Rapture Ready

I have a list of about 20 books that I want to read but cannot find at the library. I finally got around to getting “Rapture Ready!” by Daniel Radosh, a book about Christian pop culture. I love it. First, I am one of the many cynics of the Christian sub-culture, which is probably why I was enticed by the book in the first place. Second, it’s remarkably non-judgmental of the culture. Third, I truly had NO idea about some of the insane things we so called Christians do, Bible amusement parks? Really? And finally, it’s enlightening. I have spent my life as a member of this Christian culture. I cannot see from outside the box, and what I like most about this book is it is opening my eyes to things I would never have realized before. The way we say things, the way we act, even, and perhaps especially, when acting in love, aren’t received that way. Granted, Radosh at least recognizes the intent behind things, but I have been blind to the fact that when we do things that are meant to be move inclusive of non-Christians we are alienating them further, or at least putting something else between us and them. Man, I cannot seem to do a decent job of explaining the impact of this book on me right now. I would highly suggest picking up a copy for yourself. You can buy it on Amazon marketplace for less than $2.

Being Good

Are you good without God? Millions are.

Unfortunately this is what a coalition of humanist and atheist groups decided to put up on a billboard. I say it’s unfortunate because it is probably effective. Ignoring the error of the idea that we can be good without God, this sign goes against what we as Christians believe.

If someone asks you if you are good, you most likely will say yes. The majority of people believe they are good, or at least believe they are striving to be good. So when you see a billboard like that it’s easy to agree. Yeah, I’m good. Yeah, it’s not because of God. Yeah, you’re right, I don’t need God to be good. To simplify things, let us say that this is all fine and well and possibly true.

Being good is not the point of it all. Being good is not the reason we are Christians. Being good is not why we believe in God. But, perhaps this is what we show to people. Perhaps they see Christians as people who believe in God and become good, or at least that we think that’s the point of it all. But that’s not it.

I don’t believe in God because I think that will make me a better person. In fact, my belief in God DOESN’T make me a better person. Belief doesn’t change anything. Grace changes me. The point of grace isn’t to make me good. The point of grace is that I can have a relationship with God. The point of it all then is not to become good, but to have a relationship with the Creator.

I hope the book (there’s a book with the same or similar title as what the billboard says) and billboard don’t reflect the broader culture’s view of Christians. We don’t believe in God in order to become better people. We believe in God because he is real. We have faith because we know that through grace we can have a relationship with God. Yes, that relationship should mean we become better people, but it isn’t, and never should be, the point.

Here, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye…

A little less than a year ago Californian’s voted against gay marriage. As we all probably remember this caused quite an uproar among the gay population. Before I continue I need to be clear about something- I am not suggesting I support a homosexual lifestyle, however, I also cannot condemn homosexuality. That said, I stumbled across this video on youtube.

It’s rather deprecating to be sure. I mean, in essence it mocks the very idea of marriage by presenting these outrageous ideas and suggestions. But I believe that in addition to the negative there is a very honest idea. A genuine question that I think we in the church need to answer.

If we truly hold marriage as being sacred, why are we so accepting of divorce?

There are many passages in the Bible about divorce. In Malachai as part of his condemning of wickedness God says “I hate divorce”. That’s pretty straightforward. Jesus comes and says,  ”Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God”. So it’s justified to say that we do not believe homosexuals will go to heaven, but it’s also fair to say that pretty much all of us fall into one of the categories listed here. As sad as it is, most Christians today are still not free of these traps. Most of us, myself included still idolize, still fall prey to adultery (remember, Jesus says that anyone who thinks it does it).

My question then is this: as a Christian, is it correct for me to oppose the legalization of gay marriage?

I think of Jesus’ admonishment that we need to remove the plank from our own eye before we can attempt to remove the speck from the other person’s eye. As long as we are accepting of divorce, as long as we turn the other way when we see people having sex outside of marriage, as long as we condone the over-sexualized culture we are a part of, we cannot tell these people that they have no right to get married.

Am I missing something here? Is there a reason the church at large seems ignorant of this seemingly obvious idea? Why is it we can get all worked up about homosexual marriage and not even blink when we go to watch a movie where the woman cheats on her husband? Why do we mourn the disintegration of a marriage instead of being angry about it (I’m not referring to being angry at the people so much as being angry about another divorce)?

