Interventionist History And Theodicy

A key aspect of the Theology of Hope is their theory of history. In many of the Pentecostal/Charismatic communities I've been part of, an interventionist view of history prevails. That is a view where God intervenes in history from another place, often bending the natural order. This view of God as miracle worker is often questioned by those who wrestle with theodicy, specifically why does God seemingly intervene in some situations and not in others? While this denotes an underlying karmic expectation of God, it is a legitimate complaint. If God is so fickle as to pander to the cause of just those who (especially in affluent countries) pray the "right" way, then is that a God worth worshipping? I think not. Fortunately, Theology of Hope offers a different, and I think more satisfactory, approach.

It is important to note that Theology of Hope has its roots in WWII. It is theology after Auschwitz and Hiroshima. And it is theology that is convinced that hope for the world has to be hope for the victims of these tragedies. These events can lead one to think that God is distant from and unconcerned with the follies of humans. But neither the deist clockmaker or the fickle interventionist will do as God - both should die.

Theology of Hope places history as the main place of God's activity. But not as a puppeteer pulling strings from the outside, rather as an actor who has entered into our history with us. This theology takes a distinctly incarnational view of God's relationship with history. But it also takes very seriously an idea the aforementioned views of God reject - God is a passable participant in history. God doesn't enter history to eradicate the mess carte blanche, God enters into history to live our suffering with us. This notion of historical solidarity is not passive. It comes as a response of God to the cries of God's people - just as in the story of the Exodus. But also like the Exodus we learn that God's people undergo the journey of hope, even though they may never see the final destination (and like the Exodus the journey continues to unfold).

History is not some preview to the "real" show. At the heart of interventionist notions (and its only response to theodicy) of history is the idea that ultimately this world does not matter. Theology of Hope rejects this view of history. History is where God meets us. God's action in history opens up possibilities for the future of this world. It is hope that says all the deaths and suffering of this world is not in vane, it is not just to be endured until the real show begins. It means our lives count - or should count! It calls us to act and gives us the resources to act beyond our assumed capacities, simply because we act with God. (Implicit in Theology of Hope are theologies of Grace and Christology, I will turn to those in further posts.)

This view of history is also the proof against a reason controlled deistic world of laws. If God works outside of laws then God is guilty of failing to intervene in the most horrific situations. If God is restricted by the laws then God is simply a functionary and probably no more than a construct of our minds. But God who meets us in the midst of life, where life is a dynamic range of possibilities (grace) opens a place for God's activity in history. An activity that does not violate our freedom, yet calls us to a deeper freedom that involves our conscious participation in God's project of undoing the ravages of what might easily be called our sinful acts of freedom in this world.

Hope as a Neglected Category

Kant presents three questions that should direct the inquiry of reason:

1) What can I know?
2) What ought I to do?
3) What may I hope?

I find that Evangelical theology has beat the first one to death. Despite the fact that there are still lots of diverse understandings of God, life and humanity. We tend to focus on the knowing as the prime mode of becoming. It is knowing the right thing (such as your sinfulness and need for Jesus) that matters. If you get it right then you can rest assured.

The second question has really animated what we call our liberal sisters and brothers. I really dislike the liberal/conservative dichotomy, especially when it is used to paint everything we distrust as evil. But there definitely are streams of Christian thoughts that are all about action, doing. The moral imperatives of the faith are the substance for these folks. And while they tend to do great things, they are in just as much danger of missing the boat as those who focus exclusively on the first question.

See it is not what you know or even what you do that matters. But it is about why you do what you do. The third question takes us into the realm of why. But the funny thing is that this third question is not taken up a lot. And when it is taken up it is perverted into otherworldly categories that are more about our comfort than about hope (which is a main theme of The Future of Hope edited by Volf and Katerberg). Taking up this question is the main theme of Hope Theology.

I find that the third question guides the other two. If our hope is based on a way of knowing and being in this world, then we have a context. Dogma, in that context, matters. If there is no hope implicated in dogma then it matters not what you believe. But belief and hope are dialectic with each other - hope keeps us from endless genealogies, that is theology with no practical impact on anything. And hope is also dialectic on how we live, move and have our beings in this world. Hope prevents us from simple charity meant to assuage our consciences. It calls us to action that brings justice, life and freedom to this world. It believes that this world is the object of God's love and that we participate in God's redemptive thrust in history.

Hope is an important category. What may I hope? It is a good question.

Fresh and Re:Fresh

OK it is finally out! At least there is a website for the book. Published by Allelon Publishing, whose website has been not working for ages now. I should have a book in my hands soon, they have been printed. But I really hope that it ends up on indigo and amazon so folks can actually get a copy in their hands too. These stories are important. I don't think this is an earth shattering theological book (in fact I'd say it isn't) but it does give a good Canadian sense of what is happening at the edges of our traditional church communities. For me this is my first published chapter in a book, really it is an essay and Freedom Vineyard is the focus. I look at how we are wrestling with the term missional in our context. Would love to hear comments from any of you who read it.

