a merry schismatic christmas (part 2)

of course, when i say that i feel like i'm following a different jesus than the one anne's and my family follows i don't literally mean there is more than one jesus. instead, i mean that we are following a different perception of who we think jesus is. our perceptions come from all different sources: sunday school flannel graph stories, our pastor(s), christian authors, evangelists, medieval and contemporary art, our family, our friends and the gospels themselves. i would argue, however, that what we read in the gospels is largely colored by the other influences i listed. that's kind of a scary thought for most christians because most christians would believe the jesus they are following is the authentic jesus of the bible, and not a composite of the many perceptions of others that they have encountered. many christians would be downright offended if one pointed out that they might be subconsciously assigning definitions to certain terms jesus uses and certain attributes jesus has that was not intended by the authors, but is the result of a compilation of misinterpretations over the centuries. for example, when people hear the terms, "gospel," "repent," "salvation," "hell," and, "kingdom of God," they think of very specific definitions. many christians become extremely defensive if anyone dares challenge those assumptions.

this christmas morning we opened presents with anne's family and somebody got a dvd that i thought was interesting. the dvd was called more than dreams. this film is about a phenomena that has allegedly been happening in the muslim world for some time now. muslims, sometimes radical extremists, claim they have been visited in dreams by jesus. these muslims have been so convinced that their dreams were authentic visions of christ, that they left islam and converted to christianity. the giver of this dvd wondrously exclaimed, "this is how jesus is getting the gospel to the muslim world right now." now, i know nothing about this dvd so i'm not going to speculate as to whether or not these visions are authentic. what i am interested in is what the giver of this dvd meant when that person said, "the gospel." the gospel this person was referring to was creating converts, and that, apparently, jesus is now bypassing the church and going straight to muslims and personally witnessing to them.

i really don't mean to sound harsh, and the person who said this is a wonderful person who i would never want to hurt in any way, but with many christians this is what the gospel boils down to. salvation boils down to saying a prayer and being saved from an eternity in hell or being raptured before God destroys the earth. repenting essentially means apologizing to God so he'll forgive you. and tragically of all, the kingdom of God equates to heaven. this is THE purpose and message of jesus: to die and resurrect so that all we have to do is say a prayer to get out of hell or be raptured. following jesus means getting others to believe these theological beliefs so that they too can get out of hell. everything else is just window dressing.

a merry schismatic christmas (part 1)

**if you're reading this and you feel i'm writing about you, please don't take any offense. this isn't a rant. this is me attempting to analyze how relationships are affected by intense disagreement, and how i deal with it. if you have something to say, please feel free to comment or ask questions.**

christmas is the time for family and to celebrate jesus' birth. it's a time where, as christians, jesus should bring us together. well, jesus should always bring us together, but many times he doesn't. i suppose you could argue that he never claimed he would. in one passage he says something to the effect that he will divide families. but i have a feeling there are issues pertinent to that specific time and circumstance as to why jesus said that, because the overall idea of the church is people united in christ bringing about the kingdom of God. some act as the feet, some the hands but all are part of the body. division and schism doesn't seem to be the goal.

of course, among many christians, it isn't like this. recently, the pastor of my parent's church has come down on the pastor of my church and others who are associated with him. in fact, this isn't anything new, as my pastor has been attracting criticism for some time. recently, he went on a speaking tour called the gods aren't angry. when my wife mentioned this tour to my cousin, whose church also isn't a fan, my cousin said something to the effect of, "the gods? there's only one God." the criticism has indeed gotten out of control. in fact it's devolved into gossip, and libel.

i get quite nervous about bringing people together whom i know have very divergent political or religious views. at times, i dreaded bringing my liberal ex-girlfriend out to eat with my parents because of the fear my father would spout off an opinion about his politics. one time we were waiting for a seat at a restaurant and my dad started a conversation with some random person standing near us, which is completely normal for him. some how he started talking about the war and how we need to just go bomb the entire region and get it over with. i literally almost ran outside to leave, but remembered i had ridden with my mom.

the reason i feel this way isn't because i don't like discussing politics or religion, but because i feel as though there needs to be-- among most people at least-- some sort of bond that is formed first. a bond where both parties like one another enough to where they can disagree about big issues without it affecting the way they view one another as people. i think that i've reached this point with my wife's family, but i'm still not so sure i want to act on it. i still have this fear that if i come out and say, "i believe in evolution," or "i can't stand george bush," or, "i don't care if a presidential candidate is pro-life," or, "i don't really care if gay people get married" they might think less of me, or think they need to start praying for me to see the light.

i know, i know, who cares if they think less of you; that's their problem. so what? the problem is, is that i do care, and this creates tension when i am with these people because i know that they probably know i don't agree with all of their conservative republican christian views. it creates tension with the cousin i spoke about above. i've even sensed tension with my high school best friend, though not to the same effect as the others. the truth is there are times when i think we are following a completely different jesus.

oh, all right...

01. One book that changed your life
i haven't been a serious reader for that long so this is hard. i don't know if i can say that a book, except the bible has, changed my life. but, off the top of my head i would say the book, the problem of pain by c.s. lewis was the first book to really get me to think about God and theology in a new way.
02. One book that you’ve read more than once
mere christianity by c.s. lewis
03. One book you’d want on a desert island
i'll have to steal from joe's idea a bit and say a book on surviving on a desert island.
04. Two books that made you laugh
the complete collection of the far side
05. One book that made you cry
can't think of any
06. One book that you wish had been written
i'd be willing to bet that any book i can think of has probably been written.
07. One book that you wish had never been written
any book that has inspired someone to do violence to others.
08. Two books you're currently reading
searching for god knows what by donald miller
democracy matters by cornel west
09. One book you’ve been meaning to read
the great gatsby and a million others

i tag angela rudd

some thoughts on competition

i'm reading searching for god knows what by donald miller, and i'm on a chapter titled,"how the fall makes you feel." in it miller is working through the premise that the fall of man created a world where people are always comparing themselves to one another. he gives the examples of sports: why do thousands of people gather to see who's team is better. he gives the example of reality television: the bachelor, fear factor, survivor. he says that our obsession with comparing ourselves to one another drives all plots and story lines. it got me thinking about how, in one of my classes, we learned how competition drives prejudice concluding that capitalism-- because it's based on competition-- is a major source of prejudice. i think there is a lot of truth to this. my brain was racing as i was reading this chapter and then miller, talking about the popularity contest of middle school, writes this: "And here is what is terrible: There will be a sort of punishment being dealt to those at the end of the line, each person dealing out castigation as a way of dissociation from the geeks, driven by the fear associating with somebody at the end of the line might cost them position, as if the two might be averaged, landing each of them in the space between. And so, in this way, students are constantly looking to associate themselves with those higher in line, and dissociate from those of low position. Great lengths will be taken to associate with those at the front of the line. Students will kiss up, drop names, lie about friendships, and so on. Many will hate the most popular, and yet subject themselves to their approval as though they were small gods. But the great crime, the great tragedy, is not in the attempts to associate but rather the efforts to dissociate. If a person feels his space in the hierarchy is threatened, that he might lose position, the vehemence he feels toward the lesser person is nearly malevolent."- searching for god knows what pg.97

Immediately after reading this is had this thought: Prejudice is rooted in competition. Maybe the ultimate source of competition is the competition to gain approval/love. We gravitate towards products/images/lifestyles to gain the acceptance and praise from society. This is ultimately what drives the market: the space in our hearts reserved for the unconditional acceptance and love of God.