The problem with arguing with atheists is that you have to spend so much time redefining terms. In fact the problem with arguing with fundamentalists/americanevangelicals is much the same. These two camps are the ones who are having the majority of the conversations about faith and religion in the public sphere. My thesis is that they are having this conversation because they both are easy targets.
For those of us who have spent time at university and seminary as protestants (meaning professional public theologians) we find the debate about God in the public sphere to be fundamentally elementary. We are flabbergasted at the what the media hooks on to and are mortified by what comes out of people's mouths who claim to be of the Christian faith. Atheists have a field day with this because these conversations are easy targets, broad side of the barn if you will. Because of this they are the two camps skewering the definitions of faith
One of the issues that comes up often has to do with what is or what is not God's will. There seems to be a significant misunderstanding about who God is and what God is about. Little of the conversation in the public sphere has anything to with the God of the Bible or even an effective definition of a creator of the universe.
The God of the Bible did two things at the beginning: First God created. Then God gave that creation free will. Free will is the issue that we all stumble on. In free will, God, by necessity, gave up control of creation. Why would God do this? Because God is a God of love. Our God is a "kenotic" God. A God who pours out love and love does not control or dictate or order or reject. No, our God is a God who gives and desires to be in relationship with us.
Now comes the big problem: I have free will to either accept or reject that love; that relationship. That love is given free and unmerited. I can do nothing to earn it since it is already given. This is like trying to hand money to your wife who is trying to give you a gift, how horrible an act. Yet, this is what so much of our bad theology does out there. It tries to pay God back for a gift that is already given or worse God pays us back for our bad behavior by taking the gift back. This capricious god is not the God who sent his only Son into the World, not to condemn the world, but to save it.
Now, from this point I would like to have a conversation with an atheist. Because from this point there is plenty for the atheist to object to, but it is not stupidity or insensitivity. The objection is to a God who is not in control, a God who is always forgiving and encouraging, a God who allows us to be horrible to each other.
O, Cain and Able!
Post Script: The other problem is that we all think that we are god.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Christmas Thoughts
First I want to clarify a three things:
You cannot take Christ out of Christmas so quit saying put Christ back into Christmas.
There has always been a war on Christmas - remember they killed the guy.
Xmas is a cool way to great people - in Greek Christ is spelled χριστος.
Now that is out of the way.
I like Christmas. For the most part for me it is a time of gathering. Gathering together of family and friends. Raising glasses and toasting to that which is good. I think Jesus would like that part of celebrating his birthday. Many of the stories of Jesus have him at parties (Wedding at Cana, Passover, etc.). And much of his ministry was bringing people back into the fold, bringing people back into community (healing lepers, forgiving people, etc.).
Of course some of you are already thinking about what Jesus would not like about his birthday: consumerism, ignoring the true meaning of Christmas, drinking Kentucky bourbon instead of scotch, etc. But you know that has always been with us as well. Remember he turned over the money changers' tables at the temple.
But, this year I choose to ignore those negatives and focus on what is good. People do remember to stock the food bank shelves and make sure kids have warm coats. Here at FLC we even collect socks among many other things. People smile more at this time of year and I like that, too.
I hope those of you who are Christian find your way to a service on Christmas Eve or Day. Sing the carols and hear the Good News. For Christ was born for our salvation and to bring peace to the world. We should all long for that coming again when all will be made new!
You cannot take Christ out of Christmas so quit saying put Christ back into Christmas.
There has always been a war on Christmas - remember they killed the guy.
Xmas is a cool way to great people - in Greek Christ is spelled χριστος.
Now that is out of the way.
I like Christmas. For the most part for me it is a time of gathering. Gathering together of family and friends. Raising glasses and toasting to that which is good. I think Jesus would like that part of celebrating his birthday. Many of the stories of Jesus have him at parties (Wedding at Cana, Passover, etc.). And much of his ministry was bringing people back into the fold, bringing people back into community (healing lepers, forgiving people, etc.).
Of course some of you are already thinking about what Jesus would not like about his birthday: consumerism, ignoring the true meaning of Christmas, drinking Kentucky bourbon instead of scotch, etc. But you know that has always been with us as well. Remember he turned over the money changers' tables at the temple.
But, this year I choose to ignore those negatives and focus on what is good. People do remember to stock the food bank shelves and make sure kids have warm coats. Here at FLC we even collect socks among many other things. People smile more at this time of year and I like that, too.
I hope those of you who are Christian find your way to a service on Christmas Eve or Day. Sing the carols and hear the Good News. For Christ was born for our salvation and to bring peace to the world. We should all long for that coming again when all will be made new!
Friday, December 21, 2012
Cain and Able
I should be writing something about Christmas. Maybe later. Right now I am still thinking about violence.
Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.
(Gen 4:8)
Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.
(Gen 4:8)
And there we are; right there in the fourth chapter. The Bible is barely started telling the story of God and there we are bringing violence. From the beginning.
No matter how sad and upsetting any of the murders that happen around the world, nothing will change until we heed what God said to Cain two verses before:
The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."
(Gen 4:6-7)
We have yet to master holding sin at the door. And I use the plural here because we pull the trigger as well. We cannot stand back, point and say, "Look how much more evil that person is than me!" We are in this together. This is what Cain forgot. This is what Adam and Eve forgot. This is what we forget when we point and separate ourselves from others.
This is the Law of the Bible, it crushes us under the weight of our condemnation.
This is the Good News of the Bible, we are rescued from this condemnation.
The problem is that we choose to live as our old selves and not as our new. We continue to put our trust only in ourselves and not in God.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Liturgical Review
People who do not understand the liturgical calendar often have misplaced expectations. So, so here is a little primer:
The Liturgical Year begins with the First Sunday of Advent. This falls usually at the end of November or the very beginning of December.
