Scholarship and Faith

A friend on "Facebook" had this interesting (and convicting?) quote under his favorite quotes. "The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole like will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church's prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament." Soren Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard was never one to mince words, but now he's gone to meddling. I love my theological education (ongoing). But I know the experience about which he writes. Many years ago, in preaching school, I nearly fell into a depression, because the more I studied the Bible the more I felt like a pitiful disciple of Jesus. That wasn't a healthy place to be.

Yet, I am sure at time I have strayed to the other extreme. The more I studied, the more the Bible became an academic exercise, meant to be analyzed, scrutinized, and theologically categorized. Living it? Obeying it? As soon as I get done studying it.

But this is not a problem just in academic settings. This is a problem that infects the Churches of Christ, the Restoration Movement, and other communities who emphasize the study of the Bible as the height of Christian activity. A few times I have tried to reduce the amount of time we spent in communal Bible study, so that we could do some ministry for others together. The result? Well, let's just say we are back to spending all of our time in Bible study.

It is clear to me that we have made Bible study as the height of Christian discipleship. One man in my congregation can hardly forgo a single class without quoting from 2 Tim. 2:15; "Study to show thyself approved..." Studying the Bible is great. It is empowering. But empowering to what? If it is just so I know more answers than the Baptist church down the road, then it is meaningless. It should empower us to live it, to obey it. Let's not be busy studying the Bible that we have no time to carry the cross.

What does God require of you?

Can there be a more important question? Once you determined you believe in God, then this is the next big question. How do I stay on his good side? How do I have a relationship with the Creator of the universe? I think it is interesting how we often define faithfulness and discipleship by what we do during an hour or so a week on Sunday. I am not diminishing that at all, but it is as if we believe if we sing right, do communion right, baptism, prayer, etc. that God will be pleased with us.

The ironic thing is that we love to heap scorn on the ancient Israelites. They thought that if they kept the sacrifices coming, then they were pleasing to God. When confronted with their covenant breaking they responded to Yahweh (and Micah) with this attitude: "With what shall we come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"

Are we so different than them? Do we not believe that if we offer up thousands of prayers, ten thousands of songs, and perfect ritualistic observation of baptism and communion that he will be pleased? Do we not believe that if we are confronted with unfaithfulness that we must immediately address one of these areas?

Yahweh's response: "He has showed you, O' man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

There is great grace in that simplicity of that statement. But don't be fooled; it is easier to simply believe correctly performed rituals is the key to pleasing God than to actually try to live the way he has called us. It is a lot easier to come to church than it is to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. Yet true freedom and life is walking humbly with our God.

Will you walk with me? I stumble often. Maybe we can help each other along the way. God, may you grant us the grace to humbly walk with you and honestly examine ourselves when we place confidence in ritual over you.

The nexus between faith and politics

I am sure this is a popular topic these days. We live in an age where a candidate is probably coached to reference God a certain amount of times per speech. Isn't that interesting, when the perception is that God isn't so popular in America any more? Well, most Americans want to believe that their candidate believes in God, but don't want them to allow their faith to influence their public policy. Such a thing is absurd, of course, if faith is real at all, it cannot be tucked away at home.

Still, sometimes the "God talk" unnerves me as well, if not for the same reasons. I get nervous, if a candidate is claiming for themselves or their party to be the voice for God. I get even more nervous when I see Christians believing that a particular party would be the party for Jesus. Both parties have good emphases and both parties have points that would certainly be pleasing to Jesus. However, both parties are defined by their ideologies and their constituents not Jesus of the Bible.

Jesus is abhorred at some of the practices and beliefs of our two major parties. I can never see Jesus going around talking about a woman's right to choose when that choice requires the sacrifice of the most innocent of lives. I cannot imagine Jesus would approve of a party filling their coffers with the likes of the NRA, Big Tobacco, or the ACLU.

Some might suggest that Jesus would just stay out of politics all together. I'm not suggesting that Jesus would run for office, but the teaching of Jesus and the kingdom of God shake the very foundation of all political structures. The question is what would Jesus have his people do in a society where they can literally influence the society at large with kingdom values. Would he have them set on the sidelines, if their involvement would mean more justice to the fringes of society, the very people that Jesus' kingdom message purports to include?

