A Series of Questions…
June 27th, 2006 | by Scott |This is rattling around in my head right now. If you have the conclusive (or even a good guess) let me know.
- At what point do we, in the church, get truly serious about weighing all scripture through the person of Jesus Christ? Isn’t He the resting place for all of our conclusions and approaches to living and loving?
- Will we ever break away from our proclivity to proof-text our rationales for war, propagating poverty and elevating our spheres of concern over above the needs of those who fall outside of those spheres? God commanding war in the OT is not a good enough reason for me to blindly embrace armed conflict today.
- What moral obligation do I have to reduce poverty and be a voice for the least of these? How far-reaching is that? How much does that affect what I buy, where I shop, etc?
- Could it be that we have completely blown Romans 13 out of proportion and twisted it completely into an unrecognizable form from its original intent?
- What does a true ethic of life consist of? How can I be pro-life and accept the needless death of any individual?
- When did faith get confused with certainty on every moral question?
- If the greatest commandments are all that, shouldn’t we be focusing a whole lot more on what it means to love God and love people?
- Can we lay aside our personal disgust on sins that particularly rankle us to have an open discussion about the true make-up of sinful behavior?
- Have we so marginalized women in the church that they have no outlet for their gifts and talents? If so, when do we emerge from our patriarichal stone-age?
- Is there a cure for the frustrations I feel? I’m not getting much sleep right now.
Maybe you can see why I’ve steered more toward humor and such lately. I have to get out of my head.
Any thoughts?
13 Responses to “A Series of Questions…”
By Larry James on Jun 27, 2006 | Reply
Here’s a thought, Scott: keep writing! What you are feeling and discovering will keep you up at night, but it is true. Thanks for caring.
By Scott on Jun 27, 2006 | Reply
Thank you, Larry. Your example on matters such as this are an inspiration to me. I will keep writing. My about phrase: Docendo disco, scribendo cogito means “I learn by teaching, think by writing.” It’s a pretty good summary of my approach to things.
Thanks.
By Andrew Cairns on Jun 27, 2006 | Reply
Great questions, Scott. These are at the heart of the matter for anyone who seeks to be a truly loving and caring person.
One observation I might make is that none of these, however, need be answered exclusively by the Christian faith. In other words, each one of them is being addressed (at least in part) by the secular bureaucrat, the faith-pluralist, the utilitarian dominionist, and any number of pop stars with too much time and money on their hands to explain away their inner turmoils.
These questions are, rightly, a genuinely loving response to the evil a caring person sees all around. But this is not necessarily a Christian response. God has created mankind with the capacity to discern what sin is and how its effects are made manifest. So even the rank atheist may legitimately lay claim to a genuine love-motivation for ‘making a difference’ in this fallen world.
Sadly for the non-Christian, merely recognising the problem and having a rightly motivated passion to see it addressed is not enough. This is because the problems are not caused by a lack of human compassion, love or concern for others. They are caused by the corruption of sin and the stranglehold it has on those who are not freed by the blood of Jesus and his indwelling Spirit.
Urging ourselves and others to simply have more human compassion, love or concern for others is not the answer. In my opinion, responding to God’s call to repentence and allowing his Spirit and Word to change our lives from the inside out — which includes doing things to address these and other issues as he directs us — certainly is.
By R-Liz (Ruthie) on Jun 27, 2006 | Reply
I’ve had my own personal bits of angst, anger, frustration and sadness lately. It’s due to a variety of things, but very similar to your list. Now you’ve got me all riled up again! But I’m glad you’ve created this outlet.
To start off, I think most of your frustrations could be addressed in the very first thing you listed. If we weighed all of scripture through the person of Jesus, many of your (and my) other frustrations would melt away.
Lately I’ve been running into your first and ninth issues listed quite a bit. Because I was not raised to see the Bible as a black and white law book, I have the HARDEST time dialoguing with folks (many who happen to come from restoration backgrounds) who think our job in life is to try and make a church that looks (in appearance) exactly like the epistles read. I did a blog entry on women’s role, and I’ve realized that it’s just about useless for me to dialogue with someone on the other side of the spectrum b/c we have two entirely different worldviews. They keep coming back to me and saying, “Look at the literal words written. We must follow them word-for-word!” And my heart just melts. I wonder if we worship the same Christ. I really do.
