Jesus vs Yeshua, or "When did my ipod start lecturing me?"

well, i'm back in the blogosphere kids. i'd apologise for the delay but there really can't be anyone left reading this thing so it's really just for me at this point. Three cheers for egotistical self-voyeurism! (as if i don't already know what's going on in my life...)
anyway, on to what i have to say...
So about 2 weeks ago i downloaded a semester's worth of class lectures that were given on the topic of the historical jesus. The lectures were delivered at Standford by Tom Sheehan, and though i'm not sure of the date, by the books and significant figures he mentions i'd have to assume it was in the last 3 years. anyway, Sheehan was at one time part of the Jesus Seminar, a scholarly, if not self aggrandizing, group of researchers who set out to determine what they could about the "Yeshua of History" in the late 80's and early 90's. A fascinating subject to be sure but one which has inevitably taken hold of the gospels and (to borrow a phrase from NT Wright) "dug trenches where once there were gardens." Much of their collective hermeneutic can be traced back to a groundbreaking work by Rudolf Bultman called, "Jesus Christ and Mythology." In the book Bultman pushes for what describes as the need to "de-mythologize" the gospels. The modern mind he argues, cannot accept the accounts given by the gospel writers and therefore we must dig into the heart of the text to discover the true meaning.
At this point most conservatives would begin bashing and showing all the short comings of the jesus seminar, rudolf bultman, tom sheehan, liberals, the DNC, and hilary clinton. And most liberals would probably respond by asking the conservative to hold their IQ up on one hand. However, as i will likely convince neither party to drop their weapons, so to speak, i'd like to sidestep those issues (infinite though they may be) for a moment and focus on a smaller, quieter one... namely, What does it mean to think rightly about god?

You see, liberal scholarship for the last 200 years has approached the truth of god as displayed by the new testament as something to be wrought from its pages and then distilled into an existential truth so bland only an asshole would disagree ("of course peace is a good thing! of course we should respect one another!"). Conservatives on the other hand, largely as a reaction to this liberal shift in theological scholarship, have abandoned anything not printed on the pages of their King James bibles. The truths then that flow beyond the literal reading of the text are cordoned off because anything that's not literally truth is a slippery slope. And worst of all, most of us have been duped into thinking that existential or literal are mutually exclusive options.
So i'll ask you again, "What does it mean to think rightly about god?"... and just to give you a little more to think about, How literal (or non-literal) must your belief be for salvation?... just a thought...

"...Christians, if we are to be Christians, are going to have to stop fudging our belief that Jesus matters." - Stanley Hauerwas

"Is there anyone one who can recall
ever breaking rank at all
for something someone yelled real loud one time" - John Mayer, Belief

How to spot a complete @$$hole or "Why I'll probably be banned for life from the Baptist Seminaries"

[warning: if you are easily offended,... you should probably stop being such an idiot]

Stanley Hauerwas once said that conservativism is hard to overcome. I should know. It's how I was raised. A southern baptist brought up by another southern baptist who was raised by a southern... well, you get the point. I say this because it is my upbringing in that particular and peculiar tradition that qualifies me to be an outspoken critic of it if need be. Let me broaden that a bit. I believe most denominations result from the spiritualization of our preferences (which is why I don't consider myself to be anything but a simple christian). With the larger picture being that soley of Christ, it frustrates me to see a particular sect do so much damage to that cause.

This week Albert Mohler, president of the Souther Baptist Theological Seminary, posted an article on his blog which you can read here. Most of the blog attempts to show how liberals now face a conundrum... Having pressed for years that homosexuality is biological and therefore normative, they must now figure out how to keep their fellow leftists from selectively aborting (and therefore discriminating against) prenatal babies with genetic carriers representative of homosexual tendencies. In short, having historically supported our GLBT brothers and sisters, will they now have the courage to allow their children to join those ranks if they have the choice? While this would normally seem like the kind of issue-bating that you would see on the O'Reily Factor or Bill Maher, Al Mohler takes it one step further. I direct you attention to #8 on his list at the bottom of his blog. "If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin." Come again?!

