Why we disagree

Jonathan Haidt, in The Righteous Mind, indicates five criteria which people use to make ethical decisions:


1. Whether a given course of action will harm people or care for them
2. Whether it will effect fairness and reciprocity
3. Whether or not it expresses in-group loyalty
4. Whether it is consistent with respect for authority
5. Whether or not it adheres to the principles of purity and sacredness

Haidt says that our ethical decisions depend on which of these criteria we give the most weight to.

This raises the question of the criteria that Jesus typically used in the choices he made about sabbath observation, diet, response to Roman imperial rule, touching lepers, associating with recognized "sinners," sexual behavior, and so on.

It seems clear that Jesus had low regard for 3 and 5. In Luke 4, for example, he implies that he and his fellow Jews are no more favored by God than other peoples. (His congregation gets really angry about that one.) In Mark 7 he tossed all the dietary laws that his people believed had been given them by God through Moses. Real purity has to do with the heart, our attitudes and intentions. Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."

On the other hand, Jesus cared for people by healing them on the sabbath in violation of popular  beliefs about it being sacred, and repeated stories and maxims in which the first wind up last and the last first. So criteria 1 and 2 seem to be highly valued by Jesus.

Criterion 4 is trickier. Jesus critics saw him as disobeying God, whereas he saw them as misunderstanding what the Scriptures really taught. Both Jesus and his opponents claimed to be obeying God, and both quoted Scripture.

Here is a principle: Scripture by itself cannot be appealed to as the ultimate authority, for it itself undermines such a position. To take the Bible seriously means to recognize that it sets itself up as a dialogue of many different voices, not as an authoritative, unique voice. Readers must figure out what it means to respect God's authority.

Jesus redefines authority. He "rules" not by coercion, but by love and persuasion. Since Christians worship God as seen in Jesus, God's authority is to be understood, according to the highest of the teachings of the Bible on the subject, as honoring God's gifting us with the power and right to author life and order and beauty.

So yes, Jesus places a high value on Criterion 4, but radically redefines it so that it doesn't mean what is usually understood.

Which of the five criteria do you emphasize most in your ethical choices?

Last summer at the memorable Wild Goose Festival, Jean and I met Kevin Miller, producer of the movie Hellbound?  Kevin impressed me with his thoughtful and generous spirit and keen interest in the subject of his film.

The question mark is the key to the title. Kevin's full-length documentary includes interviews with the entire spectrum of Christian scholars and leaders on whether the traditional doctrine of hell is true.

I was pleased to learn that it will be showing at the Gateway Theater next to the Ohio State main campus on January 20-23.

Go to www.hellboundthemovie.com to watch the trailer and for additional info.

Yes, it was Talk of the Nation on NPR, not All Things Considered, to which yesterday's post referred. 

The discussion led by Neil Conan raises a number of significant questions that Evangelicals do not always face squarely and with genuine curiosity.

For example, is it really necessary for there to have been an actual original human couple and a "fall" into sin for Christ to be the hope of the world?  Dr. Mohler's particular definition of Christianity hangs on his literal interpretation of Genesis and all of the Bible. But from the beginning of Christianity there have been other understandings of the gospel that do not share his assumption. 

Brian McLaren, in A New Kind of Christianity, explains how Mohler's concept of the gospel comes from his assuming an old Greek philosophical narrative through which he interprets the Bible. That's  where he gets the sharp opposition between natural and supernatural, for example. 

Through careful scientific inquiry, we know much more than the writers of Genesis or the apostle Paul did. Since all truth is God's truth, new knowledge about human origins and the formation of the Bible can only clarify our faith by helping to rid it of mistaken ideas based on ignorance. There is no reason to embrace unnecessary ignorance. 

I'll post links tomorrow to a couple of sites that treat both the gospel and knowledge with appropriate care. 

Yesterday on NPR's All Things Considered, there was an excellent discussion on disagreements among Christians on the importance of there having a literal Adam and Eve for the Christian faith to make any sense. Here is the link. I'll post some of my own thoughts tomorrow.

http://www.npr.org/2012/10/08/162377026/christians-divided-over-science-of-human-origins

Insight into some Muslim reactions

Our friend Rachel has lived in a Muslim society for years. She knows Muslims as friends and loves them and they love her. She is worth listening to.

http://www.djiboutijones.com/2012/09/honor-and-shame.html

If you are interested in understanding others, I am finding Brian McLaren's new book helpful and stimulating. It's called "Why Did Jesus, Moses, The Buddha and Mohammed Cross the Road? Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World."

The Gospel in 7 Words

The September 5, 2012, issue of Christian Century has an interesting article in which contributors are invited to put the gospel message in 7 words. Check it out at christiancentury.org\7words. Here is my proposal, inspired in part by "Matt" in a recent post at JesusCreed: In Christ God puts everything back together. The thinking is that this captures some of the most mature New Teatament thinking as expressed in Colossians 1:20 and Ephesians 1:10, as well as with the theme of the restoration of all things (Matthew 19:28; Acts 3:21). My attempt at a seven word summary intends to express how in Christ God puts us back together ourselves, reconciling us with our past, present and future and so making us whole. It also looks to the reconciling and connecting of people in families and communities, and then the connecting of communities with each other, and everyone with the creation in which we live. This in turn suggests the reason for being of churches: participating of God's work of putting everything back together.

Col. 1:20 ...and he reconciled all things to himself through him — whether things on earth or in the heavens. He brought peace through the blood of his cross.

Eph. 1:10 This is what God planned for the climax of all times: to bring all things together in Christ, the things in heaven along with the things on earth.

Matt. 19:28 Jesus said to them, “I assure you who have followed me that, when everything is made new, when the Human One sits on his magnificent throne, you also will sit on twelve thrones overseeing the twelve tribes of Israel."

