I have a problem when it comes to agreeing with smart people. I have so few foundational, core beliefs and convictions that when theologians argue about certain "gray-area" topics, that I have yet to really understand, I find myself easily persuaded by whomever's opinion I have heard most recently. If I hear Marc Driscoll say something on Tuesday about free will that Timothy Keller contradicts on Friday, I will find myself all twisted up on Saturday as I feel lead to cross over from Driscoll's party to support Keller's campaign. Then on Sunday if I find myself around my peers discussing just such an issue as free will I am helpless but to lay down in the middle of the road as they wage war from both sides of the street. The most recent topic that has left me pondering which direction to go is the subject of Hell.
Obviously, there is no easy answer when it comes to the hot-button issue (cheesy pun intended). Is there a Hell, and if there is who goes there/what does it look like? I just read Rob Bell's book called Love Wins which guides readers to question their ideas of the traditional hell fire and brimstone theology in favor of a more post-modern approach to damnation. A lot of people took his approach to mean that he is a Universalist who believes that all people and all roads lead to Salvation. I don't believe he thinks that, but I could be wrong. He definitely does hold a kinda-sorta "new-age" vision of what Hell actually is that has definitely never been popularized before but definitely has scriptural support. Anyway, now I am reading Erasing Hell by Francis Chan, who's theology I have always loved. This book was in many ways written as a rebuttal to Bell's book. Chan's fear of the vision of Hell the Bible gives him is what inspires so much of his radical, "crazy love" based ministry. He says "we can't afford to be wrong on this one." I have to say, my ignorant self already agrees with him. But I digress.
This issue in particular has made be look inwardly at how I do theology in general, and how a lot of people come to form their beliefs. I believe Christianity in the West today has never been harder. There is an information overload and everybody who was ever able to speak or write has an ability to find a powerful voice in society. This has given birth to so many sects, denominations, and in the end an unimaginable number of different view points on everything God related. Some opinions are completely uninformed and easily ignored, yet there are so many studied, intellectual, wise people in the world, now and from generations past, who offer up completely opposing beliefs on everything from homosexuality to predestination to the End Times. So what's your average American Christian to do?
Most people that I have talked to about this just say "Well, keep studying and pray that God gives you the answers in time." But I have argued with Mormons (who I completely disagree with from years of my own study and prayer) who have told me "Look, I sincerely pray to God about this and that He show me the way if this religion is in anyway incorrect and I've felt no conviction from the Holy Spirit." What could I possibly say to that? They had been in the Church all their lives, done the 2 year mission, knew their Bible and yet they and I both stood at a crossroads of disagreement and God was telling neither of us "You are wrong."
I have no doubt both Francis Chan and Rob Bell love Jesus Christ with all their heart. I believe that John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius both loved Jesus Christ with all their heart, but they had completely different views when it came to Salvation. Maybe God wants us to disagree...I don't know. Maybe in the end all the quarreling is just supposed to show us how incredibly fascinating and complex our God is. The cliché line I hear is typically "Well, if we could figure out God then He wouldn't be God!" That is as true as it is annoying. I want answers, I want the truth, and I know every time I say that God is looking right back at me, while doing His best Jack Nicholson impression, saying "You can't handle the truth!" So in the meantime, I'll be in the middle of the road trying not to get run over by all those people who think they've found the answers.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Lazy Sunday
Sleep in, eat, watch football, eat some more, relax, play the geetar, Church, more football, and maybe some video games if I'm feeling frisky. That's my idea of a lazy Sunday. Part way through just such a day I decided to delve into the many books I have been planning on finishing. When I picked up my copy of The Screwtape Letters I found that my bookmark had been misplaced so I began flipping through the many chapters to see which one I had last read (all of my underlining makes it easy to figure out which chapter I was on.) However, I stumbled upon a section that stood out to me a while back and I became fixated on one passage in particular.
C.S. Lewis does not label his chapters in this book but I give each one a name to help me remember the topic when I skim through them again and I had labeled this one "The Gradual Road to Hell". It is about self-will and how we become lulled into an inactive lifestyle where we give up on pursuing our passions and end up finding ourselves in lifestyles that are completely sedentary and doing work that never stimulates any of our higher reasoning, deep thought, interests, or purpose. The quote that got me motivated enough to begin writing this very post, is the last line of the chapter and says, "The more often he feels without acting, the less he will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel."
For anyone reading this who is not familiar with the context of The Screwtape Letters, it is written from the perspective of one demon writing to his demon nephew in-training who is trying to steer his "patient" (human) away from salvation. I found this closing remark to be the deepest statement made in the entire chapter. I never thought that my inactivity could be a stumbling block used by the enemy to eventually deaden my senses and lead me down a path of destruction. Let me preface the rest of what I'm about to say with this; I do not believe that taking it easy some days is a sin, nor do I think it leads to an inactive lifestyle. I know perfectly well that after I work on set from 330pm to 430am the next morning that I am going to need a day of recuperation and "laziness" in order to decompress so I can keep my sanity.
