The Weird Divide

Say Goodbye

2006-03-30T09:56:00.000-08:00

I decided that I do not have the time or the motivation to have two blogs and try to do two different things with them. So I have just decided to end this blog and use my new one:

pilgrimramblings.wordpress.com

Here is a parting quote from a brilliant man:

"The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese." G.K. Chesterton

Derek Webb: Modern Day Prophet?

2006-03-06T21:59:00.000-08:00

Derek Webb has a new album out called Mockingbird, and it is really good. Here are some lyrics to his song, A New Law, which is simply awesome, convicting, and brutally authentic:

A New Law

(vs. 1)
don’t teach me about politics and government
just tell me who to vote for
don’t teach me about truth and beauty
just label my music
don’t teach me how to live like a free man
just give me a new law

(pre-chorus)
i don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy
so just bring it down from the mountain to me

(chorus)
i want a new law
i want a new law
gimme that new law

(vs. 2)
don’t teach me about moderation and liberty
i prefer a shot of grape juice
don’t teach me about
loving my enemies
don’t teach me how to listen to the Spirit
just give me a new law

(pre-chorus/chorus)

(bridge)
what’s the use in trading a law you can never keep
for one you can that cannot get you anything
do not be afraid
do not be afraid
do not be afraid

For more of Derek Webb, check out http://www.derekwebb.com/music/#

Posts

2006-03-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

I have a couple of new posts over on my other site, concerning cultural context/narrative and peace/sabbath respectively. Also, some have asked about commenting on the new site. If you type in your info to comment once, it should remember it the next time you comment on the same computer. Hope that is easier for you, if not, you can comment on this one and I will receive it anyways, but I hope that many enjoy the new site, cause I do! It is more artistic I believe. Take care.

Fiona Apple/Coldplay

2006-02-28T15:43:00.000-08:00

Last night, Heather and I sat in the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, and watched the best concert either of us have ever witnessed in our lives. Fiona of course did her best Janis Joplin impression, dancing about in a style that can at best be described as the Elaine dance in fast forward. Sadly, I think most of her music fell on deaf ears, as concert goers arrived late and the ones who did witness her short setlist didn't fully appreciate her passion. I admit, I am not a Fiona Apple enthusiast, but I did appreciate her vigor and her verbose songs consisting of heartache and vindication.

But, to Coldplay I must turn my homage. The theatrics of the whole thing were in and of themselves spectacular alone. Behind the stage was a huge screen with an array of images, but often displayed video captions of Chris Martin on piano and the other members playing their respective instruments. During the song "The Scientist", the image on the screen zoomed slowly from outer space into the molecules that exist in a human body. During the song "Yellow", several yellow balls were dropped from the rafters onto the floor crowd, each eventually exploding and spreading gold confetti everywhere! Like Fiona, Coldplay played and sang with a passion that I have seen outmatched only by The Dave Matthews Band. These guys seem to really enjoy each other's presence and appreciate the music that each one contributes. I also appreciated the fact that they chose to sing Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" after singing "Til Kingdom Come" (a song originally written for Cash). After the encore, they chose to sing three of my favorite songs of theirs: Swallowed in the Sea, In My Place, and Fix You! Needless to say, it was a great night and it was the best concert I have ever witnessed.

I realize this is less of a review and more of a celebration of a great band, but you know what, I don't care! Have a good day, enjoy the beautiful weather (if you live in Oklahoma!).

More Breaking News (with Significant Changes!)

2006-02-17T09:42:00.000-08:00

Hello All.

News: I am moving my blog to a new place, pilgrimramblings.wordpress.com. However, I will keep this blog and use it as a cultural review consisting of reviews of films, books, and music and other events that occur locally, nationally, and globally. I hope you will keep checking this site and will keep giving input, because that is really why I do this, for I enjoy the conversation that occurs and the comments that many of you leave. Thanks for visiting and hanging around, listening to me and my irrelevant thoughts.

My new blog, will be functioning on the same premise as this one used to and will consist of thoughts on God, life, and human understanding. I hope we can continue the conversation over there as well. Thanks again.

Breaking News!

2006-02-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

Mi hermana (my sister) is now blogging from Mexico. You can check it out hear at ambersharples.blogspot.com

Quotes from the Psych Unit

2006-02-14T15:46:00.000-08:00

For those of you who do not know, I work at a hospital in Tulsa in the Child/Adolescent Behavioral Health Unit. Here are some quotes that I heard today...

"Hey, I'll eat your heart."

"Hmmmm, blood milk, my favorite!"

"Buck you, Mr. Daniel!"

Pics

2006-02-11T21:59:00.000-08:00

Well
Here are some pictures from the Minneapolis trip I went on with some of my friends. In this picture (from left to right): Charley, Lee, Steve, Jim, John (with fork in nose), Jeff, and Jimmy. We all attended John Piper's Pastors Conference. It was a good conference but what made it special was the conversations that we had in our group throughout the week.

One night, a few of us went to the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Boston Celtics game. Here is a shot of NBA all star Kevin Garnett shooting a free throw while fellow all star Paul Pierce looks on:

Here is a pic I took from our hotel room on the 19th floor of the Hilton. I couldn't help but stare at all the people walking on the sidewalks and pretending to smash them with my thumb and index finger like I was a giant.

Here is a balcony shot of the Solomons Porch gathering. This was their first time to meet at the new church building, however it was also their annual church meeting so we left halfway through because it was a little boring. The highlight of the night was the fact that I sat on a couch instead of a pew.

Here is Charley and Steve playing checkers at Caribou Coffee (which is just like Starbucks). The place didn't have actual checkers so we had to gather pocket change.

Well I hope you enjoyed these pics. I have more and may add more at a later time. Take care

Indictment of "Religious Consumerism"

2006-02-08T21:29:00.000-08:00

Here is a quote from Richard Horsley on American consumer-capitalism:

"Perhaps the most obvious way in which the religious function of advertising can be discerned, it skillfully plants a sense of inadequacy, insecurity, sin, guilt, or shame, for which it then presents the remedy (redemption, salvation, relief, absolution) in the acquisition of certain products. In consumer capitalism one gains salvation by the acquisition of products."

Religion and Empire, pg. 118.

An interesting gospel huh?

Twin Cities

2006-01-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

My vacation started today, I have a week off from work and my trip to Minnesota begins Saturday morning. Today I spent most of my time cleaning my room and sorting out the beautiful mess that resided there previously. I will be taking a lot of photos this week, some from the Piper conference, the Mall of America, and hopefully Solomon's Porch new building. My birthday is next Wednesday so I am sure there will be photos of the fiesta that commence there as well. I will post some photos when I return next Thursday. Talk to you then....

UPDATE: Ok I know that I promised that I would post some pics online from my trip but things have been very busy here. I will post them by the weekend, if not then I will take all my readers out to dinner!

Air Apparent?

2006-01-25T00:09:00.000-08:00

I was checking out the NBA's official website tonight when I came across this blog from Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan's former teammate. He wrote an interesting post on why you can't compare Kobe Bryant and his 81-point performance to what Jordan did or could have done in this era. Now, I believe that what Kobe did was incredible no doubt about it, but the NBA is unlike the league that Jordan and Pippen used to play in. Defense is simply not a priority and the league rules on team defense have changed so much that a defensive wizard such as Pippen himself could not have guarded offensive players in the same manner. Since shooting percentages and point production have decreased over the last 5-10 years, I believe the NBA realized that to keep a strong fan base, they needed to make any attempt to increase scoring that they could. Anyways, though what Kobe did Sunday night is unbelievable, I think that Jordan could have equaled if not trumped Bryant's performance if he were to be in his prime today. I will admit this, if Kobe can get his head together and start playing team basketball, as Jordan did, he could become a better player than Jordan. I never thought I would say that...

Get Busy Livin' or Get Busy Dyin'

2006-01-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

Last night, as I struggled to get to sleep, I happened to turn the television on to catch the last part of The Shawshank Redemption. If you haven't seen the film, let me just tell you that it is incredible. I believe this movie is at least in my top five if not top three favorite films of all time. I think what intrigues me the most is the dialogue, especially from 'Red' (Morgan Freeman). There is a scene in the film when Red talks about the institutionalization process and the toll is takes on an inmate. He describes that when one first enters into a prison, they "hate the walls" and the bondage that ensues from them, however, as the inmate begins to lose sight of how the real world operates and loses touch with society, the inmate will begin to clutch tightly to the walls that he once hated so dearly. It becomes the only reality that he knows. The walls eventually become a safe haven from the outside world.

