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| March 22,
2006 Conversion 101
Back into class session. The
subject for today, class, is conversion. As you recall, we left
off with Hindus and Christians having a to do about this matter
recently. That situation has not been settled. Christians are all
for bringing people into the Church. Hindus are of the opinion
that Christians are taking advantage of social situations and are
tricking people into changing their religious identity for less
than worthy goals.
Today we turn to Islam and
Christianity and the country is Afghanistan. As a Muslim country
where church and state are one and the same, the national
leadership is apparently allowing a threat of a death sentence for
one convert to be a signal to other folks who might be thinking of
becoming Christian. Both religions are missionary religions. As
the two largest world religions Christianity (2.2 billion) and
Islam (1.3 billion) have much at stake in the conversion
business.
Christianity tends to permit
individual decision making about religious identity. Islam tends
to demand loyalty to the global Muslim community. The conflict
reflects the nature of what it is to be a "member" of
either religion. In Christianity people become members of local
congregations - fellowships of believers. In Islam individuals
declare belief in Allah and His Prophet Mohammad and take on the
traits of Muslim practice. Leadership in Islam tends to be more
diffuse than in the Christian pattern of denominations and
congregations with pastoral/priestly leadership.
From the Christian viewpoint
persons are permitted to convert as they wish. From the Muslim
viewpoint no true Muslim would convert. There you have it.
See you at the next class
session.
Del |
| March 14,
2006 The Ides of March
Calendars keep a person on
track. Obviously I need a better calendar system. Since tomorrow
is the Ides of March I had best shape up and fulfill obligations
on this page..
So what is an Ide?
According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDE) an Ide
is a time of the month or, in Latin, a fish. A more contemporary
definition is Integrated Drive Electronics.
The Roman calendar names March
15th as an Ide in the months of March, May, July and October. In
the other months the Ide is on the 13th day of the month. As
one can see the term refers to the middle of the month where a
Kalend is on the 1st day of the month. As far as I am concerned,
any day that I continue alive is a good day.
Del |
| February 10,
2006 Christians and Cartoons
Making light of religious
subjects is an inevitable part of society in any era. The serious
side of life is lightened by humor. To survive in terrible times a
person needs to be able to laugh at the ambiguities and
strangeness of actual human society.
When threatened by humor,
religious pace setters and leaders usually try to bring folks into
line by exerting force of one kind or another. Then the role
of humor becomes even more pronounced.
In Western society Christians
have learned to take humor as part of the cost of doing business
in a free society. And it turns out that humor is what it takes to
point up some aspects of the Faith that need attention and
adjustment. Like, for example, clergy who are taken with being
self important and pompous. Freedom of expression is worth the
price.
So how do Christians deal with
the rage of some Muslims over the Danish (and other) cartoons? My
take is that the "us against them" mode is not
productive. The Muslim world appears to feel put upon and
humiliated by real or imagined forces in the rest of the world
society. They have to work that situation out for themselves. Say
a prayer for the Muslim folks and trust them to beloved care of
God in Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
D. Krueger
|
| January 14,
2006 Confessions of an Unrepentant Trinitarian
Part 8 Vestigia Trinitatis
A remarkable coherence in
creation becomes apparent when one permits the ideas of Trinity to
invade the modern mind. Present day theological writing is
venturing into the relating of Trinity and Practise. An example is
"These Three In One: The Practise of Trinitarian
Theology" by David S. Cunningham.
This move beyond mental idea
intercourse is opening opportunity for relating trinitarian
concepts with science, commerce and other so-called mundane human
ventures.
An example of the coherence
thing is seen in Quantum science theory and practice. As described
by Amir Aczel in "Entanglement: The Greatest Mystery in
Physics" 2001, recent scientific experiments with
protons indicate that a single proton can be at least two places
at the same time even at great distance. Depending on its status
as a wave or a particle the proton is a mystery of one and
several. Now that Quantum theory can be done observably in
the laboratory there arrives a sense of mystery in the scientific
community which looks suspiciously theological.
St. Augustine and other Church
Fathers were given to speaking of the "Vestigia Trinitatis"
- a sense that there is a mysterious coherence in creation which
is hinted at in the Trinity.
Something to consider in a
society when it appears as if the Christian Way has been passed by
and consigned to the bin of interesting concepts that did not work
out.
Delton |
| January 7, 2006 Confessions
of an Unrepentant Trinitarian Part 7 Inerrancy Fails
In this time of "doctrinal
purity tests" at colleges and congregations there is risk of
neglecting the third person of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit. And
that would be a serious matter.
