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Category Archives for Spiritual stuff

What’s your problem?

Ever since I first learned of it in the early 80′s, I’ve been fascinated by what is known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In 1943, Abraham Maslow published his paper, A Theory of Human Motivation, in which he proposed that as humans resolved certain basic, universal needs, they went on to try to satisfy other, higher-level needs. In other words, some needs, such as position or the need to express oneself artistically, were not important until the more basic needs of food and shelter were addressed.

While there are studies that would show Maslow’s hierarchy to be incorrect (and perhaps not be a hierarchy at all), Maslow’s pyramid-shaped chart (like the “food group” chart) is encountered, it seems, in every field of study from the obvious psychology to education to marketing. It is certainly an interesting approach to look at how humans behave. I also wonder if Maslow’s theory shouldn’t be at least considered by churches in evaluating their philosophy of ministry and overall theology.

Before I develop this further, let’s take a look at Maslow’s hierarchy itself. The chart (I didn’t want to rip off anyone’s copyrighted chart… but it can be found here) starts with level one, the most basic, broad level, as physiological needs: food, water, sleep, and so on. This makes sense; if you don’t have access to enough food to survive the next week, why worry about that promotion? Level two is Safety, which is pretty self-explanatory; it does include safety of your stuff as well as personal safety.

Once these needs are met (or mostly met), we can move on to Love and Belonging, which includes family, friends, and community. Level Four is Esteem; while not having any value without any community to be esteemed by, once your belonging needs are met, esteem becomes (or can become) important. Finally, at the top of the pyramid we have Level Five, Self-Actualization. Here we have various forms of self-expression, including creative expression and having fun.

Now, with these categories in mind, take a look at yourself, your church, and your church’s ministries. Where do they fall in the pyramid? Personally, I’d have to say that most of our lives are spent in the penthouse, Level Five, as are the lives of the churches I’ve been involved in. Most of us don’t worry about having enough to eat. Jesus’ advice, “Do not be anxious…” has little meaning to us if we’re thinking about tomorrow’s lunch menu. Most of us know where we’ll be sleeping, which is not only climate-controlled, but relatively secure as well. We may become anxious about our retirement, but we’re not that concerned about tomorrow. We’re also not necessarily that lonely. If anything, many of us would give nearly anything for some simple peace and quiet, which is why we put away money so we can spend a week or two at “the cabin” away from everyone else.

Basically, America is a Level Five country. There are homeless, of course, but usually it’s their own fault (right?). The poor are often overweight, and many who live below poverty levels do so with a large screen TV in their living rooms. At least, this is our Level Five perception. Our churches do have programs for the needy (which I am not criticizing), and there are some individuals who put me to shame for their willingness to put their body where their mouth is (in America, money comes too cheap). However, when you look at American and American Christianity, we’re at Level Five.

Just take a walk into any Christian bookstore, and look at the largest sections. Missions, right? Discipleship? Mercy ministries? I am willing to bet that these are all fairly small, compact sections. The larger sections are for Christian Fiction (I keep thinking that should be an oxymoron…) and what is often called the “Christian Living” sections. Christian Living is a nice term for “how to live a more fulfilling life as a Level Five Christian.” We have books on money management, love & romance, and all kinds of “how to be happy” books. Happiness, by the way, seems largely to be a Level Five commodity. I’ve often said that those starving people in [insert 3rd world country here] probably aren’t thinking about how they weren’t affirmed by their fathers.

In Luke Chapter 8 Jesus tells the story of a man planting seeds. Some seed fell on good soil, some on bad. About the seed that fell among the thorns, he explained, “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” I find it interesting that one of the “advantages” of a Level Five Christianity is that we have the ability to choose our own thorns. And, it appears that much of the American Church is enabling this behavior. Are we pulling thorns, or planting them?

