Troop Carrier or Luxury Liner

I am currently reading the last few chapters in a book that has taken me about a month to get through (not because it's a long book, but because I take so long to read something). The book is called "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream". The author used an illustration when talking about the design and purpose of the church that I thought was worth getting out there for discussion. This is not meant to be a post born out of cynicism, just an honest observation. Here is what he says. . . . .(paraphrased of course)

"In the late 1940s, the US government commissioned the construction of an eighty-million dollar troop carrier for the navy. It's purpose: to have a ship that could speedily carry 15,000 troops during time of war. After it's completion, it could carry 15,000 troops @ 51 mph, and it could travel 10,000 miles without stopping for fuel or supplies. It could outrun any other ship and travel nonstop anywhere in the world in less that 10 days. The SS United States was the fastest and most reliable troop carrier in the world.

The only catch is, she never carried troops. She was put on standby once during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, but otherwise she was never used in all her capacity by the U.S. Navy.

Instead, the SS United States became a luxury liner for presidents, heads of state, and a variety of other celebrities who traveled on her during here 17 yrs of service. As a luxury liner, she couldn't carry 15,000 people. Instead she could house just under 2,000 passengers. Those passengers could enjoy the luxuries of 695 staterooms, 4 dining salons, 3 bars, 2 theaters, 5 acres of open deck with a heated pool, 19 elevators, and the comfort of a fully air-conditioned ship. Instead of a vessel used for battle during wartime, she became a means of indulgence for wealthy patrons who desired to coast peacefully across the Atlantic.

When I think about the history of this ship, I wonder if she has something to teach us about the history of the church. The church, like the SS U.S., has been designed for battle. The purpose of the church is to mobilize a people to accomplish a mission. Yet we seem to have turned the church as a troop carrier into the church as a luxury liner. We seem to have organized ourselves, not to engage in battle for the souls of peoples around the world, but to indulge ourselves in the peaceful comforts of the world. This makes me wonder what would happen if we looked squarely in the face of a world with 4.5 billion people going to hell and 26,000 children dying every day of starvation and preventable diseases, and we decided it was time to move this ship into battle instead of sitting back on the pool deck while we wait for the staff to serve us hors d' oeuvre."

We have undoubtedly turned the church into something it was never intended to be. . .a luxury liner. We have sat by long enough and turned our nose up at suffering, dying world long enough. It is high time we stop reading and writing and blogging about it and do something about it.

I'm not beating around the bush here or simply dropping hints. I am being as suggestive as I can. We have glazed over passages like Luke 12 long enough. "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. . . . .but rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Sell that ye have, and give alms;. . . . .for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." This is coming from someone (and I say this as humbly as possible) who is finally beginning to take this literally, (as it was intended to be) and trying to change the way I think and live in order to fulfill this.

~Smitty

continuing the conversation on the interplay of faith and reason

As I stated in a comment to Fitzy's recent post, I am a skeptic by nature, and honestly, faith does not come easy for me. Faith and evidence are in a constant tangle in the arena of my head. Though I will not look for proof for my faith in the measurable, I also cannot, in good conscience, ignore my sensual perceptions. While I can nod my head in agreement with those who pronounce boldly, 'Faith is the only evidence I need!', I can also understand the hesitation of the one who says, 'faith only exists out of an absence of evidence.' I find myself somewhere in the jumble in between.  Is faith the only evidence I need? Does faith result from a lack of evidence? Yes, but...

I will be the first to admit that you cannot prove God. Faith is, in its very essence, a belief in the unseen.  This opinion of Faith does not need to be defended.  God is who he is and does as he does whether or not I see evidence for it or believe in it.  But that does not mean that faith is without reason or even at the least at odds with it.  Neither should it stunt the exercise of weighing the evidence nor cause us to distrust those who do.  Not surprisingly, popular author and speaker Richard Dawkins portrays a very negative view of faith:

"Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.”

