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On Writing, John Calvin, and ID Theft

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You may have noticed I haven’t posted much this week. Why not? A lot has been going on.

LifeLock

First, I had one of my credit card accounts stolen this week. Thankfully, the credit card company caught it before it got too out of hand. The thief made almost $5000 worth of purchases online, but I think that since the company caught it so quickly, nothing was actually shipped out.

But as a result, I spent a good chunk of the week making sure all my other accounts were secure, signing up for LifeLock, and taking a few other steps to protect myself from this in the future. I am one of those “I never thought it could happen to me” people. But then it did.

And I am still recovering from it and holding my breath to see what else they got ahold of… I do recommend LifeLock if you don’t already have ID theft protection. They seem to be the best.

Writing

writingSecond, I realized my book on the violence of God is getting out of control. WAY out of control. I am nearly at 100,000 words and only about half way through the book. What I have written on the flood is nearly 20,000 words all by itself. I’m drowning in the flood. That’s bad.

Also, I am getting somewhat bored with the topic, and if I am getting bored, I am pretty sure you might be getting bored with it too. I think what I might do is cut out the 20,000 words I have written on the flood, and summarize it down into 1000 words or so. What do you think of this idea? Of course, I have only posted about 5000 words so far of the 20,000 I have written, so maybe I should post the next 15,000 over the next two weeks or so, and then let you decide whether it is worth keeping….

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How Genesis 8:21 Reveals God’s Purpose in the Flood

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The flood narrative in Genesis 6-8 is difficult to understand in light of the self-sacrificing nature of God revealed in Jesus Christ on the cross. How can the God who drowns everybody on earth because of their sin, be the same God who dies for everybody on earth because of their sin? Though there are numerous issues surrounding these chapters, Genesis 8:21 helps us understand what God was doing in the flood. When we understand Genesis 8:21, it shows us that God was acting much more like Jesus than many assume.

Genesis 8:21

After the flood, Noah and his family set out to reestablish themselves on the earth, and when  Noah offers a sacrifice to God, God promises to never again destroy every living thing in the same way (Genesis 8:21). God says that even though man’s heart is constantly evil, the flood waters will never again come upon the earth to destroy everything that breathes.

Three things about Genesis 8:21 reveal to us what God was doing in the flood.

1. God Restricts His Own Freedom

First, in previous posts, I have argued that God did not actively “send” the flood, but that it came upon the earth as a natural consequence to mankind’s rebellion. The flood is an example of nature out of control, of sin cannibalizing itself, and of the destroyer seeking to destroy.

Genesis 8:31

One of the primary reasons I have been arguing this is because I believe that God, in the act of creating beings with dignity, value, and free will, God limited Himself from acting in any way that would violate or negate mankind’s dignity, value, and free will.

Though it is popular to say that God can do whatever He wants, God cannot do what is logically impossible (such as make a round square), do anything that violates His own nature (such a sin), or do anything that goes against something He has already decided and determined (such as give humans free will). “God lets the creatures have the freedom to be what God created them to be”  (Fretheim, Creation Untamed, 53).

Lots of people have problems with the idea of God limiting Himself for the sake of humanity. They feel that since we are God’s creatures, He can do with us whatever He wants, even if it means squashing us all like bugs under His divine thumb. They often point to the flood as an example of Him doing this very thing.

Note carefully, however, what God says in Genesis 8:21. He says that even though all humanity is completely evil from their youth, He will never again destroy every living thing as He has done in the flood. However a person understands the flood account, Genesis 8:21 clearly reveals God placing a limitation upon Himself.

Genesis 8:21 shows that God places boundaries upon His future choices so that a worldwide flood is never again a possibility. Whatever you think about the flood account, one thing it shows is that our God is a self-limiting God. He restricts His own freedom for the sake of His creation.

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Use Group Events to Love Others

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group eventIn the previous posts in this series about getting to know our neighbors (sign up below to receive all the posts by email), we discussed first getting acquainted with our neighbors and then building relationships with them. Once we have built relationships with at least some of our neighbors, we’re ready to move on to the next step, group events. Even though it is tempting to skip getting acquainted and building relationships and go straight to a group event, such as a backyard barbecue, we have discovered that the group events always function more smoothly when we know and have already established a relationship with everyone we invite to the event.

