The Temptation of Christ: Sin With a Capital "I"

Last week I attended a Bible study with Pastor Gary, he's going through the entire book of Matthew. I decided to go because, hey, this is as close to the inside of a classroom as I'll ever get again!  Plus I was hoping that a fresh perspective on some of these stories that I know all to well would help me grow as a person and especially as a follower of Christ.  I wasn't disappointed.

We talked about the temptation of Jesus as found in Matthew 4:1-11.  I took copious notes, just like I used to do in college, but there was something that stuck with me most of all, and that was how Pastor Gary defined the word "sin."  We've all heard the saying "there is no 'I' in team," talking about how being selfish on any kind of a team causes the team to not play or compete as a true unit, which can lead to undesirable outcomes.  Well in "sin" there is certainly an "I," and as he pointed out it's really a capital "I." The implication is clear: sIn is all about me.  Sin is what happens when I think only of myself or when I exhibit excessive self interest.  This is the exact opposite of the life Jesus advocates, a life that denies oneself to the glory of God and to the selfless service of those around us. Let's take a few minutes and consider how "sIn" has the opportunity to appear in each of the three temptations as recorded by the author of Matthew.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
--Matthew 4: 1-4 (NRSV)

After Jesus is baptized by John in the previous chapter, he goes alone into the wilderness for 40 days before he begins what will be his public ministry.  He fasts during the entire time and saying he was "famished" afterward is probably a huge understatement.  Satan (or the devil, tempter, or adversary) appears to Jesus, seeing him in this state and says "Come on now, you're the Son of God.  You know all you gotta do is say the word and these rocks will turn into bread for you and you can eat all you want!"

Would that be tempting?  Oh yes.  I haven't really fasted much in my life.  One year I fasted all day on Ash Wednesday.  That was enough for me.  Come Thursday morning, I was "famished" myself. However, does bread equal more than just bread or even food here?  Jesus responds to the temptation by saying that man doesn't live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from God.  I don't think it's just about food, neither did Pastor Gary.  The bread here can be symbolic of all of the material things we want in life.  Let's face it, in the United States, most of us know where our next meal is coming from.  Certainly some of us (myself included) put way too much stock in food, but think about the other things that we think we "need" in life,

I came up with a couple of things as I thought about this concept.  Cable TV for instance.  Man, I really do feel that I NEED to be able to watch my soccer matches from England every weekend.  Also, internet access.  What would I do if I couldn't stay connected through my smart phone, computer, or tablet?  I love to play multiplayer modes on video games, that requires an internet connection.  I feel like I'd be lost without that.  Think about other toys that we think we need.  To me, one of the most mind-numbing exhibitions of American greed happens every time Apple announces a new product. People are glued to these products.  New Iphone?  Gotta have it.  Ooh, a new version of the Ipad! Let's line up outside the store on release day to get our hands on one.  You can't tell me that these devices haven't reached "necessity" status for some people.

Is all of this excessive self interest, this desire for all of these material things?  I think a lot of the time it is, thus falling into Pastor Gary's definition of sIn.  I'm not saying that it's wrong to desire or even to enjoy some of these things, but I know for me, and for a lot of others in our culture, it really does become excessive.  What might happen if we took some of the money we were going to spend on our cell phone upgrade this year and donated it to a food bank or homeless shelter?  John Wesley famously kept his hair long and used the money that he would have paid a barber to give to the poor and needy.  One thing I've started doing is just spending at least five or six bucks every week to buy some food for the local food bank in Ogden.  Our church keeps a shopping cart in the vestibule and every week someone takes the donations over to the food bank.  It's not a lot, but it's about the price of a meal I might buy when I get off work.  I feel it's the very least I can do.  That doesn't mean I've overcome excessive self interest, far from it, but it's a start, and it makes me feel great!

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” --Matthew 4: 5-7 (NRSV)

For his next trick, the Tempter takes Jesus to the top of the temple and says, "Hey man if you're the Son of God jump off the temple here.  Scripture says that God will send angels to catch you so you won't be hurt."  This might sound a little odd to us, but think about it this way: what are some of the reasons that Jesus might have had a desire to jump?  How about this: maybe Jesus DID want to prove he was the Son of God and just maybe he might have given in and done it so he could show the Tempter just how special he really was: out of PRIDE.  Does that sound like something many of us have a problem with?

Absolutely.  In fact, a good definition of PRIDE might also be "excessive self interest."  When we are overly prideful, we truly put ourselves not just at the center of our lives, but we like to try to put ourselves in the center of other people's lives as well.  It's as if the sun, moon, and stars all revolve around us.  We put ourselves up on a pedestal, and man, it's a great view from up there isn't it?  We can look down on everybody else, we become a judge of others.  We set ourselves apart from others.

Again this is the exact opposite of what Christ desires for each of us.  As Christians, we're supposed to put Christ at the center of everything around us.  When we do that, we're no longer testing our relationship with God.  It allows us to step outside of ourselves and our own needs and pride, then we can see, and minister to, the needs of the world around us just as Christ did.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. --Matthew 4: 8-11 (NRSV)

As it turns out, the Tempter has one more ace up his sleeve.  He takes Jesus up to the top of a high mountain where he can survey all the land and kingdoms around him.  Then he tells Jesus "I can give you ALL OF THIS.  All you gotta do is just bow down and worship me."  This appeals to one of our basest, most coveted desires: the desire for POWER.

Is there anything more addicting to us humans than power?  I'm not sure.  You know what's like, surely you've had power over someone in your life.  I have.  I'm a supervisor at work.  I can ask or tell certain employees to do something, and chances are, they'll do it.  Doesn't that feel great, even in small doses?  I like to think I'm a pretty good guy when it comes to being a supervisor, but I can also tell you that I've abused that power for my own interest more times than I'd like to admit.

And that's just a tiny sliver of power.  Think about our politicians.  These men and women (mostly men) literally have people's lives in their hands.  The decisions these people make not only influence happiness and quality of life, but sometimes their choices literally decide whether people live or die. Can you imagine?  One phone call from a governor can save a condemned inmate's life just moments before he is to be put to death.  Do you think that kind of power can go to someone's head? Absolutely.