Jesus could have very well said, “It is harder for someone on the Self-Actualization level to enter the Kingdom of Heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.” But, today we should be thankful, as we have 12-step groups, counselors and inner healing teams to help us deal with it.

Maslow’s Hierarchy may be incorrect, and I’m sure that reality is much more blended than the parfait-looking structure Maslow envisioned. However, I still think it’s an interesting tool to analyze our lives, and our ministry focus. Which brings me back to my post title: What’s your problem?

Written on 09 October 2007 by me under Spiritual stuff, Theological Musings with 2 Comments

Offensive Grace

I have been very surprised that what is turning out to be a common “hot button” with atheists with regard to Christianity is the concept of grace. Actually, more than surprised – I am just shocked. I never would have thought that anyone (besides those legalistic types we refer to as Pharisees) would be so angered by the thought that someone else thinks they’re getting forgiven for free. One example comes from The Great Blasphemy Challenge Debate, where one of the atheists – I think it was Brian – went off on the subject. If you find it online somewhere, it’s worth watching, just to hear the emotion when the subject is discussed.

Grace is obviously offensive. Should I be shocked? As I mentioned, I’ve known legalists – those who insist that there’s some kind of point system, or that you get saved for free, but to stay saved you’ve got to work for it – who are outright grace-haters. I understand this – it’s all explained in the famous story we call the Prodigal Son: the older son gets ticked that the prodigal gets welcomed back with open arms. However, to those who don’t believe there’s a point system in the first place, why should they care? If there’s no God to do any law-giving or forgiving in the first place, and then no absolute moral code to break, therefore there are no sins to be forgiven from. What, then, does it matter that Christians claim to be forgiven for sins that don’t exist? Interesting, isn’t it?

Of course, there also seems to be a complete misunderstanding of the Gospel; there’s apparently some belief among atheists that Christians believe that because they are forgiven, they are now free to sin. On one hand, of course, the atheists may understand this better than many Christians. Paul works through this in Romans chapter 5, where his argument for grace comes to the point where sin increases, grace increases all the more. There is no sin (except that gnarly old unforgivable one) too big for God not to forgive. However, if we turn the page to Romans 6, we get to where Paul asks the obvious question, “should we then sin more to get more grace? God forbid!” For you see, the Christian teaching is that sin is tantamount to slavery – it is the opposite of freedom (which, of course, we get along with grace). So, “free to sin” is an oxymoron. Now, we do have some oxymorons out there who can’t seem to figure this out, but they are actually quite rare.

Paul teaches this clearly, as does John in 1 John 2:3-6:

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

It is clear Christian teaching that yes, we are forgiven, once and for all (no indulgences or penance required). It is also clear Christian teaching that we are to “be perfect, as the Heavenly Father is perfect.” That, of course, is really what grace is all about – the power to actually live up to the forgiveness we’ve received.

So, perhaps a better presentation of the Gospel would make it less offensive… or, perhaps not. As Paul also says in 1 Cor. 18 & 19,

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

The Gospel does have that offensive aspect to it, especially the way Paul puts it:

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:18-20

He goes on, before he gets to the grace part, to point out how we all have sinned, yada yada. Now maybe we’re getting somewhere… to get to grace, we have to get through the part where we actually need grace – and that means accepting who we are as sinners, and accepting who God is as not just the lawgiver, but as forgiver as well. It’s like accepting an Altoid from someone – it means admitting you’ve got barn breath.

So, grace is offensive… but given the option, I’d rather have it. Altoid, anyone?

Written on 05 June 2007 by me under Faith, Science & Doubt, Spiritual stuff with 5 Comments

The Absurdity of Easter

Today is Easter, at least the date we celebrate it in our tradition. For Christians, although many don’t really get it, Easter is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Cor. 15:14-19:

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. … And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

There you have it in a nutshell; all of the claims of Christianity, the good moral teaching, etc., etc., are all fluff, if in fact Jesus was not raised from the dead on the day we now call Easter. The origins of the name and so on are another story that is quite irrelevant; the issue is whether the event happened, not how it came to be named or calendared.

