This is an interesting video. Not sure I agree with every nuance, but wow… some useful perspective. Not sure that I consider religion a “fiction” but that is beyond the point. 
Any thoughts?…
Isaiah the prophet sees God’s ultimate dream for health care when the new creation is completed: “No more shall there be…an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime (Isaiah 65:20).” Over the past year, our nation has been polarized over the issue of health care reform. One side believes that every American deserves to have health coverage while the other side believes that such is a privilege. It’s true that I may be over-simplifying, but that seems to be the broad spectrum. Now, I would be lying if I thought that the new health care plan that is to be implemented over the next several years is immaculate (as it will be in God’s renewed world); but when you put a name and a face to reform, suddenly political practice becomes rooted in relationships rather than theory.
Over the past few weeks a very close friend has been suffering with several ailments, of which gallbladder stones are the primary. She has two part-time jobs and therefore does not have insurance. She went to the ER initially for the pain she was having but was told by doctors that she would have to wait for more evidence of infection before they could legally operate on her without health coverage. So, she was told to wait until clear signs of infection kicked in (yellowing of the eyes and skin, high fever, etc.), Read the rest of this entry »
Hey friends! I wanted to point your attention to an article I wrote for Throw Mountains, blog. It is on the subject of women in ministry and is a condensed version of my series, “Liberating Women for Ministry.” Also, you should know that this is a great blog to frequent as many gifted writers are part of contributing to it!
Finally, If you are following links from Throw Mountains, let me simply say hello, and welcome to our blog community!
Now, lets think about the life of Jesus. How does he have to say about us in our smallness? There is one episode in the Gospel of Luke that gives us something to ponder about our role as image-bearers. Luke 20.20 starts the story:
20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent. Luke 20.20-26
What does it mean to give back to God what is God’s? Well, if Caesar’s image is on a coin… so what…he can have it! God’s image is on you!
If you want to know how to live in a world where there are governments and systems that are corrupt. Don’t worry about things that bear Caesar’s image. Read the rest of this entry »
Although I tend to disagree with St. Augustine on several issues, he paid us a great debt through his concept of the “Two Books.” He held that we ought to approach the quest for knowledge by holding together the two sacred forms of revelation that God has given to humanity: the Book of Scripture and the Book of Nature. His belief was that these two books are God’s perfect and complementary ways to communicate with his image bearers about truth. They are authored by the same divine pen, so they must work together rather than finding themselves in conflict with each other. In regards to the Bible, its interpretation is multi-layered and not always intended to be read in a “plain sense” literal fashion (literal, as in a surface level reading). One must keep in mind that God accommodated truth to package it in a way that was understandable for the original audience. So, in regards to passages like Genesis one, Augustine did not hold to a literal six-day formation of the universe or even six distinct periods of creation; as is evident in his Literal Interpretation of Genesis (here, literal means the original intent of the authors, not skimming the surface for the “plain sense”). Read the rest of this entry »
Lets read the climatic part of this creation poem* (Genesis 1) that as we said earlier is picked up by Psalm 8:
26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1.26-27
God’s creation project is not complete without human beings in the world to bear his image. We often talk about being created in the image of God, but what exactly are we talking about? The Jewish tradition that New Testament writers seem to have used as a backdrop was that God’s image had to do with humans reflecting His glory in care of the Garden of Eden.[1] Think of an angled mirror. Imagine that God’s love is light and that humans are mirrors designed to reflect that light into the creation project.
Or think of a king in the ancient world when this ancient text was written. An emperor lived in the capitol city of his empire and therefore could not be present in all of the conquered territories. So he would have statues or (images) made of himself so that people under his rule would be able to say: “that’s what our king is like.” Walter Brueggemann Read the rest of this entry »
When we consider how incredibly vast the universe really is, we become confronted by two realities simultaneously: our smallness, and God’s bigness. In comparison to the size of everything that God has caused into existence (my life, my story…your life, your story) is very, very small. On the flip-side, if we consider that the size of our gigantic universe is merely microscopic compared to the size of the Creator of it all, we soon realize that God is very, very big. One of the writers in the book of Psalms wrestled with this dichotomy in the following way:
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what are mere mortals that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? 5 You have made them a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, 8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Psalm 8.3-9
What is the passage essentially saying? That both the small things and the big things demonstrate the majestic nature of God! From our perspective in our smallness, it makes sense that God has larger more important things to think about in this universe that you or me. But from God’s perspective he thinks the world of you! Of course he loves the whole creation project, which fills us with awe and wonder. Of course he is the one who holds it all together. But within all of his activity throughout the endless reaches of outer space; he longs to know you and interact with you. This mystery ought to make your head hurt. Read the rest of this entry »
Many of you have probably heard language on this blog and in the Christian-world about narrative or storied approaches to the bible. In my previous post, I have equipped you with some tools to dig into and “enter” this conversation. I encourage you to read through these books one by one because it will lay a beautiful foundation from which to read and live out the teachings of the Scriptures!
