I try not to be too political with my thinking and with my writings, and I give you my word as a gentleman that I had already written most of this a few weeks ago, but I think it is important to mention something before I go into this blog. Today, this very morning, our President visited a Chinese State Church. For those of you unfamiliar with China and its practices regarding religion, the State Church is a dumbed down, powered down, and God-downed version of Christianity, for those people who would like to go to Church but just don't want all of the hardship it can bring in a communist nation. It's very troubling to me that the leader of our "Christian" nation would go and embrace the public face of persecution. I say all of that just to do my little part to make people more aware, and to inform you that this post is written in honor of and in prayer for all of those who suffer in the name of a risen savior, a just God, and the hope of a redeemed world.
All that being said, I got to thinking about persecution a couple of weeks ago. I heard a sermon about how to react to being persecuted, and I looked around the room. I don't know what your Church is like, but the VH is pretty typical of the sort of congregation I grew up in; very white, very middle class, very well off. The point? In the year of our Lord, 2008, in the United States of America, in the nation's midwestern breadbasket, it is hard to conceive that middle class white people are being persecuted by anyone for anything.
Lets start with a verse that I think is troubling to many modern Christians; "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." - 2 Tim 3:12-13
See, there is this thought in early Christianity that the powers that be are not going to like what Jesus and his Church do. From the earliest moments of his ministry, Jesus is speaking of persecution, and ensuring his followers that they'll be blessed in Heaven for suffering for his sake on Earth. It's amazing to me how modern Christianity has managed to dilute the word persecution. Once upon a time it meant imprisonment, torture, and eventually a gruesome death for those that wouldn't renounce Jesus. Today? Well if most of the preachers I've heard are to be believed, it apparently means getting teased for wearing a WWJD bracelet and not listening to Eminem.
So what I'm asking, what makes this verse so uncomfortable is this; why aren't we being persecuted? The way I see it, there are two possibilities here. Either this world, or at least our own little corner of it has finally seen the light and joined up with God's way of doing things, or we as Christians are not doing our duty.
I'm sure you can guess which way I lean; so my challenge to you? Figure out what you're leaving out. I'm not gonna give all of the answers here, go read you a bible! Dig around, see what Jesus wanted from us, figure out why the world hated him, and why it seems to love us so much. Maybe if you're really good at it you'll upset some government and start a persecution.
(jake)
For more information on the persecuted Church in China and across the world, visit The Voice of the Martyrs at http://www.persecution.com/ If you really wanna stir things up, go to www.cc.org (The Christian Coalition) and www.focusonthefamily.com and ask them why their boy Dubbya is getting buddy buddy with the persecutors.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
And They're Always Glad You Came
Okay, it's beginning to flow a little better. Rather than racking my brain for something profound each week, I'm getting back into the groove of just spewing forth whatever God's put on my heart. Brace yourselves for spew.
The scum of the Earth gather there, because they feel welcome there. Some of them are actually highly successful people who have come to wrestle with their demons, perfectly normal and healthy people who simply need some support to keep up with the good work. Good, bad, ugly, all are welcome, all are wanted. Some get extremely involved and are regulars; others simply show up and enjoy the good vibes.
Or there is our second location. It's a high class place, filled with the wealthy and elite. It's a club that seems easy enough to get into, but for some reason a lot of people have trouble sticking around there. The elite rulers of the day are strong advocates, using their membership to springboard themselves into greater positions of power, from which they further exploit the weak and the poor. Everyone is well groomed, everyone is clean, everyone looks perfect. Sadly, beneath the surface there is a great deal of sin and corruption dealing beneath the surface. It's not that the people here are wicked, that they enjoy their state, it's just that no one's ever taken the time to show them any better.
Scene one? A bar.
Scene two? A Church.
Sure, not all Churches are like that, I know, I attend a couple of pretty good ones. And no, bars aren't exactly wholesome places. Still, can't argue with the facts.
I really wish Church were more like a bar.
(jake)
The scum of the Earth gather there, because they feel welcome there. Some of them are actually highly successful people who have come to wrestle with their demons, perfectly normal and healthy people who simply need some support to keep up with the good work. Good, bad, ugly, all are welcome, all are wanted. Some get extremely involved and are regulars; others simply show up and enjoy the good vibes.
Or there is our second location. It's a high class place, filled with the wealthy and elite. It's a club that seems easy enough to get into, but for some reason a lot of people have trouble sticking around there. The elite rulers of the day are strong advocates, using their membership to springboard themselves into greater positions of power, from which they further exploit the weak and the poor. Everyone is well groomed, everyone is clean, everyone looks perfect. Sadly, beneath the surface there is a great deal of sin and corruption dealing beneath the surface. It's not that the people here are wicked, that they enjoy their state, it's just that no one's ever taken the time to show them any better.
Scene one? A bar.
Scene two? A Church.
Sure, not all Churches are like that, I know, I attend a couple of pretty good ones. And no, bars aren't exactly wholesome places. Still, can't argue with the facts.
I really wish Church were more like a bar.
(jake)
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Hitchiker's Guide to Eternity
Ugh. It seems like everytime I get on a roll with this thing and get a decent number of people reading again, I fall out of the loop and forget to post for a month or three. So, for the first of this semester's 3 posts...
To me, that title is brilliant. It's a little known fact that my favorite part of writing these blogs is writing the title. I also wash my hands before I read and sometimes pray for super powers. Seriously, you couldn't handle 20 minutes in my brain.