I don’t disagree with the people who are standing on the street corner claiming marriage is sacred. They are absolutely right. But the downfall of marriage does not lie with allowing same-sex marriages. It lies with us being willing to trivialize it from the start. Until we make marriage truly sacred once again we have absolutely no place telling two men in love that they cannot marry. Until we do our job as the church to return the sacredness of marriage to where it was created to be by fighting against cultural norms of sexuality, by fighting against divorce, by fighting against extra-marital sex, by changing our cultural norm we absolutely cannot say no to homosexual marriage. Unless you really want to try to take that speck out while working around the plank in your own eye. Good luck with that.

Black, White, and shades of Gray

I’ve been watching “Smallville” and as one would expect the premise is essentially good verses evil. Toward the end of season 8 there is a transition- from black and white to shades of gray. From obvious good and obvious evil to what is good and what is evil exactly?

The entire world is based on this dichotomy, good and evil. But especially Christianity. The show raises an excellent question- when, if ever, is it okay to compromise our standards of what is good in order to destroy that which is evil? When is it okay for us as Christians to give a little in order to gain more? Is it ever okay? Why are we so quick to judge and so slow to love? Did Jesus ever allow sin to be ignored or overlooked it if meant that the sinner was able to be part of the community? Are we justified in following in the steps of the general culture in order to reach more people? In the end are we actually making a difference by compromising the truth?

I think good and evil are black and white. Unfortunately in our fallen state we cannot clearly see what is good and what is evil. But the more gray we allow in the more room we give evil to spread. If the whole world becomes gray then good becomes evil and evil becomes good. In a slightly less extreme wording- the more we give in to what the world wants from us, the more we blur the line between what it means to be the church and what it means to be the world. The church, Christians, are called to be in the world but not of it. The more we follow the ways of the world the more we lose what it means to be the church. Sooner or later, we end up just being the world. Because as we have learned from the superhero stories, eventually the gray turns black. If good starts to compromise it eventually becomes evil.

What Matters More?

 

A few months ago I downloaded music by Derek Webb on NoiseTrade.  I have enjoyed listening to it since then. Today I stumbled upon a blog about controversy surrounding his new album (to be released in September I believe). After listening to the song stirring up all this controversy I was a bit depressed. I like the song. It’s challenging and fresh and musically enjoyable. I have to admit that I didn’t go digging around any other places to see what exactly the controversy was, but from what I understand it is rooted in the use of a swear word in the song. I can understand some hesitation because of swearing. I can understand outrage even. But the reaction is rather ironic considering the song is about just that.  And I wonder, are people reacting to the swear word or the fact that they feel challenged by a Christian song that has a swear word? I mean, how scandalous is that, to say you are moved by a song that uses bad language? But seriously, it’s challenging in a positive way and in my opinion the swear word adds to that rather than taking away from it. I have enjoyed the album I have and based on  “What Matters More” I will probably be downloading the new one as well. You can get Derek Webb’s “The Ringing Bell” on NoiseTrade for free by clicking below.

And the most powerful celebrity is…

Do you know who the most powerful celebrity in the world is? It’s not Oprah. It’s Angelina Jolee. I’m not sure what factors contribute to the determination of most powerful celebrity, but I know President Barak Obama is number 49 on the list. He’s the president of the United States and he’s 49th? That seems pretty pathetic to me. Now some may argue that Obama is not really a celebrity and that’s why he’s so low on the list, but let’s face it, he’s as much a celebrity as the majority of actors, athletes, and musicians. Unlike president’s before him I would say Obama truly is a celebrity. So why is he ranked below Oprah, Angelina, and Tiger Woods? And apparently 46 other people as well.

It’s a sad day when the President is ranked so far below so many other people. I mean, how do we let our entertainers become more influential than our elected officials? Sad indeed.

Breaking News

I have now lived in three very different areas: Holland, Orange City, and Chicago. As I was watching the news the other night I was once again reminded of how depressing our news is these days- it is no longer a surprise when I hear about more than one murder in a day. But there once was a time when an attempted robbery would have surprised me.

When I lived in Holland I didn’t pay much attention to the news, but from what I remember most of it focused on happenings around the state, a few local things about a robbery or gang violence or something, and world news during the local news time.

When I lived in Orange City during the year we first went to war against Iraq the majority of the news coverage was on two things- the war and local sports. Seriously they could talk about the football team, the basketball team, the cheerleaders, whatever for hours on end, but any real news beyond the way the weather was affecting crops was rare.

Now I am just outside Chicago and it almost doesn’t seem worth it to watch the news because it’s either about the corrupt politicians or the death of yet another person caused by uncontrolled violence.

