Liberating you from bad ideas about God
Do you have something in life you really enjoy doing, but doing it keeps you from what you love the most?
For some, it is sports, or working out, or computer games.
For me, it is writing.
I love writing. I feel God’s pleasure when I write. I sometimes hear the music of my soul in the rhythm of the keyboard as I type. When I went through a period of deep depression and anger in my life, writing is one of the things that helped pull me through.
So I love writing.
But I also hate writing.
Why?
Earlier this week I was a guest blogger at Goforth’s Journal, a blog about family, fathering, and following Jesus. The post is about the perfect role model for us fathers. We men are lacking in good role models, and most men in Scripture were not the best fathers. Even Jesus and Paul, whom we would like to emulate, were not married.
Here is an excerpt from the post:
I wish Jesus had been married. I wish he had fathered some children.
I know such a wish is full of theological pitfalls and problems, and would have led to disaster for the church. We probably would have tried to worship his children, and a whole sect of Christianity would have risen which claimed that to be a true child of God, you had to have some Jesus blood in your line. But still, with all the clamoring voices today and multitudes of books on how to be a good father, and how to balance marriage and ministry, I so often wish I had a definitive role model to go by.
At the bare minimum, Jesus could have written a book or two on How to Be a Husband and How to be a Father. But He didn’t.
Go on over and read the rest here.
A few weeks ago, I did a series on Steve Taylor, one of my formative theologians. As part of that series, I indicated that he was directing the movie based on Donald Miller’s book, Blue Like Jazz.
I recently learned that the trailer for the video came out, and wanted to share it:
And if you liked that, here is a bit of the back story. This video shows some of Steve Taylor’s quirky humor.
One of the human trafficking ministries I follow is “Make Way Partners” out of Birmingham, AL.
Here is an excerpt from an email newsletter I received from them today:
From Peru, Jack asks your specific prayers for Shantel. He writes, “I walked into a shop which boasted a large sign reading, ‘Se Necesita Senoritas’ (You need a girl?)
A girl came to the table where I was drinking an Inka Cola (The most popular and favorite soda here in Peru, like the Coca Cola in the U.S.).
She asked me if I was a cop, because if I was not, I’d have to pay for a sexual service. Cops can have all the chibolas (little girls) they want for free.
Since I was not a cop, I’d have to pay 50 nuevos soles even for her company around the table to talk. She was so happy I just wanted to talk with her that she shared much of her story with me.
Every year on Memorial Day, people remember the men and women of our country who have given their lives to defend our freedoms, many people will be displaying a flag, both to commemorate the sacrifice of these soldiers, and to display a sense of patriotism.
There are many Christians, however, who choose not to fly a flag. Also, if you were to ask them, they will refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance.
It is because they believe that the flag, and particularly, the Pledge of Allegiance, is idolatrous. And they have a case.
In the early centuries of the church, the Roman Empire also had it’s banners and seals, and Roman Citizens were required by law to swear fealty to Caesar by stating some sort of Pledge of Allegiance to one of his banners or seals. Many Christians believed that since Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, and it is to Him alone that we must swear fealty, then any such oath to a flag, or a human ruler, is idolatry (cf. similar concerns raised by Greg Boyd in The Myth of a Christian Religion
I think we can.
First, in the first centuries of the church, the Caesars believed that they were divine, and therefore required people to worship and honor them as a Son of God. The Roman banners and seals were symbolic of this Caesar worship, and so the early Christians were right to reject it. Today, however, in flying a flag or saying the Pledge, nobody is stating that they believe the flag, the President of the United States, or even the United States itself, is divine. So flying a flag and saying the pledge are not, in my opinion, idolatrous.
Second, and more importantly, refusing to fly a flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance today is not going to get anyone killed. At most, you might be considered unpatriotic. If we really wanted to find some idolatrous practice that was equivalent to what the early Christians faced, it would have to be something that might result in our persecution and death if we did it (or refused to do it).
When society forces you to do something or face rejection, it is then that we have possibly encountered an idolatrous practice. Like what? There are numerous possibilities, but the one that comes to mind first is the head-long plunge into materialism and greed. If you live in a way contrary to the materialistic goals of our society, people will shun and avoid you, and think you are insane. As I stated yesterday, we need more Christians who are “suicidal” in this way.
How ironic it is then, that those who refuse to fly a flag out of loyalty to Jesus, turn around and buy thousands of dollars of clothes, a brand new car every other year, go on vacations and trips around the world, and build multi-million dollar stadiums which are then stamped with the name of Christ.
So I say wave a flag. Honor our fallen soldiers. And then, make some decisions about how you are going to honor Jesus with you money and possessions this year.