All of the radical, “fundamentalist” atheists who are trying to disprove Christianity only have to focus on this one thing, according to Paul’s own testimony, which we accept as part of the Word of God. That’s it; this is the line in the sand.

Why would anyone stake an entire religion on this one, absurd claim? It really is, of course, absurd from a “common sense” standpoint. Seriously – the thought that God Himself became incarnate, died and then rose again is absurd. Camus has nothing on God when it comes to absurdist theater. Here, I guess, I’m sounding rather Kierkegaardian, but I think he had a glimpse of something: when compared to man’s ability to reason, God can be quite absurd. Now, I know many theologians who will take issue with that, and I think alot of it has to do with semantics. But, here it is from God’s own word, as spoken through Paul:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. – 1 Cor. 1:18-25

Now, this does not mean that the Christian faith is irrational; far from it. The historical basis for the resurrection is quite strong, as strong as many things that we accept. In fact, we accept many historical accounts that do not stand up near as well as this story. Yet, to rest an entire belief system on something so seemingly unbelievable – we have to ask ourselves, “why?”

And of course, this is “it” for the Christian: this is essentially all we have to do, to believe in this event, in order to “be saved,” go to heaven, be “right with God” or whatever other terminology you wish to use. Certainly a religion could do better; perhaps add in a few rules or things to achieve – and many religions indeed have. So again, why this simple resurrection story?

The very simple answer – which understandably frustrates people – is that this absurd tale is simply true. The “faith” part of the equation, as I mentioned earlier, is not that we have to make a faith-leap to believe the story. What takes real faith is to believe that this death and resurrection is simply enough for us to be forgiven.

In the words of the ancient liturgy, “Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed!”

Written on 08 April 2007 by me under Faith, Science & Doubt, Spiritual stuff with 2 Comments

Further reflections on worship

I have written before (beginning here) concerning issues of contemporary “Evangelical” spirituality; if you haven’t read the prior “My Own Personal Religion” series, I highly recommend it. This is another in that series, as I continue to read, watch, and evaluate things. 

Among other things, I have been paying close attention to the lyrics of the worship songs we have been singing and the congregation’s (I am tempted to say audience’s) response. I’ve also paid close attention to the sermons I have heard (from 4 different speakers that I’ve heard in the last 2 months), and following are some observations.

First, concerning worship: Most of the songs are theologically vacuous. That is, the songs beg for some real worship material. God, you are great…  Why?  Jesus, I love you…  Again, why?  What characteristics produce this response? What can inspire me to sing heartily along?  You’re too marvelous for words…  I think the Psalmists could disagree. Some of these songs are not far off from George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord.  Now, I am not totally against these songs; but, if that’s all you sing, it’s like eating cotton candy for every meal.

A couple of weeks ago, we sang a song by an old friend of mine, Brent Helming, Your Beloved:

Lord it was You who
Created the heavens
Lord it was Your hand
That put the stars in their place
Lord it is Your voice
That commands the morning
Even oceans and their waves
Bow at Your feet

Believe it or not, the song gets even better. One thing that I was instantly aware of was that my mind was actually engaged in worship, perhaps for the first time in months. It struck me at that moment that most of our contemporary worship songs are aimed at our emotions, actually encouraging us to disconnect our brains. 

In fact, if you actually think about many of the worship songs we sing, it actually kills worship – if the words aren’t wimpy, they’re actually wrong. There’s nothing like bad theology to kill a good worship set. That is, unless people have been encouraged to not think about what they are singing.  However, sing a great old hymn or a song like Your Beloved, and thinking about the words actually inspires worship! What a concept!

