Why are people without jobs still glad its friday?
Even though they are probably considered the best band of all time, I still don't think the Beatles get enough credit for their song writing abilities.
Confession: I once went to a Friday's with my good friend Ken and we ordered Swirl Margaritas (Check that: I actually ordered them saying "We will each have a raspberry swirl margarita") and I am pretty sure everyone at the bar thought we were gay - and I am pretty sure we deserved that. (PS. I am not actually gay). This moment might only be eclipsed by the time my friends and I got a little tipsy in Montreal (maybe I mean drunk) and got in a circle under the guise that we were trying to impress 2 chicks, and sang "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias at the tops of our lungs. Because I want to incriminate, the culprits were me, Brian, John, Eric, Ken and Pat. Why do I mention all of this? All men have less than masculine moments. Sorry to burst your bubble. I had to get this out. I have no shame in it (well maybe a little, but thats mostly because its pathetic I knew the words to an Enrique Iglesias tune, one of the many things I will need to account myself to God for).
I went to see Derek Webb in concert last night. It took place in an old church building - the setting was beautiful. There were only about 150 people there, and the concert was so intimate. For those of you that don't know, Derek Webb is a singer/songwriter whose lyrics irritate a lot of people. He is frank, and he calls people change our world. He sings about God (and his struggle with belief) but he would scoff if you compared him to a christian. Nothing about this concert felt "christian:" No altar calls, hand raising or amens (THANK GOD!). He was witty, poignant, and he sounded great. Acoustic guitar and a voice. It doesn't get much better, and yet, only 150 people showed up. People would not know good music if it smacked them in the face. When we live in a world where Chingy sells more albums then Derek Webb, something is TERRIBLY wrong. Check him out. Noteworthy Tracks: A New Law, Nothing is Ever Enough, Wedding Dress, Mockingbird, Better than wine . . .
There are 27 million people living in SLAVERY around the world, more than during the Civil War - and YOU don't care enough - nor do I, but I am trying. But we are the problem. What we buy, how we respond, and our greed - thats what is causing it.
If you live in Cincinnati, are you with me on this one: The only thing that really makes Chad Johnson impressive now, is that he got a whole city to turn on him in less than a year - that simply outweighs his amazing talent on the field.
My job is ludicrous. Who schedules a 2 hour meeting starting at 3 on a Friday? I am feeling like one of the 27 million, but thats a whole different kind of slavery.
www.mentalfloss.com One of my favorite blogs
http://blog.beliefnet.com/godspolitics/ Another amazing blog
Any feedback? Hit me up
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Friday, April 25, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
A few thoughts
Some of these I have read somewhere, and some I think are somewhat original . . . either way, they are going through my mind.
Sorry if credit is not always given where credit is due
Oh and this will jump around a lot. . . mostly to prevent you from skimming (and clearly, me needing to organize)
I wonder if pastors are upset that Braveheart has probably inspired more men than their sermons have?
Why do some people find it necessary to have a lame sense of humor? Example:
Me: "Did you get a haircut?"
Them: "Actually I got all of them cut"
Wow, isn't that original and inspiring. Almost as good as, "what's up?" . . . "The ceiling"
If you are using these types of jokes, please stop.
Which lends me to - why has our conversation become so meaningless and mundane? Why do we ask "how you doin'?" when we don't really care? Why is the weather the only thing we can find to talk about with a stranger?
Speaking of, just to clear the air, I have heard the Subway and jewelry jokes a million times. You are not the first, second or one thousandth person to corralate my name to the ex-fat guy who pumps subway sandwiches. I no longer want to acknowledge this trivial little sentiment. Where has our creativity gone?
JESUS HAS RETURNED TO EARTH - in the form of a store called IKEA. Wouldn't it be interesting if people cared one one-hundreth as much about their spirituality and love as they did trendy furniture?
I applaud many people for adopting the whole idea of buying "green." Its nice to see people understanding Creation care, and even if you don't believe in God, its great to see us taking interest in protecting the planet, and saving resources, for future generations. But CONSUMERISM is a funny animal. We have just replaced buying eco-hazardous materials with buying "green" ones. Sorry to say it, but this is not going to stop our problem. All this buying still creates high volumes of production and packaging. This world will get better when we stop buying so much stinkin stuff. Green is cool, but we need to stop spending period. But alas, what are the odds of that happening? After all, I do really want that PS3. . .
Activia yogurt is supposed to regulate your digestive system . . . all it really does is up your flatulation index . . . write that down
David Archuleta (American Idol) might be the biggest sham ever. Ok, so he can sing a little. Can he remember words? No. Does he possess more than one facial expression? No. Does he use his right hand as a Raptor like claw that never gets above his solar plexus? Absolutely.
Would it kill Myspace to offer spellcheck?
Can we keep it up with the responding to my blogs? I dig the feedback, and if you can take time to take 1 million surveys a week that all ask the same questions, you can certainly hit me up here.
Every 4 years in America we get a sickness. . . its represents itself with one major symptom - we believe politics to be the solution to all of our world's problems, the nation's crises, and our own dilemmas. Can I tell you something? Its not. Go ahead, write me off as a silly "christian" but I am going to tell you this anyway. Christians and Atheists alike can say Jesus was probably the most influential person in history - and he lived in opposition to the government. He knew something we fail to grasp. Change begins with You (Me). I am the problem. When we fix ourselves and begin to love - that remedies problems. If Jesus ran today, he could never get the money together to be elected, and I am quite confident he would lose anyway. Am I saying not to vote? Of course not. But the government is not the plan. You are.