Thomas Berry

This month started with the very sad news that Thomas Berry had passed. He went peacefully surrounded by family. His impact on me, and many others, is hard to measure. I find Berry incredibly challenging and actually often wonder how he'd approach the issues and challenges that I run into. The earlier material I've read and watched was filled with a sense of optimism - but the realist that his later material conveyed confirmed the gravity of our future on this planet. Thursday, June 26th there will be a remembrance ceremony at Saint Paul University. I am hoping to put together a bit of a tribute in the form of a slide show depicting the wonderful story of our universe. Berry helped so many of us see that it is the arrogance of our species that has led to the toxification of our planet. In telling the universe story we see that no matter how significant, our species is but the briefest of blips in this story. As Moltmann said in "Progress and Abyss", this planet can easily go on without us, but we are utterly dependent on this planet for our survival. May Berry's life continue to foster a humble attitude towards the Earth and a sense of wonder in this amazing universe!

4E Gameplay

We had our first session of the Dungeon Crawl scenario. It was quite fun. Whole new group of players too! 4E plays quite differently than previous versions. Of course role playing is the same, I had a lively bunch so that was quite entertaining (especially Malcolm's acrobatic shenanigans!) Despite the lack of experience with 4E (and in one case with the tabletop RPG) we navigated things quite well. The odd incredulous eyebrow was raised, which is often entertaining. Here are a few of the notable differences, good and bad:

Powers Are Really Different
I love power cards, that is a great innovation. We've used something like that in 3.5 and it means my frustrations with characters not knowing their spells (I even ended up making a spellbook for one player!) are potentially over. Only one player chose not to use the cards and it slowed down their gameplay considerably. But the other thing about powers is that this is a completely different way of doing things. Powers interact (marking) and allow some pretty cool maneuvers. Powers also gives the players a nice way to make their characters unique, so big thumbs up. The only reservation I have is that now every character plays the same - they all have powers. This makes wizards more useful, although with a low BAB they are still quite useless in combat once their auto-damage spells (flaming sphere is quite nice in this edition) are used up.

Movement and Freaking Squares

Ok so I'm still not sold on diagonals counting the same as straight movements, I'll live. But now all the effects are squares?

Wizard "Watch me cast a fire cube!"
Fighter "A what?"
Wizard "A firecube, you know to avoid pesky pixelation."
Fighter "Pixie-whation?"
Rogue "My mother was killed by damn pixies!"
Frustrated Wizard "No! Pixelation. It is when..."
Party is eaten by monsters annoyed by their debate.

Squares? Really?

New Math

Remember THAC0? What a great innovation. Then D20 made things even more simple by making all the math move in the same direction! Yay! In every version it takes a while to get used to the math. Last night we discovered the addition of variables. Now weapons do damage based on interesting algebra: 2(W)+STR+WIS = ???? It is actually quite elegant when you get your head around it. But there are a lot of fun little numbers to calculate - best to do these before hand. Passive checks (nice!), Surge values (Surges are actually quite interesting. We had some fun with those in the first encounters!), attack bonus', etc. What I would say is that this is quite doable, once you have your head around the crunch of the system you are golden. Now what was W again?

Got Rid of Skill Creep

The last one I'll look at is a big Kudo. They got rid of skill creep. By combining skills into categories (and killed the ability to max these out) skill become a lot more playable. DCs are simplified as well, based on the tier you are playing at you have a baseline DC value that you can fudge around. As a DM it is nice to have a baseline.

I had a lot of fun DMing the new version. I think it is quite playable. I ditched a few things - milestones? meh. I'd rather award things like that in a more arbitrary fashion. The scenario we are running does have a boss on each level so that warrants an Action Point. I'll have to give milestones some more thought later. BTW for the DMs out there, nothing beats a creepy tapestry to cause the players to waste an hour in an empty room.

D&D 4E Initial Thoughts

Ok, so colour me skeptical. Part of my problem was that I had spent so much money already on 3.5E and you know that game works. We've house ruled it just the way we like it and so why would I want another version of the game? Well a couple of factors led to my purchase. First, there is no denying that the game is, at least in some ways, simplified. So when we hatched the idea of running a game for kids 4E seemed like an option worth looking at. Second, I did a bit of work for Wizards of the Coast and they paid me enough to pick up the new set (plus an extra book). I like to support the company that produces such a fine game so in went my Chapters order.

The books have mostly sat on my shelf since then. My local barista, Ric, has been after me to run a game for him and his boys. He plays 4E, being a young'un, and has this silly notion that writing the odd piece for Wizards gives me some DMing cred. I would say that I do have some DMing cred, but only because I've got quite a few years DMing under my belt. So I pitched the idea of running a 4E version of Richard Dufault's thoroughly enjoyable Dungeon Crawl. In that game I played a Warpriest named Marvin. It is a pure dungeon crawl, so the DM is free to level the dungeon appropriately.