I think that this is really an allegory of my life. Most of my sins are addictions (being a creature of habit), and yet as I began these things they were not addictions. They were actions, and they were acted out of desire. Initially, I enjoyed and hated (through guilt and shame) these sins, but at some point they gave me a comfort that I thought was real. I thought they could satisfy me. But that is where the imprisonment begins, as I began to embrace my sin, my sin began to enslave me. My habits became obsessions and everything and everyone became obstacles to what I really desired. The truly wonderful things of this world became ugly to me and the things that deteriorate the soul became beautiful to me.

I think much of what Jesus does is to expose the truly horrendous things in us and in our world and to show us what is truly beautiful and vital to life. Another example of this comes in the aforementioned film when Andy Defresne (Tim Robbins), while in the warden's office, turns on the prison PA system and plays a vinyl disc of two female opera singers singing together. Red and the other inmates don't know what to make of it other than the fact that what they hear is absolutely breathtaking. Suddenly this prison, filled with the tedious and dreary lives of its inmates, becomes enlivened and the world as they all knew it was changed. I think that this a great image of what Christ can do in our lives. I often feel that life is tedious and boring, and yet there are moments when Jesus steps into the middle of my mess and awakens me to what is truly wonderful. This may seem a little basic but even after years of trying to live this out, the message is still often the same. I think I am just a really slow learner.

Peace

Update: On a side note, Heather bought a couple of goldfish and graciously let me name one of them. I, in respect to C.S. Lewis, named the fish Clive. She wonderfully named the other Scout, out of appreciation to the wonderful character in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.

Save me Jebus! (an ode to Homer Simpson)

2006-01-09T21:19:00.000-08:00

So much of the gospel that I grew up with simply centered around individual decision. The premise is that your whole life revolves around one decision that you make that has infinite implications on whether you will live in heaven with God or burn "below" in hell. Moreover, my understanding of both God and Jesus went like this: God was a cosmic bean counter of all my sins and Jesus came to earth simply to wipe my slate clean and to die a horrible death. Thus my gospel went as so: God could count really high and Jesus said some really odd things and the best thing he ever did was die. All that was asked of me was that I make a decision to let this weird 1st century Jewish guy "into my heart" (what does that even mean?) and I would be okay.

I realize how redundant and overly simplistic that sounds but that is the gospel I grew up knowing. I didn't think God really cared and I didn't think that what Jesus said to his followers and other listeners really mattered. It scares me to think that this distortion of the gospel is really what most people think of when they think of God and Jesus.

I don't mean to downplay the idea that at some point people have to make decisions. Most people usually make a decision to marry someone. However, more than half fail to keep the commitment. Isn't the commitment what we would really call marriage? Isn't the wedding merely a ceremony celerating a future that will involve both good and bad, sickness and health, wealth and poverty? The more I look at salvation, and the more I reflect on my personal journey with God, I realize more and more what St. Paul meant when he said that we are being saved. The gospel I have come to embrace involves a Jesus who challenges me on every level and in every sphere of my life. It is a daily struggle, and I fail so much. But I realize now that God cares and wants to show me what it is to truly die to myself and follow the way of Christ. And yes, this still involves meditating and reflecting on why Jesus died. Jesus did come to save us, to free us, and to pay for the things that we have done. But Jesus didn't just come to die, and his incarnation involved teaching humans what it meant to be truly human and to live lives serving God and others on a daily basis. This gospel is so much more arduous, demanding, and yet so much more fruitful than I could have ever imagined. Dallas Willard states that most Christians are "vampire Christians", simply wanting the saving blood of Jesus but wanting nothing of what he had to say to humanity. I hope that this understanding starts to change, and I know that I have had to come a long way into a new understanding of the gospel. Maybe the church has some more deconstruction to do, but only with the promise to try and reconstruct the gospel to its original form.

The Missional Character of the Church

2006-01-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

At Rivendell, we have talked much about what it means to be "missional" to the world. Often this places less focus on the structure and building up of an institutional church in favor of articulating an ethic of transformation of the collective members and sending those members who are being transformed out into the surrounding culture to continue in forming others in this same transforming process. This is an article I found at Allelon and I think it gives a great introduction to the subject. Enjoy...

The Missional Character of the Church, by Adam Ellis

According to Brian McLaren, in his book A Generous Orthodoxy, the term “missional” was coined in the 1990’s by the “Gospel In Our Culture Network”. McLaren explains, “The term as I understand it, attempts to find a generous third way between the conservative and liberal versions of Christianity so dominant in the Western world. The conservative version is preoccupied with the “personal savior” Gospel…and the liberal version has lost something vitally important in their engagement with modernity”. In actuality, the term is rather self explanatory. In contemporary vernacular, a church that is “missional” defines its identity or focus primarily in terms of it’s mission from God, in and to the world. To some, this may seem like one option among many for churches seeking to define their identities. To others, this may seem wrongheaded or simply a “passing fad.” However, I believe that the theological roots of the missional character of the church run deep in the narrative of scripture.In the beginning, (Genesis 1 & 2), God created people in his image, to care for the world around them. God very clearly has a dream for where he wants the creation project to go and people have a role in getting it there. The participation of human beings in this project, however, gets derailed in Genesis 3. Even so, God does not give up on his dream. Many years later, God makes a covenant with a man named Abram. Genesis 12 reveals that a key to this covenant is the idea that Abram and his descendants will be blessed by God and will be a blessing to all people. The story proceeds from there with the people of God seaming very interested in being blessed, but noticeably less interested in being a blessing.The prophets continually attempted to point the people of God back to their mission. Repeatedly, they scolded the people of God for their treatment of the poor and oppressed. Over and over again, they challenge God’s people on their lack of compassion and concern for justice. In the book of Isaiah, most notably in chapters 61 and 62, the prophet paints several pictures of God’s realized dream for his world and his people. Interestingly, in the New Testament, Jesus quoted from this same passage, stating that it is fulfilled in him, when he “officially” began his ministry. In Jesus, God (The Son) comes to earth as the “true human” to (among other things) show human beings what it looks like to be the people of God. Jesus further went on, in Matthew 25:31-46, to paint a picture of “judgment day” that points more to “involvement in mission” than “beliefs” as the primary criterion for judgment. In the Gospel narratives, he continually refers to the idea of the “kingdom of God” or, synonymously “the kingdom of Heaven”. While, in churches of Christ, these phrases have traditionally been interpreted as also being synonymous with “the church”, I think they are better understood in light of Jesus statement in the Lord’s Prayer. In that prayer, Jesus says, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” (Matthew 6:10). God’s “kingdom” is the extent to which his will is being done “on earth as it is in heaven.” The “church”, therefore is not synonymous with the “kingdom’, but rather is a catalyst for the Kingdom of God. It is an outpost of the Kingdom of Heaven. When Jesus gives the disciples “the great commission” in Matthew 28, he seems to be passing the torch back to a community of people…from the true human back to human beings. As I often tell the teenagers I work with, “Jesus took our place on the cross so that we could take his place in the world.”So, what does all of this mean for the church? In a lecture at the 2005 Emergent Convention in Nashville TN, Brian McLaren explained that in pluralist society, a religion is no longer judged as valid based on whether or not it is true. It is judged valid based on whether or not it is “good”. This is not to say that Christianity should no longer be concerned with “truth”. It does, however, point to the fact that our claim of truth is completely irrelevant to the world around us if we are not viewed as “good”. While that idea might initially seem to be “getting the cart before the ox” or letting culture define us, I believe that it points to an important truth and opportunity. A community of believers, who sees itself as blessed by God in order to be a blessing to the world, is good news, even to non-adherents. Rob Bell explains in Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith, “If the gospel isn’t good news for everybody, then it isn’t good news for anybody.” Because of it’s involvement in the pursuit of God’s dream, the church should be good news to everyone, regardless of their differing religious beliefs, politics, or race. For too long, the church has seemed to focus exclusively on it’s benefits for it’s members. This seems, to me, far short of the Biblical image. The Church is the Way of Jesus. It is the Body of Christ. The Church does not pursue privilege or power. Rather, the church pours out it’s life for the sake of the world. At her very essence, the Church is a community of believers on a mission from God. As Mark Driscoll eloquently states in The Radical Reformission, “…neither the freedom of Christ nor our freedom in Christ is intended to permit us to dance as close to sin as possible without crossing the line. But both are intended to permit us to dance as close to sinners as possible by crossing the lines that unnecessarily separate the people God has found from those he is still seeking.”