Ok, so as a member of the SBC (Souther Baptist Convention), Mohler believes that stem-cell research, which could be used to cure untold numbers of diseases and disabilities is morally wrong but hormonal influence of the sexual preference of an unborn baby is ok? Because that would be an appropriate step to "avoid sexual temptation"? But why stop there? Perhaps we just should carry this line of thinking to its logical conclusion... Chemical castration for all newborns. That way they won't lust, masturbate, have pre-marital sex, dance inappropriately, wear tight fitting clothes, or swear! Right? Plus since the entire world population would be gone in the next 100 years then... no more global warming! No more destroying the habitat of endangered animals! No more listening to rock music! I guess God's a little to busy to bother to create people the way he wanted them to be. Congratulations Al. You've single handedly managed to make ALL christians, and not just the southern baptist variety, look like complete @$holes.

If you were to ask me, I would tell you that both the old and new testaments state that homosexual acts are sinful. I would also tell you that most science points towards a biological cause for homosexuality and that the bible must be read carefully lest we incorporate cultural anachronisms. I would finally tell you the its greatest commandment is to love each other more than we love ourselves (ok,... 2nd greatest). Albert Mohler would do well to take this to heart (as would a lot of other christians i know). The moral fabric of society is not our to take hold of and weave into a cross shaped blanket which we can then use to smother sinners.

"What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end: what can be loved in man is that he is an overture and a going under." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Menachem Mendl of Kotzk on Ego, or "How i've come to realize i don't have all the answers..."

First, let me apologize to my readers (what few of them there probably were to start with) for the delay in posting new material. I've had a truly hellacious couple of weeks, but hopefully the end is drawing near. Please pray for me. I really need it right now.

If there is a lesson that stands out to me through this time of trial, it is that I truly know nothing about god, and specifically about what he had planned for my life. I don't mean this in Leibniz-like "this is the best of all possible worlds so clearly this is god's plan and i just don't understand it" kind of way. Instead, what i would really like to focus on is the more general meaning of that phrase... "I don't know what god has planned for my life." In my last post i talked about a book i was reading, "GOD was in this place & I, i did not know" by Lawrence Kushner. In continuing to draw insight from that book, I'd like to shine a third-party light on my situation in the hopes that it will offer some encouragement to you.

In the second chapter of his book, Kushner imagines how Menachem Mendl of Kotzk would have likely addressed Jacob had he found him in the desert. You see, Mendl's school of thought focuses entirely on ego and its dissolution. Not ego in a Freudian sense, but in the more self-contained arrogance that truly defines ego. Channeling Mendl, Kushner writes "[Many times we find ourselves] deep into one of those mental self-examinations where what you need, in order to go on living, is to believe that you are a good person and destined for greatness. Although what you actually need to become a good person and to be destined for greatness is to confess that [neither of those statements is true about you]."

You see, when you have truly destroyed your ego then you become capable of LISHMA. Lishma is the jewish concept of doing something solely because god has requested it, with no thought of reward or compensation... easy to write down in a blog, but something entirely different to live. And so, to my final point... A lot of times we view the hardships we go through as necessary paths to our greater reward. "Well, this sucks but I'm sure god has something even better for me down the road." We need to begin to let go of this way of thinking. Not Leibniz, but Lishma. Not the reward of deeds, but the gift of life. Not i,... but GOD.

