Over the years of my life, my concept of God has changed from God being primarily "out there," a white-haired old man who lives up in heaven and who knows all and sees all, to God being primarily within each person. I just finished reading a book by Bishop John Shelby Spong called "Why Chrstianity Must Change or Die" in which he makes a powerful case against both the God out there, and for the God within.
I am now re-reading his book, "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism," which came out in the 80's, and which makes a strong case for an historical-critical view of scripture over the literalistic inerrancy of scripture. He says to recognize the truth of what each writer as trying to tell his first readers can lead modern people to God, even though the literal words can be troublesome. He lists historical inaccuracies, scientific inaccuracies, a limited world-view at the time the books of the Bible were written, and various contradictions among and within biblical books.
After reading all this, I find I must reject many things with which I have grown up, including the doctrine of original sin and the substitutionary, sacrificial nature of Jesus' death on the cross, as well as any notion of biblical inerrancy, or whatever bits of that to which I still cling.
It is like this switch has been taking place over years, and I have now reached the point at which the change is complete. I think of a roast beef cooking in a crock-pot....it takes a long time to happen and finally comes the time when the roast is done. Well, this roast is finally done.
I have to begin paying more attention to church history and to world history around the time the Bible was written.
After I finish the Spong book about rescuing the Bible, there are other authors I want to read, including Marcus Borg and Elaine Pagels.
I realize this will put me on the other side of the line from many in local churches, and from many judicatory-types, whose job it is to preserve the institutional church in the basic form it has occupied pretty much since it was first founded. Oh, well.
It may mean the pastoral ministry is not for me, for now. Oh, well. Perhaps I can do better ministry as a "civilian" on a one-to-one basis with others.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Sunday, July 8, 2007
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
It hit me while I was driving down the street. All week long, I had been mulling the terms "Kingdom of God" and "Kingdom of Heaven." Everything I had heard and read about the difference between the two terms had left me wanting, and feeling as if the answer was still out there, waiting to be found.
Then the image popped into my mind of the "coffeehouse" I frequented as a high school kid in the late '60's. Now that I think about it again, I don't remember ever drinking coffee there, or coffee ever being offered as one of the refreshments. Anyway....
How it came about was, my friends and I desperately wanted a place to be...where we could listen to our music, do bohemian things like eat peanuts and throws the shells right on the floor, and other "far out" stuff.
Word of our wanting a place got out and shortly thereafter, a group from the local Episcopal church offered us their basement. We would have to clean it up, furnish it and take care of it, but in return for that, we could have the basement rent-free.
Several of us, and even several of the parents, worked for weeks, cleaning, painting, furnishing, and making the place ready. At last it was open, and we spent many, many nights there, enjoying the thing that we had helped bring into being, celebrating the generosity of the Episcopal church. I do not know how long our coffeehouse lasted, but I do know it was operating long after I graduated from high school.
Maybe the kingdom of God is like that. I do not mean it is like the Episcopal church in Estherville (although there were some very nice people there). I mean, maybe God gives us the space--the world of which we are all a part--along with the words of scripture that were meant to get the ball rolling--"The Kingdom of God is at hand"--and from that time forward, GOD HAS EXPECTED US TO BE THE FINISHERS OF THAT KINGDOM. Having been given the space, maybe God wants US to furnish it with justice, peace and respect for all of creation. Maybe God has created us for partnership.
If that is the case, it seems as if we have not yet gotten that message. We still have war, injustice, human suffering and misery, racism, and a host of other things that seem to have no place in the Kingdom of God. Will the Kingdom of God remain looking like the dirty, dingy, neglected basement that was under the Episcopal church?
What can we do to make the Kingdom of God more like God would have us finish it? Where do we start?
Then the image popped into my mind of the "coffeehouse" I frequented as a high school kid in the late '60's. Now that I think about it again, I don't remember ever drinking coffee there, or coffee ever being offered as one of the refreshments. Anyway....
How it came about was, my friends and I desperately wanted a place to be...where we could listen to our music, do bohemian things like eat peanuts and throws the shells right on the floor, and other "far out" stuff.
Word of our wanting a place got out and shortly thereafter, a group from the local Episcopal church offered us their basement. We would have to clean it up, furnish it and take care of it, but in return for that, we could have the basement rent-free.
Several of us, and even several of the parents, worked for weeks, cleaning, painting, furnishing, and making the place ready. At last it was open, and we spent many, many nights there, enjoying the thing that we had helped bring into being, celebrating the generosity of the Episcopal church. I do not know how long our coffeehouse lasted, but I do know it was operating long after I graduated from high school.