Those other two things we've talked about: material desires and pride: power takes care of those things doesn't it?  Think of some our professional athletes or celebrities and the power they wield.  If you want regular folks to buy your products, get it in the hands of an NFL football player or A-List movie star.  I'm sure a lot of these people can pick up a phone, tell somebody that they want some material thing, and it's gotten for them immediately.  Think of the pride exhibited by some, but not all of these people.  If you think about Will Farrell's character in the movie "Anchorman" he goes around saying "I'm kind of a big deal."

We laugh at that because it's true  It's not just true for politicians, celebrities, and athletes either.  It's true for all of us.  We all have our sphere of influence in our lives, and man, the pond we're in may be pretty small, but we sure like being the biggest fish in it, don't we?  The drive for power is sIn, excessive self interest, in it's purest form.

Contrast that to the figure of Christ.  Contrast that to the Son of God, who was with God, and was God at the beginning of all things, to quote John 1.  He becomes a man, walks among his creations, feels their pain and needs their needs.  That's why the story of Christ being tempted is so important. We know that he went through what we go through every minute of the day. Though he was God, he knew he needed to be tempted so he had the chance to say no to these things.  We are given that same chance to say no to materialism. pride, and power: to excessive self interest.  It doesn't always work, at least it doesn't for me, and I've spent a lot of time over the last few years beating myself up about it.  I've spent a lot of time asking "what's in it for me" as opposed to "what can I do for others?"  It's only recently that I've finally realized the true gift of Christ, that stumbling and falling is ok.  I don't have just myself to pull myself up either.  I have Jesus, who's been there, and I have a wonderful family and friends to help pull me up too.  None of us are in it alone.

As I close this entry and this day, I invite you to think about sIn, excessive self interest.  How can you, how can we all change and truly serve others?  I also invite you to meditate on Christ in the Garden the night before he died.  Truly, his sense of self interest must have been operating full throttle, knowing what was going to happen to him over the next 24 hours.  He asks the Father: "Ïs there any other way?  Is there any other way for this to be done than for me to suffer what I'm going to suffer?  Is there any way for this cup to pass from my lips?"

Imagine the anxiety.

Imagine the anguish,

He could have ended it all there, but he chose not to.  "Let not my will, but yours be done."  It is perhaps the most selfless moment of his life, and he invites us to share in that moment, to share in that selflessness.  It is the exact opposite of "sIn," of excessive self interest.

"Let not my will, but yours be done."

Book Review: "Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It," by Adam Hamilton

My background as a Christian is largely Calvinist Reformed, with a dash of Roman Catholicism thrown in.  So how in the world did I end up drawn to the United Methodist Church?  Well, as I've stated in previous entries, I eventually found the other perspectives to come up short when I tried to square them with what I actually believed, not only about Jesus, but about the world around us and how we, as Christians, should respond to that world.  Then came a man named John Wesley.

Now, I already knew a bit about Wesley.  When I was considering going into the ministry I studied a lot about different perspectives on Christianity.  I knew he was the founder of Methodism, and I knew he used to travel around and preach outdoors.  As a musician, liturgist, and worship leader I was more acquainted with his brother Charles, who penned many of the classic hymns of the faith.  I never seriously looked into the Wesley theology though.

That changed over this last year as my search for light, my search for the sacred, brought me to the United Methodist Church, where my parents have attended for 10 years or so since our church closed. I began to read about Wesley bit by bit, to see what it was already about.  I watched a biopic about his life, which I figured was going to be like a B movie type deal, but I actually found it to be quite good and inspiring.  This lead me to read more and more about him.

As all this was going on, I heard that our adult Sunday school class was going to study Wesley and his teachings through a book by Adam Hamilton.  Even though I work most Sunday mornings and can't attend class after church, I bought the book and jumped at the chance to learn more about this man and his philosophy.

I'm happy to say that the book was outstanding.  It's a fairly short read.  I was reading it one chapter per week in concert  with what the Sunday school class was doing, but I could have probably finished it pretty quickly otherwise.  Over the course of six chapters, Hamilton looks at various pivotal moments/time periods in the life of Wesley and talks about how they affected his teachings and ministry.  He covers Wesley's early life in Epworth, his formative years and the first rise of Methodism at Oxford, his short time in the United States which led him to a crisis of personhood and faith leading to his Aldersgate experience, the regeneration of his ministry of grace at Bristol, the rise of Methodism in London, and finally how Wesley persevered and guided his faith and the faith of others until he died in London at age 87.

However, the book is more than just a biographical sketch of John Wesley.   Adam Hamilton really dives into Wesleyan theology and how it effects us as Christians today, and how it should inspire us in our daily lives.  This was finally a version of Christianity that was in sync with what I believed to be true.

There's a couple of things that struck me.  First, Wesley preached that Christianity is for everyone, regardless of race, gender, social status, economic status, or anything else.  After his Aldersgate experience, he traveled throughout the English countryside and ministered to the needs of the poor, the hungry, and the marginalized: people who were not usually welcome in the churches of the day. Much of this was done outside in fields, on mountainsides, and in market squares.  These people flocked to his message of Christ for all.

Second, I like what Wesley had to say about grace.  For modern Protestant Christians, it's the grace of God through Christ that "saves" or justifies us.  It's a gift that can only be accepted and not earned. Wesley was opposed to ideas like Calvinist predestination which claims that God destined some to be saved and some to be condemned from the very beginning.  As mentioned, for Wesley, God's grace is for all.  Wesley mentions three kind of grace.  Prevenient grace is God's grace at work in our lives before we ever believe in him or seek him.  It guides us closer to God through those in our lives and events around us.  This kind of grace is not irresistable and will not override one's free well, but can lead us finally to God.  At this point, we experience Justifying grace, the acceptance of Christ in our lives.  But for Wesley, it didn't end there.  Further we can experience Sanctifying grace.  This is how God works in us after we become Christians. It's how we grow and mature in our faith and respond to the world around us, and for Wesley this was very important.