Last Sunday, this suspicion - that we are trained not to think about worship -was further supported: I watched the congregation as one wimpy song ended, and another song with a great beat and a heavy rock guitar riff started in – the people started “worshipping” without any words at all.  Worshipping? or just rocking out?  It’s really difficult to tell.  Perhaps they just anticipated the words…

Jesus told the woman at the well that “those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.”  Now, this is a somewhat enigmatic statement, at least as it is translated into English. What I understand it to mean, at least in part, is that worship is not only a liturgical/physical/emotional act, it also has to be based in truth. That means that true worship should also involve our mind.

Bottom line: I believe that it is a worship leader’s job not just to manipulate an emotional / spiritual response – although an emotional / spiritual response is not in itself wrong. It is their job (yeah, I’ve been a worship leader…) to encourage people to worship with their minds as well as their spirits. In Spirit, and in Truth.  Of course, that requires a bit more of a worship leader than just being a fair musician.

Next: The problem with sermons

Written on 14 August 2006 by me under Church, My Own Personal Religion, Spiritual stuff with 2 Comments

The end of the innocence (theology by Don Henley)

Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn’t have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standing by
…
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
- Don Henley, The End of the Innocence

I like Don Henley; Don really knows how to paint a glorious picture and then smash it to bits. But, in many ways The End of the Innocence paints an accurate picture of the “already but not yet” state the earthly inhabitants of the Kingdom of God find themselves. It’s brilliant, actually, but Henley has no answers, which makes the song so wistful and depressing. (Thank goodness for Bruce Hornsby’s wistful but bouyant piano work.)

I often think back to my childhood, spending lazy days laying on the cool grass, studying bugs, listening to the wind rustle through elm & cottonwood leaves, and watching clouds roll by. Even then, life was not always idyllic. Bad things happened: things broke, pets and people died, there were rumors of wars. I learned fairly early on that there were things outside of my control, and even outside of my parents’ control. However, for the most part, I did have my parents to rely on. I didn’t have to be responsible for much of anything except getting my homework done. I could hang out in my yard, which was miles away from the rest of the world, and life was good:

But I know a place where we can go
That’s still untouched by man
We’ll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind

It’s not the same anymore. I lay out in our yard now, and I’m instantly aware that it needs mowing, or fertilizing, or something. I now have responsibility, to a lot of people. I’m responsible to my family, to everything I own, to my employer, to the hordes outside my gate to whom I have obligations. Everything comes with a bill attached.

Responsibility is the end of the innocence. The way Don Henley writes, it’s all someone else’s fault:

Armchair warriors often fail
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie
But I know a place where we can go
And wash away this sin …

Perhaps we can blame Adam (or Eve). We can pin it all on Satan. Or, if you’re one of the new liberals, on the President. But, in the long run, it doesn’t help:

Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence

In the end, there’s really no one else to blame, or at least it doesn’t matter. Responsibility is what it is, no matter where it came from. Behind that, of course, is knowledge; more specifically, the knowledge of good and evil. That knowledge is a weight that we weren’t intended to bear, but as they say, that’s life. We know, and we are aware of responsibility.

This is the end of the song, but not of the story. If the story ended, leaving us only with responsibility, I’d be as depressed as any of the existentialists. However, as the Bible says, “He (God) gives more grace.” Grace empowers us to deal with life in the interim – the world as we know it. Grace also reconnects us with the source of all responsibility, lifting it again off of our shoulders (Come, he who is burdened …). Grace empowers us to mow the grass, as it were, and to get back to laying in the grass.

But I know a place where we can go
That’s still untouched by man
We’ll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind

The end of the innocence? No – grace is the beginning.

Written on 11 August 2006 by me under Spiritual stuff with No Comments

The Myth of Entitlement

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
- The Declaration of Independence

One of the problems with “we, the people” is that our country began with the assertion that we have been given, by God, these “inalienable” rights. It’s interesting, then, that God allowed His people to spend so much time as slaves. Or, perhaps it’s just us Americans who have these rights?

