden account literally or not, it still has truth to teach. One of those primary truths involves God showing the way things should be. The one word that truly summarizes this is the Hebrew word "Shalom" which is the word for peace, but carries the idea that nothing is missing and nothing is broken. Now, Eden is also on earth. Creation is good, and not something to be written off. We don't get to say "Ah well, we're just going to die and go to heaven, so what we do here doesn't matter." It does matter. We have too often anticipated heaven and yet have failed to live it out here on this earth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the reasons that Jesus came to earth was to create a thinner space between here and heaven. The church is a divine institution that's primary mission is to continue and create this thin space, bringing God's kingdom to this earth. This is why we feed the hungry and heal the sick. We believe that one day, there will no longer be hunger or disease. We bring clean water to the underprivileged because we believe that there will be a day when living water is available for all. Many scholars even hold that Jesus did the miracles that he did in order to foreshadow God's kingdom. Andrew Root writes that the miracle stories of Jesus "are not stories of magic but [are] rather stories which preview God's future. Jesus proclaims in word and act the future of creation in the future of God" (141).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This brings me to this first and simple assertion: Peace is to be desired over violence. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We live in a broken world. Violence is a very present reality in this broken place, but that doesn't mean that it should be what we want and desire. This is one of the most troubling things to me about how far some Christians have come in their view on violence. It truly seems as though some do not even see peace as being better. Rather, it is almost mocked as some "hippy" value. This cannot be our view, and I hope that we can share in this assertion together. Peace is more desirable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I once read a story about a Quaker (a group who are notably nonviolent in their beliefs) who was going around teaching his pacifist beliefs. After one of his talks, a man came up to him and said, "Stranger, if the whole world were of your accord, I'd gladly turn and follow." The Quaker replied to the man, "Then you have decided to be the last person to do good, I've decided to be the first and set the example" (Camp, 43) I hold that being a Christian means truly living out the good we want to see in the world, even if the world is not yet good. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've written about this before (See </span><a href="http://spenserbolte.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-golden-rule.html" style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">The Golden Rule</a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our brains have not developed to a point where this comes natural. Our instinct is going to be to freeze, flee, or fight. However, I don't think instinct is always best. Paul very much contrasts the Flesh from the Spirit. In many ways, I feel as though this is a call to transcend our human experience. To fight and use violence against a perceived threat is definitely not out of line with our biology. However, the person who nonviolently chooses to love in the face of opposition transcends all of this. Part of becoming a mature human being (even according to our cultural norms) is to make choices that go against what comes natural. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, I'm not saying that idealism is...well...ideal. Even some amazing Christian pacifists (or at least with pacifist leanings) have given up on their nonviolent beliefs in the name of Christian realism. Alot of this happened because of World War II. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Reinhold Niebuhr are both examples of this. All of this to say, the idealism I speak of is not a hard and fast rule, nor is it without problems. However, it is where I choose to start. <br /><br />On the topic of WWII and problems with pacifism, let me be clear that I'm still searching for some answers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Firstly, White Christian Pacifism has come under some scrutiny, and I feel it is valid to a point. To be a young, white, male, and American conscientious objector during WWII while millions of Jews are being persecuted and even dying can definitely mess with even the most convicted pacifist. I am, statistically, one of the least likely groups to ever experience any type of violence or oppression. It's easy to be a pacifist whenever you will likely never even be compelled to fight for any dire reason; I fully admit that. However, I would like to think that if I were of an oppressed group and knew what I did about Scripture, I'd still hold my beliefs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Second problem I must fully admit to is that I'm a single man with no children. I have been called out for this time and time again. I have not experienced what it is like to have a child or wife that you feel so compelled to protect at all costs. However, I do have family and friends who could not be more dear to me, and once again, my reading of Scripture makes me at least desire to maintain a nonviolent stance in such an unfortunate situation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Third problem: There is real evil in this world that makes this all more difficult. We can see that after this past weekend with the attacks all around the world. I do think that Jesus speaks to how to respond to such evil, but I do not for a second think that it is an easy answer.<br /><br />I've come to this position very reluctantly. I have not always thought this way, and instead probably thought along the opposite lines. However, I've been convicted by Scripture and especially by the words of Jesus that my thinking needed to change, and this is the result.<br /><br />In summary, do you think that peace is better than violence? Then I challenge you to keep reading over the next several blogs, no matter what your stance is. At least engage these ideas and see what I believe Scripture has to say on the subject. We will hit it all - OT and NT. I truly believe this issue is vital to Christian faith because it is one of the very defining aspects of Christ, who I believe came to show us how God intended things to be...and how to live that out even when the world isn't playing along. I'll likely retouch on a number of things I've previously written about, but oh well, it's fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Got questions of your own? Hit me up either in the comments or in a message and I will do my best to either address your questions in subsequent posts or simply have a conversation if that is what's needed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Until then, Shalom Y'all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><br /><br />Author's Disclaimer: Much of my own thoughts come from other people, especially a guy named Preston Sprinkle. I suggest strongly that you read his book - Fight: A Christian Case for Nonviolence<br /><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Works Cited</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Camp, Lee C. <i>Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World</i>. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2003. Print. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Glen H. Stassen and Michael L. Westmoreland-White, "Defining Violence and Nonviolence," in J. Denny Weaver and Gerald Biesecker-Mast (eds.), <i>Teaching Peace. </i>Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2003). Print. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Root, Andrew, and Kenda C. Deen. <i>The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry</i>. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2011. Print. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-74376191152215133372015-11-02T16:17:00.000-06:002015-11-03T12:04:20.715-06:00God of the Gaps<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I look at history, I notice that religious people go through waves of polarization with culture. Now, I do not necessarily have a problem with Christian culture going against the grain. After all, we do live in an upside down kingdom and the ways that the world devalues and destroys should indeed be contrasted by how the church values and builds up. However, I see this polarization happening in a different way, and it is far less appealing. In fact, it is troublesome. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The church has trended towards two things. At times, we have denied scientific and social advancement because it does not appear to line up with Scripture. There are even those that tend to hijack poor science and loose history to try and validate Scripture in some form of weak apologetics. Others have appealed to what men like Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Richard Bube, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Charles Coulson, and Henry Drummond call the "God of the Gaps" - which can be defined as primarily invoking God in the mysteries of the universe. Isaac Newton helped explain many things about how the world operates, but when he was at the edges of where his equations could go, he said that perhaps it is there that God steps in. We do this a lot, as we come across something that is hard to explain and say - "That's got to be God." In days past, we accredited everything good and bad to God in one way or another. Ancient societies have had numerous ideas about how gods were involved in the world (to the point of natural occurrences being considered the direct result of gods and their shenanigans). Even Jesus runs into this when he is asked whether it was the parents or the man who sinned so that the man was born blind (John 9:2). However, now we can explain weather anomalies and blindness, so our language has changed and we have moved away from using language about God. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, there are a great number of mysteries in the world and I by no means want to take away the awe that is due them as it concerns God. However, one thing I know is that if we try to put God in the gaps of our understanding, we will be sorely disappointed. As humankind progresses and our knowledge of the world increases, those gaps will become smaller and the mysteries will shrink. Such will happen to your idea of God if that's where you put him. After that, you might even be forced to deny what the scholastics of this world discover. Granted, a healthy skepticism is not a bad thing, since surely we are finite beings with a limited understanding. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I do not think that either of these things are the way we should look at the world. Something we must understand about the world is that we make sense of it and create meaning through language. We discussed this above. Whenever something happens in the world, we try to make sense of it and give it meaning through our language - for better or for worse. We make meaning out of death with our language we give either in affirmation or denial of afterlife. We give people that we may never have met before special significance and meaning by applying the term "family" to them. Words like friend and loved one give significance to our relationship with certain people. All meaning is done in language. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For this reason, we sometimes are not able to judge the work of the people who have been considered world-shakers until after their death, whether in theology, philosophy, or any other thing. These people would use language or another communicative medium like art to communicate a rather novel idea. Only after our society has advanced and we have used language to create more meaning does their work begin to be utilizable for us, and we realize that they were geniuses. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is where things get tricky - what can we say about God and it be accurate? We use the term "he" to refer to God for the most part in Judeo-Christian realms (at least for the sake of simplicity), but does God have gender? "He" carries a good deal of meaning in our culture, meaning that doesn't even span the entire region. What it means to be "he" is likely very different in Oklahoma than in Oregon. Even asking if God has gender is to put this omnipresent being in a very earthly box. Theology (God Talk) is always a step behind, simply because we are trying to use finite, human language to describe a very infinite, non-human God. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jesus illustrates this struggle because one of his favorite phrases is - "The kingdom of heaven is like..." and then proceeds to use parable and metaphor to speak to truths about God. We know that we aren't supposed to take those stories as absolutely literal, but rather they teach us truths about other things. John gets super crazy in the language he uses to describe his visions because how on earth are you supposed to put such grand visions of God into earthly words? We know that much of Revelation is not to be taken literally, but rather it is written to speak truth about God and how he ultimately wins. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We run into this kind of problem when we read Genesis. When the book was written, humans simply did not have the language to describe the scientific processes behind the beginning of the world. In fact, the language is that of narrative rather than description. It tells a truth about God and his creation, but that does not mean that every detail of the story is true in and of itself. The point of Genesis is not to teach you what scientific processes the world was made through, but rather that God created, and considered it good. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We run into this problem later when we are trying to translate scripture from an ancient language to our own. Ask someone who speaks another language and has immersed themselves in that culture and they will tell you that translating a concept or idea that they have made meaning of through a word in their language might not easily translate to our own language. They literally created meaning in their own language that might not exist in our language. Example. We translate the word φίλος (philos) as "friend" in James 2:23, but the ancient idea behind that concept is rooted deep in their social context of patronage. It denotes a business-type relationship where one party takes care of the other party's needs completely in exchange for dedication of some sort. That's not really the meaning that our word "friend" carries. It gets even trickier though, because just because a word might mean one thing in one place of scripture, that does not mean that it means the exact same thing in another place in scripture. Each book, each author, and really every different story carries its own context and give meaning to the words there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So what kind of take-away do we have from this? Well, firstly, it is important for us to realize that due diligence is necessary in our study of Scripture if we wish to apply it well. The phrase "well, what that means to me..." should slowly be replaced with the process of truly trying to understand what things meant to their original audience and then seeing how that might then be applied to us in our own context. Whenever you pull a classic "what does everyone's version say" with a particular passage, take note of the differences and realize that it's not all about synonym usage. Take this seriously. When something doesn't make sense, dig deep! When you've just assumed something makes sense or that you understood it, however, this thing is being questioned by society or the church, dig deep! Truly, there are parts of Scripture that simply won't carry the exact same meaning to us as it did to the audience it was written to. That doesn't mean it's not beneficial to us in one way or another, but reading material written to Israelites in exile simply won't mean the same thing to us today. We will indeed create some of our own meaning, and such is a very tricky process that should involve diligent study and faithful community.<br /><br />Secondly though, I hope we can all move away from the polarizing effects of either an "anti-science" or a "God of the Gaps" stance. And here is how I think we can do that.<br /><br />Perhaps we can start to view God as the God of everything. Not simply the unexplained phenomena in this world, but rather every single thing. When we ask if this is a physical, worldly process or a spiritual, Godly process - our answer can be yes. It's both. Rain isn't God crying and sneezes aren't demons trying to be released (yes, that was an actual thought), but they are both God. Let me illustrate. Throughout the OT and NT, God is shown as speaking to people through dreams and visions. This was one way that he condescended himself to humans. The fact that God was willing to lower himself to use human language is incredible, even if that language can never truly capture who God is. In our modern understanding of neurobiology, we have discovered that we owe our dreams at least in some capacity to N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (N,N-DMT) that is released from the pituitary gland (as far as my study has shown). It's a hallucinogenic drug that causes us to not really be able to distinguish reality from fantasy, even if our dreams are sometimes incredibly odd and illogical. What's fascinating though is that this chemical gives us potential for incredible creativity, connectedness, and spiritual experience. Now, I could spend a good long while talking about this (ask me about it sometime), but for now, simply understand that we have possibly quantified <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">what</u> is going on when authors experienced these dreams and visions. However,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> many friends and mentors of mine have privileged me with testimony of absolutely phenomenal consequences of their dreams. This shouldn't sound too crazy. We get a thought or a feeling that ends up having life altering consequences for either ourselves or others, and those of us who are people of faith know that it was something spiritual. We can maybe begin to explain <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">what</u> is going on with them, but we cannot quantify </span><u style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">why</u><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> that something happens. Essentially, the gaps of our understanding have been closed to a point and we can explain the "what" of spiritual experiences with help from neuroscience, but that doesn't mean that there is not a "why" as well. Science answers <u>how</u> and <u>what</u>, but faith begins to try and answer <u>who</u> and <u>why</u>. I personally have found great spiritual gain in engaging in things like meditation, as it allows me to physiologically fuel my God-given creativity. <br /><br />Can everything in this world likely be explained at least in some capacity by scientific explanation? Probably. That doesn't mean that we will, because we are finite, but they probably indeed can. Does that mean that God is not involved? Absolutely not. When Jesus healed the sick, we could probably look at any one of those people and explain what healing processes took place. However, that doesn't explain why. Jesus being the Son of God explains that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When sickness happens to people and natural disasters occur, did someone sin or was that a natural and scientific process? Yes. Sin happened a long time ago and ever since, we've been living in a fallen world where bad things happen. It is at once completely physical, explainable, and unbiased as to who it affects while still being completely spiritual and ultimately redeemable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Perhaps the way to view the world is not by choosing a number on a scale of 1-10 that ranges from "completely physical to completely spiritual" but rather saying that all things are explained by both 1 and 10. This puts God not in the gaps, but rather over all.<br /><br />Let us not polarize ourselves from the world, but let us engage it in meaningful ways. We may not be "of the world," but we should not become some sort of evangelical ghetto because of that. We are "in the world" and figuring out how to make that work can help us make the most impact we can. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-90769664072737260952015-10-05T17:53:00.002-05:002015-10-06T12:16:26.651-05:00Pride, Legalism, & Dialogue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do you think the most common sin amongst all of our generations is? Surely there are things that are often seen as young people's problems and others that older generations seem more prone to, but what about everyone? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would posit that one particular problem that every generation in our churches face is pride. We are finite beings, but we often act as though our way of doing just about everything is the way for all. We exalt our finiteness. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There has been an incredible amount of conversations within churches over the last few years concerning legalism. Just googling legalism brings up this kind of definition: "Strict adherence, or the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, especially to the letter rather than the spirit. [Within theology]: The doctrine that salvation is gained through good works. The judging of conduct in terms of adherence to precise laws."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The thing is, I don't think this is limited to a "conservative" issue. Even terms like that are becoming less appealing to me because I don't think they are helpful distinctions. I think that legalism is a people issue, because pride is a people issue. Let me illustrate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My generation is known for being a rather liberal generation. Story goes that there was a female, liberal, feminist professor at a university in Oregon (can't remember which) who was speaking out on her personal take of a common conversation. What's interesting is that her take on the issue was not the common liberal, feminist perspective. Some students responded very negatively to her ideas, and acted as though they were emotionally traumatized by her words. The university even responded to the event by allowing students to skip her lectures and even created "safe rooms" that included ambient music, soft lighting, plush chairs, playdough, and even lava lamps that these students could retreat into if they didn't want to hear the "offensive" ideas of the professor. With all that was done for these more liberal students, you'd think that some incredibly conservative person had come to campus with his or her bag of different ideas, but once again, it was a liberal, feminist professor with whom the students agreed on probably 95% of every other major issue out there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not saying at all that it is fine and dandy to offend people or that we shouldn't work towards being sensitive with our speech. Racism, sexism, and every other "ism" out there are surely things I would love for us to move away from. However, in our attempts to become better people who are more sensitive to others, are we reaching other extremes where we cannot even hear other people's ideas? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me offer another example. Alot of people seem to really like Pope Francis. I myself find that he is quite an interesting voice and really enjoy alot of what he is doing. His positions on ecology, economy, and a number of other social issues have really been favorable amongst more progressive people. Then, news stories were released about him meeting with Kim Davis (the woman who refused to issue marriage licenses with her name on them after the Supreme Court's ruling) and giving her some form of approval. All of a sudden, people were commenting "He was so good until now," "I guess he really isn't that great after all," and many others of such a nature. Basically, as long as people agreed with everything he said, he was cool. Once he seems to have a slightly different opinion on something, he's a bigot. Now, new stories are emerging that seem to downplay any type of meeting with or approval of Kim Davis's actions at all, but still, the dramatic switch in support and opinion was incredible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Go back and read that definition of legalism once again, and tell me that it doesn't apply to these situations as well. Whether your law falls on the side of conservatism or liberalism, it doesn't matter, legalism is still alive and well. It's kind of like how fundamentalist Christians have tried to force religion off on others, even sometimes by force. In response, New Atheism has kind of been exactly the same, just for the opposite side. The extremes of many spectrums share many of the same ideological methods and tactics, and simply disagree on the content of what they are discussing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We live in a world full of monologuing. More than often when two people get up to give a debate, this is what you end up seeing. Rarely does anyone in a debate say - "You know what, that was a really good point, I'm going to have to think about that more."