I say Jesus would have us be involved in the political process. It doesn't mean that every person has to be a political activist. We all have different callings. However, a totally passive response might be to neglect justice for those that desperately need it.

Jesus would have us care for the un-born, because they don't have a voice to protect themselves. Jesus would have us care for the poor, because they are always close to his heart. Jesus would have us stand against racism, for he has made a kingdom of all nations and tribes. Jesus has many concerns in this world. I believe our major role in politics is to give voice to the voiceless. I have been heavily influenced by Jim Wallis and John Yoder in this, even though I don't agree with them on all points. They do articulate an exclusive allegiance to Jesus over any party or political system. I couldn't agree more.

The fraility of Jesus

I have been swamped, but I've had this blog in my heart since 11/24. That's the day that this genius placed his laptop on top of his van, in order to load the kids, and then forgot to retrieve it before taking off. Not but a few hundred yards later, I heard a sickening crash. My wife was driving and she probably saved my life by refusing to stop and let me out in the midst of traffic on Vista Chino (a major road in Palm Springs). When we finally got the computer back it was smashed, of course, though we were spared the further indignity of having additional cars run over it.

My term paper, research notes, all of my sermons, everything I had worked on for the last four months (dating back to when I purchased the computer) was on the computer and not backed up. I was devastated beyond belief that in the final two weeks of the semester I would have to do everything again. I instantly craved a rewind button for life. But, of course, there is no such thing. To make a long story short, Best Buy's "Geek Squad" was able to save the hard drive. It didn't take the sting out of losing 1,200 dollars, but it did erase the despair I was feeling hours before I got the good news from Best Buy.

A few things were learned in this experience besides the obvious lesson of not placing objects on top of your van. First of all, I had overwhelming urge to yell at God when it first happened. "How could you let that happen God?!" The imagined reply was something like, "Excuse me. Did I place your computer on top of your van and drive off with it still sitting there." It is amazing how many times we like to blame God for that which is our fault. We humans balk at accepting responsibility for our actions, and the all-powerful divine is an awful convenient target to deflect the blame. Obviously, I quickly realized that God could not be blamed for my absent-mindedness (of which I am notorious for). I had no one to blame but myself. I could, however, turn to God in my need, and he was there for me.

Another thing I realized is that as upsetting as it was that I had done this, it was not some kind of moral failure. Rather, it is simply part of the human condition to have moments of frailty and ineptitude that has nothing to do with sin or moral choice. It just comes with being human. It is humbling and reminds us of our frailty.

I really started thinking about Jesus and how part of being human was to subject himself to this same frailty. It is part of the humbling process of God becoming man. Jesus never sinned, but did he put on a fourth leg to a table that was too short? Did he ever smash his head, because he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing? Did Jesus ever run the donkey pulled cart into the mud and get stuck? Was Jesus really human? If he was, he made these kind of errors. This brought great comfort to me in my moment of frailty. I knew that God understood what it meant to be human in every way, and could comfort me in my distress.

As you reflect on the birth of Christ, remember he really became one of us. He was subjected to all the frailties of being human. Jesus was not mistake free. You cannot be human in not make mistakes. I emphasize that I am not talking about moral failures (i.e. sin). Jesus was tempted in every way as us, though he never sinned. Yet it doesn't mean he never hit his thumb with a hammer. On November the 24th, I was glad to know that.

The Search for Certainty

A good preacher friend of mine spoke recently of the need to have an absolute to fall back on when life itself begins to overwhelm you. All of our assumptions about life begin to collapse in the wake of tragedy or other disorienting events. When the last domino has fallen what will still be standing? For many the answer is 'nothing.'

Rene Descartes tried to determine absolute certainty and came up with "I think therefore I am." But in the end my own self-existence isn't much to rely on, since that can be snatched from me at any moment. A noble attempt indeed, but I've got to have something greater than "I think therefore I am."

How does one know what is true? It isn't as easy as saying "because the Bible told me so." I can choose to believe the Bible is true, but is believing knowing? (depends on what one means by 'knowing'). Besides as I have said in another blog, I can't rely on the Bible exclusively, because it requires my interpretation. The Bible is not my starting point rather something (or better said someone) is much more fundamental.

