That is the question that a person must answer if they believe God knows the future exhaustively and definitively. If that is the case, then before the world was ever created, God decided that humans would sin. He decided that some would continue to sin daily, and that some would live such reprehensible lives that even their best deeds would make church-goers blush. He decided that they would go to eternal torment never having tasted the goodness of the holy God.
So, if God is love, as the epistle from John says, then surely God would feel great pain at the suffering of his creation. But if that is the way God designed and planned it, then God must like pain. Or God simply does not experience pain and regret. If that is the case, then there are parts of the scripture that seem to be less than honest. Places that say that God is sorrowful of the choices people make, places that seem to indicate that God is sad over the destruction of the world through the flood.
So, it comes back to the question, Divine Masochist or simply Impassive? I choose neither. The concept of God being impassive is an import from Greek philosophy and is not mentioned in my bible. The idea that God is a masochist is pretty much stupid and incredibly foreign to the scriptures, so there has to be some third option.
I believe that inherent in a loving relationship is the risk of hurt. Anytime a person opens himself up to love another, he risks the fact that the other might break his heart. If God ordained everything, then he rendered the fact that he had heartbreak on the way certain. But if God left the future open, then he left heartbreak as only a possibility. I just can't believe that God enjoys suffering. I love only a shadow compared to his love, and suffering is incredibly... painful. And the God I find in the bible relates, loves and expresses hurt and joy. I believe he left open the possiblity he could be hurt because that was the only way to have a true loving relationship. This seems to me the closest to the biblical model of the God presented there.
8.01.2009
5.28.2009
More postmodern drivel...
Holiness is, in my opinion anyway, one of the most misunderstood terms in scripture. Technically speaking, I believe it simply means "set apart." But it has meant so much more through time.
Sometimes it is a term reserved for God alone. In actuality, God is the only one that deserves to be called holy. Sometimes it is something that we are called to be and to do. Sometimes it is simply the refrain of a song sung into eternity in youth groups across the country.
Whatever we think of it as, I believe that with Jesus and his message the meaning of holiness we were meant to understand changed. Before a person could be considered "holy" if they prescribed to a set of rules, beginning with circumcision (sorry ladies you are already out...) and following all the steps that it takes to be a good Jew. Essentially, every step along the way eliminated part of the population, so that in the end, only the very few were left. I believe there was a purpose for this back in the day, it showed everyone the truly impossible standards God had. Or rather, the impossible standards God himself lived and lives by.
But I don't think that was ever intended to be the long term fix. It was much like the way you treat roommates. If you are smart, when you get a new roommate, you set a list of elaborate rules. So and so mows the yard on such and such weeks, so and so does this, do the dishes after you use them, only eat food you purchase or explicitly ask for, etc. Then, after having lived with a roommate for a long enough time, the rules can become unspoken. This is a way to avoid conflict and to be good neighbors and friends. God set up "roommate rules" for those of us sharing the earth. We were and are not so good at following them.
In Christ, God changed the rules. No longer was holiness about following a list of rules, it was about clinging to a specific person. No longer was it about following the speed limit, it was about not scaring your passenger, if you will. Instead of "do not commit adultery" in Christ it becomes "love Christ in such a way that you love all women in such a way that you want to honor them." Instead of "do not kill" it became "do not disrespect the image of God such that you prematurely end its life."
This will, obviously, get me slammed as a postmodern, pluralist, liberal etc etc. But none of that makes it wrong. God in Christ does not lessen the difficulty of holiness, he makes it relational. I think, the entire holiness code was the effort of God to communicate to humanity his expectation for relational holiness. It didn't take. Not because God failed, but because we failed. So God explained it in a different way. God showed in Christ what true holiness is and was. Don't work on Sabbath? Work on Sabbath if it saves life. Don't touch unclean things? God is the one who determines what is clean.
So, instead of continually whittling down who can be holy, it opens it up completely to everyone. All it takes is a relationship with the truly holy. Instead of being "set apart" it is now "set apart to Christ." Instead of being about rules, holiness now becomes about a relationship.
Just some thoughts. I could be incredibly wrong though.
Sometimes it is a term reserved for God alone. In actuality, God is the only one that deserves to be called holy. Sometimes it is something that we are called to be and to do. Sometimes it is simply the refrain of a song sung into eternity in youth groups across the country.
Whatever we think of it as, I believe that with Jesus and his message the meaning of holiness we were meant to understand changed. Before a person could be considered "holy" if they prescribed to a set of rules, beginning with circumcision (sorry ladies you are already out...) and following all the steps that it takes to be a good Jew. Essentially, every step along the way eliminated part of the population, so that in the end, only the very few were left. I believe there was a purpose for this back in the day, it showed everyone the truly impossible standards God had. Or rather, the impossible standards God himself lived and lives by.