The firing of Joshua Hochschild
at Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian college in the USA, is a signal of
fearfulness. In the Wheaton instance Hochschild became a Catholic
and so unwelcome to teach at the school. The required belief
statement that faculty have to sign includes belief in inerrancy
of the Bible as a necessity. Apparently the greater openness in
Catholic ( and most Protestant) theological circles regarding the
subject made Hochschild dangerous.
The doctrine and practice of
Trinitarian Christianity is clearly a balancing act between
confusion and rigidity. The Holy Spirit is the defender of mystery
in the face of misplaced human certainty. In times of crisis
humans tend to "circle the wagons" and regroup in order
to keep a semblance of unity. No doubt a natural reaction in all
of history. The Christian faith comes along to keep open the doors
and windows to realistic appraisal of the issues that face
humanity. It may be God's way of saying, "Lighten
up!".
The Holy Spirit is God's way of
putting us in touch with the fact that we know precious little
about ourselves let alone the purposes of the creation. The
resources available to deal with looming problems are accessed
most effectively when people stop a moment, take a deep breath and
look at the options. In such a moment there is chance for the
Spirit to whisper a word about a Godly future that is dawning in
spite of best efforts to stop time and keep things as they
were.
Delton
|
December 27,
2005 Games and The Word
The driving force in computer development these days is Games
- so said a well placed engineer at the Apple company at a party
on Christmas Day. The memory needed for the increasingly life like
programs and the demand for smaller devices is now the wind in the
sails (sales) for the industry.
Interesting factoid but does it
make any difference for Christians?
Consider that the Word spoken
of in the Gospel of John, chapter 1, has to do with a style of
communication basic to the Incarnation. Stone tablets, papyrus,
animal skin pages, hand copying of text, printing press,
mimeograph machines, electronic printers, computer screens - a
litany of the technology of communication used by religions of the
world.
If it is games that are driving
the present technology which claims to shape the meaning as well
as the format of communication then Christian believers need to
pay attention. Is the Word being co-opted by the makers of Word or
Word Perfect computer programs and their more sophisticated
technicians who dream of managing the format and distribution of
information of all kinds? When machines do much of the
Internet translation between languages then it is algorithms
rather than scholars who are the movers of meaning across the
boundaries of cultures and traditions.
Read the elaborate and over the
top appearing arguments of Ray Kurzweil to wade about in the
river of creative thinking that is mapping out the future of
information transfer. In an era when imaginative games are shaping
the world of communication it does well for us Christians to move
out beyond the traditional boundaries. My belief is that the Holy
Spirit is in this arena.
Del |
| December 22,
2005 Christmas Surprise in China
It is reported that young
people in China have taken an interest in going to Christmas Eve
services at churches. A Christian spokesperson says: "It is
certainly a new thing for the Chinese, and I don't think there is
anything strange or wrong with curiosity." A young
couple who had been at Midnight Mass at the Wang Ju Jing Catholic
Church in Beijing are quoted as saying "We thought it was
romantic".
It is also reported that Ikea
is Shanghai's unofficial capital of Christmas where young
professionals gather to listen to Swedish Christmas music and have
ginger cookies.
One reason may be that the
Chinese New Year celebration in January which is primarily family
oriented with large traditional meals leads some young people be
dissatisfied with a heavy time that is not in tune with
their changing life styles. So they turn to Christmas as a
celebration that they can fill with new meaning.
This information comes from
Geoffrey Fowler and Juying Qin in a Wall Street Journal article on
Thursday, December 22, 2005
How strange of the Holy Spirit
to use a westernized Christmas celebration as the means for
transmitting messages of the Christian faith in the face of the
Communist Party. The church in China now has the challenge of
putting up the core of the Christian faith for these curious young
people. Perhaps the church in the USA can learn from the Chinese
how to do this communication challenge more effectively.
Delton |
| December 12, 2005
Confessions of an Unrepentant
Trinitarian Part 6 Winter
In the northern hemisphere we
are glorying in the joys and comforts of winter weather. In the
southern hemisphere you are probably quite envious of our snow,
ice and cold. Perhaps.
Does hot and cold make a
difference to God? If hell be hot then is heaven cold? I
have yet to see a theological essay written on God's attitude
toward temperature. As with many other subjects we have no inkling
of what the Creator things of such matters.
Meteorology is an attempt to
study and understand the weather - in other words the hot and cold
of it all and the results on the surface of the earth. Can it be
that theology is another name for the study of human dealing with
the mystery of existence? With all of our study of weather, the
upper atmosphere winds do as they will for reasons beyond our
grasp - at least as of now. With all of our theologizing Creator
God does as God will do and we do our best to make some sense of
our experience of spiritual reality.
