Entries Tagged 'theoblogy' ↓

If I am asked, as a purely intellectual question, why I believe in Christianity, I can ony answer, “For the same reason that an intelligent agnostic disbelieves in Christianity.”  I believe in it quite rationally upon the evidence.  But the evidence in my case, as in that of the intelligent agnostic, is not realy in this or that alleged demonstration; it is in a enormous accumulation of small but unanimous facts.

pg. 216, Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

G.K. then goes on for around about 10 pages… giving examples of and arguments against that which an intelligent agnostic would use to disprove God, or in the least to give reasons one could not believe in God.  Which in G.K.’s mind is a decision based on un-true demonstrations or as he puts it chance rationalist arguments.  To begin to follow his line is a exercise of the mind, though it is very logical, it is also very philosophical (meaning: big words and complex sentences).   I encourage anyone to pick up this book and ponder its words… I often recommend Orthodoxy to people with intelligent determination and ambitious doubts as it took me 2 years and many a G2 to sift through the language, thoughts and arguments.

Last week I pulled the pin and dropped a grenade into my comfortable life… In the aftermath many are confused and I am staggering about… not in a daze, but in apprehension. It seems I have a limited time to decide what is next, and in this angst, I am constantly seeking out God’s word for my life.

This morning I found myself reading and meditating on 1 Samuel 3. Samuel’s initial response to God’s voice was to think that Eli was calling him, not realizing it was God who was speaking, Samuel went in and woke Eli up 3 times… before he finally was advised by Eli to say to the Lord, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

I have always had a deep affinity with Samuel, who plays a pivotal role in the transition from Israel being ruled by prophetic Judges to the appointment of a King, and the beginning of the end of the Kingdom of Israel. In such a time of upheaval, the people of Israel show brash arrogance and envy. Wanting to be like the kingdoms that surround them, they give up their submission to a loving and protective God to put their trust in a man, a king. And throughout this turbulent time, Samuel stays his course as a messenger of God… speaking truth while the Israelite’s turn their backs on God best!

And as I sit amid this great upheaval in America, I say the same thing to God, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

Just wanted to know your thoughts on this statement.

Agree or disagree???

The greatest adventure in life is not an exotic safari, a booming business success or a love relationship with that perfect someone.  Rather, it’s discovering the purpose for our lives.

Scarcity - In economics, scarcity is the problem of infinite human needs and wants, in a world of finite resources. In other words, society does not have sufficient productive resources to fulfill those wants and needs. (wikipedia)

It is in the mind that we battle the reality of the world. We read about it, hear about it and see it all around us, but it is as if our mind is playing the like monkey figurines found in touristy stores, and airports…
See no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.

Question: In a blind, deaf and dumb world, who is king?

What happens when we turn a blind eye to the signs impending scarcity? When we tune out the cries of scientist’s and environmental advocates as they speak of the damage our excess is causing? Who then is foolish one, the tree hugger or the one who no longer has a tree to hug?

As I sit and contemplate these things, my mind battles on… YOU ARE THE GUILTY ONE! YOU ARE APART OF THE PROBLEM! YOU ARE TO BLAME! and this internal battle is beginning to hurt. It is time to change, time to modify my behavior… They say it takes 90 days to change a behavior/habit. 90 days! That is 3 months of constantly choosing against the feelings of your body and mind, of using some self-control. Like Paul says in the good book, it is hard to make your body your slave… it is against our fleshly desires of greed, want and instant gratification.

Some people are getting it, but unfortunately the citizens of the Midwest are stalwarts and laggards in this green movement. What can I do that actually reduces my carbon footprint (mine is 19.505 tonnes, which is a tad below the US average of 20.4)? I must begin to do the things I have ignored… Can I do reduce and still live in abundance? That depends on my definition of abundance…

An abundance of friends, smiles and food or an abundance of clothes, styles, and stuff.

Abundance in the former is the scarcest of all commodities (something that is useful and/or valuable). We are (forgive the use of this next word) “brainwashed” to be ill content, to compare and to always want more, better and the best. Contentment that is rooted in simplicity and selflessness, is hard to come by in a consumerist world, driven by advertisements the illusion of “lack”. There is a scarcity of common sense, self-control and contentment in this world, it is this problem that must be overcome to provide a solution to the other scarcity problem on this world.

Think about this provocative quote:

If the earth dies, you die. If you die the earth survives. - The Day the Earth Stood Still

Tell me, why is it that life ebbs and flows? Screamingly fast, one second; and excruciatingly slow the next. It is a fact of life, and there is no other explanation than this: God loves to screw with our routines… sorry, mess with our routines (much more God-like lingo).

And as an acquaintance of mine recently said, “It is life that is messy, life that is fast-paced, life that is unpredictable… and we might as well stop fighting it and just go with the flow no matter the clip.” Ok, my acquaintance didn’t say this, I cannot remember exactly what he said… this is my interpretation of the idea he so eloquently stated. No matter how it is stated the take-away is the same: stop relying on yourself, start relying on Jesus. Stop trying to control the frenzy that is life on this spinning piece of rock and clay; start opening your hands, loosen the grip on your dreams, desires, possessions and accomplishments. Take the strengths, talents and abilities God has given you and give them back; to be used for His purpose and calling, and not your own.