The last thing is how Wesley viewed works of mercy.  For Wesley it wasn't enough to have achieved justification.  God wants us to reach out to others, especially the poor and marginalized.  This doesn't just include preaching, it includes helping them, attending to actual physical needs. However again Wesley is quick to underline that these works of mercy are not the means to grace, but the ends of grace.  They are the result of the people of God actively going out into the world to serve others.

So these are just a few things highlighted throughout the book.  I would encourage anyone, Christian or not, to read it and think about how you can affect the world around you for the better.  Perhaps, like me, and like Wesley himself, you will find that your heart has been "strangely warmed" to the message and mission  of Jesus Christ.

Why Is Being Anti-Gay So Important to Some Christians?

The culture is shifting.  Whether you like it or not, attitudes towards gay, lesbian, and transgender people are changing, becoming more accepting.  You may or may not be happy about this.  In the interest of full disclosure I'll say that I'm thrilled.  I do not believe that being gay is a choice. Therefore, if I believe that God created everything, he must have created them that way.  I have no problem with gay people entering into a marriage contract in the legal sense or a marriage covenant in a religious sense.

Now let me explain myself before you all either tune out the rest of this entry or fire up your flame throwers.  First off, I don't believe that churches should be forced to perform gay marriages if that doesn't align with the views of the congregation.  I also don't believe that the current court proceedings are going to force them to do so.  Churches refuse to marry couples everyday of the week across the country.  My wife and I were married at All Souls Catholic Church in Sanford, Florida.  We didn't just show up and say "Marry us or else."  We had to talk with a liturgist, a priest, and take a day long class before we could enter into the sacrament of marriage.  Had the church told us no, we wouldn't have been able to sue them.  So let's all calm down about that.

I have a question though.  Why is being anti-gay so important to so many people who call themselves Christians?  What is it about this issue that divides people, splits churches, and ruins entire families? After all, Jesus didn't address the issue in the recorded gospels.  So one of two things happened. Either Jesus didn't say anything about it or the writers of the gospels didn't think about it enough to include it.  So that being said, what's your problem with it?  At best this is a secondary theological issue.  Surely had it been more important there would be a recorded teaching from Jesus.  Yet all of Jesus' teaching about love and inclusion are so often tossed out the window when it comes to gay people.  I've boiled this down in my own thinking to five reasons why this seems to be such a big deal to so many Christians.

First off, Christians seemed to have adopted so many of the negative stereotypes about gay people that emerge from an aggressive male dominated culture, independent of religion.  How many times have you heard, or even perpetuated the thought that gay people are pedophiles?  Search the discussion on social media and I bet you find a reference to this harmful stereotype in less than 5 minutes.  Another one is the thought that a same sex couple cannot be suitable parents or that children in same sex households will grow up to be utterly confused in their sex roles.  The academic/scientific community consensus  is that there isn't a basis for this conclusion either, but that doesn't seem to matter.  For some reason, many Christians seem to be vulnerable to these kind of stereotypes, or even hoaxes.  How many times have you seen some chain mail sent through email or social media that is patently false, only to see it being perpetuated and nurtured by Christians?  The answer is.....a lot.

The second thing that leads to this issue being such a sore point is the practice of biblical literalism.   For people who read the Bible literally, every word of it is divinely penned and contains ultimate authority.  This authority cannot be contradicted.  They see the Bible as book that tells one story and should be read cover to cover, with every word being taken absolutely literal.  Of course, many problems arise from this.  The universe was created in six days.  People lived to be 900 some years old.  A major flood wiped out all of the animals in the entire world except for a few that some guy put on a boat.  Then when we get to Leviticus, being gay is an abomination and non-celibate gay people should be executed.  That's not very nice now, is it?  I mean, even the most stringent anti-gay people that I know don't want to see them executed.  But why?  I mean it says so right in the Bible!

Let's first say that the Bible is not one book that's meant to be read cover to cover with every word to be taken literally.  The Bible contains material related to two different cultures: ancient Jews and early Christians.  It records how both of these cultures, thousands of years ago, responded to the life and times around them.  The Bible contains poetry, mythology, metaphor, personal correspondence, legend, and a dash of actual history.  You can't read a book like that and take every word literally. Psalm 91 says that God will cover you with his feathers.  So God has feathers.  He's a chicken. Hebrews 12 says that God is a consuming fire.  Now he's a blast furnace.  Which is it?  Oh, you mean it's a metaphor?  Weird, I'll stop worshiping the chicken that lives on the next street I guess.  The plain fact is that while Bible passages have to be read in context with other passages, they also have to be read in the context of the historical time in which they were written.  When viewed this way, the Bible becomes not a constitution that must be followed to the letter, but a library of different books, written at different times, that conveys the feelings of different authors.

But you might say, "Ok, what about Romans 1?"  Yes, in Roman 1 Paul lists homosexuality as "ungodly."  First off, he lists a lot of other things too, and a lot of us are guilty of most of it.  However, something happens if you read the passage in context and you check out the first verse of Romans 2.:

"Therefore you have no excuse. whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgement on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things." (Romans 2:1 NRSV).

Sounds like what we were all taught as kids: "when you point a finger at someone else. three point right back to you."   So when you're using the passage against others, you're doing exactly what Paul tells you not to do.  Now yes, Paul still does seem to be against homosexuality, but in 1 Corinthians he also says that women should keep their mouths shut in church.  This view is also part of a bygone era.  If you're interested in learning more about the "Clobber Passages" that Christians use against gay people check out Ronald Goetz's blog Bible Thumping Liberal.

The third reason being anti-gay is so important to some Christians is because they are obsessed with sin and judgement.  It doesn't seem to matter that the expressed mission of Christ was to free all from sin and judgement.  For some reason, a requirement for being a Christian seems to be that you follow the Hebrew law as laid out in the Old Testament.  As Paul himself insists, this is patently false. He treats this subject extensively in Galatians.