And there, for Christians, is
the Trinity. One might say that Trinity is a way of describing the
weather of the cosmos.
Delton |
| December 3,
2005 The Raft of Advent
Here we are on the river of
life floating along on the Raft of Advent. As in the Grand
Canyon adventure of John Wesley Powell, we know not what will be
found ahead but there is a passion to go for it. That "go for
it" attitude is what distinguishes the Christian approach to
the future.
Advent is where Christians
gather at this time of the year. Advent is written on the flag of
this raft as it bounces along like a cork on the watery
current.
To be alone on the river of
life is inadequate. The swirling currents of society and of
personal genetic inheritance carry one along. Written deep in the
mind, body and spirit of human beings is an instinct to be taken
up in a greater cause than simply drifting with the current.
How do I know this? Because the
Christian tradition in which I have developed and the experiences
that have been teacher along the way shape this approach to
existence. I take personal responsibility for this outlook be it
right or wrong from the view point of another person. Advent is
about Christian decision making. Advent Raft is a steady platform
so that a person can have the stability needed to choose wisely.
Delton
|
| November 27,
2005 Three Cheers for the Christian New Years Day
Today is New Years Day in the
Christian religion. The first Sunday in Advent happens four
Sundays before Christmas. And so begins the year long review of
the Faith.
Advent, Christmas,
Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Trinity, Pentecost.
The Christian Calendar is based
on this series of events. The liturgical calendar is for practices
within the church - the worship practices in particular. The
Christian Calendar is for teaching believers and non believers
about the Christian story. The drama of God the Creator; God
in Jesus the Savior; and God the Holy Spirit is what the story is
all about.
Christian New Years Day is to
take a deep breath and begin the story all over again. The stories
stay much the same but the people as individuals and as community
change constantly. Here are the New Years dates for several
upcoming years.
November 27,
2005
December 3, 2006
December 2, 2007
November 30, 2008
November 29, 2009
Happy New Years
Day!
Delton |
| November 18,
2005 Fear, Guilt or Passion for the Cause -
Take Your Pick
Here is why people give money
to their Christian congregations.
1. Fear - Anxiety over
what threats are surrounding us in the community drive many of us
to support the church with money. Will the congregation be here
for family funerals - mine in particular? Will my place in
the community disappear if the congregation where I exist
spiritually be gone? Think of what might happen to me
in this life or the next if I stop giving money. Facing up to the
folks who have to pay the church bills is no picnic. Even though
the punishment for neglect may be long term the sensation right
now is one of fear.
2. Guilt - The need to make
up for past mistakes or intentional wickedness is a powerful
force. A person considers the pain of being cut off from the
ministrations of the church whether it be Communion or membership
or a place of respect in the eyes of others. The sense of having
never done enough for some person or project drives one to give
money as the best that can be done at this distance. Hurt that has
been done and cannot be undone due to deaths or cowardice drives
the omnipresent guilt machine in a person. Perhaps giving some
money will lighten the load a bit. However, let it be said that if
someone comes forward with a huge money gift to assuage for a
crime of any kind the line has been crossed over to buy-off
territory. That is not giving to the church - that is buying the
church - a pernicious blot.
3. Passion for the Cause -
To be captivated by the thrill of being in on something that
really counts in the story of life leads to significant
generosity. The inward conviction that since I have enough money
to manage, it is now time to share in what it costs to seriously
promote the faith so dear to ones heart and mind. To believe in
the spiritual mission of the Church sends a clear message to ones
financial management program. Words and good intentions are not
enough - I do want to make a difference through money.
I believe that all three
motivations are valid and appropriate. We live on many levels of
consciousness. Money expresses what is going in one life and where
the priorities are. Perhaps the congregation can validate fear and
guilt as motivations for giving in and of themselves. A side
effect will be putting the cards on the table about what is going
on in average folks. The hunger for knowing God in Jesus and the
Holy Spirit is high priority. Money ought not stand in way.
People will be freed to feel included in the congregation even on
the days when their passion for the cause is at low ebb. Meet us
where we, say the people. We are doing the best we can.
Delton |
| |
| November 13,
2005 Confessions of an Unrepentant Trinitarian: Part
5 Amnesia
Forget the bad - Remember the
good! Well, that mantra does not work in the field of church
history. Such careless remembering is a path way to disaster.
Catholics, Anglicans and
Presbyterians were key actors in the late 1600s and early 1700s as
Scotland struggled to develop independence from England.
Violence of all manner was done in the name of defending the
faith.