Resources:
Bell, Rob…Velvet Elvis: Repainting The Christian Faith. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005*
Driscoll, Mark…The Radical Reformission. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004*
McLaren, Brian D…A Generous Orthodoxy. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004*
McLaren, Brian D…The Gospel In Pluralist Society. Nashville: Youth Specialties Emergent Convention, 2005*
Wright, N.T…The Lord and His Prayer. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996

I Got the Cocaine Blues

2006-01-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

If you haven't yet seen the biopic Walk the Line or at least listened to the soundtrack, I implore you to do so. I'll admit it, I have now jumped the Johnny Cash bandwagon but I am enjoying every minute of it.

Moreover, Dino posted on his blog his top 10 books of 2005. He then asked his readers to post what their faves were this past year. After you get done commenting on your faves of 2005 for him, hop back over here and and tell me what books you want to read most in 2006. Here are some of mine:

(1) New Testament and the People of God by N.T. Wright

(2) Jesus and the Victory of God by N.T. Wright

(3) The Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder

(4) Jesus and Empire by Richard A. Horsley

(5) An Introduction to the Old Testament by Walter Brueggemann

(6) The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

(7) A People's History of the Unites States by Howard Zinn

(8) More Ernest Hemingway

(9) Greek and Roman history

(10) The Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton

Here's My New Phone

2005-12-29T17:02:00.000-08:00

Home sick

2005-12-29T12:24:00.000-08:00

I have been at home for the last two and half days sick as a dog. Here are some things that have helped me pass the time:

(1) Arrested Development Season 2

(2) iTunes

(3) Picking a new cell phone network and plan

(4) 7up

(5) Sportscenter

I think the worst thing I have realized about myself as I have been home is that even with long periods of time to study, meditate, and pray with God, I still choose to consume myself with mindless things. I am in need of some repentance at this point.

The Bishop of Durham Has Done it Again

2005-12-19T21:05:00.000-08:00

I have just finished N.T. Wright's The Last Word, and I must say, the man impresses me every time he writes a book. A couple of friends from OKC came to visit me this past weekend and we got to discuss the Bishop, his books, and his theology. One of the reasons I am impressed by Dr. Wright is that he lives in tension. What I mean by this is that Wright lives between the world of the church and the world of academia, and is respected by both and challenges both to listen to the other's side. He does not usually accept the standard claims of either one but seeks to find a way in which both can be in constant dialogue and live with integrity.

Another reason I appreciate him is becuase he makes his points with allegorical stories that illustrate his ideas coherantly. Not since C.S. Lewis have I read someone who can develop and explain theological and philosophical theories and correlate it with little stories that help the reader understand them. Here is an excerpt from his last book concerning the contemporary bible wars:

"The phrase 'authority of scripture' is shorthand for the 'authority of the triune God, excercised through scripture'....Shorthands, in other words, are useful in the same way that suitcases are. They enable us to pick up lots of complicated things and carry them around all together. But we should never forget that the point of doing so, like the point of carrying belongings in a suitcase, is that what has been packed away can then be unpacked and put to use in the new location. Too much debate about scriptural authority has had the form of people hitting one another with locked suitcases." (Wright, pgs. 23-25)

Do you see what I mean? Fantastic.

Happy New Year (early)

2005-12-18T23:59:00.000-08:00

Here are two reasons why I am already anticipating 2006:

In late January/ early February, I am going with some good friends to the Twin Cities to attend John Piper's Desiring God conference! From what Steve has said, I will most likely be in the bookstore the whole time. We will be going to Piper's church on a Sunday morning and then we are going to Solomon's Porch that night. I think this will be a great trip, but it will be very, very, very cold!

Then, on February 27th, Heather and I will be heading to OKC to see Fiona Apple and Coldplay! I'm not as much of a Fiona Apple fan as Heather is, but I must see Coldplay before I die, and even though I don't expect that anytime soon, I must take proper action when I am faced with an opportunity such as this!

What are you aniticipating in 2006?

Love is Watching Someone Die

2005-12-05T21:48:00.000-08:00

"Love is watching someone die, so who's gonna watch you die?"

- Death Cab for Cutie, 'What Sara Said?'

At Rivendell this past Sunday, we juxtaposed the Great Commission text with that of the Greatest Commandment that Jesus articulates in Matthew 22. Part of our discussion led to the issue of baptism and its importance to discipleship. Steve, Rivendell co-pastor, asked the question of how the church is to be different from the religious consumers that seem so prominant in the American church. I contributed by saying that somehow consumerism, in its secular and religious forms respectively, always seeks to enhance the individual self and fill the void that one sees in their own life. The church should be the alternative and somehow be a place that embodies the practice of "Come here and die". What does this death mean? I think that is means that our agendas and dreams, what we thought made our lives true, must change to that of Christ's. Mark Riddle said that participating in the kingdom of God was practicing God's dreams for the world. I believe this is where baptism has its most vital role.

What if our message was really to "take up your cross and follow Christ", essentially, die to your own agenda and follow God's. Then baptism, the induction of the believer to the believing community, would thus be to let others participate in your funeral. It would be letting other people visually and physically participate in your death and realize that this death will lead to a wedding, a union with Christ and his bride. How odd is that? So maybe love is watching someone die, watching someone symbolically state that this life is futile without God in the way of Jesus. Maybe the church really loves people when it states that all must come before God and partipate in the imitation of the death of God' s son and that only in his death and resurrection we find life. Death leads to life, not the other way around. Once again, Jesus turns all of our logic on its head.

The Gospel According to Superman

2005-11-21T22:41:00.000-08:00

OK

It's not that I wasn't already excited enough for the new Superman movie to come out, but the teaser trailer just sparked a religious experience within me. You can watch it here. If you watch it, please listen to how the narrator (Marlon Brando), talks about the only son, the light, and the sending of the son into a world that has the capacity for good but doesn't know how to find it. I really don't know what director Bryan Singer's spiritual background is, and Christ themes are endless already in the Superman story, but the trailer just captured it beautifully. Maybe I sound like a huge nerd, but I just got so excited watching it. If you have the chance, please check it out.

Peace

If you could just help me out this once...

2005-11-16T23:47:00.000-08:00

Hello all

The next Emergent Cohort meeting is Thursday, December 8th @ 10:30am in Nordaggio's at 81st and Lewis.

For the next meeting, Paul, Kyle and I have to present and facilitate a conversation about salvation (what it means, what Jesus won in his death and resurrection, theological and exegetical thoughts, etc.) Anyways, I was hoping that this blog might be a source of inspiration, therefore, I request that if you have any thoughts about the subject, please feel free to email me or comment on the ole blog. I find that fruitful conversation and dialogue often produces healthy responses to difficult questions. Take care.

- Daniel

One Day, You Will be Loved

2005-11-14T11:52:00.000-08:00

I think that I have become some sort of missionary to ex-church goers. In the past couple of weeks, I have had several conversations with people from work (Tulsa Regional and Barnes and Noble) about the church's role in society and also about how people have been deeply hurt by members in church. Most cases were about feeling judged for actions that were seen as inappropriate by certain members. What struck me as odd was that these disputes were never taken to anyone else, thus the conflict remained between the one making accusations and the defendant. No leaders, no prayer, and no search for reconciliation were sought. Two of the people I talked to left the church and decided that they would not attend anywhere to escape the pain of being judged. One guy, who did not have much church experience to begin with, attends because his girlfriend likes to go because she has breast cancer and decided to attend church again, he goes to support her. But on his end, there is still a disattachment with the church.

I find that in just about every case, these people all feel like the wayward son in the story of the prodigal. They feel an attachment to God still, and on some level know they are loved, but the people who are called to love them don't love them because the prodigals do not always behave correctly. These people all admit that spirituality is still exciting and real, but they feel disconnected with a body that claims to have the ultimate revelation of love in the world. So one some level, they do doubt that real love exists in the world. They seem to want an alternative but fail to see it in the church. Is the church the elder son in the prodigal story? Do we want to limit the joy of people returning, so that they must become a hired hand first in order to get the love of God? Why don't we celebrate by having a feast and giving them rings on their fingers and robes to wear? Why must we make God's love so conditional? Henri Nouwen believes that the church must take on the role of the embracing father, to show people that God's love is real and unconditional, and is willing to confirm the lives of the wayward and bring them back home. My question is how we can get wayward people to believe that they are really loved, that grace is something real and powerful? Any thoughts? Please....

