My buddy Joe on mySpace started a discussion on what is the most important aspect of church to start with. He listed what he distilled from Rick Warren's mechanistic view of church: fellowship, worship, discipleship, service and evangelism. I think a compartmentalized view like that is just plain screwed up, but I wanted to go in a different, but related, direction with this post.
What is the most important thing about your church to you?
My experience in asking such a question, and as a church planter you ask this one a lot of people, is that every one of us will answer that question differently at different times. I suspect that our churches meet certain conscious and unconscious needs for us, and that depending on what need is operative we will answer in a particular way.
I think this quesiton is good for two reasons:
1) It gives us an insight into what needs are animating us.
This is a question we ask so that we can hear our own answer. What is the reason worship in song is so elevated for us at that moment? Why isn't it the community? Why isn't it the encouragement to maturity? It is good to acknowledge and even understand our own needs. I think we hesitate because of the myth that we should be self-sufficient.
2) It gives the minister an insight into what is working well in the church.
When I asked this question recently to our group I phrased it like this: What does Freedom mean to you? I was given answers of relationality, encouragement, community and caring, prayer and the like. It showed me that there is something special about the community we have at Freedom Vineyard. It lets me ask why other aspects were missing, perhaps they are not functioning as well as they should be. This helps to shape the direction in which I pray and move as the pastor. I need that kind of feedback.
So here it is, I put the question to you. You can share in the comment or just ponder it. What is the most important thing about your church to you? I would love to hear some of your responses.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
[THO] Bible Verse Meme
Paul tagged me to continue this one. I instantly knew what to do.
Not because there is a verse that is my favourite, I'm really quite partial to many assorted verses and stories in the Bible. But there is one that I think God would want to make one of my favourites, at least that is the conclusion I draw from ending up on that verse so often when I practice unstructured devotions.
This is a funny verse for me too, I am always surprised when I end up there. It is a verse loved by the advocates of a pie-in-the-sky ideal of heaven, you know that notion of heaven that is divorced from creation in which many suppose we will be yanked away while God sorts out the cosmic mistake of the universe. The more I've studied, prayed and lived my Christian walk the more I find reasons to reject that sort of eschatological nightmare. So perhaps it is God's infinite wisdom that this verse would continue to dog me, a balancing perhaps.
The verse is found in my second favourite gospel - John. In one of my favourite sections of John, which is why I'm always surprised to end up here in the oddest ways. The verse is found in chapter 14 right at the beginning:
What I love most is that this passage is far from clear, far from simple. For instance, the word mansions is really a word for dwelling places. I remember the first chink in the otherworldly heaven proposition was realizing that scripturally God's dwelling isn't a building or a temple - it is us. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. So this verse is primarily for and about us.
When I read this verse I remember that this is Jesus encouraging his disciples in the face of what is to come - the cross. He isn't trying to prepare them for their deaths, but rather for their lives as Christians in light of the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. This passage is about orientation before it could ever be construed as being about destination. That orientation is invitational and rooted in a mutual indwelling - which of course Jesus expounds on in the same set of talks.
The invitation is that what Jesus goes to do (mission) becomes our mission. Jesus is making it so that his promise of "I am with you always" will become the abiding reality for the missional Church. He is dealing with all that stands in the way of making the indwelling of God in us a frustrated reality, namely our sin. And he is opening wide the conversation - many dwelling places implies that what we are called to missionally is huge and is for all of humanity (or at least a large portion of humanity). It also implies that it is uncomplete without this mutual indwelling, that God invites us into our role in the mission of Jesus.
This mutual indwelling means that not only does God come to dwell within us, but we too dwell in God. That might seem a stretch from this verse, but I think the rest of John bears it out. The importance here though is that it is God's initiated movement towards us in history that makes it all possible. We can be with Jesus because Jesus is with us. In fact Jesus continually breaks into history to be with us, receiving us to himself so that we can be in God and God in us (and so that God can be All in All).
Just marvel at how imminent that is. Creator God, the Father and Mother of all that is, chooses to dwell in us. The Holy God sends his only Son to deal with our seperation from God, in a way that invites, and never forces, us to respond to God's love. God accepts and receives us because of the accomplished work of Jesus. When we live in the light of that we too receive the mission of making that love apparent to the whole world. This verse is too important to be swallowed up by some fantasy rapture scenario.
Hmmm, who to tag. Let's see: Chris, Byron, Kenny, Len and David.
I didn't do my research well enough - two of those blokes are already tagged (Byron and Chris). So please add: Steve and Jamie
Not because there is a verse that is my favourite, I'm really quite partial to many assorted verses and stories in the Bible. But there is one that I think God would want to make one of my favourites, at least that is the conclusion I draw from ending up on that verse so often when I practice unstructured devotions.
This is a funny verse for me too, I am always surprised when I end up there. It is a verse loved by the advocates of a pie-in-the-sky ideal of heaven, you know that notion of heaven that is divorced from creation in which many suppose we will be yanked away while God sorts out the cosmic mistake of the universe. The more I've studied, prayed and lived my Christian walk the more I find reasons to reject that sort of eschatological nightmare. So perhaps it is God's infinite wisdom that this verse would continue to dog me, a balancing perhaps.
The verse is found in my second favourite gospel - John. In one of my favourite sections of John, which is why I'm always surprised to end up here in the oddest ways. The verse is found in chapter 14 right at the beginning:
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:1-3 NKJV
What I love most is that this passage is far from clear, far from simple. For instance, the word mansions is really a word for dwelling places. I remember the first chink in the otherworldly heaven proposition was realizing that scripturally God's dwelling isn't a building or a temple - it is us. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. So this verse is primarily for and about us.
When I read this verse I remember that this is Jesus encouraging his disciples in the face of what is to come - the cross. He isn't trying to prepare them for their deaths, but rather for their lives as Christians in light of the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. This passage is about orientation before it could ever be construed as being about destination. That orientation is invitational and rooted in a mutual indwelling - which of course Jesus expounds on in the same set of talks.
The invitation is that what Jesus goes to do (mission) becomes our mission. Jesus is making it so that his promise of "I am with you always" will become the abiding reality for the missional Church. He is dealing with all that stands in the way of making the indwelling of God in us a frustrated reality, namely our sin. And he is opening wide the conversation - many dwelling places implies that what we are called to missionally is huge and is for all of humanity (or at least a large portion of humanity). It also implies that it is uncomplete without this mutual indwelling, that God invites us into our role in the mission of Jesus.
This mutual indwelling means that not only does God come to dwell within us, but we too dwell in God. That might seem a stretch from this verse, but I think the rest of John bears it out. The importance here though is that it is God's initiated movement towards us in history that makes it all possible. We can be with Jesus because Jesus is with us. In fact Jesus continually breaks into history to be with us, receiving us to himself so that we can be in God and God in us (and so that God can be All in All).