God the Creator is really
patient with the Creation. Jesus the Savior is on the job dealing
with human perversion and evil. The Holy Spirit is pressing people
to remember the mistakes of the past and do better in the future.
Delton |
| November 3,
2005 The Christian Year is Not a Political
Calendar
Advent, Christmas, Epiphany,
Lent, Easter, Pentecost are Christian holy seasons that are far
beyond political observances. In the culture of the USA there is a
long term campaign to take time away from the Church and to give
time counting and management to commercial corporations and
the government. The Christian Year is seen as a curiosity at best.
Willing to surrender the field,
congregations have tended to blame secularism and materialism for
the sorry state of religious observance of holy days. Of
course, some denominations reject all historically observed holy
days as corruption of the pure gospel.
I believe now is an opportunity
for the Christian community to renew the sense of spiritual time
as a route to individual, family and social health. Complaints
come about frantic schedules or of terminal boredom. The Christian
community brings the church year as a practical method for
ordering family and church life.
Delton |
| October 20,
2005 Buck Thorn, Pornography, and
Christian Believers
Minnesota forested areas are
being invaded by Buck Thorn, a species of brush alien to this
region. A seeding plant that also spreads through underground root
systems, Buck Thorn blankets an area by shading out other plants
while taking up the moisture needed for trees to develop. The
mature Buck Thorn creates a maze of broken down branches and
tangled thorny branches.
In a like manner inappropriate
images and words relating to the human body are used by commercial
interests to blanket the media with pornography. The Internet has
become a venue of choice for promoters of often violent and always
degrading images and words. The basic goodness and beauty of the
human person is manipulated to maximize appeal to curious
interests of both men and women. Relationships between persons is
neglected and actively destroyed by this blight. The person is
turned in on himself/herself.
Like Buck Thorn in woodlands,
pornography spreads aggressively and crowds out other more
positive growth. By appealing to the desire for novelty and good
feelings a wide audience is developed as money flows into the
technological creations that effectively promote a pornographic
state of affairs.
Christians are hard put on how
to deal with this issue. On the one hand the human body is seen to
be the good creation of a compassionate God. Then again
selfishness and evil rises up in all people and runs out of
control in some. Finding the right words to deal with sexuality
has been a barrier to creative responses to pornography. Fearful
of offending people in the church, leadership has tended to be
silent on the subject or to speak in words so general that they
are not understood by most listeners. At the same time commercial
interests invade the minds of young and old boldly and with little
control.
Buck Thorn control in the real
world is a matter of a person choosing a limited area and removing
the plants over a period of years - patiently doing what needs to
be done. My guess is that Christian control of pornography will
take the same strategy to be effective. Individual believers and
families have to tend their circle of life and influence. Learning
what is actually happening in myself and my family is first. The
next step is applying the mind of Christ and learning how to treat
one another in love and compassion. This is a long range project
and the stakes are great. Lord, have mercy on us.
Delton |
| September 27,
2005 Confessions of an Unrepentant
Trinitarian: Part 4 The Sea
Trinitarian thinking is
necessary for a Theology of the Sea. The Creator and the
Holy Spirit provide a route to the natural created world in all
its complexity when seen in company with Jesus as the redeemer of
the entire creation.
Yesterday while walking on the
Pacific shore of the Olympic Peninsula of the USA the incoming
tide broke in the surf while gulls waited on the wet sand for what
would appear. The immensity of the horizon and the profound depths
just off of the continental shelf were a hint of the unknown and
unexplored regions lapping at my feet.
The Holy Spirit in unbounded
mystery draws the religious mind beyond comfortable limits
and out into the surface and depths of the sea. The entire
Creation flows from Creator God even as the Holy Spirit God draws
the human out beyond familiar depths into the apparent chaos being
transformed by Jesus the Person of God.
Trinity as a frame of reference
moves religion from analogy, poetry, apocalyptic, and adventure
story and into the data focused scientific mindset. Theology
becomes woven into the analysis of the sea bottom with yet unseen
creatures and the currents that shape weather. Just today word
comes on the news about pictures of giant squid never yet seen by
the human eye. Eyes of faith look beyond photographs toward
glimmers of meaning.
Considering that Christianity
is a religion in its adolescence, with only 2000 years of
history, we now begin to consider information about the Sea as the
platform for the next Augustine or Hildegard of Bingen.
Mental/bodily/spiritual contemplation has begun. The Body of
Christ has entered the Sea.
Del
Krueger
|
| September 19,
2005 Needed: A Theology of the
Sea
Considering that most of the
earth's surface is water, why is it that Christian theology
neglects the sea? We appear to consciously avoid the
subject.