If this were true.  Shame on Faith.  Faith should never cause us to cover our ears and sing la la la in the face of evidence.  Must we outwit the atheist?  Most of us probably can't (and would be foolish to try).  Must we have all the answers?  No body ever will.   But the active evaluation of the evidence can and should be a healthy exercise of faith.  As Paul said, "test these things, see if they be true!"  I'm pretty sure God isn't afraid of the evidence.  Neither should we be.  Nor should we feel the need to construct complicated, logic defying, conspiracy theory-worthy mental exercises to explain the portrait right in front of our nose.  

If faith has no need of being substantiated by physical evidence, does it follow that 'Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence"?   Intelligent as he may be, what Dawkins fails to see is that while the evidence does not prove God's existence, it also does not disprove His existence.  Realizing a feasible explanation for anything says nothing of the supernatural that may or may not be behind it.  Evolution, if it is to be understood as true, says nothing of God's role or existence.  Evidence for it is not evidence against God.  Such evidence does not exist (or would be impossible to detect).  By faith Dawkins accepts that his reality is the only one.  The evidence itself cannot disprove that, but neither can it disprove a reality that includes God. 

So faith really is not existing in the absence of evidence, or despite the evidence, but rather working with the evidence.  Faith and reasoning do not have to be at odds.  The data is what it is.  Reasoning and faith give it meaning.

Ehrman

I read this post on my Professors blog, thought it was quite amusing!

When Bart Ehrman was introduced today at one of the text crit sessions (in honor of Eldon Jay Epp), the chairman said,

Prof. Ehrman is best known for misquoting Jesus and, more recently, interrupting him.

Although it was intended humorously, I think it was more true than the chairman intended.

Faith is Evidence

I'm teaching through the book of Hebrews at my Church, and we just got to Ch. 11. Recently, the profound fools were discussing the interplay of evidence, faith, and reason. I was working on this text (Heb. 11:1-6) for Sunday and it speaks to that in some ways. Here are a few of my notes. What do you think? Am I right?

Heb. 11:1 "Faith is....the evidence of things not seen.

**Evidence (ἐλεγχος) – way of getting at the reality of a matter, proving something. What is really real.

Illustration – If I am telling a story, and all of the sudden Melinda speaks up and says, wait a minute Josh, that’s not true, that didn’t really happen that way. I would be looking for evidence, someone that was there, a witness, a picture, a video, some proof.

**Can you prove, with cold hard evidence, that heaven and hell are real, that you will be in heaven, that you will see God, that you will see Christ and his pierced hands and feet? If someone said, “show me something physical in this life to prove it”, would you be able to? NO. But, your faith is that evidence.

This is why I sort of cringe when good intentioned people try to use Science, or History, or anything else to prove the Bible is true, to prove that Heaven and our hope is real, Why do I cringe? Because in this text, it is clear, what is the proof, what is the evidence in this life for things that we cannot see?? FAITH.

Secular humanism, Atheism, Anti-theism, they are all faith positions, but listen, so is Christianity.

Worship at the food court?

Drew Dyke on the "Leavers"

Interesting article today on Christianity Today discussing the trend of 20-30 somethings leaving the church.  The article presents some startling figures.

According to Rainer Research, approximately 70 percent of American youth drop out of church between the age of 18 and 22. The Barna Group estimates that 80 percent of those reared in the church will be "disengaged" by the time they are 29.

What do you think?  Is this problem real or just perceived?  What would you say is the biggest reason young people are leaving the church?  What can the church do to prevent this from continuing?

Thinking Aloud about Worship - Perspectives from the Pew, 1

I am a pew-sitter.  I am not formally trained in theology, music, or church ministry.  So when I post on topics such as church worship, you can discount me as a fool if you'd like.  I won't be offended.  But I do believe in God.  Specifically the God revealed by Christ and the Scriptures.  And I do believe that this God desires worship from his people.  And I do regularly attend 'worship' services at my local church.  Which at least has me thinking about it.  In the first of at least a few insignificant posts on worship, I'd like to explore a common worship myth:  "Worship is not about you!"  Whether that's being taught to direct our misplaced focus away from ourselves or to merely justify a bland brand of worship in the church, I have to disagree.  As I see it, worship is about me.  Before your undies get unduly twisted, hear me out.