So, what is the story anyway? I have posted this in the past, but think that this can generate some fruitful discussion. I am going to give you my version of the 5 Act approach to the bible that has been developed by N.T. Wright (and adapted by various writers).
Act 1: Creation – God creates the universe and declares it to be “very good.” Read the rest of this entry »
Today I want to simply create a list of resources that in my opinion, could help someone enter into the “understanding the Bible as Story” conversation. Now I do not want to claim that this list is complete or as immaculate as the Virgin Mary, but I do want to suggest that these resources are the first on my list for being able to understand and discuss the Bible as story. A couple of final thoughts. 1) I am presenting “intro” level books, so for all of my scholarly friends, you may be like… But what about this theologically dense (and important) book… well, not everyone who reads this blog is a nerd like us so; GET OVER IT 2) I am going to be somewhat (but admittedly loosely) intentional about the order of the books so that the understand is built in a coherent way… step by step. So, here is my list… Read the rest of this entry »
Yesterday I posted my “Dear Reader… Deconstructing Religion– Moving Beyond in and out” and have had multiple responses. Mostly positive, but one that was a bit skeptical made me realize that I ought to give you a bit more context on the concept of Centered vs Bounded sets in ethics.
First off, I want to remind all of us that any image or analogy breaks down somewhere. There was some push back about the negatives of the second image missing some things. The one that sticks out most was from Ken Bussell over at “Emerging Worshipper.” He said: “…a problem I see with these illustrations is that they fail to describe the movement of God. God is moving toward us and pursuing us as well, is He not? In a sense we are all a part of the in-group, in that God is pursuing all of us.” To this I simply say that it would have been appropriate to have arrows from God pointing to all the other arrows, no matter their direction.
I also had a more detailed discussion on Facebook regarding this with my good friend James-Michael Smith who blogs at Discipleship Dojo. He is an excellent blogger who I commend to you, even though we may have a hint of disagreement on this issue. This what I want to direct your attention to for the remainder of this post… Read the rest of this entry »
Dear Reader…
Growing up, I was taught that there are certain ‘things’ that a person has to do to earn favor with God. Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t watch certain movies… don’t! In other words, a large part of Christian discipleship was focused on the negation of ‘things’ rather than the freedom that comes from being released from the captivity of religion. The great “don’t” that my Christian community focused on when I was giving my life back to Jesus as a teenager was secular music. Now, I do have to say that forsaking secular music was a good thing for me at the time because it allowed me to set my mind on “things above.” However, eventually I started looking at my other friends musical genre choices and it became easy to cast secret stones of judgment. The negation had led to a religious mentality of picking who was “in” and who was “out.” This is because I chose an overall perspective of faith that is described in Religious No More, (by Mark Baker) that is called a “Bounded Group.” I drew an image like this in my book as I read this section…
There are several things to point out about this first image. Notice that there is a clear wall that has been built to contain those who are “in” and to exclude those who are “out.” The space between the dividing wall is where religious ideals are, and for many people this is where God dwells. God is held captive within the walls of religion and as long as we stay inside these walls (remember: “Don’ts”), then we are part of the elite “in” group. In this view, everything we do must be focused on how to protect the “wall” that has boxed religion/God in, so that we have security in our categories. Read the rest of this entry »
I would like to invite you to share your thoughts on the following quote. It has been challenging to me for over a year now! I understand that pulling anything out of its larger context leaves some gaps. My hope is that you will not feel a “judgmental” vibe coming through what these New Monastic authors challenge us with, because in the book as a whole it comes across full of grace. Now, to the Quote to Ponder…
“Throughout the history of the church, Christians have recognized that we cannot pray ‘Our father’ together on Sunday and deny bread to our brothers and sisters on Monday. But we live in difficult days. The hungry are not just hungry. Often they are our enemies. Drug addiction and mental illness make many who are hungry hard to deal with. They threaten us. Others have been hungry for so long that they are angry, even at those of us who want to help. Read the rest of this entry »
I recently had the opportunity to chat via Skype with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. We discuss everything from his story, to the New Monasticism Movement, to his latest book: “The Wisdom of Stability: Rooting Faith in a Mobile Culture.” He is also the author of: “God’s Economy: Redefining the Health and Wealth Gospel,” “New Monasticism: What it has to say to Today’s Church” & co-author (with Shane Claiborne) of “Becoming the Answers to Our Prayers: Prayer for Ordinary Radicals.” You can also check out – http://www.newmonasticism.org
Here is part two of five!!!! I ask the question: WHAT IS THE NEW MONASTICISM?
