Nothing to Say

While I enjoy the irony of using a blog to say it, this seems the best way to communicate the following: I'm taking a hiatus from blogging. I'm doing this for several reasons and here's two of them.

1. I have nothing to say. It's a harsh self-judgment, but lately listening has worked much better for me. I'm leaving up the blog and the list of blogs I'm following. Check them out for some good reads. I especially enjoy Britt's blog (Drunken Mystic), Stuff Christians Like and the Church of No People. They have a great way of communicating ideas better than I ever could.

2. I care too much. I don't worry too much about comments on Facebook or Twitter, but blogs for some reason feed a concern for validation that is unnecessary. I'll be in touch using Facebook or Twitter (reeseseater), so check it out if you wish. Either way, I wish you all the best. God bless.

Ponderings on Persecution

I don't say this to dig up any dirt on anyone or attack the Catholic Church in any way. In case you haven't heard, they're going through another mess with abuse scandals. Beyond hoping the individuals directly involved in the abuses will be put away for a long time so no one is attacked by them again, I don't have much to add. But a recent headline about a sermon seemed worth pondering. Something about it seemed so-for lack of a better term-modern. I'll mention it later, and when I do try to imagine someone saying it without a cellphone or iphone in hand, or at least in pocket, ready to surf the web and update facebook and/or twitter. Try it. (double dog dare implied)

Here's the deal. A friar said the way the Catholic church leadership is being attacked for cover ups is comparable to Antisemitism. People on the side of abuse victims and victims of Antisemitism were a little peeved. I'd say understandably so, but that point leads me to my next thought on persecution and modern thought. Did anyone drag the pope and his family to a camp to kill them? I'm not even going to mention any more than that, but needless to say, the comparison is weak at best.

I'm not saying this to single out a Catholic church leader. His answer reminds me of a typical modern response in the age of entitlement. I'm not sure I'm old enough to know when the bar for persecution was lowered, but I know this isn't it. We are at the point when someone could get too much blame for making an unwise decision and get compared to Job for suffering all the consequences and then some. Unfair? Possibly, especially if guilt hasn't been completely proven. Persecution? That's a steaming load, and we should know it.

Actually, all of this is in the realm of words. There have been no arrests or physical attacks, and even if there were, it's not for doing right or for merely existing. This seems common sense, but nowadays everyone who gets caught in a lie is a martyr. It takes so much less effort than it used to--now you just need to screw up and have someone say something mean about you. (Note: I'm not still talking about the Catholic Church, but privileged people in general. And yes, most of us Westerners still count as privileged.) Innocence is optional.

Maybe Google could help. (Did anyone notice their April Fool's joke by the way? Topeka? What was that about?) I doubt most people would have a copy of Foxe's Book of Martyrs or Jesus Freaks on hand, but many read Night in school or at least watched a movie about the Holocaust. And no, Life is Beautiful, while a good movie, doesn't count. For those of us who study the Bible, Jesus' own words say we are blessed if we are persecuted for following Him. Not for being disagreeable jerks (guilty as charged) or any other wrongdoing on our part, but for doing the right thing. And no, being called names is not persecution. Most of us have enough material to reference the real thing, or talk to those who don't have it as most of them could tell us firsthand. Maybe we should.

I'm Going to Allow This

My favorite courtroom scenes are when someone does something unconventional and the judge says "I'm going to allow this." This often builds up to a joke involving people brawling or setting stuff on fire and the judge calmly repeating "I'm going to allow this." I mention this because it's how I feel right now.

I could explain, but I'd rather keep the fun going by adding more confusion. Did you know God didn't directly ask Solomon to build the temple? I've been reading I Kings, and He doesn't say a whole lot of anything for the first few chapters of the book. It stirs the pot a little more when you read about the forced laborers the king used to help build. I console myself by thinking if he mistreated them God would have condemned it, but let's face it, he used forced labor. The temple project wasn't exactly a Habitat for Humanity.

In the midst of all this I asked, did God even say he wanted a temple? At least in I Kings, he didn't. He doesn't speak up until the middle of building, and then basically says, "Yeah, I can use this building. Just keep my statutes and you'll be fine." In so many words, "I'm going to allow this."

My argument here is that if whips were cracking, that sort of thing definitely goes against His commands, so it would have stopped at that point. And if the forced labor was somehow humane, no worries. But whatever the case, God knows how to pick His battles. Don't cross the line.

This relates to me because that's where my wife and I are right now. We've thought and prayed about where to go, how and where to worship, etc. and whatever choice we make we've felt the tension of "was that right?" Should either one of us teach at a fairly well-to-do Christian school when there's so much need for people who care in the inner cities and third world countries? Should we go to a big church when they waste money on frivolous things like power points and golden hymnals? (No, I don't believe there is such a thing as hymnals made of gold and yes, my criticisms of church spending if unchecked could get that ridiculous.) Should I teach ESL in the US when I could teach it overseas? What if I'm being disobedient and didn't know it?

