Evangelical
Thinking about... Stuff
10/30/07 10:11 Categories: Church
I think I’m interested in Christian Ethics more than theology because of its practical nature. I’m a bit scared of intellectualism. That is a bit misleading. I am a deep intellectualist who has a hard time with faith often because my mind cannot understand all that ’spiritual stuff’. Ethics is a way that I can get at both - well maybe not exactly the ’spiritual stuff’, but definitely the ‘loving your neighbor’ stuff.
So, Emily and I were at church on sunday. Well, we were at our not-church church, which is to say it is some sort of house church which is still seeking to define itself. But during that time a couple things hit me: 1. Ethics is a possible bridge between the ivory tower and life! More importantly, 2. I think I approach God more intellectually than I should. I was watching Chris, who is a dad. His son was sleeping on his chest and Chris was enjoying the worship. His son knew that he was so safe, so secure, so loved. Somehow I think I’ve lost that with God. During worship I thought about God, about how I don’t go lie on his chest and enjoy his love and mercy. I almost don’t even know how to anymore. Maybe that is painting the picture a bit darker than it needs to be. The point is, God wants to be Chris to us. He wants us to come, let our guard down, and just snuggle up. To be cared for. That is one of the aspects of God. He also wants us to get on our feet and walk, but that does not need to be all the time. There are definitely times for rest, for comfort.
I once heard an analogy about God. A little boy wanted to cook his mom breakfast for mother’s day, so he tried his hand at pancakes. The pancakes didn’t really turn out and he completely trashed the kitchen. He was getting more and more frustrated throughout the whole process. Eventually his mom came into the kitchen, but instead of freaking out at the mess, she saw her son’s frustration and effort - she understood what he was trying to do. She gave him a big hug and helped him finish the pancakes and clean the kitchen. In a similar sort of way God is like that mom, helping to fix and clean up our mistakes. But I was also told that God wants us to grow up. To reach maturity - just as that mother wants the son to learn from his mistakes and become proficient at making pancakes and cleaning up the kitchen on his own. Right now I’m not so sure about that conclusion. It seems that the closer relationship is better in the midst of the brokenness. Yet, what really happens is that as the boy grows older, the relationship can stay just as close, but it takes on different characteristics. They don’t bond over messes, they bond over conversation, going for walks together, and all the new and different ways of relating.
I have associated that growing up with intellectualizing my faith. That is how we grow up to relate with God. But is that true? As in most cases, I think Jesus gives us a great example. If we are to take the Biblical story seriously, then he engaged with the Father by going about the Father’s work, which meant caring for the poor, healing the sick, fasting, praying, and there were some times for intellectual sparring. However, the point is that there was a deeper spiritual component - and by spiritual I mean supernatural, otherworldly, and mystifying - to his relationship to the Father. In essence, this spirituality is not only intellectually, or only concerned with social justice, or only concerned with living in a right way. It seems deeper, more fully, seeking peace and reconciliation between ourselves and God, enabling us to rest in the Father, however that looks like.
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Selling Jesus
07/30/07 17:49 Categories: Church
So, when did we come up with the idea that we can evangelize without relationships? Was it from the strategies of advertising agencies? If you send out enough information, you will get some percentage of response. Then, we don’t have to worry about maintaining relationships: we just have to focus on getting as much information ‘out there’ and hoping that it sinks in some-where. Corporate Christianity, here I come.
Knowing God
Having been raised in the solid culture of evanglicalism, I have been often taught that Christianity is not a ‘religion’ but a ‘relationship’ - meaning that it is not a set of rules to be followed, but about ‘knowing’ God through Jesus. I have always had a hard time with such understandings of what it is to be in a ‘relationship’ with God. God is... well, God. As Barth notes, he is HOLY, meaning different, other, not-likes-us! And yet he comes to become as like as as possible - even taking on flesh.
This is all well and good. In fact, it is very good, but I am still very fuzzy on the practical working out of what a ‘relationship with God’ means. Let me illustrate my point. I have a good friend and wife, Emily, and my relationship with her is very easily defined: I talk to her, she talks to me. When either of us is troubled we can see it on each other’s faces and in our actions. We can comfort each other with a hug (or chocolate). We can do fun things together, like riding our bikes, watching Lost, going to the beach (ok, I’ll throw in shopping for her sake...). In essence, our relationship is extremely tangible. But I don’t think that such a tangible relationship is what we mean with God.
I suppose I have some friends who would disagree with me - there relationships with God are very tangible via a very active role that they see God taking in their lives. Now, I’m not saying that they are wrong, I have a very hard time with the sort of activity that they claim God is behind. One of the most common activities that God seems to bring about is putting them in a certain place, surrounded by people who love, care and bless them (and often where they are in positions to love, care and bless others). The bottom line is that I have a hard time knowing/understanding that such was God’s work - that because of some special relationship with Him these things occured, which would not have occured had not this relationship with God been a reality in these Christian’s lives. For if these things would have happened, these people known, without a relationship with God, then how is a relationship with God made in manifest in the glorious blessings of relationships?
This is only one example, though there are many other possibilties. So, the question remains: what is it to have a relationship with God?
This is all well and good. In fact, it is very good, but I am still very fuzzy on the practical working out of what a ‘relationship with God’ means. Let me illustrate my point. I have a good friend and wife, Emily, and my relationship with her is very easily defined: I talk to her, she talks to me. When either of us is troubled we can see it on each other’s faces and in our actions. We can comfort each other with a hug (or chocolate). We can do fun things together, like riding our bikes, watching Lost, going to the beach (ok, I’ll throw in shopping for her sake...). In essence, our relationship is extremely tangible. But I don’t think that such a tangible relationship is what we mean with God.
I suppose I have some friends who would disagree with me - there relationships with God are very tangible via a very active role that they see God taking in their lives. Now, I’m not saying that they are wrong, I have a very hard time with the sort of activity that they claim God is behind. One of the most common activities that God seems to bring about is putting them in a certain place, surrounded by people who love, care and bless them (and often where they are in positions to love, care and bless others). The bottom line is that I have a hard time knowing/understanding that such was God’s work - that because of some special relationship with Him these things occured, which would not have occured had not this relationship with God been a reality in these Christian’s lives. For if these things would have happened, these people known, without a relationship with God, then how is a relationship with God made in manifest in the glorious blessings of relationships?
This is only one example, though there are many other possibilties. So, the question remains: what is it to have a relationship with God?