I ask this rhetorically, of course, not to mention sarcastically. In America, we’re all about rights – we yell and scream over them, file lawsuits about them, and create news stories about them. We’re more than just the land of opportunity; we’re the land of rights. Everybody has rights – more rights than we know what to do with. We’re up to our necks in rights. We’ve got more rights than the Colonel has chicken. I have rights that I’ve never even used.

Do we really have these inalienable, God-given rights? Just where in the Bible might we find them? It has always been my impression from reading through the Bible, especially the New Testament, that we have been given gifts, not rights, except for this: Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— (John 1:12). This, in turn, does give us certain rights as “fellow heirs.” However, these rights are not necessarily what is conjured up by the D of I. Physical liberty is not guaranteed (as evidence by Paul and other apostles), eternal life is ours, but again, the apostles’ example is enough to show that does not necessarily apply to physical life. And “pursuit of happiness?” We have joy, of course.

We can debate to death what is ours through Christ- some would even go so far as to say wealth and perfect health (though they are dead wrong). My proposition is this: it doesn’t matter.

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
- Paul, Letter to the Philippians

The only heir who wasn’t adopted had all the rights of the one who created everything; that includes the right to crush creation on a whim and start over. He had the right to take whatever he wanted, do whatever he wanted, live like a – well – a God. The point is that he didn’t; he gave up all of these rights in order to serve his creation. He gave up position, safety, comfort, a life without pain, a life without hassles, a life without physical death, and – think of it – a life without the confines of a human body.

Jesus, Paul states, is to be our example. To live a life without rights, constantly putting yourself in a position of weakness and humility, serving others. Our expectation is not that we will be great in this life, or rich, or even comfortable. We are not promised this – in fact, we are sometimes promised quite the opposite.

Wow… that kind of takes all the fun out of being an American, doesn’t it?

Written on 07 August 2006 by me under Spiritual stuff with 5 Comments

Don’t worry, be happy?

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

-Paul, Letter to the Philippians

So, what’s the deal with Paul, anyway? He sounds like he should be walking around in a Calypso shirt singing, Don’t worry, be happy. It seems that in Paul’s writings, you can find something for everyone. He calls the Galatians stupid and rants about wanting to do terrible things to a few teachers he doesn’t agree with. To the Corinthians, he has lots to say – and has been branded as a misogynist and anti-marriage as a result. Now here, he comes off like someone straight out of the 60′s: “peace, be mellow.”

Today, anyone who preaches “think nice thoughts” gets nailed by the “serious” Christians. Don’t they? Remember Norman Vincent Peale? Bob Schuller? And what about Joel Osteen? Are they really “Christianity lite” or do they really have something to say? (I confess, I have made fun of Bob, too – we used to call the Crystal Cathedral the “Crystal Lite Church.”)

In this day of war, secularism, evil post-modernist philosophy & strife, it’s not always popular to tell people to rejoice that their glass is half-full, and to pray that it gets filled even more. After all, if people are happy, they can’t be controlled by guilt. They may not even feel compelled to tithe, or to sit through another boring, “do more, try harder” sermon.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians is somewhat different than many of his other letters, as this one was not written to correct – if anything, it was just a letter to friends and financial supporters. We might even suppose that this letter reveals the “real” Paul, or perhaps, Paul in a moment of peace.

I’ve always liked Paul, in his various personas, but I think I am especially fond of this one, who, when at the end of the day and his battles have been fought, can say with all sincerity, “Rejoice. Don’t worry, be happy. Give your worries to God, and relish God’s peace. And, think happy thoughts.”

Written on 28 July 2006 by me under Random Thoughts, Spiritual stuff with 3 Comments

Everything falls apart

This morning in the shower I found myself thinking about redemption and about how when God says,

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways.
As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8,9)

He is talking about His plan for the redemption of all creation. The world doesn’t get it at all, and often neither do “the redeemed.” God’s plan is absolutely counterintuitive to our human, fallen nature.