Maybe the kingdom of God is like that. I do not mean it is like the Episcopal church in Estherville (although there were some very nice people there). I mean, maybe God gives us the space--the world of which we are all a part--along with the words of scripture that were meant to get the ball rolling--"The Kingdom of God is at hand"--and from that time forward, GOD HAS EXPECTED US TO BE THE FINISHERS OF THAT KINGDOM. Having been given the space, maybe God wants US to furnish it with justice, peace and respect for all of creation. Maybe God has created us for partnership.
If that is the case, it seems as if we have not yet gotten that message. We still have war, injustice, human suffering and misery, racism, and a host of other things that seem to have no place in the Kingdom of God. Will the Kingdom of God remain looking like the dirty, dingy, neglected basement that was under the Episcopal church?
What can we do to make the Kingdom of God more like God would have us finish it? Where do we start?
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
MAGAZINE PROJECT
I am excited about a new magazine project I am involved in with my friend Max Knauer.
The magazine is called "Gamut" and will be a journal of public opinion from left, the right and the center...the "gamut" of public opinion if you will. Purpose of the magazine will be to allow the reader to examine any given issue, i.e. Immigration, War and Peace, Health Care, etc. from all sides, so as to allow the readers to make up his or her own mind. Why?
--We need a public that is more informed than it currently is. At the present time, Paris Hilton going to jail is more important to more people, and they are better informed about it, than the subject of Health Care.
--We are trying to promote honest dialogue between people, rather than just a point/counterpoint shouting of talking points at each other.
There are more reasons, but I can't think of them on the spur of the moment.
Anyway, the magazine will be found online (watch this space for the web address), and will feature a different issue bi-monthly. At some future point, we plan to produce hard-copy issues for sale.
The release date of the first "Gamut" is projected to be December 10, 2007, with the January/February 2008 cover date.
The magazine is called "Gamut" and will be a journal of public opinion from left, the right and the center...the "gamut" of public opinion if you will. Purpose of the magazine will be to allow the reader to examine any given issue, i.e. Immigration, War and Peace, Health Care, etc. from all sides, so as to allow the readers to make up his or her own mind. Why?
--We need a public that is more informed than it currently is. At the present time, Paris Hilton going to jail is more important to more people, and they are better informed about it, than the subject of Health Care.
--We are trying to promote honest dialogue between people, rather than just a point/counterpoint shouting of talking points at each other.
There are more reasons, but I can't think of them on the spur of the moment.
Anyway, the magazine will be found online (watch this space for the web address), and will feature a different issue bi-monthly. At some future point, we plan to produce hard-copy issues for sale.
The release date of the first "Gamut" is projected to be December 10, 2007, with the January/February 2008 cover date.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
HATE-MONGERING
Why do people enjoy hate so much? Ann Coulter is at it again. She is the conservative columnist who called John Edwards a "faggot," and wrote that Edwards had a bumper sticker on his car that said "Ask me about my dead son." This time, she said on Chris Matthews' "Hardball" show that she wished Edwards had died in a terrorist attack. As it happens, Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, witnessed that remark on an airport television while she was waiting between flights, and called Coulter while Coulter was still on the show and reamed her out for her hate-mongering.
Actually, the phone call is what made the headlines. but one has to wonder why Chris Matthews would even have Coulter on his show in the first place. My guess is that any publicity that Coulter generated by her comments would be good for the "Hardball" show. In this case, Matthews got a bonus of publicity with Edwards' call to the show.
And people are eating it up. CNN had the story on its news cycle the day before yesterday, and it was in this morning's edition of Des Moines' daily newspaper. And, God help me, I read it. Not so much because I enjoy hate or hate-mongering, but rather, my experience was like watching an impending car crash: You don't really enjoy it, but you can't look away.
When I was a kid, my parents raised me to believe that every person is of worth in the sight of God. That happens to be one of Unitarian Universalism's Seven Principles. It is also borne out by Scripture. The stories of the Hebrew Bible, as well as the actions and teachings of Jesus proclaim worth and dignity for even those who are marginalized from society.
People of faith should do more to advocate against hate and hate-mongering, including boycotting people like Coulter until she stops being money in the bank of people who let her spout her evil rhetoric.
Actually, the phone call is what made the headlines. but one has to wonder why Chris Matthews would even have Coulter on his show in the first place. My guess is that any publicity that Coulter generated by her comments would be good for the "Hardball" show. In this case, Matthews got a bonus of publicity with Edwards' call to the show.
And people are eating it up. CNN had the story on its news cycle the day before yesterday, and it was in this morning's edition of Des Moines' daily newspaper. And, God help me, I read it. Not so much because I enjoy hate or hate-mongering, but rather, my experience was like watching an impending car crash: You don't really enjoy it, but you can't look away.