Acts 3:21 Jesus must remain in heaven until the restoration of all things, about which God spoke long ago through his holy prophets.

Citations from the Common English Bible

The "slippery slope" may not be so bad after all! http://rachelheldevans.com/they-were-right-about-slippery-slope

Many of the comments are very interesting.

Love Wins!

This is the title of my Easter season sermon series, borrowed from the book of the same name by Rob Bell. (I added the exclamation mark.) Bell's book is an important one for helping Christians to think through our faith and to explain it well to others. Bell asks good questions and is a competent guide to finding answers. He has come in for a fair amount of criticism from some quarters. Albert Mohler, the President of the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, has written a trenchant critique of Bell's work. Here is a link to Mohler's article, followed by my own response to it. I hope to contribute to a useful discussion and perhaps incite a few folks to read the book, which repays careful study.

Mohler's critique of Love Wins

Al Mohler’s Critique of Love Wins by Rob Bell

by Mark Farmer

May 7, 2011

First, a word on Mohler’s polemical method. There is innuendo from the first to the last mention of Rob Bell to end in Mohler’s article in which he lavishly praises his gifts as a communicator. The implication is that while Bell is a “genius” and “master communicator,” he isn’t really a thinker. He “uses his incredible power of literary skill and communication to unravel the Bible’s message and to cast doubt on its teachings.” In a word, Bell has done noting more than “a public relations job.”

In fact, Love Wins is a very well thought out work that grapples thoroughly and carefully with Scripture throughout. 

Mohler attributes to Bell the motive of kindly desiring to make Christianity more palatable to those who reject it. Bell’s own indication of his motives is that his aim is not to please people in order to sell a message or grow a church. It is to seek the truth. It is to seek the truth in the Bible. How does he do?

Careful students of Scripture approach each text as if reading it for the first time. They know that assuming that one has already grasped the passage in all its complexity and richness blinds one to seeing what is really there. 

When Mohler asserts, “We have read this book before,” he sets himself up for a great fall. Has he really read this book before? Has he really read and understood this book at all?

Mohler accuses Bell of omitting from his gospel major doctrines such as the cross and the resurrection, whereas Bell has an entire chapter devoted to them (and in the book discusses the other doctrines Mohler names as well). 

Mohler’s central assertion is that Rob Bell is simply reintroducing classical American Protestant Liberalism with its denial of the biblical teaching on hell that is rooted in a rejection of biblical authority. 

Here we see the explanation of all that follows. Mohler and Bell move in two different worlds of thought. When Mohler misclassifies Bell as a classic Liberal, he makes a colossal category error. Liberals and Conservatives (theologically speaking) move in the realm of Enlightenment thought characterized by an emphasis on certainty, logical argument, and clarity. Classic theological Liberals sought certainty in rational thought that excluded anything supernatural. Conservatives found certainty in an inerrant Bible. Therefore, for Mohler, “We will either affirm that every word of the Bible is true, trustworthy, and authoritative, or we will create our own Bible according to our own preferences.”

Bell, on the other hand, was educated in and lives and breathes in the realm of postmodernism where ultimate certainty cannot be found. There always remains a veil of mystery, and therefore the supernatural can in no way be ruled out as in Liberalism.  

Mohler’s critique of Bell throughout is that Bell doesn’t use Mohler’s Conservative Enlightenment approach to Scripture. But he mistakenly identifies Bell postmodern approach with Liberalism, and then proceeds to attack Bell as if Bell were a Liberal, which he is not. 

For example, Mohler writes: “H. Richard Niebuhr famously once distilled liberal theology into this sentence: ‘A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.’”  Not a single one of the points in Niebuhr’s summary is true of Bell’s book.

Love Wins is, in fact, thoroughly and deeply biblical from beginning to end. It just isn’t done in a way that Mohler grasps. 

For example, in chapter 1 Bell describes the certainty with which some Christians claim to know who is in hell and who is not. He then examines a sample of nineteen (19!) passages from the New Testament that one could refer to in answering the question of who goes to hell and who doesn’t. The surprising discovery is that these passages give a variety of answers to the question. 

Taking all of Scripture seriously does not yield simple, clear answers to the question. On the contrary, many questions are raised: Enumerating the teachings of the NT on how to be saved, Bell asks, “is it what you say, or who you are, or what you do, or what you say you’re going to do, or who your friends are, or who you’re married to, or whether you give birth to children?” (Page 15)

Mohler accuses Bell of picking and choosing his Scriptures, but he doesn’t seem to be aware that Bell’s method of writing is to begin from a wide a collection of passages and then to try to make sense of them. For example, in his chapter on Hell, Bell examines every passage in the Bible in which the actual word “hell” occurs. Mohler’s accusation is incomprehensible and makes one seriously doubt that he has read the entire book. 

Mohler accuses Bell of “reducing” the Bible to “story” and then substituting for it another story that Bell “prefers.” This assertion, too, is incomprehensible. It is the “simple gospel” as commonly believed that reduces the rich teaching of the biblical narrative to a list of propositions. And it is not what Bell “prefers” that guides his thinking (no more that is the case with any of us, of course, including Mohler), but rather some pretty rigorous thinking.

Mohler asserts that Bell believes in inclusivism, the teaching that all will go to heaven whether or not they hear of Christ or believe in him. Bell does no such thing, observing that while some Christians have held this position throughout church history, that there are tensions in the biblical passages that we should retain rather than try to force them into one clearly defined teaching. But some of those passages do point to the surprise of people being in heaven that some wouldn’t think would have that possibility, and Bell discusses those biblical passages at length in chapter 6.