Biblical references to the
chaos of the seas reflect the cultural perspective of the time.
Today we continue to know precious little of the vast environment
of the salt water world but we do know that it is quite an orderly
and animated realm. As we learn more through exploration a
world of diversity begin to take shape.
Just because humans cannot
naturally live in the depths of the sea surely does not mean that
we are obligated to declare it off bounds to Christian
understanding. All world religions appear to be uncomfortable with
the depths of the sea. Nature oriented religions are more likely
to at least recognize the sea but usually in mythical or romantic
terms. Celtic traditions of Christianity do grow from the
experiences of people with the surface of the sea. That is a
start.
I am among that cohort who long
for Christian consideration of the depths of the sea as a part of
the Creation and as the scene of the transforming life of Christ.
The Spirit is leading the Church into the depths of life and that
includes the sea.
Del Anyone
else interested in the watery depths of the Creation? |
| September 15,
2005 Is Sunday Really Over ?
"Although the idea that
Sunday should be set aside for slow-moving liturgies and
contemplation of spiritual matters has become unthinkable to most
Americans, it's an idea that didn't die easily." So
says William Ecenbarger, a Pulitizer Prize-winning journalist in a
recent Christian Science Monitor article entitles
"Lamenting the loss of the traditional American
Sunday".
Some argue that American
society has become so secular that there really is no time for
religion that goes beyond private devotions - preferably so
private that no one else can notice and be offended. Contemplation
of course intrudes on the noise of cars, airplanes,
motorcycles, rock concerts, construction machinery, radio talk
shows, television preachers, and thunder storms. And these slow
moving liturgies that do not lend themselves to hip-hop music or
video games featuring sex and violence certainly have no place in
a cool society.
Ecenbarger says Sunday is dead
and unthinkable as a sacred day. However he appreciates the chance
to go for a quiet walk in some state game lands that are quiet
because hunting is not allowed on Sunday. Hopefully he will not
drift off into contemplation of some errant spiritual matter.
These terrible moments do happen when a person gets into a slow
moving mode. Perhaps a prayer asking patience might be said for
the brother as he walks about on a Quiet Sunday.
Del
Send along helpful
suggestions for Brother Ecenbarger |
| September 8,
2005 Constantine Raises Some questions
This is not really about
Emperor Constantine and early church history. No, it grows out of
contact with a film called "Constantine" and a
review of the film written by Kevin Miller on Exploringfaith.org.
The site describes its business as "spiritual guidance for
anyone seeking God."
Apparently the film is an
exploration into good and evil so the several questions at the
close of the review are a good outline for consideration of
religious matters - Christian or otherwise.
1. Is God good?
2. Does God have a plan for me?
3. Is God out to get me?
4. What must I do to be saved?
Del |
| August 7,
2005 "Sixty Years Ago This Week I
Was In Okinawa"
Two hours ago while serving
Communion elements at a local United Methodist Church a brief
dialogue took place. I had just offered the bread to an old friend
with the words "Jesus said, This is my body broken for
you".
In a quiet voice Ted said, "Sixty years ago this week I was
in Okinawa when The Bomb was dropped".
He moved on and I continued
presenting the Body and Blood of Christ. However, my mind was
transfixed by the momentary co-mingling of the Broken Body of
Christ with the Broken Body of Humanity presented by
Atomic/Nuclear incineration. In a fraction of a moment of time the
weight of the human condition appeared with the broken body of
Christ. There is no forgetting of that momentary illumination of
the text of life.
Even as the hand written and
illuminated text of the Bible done at St. John's University is now
on display, so the events of our history illuminate the Body of
Christ. Some scene are indeed terrifying to consider. Others are
healing and gracious beyond words.
The Bomb detonated. The Body of
Christ broken. Energy for destruction. Energy for
healing.
Lord have mercy. Christ
have mercy. Lord have mercy.
Del |
| July 11,
2005 Confessions of an Unrepentant
Trinitarian: Part 3
Birds
The Gospel of Matthew, chapter
3, gives account of the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.
There is an argument between Jesus and John about who should be
doing what about this religious rite. Jesus wins. He insists on
being integrated into the Jewish tradition by having a water
ritual performed by a desert dwelling itinerant religious
reformer.
At this outdoor venue a Native
American like event takes place. Here in Minnesota we know about
the Native valuing of birds and the signs seen in their presence.
None outclasses eagle and its presence at significant moments. An
eagle feather falling from sky is among the most auspicious of all
signs that signal a holy and sacred connection between the creator
and the creature.