When I was a kid, my parents raised me to believe that every person is of worth in the sight of God. That happens to be one of Unitarian Universalism's Seven Principles. It is also borne out by Scripture. The stories of the Hebrew Bible, as well as the actions and teachings of Jesus proclaim worth and dignity for even those who are marginalized from society.
People of faith should do more to advocate against hate and hate-mongering, including boycotting people like Coulter until she stops being money in the bank of people who let her spout her evil rhetoric.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
IMMIGRATION
For a long time I have been undecided ("on the fence," as it were) about my position on Immigration, especially undocumented immigration. Then, I got a newsletter from one of our national church units in which I found a blurb that makes the following points:
1. The Bible is very strong on the side of Hospitality.
2. The bible is filled with stories that show God's concern for the welfare of those who are unable to be self-sufficient: sojourners, strangers, widows and orphans.
3. Jesus demonstrated his concern for such persons by feeding hungry crowds, healing those who reached out to him, and accepting into fellowship people who were marginal in the society of that time. (Even in the Parable of the Final Judgment, Jesus says ".....I was a stranger and you welcomed me....since you have done it to the least of these you did it to me.")
Bottom line for me is, as Christians, we are called to welcome the stranger.
This whole thing has brought to my mind the term, Life-Boat Mentality, in which those individuals who are regarded as the least are cast out the the life-boat (or refused admittance) in order that the others may survive. It occurs to me that usually, those who subscribe the the Life-Boat Theory are the ones who own the lifeboats.
I knew all that stuff about the biblical notion of hospitality and the welcoming of strangers, but I did not make this real-world connection until it was pointed out to me, in so many words.
So what does this all mean?
Will our present quality of life suffer if we let Latinos come into our country unfettered? Probably a little, but who says that is a bad thing?
It seems to me that we have a golden opportunity is this day and time to go a long way toward making the Kingdom of God look like God wants it to look.
1. The Bible is very strong on the side of Hospitality.
2. The bible is filled with stories that show God's concern for the welfare of those who are unable to be self-sufficient: sojourners, strangers, widows and orphans.
3. Jesus demonstrated his concern for such persons by feeding hungry crowds, healing those who reached out to him, and accepting into fellowship people who were marginal in the society of that time. (Even in the Parable of the Final Judgment, Jesus says ".....I was a stranger and you welcomed me....since you have done it to the least of these you did it to me.")
Bottom line for me is, as Christians, we are called to welcome the stranger.
This whole thing has brought to my mind the term, Life-Boat Mentality, in which those individuals who are regarded as the least are cast out the the life-boat (or refused admittance) in order that the others may survive. It occurs to me that usually, those who subscribe the the Life-Boat Theory are the ones who own the lifeboats.
I knew all that stuff about the biblical notion of hospitality and the welcoming of strangers, but I did not make this real-world connection until it was pointed out to me, in so many words.
So what does this all mean?
Will our present quality of life suffer if we let Latinos come into our country unfettered? Probably a little, but who says that is a bad thing?
It seems to me that we have a golden opportunity is this day and time to go a long way toward making the Kingdom of God look like God wants it to look.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
MY CREDO--The Point from Which I Start
Based on my study of scripture and my experience of life, the following points define my personal "Credo:"
1. I believe in God.
2. I believe God is good.
3. I believe God hates violent, premature death....it is not of God.
4. I believe Jesus was a son of God, just as I am a son of God, and "she" (whoever "she" may be) is a daughter of God.
5. I believe Jesus was radically obedient to what he believed God was telling him to say and to do.
6. I believe the miracles in the Bible may or may not have happened, but they point us to something big and important.
7. I don't know about an afterlife. I am betting there is one.
8. I believe it is rather dangerous to take the Bible word for word all the time. Too many contradictions.
9. I believe God loves everything and everyone. Salvation is ours to lose.
10. I believe God lets us make our own mistakes and our own decisions.
11. I believe the sum total of God's judgment is, "As you wish; have it your way."
1. I believe in God.
2. I believe God is good.
3. I believe God hates violent, premature death....it is not of God.
4. I believe Jesus was a son of God, just as I am a son of God, and "she" (whoever "she" may be) is a daughter of God.
5. I believe Jesus was radically obedient to what he believed God was telling him to say and to do.
6. I believe the miracles in the Bible may or may not have happened, but they point us to something big and important.
7. I don't know about an afterlife. I am betting there is one.
8. I believe it is rather dangerous to take the Bible word for word all the time. Too many contradictions.
9. I believe God loves everything and everyone. Salvation is ours to lose.
10. I believe God lets us make our own mistakes and our own decisions.
11. I believe the sum total of God's judgment is, "As you wish; have it your way."
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