Mohler accuses Bell of reviving a focus on God’s love that excludes God’s wrath and judgment, and which reduces God’s love to “mere sentimentality,” as he thinks Liberalism did. He missed Bell’s discussion on how things incompatible with heaven will not be permitted to enter there, and on the consuming fire of God directed at all that is not good. Bell gives the biblical teaching on judgment its full play, even if he doesn’t conclude that the commonly accepted idea of hell gives justice to the biblical teaching.

Rob Bell makes his very strong overall case on the basis of Scripture. Mohler’s surprisingly rebuttal case rests mostly on innuendo and on pointing out ways that Bell’s biblical discussion doesn’t arrive at the same conclusions Mohler has adopted. He fails to engage the substance of Bell’s argument.

To really make a dent in Bell’s case, Mohler needs to address Bell’s biblical argument and to show that his own position rests on a even more solid biblical base than does Bell’s. 

The central question of Love Wins isn’t whether there is a hell, or who is in it, or what it’s like, or how long it lasts, or what its purpose is. The real question Bell poses is, What is God like? In his next to last chapter, he suggests that many Christians don’t really love or deeply trust God because they believe that God would unleash his wrath on a person  they love the moment they die and never relent or allow them to learn and turn and grow and become good. (I suggest that this is also why most Christians don’t really believe in hell the way Mohler says we should. It makes us nobler, fairer, kinder and more forgiving than God himself. George MacDonald, C.S. Lewis’s “mentor,” in his Unspoken Sermons, this this all through even more completely than Bell does.) 

Bell hopes that his book will free Christians to voice the questions they have been secretly harboring and so join in the centuries-old discussion that Christians have been having all along. (He notes that even Martin Luther believed that there was no reason why God couldn’t save people after death!) “I believe the discussion itself is divine.”

Mohler, on the other hand, aims to shut down the conversation by asserting that his idea of God and the gospel and hell is the correct and biblical one.  We are to yield and submit to his authority, which he identifies with the authority of the Bible and of “Orthodoxy” (as defined by whom?). 

Mohler’s authoritarian bent is also revealed by his criticism Bell who, he says, “believes it is his right and duty to determine which story is better than another — which version of Christianity is going to be compelling and attractive to unbelievers.”

Mohler has himself chosen which version of Christianity he believes to be the best. He is a Calvinist (not Arminian), Southern (not Northern/American) Baptist (not Methodist, etc.), Evangelical (not Liberal), Protestant (not Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox), Christian. I say we all have that same “right and duty” - as Baptists have always believed and taught.

Near the end of his article Mohler has a litany of things which “we dare not...we must never” believe or think or say. Oh yes, we do dare! And, like Martin Luther, we must say what we find in the Scriptures and in our conscience, so help us God. 

Discussing the Bible: Seven Rules of Engagement

Wisdom from Rachel Held Evans as she encourages Christians to give each other space to each other to differ in our readings of the Bible. Not yet 30, Rachel is a worthy spokesman for the younger generation as they move beyond some of the blind spots of their elders.

Discussing the Bible: Seven Rules of Engagement

TIME cover story on Rob Bell's Love Wins

TIME has brought an in-house conversation among Evangelicals onto the public square. I am delighted, not only because I believe that Bell is on the right track, but because the questions he asks are important for everyone. I'll be speaking on the book's themes for several weeks beginning Easter Sunday at The American Baptist Church of Westerville. (Click on the link to the left for details.)

You are invited, whatever your religious or philosophical persuasion or doubts.

Here is the TIME story:

TIME on Rob Bell and Hell

Japan and God

Here is a wise and gracious post by Brian McLaren on questions raised by John Piper's blog on God's role in the Japan tragedies.

http://theotherjournal.com/2011/03/23/faith-beyond-all-answers-a-response-to-john-piper’s-theodicy/

The Jesus-Shaped Life

The Jesus-Shaped Life – Church 2011

Our goal as followers of Jesus is to become more and more like Christ, the image of God (Luke 6:40; Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 4:23-24; 1 John 3:2). Church is the place where we learn to love like Jesus. 

How does God get us there? God moves us through life in a way that follows the pattern of Jesus’ life (1 Peter 2:21).

The following itinerary of Jesus’ life can help us know where we are in the process of becoming like Christ. It can help us see what to do next. It roughly follows the course of Jesus’ life: baptism > wilderness temptations > calling the disciples > public ministry of teaching, healing and casting out demons > opposition from many sides > suffering and crucifixion > resurrection.

12 moves God uses to bring us into Jesus-shaped living – Learning to love like Jesus  

1. I receive his Spirit who gives me power and his Word that tells me who I am, what my identity is as a child of God (Matt. 3:16-17; John 1:12). Move from feeling-based living to identity-based living. 
2. I embrace and keep in mind the hope of the resurrection and restoration of all things that God has promised (Heb. 12:1-2; Eph. 1:9-10; Col. 1:16,20; Acts 3:21). Move from low aims (or none at all) to the highest aim.
3. I gladly obey everything God says (Matt. 3:15; Phil. 2:7-8). Since (unlike Jesus - 1 Pet. 2:22) I have sinned, I repent of my sins – changing my heart and my life – by naming and admitting to God and to another person all my sins and character defects (Matt. 3:2,8; 1 John 1:9; James 5:16), and doing all I can to make things right (Luke 19:8). Move from being led by self and others to being led by to God.
4. I recognize and deal decisively with every test and temptation in both their surface and deep aspects (Matt. 4:1-11). Move from passivity to decisiveness.
5. I ask God daily for guidance and help, and in every decision and difficulty (Luke 6:12-13; John 5:19,30). Move from listening to self and others to listening to God.
6. I choose and invest myself in a community that the Father gives me to share life with (John 17:9; Mark 3:14;  14:32-34). Move from a lone ranger to a do-it-together mindset.
7. I minister life and blessing (help, hope, healing, deliverance, reconciliation) to others in Jesus’ name (John 14:12; 20:21; Matt. 10:7-8). Move from wanting to giving.
8. I seek to know the Father, his heart, his ways and his purpose, more deeply and truly (Matt. 11:27; 5:43-48; John 17:3). Move from indifference to interest.
9. I confront darkness in myself and in the world by spiritual, not worldly, means (John 1:5,9; 2 Cor. 10:3-5). Move from inaction to action.
10. I embrace suffering and hardship that come my way in the confidence that God will bring good out of it (Heb. 5:8; Luke 22:42; 2 Cor. 12:9-10; Rom. 8:28-29). Move from fear to trust.
11. I persevere, never giving up on God or giving in to darkness, even in death (Luke 9:51,62; Matt. 27:46; 2 Cor. 6:4). Move from weakness to strength in Christ.
12. I forgive, in Christ’s name, all who have wronged me in any way, and do what is possible towards reconciliation (Mark 2:5; Luke 23:34). Move from bitterness and hardness to mercy.