Matthew says that Jesus saw
something like a dove - a bird - accompanying the mission message
that arrived. Apparently Jesus or John told others about this
event because it was of importance. Now we arrive at a
problem.
Even in highly traditional and
literalist Christian circles birds have little hearing or
presence. It is as if they are an intrusion of nature on the
spiritual transaction of the moment. Highly rational Christians
are embarrassed by the presence of significant birds. Organized
rituals cannot handle the spontaneity of birds of the air.
What are we to make of this?
The concept of Trinity reminds present day believers that there is
more than meets the eye going on around us. Trinity says rather
clearly that phenomena in other than Christian traditions
have their value. Our minds are to be open even as we examine our
personal and corporate Christian heritage and experience.
Del
What do you think? |
| June 23, 2005
Confessions of an Unrepentant Trinitarian: Part
2
Stones
The genealogy of Jesus Christ
as presented in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew seems
strangely out of place in the Gospel message. Here is a tour of
the history of the family and tribe that stands before Jesus, who,
according to some interpretations, was born to a Virgin by the
name of Mary who had a husband by the name of Joseph.
The Christian tradition differs
from other world religions, even Hinduism and their honoring of
Krishna, by giving a personal face and family history to the
ineffable Creator God of all that is. Why do we do that? It
certainly is an offense to many critics and is hard to explain
even to the Faithful.
Here is one way to look at the
issue. While recently in Scotland I was impressed by the number of
stone churches, some dating back well over one thousand years. At
first I was focused on the expense of keeping those structures
usable. And they seem so outdated by contemporary buildings. Are
they not a drag on the present congregations?
Then I began to realize that
those stone structures do call the minds of people to the
religious faith of those who built them and have found them to be
places of worship for hundreds of years. Those buildings transmit
meaning over the generations. Even in the ruins of places like the
great cathedral at St. Andrews looking out over the North Sea the
scene creates in the imagination of the visitor a sense of what
the faith meant when for hundreds of years that place served as a
center of spiritual life for thousands of people.
The Matthew genealogy of Jesus
Christ is a statement that the Christian faith is based on a
historic real life series of events and people. There is a
connection that reminds us of who we are today. We stand in a
genetic continuum - both physical and spiritual.
Del |
| June 7, 2005 How
in Heaven's Name Shall We Take Thoughts Captive?
This is written in Scotland on
a rare sunny day. Having been at a Church of Scotland service
several days ago and observing the invisible part of the
congregation - those between ages 15 and 35 - it seems worth the
effort to consider one answer to contact with this younger host of
witnesses.
The youthful invisible host is
clearly convinced that the traditional church is in a closed
universe whereas they are in an open and unbounded space of
choices.
Rather than attempt to
change the language and sounds of the invisible host I propose
taking those thoughts captive in Christ. Before you call that idea
a blue sky proposal with no chance of making a difference hear me
out.
Words that offend and confuse
the traditional folk are a stock in trade for those who wish to
escape the alien universe of the church. Hence sex based
terminology crowds the media.
Consider that Jesus was a male
human person. Younger males take the lead in creating offensive
expressions and actions. Jesus intimately understands the male
psyche and where thought patterns arise.
I think the church needs to
take on the offensive words and capture them for obedience to
Christ. Take it upon yourself to present the words to Jesus.
Rather than running away to a quiet place of the sacred familiar,
take up the very thought patterns and words that are most
offensive and capture them for Jesus.
Lest one claim to be shamed by
the thought of this venture, consider the efforts of the Apostle
Paul to carry the gospel into dangerous and alien environments. In
his second letter to the church at Corinth, in the 10th chapter
and 5 verse these words appear: "...we take every thought
captive..." It
has been done before. There are role models. Alien foreign ways
have come close in cultural forms arising within the traditional
homeland. Now we are on the front lines of it all. Del
Email comment? |
| May 19, 2005 Confessions
of an Unrepentant Trinitarian: Part 1
Energy
Say it as you will - Father,
Son, Holy Spirit - Creator, Savior, Presence - The Trinity is a
most energy filled basic for the Christian Faith. Application of
mathematic reasoning simply does accept three in one. Radical
monotheists are offended by any notion of division of function or
nature in the Deity. Practical minded folks say Trinity is a distraction
from important things.
Why does it matter? Here is one
opinion. A Trinitarian approach to relating with other world
religions opens doors and windows on the arriving human scene. The
Holy Spirit ranges over time and space beyond imagination. Who can
control or predict what God the Holy Spirit is up to? What is God
doing in religions other than Christianity? It is an
interesting challenge to a smug Christian certainty about our
manifest destiny. Trinity
Sunday in a few days is a reminder that the Church values the
surprises that God has in store for the human race. The specific
historic person of Jesus Christ keeps the Church anchored in the
real world of living, teaching, healing, dying, finding new life.