Just marvel at how imminent that is. Creator God, the Father and Mother of all that is, chooses to dwell in us. The Holy God sends his only Son to deal with our seperation from God, in a way that invites, and never forces, us to respond to God's love. God accepts and receives us because of the accomplished work of Jesus. When we live in the light of that we too receive the mission of making that love apparent to the whole world. This verse is too important to be swallowed up by some fantasy rapture scenario.
Hmmm, who to tag. Let's see: Chris, Byron, Kenny, Len and David.
I didn't do my research well enough - two of those blokes are already tagged (Byron and Chris). So please add: Steve and Jamie
Thursday, July 19, 2007
[LIF] Home from Vacation
It was later than we expected that we arrived home last night. We left Hamilton fairly early but found out the hard way that some of the early VUE Hybrids have a problem that only occurs when they overheat. We have been having some wierd sensor issues since we got it, but never when I could get it to the dealer in time to fix it. But yesterday we made it to Newmarket, to visit my grandmother, and the car wouldn't restart. We had Roadside coming and everything when the car cooled down enough to start. That is sort of frustrating actually.
We let it cool while we had a visit and then head out, zig-zaging so as to miss the growing Toronto rush hour traffic. We were almost to Whitby when all the electrical shut down. You don't know how nice power steering is until it is suddenly gone! The gas engine worked but all the guages froze so I didn't know how fast I was going. We made it to a parking lot (outside a Tim Hortons) and I called to locate the nearest Saturn dealer. They knew what the problem was and told me I'd make it home (once the car cooled down) and should get it fixed at our dealer (which is where I took it this morning). I found a car wash actually helped, plus the kids love car washes!
Other than that, we had an excellent vacation. I bought many books. We stayed with some very cool friends, both in Cambridge and Hamilton. Thanks Brad and Mary! Thanks Peter and Cindy! Got to talk a lot, pray a bit and I even saw the new Harry Potter movie (they cut out too much book though). The kids got to go to Ontario Place as well as many water parks and playgrounds. We played a few games. Drove to visit dear friends. Even saw a newborn baby (congrats again grampa George and grandma Janet!) fresh out of the proverbial oven (arrived about the same time we did in Sarnia). Probably one of our most enjoyable vacations yet.
Well got to see if we can't track down a car to go up to a cottage with.
We let it cool while we had a visit and then head out, zig-zaging so as to miss the growing Toronto rush hour traffic. We were almost to Whitby when all the electrical shut down. You don't know how nice power steering is until it is suddenly gone! The gas engine worked but all the guages froze so I didn't know how fast I was going. We made it to a parking lot (outside a Tim Hortons) and I called to locate the nearest Saturn dealer. They knew what the problem was and told me I'd make it home (once the car cooled down) and should get it fixed at our dealer (which is where I took it this morning). I found a car wash actually helped, plus the kids love car washes!
Other than that, we had an excellent vacation. I bought many books. We stayed with some very cool friends, both in Cambridge and Hamilton. Thanks Brad and Mary! Thanks Peter and Cindy! Got to talk a lot, pray a bit and I even saw the new Harry Potter movie (they cut out too much book though). The kids got to go to Ontario Place as well as many water parks and playgrounds. We played a few games. Drove to visit dear friends. Even saw a newborn baby (congrats again grampa George and grandma Janet!) fresh out of the proverbial oven (arrived about the same time we did in Sarnia). Probably one of our most enjoyable vacations yet.
Well got to see if we can't track down a car to go up to a cottage with.
Monday, July 16, 2007
[THO] Fellowship on the Underside of History
Underside of History is a term I'm adapting, it usually refers to the poor, but I'm convinced that it should also refer to those who really live in solidarity with life on the margins. Regardless, there is something special that happens on the margins, on the underside of history. That is what I felt we experienced with our dear friends in Cambridge this past weekend.
It is rare to feel so loved, so accepted and welcomed into a place. But when you are amongst those who live on the margins should we expect anything less. For that matter why are the margins so special? I guess it takes some special folk to tackle the margins of society and thrive there. Not because of an incapacity, but because of a deep cultural selfishness and unChristlikeness. This weekend was an image of heaven for me - being with Brad and Mary was like being with Jesus.
The funny thing is we went to church that Sunday, we like to visit churches when we are on vacation, but you know the few days we spent with Brad and Mary, drinking wine, sharing life, chasing books and praying felt more like church than the service we went to on Sunday.
The reason I wanted to say this was an underside story, is that this is so rare an experience. Mary and Brad didn't care if dishes got cleaned on time, they cared about us. This is the same care I know, cause I have seen glimpses of it, they give to those they mentor and love. They simply opened their homes and lives to us and it was wonderful.
Ironically that church service was on hospitality. Not that they weren't hospitable, but the young preacher was calling people to live what Mary and Brad do so naturally. The preacher encouraged Christians to welcome the strangers and to remove the blinders of prejudice from our eyes. I would add that we need to always hope and see others through the eyes of hope instead of the eyes of negative expectations. When you are with folks who see you this way you can't help but feel loved. I know I felt loved with Brad and Mary.
So thanks guys for opening your home and heart to us. You have inspired us.
It is rare to feel so loved, so accepted and welcomed into a place. But when you are amongst those who live on the margins should we expect anything less. For that matter why are the margins so special? I guess it takes some special folk to tackle the margins of society and thrive there. Not because of an incapacity, but because of a deep cultural selfishness and unChristlikeness. This weekend was an image of heaven for me - being with Brad and Mary was like being with Jesus.
The funny thing is we went to church that Sunday, we like to visit churches when we are on vacation, but you know the few days we spent with Brad and Mary, drinking wine, sharing life, chasing books and praying felt more like church than the service we went to on Sunday.
The reason I wanted to say this was an underside story, is that this is so rare an experience. Mary and Brad didn't care if dishes got cleaned on time, they cared about us. This is the same care I know, cause I have seen glimpses of it, they give to those they mentor and love. They simply opened their homes and lives to us and it was wonderful.
Ironically that church service was on hospitality. Not that they weren't hospitable, but the young preacher was calling people to live what Mary and Brad do so naturally. The preacher encouraged Christians to welcome the strangers and to remove the blinders of prejudice from our eyes. I would add that we need to always hope and see others through the eyes of hope instead of the eyes of negative expectations. When you are with folks who see you this way you can't help but feel loved. I know I felt loved with Brad and Mary.
So thanks guys for opening your home and heart to us. You have inspired us.