Emergent Tulsa

2005-11-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

Hey

I am posting about this way too late but there is a meeting of some Emergent- minded fellows at Nordaggio's at 81st and Lewis today at 10:30 am. They're trying to think and rethink up some new ways that we do church and how we articulate the gospel in a post-Christian society. Anyways, there will be more meetings but I am going to this one and I will try to make it to the others. Here is the blog site so you can here more about updates and discuss emerging thoughts:

emergenttulsa.blogspot.com

And, to get a better glimpse at what emergent as a whole really is, please check out:

www.emergentvillage.com

Newbigin on Pilgrimage

2005-11-06T22:01:00.000-08:00

"A pilgrim is one who turns his back on some familiar things and sets his face in the direction of the desired goal. The Christian is called to be a pilgrim, a learner to the end of her days. But she knows the Way."

Lesslie Newbigin, Proper Confidence. page 92.

Fresh Words

2005-11-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

Wisdom of a Sadhu
Sundar Singh (1889-1929)

"Both water and oil come from the earth. And though they are similar in many ways, they are opposites in their nature and their purpose. One extinguishes fire, the other gives fuel to the fire. Similarly, the world and its treasures are creations of God along with the soul and its thirst for spiritual truth. But if we try to quench the thirst of our soul with the wealth and pride and honors of this world, then it is like trying to extinguish fire with oil. The soul will only find peace and contentment in the One who created it along with its longing. When we turn to the living Master, we receive water that satisfies our soul. This water is a well of spiritual life that springs up deep within us."

Elements of the Gospel

2005-10-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

I got this from Scot McKnight over at www.jesuscreed.org. I thought it was really good:

The gospel is easy to distort and I see distortions in these ways:

Some preach what I call a Creation Day Only gospel: they focus on humans as made in the image of God, the Eikon of God, and they see nothing but potential, potential, potential. They see human goodness — and there is plenty to see — and they see human development — and there is plenty to see. And that is all they see. This distorts the gospel.

Others believe in what I call a Fall Day Only gospel: they focus on humans as sinners, as polluted morally, as messed up mentally, as disturbed in the soul, and as inconquerable in the body. In other words, they see nothing but problems, problems, problems. And that is all they see. This, too, distorts the gospel.

*This is not an issue of balance; it is an issue of seeing and assuming both: humans are both good and bad. They are not all good with some bad, or all bad with some good. Ordinary humans are capable of being both majestically good and miserably mean. A gospel worth believing will affirm both.

Others preach a Good Friday Only gospel: they see everything happening at the Cross. The gospel is about forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness. I affirm that Jesus died for us, but having my sins cancelled (or whichever term you want to use) is not enough: God wants to do more for us than simply erase our problems. Some see nothing but the Cross. I have no desire to minimize the Cross, but a Good Friday Only gospel is not enough because for the Bible it was not enough. Let us say that we have done something mean to our spouse: being forgiven is not what we want. What we want is total reconciliation, not simply the erasure of what we did. Forgiveness brings us back to level, and we want to ascend into the presence of God.

Others preach an Easter Day Only gospel: Jesus rose for our sins to liberate us from death and sin. This, too, is not enough. The gospel is more than liberation: it is liberation from a particular problem: Eikonic distortion. We want to be liberated, not for the sake of liberation, but for the sake of becoming what God made us to be: Eikons who, when pressed, give off God’s glory. An Easter Day Only gospel distorts the gospel because it liberates for the sake of freedom and not for sake of Eikonic restoration.

Finally, others preach a Pentecost Day Only gospel: Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to flood us with his presence. Now, for some this becomes the Ecstasy Gospel of exaggerated experiences, for others it becomes the Empowerment Gospel of Power. The Spirit is designed by God to empower us to become Eikonic in all we do. The Spirit enables us to transcend who we are now so we will become more of what we will be and what we can be.

Again, if the first two days get distorted by emphasizing one or the other, so do the major moments of redemption get distorted by emphasizing one or the other. If I say clearly that Paul emphasizes the Cross, it is most always an empty Cross that Paul emphasizes and to which he often enough attaches the Spirit of God.

The gospel needs each of these elements to be what the Bible wants it to be: we are Eikons, cracked Eikons, who need to be forgiven, liberated, and empowered to be Eikons who live with other Eikons in such a way that “God happens” wherever we are.

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

2005-10-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

So I was working at Tulsa Regional last night in the Children's Unit (ages 5 - 10) when all of a sudden one boy said to another, "Do you believe in heaven?". The peer responded, rather perturbed because he was interrupted while coloring, " I don't know if I believe in heaven." Finally, another boy chimed in to say, "Just wait six years, you will see heaven then."

Wait, what was that? Six years? Did I just witness a prophetic statement by an eight year old? Well probably not, I just thought that it was really funny. Kids just say the weirdest damn things imaginable. I chose not to intervene or contribute my 2 cents. I think they all came to an agreement that maybe they would all see heaven in six years. I hope they find it eventually...

In other news, I have another book plug, but this one's really worth it:

Return of the Prodigal Son, by Henri Nouwen

If You Need Directions, I'll Be the Guide

2005-10-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

"All the persons of faith I know are sinners, doubters, uneven performers. We are secure not because we are sure of ourselves but because we trust that God is sure of us"

- Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

This is Good News.

Waving the White Flag

2005-10-16T21:22:00.000-07:00

I had this idea once. I thought that for anything that happened to me that was good, something bad would happen that would stop me from enjoying it so much. This is kind of like reverse karma I guess. Maybe I just felt guilty for enjoying life, or maybe I was just too scared of losing the things in my life that I thought gave me security and made me who I am. It started with family and friends, moved on to my art, then travelled to sports and especially to basketball, and then it moved into my love life. Many of these endeavors I failed at, or became too apprehensive to follow through on others, while others rejected me and moved on to bigger and better things. It seems like I enjoyed all of these things at one point, and then they were gone before I knew it.

I did this and do this with God as well. The times I have most enjoyed God were very great and times of healing and rest, but often I went on to "lesser pleasures" that I thought would continue my feeling of peace. C.S. Lewis said it was like a child playing in the mud and believing this to be the greatest thing, yet there were better pleasures to be enjoyed that the child had no idea about. Often this is my problem. I settle thinking that God is not going to continue my satisfaction in him. Often in the bleak moments in my spiritual life, I settle, still thinking that I can never attain those moments again, and therefore I should not even attempt to encounter God. Now I know that I can't make attempts to encounter God myself, and that the relationship if often God pursuing me, but I think that trying to encounter God in prayer and other disciplines often puts you on the path towards grace (I ripped that from Richard Foster). In light of this, my objective is to just try and reject the whole process altogether. I try to lock God out of my life, and I decide that grace is not sufficient. But there is this need, this feeling of complete desperation at times that I cannot explain. I know what I really need, but I fear that God won't pursue me. I feel that God wants others and not myself. Or I feel that there is something that others have that I do not possess.

But I have to believe that God won't abandon me, that God wants to heal and transform me, not for my sake completely but for his. For his glory and for my enjoyment in his glory. Thomas Merton said that "Infinite sharing is the law of God's inner life." I love that idea, I love the idea that God wants to share his life with us. I want to share my life with him but I am scared, because ultimately I have always been scared of rejection. But I don't need those things in my past and present the way I thought I did, no matter how good those things are inherantly, they can't compare to God. I have lived with the rejection and failures of those things. They can't give me the security and peace I desire. At least I hope and pray that this is the case. This void will not go away, and I do not feel filled. I need to be hungry and to stay hungry. I guess I still haven't found what I'm looking for...

You're Just Not Who I Thought You Were

2005-10-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

Today I received an email under this header:

You once had long, hard erections. What has happened to you?

I thought this was the funniest email I had ever received. I guess the loss of a perpetual erection has really changed my character. To any of you who have been offended by my omnipotence, I truly apologize and I sincerely plead with you that I am the same old Daniel you know and love.

The other thing I love about this email is that the sender appears genuinely concerned, as if there is a sense of urgency and this friend is somehow performing an intervention so that I might live a healthy, productive life.

We have such a sex-crazed society... it is really so sad.

On a more worthwhile note, I am reading a wonderful book on the atonement called

Violence, Hospitality, and the Cross by Hans Boersma

Boersma is a Reformed theologian who is trying to integrate the three main views of the atonement ( Moral- Influence, Christus Victor, and Substitutionary Atonement) into one whole framework. What is most interesting are Boersma's challenges and responses to contemporary scholars. He challenges postmodern philosophers Derrida and Levinas in light of their views on hospitality, and he takes on Girard's view of mimetic desire and scapegoating in light of traditional readings of the Gospels. Having taken some course work in religious violence, Boersma's work (in relation to Girard) is exciting and important so that a traditional narrative of the atonement of Christ is still set forth. If you have the chance, buy this book!!!