What I am mostly geared up to ruminate on during this post is the grander scheme of Lewis' statement. I believe everybody is here to do something great. Greatness looks different to every person, but as individuals we all have certain traits that allow us to do "great" things. I believe greatness comes from doing exactly what God has programmed you to do best. Some people are janitors, others are presidents and we all have our unique opportunities to minister to those around us. With that said, I believe we often talk ourselves out of that very greatness God has in store for us because of the tactics the enemy has utilized on us for so long, the tactics that Lewis illuminates in The Screwtape Letters.
The reason that Lewis' statement made such an impact on me was the fact that he describes a snowball affect on our hearts that eventually overtakes our souls. Every time we talk ourselves out of something we know would be good for us, or that we would enjoy, because "there may not be enough time" or the logistics of things seem too daunting, we are giving the enemy a foothold on our lives. God gives everyone dreams for their lives for a reason. If we give up on those dreams or passions because the road may indeed prove to be very difficult, what does that say about our faith in God? Inevitably our lack of faith in God becomes a lack of faith in ourselves. After we have lost our faith in everything what good is living? Why not just sit at home and play video games all day until we're old and can die alone? Why chase after that dream if everyone will scoff at you and instead you can continue to fly under the radar and meet the status-quot of society? Why would you act on those silly emotions when clearly that's not the practical move to make? Lewis is saying that every time we fail to act on those innate parts of who we are that we will eventually cease to be who God has made us to be.
I really hate untapped potential. I know Satan loves it. I hope and pray and try continually to be the best possible version of myself that I can be. And I'll admit it, sometimes this pursuit of "perfection" bites me in the ass, but it's so worth it. I believe the more we act the more we will be able to discern how God speaks through the Holy Spirit within us and we will be given a clearer picture of the men and women we are called to be. So, let's enjoy the lazy Sundays when they come but let's never allow ourselves to become numb to the feelings that God uses to get us up off the couch and into the world that He has sent us to save.
C.S. Lewis does not label his chapters in this book but I give each one a name to help me remember the topic when I skim through them again and I had labeled this one "The Gradual Road to Hell". It is about self-will and how we become lulled into an inactive lifestyle where we give up on pursuing our passions and end up finding ourselves in lifestyles that are completely sedentary and doing work that never stimulates any of our higher reasoning, deep thought, interests, or purpose. The quote that got me motivated enough to begin writing this very post, is the last line of the chapter and says, "The more often he feels without acting, the less he will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel."
For anyone reading this who is not familiar with the context of The Screwtape Letters, it is written from the perspective of one demon writing to his demon nephew in-training who is trying to steer his "patient" (human) away from salvation. I found this closing remark to be the deepest statement made in the entire chapter. I never thought that my inactivity could be a stumbling block used by the enemy to eventually deaden my senses and lead me down a path of destruction. Let me preface the rest of what I'm about to say with this; I do not believe that taking it easy some days is a sin, nor do I think it leads to an inactive lifestyle. I know perfectly well that after I work on set from 330pm to 430am the next morning that I am going to need a day of recuperation and "laziness" in order to decompress so I can keep my sanity.
What I am mostly geared up to ruminate on during this post is the grander scheme of Lewis' statement. I believe everybody is here to do something great. Greatness looks different to every person, but as individuals we all have certain traits that allow us to do "great" things. I believe greatness comes from doing exactly what God has programmed you to do best. Some people are janitors, others are presidents and we all have our unique opportunities to minister to those around us. With that said, I believe we often talk ourselves out of that very greatness God has in store for us because of the tactics the enemy has utilized on us for so long, the tactics that Lewis illuminates in The Screwtape Letters.
The reason that Lewis' statement made such an impact on me was the fact that he describes a snowball affect on our hearts that eventually overtakes our souls. Every time we talk ourselves out of something we know would be good for us, or that we would enjoy, because "there may not be enough time" or the logistics of things seem too daunting, we are giving the enemy a foothold on our lives. God gives everyone dreams for their lives for a reason. If we give up on those dreams or passions because the road may indeed prove to be very difficult, what does that say about our faith in God? Inevitably our lack of faith in God becomes a lack of faith in ourselves. After we have lost our faith in everything what good is living? Why not just sit at home and play video games all day until we're old and can die alone? Why chase after that dream if everyone will scoff at you and instead you can continue to fly under the radar and meet the status-quot of society? Why would you act on those silly emotions when clearly that's not the practical move to make? Lewis is saying that every time we fail to act on those innate parts of who we are that we will eventually cease to be who God has made us to be.
