Scott Freeman

For me, the topic of reconciliation involves many questions:

1. Does Hell exist?

2. If so, is it eternal?

3. What, exactly, would condemn one to hell?

4. How do we reconcile a loving and compassionate Parent condemning a child to everlasting torment without hope of “rehabilitation?”

5. Do we miss something by focusing salvation in a purely legal context?

6. Who is Anselm and why is he saying all these terrible things about me?

7. How do we reconcile passages that direct us to forgive 7X70 and then excuse God from the same standard?

8. Do we really believe that God is a God of love? And how is that reconciled with our cries for justice? If we believe that 85% or more of people living today will suffer forever and ever and ever how do we preach a loving God?

9. Is it possible to elevate our “free will” to a place of idolatry?

10. Can there be a different view that incorporates God’s Sovereignty, man’s free will and God’s tender and compassionate love that continues to hold a high regard for scripture?

11. What did the early church believe?

12. If hell is an eternal reality why am I not more serious about it?

13. Can people hold varying views and remain in fellowship?

These are just a few of the questions that I have grappled (and still!) with over the last few months. Ultimately, I believe that there is a more fleshed-out, nuanced understanding of the matter of God’s love (which justice is a part of, not a separate reality) that holds out far more hope than I ever realized.
It goes beyond the Augustinian notion of hell and posits God as the source of our hope. A hope that goes beyond eternal torment.

I know that these are difficult questions and I intend them to be. I’ve stopped and started this series many times in my head because I know the potential volatility of the subject matter might even outstrip that of non-violence.
But I know the participants in this community and we can wrestle with these questions in the spirit of brotherhood. Let’s do that.

What are your thoughts on these initial questions? What would you add to that?

Here is something to chew on as well from Thomas Allin:

It is wholly inconceivable that the definite plan of an Almighty
Being should end in failure—that this should be the
result of the agony of the eternal Son. God has, in the face
of angels and of men, before the universe and its gaze of
wonder, entered Himself into the arena, become Himself a
combatant, has wrestled with the foe, and has been defeated.
I can bring myself to imagine those, who reject the
Deity of Christ, as believing in His defeat; but it is passing
strange that those who believe Him to be “very God Almighty,”
are loudest in asserting His failure.

Because I’m a good catholic boy I thought I would do another round of confession. It’s good for the soul and my blog audience makes for a fine proxy priest.

And I don’t have to get claustrophobic in those little booths.

Today’s confessions are all about food.

1. I only really like one vegetable: Onions. That made for a pretty sparse dating record.

2. I only ate my cereal dry until I was 34. Then again, my cereal was so sugar and marshmallow filled that milk was beside the point.

3. I despise coffee and any other hot drink. Food should be hot and drinks should be cold. Period.

4. On that note, I am absolutely addicted to Diet Coke. And nothing you say or do can stop that.

5. I hate eating at home. If I had my way I would eat out every meal. Except breakfast, that would be too much.

6. I love spicy foods. The spicier the better. The greatest sauce to add to anything is Dave’s Insanity Sauce.

7. Yes, I could eat pizza and hamburgers every meal. My palate has a severe case of arrested development.

8. When I was a kid I made a habit of eating mustard and ketchup sandwiches. That is still brought up all the time. But I refuse to be embarrassed by it.

9. My favorite dessert is basically anything that involves copious amounts of chocolate.

10. I binge eat when I’m stressed.

What about you? What are your food confessions?

I just realized I hadn’t done one of these posts in a long time. So here’s a swing across popular culture.

Books

There have been several offerings I’ve really enjoyed lately. Ones I give my seal of approval to are:

“Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court” by Jan Crawford Greenburg–This is a great tale of how the current Supreme Court came into being. It’s a cursory overview. It’s not indepth by any means but it does give a walking knowledge of the current court, it’s dynamics and the implications.

“Speaking of Sin: The Lost Language of Salvation” by Barbara Brown Taylor–A tremendous book that re-examines the meanings of some of our lost language regarding sin, salvation, repentance and penance. It’s a short read but rich in its meaning and importance. I will give a more in-depth look at Christian Readers later today.

“The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America Are Winning the Culture War” by Dan Gilgoff–A fair and concise history of the religious right, this book leaves the conclusions to the reader. For a more detailed look visit here.