Renee Zellweger is neither talented or attractive. She can single-handedly destroy a movie. Case in point: Leatherheads.
Also, a really neat online test that Harvard put together can basically "show" that one is racist: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/index.jsp
You need to check it out above - thanks John - also test biases on sexuality etc.
If you are not listening to Ray Lamontagne, you should be. His music is pure joy.
thats all I have for right now. . .more for later hopefully
Sorry if credit is not always given where credit is due
Oh and this will jump around a lot. . . mostly to prevent you from skimming (and clearly, me needing to organize)
I wonder if pastors are upset that Braveheart has probably inspired more men than their sermons have?
Why do some people find it necessary to have a lame sense of humor? Example:
Me: "Did you get a haircut?"
Them: "Actually I got all of them cut"
Wow, isn't that original and inspiring. Almost as good as, "what's up?" . . . "The ceiling"
If you are using these types of jokes, please stop.
Which lends me to - why has our conversation become so meaningless and mundane? Why do we ask "how you doin'?" when we don't really care? Why is the weather the only thing we can find to talk about with a stranger?
Speaking of, just to clear the air, I have heard the Subway and jewelry jokes a million times. You are not the first, second or one thousandth person to corralate my name to the ex-fat guy who pumps subway sandwiches. I no longer want to acknowledge this trivial little sentiment. Where has our creativity gone?
JESUS HAS RETURNED TO EARTH - in the form of a store called IKEA. Wouldn't it be interesting if people cared one one-hundreth as much about their spirituality and love as they did trendy furniture?
I applaud many people for adopting the whole idea of buying "green." Its nice to see people understanding Creation care, and even if you don't believe in God, its great to see us taking interest in protecting the planet, and saving resources, for future generations. But CONSUMERISM is a funny animal. We have just replaced buying eco-hazardous materials with buying "green" ones. Sorry to say it, but this is not going to stop our problem. All this buying still creates high volumes of production and packaging. This world will get better when we stop buying so much stinkin stuff. Green is cool, but we need to stop spending period. But alas, what are the odds of that happening? After all, I do really want that PS3. . .
Activia yogurt is supposed to regulate your digestive system . . . all it really does is up your flatulation index . . . write that down
David Archuleta (American Idol) might be the biggest sham ever. Ok, so he can sing a little. Can he remember words? No. Does he possess more than one facial expression? No. Does he use his right hand as a Raptor like claw that never gets above his solar plexus? Absolutely.
Would it kill Myspace to offer spellcheck?
Can we keep it up with the responding to my blogs? I dig the feedback, and if you can take time to take 1 million surveys a week that all ask the same questions, you can certainly hit me up here.
Every 4 years in America we get a sickness. . . its represents itself with one major symptom - we believe politics to be the solution to all of our world's problems, the nation's crises, and our own dilemmas. Can I tell you something? Its not. Go ahead, write me off as a silly "christian" but I am going to tell you this anyway. Christians and Atheists alike can say Jesus was probably the most influential person in history - and he lived in opposition to the government. He knew something we fail to grasp. Change begins with You (Me). I am the problem. When we fix ourselves and begin to love - that remedies problems. If Jesus ran today, he could never get the money together to be elected, and I am quite confident he would lose anyway. Am I saying not to vote? Of course not. But the government is not the plan. You are.
Renee Zellweger is neither talented or attractive. She can single-handedly destroy a movie. Case in point: Leatherheads.
Also, a really neat online test that Harvard put together can basically "show" that one is racist: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/index.jsp
You need to check it out above - thanks John - also test biases on sexuality etc.
If you are not listening to Ray Lamontagne, you should be. His music is pure joy.
thats all I have for right now. . .more for later hopefully
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
cannot say it better
so why try?
Jesus came with a job to do, to complete the work to which Israel was called. This work, from the call of Abraham onwards, was to put the human race to rights, and so to put the whole creation to rights. As the gospel writers tell the story, this task was to be accomplished by Jesus bringing about the sovereign healing rule of the creator God. Jesus was addressing the question, "What might it look like if God was running this show?" And answering, "This is what it looks like: just watch." And then, "just listen." In what he did, and in the stories he told, Jesus was announcing and inaugurating what he referred to as "the kingdom of God," the long-awaited hope that the creator God would run the whole show, on earth as in heaven.
But the problem was, and is, that other people are still running the show. Other kingdoms, other power structures, have usurped the rule of the world's wise creator, and the forces of evil are exceedingly powerful and destructive. Jesus' task of inaugurating God's kingdom therefore necessarily led him to meet those forces in direct combat, to draw upon himself their full, dark fury so as to exhaust their power and make a way through to launch the creator's project of new creation despite them. That is one clue at least to the meaning of Jesus' crucifixion, though that event, planting the sign of God's kingdom in the middle of space, time, and matter, remains inexhaustible. But let's be clear. As the gospels tell the story, Jesus' death was the culmination of several different strands: a political process, a religious clash, a spiritual war, all rushing together into one terrible day, one terrible death. And in the light of that, according to Jesus himself and his first followers, everything in the world looks different, is different, must be approached differently. With Jesus' death, the power structures of the world were called to account; with his resurrection, a new life, a new power, was unleashed upon the world. And the question is: How ought this to work out? What should we be doing as a result?