Later

Anybody Still Out There....

2005-10-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

Whether you like it or not, or if you are completely neutral on the matter, Pilgrim Ramblings is going to return better than ever. Ok that is very subjective and I do not want to do any violence to your interpretation (as Michel Foucault would say). Beyond those pesky philosophical meanderings, my blog silence will end on Sunday, October 9th. Be afraid....

Revamping, Rethinking, Remaking...

2005-08-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

There will be some blog silence on my part as I decide how to adequately use this blog once and for all. I do not believe in writing for the sake of writing (i.e., simply writing down random events in a meaningless life) as many bloggers choose to do. This may seem to be a contradiction to the goal of this blog, yet the subtle difference is that I find the whole of life meaningful, and I will seek to describe that which may appear random as actually having meaning when it is seen in a larger context (narrative).

Thus, I am rethinking this blog in terms of its purpose, my goal, and what might impress on others (if it will help them on their journey as well). Ultimately, that larger context I was talking about is what I want to drive this blog (namely, the gospel of the kingdom of God). I want this promoted more than anything. Or, at least, I want to want that. Later...

A Ghost is Born

2005-08-08T20:33:00.000-07:00

"He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal."

-Jesus, in the Gospel of John 12.25

I have been thinking about this statement for a couple of days now. Sometimes I wonder what reaction Jesus' statements made, especially in the context of first century Judaism. What they mean for me seems completely different to what a poor Jew living under Roman rule would have faced. For me, laying down my life appears to be simply denying myself from sin (my own and from the outside world), denying comfort, and surrendering my money, vocation, and relationships to his rule. I know that due to changes in history, especially in its sociological, technological, and epistemological forms, I cannot and do not face the same issues that a first century Jew would have faced, nor do I react with the same emotions and thoughts when I hear Jesus' words. Yet, I feel that on some level my intensity is not at the same level as most of his hearers would have been at. I live in a relatively safe country, city, and neighborhood. Can I surrender my life with the same integrity, intention, and intensity (all the "I" beginnings would make most Baptist preachers proud) as others in the past. Have we as Christians neutered what it means to live a surrendered life? Have I?

I was flipping through the channels and Pat Robertson was praying and encouraging others to pray that a Supreme Court judge would be picked who had godly, conservative values and would restore our present situation. To me, part of this is the problem, yet it is not the only one. We have trumped up this image of the Christian nation, one where Christendom and America reign as one united entity and where all who desire to live under the banner of these values may find their rest. In my opinion, all we have created is lazy Christians who do not have to challenge the Empire, instead they have become the martyrs for tradition and for an America that has seen it's society go down the toilet. I agree that America as a country is perverse, that it's values of relativism, lust, and oppression have dominated for way too long. However, we should not hope to be a theocracy either. The church and the nation should never be bedfellows, for if that happens, American values and Christian values become blurred and the church no longer has a prophetic voice, therefore it is neutered as well.

So what does surrender have to do with the separation of church and state? I believe that we as Christians must surrender our identity of being American first and Christian second. I confused the two for way too long and I have repented of it. I believe that we must challenge the value system of America, not just in it's liberal ideologies but in it's conservative forms as well. The value system of the Right and the Left are not the same as the one of Christ, both are insufficient when compared to the kingdom. I also surrender the American dream, the one that tells me that a stable house in a quiet neighborhood with a wife and kids is equal to success ( this is the one most dear to me). Surrender for me has become the surrender of my dreams and hopes, the ones that solely make me happy and do not in the end benefit the cause of God or others in need.

I mentioned one aspect of the problem as the confused value system of American Christianity, but I have not mentioned the biggest opponent to Christ, and that is me. For I want the simple life, the one that makes me feel good and appears normal. I want to write, think, and live for myself. I do not want an authority, I do not want someone else's narrative to rule my life. I want my own. But I must repent of this, I must bow down each day to the way of Christ. I must surrender my agenda for his. I pray that I can...

Karl Barth on Resurrection

2005-07-25T00:34:00.000-07:00

"It must be seen that in the midst of life, even in blooming and healthy life, there is a yawning chasm, a deep pit that cannot be filled by any art or power of man. Only one word is sufficient to cover this chasm, to fill this pit: "Jesus is victor!" - that is, "resurrection."
We must realize that all the paths of life upon which we walk are the same, now or at any later time, in that they all lead to the edge of the precipice. We cannot bridge this precipice but its bridging has been made manifest in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Who would partake in this resurrection must first have seen this chasm, have discovered this pit."
- Karl Barth

To read more on the resurrection according to Barth, go to:
http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/Threatened.htm

And it was all Yellow

2005-07-23T23:22:00.000-07:00

My late grandfather used to hoard everything. Since his passing, my parents have been cleaning his house to help my grandmother get around but also to get rid of all the valueless crap that he has accumulated throughout the years. At times he had collected some good stuff, but often he would let it go to waste. During the early process of cleaning out his home, we found numerous telephone books, some dating as far back as 1983. Moreover, my grandfather also had a vast collection of calculators, yet most of them did not work. Still, he would purchase them at thrift stores and try to fix them, even when the calculators available today have far surpassed the ones he owned in terms of technology. My point in articulating this is that there was a certain madness that drove him, propelled by an insatiable desire for "stuff". If one were to try and understand the method to his madness I believe that one would go mad as well.

This past weekend I moved out of my one bedroom apartment in Norman, and as I was cleaning my own home I found 10 telephone books and over a dozen calculators! Now, this gave me a most definite scare and I will say that I promptly trashed all the books and the calculators that did not work anymore. Whether this madness is hereditary is yet to be seen, but I will now watch with a keen eye on what I collect and thus deem valuable. I suggest you do the same...

Merchants of Cool

2005-06-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most interesting shows I have ever seen on American culture. Note: this is a couple of years out of date but it is still prophetic to our current state of affairs. You can watch the whole thing online at:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/

Democracy of the Dead

2005-06-22T14:24:00.001-07:00

"Tradition is only democracy extended through time... Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. " - G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

We often forget or devalue the 'traditions' of our forefathers, whether it be in family, institutional, or religious settings. In the church especially, mostly since the Reformation, we have tended to promote the autonomous individual as a self-actualization machine who can figure out anything for itself, not needing any help from anyone else concerning what is moral and true. For my Reformed readership, I realize that you and other denominations in Protestantism don't have as much of a problem as us who grew up Southern Baptist or non-denominational... be patient, we learn things slowly.

Chesterton is right in saying that there is a "democracy of the dead", for we must learn from the stories of our past and those who lived in the past, the vital questions they raised and the problems they could not solve, for that is what led us to this point in time and the issues we deal with now. Simply put, we must preserve their "good opinions" on life. Often, at least on my part, there is a certain arrogance I have when I read or reflect on history, many times believing that past generations were simply barbaric and overall just a bunch of simpletons. Yet my tradition (the Christian tradition) tells me that there is so much to learn about the past that concerns us on how we live in the present and how we will view the future, especially concerning the eschaton. Real tradition does not stay stagnant, vehemently preserving the exact practices and thought patterns of the past, instead it teaches us about living in a trajectory starting from the past and moving quickly into the present and to the future. The most truthful and good traditions tell us (from the dead) how to live faithfully and right in the future. Therefore, to listen to the dead is not to do exactly what they did and emulate their accomplishments. What tradition does is teach us the spirit and the way of truth and how it is to be acted out faithfully in the issues that we face today. For me, my Christian heritage is the tradition that I choose to listen to, so from those past voices I learn to live my life not in imitation, but in spirit. So to those dead and gone, whose words created a shelter from the storms of life, thank you for your help. Thank you for letting me see the horizon.

My Song is Love

2005-06-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

When most people think of calling themselves Christian, they instantly think of salvation, in the sense that to call oneself Christian means that we must be assured of eternal life in a hereafter. I used to think this way, and now I do so no longer. Early Christians would have known who they were based on their attempt to model their lives after their Lord. In essence, they attempted to be apprentices under Christ. It was much more of a relationship like teacher to student than we are used to. For they believed that Jesus was the smartest, most wise, and inherantly good teacher for human life.