Television

30 Rock–The show began it’s freshman season somewhat unevenly. It also began battling Studio 60 as a show about the behind the scenes machinations of late night sketch shows. It has since found it’s feet and has become one of the two funniest shows on television. It’s a fight between this and The Office. Sadly, tonight is the season finale. Check it out. As many critics have pointed out it has the most jokes per minute of any show since Arrested Development.

Jericho–Just mindless entertainment. It’s my favorite Wednesday night show. CBS has offered up a character in Robert Hawkins to rival Jack Bauer. And with 24 being such a major disappointment this year it’s a void ripe to be filled. As Jericho and New Bern gravitate toward a major conflict the tension is being racheted up.

Music

Brandi Carlile’s The Story–This girl rocks. Just listen to that ferocious wail on “The Story” or “My Song” and you will know exactly what I’m talking about. At times tender, at times in your face. This is one of the best releases of the year so far.

The Decemberists’ The Crane Wife–I don’t understand a word of what they are talking about most of the time. As Colbert says they are “hyper-literate prog rock.” And they are a lot of fun to boot. The album title is from Japanese folk-lore. And just like their title the rest of their stuff plays off our obscure literary references. Tremendous.

Michael McDermott’s Noise From Words–Have I mentioned the best album of the year yet? Get it.

Movies

During the move our DVR got incredibly backed up so I haven’t been able to watch much in the way of film lately. Except for:

Shut Up and Sing–I loves me some Dixie Chicks. This is a great behind the scenes look over the last 4 years as they withstood the backlash from some event somewhere or something one of them said. I can’t remember what it was, though. It’s entertaining to say the least.

And to top it all off here is a video of one of the songs off of Michael’s new album. Such a tremendous tune of longing. There is one line that captures the depth of heartbreak here that I absolutely love. Can you guess which line it is?

So what recommendations do you have right now?

Back about 6 weeks ago I proposed a new blog that would have multiple authors. Here is what I wrote:

I propose a blog with as many authors as possible to discuss Christian and Ministry related books.

Let’s face it, there are too many books being churned out that affect us as Christians and ministers for us to keep up with them all. In the time I wrote this NT Wright has released two new books.

I, for one, feel overwhelmed with trying to stay up to date with what is out there. I don’t have the time to read everything. And I sure don’t have the fungible cash.

So, how about this: let’s create a blog where as many people as interested can post their thoughts on relevant books that they have read. Everybody involved would be bumped up to full admin level to write their posts and invite others.
It can be in whatever format you want. You can write a review, thumbnail, outline. You name it. Any discussion that your post generates will be contingent on the interest of that book.

This way we can get an understanding of more books without having to read them and we can determine which books are important for us to pick up on our own.

Several of you responded with your interest in participating in this endeavor and Jonathan Moore agreed to set it up.(That’s twice I’ve name-dropped you in one day, Jonathan.) He did and it’s up and running.

I encourage you to visit Christianreaders.info. So far, only two of us have left posts detailing 9 books.

I just left two quick reviews of The Jesus Machine and My Year Inside Radical Islam.

My dream is that this will expand and more of you will agree to give us insight into what you are reading.

Check it out. And if you are interested in being a part of subsequent discussions and/or giving us your own feedback regarding books, then leave me a comment.

I first saw this meme a few days ago on my daily tour of the blogs. I immediately thought that if it ever got to me I would list Krister White as one of the five blogs that make me think. Right now he has me wrestling with my own “primordial theological intuition.” Heady stuff, indeed.

Much to my surprise, Krister nominated me for the thinking blogger award. I am deeply humbled by the recognition, especially since I don’t consider myself to be all that intelligent. I make up for it by reading a lot.

Per the rules of this meme, I have to pay it forward with five blogs that encourage me to go deeper.

Jeff Richardson//Run To Win–I’ve known Jeff for over 20 years and have always been a little intimidated by his intelligence and ability to develop fully developed arguments so quickly and succinctly. I went several years out of touch with Jeff but in the last 2 years of being back in touch he has helped me think through a number of issues that I wouldn’t have the avenue to otherwise.