These 12 “moves” are about becoming aware of how God is working and responding to and collaborating with him in our becoming fully alive. “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.” – Irenaeus, d. 202.

              Rev. Mark Farmer, American Baptist Church of Westerville, January 2011

What is a leader?

This from Scot McKnight's Jesus Creed blog:

I was asked what are my top three books on leadership and, well, I wrote this in the middle of the piece.

So I want to put my idea on the line and see where it leads us. We have one leader, and his name is Jesus. I want to bang this home with a quotation from Jesus from Matthew 23, where he seems to be staring at the glow of leadership in the eyes of his disciples, and he does nothing short of deconstructing the glow: 

But you are not to be called “Rabbi,” for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth “father,” for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. 

Instead of seeing myself as a leader, I see myself as a follower. Instead of plotting how to lead, I plot how to follow Jesus with others. Instead of seeing myself at the helm of some boat—and mine is small compared to many others—I see myself in the boat, with Jesus at the helm.

Amen! 

a time to tear down | A Time to Build Up » The Benefit of Doubt: Coming to Terms with Faith in a Postmodern Era

a time to tear down | A Time to Build Up » The Benefit of Doubt: Coming to Terms with Faith in a Postmodern Era

Peter Enns expresses well what I have experienced and been learning about spiritual doubt through the years. Doubt is not something to fear, but something to embrace, for it is the door to a truer knowledge of God and to a deeper faith.

Church Year Spirituality

Here is a superb overview and explanation of the Christian year, which is the basis of our church's spiritual formation/discipleship ministry.

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/church-year-spirituality

The Next Christians

Gabe Lyons discerns some fresh, exciting traits of the next generation of Christians in the U.S. and describes them in his book with the above title. Here are the six traits he observes in Christians in their 20s:

1. Provoked, not offended
2. Creators, not critics
3. Called, not employed
4. Grounded, not distracted
5. In community, not alone
6. Countercultural, not "relevant"

Lyons calls the Next Christians "Restorers": "because they envision the world as it was meant to be and they work toward that vision."

20-Somethings and churches

From Scot McKnight on JesusCreed, November 9. The punch line is at the end:

One of the reasons I wrote One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow is because so many parents have said this to me and then asked the big question:

My son or my daughter is a Christian but has no use for church.What can I do about it?

My conservative estimate is that I’ve been asked this 200 times. The answer is not simple. I tell them church is not just important but it is the locus of what God is doing through Christ in this world.

The problem often enough is connecting what they think church is with what young (sometimes radical) adults think church is.

20somethings can be profoundly serious about following Jesus Christ and find church shockingly alienating. One of my former students who no longer goes to church said to me not long ago “If I found the church interested in Jesus I’d be there in a minute. Believe me, following Jesus is what matters most to me!”

Many of us desperately want to change our world.

But is an illusion to think we can change anybody else but ourselves. The truth is that we cannot change them - we can only change ourselves. We need to remember the alternate version of the Serenity Prayer, and repeat it regularly:“Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it is me

From: http://wecan.be/

Open Worship

On November 7 we experimented with an "open worship" format patterned on 1 Corinthians 14:26 in which each person has the opportunity to share a word of encouragement, a scripture, a testimony, a song, etc., for the "building up" of everyone. The early Baptists in the 1600s worshiped in a similar way. The seating was arranged in a horseshoe or semicircle so we could all see each other. The Communion table was at the center. My sermon was only 15 minutes long, followed by a time of discussion, another practice of the early Baptist movement. The entire worship time was enriching and delightful.

Postings today on Jesus Creed blog

It's an interesting discussion on the book Razing Hell at http://www.patheos.com/community/jesuscreed/2010/09/29/beyond-the-abyss-2/comment-page-2/#comment-114314

I have a couple of comments posted (so far).

First Person: Classical sounds call friend to mind

The hero of this article was the daughter of Libby Gay, a member of ABCW.

First Person: Classical sounds call friend to mind

Do Worship and Patriotism Mix?

