Heretical Apologetics

Finding An Unseen God

2009-08-02T07:43:00.001-07:00

Alicia Britt Chole’s Finding An Unseen God tells the very compelling tale of the author’s “Damascus Road” conversion from atheism to Christianity. Alicia begins relating her story with the following statements:
Truth was dead.
God had never lived.
Life was filled with pain.
And death was the end of life.
These beliefs that formed her worldview had taken root as a young woman and had led her to a strong and sometimes confrontational defense of her beliefs. “Then one day, my atheistic worldview was shattered like fine glassware on concrete floor”.
Thus, with the stage being set, Alicia shares vignettes from her life, starting with her birth then alternating chapter by chapter between early life and post conversion life with each stream leading back to her conversion experience in a small church where “ The ocean, the Presence, began flowing over me, flowing through me, gently, yet with power…One name: Jesus”
I found this to be a wonderful and moving tale. The writing style is a bit unusual, as related above, but it presents a compelling tale, as the reader is presented with snapshots of the author’s life, backward and forwards to the pivotal moment of conversion.
This is a truly moving story that I highly recommend. As one who came to faith long ago, Alicia Britt Chole’s story prompted a lot of reflection in me as I sought to recall my own conversion. As I found ways in which I could relate to her story; I remembered my own. Therein lies much of this book’s power.

Embracing the margins.

2008-12-14T12:04:00.001-08:00

From the inception of the Progressive Christian Alliance, we have had a vision for reaching out to “the least, the lost, the left behind, and those for whom religion has become irrelevant. We see this position to be very much in line with the teachings of Jesus, teachings that have sadly fallen into neglect. The Church has often become such an institution that it spends more time and resources maintaining itself than reaching into the world beyond itself. As a result we have seen more and more people pushed to the margins and even outside the doors of the church. Progressive ideals or un-orthodox beliefs are unwelcome, as are different cultures or orientations. What remains are many different church institutions ministering to the core groups within their doors, and paying little mind to those outside the doors; those who differ from what they consider the norm.
So, when we in the PCA were trying to paint a picture of our vision; we settled on the following principles:
1. We consider ourselves Christian.
We chose this particular and unusual language out of a recognition that oftentimes the institutional church attempts to set litmus tests of orthodoxy or tradition that define what Christianity is to them. In truth, however, no church institution has the ability or right to judge the soul of a person. That right and responsibility lies solely upon the shoulders of God. Therefore, we seek to avoid the traps of orthodoxy and grant grace to one another by affirming that we seek to serve God, and follow our understandings of the teachings of Jesus, to the best of our ability. We seek to judge no one, lest we be judged by the same unfair and inaccurate standards. We embrace those on the margins or outside the margins of orthodoxy.
The Progressive Christian Alliance maintains a focus on Social Justice.
We believe that the gospel of Christ calls us to minister to the last, the lost, the least, and the left-behind of society, as well as those for whom church has become irrelevant. Jesus and the latter prophets of Judaism speak extensively about caring for the poor, the hungry and the marginalized in society, recognizing them all as God’s creation. Unfortunately much of this focus has been lost in the institutional church as it has become more and more concerned with maintaining its own identity and growth. As a result, the rights of many of God’s own children are widely ignored by those that profess to worship God. We embrace those on the margins of society, as Christ himself taught.
We respect theological diversity.
Faith is not about concrete answers, religious absolutes, creeds, or dogma. Faith is about the search for understanding, the raising of important questions, the open honesty of having doubt, and the realization that no one has it all completely right nor does any human hold all the answers. Therefore, we recognize and affirm those whose faith systems fifer from our own; recognizing that many streams flow from the same source. Furthermore, we recognize that truth and understanding often are nurtured by the open exchange of thoughts and ideas from diverse sources. We embrace those around us; those on the margins of tradition or practice.
We affirm the dignity of all of God’s children and welcome all to take their rightful place at God’s table.
We recognize that in Christ there is no gender, no orientation, no nation or race. We are all heirs to the kingdom. Often, the institutional church has sought to exclude those of different race, gender or orientation from participating fully in the life of the church. We find these practices anathematic to the teachings of Christ, therefore we readily and heartily welcome all to their rightful place at the table that God has prepared. While we applaud the efforts of many denominations to formulate intercommunion agreements with other denominations, we feel that these intercommunion agreements do not adequately recognize the value and beauty of diversity. The PCA, rather, practices an Open Communion, recognizing that the Table of Communion is not ours to govern, but Gods.
There are also many churches who seek to fully include those of other races, genders or sexual orientations, and we applaud those efforts; but by writing this inclusivity into our organizational DNA, we hope to avoid the political and dogmatic struggles that accompany such efforts so that we can concentrate more fully on the task at hand.
Many have asked, “With all of this inclusion, where then is your identity? Simply: that is our identity. Inclusion. A church for those who don’t like church and a church for those who love church but seek to lovingly correct it. We strive to embrace all and welcome all: those pushed to the margins or outside the margins. In so doing, we have our own identity, a church on the margins for those on the margins. The Progressive Christian Alliance: Embracing the Margins.