As I thought in the shower (I don’t sing, I just think), my mental search utility dug up the lyrics to a song by Peter Stuart (aka Dog’s Eye View), Everything Falls Apart. It’s a humorous commentary on human nature and our fallen view of God:

I met God this afternoon ridin’ on an uptown train
I said, “Don’t you have better things to do?”
He said, “If I do my job what would you complain about?
So I let it go to Hell, now I’ll have something to do.
He said, “I’ll let it go to hell; does that sound familiar to you?”

Well everything falls apart
then I get to try to put it back together …

It’s interesting that one of the results of sin is now known as the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics (not entirely accurately understood as, “everything falls apart”). Our human nature desires to “fix” what is broken and falling apart, and to project onto our imaginary view of God that same imperative. Then, we get frustrated and disappointed and angry with God because he doesn’t “fix” things. Right?

God is not a “fixer.” If so, he could have dealt with the whole sin thing in the Garden. But, God is not a fixer, he’s a redeemer, and we don’t really get it. Neither do the angels, for that matter. We know that the death and resurrection of Jesus is at the very center of the plan, but we’ve only seen part of it; we don’t know yet how it will all shake out (regardless of “Left Behind”). As a result, we’ve developed a concept of redemption that is awfully close to the definition for “fix.”

So, we don’t get it. We still expect God to fix things according to our sense what is right, and when things continue to fall apart, we blame God and “lose faith.” But, we can’t really lose what we don’t have…

Is it “blind faith” to believe in this mysterious promise of redemption? Not at all; there are signs of redemption all around us, if we’d only take note. But, to do that, we have to first set aside our “guidelines for being God” and see what God himself would say. Perhaps instead of (or perhaps, along with) praying, “God, fix this…” our prayer should be, “show me your redemption.”

The coming of the Kingdom, as demonstrated by Jesus in the Gospels, reveals itself in little ways of redemption that do include “fixing” some things. People are sometimes healed, relationships are restored, and so on. However, we are promised that wars, natural disasters, and poverty will continue until that time that redemption is fully revealed. Things still break, restored relationships are still subject to damage, and people still get sick and die. It would seem that a “fix” is no substitute for redemption.

One thing we know: some day, all creation will be redeemed – until then, things continue to fall apart. A mystery, indeed.

Written on 18 July 2006 by me under Random Thoughts, Spiritual stuff with 1 Comment

It’s my reality (and I’ll believe what I want to)

I have a hunch that many, many types of Christians (you can’t really categorize Christians by church affiliation any longer) have a worldview/belief system that has a rather tenuous hold on reality. That is, their particular belief system is not based on sound Biblical interpretation, even a nominal understanding of sound theology, or any consideration for the generally held positions of the church (including the historical church). I’ll even add “critical thinking” to that list.

To put it yet another way, many Christian “streams” have developed or adopted their particular dogma/worldview simply because it’s what they want to believe, with little consideration of truth. Many people will blame this phenomena on postmodernism, with it’s rejection of metanarrative, etc. However, the majority of people I am referring to would totally reject the label postmodern. In fact, it may be these people in particular that postmoderns are rebelling against, for they all claim to have a singular grasp on truth.

A prime example is the “left behind” crowd, those for whom the pre-trib rapture (or any rapture, for that matter) is paramount. Another such group is the “faith” movement and its subsidiaries. These people in particular have created a Matrix-like virtual world where reality is, in effect, immaterial.

These cultures create their own self-protection methods, similar to those used by individuals who have chosen to ignore reality. You might know people like this, who completely live within their own reality:

  • They have an excuse for everything that goes wrong,
  • They’re so busy talking that they effectively block all contrary information from coming in,
  • There seems to be a belief that if something is said loud enough, or often enough, it is true.