Well, one of the biggest hassles for a DM is all the preparation she/he has to make before running the game. I know back in my own youth filled days Advanced D&D had rules for random dungeon generation - 4E brings some of that back but I find it isn't that good for spontaneous sessions as the original. But I'm not sure I'd find those random sessions fun anymore - I sometimes use randomly generated dungeons in my 3.5 game, but with heavy modifications. (My players like to tease me about the infintely thin walls!) But here is where 4E really delights me - it is very easy to put together.

The hurdles first, there are a few. I use DM Genie for 3.5 to create stat blocks, it is amazing. There are tools for this in 4E, but you have to pay a subscription for them and they are online. I am sure DM Genie will have something, if it hasn't already. But until then it is not easy to customize monster stat blocks. How the designers compensate for this is to have lots of examples in the Monster Manuals. For now that is a great option, but it means buying more books - something I'd rather spend money on than a subscription! The other hurdle is that everything in the rule books seems to lean towards highly leveled encounters that favour the players reliance on combat to solve problems - an experienced DM can easily recognize and reject this ideology. Part of the fun of D&D is creating a role playing environment where all different types of gamers can have their moment to shine - not just the combat tacticians.

So the boon is that putting together adventure materials is so easy. It took me no time to understand what was required for an encounter to function. Monster stat blocks are actually quite impressive, and so is the emphasis on tactics for each particular foe. I made up a MS Word template for the stat blocks, believe me I tried to find something useful online - if you know of anything that isn't subscription based please let me know. And then I banged out a quick and dirty process. Create a random encounter chart - I actually didn't like the way they do this, encounter decks are something I liked for a while, but not flexible enough on the fly. So I created 12 variable (in numbers of critters) encounters that are ordered based on XP ranges.

Second step is to create the treasure parcels. I was skeptical of this, but it is really an improvement. Treasure is tied to a particular level and not a specific monster. This way I can spread it out or even pile it up with just the level boss! As treasure is placed in rooms, with encounters, it simply gets scratched off the list. Nice.

Third step is to map out and populate the dungeon. I stuck to the 8-12 room range, the theory is that 10 rooms should be a level. That's a good ballpark for what I am doing in the dungeon crawl - each level ends with a boss (usually a dragon). Populating the rooms is then quite simple. I write a bit of flavour text about the level in general (halls, doors, etc.) then I list the rooms. I've named each one, but that is just for my own amusement - Layover at the Roxbury is one of my rooms - and each one has a bit of readable flavour text. Then I list the Features of the room, including Perception and Thievery DCs needed as well as gp values for items that the party might take the time to remove. The next step is to list the monsters present (if any) and then the treasure (if any). Voila you have a dungeon!

After I have a list of all the possible monsters, both random and pre-planned, I then create a second file that is the stat blocks. Keeping these handy for fights is my main concern. A level works out to two pages of text, a map and 3-5 pages of stat blocks. Now that I have a bunch of blocks done it is pretty easy to put that part together. I just wish I had better action symbols! Anyone got a font out there? I found a nice font for re-charge dice.

The next step is to see how this plays. I am thinking Saturday night at my place. I want to limit it to six players, there might still be space if you are interested in a bi-weekly dungeon crawl - 4E style! I'll let you know how it goes.

Missional

I was recently in a conversation where the word missional was being thrown around. At least three different church leaders used this term in describing their own church, and all of them meant something different by it. A couple years back a number of my emerging church friends ditched emerging/emergent for this term. While emerging/emergent can mean everything you like or dislike about modern Christianity - missional has a root that is harder to deny. For many of us in the evangelical world, missional sounds like it should be a definitive word for what we are doing - after all isn't our role to treat the world like a mission field? I'll let you mull that over.

The idea of missional needs some qualifiers though. Do you mean missional in terms of a general disposition of your congregation to support traditional missions abroad and maybe even at home? That is one way I hear it being used. Or do you mean missional in terms of an orientation of your congregation towards bringing people into your church - by whatever means you feel God has led you to employ of course? I hear that a lot too - it is basically using missional to describe what others have named attractional. Or do you mean missional as a means of saying that your congregation is embedded in the cultures they are trying to reach - implicated in their very lives? This is where some would get antsy - but this is another way this term is being used.

One of the problems is that these terms represent ecclesiologies that are often contrasted against each other, somehow captured up in one little word. I have two problems with this. First evangelicals have a weakness for words, we love to use them but we are less enamoured with precisely defining them. This is actually a liberal impulse that is meant to preserve religious diversity, but it leads rather to a relativistic use of words and impoverishes the majority of evangelical writing. (I know that is a judgment, one shared by others frustrated with the lack of precision and unpacking of assumptions in evangelical literature.) The second problem is that this word is skirting a battle that needs to be had. This one might surprise you.