The Creator builds and maintains the structure of the universe and
beyond. The Spirit takes us by the hand and leads us into strange
new places where we have to learn new languages, meet new people
and cultures, and become accustomed to new sights and
sounds. Every
minute between now and Trinity Sunday is charged with the energy
of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Be awake! Pay
attention! Del Email
comment? |
| May 13,
2005 "The World Is Flat" : Here we
go again?
Remember when the Church was in
the business of defining the shape of the universe? Not all that
long ago in religious time. Since then scientific exploration has
pretty well replaced the church as expert on matters of the
physical universe.
Now Tom Friedman comes along
and says that the intersection of technology, financial markets
and world trade is making the world flat! No mention of the
church in this particular universe. So whose universe are we
talking about anyhow?
No telescope needed in this
particular Friedman universe. However, a web log does involve a
person in the flattening of the this universe. He says that
the Internet is presenting a supply chain of knowledge that is
highly personal and everywhere.
Perhaps a telescope of the mind
and spirit is being offered to all takers. On this new flat
universe one cannot really sense the edges but one can peer down
and up. This almost sounds like inward and outward but there is
more to the telescope concept in the scheme of today.
The search is on for meaning in
life and all tools are being examined. As a Christian I welcome
this move beyond the dated concept of secular over against
spiritual. Now that the box has been opened I need to examine this
new instrument of research. And so I will - reports of findings
will be filed here. Del
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| May 5,
2005 The Everyday Hotline : Collaboration
Redefined
In World War II it was
hazardous to collaborate with the Nazis in Europe. So the word
took on a negative atmosphere. To be in touch with the perceived
enemy was seen as traitorous.
Today in the business and
education communities it is becoming a apparent that more can be
accomplished if people are in open communication with each other.
The triggered factor is communication technology. When it is
possible to have unplanned face-to-face conversation across the
globe at a manageable cost there is a strong urge to use the
method - as long as one has electricity and internet
connection.
Once upon a time the main
leaders of world nations had so-called "hot line
connection" phones to deal with emergency needs. Now anyone
who has access to communications technology has a "hot
line" to deal with even trivial matters. The awakening of the
Christian Faith Community to this opportunity is upon us. The
alarm clock is ringing. Christian laity and clergy are poised to
use technology to bring the community faith into a global reality
with everyday practice. Del
What
do you think? |
| April 12,
2005 Anatomy Based Theology Discovered:
The Perfectly Obvious Appears
When The Apostle (Paul, that
is) decides to write about the body he behaves like a web
writer of today who has to keep various filtering devices in mind.
Body words make people pay attention - and sometimes become very
anxious.
It is generally acceptable to
use words like "foot" or "hand" or
"ear" or "eye". That is where the Apostle
begins. Then he speaks of weaker body parts and less honorable
parts as well as those parts that are not as lovely as others.
Modesty applies to some body parts and not to others.
One can imagine the mind of The
Apostle considering how to get his message through to people who
have negative feelings about the body and its parts. He works like
an Internet editor of today. Name some acceptable body parts and
leave to the imagination of the reader/listener the task of
figuring out the others.
Arising out of this situation
is Anatomy Based Theology - a way of thinking about God that
uses the utterly familiar body shared by all humans. That
should be perfectly obvious but it had not dawned on me
until a few days ago.
I have wondered why many words
about the body have been neglected in the worship and educational
life of the Church. Has it been shyness? Or a desire not to
offend? Or perhaps uncertainty over how body and spirit fit
together?
This will take work on my part.
I do not know how to think and write Anatomy Based Theology. Now
is the time to learn. See the First Letter to the
Corinthians, chapter 12.
email
comment |
| April 1,
2005 Baptism
and the Trinity : Driven to the Edge
Water, Words, Faith - the three
basic elements of Christian Baptism. A quick and easy way to deal
with one of the few practices shared by all two billion Christians
alive today. This apparent over-simplification is what happens
when a 21st Century North American believer attempts to put the
subject into words. Driven to the edge of mystery a persons does
the best one can.
Set aside the arguments over
just how to do baptism or what the event really means. Come to the
edge of this mysterious cliff. The earth (water). The meaning
(words). The personal (faith). Here we are at life and death.
Shall I take plunge that may give new life to me and to us?
Pope John Paul II faces the end
of earthly life as this is written. Terry Schiavo moved beyond
earthly life yesterday. Christians have spoken of Baptism as
a type of burial with Jesus Christ and a rising then to new
life.