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is why we must learn how to <i style="font-weight: bold;">dialogue</i>, and I have a few things that might help us get there. For even more, look into the work of Dr. Carol Hughes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first step in creating dialogue is <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Mirroring</u>, which is "the process of accurately reflecting back the content of a message from another person" - a paraphrase perhaps. Essentially, to have any hope at a meaningful conversation, you have to first understand exactly what the other is saying. To do this, you have to show that you understand it by mirroring back what is said. This allows the person to clarify anything that may be misunderstood and also keeps the listener accountable for not casting some sort of emotional interpretation onto what is said. On a more macro level, this would include being well informed as to the other side's position, preferably from the other side themselves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next step is <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Validation</u>, which is "the message to a speaker that the information received and mirrored 'makes sense.' Validation is a temporary suspension or stepping outside your way of looking at things in order to allow the speaker's perspective to be shown as having value. To validate the other's message does not mean that you agree with his/her point of view or that it reflects the way you see things." All behavior makes sense in context. If a person behaves in a certain way, there is a reason for it, and it makes sense. That doesn't justify the behavior and it certainly does not mean there is never a better or at least more helpful way to think about things, but it does make sense. Validation says - "It must have really hurt you that I didn't show up on time for dinner when you worked so hard to prepare it; it makes sense that you are upset." Once again, this doesn't mean that you agree, as much as you can step outside your opinion to see why it makes sense to the other person or group. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These two things lead us <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Empathy</u>, which is "the process of reflecting or imagining the feelings that the speaker might be experiencing about the event or situation being discussed." Empathy is what makes the world a better place. Once again, I am not trying to say that nothing out there is offensive, because some things truly are. However, if we are operating out of a position of empathy, I am fairly certain that we will be able to disagree in ways that are respectful and loving. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the young, the old, and all the generations in between can create dialogue and arrive at a place of empathy together, I do believe that legalism on any side will not be an issue. I hope that we can strive for this. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After all, I can truly think of no greater example of empathy than Jesus. It was He who said - "Forgive them, they do not know what they are doing." It is easy for me to feel empathy for the homeless, LGBT, and other oppressed communities. What is harder is feeling empathy for those systemically infected with hate like Al Qaeda and The Westboro Baptists. I'm not sure any one of us, as finite beings, completely know what we are doing. I surely don't. But I know that Jesus looks down from the cross and says "forgive them" - and as long as we seek to be more like Jesus, I think we can figure the rest out just fine.</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-38866286369148825402015-08-01T23:50:00.000-05:002015-08-04T00:47:57.643-05:00Social Responsibility & Freedom in Christ<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just how free can we responsibly be? I have been thinking about this a whole lot recently, and am honestly baffled by the question. One thing I can promise, we aren't going to figure it out here. However, I'm hoping we can acknowledge that there are lines we simply aren't readily aware of and that we often cross them in one way or another. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do I mean by responsibility? I am referring to social responsibility or community responsibility. We all agree with this to a point, because we agree that there should be laws in place that promote the welfare of the general population. Some things may not be issues of law necessarily, but still are tenets of Christian behavior. Let me illustrate in a few ways. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our taxes are one form of social or community responsibility. We pay our taxes and governments create programs and other things that promote general welfare. Infrastructure, poverty alleviation, and other things all come from our taxes. So, paying our taxes is indeed a way that we contribute to the general welfare of our society. However, we all pay for things we probably don't enjoy paying for. I see many complain about paying taxes that go towards poverty alleviation, granted, some of those programs could certainly be run better (although I certainly think some would either do a horrible job or simply promote injustice if they truly had it their way). I personally don't enjoy that my tax dollars...or at least the tax cents...can contribute to funding the housing and upkeep of nuclear weapons. So, there seems to be a line, doesn't there? Really hard to define though.<br /><br />Another example. The carbon footprint we are leaving on this world is beginning to take its toll. To what extent should an individual be free to drive around in a gas guzzling truck that looks great to those who love that type of thing, but only gets 5 miles to the gallon, pollutes the air, and serves no real purpose for that individual that a smaller and less environmentally destructive vehicle could not? We obviously are pretty freedom oriented here in the U.S. about this type of thing, and I see people drive around vehicles all day long that are completely impractical for their daily purposes. When do we say though that a person is socially responsible for reducing their carbon footprint and NOT destroying our shared living environment, and should not be free to trample over all ideas of environmental stewardship (a Biblical value if you remember back to the beginning of that Genesis book)? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just look at California right now. They have some sincere water restrictions regarding their water use, such as restrictions on lawn watering and being asked to reduce shower times. This is necessary if they are to make any impact in their current water crisis. Corporations should also be held accountable since things like fracking are using up incredible amounts of water (something like 70,000,000 gallons in 2014 in the state of California alone). There is most obviously a line between freedom to do what you want and the social responsibility to our world. Where is that line? I don't know, that's tough to say, but surely we can agree that we all could do a little better in this area and see our world truly as "ours" and not "mine." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Other examples. We all kind of believe to an extent that consenting adults are free to make decisions, even poor decisions, as long as they are not hurting other people. This is why, as a society, pornography seems to be socially accepted, even if individuals refrain for their own moral reasons. However, even that industry is regulated because of injustices and oppression that often occurs. We also see the negative effects of children having access to pornography when they are of a young and impressionable age. My Christian value says that objectifying people is wrong and I certainly see huge issues within the industry in terms of how people are treated and the effect it has on people, but as far as the societal ability to exercise such freedom, things become messy.<br /><br />This leads into a whole other intensely difficult topic for me: modesty. I believe greatly that a man's lust issues are his responsibility, and women have been blamed and shamed for a long time as basically being the offenders while men have been seen as the victims. This is far from being the case, and yet I wonder what Christian social responsibility says about the issue? Yes, the way we've approached this topic has largely been skewed, but I also believe that walking around completely naked is a wrong thing to do. Exposing oneself to children and other non-consenting persons is a punishable offense, and I'm glad that it is. So, what is the line? To what extent do I understand that a sense of community responsibility does impact what I wear, even as a man? I definitely don't think we've been fair on this issue towards women, but I definitely don't think that eliminates the line completely. I surely am grateful when my sisters in Christ don't put unnecessary temptation out before me. This is truly a difficult issue for me to find the line. It's not easy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Biologically speaking, Dan Siegel has alot to tell us about social responsibility (2011). Our brains are mechanisms that allow us to think. However, the ways we think, our minds, are part of a relational process. The human mind is largely determined by energy and information flow. What kind of information you receive growing up determines in many ways how your mind operates. This makes sense to us to some extent. Why do we often say "they are truly a product of their culture?" Because our context and culture define how our minds work. Try and think of a single thing you thought that wasn't influenced by something else you learned from other people. <br /><br />Unfortunately, our western society has defined this idea of the mind or self as a singular entity. We are truly one of the most individualistic societies in the world. However, we can't even learn to be individualistic if we weren't made and crafted by our context and relationships. If this is the case, we have to admit that I am plural. I use this quote from Dan Siegel often - "I am more than me, I am connected to you, and I am a member of we." There's a difference between this being the case and people actually embracing this idea over the individualism promoted by our modern conceptions of freedom. Everything about how our minds operate speaks to our shared reality, and of being made to live in community. We have to change our language surrounding freedom, because I do believe it is creating societies that only care for the self and define the self as a singular noun. We must move towards a plural definition, otherwise our society will only become more dark and our world will only become more polluted both literally and figuratively. (For a more thorough look at this topic of the mind, check out this incredible video - </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7kBgaZLHaA</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> )</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We often talk about our freedom in Christ, and Romans 14 usually comes into the conversation. We talk about not causing our brothers and sisters to stumble, and yet there are definitely times we've used this to make victims out of perpetrators and perpetrators out of victims. However, do we have to see it in this way completely? Can we instead see ourselves as contributing to problems? As a family therapist, a classical systems approach to this would be to say that we all contribute 50% to every interaction and therefore every problematic interaction. I'm not sure this accurately represents all situations. Certainly with issues of abuse, there's a need to see issues of power as playing a huge role in who has control - yes, we all probably contribute with some sort of behavior, but that doesn't mean that victims of abuse are responsible for their abuse or that abusers are less responsible all of a sudden. However, basically speaking, can we admit that in most cases - it takes two to tango? Or, as my great grandfather used to say, "It's a mighty thin pancake to have only one side."<br /><br />There are two wrong ways for us to read Romans 14. The first would be that we are free and do not need to worry about anyone else, since they are the weaker person. The other wrong way to read it though is to take a reductionistic stance where we are guided by the most narrow minded of us. Our freedom certainly grants us some individual liberty in making decisions in our own faith. However, we also must think and act with a sense of community responsibility.<br /><br />Now hear me right - I do not think that others can cause us to sin. So, modesty advocates out there, we should get away from this line of thinking. After all, very few of us believe in the idea of "original sin" and thinking that someone can cause you to sin is yet another thought along that line. It was indeed Jesus who looked at the woman caught in adultery (who was likely wearing little to no clothing) and did not sin. It is possible to not sin even when presented with the most obvious of opportunities; we can still grant people their humanity and not objectify them. Reinhold Niebuhr (1964) had an interesting view of original sin in that he didn't think we were born with sin, but rather born into contexts that inevitably lead us to sin. I can get on board with this idea, and I think perhaps this is a more helpful idea. We should create contexts for each other that help and do not hinder. You probably would be better off not drinking in front of your struggling alcoholic friend, even if you believe that your freedom allows you to respectfully enjoy such. You can't make your friend sin, but you surely are a part of creating contexts that either help or hinder.<br /><br />Perhaps this kind of thinking can bring to our minds the true definition of freedom in Christ: service. We are set free from our sin, but made slaves to righteousness. We may hold a freedom that allows us to execute a certain behavior, whether it is the first century example of eating meat or any number of behaviors that might fall under this category today. However, we should also remember that being free in this area of life also means that I balance it in a way that shows I care deeply about my community. In Christian community, no one is seen as "other." Enemies are loved, others are welcomed, and neighbors come from the most unexpected places. We are indeed responsible for serving those in this world. We should not use our freedom as an excuse for sin. <br /><br />We make our freedom an excuse for sin quite a lot, it would seem, when we deny our responsibility to our community: we drive the pointless gas guzzler, we wear what we want, and we in general just do what we want, when we want, and how we want. Freedom is an American value, but that doesn't mean that the Americanized definition of this term represents the kingdom value within the concept of Freedom in Christ. I love the fact that we are free in so many ways, but I think we've crossed lines in many regards. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that doesn't mean that I have determined the line. I am struggling hard. The balance between freedom, individual responsibility, and community responsibility is one that is causing my head to hurt if I get to thinking about it too long. A huge part of this is that it is incredibly hard for me to think about institutional applications like what laws should be; that is the biggest headache. However, that perhaps makes it all the more important to us as Christians. No matter what the policy makers of this world say is acceptable to do to the environment, to each other, and in other areas of life, Christians should be modeling the best behavior in all regards. What if we helped the poor so much that it was the church who set the example for how to do so? What if we were the absolute best environmentalists out there and set the precedent for taking care of our shared home? What if we modeled righteousness in our behaviors while still enjoying our freedom in Christ? And what if we did all of this while still being gentle to those who do not share our opinions or sense of community responsibility? <br /><br />The line to be found in modesty is probably somewhere between hippy nudist colonies and puritan style wardrobes. The line in nature conservation is probably somewhere between hoarding and destroying the earth's resources and imprisoning someone who occasionally trashes a coke can instead of recycling it. Not sure where it is, but I am certain that if we love people enough, we'll move towards better stances.<br /><br />I hope this starts conversations with those around you. I surely don't have all the answers, but I know that we certainly won't get any closer to answers if we don't ask the questions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">References:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Niebuhr, R. (1964). <i>The nature and destiny of man: A Christian interpretation. </i>New York, NY: Charles Scriber's Sons Publisher.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Siegel, D. [GarrisonInstitute]. (2011, March 8). <i>The neurological basis of behavior, the mind, the brain and human relationships </i>[Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7kBgaZLHaA </span><br />
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<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-65750135660346033372015-07-16T16:09:00.000-05:002015-07-16T18:24:45.478-05:00Confederate Flags & Wedding Cakes: An Open Conversation About Prejudice<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dear Christians, we need to have a talk and it's a difficult one to have. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We need to talk about discrimination. We are currently living in a culture that can seem a little scary, and I get it. There's a lot of changes happening. The confederate flag is coming down, gay marriage has been approved by the Supreme Court, and Christians at least appear to be coming under fire for their positions on these topics. So, let's talk for a few minutes about these things, because how we respond is in many ways pivotal to how the church's presence is perceived in this world for the next while.<br /><br />Let's start with the flag. This is where I have to be brutally honest and say that I have grown up with the confederate flag on personal items before. I did not always see it as a problem, and much of this has to do with the amount of information and education I had presented to me growing up. I grew up in one of the most racist towns in the United States. I don't say that lightly. I'm honestly scared to tell people where I come from these days for fear of how I'll be perceived. The most active chapter of the KKK is still alive and present right near where I grew up. The president of the KKK actually lives in the area. They have even been behind terribly racist billboards going up in my town. As I grew up and made friends within the black community, it was a huge wake-up call that my friends didn't even want to visit me because of <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">actual, legitimate</u> fear of the town where I lived. That was an eye opening experience to my privilege and even to the influence of that place in my own life. It's thankfully becoming a more accepting community thanks to the efforts of diversity committees, but it's been a long and hard road, and there are several hate groups, other than the KKK even, who are still combating against the efforts of the committee. I'm terrified to tell you all this, but I'm more terrified of the possibility that other people I know live in similar communities and don't acknowledge such a sincere problem. When they surveyed people in the 1960s, most did not see racism as being an issue. How could they be so blind?!? I think I know, because I think the same thing may be happening today. It takes huge events for us to realize problems that have been going on, and we are experiencing some of those events. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't try and tell me that it's "heritage, not hate."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've seen the hate with my own eyes. It's real. It exists. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And let me clarify, my family is not a racist family. We often have discussed how problematic our environment was over late night hot cocoa. But that doesn't mean it didn't impact us or that it didn't exist.<br /><br />Let's be real. The confederate flag represents the confederacy. The confederacy had as one of its prime objectives to retain the ability to treat African Americans like property and not people. I don't care if your southern family didn't own slaves, it was the flag of those who did. The fact that slavery went on for thousands of years and was completely normal baffles me, but it happened, and we were fully exercising that institution here in the U.S. until relatively recently in the grand scheme of time. The flag represents the desire to own people and has ever since the first one was made.<br /><br />The confederate flag that started all this was put up at the state capital building in South Carolina to protest the Civil Rights Movement. The movement that sought to see people as equals instead of inferior. That's what the flag was put up to protest.<br /><br />This is the flag that's been present as a symbol at lynchings of black individuals even in just the last 50 years. This is the flag that was flown by the young man who walked into that church and killed 9 people simply because they were a different skin color than him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">EVEN IF it didn't always represent racism and hate (which I think it has), symbols can be ruined as we add meaning to them. The swastika was used for years as a symbol of peace and life for many cultures. Far longer than it's been associated with the Nazi party. If your friend was trying to wear the swastika on their clothes or get it tattooed onto them because of its previous meaning of peace, you'd probably have a long talk with them about how it will be perceived in an overtly negative way by most people. Hitler just kind of ruined it in so many ways. That new and terrible meaning can't be taken away. If you were Jewish and see that symbol being used, even in peaceful ways, it will still carry a very different meaning for you. So then, imagine being African American and walking to your job every day past a symbol on governmental property that was put there to protest your ability to use the same water fountain as your Caucasian friend. It's terrifying. It's demeaning. It's racist.<br /><br />And I understand. Because of where I grew up, I have deep empathy for those who grow up not knowing any better. I can see how systemically ingrained some of this stuff is and it makes me at once both incredibly sad and incredibly empathetic to that position. However, I must speak out against it and challenge it. My empathy makes me want things to be better.<br /><br />I also understand that regulating someone's ability to fly a flag seems very authoritarian and just feels weird. Limiting one's ability to free speech and expression is tricky, and no matter who you are, such a thought should be concerning, because sometimes, it is through this right that we are truly able to stand against injustice. If we aren't free to speak then, it's definitely a scary thought. Let's come back to this later.<br /><br />Let's now look at the recent Supreme Court decision. I won't get into what I think about this decision (I see it rather inherently different than most, so ask if you want my opinion). However, I want to talk about the ability for bakeries and churches to "not violate our own conscience" as many have sincere convictions about the topic of homosexuality. Must a baker bake a cake for a gay wedding if they are in a position of truly feeling like it's wrong? Some have already run into this, and this topic will continue to play out over the coming years and months. I can empathize with the hesitancy, even if I myself think radically different (I'll probably write on this another time, ask if you want).<br /><br />It seems then that people are overall having less personal freedom to discriminate for any reason, even religious reasons. And believe me, I get why that seems terrifying. I think we've made it far more than it is, but I definitely empathize once again.<br /><br />However, this is where we get to ask - <u>"how do we respond?"</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd like to propose that we offer some grace to the authorities trying to figure this out. Yes, you actually just heard (read?) me say we should offer some grace to authorities - ole apolitical, non-voting, non-participating Spenser. And here's why I think this.