"The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you had heard?" (Galatians 3:2 NRSV)

"For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written 'Cursed is everyone who obeys all the things written in the book of the law'." (Galatians 3:10 NRSV)

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us." (Galatians 3:13a)

Paul seems to be pretty clear on the subject.  Throughout his epistles he constantly stresses salvation, or transformation, through grace, not through the following of a moral law code or by doing good works.  It is the central theme of his message.

Now that's not to say that Paul is giving everyone a license to go out and do as they please.  However what Paul is stressing, and what the church in the modern era seems to have largely forgotten, is a process of personal transformation made possible by Christ's love and grace, not through moral codes or judgement.  As so many people in the emergent view of Christianity are pointing out, this process leads to a person who becomes like Christ, a person who loves and serves everyone, including their enemies and people who disagree with them.

Yet of course, bending back into Biblical literalism, many Christians see being gay as a sin, or at least not being a celibate gay person is a sin.  And so this obsession with sin, despite clear teaching otherwise, becomes the central focus of faith.  The point is to abhor and virulently condemn anything you see as sinful because you're "standing up for God's will."  But guess what, God doesn't need you to defend him. He's good there.  Plus, why does he keep on creating all these gay people if he hates them so much?  Not to mention, our calling as Christians is not to go around proclaiming God's judgement on those whom we disagree with, or anyone for that matter.  Our calling as Christians is bear the image of Christ into the world.  That image is one of love, service, and sacrifice; not sin, judgement, and dogmatic obsession.

Fourth, not only are modern Christians obsessed with sin, but they're obsessed with sex.  Now there are a lot of people that are obsessed with sex, and a lot of it is unhealthy. Modern American Christians have taken this to new heights in the western world though.  For so many people the biggest part of that Law code that they think everyone has to follow is about sex. Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex.  Nymphomaniacs aren't as obsessed with sex as some conservative Christians are.  So much of the conversation turns into issues about sex.  "That person is having sex before they're married."  "That couple is using birth control when they have sex."  "Those guys actively engage in gay sex."  "Those guys have multiple partners." "This person's kid is sexually active."  The list goes on and on and on and on.  Then when Christians are confronted by a sexual relationship with someone of the same sex the discussion nearly always devolves into things like incest and bestiality.  Seriously, who spends so much time thinking about sex with animals?  Conservative comment boards and websites have been full of it this week after the Supreme Court actions.  Sigmund Freud would have a field day.  Brian McLaren has a term for this kind of sex obsessed Christian in his book "A New Kind of Christianity." He calls it "fundasexuality" and devotes a whole chapter to it.  For McLaren, this obsession with sex comes not from faith or religion, but from an orientation of fear.  These people fear new things, new ideas.  They fear things and people who different.  They fear religious authority figures.

I totally agree with him there and I encourage everyone to check out that chapter in his book, well check out the whole thing too.  Certainly certain patterns of sexual relationships can have destructive consequences, but that's not where this is obsession comes from.  As McLaren states: "Sociologists sometimes say that groups can exist without a god, but no group can exist without a devil. Some group or individual needs to be identified as an enemy" (A New Kind of Christianity, Pg 175).

That leads me to my final reason as to why Christians get so upset with gay people.  People say that they're protecting their religious rights, but that is a phantom fable.  These folks aren't REALLY worried about their rights, they're obsessed with OTHER PEOPLE and what OTHER PEOPLE are doing.  Look, I promise you, gay marriage could be legal all through the country and you'd still get to go to church whenever and wherever you want.  As I said earlier, your church will not be forced into performing gay marriages.  You can go right on believing that being gay is a sin.  Nobody from the government is going to come stop you.  More and more people might disagree with you, but nobody is gonna throw you in prison for having that opinion.

Let's face it, what people are actually doing is being nosy, superior, and attempting to force their belief onto others, it's exactly what they fear that gay people are going to do to them, and it's exactly the the opposite of what Jesus asks us to do.  Once again we see the fear of the "other" rear it's head in our culture.  The problem for Christians is that Jesus didn't call on us to judge the other.  He called on us to love and serve the other.  Don't forget that Jesus was a guy who hung about with prostitutes, tax collectors, working class people, the sick, and dirty fishermen, all while being reviled by the religious conservatives of his day, people to whom he referred to as "white washed tombs," pure and clean on the outside but dead on the inside.

Look, I'm not under the impression that I'm going to change anybody's mind here.  I don't believe that being gay is a sin.  I don't believe that gay people having a committed sexual relationship is a sin.  I might be wrong, but if I am, I rest comfortably in the fact that I still try my best to exhibit the love of Christ to anyone and everyone, and I'm just fine with that being a legacy that I leave when I'm no longer on this earth.

If you're a Christian who doesn't share my views, that is your right, but I hope what I've had to say can help you understand where people like me are coming from.  You may cling to your rigid belief, but times are changing, and my viewpoint is not going away.  If you're a gay Christian who reads this, please take heart and know that not everyone is against you.  I can't imagine what it might be like for you to be placed in certain situations.  Know that I accept you for who you are, and that I will pray not for you to be "cured" of who you are, but that someday a spirit of love and understanding will prevail for everyone.

If you're gay but you're not a Christian and you read this, please know that not all Christians are against you.  I am not.  I'm certainly not in this to try and convert anyone, but as religious institutions are often leading the fight against your rights, please know that many of us, more than you might think, care for you and are trying to change things from the inside out.

May Christ's Peace and Love be upon ALL.

Peace vs Pragmatism: Something I Struggle With

US Plane in the Persian Gulf: August, 2014. (EPA via BBC)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an entry about calling for peace in dark times.  I talked about anti-Muslim sentiment and especially how it tends to surface around the anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. I also discussed the role of peacemaker, the role that Jesus would have us take on.  Toward the end I talked a little about the current situation with ISIS and what's going on there.