It’s really quite amazing, and frustrating for those outside of the “game.” But, unless you’re deep inside the game, you’ll recognize these traits. For example (just in case you need any), take those of the “faith” persuasion:

  • You didn’t get healed, it’s due to your lack of faith (or improper methods, or unconfessed sin, or whatever); it’s never that perhaps the theology has a few holes.
  • There’s only preaching, never dialog; to question is to speak “doubt.”
  • Preaching is continuously emphasizing your need to believe & act on your “faith”: “Just send this ministry $1,000 and you’ll see that God will repay you 100 times.”

The same techniques are used throughout the church in varying degrees, in books, radio, “Christian” TV, in Bible studies and sermons, and not just from “faith” people. I hear it all over the place, crazy talk from Christians making excuses for their lives and spouting more crazy talk to support the weird things they do. The “no faith” people (the “it’s all God’s will”) people do the same thing, as do the “prophetic” people, the “purpose-driven” people and the creationist people. It’s not creationism or prophecy or faith is wrong – it’s the kooky protectionist systems that grow around these things.

Here’s the deal in a nutshell, from Paul (the part of the “love chapter” that we normally ignore):

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Let’s stop talking like children, who talk crazy, foolish talk. Let’s get real. (It’s not really that bad.)

Written on 16 June 2006 by me under Church, My Own Personal Religion, Spiritual stuff with 2 Comments

Theology, shmeology

Many Christians tend to avoid anything to do with theology like it was a plague. They acquaint theology with seminary, and seminary with “liberal” thinking and a watered-down faith. To some, theology is the enemy of faith – it comes to question, to challenge, to raise issues that should simply be accepted, because their pastor or someone like Benny Hinn said so. Like science, theology is seen as a mental activity, as opposed to one of the spirit. Things of the spirit are sacred, and other things – mental things – are profane. Bible study is of God, but when it crosses the line into theology, well…

I, on the other hand, love theology. I find theology exciting. For that matter, I enjoy science, too, but that’s a subject for another post. I really wish now that I had taken some seminary classes, or at least spent a little more time reading real theology, rather than most of the stuff found in Christian bookstores (although, some of that is also good). However, a word to the wise (or, rather, to the foolish): Theology can, indeed, challenge, threaten, completely irritate and possibly destroy your faith. That is, if your faith is in something other than God.

What I really wish is that I had a better grasp of theological history; that is, the way the Church’s thinking about God has evolved (oh, no, there’s that science word again) over the years. For it has, indeed, evolved. From the days of Acts to the present, the Church’s understanding of God has taken a number of turns; some good, some not so good. But through it all, I believe God continues to reveal Himself to those who seek him (and to a few who don’t), and the gates of Hell – and even theology – have not prevailed against the Church.

Today, if people know anything about theology at all, they may know a few names like Augustine, Luther & Calvin – and maybe a few of the early Church Fathers, such as Tertullian, Polycarp & Origen. Most, however, don’t have a clue as to what they believed. And, many would be horrified to find out. The truth is, many of those who were foundational in developing the early faith and belief system of the church had some rather odd beliefs that today would get them kicked out of some of our major denominations.

The history of the theology of the Church is shocking to our modern sensibilities, highly structured belief systems, and to our faith in those systems. But, it doesn’t do our faith any good to avoid reality.

As Abram learned about God by listening and obeying, the Church continued to grow in its knowledge of God as freshly revealed through Jesus and the Spirit, through many hundreds of years of study, thought, debate, missteps and successes. In spite of the apparent errors that permeated the Church from time to time, here we are.

Are we done learning? Heaven forbid. We may have advanced, or we may have rabbit-trailed, but God will continue to lead His Church and reveal Himself to her. It’s our turn, you see. To turn our back on theology is to tell God, “I know you well enough already.”

There’s another aspect of theology that I think scares people, and that is simply that it might challenge our own pet belief systems, or own personal virtual realities. But, that’s a topic for another post.

Written on 13 June 2006 by me under Spiritual stuff with 6 Comments