This past week our church (Levy Church of Christ) got to work with other local churches and local homeless organizations to provide temporary shelter during this recent bout of extreme cold weather. Thought I'd share my thoughts and observations about the experience.
Our original role this winter was to be an emergency oncall shelter, only opening once the other shelters were full or there was someone that the other shelters wouldn't accept for the night. With that in mind we planned and prepared to accommodate 1 to 6 people. Up until this past Sunday we had only been called once to provide shelter to one lady.
But this week we were asked to be opened and staffed for any women they found needing a place to stay. The church that would normally house women was unable to this week. Based on how many they had had before, we expected up to 9 or 10. Sunday night we had 4 women. Monday we were asked if we were willing to house both women and men. The church that was housing men had reached near their capacity the first night and the expectation was that the numbers would increase each night we were open. Monday night we had 4 women and 4 men. Tuesday we had 4 women and 15 men. Wednesday - 3 women, 20 men. Thursday - 2 women, 19 or 21 men.
The week left me quite tired and a little weepy (but if you know me, the weepy part doesn't surprise you). I'm sorry that it's taken me this long to get involved.
There's really not much difference in housing 4 people and 23, just need a lot more food.
No special skills are needed to volunteer. If you can be friendly, kind and non-judgemental you got it.
I heard a number of softly worded prayers, mostly of thanksgiving. Was struck especially by observing a young woman who has endured a hard and cruel life say a little prayer before each meal.
Was left brokenhearted by my new friend Thomas. He spent most of his time laying on his cot reading the bible but he came outside late the first night and started talking to me. Words of weariness and without hope of overcoming the life that he found himself in and struggling to understand the cruelty and meanness of the world. My responses seemed shallow and inadequate. I told him I would keep him in my prayers, he thanked me and walked off into the dark headed back toward downtown. The Van found him later and convinced him to come back. Thankfully he was back the rest of the week. I hope I see him again.
I've always loved winter and for some reason especially February. I enjoy the cold, bleak, grey melancholy feel of the month. Not so much anymore. It wouldn't bother if it never snowed again here, if I want snow I can go to Colorado and ski.
There's a big difference in empathizing, worrying about, donating or supporting homeless organizations and knowing some of these folks by name. Names are powerful things, names make it personal. They grab onto a little piece of your brain and heart and won't let go. Now instead of some generic "I hope the homeless are alright tonight in the cold", it's an intense worrying, hoping and praying that Shane, Thomas and Batman are ok and surviving the night.
I need to thank some folks. First Aaron Reddin and his facebook rants and the image of the man freezing on the street covered only with a trash bag for warmth that finally moved me from good intentions to action. My church for being so supportive of our involvement in this. To those behind the scenes who have filled our freezer with food to serve. Friends (both old and new) and family that have given up their time and volunteered this week - Mandy, Brandi, Cack, Ruth, Jackie, George, Latisha, Natasha, Cheyenne, Stephen, Andrew and Rory. First Pres of Argenta for the extra cots and chicken enchiladas (y'all are good folk). Dr. DA Frost and Zane for coming out in the middle of the night for some medical advice. Scott Aldridge for the the blankets,gloves and caps. Valerie, James, Michael, and Gene who volunteered on nights that we didn't get called. I know I'm forgetting some, so thank you to everyone that has been involved.
I need to single out a few of these volunteers for some special recognition.
Cack Reagan- Not only did she spend all night with me on one of the nights, she came back several times during the week to use our kitchen to cook for the folks over at one of the other shelters.
Mandy Akins - She treated people that she knew as family and those she didn't as long lost friends that she hadn't seen in awhile. She immediately moved onto my short list of favorite people in the world.
Jackie Williams - I can't begin to tell you all that she has done, I've come to love her and her family deeply.
Rory Young - My 4 year old granddaughter. She came for a short while Thursday night with her dad, she picked up a broom and swept and helped me stir the lemonade. She was upset when it was time to go because she hadn't done enough work to help the people without homes. She kinda melts my heart.
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Of Swords and Books and Nerdy Zealots
Last Sunday we went to church. Nothing unusual in that, that's what we do on Sunday's. What was different this time was where we went to church. I've been a Christian since my mid teens and with the exception of weddings, funerals and special Holiday services I've attended the Church of Christ my entire life. Ok, I did go to a few Sunday night services one summer at The First Christian Church with a friend so that I technically qualified to play on their church softball team. But this past Sunday we went the FIrst Presbyterian Church in North Little Rock. A couple of things before we get to why we were there.
I like this church, I like the people there, I like what they do in the community and I really like their welcoming before each service I think it does a good job of expressing who they are:
Welcome to First Presbyterian Church in North Little Rock’s downtown Argenta neighborhood
Welcome to young and to old and to all races and ethnicities
Welcome to singles and to couples and to families of all shapes and sizes
Welcome to believers and and to doubters and a special welcome to doubting believers
Welcome if your heart is happy, and welcome if it is weighed down with sadness
Welcome if your entire being is bursting with gratitude, and welcome if it feels as though something is trying to suck the life right out of you
Welcome if you’ve got it all together, and welcome if you are in danger of falling apart at any moment
Whoever you are and whatever brought you here to day, know that this is God’s house
Come and worship just the way you are, because everyone is welcome here.
Stop reading this and go read 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13 and Galations 5:22-25 and then come back.
Good you're back (did you really stop and go read those verses?), the reason we weren't in our regular pew last Sunday was because Natasha (our oldest daughter) was asked to speak at her church, so we were there to hear her preach and I thought I would share what she had to say. Oh one last thing, I know some of y'all might feel compelled to express your disagreement on women speaking in church, DON'T, and tread lightly if you make comments, this is my daughter you'll be talking about.
Of Swords and Books and Nerdy Zealots
A Study of Paul
Today we are talking about Paul, and the verses we read a moment ago were ones he authored, ones with which most of us are probably very familiar- Paul’s Greatest Hits. And oh, we love those verses- 1 Corinthians 13 is poetry, a song written on our hearts, recited at our ceremonies, a beautiful description of what, exactly, it means to be a follower of Jesus. With Galatians, well y’all, I learned the Fruits of the Spirit as a toddler, in Bible Class. I could still sing the memory verse song right here and now. Even if I’ve left (or strayed from, depending on your perspective) the specific Christian tradition in which I was raised in order to eventually band together with you bunch of misfits and malcontents, the heart of my faith was formed in those verses, in those early days, and have guided me even in my wanderings. (In fact, I would say they sparked my wanderings in the first place.) When a writer like Paul talks about how the law and the world order have fallen away, saying things like: “And now these three remain: Faith, Hope, and Love. But the greatest of these is love,” I don’t know about you but I feel rallied to the cause, in tune with God and humanity, my soul recognizes the cosmic and deep truth there, it inspires all the great things that great writers are supposed to inspire.