Watching folks throw the word missional around uncarefully leads to some interesting situations. I can see how the other views of missional are looking for ways to express their paradigm but with a sense that their knees have been knocked out. The attractional-incarnational battle is still there beneath the surface. This actually creates a distrust that festers beneath the surface and prevents folks from connecting and understanding where the other is coming from. I think those things need to battle it out - and with the traditionalists thrown in the mix. And not because I think one is better than the other - I don't. I think they are simply different. And the only way to hold difference in tension and unity is to acknowledge it and commit to mutual understanding. One question I never hear is why does that person/group gravitate to that paradigm? I think about that in these conversations - and it amazes me how little we actually know ourselves let alone each other. This reality compounds the problem. The less we know why something appeals to us, the more afraid we will be of losing it.

In the end I'm wondering if we haven't just wrecked yet another word. Missional? What is missional?

Busy Week

Monday I drove to Bancroft to hang out with leaders from the various Vineyards in Ontario. I always appreciate those gatherings. Larry Levy (Halifax Metro Vineyard) came up from the Atlantic region to bless us. Larry is an amazing guy and we love visiting his church when we are down East visiting my family. I really felt affirmed amongst my peers, I have taken over as the regional representative for Thoughtworks. Thoughtworks is the theological development group for the Vineyard in Canada and I am hoping to find some ways to do theological mentoring of our Ontario pastors and leaders in a way that will work for folks already very busy. Ontario is a funny place that way. The reality is that there is a lot of work that could/should be done but most pastors are so busy that their own personal development is low on the priority chart. I think most of us know the value of continuing to grow, but it is easier said than done. The other focus I'm going to bring is trying to connect and encourage our Vineyard folks in formal theological education. I have seen many students trashed by their local churches (not in the Vineyard so far, but I bet they have been) because they started to push questions that make many evangelicals uncomfortable.

I'm back from the conference and scrambling for CanGames this weekend. This year I'm running just one game! Tomorrow morning I have a custom scenario for Injurious Games called Gatecrasher! Basically it is capture the flag, but with rocket launchers! I have the glue setting on my last piece - a robot with a heavy laser and a huge fist (the technical name is the Nut Crusher). That guy speeds after the flag and pummels anyone who dares capture it. It is going to be a lot of fun. I'll spend the whole day at the con tomorrow and at least the morning session on Sunday. Monday, I'm going to Star Trek. So much to do.

Yoga as a Spiritual Practice

One of the things that detractors of yoga get right is that it isn't just an exercise programme. Yoga is a spiritual, even a devotional, practice. Many Christians who want some of the benefits of yoga will go to great lengths to isolate the yoga from its true nature. The fear is, as we discussed in the last post, syncretism. The error is that spiritual practices are conflated with religious contexts. It comes from a very surface analysis of religious groupings - where we identify various groups on the basis of their devotional/spiritual practices rather than the content of their religion (such as truth claims). In our worst efforts we conflate truth claims with the practices. Hence, Yoga becomes yoked to Hinduism.

Indeed we owe Hinduism a debt for the development of yoga. Just as we owe any religion for the practices that it introduces into the world that make the world a better place. Practices such as Christian peacekeeping or even creation care, Buddhist and Hindu non-violence, Charity, Love, Reconciliation, Forgiveness, and the list goes on. When we start to look at individual religions, including Christianity, we find the good, the bad and the downright ugly. Unfortunately when it is something that develops in a religion that is not our own chosen religion, then we tend to lump it all in with the ugly. Christians are so good at this they can even do it from denomination to denomination.

So lets start with the assumption that yoga is also part of this good, bad and ugly mix. I think that is a fair assessment. Knowing people involved in the TM movement there are aspects that many Christians would/should be extremely uncomfortable with and there is a naivety in some of the assumptions about personal peace and world peace that would give many Christian incipient theologies a run for their monies. Starting with this assumption lets draw a clear line between devotional practices and the object of devotion.

This assumption is at the heart of the PraiseMoves effort. Let's leave aside how arrogant and offensive I think this proposal (PraiseMoves) really is. Willis is speaking out of her inability to separate the devotional practice with the practice of yoga. But she also outlines her considerable baggage in this enterprise - classic Starbuck twice-born thinking. She also can't deny the benefits of yoga especially as a spiritual practice. Christians, BTW, are good at spiritual practices - rosaries, fasts, retreats, pilgrimages, initiation rites, etc. So Willis has two core ideas in conflict - so she basically steals yoga and re-appropriates it into a context that she is more comfortable. Although renaming classic yoga poses probably is still a tough sell for her market demographic. (BTW the part I find offensive is the dishonesty in all of this, on one hand she trashes another religion and then unashamedly rips them off.)

A big problem here is that now we have yet another subculture that has severed its ties to reality. It loses its redemptive potential as well as its voice in the practice of yoga. It is also counter-intuitive for Christians who are the great adaptors - Eucharist being the primary example. Cut off from the world out of which yoga comes we are unable to assess properly the purpose and learn the techniques which make yoga so great. Just read Willis' exposition on the namaste (prayer) pose - complete with scriptural proof-texting. Actually namaste has a lot of similarities to shalom, although it has a different purpose. She is right that it implies an honouring of the light we see in another. But as Christians we believe the true light of the world is Jesus and we honour Jesus in others knowing that it is the work of Jesus in the other that draws her or him to the Father. In fact we look for that light to help us show them more of God. Yet, if we become convinced that light can only mean something other than the obvious - we cannot appropriate its meaning. (And we should probably drop a lot of other borrowed practices too!)