"Life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get." - Forest Gump
"Because I said so..." - God (and also my mother when I was younger)

From Hauerwas to Rashi: Christian Effectiveness, Patience, and Miracles

I was driving home from Auburn, Alabama this weekend, where I spent 4... ok, 5 years obtaining a piece of paper that says I've suffered enough to be considered a college graduate, and listening to one of my favorite people on the planet, Dr. Stanley Hauerwas. Dr. Hauerwas teaches theological ethics at Duke Divinity, was named America's Best Theologian in 2001 (to which he promptly responded, "Best is not a theological catagory."), and is probably one of the more interesting theological educators out there. In his lecture, Dr. Hauerwas quoting John Howard Yoder says, "The key to the obedience of God's people is not their effectiveness, but their patience." This leads to an interesting dilemma with the rise and statis of seeker friendly churches that came to power in the 80's, 90's, and on into this millennium. Many people come seeking God, but in their hustle, and bustle, and endless programming, and constant movement have yet to find him... or perhaps to put it better, they've yet to SEE him. I specifically use the word see because it leads me to another interesting insight. I'm currently reading a book called "GOD was in this place & I, i did not know" by Lawrence Kushner. In this book Kushner (a Jewish scholar at Hebrew Union College) examines classic historical responses to Genesis 28:16, the verse which also makes up the title of this book. In Chapter 1, Kushner examines the response of Rabbi Shelomo ben Yitzhaki, also known as Rashi. Summarizing Rashi, Kushner explains that Jacob's not knowing that God was present in that place can be read in light of Exodus 3 (Moses and the burning bush) to give us a wonderful insight. Have you ever watched something burning? Wood burns slowly (hence it's use as fuel for fires) which means that Moses would have had to stop and watch the bush for some time to know for sure that it wasn't being consumed. You see, the miracle could only be spotted by those willing enough to stop and simply wait. And so we come full circle. To often we yearn to see the miracles God promises, to fuel our belief that we're being effective as christians, but how often do we stand still long enough to see God's will come to fruition? And that is our core mistake: To measure by effectiveness what should be borne in patience.

"Don't move." - Indiana Jones in The Temple of Doom
"Be still and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10

R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!!

Today Beliefnet.com posted an interview with respected conservative evangelical scholar Wayne Grudem. [You can read the articale here.] Grudem is a graduate of Havard, Westminster Theological Seminary, and Cambridge, as well as the author of a very well received book on Systematic Theology. He is also the author of the recently published book, Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood. In his interview Grudem shares that his experiences as a pastor have led him to solidify his particular hermeneutic principles (which also happen to be the same principles held by many of my conservative brethren) into a list of positions and services that women should and should not perform for the church. While Grudem's view may be grouped in with the Complementarian view of gender, his reasoning for adopting such a view seems, to me, suspect. Grudem says that his views are based on the "pattern in the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, where there is never an instance where a woman does teaching of God’s word to an assembled group of men." Really? Should we then ignore the account of Deborah (Judges 4 & 5), whose reign brought fourty years of peace to the land of Israel? Judgement could not be separated from the Law in ancient Israel as there were no secular courts. How then did Deborah rule? And what of Phoebe? (The one in Romans 16, not the one who sang "Smelly Cat!") The greek word used to describe her is diakonos. While it can be translated "deacon" or "servant", it is equally possible to translate it "minister." [See 1 Tim 4:6 where Timothy is called a diakonos by Paul yet is clearly in a position of authority within the church at Ephesus.] While simple biology leads me to have certain diagreements with the Egalitarian view of gender, Grudem's blatantly patristic interretation of the Bible is clearly outdated and can only add to the stereotype that the church (and God) does not value women as highly as men.

"The only way to recoup our spiritual losses is to go back to the cause of them and make such corrections as the truth warrents." - A.W. Tozer
"All you need is love." - The Beatles

An interesting Christmas story...