Group Events

Group events are great opportunities for neighbors to get to know each other better, both those we already know, as well as those we barely know (even though those people may live just half a block away) or don’t know at all. Through group events we will discover new things about each other, including shared interests. We often discover that neighbors we assumed were unfriendly are actually very friendly.

When we’re planning the event, we try to make sure that everyone we invite knows someone else in the group in addition to my wife and me. Since we know everyone in the group, we introduce people to anyone they don’t know. Since everyone already knows someone, the people they know also introduce them to other people. Conversations that begin at group events are often continued in the days and years ahead.

Our First Neighborhood Group Event

My leg was in a non-walking cast. I was unable to help clean the house or to prepare most of the food that would be necessary for a New Year’s Eve party. But our neighbor was terminally ill with cancer and this would be her last New Year’s Eve. We agreed that if she could come for even ten minutes, we’d have a party. She said she would come. Then we invited more neighbors.

My wife cleaned. I made a shopping list. We went to Costco (me in a wheelchair) and bought take-and-bake pizza, salad, hummus, a cheese log, crackers, cheese trays, sparkling cider and champagne. We came home and I made cheesecake and persimmon pudding.

Everyone we invited came, fourteen in all, including our sick friend. She looked fabulous (it was her “best day” between chemo treatments). We talked. We swapped stories. They stayed (even our sick friend stayed almost three hours). We toasted each other. Oh yes, we ate, but the food was not the centerpiece of the event. Spending time together was.

That was a special night, and everyone there understood that. After the event, everyone said they wanted to do it again, and those present who do not live in the neighborhood asked to be invited to the next event. Some people called us later and asked for each other’s phone numbers. New relationships were begun and old ones strengthened.

Our Second Neighborhood Group Event – Cinco de Mayo Party

Over the course of throwing group events, we have discovered that people love theme parties, especially those centered around holidays. Since we live near the border, we love to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (5th of May). We invited a group of neighbors to a Cinco de Mayo party on Sunday May 1, which was the day our community celebrated Fiesta/Cinco de Mayo.

We made enchiladas and rice, provided drinks and asked everyone to bring a side dish or dessert that went with the theme. Bringing something to share makes people feel more involved and relieves them from feeling obligated to return the invitation. Sixteen people and lots of food arrived around 4:30.

Neighbors met neighbors they barely knew or didn’t know, and reconnected with those they already knew. Half of the group had come to the first event on New Year’s Eve, and half had not. One of the “new” people had never been involved in any neighborhood activity. Everyone (except my wife and I) met at least three or four neighbors they had not known previously.

Bin Laden and Group Events

We ate and everyone talked and talked. We were still sitting and talking when one man received a phone call telling him the president was about to make an announcement concerning Bin Laden. We turned on the television. After the president’s speech, someone asked, “Do you remember where you were when you heard the news about Kennedy? Now we’ll remember where we were when we heard the news about Bin Laden.”

group eventsNear the end of the evening, my wife and I proposed a “block party” for the 4th of July. Everyone liked the idea. The neighborhood is really getting into this. We now have two co-chairs and people from other streets in the neighborhood are asking if they can come. We’re inviting everyone on our street, and those people may invite anyone else from the neighborhood, as well as their friends and relatives. We have not seen this much enthusiasm since we moved here. We may get 30 or 300. We’re passing out “Save The Date” flyers today and tomorrow.

We Like Each Other

Our neighbors did not want to leave. They love spending time with each other. The party finally broke up around 9:00. Two people asked us if they could come back later “just to talk.”

What is it we are doing?

We are building community in our community.

We are not asking them to “join our community” at church. Instead, we focus on nurturing the community where they already live – in their very own neighborhood.

People are talking to people they thought they didn’t like. People are meeting neighbors a few houses away who they didn’t know and neighbors are spending more time talking with each other. Neighbors who didn’t attend either of the first two group events have told us that they’ve heard about the events, would like to come to our next event and are looking forward to the July 4th block/neighborhood party.

In the next post we’ll discuss some pitfalls to avoid when getting to know our neighbors, and then will conclude this series with “Loving Without an Agenda.”

Until then, have you hosted any group events? What did you do, and what was the reaction and response from your neighbors? Leave a comment below!