<br /><br />We believe to an extent that people need to be protected. I've heard some libertarian positions that even business owners who desire to discriminate for racial reasons should be allowed to do so, because that's freedom. However, we all believe in governmental regulation to a point. Liberally minded people believe in freedom of expression (to a point), but in more regulation concerning monetary issues. Conservatives don't want much, if any, regulation on money but tend to want it on behavioral things like drug policy, marriage, and other morality issues. (This is why politics is confusing to me in many ways, no one is consistent in their beliefs)<br /><br />One thing we all tend to agree with though is that people should not hurt others. Murder is pretty much universally agreed upon as being a bad thing. Life is precious, and I think we all agree with this in one way or another (even though I think BOTH parties could afford to see it as more precious in every possible way).<br /><br />For that reason, I empathize with people wanting to regulate a flag that has been present at so many racially charged murders. Will taking it away solve racism? Absolutely not, and no governmental policy will ever rid our society of it completely, but you can't blame them for wanting to do <u style="font-weight: bold;">anything</u> that might save the lives of African Americans. It might just move us a step in a direction where less people die, and so I can truly understand any effort to try and make that step.<br /><br />For that reason, I understand why authorities are questioning whether a business can discriminate against the LGBT community, even for religious reasons. There have been FAR too many games of "smear the queer" played, likely at the hands of religious people. There have been FAR too many gay teens commit suicide because they could not find acceptance from their friends, but instead only found bullying. And yes, there have been FAR too many gay people killed and mistreated, as African Americans have been, simply because they are different. It's even scarier when we look at religious oligarchies where gay people have to hide simply to survive in their culture. That thought is terrifying, and so I understand authorities wanting to do <u style="font-weight: bold;">anything</u> they can to end this blatant prejudice and mistreatment. I empathize. That's a tough position to be in.<br /><br />When you look at us as Christians, who has died for being a Christian here in the U.S. recently? Outside this country, definitely, but inside our country - how many? Oh, you've had your atheist friend challenge your beliefs publicly? Oh, your philosophy professor challenged your position? That's not persecution, people. We are still among the most privileged people in this country, and I mean Christians, not just white people.<br /><br />That's maybe the single craziest thing about the early church to me - they cared more about the lives of people outside the church, even their enemies, than they did about their own. The lives of people they disagreed with were so incredibly valued that they often laid down their own lives to preserve and protect the lives of others, even when these other people were the ones taking away life. That's not dying for your tribe, that is dying for the tribe who is trying to hurt your tribe. That's mind boggling. Today, I promise you we don't do this in even remotely the same capacity. It was the norm back then, and now we have a hard enough time even loving each other within the church, we find the differences even amongst ourselves to be too strong to conquer.<br /><br />I realize, it's scary. Things are changing in a rather dramatic way and any time such a profound change happens, it rattles the cage and it can be overwhelming.<br /><br />However, this is when we get to decide how we will respond. Will we continue to live comfortably in our privilege and share articles about bakers being persecuted and why we want the flag to fly? Or, will we be gracious to everyone around us, reach out in love to all people, and seek to value life in any way that we can? The choice is ours, and how we respond might be really freaking important.<br /><br />Let's show some grace to the world as they seek to simply save lives and save people from mistreatment, and may we be the cause behind such efforts, not the blockade preventing it. I know, the government won't get it all right, but we can at least honor their efforts and cause change ourselves as well. Let us be graceful even when things seem to impede our freedoms. Let us be slow to speak and quick to put ourselves in other's shoes. And let us be quick to love the crap out of people. Let us, as a church, show people that human life and love are indeed our first priorities, and not "religious freedom."<br /><br />We cannot value our freedom more than we value the lives of others and our ability to love them.<br /><br />"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your nieghbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?</u> Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:43-48</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-46961579010191046282015-06-26T14:26:00.002-05:002015-06-26T16:51:04.782-05:00Oh To Go Back To Our Christian Roots<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh for an America that once was, an America founded on Christian values. When we looked to The Bible for strict guidance of our morality. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh to go back to a day when slavery was still a fully fledged institution that reflected much of the world's idea that not all people are created equally. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh to go back to a day when women did not have the right to even vote, when they felt they were somehow less important than men, inferior as a gender, and therefore in submission to the wills of their stronger counterparts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh to go back to a day when "rendering to Caesar what is Caesar's" was in no way something we were willing to do, and we were willing to shed blood over taxation without representation, despite a british king not being able to hold a candle to any Caesar. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh to go back to a day when we truly cared with all our might that institutions tell us who can and can not participate in Christian Sacraments. Them defining who could and could not participate allowed us so much more time to treat people unequally. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh to go back to a day when anyone who was not white and male automatically had less legal rights, not just treated different by society, but actual less legal rights than other human beings. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>It truly does appear as though America is going to hell in a handbasket, because clearly it was in heaven to begin with</b>. We were the sovereign, set apart by God as Israel was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh the dreaded current where people are beginning to look at others and see their similarities as human beings instead of for their differences. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh the dreaded current where we honor differences amongst others while still promoting strong linkages and bonds with those people who are different than us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh the dreaded current where people understand love to be a pervasive action that truly wrecks how we see people we don't agree with all the time and spurs us to greater sacrifice and warmth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh the dreaded current where Christians are starting to act like Jesus did and hang out with the sinners of this world, just so that those people know they are loved. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We must work to correct our vision.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This post is not meant say that everything going on in our world is good. There is clearly evil in this world and there are certainly times when the world accepts something as good that God does not. However, it would serve us well to ask ourselves what is worth focusing on and changing in this world. Let us work for peace, for love, for justice, and for equality. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And if you are fearful of the current. Know that while my words can sound harsh, I do understand your struggle and fear. I just also know that Jesus promoted that perfect love which casts out fear. Things will be ok as long as we seek to love like Jesus loved. You don't even have to agree with me for that to be the case. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-25429716791270704952015-04-08T13:01:00.000-05:002015-04-08T13:01:28.803-05:00"May" Your Day Be Merry & Bright<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a whole lot of negativity out there. All you have to do is flip on a TV, turn on a laptop, go down to the local coffee shop, or any number of things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One day, it just really started to get to me. I was scrolling through my facebook newsfeed and was just seeing negative post after negative post, many having to do with one political party trashing on another one. Then I wondered something:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>What if we took one day where we didn't post anything negative about other people or an ideology? </u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then I thought to myself, why stop at a day or political bashing? What about a week or month and what about posting absolutely nothing negative at all on this thing we call social media?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here is what I'm proposing. We take the entire month of May to focus on the good, promote something versus tearing something else down, and overall be more positive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once upon a time, I tried to <i><b>say</b></i> nothing negative for one entire week. I. Failed. Miserably. However, what's interesting about social media is that it takes at least a few seconds (or at least it should) to tweet or post something. This makes it easier for us to be intentional about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why the month of May you might ask? Well, during April, most final projects or just finals (for students) are coming due, so asking them not to vent might cause emotional implosion - probably shouldn't...but it might. June and July are getting hotter and we all know how much we like to complain about it being hot outside. Also, it's building up to independence day and so there will likely be alot of patriotic folks who want to show their colors and do a bunch of 'Merica posts (not that liking the U.S. is inherently bad, but it definitely leads to trashing other things). And finally, May provides us with the chance for some really cool pun hashtags like #MayYourDayBeMerryAndBright. And we all know that everybody loves a good Christmas reference. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like hashtags when they are used to link tweets or posts to a common idea, and there are plenty that can be used. #SpeakLife is a great one brought to us by TobyMac, #BuildUp could be some sort of allusion to Ephesians 4:29 (which could also be hashtagged as #Ephesians429 or simply #Eph429 [you have to start with letters, #429 doesn't work]).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a time and place to be critical of something that is wrong and call it out. I believe this can be done in a healthy way. However, I also know that I tend to gravitate towards this instead of promoting something good or building up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, if you are on board, make a commitment to not post anything negative during the month of May. Hold off on the "funny to you" political posts that tear the other side down, save the posts about the annoyances in your life or the things that make you angry, and simply post things that build up and encourage other people. Share this blog to pass the idea around and starting in May, start hashtagging your uplifting posts with #MayYourDayBeMerryAndBright and whatever else you might come up with. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." - Ephesians 4:29</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-20152013219537809642015-01-12T08:34:00.000-06:002015-01-12T08:34:22.856-06:00I Am Not A Gentleman pt. 2<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would like to expound on my last post in this one…and I’m
going to do that using none other than the expert on love herself – Taylor Swift.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A buddy of mine and I were listening to Blank Space on the
radio (because it was on, ok, we didn’t geek out or anything…or did we?) and we
came across that infamous line – “Boys only want love if it’s torture.” </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I don’t know what ole T-Swift meant by that from her
own perspective, but my friend and I discussed what it might possibly mean and
I offered this thought.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is the age old story of rescuing the damsel in distress.
If there is a dragon to slay, a tower to scale, or a molten lava moat to cross,
that somehow makes it more fun for the prince and more meaningful for the
princess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imagine though, the princess fighting her way out of the
castle while the prince was on route and doing half the work, teaming up with
the prince’s efforts. Does that sound like any story ever? Nope. Why? Because
it’s not as “romantic” or fun for the prince and it’s definitely a lot harder
for the princess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now think about our own society. We have bought into this
idea quite a bit. The man pursues the woman relentlessly and surely is the
first person to initiate anything (lest the woman be too “forward”). The girl
plays hard to get but the man doesn’t give up, he offers gesture after gesture
to prove his affection. Eventually the man proves himself, the girl falls in
love, and then she subjugates herself for the next 70 years and makes
sandwiches on the daily. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a power switch that seems to go on. For some time,
it seems as though the woman holds the power in “courting” as she creates the
boundaries, doesn’t make it too easy, and so on and so forth. Then, whenever the
final task of a ring and a question is completed, the chase is over and the man
has his “prize.” He then assumes power in the relationship completely. Now,
this initial power being in the woman’s hands is rather artificial and really
just shows other facets of male power, but it nevertheless at least appears to
exist as the man courts her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do I mean by artificial power? Think of it this way. In
our society, the guy is expected to ask the girl out for the most part (at
least the “official” date, she may suggest coffee or the like, but the man
usually initiates a “date”). Now, if a girl likes a guy but the guy does not
have such feelings, really, all he has to do is…nothing. So, there is apparent
power in being pursued by a man, but that power still ends up in the man’s
hands if you think about it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A relationship where both parties went into the process
equally would not be nearly as riveting of a read, and it also would not
necessarily lead to the inevitable power shift to sandwich making. “Boys only
want love if it’s torture” because it means they get to be in control of the
relationship later on down the road. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although it may not be very Disney, I think an equal
relationship from the get-go creates far healthier scenarios for both parties
throughout the course of that relationship. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now remember, from my last post, this does not mean we go
around acting like jerks. It instead frees us up to be mutual servants to each
other, continually seeking to put the other’s needs above our own. When <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">both </i>partners<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>do this, it embodies the agape style of love that Christ showed to
us. We talk about being servants to spouses all the time, but do we really have
the fairy tale scenario in mind when we think of such? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fairy tales are fairy tales for a reason, they aren’t real
life and we don’t get to see years down the road. Cinderella marries the prince
after one night of dancing and some diligent seeking on the prince’s part? What
if the prince has some pretty janky expectations of her? What if they aren’t
very compatible in their personalities? What if he likes Nickelback? These are
all distinct possibilities that the fairy tale doesn’t get into. Do they truly
live happily ever after? I would suggest that it is unlikely. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There may not be a happily ever after, but there is
certainly joy in mutually submitting to another person in humble servanthood
and seeing an equal in your partner. That is Eden. That is how Jesus saw other
people. He came not to be served, but to serve. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We take the few verses containing household codes in the
Bible that mention wives submitting to husbands and we skew this to refer to
power. Those verses are not about power; they are about mutual service and
respect. Jesus was not a power guy; He was a servant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of the most joyful marriages are ones where there is
such deep respect and love for the other person that neither sees the other as
lesser. Unload the dishwasher together. Cook dinner together. Decide to have
mutually fulfilling sex together. Basically, share as much responsibility,
pain, and joy as equally as you can. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, for this to be the case, I think we have to start this
togetherness from the start. What starts in equality can stay in equality.
Fellas, don’t offer countless gestures of chivalry and affection simply so that
you can claim your prize and “call her yours,” serve her and see her as your
equal. Ladies, when you are being swooned by gestures of affection and
chocolate, ask what is expected in return and if you are truly viewed as an
equal. Don’t let love be torture, make it mutual service and respect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Donnn’t say I didn’t, say I didn’t, warn yaaaaa!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-68081891653068501332015-01-11T22:16:00.001-06:002015-02-06T09:26:58.529-06:00Jesus' Call To Self-Defense? A Look At Luke 22:35-38<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has happened a few times as I’ve written various things
about violence – someone convinced of their right to bear arms, arm bears, and
defend themselves from a Biblical perspective will bring up Luke 22:35-38. In fact, this seems to happen quite a bit, so let's look at the passage and talk about it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag
or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” He said
to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a
knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. For I
tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with
the transgressors. ’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” And
they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is
enough”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Usually I deal with a
topic, this time I’m going to deal with a specific text. I do this because
recently I have seen this text misused heavily, mainly in support of gun
ownership and the right to defend one’s self using such means. I have even seen
some people saying “this is Jesus’ call for self-defense” and that simply is
not true on any level. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Firstly, such an interpretation would be pretty contrary to
Christ’s command of enemy love in Matthew 5. If something is that different, it
behooves one to look deeper into things and see what is really going on.
Furthermore, what this shows is that when it comes to Jesus’s commands, we like
to pick and choose which one’s we follow based on our own desires. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, like I said, you don’t have to pick and choose, Jesus
is not inconsistent here with what He has said previously. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look at verse 37 – “I tell you that this Scripture must be
fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ This comes from
Isaiah. So, this command to His disciples is so that He will fulfill prophecy and be considered an
outlaw by Roman government (Sprinkle, 2013). Also, some even think that the two
swords allude to Deuteronomic law which said that it takes two witnesses to
testify against someone, and in this case, the two swords are those witnesses
(Willimon, 2008). It is not for defense. How do we know this? Two things:
Firstly, two of the disciples (likely Peter and Simon the Zealot) already have
swords and so they say “Look, Lord, here are two swords” and Jesus replies to
this with the phrase “it is enough.” Enough for what? This verse cannot be
about self-defense, because two swords cannot defend 11 disciples, especially
if they go out two by two as they did just before this passage. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact, there are opinions out there on what "it is enough" would have actually meant when Jesus said it. For Luke Timothy Johnson (1991), "it is enough" essentially carries the same meaning as "enough of this nonsense" and he comes to that conclusion by matching it grammatically and in its original language to something Jesus says later surrounding this same issue, which we'll now get into.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scroll down a few verses to 49-51. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And when those who were around him saw what would follow,
they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the
servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more
of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus rebukes Peter for using
the sword, because that was not the purpose of the sword. He in fact uses the phrase "no more of this!" (or as Luke Timothy Johnson writes - "enough of this" and thus reading the first time Jesus uses the phrase as matching the second time). While we are busy making our enemies bleed, Jesus is healing them and making them whole. Nothing in the
teachings of Jesus allows for violence, but the disciples still can’t get their
minds around it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The disciples almost constantly misunderstood what Jesus
being the Messiah truly meant for the Kingdom of God. They expected an earthly
kingdom to come about, like the glory days of the Maccabees. There were many
“messiahs” in that time who tried to set up the Kingdom of God, but did so
through violence and always failed. That is why Jesus actually orders them in
Mark 8:27-38 to tell no one that He was the Messiah when Peter identifies Him
as such. Jesus wanted to differentiate Himself from the other “messiahs” out
there (Sprinkle, 2013). RIGHT after that section when Jesus instructs them to not tell others
that He is the Messiah, He begins to talk about how He is going to have to
suffer and die. Peter actually rebukes Jesus for this (8:32) because that would
totally jack up the violent political uprising that would help install the Kingdom of
God. Jesus then tells Peter that he does not have his mind on the things of God
but the things of men. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With their minds still on “the things of men” and not “the
things of God,” the two disciples with swords get excited when Jesus commands
them to go and buy them. They, like many who misinterpret this verse to talk
about self-defense, had earthly kingdom thinking and not heavenly kingdom
thinking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of the day, I understand that we may possess a different view on self-defense. However, I think we can agree that scripture has been used for terrible reasons before and a little look at the context of a verse can truly help us steer clear of poor interpretations. So, I hope that you have gotten something out of this discussion. Grace and peace to you all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Works Cited:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Johnson, Luke T., and Daniel J. Harrington. <i>The Gospel of Luke. </i>Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press, 1991. Print</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sprinkle, Preston. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fight:
A Christian Case for Nonviolence. </i>Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2013.