The mysterious idea of Trinity
comes to mind. God the Creator of water and earth and all that is
everywhere. Jesus Christ the giver of meaning/salvation. The
Spirit enlivening individual believers and the
community of believers. Baptism with its Water, Words and Faith
plunges Christians into the experience of what it is to be alive
and to know death. Del
email
comment |
| March 23,
2005 Holy
Week Is All About Violence : Red Lake
shootings get attention
On Monday a young Indian male
killed nine people and himself at a school on the Red Lake
Reservation in northwestern Minnesota not far from the Canadian
border. By today, Wednesday, the story is all across the globe,
thanks to media in need of news.
Red Lake is a closed
reservation - white people are really not welcomed. Little wonder,
considering how recently we, the Europeans, were killing off
Indians as best we could. Having spent a good portion of my life
near and on Indian reservations it is easy to have an opinion on
White/Indian violence. And to be self righteous and academic and
remote.
The big news is
"Why?" From the Christian perspective that
question is what Holy Week is all about. Why do we get so
fascinated by killing each other? Ask Jesus. He ought to
know.
On Good Friday, in two days,
Christians are plunged into unfair, unnecessary, cruel, bloody,
and terminal violence. The experience is sanitary as long as we
are spectators. In American society we appear to want to be
perpetrators and participants. Witness video games and cinema big
selling performances. Holy Week is about getting close enough to
smell spilled blood and torn bodies, to feel the visceral
revulsion of destroyed beauty, to have the mental paralysis that
comes with trauma.
The Red Lake Nation people are
into Holy Week be they Christian or Native Religion or no
religion. A few moments of silent reflection is not too much to
ask of the rest of us. Del
email
comment
|
| March 18,
2005 Casino
Buys Virgin Mary (Seeing life through a
grilled cheese sandwich)
Recently a
casino bought the widely announced grilled cheese sandwich image
of the Virgin Mary on eBay for $28,000.00.
Whatever are
we to make of this possibly sacred trivia bit? For one thing it
tells me that most anything can be sold if “meaning” is
somehow attached. The casino managers know that for some folks
there is a powerful attraction in religious items of any kind. Put
it on display and they will come!
I hesitate to
announce this news because some readers may immediately go to
Google to find out which casino made the purchase and then will
gather the family savings to go to that casino and do what folks
do at casinos – get a buzz from the gaming transaction along
with the added charm of doing a religious pilgrimage.
Rather than
commiserate over the obvious material fascination of American
culture I plan to look through the lens of the sacred grilled
cheese sandwich to get a better view of the 2005 spiritual life of
friends and neighbors.
What I see
clearly is a deep and profound hunger for a sense of meaning that
goes beyond the daily life survival frame of mind. When religious
institutions fail to provide symbols and communities that give
meaning, the people will come up with their own ideas and objects
of meaning and passion. eBay is apparently one source of almost
endless opportunities for the creation of meaning.
We, the
individuals and congregations of the
Christian Way
, have opportunities to create genuine meaning in the most
mundane situations as well as in grand events. Should I start
using the grilled cheese sandwich lens?
Del
Email
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| March 5,
2005
The Crisis of Christian Illiteracy
No, this does not refer to what
Christian believers know about their own church or denomination. A
failure in this matter is way beyond a crisis.
The Crisis referred it here is
illiteracy about other world religions - or even of Christian
groups other than ones own. Let me put it this way. Today on
Public Radio on a program called "Sound Money" a major
focus was on the critical need to educate young people in how to
handle money as they approach being in the so-called
"ownership society". Without knowledge they are helpless
to determine their own future. Now apply this to the life of
faith.
Instead of complaining about
why the world is so violence prone and morally desolate, why not
educate young people, and adults, about the wider world of
religion. Doing so will deepen their own religious connection and
also prepare them for the world where people of other religions
are next door, or at school for certain as well as in the work
place and entertainment world. This is no big money ticket effort.
The attitude is what counts.
No Christian Left Behind - that
sounds good! Del
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February 27, 2005
Find it in the Garbage
Garbage may not be so bad after all. The news today is that
government agencies and some corporations who thought documents
were being shredded were wrong. Those documents appeared
unshredded and available to who ever found them. The garbage was
actually a treasure store for identity thieves. .
Garbage is not a new subject for Christians. The Apostle Paul in I
Corinthians 4:13 speaks of himself as one among "the world's
garbage" - in Spanish "basura de mundo". Perhaps
being seen as throw away gives a new appreciation that some rather
valuable stuff can be found in what others call garbage.
Del
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