I’d also like to add that I think issues surrounding women in the church will change when women want them to. From my own experience, the people who are most avid at keeping women’s role where it’s at are…women!
I help teach the teen girls’ class at our church, and it’s a class FULL of eager, confident, and smart young women. It makes me so sad and so mad to think that these young ladies could be marginalized and pushed to the side b/c of their gender. The church may not retain these gals if it stays on the course it’s on, and I think that’s a travesty.
By jeff on Jun 27, 2006 | Reply
Scott -
1. Now
2. No
3. With every fiber of your being - with every dollar, every decision, every vote
4. yes.
5. It consists of being consistent, which we are often not
6. At the very moment we came to see life as a series of right and wrong choices instead of as a journey from the housse of fear to the house of love (Nouwen); when we gave up on the promise of the Kingdom to unite all humanity under God’s love and instead came to see humanity as our enemy to be proselytized or condemned
7. see previous in 6 above
8. I doubt it
9. Yes.
10. Yes. But you won’t like it.
I pray and submit that the above responses are ill-considered, rash and irreverant.
By scott on Jun 27, 2006 | Reply
Andrew, great thoughts. I do understand what you are saying. I don’t believe just loving more is the answer but it is a great place to start.
Ruthie, I love your thoughts on women. I need those strong female voices challenging me to think outside the box.
Jeff, thanks for the laugh. For some reason I found your answer to #10 hilarious. Now, I’d love to hear some more of your well-considered thoughts.
By len on Jun 27, 2006 | Reply
First time posting here. Went to high school with Jeff and followed the link. As a fellow pastor I also think about many of these questions. My thoughts go towards question #3. This evening I was cleaning out my closet. I was reminded by a phrase Michael Card used almost 20 years ago: “We rob our brothers by all that we own and that’s not the way He has shown”. I am ashamed of how much needless stuff I have in my closet. So cutting back on spending and not buying into the world’s “gotta have it” mentality may be a start. Seriously, how many shirts do I need?
As to certainty on moral issues, I feel that I have more faith now than I ever have, but I have more real doubts on things now than ever also. It is a sign of immaturity to have to see everything in black and white. Maturity recognizes that there is much grey area.
By Scott on Jun 28, 2006 | Reply
Len, welcome. Please keep coming back.
I believe you are right on when it comes to moral issues. Yet, there is that catch-22 that, as pastors, we should have certainty. I refuse to play that game any longer. I would rather set the example to my congregation of “working out my salvation” than pretending that I’ve already got it all nailed down.
Again, welcome. Any friend of Jeff’s…
By Jeff on Jun 28, 2006 | Reply
Scott -
Yeah, the problem with answers is that generally, I really don’t like them or they just raise more questions!
And I guess that’s really the basis to how I would respond to a lot of the questions you raise.
I think we are supposed to be in tension and frustration. I think modern evangelical language and shallow theology have led a lot of Christians to believe that real “faith” results in comfort, peace, assurance and clarity. God, I hope not!
Real faith ought to make us restless, angry, nervous, anxious and, yes, frustrated.
Further, I’m pretty confident that clarity (of purpose, of direction, etc.) is low on God’s list of “things to provide to My followers”.
As long as we live in a fallen world, our list of unanswered questions is going to be lengthy. I think we underestimate how fundamentally the fabric of the universe was rent when humanity began this long diversion: one of the great haunts of human history has been the Law of Unintended Consequences. We labor under the believe we can solve things and make things better. Only to discover that our solutions only create new problems - or move the old ones to a different point of manifestation.
This is what it means to be incomplete - to see only in part, as through a veil. Our answers will haunt us as much as the questions they sought to resolve. And on and on. Until He comes.
And the most frustrating part of it all is that knowing these very things, we are, if we are lucky, helpless to stop trying - helpless to cease our efforts to solve the problems.
I think that in some small way holy, unrelenting, damnable frustration we experience is like what Jesus must have felt on that hill overlooking Jerusalem:
“…but you would not…you would not”
See my post over at http://runtowin.blogspot.com for some additional thoughts.
By Amy on Jun 28, 2006 | Reply
Okay, I’ve read your post about three times today. And I come with no answers whatsoever, just a big echo to Len’s comment.
Thank you for asking these questions - we need more preachers pointing our churches in this direction.
By Scott on Jun 28, 2006 | Reply
To be honest, although I might complain, I like the frustration and tension. It means that I’m banging against my comfort zone.
