... about the comfort of our Christianity

Network probs yesterday and today. Only have time for a short post before our router kicks us off again...

I read an interesting thing yesterday in a religious journal I receive.

"People today want to feel moral. But they do not want objective, transcendent absolutes - such as the Ten Commandments - whose authority comes from God... they prefer to construct an ethical system that does not make them feel guilty." (Gene Vieth, World Magazine, January 14, 2006)

My only comment is: since when does anyone want some sort of system that confronts, challenges, and changes us? Never! We may not want it, but we have it. That's how God chose to keep us on track. Not with rules mind you, but a relationship with him. We follow those "rules" because of our redeemed relationship with him!

Have a great day!

... about looking good on the outside

Beijing's mayor wants to speed up of the demolition of poorest neighborhoods in China's capital as part of preparations for the 2008 Olympics. Part of the effort targets destitute areas known as "inner city villages" — where many of the residents are rural migrants. The Beijing Daily, the authoritative (and only, I believe) newspaper of the city's Communist Party committee, said about a third of these areas designated for destruction have been torn down, with the rest to be finished by the end of 2006.

We have to look good at all costs!

No mention is made in the article of what the people that lived there are going to do now? Wow.

It brings to mind 1 Samuel 16:7, Samuel is asked by God to anoint the next king of Israel. After looking at Jesse's first son, Eliab, Samuel remarks, "Surely this is the Lord's anointed." God replies: "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. GOD judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; GOD looks into the heart."

Do we concentrate too much on what's outside?

... if our speech is seasoned right (with grace)

I have been asked on more than one occasion lately to comment on what seems to be an overabundance of literature and media focusing on disproving Jesus, “new” findings that cast doubt on long-held beliefs, and other “attacks” on Christianity. I must say right at the beginning that I do not believe we are heading for the apocalypse or end times because of any of these things. If you take a look at church history it doesn’t take long to find that these kinds of happenings have been happening since the 1st century.

It is odd how Da Vinci Code, The finding of the Gospel of Judas, books like Bart Ehrman’s “Misquoting Jesus, all seem to have produced at one time. I do not think this is an organized attack, however. It seems like everywhere I turn I find Christian people in a war of words (not in a respectful way either). This only succeeds in causing a great rift between believers and unbelievers in America to get even bigger.But I do believe we need to stand for the truth. I do believe we need to respond. Here's what I really believe though:

I believe it is a test and a challenge for Christians:
To step up to the plate,
To reach down deep and find some missing-until-now boldness,
But mostly an opportunity to engage anyone and everyone in a dialogue about our faith in a respectful, caring, gentle way!

Listen to what Paul says to the church in Colossae about engaging their culture in a discussion about Christ, or the opening of doors to tell of the mystery of Jesus:

Pray diligently.

Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude.

Don't forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ…

Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders.

Don't miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity.

Be gracious in your speech.

The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation,

not put them down, not cut them out.

(Col. 4:2-6, MSG)

... about vigilante justice and Jesus?

Today, just a comment and a question or three. In the news this past week, someone (I'm afraid to say a fellow Canadian) found the sex offenders list on a website for the State of Maine, traveled there, apparently took the law into his own hands and murdered two people. Wow, scary. Now believe me, I want justice for extreme offenders like anyone else but we are in the 21st century I believe, not the Wild West of the 1800's. I have worked with sex offenders as a therapist when their presenting problems were drugs and alcohol, and they were court-referred. Not a real hopeful and happy population to work with. But...

What do we think about what this young man did?

What does Jesus say about how we treat people? Even these offenders? And the killer?

What do we do with the killer now?

... about the dangers of playing God

For all of you video game fanatics out there, I found this bit of information. It seems like there is a new game that could turn every American into an omnipotent creator. The game- designed by Will Wright, who also developed the popular game SimCity- allows players to build their own universe. The creator of the hugely popular Sims game is working on an ambitious title in which you can truly be God. Called Spore, the game allows players to determine the evolution of a species, from an amoeba to an inter-stellar race. Beginning with a swirl of gasses, players induce a series of chain reactions to create stars, planets, life forms, and societies. Beta testers said, “You (players) can zoom in on a unicellular organism or zoom out to watch the birth of a galaxy that is 100,000 light years across.” If playing the game is anything like creating it, it could become, to use Wright’s description, “almost a religion”.

OK, I have one question (maybe 3): haven’t we already done a marvelous job in Western culture of making the average person believe that they are already an omnipotent creator? Aren’t we already good at playing God? Now we need more practice from a game? Oh well. It may be just me, but I think man has already elevated man to a position far above God's intention.

... about Phil. 2:5-8?