I really hate untapped potential. I know Satan loves it. I hope and pray and try continually to be the best possible version of myself that I can be. And I'll admit it, sometimes this pursuit of "perfection" bites me in the ass, but it's so worth it. I believe the more we act the more we will be able to discern how God speaks through the Holy Spirit within us and we will be given a clearer picture of the men and women we are called to be. So, let's enjoy the lazy Sundays when they come but let's never allow ourselves to become numb to the feelings that God uses to get us up off the couch and into the world that He has sent us to save.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Among the Wolves
Today I got my haircut by a hefty gentleman who had a thick beard, nose wring, and two full sleeves of tattoos on each arm. My initial thought was "This is the most bad ass, gay guy I have ever seen." I think I've been in Hollywood too long (already) because I just assumed that any man who cuts hair for a living in an upscale salon does so because he fits in well with the overwhelming amount of estrogen pumping through the veins of just such an establishment. I soon came to find out that this man had his AA in Theological Studies and was recently married, to a woman. He also plays bass guitar for the Nazarene Church that he attends. The only reason he cuts hair is because his best friend's parents owned a salon when he was growing up and he took a job there as a receptionist for extra cash as a kid but was eventually trained to be a hair stylist. Now he cuts hair to support himself while he plays guitar for a (Christian) punk band. Who woulda thought? Not me, that's for sure. But I'm learning everyday.
Me and Sean quickly hit it off as I told him what I was doing for work and how I wanted to implement my passion for the entertainment industry alongside my love and/or calling to ministry. To look at us, one clean cut, all-american, 150lb, boyish looking man and the other a 220lb, tattooed, pierced, hardcore member of a rock band, you would think that we would have nothing in common. However, our ministries and life experiences could not have been more similar. He uses his music to break into a scene where most people use their instruments and voices to rage against "established entities" such as religion or God in general. I use my looks (not at all trying to brag with that statement, I look like I'm 16) to get on sets where people have run to from all over the world to find hope, love, and acceptance in what they see as the all-powerful, healing affect of fame and fortune. We work in broken worlds where people come to use and be used themselves. We work among the wolves.
As I was trudging through Matthew I found a verse that I have come to embrace with all my heart. It's Matthew 10:16 and it says, “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” There's a balance in that statement that is so profound that only someone like Jesus could have said it. I think too many Christians walk through this life acting far too naive to ever do anything truly meaningful for the Kingdom of God. We are to be cunning, astute, perceptive, insightful, and wise as we march down the path God has laid before us. I am convinced that we are far too concerned with being harmless than being shrewd. We must be shrewd for most of today's wolves come dressed in sheep's clothing...
But I digress. My original point was to comment on how lovely it is that Jesus has always been about being the odd-man-out. He's the only righteous one at a table of sinners, He's the only working class guy among the high-class, religious leaders, He's the only Jew talking to a group of Samaritan lepers, He's the only man talking with woman in public, He's the only grown man playing with children in the streets, and He calls us to live in exactly this way. I'm beginning to feel that if we are not finding ourselves in situations where we are one of the only good people doing something positive for Christ in a place surrounded by those who are nothing like us, than we are not doing our jobs as Christians called to minister to every dark crevasse and corner of this earth. In other words, if you don't spot some wolves from time to time than you never really left the pasture and you are certainly not ending up with the rest of the heard alongside the Shepard at the end of the day.
Me and Sean quickly hit it off as I told him what I was doing for work and how I wanted to implement my passion for the entertainment industry alongside my love and/or calling to ministry. To look at us, one clean cut, all-american, 150lb, boyish looking man and the other a 220lb, tattooed, pierced, hardcore member of a rock band, you would think that we would have nothing in common. However, our ministries and life experiences could not have been more similar. He uses his music to break into a scene where most people use their instruments and voices to rage against "established entities" such as religion or God in general. I use my looks (not at all trying to brag with that statement, I look like I'm 16) to get on sets where people have run to from all over the world to find hope, love, and acceptance in what they see as the all-powerful, healing affect of fame and fortune. We work in broken worlds where people come to use and be used themselves. We work among the wolves.
As I was trudging through Matthew I found a verse that I have come to embrace with all my heart. It's Matthew 10:16 and it says, “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” There's a balance in that statement that is so profound that only someone like Jesus could have said it. I think too many Christians walk through this life acting far too naive to ever do anything truly meaningful for the Kingdom of God. We are to be cunning, astute, perceptive, insightful, and wise as we march down the path God has laid before us. I am convinced that we are far too concerned with being harmless than being shrewd. We must be shrewd for most of today's wolves come dressed in sheep's clothing...
But I digress. My original point was to comment on how lovely it is that Jesus has always been about being the odd-man-out. He's the only righteous one at a table of sinners, He's the only working class guy among the high-class, religious leaders, He's the only Jew talking to a group of Samaritan lepers, He's the only man talking with woman in public, He's the only grown man playing with children in the streets, and He calls us to live in exactly this way. I'm beginning to feel that if we are not finding ourselves in situations where we are one of the only good people doing something positive for Christ in a place surrounded by those who are nothing like us, than we are not doing our jobs as Christians called to minister to every dark crevasse and corner of this earth. In other words, if you don't spot some wolves from time to time than you never really left the pasture and you are certainly not ending up with the rest of the heard alongside the Shepard at the end of the day.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)