[LIF] Book Finds in Cambridge Area
We spent a few days in Cambridge with our friends Brad and Mary, and while we were there Brad took me to some awesome book stores. I found some real treasures:
Herbert Butterfield - Christianity and History
Paul Knitter - No Other Name
D. Gareth Jones - Teilhard de Chardin
Barnstone, ed. - The Other Bible
Dorothee Soelle - The Silent Cry
Thomas Cahill - Desire of the Everlasting Hills
Gerald McDermott - Can Evangelicals Learn from World Religions?
Martin Buber - I and Thou
Soren Kierkegaard - Purity of Heart
Sallie McFague - Methaphorical Theology
Hans Kung - On Being a Christian
Only Soelle and McDermott were new, I grabbed them at Pandora's Box in Kitchner, you have to visit that store!
Only Soelle and McDermott were new, I grabbed them at Pandora's Box in Kitchner, you have to visit that store!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
[LIF] Reverend Frank :-)
One of the interesting things about being in the Vineyard is how laid back everything is. One of the contentions with the term ordination is that it implies a lifelong ministry that travels with the person rather than what we want which is leadership called out of a congregation and recognized by the congregation. But in order to get your license to marry easily, in Ontario at least, the easiest way is to "ordain" the minister and then send in the government paperwork. So today I was ordained. Here is the liturgy.
We arrived in Sarnia to meet with George, who is our sending Pastor as well as the Pastoral Governing Official for Vineyard in Ontario. George ordered the ribs, I followed suit, but with the honey garlic sauce reserved for the not yet ordained. An envelope was handed to me containing the government forms. George solemnly says, "oh let me see that for a minute." Then realizing I needed the ordination certificate we finish the formal liturgy of chowing down and proceed to his place.
At Georges house a baby had just been born - congrats Lynette! Still tasting the pre-ordained honey garlic ribs George fired up the laser printer and spits out two copies of my certificate of ordination! It reads: This certifies that The Reverend Frank Emanuel Was ordained as a pastor of the association of Vineyard Churches Ontario Region on the 6th day of May, 2007. It is retroactive even! Then we followed the ancient ceremony of finding an envelope for said certificate. A done deal.
Actually in all seriousness ordination is a formality. What we take seriously is what we call releasing. That happens in two stages: so you feel led to start a church, go for it. In our case George and Janet Esser took us on as our mentors and sending church, they beleived in us which was and is awesome! Then when we had a chance to do something formal George and Janet laid hands on us to release us into the leadership of Freedom Vineyard. No fancy liturgy, but it sure did feel good and right. For me that was the ordination that we needed. But unfortunately the governement wanted a bit more - hence the certificate today. Gonna put it up on my wall though.
Personally I think George should have given me a purple collar to wear, what do you think?
We arrived in Sarnia to meet with George, who is our sending Pastor as well as the Pastoral Governing Official for Vineyard in Ontario. George ordered the ribs, I followed suit, but with the honey garlic sauce reserved for the not yet ordained. An envelope was handed to me containing the government forms. George solemnly says, "oh let me see that for a minute." Then realizing I needed the ordination certificate we finish the formal liturgy of chowing down and proceed to his place.
At Georges house a baby had just been born - congrats Lynette! Still tasting the pre-ordained honey garlic ribs George fired up the laser printer and spits out two copies of my certificate of ordination! It reads: This certifies that The Reverend Frank Emanuel Was ordained as a pastor of the association of Vineyard Churches Ontario Region on the 6th day of May, 2007. It is retroactive even! Then we followed the ancient ceremony of finding an envelope for said certificate. A done deal.
Actually in all seriousness ordination is a formality. What we take seriously is what we call releasing. That happens in two stages: so you feel led to start a church, go for it. In our case George and Janet Esser took us on as our mentors and sending church, they beleived in us which was and is awesome! Then when we had a chance to do something formal George and Janet laid hands on us to release us into the leadership of Freedom Vineyard. No fancy liturgy, but it sure did feel good and right. For me that was the ordination that we needed. But unfortunately the governement wanted a bit more - hence the certificate today. Gonna put it up on my wall though.
Personally I think George should have given me a purple collar to wear, what do you think?
Monday, July 09, 2007
[THO] Pastor's Praying for Each Other
When I first started planting I did a really smart thing, I sought out a bunch of other planters and potential planters and invited them to meet in a Tim Hortons for prayer once a week. We actually saw a plant get birthed out of those times from one of the potential folks, very cool. But what often happens is that life crams in and these things become less of a priority. I remember fighting hard to keep this, it was a powerful blessing to my own ministry, but eventually it went to the wayside.
I have been without a regular pastoral gathering for quite a while now, not for lack of interest or the odd attempt to restart this, just I've had little time that works well with other peers. Most of us are bi-vocational in some way and pastoral ministry can be very time demanding. The last connection like this was a one-on-one session with a fellow pastor who used to also be an accountability partner. I would like for that relationship to restart, and perhaps it will. But he's pastoring, teaching at two Universities and has two kids! And I think I'm busy.
Today though, I met with three other planting pastors and a wonderful facilitator, Alison Johnson. These meetings have been going on for a few years now and I've only made maybe two other meetings. They often happen when I have classes or other committments. But today I was available and boy was it a good time.
Just like those early meetings I held, we were a mixed bag of evangelicals. Andy from Calvary Chapel, Chris from the Mennonite Brethren and Mark from SoulNet. Andy ran us through a series of questions that helped us frame where we were at devotionally and ministerially. Then we prayed for each other. Man I miss that.
I love prayer at our church, but it dawned on me just how much I need to have prayerful connections outside of our small community. I need those I can bounce my crazy ideas off of. It was good.
I'm hoping to continue, they only meet like that monthly. It might not work too well with my schedule, but one can hope.
A while back I grabbed the name for a second blog, the Praying Pastor. I had the idea of posting prayers as blog content. Now I'm hoping it will have another meaning, that I'm connecting well with my peers and praying with them to see God's glory more and more in my city. After all isn't that what we are doing this for in the first place?
I have been without a regular pastoral gathering for quite a while now, not for lack of interest or the odd attempt to restart this, just I've had little time that works well with other peers. Most of us are bi-vocational in some way and pastoral ministry can be very time demanding. The last connection like this was a one-on-one session with a fellow pastor who used to also be an accountability partner. I would like for that relationship to restart, and perhaps it will. But he's pastoring, teaching at two Universities and has two kids! And I think I'm busy.
Today though, I met with three other planting pastors and a wonderful facilitator, Alison Johnson. These meetings have been going on for a few years now and I've only made maybe two other meetings. They often happen when I have classes or other committments. But today I was available and boy was it a good time.