But I don't think that was ever intended to be the long term fix. It was much like the way you treat roommates. If you are smart, when you get a new roommate, you set a list of elaborate rules. So and so mows the yard on such and such weeks, so and so does this, do the dishes after you use them, only eat food you purchase or explicitly ask for, etc. Then, after having lived with a roommate for a long enough time, the rules can become unspoken. This is a way to avoid conflict and to be good neighbors and friends. God set up "roommate rules" for those of us sharing the earth. We were and are not so good at following them.
In Christ, God changed the rules. No longer was holiness about following a list of rules, it was about clinging to a specific person. No longer was it about following the speed limit, it was about not scaring your passenger, if you will. Instead of "do not commit adultery" in Christ it becomes "love Christ in such a way that you love all women in such a way that you want to honor them." Instead of "do not kill" it became "do not disrespect the image of God such that you prematurely end its life."
This will, obviously, get me slammed as a postmodern, pluralist, liberal etc etc. But none of that makes it wrong. God in Christ does not lessen the difficulty of holiness, he makes it relational. I think, the entire holiness code was the effort of God to communicate to humanity his expectation for relational holiness. It didn't take. Not because God failed, but because we failed. So God explained it in a different way. God showed in Christ what true holiness is and was. Don't work on Sabbath? Work on Sabbath if it saves life. Don't touch unclean things? God is the one who determines what is clean.
So, instead of continually whittling down who can be holy, it opens it up completely to everyone. All it takes is a relationship with the truly holy. Instead of being "set apart" it is now "set apart to Christ." Instead of being about rules, holiness now becomes about a relationship.
Just some thoughts. I could be incredibly wrong though.
5.14.2009
Irritations
I was tagged by my sweet wife, but instead of repeating what she did, I will continue in my obstinate ways and not do the "8 things." I will instead take her tag as a cue to blog again today.
So without further adieu, I will list things that irritate me, for good reason or not.
1. Blue tooth headsets
2. In the song "Nothing Better" by the Postal Service, he says he will guard the door like the goalie "tending the net in the third quarter, of a tied game rivalry." But in hockey they are called "periods" because there are only three and quarters, by definition, have four. Further, in sports with quarters, goalies don't tend nets, as far as I know. So, like many musicians, I will guess he doesn't know sports or couldn't figure how to fit anything else there. Don't know why, but it really bugs me. Otherwise fantastic song.
3. The decal of Calvin peeing on stuff.
4. Bill O'Reilly
5. The long winded speeches in classic literature.
6. The way speakers buzz or whatever when a phone goes off nearby.
7. Watered down soda.
8. People who go around "hall-monitoring" people all the time.
9. Quizzes on facebook.
10. The way when I put my ipod on shuffle, it always plays some crap I never want to listen to.
11. House hunting.
11b. Moving
12. Unnecessary adjectives.
13. Always waking up thirsty.
14. A stinky fridge.
15. When my eyelashes stick together.
16. Talking on the phone. Especially when my phone sucks and craps out every ten minutes.
17. Comcast.
18. RC Sproul and John Piper.
19. Odd numbers.
20. Asymmetry.
So without further adieu, I will list things that irritate me, for good reason or not.
1. Blue tooth headsets
2. In the song "Nothing Better" by the Postal Service, he says he will guard the door like the goalie "tending the net in the third quarter, of a tied game rivalry." But in hockey they are called "periods" because there are only three and quarters, by definition, have four. Further, in sports with quarters, goalies don't tend nets, as far as I know. So, like many musicians, I will guess he doesn't know sports or couldn't figure how to fit anything else there. Don't know why, but it really bugs me. Otherwise fantastic song.
3. The decal of Calvin peeing on stuff.
4. Bill O'Reilly
5. The long winded speeches in classic literature.
6. The way speakers buzz or whatever when a phone goes off nearby.
7. Watered down soda.
8. People who go around "hall-monitoring" people all the time.
9. Quizzes on facebook.
10. The way when I put my ipod on shuffle, it always plays some crap I never want to listen to.
11. House hunting.
11b. Moving
12. Unnecessary adjectives.
13. Always waking up thirsty.
14. A stinky fridge.
15. When my eyelashes stick together.
16. Talking on the phone. Especially when my phone sucks and craps out every ten minutes.
17. Comcast.
18. RC Sproul and John Piper.
19. Odd numbers.
20. Asymmetry.
5.13.2009
My life is better....
with her than without.
Before her I didn't know what I would do every night, now I still don't know, but I do know it will be fun.
Before I was a hard headed jerk, now I am still that, but at least have someone that tells me (other than Grant).
Before I was dogless, but now I have Rufus.