Worship is not so much about God needing us to remind Him how great He is, but rather us needing to remind ourselves how needy we are.  God is Almighty whether we recognize Him as such or not.  We, on the other hand are not, but often think as if we are.  In this way, worship and salvation are linked.  Although the Bible doesn't really talk a lot about worship in the context of a local church, it certainly does not fail to emphasize the importance of worship to believers.  In fact, the first 4 of God's Top Ten speak of worship.

“You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything  that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below. You shall not bow down to them or serve them,  for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,  for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain.

“Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy.

The message is simple.  God will not share his throne.  When the rich man ignored all dignity and ran to Jesus, he fell to his knees asked how he too could enter God's kingdom.  Jesus answers him by directing him to the ten commandments.  The man excitedly responds, "I have kept all these!"   But Jesus then says he still lacks one thing and tells him to go and sell all his possessions.  The man of course couldn't and thus revealed the object of his worship.  So while the man did pretty well at keeping half the commandments, he failed to keep the first few, specifically the first.

Throughout the OT, worship is pictured by a burnt sacrifice.  In the NT, Paul replaces the sacrificial animal with self.  We are to 'present our bodies as a sacrifice - alive, holy, and pleasing to God - which is our reasonable service (worship)."  Once again, in both cases, the sacrifice is not for the benefit of God, but for the benefit of the worshipers.  Through the act of sacrifice, whether it be of your crops, livestock, time, or goals, the worshiper recognizes that God is supreme and he is not.  It's not that God needs things or people, but worshipers by the act of worship recognize that "from him and through him and to him are all things."

So what does this have to do with worship in the church?   Worship reminds us that God alone is on the throne and that He alone deserves to be there.  The activities of Sunday morning worship should lead the worshiper to that realization.  A Worship Service that fails to do this fails to qualify itself as worship.

At least that's what I think.

~Krook

Fact, Faith, and Feeling

"Kreeft recounts a famous saying about Fact, Faith and Feeling walking along a wall. Fact goes first, then Faith, then Feeling. As long as Faith keeps his eyes on Fact, they all make steady progress. But Faith keeps turning around to see what’s going on with Feeling, and he gets unsteady. Faith and Feeling both end up tumbling off the wall, while Fact walks on alone."

Jan sent this across the email. Sounded interesting. Thought it might generate a comment or two.

smitty (the poet)

"Brainwashing"

I listened to a debate on the role of religion in Schools in the UK, called "The big debate". One of the panelists was atheist Richard Dawkins. As the others were discussing "Christian children", and "Muslim Children", and "Hindu Children", he stopped them and said, "I have to say, that there is no such thing as a Cristian Child, or a Muslim Child, because they have never chosen that religion for themselves."

I had to agree with him 100%. One thing that I have observed so much in Christian circles, and among friends of mine, is that children of Christians are not Christians who never make it real to themselves. If God doesn't penetrate their hearts to awaken them to the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, they are not Christians.

So I have been thinking, do I want to "brainwash" my sons? I will of course teach them the Bible, but what efforts can I take to bring them to that personal decision of treasuring Christ themselves. There is, indeed, no such thing as a child who is a Christian simply because their parents are, but oh how I long to see my sons make that personal choice themselves. I don't want them to be a Christian because Mom and Dad are, but because they have studied and learned and been exposed to other things, and have found that God is the only source of (to borrow a quote from Piper) 'all-satisfying joy!' I fear that so many people never get to the point where they can answer the "why" questions of Christianity. Why am I Christian? Why did Christ have to die? Why is Christ the only way? Why is salvation a message of pure, unadultered, grace? Those are the questions that I want my sons to be able to answer with passion and confidence.