This doesn’t mean quit your job, sell your car and become a hobo. It means different things for different people… I cannot tell you what has superseded Christ in your life… you have to take stock of your own lot and let the chaff be burned away… uncovering God’s best for you, the grain/fruit that nourishes others and brings you joy. Cause that is what our gifts, talents and abilities are ultimately for, to lead others to the nourishing waters of Christ. Cool.

Question that was posed (here) (copied below in its original form):

I have a question about the definition of “culture”. I think of culture more as a two way street - both reflecting people and molding them at the same time. It seems that the weaker ones are molded more and the stronger are the ones whom it reflects (this is tenative and a huge generalization).

However, the emergent movement seems to follow culture and modern (meaning current) philosophy rather than the Word. It’s like looking at the Bible through the lens of postmodernism, instead of looking at the world and all it entails through the lens of a biblical worldview.

I know exactly what you’re talking about in the review of chp 2 concerning the particular minestry, but one’s faith cannot be dictated by other people. A church building is still filled with sinful people, and this gives us great joy to look forward to the only perfect Church ever - in heaven.

What are your thoughts?

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My thoughts:

True, the definition of culture is paramount to how we react to the words of Jesus… but we have to remember that all of our known theology was influenced by the culture of the day, namely the enlightenment, and then modernity.

Even Jesus’ teaching reflected a cultural understanding, or influence. So in that sense we must read the Scriptures with different lenses then our own. And in reading we begin to deconstruct (yes, Derrida), or better defined, we begin to look at the text through the cultural lenses of Jesus and his disciples.

The Enlightenment and Modernity brought with it a dualistic theology - separation of secular and sacred… But Jesus did not live in such a realm, he lived life in the grey, life between the ‘righteous’ and the ’sinner’, the clean and the unclean. In doing this he was always moving within culture(s), though not corrupted by them.

Emerging Christians are most definitely following culture, though not in the sense that you espouse. They are trying to take the message of the gospel, which is to love thy neighbor (enemy) as thyself, just as God has loved you and you love God.

When I was in grad school, we had a project consisting of cultural exegesis. Which basically was a project in observing a particular subculture, interviewing the participants, and constructing a plan to show them the Gospel message. In the 60 different papers that my classmates wrote, there were many different routes to sharing the gospel message of love. In this setting an emergent christian flourishes… looking for ways to integrate faith within the daily lives of non-believers.

Like it or not we live in a Postmodern world… a world vastly different than even 20 years ago. A world that communicates, disseminates, and circulates information in the blink of an eye (a shift in epistemology). In this flat world we cannot be stalwarts clinging on to the particular doctrinal pillars of our local church, rather we must cling on to the words of Christ and his commandments to Love one another, and in doing this we bring the Kingdom of God to the here and now… the perfect church is not something to look forward to, rather it is something to take part in. We are to be a light on a hill, salt to the earth, we are holy and righteously broken. And in this humble state we are to be the body of Christ, the incarnation of his will to the marginalized, the poor, and the fatherless.

Art Boulet’s exceptional reflection on fundamentalism and the temptation to become emergent.

Also, my podcast of on the Kingdom of God.

We are like broken glass looking for other shards that will compliment our own scathing surface, and when we find all the pieces we become a stained glass window exhibiting the beautiful reflection’s of the sun/son. This is what community does, and what the church should seek to be!
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As I delve into scripture I am acutely aware of the vast amount of information and mystery found in the book, and am forced to say, “I don’t know.” a helluva lot more than i want to… Everyone wants concrete answers and are confused when the concrete becomes fractured.

But, there is a good thing that sprouts from our ambiguity… namely humbleness. I am humbled as I tackle questions of truth; like a small voice in a cavern of echoes. There is so much danger in planting our flags on doctrinal truth, specifically the danger of being wrong. That is why I love to begin and end debates on doctrine and theology with a focus on Jesus… of which is the Truth we can be assured in. Bad theology begets ugly christianity, but there is a beautiful theology that begets beautiful christianity… namely one of love, based on the words of Jesus, and in these words flow a comfortable mystery… a peace that surpasses all knowledge and understanding. It is in this flow that we can bask in ambiguity and in the answer, “I don’t know.”

The beginning of wisdom is not having all the answers but rather a humble heart and a open mind. So yes, after reading Jesus’ words, I have a lot of unanswered questions, and in the questions I wonder!

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Love is messy. It has the capacity to stain, smear and smudge. In response to this reality we can do two things: we can help clean-up each other’s mess, or we can go home and do our own laundry. In helping each other we find a brand of love that is the best detergent. Together we can identify spots we were previously blind to, and together we can scrub stubborn stains with collaborative resolution.