If we are to think Christianly, then we must think according to the pattern of Jesus Christ. And that means that the first place we should look for God in the "War on Terror" would be in the smoldering ruins of the Twin Towers, and then in the ruins of Baghdad and Basra, the shattered homes and lives of the tens of thousands who have through no fault of their own been in the wrong place at the wrong time, as the angry superpower, like a rogue elephant teased by a little dog, has gone on the rampage stamping on everything that moves in the hope of killing the dog by killing everything within reach. The presence of God within the world at a time of war must be calibrated according to what Paul says in Romans 8, that the Spirit groans within God's people as they groan with the pain of the world. The cross of Jesus Christ is the sign and the assurance that the God who made the world still loves the world and, in that love, groans and grieves.
But God wants his rebel world to be ordered, to be under authorities and governments, because otherwise the bullies and the arrogant will always prey on the weak and the helpless; but all authorities and governments face the temptation to become bullies and arrogant themselves. The New Testament writers, like other Jews at the time, saw this writ large in the Roman empire of their day. Those with eyes to see can see it in other subsequent empires, right down to our own day.
It is the task of the followers of Jesus to remind those called to authority that the God who made the world intends to put the world to rights at last, and to call those authorities to acts of justice and mercy which will anticipate, in the present time, the future, coming, final victory of God over all evil, all violence, all arrogant abuse of power. And where the world's rulers genuinely strive for that end, the Christian church declares as the ancient Jews did with the pagan king Cyrus, that God's Spirit is at work—whether the authorities know it or not.
Insofar as the last five years have constituted a wake-up call to sleepy western Christians to think urgently about issues of global justice and governance, we can see God, I believe, in that new stirring, warning us that we have a task and that we haven't been doing it too well. In particular, we must face the deeply ambiguous question of the present power and position of America. I am not anti-American when I criticise some policies of some American leaders, any more than I am anti-British when I criticise some of the policies of my own elected leaders. To suggest otherwise is simply a cheap way of avoiding the real questions. The creator God allows societies to rise and fall, empires to grow and wane. And though things are massively more complicated than this, we could see in the rise of America as the current sole superpower some great possibilities for bringing justice and mercy, genuine freedom and prosperity, to the whole world. Empires always carry that possibility. But empires also face the temptation to use their power for their own prestige and wealth. The challenge now is to provide a critique of American empire without implying that the world should collapse into anarchy, and a fresh sense of direction for that empire without colluding with massive abuses of power.
Where then is God in the war on terror? Grieving and groaning within the pain and horror of his battered but still beautiful world. Stirring in the hearts of human beings the desire for a more credible structure of global justice and mercy. Burning into the imagination of human beings a hope that peace and reconciliation might eventually win out over suspicion and hatred, that the world may be put to rights and that we may anticipate that in the present time. The Christian gospel, revealing the mysterious God we discover in Jesus and the Spirit, offers a framework for discerning where God is at work in the midst of the dangers and opportunities that confront us. All of us in our different callings are summoned to this task; some of you, perhaps, to make it your life's work. Jesus is Lord. The Spirit is powerful. God is doing a new thing. Let's get out there and join in.
Dr. N.T. Wright is a New Testament theologian and the Bishop of Durham in the Church of England. He is the author of many books, including Surprised by Hope, and Evil and the Justice of God. This post is adapted from his lecture "Where is God in ‘The War on Terror?'" and is used with permission by the author.
Jesus came with a job to do, to complete the work to which Israel was called. This work, from the call of Abraham onwards, was to put the human race to rights, and so to put the whole creation to rights. As the gospel writers tell the story, this task was to be accomplished by Jesus bringing about the sovereign healing rule of the creator God. Jesus was addressing the question, "What might it look like if God was running this show?" And answering, "This is what it looks like: just watch." And then, "just listen." In what he did, and in the stories he told, Jesus was announcing and inaugurating what he referred to as "the kingdom of God," the long-awaited hope that the creator God would run the whole show, on earth as in heaven.
But the problem was, and is, that other people are still running the show. Other kingdoms, other power structures, have usurped the rule of the world's wise creator, and the forces of evil are exceedingly powerful and destructive. Jesus' task of inaugurating God's kingdom therefore necessarily led him to meet those forces in direct combat, to draw upon himself their full, dark fury so as to exhaust their power and make a way through to launch the creator's project of new creation despite them. That is one clue at least to the meaning of Jesus' crucifixion, though that event, planting the sign of God's kingdom in the middle of space, time, and matter, remains inexhaustible. But let's be clear. As the gospels tell the story, Jesus' death was the culmination of several different strands: a political process, a religious clash, a spiritual war, all rushing together into one terrible day, one terrible death. And in the light of that, according to Jesus himself and his first followers, everything in the world looks different, is different, must be approached differently. With Jesus' death, the power structures of the world were called to account; with his resurrection, a new life, a new power, was unleashed upon the world. And the question is: How ought this to work out? What should we be doing as a result?