Sometimes I think we (humans) hate simple answers more than no answers at all. We throw these questions back at God (who's to say Solomon didn't ask? The author doesn't state it outright) and He comes back at us with "Worship me." Can I worship Him by doing what He has gifted me to do wherever it is needed? Yes. Provided He doesn't warn me about some secret crack house going on where I'm applying or something of that nature, I'd say we're good. Every workplace needs people who are there to glorify Him. Every church, local and so on, needs the same. There is that place where you do something absurd because you know not doing it would be disobedience. Then there are those moments where the vital parts are in place, and after that you take a step forward and God says "I'm going to allow this." Make sure your heart follows His, and then enjoy the ride. I'm looking forward to it.

More Unoriginal Stuffs

Here's a shout out to all those preacher's/ministry daughters out there. Change a word here or there, and it applies to MKs in general. Or maybe I shouldn't say "in general" in a post that discourages stereotypes. Oh, well.

http://stuffchristianslike.net/2010/02/pigeonholing-the-preachers-daughter/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+stuffchristianslikeblog+(Stuff+Christians+Like+-+Jon+Acuff)

Going Where?

The joys of teaching in a Christian school, as evidenced in a class with elementary students:

"Mr. Miles! She told me I'm going to hell!"
"Don't say that. It's not nice."
(Later that day on a bus, a different student from the same grade approaches) "You're going to hell!"
"Excuse me?"
"You're going to hell."
"Is that a nice thing to say?"
"No."
"Please don't say that."

Twice in one day. Have they been reading my blog lately?

The Gospel According to Mr. Edwards

Out of Ur started a series on hell this month, appropriately enough, as with all the money we're spending on chocolates and being lovey dovey and all I'm sure it's on the brain. They showed video clips of different pastors' takes on eternal judgment. So far I'm intrigued, but not necessarily impressed. There must be better clips out there. If nothing else, Bill and Ted 2 would work. Yet, I'm getting ahead of myself. First, selling the point.

The first clip was of NT Wright, already well-known for arguing current concepts of heaven and hell aren't Biblical. Fair enough, we have rights to our own opinions, but as I tell my students we're better off backing them up. But as many do when they say something is or isn't in the Bible, he just leaves it there. Examples? Not needed. Just read the Bible, as Rev. Lovejoy of Simpsons fame would say, all of it. It's all good.

I wanted to see a good counterpoint, so I waited. And waited. Finally, Piper's sermon clip was up to bat. Knowing he's respected as a theologian, I figured this has to be good. He opened, and...it wasn't. His argument? Jonathan Edwards would be appalled. Or to quote him directly, "JONATHAN EDWARDS WOULD BE APPALLED!" He believed hell was real, after all.

Right. I forgot we all have to give account to Jonathan Edwards someday. And even though I know better I still can't hear his name without thinking "Wasn't that Mr. Ingal's friend on Little House on the Prarie? What did he believe? I don't remember." Wherever I heard the name, I don't think it matters. I know where I didn't hear it. And that's the point, isn't it?

I think it's fresh on my brain because I'm teaching about logical flaws and supporting your points. The saddest thing is, those of us who should be best at it don't. When did we forget how to debate?

Note: I know this includes a hot topic (no pun or boycotting reference intended) but I'm not arguing one way or the other about hell in this. If you're interested in that debate, look up Out of Ur, Christianity Today's blog site. The comments are okay, but better than the videos so far.

Thirteen Dollar Sermons

If you're ever short on thoughts about faith and religion, movies could help. Lately a semi-obscure movie and a significantly less than obscure one got me thinking. Some movies, no matter how well made, are downright preachy. And who are they preaching to, anyway? But I'm getting ahead of myself. The point is, for all the complaining some of us do about tithes and offerings, thirteen bucks for a two-hour sermon isn't exactly a bargain. Yeah, I think that was more time appropriate.

In case you haven't figured out one of the movies by now, here are a few more clues. Giant blue people. Only worth seeing in 3D. Ridiculous names for minerals. (Seriously. Was "hard to getium" already taken?) And last but not least, lastest sermon from the church of James Cameron (the first being the director's cut of The Abyss).

I enjoyed Terminator 2, and season 1 of Dark Angel was cool, but beyond that, Cameron's movies don't impress me in the long run. The latest is worth seeing for the visuals, but the message sets the foundation for a religion based entirely on guilt. And I don't mean the "repent" or "go and sin no more" type, either. I mean, what good does it do to be reminded of how horrible I am (apparently the way we treat nature is comparable to 9/11) if there's nothing to be done about it? There might be solutions for intents and purposes of the movie, but they wouldn't work. Or would they? (looks suspiciously over shoulder) (pause)

No, probably not.

This religion has its own set of questions and problems, but most of us suspend disbelief because the lights are pretty, and well, we know it's just a movie. But after enough of these self-deprecating screeds I have to ask, does the director? Which brings me to faith.

I also saw The Men Who Stare at Goats, a movie claiming to be more factual than we would believe. It's satire, even though other than that small group of stoner would-be-psychics, I'm not sure who it's trying to mock. I expected a few laughs, and it delivered, keeping in mind a lot of the language and some situations will offend some viewers. But what surprised me was the handling of faith.

Whether or not psychic power was real, the central characters have faith that it is. Some move past the question of whether it's real and try to use it for evil. And so we have a plot.

Being a ridiculous comedy, it didn't go much farther on the faith issue. But it did remind me of certain unimaginatively named planets inhabited by giant smurfs as I was reminded of a fundamental truth. "Have faith", but consider the difference it makes based on what you put your faith in.