Before I wondered if I would die lonely, now I know that even if I am alone when I die, I love and am loved.
Before I struggled with how someone would accept me, now I still struggle with how, but I know definitively that I am accepted.
Before my home always stunk, now it smells pretty good most of the time.
Before I ate Ramen at least three times a week, now it is once a week at most.
Before my family was full of crazy people, now it is full of crazy people and one that is not so crazy.
Before I thought only idiots liked romantic comedies, now I know at least one intelligent person who does also.
Before I wondered if I could find the perfect girl, I found out she doesn't exist, but what I got is so much better. She is wonderful in her imperfections, in the way she is picky about rent houses and my jeans. I am always thankful that she took me back. Perfect people would not be able to grow together and would not need one another.
Before her I didn't know what I would do every night, now I still don't know, but I do know it will be fun.
Before I was a hard headed jerk, now I am still that, but at least have someone that tells me (other than Grant).
Before I was dogless, but now I have Rufus.
Before I wondered if I would die lonely, now I know that even if I am alone when I die, I love and am loved.
Before I struggled with how someone would accept me, now I still struggle with how, but I know definitively that I am accepted.
Before my home always stunk, now it smells pretty good most of the time.
Before I ate Ramen at least three times a week, now it is once a week at most.
Before my family was full of crazy people, now it is full of crazy people and one that is not so crazy.
Before I thought only idiots liked romantic comedies, now I know at least one intelligent person who does also.
Before I wondered if I could find the perfect girl, I found out she doesn't exist, but what I got is so much better. She is wonderful in her imperfections, in the way she is picky about rent houses and my jeans. I am always thankful that she took me back. Perfect people would not be able to grow together and would not need one another.
5.04.2009
Above our paygrade
I am addicted to a website called "OUinsider" and for those that know me even a little bit, this would not come as a surprise. Today I was clowning around on the message board and a guy had a post that went something like this: "I have been given a little more than a year to live by doctors. They say that I have pancreatic cancer and the first thing that popped into my mind was that I needed to enjoy every moment with my kids and family. The second was that I would not be happy if I did not live to see OU get #8 (national championship)."
Some posters chimed in that they were sorry, would be praying for him, etc. Then one poster said he knew this guy and that he was not nor did he want to be religious. He said this man would appreciate our sympathies, but more than anything just wanted to talk OU football. A couple posts later, someone said that they appreciated where he was coming from, but wanted to implore him not to turn his back on God. He said God would be there and that he should turn his life over to him.
As I read that, the first thought I had was "well thats ok, he is just trying to help the guy." But my second thought was "when did we start to think it was always our job to change people's minds?" To be honest, I think it is insulting both to the person's free choice and to God's ability to woo. Its not through persuasive language or clever acronyms that bring people to faith in Jesus Christ, it is through his tender love and grace. I just think if we would do our job better, that is, being the church, feeding the hungry, loving the unlovely, God would be more free to do his job.
The way I think about is this: When I am cooking in the kitchen, Rufus always wants to come along. He may think he is being helpful, or he may just think I will drop something, but either way it would be a lot easier on me if he wasn't under my feet. I think maybe God thinks the same way. He appreciates that we want to help woo people, but he is also saying, "Look your job is just to be the church. Sure speak the truth, but don't go around volunteering it all the time. Live the way I have commanded you and let me take care of the things you can't control." I think people would listen to us more if we weren't always volunteering to tell them how to make their lives better.
Some posters chimed in that they were sorry, would be praying for him, etc. Then one poster said he knew this guy and that he was not nor did he want to be religious. He said this man would appreciate our sympathies, but more than anything just wanted to talk OU football. A couple posts later, someone said that they appreciated where he was coming from, but wanted to implore him not to turn his back on God. He said God would be there and that he should turn his life over to him.
As I read that, the first thought I had was "well thats ok, he is just trying to help the guy." But my second thought was "when did we start to think it was always our job to change people's minds?" To be honest, I think it is insulting both to the person's free choice and to God's ability to woo. Its not through persuasive language or clever acronyms that bring people to faith in Jesus Christ, it is through his tender love and grace. I just think if we would do our job better, that is, being the church, feeding the hungry, loving the unlovely, God would be more free to do his job.
The way I think about is this: When I am cooking in the kitchen, Rufus always wants to come along. He may think he is being helpful, or he may just think I will drop something, but either way it would be a lot easier on me if he wasn't under my feet. I think maybe God thinks the same way. He appreciates that we want to help woo people, but he is also saying, "Look your job is just to be the church. Sure speak the truth, but don't go around volunteering it all the time. Live the way I have commanded you and let me take care of the things you can't control." I think people would listen to us more if we weren't always volunteering to tell them how to make their lives better.
