It frustrates me to no end when people I talk to share how God brought something good into their lives due to prayer. This idea that communing with the being that made the universe extends to the mundane aspects of our life shows how sheltered and naive North America has become to larger issues both at home and around the world.
I had lunch with someone recently who shared that he had to fight for a benefit of his job that was in jeopardy of being taken away (minor benefit...think travel budget a couple of times a year). He said to me, "I had to fight for it, but I got it. And you know what was different? I prayed about it."
Over the last few years, a friend of mine has been going through hell on Earth: his wife had been struggling with cancer for almost a decade. She died last month, not even 30 yet, leaving him without the love of his life and their 5 children without a mother. He would send email updates about her status, all the while talking about God's grace, his goodness, and that they were constantly praying.
Prayer should not be seen as a toy list handed to Santa at Christmas. Prayer, in its truest form, should be about conversing with the Creator about making us better people, raising others up as a sacrifice (although we have the ability to have personal time with god, the idea of giving that time in pleading for another has deeper meaning when you really think about it), and sharing our life concerns.
But what has been taught in churches for decades is that God wants to know all aspects of our lives, and play into those aspects no matter how silly they seem. I worked with youth and heard everything from asking that their sports team plays well, to passing exams, to helping people read their Bibles more (because most Christians seem to struggle with this).
The way Christians use and market the power of prayer does nothing to validate it. If anything, it shows that God can do anything...as long as its really small. Cure cancer, save a life, stop a war? Sorry...you're out of luck.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Seeker
My belief is waning. My view of Christianity as a faith with deep roots and a solid historical foundation is starting to give way to a reality where there is no god...or at least, not the one described in the Bible.
Removed from the societal pressures of being part of a congregation, I've been able to explore different avenues of thought, of history, of science. I've listened to arguments for and against creationism, the validity of the Bible, and difficult questions around believing in a loving God while reading the atrocities he commanded be done.
Who is God? How can I believe in an all loving, all caring, kind and gentle being when the old testament is filled with counter-examples? How can I believe that he has my best interests in mind when until 2000 years ago I'd have no chance of salvation (not being Jewish)?
Who was Jesus? Was he really who we've been led to believe, or is he an enigma...something totally different and simply the target of a 2000 year old marketing campaign?
And what of us as Humans? What are we? If we aren't the firstborn of creation, if we aren't the pinnacle, if we aren't created in God's own image, then what are we? How did we get here? What value and purpose can our life hold if nobody is there to grant it to us?
These are things that I've struggled with and continue to work through. My blog will be taking a turn from previous posts. This is no longer just a Christian commenting on Christianity. This is a human, trying to determine what role faith plays in day to day life.
I hope you enjoy being along for the ride and sharing in the experience.
Removed from the societal pressures of being part of a congregation, I've been able to explore different avenues of thought, of history, of science. I've listened to arguments for and against creationism, the validity of the Bible, and difficult questions around believing in a loving God while reading the atrocities he commanded be done.
Who is God? How can I believe in an all loving, all caring, kind and gentle being when the old testament is filled with counter-examples? How can I believe that he has my best interests in mind when until 2000 years ago I'd have no chance of salvation (not being Jewish)?
Who was Jesus? Was he really who we've been led to believe, or is he an enigma...something totally different and simply the target of a 2000 year old marketing campaign?
And what of us as Humans? What are we? If we aren't the firstborn of creation, if we aren't the pinnacle, if we aren't created in God's own image, then what are we? How did we get here? What value and purpose can our life hold if nobody is there to grant it to us?
These are things that I've struggled with and continue to work through. My blog will be taking a turn from previous posts. This is no longer just a Christian commenting on Christianity. This is a human, trying to determine what role faith plays in day to day life.
I hope you enjoy being along for the ride and sharing in the experience.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
How Much Do You Have To Hate?
I stumbled on this video on YouTube recently...its a segment from some show or channel called "Penn Says", Penn being of Penn and Teller. Penn is a very open atheist, and the video talks about his encounter with a Christian. Have a look...
The thing that struck me about the video was when he talks about how, although he's an atheist, he has issues when people who consider themselves Christian don't evangelize or witness to people. Not because he believes in what they believe but he makes a valid point: How much do you have to hate someone to believe that there's eternal life and also eternal damnation and not tell someone because its "socially awkward". The analogy of saving someone from an oncoming truck is a good one.