I think that Christians must regain this aspect, to begin to believe that Jesus is our greatest teacher on how to live and act. Essentially, we must learn his craft. Yet to do this means that we must invest ourselves in kingdom life, this is not a new legalism, it is a change of our heart. If we begin to find Jesus' kind of love, agape love, then the deeds that we do for the kingdom will start to naturally flow from within us. This is what Jesus means by good trees bearing good fruit, and bad trees bearing bad fruit. Agape love fulfills the law according to God, to love God with everything we have and to love others like ourselves. The agape love is found in the person of Jesus, who loved and judged no one, and sought to reconcile and restore human lives with God the father. What Jesus taught about the Father was that he wanted to give humans their true identity as humans, and to tell them who they were and to let them know that their deepest longings were met only in him.

So where do we go from here? What if we cannot be good "apprentices"? Does this mean that we quit? No, it does not mean that at all. Every artisan who has an apprentice knows that they are an apprentice for a reason, for they do not know the craft as well as the teacher does. Graduate assistants do not know as much as the professors they study under. We will mess up, sometimes very bad, but this does not stop the teacher/student relationship, many times it magnifies it. Maybe that is why Paul was always talking about our weaknesses making God appear much stronger, for he is not weak and fragile like we are. I know that this is a lot to deal with, and I have pretty much taken two arguements from writers that I have been reading, but I implore that you read some books on the subject. Here are some good ones:

Searching for God Knows What by Don Miller

The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard

Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster

Postmodern Athletes and Relational Theology

2005-06-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

I was watching Sportscentury on ESPN today that chronicled the life and NBA coaching career of the Detroit Pistons' Larry Brown. What was most interesting about his life was how he reacted to what the narrator called the "postmodern athlete". I first thought: "What the hell is a postmodern athlete?! Do they espouse various truths to the game of basketball or do they question if they are actually playing basketball at all? Do they borrow philosophies of football, rugby, or baseball into how they play basketball?" Well, they subsequently discussed the problem of Allen Iverson when Brown was a coach at the Philadelphia 76ers. Pretty much the two disputed how vital practice was and what it meant to play the game, I guess that makes Iverson "postmodern". He challended the conventional system of Larry Brown and coaching altogether.

Larry Brown has been defined as a coaching nomad, as he has coached and lived in several places, never really staying still. What I found most intriguing about Brown was that he never simply wanted to coach to teach the X's and O's or to win all the time, instead he simply wanted to go and love and be loved and respected, he wanted a relationship with his players. I have been reading Don Miller's book, Searching for God Knows What, and what he has continued to reiterate is that systematic theology does not work if we do not tell the narrative aspect of the biblical story and if we do not acknowledge the relational metaphor in Scripture. In Scripture, while God does teach morality and the path for right living, he, through the person and work of Jesus, makes a way for people to know him. God wants us in relationship, in a living and breathing relationship that has its twists and turns, highs and lows, valleys and peaks. This is so much more exciting than our mere knowledge about God. Don't get me wrong, systematic theology has its vital place, but ultimately this whole story is about reconciliation and identity. Jesus is establishing God's kingdom and calling us all to live under the banner of this story. How we attempt to identify ourselves will not matter a hill of beans until we identify ourselves with Christ, until we die to ourselves and get baptized in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Maybe we are too much like Iverson, thinking that we have it figured out and know how to "play the game". Yet there is only one who can give us our true identity, and he calls us to his own story so that we may truly find ourselves.

Turning Your Orbit Around

2005-05-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

Our love
Our love is all of God's money

- Wilco, "Jesus,etc."

I feel lately that nothing makes sense except this (above) statement. We as Christians have so systematized, organized, and indoctrinated people that everything that encapsulates meaning is conveyed and embraced in statements. Along with this we turn scripture into statements that are meant to simply be agreed upon and believed. Much like the phrase "God is love". Have we simply taken this for granted? What does this simple yet profound statement do to us?

I think we need to begin to listen to the viewpoint of women when it comes to understanding God. I think that most women understand God as mostly a loving and nurturing father. I am by no means saying that as men we don't have the capacity to view God in loving ways but we seem to want a God of wisdom and knowledge more than we want a God that will do anything to have us. Now for those reading who might be more reformed in mindset, I am not supporting the theory that God "needs" us. However, you cannot escape the language that is used by Jesus when talking about the love of the father towards his children. As for female perspective, I believe there exists a humble and vulnerable quality that says "I need something beyond myself". With a woman there is always a sense of otherness, a thing that is desired beyond herself. I find it amazing that the Bible often uses wisdom in feminate language. Wisdom begins with love and is motivated by it and best explained through it. Love is the language that the Bible speaks through.

Any women care to explain this better?

I Might Be a Futurist...

2005-04-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

Can anyone tell me what a futurist is by the way? How do you get that job? How does that become your vocation? I don't exactly know why I am posting about this vocation but I think it is just because I like using and writing the word 'futurist'.

I know there are some futurists that are hired by businesses and even churches to guess future trends in society. I think this is rather funny by the way, at least I think the hiring process must be. Do they look at past predictions you made to help them decide if you are employable or not? And not to be blasphemous, but is being a futurist a spiritual gift or does this just count as prophecy?!

I should become a futurist. In fact, I am going to start right now. This post will end... now!

Repent and Believe (or Let Go of Your Agenda)

2005-04-04T22:46:00.000-07:00

I have been reading some of N.T. Wright's The Challenge of Jesus and also What Saint Paul Really Said and I must say, I am quite amazed and challenged all at the same time. Wright provides in his books clear, readable scholarship intertwined with a faith that is heavily pastoral in nature. In his book on the historical Jesus, Wright argues that the phrase 'Repent and Believe' , which Jesus used all so often with his listeners, was not as much a call to ethical and religious behavior as it was to an abandonment of personal, social, and political agendas. Jesus was calling Israel to be the true salt and light to the world and now was the time for this to happen.

For me, this was like a breath of fresh air. For so long I have wanted a scholar to pin-point Jesus' Jewish roots as well as paint him as a leader of a new sort of community. E.P. Sanders' books helped me see Jesus' true Jewishness but failed to display a Jesus that I thought was real. Wright has filled in some of these gaps for me and I am grateful for that. If you get the chance, read some N.T. Wright. Beware, he will poke and prod where you might not feel comfortable but in the end, his writing helps those who are tryinf to follow God in the way of Christ. Take Care Guys...

P.S. Josh, I owe you a post on Murphy's third way between immanence and intervention, it is coming soon I promise!

Community (or the Practice of Christ)

2005-03-22T09:05:00.000-08:00

Eric and I had a long conversation last night about spiritual apathy and the need for authentic community. We both came to the conclusion that these two things are intertwined, in that our individual lives and journeys are strengthened by the level of community that we are a part of. On some level, the richness of our lives in spirit and in truth should always be done in the context of a community who is embodying the practice of Christ. It is interesting that in Genesis the first thing God calls bad is the fact that Adam is alone. Maybe Adam was never fully in the image of God until he was in relationship with others. And from this point he could experience God more fully. Modern Christianity has made the gospel into propositions that must be agreed to cognitively by individuals. But then are we making disciples or simply 'believers'? Counter to this is Dallas Willard who states that any system that does not create disciples (in word and deed) of Christ should be abandoned. Therefore, we must constantly be engaged in the practice of Christ ( I am specifically thinking humility and servanthood above others) with others. This is not to say that we should abandon individual prayer, meditation, and reading of Scripture, but maybe it just means that we experience God's presence best when we are living it together.

Stay Tuned...

2005-03-09T15:18:00.000-08:00

ok
I have read some more of Murphy's book, she offers a third way to look at the problem of divine action (aka immanence and intervention). I will post about this soon. I know you are dying to hear more....

Immanence or Intervention?

2005-03-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

Ok I decided that I really wanted to post on this subject so I have decided to just go ahead and do it while I am thinking about it. I will try to simplify this as much as possible:

During the 18th and 19th centuries, many modern scientists were starting to believe the idea that the universe was a gigantic machine. Proponents and theorists involved were Isaac Newton and Pierre Simon de Laplace among others. What developed from this is what today is commonly referred to as the laws of nature. The laws of nature were based upon many ideas concerning matter: one theory is what is called atomism (everything comes down to atoms and this guides the actions of the universe). This led to the general view of reality (a metaphysical theory) to the effect that in any system the functioning of the parts account for the characteristics of the whole. This is called reductionism. When combined this leads to the assumption that deterministic laws apply to all of the universe. This has huge implications on human free will and the relationship between mind and body (is there such a thing as a soul?). Concerning all the sciences, this marked the beginning of "bottom-up" causation, meaning that we must begin (as scientists) to study the biological sciences that will in turn move upward and teach us how the psychological, social, philosophical, and other sciences relate to each other and to the basic theories of determinism to begin with.