But Paul ain’t that easy.
As we talk about Paul today, here are the assumptions I am working from: 1) I assume that you know, either from your own formative years, more recent conversion, osmosis, or from actually reading the assigned chapters of The Story this week, ha, that Paul is an apostle, not one of the original 12, but overlapping them time-wise. Paul is recognized by scholars as the uncontested author of 7 books of the New Testament, and the debated author of 6 more. 2) I assume you know that these books of his are what we call epistles, or letters. Paul traveled the ancient world spreading this new religion that was borne out of, but wholly different from, Jewish monotheism. His books are the letters that he wrote to these burgeoning (and often floundering) communities. They were written as encouragement, chastisement, instruction and guidance, and are not without context. Paul didn’t go up on a mountain where God dictated commandments out of a cloud in pretty straightforward, bullet-pointed fashion, is what I’m saying. They were born out of specific problems the churches were having, and generate specific responses. 3) I am assuming that you have struggled with Paul, to some degree. As our friend Cameron said Wednesday night at the Crush wine bar study group, “If you aren’t struggling with Paul, perhaps you are doing it wrong.”
So we heard the hits, now let’s listen to some of Paul’s B-sides, the sentiments we don’t usually trot out at weddings, verses you won’t find in scroll-y print on Christian stationery (sidebar- ugh) at Mardel’s.
Colossians 3:22: Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35, Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.
Whoops.
I can feel everyone’s discomfort. My own discomfort. These are the verses we would prefer weren’t in there. To get ticky, Colossians is one of the books that is hotly contested as to whether or not Paul actually wrote it. But whether Paul specifically wrote them or not, these are words in our holy, sacred book. The world knows Christians, whether we like it or not, as the owners of this language. Love is patient, love is kind, slavery’s ok, and women need to shut their mouths.
What do we do with that? Seriously, I’m asking. I don’t know the answer. And verses like these, that have been used as weapons for centuries to wound and oppress and exclude, they are why so many of us that have washed up on the steps of this church were at sea in the first place. I’m pretty sure Anne knows the answer, so it’s very unfortunate that she isn’t here today.
Anne asked me to preach on Paul Day because she knows that of all of the Very Important Pauls, I prefer McCartney to The Apostle. The apostle and I don’t always get along, and I have spent a lot of time just flat out angry with him. She felt it may be helpful to others who have felt the same way (when it isn’t okay to feel that way in a lot of Christian communities) that it is okay here, to be conflicted. To know how Paul and I have made our uneasy peace with each other, so that if you are one of the people who have exacto-knifed your New Testament so as to avoid him, perhaps things can get better for you, too.
So, understanding that I don’t know the answers, I propose to you that I do maybe know some helpful things, and it seems that all of you do, too. I mean, I’m here, you’re here. Even though the Bible, and specifically Paul-authored verses of that Bible, have been used against a lot of you by Christians in the past, you felt that there is something in this Jesus thing that is worth the trouble of wrestling with this stuff. I wholeheartedly agree. So in no particular order, here are some things that have helped me and Paul to this point.
1) I stopped trying to come up with a single cohesive theory about the Bible that accounted for every single word in it and how I should explicitly interpret it.
Some Christians believe that the Bible is the direct word of God, sent directly, word for word, from God’s mouth to your ears via messengers like Paul who did no more than transcribe the sessions. A set of instructions for living that addresses every possible situation known to man and a prescription for how to act accordingly. Forgive me, but that is some crazy absolutism. Not only do the verses about slavery and women and sexuality present difficulties in this worldview, but then you have to figure out what to do with verses like this:
Galatians 6:11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
I mean, we know what this means in context- its Paul reassuring people that it really is him writing the letter. But I am surprised there aren’t denominations predicated on the belief that large penmanship is the way God intended us to write, and those who disagree be damned.
Even of those that think they interpret scripture this way, they ignore some verses just as much as we do- men praying with their heads uncovered, people eating shrimp and wearing polyblends all over the place.
So clearly, this type of interpretation is not an option for me. But neither is the opposite very encouraging- if God had nothing to do with the Bible and it is purely just the thoughts and ideas of men (and it was men, no ladies getting a byline in there), then what is the point of all this? Why not just form a philosophy club, meet at the library once a week, and call it a day?
In the end, I’ve dismissed the Slippery Slope Brigade on both sides, with their rejection of critical thinking and their extreme hypotheticals. There might be an All Encompassing algorithm out there, but I don’t know it, and it isn’t even the part I’m searching for anymore. Down that path is a bench where you can’t see the forest for the trees. Which brings me to:
2) When in doubt, I defer to the Big Picture.
And when I say big picture what I mean is- Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, this is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and all the prophets hang on these two commandments.”
We so often miss the big picture because we are so anxious about the details. The verse in 1 Peter, the one that says “Love covers a multitude of sins,” I picture people hearing that verse for the first time and being so happy- “Love covers a multitude of sins! How nice! That really takes the pressure off, you know?” And within seconds they’re talking among themselves: “Did he say how many sins love covers, exactly? Big or little sins? Do you think I could trade three little sins for one big one?” We are constantly, eternally missing the point. And it would be too kind to say that we are missing the point because we are trying so hard to be good and do right. No, we miss the point because we want to get as close to that line as possible without going over.
Early on in my days at this church Anne said offhand at a bible study one night that Presbyterians interpret scripture through the lens of Jesus’ teachings, and I loved that. While this doesn’t offer the explicit comfort of telling us exactly what each verse means and why in the world it got canonized, it’s a good reminder of what our purpose is, and anything that’s driving us away from that purpose is, essentially, fluff.
Which leads me to:
3) The Big Picture about Paul has some stuff I can totally, unashamedly and without internal conflict, get behind.