I like the wrestling with the questions. Praise God I have a blog community that will help me wrestle with these issues. Maybe we will become more like Him in the process.
By JackieW on Jun 28, 2006 | Reply
Scott,
1) At what point do we, in the church, get truly serious about weighing all scripture through the person of Jesus Christ?
We were supposed to be doing that all along, weren’t we? Yes, I know that we haven’t always been. But we were SUPPOSED to be, since Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. As I tell my SundayI school classes, he never once asks us to do something he himself didn’t do. He learned about his relationship with God from Scriptures, like we have to do, and he was baptised like we are told to be. Then he picked up his cross and did what had to be done. He then told us to do the same, and follow him. It is up to us to do our best to do it, knowing he will help us every step of the way.
4) War today…
I don’t know of anyone who likes war, but sometimes, it seems to me that war is the lesser of two evils. Take WW2 - if Hitler and his allies were not stopped, the genocide would have been more appalling than what they managed to accomplish. The millions of people (both sides) that died in that war, and as a result of the policies of the Axis powers policies is mind-numbing. Stopped they had to be, to protect the most life - much of it innocent. I believe there are causes worth fighting for - and dying for. And if there are not, then I find there is nothing truly worth living for. I would be willing to fight for my family (including church family), and my Lord, and die for them too!
5) I don’t really see any way that I can help reduce poverty radically. Not only did Jesus say that the poor would always be with us, but I am not in a position of great power or influence. I can teach/warn people so that they can make the most of the talents God gave them so that they won’t be any more economically disadvantaged than absolutely necessary. I can support programs to protect the ecology and the economy, which will help the poor (including me!)
6) I don’t know if we have blown Romans 13 completely out of proportion. My understanding (and I just reread it) is that we are to obey the government since God put the (like coming together on the Lord’s day to worship). Then we, like Peter and the other apostles, must obey God rather than man. (Acts 5:29)
7) To me, the true ethic of life consists of seeing all life as belonging to God, and allowing him to be in charge of when it is to end. God himself instituted the death penalty for murderers, right after Cain killed Able, and I have no problem (after all the trials and “no reasonable doubt” stuff is done) with the death penalty. It is not so much punishment of the killer as is it protection of the rest of humanity from being murdered.
But in euthenasia cases, suicide, and abortion, etc. - that is the taking of a human life, and I am against it. Even the stem cell research - if they need embryos to get their stem cells, and the embryo dies, I don’t approve. If the child dies through no fault of human interference, that’s God’s will. But if their harvesting stem cells is the reason it died, that’s murder. I believe it is Exodus 21 that lists the penalty for injury to a pregnant woman who loses the baby. A life for a life. God takes life VERY seriously!
I like the idea of Hospice, though. That is a notion that allows people who are dying, and that medicine has no further hope of helping, die at home and in as much comfort and dignity as is medically possible. I never did like the idea of being stuck in a hospital waiting to die just because someone was too sick to go home. This Hospice is much better, if you have the time and the choice in the matter.
Excellent question… don’t know the answer.
9) If the greatest commandments are all that, shouldn’t we be focusing a whole lot more on what it means to love God and love people?
DUH!!!
10) Lay aside personal disgust on pet peave sins? Must we?? I agree, open discussion about the true make-up of sinful behavior would be helpful. I found, as I did my sub teaching this past year, that I got into interesting with the teenagers about things like abstinence, drugs, lying, cheating, homosexuality, SoulForce and ACU (thanks for telling us about that, BTW). When I talked to them about SoulForce and ACU they seemed surprised that ACU welcomed them they way they did. They said, “Aren’t they against homosexuality?” I said yes, but christians are supposed to love the sinners and hate the sin. All to often we hate the sinners right along with the sin.
11) I don’t know about other women, but I (for one) do not feel marginalized. No church would survive without its female members. No, the Bible doesn’t seem condone us taking positions of authority over our brothers, but that is because Eve sinned first. I will allow my brothers to suffer stage fright and lead the prayers, singing, and preaching, and I will sit in my pew and sing, pray, and take notes on your sermons, and teach my Sunday school class. I will also raise my son (and my husband ;-)) in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. I can serve my church and my Lord best behind the scenes, but I am no less a servant back here, and will do without my 15 minutes of fame, thanks.
12) Is there a cure for the frustrations I feel?
Probably not. Does that help?
Jackie