Just like those early meetings I held, we were a mixed bag of evangelicals. Andy from Calvary Chapel, Chris from the Mennonite Brethren and Mark from SoulNet. Andy ran us through a series of questions that helped us frame where we were at devotionally and ministerially. Then we prayed for each other. Man I miss that.
I love prayer at our church, but it dawned on me just how much I need to have prayerful connections outside of our small community. I need those I can bounce my crazy ideas off of. It was good.
I'm hoping to continue, they only meet like that monthly. It might not work too well with my schedule, but one can hope.
A while back I grabbed the name for a second blog, the Praying Pastor. I had the idea of posting prayers as blog content. Now I'm hoping it will have another meaning, that I'm connecting well with my peers and praying with them to see God's glory more and more in my city. After all isn't that what we are doing this for in the first place?
Sunday, July 08, 2007
[THO] Theology vs. Biblical Studies
I often run into a notion that theology and Biblical studies are/should be synonymous. This is a rather alarming notion. If I believed it I would likely go find a school more focused on Biblical studies to study at. I think both are distinct and both are necessary.
In Biblical Studies the only starting place has to be the Scriptures. While I love the Scriptures, they are far too narrow a place for us to do all theology from. Hence I would consider Biblical studies a narrow subset of theology. Theology has much broader starting points.
Just to clarify I am interested primarily in Christian theology, and because of that Biblical studies will always play a strong role in my work of theology. But it isn't the only starting point. More it is one conversation amongst many that are important.
So does this mean I value scripture less? I think that is probably a valid criticism. But my committment to the Bible doesn't come out of my theological studies, it comes out of my passion to know the God of the Bible more. So there is a devotional committment to scripture that is part of who I am - and this does influence my theology.
Theology engages Scripture, history, tradition, dogma, hagiography, philosophy, mysticism, spirituality, cosmology, social sciences, ethics, economics, science, etc. There are a few starting points - such as the notion that theology is essentially the convesation about God/Man relationship in light of these broad dialogue partners, but you can start from almost any of these and do theology - even Christian theology.
That is why I find theology so fascinating. The Bible is a wonderful expression of God to Christians. But it is not the only book God has given us. And it is not the only voice in the conversation of theology.
In Biblical Studies the only starting place has to be the Scriptures. While I love the Scriptures, they are far too narrow a place for us to do all theology from. Hence I would consider Biblical studies a narrow subset of theology. Theology has much broader starting points.
Just to clarify I am interested primarily in Christian theology, and because of that Biblical studies will always play a strong role in my work of theology. But it isn't the only starting point. More it is one conversation amongst many that are important.
So does this mean I value scripture less? I think that is probably a valid criticism. But my committment to the Bible doesn't come out of my theological studies, it comes out of my passion to know the God of the Bible more. So there is a devotional committment to scripture that is part of who I am - and this does influence my theology.
Theology engages Scripture, history, tradition, dogma, hagiography, philosophy, mysticism, spirituality, cosmology, social sciences, ethics, economics, science, etc. There are a few starting points - such as the notion that theology is essentially the convesation about God/Man relationship in light of these broad dialogue partners, but you can start from almost any of these and do theology - even Christian theology.
That is why I find theology so fascinating. The Bible is a wonderful expression of God to Christians. But it is not the only book God has given us. And it is not the only voice in the conversation of theology.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
[FV] Teaser
I just finished the last bit of animation for our Church information video. Each of the Ontario Vineyards were asked to submit a short video, two or three minutes long, telling about the church. This short video can be played in other Vineyards to help us know one another more and pray for each other a little better. Cool idea and of course we couldn't truly express who we were without doing something a little different.
Six of us represented 8 of our people and a dog! We scripted, created the scenes and produced all the base collatoral for our film tonight, in lieu of a regular kinship. It was fun, but boy did it go late. We finished all the parts with dialogue up so that the bulk of folks could head out, then Sharon and I animated the rest which uses already recorded background tracks. I'm sure you will really enjoy this video when I get it all edited together. Give me a week or so and I'll post a link.
There is a teaser on my Facebook page, for those facebook keeners. You need to add the video applet to watch it though, oh and be my friend. But hey, I'm a pretty friendly guy.
Six of us represented 8 of our people and a dog! We scripted, created the scenes and produced all the base collatoral for our film tonight, in lieu of a regular kinship. It was fun, but boy did it go late. We finished all the parts with dialogue up so that the bulk of folks could head out, then Sharon and I animated the rest which uses already recorded background tracks. I'm sure you will really enjoy this video when I get it all edited together. Give me a week or so and I'll post a link.
There is a teaser on my Facebook page, for those facebook keeners. You need to add the video applet to watch it though, oh and be my friend. But hey, I'm a pretty friendly guy.
[LIF] Something Naked
I really enjoy David's Naked Pastor Blog. Every now and then his irreverent comics really hit the spot. I feel like it is too often than I deal with folks like this bloke in the blindfold. So incredibly painful too, I just can't ignore them. Thanks Dave for making me feel not so alone.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
[LIF] Happy Canada Day!
Despite some of my frustrations with our politics, I am very proud to be a Canadian! Hope you all have a great Canada day. With any luck my girls will be awake to see fireworks this evening.
Friday, June 29, 2007
[LIF] RPG Article
Hey all, a friend over at the Christian Gamer's Guild posted a link to this article. I always appreciate articles like this. I still run into Christians who bought the lies from the 80s about games like Dungeons & Dragons.
Just got back from Fantastic Four II, it wasn't that good. Better than the first FF, but that isn't hard to accomplish.
Just got back from Fantastic Four II, it wasn't that good. Better than the first FF, but that isn't hard to accomplish.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
[LIF] It is finished!
I just got back from the University. I dropped off my final paper - Bottled Water: An Ethical Inquiry. I get a bit preachy towards the end (and I bit Berryian). That is the final work left in my Bachelors of Theology degree! What an amazing feeling.
Monday, June 25, 2007
[THO] What is Sacred?
I've heard the critique of the sacred/secular split like this, "how dare we call our shit holy?" I understand that this sacred/secular notion has been used to entrench and justify a lot of liturgical insanity. We sometimes call this playing the God card, "well God gave it to me, so it has to be holy." I think this is a valid critique but it is far from sufficient. There is a deeper issue with maintaining a sacred/secular split.
The way we interact with the world, our elements and each other reveals a disturbing feature of the sacred/secular split. That of devaluation. We have devalued the earth and raped the planet. We have devalued humanity and sold our daughters into prostitution. Some might jump up at this point to protest their complicity. Before you do, I am not pointing fingers at any one of us - it is a problem of how we see things. And until we remove this false notion of sacred/secular we will always have the capacity to take our children, families, neighbours and world for granted. As long as we relegate those interactions to the realm of the secular we will have this problem, and we will be part of the problem.