My starting point is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even this must be believed by faith, but that doesn't make it unreasonable. Ultimately, whatever you choose to believe is faith and whatever your faith is requires personal commitment. If you are an atheist, then you believe that we live in a closed universe and that nature is all there is. That, too, is a statement of faith. Certainty cannot be attained through scientific measurement, as if science itself is free from subjective interpretation.

Creation would be a good starting point, except we need a little help to get there. You see no one human was around when it happened. But people did see Jesus die. And people with a great deal to lose for saying so, said they saw him alive again, which of course we know through the Bible. Lesslie Newbigin says this is the whole new starting point in our quest for certainty, for truth.

When we accept the resurrection, we accept the God of creation, because in Jesus, God has made everything new. We have seen God put into action a new creation, which we participate in personally. It is a creation to be completed when we enter the new heaven and the new earth. So, the resurrection enables us to look back to God as the original Creator of the universe, as well as forward to the God who will again make everything new (the new heaven and new earth). The resurrection holds it all together.

A person who tries build on the type of certainty that we see with Descartes' search will end up in nihilism. There is no such thing as completely objective certainty. If there was, then faith would be non-existent. We walk by faith and that walk is personal, and for Christians rooted in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When my last domino falls, I can see even more clearly the certainty that Jesus is alive!

Smoke

Many people's homes just went up in smoke and for many of them their entire lives. Amazingly so few people died. What incredible heroes firefighters are!

Here in Palm Springs, we were relatively far from the fires. Still I have seen our own mountains blazing in the night and so I know that ominous feeling of an approaching fire. There's is hardly a more destructive force in all of nature (Tsunamis not withstanding!). Of course, some of the fires were not started by nature. What kind of depraved individual chooses to light a fire that can destroy life and property I can't fathom.

The Message has an interesting section from Eccl. 5. It talks about working all of our lives for a salary of smoke. It seems many tragically found that out literally these past few weeks.

We feel blessed by God to have our homes and then they may go up in smoke. "Meaningless, meaningless" says the Teacher! Indeed, it might be if all of your life is tied up into your material things. Faith in God keeps one from despair in such times, or so I have to believe. If you life is built upon the rock of Jesus Christ, then everything that has value to you can't go up in smoke. Such disasters cause one to reflect on his/her life and what it is all built on. It also puts many of our religious squabbles in perspective. Faith is where the rubber meets the road. If it can't help me when facing disaster then all the right religious argumentation can't help me. That is why our faith must permeate every facet of our life. Otherwise all that we are might just go up in smoke.

Contemplating Authority

Churches of Christ, though not original with us, see Scripture as the lone authority for Christian faith and practice with a special emphasis on the New Testament. Yet, is this not problematic for us? We claim to restore the Christian faith back to the first century using a canon they didn't have or use! Oh, I know there was some circulation of NT letters and the gospels were used early, but they didn't sit around and seek out a supposed embedded pattern in Acts and the NT epistles to determine how they should 'do' church.

Truthfully, authority for the early church was found in the apostles and, of course, the Old Testament. Yet, they didn't look for how to organize the church or what exactly to do in the assemblies in the OT. Could it be that such things were not so important? New practice was established in the light of the resurrection and direction of the apostles. So, communion was central to the early practice of the church. So was baptism. But is everything recorded in the NT intended to give a pattern of church practice for all of history? I highly doubt this.

This is a crucial question for us today. We all agree that ultimate authority is God's word. But the problem is that it must be interpreted and applied! Who's the authority for that? Can I go into my bedroom and act as if I was reading it for the first time apart from any influence historical or otherwise? Alexander Campbell seemed to think so. I don't agree with him.

I cannot interpret scripture apart from my own heritage and tradition, my own biases and assumptions about even the purpose of scripture. I bring into the text questions that are foreign to the original intent of the author. So, I must acknowledge that there is no such thing as starting from scratch. I also must acknowledge that the community plays a key role in interpreting scripture. I don't get to do this all on my own.

The Bible may be the ultimate authority, but we are fooling ourselves if we think it is the only authority in our lives. We cannot interpret it apart from our experiences, tradition, and reason (cf. Wesley's quadrilateral). I wish the issue of authority were as simple as we think it is. I know I don't buy the Catholic view of authority (i.e. the Church interprets scripture in an absolute sense). I'm still wrestling with all of this. I will write more when I figure something out!