So, to sum it up, I want to understand what is going on for the Hindu practitioner of yoga. I want it to be a spiritual practice. It is of more value if it is integrated into my whole devotional life. When there is, in yoga, an opening to the divine - why would I fear that? In fact I say come Holy Spirit. God is not afraid of yoga, in fact I know for certain that God longs for us to be truly open and receptive. Our Western minds love to separate the spiritual from the secular, we love to compartmentalize God out of the picture. But yoga is about integration, yoking oneself to the divine. Didn't Jesus talk about yoking somewhere.

I think a quick caution is needed here. Certainly there are those who will find this hard to get their heads around. If that is you, bless you, you might want to avoid yoga. What I'm calling for requires more than just participation in yoga as an exercise. It means navigating, often with great difficulty, the integration of a new spiritual practice into your devotional life. That should always be done with care and great thought. Look for the fruit. Yoga is embedded in a whole worldview and way of life, that needs to be unpacked and valued if it is to be truly helpful in developing a Christian devotional practice. You are bound to make mistakes so look for the fruit, especially the fruit of God's presence.

Namaste

[note this has been edited, thanks Marnie]

Syncretism and the Combative Gospel

Paul Knitter defines syncretism as a distilling of "all historical differences between religions in order to institutionalize their common core." (No Other Name? p.9) I start with Knitter because I think if anyone flirts too much with syncretism it is he. Be that as it may, I think he understands the feared subject quite well. (I much prefer McDermott's approach.) I will start with an assumption that syncretism is not a desired response to religious pluralism. If you have religious commitments then why should/would anyone expect you to lay down your distinctives? To stand on religious ground is to claim that there is something distinct (even good) about your religion. Syncretism really cuts to the heart of that and leaves us only with a relativism. To take such a position really counters the claims of Christ and thousands of years of Christianity.

However, much of the distrust of pluralism (the reality we live in) has fostered a fear of syncretism in the contemporary North American evangelical church. Some blame Barth, but I think really this is a cultural phenomenon. I am more convinced that it is an evolution of any religion that adopts a combative stance towards culture. And some of that combative stance is the honest product of dealing with the tension of plurality. But I'll leave that to Charles Taylor - I want to zone in on how we have structured the gospel as warfare in a way that is guaranteed to never win.

We Blew Up the Bridges!

We love to use the bridge illustration, but we are convinced that the gospel is really only an escape route. This is only really good news for those who buy the bill of goods. In fact it really isn't that good of news for those folks either, because they have to tough it out in the "battle zone" until the final extraction. Moltmann points out that this sort of religion is unable to present any hope to the world (which is ironic because it is billed as hope).

This is the form of Christianity that I first encountered. It is the same form that had me burn my Peter Gabriel albums even though Peter is largely responsible for my turn to Christ. It says that there is nothing good in this world, especially in your life before you said that magic prayer. It tells you to isolate and settle into the cult of mediocrity (a play on Schaeffer), biding your time until the real show comes. It misses completely the whole point of the resurrection - that God is doing a new thing in God's object of love - the world.

So where are the Christians who bought into this gospel of battle? Outside not looking in. Actually they are looking up and desperate for anything that will dispel the hell they know the world is becoming - why? because they have turned their backs on the core call of the gospel - to be in this world (not of it) as agents of Christ, looking for what God is doing and partnering up with it in every way they can. That is not syncretism - that is bringing the full force of your Christian identity to the world that so desperately needs it.

We Dehumanized the So-Called Enemies

In order to get people to kill other people, we must first dehumanize the others we wish to eliminate. It is one of the saddest things about military structures. It might be necessary for the military to do its job - but I often wonder if we really need a military in the first place. But I am certain we do not need warfare mentality in the Church - at least not towards other people. Yet, over and over, I encounter a sense of willingness to trash the beliefs of others for the sake of the "gospel". Think about the absurdity of that. If you don't believe me go watch Ray Comfort's street preaching videos.

The fear of syncretism has become the fear of infection. If we listen to the other then we might catch what they have. There are two problems with that. First, if you are afraid of losing what you have got then maybe you haven't got what you think you have in the first place. If your faith is never challenged, then it isn't faith it is a desperate clinging to an ideology that makes you feel good and might not necessarily be true. The problem is we are addicted to surity in the West and not enamoured with God.

Second, what makes you think that you have the market on the truth? There is a real arrogance to any religion that writes off the spiritual journeys of others. Any God who is able to speak through an ass (I mean the animals, but this also applies to the Ray Comforts of the world) can also speak to and through any person regardless of his or her religion. Actually read the bible and note how often God works through the gentiles. Yet, the arrogance of modern evangelicalism is such that we would have nothing to do with these voices of God. We miss the strands of eternity that God has patiently woven in the lives of every man, woman and child. We devalue our brothers and sisters - so it should not surprise us that we easily kill them off (their voices anyway).

