I'm continuing to alternate between novels and Christian works. I finished a novel called the White Tiger, with an intentionally ugly sense of humor, then followed it up with my trademark outrage that gets all dressed up with no place to go. So, I moved on and read God's Pursuit of Man by AW Tozer. If you haven't read The Pursuit of God, I'd suggest it first. He touches on a lot of the same points in this one, but focuses on the lack of and need for the Holy Spirit in the modern Christian life. I'm still chewing on some of it, but a lot of it challenged, comforted, and inspired me.
At one point Tozer discussed the Holy Spirit's affect on the intellect. He goes on to mention classic Christian authors and the depth and richness of their writings. I believe that Augustine, Tozer, CS Lewis and others who died long ago fall into this category. But who else? It makes me sad.
Thinking back, that's what I enjoyed the most about Letters from a Skeptic. It was a well-told story, which made for some rich, enjoyable reading. That's rare among modern Christian authors.
In short, I enjoyed God's Pursuit of Man. The sad part is, I finished it. If I read and finish another novel, what's next?
If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Laughing at Worldviews
Over this summer we stumbled across this song and liked it so much, we got the album. I included the lyrics, but I'll warn you the video is weird. Lyrics.com likes to include videos now. Sometimes that's a blessing, but others I'm not so sure. Anyway, here it is.
http://www.lyrics.com/lyrics/regina-spektor/laughing-with.html
I know it's far from Christian, and the ending arguably sounds nihilistic, but the body of it (the chorus especially) helps take apart flawed perceptions of Him. As more Christians are talking about the need for a Biblical worldview, this provides a good starting point conversation-wise. How do people get these impressions, anyway?
http://www.lyrics.com/lyrics/regina-spektor/laughing-with.html
I know it's far from Christian, and the ending arguably sounds nihilistic, but the body of it (the chorus especially) helps take apart flawed perceptions of Him. As more Christians are talking about the need for a Biblical worldview, this provides a good starting point conversation-wise. How do people get these impressions, anyway?
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Book Review: Letters From a Skeptic
Speaking of trends (I'm sure someone somewhere was), I'm aware of the current one in this blog. I've still been speaking about Christians and faith in general, but more posts of late have been personal. This wasn't intentional, but currently it seems the best place to go. Not that it's all about me, but if I'm talking about conviction and all I might as well be consistent.
That brings me to a book I read lately. I usually read novels of a secular sort, and I enjoy (and yes, even learn something) from them. But good ol' conviction has hit me lately, that if this is all I read, it tends to feed my cynicism. It's kind of like Jack Black at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Not a pretty picture. Which brings me to the book review.
I didn't realize it when I chose it, but Letters From a Skeptic is a story. It's a series of letters between a father and a son (the father being the skeptic) in which major objections to the Christian faith are addressed. It doesn't negate faith, but it also addresses questions honestly (no turning off of the brain required). In the end, and this is not a spoiler as the introduction and blurb state it clearly, the father believes in Christ. The story itself isn't about how slick and convincing the arguments are, but of a son's love for his father. I like the fact that the letters remain mostly unchanged, so tidbits of family news and expressions of family love are left intact. Because in the end, it's not about theology, but a real relationship with Christ. The love in this helps point towards His love for us.
I highly recommend this book to anyone. I had a hard time with my own brand of skepticism, and (in addition to prayer and Bible study of course) this has helped me through it a lot, especially with my balance between heart and mind, between "it's all just a mystery" and "I have all the answers right here." I'm still chewing on some of Dr. Gregory Boyd's theories, but I like how he kept them Biblically-based and Christ-centered. Dr. Boyd doesn't explain the Holy Spirit out of it, but he uses the brain God gave him as well. And he may be a seminary professor, but the conversational style and relationship between the writers literally keep it real. I'm down with that. Yo.
That brings me to a book I read lately. I usually read novels of a secular sort, and I enjoy (and yes, even learn something) from them. But good ol' conviction has hit me lately, that if this is all I read, it tends to feed my cynicism. It's kind of like Jack Black at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Not a pretty picture. Which brings me to the book review.
I didn't realize it when I chose it, but Letters From a Skeptic is a story. It's a series of letters between a father and a son (the father being the skeptic) in which major objections to the Christian faith are addressed. It doesn't negate faith, but it also addresses questions honestly (no turning off of the brain required). In the end, and this is not a spoiler as the introduction and blurb state it clearly, the father believes in Christ. The story itself isn't about how slick and convincing the arguments are, but of a son's love for his father. I like the fact that the letters remain mostly unchanged, so tidbits of family news and expressions of family love are left intact. Because in the end, it's not about theology, but a real relationship with Christ. The love in this helps point towards His love for us.