This season between Memorial Day and July 4 lends itself to thoughtful discussion and seeking of what is most pleasing to God in the interface between God and country. See the stimulating interaction on jesuscreed, where Scot McKnight has raised the question:

http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2010/06/what-does-your-church-do-on-ju_comments.html

My list of Jesus' words that convince me

Here is my (not) short list of words of Jesus that convince me that he is worth following. (“Convince” come from two Latin words that mean “conquer with.” So these are words with which I have been “conquered”):

• “If you only love those who love you, what makes you different from anyone else?”
• “Come you me, you that are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
• “Do you want to be made whole?”
• “Blessed are the poor in spirit, the grieving, the humble, those who hunger and thirst for things to be put right, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are mistreated for doing what is right.”
• “I am the Resurrection and the Life. The one who trusts in me will never die.”
• “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not religious observances.’ For I came not to call those who have it all together, but those who have lost their way.”
• “I have compassion on the crowd.”
• “What will it profit someone if they gain the whole world and lose their soul?”
• “Treat others the way you want them to treat you.”
• “Truly I say to you, as you have done to the least of these, you did it to me.”
• “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
• “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
• “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

The Words of Jesus as Gospel

In October 2001, Paolo Ricca, then leader of the Italian Baptists, presented a wonderful two-day conference on telling people the "evangel," or good news. In his talk on what our message is as Christians, Ricca invited us to think about what convinces us to follow Jesus ourselves. He cited the four things about Jesus that convinced him: Jesus' words, his life, his death, and his resurrection.

It was the first of these that surprised me. In all I had heard and read on the subject over the years, I think Ricca was the first to suggest the words of Jesus as a key element in the Christian message. When you think about it, that's pretty surprising!

Ricca gave his short list of the words of Jesus that convinced him:

- "Love your enemies."

- "The last shall be first, and the first last."

- "Call no one on earth your Father, for you have one Father - the one in heaven."

- "This person, too, is a descendant of Abraham."

- "Truly I tell you that even in Israel I have not found such great faith."

What is your short list of the words of Jesus that you would highlight in explaining the good news to someone? I'll post my list tomorrow.

The Words of Jesus: A Gospel of the Sayings of Our Lord

Phyllis Tickle has edited this book that consists of the sayings of Jesus - all 203 of them - from the four gospels and the book of Acts. What a brilliant idea! Jesus said that it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. I read a few pages a day every morning over several weeks, and now find myself turning over in my mind different sayings of Jesus and listening to them afresh.

Now I'm digesting Ms. Tickle's introductory essay in which she describes how the two-year project affected her. One of her discoveries was that she moved from seeing Jesus' words as objects to be studied and analyzed to letting them reach out and take her into to them.

The power of Jesus' words in real. They are not usually "inspirational," but something much more intense, uncomfortable and exhilarating. Phyllis Tickle attributes that to Jesus' burning concern, his consuming divine love for each of us.

Five things you would tell a new follower of Jesus

Yesterday on his jesuscreed blog, Scot McKnight raised this question:

If you could tell a new follower of Jesus the five most important elements of following Jesus, what would they be?

Here is how I answered:

1. Forgive all who have hurt you.

2. Seek forgiveness of all whom you have wronged.

3. Let your memory and imagination and attitudes be transformed by the Gospel of the love of God in Christ.

4. Pray (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication, submission).

5. Do all this together with others.

I also appreciated comments by others mentioning casting out all idols and one’s finances in order.

New Truth and the Mayflower Pastor

I strongly identify with this exhortation by Pastor John Robinson (1575-1625), to the Pilgrim Fathers before they left on the Mayflower in 1620:

"I Charge you before God and his blessed angels that you follow me no further than you have seen me follow Christ. If God reveal anything to you by any other instrument of His, be as ready to receive it as you were to receive any truth from my ministry, for I am verily persuaded the Lord hath more truth and light yet to break forth from His holy word.

"The Lutherans cannot be drawn to go beyond what Luther saw. Whatever part of His will our God has revealed to Calvin, they (Lutherans) will rather die than embrace it; and the Calvinists, you see, stick fast where they were left by that great man of God, who yet saw not all things. This is a misery much to be lamented.

"For though they were precious shining lights in their time, yet God has not revealed his whole will to them. And were they now living, they would be as ready and willing to embrace further light, as they had received."

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Robinson_(pastor)#cite_note-3

Isn't this an inspiring mindset to have?

Listening to Preaching

These thoughts by Brian Larson motivate me in my preaching ministry. They may do the same for those who listen. Before there were Bibles, books, videos, television, radio, magazines as sources of spiritual input, there was preaching. Larson meditates on why this is significant and shares some thoughts on how to listen to a sermon. I invite you to read, consider, and comment....
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/septemberweb-only/139-31.0.html

Twilight and New Moon films

Here are some thoughtful questions for conversation from one of the good people in Ann Arbor:
http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/parenting/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-important-questions-for-teens-and-tweens/

Two Thumbs Up...

...for the movie Up. It is animated, but isn't for kids. The children at the early showing we attended were constantly asking the adults, "What's happening? Why?" The theme of the movie, the spiritual challenge of growing old, just doesn't connect with the experience of kids. But for anyone over 40 or 50, it's a real thought-provoker as well as being thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. Highly recommended.

Christianity Today - New Link

I have added a link to Christianity Today. The flagship of evangelical magazines, CT was founded by Billy Graham and provides excellent, thought-provoking coverage of current events, church news and theological and ethical issues. I check this site every day and often find worthwhile material. Check it out!

Freedom

I have a post today at jesuscreed: http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/06/friday-is-for-friends-joey-spi.html#preview . The topic is Christian freedom.

Worship is a model for life

Isaiah 6:1-8 has long been seen by Protestants as a model for worship. Not that it is complete or unchangeable, but the stages of Isaiah's experience in the temple are a helpful starting point:

v. 1-2 - Seeing God
v. 3-4 - Praise
v. 5 - Confession
v. 6-7 - Cleansing
v. 8a - Hearing God's Word
v. 8b - Commitment
v. 9ff. - Commissioning

As in all religions, Christian worship is a model for life. The seven stages of Isaiah's encounter with the living God (John 12:36-41 indicates that it was the Son of God that he saw on the throne) become, then, a suggested itinerary for finding our way through a day and through our lifetime. Let's aim to make this our experience.