(sorry this is so long, but I promise it's worth the read...)
I teach Sunday school and Wednesday night bible studies with some regularity at the church I attend in Huntsville. In closing with a prayer two weeks ago I prayed that we would all have a chance to minister to someone that we would not normally have come into contact with (in case you don't already know, I have a big place in my heart for the poor and underprivileged). The day after Christmas I'm falling asleep on the couch in my grandparents house (all the beds were filled with various uncles, aunts, and cousins) and I'm realizing that I haven't fulfilled my own prayer. This wasn't out of selfishness or inconvenience, but after a moment of self reflection I realized that there really had not been anyone that was placed in my life that was a ministry opportunity (*note: not to be confused with an evangelizing opportunity). I fell back asleep resolving to make sure I paid attention to the people around me lest I miss a chance to show somebody the love that this season is really all about. Two hours later it's 1:45 in the morning and my dad is waking me up to tell me we're going (what can I say... the man likes to travel early!). We hop in the car and begin the 5 hour trip back to Huntsville. About an hour down the road, we're in the middle of nowhere on a tiny two lane highway and I'm woken by the car pulling off the road and coming to a stop. Jumping out of the car and telling my mom and brother to stay put, I follow my dad to an old, beat up van that has slid off the embankment and is stuck in the mud on the side of the road. A young black couple was trying to push it out, to no avail. It was pretty obvious they were poor, the kind of poor that makes middle-class white folks regret every time they ever complained about having money problems. Dad and I jump in there to give them a hand, but the van simply was not going to move. The man thanks us for the help and dejectedly pulls out an old cell phone and 411's the number for the nearest towing service. He tells us that the tow truck is 15 minutes away and thanks us again for our help. Dad, knowing there's nothing more we can do, apologizes one more time saying he wished we could do more and begins to walk back to the car.

"What's the damage?" I ask the guy.
"$75," he replies.

I hustle back to the car, told dad to wait a second and pull $80 out of my wallet. I had been given that $80 by my dad for Christmas with special instructions... "Spend it one someone who needs it," he told me. I ran back to the guy at the van, handed him the money, shook his hand and told him that I hope this could help make the holiday a little brighter. No mention of God, Jesus, or salvation through a cross on a hill, but if you really believe that that wasn't an effective ministry for the kingdom than you've got your head stuck in the sand.

And so I pray the same thing for you. May you have the opportunity to minister to someone in need, because if you look hard enough in the face of the person you serve, you’ll see the face of the savior.

"Generosity without orthodoxy is nothing, but orthodoxy without generosity is worse than nothing." - Hans Frei, Yale Theologian

i think therefore i am... postmodern!

"We have to test everything. Just because I'm a Christian and I'm trying to articulate a Christian worldview doesn't mean I got it nailed. God has spoken, and the rest is commentary, right?" - Rob Bell

so i spent yesterday night like i always do... at "HA-U" (pronounced hey you) which is the youth group i work with, followed by the usual "Wednesday Night College & Career" session. Me and a friend have been taking turns (along with the interim college minister who is actually the singles minister) teaching these wednesday night lessons and for the most part have been fairly successful in our goals... See, I go to a Southern Baptist Church. Not anything close to foot-washin conservative, but conservative nonetheless. So getting our commrades to open their minds a bit to what a bible study could be has been a challenge.

We have made some excellent progress with some folks I never thought we'd get anywhere with though. And before you accuse me of just peddling my own take on christianity at the expense of others, understand this: I really don't care if you approach christianity differently than I do as long as you made the attempt to think it through. One of my best friends in the world is a 7-point Calvinist (the last 2 points are: No need to evangelize, and Fatalism...wink wink Andrew). Another friend of mine quotes the bible in King James English (which cracks me up because I then have to go look it up anyway just to see what he was saying!). I disagree with a lot of the things that both these guys say, but I learn the most about god, myself, and our relationship when I'm arguing with these friends.

The point is that many self-proclaimed christians have not seriously thought through what it is that they're suppose to be proclaiming (to their own impending doom i worry)! Hence the record number of seat warmers that fill the pews of southern, and more generally, american churches. PEOPLE,... WAKE UP!!! 1st Corinthians was written to a people who would not grow up. You cannot stay a baby forever. Repeat after me, "There is no stasis in Christianity. You are either moving towards god or away from him."

"I have taken my good deeds and my bad deeds and thrown them together in a heap. Turned from them to Christ and in him I have peace." - David Dickson