So how then does God act in the world? This question led to a polarization of the two camps in American Protestantism : the liberals siding with immanence (God is immanent in the laws of nature but does not break them) and conservatives who embraced intervention (God can and will break his natural laws from time to time to intervene on man's behalf). We can see how this played out as liberals believed less in miracles and more in empirical science while conservatives stood by the idea of miracles being literal in the Bible. Problems are implicit in each one. For immanence, many questions abound quickly: Has God made the universe as a machine that can never be tampered with? Is there such a thing as free will? For intervention the problem lies in the laws themselves: Does God make laws that are meant to be broken later? Were they not perfect enough that he must change them? How does he suspend these laws to act in the world? Some conservatives acknowledged immanence in the laws of nature but still held on to intervention as a mode of action taken by God. Liberal theologians have barely budged on their stance in the recent decades and thus both camps are still very strong today.

So where do I stand? Even though I tend to side with intervention there is a part of me that is intrigued by immanentism. I tend to lump the argument on predestination and free will onto these theologies. I wonder if there is any room for some sort of compromise? I think Forrest Gump mentions something like this when talking to Jenny's grave near the end of the film!
What are your thoughts?

A Pledge to Post....

2005-03-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

OK
I have been reading Nancey Murphy's Beyond Liberalism and Fundamentalism. The thesis concerns the bifurcation of the two religious parties of American Protestantism (namely conservatism and liberalism) and how they came to be. There are some good thoughts on the relationship of God in the world in areas such as determinism, reductionism, intervention, and immanence. Anyways, I am busy and I pledge here and now that soon there will be a post on all of this. Ok later

Medicine

2005-03-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

Della informed me that I was not blogging since my last post was an On This Day In History. I accept her challenge to do so even though my life has been too busy and confusing and stressful as of late to permit me to write as I would like.

So here is my official post :
Regret. Do you have some yourself? When I was younger, I didn't regret anything I did or said. My reasoning behind this was : If I said or did anything that hurt myself or others, there must have been some God-ordained reason why I did what I did. In a sense it was not me acting, it was someone else orchestrating the events of my life. I had no free will in the process. In one sense, I used to be a Calvinist on some primitive level without understanding what I was articulating. I do not believe this anymore. I think God lets us play a role in what happens on this earth (that doesn't mean I am an Open Theist, Arminian, Deist, nor does it mean that God does not interact and intervene in my life or the life of this world).
Clearly, this position is not articulated well and please be patient as I try to work it out in my life. I just think there are certain things I have done and said that I would take back in an instant ( much of this has happened recently) simply because I do not understand the reason for their existence in my life or others around me. I have hurt others in a way that may never be reconciled, and I struggle with that. And I think there are better ways of going about things the way I did (hindsight is a killer). There are events and instances in my life where I firmly believe that my will was in stark contrast to the will of God. Does this mean God can't turn it into good? I think God can. Does God have me go through this pain and anguish for a reason? I am not so sure anymore but probably yes. So who makes the final choice in life events? That is still the question. The explanation of individual pain helps me on the minor scale. But what about tsunami victims? What about AIDS in Africa? Is this pain and struggle a lesson to be learned? Would you really tell this to a victim of either one of these tragedies?
All of this to say that I do regret now. I wish I could take back things that I said and did. I wish I was a different person, a better man, made wiser decisions. To those who I have hurt in my life I am truly sorry for everything. Later ...

On this Day in History

2005-02-21T21:47:00.000-08:00

1997: Dolly the sheep is cloned
A sheep named Dolly is cloned by scientists in Edinburgh and is being hailed as one of the most significant breakthroughs of the decade.

1972: IRA bomb kills six at Aldershot barracks
Five women and an army priest are killed in an IRA bomb attack on army premises in Surrey.

1991: Bush threatens Iraq with land war
The US President, George Bush, gives Iraq until 1700 GMT tomorrow to pull out of Kuwait or face the full force of the allies. (Amazing how history repeats itself, and quickly too)

Hotel Rwanda...

2005-02-18T14:59:00.000-08:00

Everyone should see this film. It chronicles the 1994 genocide of over 800,000 Tutsis at the hands of the Hutu majority. It will leave you speechless, especially concerning the lack of involvement on behalf of the West, not least the United States and the Clinton administration. Check out the trailer here:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/mgm/hotel_rwanda/

I have lent...

2005-02-17T08:31:00.000-08:00

I was telling someone the other day that I was observing lent and in trying to articulate this I began by saying, "I have lent." My friend was perplexed and intrigued all at once. I am trying to get myself off my addiction to regular soda so I am abstaining from all sugar water. It is a little rough but I hope that God will reward me with new taste buds or self-control. Maybe that is some form of retribution theology but I am tempted to believe it in this drastic period of my life! I do have to say that Diet Dr. Pepper and Diet Coke have kept me company and I am forever indebted, so thank you to them. Surprisingly, Diet Coke and Rum is not as bad as I thought it would be. Anyone else practicing lent? What are your thoughts?

P.S. Here are a couple of links to friends with good blogs.

theparish.typepad.com
wilcosong.blogspot.com
delladawn.blogspot.com
j-do.blogspot.com

Valentine's Day Massacre

2005-02-14T12:29:00.000-08:00

I think Valentine's day is from the devil. Seriously, there is no other holiday that makes people feel more lonely and unloved (even more than christmas) than this day. I will admit it, I have celebrated in the past and most of my life this day has never been too much of a problem. But here is my question: Why do we take one day out of the year to show how much we care for someone else? Maybe we should try to make our lives like Valentine's day everyday. Same goes for christmas. I am not saying give gifts everyday (though the economy would soar), but let us try to make everyday special for someone else. I know, that is some of the most idealistic and naive jargon you have ever heard, but I need to believe it or I am turning to nihilism. I can't do it perfectly, but I don't think that is the point. What do you think?

Fellow heretics unite!

2005-02-05T14:03:00.000-08:00

"In one sense all theologies are heresies." - Tony Campolo

Any time we begin to talk about God, no matter who it is or how it is being said (from a pulpit or on a front porch), we must realize that we are not speaking about a reality that any one of us has truly known or seen. I know people will say that you can see God's action in the world or that we need something sovereign beyond us, therefore God is there. I am not talking about that. I believe God is out there, in me (though I seem to miss Him), and in the world. Simply I am just talking about the language and the metaphors we attribute to God when we talk about Him. Even when I use the masculine "He" that does not incapsulate who God is or begin to explain Him at all. C.S. Lewis in a poem-prayer says this,

"He whom I bow to only knows to whom I bow
When I attempt the ineffable Name, murmering Thou..."

He proceeds to acknowledge that when he says the Name of God, his best thoughts are mere fancies and symbols, which he knows "cannot be the thing thou art." I can know God in relationship, begin to know more about Him, and be in awe of the things He has done and what He is doing now, but I cannot hope to explain Him and believe I have got it all right. Erwin Raphael McManus says that we will spend the rest of eternity trying to figure out who God is. He will always be a mystery. For some reason, that is one of the most comforting ideas I have ever heard.

Evangelism, What Now?

2005-02-04T16:22:00.000-08:00

Here is a post from Tony Jones. I thought that it was very thought-provoking.

American Evangelicalism

One of the biggest problems facing contemporary sociologists, especially since the collapse of the secularization thesis, has been if and how religion can survive in a pluralistic/postmodern context. Several theses have been proposed, including 1) the sheltered enclave or "sacred canopy theory" (Peter Berger, James Davidson Hunter), 2) status discontent theory (Richard Hofstadter, Joseph Gusfield), 3) strictness theory (Dean Kelly, Laurence Iannaccone), and 4) competitive marketing theory (Roger Finke, Rodney Stark).In his excellent 1998 book, American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving Christian Smith offers a look at the one strand American religion that seems to be vibrant in the pluralistic American context, and that is evangelicalism.

The Good
By a set of six sociological measurements (including robustness of faith, saliency of faith, and participation), evangelicalism is indeed thriving. Smith and his team performed the most massive empirical study of evangelicalism ever done, including 2,591 telephone surveys, followed up by hundreds of face-to-face interviews and dozens of church visits. The results show conclusively that evangelicalism is doing well in America -- that is, its adherents are committed to it, and it is growing.