Well, as you've most likely noticed in the last 24 hours, things have really ramped up on this front.   Yesterday the US and several other countries undertook airstrikes in Syria that were targeted at ISIS, among others.  This is a significant escalation in the conflict, and as I listened to the news this afternoon I heard more than one reporter or pundit call it a "new war" with varying degrees of giddyness.  

So this brings me to an issue that I really struggle with: Being anti-violence and anti-war is well and good, but what do you do when some people are trying to hurt others and seemingly won't respond to anything else but force and violence being used against them?  Does Jesus really wish for us to sit back and not do anything about it?  It's not just a question for religious folks either.  I know plenty of atheist/agnostic folks who who share my opinions on war and violence, yet none of them have ever given me a way to resolve this issue either.

Should we let ISIS continue to commit the atrocities that they're committing?  Should we just back off and hope that at some point they (and other groups) will just leave us alone?  The pragmatic answer is "of course not," but how do you reconcile this with the classical teachings of Jesus concerning peace and non violence?  How do you deal with this even if you're a totally secular person who just tries to live by the phrase: "Do no harm?"

The first thing that probably pops into your head if you've given this some thought is Just War Theology.  It's not just for theologians either, you'll see it taught in ethics classes as "Just War Theory."  You even see it in the Geneva convention.  The theory has two parts.  The first deals with justice in going to war, and the second deals with justice during of the conduct of war.

I'm not going to go into a treatise on it here.  There's plenty of accessible info on the internet about it. This page gives a quick overview for those who are really interested in the ethical underpinnings. Basically it states that a war can only justly be waged to protect life, that it must be proportional to the issue at hand, that it must be done with proper authority, and it must be a last resort.

I think most regular folks would have no issue seeing the current conflict with ISIS as being sanctioned under Just War Theory.  After all, these guys are forcing religious conversions, holding mass executions of innocent people, and decapitating people on camera just for starters.  It seems like we should all be fine with mopping these guys up and ridding the world of their influence.

So why can't I bring myself to whole-heartedly support this?  Why is it even a question in my mind?

First I guess it's because I'm not so sure it will work.  I have a hard time believing that a few thousand bombs and some partially trained Syrian rebel forces are gonna sort this out.  I'm really afraid that we're going to end up sending in American troops, men and women from who we've asked so much of already.  I know that the politicians say this isn't going to happen, but politicians lie and circumstances change.  I also know that many if not most of our soldiers would go in a heartbeat.  It's what they signed on for.  I respect that immensely, and it's that respect that makes me think we need to be careful about how we use these men and women. I really don't want more families to be experiencing the pain of a lost loved one in this way.

Second: let's assume it does work.  Let's assume that we manage to root out ISIS and their cohorts. What happens next?  We screwed this up big time in Iraq, and it hasn't gone much better in Afghanistan.  We create a power vacuum that must be filled.  Either we stay and fill it ourselves (which the locals aren't going to go for) or we let it go and see what happens.  Either way, I have a hard time seeing this turning out to be anything other than a game of terrorist Whack-a-Mole.  We put one group down and another pops up.  Is that the best we can hope for?  I don't know.

The other thing is my belief that violence breeds violence.  If you watch the news magazine show "Vice," you saw them do a piece on Afghanistan and continued US operations there, specifically drone attacks.  They talked to a number of people both in Afghanistan and the US that said flat out said that every time we drop a bomb we create at least one new terrorist.  It's seen as naked American aggression.  These people don't view the situation the same way we do.  Maybe they don't agree with the terrorists, but what do they think when a bomb accidentally kills some women or kids?  What do they think when they're left to live in the rubble after the bombs are done falling?  That's when violence recycles.  What do we do about that?  How do we win the hearts and minds so to speak?

I don't have the answers to any of this.  As much as I want to advocate for peace, what do we do in this situation?  It isn't just an ethical or esoteric dilemma.  People are dying, and the violence keeps on recycling.  I sat and watched the news coverage of this last night and was totally torn in two on the subject.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, the best thing that I can come up with is hoping and praying that in the end a solution is found that does the least amount violence to the fewest number of people. It's the best way for me to feel comfortable with it, but it doesn't do much about the actual problem. Unfortunately, it's a problem that's not going away anytime soon.  I just hope a solution can be found that's something besides "perpetual war."  At any rate, I hope that you'll join me in the coming days to pray for our leaders, our soldiers, the innocent people in the crossfire, and even the people we're fighting against that their hearts might be softened.

Though admittedly, that's a long shot.

A Tale of Two Trees

What did the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" mean to you growing up?  It's part of that basic Sunday School story that all church kids are raised with.  After God created Adam and Eve, he told them that they were free to eat from any fruit in the Garden of Eden except that which was from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Then of course in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve do precisely the one thing that God told them not to do, and the rest is history, well at least allegorically speaking.

The second chapter of Brian McLaren's book, "We Make the Road By Walking," deals with Genesis 2 and the introduction of this forbidden sapling.  The title is "Being Human" and talks about the two creation stories presented in the first two chapters of Genesis, and the two different trees that are mentioned: one the aforementioned "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" and the "Tree of Life." We don't hear so much about that one, do we?

So I started off by thinking about what the "forbidden tree" meant to me as I was raised in church from a little boy to eventually someone who considered joining the clergy.  When you're a kid in Sunday School, the tree itself doesn't really take top billing.  The story is about how Adam and Eve did something that God had told them not to, plain and simple.  Then look what happened because they disobeyed!  Of course then you go home and wonder if, because Adam and Eve were the first man and woman,....maybe we're all related and marrying somebody you're related to is generally frowned upon, but anyway...I digress.

Eventually I got older, and I started to think more in depth about this.  Okay, I admit, I didn't always WANT to think about this stuff, but I had to memorize parts of the Heidelberg Catechism, so thinking about something as relatively simple as the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" was a nice change of pace in high school Sunday School class.

So I guess my "adult idea" about the forbidden tree became something like this:  "Adam and Eve bought the serpent's argument that eating the fruit of the tree would make them like God.  Wanting to be like God is bad because there can be only one god (cue the Highlander reference).  This desire and this "sin" not only separated them from God, but put them in open rebellion against God."  This was, of course, all taken care of when Jesus died on the cross.