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The Waters of the Flood and ANE Cosmology

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the waters of the floodIn seeking to understand what is going on in the account of the flood and why the waters that came upon the earth, we must understand the Ancient Near East cosmology. That is, what they thought about how the world worked, and what connections existed between the spiritual realm and the physical realm.

The Waters in the Ancient Near East Cosmology

In reference to the flood, one of the most important points to grasp is that in ancient Middle Eastern cosmology, the waters of the world—especially large bodies of water such as the ocean and the sea—were considered to be the dwelling places of powerful deities.

Though he goes by different names in different cultures one of the more prominent pagan deities was Yamm, the god of the sea. As such, when we read in numerous places in the Bible about the raging waters, and God’s control of them, it is not that God is fighting the waves of the ocean, but that God is viewed to be at war with Yamm, the god of storms and chaos (cf. Ps 69:1-2; 74:13; 77:16).

In his book, God at War, Greg Boyd shows the depth and breadth of this imagery throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. In reference to Genesis 1, he says that all ancient Near Eastern people would have understood the imagery of the “the deep” and “the waters” which covered the earth.

Such imagery was prevalent in ancient creation myths, and typically, when the gods of these myths set out to bring order to the chaotic waters, they did so through war, battle, and violence (Greg Boyd,  God at War, 159-164). The Hebrew God of Genesis 1, however, needs no violence. He brings order to the chaos with nothing more than His voice (Greg Boyd,  God at War, 86). He simply commands the anticreation chaotic waters to retreat, and they do! Yamm is shut up behind closed doors by the command of God.

At the end of the creation account, God gives dominion over the earth to mankind—the pinnacle of His creation. The dominion over the earth is understood as the rulership, control, or authority over the earth. But when Adam and Eve sinned, when they fell to the temptation of the serpent, they forfeited their dominion over the earth, and gave that authority to a different “god of this world.”

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The Flood of Genesis 6-8 in Context

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In the flood of Genesis 6-8, did God really send water to kill every living thing on earth? We have been considering the issue of the violence of the flood for several posts now, and will continue to do so for several more. This post briefly introduces the context of the flood in Genesis 6-8.

The Context of Genesis 6-8

Though this is the most common view of these chapters, there are numerous clues left by the text itself, by the surrounding context, and by other passages in Scripture which indicate that something else is going on in the flood account. The truths of Genesis 6-8 (and especially 6:7, 13, 17; 7:23) can be understood differently when we grasp the Scriptural and cultural contexts in which these texts were written, what other Old Testament authors had to say about the flood, and also what the Apostle Peter writes about it in his second letter. This section will look at the surrounding context of Genesis 6-8, and subsequent sections will consider other biblical passages that deal with the flood.

the flood in Genesis 6-8

Our understanding of Genesis 6-8 depends in large part on how we understand Genesis 1–11 as a whole, and especially Genesis 1:1-2, 6-10, and 6:1-12. There are numerous questions and issues surrounding the opening chapter of Genesis that will shed light and guide our understanding of Genesis 6-8.

The Creation of the World from Water

We first need to ask questions about the water in Genesis 1:2. Where did these waters come from? Were they part of what was created in Genesis 1:1, or is 1:1 more of a summary/title for chapter 1? If the latter (as many Bible scholars believe), then the text doesn’t really tell us where the waters came from, only that they existed. And either way, how should the waters be understood? Are they referring to literal liquid water or is the water a literary symbol for something else?

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Troubled Translations of Genesis 6:13

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Bible translation Genesis 6When I first sat down to study and research the flood account through the lens of Jesus Christ, I initially thought that the key to this text was found in faulty English translations.

We must admit that the vast majority of Bible translators hold a view of God in which He is angry about sin and violent toward humanity as a result. As such, they often translate texts to reveal this theological bias, even if the text as originally written does not. I initially thought that the account of the flood was a perfect illustration of this bias.

Translating Genesis 6:13a

For example, according to many translations, the first part of Genesis 6:13 says that because God saw the great evil and violence that was upon the earth, God decided or determined that He would destroy everything living upon it. Here are three sample translations which show this perspective:

So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them…” (NIV).

And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them…” (RSV).

So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence…” (NLT).

As can be seen from these two translations, the text seems to indicate that as a result of violence in the world, God decided or determined to send some violence of His own, and wipe out every living thing.

But a brief look at a few other English translations shows that another way of reading the text is possible:

And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them…” (NKJ).