If we are to think Christianly, then we must think according to the pattern of Jesus Christ. And that means that the first place we should look for God in the "War on Terror" would be in the smoldering ruins of the Twin Towers, and then in the ruins of Baghdad and Basra, the shattered homes and lives of the tens of thousands who have through no fault of their own been in the wrong place at the wrong time, as the angry superpower, like a rogue elephant teased by a little dog, has gone on the rampage stamping on everything that moves in the hope of killing the dog by killing everything within reach. The presence of God within the world at a time of war must be calibrated according to what Paul says in Romans 8, that the Spirit groans within God's people as they groan with the pain of the world. The cross of Jesus Christ is the sign and the assurance that the God who made the world still loves the world and, in that love, groans and grieves.
But God wants his rebel world to be ordered, to be under authorities and governments, because otherwise the bullies and the arrogant will always prey on the weak and the helpless; but all authorities and governments face the temptation to become bullies and arrogant themselves. The New Testament writers, like other Jews at the time, saw this writ large in the Roman empire of their day. Those with eyes to see can see it in other subsequent empires, right down to our own day.
It is the task of the followers of Jesus to remind those called to authority that the God who made the world intends to put the world to rights at last, and to call those authorities to acts of justice and mercy which will anticipate, in the present time, the future, coming, final victory of God over all evil, all violence, all arrogant abuse of power. And where the world's rulers genuinely strive for that end, the Christian church declares as the ancient Jews did with the pagan king Cyrus, that God's Spirit is at work—whether the authorities know it or not.
Insofar as the last five years have constituted a wake-up call to sleepy western Christians to think urgently about issues of global justice and governance, we can see God, I believe, in that new stirring, warning us that we have a task and that we haven't been doing it too well. In particular, we must face the deeply ambiguous question of the present power and position of America. I am not anti-American when I criticise some policies of some American leaders, any more than I am anti-British when I criticise some of the policies of my own elected leaders. To suggest otherwise is simply a cheap way of avoiding the real questions. The creator God allows societies to rise and fall, empires to grow and wane. And though things are massively more complicated than this, we could see in the rise of America as the current sole superpower some great possibilities for bringing justice and mercy, genuine freedom and prosperity, to the whole world. Empires always carry that possibility. But empires also face the temptation to use their power for their own prestige and wealth. The challenge now is to provide a critique of American empire without implying that the world should collapse into anarchy, and a fresh sense of direction for that empire without colluding with massive abuses of power.
Where then is God in the war on terror? Grieving and groaning within the pain and horror of his battered but still beautiful world. Stirring in the hearts of human beings the desire for a more credible structure of global justice and mercy. Burning into the imagination of human beings a hope that peace and reconciliation might eventually win out over suspicion and hatred, that the world may be put to rights and that we may anticipate that in the present time. The Christian gospel, revealing the mysterious God we discover in Jesus and the Spirit, offers a framework for discerning where God is at work in the midst of the dangers and opportunities that confront us. All of us in our different callings are summoned to this task; some of you, perhaps, to make it your life's work. Jesus is Lord. The Spirit is powerful. God is doing a new thing. Let's get out there and join in.
Dr. N.T. Wright is a New Testament theologian and the Bishop of Durham in the Church of England. He is the author of many books, including Surprised by Hope, and Evil and the Justice of God. This post is adapted from his lecture "Where is God in ‘The War on Terror?'" and is used with permission by the author.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
my dawg, Shane
Five years ago, I was in Iraq. It was as a member of the Iraq Peace Team, living in the middle of the "shock-and-awe" bombing of Baghdad -- some of the scariest days of my life. As Easter approached, we walked through the Lenten season with brothers and sisters in Iraq. One night I had a terrible dream, and I wrote about it in my journal. As I re-read it this season I found it as timely an image as five years back, and I decided not to doctor it up or try to polish it – but just to include the recollection of that dream as it is in my journal.
Sometimes it is hard to sleep -- so many thoughts. A bomber flew over. I looked up and could see, "U.S. Air Force" on it. I tried to think only of Jesus – the beautiful Lover of Nazareth. The other night I dreamed of Jesus. At first I could only see his back, somehow I knew it was him. His large, strong back was shirtless (and not as fair-skinned as I had once thought!). He was stooped over on all fours as if he were cradling something on the ground. I wondered what it was, so I tried to get a better glance.
A little head popped out from beneath his arm, giggling hysterically. Then another squirmed out from the other side. And another. How many were there?! Still kneeling on all fours with his arms spread wide, Jesus frantically tried to keep them gathered beneath him, as if he knew danger was looming. There were hundreds of little faces [Author's note: Jesus was gigantic, not to scale. I know it's weird; it's a dream.] So there was this huge Jesus, sprawled out above all the children. He looked like a kid frantically trying to keep a litter of young puppies from scattering.
And then there was a loud crack. Out of nowhere a whip struck Jesus on his back. He yelled in pain. Then again – the skin ripped open. And again. The children began to cry. A few young stragglers ducked safely under Jesus' chest with the others. As the whip continued to strike him, rocks began to fall from the sky like hailstones – pounding on his back and bouncing off. The children huddled beneath him, sobbing. His body convulsed in agony, but he never loosened his grip on the little ones below. As the rocks kept falling, something else started to drop from the sky. These objects looked similar to the rocks, but when they hit his back they did not bounce off like the rocks had. They sunk into his skin ... and then they exploded, tearing huge holes into his back, one after another. His bones became exposed, and soon his body stopped moving. Blood poured off his sides and rained down on the children.