My sister was telling me the other day about a Rachel Held Evans article she had read, addressing the whole women-submitting-to-their-husbands thing. The point of the article was this: the important part of what Paul was saying was not “Women, submit to your husbands.” That was the order of the day already. The revolutionary part was when he turned to the men and told them to be kind to their wives. Kindness to women was not the standard. Women were owned, was the standard. In context, Paul was a feminist. (Ahhahha, I know that’s a stretch.) Yes, the language is icky. It’s talking to the people of the day and in their language. Some would argue that this means Paul had insight into God’s Grand Truth of the Universe and purposefully couched his argument in terms the people would understand. That he was some sort of incrementalist who knew the real truth but met people where they were. I mean, Paul is also the guy who wrote in Galatians that divisions between man and woman, slave and free, Jew and Gentile, none of that mattered anymore because everyone was equal before God. THAT was revolutionary and man, sign me up for that kind of revolution.
But I don’t believe that even Paul understood the specific way his words would be revolutionary for the world. He was pretty obsessed with the idea that Jesus was coming back LITERALLY ANY MINUTE. See, Paul was an intellectual AND a zealot. The way my family (and Deann’s family, I’m pretty sure) love shows like Firefly or Harry Potter or comic books, and we learn every single thing there is to know about them and try to make everyone around us obsessed with it, too? Come on, you know nerds like this. We are the nerdy zealots. Well, Paul was totally a nerdy zealot, and his zealotry was about this idea that Jesus changed everything, and He was coming back speedy quick, so you better get ready. He wasn’t interested in modifying society, because society wasn’t going to be around much longer. He had no time for rallies on equal rights. He would have been shocked if someone had told him we would still be kicking 2,000 years down the road. So I don’t think he even fully understood what a concept like “everyone is equal before God” would mean once it fully took root. (And to speak truth, it hasn’t fully taken root, yet. There’s still work to do.)
I tend to believe that Paul was just a man who grabbed hold of a giant Truth bigger than even his great intellect could handle, and with the prejudices of his day deeply embedded in him the way you and I hold things to be true that decent society of the future will judge to be ridiculous. What will stay true? God loves you no matter your identity. And be kind to one another. These will always stay true.
Here’s the final big picture thing about Paul: without him, there would be no us. Or, if there was an Us, we would look very, very different. Paul joined the band when the rest of the guys were dreaming too small. Peter and the guys wanted to tour close to home. They were playing small venues, mainly in Jerusalem, talking about maybe releasing a mixtape. Paul was talking about selling out stadiums across the world and putting out an album every few months. If it weren’t for Paul and the sack of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., Christianity would be much closer to Messianic Judaism, and much harder to access. (If you think it is hard to sell Christianity to jaded postmoderns now, imagine if adult circumcision was part of that deal.)
I got the title for this sermon as I was researching Paul’s representations in religious culture. If Paul is to be found in a painting, he will likely be holding a sword and a book. Turns out St. Paul is the patron saint for writers and publishers since he consistently churned out bestsellers, and the sword is because he supposedly died by one, martyred for his faith. But, not knowing the traditional symbolism when I first started looking at them, the paintings struck me as perfect representations of Paul, because of the contradictions inherent in holding those tools- swords and books, warriors and scholars, opposites and difficult to reconcile. That was so fitting, to me, as I contemplated my relationship with his work.
We have brokered a peace, Paul and I have, in part because in general, the people I am close to in my life and those I choose to worship with let me and Paul be. They are never trying to force us into counseling to hash out our differences, and slowly we have come around a little, agreeing to not talk about certain things in the presence of company. I wish for you the same peace in discomfort, and a willingness to struggle with the difficult but important things. Amen.
I like this church, I like the people there, I like what they do in the community and I really like their welcoming before each service I think it does a good job of expressing who they are:
Welcome to First Presbyterian Church in North Little Rock’s downtown Argenta neighborhood
Welcome to young and to old and to all races and ethnicities
Welcome to singles and to couples and to families of all shapes and sizes
Welcome to believers and and to doubters and a special welcome to doubting believers
Welcome if your heart is happy, and welcome if it is weighed down with sadness
Welcome if your entire being is bursting with gratitude, and welcome if it feels as though something is trying to suck the life right out of you
Welcome if you’ve got it all together, and welcome if you are in danger of falling apart at any moment
Whoever you are and whatever brought you here to day, know that this is God’s house
Come and worship just the way you are, because everyone is welcome here.
Stop reading this and go read 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13 and Galations 5:22-25 and then come back.
Good you're back (did you really stop and go read those verses?), the reason we weren't in our regular pew last Sunday was because Natasha (our oldest daughter) was asked to speak at her church, so we were there to hear her preach and I thought I would share what she had to say. Oh one last thing, I know some of y'all might feel compelled to express your disagreement on women speaking in church, DON'T, and tread lightly if you make comments, this is my daughter you'll be talking about.
Of Swords and Books and Nerdy Zealots
A Study of Paul
Today we are talking about Paul, and the verses we read a moment ago were ones he authored, ones with which most of us are probably very familiar- Paul’s Greatest Hits. And oh, we love those verses- 1 Corinthians 13 is poetry, a song written on our hearts, recited at our ceremonies, a beautiful description of what, exactly, it means to be a follower of Jesus. With Galatians, well y’all, I learned the Fruits of the Spirit as a toddler, in Bible Class. I could still sing the memory verse song right here and now. Even if I’ve left (or strayed from, depending on your perspective) the specific Christian tradition in which I was raised in order to eventually band together with you bunch of misfits and malcontents, the heart of my faith was formed in those verses, in those early days, and have guided me even in my wanderings. (In fact, I would say they sparked my wanderings in the first place.) When a writer like Paul talks about how the law and the world order have fallen away, saying things like: “And now these three remain: Faith, Hope, and Love. But the greatest of these is love,” I don’t know about you but I feel rallied to the cause, in tune with God and humanity, my soul recognizes the cosmic and deep truth there, it inspires all the great things that great writers are supposed to inspire.
But Paul ain’t that easy.
As we talk about Paul today, here are the assumptions I am working from: 1) I assume that you know, either from your own formative years, more recent conversion, osmosis, or from actually reading the assigned chapters of The Story this week, ha, that Paul is an apostle, not one of the original 12, but overlapping them time-wise. Paul is recognized by scholars as the uncontested author of 7 books of the New Testament, and the debated author of 6 more. 2) I assume you know that these books of his are what we call epistles, or letters. Paul traveled the ancient world spreading this new religion that was borne out of, but wholly different from, Jewish monotheism. His books are the letters that he wrote to these burgeoning (and often floundering) communities. They were written as encouragement, chastisement, instruction and guidance, and are not without context. Paul didn’t go up on a mountain where God dictated commandments out of a cloud in pretty straightforward, bullet-pointed fashion, is what I’m saying. They were born out of specific problems the churches were having, and generate specific responses. 3) I am assuming that you have struggled with Paul, to some degree. As our friend Cameron said Wednesday night at the Crush wine bar study group, “If you aren’t struggling with Paul, perhaps you are doing it wrong.”