And God said unto Noah, “The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them…” (KJV).

Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them…” (NAS).

These three translations show that the first part of Genesis 6:13 can clearly be translated in a different way. In contrast to the first three translations above, these second three translations show that it is not that God decided or determined to send destruction upon the earth, but that God saw that death and destruction was going to come upon the earth. The destruction of the earth had come before Him. The Hebrew literally reads that it had come “before His face,” or “into His presence.”

Genesis 6 and Job 1

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Is the Flood Account a Beautiful Story about Rainbows?

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the flood rainbowOf all the violent texts in the Old Testament, the portrayal of the flood in Genesis 6–8 may be the most difficult text to understand.

As I was struggling with the way the flood is presented in Scripture, I had frequent conversations with my wife about this troubling text. One night, as we went back and forth on how to understand this passage, she playfully said, “I don’t know what the flood story means! All I know is what I was taught in Sunday school, that it’s a beautiful story about rainbows!”

We laughed, but the tragic reality is that this is what most people think about the flood. It is often read and taught sort of like an old-wives tale about how rainbows came to be.

The Flood Story is Appalling

The flood story, however, is anything but a beautiful fairy tale. On its surface, the flood story is an appalling account of how millions (and possibly billions) of people died a horrible death by drowning because God was angry at them.

family drowning in the floodAside from the grim image of every living thing on earth gasping for breath and choking on water as they sink beneath the waves, the flood story also paints a troubling portrait of a God who seems incompetent because He regrets that He made mankind (Didn’t He know this would happen?), and who then foolishly tries to solve the world’s addiction to evil and violence by committing the greatest atrocity of all: worldwide genocide. One author describes the story with these words:

The Old Testament also describes God as a mass murderer. …Despite cute songs, child-friendly play sets, and colorful artistic renderings of the story, “Noah’s Ark” is not a happy tale of giraffes and panda bears clambering aboard a floating zoo. It is a story of catastrophic death and destruction that, incidentally, results from divine decree. Nearly the entire human population perishes because God drowns them. It is a disaster of such epic proportions that even some of Hollywood’s doomsday scenarios pale by comparison (Seibert, Disturbing Divine Behavior, 20).

Strong words! Yet the apparent genocidal behavior of God in Genesis 6–8 is not the only troubling element to this text. Although there is a rainbow at the end and a promise by God that He will never do such a thing again, one is left with several questions about the way God is presented in this text.

The Troubling God of the Flood

For example, if He can promise that He will never do it again, why did He send the flood in the first place? Did He realize the flood was a mistake? If so, He sure seems prone to mistakes, for He first regretted making mankind, and then He regretted killing them all. So is God schizophrenic? Is He bi-polar? Did God realize the flood didn’t work as intended, and that mankind would not learn to refrain from evil simply because God annihilated them all? Maybe He realized this isn’t the example He wanted to set for mankind, and so resolved to be a nicer, gentler, more merciful God in the future? Was the flood “Plan A” and when the violent drowning of all mankind didn’t work, God decided to go with “Plan B” in eventually sending the Messiah?

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40 Days and 40 Nights on the Flood

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40 days of the floodI am going to start posting on the flood account tomorrow for my book When God Pled Guilty. 

This post is to provide fair warning….

I initially wanted to try to cover the flood in about 1000 words. 1 or 2 posts maximum.

Then as I studied, my first 1000 words on the flood became a flood of words, until I finally ended up with nearly 20,000 words.

Overkill? Maybe. But so was the flood. Ha!

Seriously though, this is a tough text in the Bible – maybe the toughest of all the violent passages in the Old Testament. And besides, it lays the framework and foundation for all the violent texts that follow.

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10 Christian Clichés To Avoid Like the Plague

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There are numerous Christian clichés get people nodding their heads in agreement and saying “Amen!” in sermons, but when you stop to think about them, they are not only meaningless, but also border on heresy. OK, maybe heresy is too strong a word, but at the bare minimum, these Christian clichés are dangerous.

christian cliche

On the surface, many of these Christian clichés appear to be true (some are even quotes from Scripture), but they are almost always used in a damaging and controlling context and teach people some very bad theology.