STOP! STOP! In the name of God, stop. I could not wake up. The holes continued to tear into his flesh until the body barely resembled anything human. Then, at last, there was silence. Stillness. Slowly, the children began to stir. They crept timidly from beneath the rubble, covered with blood ... but alive. And I awoke ... sweating, panting, but alive.
After I had that dream, I remember going to a worship service, one of the most powerful services I've ever attended. There were thousands of Christians from all over the Middle East gathered just before Easter. We sang "Amazing Grace" in Arabic. We said the Lord's Prayer together in all kinds of different tongues. Then the bishops read a statement addressed to Muslims, which read: "We believe that you are created in the image of God and we love you." It was pregnant with hope. Afterward I confessed to one of the bishops that I was surprised to see so many Christians in Iraq. He looked at me blankly and said gently, "Yes, my friend. This is where Christianity began. You did not invent it in America. You have only domesticated it. Go back and tell the church in America that we are praying for them … to be the body of Christ, to embody the gospel of Jesus." His words still echo in my soul.
May we remember this Easter season -- that it may be Friday, but Sunday is coming. Death may be all around us, but in the end resurrection triumphs. Another little one clinging to Jesus.
Shane Claiborne is the author of Jesus for President, a Red Letter Christian, and a founding partner of The Simple Way community, a radical faith community that lives among and serves the homeless in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.
Sometimes it is hard to sleep -- so many thoughts. A bomber flew over. I looked up and could see, "U.S. Air Force" on it. I tried to think only of Jesus – the beautiful Lover of Nazareth. The other night I dreamed of Jesus. At first I could only see his back, somehow I knew it was him. His large, strong back was shirtless (and not as fair-skinned as I had once thought!). He was stooped over on all fours as if he were cradling something on the ground. I wondered what it was, so I tried to get a better glance.
A little head popped out from beneath his arm, giggling hysterically. Then another squirmed out from the other side. And another. How many were there?! Still kneeling on all fours with his arms spread wide, Jesus frantically tried to keep them gathered beneath him, as if he knew danger was looming. There were hundreds of little faces [Author's note: Jesus was gigantic, not to scale. I know it's weird; it's a dream.] So there was this huge Jesus, sprawled out above all the children. He looked like a kid frantically trying to keep a litter of young puppies from scattering.
And then there was a loud crack. Out of nowhere a whip struck Jesus on his back. He yelled in pain. Then again – the skin ripped open. And again. The children began to cry. A few young stragglers ducked safely under Jesus' chest with the others. As the whip continued to strike him, rocks began to fall from the sky like hailstones – pounding on his back and bouncing off. The children huddled beneath him, sobbing. His body convulsed in agony, but he never loosened his grip on the little ones below. As the rocks kept falling, something else started to drop from the sky. These objects looked similar to the rocks, but when they hit his back they did not bounce off like the rocks had. They sunk into his skin ... and then they exploded, tearing huge holes into his back, one after another. His bones became exposed, and soon his body stopped moving. Blood poured off his sides and rained down on the children.
STOP! STOP! In the name of God, stop. I could not wake up. The holes continued to tear into his flesh until the body barely resembled anything human. Then, at last, there was silence. Stillness. Slowly, the children began to stir. They crept timidly from beneath the rubble, covered with blood ... but alive. And I awoke ... sweating, panting, but alive.
After I had that dream, I remember going to a worship service, one of the most powerful services I've ever attended. There were thousands of Christians from all over the Middle East gathered just before Easter. We sang "Amazing Grace" in Arabic. We said the Lord's Prayer together in all kinds of different tongues. Then the bishops read a statement addressed to Muslims, which read: "We believe that you are created in the image of God and we love you." It was pregnant with hope. Afterward I confessed to one of the bishops that I was surprised to see so many Christians in Iraq. He looked at me blankly and said gently, "Yes, my friend. This is where Christianity began. You did not invent it in America. You have only domesticated it. Go back and tell the church in America that we are praying for them … to be the body of Christ, to embody the gospel of Jesus." His words still echo in my soul.
May we remember this Easter season -- that it may be Friday, but Sunday is coming. Death may be all around us, but in the end resurrection triumphs. Another little one clinging to Jesus.
Shane Claiborne is the author of Jesus for President, a Red Letter Christian, and a founding partner of The Simple Way community, a radical faith community that lives among and serves the homeless in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Barack Obama
The day I knew would come at last has come at last
I predicted about a year ago that it would happen, and alas, sadly, it has. Someone I work with said, and with a straight face, that he thought Barack Obama was the Anti-Christ. Thats right. . . you heard me. . . good old Satan in the flesh - the one from all those Timothy Lahaye books (well to be fair, you could say it was in the Bible first, although Lahaye has conveniently layed out all that Jewish Apocolyptic Literature for you (sigh))
I bring this up not to boast about my prophetic prowess, rather to point out how sadly predictable and scary some "christians" can be.
Think about this, someone is calling Obama=Satan, and is seriously meaning it. That then implies that everyone who votes for him is assumingly one of the lost who will spend an eternity in hell.
I could discuss this theologically for hours, and I have more questions than answers, but I don't think I am going overboard by saying this is somewhat ludicrous and maybe a tad extreme.
Here are my questions:
Is this a fear of religion, or race, or just democrats?
Will more right wing christians adapt this attitude?
What are those of us that see christianity and politics as being a lot more complicated to do?