Sounds reasonable enough, right?  I mean for someone who grew up in the "sin avoidance" world of Calvinism.

McLaren takes a certain bit of this idea and riffs on it.  He challenges us to see BOTH trees in a slightly different light.  The Tree of Life is just that.  When we eat from it, we realize how wonderful the world around us is and how wonderful it is to be alive.  When you eat from the tree of life, everything, every human being, every plant and animal, is good just like God created it.  When we eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we are indeed wanting to be like God, to play God.  We start judging aspects of the world around us.  This escalates into this "us vs them" thinking. Our tribe, our faith is good.  The other tribe, the other faith, is BAD.  If they're bad, well then we can go to war with them, run them down, and dehumanize them.

Eating from the tree of life invites love, joy, compassion, and the fullness of life.  Eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil invites judgement, resentment, and perhaps violence and death. Part of "Being Human," as McLaren puts it, is that we are faced with this choice everyday of our lives.  Everyday we face the choice to be accepting and loving or judgmental and self-righteous.  Is there really a question as to which Jesus would have us choose?  Remember, people are judging and looking down on you the same way you look down on others.

I will readily admit that I struggle with this concept.  I'm a very judgmental person.  I've been told that in certain situations I come across as really haughty and impressed with myself, and as I look at my thoughts and behavior, I'm thinking that there's a lot of truth to that.  The good thing is, as I've started to recognize these patterns of thought and these mannerisms, I've been able to make an attempt to think and behave differently.  I certainly don't succeed every time, but I have confidence that the effort will make me a better person in the long run.

At the end of the chapter, McLaren asks us to consider our hand.  A hand can be made into a fist for violence, or it can be offered as a gesture of peace and friendship. A hand can wield a gun or play a violin.  A hand can steal from others or serve others.  A hand can destroy or it can build.

Think about it.  What tree will you eat from everyday?  What will your hands do tomorrow?  It's considering questions like these, whether you're religious or not, that can make us all better people and make the world a better place.

The Heart of Christ, The Heart of Compassion

"I give you a new commandment: Love one another.  As I have loved you. so you should love one another.  This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."--St. John 13:34-25.

As I've traveled the road I'm on, from clergy candidate to hardcore atheist, to whatever I am these days, I've held one constant thought.  I've just not been able to escape from the fact that what often passes for Christianity these days has absolutely nothing to do with what Christ had to say.  I honestly don't understand.  I was raised in a Christian home and a church where I was taught the Jesus loved everybody, that his gift of purpose and life was open to all.  I studied theology, I learned from pastors and priests who further instilled this in me even more.  However, the more I got out in the world, the more it blew up in my face.  Eventually I got so tired of seeing and hearing Christians prattling on about judgement, prosperity, and Old Testament moral codes that it drove a wedge in between me and the faith I believed was calling me to be a servant of God.

The more I've thought about it, I've drilled down to three things that are found in the teachings of Jesus Christ that seem to be incompatible with modern "conservative" Christianity.  I believe these three things are are the cornerstone of Christ's teaching and ministry, so they should also be the foundation of the lives of Christians and churches.

1. Jesus loves and gave his life for everyone, and invites everyone to share in his life and love.
At first this doesn't sound all that controversial, but I contend that it isn't just controversial, but radically subversive and and contrary to modern, conservative, Christianity.  Most Christians today are more than happy to invite anyone to their table, as long as that person subscribes to the same creed or liturgical form, and as long as that person isn't gay, liberal, or heaven forbid not religious at all!  Is that really what Jesus had in mind?   I think not.  This is the guy who hung around with a bunch of dirty fishermen, prostitutes, and tax collectors.  That's right, TAX collectors.  Can you honestly envision Jesus turning a gay person away from his table?

Of course, then everybody comes back with "but the Bible says that being gay is a sin."  Well guess what folks, the Bible says a lot of things.  It's amazing to see what Christians will drill down to find.   People will spend a ton of time talking about how the Bible says "Do this and don't do that," yet they don't seem to spend all that much time on what Jesus said or did.  It's also worth noting that probably nobody absolutely conforms to these Old Testament codes anymore, and God doesn't smite everybody for it.

The message of Christ is absolute, unconditional love.  It's not "hate the sin, love the sinner."  This is just more us vs them talk that makes people feel superior to others.  When you turn away people in your life, for whatever reason, you are turning away Jesus as well.

2. Jesus envisions a humble community where people share with each other, help each other, and rely on each other as opposed to an individual, selfish, and overly self-reliant lifestyle.
American Christianity is heavily influenced by the puritanical version of Calvinism that was brought to our coasts by those guys and gals with the funny hats that we celebrate every Thanksgiving.  You want those strict moral codes?  It's hard to get stricter than your friendly neighborhood Pilgrim (or Puritan).  They also brought this code of "If you don't work, you don't eat."  This has translated to the modern day selfishness that is so inherent in many libertarian, tea bagger, and ultra-conservative circles.  Are there people who take advantage of the generosity of others?  Absolutely.  Does it mean that people, especially Christians, should dispense with the generosity and self sacrifice preached by Christ?  Absolutely not.  This is what Jesus looks like to these folks:

The only problem with this is that it's totally against everything that Jesus taught and did.   I kicked off this entry with a picture of Jesus feeding the 5000.   Take a look at this story either in Matthew's or John's Gospel.  Basically it's late on in the evening and there a ton of people around with nothing to eat.  The disciples tell Jesus to send them away so that they can go buy food for themselves.  Jesus says that this isn't necessary, and he takes the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish brought by a small boy and turns it into enough food for everyone plus some left over.