Print. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Willimon, Will. Duke Chapel Service, February 21, 2008,
#160. Link – <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bishop-william-h.-willimons/id261879191">https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bishop-william-h.-willimons/id261879191</a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-65245678274452412742015-01-01T14:04:00.001-06:002015-01-09T11:18:23.972-06:00I Am Not A Gentleman pt. 1<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is going to be a bit of a trip, so strap in. Are you satisfied with how the world views men, women, and relationships? I personally am not, and I want to share some thoughts on the issue with you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We live in a world where men are highly privileged over women. Some may not see it, others may think that is fine and dandy, but it is nevertheless the case. If you are male, I challenge you to ask several women that you know if they have ever experienced some sort of oppression or prejudice because they are women. Some have been passed up for jobs, others have been viewed as lesser, and still some have experienced absolutely terrible and shocking things, simply because they are women. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I know what most reading this will be thinking - "I don't treat women that way, I am a gentleman" - but that doesn't mean that there is not a problem or that you don't contribute in some way. So, the first thing that must be done is to realize this and like I said, one of the best ways that I can think of to open your mind to this might just be to interview different people and get their stories. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, for those of you who are genuinely good guys, I still have some thoughts to share. Girls, don't feel like you're excluded from reading the rest of this and getting something from it because honestly, when society tells you something long enough, you may start to believe it, and I don't want you to. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, for my gentleman and ladies out there, I would like you to observe and ponder the following image:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, this may offend some for good reason, but I'd like to talk about it in a way that perhaps one might not get at first glance. I personally believe that there is a certain level of expectation in our culture for gentlemanly behavior. I believe there is a subtle, if not sometimes overt, message that in exchange for being a gentleman, I expect to be served. Perhaps the message at other times is "I treat you well, you put out for me" (If you'll allow me to be so crass). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know that for most good dudes out there, this is not what is going through your mind consciously, but I still think that the overall message from society is that if a man is a gentleman, the woman will subjugate herself to the man. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, what's the cure for this and how do we as people balance this idea while not just becoming jerks with no manners? Let's start at the beginning. I start here because I think we must change the way our minds think about gender in a holistic way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the beginning, there was a garden. Did you know that the Hebrew used in Genesis 1-2 describing man and woman is language of equality? It truly is in stark opposition to the culture that seems to come later. Eve may be called a "helper", but that term has an extremely elevated meaning compared to how our culture often thinks of the word. After the fall of humankind (brought about by Adam and Eve), the world becomes patriarchal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is where I may differentiate myself from some Christian feminist thinkers. And please note, I have not studied this in vivid detail so if you can and would like to contribute to my understanding and knowledge, please do so. I think that how women are viewed in this world is related almost completely to the fall of humankind. With that being said, I think that this will always be the case on some level. So, while some feminist movements seek to bring societal change to how women are viewed, I don't think this will ever be <i><u>fully</u> </i>realized. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, there were beginnings to this. When you look at the Old Testament Law, it is clearly patriarchal and even seems to be a bit on the misogynist side, if not very much on the misogynist side. However, in a way, it is still a small piece in making things better. Understanding this topic means understanding how the Law functioned. It was a mediator. The Law was not God's ideal, but it did move us closer to that ideal. When you look at the Law compared to other ancient law codes and cultures of that time, Israel was pretty grand. It made sincere improvement on things while still allowing for some cultural expectations. This can be seen in how women, slaves, and foreigners were treated, how violence was viewed and used, and a slew of other things. As odd as it may sound, when compared with the surrounding culture, it is almost a piece of feministic literature. It was making improvements while building up to something else, and that something was Jesus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the interesting things about Jesus is that His <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">primary</u> goal (other than saving humanity) was restoring the Edenic Ideal to the world, namely in the church. This ideal involves shalom, love, relationship that was lost, and if we truly examine the text, I believe it should include the treatment of women. So, while the <i>world </i>will likely always treat women as lesser to some degree or another, the <i>church </i>should be the one place where this is not the case. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, unfortunately, the church has sometimes treated women worse than certain areas of the world, and so for that, I am truly sorry on behalf of the imperfect church that I am a part of. But, I want to change that. I hope that I can be a part of making the church a place where you feel so incredibly valued and loved, and that you are seen equally. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not going to go into women's roles in church or anything like that. If you'd like my opinion or resources, I'd be happy to give either, but such is not the purpose of this post. The Bible does have some unique things to say about relationships, men, and women. But, unpacking every nuance or why I choose to interpret in the way I do would take a long time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing I would like to say outright though is that I do not see many inherent differences between men and women. Obviously there are some physical differences (talk to your moms and dads if you don't know what I'm talking about), but some of the other stuff is made up by us. Our culture usually informs how we think about gender and the roles of such. Now, what's interesting is that these differences that are created by culture <i>are </i>in fact biological on some level. Culture and especially family can create and shape the way our brains function and our neurons fire, and so for some of the common "differences" between men and women, there is a level of biology to it. However, this is not inherent and can indeed be changed with an intentional change of the mind and how we view things. (I could go on for DAYZ on this subject, feel free to ask me about any of this since I have to leave it so short for now). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I wish to do now is incredibly cheesy, but it will help illustrate all of this content rather well hopefully - I want to write an open letter to whomever my wife may be, if indeed she exists and such is permitted to me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello there! Whoever you are, there are a few things you should probably know and expect if you choose to engage in a covenantal relationship with me (your choice, not my coercion). Firstly, I will not treat you like a princess (honestly, how entitled is that?), I will treat you like a child of God. I am not prince charming, in fact, I often feel more like Shrek and connect with him deeply. When you get to know me, you will get to know an incredibly flawed person. For pity's sake, at one point I <u>purposefully</u> decided to look like this: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="goog_825638462"></span><span id="goog_825638463"></span>But despite my flaws, I am redeemed and have been forever defined by such. I don't know what our life together will look like. I hope we can share as much responsibility as possible, but who knows? Honestly, it's going to be a trip that we're going to have to figure out together. I don't have any preconceived expectations of who will do what, I only ask that you bear with me patiently as we learn the other's strengths and figure out how to not burn down the house. It will be a grand adventure to say the least. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not the average dude, and for some that is honestly a deterrent (but one that I'm proud of). I don't have a shotgun waiting for intruders and thieves. I fully plan on living in a really cheap yet functional house/apt/some sort of structure so that our money can be diverted to helping those less fortunate and furthering the kingdom of God. In general, I'm an odd duck and I'm proud of it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want to empower you as a person and never treat you as though you are my lesser or in need of me because I am a man (we all need people, that's part of life). I don't really plan on fulfilling one of those odd Christian expectations of the man "pursuing the woman relentlessly" until I eventually wear you down and you concede or realize I'm cool. I fully desire for this empowerment thing to mean that you want a relationship just as bad as I do and are willing to go into it equally with me. Do I know exactly what all this will look like? Nope. But it will be fun living life together and figuring it out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lastly, I am not a gentleman as defined by western society or southern manners, but I have dedicated my life to being a servant and I plan on loving you and everyone else in our lives as Christ loved the church. I will serve you, not because you're a woman, but because you're a child of God and because I love you. I will hold doors open for you, for children, for other men, and I may be stuck at doors for a decent while at times, all because this is how I want to treat other people, not because I think lesser of anyone. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In all things, I want to treat you very well, but because I am a Christ imitating servant, not because I am a gentleman who expects something in return. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-81169347338832182222014-12-19T10:20:00.002-06:002014-12-19T10:20:57.254-06:00To Hell In A Handbasket: How To Live In A Post-Christian Society<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">"The world is going to Hell in a handbasket!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How many times have you heard that phrase in your life, especially as it relates to the culture where you live? There is no doubt that American society is changing and in many ways, there are some really big differences in things like morality. Movies, music, and other artistic mediums have definitely changed over the past 50 years, no denying it. There is also a growing hostility towards Christianity as a whole. It's not too serious as I'll later point out, but it is growing. Government has also been on the move, with some very unique things such as the mayor of Houston requiring several major churches to submit their sermons for review (there was a good deal more to this story then most saw, but also, these subpoenas were squashed). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, one of my main problems that use the phrase above is the presupposition that our society has ever been in heaven in the first place. It has not. It will not. It can not. But, I'm not sure this the worst news in the world for the church. In fact, there may be a lot of good that can come even when society is dark. How we respond to these changes and live as the bride of Christ in this unique and interesting world will be incredibly crucial in the coming years. So, while I don't see our society as ever having been Christian (something my title infers), I do see us moving away from even making the claim. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ever since sin entered the world, the world has been a fallen place and actually has been "going to hell in a handbasket." The exception to this is God's people, first represented by Israel and now represented by the church. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So first, let's debunk something. As a church, let's put to rest the myth that our country was truly founded as a Christian nation or even because of solid Christian principles and we just need to get back to our roots. We say this all the time, I know there are many Christian principles that were acknowledged in founding our country, but hear me out. One of the #1 reasons America broke off from British rule was for freedom from high taxation. That's completely contrary to Christ's teachings, however. The situation in Israel was the exact same - foreign power, foreign rule, steep foreign taxation. When asked about this though, Jesus says "render to Caesar what is Caesar's" (Matthew 22:21). He doesn't say "dump the tea in the harbor." It's easy to associate revolution or war with a noble cause, it's very difficult to associate either of them with the principles of Jesus. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But religious freedom is worth fighting for right? Nope. But what about when there are groups persecuting your group? Nope. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peter wrote to Christian "exiles" in his first epistle who were experiencing political oppression because of their belief and worship of Christ. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Dear friends, <u>do not be surprised</u> at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a <i>meddler</i>. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name." (1 Peter 4:12-16)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, these people weren't experiencing people taking Christ out of Christmas (which isn't even true because X is a shorthand Χρίστος [Christos - Messiah or Christ]) or getting cut off during an interview on CNN (just google it). They were being fed to lions and executed in any number of atrocious ways. Peter says that they shouldn't be surprised by this. They shouldn't be surprised by government and others <i>taking their very lives</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, whenever people want to take "In God We Trust" off of money (which has always been a societal lie, especially when it comes to the paper it's printed on), take the Ten Commandments out of court rooms, take prayer out of schools, and a number of other things that we often cite as the end of times, Peter looks at us and says "<i>Do Not Be Surprised.</i>" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The main reason this should not surprise us is because social institutions and God's kingdom are simply incompatible. Jesus said "<u>my kingdom is not of this world</u>" and He was referring to the social systems and institutions of this world, because he clarifies the statement with "if my kingdom were of this world, <u>my servants would have been fighting</u>" (John 18:36).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imagine Jesus as president - would the world really want a president who's foreign policy is enemy love? Would our capitalistic society truly jive with the idea of giving to others and helping the poor until it begins to hurt? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These two worlds just don't mesh. The church has a different way of doing things completely. The kingdom of God has a different politic than the world in every single way imaginable. This is why Peter says that we shouldn't be surprised. He was writing about this very thing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But not being surprised is only the first part. The rest of how we are to live in a Post-Christian society is surmised by the commandment to participate in the sufferings of Christ. This is about loving others even when they are treating you in the worst ways. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's not that we are putting our stamp of approval on society. Not in the least. The church has a duty to remain true to the teachings of Christ set forth in Scripture no matter what the environment is. If Christianity is made illegal, American church numbers will go down DRASTICALLY...but it does not reduce the necessity for Christian community or the worship of the Almighty One. The early church met in homes and however else they needed to in order to praise God, even though their society was hunting them down. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In all this, I hope you can see how the church definitely challenges culture and society at large, but changing culture and society are not our primary goals. We should instead be always seeking to make the church more Christlike. But we should obviously not be surprised when society, culture, and government are not Christlike. We help in changing the hearts of individuals and families, not institutions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, the formula for living in a Post-Christian society? Do not be surprised, endure whatever comes peacefully, focus on the church, and love extravagantly as Jesus did to His persecutors when He hung on a cross and prayed for God to "forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-31357976582250484472014-12-06T12:23:00.003-06:002014-12-06T12:34:05.875-06:00"What Must I Do To Be Saved?"<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pretty classic question. People have been arguing over that one for hundreds of years. I have been asked that question by people who were Christians because we can't figure it out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have a lot of different answers. Growing up in more conservative Churches of Christ, one of the more classic ways that we have answered that is summarized in five steps: Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess, and be Baptized. We have usually put a pretty heavy emphasis on the last one there, and there is pretty good reason for it. After all, it is pretty symbolic of dying to self, being washed with the blood of Christ, and being raised up in newness of life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But then you get other people that say "all I have to do is believe" in order to be saved. To them, there is obviously a need for baptism as a form of obedience, but the point of salvation comes when you believe that Jesus is Lord of all and at that point He saves you. There are those within this line of thought that use The Sinner's Prayer to "accept Jesus into their hearts" and the like. Hear me, there ain't a single thing wrong with accepting Jesus into one's heart...but the Sinner's Prayer isn't really biblical (just saying). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For others still, there is a huge connection to salvation and acting out gifts of the Holy Spirit such as speaking in tongues and the like. These are thought to be the visible sign that the Holy Spirit has come upon one's life and so this is the point of salvation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could probably go on with examples of how people are thought to be saved by Christ, but I am really becoming disenchanted with all of them. There are three reasons for this. The first reason is that the emphasis is put on us in some way or another. So, while Churches of Christ may get dogged on pretty hard for thinking that salvation comes through a "work" like baptism, everybody pretty much thinks that there is something that <i style="font-weight: bold;">we </i>do that brings salvation, whether it's saying a prayer, believing in Jesus, or accepting Him into our hearts. All of that is what we do, and salvation is something that God does. Baptism may be something that I decide to do (it's actually quite passive when you think about it, confirmed by usually being a passive verb in Greek), but saving is something Jesus does. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second reason that I'm disenchanted with these things is because we are trying to designate the "point" of salvation. Now, it makes sense why we want this to happen - we want to know when we are safe from the fires of hell. That's pretty understandable in all reality, but being scared of hell is not at all what Jesus wanted us to do in comparison to hoping for heaven. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The third reason is because all of this stuff is kind of prideful, "I know exactly what's going on with this topic," and really divisive towards the church as a whole and has been for a long dang time. So, I have something to propose that perhaps could bring some unity to our various Christian movements. Note though, this is me thinking out loud, and I'm certainly not abandoning my personal tradition. I would love to hear other opinions on how we can find more unity and read scripture better on this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps the most memorable time that this question was asked (at least in my mind) was when the rich young ruler comes to Jesus (Matthew 19:16-22). He asks Jesus what good thing he must do to be have eternal life and Jesus answers in a very peculiar way. He actually seems to kind of dodge the question, which is funny, when He says "Why do you ask me what is good? There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments." I'll do some more unpacking of that idea in a minute, but what's interesting is that Jesus takes the focus away from what good thing the man must do and puts the focus on the only One who is truly good (God). Jesus then just says to keep the commandments. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This isn't enough for the young ruler though, and so he asks Jesus "which ones?" This guy really wants to stamp his "saved" card and go to sleep in peace. Jesus of course lists off some good commandments and the young ruler feels pretty good because he's been doing all of those things since he was just a kid and asks what he still lacks (I personally doubt he was expecting a reply other than "dude, you're totally good then, go in peace"). This is when Jesus drops the ever so infamous line - "If you want to be complete, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This devastates the young man because Jesus asks for the one thing that he is unwilling to give up. Jesus knew what this guy was hanging on to. But I think we need to look at the dialogue as a whole and put ourselves in the man's place. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Firstly, Jesus says to keep the commands. The young ruler thought he was doing that, but he wasn't. If we were there, we might reply "which ones" and get a plethora of responses from "hear, believe, repent, confess, be baptized, accept Jesus in your heart, say a prayer, speak in tongues" and then expect to be good. It is at this point that Jesus would look us in the eye and tell us to <b><i><u>follow Him.</u></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Jesus says to keep the commands, I think He is saying that we need to submit ourselves fully to Him. We want to clarify exactly what this is and that is when the very thing we want to hold onto most is what Jesus says to give away <i>so that</i> we can follow Him whole heartedly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What if we started looked at salvation as <i>no single action</i> done on our part but as the <u>process of submitting our entire life to Christ and the following of Him while living in His constant forgiveness</u>? Note: salvation is something God does, so I'm not suggesting this is how we save ourselves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know very few people in Churches of Christ that think if a person has decided to submit their life to Christ and got in a car accident on their way to the baptistry that they are messed over. I know very few people who, although they don't see baptism as a necessary task of salvation, do not think that baptism is a command that should be followed in order to be obedient to God and His will. I also know of no one that thinks a person could go through any of these steps, then walk away completely from the life of discipleship and those steps mean anything at all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of the most committed followers of Jesus that I know have come from faith traditions that are unlike mine. We have disagreed on certain things from time to time, but at the end of the day, they are a disciple and it shows in their lives. These people truly give God everything that they have, but maybe read scripture just a little differently than I do. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If we <u>submit</u> to God, we will keep the commandments - we will believe He is Lord, we will repent of our sins and confess Jesus is the only way for us to be saved, we will be baptized so that we can partake in His death and be cleansed by His blood, and we will live by the Spirit while walking in newness of life as a disciple that must follow Christ down the darkest of roads for the rest of our lives. All of these things are part of <u>submitting</u> to God. So, what happens if along the way of submitting we die? I tend to think that we are good...don't you?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why do we label things as necessary and not necessary when all are clearly part of the process God wants for us? Why do we try to mark salvation as if it were some end point instead of the beginning of new life that it truly is? Salvation is entering into newness of life, and that starts by submitting ourselves to God and His will and then living in that for the rest of our days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Does that mean we won't goof up along the way as we are submitting? Of course not. We gonna mess up all the dang time. But, living in a state of submission means that despite my shortcomings which are ever so present, I am giving that to Jesus and following the commands just like Jesus told the young ruler to do. It is also going to mean that I will constantly be checking my life for material things that I am beginning to become too fond of. But when I live a life of submission, those things are submitted to Christ before they ever even poke their sneaky little head up in my life. <u>Jesus. Wants. Everything.</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am done arguing about the point of salvation and what is necessary and not necessary. I am instead about submitting the entirety of my life to Christ so that He can be glorified through it all. Might this be the way that we are able to find unity amongst ourselves? We are slowly getting over the fact that we all do worship a little differently from place to place. This is the one thing that we seem to hang onto and want to divide over. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I ask you to join me in this submission. It's a humbling experience. It certainly isn't very American like to give up all our rights for the sake of the cross. But I do believe that it is the answer to the question - "What must I do to be saved?"</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-86351230021146357142014-11-28T11:16:00.000-06:002014-11-28T11:23:30.073-06:00What The Gospel "Is" and "Is Not"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do you think about when you hear the term "Gospel"? Surely you think of The Good News, that's a pretty classic one. That probably brings to mind the idea of <i>proclaiming </i>The Good News to other people. It's a central theme to our faith, as it was the last thing that Jesus said to do before He ascended "Go and proclaim the Gospel to all nations" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, sometimes I think we get confused as to what "proclaiming the Gospel to all nations" means. We read verses like "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ" and we know that's important, but what that looks like and means gets pretty screwed up sometimes. So, here's a list of things that proclaiming and being unashamed of the Gospel is <u style="font-style: italic;">Not.</u> To put it another way, here are the most common things that people use to punch their "Gospel" card for the week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>1. Bible Banging (A.K.A. Telling People They Are Going To Hell)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first and most agreed upon point. Only a select few of us actually think that picketing funerals and holding up signs that tell others they are going to hell is a good technique. But, I know that some of us still play the punishment card before the rewards card. This isn't about escaping hell, it's about having a relationship with the Most High God who loves each and every person He made to insane amounts. Grunting with a KJV and a clinched fist does nothing to promote the good news. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Voting for members of the republican party has grown to be synonymous with being Christian in the United States. Somehow, Jesus came to love capitalism, 2nd amendment rights, and freedom to worship. Sorry, but Jesus doesn't care about any of those things (shoot me a message or phone call if you want to unpack that statement or get an explanation). On the other hand, Jesus doesn't endorse any number of things in the democrat party either. Some Christians have really just reversed this and made Jesus a liberal in their minds. Jesus was not a liberal or a conservative, He was a radical who's kingdom was "not of this world" and operated by a completely different set of standards that are simply inconsistent with the social institutions of the world. After all, do you <i>actually </i>want a president who's foreign policy is enemy love? That's what we, the church, should be about, but the thought of governments acting like this is ridiculous. Voting does not bring the gospel to people. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>3. Sharing Political Articles About Religion</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've seen it time and time before, political articles about religion. "The thing so-and-so said about God that has the liberals FUMING" or "The things about Jesus that the conservatives don't want you to know" or any number of articles. Have you ever stopped to consider that if a political website is sharing an opinion on religion, that opinion may be informed by a worldly perspective versus the other way around (I'm looking at you, Matt Walsh Blog readers)? As I said before, the church has it's own politic. For some reason, churches tend to <i>reflect </i>the culture instead of living <i>counter </i>to it. Churches were every bit as segregated before the Civil Rights Movement as the rest of the world (and unfortunately still are for the most part). Anybody remember The Crusades, Inquisition, or any number of corrupt Popes? Government tends to have a way worse effect on the church than the church has on the government whenever they are close. Sharing these articles is not sharing gospel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quite frankly, these people have something to do with why I don't have a huge beard anymore. Also quite frankly, this is kind of the same as the last two points. I am very sorry, but wearing a Duck Dynasty t-shirt, shooting fowl out of the sky, and drinking sweet tea do not fulfill The Great Commission. Disciples will be known for their <i>love,</i> not for their support of Phil Robertson. Somehow, we have made gospel out of the idea that we need to stand up and support the Robertson clan and what they stand for. I'm not saying you can't like the show (I personally don't get it, but it's whatevs), I'm just saying that Duck Dynasty is the current face of Christianity, and there's honestly alot wrong with that picture (although I fully admit, most days I also struggle to wear the face of Christianity in a truly Christlike way). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>5. Eating Chic-Fil-A Sandwiches</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This relates back to the last point, which relates back to the last few points (there's a theme!). Remember back when Chic-Fil-A took their stand in support of traditional marriage? There are many things I could say about that situation, but I'll leave it at the fact that some people got hacked off and spoke out against Chic-Fil-A's stance. I remember it vividly because I was at a church camp when Mike Huckabee or some other political figure (who'da thunk it?) announced a "Support Chic-Fil-A" day and thousands upon thousands of Christians flocked to their doors in the name of a Christian cause. Although many would deny it, there was the sense that people were checking off their "Spread The Good News" box for the week by eating 12-count chicken nuggets. If eating chicken could get me in to heaven...well I'll just say that it doesn't and move on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>What The Gospel <u><i>Is</i></u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It really does translate to "Good News." One of the things you may not know about the word is that it actually does not directly relate to Jesus dying for the sins of humanity, God loving people, or the hope of the resurrection. It can have something to do with those things, but only as those things relate to the concept of <i style="text-decoration: underline;">Kingdom.</i> Whenever you read about gospel in the New Testament, there is almost always a message of kingdom nearby. Think about it, Jesus was proclaiming the gospel before He died (check the end of Matthew 5). The gospel message is that God's kingdom is being continuously established, Christ is its King, and things change when you fall under the rule of the Lord Jesus. Perhaps you can see now why I focus so much on the political side of what gospel is <i>not. </i>The answer to what gospel truly <i>is</i> relates greatly to politics, but a very unique politic. This politic is so unique that it cannot be brought about by earthly kingdoms. It can only be brought about through the church. Government cannot further this kingdom, it usually only manages to get in the way.</span>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of the day, I have just as hard of a time bringing this message to people as the next guy. It is hard to speak this message into people's lives. You know what is easy for me though? Putting up tweets, facebook statuses, and even blog posts about it. However, I feel as though there is a relational aspect of Gospel that all of the areas above, as well as myself, fail miserably to promote. We cannot share the gospel with others if we do not work to have a relationship with them. Why else would they want to listen to us? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I ask you to join me and stop believing the utter bullcrap of a lie that any of these non-relational, political, or cultural "stands" is truly being "not ashamed of The Gospel of Christ"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let us love others and show them both with our lives and with our words that the Kingdom of God is here, and it changes lives. </span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-73750204251240931212014-10-10T18:23:00.001-05:002014-10-11T14:21:54.442-05:00My Tattoos & Their Messages<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started getting tattoos when I was a sophomore in college. I had learned that Leviticus really didn't apply to the situation since I wasn't involved in pagan worship and since I fully planned on clipping off the edge of my beard at times (although there was a stint in my life where I almost abided by that one). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All my tattoos are lessons that I have learned and things I want to remember and proclaim to others. I'm slowly becoming a messenger like Ezekiel with object lessons to proclaim my news. This is what I have so far. (Note: I will very poorly try to transliterate the foreign language into english letters)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My first tattoo is on my shoulder and reads "Yahweh agapesen" (Hebrew and Greek) which translates to "God loved." Yahweh is God's covenant name and from what I can tell started being used more heavily around the time when Moses encountered the burning bush. This is why this word and it's derivatives are at times translated as "I AM." The word carries an idea that God is present with His people, as He was in the plagues, in the wilderness, His presence was felt. Agapesen is straight outta John 3:16 and is translated as "He loved." The word though is in a tense that is kinda like looking at a scroll that is time. God loved then, He loves now, and forevermore will love even though we translate it as past tense. So, it says "God loved" but in a Biblical pun that I intended, it also says "I AM Loved." This fact defines much about me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-kEnvZZF0tBP12lWzg3PQBSfgg4KsaF-lM1pPQMh1lqFmUrbqwc4gcg0GYy9aSbgyy3shmrtgrTpxQQDVtlbfjnDkHZdQarsJyDXOutZWKnALPWc5G2LuLXmyGVGPMHz5_E8XAFF7tF1/s640/blogger-image-1288211837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-kEnvZZF0tBP12lWzg3PQBSfgg4KsaF-lM1pPQMh1lqFmUrbqwc4gcg0GYy9aSbgyy3shmrtgrTpxQQDVtlbfjnDkHZdQarsJyDXOutZWKnALPWc5G2LuLXmyGVGPMHz5_E8XAFF7tF1/s1600/blogger-image-1288211837.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My second tattoo was a follow up to my first. It reads "Ahavtee Theon" which translates to "I Love God." Nothing too special about this except for I reversed the Hebrew word for God with the Greek and the Greek word for Love with the Hebrew word. Although in the tattoo, the Hebrew still comes first. This is my reaction to the fact that God loves me. This defines how I react in return to that love. I decided to do this tattoo in negative space, my skin being the words. I did this for aesthetic reasons but also to symbolize that no matter how dark things around me may be, this is something that I want to stand out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFCVEgBFhyphenhyphenGyrYe5y2O9ihSZquBjuTH6SoAEhjc3IoX2C5o9SWRPeQ5hl1Cmu6FbCjKjatPZ9kpQPLaAvd1121y1EvsGNi2hxs0biS7ZTC3uMZQsri4JgjeVCPXLVfsj-CyNTggZHeACt/s640/blogger-image-904219060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFCVEgBFhyphenhyphenGyrYe5y2O9ihSZquBjuTH6SoAEhjc3IoX2C5o9SWRPeQ5hl1Cmu6FbCjKjatPZ9kpQPLaAvd1121y1EvsGNi2hxs0biS7ZTC3uMZQsri4JgjeVCPXLVfsj-CyNTggZHeACt/s640/blogger-image-904219060.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My third tattoo is essentially the reverse symbol from Uno. Yep, biblical language to a card game symbol. However, it means alot to me. I started learning about Reversal Theory, which is what nerdy Bible peeps came up with to describe the recurring theme of scripture where things get reversed. The first will be last and the last will be first. The blind are made to see. Blessed are the poor in spirit and a number of other undesired traits. Death is victory. I personally went from being dead in my sins to alive in Christ. So, this tattoo is response to the previous two. Because God loved me and because I love Him, I've been reversed by the power of the cross and I now live a reversed lifestyle in an ungodly world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-3wZeD2CTik8LkQQfL2OXBOn9OhxpHC5jqlIARn2KIF9suQa55JWvSqKZlDEpF41ANzxYUQz1HsvQIBiofhW_UTS19GKQvDcz4YjPBs7OgIL5fyk1r3OJqRTdV3GE4OkZtVpOacQ0HkV/s640/blogger-image-960003046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-3wZeD2CTik8LkQQfL2OXBOn9OhxpHC5jqlIARn2KIF9suQa55JWvSqKZlDEpF41ANzxYUQz1HsvQIBiofhW_UTS19GKQvDcz4YjPBs7OgIL5fyk1r3OJqRTdV3GE4OkZtVpOacQ0HkV/s640/blogger-image-960003046.