I think there is a caution to be made about sycretism. Relativism is not a helpful response to pluralism. In fact it is not even a necessary response. What I hope is becoming clear is that there is another way. We can value the journeys of everyone. We can realize that we are in this world together. We can look for common strategies. We can encourage the strands of God's grace when we see them, and in so doing even reveal to people the way to Christ. But we need to see that the cross is not an exit, but an entrance into our world. It is the event that changes everything. It is an event that is planted deep into the world and through resurrection hope brings transformation to everything. We aren't called to wait - we are called to love, that is give of ourselves until we bleed and share in the power and joy of that resurrected life both here and now. Something to think about.

Yoga and Christianity

I am in the midst of a really interesting conversation about yoga and syncretism. I have been exploring yoga as a way of strengthening my neck and back, as well as introducing some physical exercise into my bookish existence. Tomorrow it will be three weeks of about an hour a day. I'm really impressed, right from the start I could feel the difference. My body felt great, I've had constant body pain for years now, and my mind felt clearer. The first few days I was simply doing yoga for dummies, which is North American mass market yoga. Sure, it has a component of slowing down and becoming more attentive to the self. But really it is devoid of the spiritual references that some expect from yoga. I moved from there to some more mass market yoga routines, finding a nice 1 hour session called I Love My Yoga. Still no spiritual references but I'm already seeing possibilities - and so my searching on the internet turns up some interesting stuff. But just like Christians who have their own takes on everything, so do the yogis have their own takes on yoga. Some tie it in quite strongly to their Hindu meditation. Others capitalize on questionable assumptions about the spirit. But most seem to shy away from the extremes. So just as I shy away from the Christian extremes I think it is safe to stick with the main and plain for our analysis.

About finding potential, well it really came in the closing meditation. This is called Shavasana and consists of laying in the corpse pose and reflecting on the good your session has done to your body and mind. It is about bringing your presence/attention to what is happening in your own body. Something Westerners are not that good at. During Shavasana there is a moment where the instructor on I Love My Yoge encourages you to thank yourself for spending this time on yourself. Well, as soon as I started to think about thankfulness my mind turned to all that God has done and a prayer of thanksgiving was instantly filling my mind. That moment has become a time of grounding prayer for my day. It is when my attention is turned to the Spirit whose temple I have just been preparing, a time when I can say come. It is interesting that after this we return to a seated prayer position and pronounce peace on all around us - namaste (a word that means greeting of peace and a recognition of the light - I see Jesus all over that!) So I'm capturing some of the spirituality of yoga, but appropriating it into a Christian spiritual foundation. The question is: is this legitimate?

I have some thoughts, love to hear yours.

Rik Leaf - Tribe of One - Buy This Album!

Rik Leaf sent me his latest album and it is really good. I have been hesitant to bring it in from the car to do a review, simply because I am enjoying listening to it. This album seems more straight forward lyrically than his last album, but at the same time he is venturing out into new styles. I love Je Me Souviens, and yup this album has some french content including the wicked french verse of this song. The sense of multiculturalism is foreshadowed by track 1: The Maple Leaf. Seriously how could a truly Canadian album ever not be an eclectic mix of languages and styles? Above all my favourite track is Lonely. If I'm in the car for a short drive that is the track I turn to. It reminds me of Leaving on a Jet Plane, but in a haunting way. Rik, I just have to say thanks. Not just for the CD, but for the music. I look forward to hearing some of this stuff live, until then I'm keeping it in my car. You, well, I recommend you buy your own copy.

Christian History Eddie Izzard Style

Love the Scooby-Doo line!

Review: The Immigration Crisis by James Hoffmeier

I liked this book. Now considering it is really more of a Biblical study than an indepth analysis of the issue of immigration, that is saying something. No one can accuse Hoffmeier of not being thorough in his examination of the texts. I was really impressed at how he laid out his assumptions regarding the text and carried that throughout the whole book. He has some good critiques of the ways that social justice advocates treat the texts of scripture, and while he deconstructs their proof texting he does not trash their projects - rather he simply points out where their projects extend beyond the reasonable application of the texts. I think this is a very healthy approach to the issue.

My opening statement about the focus of this text, as a biblical study, does not mean that Hoffmeier fails to tackle the issue of immigration. In fact the opening chapters show an intimate connection to the issue as well as outlining what is at stake. His discussion of illegal versus legal aliens is worth pondering. But even more attention should be paid to his discussions of how we treat the aliens in our midst. I wish he had spent more time on his treatment of Christians as aliens. But still this book is a solid work and a very worthwhile read.

The Immigration Crisis: Immigrants, Aliens, and the Bible, James K. Hoffmeier (Crossway books - out April 30th, 2009)

Detoxifing the Body and Mind

I started yoga yesterday. Yeah, I know I don't have a good track record with exercise routines. But it is just about an hour since I did my second session (about 45 minutes) and I can't remember when my body has felt this good before. Now I'm taking it easy, using a yoga for dummies video I found online (plus trying to find poses and neck exercises to help me out). Anyway, it is really good so far. Gentle and I actually feel it - especially in my hamstrings. (I think that's what they are called).