Choosing To Trust in Times of Doubt: Sermon (Kurt Willems)
Here is a sermon that I gave this past weekend on the issue of doubt and trust. It includes be falling off of the stage backwards 
Many of you have asked, so I thought I’d share this sermon with all of you!
*PS – I make a comment about ‘stealing’ a tangerine from a field in the talk. I didn’t steal it per se, because it was a neighbor friend of my grandpa’s and the field was not going to be picked that year. Just thought I’d throw that in…
What a cool thing it is to connect with so many people, from so many places, and with so many perspectives. I want to hear from others, about how God is at work in their own theological, philosophical, cultural, and social ethics journey. For contribution opportunities, go here. I personally do not endorse everything that the guest contributors may have to say; and it is possible that I will outright disagree with them on some points, but I am always open to dialogue Here is a guest post by a blogging/twitter/ & Facebook friend- Al Molineaux. He and his wife have become great encouragers of mine from abroad (UK).
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It’s hard to think of much in church life that hasn’t been placed under the strobe lighting of change in the name of relevance. Hymnbooks wait under chairs and pews whilst congregation’s heads are lifted to view worship songs on a screen. The church organ, if not removed altogether, waits patiently for possible inclusion in an occasional funeral or wedding. Notices are now displayed via PowerPoint slides or short videos, replacing the faithful deacon with his church diary and pieces of paper hurriedly handed to him just before the meeting has started. So much change and yet one area seems to have stemmed the tide of development with only the slightest hint of amendment: the offering.
Why, in a world were everything seems to be up for change, has the collection been so resilient? An old time Pastor once criticised me quite harshly for not having an offering as part of our regular Sunday worship. I asked him for clarification and was informed that it had both played an important part in worship for many years and, more pragmatically, that people forget to give if they are not reminded. I wasn’t convinced by either point and so we have continued to adopt a practice of being offering free. So let me ask: why, when all other areas have been subject to change, do we continue to take an offering?
Let me explain my reasons for assigning this practice to the ecclesiological waste basket. Read the rest of this entry »
The following is an open letter to Mark Tooley and others who have criticized my Sojourners Article about the 4th of July. Mark is the president of the “Institute on Religion and Democracy” (where his reflection on my article is posted) and also writes for “The American Spectator.” See either link for the relevant article.
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Dear Mark Tooley,
Let me start out by saying that I do not fully disagree with your concern about my view of America. My Sojo post comes across as a bit more frustrated at the US than I actually am. Sometimes abridging something leaves out some valuable details, and for this I am sorry (I will strive to become better at this in future posts). My belief is that everyone has to live somewhere, and I am privileged that I happen to reside in the US. This is a nation that is unlike any in the world, and I have had amazing opportunities having lived here. I say the following in my unabridged version of this article that appears here on my personal blog:
“…I have a great deal of respect for those who are Christians and who ‘support’ military and our troops. Those who serve our country (although I may disagree with it from my standpoint theologically) deserve respect for their sacrifices and I am glad to have some friends who have served or are serving in the armed forces…Let me add that I love fireworks, BBQ’s, and any good excuse to hang out with friends. I do not think that by simply attending a July 4th gathering that you are sinning. In fact, I often make the trek to the beach to watch the fireworks over the Pacific… while not choosing to actually ‘celebrate’ the holiday. I also love that I have had the privilege to grow up in this country. So, I am not “anti-America” by any stretch; I am happy that I live here. What I think is that as Christians we need to recalculate our past and allow the Gospel to be critical of certain things we now celebrate.” (see: Original version from blog here )
Second, I think you are correct to point out that taxation was not the only cause of this war, however this is what we teach in our schools and what the common person thinks of regarding the Revolutionary War. The motto we hear: “no taxation without representation.” But, with that said, I am with Mark Noll who points out in his article that “Just War” criteria were not followed in churches that supported the revolt. Read the rest of this entry »
UPDATE: I ACCIDENTALLY POSTED PART 5 FIRST AND PART 4 SECOND. HOPEFULLY YOU READ THIS POST FIRST AND THEN MOVE ON TO PART 5. BLESSINGS!
This is a series about women in ministry. I have found that in most evangelical circles, women who are in ministry do not have the same opportunities as men. Why is this? It comes from a deep seeded belief that core leadership of a biblical church is found in men alone. Women are equal in worth to God, but are limited in their function within the body of Christ. Here is the kicker, I think that Scripture might tell a different story. This series will be and exploration on this important topic. Here is part one two & three.
Central Question: Can women serve in any role within the church? If so, how does this compare to most modern evangelical churches? If not, what are the boundaries for women in ministry? How does the New Testament serve as a guide on this issue?