Note that Jesus didn't tell the people to go fend for themselves.  He didn't refuse to take the 5 loaves and 2 fish from the boy and give it to all of these other people because the crowd didn't bake the bread or catch the fish.  He made it enough for everyone.  Through the sharing of resources, everyone was taken care of.  Sure there was a miracle in this story, but think about it.  There is more than enough food and resources for everyone in the USA, with some left over.  We throw a ton of food away!   We go to church, give a tithe or offering, say a superficial prayer and feel that our obligation is done.  Everybody else needs to get off their butt and get a job, or a second job, or a third job.  Jesus had a vision of community where people share resources and talents for the good of all, not some Ayn Randian society where people just fend for themselves and are indifferent to or hostile to the suffering of others.  This is clear as can be all through the Gospels.

3.  Jesus thought the best of everyone and gave people the benefit of the doubt.
There isn't a more poignant or heartbreaking scene in the Gospels than some of the last words of Jesus recorded in Luke 23:34.  As Jesus hangs on the cross after being tortured and near death, as he watches the Roman soldiers below him gamble for the last of his possessions, he sends a plea to his father:  "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Dwell on that for a few minutes.   These people just flogged him and then made him carry the instrument of his own execution though the city and up a hill.  When he got there, they nailed him to the wood and suspended him from the cross, his body weight causing him to drown in the fluid from his own lungs.  Most people at the foot of the cross are still mocking him, and he has to be still stinging from the crowds chanting for his death and the betrayals of his best friends.  Yet in the midst of this, with some of his last breaths, he prays to God to forgive these people.  There at the end, at the moment of death, he knows what's going on and is still thinking the best of the people who tortured and killed him.

Yet Christians today are so quick to judge and to think the worst about people.  Gay people, who desire nothing more than legal recognition of their relationships are considered evil folks who are out to push their beliefs on others.  Nothing is further from the truth.  Gay people are just like anyone else, people who want to live their lives in peace as they see fit.

Poor people, those people Jesus cared about so much?  They're all lazy.  They just need to get off the couch and get another job, because we're certainly not going to share what we have.  Some of the hardest working people I know work 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet, and they would have serious words with anyone who sat around in an air-conditioned office all day and called them lazy.

Jesus calls us to see the best in everyone.  It's not easy sometimes, but everyone is worth love and respect no matter who they are or what they do.  Jesus calls us to love the unlovable.  Jesus doesn't care if you're a criminal, he sees a the basic humanity that just might be turned around.  Jesus calls us to love the people our society hides away.  He calls us to love the sick, the handicapped, the dying.  It's not a suggestion for something to do if we get our latest project done at work.  It is the way of Jesus, the way of sacrifice, the way of the cross.

It seems like these days we all spend more effort finding excuses for not doing what Jesus asks of us.  "Well, I can't be in a community with these people because they're gay, and that's wrong.  It doesn't matter if they were created that way."  "I'm sorry Jesus, I just can't support social programs for the poor, unemployed, or sick because they'll just learn to depend on it and never fend for themselves."  Does this really hold water with the man who let himself be tortured and executed for you? I don't think so.

Christians are called to have a heart like the heart of Christ.  That heart loves everyone, shares with everyone, and thinks the best of everyone.  That heart is a heart of compassion and love, even when we may think it's not deserved.

Live that love, live that compassion.

And don't let YOUR heart be hardened. 

Modern Christianity: Adventures In Missing the Entire Point

My parents have been talking up their new pastor at the United Methodist Church for awhile now, and up until now, I've only really heard him on Christmas and Easter.  Well, today I decided to go hear what he had to say on a Sunday in ordinary time.  I was actually really glad I did.

If you read my previous entry, you know that one of the reasons I turned from someone who was going into the clergy to someone who often shuns religion is because of the focus that I often see in the Church these days, particularly in the United States.  This morning my parents' pastor pretty much hit it right on the head, clarifying the issue for me and giving me a lot to think on.

He's been preaching a series essentially on basic Christianity.  Today his homily focused on "what really brings us fulfillment" using the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet as a backdrop.  Folks were encouraged to bring an item that represented things that they felt fulfilled them.  In retrospect, perhaps I could have taken a Real Salt Lake scarf.  People brought various things, and some even tried to "guess the right answer" by bringing pictures of Jesus, which made me raise an eyebrow in amusement.  He spoke for a few minutes about the various items that had been brought and laid on the altar rail.  He even mentioned that for him pecan pie was something that was fulfilling!  But he deftly began to turn focus  by asking if you would want any of those things that fulfilled you listed on your tombstone.  Would you want it to read "Gary, eater of pecan pie?"  Now me, sure, you can write that I supported RSL in my obituary, but is there more to it?  He posited this by asking "what fulfilled Jesus?"

He asked us to consider the story of Jesus washing his disciples feet on Holy Thursday.  Most of you, Christian or not, know the story.  Before the passover meal began (the Last Supper) Jesus took off his outer clothes, tied a towel around his waist, and proceeded to wash the feet of the disciples then dry them with the towel.

Surely this would have been a profound moment for these men, who professed Jesus as the Son of the Living God.  Now when Jesus gets to Simon Peter, Peter goes reactive, as he often does in the Gospel stories, freaks out, and misses the point.  Starting in St. John 13:6, we get the account of what happened.  Peter asks Jesus if he is going to wash his feet.  Jesus says yes, and that Peter won't understand why just yet.  Peter comes back with "You ain't gonna wash MY feet!"

Often I imagine Jesus giving Peter a sly smile and shaking his head at his reactionary ignorance.  However here I imagine Jesus having a different reaction.  I imagine him being a little sad.  All this time together and Peter, the rock which Jesus will build his Church, is still missing the point, and Jesus knows that he is set to die in a mere hours.  Jesus tells him: "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me."

Peter being Peter, he goes 180 degrees in the opposite direction, again missing the entire point in the process.  He says "Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well."  Peter is now asking for the most important spongebath ever requested.

Jesus again elaborates saying "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for his clean all over, so you are clean."  This presumably stumps Peter enough that he lets Jesus wash his feet, and so he washes all of the disciples feet, even those of Judas.

