animals

I just watched a video on mercyforanimals.org (warning, very graphic footage) of a ranch in Texas that uses blunt force trauma (ice picks, hammers) to dispose of calfs that are sick or 'not worth feeding.'  This may be one of the most horrible videos I have ever seen in my life.  Their reasoning for doing this is because proper anesthesia cost money and killing animals in this manner enables them to receive higher profits for their other cattle.  While I am sure  there is a part of me that is writing out of emotion right now, I can't help but think that somehow my choice of eating habits encourage this type of behavior... Maybe not on that particular ranch, but the entire 'raising a mass amount of animals in a very confined space for the sole purpose of being consumed by humans' industry.

Here is a quote from John Wesley in one of his sermons, "It may enlarge our hearts towards those poor creatures, to reflect that, as vile as they appear in our eyes, not one of them is forgotten in the sight of our Father which is in heaven. Through all the vanity to which they are now subjected, let us look to what God hath prepared for them. Yea, let us habituate ourselves to look forward, beyond this present scene of bondage, to the happy time when they will be delivered therefrom, into the liberty of the children of God! (131)"

Many people look to the scriptures to affirm that humanity is God's supreme creation because we are made in God's image and, therefore, we are justified in our hunting and eating of animals.  However, I can't help but wonder what God thinks about it all.  Does God's 'heart' break at all for treatment of animals by the hands of humans?  As people who believe that God's creation is good and should be treated as such, should Christians take a greater concern for matters such as this? What do you think?

a unified church

I was recently reading through John's gospel, specifically Jesus' lengthy prayer for the believers in the 17th chapter.  What struck me was Jesus prayer for unity among the believers...  A unity with God and with one another.  

With that said, there are many things that I have come to value and affirm in the Protestant setting I find myself in.  However, if there is one thing that saddens me most, it is our history of disunity.  I am a part of a tradition that, just like a bad marriage, has sought out separation, divorce, splitting away, and breaking off as a way to solve its problems.  And just when we think we have arrived to something better, there is a sudden realization that the grass only seemed to be greener... and so we split again.  Now, Protestantism could best be described as a mirror that was dropped onto the cement from an airplane.  Whatever happened to 'reforming from within?'  The Jesuits, Franciscans, and the Desert Fathers may have found themselves in disagreement with Rome from time to time, but the answer was never to form a new denomination or 'brand' of Catholicism.  They stuck with their mother church.

We can say that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ regardless of our denominations but let's be honest, we don't live that way, and deep down, I don't think we really believe it.  We are quick to debate theology and acknowledge what makes our church/denomination superior to the folks down the road.  We are a shattered and divided people.  

I find myself frustrated with people like me... I know that something is off, but I am not sure how to fix it.  I am not sure where a shattered Church goes from here.  One thing I do believe is that we need to take seriously the call to love one another in the midst of disagreement.  We must unite under the historical creeds of the Church and learn the art of peaceful dialogue(gasp) when we disagree on secondary issues.  May we be a Church who is marked by peace, love, and unity.

interpreting scripture

I'm still working through some of these thoughts so bear with me.  Sidenote: I learned today, with the help of google, that I would have been incorrect to ask you to 'bare with me' as oppose to 'bear with me' as this is not an invitation to undress together.  Good thing I checked.

In much of the evangelical tradition, there is a strong emphasis on being faithful to the scriptures.  I will be the first to admit that I still have a far way to go in terms of learning, growing, and understanding God's Word.  It is my responsibility, along with all believers, to have a familiarity and knowledge of the scriptures.  However, this is where I run into problems.  Is not the individual the least solid of all biblical interpreters?  When proper interpretation is left entirely to the individual, aren't we running the risk of being influenced and swayed based on our own individual history?  Our individual personalities?  Individual biases?  Individual fears?  Individual agendas?  If we believe that there is more to God's Word than 'whatever you think it might mean' then we need some sort of accountability in our interpretation.

So the obvious solution is 'we must interpret scripture in the context of a community.'  But then, I wonder, which community?  Our particular church body?  Our particular denomination (after all, there are thousands of them)?  Our favorite theologian's interpretation? The other individuals who think the same way we do?  That could also be an unreliable alternative.

Some may take it a step further and say that we must interpret the scriptures within the context of a community that is most faithful to church history or a community that is most faithful to the historical creeds or a community committed to being culturally relevant, and so on.

At the end of the day, we all must interpret the scriptures in a certain manner.  To those who claim to read the scriptures literally... you still interpret them. Just one example (of hundreds) of this is John 6 when Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."  For one to come to the conclusion that Jesus is speaking metaphorically requires one to interpret and exegete the text  in a manner that they have chosen for themself.

Is the answer to continue to interpret the text among communities that think the same way we do, AND in doing so, continue to produce endless amounts of denominations and 'non-denominational communities' (which, are simply a denomination unto themselves)? 