For God there is no sacred/secular split in creation. Creation is at its most basic moment - very good. In fact the project of humanity is also part of that which is very good. There is an incredible potential locked within our species, it is so sad that we so rarely see it in full blossom.
Potential is always a double edged sword, and we demonstrate our understanding of this truth through the Adamic story. Sin is originary with humanity. Seen positively it shows the incredible capacity of humanity. In fact the curse turns this around and says that salvation will come out of humanity, or do we think that the incarnation of Christ was insignificant?
What we have done with the story of Adam's fall is to take all of creation down with him. Instead of seeing creation as full of potential, we have vilified creation. The more we submitted to this paradigm, the more we envisioned salvation as an escape from this "fallen" world. No longer were we able to recognize that all of creation declares the glory of God. We literally ripped heaven out of the earth and with it we sacrificed our souls on the altar of fear.
This leads us to an intense devaluation of creation. We see our world and humanity as something to struggle against as we reach for some celestial pie in the sky. We are desperate for something holy and so we fill that void with our ability to symbolically name our own constructs, created from our wants, desires and likes, as holy. And like good humans, we differentiate. Differentiation is a safetly reflex, we use it to determine good and bad, right and wrong. We use it to protect our own interests. So we lose our ability to see in creation many wonderful modes of divine mediation. We are empoverished. We are lost.
How can we turn this around? Well we need to change the way we tell the story. Instead of a flight from this world, we need to understand creation as God sees it. Living, holy, suffuced with God's presence, in God, held together by God's very Word, alive and full of life, good and full of potential. We need to recognize that we are home and our prayer is always to bring heaven to Earth, not the other way around (check out the Lord's Prayer).
Here are a few things worth meditating on:
1) God thought we were worth redemption - so why don't we see anything good in humanity?
2) God sees creation as very good, this is the first thing we learn from our Bible.
3) Jesus sent us to the world, just as he was sent to the world - God isn't joking about so loving the world.
4) Why do we live like God is something we claw our way to when Jesus promised to always be with us no matter where we are?
The way we interact with the world, our elements and each other reveals a disturbing feature of the sacred/secular split. That of devaluation. We have devalued the earth and raped the planet. We have devalued humanity and sold our daughters into prostitution. Some might jump up at this point to protest their complicity. Before you do, I am not pointing fingers at any one of us - it is a problem of how we see things. And until we remove this false notion of sacred/secular we will always have the capacity to take our children, families, neighbours and world for granted. As long as we relegate those interactions to the realm of the secular we will have this problem, and we will be part of the problem.
For God there is no sacred/secular split in creation. Creation is at its most basic moment - very good. In fact the project of humanity is also part of that which is very good. There is an incredible potential locked within our species, it is so sad that we so rarely see it in full blossom.
Potential is always a double edged sword, and we demonstrate our understanding of this truth through the Adamic story. Sin is originary with humanity. Seen positively it shows the incredible capacity of humanity. In fact the curse turns this around and says that salvation will come out of humanity, or do we think that the incarnation of Christ was insignificant?
What we have done with the story of Adam's fall is to take all of creation down with him. Instead of seeing creation as full of potential, we have vilified creation. The more we submitted to this paradigm, the more we envisioned salvation as an escape from this "fallen" world. No longer were we able to recognize that all of creation declares the glory of God. We literally ripped heaven out of the earth and with it we sacrificed our souls on the altar of fear.
This leads us to an intense devaluation of creation. We see our world and humanity as something to struggle against as we reach for some celestial pie in the sky. We are desperate for something holy and so we fill that void with our ability to symbolically name our own constructs, created from our wants, desires and likes, as holy. And like good humans, we differentiate. Differentiation is a safetly reflex, we use it to determine good and bad, right and wrong. We use it to protect our own interests. So we lose our ability to see in creation many wonderful modes of divine mediation. We are empoverished. We are lost.
How can we turn this around? Well we need to change the way we tell the story. Instead of a flight from this world, we need to understand creation as God sees it. Living, holy, suffuced with God's presence, in God, held together by God's very Word, alive and full of life, good and full of potential. We need to recognize that we are home and our prayer is always to bring heaven to Earth, not the other way around (check out the Lord's Prayer).
Here are a few things worth meditating on:
1) God thought we were worth redemption - so why don't we see anything good in humanity?
2) God sees creation as very good, this is the first thing we learn from our Bible.
3) Jesus sent us to the world, just as he was sent to the world - God isn't joking about so loving the world.
4) Why do we live like God is something we claw our way to when Jesus promised to always be with us no matter where we are?
Saturday, June 23, 2007
[LIF] Games Galore
I showed up at my bi-weekly dungeon crawl to find an awesome surprise. The DM was parting with a boatload of games, IIRC he is downsizing the house since retiring. Now this wasn't just a few games, there were 6 or 7 players and we rolled off to see who got to pick when, we each had 10 rolls and that still wasn't enough! So I walked out of there with more than a dozen new-to-me games! My best score has to be RoboRally, the previous owner had wonderfully painted the robots too. This is a game simple enough to play with my daughters, and I tried it tonight, it is fun.
I got a number of what are called book shelf games, mostly military simulations. I'll probably not keep too many of those, finding a good home shouldn't be hard. I'm just not into recreating war - we have enough of the real thing already! I like short skirmish games a lot though, and adventure type games. Two of the games I picked up are the board game version of Civilization (with the Advanced set too) and the basic set of Talisman. Rich says Talisman is a great game, so I'm looking forward to trying that one with the kids when they are older.
I also picked up two from the Axis and Allies series. I remember playing these as a teen and liking them, at least the original. I'll probably not bother playing the Fortress America version as I heard it is hard for the US to lose, that sounds too rah rah America for my liking. Besides the US needs to have their arse kicked a bit.
I'd say that there were as many computer games to be given away, but thankfully I dodged that bullet. I find computer games far too addictive, my quality of life is much better without them. Oh and I picked up Trivial Pursuit with an expansion. Sharon wasn't as interested as I thought she'd be so I'll probably just find a new home for that one too. I'm going through the games we have and ditching those we never play. We are a family that loves games, all sorts of games. So it is nice to have a few new ones to throw in the mix. Thanks Ross!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
[THO] Paved Paradise
I have that old Joni Mitchell song playing in my head ever since reading about the ways we are destroying our last fresh water supplies. Probably a good thing, I need to have reminders like this to remember that warm water pouring over my head in the shower comes at a greater cost then the pittance we pay for it represents. Yet, let's be certain that the major players in water waste has to be industry, especially the agricultural industry.