It made me think about that...if we *truly* believe, as Christians, that people have the opportunity to go to heaven for eternity and equally to go to hell then why is evangelism such a struggle for the church? Why does it seem like services and care groups are focused so much more on self and our own personal relationship with God with such a weak emphasis on getting the message out to others?
Christians hide behind the 'grace' defense so often. I remember one Christian friend, in a discussion about war casualties being less important than aborted fetuses (her view, not mine), who stated the Sunday School answer that "I will be held accountable before God for all the things that I should have done and people I should have talked to that I didn't...that's on me." The catch, of course, is that we're saved by grace and covered with the blood of Jesus, so all our sins are forgiven.
Unfortunately (and not that any would openly devulge this) this leads to Christians who live their lives knowing they already have a get out of jail free card in their pocket. That while they say they have a "burden for the lost", they really don't...because they're safe and if someone else doesn't get to heaven because they didn't want to be put in a socially awkward position.
It brings to question motives of faith and what exactly believing in that faith means...what LIVING the faith means. Jesus preached wherever he went because he understood how important his message was. As followers of Jesus, I think we've missed that aspect of "living Christ-like".
Or maybe we're not really interested in living Christ-like at all.
The thing that struck me about the video was when he talks about how, although he's an atheist, he has issues when people who consider themselves Christian don't evangelize or witness to people. Not because he believes in what they believe but he makes a valid point: How much do you have to hate someone to believe that there's eternal life and also eternal damnation and not tell someone because its "socially awkward". The analogy of saving someone from an oncoming truck is a good one.
It made me think about that...if we *truly* believe, as Christians, that people have the opportunity to go to heaven for eternity and equally to go to hell then why is evangelism such a struggle for the church? Why does it seem like services and care groups are focused so much more on self and our own personal relationship with God with such a weak emphasis on getting the message out to others?
Christians hide behind the 'grace' defense so often. I remember one Christian friend, in a discussion about war casualties being less important than aborted fetuses (her view, not mine), who stated the Sunday School answer that "I will be held accountable before God for all the things that I should have done and people I should have talked to that I didn't...that's on me." The catch, of course, is that we're saved by grace and covered with the blood of Jesus, so all our sins are forgiven.
Unfortunately (and not that any would openly devulge this) this leads to Christians who live their lives knowing they already have a get out of jail free card in their pocket. That while they say they have a "burden for the lost", they really don't...because they're safe and if someone else doesn't get to heaven because they didn't want to be put in a socially awkward position.
It brings to question motives of faith and what exactly believing in that faith means...what LIVING the faith means. Jesus preached wherever he went because he understood how important his message was. As followers of Jesus, I think we've missed that aspect of "living Christ-like".
Or maybe we're not really interested in living Christ-like at all.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Evangelical Issues That Won't Go Away
Alex posted on his blog a piece on what the church must address to be relevent in the 21st century.
(you can check out his post at: http://www.alexblog.com/2008/09/comment-making-christianity-credible-in-a-secular-age/)
He specifies a few items that should be considered in light of current state of understanding of the physical world around us:
Jesus had to be part of the trinity and had to be of virgin birth. Because only a clean and pure sacrifice could be made for all the sin in the world, Jesus had to be without blemish. Not from the seed of a man, which carries sin's taint.
Jesus had to be a single living person, who did die and who was resurrected to ensure that he conquered death and allowed us to enter Heaven by believing in Him and the sacrifice he made.
God is truth, and if the Bible is seen to have even a letter of untruth in it, then it taints the entire thing...regardless of history and how it was put together...God's hand was guiding it and we accept that the message is His.
Jesus said he was the way, truth, and light and that nobody gets to the Father unless they go through Jesus. So all other relgions are false and failures.
So with all those in mind, we need to look at the one question Alex raises that is really at the heart of the whole discussion: If these are wrong or, at least, doubtful, then what does it mean to be a Christian?
If sin is only relevant in a discussion about redemption, and yet we decide that Jesus didn't really die on the cross, then how do we justify worrying about sin further?