So we heard the hits, now let’s listen to some of Paul’s B-sides, the sentiments we don’t usually trot out at weddings, verses you won’t find in scroll-y print on Christian stationery (sidebar- ugh) at Mardel’s.
Colossians 3:22: Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35, Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.
Whoops.
I can feel everyone’s discomfort. My own discomfort. These are the verses we would prefer weren’t in there. To get ticky, Colossians is one of the books that is hotly contested as to whether or not Paul actually wrote it. But whether Paul specifically wrote them or not, these are words in our holy, sacred book. The world knows Christians, whether we like it or not, as the owners of this language. Love is patient, love is kind, slavery’s ok, and women need to shut their mouths.
What do we do with that? Seriously, I’m asking. I don’t know the answer. And verses like these, that have been used as weapons for centuries to wound and oppress and exclude, they are why so many of us that have washed up on the steps of this church were at sea in the first place. I’m pretty sure Anne knows the answer, so it’s very unfortunate that she isn’t here today.
Anne asked me to preach on Paul Day because she knows that of all of the Very Important Pauls, I prefer McCartney to The Apostle. The apostle and I don’t always get along, and I have spent a lot of time just flat out angry with him. She felt it may be helpful to others who have felt the same way (when it isn’t okay to feel that way in a lot of Christian communities) that it is okay here, to be conflicted. To know how Paul and I have made our uneasy peace with each other, so that if you are one of the people who have exacto-knifed your New Testament so as to avoid him, perhaps things can get better for you, too.
So, understanding that I don’t know the answers, I propose to you that I do maybe know some helpful things, and it seems that all of you do, too. I mean, I’m here, you’re here. Even though the Bible, and specifically Paul-authored verses of that Bible, have been used against a lot of you by Christians in the past, you felt that there is something in this Jesus thing that is worth the trouble of wrestling with this stuff. I wholeheartedly agree. So in no particular order, here are some things that have helped me and Paul to this point.
1) I stopped trying to come up with a single cohesive theory about the Bible that accounted for every single word in it and how I should explicitly interpret it.
Some Christians believe that the Bible is the direct word of God, sent directly, word for word, from God’s mouth to your ears via messengers like Paul who did no more than transcribe the sessions. A set of instructions for living that addresses every possible situation known to man and a prescription for how to act accordingly. Forgive me, but that is some crazy absolutism. Not only do the verses about slavery and women and sexuality present difficulties in this worldview, but then you have to figure out what to do with verses like this:
Galatians 6:11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
I mean, we know what this means in context- its Paul reassuring people that it really is him writing the letter. But I am surprised there aren’t denominations predicated on the belief that large penmanship is the way God intended us to write, and those who disagree be damned.
Even of those that think they interpret scripture this way, they ignore some verses just as much as we do- men praying with their heads uncovered, people eating shrimp and wearing polyblends all over the place.
So clearly, this type of interpretation is not an option for me. But neither is the opposite very encouraging- if God had nothing to do with the Bible and it is purely just the thoughts and ideas of men (and it was men, no ladies getting a byline in there), then what is the point of all this? Why not just form a philosophy club, meet at the library once a week, and call it a day?
In the end, I’ve dismissed the Slippery Slope Brigade on both sides, with their rejection of critical thinking and their extreme hypotheticals. There might be an All Encompassing algorithm out there, but I don’t know it, and it isn’t even the part I’m searching for anymore. Down that path is a bench where you can’t see the forest for the trees. Which brings me to:
2) When in doubt, I defer to the Big Picture.
And when I say big picture what I mean is- Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, this is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and all the prophets hang on these two commandments.”
We so often miss the big picture because we are so anxious about the details. The verse in 1 Peter, the one that says “Love covers a multitude of sins,” I picture people hearing that verse for the first time and being so happy- “Love covers a multitude of sins! How nice! That really takes the pressure off, you know?” And within seconds they’re talking among themselves: “Did he say how many sins love covers, exactly? Big or little sins? Do you think I could trade three little sins for one big one?” We are constantly, eternally missing the point. And it would be too kind to say that we are missing the point because we are trying so hard to be good and do right. No, we miss the point because we want to get as close to that line as possible without going over.
Early on in my days at this church Anne said offhand at a bible study one night that Presbyterians interpret scripture through the lens of Jesus’ teachings, and I loved that. While this doesn’t offer the explicit comfort of telling us exactly what each verse means and why in the world it got canonized, it’s a good reminder of what our purpose is, and anything that’s driving us away from that purpose is, essentially, fluff.
Which leads me to:
3) The Big Picture about Paul has some stuff I can totally, unashamedly and without internal conflict, get behind.
My sister was telling me the other day about a Rachel Held Evans article she had read, addressing the whole women-submitting-to-their-husbands thing. The point of the article was this: the important part of what Paul was saying was not “Women, submit to your husbands.” That was the order of the day already. The revolutionary part was when he turned to the men and told them to be kind to their wives. Kindness to women was not the standard. Women were owned, was the standard. In context, Paul was a feminist. (Ahhahha, I know that’s a stretch.) Yes, the language is icky. It’s talking to the people of the day and in their language. Some would argue that this means Paul had insight into God’s Grand Truth of the Universe and purposefully couched his argument in terms the people would understand. That he was some sort of incrementalist who knew the real truth but met people where they were. I mean, Paul is also the guy who wrote in Galatians that divisions between man and woman, slave and free, Jew and Gentile, none of that mattered anymore because everyone was equal before God. THAT was revolutionary and man, sign me up for that kind of revolution.