The Bad
The reason that evangelicalism is thriving is that it has, since the evangelical-fundamentalist split of the 1940s, developed a relationship of "difference, engagement, tension, conflict, and threat." One one end of the spectrum, fundamentalists have withdrawn from culture, developed a retreatist attitude (see comments on homeschooling post below), and are have not negotiated a sustaining relationship with culture. Mainline and liberal Christians (Protestant and Catholic alike) are accomodationist, and there is simply not enough difference between them and culture to make a difference to much of anyone. In other words, why join something that looks exactly like what you're already a part of. All three -- fundamentalists, liberals, and mainliners -- scored significantly lower that evangelicals in all six characteristics of strength.Smith then proposes a subcultural identity theory of religious strength in the face of pluralism. "In a pluralistic society, those religious groups will be relatively stronger which better possess and employ the cultural tools needed to create both clear distinction from and significant engagement and tension with other relevant outgroups, short of becoming genuinely countercultural." Those are the very tools that evangelicalism has employed, and this has led to a love-hate relationship with culture.For instance, evangelicals rail against the secular media, and yet they relish every possibility to get a major evangelical figure on Larry King Live. They repudiate modern rock and rap music, yet they relish contemporary Christian music which is wholly owned by the same mammoth corporations that own the secular labels. I think you get the picture.

The Ugly
Smith goes on to conclude that the very thing which makes evangelicalism strong in a pluralistic society also dooms it to failure in making any kind of positive change in that society. That is, evangelicalism will never achieve its goals for the redemption of society because the tools in its toolkit don't work on societies.For example, evangelicals have an atomistic view of society. In other words, they see society as nothing more than the sum of the individuals who make it up. When asked about social problems, evangelicals overwhelmingly state the answer to these problems is personal relationship. Here's the theory: if a father is beating his kids, a Christian man should befriend that man, and lead him to Christ, then he'll stop beating his kids; and once we do that with every child abuser, then the problem of child abuse will vanish from our society. One of the obvious problems with this line of reasoning is that child abuse, alcoholism, divorce, etc. are just as prevalent (or more) among evangelicals as among any other group.When confronted with the obvious lunacy of this logic, the evangelicals interviewed had a hard time seeing that it was a problem, and when they did, they were often left speechless as to any other response to a social problem (several interviews are printed in the book).For another example, when polled, the very things that evangelicals are most proud of about evangelicalism are the things most hated by non-evangelicals -- not a ringing endorsement from those the evangelicals are trying to convince.Finally, it actually serves evangelicalism's purposes to have this conflictual relationship with culture. If culture gets more and more evangelical, then evangelicalism will no longer be a distinct sub-group and, like mainliners and liberals did a couple decades ago, they would gradually lose their identity.

So What?
The emerging church has clearly been attempting to negotiate a different kind of relationship with culture than evangelicalism has. Some have claimed that we're nothing but accomodationist liberals, while others have said that we're nothing but evangelicals with soul patches. The fact is, we're hoping to be Christian in a new way in this pluralistic context -- maybe to remain in the tension but lose the conflict. To have our eyes open about the cultural forces that shape us, and to realize that electing a Christian individual to a political office, for instance, actually does little to effect social change.

On this day...

2005-02-01T07:58:00.000-08:00

2003: Columbia shuttle disintegrates killing seven
*Seven astronauts die as Columbia breaks up on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere leaving Nasa and the world in a state of shock and disbelief.

1979: Exiled Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran
*Religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini makes a triumphant return to Iran after 14 years in exile.

There are more, check it out...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/

Generations...

2005-01-31T18:41:00.000-08:00

My dad came to town Friday night to have dinner, he was in town for some gang education summit for youth workers.He works with many inner-city youths at his church and counsels some in juvenile detention. It is amazing that people like my dad exist. What I mean with that statement is this, my dad lives in a totally different world than most African-American, urban inner-city youths. My dad likes Francis Schaeffer, Laurel and Hardy, and old-fashioned gospel bluegrass. He loves people maybe more than any other person I know. He may tell really dumb jokes and he often doesn't make perfect sense, but he loves people like Jesus does. Maybe my dad is much more like Jesus than I had originally perceived? The church I grew up in is fading fast and yet they have people like my father who will do anything and everything to reach kids out on the fringe.

It is surreal how much I am turning out to be like my father. I used to dread it when my sister made that proverbial claim. Now it is something I have come to embrace. If I am an ounce of what my father is than I have done well in life. After dinner we talked in my apartment for awhile about every son's desire to go beyond what his father had accomplished. For my dad, he didn't have to go very far, yet he went so much higher to break the cycle that was in his past. My mother has done the same with her past, and to both of them I am forever indebted. We also talked about what the future might be like when family comes to visit, how the grandkids would love to hear my father's old jokes, be warmed by my mother's kindness and gentleness, and learn how enchanting art and different cultures are by my sister. I hope it is as beautiful as I imagine it, I am sure it will be even greater.

On this day....

2005-01-27T08:37:00.000-08:00

On this day in history...

1945: Auschwitz death camp liberated
The Red Army liberates the Nazi's biggest concentration camp at Auschwitz in southern Poland.

And we all wanted to know when...

1984: Michael Jackson burned in Pepsi ad
Michael Jackson has been rushed to hospital with burn injuries to his head after a stunt for a Pepsi commercial went wrong.

Check out the BBC history section and the On this day sections, they are great.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/

"Yahweh"

2005-01-26T13:47:00.000-08:00

This is a song on U2'S new album. It plays much on my ipod.

Take these shoes Click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes and make them fit
Take this shirt Polyester white trash made in nowhere
Take this shirt and make it clean, clean
Take this soul Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul and make it sing, sing

Yahweh, Yahweh Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh Still I’m waiting for the dawn

Take these hands Teach them how to carry
Take these hands, don’t make a fist, no
Take this mouth So quick to criticise
Take this mouth, give it a kiss

Yahweh, Yahweh Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh Still I’m waiting for the dawn

Still waiting for the dawn
The sun is coming up The sun is coming up on the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean

Yahweh, Yahweh Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh Why the dark before the dawn

Take this city A city should be shining on the hill
Take this city if it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart Take this heart
Take this heart
And make it break

Evangelical Conscience?

2005-01-25T22:07:00.000-08:00

Ronald J. Snider wrote an article recently for Books & Culture that is a scathing indictment of the morality of modern evangelicals. Using stats found in surveys from Gallup and Barna, Snider finds that divorce rates are often slightly higher or just about the same as most Americans in the last five years. He goes on to talk about the decrease in tithing and helping the poor, sexual disobedience, and racism. The section on racism alone is enough to make you vomit, especially about the Southern Baptists.You can read it yourself here: The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience.
George Barna himself says this, "Every day, the church is becoming more like the world it allegedly seeks to change". I found this quote very interesting. Didn't Jesus say something to us about being salt in the earth and a city on a hill? Was I reading that wrong? How in the hell do we think that people will look to us for hope if we live the exact same way that the dominant culture is living? And I am sorry Falwell and Robertson, but we have no right to tell the nation that we need Christian values if we don't really have values to begin with. Didn't Jesus say something about removing the plank from your own eye first? Was I reading that wrong? I need to remove mine and you need to remove yours. We need a new, humble hermeneutic to express to others. We need Jesus because without him our lives are in despair. I stole this quote from a friend but I believe it is an adequate assessment : Your life is shit without Jesus. I think the stats speak for themselves and I think most evangelicals need to examine Jesus and his teachings, I know I do. It is a good thing we voted for "moral values"!

Definitions...

2005-01-25T17:38:00.001-08:00

Just what exactly do I mean by "Pilgrim Ramblings"? Webster's Dictionary defines the word pilgrim as : traveler, especially one who is on a sacred journey. I like to keep this picture in my head that somehow I myself am on a sacred journey, and this journal (blog) is part of that and my hope is that ideas and new thoughts can spring up from the well of discussion on God and theological subjects that take place here. I like to think of this as the "sacred" part of the journey. But also what is bound to follow are my own and others "ramblings". Webster's defines ramble as: leisurely stroll - or to wander aimlessly. This is significant to me because I can tend to ramble and thus wander about aimlessly in conversation and in life. So implied in all of this is the very idea that I am an oxymoron and this blog represents that and will continue to do so. I am on a journey and I have goals, but at times I have the tendency to walk about without direction, even when it is thrown directly in my face. So that is me up front and I will not shy away from that. I hope you enjoy the rest...

This is a test....

2005-01-25T14:27:00.000-08:00

Check one, check two, check three...