Communion

2008-09-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

On the night he was handed over to suffering and death, ourLord Jesus Christ took bread; and when he had given thanksto you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, Take,eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for theremembrance of me.
After supper he took the cup of wine; and when he had giventhanks, he gave it to them, and said, “Drink this, all of you:This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for youand for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drinkit, do this for the remembrance of me.”

Those words of institution from the Book of Common Prayer have been used for hundreds of years (with slight variations) during the Christian Communion service. Yet it strikes me that there are elements of the Last supper that have often been overlooked, nor is it stated in any of the gospel accounts of the Last Supper. I refer to the acts of hospitality as understood in middle eastern culture.

In the modern Western world, hospitality has taken on different connotations. Perhaps as religious traditions became uprooted from the Middle East, the primacy of this virtue—or at least its association with the compassionate treatment of strangers—was lost. Westerners tend to see receiving guests as part of creating relationships. We entertain family and friends and those whom we wish to cultivate as friends rather than opening our homes to strangers. Our care for strangers tends to be monetary rather than personal.

While there are things to be said for this approach, it lacks the moral centrality of the view of hospitality John Koenig traces to ancient Greece and the Near East. As he writes in New Testament Hospitality,"According to this tradition, which has virtually disappeared from contemporary Western culture, hospitality is seen as one of the pillars of morality upon which the universe stands. When guests or hosts violate the obligations to each other, the whole world shakes and retribution follows."

The sharing of food together was a token of friendship, a form of covenantal commitment. One of the most despicable acts in the ancient world was to eat with someone and then betray them (Obadiah 7; Psa 41:9; and of course Judas, John 13:18). This entire "code" of hospitality in the Middle East was so strong that it evoked a warning: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Heb 13:2). It is also this dimension of mutual commitment in the sharing of food that provides the Eucharist with one of its most dynamic meanings.

“The source of hospitality is the heart of God, who yearns to unite every creature within one embrace. Only in the fullness of time will God gather all things in Christ, yet God's boundless welcome is something we already enjoy here and now in the Eucharist. Our life together as a community gives us a foretaste of the communion of saints. So we have the power to be a sacrament of God's hospitality, a house of God, offering [God’s] nurture and protection to all who come under our roof.” The Rule of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, Chapter 34

As Christ said, “By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” And for many, we are the only face of Christ they will see. This indeed makes the role of hospitality in the Middle East and North Africa truly sacred. When someone visits, Arab Muslims often say, “The Prophet [Mohammed] visited us”. For Christians, to welcome and host others provides a wonderful opportunity to see Christ among us.

Although we Christians largely view the Eucharist as symbolic of Christ's sacrifice for our iniquities, I believe we have much to learn from the ancient tribal hospitality customs, as regarding the responsibility for and to one another that is implied in the shared meal.

So next time you partake of communion, look around you. These are your brothers and sisters. You are responsible for and to them.

"I have renounced my Christianity"

2008-07-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

"I have renounced my Christianity" says Chris, "but I have retained my Christian faith."
I listened as this casual bussiness associate, who had just learned of my "other" vocation described his own disilusionment with the traditional expressions of Christianity.

"Churches spend too much time and resources either trying to bring people in the doors, or exclude them. This does not seem like the image I hold of Jesus" he continued. This is what caused me to leave the church. "I considered myself atheist for some time, but realized that the gospel of Christ is far greater than his so-called followers."

I then (after I picked my jaw off of the floor at hearing such a profound statement of disilusionment) then had the supreme joy of telling Chris that he is not alone; that there are many of us striving to recapture what we feel to be the authentic spirit of the faith.

Just how many are out there that feel the same but do not have the courage to speak?
How sad is it that to many, mainstream Christianity has become anathematic to the teachings of Christ?

A battle not of our choosing.

2008-01-14T20:26:00.000-08:00

33.2 million people in the world are living with HIV/AIDS.
25 million have died as a result of AIDS or complications thereof.
12 million children in Africa are orphans after losing parents to the disease.
AIDS is the leading cause of death for African-American women aged 25-34, and has been for 7 years.
Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted
Nearly 3 billion people in the world live on less than $2 per day.