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tattoo number four is by far my largest and most symbolic piece. It's a dove made out of guns. Now, obviously that requires some unpacking. I got the idea from art pieces made from weapons that were used during the Mozambique genocide. The country of Mozambique was in civil war for around 15 years if my memory serves me right. Once there was peace though, it was volatile because everybody and their grandma had an AK-47. A Christian group inspired by Isaiah 2:4 (They shall beat their swords into plowshares and will no longer learn of war) came in and sought to disarm the country. In exchange for weapons, they would give the people tools of agriculture. A shovel for a rifle, and so on. One village exchanged a whole cache of weapons for a tractor. The group took the weapons and made art pieces out of them, which are really quite extraordinary. This is where the idea came from. The dove is a symbol of peace in almost every culture. The body of the dove is an apple and the stem of the apple refers to the Tree of Life. The apple itself is an allusion to Eden, when humans tried to "get on God's level" and eat of the fruit. I think we still try to do that when we say who deserves to live and who deserves to die. That is a judgment call that only God is righteous enough to make. There are also three words incorporated into the red of the apple. These words are in their original language and are Eiraynay (Greek), Shalom (Hebrew), and Salaam (Arabic). All three words translate to "peace" and also represent cultures that have not always been peaceful, especially with each other. So, it's a symbolic piece that symbolizes peace.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMe4n0s1Wk5RO3KgTwRFaC_CcHJVv9w7Krd-Cfyo49XVV5NydXYGlnxhRESWBZXnxUvQBqEN707ZLDulElgZo1UIkqSUIKtB2aVPzVPZFA_lNq6J8e0QyjxHfB65sqPGieP7crGPmlcsan/s640/blogger-image-362678136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMe4n0s1Wk5RO3KgTwRFaC_CcHJVv9w7Krd-Cfyo49XVV5NydXYGlnxhRESWBZXnxUvQBqEN707ZLDulElgZo1UIkqSUIKtB2aVPzVPZFA_lNq6J8e0QyjxHfB65sqPGieP7crGPmlcsan/s640/blogger-image-362678136.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<br /><br />My most recent tattoo is an armband and an inksplot. The armband consists of 99 shapes and then there is the 1 inksplot. This is an allusion to the parable of the 1 sheep that goes astray and the shepherd cares so much for that sheep that he goes and risks all to find it. It's a reminder to look out for the sheep who's gone astray - the ostracized, the outcast - and the fact that God cares for them <i>deeply. </i>The inksplot is messy, it's not like the others, but it's also redeemed by the blood which it alludes too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwC85VpQ9G_AZ4RE83dAz9xoufsRUcUzzPAZE5W5KFQsqrXVXAW1G-DgJpFVEhLvfEUJOidVd5bRI7d-3HiFGcUfRDiFy2MxdbmKxrN70sGCKcgIajUVmym5PksrNDfUvANdIadwdQuO1/s640/blogger-image-1474815007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwC85VpQ9G_AZ4RE83dAz9xoufsRUcUzzPAZE5W5KFQsqrXVXAW1G-DgJpFVEhLvfEUJOidVd5bRI7d-3HiFGcUfRDiFy2MxdbmKxrN70sGCKcgIajUVmym5PksrNDfUvANdIadwdQuO1/s640/blogger-image-1474815007.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So there you go. There's the story behind my ink. I share it every chance I get.<br /><br />I have ideas for more. I really don't know when I'll stop, but for now I keep getting reminders about how to live and I keep being presented with opportunities to share my faith because of the ink on my body.<br /><br />Stay tuned for more stories. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-56294893171423672752014-09-02T09:56:00.000-05:002014-09-02T11:57:39.831-05:00The 4 Sins of Patriotism & Nationalism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_64HKjJw-nAIkthY4yfqmePmrNPxfqE68Gy4pdQJVLIYjG2BIL8aKvMJwW9NnsMTJ4iY_as28KJS3mO8Q1rLQPK__s2CM4hCMTs2otxQ7kMToUF1E2iGd_IGPOS3GZM-hqEFxIrSQsIL/s1600/becoming_christian_citizen.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_64HKjJw-nAIkthY4yfqmePmrNPxfqE68Gy4pdQJVLIYjG2BIL8aKvMJwW9NnsMTJ4iY_as28KJS3mO8Q1rLQPK__s2CM4hCMTs2otxQ7kMToUF1E2iGd_IGPOS3GZM-hqEFxIrSQsIL/s1600/becoming_christian_citizen.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWONCGvoLezadw9gCdWKA6sZtE-fa0oXdnS0kdCb4WlQhcjmFVuH6GxlE9wG9iUfMlRQRtGTDuMGq4wTmh_HZx1XcEtKJXaw8hhuXk4EIouzhvjMUZz8LlEUqNzc6a8fGNk-sY9b3u51vk/s1600/american-christianity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWONCGvoLezadw9gCdWKA6sZtE-fa0oXdnS0kdCb4WlQhcjmFVuH6GxlE9wG9iUfMlRQRtGTDuMGq4wTmh_HZx1XcEtKJXaw8hhuXk4EIouzhvjMUZz8LlEUqNzc6a8fGNk-sY9b3u51vk/s1600/american-christianity.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you keep up with me on here, on facebook, or in real life, you might have noticed that I don't exactly scream red, white, and blue. I'm a rather unpatriotic, non-nationalistic person, and to some that is offensive, especially to some Christians. Christianity in the United States has been deeply connected to American pride and ideals for quite some time, and so I understand the alarming nature of seeing a Christian "not be patriotic" nor "proud to be an American." At one point in my life, this kind of thing alarmed me too, and I could not understand why some didn't rep the bald eagle and appreciate The American Dream like I did. So, I sympathize a good deal and furthermore would like to offer an explanation for why I believe what I believe in hopes to open up a dialogue on the topic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brief background first. Church and state were far from being connected up until the 4th century when Constantine legalized Christianity. Before this, Christians were fed to lions and martyred, because it was illegal. Some of the most genuine faith heroes we know about, and even ones we never will, came out of this time period because they chose to follow Christ in the face of such adversity. Once Constantine came along, all of this changed, as well as the church at large. There are people who say that we cannot begin to understand what the first century church was like because of a prescription lens that we, the church, got from Constantine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Go through 1700 years of history and you can see the impact this shift has made. The pope was as powerful as many emperors and battled for supremacy because church and state were hardly separable. In the name of Christ, crusaders sought to reclaim the holy land, acting on behalf of the state and slaughtering thousands of people in the name of the church. Come down a few years later and you have American colonists with political freedom in their hearts and religious freedom on their lips throwing off their british oppressors (much like the Zealots wished to do with Rome, but with no backing from Jesus to do so). Such patterns of political oppression (far less than any Christians bore peacefully during the first three centuries of the church) have been equated with God given rights and have put a spark in patriots' hearts for years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now a days, it's common to see "Proud to be an American" t-shirts in church as much as anywhere else in the world. It's not even uncommon for flags to be found in churches as well as for preachers and teachers alike to speak on the price paid for religious freedom. Based on our history as a church, it really is not surprising. Everything makes sense in context, and it is clear to see why the church is so patriotic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But should this be the case? Church, I hold that patriotism and nationalism are behaviors that have no business in our churches. And if you'll bear with me, I'll explain. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">1. The Church Is The New Israel</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once upon a time, church and state were essentially the same thing and this was approved by God. The Israelites were God's chosen people. They were His nation. What's interesting is that even Israel was commanded to take in outsiders.<br /><br />These days, the book of Ephesians lets me know that the Church is the new Israel, and so God's chosen people are no longer associated with a nation. And this chosen people is now inclusive of both Jew and Greek, Slave and Free, American and Iraqi. For Christians then, this would seem to thwart such a strong identity being found in anything but the Body of Christ. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">2. It Labels "Us" And "Them"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having a strong sense of nationalism unavoidably begins to label people outside the cultural norm as "others" for reasons of skin color, language, and a slew of other markers. When we were attacked on 9/11, I remember someone close to me saying that "we should just nuke the entire Middle East." Hopefully that statement is as shocking and disgusting to you as it would be to Jesus. Unfortunately, I know of several Christians that if pressured might say something very similar. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Somehow the whole "love your enemies" gig that Jesus commands goes out the window when it comes to national identity. We can't even love <i>Christians</i> on the other side of the border. Soldiers in both the north and south during the Civil War prayed to the same God for success and protection before filling their fellow brothers in Christ with lead. Church goers in Germany followed their "Christian Nation" into battle during WWII and thought very little of it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There should not be a prayer offered up in a Christian church for "<i>our</i> troops" because the church does not have troops. As Mark Twain eloquently put it in his lesser known writing War Prayer, one cannot pray for victory on their side without praying for failure and death on the other.<br /><br />We have more in common with Christians of enemy nations than we do with the soldiers of our own nation who cause those Christians to suffer. Jesus destroyed all concepts of "them" and we should not be so quick to start drawing lines in the sand. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">3. It Divides Our Allegiance</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The city of Philippi was a major part of battles waged by the Roman empire during the time leading up to Christ's birth. Because of this, the victors of the battle gave the entire city a huge honor - Roman citizenship. In that day, being a Roman citizen was much like being an American today. It was the most advanced and powerful society in the world. When Paul wrote to the church there, he called them Citizens of Heaven, differentiating this citizenship from the earthly one that they held. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The language surrounding Jesus was not new language. Lord and Savior were common titles used for Caesar, for he was essentially their deity. When writers of the New Testament call Jesus Lord and Savior...there is a faint echo of "and Caesar is not" that follows close behind. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is why Christians were fed to lions. Their allegiance was dedicated solely to Christ and there was nothing left for Caesar. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The idea that one could have allegiance to any person or institution other than Christ would have been a ridiculous idea to first century Christians, they would have called it idolatry. In today's world we say the pledge of allegiance in Christian assemblies and think nothing of it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">4. It Loves "The World"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Jesus replies to Pilate's question of "Are You A King?", He replies with the line "My kingdom is </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">not of this world.</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">" I touched on this in my last post pretty heavily, but this line is not a reference to some metaphysical experience. <i>Not Of This World</i> specifically refers to the idea that The Kingdom of God does not operate like the kingdoms of this world. He differentiates His kingdom from the institutions and systems of this world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nationalism and Patriotism do the exact opposite. They applaud and take pride in the institutions of this world that Jesus so clearly wanted to differentiate Himself from. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neither Republicans nor Democrats are the shining lights of Christianity they are so often held up to be. There is no "God party" when measured up to the teachings of Jesus. Nor will there ever be. The way of Jesus simply isn't compatible with</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The World. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I speak almost exclusively of American Christianity because it is what I live in and know, but the principles apply to any and all nations where Christ's church resides. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There should be no church with any nation's flag sharing space with emblems of worship. There should never be patriotic hymns sung in church. No communion thought should ever compare the sacrifice of Jesus with acts done in war. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I understand that some of this doesn't even make sense because the acceptance of Patriotism and Nationalism is </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">foundationally and systemically rooted in American Christianity. It's like having a cataract that renders you to see the world through a blue tint, and never realizing that the world is not blue. It has been engrained within so many of us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, I ask you to question your lens, read scripture, and challenge your value positions accordingly. If you want to discuss any of this, I am more than willing to do that. But I can't sit by and leave the church to wallow in the sins of Babylon without even realizing it. I challenge the church to "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins" (Revelation 18:4)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Works Cited:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of this comes from a working knowledge of things I've read and have adapted with my personal stance on issues, namely</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Camp, Lee C. <i>Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World. </i>Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2003. Print. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sprinkle, Preston. <i>Fight: A Christian Case for Nonviolence. </i>Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2013. Print. </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-34850722179659728792014-06-07T16:06:00.003-05:002014-06-09T16:35:22.281-05:00The Messiah & His Kingdom<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I wrote about a similar
thread of thought a few posts ago discussing Captain America. There are a lot
of allusions to Christ in our culture. Most super heroes (especially characters
like Superman) are essentially messiah figures. Soldiers sometimes sacrifice
their lives for a greater cause. We admire figures who fight for freedom of one
sort or another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Should this be the case
though? Is fighting for freedom a Christlike example? Let’s look at that idea
for a bit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Now, it is not shocking
to me that we have done this in our society and even our churches. After all,
the word Χρίστος (<i>Christos</i>, usually transliterated as “Christ” but more so
translates to “Messiah”) is the word that has the meaning of Savior, and that word can be applied
to many figures depending on perspective and context. First century people did
the exact same thing. The Prince of Peace was born into a world that was
absolutely drenched in violence caused by messiah figures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">In the Old Testament,
God is the people’s Savior and Deliverer. Sometimes He uses figures to help in
this, but it is always by His hand that victory comes. Some of these secondary figures go awry
from time to time though. Gideon ends up seeking personal vengeance,
worshipping idols, and using unethical means of warfare despite such humble and
God filled beginnings. Although we usually paint him as a hero in VBS, Samson was no more than a brute who engaged in all kinds of inappropriate behavior
and even at the end of his life, seeks personal glory instead of glory for God (Judges 16:28).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">In between the Old and
New Testaments, one of the most significant things to happen in Jewish history
was what a man named Judas Maccabee (literally “the hammer”) accomplished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under him, the single most successful Jewish
revolt (at least since the days when God was delivering the Israelites by His own hand) was
achieved. Under the Maccabees, the Jews were able to throw off their Greek
oppressors. The Maccabees eventually start turning on their own people, but
nevertheless, their success “would shape the way Jewish people in Jesus’s day
would understand – and anticipate – the kingdom of God” (Sprinkle, 115). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Many messiah figures
heralded themselves even in Jesus’s lifetime and afterwards. I could go into
the details of these men’s exploits, but they can be summed as essentially
being about throwing off Roman (no longer Greek) oppression in order to bring
back God’s kingdom, sometimes claiming to be prophets, but always showing
themselves as saviors to the people. They pretty much all failed though. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">This was the first
century understanding of what it meant to be a messiah ushering in God’s
kingdom. Enter a Jewish carpenter from a small town who taught people to “turn
the other cheek” and “render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Who could possibly
take this “Messiah” seriously?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">There are many times
when Jesus would inform people <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">NOT</i> to
tell other people that He was the Messiah. Why would He do this? Because the
term itself, as well as what bringing God’s kingdom to earth meant, had been
incredibly tinted by the blood drawn by Maccabean swords.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Jesus would redefine
what Kingdom and Messiah meant. When asked by Pilate if Jesus was a king, Jesus
replied that “My kingdom is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> of
this world. If my kingdom <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">were</i> of
this world, my servants would have been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fighting</i>,
that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the
world” (John 18:36). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-LGz6yfeKgpsP9spIPemhM-6Kzncbrq7LM-NnyJnKFWrLDSqApHBhpV5OguhZ-tfY-cv2Vu4WuaN6xsAjSPANhh-dxoAkg3_U4RKo3v4IPdTmAGC1v_Bp0kMtbp0s55Y2BGA7Kcza5Gz/s1600/Shelf-Sitter-Not-of-this-World-1024x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-LGz6yfeKgpsP9spIPemhM-6Kzncbrq7LM-NnyJnKFWrLDSqApHBhpV5OguhZ-tfY-cv2Vu4WuaN6xsAjSPANhh-dxoAkg3_U4RKo3v4IPdTmAGC1v_Bp0kMtbp0s55Y2BGA7Kcza5Gz/s1600/Shelf-Sitter-Not-of-this-World-1024x1024.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Now, Jesus isn’t
referring to some metaphysical, spiritual thing when He said “not of this
world”, instead he is saying that in His kingdom, the citizens do not act in
the same way that the world does. The same use of “the world” is found
elsewhere, such as “do not love the world,” not meaning the actual world but
the socially constructed systems of the world (Sprinkle, 2013).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">In Jesus’s definition of
God’s kingdom, there is no fighting for it the way that the world does or the
Maccabees did. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">This is why it bothers
me when we “fight” for religious freedom, or for anything really, through either violence or political
means. Jesus had absolutely no intention of overthrowing Rome (a government far
more oppressive than ours has ever been). Instead He challenged it
ideologically through concepts such as social stratification, treatment of the
outcast, economics, and the idea that enemies are to be loved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Fact is, while we are
busy bleeding while fighting our enemies in order to obtain or maintain
religious freedom, Christ is bleeding in order to make our enemies whole. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">There is nothing more
noble than sacrificing one’s life for others, because that is what Christ did.
