Best Shot of the Year

Kelly Ripa

I saw this live on Regis and Kelly over a year ago, but I thought it was HILARIOUS! So, enjoy!

The Anti-Religious Jesus

“But don’t worry… I’m not religious.”

Those words characterize a number of the conversations I have had with KU students over the past two years. So many people on campus are afraid of being religious. Indeed, it has become something of a taboo. “Thou shalt not be religious!” seems to be the mantra of many young people I meet. I recently passed by a car with the bumper sticker: “The Religious Right is Neither.” People think being religious is a bad thing.

Is it? Is being religious necessarily bad? Well, the answer seems to be both yes and no. “Religion” teaches us what God requires of us; it calls us to live by a certain standard and a moral code. It calls us to the recognition of something greater than ourselves.

Yet Jesus called us to more than just religion. In fact, Jesus did not get along well with religious people! (Or at least those who thought of themselves as attaining their own salvation through their works.) In Matthew 23, Jesus confronts the VERY religious Pharisees on their own self-righteousness. He lovingly refers to them as “snakes” and “broods of vipers.” “You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are” (Mt. 23:15).

Jesus calls his disciples to a higher calling than just being religious. Religion is about what we do to attain salvation. Christianity is about the God who has already provided salvation for those of us who believe and obey. Jesus doesn’t call us to be religious; he calls us to be a part of The Way. Christianity isn’t just a religion; it is a way of life that calls us beyond rules and regulations and closer to the heart of God.

So go out and don’t be religious. Instead, live by The Way of God, loving people and showing them through your lives the God who loves them too.

Cultural Lenses, Part 2

I want to post a response to a blog Scot McKnight wrote yesterday. This was my thought on this idea:

I think Wright is right on point about our culture affecting our reading/understanding of Scripture. Almost everyone we read in seminary is a dead white guy, whose understanding of Scripture has been influenced by Tubingen, Calvin, Barth, Luther, etc. But the interesting thing is what happens when we expand our cultural worldview.

First of all, the Bible is primarily written from a Semitic, middle-eastern worldview. As Christian we extrapolate our understanding from what we hear and read, but the understandings gleaned by present-day Bedouins on parables is probably closer to the real meaning than what we hear on Sunday mornings.

I think one of the things we must do is move beyond our Western understanding of Scripture. There are valuable insights to be gained from our African, Asian, and South American brothers and sisters as they attempt to wrestle with Scripture and God's revelation. To simply say that dead white guys have it figured out is, quite frankly, and insult to the Bible, which has truth to teach to all mankind, regardless of their culture.

I think the moment that we neglect to understand that the Bible was not written to us, but we try to understand God in light of our own cultural understandings, we immediately limit our understanding of God and his mission.

What do you guys think? Am I wrong?

Cultural Lenses and Biblical Worldviews

Our understanding of the world is shaped by where we grew up. Missionary children are never quite "the same" as heir American peers. Regardless of where they grew up, whether it was England or Mauritania, they have a different view of the world than Americans do. The same is said for our Christian brothers and sisters around the world. They usually have a different understanding of life, values, and faith than we do. The things that are important to us simply aren't important to them, and vice-versa.

One of the questions I want to pose today is this: How does our worldview shape our understanding of Scripture?

In the video below, Anglican bishop and scholar N. T. Wright discusses how our worldview shapes our understanding:



What are your thoughts? How is our understanding of Scripture shaped by our culture, values, patriotism, etc?

Hayek vs. Keynes

Although I know absolutely nothing about economics, I found this video absolutely hilarious! Hope you enjoy.




(Michael Mount told me about it last night, and I saw Jeff Proctor post it on Facebook... The word is out!)

Faith, Doubt, and Wrestling

I recently answered a blog about this on "The Jesus Creed," Scot McKnight's blog on beliefnet. But I was wondering your thoughts.

The blog concerned a letter from "Jacob," a 23-year-old struggling with his faith. Although he has been a Christian for 8 years, he finds himself questioning the very tenets of his belief. (You can find this blog here.)

How do you understand doubt? I think most of us would argue that doubt is not the absence of faith, but rather the necessary by-product of faith growing and changing. When we encounter something new or questionable, it must cause us to examine our faith. For instance...

• The earthquake in Haiti leaves us with questions of theodicy. If God is good, then why do people suffer? Pat Robertson argues that the earthquake was the result of God's judgment on the Haitian people (and their 18th century pact with the devil.) But are the answers so easy? Maybe it is judgment; maybe it is just the way the world works. Chaos won't be reigned in until God returns and sets things right. (By the way, look to tomorrow's blog for more information on Haiti.)
• The suffering of children
• Miracles in the Bible vs. a Scientific Worldview
• Building friendships with those of other religions
• Etc.
  

If we aren't honestly willing to wrestle with these questions (and countless others), then we will always remain children in our faith.

Socrates argued "The unexamined life isn't worth living." I would argue that unexamined faith isn't worth having. Paul puts it this way: "For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face." (1 Cor. 13:9-12).

Indeed, the people of Israel constantly had to wrestle with these questions (and others.) The very name, Israel, denotes "One who wrestles with God." Our lives should be the same.

So, the question remains: How do you understand doubt? Is doubt a bad thing? How does doubt help you grow?