If the Bible is fictional and the words within it not God inspired, then why would we give credence and value to something written only to further others beliefs and/or agendas? How do we determine which words and stories to hold up as truth and which ones to turn away?
If we believe that any religion can lead you to God, then we either make Jesus to be a liar and also wrong, which makes his sacrifice meaningless...or we ignore that section of the Bible where Jesus says He's the only way...which discredits the Bible's authenticity and raises questions about whether we can trust it at all.
The slope is slippery, and I've found myself coming up to the same questions: If I fail to believe in this aspect, then what happens to the rest of the belief? It seems that Christianity is a house of cards, where removing one piece of the structure will cause everything to crumble.
I have no answer to Alex's question about what it means to be a Christian...because I'm still trying to figure that out myself. With the mounting evidence for evolution growing every day, with advancements in technology allowing us to know more about our natural world, and with historians growing in knowledge about our past, the defacto "It's in the Bible so it must be true." stance is waning on me. I want to know the how's and why's, and I want to understand how my faith fits into this larger picture...if it indeed is meant to fit in at all.
(you can check out his post at: http://www.alexblog.com/2008/09/comment-making-christianity-credible-in-a-secular-age/)
He specifies a few items that should be considered in light of current state of understanding of the physical world around us:
The problem of course comes into play when we look at the traditional Protestant view of Christianity, and why they so strongly require that the Bible be taken literally.This is nothing new. Many Christian scholars are arguing for an overhaul of Christian beliefs (see references below), in particular, shifting away from a literalistic interpretations to treating the Bible as powerful metaphors relevant to the human condition. This puts the big-ticket items of Christianity under the spotlight:
- Was Jesus really the son of God as well as part of the Trinity?
- Was he born of a virgin birth?
- Did Jesus die and was resurrected to (re)join God and, thereby, save us from our original inherited sin?
- In fact, did Jesus exist at all as one person or was his Bible persona some sort of idealised compilation of preachers?
- Therefore, is the Bible really a mixed collection of historical stories with powerful metaphorical messages written by a diverse range of people rather than the inerrant Word of God?
- If these are wrong or, at least, doubtful, then what does it mean to be a Christian?
- Are the other ways to achieve salvation than through one specific set of religious beliefs?
Jesus had to be part of the trinity and had to be of virgin birth. Because only a clean and pure sacrifice could be made for all the sin in the world, Jesus had to be without blemish. Not from the seed of a man, which carries sin's taint.
Jesus had to be a single living person, who did die and who was resurrected to ensure that he conquered death and allowed us to enter Heaven by believing in Him and the sacrifice he made.
God is truth, and if the Bible is seen to have even a letter of untruth in it, then it taints the entire thing...regardless of history and how it was put together...God's hand was guiding it and we accept that the message is His.
Jesus said he was the way, truth, and light and that nobody gets to the Father unless they go through Jesus. So all other relgions are false and failures.
So with all those in mind, we need to look at the one question Alex raises that is really at the heart of the whole discussion: If these are wrong or, at least, doubtful, then what does it mean to be a Christian?
If sin is only relevant in a discussion about redemption, and yet we decide that Jesus didn't really die on the cross, then how do we justify worrying about sin further?
If the Bible is fictional and the words within it not God inspired, then why would we give credence and value to something written only to further others beliefs and/or agendas? How do we determine which words and stories to hold up as truth and which ones to turn away?
If we believe that any religion can lead you to God, then we either make Jesus to be a liar and also wrong, which makes his sacrifice meaningless...or we ignore that section of the Bible where Jesus says He's the only way...which discredits the Bible's authenticity and raises questions about whether we can trust it at all.
The slope is slippery, and I've found myself coming up to the same questions: If I fail to believe in this aspect, then what happens to the rest of the belief? It seems that Christianity is a house of cards, where removing one piece of the structure will cause everything to crumble.
I have no answer to Alex's question about what it means to be a Christian...because I'm still trying to figure that out myself. With the mounting evidence for evolution growing every day, with advancements in technology allowing us to know more about our natural world, and with historians growing in knowledge about our past, the defacto "It's in the Bible so it must be true." stance is waning on me. I want to know the how's and why's, and I want to understand how my faith fits into this larger picture...if it indeed is meant to fit in at all.