JR Woodward//Dream Awakener–I don’t recall how I stumbled upon this blog but it is rich with depth and possesses a wide array of post on a number of topics. I’ve drawn upon it many times in recent weeks for quotable excerpts. Woodward’s posts on Virginia Tech, where he once ministered, were gut-wrenching at the same time they exuded tremendous hope.

Jonathan Moore//blogmower–This blog is more an aggregation of different things that Jonathan has read across the interwebs. However, Jonathan supplements those different writings with his own insightful comments. He has a great knack at getting to the core of the discussion.

D.W. Congdon//The Fire and the Rose–I found this blog in my study on universalism and have been blessed with a wide array of posts to chew on. Congdon is one of those heady writers that I have to read several times to truly digest what he has to say. And I often feel like my head is gonna explode. Not light reading.

JTB//Rude Truth–I first met JTB when I was on ministry staff with her folks back in the late 90s. We lost touch after her parents moved to Tennessee. However I stumbled upon a blog she was doing a couple of years back with a few other people. Although that blog is now defunct she continues on at her own site. She never fails to come at any discussion or topic from a viewpoint that otherwise I probably wouldn’t consider. Her scholarship has prompted me to go deeper in my understanding, especially in the area of gender equity.

5 great blogs that make me go deeper. The idea is that these nominees will no go forward and do the same. Woodward and Congdon have no clue who I am but the rest of you guys have no excuse

…by the greatest songwriter of my generation has just been released online.

No artist has had anywhere near the impact on me that Michael McDermott has had. His music sustained me in the darkest spiritual period of my life. His words resonate with me like none other and I’m lucky to call him a friend.

One of the greatest crimes of the music industry is that he is not a household name.

I am exhausted of superlatives to describe his music. Just do this:

Go to this website and listen to the three tracks from his latest album, Noise From Words, and then buy the whole thing for just 8.99.

You won’t be sorry. You will be touched by songs of longing, brokenness and redemption. And you will be amazed at the depth of his lyrics and his master musicianship.

Then spread the word about Michael.

In light of Heroes coming back from it’s hiatus last night, I thought I would share those who fall under the category of real-life heroes of mine. Man, my conservative blog friends are gonna give me grief about this .

These are in no particular order.

10. The Initial Signatories of the Evangelical Climate Initiative. These individuals broke with the long held evangelical skepticism about climate change and spoke their convictions. I applaud each of these 86 individuals. (Note: I was not one of the initial 86 signatories. I was number 87.)

9. Democrats For Life. This group, which I support, has concrete plans to reduce the frequency of abortions. The Democratic party is slowly waking up to the legitimacy of this group and has broadened their tent to include them.

8. The Amish. For teaching me forgiveness and the power of non-violence. And for making some mean jelly.

7. Christian Peacemaker Teams. For being willing to die for non-violence.

6. Good Teachers. Let’s face it: there are far too many teachers today who have no business in a classroom. But for the ones who are capable and gifted, I am thankful that they are there.

5. The intellectually curious. I am so thankful for and look up to the people in my life who are unafraid to ask hard questions, regardless of how uncomfortable it might make them and how many of their preconceived notions come tumbling down to their pursuit of knowledge.

4. Those who adopt. God bless those who open their hearts and lives to those who otherwise would never know the joys of a home.

3. Those committed to the least of these. From The Simple Way to Larry James and Central Dallas Ministries to Jimmy Dorrell and Mission Waco to Allie in Honduras. I am thankful for their commitment to sharing the love of Jesus for the marginalized oppressed and forgotten. And for showing me that I still have so far to go.

2. Those Who Overcame. Racism, hatred and intolerance are unfortunate staples in our world. To those who face a level of persecution that I will never understand I feel a tremendous level of admiration. From those facing human rights abuses to Christians undergoing persecution under oppressive regimes to those whose voices are still stifled as they continue to clamor for equality.

1. My wife and my parents. My parents are the reasons I have committed my life to ministry. Their tireless faith and belief in my spurred me to dedicate my life to the pursuit of Christ. Tracy shows me every day where I need to be. Her love of people and desire to be with others is indicative of where I need to be. And she has poetry in her soul.

Those are my heroes. How about yours?

I think that anyone can see from my last entry that I seemed to be teetering on the brink of depression and burnout. The reason you gathered this is most likely because I came right out and said it.