So, as a Christian people how do we appropriately interpret and read the scriptures?

meeting joakim

So I had a meeting in Lanexa, KS this morning from 9am to 11:30ish.  As I hopped back on I-70 heading back towards Independence, I thought I would take a brief detour down to the stadiums to see if the Royals were taking batting practice... if the gates were open for some reason... if they were looking for a new right fielder, you know, the usual.  When it comes to trying to get a baseball at a Royals game, my wife says I mysteriously transform into a 10 year old boy again.  I am turning 30 in September.

So as I park my car in the massive Kauffman parking lot and start walking towards the gate, a taxi pulls up and a guy who looked like Joakim Soria stepped out (their closer... he's a stud pitcher).  In an act of pure genius, I yell out his first name with no real plan.

Joakim "Hola amigo."

Me "Hey, I just wanted to tell you that I enjoy watching you pitch and that I won a signed jersey by you a couple years ago."  (that is actually not true, no one claimed the jersey and I begged Royals customer service for 30 minutes... I think they felt bad for me because I was a 28 year old man and they thought I was weird.)

Joakim: "Good for you, I hope you like it."

Me: "Yes I do.  I have it in a frame hanging in my basement  (Again, that is not true.  My wife bought a frame for the jersey but the jersey is too thick/frame is too thin... So it is nicely packed away)  Hey Joakim, if you guys are ever looking for another pitcher, I would be more than happy to join the Royals.

Joakim: "Can you bring it?"

Me: "I'm sorry?"

Joakim: "Can you bring it?  Ya know, would you strike people out?"

Me: "Well, in college I could throw about 85mph (not a lie), but I would probably be more in the 60-65mph range now..."

Joakim: "Ouch, my buddies daughter can throw that hard and I don't think she is 13 yet."

And with that, Joakim walked into the player's entrance and I walked back to my car a changed man.  My once semi-'braggable' baseball skills had just been spat upon by one of the American League's best closing pitchers.

And if you believe a word of that story, check the date.

what if we are way off?

My wife and I had one of those great conversations the other night.  We had just finished watching a documentary called 'Jesus Camp' that looks at a branch of evangelicalism that encourages prophecy, speaking in tongues, they are self-acclaimed fundamentalists, and they have a summer camp.  My guess is that many people who watched this particular documentary walked away thinking to themselves, "how could they have gotten the Christian faith so wrong?... how could they possibly be that way?"   After discussing the documentary for a bit, our conversation gradually caused us to ask some more self-reflecting questions.

I recently finished up a book by N.T. Wright who said, "My guess is that 80-85% of what i teach my students is 'true' and 'correct' and the other 15-20% is wrong... The problem is, I don't know what that 20% is."

That is how I feel sometimes.  As I grow as a believer and follower of Christ, one of my greatest hopes is that I am able to talk about and understand the God I am striving to know and serve more and more each day.  I believe it is very important to speak accurately about our faith.  However, I am sure there are places where I have simply 'got it wrong...' The problem is I am not sure what those 'places' are.  In fact, I could make a list of questions that I sometimes ask myself:

Have I become too liberal in regards too what it means to be a believer?

Should I be doing more to teach the students at my local church?

As I believer, should I take a greater concern in politics and government?

Has Protestantism strayed too far from its Roman Catholic and Orthodox history?

If Jesus were hear in the flesh, what would his words be to me?

And so on, and so on....

The obvious response is, "We need to see what scripture says and live according to God's Word."  But the problem with that response is that there will always be different interpretations and understandings of God's Word... Hence 10,000 Christian denominations (which is a pretty sad statistic, might i say) Different people who share a great love for Jesus will always walk away with different conclusions.  I guess our job is to continue to seek the Spirit's leading and guiding in our lives and resist the temptation to settle for easy answers.

One thing I do know?  We need to be ready to admit that we don't have all the answers, and we need to stand firm and be unwavering in the essentials.  What are those essentials?  Just add that question to the list above.

Book Review: Love Wins by Rob Bell

My first exposure to Bell was through his 'NOOMA' series and might i just say that I thoroughly enjoy listening and reading what he has to say. The book takes a fresh look at the traditional understanding of heaven and hell while being thoroughly faithful to the scriptures in the process. Someone once described God as being, "Greater than anything we could ever imagine." With that being said, Bell paints a picture of a God who is just that... A God who is not eager to banish unbelievers to hell the moment they die. Instead, he describes God as one who has done everything and CONTINUES to do everything to draw people unto himself, both living and deceased. We serve a God who will not be satisfied until every living creature, past and present, exclaims the worship and praise of our Lord. Bell describes God as similar to the father in the parable of the Lost Son. A God who is eager to welcome his children into his fold. Love wins isn't so much of a book as it is a beautiful mural of the heart of God.

just give me a new law

"Don't teach me about politics and government
just tell me who to vote for...
Don't teach me about truth and beauty
just label my music...
Don't teach me how to live like a free man
just give me a new law...
Don't teach me how to live like a free man
just bring it down the mountain to me...
Don't teach me about moderation and liberty
I prefer a shot of grape juice...

Don't teach me about loving my enemies...

Don't teach me about listening to the Spirit
just give me a new law...

-Derek Webb, A New Law-