So don’t say the following Christian clichés

  1. Where God guides, God provides. The worst Christian clichés are the ones that rhyme. Like this one. But more than that, the message of this Christian cliché is awful. When people say this, what do they mean by “provide”? Does this refer to money and finances? That is the context in which I have always heard this statement said. So, if this Christian cliché is true, then the only things we should follow God in are the areas where we have money and finances to do it? And even if you do receive lots of money, or lots of people, are you sure this is God’s green light to move forward? It seems from Scripture that God is most often at work in small ways, foolish ways, insignificant ways, and with people who are nobody, and who have no money, no power, and no prestige.
  2. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. Hey, it rhymes, so it must be true! Gag me. Maybe God didn’t bring you to it at all, but you brought yourself to it. Or maybe He did bring you to it, but He is not going to bring you through it, because He wants you to sit in it for a while and learn something. And even if He is going to bring you through it, maybe it will take decades.
  3. The greatest distance in the universe is the eighteen inches between your head and your heart. This Christian cliché is quite popular, but thankfully it doesn’t rhyme. What people mean when they say it is that following God about more than just what you know; it is about what you do. I suppose this is true at one level, but the fact of the matter is that what we do is most often based on what we think. This is why Paul encourages his readers to “renew their mind” in Romans 12:1-2. The renewal of one’s mind leads to the renewal of actions and behavior.
  4. You can’t outgive God! Again, this Christian cliché is almost always said in the context of some call for monetary donations to a building project, a ministry opportunity, or some other fundraising campaign. And while it is true that God is more generous than we can ever imagine, it is not true (as is often taught) that if we give lots of money, God will give us even more money. Don’t give beyond your means to a church or ministry based on this faulty understanding of finances. We can give generously and joyfully, to ministries and people that are serving in the Kingdom of God, but don’t expect that by giving, God will give you greater financial wealth. He probably won’t. 
  5. We are saved by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone. This is based on a misunderstanding of James 2:14-26. Related to this is the statement that “Even demons believe.” I’m not going to say much about this, because I have written on these Christian clichés elsewhere. Click the links to read more.
  6. When God closes a door, He opens a window. What does this even mean? And even if He does open a window, what am I supposed to do? If I wanted to walk through a door to a certain opportunity, and God “opens a window,” does that mean I just get to sit there and look out the window? Am I supposed to crawl out the window? I just don’t get this Christian cliché.
  7. Man meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. So, God is in the business of getting evil people to do evil things? I know that Joseph said something like this in Genesis 50:20, but pretty much just like every other verse quoted out of context, we should not understand Joseph to be saying that evil things that happen are good. God never calls evil “good,” and neither should we. Evil is evil. What Joseph meant is similar to what Paul says in Romans 8, that although evil things happen, God can bring good from them, and still accomplish His goal and purposes in our lives despite the evil.
  8. Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. Yes, another Scripture that is quoted a lot. This one comes from Hebrews 10:25. I wrote on this misquoted verse previously as well, and won’t say anything more about it here, except to say that this Christian cliché is often used as a club to beat Christians over the head who are following Jesus by loving and serving others, but who may not “attend church” on Sunday morning in a building with stained glass and a steeple. I don’t think that is what the author of Hebrews had in mind…
  9. A Bible that’s falling apart usually belong to someone who isn’t. In my experience, those who have Bibles that are falling apart should just go buy a new one. I have also seen Bibles that were falling apart because they were severely abused by their owners… you know, thrown into duffle bags with the gym clothes and poorly-sealed tupperware container of leftovers. A Bible doesn’t fare well in those situations. But even when Bibles are falling apart because their owner truly does read and study it all the time, many of them are some of the proudest, self-righteous, judgmental Christians I know. Being a Bible expert does not guarantee Christlike behavior.
  10. God said it. I believe it. That settles it. In other words, “I just believe the Bible.” Riiiiight. Me too. So when we disagree, who is correct? This Christian cliché is another idea I have written about elsewhere (see this post, for example), but my concern is that when most people say “The Bible says” what they really mean is, “My understanding of the Bible says…” Any Bible student who has read more than two books on any subject in Scripture will be aware that different people read various passages in Scripture in different ways. Settling theological or ethical debates is not a matter of just quoting Scripture. We need to actually understand what the Scripture says in its various contexts, and then bridge the gap between those contexts and our own. In this process, there are thousands of possible ways to go astray, and so in many areas of theology and Christians ethics, what we believe must be held with a degree of humility.

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