However, Jesus wanted to differentiate himself from the other “messiahs” who
used violence in order to free people. Jesus absorbed violence into Himself in
order to save people; He <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">never </i>reciprocated
or perpetuated it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I realize that some of this is provocative. As always, feel free to hit me up and we can dialogue about all this. However, let this marinate and permeate your brain so that God's truth, not mine, America's, or even your local church's truth, can be how we think. May we always seek to sharpen one another. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Work Cited:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Sprinkle, Preston. <i>Fight: A Christian Case for Nonviolence. </i>Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2013. Print.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-34746601686320596352014-05-26T17:13:00.000-05:002014-05-26T17:14:06.118-05:00Baptism: All About That Watery Grave<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many of you know I was born and raised in Churches of Christ, some may not. If you know Churches of Christ at all, you likely know two things: you generally don't see instruments and there's a heavy emphasis on baptism. The importance of the first is slowly dwindling as years go by. The second one has stayed more consistent though, and has stirred a good number of conversations in my life. So, that's what I want to talk about for a bit. I will say that I've come a long way in my views of baptism and so maybe this will be a helpful read for you, despite the denomination you come from. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll go ahead and whip out the old phrase that people generally use against Churches of Christ - "They think you have to be baptized to be saved!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's pick that apart a bit. The first way people sometimes take that is that baptism saves you. Some in Churches of Christ may think that...but it's not true...and most of us don't actually think that. Everybody knows that Jesus saves people. I was immersed in water PLENTY of times at church camp, mainly by much larger kids in the pool area. Baptism apart from Jesus is absolutely pointless. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, let's play with that statement a little bit. We do not think baptism is <i>how </i>a person is saved as much as <i>when </i>a person is saved. That is a much more accurate representation of most people in Churches of Christ. Honestly, this makes a lot of sense to me, and I'll tell you why. The language and metaphor surrounding baptism just point to it. It is at this point in time that we are said to reenact Christ's death and resurrection, dying to our sins and being raised up in newness of life (Romans 6:3-7). Many biblical authors also point to baptism as the point that one comes into contact with the blood of Christ which washes us clean of iniquity. Go and search baptism for yourself and look at the metaphor and language surrounding it. Alot of the time, it's these images and transportation language, going from one thing to another like in Galatians 3:27 when it discusses being clothed with Christ. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, many jump on that and say "hey, baptism is a work and we can't be saved by works." On one level they are right, and on another I feel there is some misunderstanding. I'll reiterate - NOTHING saves you but Jesus. However, we have a part somewhere in this whole thing. There is a level of obedience in everybody's theology. The Sinner's Prayer is something <i>we </i>do. Repentance is something <i>we </i>do. Believing is something <i>we </i>do. Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior is something <i>we </i>do. Baptism is in fact one of the most passive acts of obedience. You are <i>baptized </i>(passive), <i>raised up</i> in newness of life (passive) and <i>cleansed </i>by Jesus's blood (passive). Obedience on any level is a response to what Jesus did for us on the cross. The Sermon on the Mount makes it pretty apparent that Jesus demands some obedience of us, so I'm not sure why people get hung up on "works." After all, NOTHING saves you but Jesus, but what if He cleanses you and raises you up from that watery grave where your sins are put to death?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, some of you are still thinking "I'm not saying I don't believe in baptism, my church does that, I just was never taught that it was the <i>point </i>of salvation. If I get baptized at a later date during a group baptism or whatever would that still count?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As far my personal stance, I've already stated why I see baptism as so important. It's the language surrounding it. Also, read Acts. There is an immediate response from people to be baptized. It is often said that people received the gift of the Holy Spirit in accompaniment to it (and then gifts being associated with the laying on of hands by the apostles). Now, there are exceptions to this, but it's the general pattern laid out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, this is where I'd like to address some of my own brethren. Shall we limit or comprehend God's grace? I do not believe we can comprehend it, nor should we ever try to limit it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alexander Campbell once stated that he would call any person trying to follow Christ a Christian, something I very much agree with. After writing this, he received a letter from a lady asking if he believe that baptism was necessary for salvation. He replied that he did. At this point, she asked him how he could call those who did not practice baptism in exactly the scriptural way a true Christian. His reply was that while he would always teach what he saw as the most scripturally evident means of baptism, how could he possibly limit God's grace by saying it could only be done in one particular way? After all, do you <i>honestly </i>think you get every little piece of the Bible right? We strive for the most scriptural, Christlike way, but nevertheless we are human and we will fall short. So, he stated that the only people he truly worried for were those who despised baptism as a practice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my life, I agree with that. I very much see the necessity and pattern set forth for the practice of baptism and will always teach that. However, if you are truly following Jesus with all your life and you have not completely neglected baptism as a practice, I will call you brother or sister. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In all reality, this is inclusive to most folks. Prettttttty much everybody practices baptism is one way or another. Not many (hopefully) truly are just like "heck with that piece of crap work, we're just gonna believe and think happy thoughts." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, there will always be the people that just try to throw a wrench in things. Example, what about the criminal on the cross? Well, Jesus is pretty cool and He pretty much has the authority to do that. Remember though, we are asked to participate in His death and resurrection by the apostles. What about the gentiles who received the Holy Spirit without baptism (Acts 10)? Well, there was some pretty crazy stuff happening around that time. People were getting struck dead (Ananias and Sapphira) and all kinds of stuff that would make the church today audibly say "whoa." It's the more general pattern set for the church that should be examined, not rare happenstances. What if a person is going to get baptized and they are in a car accident on their way to church? C'MON!!!! Now you're just being adverse. You will rarely run into a person who believes that God's grace isn't big enough to cover things when something absolutely terrible happens. That doesn't mean the concept is something to be ignored. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, go read up on it. Read Acts (there's a lot of good stuff in there) and see what the general pattern is. Note the language surrounding the event. Do some study. Be inquisitive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, I'll end this post by telling you to always remember: There is NOTHING that can save you but Jesus Christ. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-21484407802085079342014-05-04T17:44:00.001-05:002014-05-04T19:46:15.553-05:00God's Plan?<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recently I've heard people talking about tragedy and how it relates to "God's plan." It goes something like this, "I know [tragedy] happened but I also know that it's part of God's plan."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I may be so bold, I'd like to address this by saying - No it's not. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many of you know my life story, many of you don't. My father died just before I was two years old and my mom was pregnant with my younger sister. Talk about getting your world rocked. Subsequently, I've dealt with a number of other losses of people I know and love. All throughout my life I've seen people leave this earth in less than pleasant ways, sometimes way sooner than is normal. People try to comfort those who have lost by saying stuff like "It's part of God's plan," "God must have needed another angel," and the like. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quite frankly, that's bullcrap. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My personal understanding of God's providence does not include God taking my father in a car crash while my mother, unborn sister, and myself were left without a person to fill such a vital role. It is not God's plan for people to get cancer, suffer terribly, and die early. It's simply not. Now, I don't just think this because the idea of God causing these things is troublesome to me, I think this because the Bible informs me so. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's start at the beginning. In Eden, we see God's real plan for humanity. Perfection. Shalom - nothing is missing, nothing is broken. That is God's plan. Unfortunately, we messed that up and we now live in a fallen world due to sin. Now, God can make anything beautiful out of what is ugly. So, when we did sin and fall, He made a way for us to come back into relationship with Him. However, it was not His intention for us to disobey Him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later on, when the Israelites rebel against God, He punishes them by means of other nations and invasions. The interesting thing is, God always ends up punishing these other nations for the violence they do against Israel as well. So it's saying that God makes Assyria and other nations attack Israel only to punish them for obeying Him? I don't think so. I think that these nations were hungry for expansion, God gives people the will to choose what they do, and so God used an already bloodthirsty nation to fulfill His need to punish Israel. However, it was still that nation's decision. God can make anything work for His glory. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Think of the countless saints who unfortunately died early in life, but think about the impact that their lives made on this world. Martyrs have inspired others to stronger faith for centuries, and sometimes even when a death is not because of persecution, that person's life makes a huge impact on this world. I saw this most recently with a young man who was in a youth group I worked with. He died due to heart complications one night while running. However, you should have seen the response of others to this. His life was one of such witness and love that he will be inspiring men and women for years to come, despite it being so short due to living in a fallen world where heart conditions and sickness exist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my own story, a man came along and became my father when I needed one, and has loved me unconditionally from the day he took on that challenge. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So is tragedy a part of God's plan? I don't think so. That's the result of living in an imperfect world where Satan still operates today. Did God need another angel? Nope. God doesn't <i>need </i>anyone, although He desires us strongly. Furthermore, we don't become angels. Nowhere in scripture can that idea be found. That is nothing more than commercialized Christianity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I realize I'm kind of dogging on all those "feel good" things out there and sound a bit like a downer. But stop and think. Would you really rather hold the opinion that God gave someone cancer, or a heart condition, or took my father away in a car accident? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In all reality, I present this viewpoint in order to give a better understanding of tragedy and pain. Many have left faith because they have blamed God for allowing or even causing such things. I've already stated why I don't think He causes it. In terms of allowing, I present this final thought that I've used before in blogs, but it is so fitting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"...Jesus isn't magic. Jesus is human. Jesus is the very incarnation of God; He's God with us - to bring us not magic but accompaniment, not "healing"...but salvation...any healing that is more than a temporary solution - that is, in other words, transformation...demands deep accompaniment. It demands that another enter into my world and bear my suffering, not to magically take it away but to die with me if needed...The cross reveals this Jesus: not a magical one but a suffering one, not a God who takes away pain but a God who joins us in it."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are there more questions? Yes there are. Do I have all the answers? Not at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of the day though, this gives me rest. I know that despite what happens in this life, "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful servants" (Psalm 116:15) because they no longer have to suffer in this fallen world. God holds them in His hand in a place so much better. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reference:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Root, Andrew, and Kenda C. Dean. <i>The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry. </i>Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2011. Print. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-24795939573001525632014-04-15T09:30:00.000-05:002014-04-15T09:30:27.008-05:00An Honest Political Opinion<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEzkBvQPnBuFWTYewZfS2ThkQopT7rdYQEBi-lxCpofn5QDq_Quo2fofyyjbAopkCz70ZoX8p4aEqmLEPXHlydQyGUlIQ4ctjadZLEZHJK0-AcbXG_gesSFseUvBuIzesnytsloGutyPE/s1600/Poli-tics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEzkBvQPnBuFWTYewZfS2ThkQopT7rdYQEBi-lxCpofn5QDq_Quo2fofyyjbAopkCz70ZoX8p4aEqmLEPXHlydQyGUlIQ4ctjadZLEZHJK0-AcbXG_gesSFseUvBuIzesnytsloGutyPE/s1600/Poli-tics.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Let the controversy continue. I see the
church being divided when it comes to political opinion in a pretty hard way.
It divides the nation, but we let it divide the church as well. With something
so dividing, I feel like the discussion should be had in a very honest and open
way. So, let's get into it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I guess I'll start with the Religious Right.
This has been the party most associated with Christianity for quite some time.
However, the only real stand-out point between just the Republican party and
the Religious Right is that these are the people who would have us be a distinctly
Christian nation guided by Christian morals. Now, that sounds pretty good at
first glance, but it gets a bit muddled up in my opinion. Take the emphasis put
on not allowing same-sex marriage as an example. Since marriage according to
the Bible is one man and one woman, this party does not support it. I'll say
that I don't at surface level agree with same-sex marriage, but let me explain.
Christian marriage would not allow for it, but do Christians have a monopoly on
marriage? Hinduism practices marriage, so it’s not a distinctly Christian
practice. Should we outlaw any non-Christian marriage? Should Vegas weddings be
made illegal since they are often far from the Biblical example of marriage? It
would seem hard to push all of our Christian ideals off on the nation at large.
I've said it multiple times before, I say it now, we are NOT a Christian nation
that is set apart by God. Israel was the only one, and the church is now. So,
the church is set apart, but our nation is not. God gives us freewill to be a
part of His bride; people should not be legally bound to live in the church.
I'm sure I'll end up saying more about this, but for now let's just leave it at
that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">OK. The Republican Party. Marked by small
government, capitalism, working hard, and elephants. Like I said before, the
Religious Right isn't really far off from here. So how does it measure up in
terms of Christianity? I should say to begin that I think this party works
pretty well when it comes to creating a prosperous nation. However, prosperity
isn’t a concern of Jesus, and in fact, he condemns it from time to time. 1 John
3:17 says “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother or sister
in need, yet closes their heart against them, how does God's love abide in that
person?” The same might be said of those who despise all forms of financial aid
to the poor because it “builds character” and “you have to earn what you get.” Granted,
many make the argument that this is the church’s job, and not the government’s,
and I would agree with that. However, most who say this (and in all reality, me
when it comes down to it) really are not anywhere near where Jesus would have
us be in terms of benevolence and compassion. Most of the time, we don’t give a
crap about the poor, and if I said that from a pulpit, many might care more that
I said crap than they do about the poor. Jesus loved the poor though, and asks
us to do the same. What if “loving your neighbor as yourself” actually meant
not spending more than half your income on yourself while spending the other
half on your poor neighbor? It’s a heck of a thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The church described in the NT is one marked
by persecution and love. They willingly went the second mile when asked by a
Roman soldier to carry a pack one mile and they were often martyred by a nation
that rejected them. This seems to be a far stretch from the 2<sup>nd</sup>
Amendment loving, gun toting, give me liberty or we’ll secede mindset of the
Republican Party. This is also the party that is most likely to support the
death penalty and war, both of which do not exactly measure up to the “enemy
love” ideal set forth by Jesus. Jesus wouldn’t have us love “Merica” and all
the butt kicking that comes with it, he would have us love our enemies and turn
the other cheek. The government “does not bear the sword in vain” (Romans
13:4), however, we are told just a few words back that as the church, we should
“never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God” (Romans 12:19). So,
it would appear we don’t get to be a part of that. We instead are told to
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them…Live in harmony
with one another…Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is
honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live
peaceably with all” (Romans 12:14-18). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Now it’s time to switch to Left wing of
things. Both parties like bigger government in some areas, this side just likes
it less in issues of values and morals and more in the domain of finances and
other areas. Christians in this party tends to not feel as though they can push
morals off on people, but include other issues of life in this. Most notably,
abortion most commonly gets thrown in with this party. I’ve written more
extensively on being “pro-life” and so I will just recommend looking back, but
this tends to be an issue that gets at a lot of Christians, and I can’t blame
them. 50,000,000 babies have been killed via this means, and I wonder if we’d
give that more of a thought if they would have all been born first? While I
don’t think we can push our morals off on people, I think this is an issue that
Christians should work to better because a healthy respect for life is a great
attribute for a country to have (and that’s all I’ll say here since I already
wrote on it). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">This party usually gets the wrap for being
“socialistic” or “communistic” as well. Honestly, that kind of sounds like what
the early church was about, at least at a lower community level. One of the
things that gets me though is how these things tend to be incredibly wasteful
and godless. No nation has ever tried “communism” without “atheism” being very
attached to the idea, and that’s kind of unsettling to me. I don’t know why it
is, it just is. “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be
burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” says Paul (1 Cor 13:3). This makes
me not so sure this can be praised as “Christlike” if it does not associate
with Christ. Plus, at a national level, the idea just really doesn’t seem to
work out the way utopians want it to. Just an observation. <br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I'll say it, labeling this party as communism isn't fair. However, This party is surely connected with larger levels of governmental control in these areas. Whenever the government runs an arena, there will be insane amounts of waste because of the concepts of third-party purchasing (someone using someone else's money to buy something they will not personally use). So, there will always be waste. I think some of this is actually connected to the idea of doing something without love as I mentioned above with 1 Corinthians 13:3. It's impersonal. Also, programs that do seek to help people usually perpetuate the cycle of poverty rather than break it. While I say that, it <i>is</i> better than nothing. There are times when I am running somewhere and am able to do little more than give a few dollars to the person with the sign on the side of the road. However, this does nothing to break the cycle of poverty. Neither does a single meal. The answer to breaking the cycle of poverty is love, not money. When you have the type of love that frees you from monetary selfishness, there's the ticket. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Now, I don't plan on everyone agreeing with everything I just said. I'm sure there are countless counterpoints and differing views. However, it's cool because the rest of my view actually makes up for any inaccuracies or discrepancy in opinion.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">
This is where we come to my real opinion about politics. What party do I
associate with? NADER!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Just kidding. None of them.</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">How could I vote for a party that doesn’t
respect life or a slew of other things the way I feel they should? Neither side
is the Jesus side of things despite each claiming to be. Here’s what Jesus said
about politics “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s”
(Luke 20:25). Pay your taxes. That’s all Jesus says about it. That’s really all
that Paul says to do in Romans 13 as well, in addition to submitting to authorities
(e.g. not breaking the law unless that law contradicts God’s law). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">A guy named David Lipscomb taught (concerning
politics) that Christians should neither vote nor participate in government,
because that was earthly kingdom business and we are to be about Kingdom of
Heaven work. The only thing he said we should do is obey the law to the extent
that it doesn’t make us go against God, and to pay our taxes. I think it’s
possible to be very actively pro-life and benevolent without being involved in
government. I think when we are about Kingdom work we do what really needs
doing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The early church was not concerned about
making any government more churchlike. They focused only on making the church
more Christlike. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">For Lipscomb, being involved in government
meant having to make too many decisions that simply were not in line with
Christian thought. After all, the government is an avenger, and Christians are
told not to be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So, am I saying that it’s wrong to be an
active member in government or vote? Nope. I think there are good reasons not
to but I don’t think I can truly justify saying that as a hard and fast rule.
However, I am very willing to say that earthly kingdom work is 1,000% second to
heavenly kingdom work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">For myself, I don’t vote and am certainly
not in line to change things about our government. I am far too concerned with
changing things about our church that seems to be so nation influenced to be
concerned with any of that other garbage. I want to change the hearts of men
and women, not the heart of an institution. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">After all, discipleship is strongest in
situations where persecution exists. The early church we admire so much existed
within a governmental frame that was far more oppressive and negative towards
Christianity than ours is. It was when the church became associated with the
state (Constantine) that some of the strongest corruption entered the church.