But I don’t believe that even Paul understood the specific way his words would be revolutionary for the world. He was pretty obsessed with the idea that Jesus was coming back LITERALLY ANY MINUTE. See, Paul was an intellectual AND a zealot. The way my family (and Deann’s family, I’m pretty sure) love shows like Firefly or Harry Potter or comic books, and we learn every single thing there is to know about them and try to make everyone around us obsessed with it, too? Come on, you know nerds like this. We are the nerdy zealots. Well, Paul was totally a nerdy zealot, and his zealotry was about this idea that Jesus changed everything, and He was coming back speedy quick, so you better get ready. He wasn’t interested in modifying society, because society wasn’t going to be around much longer. He had no time for rallies on equal rights. He would have been shocked if someone had told him we would still be kicking 2,000 years down the road. So I don’t think he even fully understood what a concept like “everyone is equal before God” would mean once it fully took root. (And to speak truth, it hasn’t fully taken root, yet. There’s still work to do.)
I tend to believe that Paul was just a man who grabbed hold of a giant Truth bigger than even his great intellect could handle, and with the prejudices of his day deeply embedded in him the way you and I hold things to be true that decent society of the future will judge to be ridiculous. What will stay true? God loves you no matter your identity. And be kind to one another. These will always stay true.
Here’s the final big picture thing about Paul: without him, there would be no us. Or, if there was an Us, we would look very, very different. Paul joined the band when the rest of the guys were dreaming too small. Peter and the guys wanted to tour close to home. They were playing small venues, mainly in Jerusalem, talking about maybe releasing a mixtape. Paul was talking about selling out stadiums across the world and putting out an album every few months. If it weren’t for Paul and the sack of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., Christianity would be much closer to Messianic Judaism, and much harder to access. (If you think it is hard to sell Christianity to jaded postmoderns now, imagine if adult circumcision was part of that deal.)
I got the title for this sermon as I was researching Paul’s representations in religious culture. If Paul is to be found in a painting, he will likely be holding a sword and a book. Turns out St. Paul is the patron saint for writers and publishers since he consistently churned out bestsellers, and the sword is because he supposedly died by one, martyred for his faith. But, not knowing the traditional symbolism when I first started looking at them, the paintings struck me as perfect representations of Paul, because of the contradictions inherent in holding those tools- swords and books, warriors and scholars, opposites and difficult to reconcile. That was so fitting, to me, as I contemplated my relationship with his work.
We have brokered a peace, Paul and I have, in part because in general, the people I am close to in my life and those I choose to worship with let me and Paul be. They are never trying to force us into counseling to hash out our differences, and slowly we have come around a little, agreeing to not talk about certain things in the presence of company. I wish for you the same peace in discomfort, and a willingness to struggle with the difficult but important things. Amen.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Elijah's IPOD
Sometimes my mind takes quarky little side trips, this post is a result of one of those trips. A while back I was thinking about the story of Elijah where he's fled into the mountains and is hiding in a cave. God comes to him and asks what he's doing there and Elijah answers that they're trying to kill him. Now here's where my mind veered off from the story and I got a picture of Elijah sitting outside his cave with a guitar singing some gut-bucket woe is me blues. And strangely I thought that feels right, I think Elijah would be a blues fan. Of course I didn't stop there, I begin to think about other people from the bible and what kind of music they would they like. Now I'm not trying to be sacrilegious or flippant or disrespectful, just thought it was an amusing little exercise. We all project personalities on the characters of the bible based on a mixture of what's said and done by them in the bible, mixed up memories from years of bible class stories, our personal theology, and all sorts of other psychobabble stuff from our own personalities. So here's what I've come up with, feel free to join in.
Elijah - ok, already said the blues.
David - Singer/Songwriter type - Kristofferson, Billy Joe Shaver, Hank Williams Sr. Personal, lay your heart out for everyone to see.
Samson - Southern Rock, Red-Neck Country - Hank Jr. Even some Kid Rock - I can picture Samson singing I'm A Cowboy Baby as he's slaying Philistines.
Solomon - U2 of course. He was a wise man.
Peter - Not sure about Peter, I kind of see him as a top-forty radio friendly guy. Natasha see's him more as a good ole boy type - some Southern Rock, Garage band fan.
John - The Beatles from All You Need Is Love to the psychedelia of Magical Mystery Tour, John would get it.
Paul - I think Paul's preferred music would be hard driven in you face Christian Metal (maybe something Living Sacrifice), but would be just as comfortable listening to and talking about whatever music whoever he was with at the time.
Jesus - Bob Dylan
God - Jazz - a musical form that really defies definition. Music played within a set tonal structure but with an infinite maze of possibilities. I think that's a good description of the universe that God created.
There's my list, let me hear what you think.
Elijah - ok, already said the blues.
David - Singer/Songwriter type - Kristofferson, Billy Joe Shaver, Hank Williams Sr. Personal, lay your heart out for everyone to see.
Samson - Southern Rock, Red-Neck Country - Hank Jr. Even some Kid Rock - I can picture Samson singing I'm A Cowboy Baby as he's slaying Philistines.
Solomon - U2 of course. He was a wise man.
Peter - Not sure about Peter, I kind of see him as a top-forty radio friendly guy. Natasha see's him more as a good ole boy type - some Southern Rock, Garage band fan.
John - The Beatles from All You Need Is Love to the psychedelia of Magical Mystery Tour, John would get it.
Paul - I think Paul's preferred music would be hard driven in you face Christian Metal (maybe something Living Sacrifice), but would be just as comfortable listening to and talking about whatever music whoever he was with at the time.
Jesus - Bob Dylan
God - Jazz - a musical form that really defies definition. Music played within a set tonal structure but with an infinite maze of possibilities. I think that's a good description of the universe that God created.
There's my list, let me hear what you think.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Church and Community - A History from My Perspective
We've created a new blog LEVY COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
We created this blog in order to share information about the ministry and to encourage one another in this quest. I've just written a new post, check it out.
We created this blog in order to share information about the ministry and to encourage one another in this quest. I've just written a new post, check it out.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Poverty Tax - Revisited
Last year about this time I wrote a note on my Facebook page with some thoughts on poverty and my self-righteous hypocritical attitudes. I also laid out some plans to at least start heading my life in a direction to match my actions with my words. After a year the results have been mixed.
1.) Buy a Kroger reusable gift card from River City Ministries .
This one should have been easy to keep, nothing to it, add money to the card, use it to buy stuff at Krogers, River City gets a little money. No sacrifice on my part, have to buy groceries anyway. Failed miserably, I think I used it twice. Will do better this year.
2.) Self imposed poverty tax. I charged myself a 10% tax on money spent on eating out, golf, entertainment, etc and used that money to fight poverty. This one was actually kind of fun, still not much of a sacrifice (usually around $100 a month) . I did fund some loans thru Kiva.Org , gave some money to River City Ministries and a few other charities, but I didn't really change my lifestyle much. I still struggle with the need for and spend too much on the un-essential things in life.