(Thanks to Dr. Bruce Leafblad in a D. Min. course at Bethel Seminary for the analysis of Isaiah 6 as a model for worship, and to Dr. Mathias Zahniser of Asbury Seminary for the idea of worship as a model for living.)

Pause

See you in a week or two, after surgery and recovery.

Mark

Book of Revelation

I have found a love for the last book in the Bible such as I have never had. The turning point has been Richard Bauckham's The Theology of the Book of Revelation (Cambridge University Press, 1993). My guess is the Bauckham knows as much about this book as anyone, and this short work is in part a distillation of years of massive and loving study of Revelation.

Here is a taste of how Bauckham brings out the meaning of Revelation for all generations. He shows that the image of the 144,000 (7:2 and 14:1-5) is a symbol of the church, portrayed as the Messiah's army who combats idolatry not with material weapons but by means of moral uprightness, their faithful testimony, and their following the Lamb wherever he goes, including to the death.

Then he suggests that the multitude that no one can number in 7:9-17 is also a symbol of the church, redeemed from all nations and peoples to worship God and the Lamb.

Finally, the two witnesses in 11:1-13 are also a symbol representing the church in its prophetic witness to the pagan nations, in the lineage of Moses and Elijah. They preach repentance to all the nations and peoples, who repent and begin to worship the one true God.

So the 144,000 = the countless multitude for all nations = the two witnesses who bring the nations to repentance and true faith = the church, the people of God in all times and places, including you and me. Far from leading us to speculate about who the 144,000 or the two witnesses might be in some future time with no relation to us, Bauckham's sensitive discernment of the imagery of revelation draws us right into the mission of God here and now.

How we change

I John 3:2 contains this puzzling statement:

[W]e know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

How can just seeing someone, even the risen Christ, change us so completely?

The recent delight in Susan Boyle's unexpected performance on "Britain Has Talent" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY) illustrates what John is saying. When we watch the clip, we and the audience have a certain set of expectations, reactions and attitudes toward her. When she begins to sing, those attitudes undergo a major shift. Why? Because we have "seen her as she is."

Seeing and knowing someone as they really are changes our attitude toward that person.

Since the meaning of "sin" in the Bible is basically the matter of a wrong attitude toward God, seeing him as he really is, in Christ, will dramatically change our attitude toward God - and toward those things which compete within us for our affection and loyalty (I John 2:15-17).

The heart, therefore, in overcoming sin in our lives is not to try to focus on the sins and trying to keep them under control, but to focus on getting to know God better. The more deeply and truly we know God intimately, the more our sins will be both apparent and abhorrent to us.

So let's constantly pray, "Lord, reveal more of yourself to me and us. Show me and us more of what you are really like. Increase omy and our affection for you."

Personal reflections on asking

It has been about ten years since I first read Dallas Willard's claim (see the last three posts below) that asking is the way God has given us in his kingdom to help each other meet Christ, grow in him and serve him. Putting it into practice has proven to be a significant challenge.

Here are some less-than-helpful things that I have found myself doing rather than asking someone to do something:

• Expecting people to know what I would like them to do (How dumb is that?)
  
• Complaining to someone else
  
• Worrying about what is going to happen
• Feeling frustrated

In other words, doing nothing constructive. How helpful is that?!

On the other hand, I find that the more I ask in the patient, considerate and respectful way that Willard describes, the more I find myself giving thanks for all that God has already done. I also find myself growing in appreciation for that person. And, of course, worrying less, complaining less, being much less frustrated.

Is your experience similar to this? A bit different?

Asking (Part 3)

Today we finish the passage from Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy. He is discussing the well-known verses in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus invites his followers to Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you. His view of the text is fresh and challenging. (See the previous two posts.)

And as long as we respect them before God, and are thoughtful and gracious, we can keep asking, in appropriate ways, keep seeking and keep knocking on the door of their lives. We should note that the ask-seek-knock teaching first applies to our approach to others, not to prayer to God. We respect and never forget that the latch of the heart is within. We are glad for that fact and would not override it. We can gently but persistently keep our hopeful expectation before them and at the same time before God. Asking is indeed the great law of the spiritual world through which things are accomplished in cooperation with God and yet in harmony with the freedom and worth of every individual.

What do you think? What speaks the most to you in the excerpt we have read these past three days? How is it different from our usual approach? Do you agree with Willard that the ask-seek-knock teaching applies first to our relationships with each other? Why might this be important? How might Willard's insight affect our approach to evangelism? To family and church relationships?

I am interested in your thoughts!

Asking (Part 2)

Dallas Willard describes what happens as we "back off" from trying to fix or improve others and they begin to open up (see yesterday's post):

I may quickly begin to appear to them as a possible ally and resource. Now they begin to sense their problem to be the situation they have created, or possibly themselves. Because I am no longer trying to drive them, genuine communication, real sharing of hearts, becomes an attractive possibility. The healing dynamic of the request comes naturally into play. And this is ... how to really be of help to those near us (Matt. 7:7-11).

When we stand thus in the kingdom, our approach to influencing others, for their good as well as ours, will be simply to ask: to ask to change, and to help them in any way they ask of us. It is a natural extension of this dynamic when we turn to ask God to work in their lives and hearts. to bring about changes. These changes will certainly involve more than any conscious choice they could make or we could desire."

We might want to respond that we also need to ask God to change us. Willard deals with that subject in most of the book. The quotation we are meditating on challenges us to change the way we go about helping each other change.

Isn't it amazing how hard it is for us in the situation to even think of the possibility of asking another person to change something?

More on this next time.