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How are we to receive and respond to this New Testament witness in an age where egalitarianism is becoming the dominant mode of Western culture and where the church has a reputation for being oppressive towards women?
A. THE MODE OF HERMENEUTICAL APPROPRIATION
None of our main texts present a RULE although more often then not, both the 1 Timothy and 1 Corinthians texts have been read as such. In 1 Cor. 14 we find a PRINCIPLE that worship ought to be performed in the community in an orderly fashion. In 1 Timothy 2, the principle is that everyone has the right to learn and such is a prerequisite to speaking up and teaching. No one ought to assume such a role based on one’s gender status, for in Jesus the principle of equality abolishes any assumed entitlement. A PARADIGM that is evident is Paul’s example of Eve being deceived first to demonstrate that women are susceptible to failure and are therefore summoned to not allow their arrogance toward men in the church to lead them into Eve-like scenarios. Paul reminds them of the “fall” Read the rest of this entry »
UPDATE: I ACCIDENTALLY POSTED PART 5 BEFORE PART 4! PLEASE READ PART 4 FIRST IF YOU CAN OR GO BACK AND READ IT!
This is a series about women in ministry. I have found that in most evangelical circles, women who are in ministry do not have the same opportunities as men. Why is this? It comes from a deep seeded belief that core leadership of a biblical church is found in men alone. Women are equal in worth to God, but are limited in their function within the body of Christ. Here is the kicker, I think that Scripture might tell a different story. This series will be and exploration on this important topic. Here is part one two three & four.
Central Question: Can women serve in any role within the church? If so, how does this compare to most modern evangelical churches? If not, what are the boundaries for women in ministry? How does the New Testament serve as a guide on this issue?
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LIVING THE TEXT: THE CHURCH AS A COMMUNITY THAT CULTIVATES THE GIFTS OF BOTH FEMALE AND MALE LEADERS
The need to reframe the way people in the church understand these texts is not simply for the sake of the issue of women in ministry, but also in order to enable the larger Christian community to embrace a better exegetical approach that leads to a more biblically robust ethic. Surface readings of the Bible are not only evident on this issue, but have created many distorted theologies that must be revisited. On the particular question of female leadership, we have demonstrated that both women and men can be encouraged to discover their unique gifts including those of the leader and teacher within the body of Christ. We also have the opportunity to be missional in a whole new way. Read the rest of this entry »
This is a series about women in ministry. I have found that in most evangelical circles, women who are in ministry do not have the same opportunities as men. Why is this? It comes from a deep seeded belief that core leadership of a biblical church is found in men alone. Women are equal in worth to God, but are limited in their function within the body of Christ. Here is the kicker, I think that Scripture might tell a different story. This series will be and exploration on this important topic. Here is part one & two.
Central Question: Can women serve in any role within the church? If so, how does this compare to most modern evangelical churches? If not, what are the boundaries for women in ministry? How does the New Testament serve as a guide on this issue?
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The texts we examined (in previous posts) demonstrate that although women may have stirred up some mischief in various local contexts, that Paul in no way intended to create a rule about women in ministry. In the larger canonical (biblical) context it becomes clear that women were in every level of leadership. In the Old Testament the equality of women is expressed in creation of both male and female being made “in the image of God” (Gen. 1.27). The disorientation of gender roles does not become present in the narrative of Scripture until after the fall (Gen 3.16-19). With this as an underlying assumption, the Hebrew Scriptures are full of women who exorcised leadership over both men and women—Miriam (Exodus 15.20; Micah 6.4) and Deborah (Judges 4.4-7) being the clearest examples. In the New Testament there are—Phillip’s four daughters (Acts 21.8-9), the female gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 11.5), Junia (Romans 16.7) who is identified as an apostle Read the rest of this entry »
This is a series about women in ministry. I have found that in most evangelical circles, women who are in ministry do not have the same opportunities as men. Why is this? It comes from a deep seeded belief that core leadership of a biblical church is found in men alone. Women are equal in worth to God, but are limited in their function within the body of Christ. Here is the kicker, I think that Scripture might tell a different story. This series will be and exploration on this important topic. Here is part one.
Central Question: Can women serve in any role within the church? If so, how does this compare to most modern evangelical churches? If not, what are the boundaries for women in ministry? How does the New Testament serve as a guide on this issue?
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11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. 1 Timothy 2.11-15
In the ancient world, this was written during the emergence of what some historians call: “the new Roman Women.” In the major cities of the empire there was a movement of women who were choosing immodesty, sexual indiscretion, elaborate dress, and even taking the podium from men to speak. This movement was bent on subverting the defined gender roles of the day. In addition to this, Ephesus was the home of the famous Artemis/Diana fertility cult, which was female-dominated and had similar tendencies to raise women over-against men.[1] The Temple of Artemis Read the rest of this entry »
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