I will increase the tax to 15% this year.
Still baby steps, but hopefully they are in the right direction. My hope is that some of y'all that read this will think "Hey, that's not a bad idea, I think I'll try something like that".
1.) Buy a Kroger reusable gift card from River City Ministries .
This one should have been easy to keep, nothing to it, add money to the card, use it to buy stuff at Krogers, River City gets a little money. No sacrifice on my part, have to buy groceries anyway. Failed miserably, I think I used it twice. Will do better this year.
2.) Self imposed poverty tax. I charged myself a 10% tax on money spent on eating out, golf, entertainment, etc and used that money to fight poverty. This one was actually kind of fun, still not much of a sacrifice (usually around $100 a month) . I did fund some loans thru Kiva.Org , gave some money to River City Ministries and a few other charities, but I didn't really change my lifestyle much. I still struggle with the need for and spend too much on the un-essential things in life.
I will increase the tax to 15% this year.
Still baby steps, but hopefully they are in the right direction. My hope is that some of y'all that read this will think "Hey, that's not a bad idea, I think I'll try something like that".
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
War on Christmas
Stand up brothers and sisters, strap on the breastplate of righteousness and pick up the sword of truth. The time of the great persecution is upon us again, yes it's the war on Christmas 2008. Arrgggh.... ok forget the brilliant sarcastic rant I was going to write, let's just cut to the chase. Really, this is the way to reach a lost and dying world, by getting offended by Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, by crusading to put "Christ" back in Christmas? It's all just another example of where we've traded in the simple way of life taught by Jesus to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves for a lifestyle of shallow, phony, ritualistic crap! May God have mercy on our souls. "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."
Happy Holidays.
Happy Holidays.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Election 08 - Final Thoughts Part 2
I really thought I was done with election post, but I got an email from my sister-in-law Victoria with an article that one of the minister's from the church they attend wrote for their bulletin this sunday. And I also read Shane Claiborne's
"A Prayer for a New President and a New America" that I wanted to share.
Article by Hamilton Archibald:
This has been an eventful week on the national scale. Many people believe that there is no room for politics in the church. I agree that there should not be divisions made due to politics, especially since neither political party completely reflects biblical Christianity. However touchy the subject, we must consider the impact that the government has on the church.
This past week has ignited old fears and sparked new hope. Whether you believe that you witnessed correct political movement or wrong political movement, it is undeniable that we all witnessed a historical movement. It personally left me both excited and scared.
For a long time in the United States the Church has followed government and society. What was permissible by society was allowed by the church. Sunday mornings became the most racially divided time in the nation. Was that ever the will of God? “In Christ there is neither male nor female…” It was not the will of God but we all followed the rules of society rather than the rules of God. It has had negative impact that rippled down through generations.
Instead the Church should have been standing on the cutting edge. The biblical call was for unity and equality in Christ. You should be applauded as a church for currently being on the cutting edge in developing Biblical unity. We all understand that because of our country’s past there is baggage. But we can no longer allow society to dictate to the church its beliefs and actions.
I told you that I was excited and scared. I am excited to go and tell a little black boy to study harder because he might be the President. An African American in the highest office allows the kids I work with daily a new kind of role model. Professional ball players and rappers were the most visible role model for many black youth. Now there is a role model with a greater office, a greater responsibility, and a greater purpose.
I am also excited that society is making movement toward a biblical kind of unity. I look at Wonder City Church of Christ, Uplift, the Clothing giveaway, the Christmas store and I see glimpses of what heaven will look like. This excites me. I watched a speckled crowd cry and cheer as they listened to the president-elect. I saw racial healing. I saw the right kind of unity.
However, I am still scared because culture is still dictating to the church. That should not be. The Church must dictate to culture. I fear we have put too much emphasis on the government making moral decisions for the people. We cannot allow the government to do our responsibility. It is our duty to help each individual develop correct moral views that are based on the God of eternity. If we wait for the society to train the people and trickle into the church then you will see God’s wrath before a moral reform. That scares me.
Amos was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel . He went to tell the people that there was wrath coming on the people because of their sins. The people were sinning by abusing the poor and the disabled. They hated justice. They took bribes, so money drove and controlled the people instead of morals and righteousness. Amos’ message was simple. “Hate evil and seek good so that you may live.” You see economic stimulus, political control, or race didn’t matter. Moral decisions the individual made mattered. God didn’t send a politician to help them see that. He sent a preacher.
Church has to step up to the plate. We know the results of ignoring God. We know the benefits of doing things his way. We know the stories that politicians don’t, so we must lead our society. So please join me in both praying for our nation, and leading our nation’s minds. Hamilton Archibald
"A Prayer for a New President and a New America" that I wanted to share.
Article by Hamilton Archibald:
This has been an eventful week on the national scale. Many people believe that there is no room for politics in the church. I agree that there should not be divisions made due to politics, especially since neither political party completely reflects biblical Christianity. However touchy the subject, we must consider the impact that the government has on the church.
This past week has ignited old fears and sparked new hope. Whether you believe that you witnessed correct political movement or wrong political movement, it is undeniable that we all witnessed a historical movement. It personally left me both excited and scared.
For a long time in the United States the Church has followed government and society. What was permissible by society was allowed by the church. Sunday mornings became the most racially divided time in the nation. Was that ever the will of God? “In Christ there is neither male nor female…” It was not the will of God but we all followed the rules of society rather than the rules of God. It has had negative impact that rippled down through generations.
Instead the Church should have been standing on the cutting edge. The biblical call was for unity and equality in Christ. You should be applauded as a church for currently being on the cutting edge in developing Biblical unity. We all understand that because of our country’s past there is baggage. But we can no longer allow society to dictate to the church its beliefs and actions.
I told you that I was excited and scared. I am excited to go and tell a little black boy to study harder because he might be the President. An African American in the highest office allows the kids I work with daily a new kind of role model. Professional ball players and rappers were the most visible role model for many black youth. Now there is a role model with a greater office, a greater responsibility, and a greater purpose.
I am also excited that society is making movement toward a biblical kind of unity. I look at Wonder City Church of Christ, Uplift, the Clothing giveaway, the Christmas store and I see glimpses of what heaven will look like. This excites me. I watched a speckled crowd cry and cheer as they listened to the president-elect. I saw racial healing. I saw the right kind of unity.