Advent lasts for 4 Sundays.
Advent is a time of waiting and a time of reflection.
The Color for advent is either royal blue or purple.
Advent is not Christmas Time.
There are a lot of great Advent hymns, so no we do not need to sing Christmas Carols.
Christmas begins on December 25. The color for Christmas is white.
Christmas lasts 12 days, therefore ends on January 5th.
Yes, we will sing Christmas Carols on each Sunday of Christmas even if you have taken down your tree.
The Day of the Epiphany is always January 6th.
The Sundays after Epiphany are what we call common time, meaning there is no special focus for the season.
The Sundays after the Epiphany can last anywhere from 4 weeks to 8 weeks.
Ash Wednesday is set by when Easter is falls. Easter is set by when the spring equinox happens.
Ash Wednesday for 2013 will be February 13th.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and we will mark you with ashes and remind you that you will die.
Lent is a time of either penance, austerity, or reflection, depending on your level of piety. Most people just give up chocolate. Not sure why.
Lent is an old word that has the same root as the world lengthen. The days are getting longer and we anticipate Spring and Resurrection, at least in the Northern Hemisphere.
Lent last 40 days not counting Sundays
The color of Lent is purple.
Sundays during Lent are sometimes called little Easters.
Holy week comes during the last 6 days of Lent.
Holy Week includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and The Easter Vigil (The Great Three Days)
Maundy means command in Latin. Jesus gives the great commandment on this day (be nice to each other).
You should wash feet on Maundy Thursday. Jesus did.
Good Friday is called good because we Americans and other English speakers have a weird sense of humor. Through this horrible act the greatest good came from it. Most people in the world call it mourning Friday or some such.
Good Friday is a day we remember what happened to Jesus on the night of his death. It is not fun.
Easter Vigil is a time to recall all the great things God has done for us as we wait for the Easter Dawn. Very few people stay up all night. Some take shifts. Others just do a worship service on Saturday and call it good.
Easter is stolen from from the Northmen's spring Goddess østara. øst meaning east - (the cheese is spelled ost as well but does not have the slash through the ø like the word for east.) The sun rises where?
Easter begins, well, on Easter Day (This year on March 31st).
It last 50 days and ends on, wait for it, Pentecost (Pentecost means the 50th day or something like that.)
The color of Easter is either white or gold.
Pentecost is the day we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The color of Pentecost is fire red.
The rest of the church year is common time - the color green.
There are many Sundays during common time, sometimes 28 of them!
The Liturgical Calendar ends with Christ the King Sunday.
Christ the King Sunday is kind of apocalyptic. End time stuff.
So there you go, a Liturgical Year primer. So quit asking to sing Christmas songs during Advent. It is like asking to sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game during a soccer game, sheesh.
The Liturgical Year begins with the First Sunday of Advent. This falls usually at the end of November or the very beginning of December.
Advent lasts for 4 Sundays.
Advent is a time of waiting and a time of reflection.
The Color for advent is either royal blue or purple.
Advent is not Christmas Time.
There are a lot of great Advent hymns, so no we do not need to sing Christmas Carols.
Christmas begins on December 25. The color for Christmas is white.
Christmas lasts 12 days, therefore ends on January 5th.
Yes, we will sing Christmas Carols on each Sunday of Christmas even if you have taken down your tree.
The Day of the Epiphany is always January 6th.
The Sundays after Epiphany are what we call common time, meaning there is no special focus for the season.
The Sundays after the Epiphany can last anywhere from 4 weeks to 8 weeks.
Ash Wednesday is set by when Easter is falls. Easter is set by when the spring equinox happens.
Ash Wednesday for 2013 will be February 13th.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and we will mark you with ashes and remind you that you will die.
Lent is a time of either penance, austerity, or reflection, depending on your level of piety. Most people just give up chocolate. Not sure why.
Lent is an old word that has the same root as the world lengthen. The days are getting longer and we anticipate Spring and Resurrection, at least in the Northern Hemisphere.
Lent last 40 days not counting Sundays
The color of Lent is purple.
Sundays during Lent are sometimes called little Easters.
Holy week comes during the last 6 days of Lent.
Holy Week includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and The Easter Vigil (The Great Three Days)
Maundy means command in Latin. Jesus gives the great commandment on this day (be nice to each other).
You should wash feet on Maundy Thursday. Jesus did.
Good Friday is called good because we Americans and other English speakers have a weird sense of humor. Through this horrible act the greatest good came from it. Most people in the world call it mourning Friday or some such.
Good Friday is a day we remember what happened to Jesus on the night of his death. It is not fun.
Easter Vigil is a time to recall all the great things God has done for us as we wait for the Easter Dawn. Very few people stay up all night. Some take shifts. Others just do a worship service on Saturday and call it good.
Easter is stolen from from the Northmen's spring Goddess østara. øst meaning east - (the cheese is spelled ost as well but does not have the slash through the ø like the word for east.) The sun rises where?
Easter begins, well, on Easter Day (This year on March 31st).
It last 50 days and ends on, wait for it, Pentecost (Pentecost means the 50th day or something like that.)
The color of Easter is either white or gold.
Pentecost is the day we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The color of Pentecost is fire red.
The rest of the church year is common time - the color green.
There are many Sundays during common time, sometimes 28 of them!
The Liturgical Calendar ends with Christ the King Sunday.
Christ the King Sunday is kind of apocalyptic. End time stuff.
So there you go, a Liturgical Year primer. So quit asking to sing Christmas songs during Advent. It is like asking to sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game during a soccer game, sheesh.
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