Yeah, I've been reading Blue Gold (Maude Barlow & Toni Clark) in preparation for a paper I'm doing on the ethics of bottled water. It is so easy to ignore the basic facts of our situation. We simply don't want to think about it. Like Joni says, "you don't know what you've got til its gone." This makes me both sad and angry, especially at my complicity in this whole mess.
Studies have shown that simply by laying down pavement we are depleting the total sum of available fresh water on our planet. Water is not able to trickle down into the aquifers, instead we redirect it into rivers which take it out to sea where it becomes salinated, usable only at great energy cost which compounds the problems. Energy use is implicated in the overall warming of our planet which is decimating the great polar caps and glaciers at an alarming rate. For those who think the water levels won't rise, remember much of this mass of ice is over land (Greenland for instance) and will affect the sea level - don't take my word ask a Vanuatian. Sea water also intrudes on the sea coast aquifers we are draining faster than nature can replenish, this is a big problem because we absolutely need fresh water to survive.
So as I dried off from my costly shower, I made myself a coffee and came down to type this up on a computer (the IT industry is very water wasteful) and remember that my body is mostly made up of water! Something to think about.
Yeah, I've been reading Blue Gold (Maude Barlow & Toni Clark) in preparation for a paper I'm doing on the ethics of bottled water. It is so easy to ignore the basic facts of our situation. We simply don't want to think about it. Like Joni says, "you don't know what you've got til its gone." This makes me both sad and angry, especially at my complicity in this whole mess.
Studies have shown that simply by laying down pavement we are depleting the total sum of available fresh water on our planet. Water is not able to trickle down into the aquifers, instead we redirect it into rivers which take it out to sea where it becomes salinated, usable only at great energy cost which compounds the problems. Energy use is implicated in the overall warming of our planet which is decimating the great polar caps and glaciers at an alarming rate. For those who think the water levels won't rise, remember much of this mass of ice is over land (Greenland for instance) and will affect the sea level - don't take my word ask a Vanuatian. Sea water also intrudes on the sea coast aquifers we are draining faster than nature can replenish, this is a big problem because we absolutely need fresh water to survive.
So as I dried off from my costly shower, I made myself a coffee and came down to type this up on a computer (the IT industry is very water wasteful) and remember that my body is mostly made up of water! Something to think about.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
[THO] Guest Post at Theology and Faith
My contribution to Ben Meyers' recent series on transitions from one faith tradition to another is up. Check it out!
Monday, June 11, 2007
[LIF] Party Review - 5 out of 5 stars!
I have the most awesome wife ever! And I have some very incredible friends! Sharon invited a cross section of my friends, which was amazing. And Bergen and Anastasia helped her serve up an awesome dinner party, one that I'm sure we all will remember for a long time to come. Many, many thanks!
My night started when John and Mari showed up in their orange Element. John came in to get me and Mari wouldn't tell me where we were going. Sharon had left a earlier in the day to make ready at some unknown location. When we finally got there I recognized it was at Bergen and Anastasia's place, a para-transport was parked up ahead and I was excited because that meant my friends Andrew and Lori would be there as well! But alas the bus was there to pick up someone else.
We started into their building and missed the Diagon Alley sign Sharon had put up. But we didn't miss the Leaky Cauldron sign on the door to Bergen's place. So I knew it was a theme. When we went in Anastasia had her shirt on funny, she said it was to dress like the muggles who might show up. Sharon and Bergen also had some interesting arrangements to their outfits. Just inside I instantly saw Andrew! Yay. Andrew and Lori were there as well as Timo and Leah and Jeff and Melanie. This was going to be good. We started chatting and finding our places, the tables all had these amazing name tags on them - Sharon had worked hard! Soon Byron, the best next door neighbour in the world, came holding a beautiful wine box spouting Wild Thing! He had rigged it with a Hallmark gift thing and had a nice bottle of chilled sparking wine inside. Steve came and then my friend Richard to finish the even dozen dinner guests.
Gifts came out, including an expansion to Space Munchkin, a bottle of Port, a beautiful leather bound NET Bible and a copy of Dale Carnegie's Pathways to Success in hard cover. This was really cool because at Chapter six "How to make people like you instantly" there was a surprise! Let's just say you can't read anything past that point until page 535 which has the heading "I Found the Answer". Mari and John really know how to make Carnagie useful.
We were seated and the fun really got underway when out came a cake, black icing, huge candy cockroaches and enough candles to start a serious housefire! It was awesome, I did manage to blow them all out but just barely. I bet there were actually 40 candles on it!
Next the menus magically multiplied for our tables. They consisted of a list of Harry Potter references: Gillyweed Goop, Holly and Pheonix, Firebolts, Puffskein, etc. You got to pick three things and hope that one was a drink and the other utensils, you had three chances in this nine course meal. Timo's table found no cutlery the first go around, but they found out that the Daily Special was messy ice cream cake - fun to eat with your hands!
We figured out the beer was Boarshead (Moosehead beer) so we were set after that. The meal was awesome! We finished the courses, laughing up a storm. After the kitchen was opened up and we all ate our fill.
The best part though had to be surrounded with so many good friends from all over the landscape of my life. Bergen I met at St. Paul, Rich online as a fellow gamer, Steve I've known forever and he stood with me at my wedding, Timo was part of the old Vineyard and has been a good friend for years, Leah was part of the original Freedom Vineyard team, Lori was my friend at St. Paul and the Vineyard, Andrew was my pal from when I taught computer stuff, Jeff is my gamer buddy, Melanie I met through Jeff and is quite a poker player, Byron was the best nextdoor neighbour ever, Anastasia was part of my original D&D group, Mari is a really cool neighbour who became friends with Sharon and her hubby John is a gamer buddy playing in my current D&D campaign. And of course my dear wife Sharon is the best wife in the whole world!!!!!
My night started when John and Mari showed up in their orange Element. John came in to get me and Mari wouldn't tell me where we were going. Sharon had left a earlier in the day to make ready at some unknown location. When we finally got there I recognized it was at Bergen and Anastasia's place, a para-transport was parked up ahead and I was excited because that meant my friends Andrew and Lori would be there as well! But alas the bus was there to pick up someone else.
We started into their building and missed the Diagon Alley sign Sharon had put up. But we didn't miss the Leaky Cauldron sign on the door to Bergen's place. So I knew it was a theme. When we went in Anastasia had her shirt on funny, she said it was to dress like the muggles who might show up. Sharon and Bergen also had some interesting arrangements to their outfits. Just inside I instantly saw Andrew! Yay. Andrew and Lori were there as well as Timo and Leah and Jeff and Melanie. This was going to be good. We started chatting and finding our places, the tables all had these amazing name tags on them - Sharon had worked hard! Soon Byron, the best next door neighbour in the world, came holding a beautiful wine box spouting Wild Thing! He had rigged it with a Hallmark gift thing and had a nice bottle of chilled sparking wine inside. Steve came and then my friend Richard to finish the even dozen dinner guests.