The Role of Evangelicals in Elections
We've all sat through church services where our pastors have made some sort of political comment, even if they weren't meaning to. They point out that George W. Bush is a Christian man, or the faults of the democratic party members and how they falter on matters of faith and holiness. They urge us to prayerfully consider candidates and point to their views on items like same sex marriage and abortion. And behind all the comments, there's fear.
Fear that the federal government will somehow impose the same sort of authority as communist countries like China and North Korea, and that the views and values of the leader will somehow blanket over the country instantly. I was talking to a friend just the other day...a youth pastor in fact...who went on about how Obama wants to get into the White House to further an Islamic agenda. It's fear without facts, and we as Christians need to ensure that we're guarding ourselves against it.
The unfortunate part of this election is that while people should be asking about ending the war in Iraq or the missions in Afghanestan, or what needs to be done to ensure that the fallout of the sub-prime mortgage disaster doesn't happen again, or how we can ensure that America reduces its dependency on foreign oil, or how to help people get access to medical care, we get muddied in the same old waters that we've been dragged into before. It will mean more that a candidate is pro-life than it will what their foreign policy is.
The reality is that there are going to be people who will vote for the next president based solely on whether they share the same views on social topics instead of whether their policies and plans are best for the country at large. The fear that a tool of Satan will be given power will supercede the real possibility that America will continue to plunge out of its superpower status and into that of mediocrity.
So what is the role of evangelicals in this election? To stop being reactionary and use the brain that God gave you to THINK. Read, listen, ask questions, research...ensure that you know WHY you will be voting for a given political leader and not just because you've always been a Republican (or Democrat).
The world will be watching what the USA does...that doesn't matter. What matters is that you vote for what's best for you and your country. If that's McCain, fine. But do it because you know it to be right...not because someone else tells you it is.
Fear that the federal government will somehow impose the same sort of authority as communist countries like China and North Korea, and that the views and values of the leader will somehow blanket over the country instantly. I was talking to a friend just the other day...a youth pastor in fact...who went on about how Obama wants to get into the White House to further an Islamic agenda. It's fear without facts, and we as Christians need to ensure that we're guarding ourselves against it.
The unfortunate part of this election is that while people should be asking about ending the war in Iraq or the missions in Afghanestan, or what needs to be done to ensure that the fallout of the sub-prime mortgage disaster doesn't happen again, or how we can ensure that America reduces its dependency on foreign oil, or how to help people get access to medical care, we get muddied in the same old waters that we've been dragged into before. It will mean more that a candidate is pro-life than it will what their foreign policy is.
The reality is that there are going to be people who will vote for the next president based solely on whether they share the same views on social topics instead of whether their policies and plans are best for the country at large. The fear that a tool of Satan will be given power will supercede the real possibility that America will continue to plunge out of its superpower status and into that of mediocrity.
So what is the role of evangelicals in this election? To stop being reactionary and use the brain that God gave you to THINK. Read, listen, ask questions, research...ensure that you know WHY you will be voting for a given political leader and not just because you've always been a Republican (or Democrat).
The world will be watching what the USA does...that doesn't matter. What matters is that you vote for what's best for you and your country. If that's McCain, fine. But do it because you know it to be right...not because someone else tells you it is.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Paul David Washer - Why are there not more of him?!
So I was checking out some videos on God Tube today and came accross this one:
The guy speaking is Paul David Washer, and he's speaking at a youth conference in 2002 in Alabama. So who is Paul David Washer. For more info on the ministry he's involved with, check out: http://www.heartcrymissionary.com/
I greatly enjoyed hearing his message...not because I agreed with how he presented it, or necessarily all that he said...but the underlying jest is something I can connect with: the church today has become filled with attendees of the faith, not servants, workers, and defenders.
We're preached to about the love of God, the grace of God, and yet for some reason those concepts are taken as reasons for us to not participate in our churches, to be active in ministries, or to really strive to live according to the Bible. No instead there's an attitude of "Well, even if i mess up I've accepted Christ and I'm saved, and any sin I do just damages our relationship and that can always be mended."
Really? Would we actually treat our flesh and blood best friend that way? Would we do things to damage a relationship knowing that "they'll forgive me and things will be alright eventually"? Of course we wouldn't...and yet God seems to hold a different place in our lives...that although we love the human traits we assign to him like love, compassion, gentleness, etc., we also keep the fact that he is God (creator, ruler, king) in our back pocket so that we have the best of both worlds.