So I'm thinking about yoga and the claims that it detoxifies the body. And I make a connection with how Len's post got my brain spinning. Which really was an extension of a webinar session I attended yesterday afternoon. But my thought is this: the way we read scripture and inoculate us against scripture. Let me unpack that a bit.

I lament the teaching mode of protestant churches. Our liturgy is really centered around a sermon. There have been some great efforts to counter this, personally I think Wimber was on this track. But the problem with the sermon is that it might have had an ideal cultural moment - but this isn't it. People aren't engaged in long narratives. And most sermons cater to this shift - they string together proof texts into a mish-mash of irrelevance and downright heresy. I often cringe in services that I'm subjected to sermons.

Now don't get me wrong. I am a preacher at heart. I love to teach from the pulpit. That is probably the irony of my realization. But I recognize that we need a more wholistic approach to both scripture and to liturgy. I'm going to focus on detoxing from scripture in this post.

The problem I see with scripture is the assumptions we bring to scripture. First we have a false notion that scripture is simple. In my response to Len I say we treat it like a how-to book. If you are looking for simple answers to specific life problems then back away from the bible. Seriously. You can make the bible say just about anything you want. That is a low value of scripture. That toxin kills scripture in your life. Scripture is not a random assortment of promises just for arrogant you (me). It is a drama. It is the ultimate drama. The story of a people wrestling with who they are as the people of God. It is the straining to appreciate what possibilities open up in light of the Christ event. It is a story that lives with us and should grow to be our story. It is patient, wise and available - yes. But its wisdom is never trite, it never panders to our ignorance and it is always more than we give it credit for.

The second false notion is that all scripture has the same weight. This is our erroneous notion of infallibility. We've actually turned scripture into our idol. Scripture is meant to fit in a context. One of the worst innovations applied to scripture has been chapters and verses. Dividing it us has made us lazy and leads to the false assumption that we can lift snippets out and apply them however we like. Look at the great arguments within Christianity - how many of them are over particular readings with the assumption on each side that they are correctly dividing the Word of Truth? It boggles my mind. This toxin leads to what my Baptist friends used to call lucky dipping! Context is not the enemy - wanting a quick fix is.

See the remedy is having a high view of scripture. Not idolizing it, but really embracing it. Bringing your life to it as a whole. Resisting the urge to skip around, but sticking with a book until the story becomes our story. This might mean putting it aside for a bit - seeking God and then starting over. But detoxification is a good process. Toxins destroy life. We do well to get rid of them.

What is Christian faith?

"Christian faith is not a set of ethical principles, nor is it a compelling logical syllogism that leads all rational persons to necessary conclusions. Rather, at its centre lies an event or an experience that occurs in life. Faith is the testimony of persons who have encountered the power of God who is forever at work in human history, breaking the bonds of evil and restoring hope when hope has been lost. Christian faith is the attitude of confident expectation that, in some mysterious way, God is at work both personally and socially and that we can experience this activity time and again through our lives. This faith restores our commitment to responsibility when evidence would incline us otherwise. The most critical effect of this faith is to halt the radical acceleration of evil that occurs when we give up on the possibility of the good." Ken Melchin, Living with Other People, 97.

Quotes like this affirm my call to study theology, so full of life and challenge. God must become more and I must become less.
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Arneson Failed his Last Save

I heard the news Good Friday. We lost Gygax last year so now both of the creators of Dungeons and Dragons have gone on to roll dice with the Big Guy. Here is the OOTS tribute. Over on the Christian Gamer's Guild Alex posted a snip from an email conversation he had with Dave Arneson. In it Arneson recounts what happened when a new pastor came to serve his church and spoke out to the elders against Dungeons and Dragons. Arneson (long time elder) wasn't even there and they basically came to Arneson's defense. The pastor realized that he was speaking from the hearsay. It is unfortunate that so many Christians bought into the BS spread about the game. Both of the founders came from religious homes and if they had any ulterior motives it was to create a game that depicted the epic battle of good against evil. Their only crime really was to teach a generation that it was ok to use their imaginations - imaginations that God gave them. If you think about people who did something that touched a whole culture - it is gonna be a pretty short list. The influence of Arneson and Gygax's creation is still playing out today (pun intended). Thanks for the game Dave. You will be missed.

Modified Eucharistic Prayer (St. John Chrysostom)

This is the prayers I will be using to open the table for the sensory service. Thought you might like to comment on it.

[Wash hands in personal penitential reflection; arrange the elements, pouring the wine into the decanter along with 3 drops of water]

It is fitting and right to bless and praise you, to give you thanks, to worship in all places of your dominion. For you are God, ineffable, inconceivable, invisible, incomprehensible, existing always and in the same way, you and your only-begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit.

You brought us out of non-existence into existence; and when we had fallen, you raised us up again, and did not cease to do everything until you had brought us up to heaven, and granted us the kingdom that is to come.