Gifts came out, including an expansion to Space Munchkin, a bottle of Port, a beautiful leather bound NET Bible and a copy of Dale Carnegie's Pathways to Success in hard cover. This was really cool because at Chapter six "How to make people like you instantly" there was a surprise! Let's just say you can't read anything past that point until page 535 which has the heading "I Found the Answer". Mari and John really know how to make Carnagie useful.
We were seated and the fun really got underway when out came a cake, black icing, huge candy cockroaches and enough candles to start a serious housefire! It was awesome, I did manage to blow them all out but just barely. I bet there were actually 40 candles on it!
Next the menus magically multiplied for our tables. They consisted of a list of Harry Potter references: Gillyweed Goop, Holly and Pheonix, Firebolts, Puffskein, etc. You got to pick three things and hope that one was a drink and the other utensils, you had three chances in this nine course meal. Timo's table found no cutlery the first go around, but they found out that the Daily Special was messy ice cream cake - fun to eat with your hands!
We figured out the beer was Boarshead (Moosehead beer) so we were set after that. The meal was awesome! We finished the courses, laughing up a storm. After the kitchen was opened up and we all ate our fill.
The best part though had to be surrounded with so many good friends from all over the landscape of my life. Bergen I met at St. Paul, Rich online as a fellow gamer, Steve I've known forever and he stood with me at my wedding, Timo was part of the old Vineyard and has been a good friend for years, Leah was part of the original Freedom Vineyard team, Lori was my friend at St. Paul and the Vineyard, Andrew was my pal from when I taught computer stuff, Jeff is my gamer buddy, Melanie I met through Jeff and is quite a poker player, Byron was the best nextdoor neighbour ever, Anastasia was part of my original D&D group, Mari is a really cool neighbour who became friends with Sharon and her hubby John is a gamer buddy playing in my current D&D campaign. And of course my dear wife Sharon is the best wife in the whole world!!!!!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
[THO] Anticipation
Sharon is planning a party for me tonight but there is a lot of secrecy on her part as to what it will entail. I am not even sure who is coming. The feeling is actually quite exciting and it reminds me of the anticipation of the Kingdom*.
Recently I've been chatting with a few folks about the misunderstandings of heaven. In our reading last Wednesday night Mark's gospel tells of an encounter with Jesus and the Sadducees where they try to trip him up over the issue of the resurrection. See the Sadducees didn't really believe in the resurrection, so they thought for sure they were going to nail this would-be prophet. But one phrase catches them and most of us, "You are badly mistaken!" (Mk 12:27b) A lot of us have our ideas of heaven so packaged up that we too are badly mistaken.
Heaven is not a straight forward concept in the New Testament. It exists in the beyond and the unknown. Someone asked if I believe in heaven, and I do. But I think we are often badly mistaken about the nature of heaven.
The primary reason is that we recognize the groaning of this world and it incites our flight response. Wouldn't it be great if we just got to completely start again? I think many of us are convinced that is exactly what will happen. There is a level on which this is true, but there is also the reality of this life that we need to take seriously. In fact it is this reality we should be committed to, because it is the only one we are fortunate enough to have agency in and towards. God knows that. He sent Jesus because of that. He sends us because of that.
Heaven is part of the hope package, but not in terms of a pie in the sky where someday we'll fly pipedream. No it is grounded in something imminently more real than that, and I find even more compelling. Heaven is part of the hope of the Kingdom. It is the utopian edge to this reality. Heaven for the OT prophets is the restoration of the goodness of the whole created order. When we see the Kingdom come, we see heaven break into our time healing, righting, loving and restoring! So indeed we taste the future that is coming in the present that is groaning, longing for the manifestation of all that is hoped to be. Unfortunately we live in the neverland of being badly mistaken and miss the fact that the gospel is supposed to be good news and not a story of destruction, decline and suffering.
In this sense Heaven, and the anticipation of heaven, is very much like me waiting for my party tonight. In some ways I can't wait. In others I am frustrated because it is not yet, which is so evident by my struggle with keeping the kids occupied while I await the promised event (they are mercifully eating lunch right now). Not that I don't enjoy this time right now, the time when the kids are doing things that grab my heart in a good way. Much like we should enjoy this life and the fundamental prelapsarian goodness that creeps around the edges of life. People are amazing. I spent last night with two of my dearest friends, and it was a really good time. But good as those things are the reminders are constant that we are only seeing in part. Injustice abounds at all levels of life. Including my own lack of patience with my kids. But I have hope, heavenly hope.
I have hope that tonight will be another night where the Kingdom of Heaven will shine in around the edges. But my anticipation is the edge that I want to focus on. We want to know who is in, who is out, who is coming, who is not. We want to know what it will be like, just like those Sadducees, we want to know who's wife she will be. But it is the unknowing anticipation that fills us with expectation of the goodness of God pouring forth. It is that sense that anything is possible, especially with God, that God calls us to live in. Not a waiting around for wings and a harp, but a looking for and forward to the Kingdom of Heaven breaking into the now with a taste of the future. We should stop pretending we know what beyond is like and enjoy the now God has graciously given us.
Otherwise we are just badly mistaken. I'm hoping you are not badly mistaken. God is good. We need to live like we really believe that. I'll try if you will? Let you know how the party tonight goes, and I hope to see you in the final party still to come!
* I know I promised a series on the Kingdom of God, and I will get around to it. But at this point things are just too hectic.
Recently I've been chatting with a few folks about the misunderstandings of heaven. In our reading last Wednesday night Mark's gospel tells of an encounter with Jesus and the Sadducees where they try to trip him up over the issue of the resurrection. See the Sadducees didn't really believe in the resurrection, so they thought for sure they were going to nail this would-be prophet. But one phrase catches them and most of us, "You are badly mistaken!" (Mk 12:27b) A lot of us have our ideas of heaven so packaged up that we too are badly mistaken.
Heaven is not a straight forward concept in the New Testament. It exists in the beyond and the unknown. Someone asked if I believe in heaven, and I do. But I think we are often badly mistaken about the nature of heaven.
The primary reason is that we recognize the groaning of this world and it incites our flight response. Wouldn't it be great if we just got to completely start again? I think many of us are convinced that is exactly what will happen. There is a level on which this is true, but there is also the reality of this life that we need to take seriously. In fact it is this reality we should be committed to, because it is the only one we are fortunate enough to have agency in and towards. God knows that. He sent Jesus because of that. He sends us because of that.