Whether you agree or disagree with Paul Washer, the bigger issue is that hearing what he has to say should make you think...should challenge your faith...you might agree, you might disagree, you might be full out angry or outraged. Good...hopefully that translates into discussion and passion within our churches.
CC
The guy speaking is Paul David Washer, and he's speaking at a youth conference in 2002 in Alabama. So who is Paul David Washer. For more info on the ministry he's involved with, check out: http://www.heartcrymissionary.com/
I greatly enjoyed hearing his message...not because I agreed with how he presented it, or necessarily all that he said...but the underlying jest is something I can connect with: the church today has become filled with attendees of the faith, not servants, workers, and defenders.
We're preached to about the love of God, the grace of God, and yet for some reason those concepts are taken as reasons for us to not participate in our churches, to be active in ministries, or to really strive to live according to the Bible. No instead there's an attitude of "Well, even if i mess up I've accepted Christ and I'm saved, and any sin I do just damages our relationship and that can always be mended."
Really? Would we actually treat our flesh and blood best friend that way? Would we do things to damage a relationship knowing that "they'll forgive me and things will be alright eventually"? Of course we wouldn't...and yet God seems to hold a different place in our lives...that although we love the human traits we assign to him like love, compassion, gentleness, etc., we also keep the fact that he is God (creator, ruler, king) in our back pocket so that we have the best of both worlds.
Whether you agree or disagree with Paul Washer, the bigger issue is that hearing what he has to say should make you think...should challenge your faith...you might agree, you might disagree, you might be full out angry or outraged. Good...hopefully that translates into discussion and passion within our churches.
CC
Friday, January 4, 2008
Leadership Contracts Are Fine...but Where Do You Draw The Line?
One of the new fads out there seem to be leadership contracts...y'know, getting those in leadership positions to agree to certain standards of lifestyle, spirituality, and appearance. I think these are great...to a point though.
Let me give you an example: I know of someone who was recently asked by her pastor to agree to him contacting her boss for a reference. This was to ensure that how she was living outside of church matches what she is inside of church. Now some background: yes, this person did go through some traumatic stuff in her life, and yes this person is young...BUT...do we ask ALL of our leadership in the church to provide references? Is this a matter now that we have to be intrusive to all aspects of someone's life before allowing them to act as leaders in our pastors eye's?
In fact, are YOUR pastors under some sort of contract? Is there anything in there that would allow your board or your membership access to areas of their life normally secluded to privacy? Why shouldn't there be? If they're going to ask US to do it, why shouldn't they be held to the same standards? Why shouldn't we have a public record of their phone calls, their internet browsing history, where they go, what they drink...you see the slippery slope this causes.
We need to ensure that the leadership of our church is Godly and are people who are serious about improving their Christian faith, absolutely. But none of us is perfect and all of us will have some area of sin in our lives that we're dealing with. To hold leadership to ultra-strict contracts without any aspect of love or care seems to tread on the boundaries of legalism...and we've all seen what happens when that takes power.
CC
Let me give you an example: I know of someone who was recently asked by her pastor to agree to him contacting her boss for a reference. This was to ensure that how she was living outside of church matches what she is inside of church. Now some background: yes, this person did go through some traumatic stuff in her life, and yes this person is young...BUT...do we ask ALL of our leadership in the church to provide references? Is this a matter now that we have to be intrusive to all aspects of someone's life before allowing them to act as leaders in our pastors eye's?
In fact, are YOUR pastors under some sort of contract? Is there anything in there that would allow your board or your membership access to areas of their life normally secluded to privacy? Why shouldn't there be? If they're going to ask US to do it, why shouldn't they be held to the same standards? Why shouldn't we have a public record of their phone calls, their internet browsing history, where they go, what they drink...you see the slippery slope this causes.
We need to ensure that the leadership of our church is Godly and are people who are serious about improving their Christian faith, absolutely. But none of us is perfect and all of us will have some area of sin in our lives that we're dealing with. To hold leadership to ultra-strict contracts without any aspect of love or care seems to tread on the boundaries of legalism...and we've all seen what happens when that takes power.
CC
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