When he's finished, Jesus puts his outer garments back on and returns to the disciples.  He tells them starting in verse 12.  "Do you realize what I have done for you?  You call me teacher and master, and rightly so, for indeed I am.  If I therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, then you should wash each others feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should do also."

The pastor reflected, noting that THIS is what fulfilled Jesus.  Jesus humbled himself before his followers and washed their feet.  He treated them with dignity and honor, and foreshadowed the sacrifice that he would shortly make on their behalf.  If this then, is what fulfilled Jesus, then should this not be what fulfills people, especially Christians?  Think about it.  When do you really feel good?  Chances are it's when you do something nice for someone, or help someone in trouble.  Selflessness and sacrifice are fulfilling on the human level.  He also mentioned love.  If you keep all your love wrapped up inside of you and don't share it with anyone else, you likely will not get love in return.  If you share it with others, if you share your love and give of yourself to others, usually people give you that love back in return.  You GAIN by GIVING.  The pastor then asked us to be generous with each other in our time, our money, our resources, and our love. This is what ultimately leads to fulfillment as people, and in the process makes the world a better place.  This then, is the way of Christ, the way of the cross.

This is where, to me, Christians these days miss the entire point.  Are you REALLY interested in serving?  Are you REALLY interested in giving?  Serving and giving inside the walls of a church building is a cop out.    Yes churches need people to do various things throughout the parish.  But Jesus isn't simply telling people to be on a committee or make sure you give your weekly tithe.  Jesus is challenging you, challenging all of us, Christian or not, to take it to the next level.  "Take up your cross and follow me" is not a suggestion.  Get out of the church and into the street.  How do you help others in your daily life?  More importantly, how do you treat others and how do you present yourself in daily life.

Christians today are like Peter, are obsessed with being "clean."  Is that really what it's all about?  Is that you want on your tombstone?  "Brandon--followed every bit of the Law to the letter."  That might sound good if you're a narcissist.  It would also be totally and completely FALSE.  I don't care who you do or don't have sex with.  I don't care, and I honestly don't think Jesus cares if you don't drink alcohol or that you don't go to rated R movies.  Seriously?  "Brandon--He never saw Braveheart."  Not exactly something to be remembered by is it?  Not exactly a legacy.  "Joe Christian--Crusaded against Gay Marriage and birth control."  Think about it.

Why follow this moral code anyway?  Because ye olde book commands it?  That you have to do it to get into heaven?"  Talk about selfish reasons.  Now I'm not advocating that everyone descend into the most debauched behavior that they could think of, but what REALLY MATTERS in the long run?  What does "wanting to get to heaven" do for anybody but YOU?  "I'll take two mansions and a street of gold on cloud nine please!"

You're putting yourself on a pedestal, advertising your Christian credentials.  You look gorgeous up there in your splendid white suit as you list your resume.  "I went to church every week.  I never worked on a Sunday.  I never touched alcohol.  I never attended a rated R movie and I made sure my kids didn't either.  Coffee?  Nope.  Had sex before marriage?  Nope.  Paid my dues into the church, I did that!  I signed up for all the requisite causes.  I railed against gay people, women's choice, and equal pay.  I voted straight ticket Republican ever year.  I did everything I could to protect my 'religious rights,' and I made doubly sure that my company didn't sanction contraceptives for women.  Oh also, look at my collection of old Bibles!"

Impressive.  And indeed it sounds like the perfect resume for the Conservative Christian in 2014.    You're exercising your piety and projecting your power from your pedastal, and if that gets in anyone else's way, well that's too bad because you're going to do what you have to do to collect your celestial rewards.

What is Jesus doing while you're looking smart on your pedestal, conducting your religious fueled witch hunts, and telling everybody how much you have on the ball?

Jesus is on the floor in nothing but a dirty towel washing the feet of a guy that is going to deliver him to the power of the day to be killed.  He's also washing the feet of a guy who while being considered his closest friend, will totally abandon him and deny that even knows him three times.  Your swearing off alcohol and rated R movies seems to pail in comparison doesn't it?  You still have the birth control thing going for you though I guess.

Jesus is feeding the hungry.  Jesus is caring for the sick and dying.  While you crusade against women's rights, gay marriage, and "illegal" immigration Jesus is down at the poor house serving meals.  While you worry about a fetus, Jesus weeps for the children being killed in uncontrolled gun violence and slaughtered in wars across the globe.  I'm not sure that your argument that you're "protecting your rights" is going to cut it.

Protecting the week, feeding the poor, clothing the needy, caring for the sick, and speaking out against violence is certainly not popular these days.  Poor, hungry, and needy people are told to get a job, or a second, or a third.  After all, you've worked hard for your share, your credentials, and your power, and you don't feel like sharing.  The man you believe was literally the King of the Universe washed the feet of 12 dirty, hardly perfect guys from Galilee and then died for every wrong you or anyone else on this planet will ever do, but you can't give a little more from your paycheck for national healthcare.  You're too burdened already.  You can't find it in your heart to avoid shouting down some children who fled their families and their country for a better life.  You're gonna hang on to that big gun until they pry it from your cold dead fingers and cheer on the sidelines as another country flexes their military power, killing hundreds of civilians on the other side of the world.

What would Jesus do?  Remember that?  I think Christians better rethink that, because most of us are missing the entire point.

In closing I leave you with words from the Magnificat, the highly subversive song that Mary sings when she finds out that she has been chosen to be the mother of God.  I give you a contemporary version, but feel free to look it up in St. Luke 1: 46-55.  See what she says about the poor and the  weak vs the powerful, the pious, and the prestigious.

2. Through me great deeds will God make manifest,
And all the earth will come to call me blest.
Unbounded love and mercy sure will I proclaim
For all who know and praise God's holy name.

3. God's mighty arm, protector of the just,
Will guard the weak and raise them from the dust.
But mighty kings will swiftly fall from thrones corrupt.
The strong brought low, the lowly lifted up.

4. Soon will the poor and hungry of the earth
Be richly blest, be given greater worth.
And Israel, as once foretold to Abraham,
Will live in peace throughout the promised land.