So, is brainwashing my sons in Christianity a good thing? How can I strike the balance between teaching them the doctrines of Christ, while exposing them to other views enough to where they can make their own decision?

While we are here ...

Remember all those family trips as a kid?  Back when a quick flight across the country was unheard of.  I do.  Six of us would pile into the beast of a family sedan and head on out to the latest adventure on the road.  Night travel was the best.  Younger sister on rear dash. Older siblings sprawled on the rear bench seat.  Me on the floor, bent over that floor hump thingy.  Mom did her best to drive from the passenger seat.  Dad was most likely pretending he was somewhere else.  Us kids fighting for ownership of as much personal space as possible.  My older sister singing under her giant head phones.  My older brother begging her to stop.  "Are we there yet?" when not verbally spoken was relaying itself over and over again in every one's mind. 

Funny how this is how so many of us have been conditioned to view the Christian life.  A trip.  A miserable one at that.  Even our Sunday morning "worship" songs reflect this ... "This World is not My Home I'm Just a Passin' Through ..."  as we endure our way "To Those Mansions Fair, Just Over in the Glory Land" (where, by the way "[you'll] Join the Happy Angel Band!"  Sweet.  I hope I get percussion!).  But is that it?  Are we just here working and doing and passing time until the "The Roll is Called up Yonder"?  Certainly that can't be right... and it's not.  Created in His image we were made as humans and placed here by design.  We were made with purpose and remain here on purpose.   Although our ultimate hope lies in an unhindered communion with God when 'we get there', our thoughts now should be less consumed with 'when we get there' and more about 'while we are here'.  Just my thoughts.
 
~ krook (the over thinker)

Blue Cheese Conviction

I recently talked to a friend of mine, my best friend in fact, and discovered something interesting about him. After talking to him about my specific view point on a certain subject (about which I choose not to expound on here on the blog), he revealed to me that he had for the past 5 years avoided this one thing because he was under the impression that it might offend me if I knew he had this view himself. Wow! What restraint! What loyalty! What a true friend. I don't know what was more amazing. . . . . .the fact that he kept from this thing, or the fact that he made it a point not to let me know anything about it. Simply amazing.

I thought about this as I was at some dinner with some fellow "profound fools" the other night. I thought about it as I dipped my boneless buffalo wings in some chunky blue cheese dressing. I love blue cheese dressing. But I didn't always. I used to hate it as a kid. I thought it stunk. I thought it tasted moldy. It was just plain gross!

But, now that my pallet has developed some more as I've grown older, I have come to like it. In fact, I love it. It's good stuff. As I thought about this, I proposed this thought to the "fools" I had gathered with that night. "Isn't it funny?" "What", they asked. "It's funny how the views I have now differ from the views I had long ago." Kind of like blue cheese dressing. The things I would have fallen on the sword over just a few years ago, now are just peripherals at best. Peripherals to the gospel. Some views that would have long ago revealed someone's immaturity to me, now only reveal my immaturity back then. Things that I saw as "sin" or indicators of shallow spirituality back then, don't mean that to me today. Back then, I would have made an instant judgment call based on some of these things. But now, peace with things that I thought would have made one immature, now I simply view as a sign of maturity.

Gotta' go. I have a hankerin' for some blue cheese.

~Smitty (the Poet)

Gone Public

The Fools have shamelessly dialogued their questions and observations regarding Theology, the Gospel, the American-made micro-culture of Christianity, and whatever else happens ooze unfiltered out of their tiny heads for a little over a year and are now determined to widen their audience.   The slate has been wiped clean and the viewership changed from private to open.  With any luck, in due time, a few poor saps may find the discussion interesting and chime in. 

The blog exists as a forum between friends to exchange thoughts and perspectives tangential to the Christian life.  Questions will be asked, observations made, and opinions challenged.  No one here claims to be an expert, but we can all pretend.

Welcome - stay tuned for more.