5.02.2009
Sacrifice
I am reading a book called "The Jesus Way" by Eugene Peterson. It is pretty great. He speaks at length about different parts of the bible and how they coincide with the way Jesus walked and calls us to follow. I just finished the part about Abraham. Just now I am ruminating on what he said, so this may be a little stream of consciousness writing.
He talks about how sacrifice is the stuff faith is made of. I hear that, and part of me thinks, yeah it surely is. Every time I sacrifice something I believe and trust in God a little more. But part of me cries out that that can't possibly be true, because I feel like I have sacrificed my fair share, and I go through long periods where I don't believe God can provide more Dr. Pepper...
So I am torn between the two. I think, honestly Peterson is right. I think the more we sacrifice on the altar of discipleship, the more we trust God. But I think the more we trust God, the more he asks us to trust him. Each step is a painful abnegation of what we want, combined with the strange fulfillment of a soul dancing in harmony with God. Neither becomes easier with time or practice, but it may become more fulfilling.
This does not, however, mean that I have sacrificed any more than most, or even some. It just means I have sacrificed a lot more than I wanted at first. It means that, every step I take into the ocean of faith, God takes a step back and asks me to trust him a bit more. I believe that eventually I will make it to the island of peace and security, but its a ways off. Hopefully the undertow won't drag me back to shore.
He talks about how sacrifice is the stuff faith is made of. I hear that, and part of me thinks, yeah it surely is. Every time I sacrifice something I believe and trust in God a little more. But part of me cries out that that can't possibly be true, because I feel like I have sacrificed my fair share, and I go through long periods where I don't believe God can provide more Dr. Pepper...
So I am torn between the two. I think, honestly Peterson is right. I think the more we sacrifice on the altar of discipleship, the more we trust God. But I think the more we trust God, the more he asks us to trust him. Each step is a painful abnegation of what we want, combined with the strange fulfillment of a soul dancing in harmony with God. Neither becomes easier with time or practice, but it may become more fulfilling.
This does not, however, mean that I have sacrificed any more than most, or even some. It just means I have sacrificed a lot more than I wanted at first. It means that, every step I take into the ocean of faith, God takes a step back and asks me to trust him a bit more. I believe that eventually I will make it to the island of peace and security, but its a ways off. Hopefully the undertow won't drag me back to shore.
4.08.2009
Anticipating Easter
The older I get, the more I appreciate Easter. When I was a kid, I remember I didn't like Easter much because I felt like, after Thanksgiving, you had all the crap of holidays without the good parts. For Easter you have to go to church, you have to get dressed up. Yeah, you got a basket with some candy and maybe a book or a kite, but you had to go and deal with all the extended family right after church. By the time you finally made it home from all the nonsense of Easter egg hunting, you had to just turn around and get ready for church again. Sure, it improved a bit when my great-uncle who hid tons of money in prize eggs showed up, and I usually found the most, but then I had to deal with the (temporary) guilt of swiping prize eggs from my sister or cousins.
But now, now I love Easter. Easter represents all that is hopeful in the Christian faith. I work with men every day who by all accounts threw their lives away. But now they have a new chance for a new life. Instead of living on the streets hooked on coke, they live in a converted hotel and are learning just how precious they are in God's eyes.
Easter represents a culmination of all that God has done and is doing in history. God showed through the bogus trial and unjust execution of his son just what he thinks of us. And it is good.
Easter remembers the day that Jesus rose from the grave and with his resurrection threw aside all the old shackles that had chained his beloved. Easter is the day that it is all about.
I am anticipating next Easter even more than usual, because next Easter we will finally have our little church going. The entire reason for moving here will be realized, but also just started. Robin and I miss being part of a church, but we know its temporary. I know for me, working nights and missing her and my funny dog, this present suffering is just part of the path to doing what God has called us to do. It is hard, but I know that in the end it will be worth it.
But now, now I love Easter. Easter represents all that is hopeful in the Christian faith. I work with men every day who by all accounts threw their lives away. But now they have a new chance for a new life. Instead of living on the streets hooked on coke, they live in a converted hotel and are learning just how precious they are in God's eyes.
Easter represents a culmination of all that God has done and is doing in history. God showed through the bogus trial and unjust execution of his son just what he thinks of us. And it is good.
Easter remembers the day that Jesus rose from the grave and with his resurrection threw aside all the old shackles that had chained his beloved. Easter is the day that it is all about.
I am anticipating next Easter even more than usual, because next Easter we will finally have our little church going. The entire reason for moving here will be realized, but also just started. Robin and I miss being part of a church, but we know its temporary. I know for me, working nights and missing her and my funny dog, this present suffering is just part of the path to doing what God has called us to do. It is hard, but I know that in the end it will be worth it.
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