It seems the church is more negatively influenced by the state when associated
with it than the state is positively influenced by the church. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The church does not need the government in
order to be effective in this world; the opposite may be true in fact. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Quite frankly, I think the church has better
things to worry about, especially on something that divides people so often and
makes them so lividly angry. "<o:p></o:p>If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all" (Romans 12:18)</span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-78719563658921719392014-04-06T13:50:00.000-05:002014-04-06T13:55:28.315-05:00Captain America: The Red, White, and Blue Jesus<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeu92mwNlj-W4rKkcnFAUhX9JBpWGqM0p8_AIAhXdlT5Ltf03NO-NF0I8C9aKBtfpANovcVpSrdBqsrZTo_9bBVmIjIB_Aq2lTP1k2LFJzpeatrYGXjeT3Adl6w7B6g0ObjuPZ8BEfD5pO/s1600/Captain_America_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeu92mwNlj-W4rKkcnFAUhX9JBpWGqM0p8_AIAhXdlT5Ltf03NO-NF0I8C9aKBtfpANovcVpSrdBqsrZTo_9bBVmIjIB_Aq2lTP1k2LFJzpeatrYGXjeT3Adl6w7B6g0ObjuPZ8BEfD5pO/s1600/Captain_America_poster.jpg" height="320" width="244" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So, got to see the new
Captain America movie, and it was really quite good. Kept me on my toes the
whole time and it really did just pack a cinematic punch. Much better than the
first one. There was action, adventure, ethics, and allegory. So, I highly
recommend it. Great movie. But let’s deal with that last descriptor, allegory
for a bit. Note: this will be brief; I'm sure there are other things to talk about. These are just the highlights that I saw. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I can’t say this was the
director’s intention, but I saw such a strong allegory between Captain America
and Jesus. He’s sacrificial (even from the beginning of the first movie), a leader,
justice minded, above reproach, and brings freedom to people. Now, all those
are great attributes that both the character and the Savior share, but there is
something different about the movie guy – all of those attributes are just
dripping with red, white, and blue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">He’s sacrificial for
people…and the American dream. He’s justice minded…with the constitution clinched in fist (figuratively). He brings people freedom…from tyrannical fascists. He
possesses many of the qualities and attributes that we see in Jesus, he just
possesses a very American version of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Why do we want Jesus to
be a butt kicker? Mark Driscoll makes the argument that Jesus was not a pansy by looking at the end of times,
and says that he doesn’t want to follow a Savior he could beat up. I don’t feel like
a good number of people are far behind that line of thought. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">What Captain America, as
well as all super hero movies teach me is that we have a deep and desperate
yearning for a savior. However, we would much rather him be strong, look hot,
dress like it’s the 4<sup>th</sup> of July, and preferably want Hitler to be
taken down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Really wrestle with this
– would Jesus kill Hitler? Now, I don’t plan on answering that question or the
question of whether it would be right to do so, after all, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
was an avid Christian pacifist and was also one of the leading minds of
operation Valkyrie. It’s a question Christians have struggled with for years.
But really stop and ponder. What would Jesus do?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Now, some people will
read that and say “You’re saying Jesus would do <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nothing</i>?” to which I would reply, "He did everything." Why must we
always see every solution in violent terms? In all reality, that violence hasn’t
really worked in every case (if not most cases) throughout history. I will say
that Romans 13 describes the government as a retributive institution, so
perhaps God was bringing Hitler’s reign of terror to an end, but my question
remains of would Jesus had been an active, violent part in that? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Captain America <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fights </i>for what is right. Jesus <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">died </i>for what is right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Now, this allegory isn’t
all bad. There are positive aspects too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">For starters, Captain
America values life immensely. Granted, he still kicks the crap out of his
enemies in the name of freedom, but he doesn’t bust out the heavy artillery
(minus his super boomerang shield) almost at all. He’d rather people live than
die, and that’s something that truly comes out in the movie in two HUGE
ways...if you haven’t seen the movie, I suggest skipping the next paragraph. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">SPOILER ALERT: The first
and foremost display of this is in his taking down of the fascist means of
person elimination. I’m not sure everyone picked up on it, but the technology
used by the German cult thing was basically a holocaust super weapon. It
predicted what a person’s future would be like (by examining their past) to determine
if they would live or die. Now, this could almost sound good. After all, this
rids society of murderers, thieves, and so on. However, the movie portrays
something else. When the machine collects its targets, EVERYONE seems to be one
the list. If God wiped all the wicked out…it’d be an empty earth. Not a one of
us are clean without the blood of Jesus. This is why we’re told not to judge.
Second thing. I think that Bucky represents humanity, in particular the
scoffers at the cross, in this allegory. Once Captain America finishes his
mission, he refuses to fight Bucky, but instead shows sacrificial love to him
to the point of death if that is what will come. It echoes Jesus when He said
to “forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Jesus absorbed
violence into Himself; He didn’t reciprocate it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">OKAY, it’s safe to read
again if you haven’t seen it. So, Captain America taught me a lot. He taught me
a lot about God, he taught be about Jesus (both comparison AND contrast), and
he really taught me about our values as a nation and a church within that
nation. I hope and pray that if you met the rejected, mistreated, bloodied and
bruised Jesus in the street and Captain America walked by, you’d take the
Christ. He alone can save, the rest is just flash and smoke. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Captain America may
fight so that people can have a slew of freedoms including freedom to practice
religion, but Jesus died so that you can have spiritual freedom, and He asks
that you worship Him despite whether you have the freedom to or not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-38056639704343205522014-03-30T21:57:00.000-05:002014-03-31T18:43:44.025-05:00The Bible In 1400 Words<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnm1F4FsbQk25rjTV57EH3-7KwiMOzqJX21Sl7ckfa8ZF6IYYejlRBed4CJAKp6AUqfg9XZVcHic8ouSKMnbNpnd4sH0n3FQP_uCA8vhu5OC6RFv7DbWyEcVBN-nphDJsX3uD6rfht8Rl/s1600/bible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnm1F4FsbQk25rjTV57EH3-7KwiMOzqJX21Sl7ckfa8ZF6IYYejlRBed4CJAKp6AUqfg9XZVcHic8ouSKMnbNpnd4sH0n3FQP_uCA8vhu5OC6RFv7DbWyEcVBN-nphDJsX3uD6rfht8Rl/s1600/bible.jpg" height="240" width="320"></a></div>
<br>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So I started thinking in
the shower about how I would present The Bible and how it all works and flows
if I was given the task. Here we go. There could be a perception that there is
a lot of discontinuity in the Bible and at times, that may almost be right.
There are certain stories and topics that seem to contradict others and what
not. However, there is a way of piecing all the really big themes together.
Granted, this is only one take on it. I am sure that there are several themes
that you could trace through all of scripture, however, that would be volumes
of work. I plan on trying to sum up my thoughts in a single blog post. So,
strap in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">We start out this story
in a garden. And this place is good, God says so Himself. Now, whether you take
the first part of Genesis literally or figuratively does not matter too much,
the lessons remain. In the beginning was perfection and shalom. Shalom, a word
that is translated as "peace" but goes so far beyond that. It represents
completeness and being whole, lacking nothing. A great way to think about it was
given to me some time back – Nothing is missing, nothing is broken. That’s
shalom. That is where creation starts. There was not a single thing that was
not perfect. There was no sin, there was no wanting, there was no strife or
enmity. We shall call this the Edenic ideal. The way God wanted things to be. During
this time, God dwelled amongst His creation, walking with them daily.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Sin enters the story and
perfection and shalom are lost. But, God has a plan. He wants to make things
right again. He wants to offer shalom, relationship, and dwell with his creation
once again. The main reason that sin enters the world is that we tried to be on
God’s level, and that is never good. We are asked to mimic Him in love and
mercy, knowing that we will fall short, but we started wanting to be like Him
in other ways, having knowledge that we are incapable of exercising rightly.
God is the author of life, He gives it and can take it away for He is holy and
just. Humankind tried to do this as well, we see it with Cain and Able and
later on in the story God decides to start over new by wiping out humanity
because “the earth was full of violence” (Gen 6:11). The Edenic ideal of shalom was long
gone, and now people were deciding to play God, deciding who could live and who
could not. God could no longer dwell physically with His people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The next major piece in
getting us back to that Edenic ideal was the Law. Now, this was an imperfect
law and the Bible does not hide that in the least. It made great improvements
on the culture of that time, but still there is violence and things that go
against the ideal. As an example, things like polygamy and divorce were allowed
in the Old Testament and Law. This was not God’s ideal, as can be seen by
creation and as is attested to by Jesus himself, but the Law as a whole made
great improvements on the standards of God’s people. As we progressed through
time, our relationship changed, just as any normal human does. We don’t hand
out driver’s licenses at age 5, the rules change as time progresses. The Law is
talked about this way, described as a nanny or guardian (Gal 3), necessary for
humankind in it’s young years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">This is a unique part of
the story in terms of God’s dwelling. God is wanting to dwell with His people
again, moving back towards the Edenic ideal, and so this is also a progression.
God attempts to make an earthly location His dweilling place, but He cannot be
around that which is unholy. This is one of the reasons that God has His people
drive out the inhabitants who are defiling the land of Canaan. This is to be God's dwelling place on earth. The OT is in many ways
about the external, including this arena. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">One of the more helpful
things to remember reading the OT is knowing the difference between something
being <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">described </i>and something being <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">prescribed. </i>Many stories are recorded
about people and a lot of it is far from good, after all, if someone were to
catalogue your life in detail, you likely wouldn’t want your mother to read it.
However, that does not mean that God wished every piece of every story in the
Bible to happen. Sometimes it states clearly that this is no bueno. Sometimes
though, the story is merely reported as it happened. It is described. So, it is
necessary to do this at times in the OT when there is the feeling of
discontinuity in the story I am unfolding. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The prophets make up a
good bit of the latter part of the OT. They began to foretell of a time when
things would change, and they particularly started condemning things like
violence, injustice, and trust in military prowess. Idolatry was a huge concern, for
nothing should be trusted over God. God is also consistent in His ethic of
needing His dwelling place on earth purified. For this reason, God sometimes
even purifies the land of His own people when they become corrupt, and He does
this in the form of exile by foreign nations. Some of these prophets talked
about a man who would change all this, and pointed to where the story was
heading. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">To us a Savior is born.
This was the part of God’s plan that would be the key piece in restoring the
Edenic ideal He sought to establish from the beginning. Jesus taught enemy
love, prayed for those who persecuted Him, and explained the intention behind
the Law that He himself followed. It is in the ethics of Jesus that we begin to
see the possibility of perfection and sanctity once again, but it comes at a
great price. The ethics Jesus teaches (e.g. Sermon on the Mount) are extremely
difficult to follow here on this earth, because they foreshadow something else.
Most NT scholars agree that the miracles of Jesus point towards the future.
When He healed someone of disease and forgave them of sin, He showed that in
His Father’s kingdom, there will be no more sickness, no more sin. Jesus asks the
same of us. We live a life that foreshadows a day when that Edenic ideal will
be completely and utterly restored – the day that we get to be with God in
heaven forever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">God’s dwelling can now
be inside of humans, moving from external to internal. The blood of Jesus is
able to purify in ways that no sacrifice before could, and so God’s spirit can
finally reside within. This is why Jesus emphasized inner purity and extremely
high ethical standards. A cleansing of the heart is needed, not of the land. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The rest of the NT is
comprised of authors writing to ministers and churches, telling them how to be
this Kingdom of God here on earth. And for quite some time, that’s exactly what
they did. They showed love to all, even their enemies, they sought purity from
the filth of the world, and they paid for it dearly because this world is not
yet over. They were often martyred because living out Kingdom life of loving
enemies and not fighting back on this side of heaven often does not work out by
worldly standards, but it does point towards the future when all enmity and
strife will once again be forgotten words. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So, you can see how
eternity is bookended with places of perfect shalom – nothing is missing,
nothing is broken. After the fall and the serious and quick decline of
humankind, God has been working towards getting us back to that state of being,
and it is most fully realized on this earth in the form of Jesus coming,
redeeming us, dwelling in us, but also showing a completely weird and crazy set
of ethics to live by. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So, that’s the Bible in
under 1400 words. It’s not the complete story, but definitely a significant
part of it. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and maybe gained something from it. Most
of all though, I hope you seek to live out the Edenic ideal that God wanted for
His creation from the beginning. Shalom to you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657673835357859603.post-75581913759005131962014-03-03T18:00:00.000-06:002014-03-03T22:26:09.312-06:00A Systemic Look At David<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David, son of Jesse, is possibly one of the most recognized people in the entire Bible. His story is a rich and colorful one, his heart was one after God's own, but he was also a guy who failed at alot of things. It's the last two reasons that I think we like him so much, because he is such a prime example of what God's grace can truly mean. I'd like to take a very brief look at an aspect of his story that perhaps is overlooked though, and that is a systemic look. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the most basic point, systems theory "focuses on the interconnectedness of elements within all living organisms, including the family" (Gladding, 450). Many of you know that I am training to be a marriage and family therapist. It is through looking at systems and families' patterns of interactions that we treat both family and individual problems. More than pulling out a diagnostic manual or evaluating dreams, we think that most people are troubled by negative interactions within their family. Let me illustrate. As a youth minister, there's no doubt that someday a mother, father or both will drop a kid off at my door at tell me to "fix them" because they are misbehaving or doing whatever. At this point, I will politely tell them that they are most likely the problem, and without the entire family working together, the kid's problems will persist. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, it is through this lens that I want to look at David. What got David where he ended up? No doubt greed, lust, and a little thirst for fighting that he seemed to have, but what else?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's start at the beginning. We find David as a mere shepherd boy who is anointed by Samuel to be the next king. What major accomplishments does David have to deserve this honor (which really isn't too much of an honor because God wanted to be their only king)? Guarding sheep, and taking out a lion or bear on occasion with a slingshot. He was obviously pretty good with a sling, but he wasn't much of a warrior. Also amongst his accomplishments is harp playing, and he was pretty good at it. It was this gift that brought him to meet somebody, a king named Saul. The reason Saul needed some harp playing was because God's spirit had left him, and in fact, seemed to reside with David now. Saul now is tormented, troubled in the mind. Music seemed to help though. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cut scenes, David goes to bring food to his brothers who are in a standstill battle. While he's there, he sees a pesky oaf named Goliath who is cursing God's name and decides that this simply will not do, so he decides to take him out. Saul doesn't seem to recognize the newfound hero (1 Sam 17:58), even though he's the musician. Before David goes out against Goliath, Saul tries to give David his armor. It doesn't fit, and David essentially says "that's not my style." But, from the get go, you can see Saul's potential influence. He tries to make an ironclad warrior out of a shepherd. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are perks to doing the king a favor: riches and Saul's own daughter. So now David is Saul's son-in-law. David also befriend's Saul's son Jonathan, and the two become as close as brothers. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He's now in the family. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saul even makes David commander over his men of war because he continues to send David out to fight and he has success. Things are looking up for David it would seem. The people even sing songs about him (while simultaneously insulting Saul) "Saul has killed his thousands, David his Tens of Thousands." It's hyperbole, but it does show society's expectations of David, this new war hero. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This song made Saul pretty upset, and the next day Saul actually hurls a spear at David. TWICE. David never once retaliates against Saul, and Saul sends David out to fight the Philistines in order to get him out of his sight. Saul even uses his own daughters as a means of bribery (marriage for Philistine...parts) to get David to go out and fight against the Philistines more and more, hoping that at the frontlines, David would die (sounds familiar). Saul continues to try and kill David, creating more and more violent situations, both by himself and by other enemies. All the while, David does what he is told, never retaliates against Saul, and is blessed by God (in many ways, but to Saul's distaste, by keeping him alive). (All this can be found in 1 Samuel 16 and onward). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cut forward a few years and David is now King, the best that Israel ever saw except for God in the beginning and Jesus himself. God tells David that He has blessed him, taken care of him, and considers him a wonderful servant. However, God tells David he will not be allowed to build the temple because "You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth" (2 Chronicles 22:8). Also amongst David's issues (although not connected to the temple) is his most famous encounter with Bathsheba, a married woman. He and Bathsheba get pregnant, which David tries to hide. He goes so far as to have Uriah, her husband, killed by sending him to the frontlines, a trick he learned from Saul. Maybe David learned from Saul that all it takes to get a woman you want is a little bloodshed. Violence was Saul's answer, and unfortunately, David occasionally acted in the same way. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So you can see that Saul had a huge impact on David, and society did as well. A shepherd boy becomes a warrior with too much blood on his hands because of the world he was thrust into. God gave him victory, but not always the battle it would seem. David lived up to the expectations that both Saul and the people of Israel had of him - he killed his tens of thousands. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is all incredibly fascinating because it shows the true power of systems. As I have said, I think that most of our problems are caused by the negative interactions that we have with other people, especially those closest to us. I do not think that there are genetic factors that solely lead to our downfall, I think we learn it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is another lesson to be learned from David though. Despite all of the negative familial impact he had from his father-in-law and society's thirst for a warrior, he also shows us that people can choose to be different, although constantly impacted. David is called a man after God's own heart because of how repentant and servantlike he was. David was influenced negatively, and it shows, but he also made distinct decisions to be different. It is these decisions that we admire and preach on time and time again. At the end of the day, we are responsible for our decisions, but making the right decision might very well mean looking at the influences that you have in your life at both a familial and societal level. David made the decision to not retaliate against Saul, to seek after God, to follow His guidance, and to repent when he messed up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I hope you enjoyed this perspective. I also hope though that you are able to examine your systems and truly seek to follow after God with all of your life, as well as set the example of how a system can influence for good as well. May our families and churches be places where we set the right example, and may we be called a people after God's own heart. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Work Cited: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gladding, Samuel T. <i>Family Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice. </i>Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill, 2002. Print. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11246238529350745199noreply@blogger.com0