Last week was supposed to be a great week for us. We sold our money pit of a house on Monday and netted enough to pay off a huge chunk of debt leaving us with just a car payment. In addition the missus is now able to quit her job and stay at home.

Instead I found myself getting more and more stressed. I was snappy at home (a condition that I fall into far too often) and finding myself completely drained and empty.

Part of my problem has been this series I began back in September of 2005. Each week we look at a different book of the Bible with me teaching and preaching from that book. Last year we walked through the OT minus the wisdom books. This year we have tackled the NT and now have gone back to finish up with Job–Song of Solomon.

It has been a tremendous study for us as we have been able to see the overall narrative of Scripture. But it has also been an overwhelming prospect for me to achieve some level of proficiency in a new book each and every week. I’ll be so glad when it is over. 63 books down–3 to go.

But now it’s Monday and I feel the weight of the world is off of my shoulders. What did the trick you ask? How was I able to go from basket case to the edge of elation in just 3 simple days?
Well, I tried a variety of methods to jump start the system. I tried and quickly jettisoned the following:

1. The Tom Cruise Mega-Vitamin Depression Buster
2. The Pat Robertson Energy Shake
3. Mounds of Chocolate (Note: I have not completely abandoned this one. More scientific testing is required to test the efficacy of this treatment.)
4. Watching girlie TV shows with my buddy Jason.
5. Moving to Colorado Springs and camping outside Focus until they hire me as their director for Climate Care, Non-Violence or International Human Rights. (Note: I actually didn’t make it any further than Lakeshore Drive. I chose to instead internally rail on the myopia of others while absolving myself of any deficiencies in my own personal belief system.)

Realizing that all of those were somewhat lacking in their ability to shake me out of my April doldrums I opted for what would really work:

1. I bought a treadmill. I love to run and I love to run on a treadmill. But it’s proven difficult for me to find the time to go to the gym during the work day. And once I get home I don’t want to leave the house for nothing. So, I got a killer deal on a unit and started running again. I’m way out of shape but that first 30 minutes pounding the belt felt tremendous.

2. I got a good night’s sleep. Actually I have slept well 3 nights in a row. I can’t remember the last time that happened. I have not been disturbed by any of my children during the night since Thursday. I had no idea how important sleep was.

3. I made everything about me. Then again, I make everything about me. Right, Tracy?

Sleep and exercise. Who woulda thunk it?

How do you beat stress and depression? Any other tips for me?

Note: I’ll return to the series on reconciliation on Thursday.

Thanks to Joe Hays for this idea.

1. I have a hard time opening the plastic wrapping inside cereal boxes. I end up mangling them to where cereal comes gushing out.

2. I haven’t liked a sermon I’ve preached for the last two months. I’ve always prided myself in my ability to preach. Maybe that’s the problem. A little dose of humility is a good thing.

3. I feel on the verge of burn-out at the moment. I really need some time to step back re-evaluate but I need to wait until the end of May.

4. I suffer jealousy issues toward other people. I sometimes wish I had done things differently like having attended a Christian college. Then maybe I wouldn’t be so mired in anonymity.

5. I don’t take any medication. But I probably should. I feel an inordinate amount of pressure and stress right now and I’m having a hard time coping.

6. I haven’t exercised in 3 months. I know that’s part of my problem.

7. I data dump everything I preach and teach. If you ask me on Monday the details of my sermon from the previous day, I couldn’t tell you.

8. I struggle with wanting to say so much more than I do. I censor a lot of what I truly want to say.

9. I can’t stop watching ER. I don’t like it, but I’ve invested too much.

10. I can’t sit down and worship on Sunday mornings. I’m too keyed up for what I am about to do to relax. As a result I feel a tremendous worship void in my life.

How’s that for a downer of a Friday?

…but I just don’t know whether or not to say it.

I had a long entry ready to go regarding the situation at Virginia Tech. However, I don’t know yet if I should post it. And I’m not sure if my opinion truly matters at the moment.

I have so much to say about the Winkler trial as well. But I just don’t know how appropriate any of it is.

How about an open thread? Say or ask anything you like in the comments below. Let’s see where the conversation takes us this way. Nothing off limits today.