If he is the anti-christ, can I vote for him and still like God better?
What is more important, the leader of our country or the leader of our heart?
I predicted about a year ago that it would happen, and alas, sadly, it has. Someone I work with said, and with a straight face, that he thought Barack Obama was the Anti-Christ. Thats right. . . you heard me. . . good old Satan in the flesh - the one from all those Timothy Lahaye books (well to be fair, you could say it was in the Bible first, although Lahaye has conveniently layed out all that Jewish Apocolyptic Literature for you (sigh))
I bring this up not to boast about my prophetic prowess, rather to point out how sadly predictable and scary some "christians" can be.
Think about this, someone is calling Obama=Satan, and is seriously meaning it. That then implies that everyone who votes for him is assumingly one of the lost who will spend an eternity in hell.
I could discuss this theologically for hours, and I have more questions than answers, but I don't think I am going overboard by saying this is somewhat ludicrous and maybe a tad extreme.
Here are my questions:
Is this a fear of religion, or race, or just democrats?
Will more right wing christians adapt this attitude?
What are those of us that see christianity and politics as being a lot more complicated to do?
If he is the anti-christ, can I vote for him and still like God better?
What is more important, the leader of our country or the leader of our heart?
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
I am against picketing, I am just not sure how to show it
Its already time to be thinking about this next election. I would urge you really get involved in whats going on. True, Jesus came to establish his own kingdom, but we currently live in a world that is ruled by a government. It is our call to be a part of bringing God's kingdom into this world. Government, love it or hate it, affects our world. We need to think about these issues. Read, watch, learn. Do not just vote Republican because you think thats what "christians" do. Do not just vote Democrat because the Republicans are evil. Do not vote what will only benefit you, even if it means the oppression of millions. A lot of politicians are crooked, on both sides. Who has the greatest moral character? Who will do whats best for human rights and whats best for America? If these are different, how do we balance them? Should I vote for something that may not be great for me, but better for most people? I do not know, but I am trying to find out.
I recommend reading God's Poitics by Jim Wallis. You will probably love it or hate it, say its biased or fair, but either way, it makes a few good points.
And check out www.dehp.net/candidate It helps you determine which candidate best fits your beliefs. Do not just give gut reactions to the questions, think about the issues, read about the issues and ask, how does this relate to God's kingdom, if at all?
Interestingly enough, my two highest scoring candidates were split, one a republican and one a democrat. Interesting.
Just spitballin' here but how can someone be pro-life and pro-war? or pro-death penalty?
How can someone be pro-union and wear clothes made by sweatshop labor?
How can someone be anti-trade with eastern countries, anti-alasken drilling, yet drive a car that gets 2 miles to the gallon and oppose alternative energies?
How can I have fit into all of these categories at one stage of my life?
How can you even begin to simplify these issues into one stupid question?
I recommend reading God's Poitics by Jim Wallis. You will probably love it or hate it, say its biased or fair, but either way, it makes a few good points.
And check out www.dehp.net/candidate It helps you determine which candidate best fits your beliefs. Do not just give gut reactions to the questions, think about the issues, read about the issues and ask, how does this relate to God's kingdom, if at all?
Interestingly enough, my two highest scoring candidates were split, one a republican and one a democrat. Interesting.
Just spitballin' here but how can someone be pro-life and pro-war? or pro-death penalty?
How can someone be pro-union and wear clothes made by sweatshop labor?
How can someone be anti-trade with eastern countries, anti-alasken drilling, yet drive a car that gets 2 miles to the gallon and oppose alternative energies?
How can I have fit into all of these categories at one stage of my life?
How can you even begin to simplify these issues into one stupid question?
Friday, December 14, 2007
I think, therefore I’m not
People often ask me questions about the Emerging Church. What makes this interesting is, I have never claimed to be a member and I guess the great irony is, if you claim to be, your not anyway, and if you say your not, you may be . . .its all rather confusing.
I do not have enough stuff figured out to be accepted by anyone, but either way, here is a good synopsis. . .
What is the Emerging Movement protesting? Let me count the ways.
That's not an attempt to be funny: there is a list of at least ten items the Emerging Movement is protesting, and most would agree that it has its finger on some hot buttons. And let it be said that its primary focus in protestation is the evangelical movement and, sometimes but not always, the mega-churches that so clearly define and set the tone for the evangelical movement.
First, it protests too much tom-fakery in traditional churches. This generation of Christians is not as capable or interested in putting up fronts when it comes to "church" or when it gathers. Instead, it prefers a higher level of honesty. (Now the older generation would contend that hanging out dirty laundry is not advisable, while this generation is not so sanguine about the desire to protect.) Let me give one example: most evangelical Christians don't pray. (Stats show this.) Neither do they read their Bibles as often as they claim. (Stats also show this.) The Emerging Movement doesn't want this hidden in non-confession but wants it out in the open — and then it might even ask if reading the Bible is making a difference or if praying "works." It likes to ask these sorts of questions.
Second, it denounces the divisions in the Church. Why there needs to be so many kinds of Baptists or free church types or so many others kinds of churches is becoming more and more incomprehensible to the emerging generation. If the gospel is what it is supposed to be, if Jesus prayed for us to be "at one," and if we are supposed to be able to do things together, why not worship together? And, it denounces such divisions as much by raiding the entire Church tradition as anything else: increasingly the emerging generation finds things it likes in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions — things that were "no no"s to a previous generation.