The TV depressed me, but it also didn’t surprise me. I want to be surprised by violence, by corruption, by evil. Initially I thought I was desensitized to these things because of how abundant they seem to be now compared to before. But I realized something later on- I may be a bit desensitized by the violence, but I would rather be overwhelmed with all this wickedness thrown in my face than live in the bubble that suggests the only bad things happening are too far removed from my world to actually affect me. This is a more accurate picture of what we as Christians need to be seeking to change. The world we are called to be in but not of is not an idyllic town where sports and weather and wars in other countries are what make our news. We are called to be in a world that is totally corrupted by evil, a world that is currently ruled by prince of darkness. We need to be throwing light into the darkest of places. I think it’s too easy to forget what we are up against when we aren’t exposed to the reality of it in our backyard. It’s not pretty, it’s not safe, and it certainly will not be easy. Let’s get started already.

A Fine Line

Proposition 8 is back in the news following a California Supreme Court ruling that says the vote to ban gay marriage was indeed constitutional. I’m not sure how I feel. I do not believe that gay marriage is biblical. From what I understand in the Bible there is nothing to support it in any way, and there is plenty of evidence (however open to interpretation you claim it to be) against it. That said, I am not sure how I feel about the constitutionality of banning gay marriage.

I am by no means a government scholar. Perhaps written into our constitution originally is a declaration of marriage being defined as between man and woman. I don’t honestly know, and I don’t really care to go research it. I’ve never read anywhere that it is and adding that definition seems to be the biggest push by conservative groups in various states, so I’m going to assume it isn’t.  And that brings me to a place where I find it hard to figure out that right blance between my personal religious beliefs and my personal political beliefs.

I feel that we Christians in America have a pretty flawed view of what it means to have freedom. We firmly embrace being allowed to worship as we choose, to voice our opinions as we choose, to pray where we want, when we want, and to educate our kids as we choose. But, when it’s another person’s freedoms to believe what they want we fight against it because it goes against our religious beliefs and values. Now, let me clarify one thing here. I am not saying we should not be out to change the world, but I do not think we should be out to take away the freedoms of other people in our attempt to change the world. This is not what Jesus did. Jesus gave people freedom, he never took it away.

This will probably get me in trouble with the majority of Christians out there, but I will not vote against gay marriage. I feel like to do so is not much different than voting to ban marriage between two white people or two black people or whatever. These are people who want to have the right to live a normal life. They want to get married not to be different but to be the same. They aren’t trying to manipulate the system in their favor, they are people trying to have the same rights as any other American. Can you imagine living with your spouse without having the benefits of a civil marriage? You’d be outraged! You can’t get health coverage for your “spouse” because you aren’t actually married. You can’t get the tax breaks or the security of common property.

I would love to see a world where this isn’t an issue. A world where sin doesn’t exist. And I don’t know exactly where to stand on this thin line I’m trying to balance on. One slight step too far over and I know I’m not living as a Christian. But one step too far back and I’m not really living as a Christian then either. I cannot say I support gay marriage. I don’t. But I do support the rights of people as Americans to have the same freedoms as the rest of us. Isn’t that what America is all about anyway?

NoiseTrade

 I love this site. It’s a great place to get free music and find new artists you likely won’t find anywhere else. Right now I’m really enjoying this artist, but there are so many great musicians with music posted I highly reccommend you take some time and go check it out. I think everyone will find something they like. And it’s FREE!

 

Silently Right

Would you rather argue when you know you’re wrong, or keep silent when you know you’re right?

My brother likes to argue. He will pick the tiniest most unimportant thing and start arguing about it. One time we got in an argument about the inside color of a mango. Often he will disagree with me about whatever he can find to disagree on. When I was younger this was a serious problem, because I always took the bait and it rarely ended nicely.

I think it’s pretty easy to get in an argument with someone. I doubt many people would choose to argue knowing they are wrong in their opinion, but I am sure there are people out there who would. On the other hand, it’s incredibly rare to find someone who will keep quiet when they know they are right. Most people want the correct idea or belief or whatever to be out there. Most people won’t sit idly by while the wrong conclusion wins.

But which would be easier? I think it would be much easier to argue wrongly than to be quietly right. It’s no fun being right if no one else knows you are. It’s incredibly irritating to hear people arriving at the wrong conclusion when you know they are wrong. It’s much easier to jump in. Much more satisfying as well.

Except when it comes to issues of justice. It’s so much easier to remain silently right. I’m not saying I want to argue wrongly, but I don’t like to speak up either. It’s hard to speak for others when the majority disagrees. It’s hard to want to put yourself on the line for people who don’t have a voice. But we should. I should.

Would you rather remain silent when you know you’re right or argue when you know you’ll lose?