Asking

One of the best books I have read on the Christian life is Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God (HarperCollins, 1998). The excerpt that follows sheds a light on how Christian fellowship actually works that few others have expressed. Willard is commenting on Matthew 7:7, "Ask, and you shall receive," saying that it applies not only to prayer but to our relationships with one another.

The Dynamic of the Request

The most important element in the transformation [of personal relationships] is this: As long as I am condemning my friends or relatives, or pushing my 'pearls' on them, I am their problem. They have to respond to me, and that usually leads to their 'judging' me right back, or 'biting' me, as Jesus said.

But once I back away, maintaining a sensitive and nonmanipulative presence, I am no longer their problem. As I listen, they do not have to protect themselves from me, and they begin to open up. (p. 231)

The continuation of this quote from Dallas Willard next time.

"Merry Christmas"?

A friend brought to my attention the following You Tube video by a Christian group, Go Fish, taking a stand for the old tradition of saying "Merry Christmas!" to anyone and everyone. My thoughts on the tone and lyrics follow the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAckfn8yiAQ

Well, first off, there is the tone. When I listen to it with the ears of a non-Christian, it comes across as in-my-face, cocky, even aggressive. That is not how Jesus approached people. The songwriter seem to have failed to think through whether the aim is to draw people winsomely to Christ or to score a point.

In addition to the tone, there is the message itself. "I remember when people used to say, 'Merry Christmas!' to each other" (including to "Mr. Lowenstein"). So there is nostalgia for a golden age when "everyone" mouthed the words, "Merry Christmas," even when they didn't believe them, as the song indicates. That mythical golden age was also a time when the descendants of the slaves suffering the indignity of legal segregation and discrimination by some of the very people using the expression in question. 

But there are at least two additional problems with the song's outlook. First, the Christian faith and the Bible nowhere suggest that mouthing insincere words is pleasing to God or advances his Kingdom on earth. If anything, challenging non-Christians to say, "Merry Christmas" is to invite them to take the Lord's name in vain, to use it out of custom and social conformity instead out of a deep love for Christ.

Second, the song confuses the Church with society as a whole. But Christmas is a Christian celebration. We live in a civilization that has, since the 4th century, been nominally Christian. Those days are gone, and will not return, nor should they. There is no reason why Christians should want everyone in society to use the hallowed expression of the past. I cannot help but wonder why some feel the need to get everyone to say the words. 

The early Baptists left England in 1609 because of religious control by the state church, and advocated religious freedom for all faiths, Christian and non-Christian, as early as 1612. The last thing on their minds was to enforce a shallow external faith the way the Roman Emperor Constantine did in 313 AD. Our aim as Baptists is for men and women to enter into a heart relationship with God and to be transformed by his Word and Spirit.

I like to wish people a Blessed Christmas. "Merry" goes back to when Christmas was largely a season of carousing and drunkenness in England (despite "God rest ye merry, gentlemen...").

So here is wishing you and yours a Blessed Christmas, in all its glorious and weighty meaning!

Gospel

You can read my short post about the Gospel today at http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/. Note that this is a new address for jesuscreed.

On a different subject, you may also find the jesuscreed posts on Church Politics 1 and 2 from Monday and Wednesday to be of interest. 

Reading the Bible with Scot McKnight

Scot McKnight teaches Bible at North Park University in Chicago. His jesuscreed.org blog is a major internet hub for evangelicals and pastors. His book, The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible, has just been published by Zondervan. 

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Parakeet-Rethinking-Read-Bible/dp/0310284880/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224095251&sr=1-1

Since I've just read chapter 7, I'll start there. The idea is simple - and searching. Listening to the words of the Bible is an act of love toward the God of the Bible. Words are important because they are a personal communication from one person to another. To listen to another's words is to take that person seriously, to love them. True with people, true with God. 

Scot (yes, only one "t" for this loyal Scotsman) points out that listening to another's words means being not only attentive, but also receptive. We absorb the words and their message(s), and we respond to them appropriately. The appropriate response to God is to act on the basis of what his words tell us. How we respond to God's words is how we respond to God. 

Truth and the Presidential Election

I received a forwarded e-mail with a subject line about Barack Obama's "Not Exactly's", claiming to have been penned by Bill Brown, a former Billy Graham associate. Here is my response:

Dear friends -

After some hesitation, I have decided to share my thoughts on this forwarded e-mail. Or perhaps just one principle thought: This e-mail purports to reveal inaccurate and misleading statements by Barack Obama. My expectation for such a serious group of charges is that they be carefully worded and thoroughly documented. In the Bible the standard for accepting an accusation is that there be two credible witnesses. If there are not two credible witnesses, or even one, the accusation does not stand. To this we may add the excellent American principle that a person is to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

In light of this, here are my problems with the e-mail:

1. It claims to have been written by a former associate of Billy Graham. But the Bill Brown who was a member of the BGEA, when contacted, expressly denies having written it. See http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/naivete-cynicism-and-wisdom.html
(I googled "Bill Brown BGEA".)

2. I checked the reference to accusation #7 in the e-mail, which was the point that I found most shocking, and found no evidence of any sort supporting the accusation.

3. The tone of the e-mail is thoroughly un-Christian, we who are to "Honor everyone" (I Peter 2:17).

So let us as Christians hold firm to the teaching of Psalm 15 and so be salt and light to the nation during this election process: Who does not slander with his tongue, ... nor take up a reproach against his neighbor.

One of our roles as Christians is to hold the world accountable to the truth. Regardless of what candidate we prefer, a Christian never wants to win at the cost of the truth.

Feel free to share these thoughts with others. And your reactions and comments are welcome.

Mark Farmer

Chrysalis

There is a post today on Scot McKnight's Jesus Creed site that I wrote regarding Alan Jamieson's book, Chrysalis. Here is the link:

http://www.jesuscreed.org/

Hopefully it is understandable enough for folks who haven't read the book.