The gross domestic product of the poorest 48 nations is less than the combined wealth of the world's 3 richest individuals.
The combined wealth of the world’s 200 richest people hit $1 trillion in 1999; the combined incomes of the 582 million people living in the 43 least developed countries is $146 billion.

According to http://www.biblegateway.org/:

the number of times "poor" is mentioned in the NIV bible: 178
"widow": 106
"orphan": 6
"sick": 72
"love": 692

All told, there are 2,703 verses in the bible that refer to caring for the less fortunate.

There are 7 that are translated to refer to homosexual behavior.

Yet, "Christian" radio speaks endlessly about the dangers of the "homosexual agenda".
The Religious Right are spewing such venomous hatred toward LGBT people that many of us who consider ourselves progressive christians are forced into fighting a battle not of our own choosing; the constant battle for full inclusion and acceptance of all people regardless of orientation.
No offense to my LGBT brothers and sisters, but I am tired of fighting this battle when there are people starving to death, sexually abused or dying of some wretched disease.
But unfortunately I don't get to choose the battle ground. That has been chosen for me. Because of the venomous hatred constantly spewed by "the right" I have no choice but to speak out in defense of the dignity of all regardless of race, social status or orientation. To remain silent would mean that I would also be complicit. As a result, I and others like me have less time to devote to society's more pressing issues. There are people suffering and dying and we are forced to fight a battle over who is screwing who.
Meanwhile, God cries....
And Satan laughs his ass off.

Heretical Apologetics

2008-01-10T06:38:00.000-08:00

he·ret·i·cal
adj.
1. Of or relating to heresy or heretics.
2. Characterized by, revealing, or approaching departure from established beliefs or standards.

a·pol·o·get·ics
n. (used with a sing. verb)
1. The branch of theology that is concerned with defending or proving the truth of Christian doctrines.
2. Formal argumentation in defense of something, such as a position or system.

Yes, I know that the title is an oxymoron.

I do have a question though. If indeed we believe that God speaks through scripture to reach each of us, who have different experiences and understandings, therefore we believe that scripture, in effect has life; and is capable of speaking to each of us, individually:
Why then do so many Christian Apologists exist? Why is apologetics taught at most seminaries? By practicing or teaching apologetics are we not injecting our own beliefs into scripture, and thereby quenching the Spirit within as it strives to reach the individual???

Oh Lord, Please don't burn us...

2008-01-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

A reading from the book of Python

O Lord, please don't burn us.
Don't grill or toast Your flock.
Don't put us on the barbecue
Or simmer us in stock.
Don't braise or bake or boil us
Or stir-fry us in a wok.
Oh, please don't lightly poach us
Or baste us with hot fat.
Don't fricassee or roast us
Or boil us in a vat,
And please don't stick Thy servants, Lord,
In a Rotissomat.

Thanks be to God.

I still vividly remember the seemingly endless "hellfire and brimstone" sermons from my childhood and youth in a Southern Baptist church. I also recall, that when I was "saved" at the age of 12 or so, it was because I was filled with fear and dread of dying "lost" and going to hell.

What I do not recall is having a sense of loving or being loved by God... What I had instead developed was an image of God as a taskmaster who kept a list of my sins and shoved a lightning bolt up my ass every time I messed up.

This sort of fear-based faith did not hold for me, and I left the church, any church for many years. I did, however maintain a sort of God-conciousness, although the God I began to believe in had little in common with the God of my earlier understanding.

It seems unfathomable to me that so many adherents to the faith still maintain the perverse image of God as a demanding taskmaster intent on punishing all sinners for eternity, especially as the prevailing doctrines of the faith state that mankind is inherently sinful, due to the sin introduced by our distant forefather Adam. So, in order to simplify this: God creates each of us, allowing us to maintain an inherent sinfulness because He is still punishing us for the sins of our forefathers. This same creator God, then, is just waiting to punish us for the sinful nature that we were created with. But wait, there is 1 way out, that of faith in Jesus Christ: A faith that requires us to believe that this same intolerant and demanding God, then heaped the sins of the world unto his perfect son, so that he might take the punishment meant for us.

So in many regards, we have progressed from a faith based on Fear, to a faith based on Guilt.
Neither of those emotions are very conducive to the sort of healthy and loving relationship with God which scripture indicates to be God's desire for us.