Third, it sees cock-sure certainty as a cancer. I will touch on this origins for this tomorrow in my post on postmodernity, but the emerging generation does not find certaintist expressions as amenable as less certaintist expressions — even when the same thing can be said in different ways. Certainty denies the frailty of humans, the limitations of our own minds, the need for conversation and relationship and communal growth, and it sets itself up for collapse the minute a more complete grasp of knowledge is found.
Fourth, it refuses to separate action from articulation. If the older evangelical generation found doctrinal statements the chief way of setting up boundaries, the Emerging Movement wants to see one's articulation expressed by one's action. "By their fruits, ye shall know them…" (I fell into some KJV language, but the point is the same.)
Fifth, it wants individualism absorbed into incorporation: that is, the Emerging Movement encourages personal redemption but solo-Christianity is not what Jesus wants. He wants to form communities of faith not individual Christians. (By the way, this is not a false dichotomy; it is ancient form of hierarchy.) The Emerging Movement will ask as much about how a community's spiritual formation comes about as how individuals are being formed. (So my current poll will soon find an emerging complement.)
Sixth, the Emerging Movement's mindset is against marketing the gospel. It is the simplistic packaging of the gospel, so it is sometimes said, that causes so many problems in the Church today, so the gospel needs to be presented and performed in such a way that its rugged realities are clear in the summons to join in the work of God in our world today.
Seventh, the Emerging Movement despises the idea that Church is what takes place on Sunday Morning, between 11 and noon. Sunday morning, if it is at that time or another time, is when the Church gathers to worship and share life, but the work of the Church is what occurs during the week as the local community of faith performs the gospel. Frankly, for many, stomach flu breaks out when they think of the ornateness and the elaborateness and the expense of Sunday morning services.
Eighth, the Emerging Movement rejects the hierarchy and pyramid structure of many churches. Authority is in God — Father, Son, Spirit — and not in the pastor or the elders or the board of deacons. Scripture, it must be seen, is an expression of God's authority and not an independent authority. The very notion that one needs pastoral approval for one's calling or one's promptings or what one is permitted to do many find unconscionably usurping of God's authority.
Ninth, the social gospel cannot be separated from the spiritual gospel. The Emerging Movement combines the Liberal social gospel with the Evangelical spiritual gospel and comes up with something that is neither Liberal nor Evangelical. To use my words (and you can trace this in my Emerging Movement Category in the sidebar), it wants a "purple gospel." It is not so much a denial of either but a combination of both. (There's a big difference in those two ideas.)
Tenth, the Emerging Movement wants to be Worldly. Not in the Johannine sense or in the Pauline sense, but in the Kingdom sense: it knows that God is working to restore the entire creation into an expression of his glory and so it summons everyone to participate in the grant work of God to restore and redeem. It embraces culture and state and politics and business and it protests old-fashioned Christian separationism and enclave Christian circles. The walls between Church and World, so it is suggesting, need to be impermeable and not permeable, they need to be knocked down so the passage from one to the other is an imperceptible as the passing of Jesus from one person to another.
I do not have enough stuff figured out to be accepted by anyone, but either way, here is a good synopsis. . .
What is the Emerging Movement protesting? Let me count the ways.
That's not an attempt to be funny: there is a list of at least ten items the Emerging Movement is protesting, and most would agree that it has its finger on some hot buttons. And let it be said that its primary focus in protestation is the evangelical movement and, sometimes but not always, the mega-churches that so clearly define and set the tone for the evangelical movement.
First, it protests too much tom-fakery in traditional churches. This generation of Christians is not as capable or interested in putting up fronts when it comes to "church" or when it gathers. Instead, it prefers a higher level of honesty. (Now the older generation would contend that hanging out dirty laundry is not advisable, while this generation is not so sanguine about the desire to protect.) Let me give one example: most evangelical Christians don't pray. (Stats show this.) Neither do they read their Bibles as often as they claim. (Stats also show this.) The Emerging Movement doesn't want this hidden in non-confession but wants it out in the open — and then it might even ask if reading the Bible is making a difference or if praying "works." It likes to ask these sorts of questions.
Second, it denounces the divisions in the Church. Why there needs to be so many kinds of Baptists or free church types or so many others kinds of churches is becoming more and more incomprehensible to the emerging generation. If the gospel is what it is supposed to be, if Jesus prayed for us to be "at one," and if we are supposed to be able to do things together, why not worship together? And, it denounces such divisions as much by raiding the entire Church tradition as anything else: increasingly the emerging generation finds things it likes in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions — things that were "no no"s to a previous generation.
Third, it sees cock-sure certainty as a cancer. I will touch on this origins for this tomorrow in my post on postmodernity, but the emerging generation does not find certaintist expressions as amenable as less certaintist expressions — even when the same thing can be said in different ways. Certainty denies the frailty of humans, the limitations of our own minds, the need for conversation and relationship and communal growth, and it sets itself up for collapse the minute a more complete grasp of knowledge is found.
Fourth, it refuses to separate action from articulation. If the older evangelical generation found doctrinal statements the chief way of setting up boundaries, the Emerging Movement wants to see one's articulation expressed by one's action. "By their fruits, ye shall know them…" (I fell into some KJV language, but the point is the same.)