For all these things we give thanks to you and to your only-begotten Son and to your Holy Spirit, for all that we know and do not know, your seen and unseen benefits that have come upon us.

We give thanks also for this ministry; vouchsafe to receive it from our hands, even though thousands of archangels and ten thousands of angels stand before you, cherubim and seraphim, with six wings and many eyes, flying high, [aloud] singing the triumphal hymn crying:

Holy, holy, holy Lord; Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

[Softly] With these powers, Master, lover of humanity, we also cry and say: holy are you and all-holy, and your only-begotten Son, and your Holy Spirit; holy are you and all-holy and magnificent is your glory; for you so loved the world that you gave your only-begotten Son that all who believe in him may not perish, but have eternal life.
 
When he had come and fulfilled all the dispensation for us, on the night in which he handed himself over, he took bread in his holy and undefiled and blameless hands, gave thanks, blessed, broke and gave it to his disciples and apostles, saying, [aloud] “Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you for forgiveness of sins.”

[softly] Likewise the cup also after supper, saying, [aloud] “Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

[softly] We therefore, remembering this saving commandment and all the things that were done for us: the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven, the session at the right hand, the second and glorious coming again; [aloud] offering you your own from your own, in all and for all, we give you thanks, Lord, and pray to you, our God.

[softly] We offer you this reasonable service also for those who rest in faith, Fathers, patriarchs, matriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, ascetics, and all the righteous perfected in faith; look on us, O God.

And remember all those who have fallen asleep in hope of resurrection to eternal life, and grant them rest where the light of your own countenance looks upon them.

Again we beseech you, remember, Lord, all the faithful servants who rightly divide the word of your truth, all the ministers and priests, all who serve your Church.

We offer you this reasonable service also for the whole world, for the holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, for those who govern our land and keep the peace, may you through them fill our land with peaceful life in all godliness and honesty.

Remember, Lord, the city in which we dwell, and all the cities and lands, and all who dwell in them in faith.

Remember, Lord, those who bring forth fruit and do good works in your holy churches and remember the poor; and send out your mercies upon us all, [aloud] and grant us with one mouth and one heart to glorify your all-honourable and magnificent name, [sign] the Father, [sign] the Son, and [sign] the Holy Spirit, now and always and to the end of ages. Amen.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.

[softly] O LORD, may all your graces and blessings and gifts be showered upon your Church, upon the sheep of your flock, that we may offer unto [sign] you praise and thanksgiving and to you only-begotten Son and to your Holy Spirit, One God, in all worlds unto the end of ages. Amen.

Behold the mystery of God in the sacrament which Christ has commanded.

[Fill the chalice; raise the bread and say aloud] The holy things for the holy people.

[Break bread and place on plate] One is holy, one is Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father.

Come, for all has been made ready.

Holy Week

Liturgically this is my favourite time of the year. It is a bit exhausting though. We had our regular service last night, but now the special services begin. This year we are doing our annual Good Friday sensory service. Sharon and I have planned out 6 stations on the theme of Christ's Passion - Our Redemption. They include:
redeeming our relationship with God, redeeming our relationship with our selves, redeeming our relationship with each other, redeeming our relationship to the world, redeeming our relationship to time, and redeeming our relationship to money. I only have to get some thin ribbon, bread and wine yet. I usually get the bread the day of if I can't convinced someone to bake it fresh. I still have a lot of work to do to get this service ready.

Also we are having an Easter vigil. Andrew and Lori are hosting a midnight candle mass. I love this service, for some reason it didn't happen last year. We really need it because I left the corporate candle in the car too much last summer - it is very warped. Did you know those thick candles could get warped? We have been using the same candle for two years now - every Eucharist and special service. Those candles are like energizer bunnies! Good thing. What I love about the Easter vigil is that the primary liturgical feature is the community reading scripture to each other, at least how we do it. This is the first time we've done it so late, so I'm not expecting a large turnout.

All Comes Tumbling Out

Last week was like a wave crashing through my life. So much to get done and between life, sickness and the unexpected I wasn't sure I'd get it done. But Thursday I handed in my paper on Wimber's liturgical spirituality. Friday I handed in my last progress report for the academic year. And then came home to crash.

What was cool is that after I finally dragged myself off the couch I realized that I had all this pent up creative energy. Great because I needed to get something ready for my D&D game that night. So now I have a clear sense of the next 95+ days (game time) and I have some really cool base story to work with. To top that off we had a great game session.

But today is the real stop.

I went out to buy something I've wanted for a while - flying bases to make some custom miniatures for my game. Sounds simple, I've even seen them. But I could only find Warhammer bases that were quite a bit too big. No thanks. So I tried the second thing I was out to buy today - a hypoallergenic cook book. I got to a very busy Chapters only to remember that I had a few websites of recipes to look at first. It is one of those kinds of days. So I kicked around there a few minutes and headed home. Just feeling like something that washed up on shore. I know this will pass, probably sooner now that I've acknowledged it.