However, I am still scared because culture is still dictating to the church. That should not be. The Church must dictate to culture. I fear we have put too much emphasis on the government making moral decisions for the people. We cannot allow the government to do our responsibility. It is our duty to help each individual develop correct moral views that are based on the God of eternity. If we wait for the society to train the people and trickle into the church then you will see God’s wrath before a moral reform. That scares me.
Amos was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel . He went to tell the people that there was wrath coming on the people because of their sins. The people were sinning by abusing the poor and the disabled. They hated justice. They took bribes, so money drove and controlled the people instead of morals and righteousness. Amos’ message was simple. “Hate evil and seek good so that you may live.” You see economic stimulus, political control, or race didn’t matter. Moral decisions the individual made mattered. God didn’t send a politician to help them see that. He sent a preacher.
Church has to step up to the plate. We know the results of ignoring God. We know the benefits of doing things his way. We know the stories that politicians don’t, so we must lead our society. So please join me in both praying for our nation, and leading our nation’s minds. Hamilton Archibald
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Voting Your Values
I was going to write a post today, using the sermon from today at church as a kind of jumping off point. Thought I'd discuss what I agreed with and what I didn't and how based on my beliefs from the teachings of Christ and the New Testament that I don't feel like I have any choice but to vote for Obama. Or maybe talk about how voting morality over all other concerns entails more than just the Christian litmus test of homosexuality and abortion, and how the Republican Party has callously used these two faith issues to divide and manipulate Christians. But I'm not, I'm tired and weary of politics. Would it change anyone's mind, will anyone even read this? We've all chosen which parties propaganda we believe and can probably spit scriptures back and forth justifying our positions, so let's not. Vote however you want, let's just get this over with.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Epiphany
I wasn't going to do anymore non-halloween post this month but I had an epiphany and wanted to get this out. In an earlier post I talked about separation of church and state and the myth of a Christian nation. I realize I was wrong, the founding fathers did intend for this to be a Christian nation. The problem I see now is that they weren't explicit enough; they were too broad in their use of religion. I've also become inspired by current President Bush and Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. This truly is a country where anyone can become President. With all that in mind I've decided to throw my hat in the ring and run for President. I know it's too late to run for this election but if you'd like to write my name in feel free to, and I think you'll want to after reading my platform.
Officially this is my kickoff for the 2012 Presidential Race. Since making this decision, my mind has been racing with new laws to enact based on biblical principles, but while trying to create a draft of my foreign policy position based on the book of Revelation, I realized I needed to slow down, simplify, concentrate on a few major policies. So for this, my first position paper of my 2012 election bid, I will focus on 3 major areas (Economics, Health Care, and Education) plus a constitutional amendment that needs to be passed.
ECONOMIC POLICY - Money, as Americans we love money, we love making it, love spending it, some even love saving it. But money can be a problem - 1 Timothy 6:6-10
"6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief's." Next to love, money and possessions is probably the most covered subject in the Bible. I've always found it strange and hypocritical that we want the government to enact and pass laws enforcing biblical morality on individuals except for greed. When it comes to the government using our money to help the poor then it's all of sudden a personal decision not the governments. Sorry, but if it's alright to impose morality based on the Bible for the good of society and to more align our nation with God's teachings then it has to be alright to pass laws to help us use our money in a more Godly way. Under my new improved Christian Nation we will do just that, (Help people avoid the dangers of having too much money and follow God's commands to provide for the poor). How can any true Christian be against that? The cornerstone of my new economic policy will be:
The National Salary Cap - It's not really a salary cap but I liked the way it sounded.
90% of anything earned over $125,000 would have to be donated to charity, your choice no government interference as long as it's a legal charity. The other 10% is yours free and clear, no taxes.
Really is there any reason that anyone needs more than that to adequately take care of themselves or their family? I actually think the earning limits are too high but in a concession to our years of greed I'm willing to start slowly. This would be trickle down economics that really worked.
Jubilee Year - I thought I'd like to incorporate something from the only earthly government that God actually wrote the rules for. Will have to study Leviticus a little more to figure out the details. It's basically a reset button, Land goes back to original owners, and debts are forgiven. Sounds like redistribution of wealth but if it was God's idea it must me alright.
HEALTH CARE - We are an overweight and out of shape nation. 63% of Americans are overweight with a Body Mass Index (BMI) in excess of 25.0. 31% are obese with a BMI in excess of 30. There are over 400,000 people who weigh over 400 pounds. Why are we like this? Gluttony and Sloth, two of the so- called 7 deadly sins. Once again, if we are truly going to be a Christian Nation, isn't it our moral duty to protect people from
these sins. Every American will be given an individualized exercise and nutrition plan. There would be twice yearly mandatory weigh-ins and physical fitness test. Failure to maintain an adequate level of fitness would be met with increasing amounts of punishment ultimately leading to imprisonment in a fitness prison until appropriate goals were reached.
EDUCATION - It is time to put God back in the schools, not in some namby-pamby way, like people living their lives in such a way that God is seen in their actions wherever they are, but in a legal and government endorsed way.
Prayer - No longer will you be forced to pray silently or go into your closet to talk to God. Prayers before sporting events will be legally protected. In addition to the Pledge of Allegiance the Lord's Prayer will be recited each morning in all public schools. There's nothing quite like compelled ritualistic prayer to increase spirituality.
Bible Classes - Religious teaching will be brought back to school, mandatory bible classes will be taught from kindergarten thru 12th grade. There is a problem with finding qualified teachers and setting up the curriculum. With so many different churches and beliefs how do we guarantee a consistent learning experience? I thought about having teachers from different religious groups rotate teaching duties. As a member of the church of Christ would I want my kid being taught to speak in tongues or what if the teacher believed in snake handling? I even thought of just having agnostics or atheist as the Bible teachers. Finally, I think I came up with the solution. We need a unified interpretation of the Bible so it can be taught in the public schools. If elected I will add a new cabinet post (Department of Christianity) and convene a special panel to draft the Official United States of America Bible Interpretation. This document will be used to create all bible class curriculums. And hopefully at some point all churches will adopt this as well.
28TH AMENDMENT
That brings us to the last item. We will need to add a new amendment to the Constitution making Christianity the Official Religion of the United State.