When looking at the body of Scripture, it seems that we continually impose conditions on our relationship with God:
God said to Abraham, "if you will love and worship me, I will be your god and bless you"
Later, God gave Moses the Ten Words (or ten Commandments) that can be broken into some basic rules for that covenant relationship with God, and healthy relationships with fellow humans.
Still later, those Ten Commandments were expanded by man into a body of narrowly defined rules regarding sacrifice and ritual purity.
Then the prophets came to Israel, many of whom gave some variation of the following simplification of the Law: "Do Justice, Love Mercy and walk humbly with your God."
Yet we still persisted in trying to make that covenatal relationship with God more difficult than intended.
So, in order to both remind us, and provide another means of entering the covenant by expunging our own guilt; Jesus came. Jesus said that the entirity of the law could be summed up thusly: Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind and understanding; and Love your neighbor as yourself. Furthermore, he gave himself as a sacrifice to satisfy what was in all liklihood a human-imposed condition for that covenantal relationship. In so doing, he said "If I be lifted up, I will bring ALL man unto me".
And yet, we still try to impose conditions on even that sacrifice. In spite of protestations to the contrary, most Christians preach that mere faith is NOT enough. One must also be good enough. It seems that once again, we are missing the point.
That point is grace. The Grace that god has given, regardless of our failures and unworthiness.
Perhaps this is a radical concept for some, but for me, a faith based on grace and Love is certaibly more real, more precious than one based on either fear of reprisal, or guilt at someone else being sent to take my punishment.
I am tired of praying "oh Lord please don't burn us". I much prefer "oh Lord, thank you for loving us"

"If I be lifted up, I will raise all men unto me"

What part of all don't we understand?

2007-12-31T06:43:00.000-08:00

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

Let's begin with some trivia...
Of the four gospels, where do the most and least Christmas carols come from?

Arguably, Luke would hold the distinction of being the source of the most Christmas carols...
Mark is firmly in last place.

Why? The gospel of Mark has no birth narrative at all.

Strangely enough, historians generally agree that the Gospel of Mark was the first to be written. In fact, many believe that Mark was a source used by Mathew and Luke in writing their repective gospels due the the high percentage of identical or nearly identical passages (with an additional source of an unknown "sayings gospel" reffered to as "Q"). These 3 gospels are known as the "synoptic gospels" due to the high degree of similarity among them.

Then, the last Gospel to be written was John....
John was different...
John was a bit of a mystic.

When viewed chronologically: (which for arguments sake, we will assume Luke was the 2nd to be written)
Mark's Gospel makes no mention whatsoever of the birth of Jesus.
Luke's Gospel speaks of the appearance of the angel to Mary, telling her that she will bear the Son of God.
Mathew's Gospel adds the human geneaology of Mary to the previous tale.
Then there's John...
John begins in the beginning. John tells us that Jesus has quite literally been with us since the beginning of time, as the Logos, or word of God, became flesh and dwelt among us....

When looking at this with a slightly cynical or heretical eye, it almost appears to exemplify a bit of one-upsmanship. Sort of like kids in the schoolyard bragging about their fathers.

Mark says "My Jesus was perfect. a great teacher who lived a blameless life and died at the hand of the Romans, and now sits at the right hand of God".
Luke replies "Yeah, but my Jesus was also the Son of God"
Not to be outdone, Mathew replies "all of that is true about my Jesus, bet he was also descended from the greatest king in Israel's history".
Finally John arrives on the scene and trumps them all. "MY Jesus is the word of God, made flesh".

So, we can see here some rather divergent views on the nature of Jesus, or in the least, a difference of opinion about what part of Jesus' nature was most important.
Mark emphasized Jesus' ministry, making no real mention of his divine nature.
Luke added the supernatural origin.
Mathew tried to compromise, emphasizing both the supernatural origin and hman nature.
John emphasised the divine nature of Jesus.

These differences of opinion still exist today. In this holiday season, you can view documentaries on many channels about the nature of Jesus, some ephasising the "historical Jesus" some the divine. To some, Jesus was solely a great teacher and prophet who was put to death for challenging the system of the Romans. Others believe that as a result of his exemplary life and ministry he was "high and lifted up" to the right hand of God, after his ressurection. To still others, Jesus is God, made flesh. Oftentimes there is much contention and heated debate between these various factions.

An unfortunate by-product of this contention is that the message of Jesus often becomes obscured. We worry so much about who Jesus was, that we forget what he taught, and what he did. Regardless of who Jesus was, he taught that we should above all, love God and our neighbor (even if they are heretics that don't believe as we do). Regardless of his origins; his life and death serve to remind us of our duties on earth.

So as we read today's lesson, and wonder at the different aspects and origins of Jesus related in the Gospels; perhaps the greatest questions are "who is Jesus to me?" and "what can I learn from his teachings".

Who is Jesus to you?