A couple people in the last few days have brought up the word/act of ‘forgiveness.’ Which has spawned some thinking and ruminating over the origin and how we can live out a life of forgiveness. Some of the statements and questions from others that caused my ruminations begin like this:

It is unbiblical to offer forgiveness to an individual when they have not asked for it and they are not repentant. (statement made to me)
True forgiveness can not happen unless reconciliation takes place. (again, statement)
Can true forgiveness take place even if the relationship isn’t reconciled? (question derived from the previous statement)

This issue of forgiveness is paramount to how we live out our lives in the day to day… It seems many hold to this type of theology (there must be reconciliation), and they always back it with scripture, specifically Mark 2:1-12… which we can talk about later as I think it is taken out of context… allowing many to call the opposing view unbiblical or heretical…

My Short Answer: In my opinion, the aforementioned statements are not in the red letter’s I have been reading, so my answer to the question is in the affirmative, forgiveness can/must happen without reconciliation or the promise thereof.

Sidenote: I like the idea of being a red letter christian.

Explanation: The very word forgiveness in its root implies “giving” “before” to fore give. So how can it be given with a requirement or a stipulation that the person must ask for it… or that there be reconciliation. It seems illogical. Even Jesus in his dealings with sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors, and even his crucifiers (forgive them for they know not what they do), he always seemed for forgive them in spite of their sin. It is how we are to model our lives, in loving our enemy we choose to forgive them before/after/inspite of/because of… the injustices they act out. Jesus always points to our hearts as we help the kingdom of God come to earth, as we join in on this act of love and forgiveness. (see Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5-7)

For when you pray, pray like this: (another translation/paraphrase of the Lord’s prayer, not mine) Matthew 6:9-13

Our Father in heaven, let your name remain holy.
Bring about your kingdom.
Manifest your will here on earth,
as it is manifest in heaven.
Give us each day our bread, no more, no less,
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive those who owe us something.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
But let your kingdom be,
and let it be powerful,
and glorious forever, Amen.

In this act of forgiveness we draw upon the incarnational aspect of God (Jesus is God incarnate - in the flesh), a power that was given to us upon the gifting of Sarayu That we too can have a little Jesus inside of us, that we become the incarnation, God in flesh, in turn manifesting His will here on this earth, just as it is in God’s presence (heaven).

We ask God to forgive us, and he has no stipulation on this forgiveness, no requirement to receive his grace and mercy, and so too should we live out our lives mirroring this… To give love before love is deserved.

That was a rant, but hopefully it gives you some fodder to chew on.

Chapter 4(a) - The Theology, Stupid

This chapter is thick… so I will be reviewing the first portion, in which Tony discusses his emergence into emergent thinking, and how for Emergents (contrary to popular belief) it is all about the theology, stupid!

So to begin with, Tony outlines his Dartmouth Days, where he was involved in Campus Crusade and their doctrine of salvation. He equates their eschatology as the major influence in their type of “efficiency evangelism.”¹ Their eschatology being that they believe that once the whole world has “heard” the gospel, Christ will come. Taken mainly from Matthew 24, where Jesus talks of the end of the age (24:1-34):

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come… Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place…”

These are just excerpts from Matthew 24… you can read them in context here.

Tony uses many logical, translational and theological arguments to show why this, eschatological inference, is taken out of context. And why this bad theology, led many ministries (not just Campus Crusade) to embark on efficient, multi-response, visual presentations of the gospel (Jesus Video, tracks, Bait-and-switch techniques). Some of the headliners in this movement include: Billy Graham, Joe White, FCA, International Missions Board and many other leaders and organizations.

It is not my contention, nor I think it is Tony’s to say these organizations, people, and the underlying theology is inherently evil or wrong… just broken… lacking the substance of the true Gospel message, mainly that repentance is not a one time act but rather a way of life, an continuous action.

Good theology begets beautiful Christianity.
and so follows that
Bad theology begets ugly Christianity.²

It is to say, that this theology makes God contingent on human behavior, which seems contrary to the Biblical narrative in which God acts rather independently, an action that makes him… well, makes him God. God’s independence is backed up by the next few verses in Matthew where Jesus says (24:35-42):

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity. - Albert Einstein

This line of questioning, brings many to accuse Tony of being divisive and arrogant, especially in the way he talks of the some of the actions by some patriarchs of the faith, namely Billy Graham. But in his defense it is not a personal attack, but a questioning of the methods of our faith and the foundations behind them.

Which leads to the next discussion of What, Exactly, is Theology? A subject I will broach later… you have enough to chew on here…. Bringing up Matthew 24, without going in-depth, is rather hard to do… so I will leave it to you to discover some of the differing opinions on this chapter, have fun…

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1. Efficiency Evangelism - style of proselytizing/evangelizing that leads a person to convey the salvation message, to as many people as they can without any regard to life change.  In this theology, God doesn’t say “all have to accept salvation”, rather all people groups just have to hear it be proclaimed or be given the opportunity to say a prayer.
2. The New Christians by Tony Jones, p. 103.