Do Hard Things

That's the title and theme of a book just out written by two 19-year-olds, Alex and Brett Harris. (Yes, they are twins.) The subtitle is, "A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations." Pretty strong stuff, eh?

I'm a third of the way through the book, and plenty of it is for whatever age we happen to be. This, for example:

Alyssa Chua, a seventeen-year-old ... from the Philippines, explained her pattern this way: 'My comfort zone was the place where everything was just the way I wanted it to be; a situation where I never had to make extra effort or do something difficult; a place I could sit back, relax and enjoy myself.'

The problem, she told us, was that she stayed inside her comfort zone, she was essentially refusing to surrender her life fully to God; she was avoiding the hard things He was calling her to do.

The authors go on to put their finger on the real issue:

What we're really saying is that we don't want to do things that come easily or naturally. We don't want to break through our fears. And by our actions, we're also saying that God isn't good and powerful enough to help us do what we can't comfortably do on our own.

Alex and Brett describe another young man who, unlike Alyssa, spent his life avoiding taking that first step out of his comfort zone. "The result? He's basically the same person he's always been."

Seeking the truth about God

Thanks to Laurel for this excellent interview with the son of a Hamas leader who has decided to follow Jesus. Mosab Hassan Yousef is refreshingly - and painfully - honest in his remarks, which have much to teach us.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,402483,00.html

Near the end of the interview is the puzzling phrase "a 100-person peace when Jesus returns." This is no doubt a misprint for "a 100 percent peace...."

Teaching a person to think and explore for themselves instead of blindly following what they have been taught is one key to world evangelization. The French writer Jean-Claude Guillebaud, in Re-founding the World, writes that Jesus himself emphasized the individual's responsibility to search out the truth and follow it (him). Luke 9:59-60 is one example of this. And this indivudual responsibility is one of the founding pillars of the Baptist movement.

This applies as well to the children of Christians. In his book Chrysalis, Alan Jamieson raises the question in the final chapter of how churches can be safe places for people who have grown up in the church to ask their questions about matters in the Bible and in Christianity that trouble them.

Gospel Presentation

For years I have been experimenting with different ways of presenting the gospel in a way that is both simple and complete enough to be satisfying. James Choung, whose book True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In, is published by InterVarsity Press, offers this three-minute presentation. I think I have found what I was looking for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCVcSiUUMhY

More on how to not complain

I find that complaining begins in my head. Why do I think complaining thoughts? The truth is, it is because of what the apostle Paul calls "the sin that dwells in my members". In other words, this is a habit that I have developed and tolerated. But because Christ has made me a new person, I don't have to yield to critical or complaining thoughts about others, or myself, or God.

The article cited in our previous post suggested looking for solutions to problems instead of complaining and blaming. In addition to that, the disciple of Jesus can also replace complaining thoughts with thankfulness. "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." So Paul in Philippians 4:8. The work of taking every thought captive to obey Christ (II Cor. 10:5) begins with myself. It's such a better way to live.

Complaining

I googled "Why do people complain", and this is by far the most enlightening response I found.People have had to deal with complaining ever since Moses (Exodus 14:21; Numbers 11:1, etc.). "Complaining mode" seems to be the default setting for media coverage of elections and candidates as well as of junior high lunch rooms. And I admit that I complain, too - sometimes about complainers! And I don't like myself so well when I complain. So if you catch me not practicing the wisdom below, call me on it!

From http://supersonicsuccess.com/blog/why-do-you-complain

Why Do You Complain?
March 23rd, 2008

Did you know that complaining is severely damaging to your health, financial success and your entire life?
Studies have shown people who complain frequently tend to have poor health, less satisfying and enduring relationships, and don’t tend to do as well in their jobs or make as much money.

The key to getting what you want in life is focusing your energy and attention on what you do want, rather than what you don’t want. By complaining, the focus is always on what’s wrong, what’s going badly.

So why do people continue to do it?

Well first of all, it’s a habit. Most people have been doing it their entire lives. In fact, the majority don’t even realize they’re doing it half the time. Most people complain much more frequently than they think they do.

Don’t believe me? For the next 24 hours, pay attention to how many people begin a conversation with you by whining about something that didn’t go the way they wanted it to.

The most common reasons why people complain (and why it can be so difficult to stop) are:

- It’s a good conversation starter.
It’s much easier to begin a conversation with someone and find a common ground by complaining. (Can you believe it’s going to rain AGAIN today?…).
To get over this particular hurdle, rather than use a complaint to start talking to someone - complement them. It’s a much more positive way to start a conversation.

- Complaining keeps people from taking action.
This is the #1 reason most people complain. That way they can procrastinate and have plenty of excuses why they aren’t reaching their goals. There’s always a reason why it’s not possible to do what needs to be done. It’s much easier to complain about it than it is to find a solution.
Not only that, but for some crazy reason, we’ve been taught that it’s okay to talk negatively about yourself, but it’s not okay to “brag” about what’s going well!

- Preexcuses failure
Another very common reason people complain is to pre excuse failure. For instance, walking to a meeting late while complaining about how bad the traffic was, how there was a huge line at the dry cleaner, etc.
It takes all the responsibility off of that person, they no longer have to own up to the fact that they should have left earlier or been more prepared.

The first step to stop complaining is to become aware of it, then replace that complaint about what you don’t like, with what you do want.

The goal is not to act like everything is great and pretend you are no longer bothered by anything, but instead to seek out solutions.

Instead of playing the victim and simply stating that the situation is not what you want - figure out what you DO want, and seek to create that.

What can you do about the situation? Don’t look for problems, look for solutions.