I highly recommend this book to anyone. I had a hard time with my own brand of skepticism, and (in addition to prayer and Bible study of course) this has helped me through it a lot, especially with my balance between heart and mind, between "it's all just a mystery" and "I have all the answers right here." I'm still chewing on some of Dr. Gregory Boyd's theories, but I like how he kept them Biblically-based and Christ-centered. Dr. Boyd doesn't explain the Holy Spirit out of it, but he uses the brain God gave him as well. And he may be a seminary professor, but the conversational style and relationship between the writers literally keep it real. I'm down with that. Yo.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Stewards and Stewards
A line from a book I read recently has a quote that still resonates with me, "There are Christians and there are Christians". The context was Christians focusing on the spiritual and neglecting physical needs. That is not the point of this post, as I discussed it plenty on this blog. However, a recent visit to a Bible Study in the US brought to mind a similar phrase. There are stewards and there are stewards.
We joined a Bible study discussing the parable of the unjust steward, found in Luke 16. If you ever read this one, it is a classic head scratcher. A boss man type accuses his manager of being dishonest and otherwise doing a crappy job all around. The manager knows he is about to get canned, so he gives discounts to people who owe debts to the master. This helps them and partially helps the boss man. Some scholars argue it did not help the manager, because the extra money would normally be his profit. But it helped him make friends, so it was an investment of sorts. The point is, he dealt shrewdly and was commended.
Later on, Christ advises we serve God before money, and before that He says to use filthy lucre (paraphrase but accurate) to make friends. All should point towards spiritual value, what is truly important. I get the gist, but that steward, he was, well, shrewd and also known as unjust. What do we make of that?
The leader of our group was sharing his discoveries, which reinforced the general message. What struck me was his story. As he struggled through the meaning of this, he went about his day job at a car dealership. A potential buyer was about to put himself seriously in debt by making a purchase. The Bible Study leader gave him reasonable advice which included not buying the car at that time. Business wise, his honesty made no sense, but in light of eternity, he had to do what was right. Make friends in light of eternity.
I enjoy pouring through these difficult passages, but in the meantime, we hold fast to what we already know to be true. I personally think the point He was making (his audience included Pharisees and others who loved money) was "here is a guy who helped others when it benefited him somehow. Kingdom living means the same, without the looking out for self part." Whatever the case, His point was made, as the greedy ones were not happy.
I enjoyed what I found in commentaries online and so on, but what impacted me the most was the example of a student of the Scriptures holding fast to what he already knew, no matter the cost. And to him I say thanks.
We joined a Bible study discussing the parable of the unjust steward, found in Luke 16. If you ever read this one, it is a classic head scratcher. A boss man type accuses his manager of being dishonest and otherwise doing a crappy job all around. The manager knows he is about to get canned, so he gives discounts to people who owe debts to the master. This helps them and partially helps the boss man. Some scholars argue it did not help the manager, because the extra money would normally be his profit. But it helped him make friends, so it was an investment of sorts. The point is, he dealt shrewdly and was commended.
Later on, Christ advises we serve God before money, and before that He says to use filthy lucre (paraphrase but accurate) to make friends. All should point towards spiritual value, what is truly important. I get the gist, but that steward, he was, well, shrewd and also known as unjust. What do we make of that?
The leader of our group was sharing his discoveries, which reinforced the general message. What struck me was his story. As he struggled through the meaning of this, he went about his day job at a car dealership. A potential buyer was about to put himself seriously in debt by making a purchase. The Bible Study leader gave him reasonable advice which included not buying the car at that time. Business wise, his honesty made no sense, but in light of eternity, he had to do what was right. Make friends in light of eternity.
I enjoy pouring through these difficult passages, but in the meantime, we hold fast to what we already know to be true. I personally think the point He was making (his audience included Pharisees and others who loved money) was "here is a guy who helped others when it benefited him somehow. Kingdom living means the same, without the looking out for self part." Whatever the case, His point was made, as the greedy ones were not happy.
I enjoyed what I found in commentaries online and so on, but what impacted me the most was the example of a student of the Scriptures holding fast to what he already knew, no matter the cost. And to him I say thanks.
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