Fifth, it wants individualism absorbed into incorporation: that is, the Emerging Movement encourages personal redemption but solo-Christianity is not what Jesus wants. He wants to form communities of faith not individual Christians. (By the way, this is not a false dichotomy; it is ancient form of hierarchy.) The Emerging Movement will ask as much about how a community's spiritual formation comes about as how individuals are being formed. (So my current poll will soon find an emerging complement.)
Sixth, the Emerging Movement's mindset is against marketing the gospel. It is the simplistic packaging of the gospel, so it is sometimes said, that causes so many problems in the Church today, so the gospel needs to be presented and performed in such a way that its rugged realities are clear in the summons to join in the work of God in our world today.
Seventh, the Emerging Movement despises the idea that Church is what takes place on Sunday Morning, between 11 and noon. Sunday morning, if it is at that time or another time, is when the Church gathers to worship and share life, but the work of the Church is what occurs during the week as the local community of faith performs the gospel. Frankly, for many, stomach flu breaks out when they think of the ornateness and the elaborateness and the expense of Sunday morning services.
Eighth, the Emerging Movement rejects the hierarchy and pyramid structure of many churches. Authority is in God — Father, Son, Spirit — and not in the pastor or the elders or the board of deacons. Scripture, it must be seen, is an expression of God's authority and not an independent authority. The very notion that one needs pastoral approval for one's calling or one's promptings or what one is permitted to do many find unconscionably usurping of God's authority.
Ninth, the social gospel cannot be separated from the spiritual gospel. The Emerging Movement combines the Liberal social gospel with the Evangelical spiritual gospel and comes up with something that is neither Liberal nor Evangelical. To use my words (and you can trace this in my Emerging Movement Category in the sidebar), it wants a "purple gospel." It is not so much a denial of either but a combination of both. (There's a big difference in those two ideas.)
Tenth, the Emerging Movement wants to be Worldly. Not in the Johannine sense or in the Pauline sense, but in the Kingdom sense: it knows that God is working to restore the entire creation into an expression of his glory and so it summons everyone to participate in the grant work of God to restore and redeem. It embraces culture and state and politics and business and it protests old-fashioned Christian separationism and enclave Christian circles. The walls between Church and World, so it is suggesting, need to be impermeable and not permeable, they need to be knocked down so the passage from one to the other is an imperceptible as the passing of Jesus from one person to another.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
1776
I was watching the Democratic Presidential Debate on TV the other day (I DVRed both the Republican and Democratic debates hoping to ascertain some idea of what's going on), and a questions was asked that still has me stunned. Now let me preface this by saying, several years ago I would have considered myself a hard core Republican, but that was mostly because the "Church" taught me that's what Christians were – Oh how foolhardy – and we wonder why no one wants to be a Christian; We NEVER seem to think for ourselves. Anyways, I have more recently decided that I am going to try to vote for the person who I think will do the best for the most people and not just for me. (Unlike say Christians who vote their agenda, or to be fair, people who only vote pro-union to increase their own wage or . . . ) See, too often we have made politics about what I can get out of it as supposed to the "what's best" approach. But I digress.
The question was "Is human rights more important than national security?" Let me preface briefly by saying the question arose from discussions of who to handle the war and other issues of diplomacy and trades in other countries. Let that questions sink in for a minute. What is really being asked here? We are talking about human rights measured against National Security. What sorts of implications do you get from this? Maybe my interpretation is a little extreme, but are we actually saying is it ok to disregard the rights of a human (whether they be guilty or innocent (and how do we define guilty) in the eyes of America) in favor of protecting our nation (or in other words, whats ours, or rather, what we think we have earned?) In other words, is it cool if we screw everyone else to favor and protect ourselves?
Have we really earned anything? Or is everything truly a gift from God? How much of your life have you acquired and how much of it is birthright? Does the American lifestyle make you better, or just more socially unaware? Should I be thankful to America because it affords me the freedom to question it? Is our world the world?
Here is what was scary. Every candidate said national security was more important, but then again, whether I say it or not, I think my lifestyle tells people I feel the same way. For that I repent, and am sorry. But how do I change? As a follower of Jesus, I cannot theoretically ever favor my luxuries over basic human rights . . . but I do. And its awful.
The question was "Is human rights more important than national security?" Let me preface briefly by saying the question arose from discussions of who to handle the war and other issues of diplomacy and trades in other countries. Let that questions sink in for a minute. What is really being asked here? We are talking about human rights measured against National Security. What sorts of implications do you get from this? Maybe my interpretation is a little extreme, but are we actually saying is it ok to disregard the rights of a human (whether they be guilty or innocent (and how do we define guilty) in the eyes of America) in favor of protecting our nation (or in other words, whats ours, or rather, what we think we have earned?) In other words, is it cool if we screw everyone else to favor and protect ourselves?
Have we really earned anything? Or is everything truly a gift from God? How much of your life have you acquired and how much of it is birthright? Does the American lifestyle make you better, or just more socially unaware? Should I be thankful to America because it affords me the freedom to question it? Is our world the world?
Here is what was scary. Every candidate said national security was more important, but then again, whether I say it or not, I think my lifestyle tells people I feel the same way. For that I repent, and am sorry. But how do I change? As a follower of Jesus, I cannot theoretically ever favor my luxuries over basic human rights . . . but I do. And its awful.
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