I’ve included this story today from Donald Miller's, Blue Like Jazz. It is a extremely open, vulnerable book about finding God (actually more God finding him). He talks honestly and frankly about his search and how different events helped shape his view of God. This story is one of those events.

A long time ago I went to a concert with my friend Rebecca. Rebecca can sing better than anybody I’ve ever heard sing. I heard this folksinger was coming to town, and I thought she might like to see him because she was a singer too. The tickets were twenty bucks, which is a lot to pay if you’re not on a date. Between songs, though, he told a story that helped me resolve some things about God. The story was about his friend who is a Navy SEAL. He told it like it was true, so I guess it was true, although it could have been a lie.

The folksinger said his friend was performing a covert operation, freeing hostages from a building in some dark part of the world. His friend’s team flew in by helicopter, made their way to the compound and stormed into the room where the hostages had been imprisoned for months. The room, the folksinger said, was filthy and dark. The hostages were curled up in a corner, terrified. When the SEALs entered the room they heard the gasps of the hostages. They stood at the door and called to the prisoners, telling them they were Americans. The SEALs asked the hostages to follow them, but the hostages wouldn’t. They sat there on the floor and hid their eyes in fear. They were not of healthy mind and didn’t believe their rescuers were really Americans.

The SEALs stood there, not knowing what to do. They couldn’t possibly carry everybody out. One of the SEALs, the folksinger’s friend, got an idea. He put down his weapon, took off his helmet, and curled up tightly next to the other hostages, getting so close his body was touching some of theirs. He softened the look on his face and put his arms around them. He was trying to show them he was one of them. None of the prison guards would have done this. He stayed there for a little while until some of the hostages started to look at him, finally meeting his eyes. The Navy SEAL whispered that they were Americans and were there to rescue them. Will you follow us? he said. The hero stood to his feet and one of the hostages did the same, then another, until all of them were willing to go. The story ends with all the hostages safe on an American aircraft carrier.

Isn’t this what God did? Isn’t this the metaphor that describes John 1:14 and Phil. 2:5-8? What a great visual to remind us of Jesus and what he did and what he is doing through the Spirit!

... and Reading More Troubling Questions About Jesus!

OK, after yesterday's post, I was reading in McLaren's The Secret Message of Jesus and I found even more troubling questions about Jesus. Here are just some of them:

What if Jesus was right - more right, and right in different ways, than we have ever realized? (then yesterday's question) What if Jesus had a message that could truly change the world, but we're prone to miss the point of it?

What if we have developed a religion that makes reverent and honoring statements about Jesus but doesn't teach what Jesus taught in the manner he taught it? What if the religion generally associated with Jesus neither expects or trains its adherents to actually live in the way of Jesus?

What if the core message of Jesus has been unintentionally misunderstood or intentionally distorted? What if many have sincerely valued some aspects of Jesus' message while missing or even suppressing other, more important dimensions?

What if many have carried on a religion that faithfully celebrates Jesus in ritual and art, teaches about Jesus in sermons and books, sings about Jesus in songs and hymns, and theorizes about Jesus in seminaries and classrooms... but somewhere along the way missed rich and radical treasures hidden in the essential meaning of Jesus?

What if Jesus had actually concealed his deepest message, not trying to make it overt and obvious but intentionally hiding it as a treasure one must seek in order to find? If that's the case, why would Jesus ever do such a thing? How would we find his message if he had indeed hidden it?

What if Jesus' secret message reveals a secret plan? What if he didn't come to start a new religion - but rather came to start a political, social, religious, artistic, economic, intellectual, and spiritual revolution that would give birth to a new world?

What if his secret message had practical implications for such issues as how you live your daily life, how you earn and spend money, how you treat people of other races and religions, and how the nations of the world conduct their foreign policy? What if his message directly or indirectly addressed issues like advertising, environmentalism, terrorism, economics, sexuality, marriage, parenting, the quest for happiness and peace, and racial reconciliation?

Would we want to know what that message is? How much? Would we be willing to look hard, think deeply, and search long in order to find it? Would we be willing to rethink our assumptions?

What if the message of Jesus was good news - not just for Christians but also for Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, New Agers, agnostics, and atheists? And what if the message of Jesus also contained warnings - for Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, New Agers, agnostics, and atheists - and for Christians too? What difference could it make in the lives of individuals, in their families and neighborhoods and circles of friends, and in the world at large?

WOW. Good questions. Hard questions. But it's always good to ask, struggle, and wrestle with questions. It's what makes our faith stronger! If you want to find out where McLaren is going with all of these questions, you'll have to buy the book (or borrow my copy when I'm done with it!).