Heaven is part of the hope package, but not in terms of a pie in the sky where someday we'll fly pipedream. No it is grounded in something imminently more real than that, and I find even more compelling. Heaven is part of the hope of the Kingdom. It is the utopian edge to this reality. Heaven for the OT prophets is the restoration of the goodness of the whole created order. When we see the Kingdom come, we see heaven break into our time healing, righting, loving and restoring! So indeed we taste the future that is coming in the present that is groaning, longing for the manifestation of all that is hoped to be. Unfortunately we live in the neverland of being badly mistaken and miss the fact that the gospel is supposed to be good news and not a story of destruction, decline and suffering.
In this sense Heaven, and the anticipation of heaven, is very much like me waiting for my party tonight. In some ways I can't wait. In others I am frustrated because it is not yet, which is so evident by my struggle with keeping the kids occupied while I await the promised event (they are mercifully eating lunch right now). Not that I don't enjoy this time right now, the time when the kids are doing things that grab my heart in a good way. Much like we should enjoy this life and the fundamental prelapsarian goodness that creeps around the edges of life. People are amazing. I spent last night with two of my dearest friends, and it was a really good time. But good as those things are the reminders are constant that we are only seeing in part. Injustice abounds at all levels of life. Including my own lack of patience with my kids. But I have hope, heavenly hope.
I have hope that tonight will be another night where the Kingdom of Heaven will shine in around the edges. But my anticipation is the edge that I want to focus on. We want to know who is in, who is out, who is coming, who is not. We want to know what it will be like, just like those Sadducees, we want to know who's wife she will be. But it is the unknowing anticipation that fills us with expectation of the goodness of God pouring forth. It is that sense that anything is possible, especially with God, that God calls us to live in. Not a waiting around for wings and a harp, but a looking for and forward to the Kingdom of Heaven breaking into the now with a taste of the future. We should stop pretending we know what beyond is like and enjoy the now God has graciously given us.
Otherwise we are just badly mistaken. I'm hoping you are not badly mistaken. God is good. We need to live like we really believe that. I'll try if you will? Let you know how the party tonight goes, and I hope to see you in the final party still to come!
* I know I promised a series on the Kingdom of God, and I will get around to it. But at this point things are just too hectic.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
[THO] Antichrist
I spent yesterday reading Nietzsche's Antichrist, let me tell you he doesn't pull out any punches! I am giving a short presentation on Nietzsche's critique of Christianity Monday morning. I read a bit more than Antichrist, but the bulk of my analysis is from this work. I pulled out three key criticisms:
1) Christianity precludes the more rational atheism of Schopenheaur and Feuerbach.
This is interesting because from my reading on these young Hegelians, the Christian God is God in man's image. In fact Nietzsche's project seems to be a positive one of trying to adopt Schopenheaur's atheism without also taking up Schopenheaur's pessimism. But apart from my obvious objections to claiming atheism is the only rational option there is something valid about Nietzsche's critique. Christianity hasn't played well with the other disciplines, especially science. While we shouldn't have to sacrifice our theism to engage with science and philosophy, it seems that even in Nietzsche's day fear ruled this crucial relationship. Thank God there are those who have decided to broaden the dialogue partners of theology in our day.
2) Christianity focuses on an otherworld and ignores the natural world.
I've echoed this criticism many times on this blog. I don't buy Nietzsche's efforts to connect this to the slave morality of a vengeful priestly class, but it is an important criticism to consider. Are we too heavenly minded to be any earthly good? I think so. The track record of Christians in response to the environmental crisis is the strongest affirmation of this indictment. There is obviously a need for understanding the Kingdom of God, but it is too easy to miss that the Kingdom is a reality that breaks into the natural reality. It is too easy for talk of heaven to be a lotus causing us to miss the call of the prophets for justice and mercy.
3) The doctrine of sin prevents Christians from growing as moral individuals.
Nietzsche rails against the idea of pity. His concern is that this idea is used to make the claim of equality. Hence the slave morality is enforced and Christians remain content with their lot in life. While Nietzsche takes this in some bizarre directions, he is right that Christianity hasn't been good at developing whole, mature moral individuals. The problem is that we focus so much on personal sin that we miss that there is so much more to life. Nietzsche is heir to the Lutheran emphasis on personal sin, he knows what he is talking about here. We need to be careful not to miss the great themes of life and scripture, yes sin is part of that, but it is not all there is to the Christian life.
Nietzsche is a hard read, like I said earlier he doesn't pull his punches. While I am not convinced by his philosophy of morality, I do find his critiques worth wrestling with. Maybe I'll try something a little less inciting next time though.
1) Christianity precludes the more rational atheism of Schopenheaur and Feuerbach.
This is interesting because from my reading on these young Hegelians, the Christian God is God in man's image. In fact Nietzsche's project seems to be a positive one of trying to adopt Schopenheaur's atheism without also taking up Schopenheaur's pessimism. But apart from my obvious objections to claiming atheism is the only rational option there is something valid about Nietzsche's critique. Christianity hasn't played well with the other disciplines, especially science. While we shouldn't have to sacrifice our theism to engage with science and philosophy, it seems that even in Nietzsche's day fear ruled this crucial relationship. Thank God there are those who have decided to broaden the dialogue partners of theology in our day.
2) Christianity focuses on an otherworld and ignores the natural world.
I've echoed this criticism many times on this blog. I don't buy Nietzsche's efforts to connect this to the slave morality of a vengeful priestly class, but it is an important criticism to consider. Are we too heavenly minded to be any earthly good? I think so. The track record of Christians in response to the environmental crisis is the strongest affirmation of this indictment. There is obviously a need for understanding the Kingdom of God, but it is too easy to miss that the Kingdom is a reality that breaks into the natural reality. It is too easy for talk of heaven to be a lotus causing us to miss the call of the prophets for justice and mercy.
3) The doctrine of sin prevents Christians from growing as moral individuals.
Nietzsche rails against the idea of pity. His concern is that this idea is used to make the claim of equality. Hence the slave morality is enforced and Christians remain content with their lot in life. While Nietzsche takes this in some bizarre directions, he is right that Christianity hasn't been good at developing whole, mature moral individuals. The problem is that we focus so much on personal sin that we miss that there is so much more to life. Nietzsche is heir to the Lutheran emphasis on personal sin, he knows what he is talking about here. We need to be careful not to miss the great themes of life and scripture, yes sin is part of that, but it is not all there is to the Christian life.
Nietzsche is a hard read, like I said earlier he doesn't pull his punches. While I am not convinced by his philosophy of morality, I do find his critiques worth wrestling with. Maybe I'll try something a little less inciting next time though.
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