Because of the lack of foresight by the founding fathers liberal judges have been able to chip away at many of our fundamental Christian rights. Without this amendment they will continue to do so and most of the new laws that I propose (especially my education platform) will not be able to be enacted. It is imperative that we start working on getting this passed as soon as possible. To get the ball rolling I will be sending a petition to all churches asking them to sign in support of this amendment.
So there you have it, a small portion of my platform for a new Christian Nation. I didn't have time to discuss some of my other ideas (national cuss jars, gossip police, etc). But I believe you can now see the endless possibilities if I'm elected.
Officially this is my kickoff for the 2012 Presidential Race. Since making this decision, my mind has been racing with new laws to enact based on biblical principles, but while trying to create a draft of my foreign policy position based on the book of Revelation, I realized I needed to slow down, simplify, concentrate on a few major policies. So for this, my first position paper of my 2012 election bid, I will focus on 3 major areas (Economics, Health Care, and Education) plus a constitutional amendment that needs to be passed.
ECONOMIC POLICY - Money, as Americans we love money, we love making it, love spending it, some even love saving it. But money can be a problem - 1 Timothy 6:6-10
"6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief's." Next to love, money and possessions is probably the most covered subject in the Bible. I've always found it strange and hypocritical that we want the government to enact and pass laws enforcing biblical morality on individuals except for greed. When it comes to the government using our money to help the poor then it's all of sudden a personal decision not the governments. Sorry, but if it's alright to impose morality based on the Bible for the good of society and to more align our nation with God's teachings then it has to be alright to pass laws to help us use our money in a more Godly way. Under my new improved Christian Nation we will do just that, (Help people avoid the dangers of having too much money and follow God's commands to provide for the poor). How can any true Christian be against that? The cornerstone of my new economic policy will be:
The National Salary Cap - It's not really a salary cap but I liked the way it sounded.
90% of anything earned over $125,000 would have to be donated to charity, your choice no government interference as long as it's a legal charity. The other 10% is yours free and clear, no taxes.
Really is there any reason that anyone needs more than that to adequately take care of themselves or their family? I actually think the earning limits are too high but in a concession to our years of greed I'm willing to start slowly. This would be trickle down economics that really worked.
Jubilee Year - I thought I'd like to incorporate something from the only earthly government that God actually wrote the rules for. Will have to study Leviticus a little more to figure out the details. It's basically a reset button, Land goes back to original owners, and debts are forgiven. Sounds like redistribution of wealth but if it was God's idea it must me alright.
HEALTH CARE - We are an overweight and out of shape nation. 63% of Americans are overweight with a Body Mass Index (BMI) in excess of 25.0. 31% are obese with a BMI in excess of 30. There are over 400,000 people who weigh over 400 pounds. Why are we like this? Gluttony and Sloth, two of the so- called 7 deadly sins. Once again, if we are truly going to be a Christian Nation, isn't it our moral duty to protect people from
these sins. Every American will be given an individualized exercise and nutrition plan. There would be twice yearly mandatory weigh-ins and physical fitness test. Failure to maintain an adequate level of fitness would be met with increasing amounts of punishment ultimately leading to imprisonment in a fitness prison until appropriate goals were reached.
EDUCATION - It is time to put God back in the schools, not in some namby-pamby way, like people living their lives in such a way that God is seen in their actions wherever they are, but in a legal and government endorsed way.
Prayer - No longer will you be forced to pray silently or go into your closet to talk to God. Prayers before sporting events will be legally protected. In addition to the Pledge of Allegiance the Lord's Prayer will be recited each morning in all public schools. There's nothing quite like compelled ritualistic prayer to increase spirituality.
Bible Classes - Religious teaching will be brought back to school, mandatory bible classes will be taught from kindergarten thru 12th grade. There is a problem with finding qualified teachers and setting up the curriculum. With so many different churches and beliefs how do we guarantee a consistent learning experience? I thought about having teachers from different religious groups rotate teaching duties. As a member of the church of Christ would I want my kid being taught to speak in tongues or what if the teacher believed in snake handling? I even thought of just having agnostics or atheist as the Bible teachers. Finally, I think I came up with the solution. We need a unified interpretation of the Bible so it can be taught in the public schools. If elected I will add a new cabinet post (Department of Christianity) and convene a special panel to draft the Official United States of America Bible Interpretation. This document will be used to create all bible class curriculums. And hopefully at some point all churches will adopt this as well.
28TH AMENDMENT
That brings us to the last item. We will need to add a new amendment to the Constitution making Christianity the Official Religion of the United State.
Because of the lack of foresight by the founding fathers liberal judges have been able to chip away at many of our fundamental Christian rights. Without this amendment they will continue to do so and most of the new laws that I propose (especially my education platform) will not be able to be enacted. It is imperative that we start working on getting this passed as soon as possible. To get the ball rolling I will be sending a petition to all churches asking them to sign in support of this amendment.
So there you have it, a small portion of my platform for a new Christian Nation. I didn't have time to discuss some of my other ideas (national cuss jars, gossip police, etc). But I believe you can now see the endless possibilities if I'm elected.
Friday, August 1, 2008
The Silencing of God
Do you ever feel that the way you see things and think about stuff just doesn't mesh with those around you? I often feel that way at church. I recently noticed an article in our church bulletin about the class that is/was going on in the auditorium on Wednesday nights. The class is using a DVD by Dr. David Miller titled " The Silencing of God'. My first thought was what a small weak God we worship, to think the God who created the universe can be silenced my men. I don't think that was Dr. Millers intention but that's what it made me think. The article also listed some of the topics that are covered in the study -
Did the Founding Fathers....
* reject expressions of Christianity in government and public schools?
* Intend for federal institutions to be religiously neutral?
* approve of same-sex marriages?
Before going on, here's my disclaimer: I've not had the opportunity to attend one of these classes and won't, but to be honest I probably wouldn't if I had the chance. So this isn't a critique of his class or a discussion of what his actual views are since I don't really know what they are, it's just what got me to thinking about this again.
So why do I stay?
The religious heritage that I come from and the congregation that I worship with are family. Sometimes a little dysfunctional maybe but still family. Good families don't always see eye to eye on everything. This is a family that I love and I believe loves me. What I see when I honestly look at my church is a group of people just like me, stumbling, struggling, sometimes missing the point and veering off the path on our journey with Christ. But I've seen how much they get right, how much good they do, I've seen how they live, how they try to live out Christ's teachings.
Sometimes all we need is love, and that's enough for me.
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