So while in the land down under I kept thinking about the Bible. I have been thinking about the Bible a whole lot lately, because as you all know I'm now a Bible Major. I spend a lot of time doing homework about the Bible. Why do I say this? Because I think that for a vast majority of my life I have viewed the Bible incorrectly.
Rob Bell is a favorite author of mine, and in his book Velvet Elvis, he implores us to drop the whole Bible-as-an-instruction-manual analogy. I have to say, I love this idea, and I want to second it. It's time we stopped looking at the holy word of the divine God as a rules list.
I got to thinking about this, and how much of the greater sins I've committed against people in my life have really been born of that misunderstanding of scripture. Because I thought that the Bible was a set of rules, I judged people and treated them like I was better than they were. Because I misread Jesus' teachings on grace, I treated people like they were beneath me. If you are a regular reader, or if you're bored enough to trail back a couple of posts, you'll notice my conflict with Cross Guy. I honestly used to think like Cross Guy, I'm ashamed to say, and I think that it's because I wanted to see the Bible as a rulebook.
Now let me clarify; I'm not saying we shouldn't follow the rules in the Bible. God does give some direct commands, and they should be obeyed. But if that's all you're making it, if you're taking this precious gift from God and making it something as simple and legalistic, then you've completely missed the point I'm afraid.
I struggled a lot to find bible verses that would sum this up, because this feels like the sort of thing that it is so important to have God's backing on. The one that seems logical is 2 Timothy 3:16, which says that all scripture is God-breathed and useful for training in righteousness. It seems to me that the term "God-breathed" probably means that it was something straight from the mouth of God, something that carried with it his very will and his heart. I mean think about it, the main time that we see God breathing something into existence, it isn't a rule book, it's a freaking human being! God doesn't breathe things that are unliving, the breath of God is universally recognized as something that brings life.
So where does all of this lead? My point is to make us rethink scripture and how we study it. Just memorizing the facts is fine at first, but read the stories, read the words of God, the way he treats his people, the way he cares for them no matter what; learn to mimic the ways of God. Scripture is more than a list of rules, it is a unique look straight into the heart of God, a wonderful examination of the very nature of God, of who he is and what he wants from his people; read it to learn who God is, and in turn, to learn who you are. I promise you, this is something that will completely change your life.
(jake)
-This post is dedicated to Cindy Hess.
To me, that title is brilliant. It's a little known fact that my favorite part of writing these blogs is writing the title. I also wash my hands before I read and sometimes pray for super powers. Seriously, you couldn't handle 20 minutes in my brain.
So while in the land down under I kept thinking about the Bible. I have been thinking about the Bible a whole lot lately, because as you all know I'm now a Bible Major. I spend a lot of time doing homework about the Bible. Why do I say this? Because I think that for a vast majority of my life I have viewed the Bible incorrectly.
Rob Bell is a favorite author of mine, and in his book Velvet Elvis, he implores us to drop the whole Bible-as-an-instruction-manual analogy. I have to say, I love this idea, and I want to second it. It's time we stopped looking at the holy word of the divine God as a rules list.
I got to thinking about this, and how much of the greater sins I've committed against people in my life have really been born of that misunderstanding of scripture. Because I thought that the Bible was a set of rules, I judged people and treated them like I was better than they were. Because I misread Jesus' teachings on grace, I treated people like they were beneath me. If you are a regular reader, or if you're bored enough to trail back a couple of posts, you'll notice my conflict with Cross Guy. I honestly used to think like Cross Guy, I'm ashamed to say, and I think that it's because I wanted to see the Bible as a rulebook.
Now let me clarify; I'm not saying we shouldn't follow the rules in the Bible. God does give some direct commands, and they should be obeyed. But if that's all you're making it, if you're taking this precious gift from God and making it something as simple and legalistic, then you've completely missed the point I'm afraid.
I struggled a lot to find bible verses that would sum this up, because this feels like the sort of thing that it is so important to have God's backing on. The one that seems logical is 2 Timothy 3:16, which says that all scripture is God-breathed and useful for training in righteousness. It seems to me that the term "God-breathed" probably means that it was something straight from the mouth of God, something that carried with it his very will and his heart. I mean think about it, the main time that we see God breathing something into existence, it isn't a rule book, it's a freaking human being! God doesn't breathe things that are unliving, the breath of God is universally recognized as something that brings life.
So where does all of this lead? My point is to make us rethink scripture and how we study it. Just memorizing the facts is fine at first, but read the stories, read the words of God, the way he treats his people, the way he cares for them no matter what; learn to mimic the ways of God. Scripture is more than a list of rules, it is a unique look straight into the heart of God, a wonderful examination of the very nature of God, of who he is and what he wants from his people; read it to learn who God is, and in turn, to learn who you are. I promise you, this is something that will completely change your life.
(jake)
-This post is dedicated to Cindy Hess.
Monday, May 19, 2008
A Conundrum if You Will...
I am stranded in York for two more weeks. Every morning I get up and look out my window at the dead campus and let a single tear roll down my eye, pollution-indian style.
Anywho, in keeping with the great educators of history, this week I choose to teach by posing questions. The following is a series of questions that were posed in my Wednesday night High School class last week, and I've got to say, they handled it very well. So now, allow me to play Yoda to your Luke.
I'm not going to directly cite any scripture today, which might be a gutsy move, but I would rather that you open scripture and search for yourself on this one. I will direct you to the Sermon on the Mount in early Matthew, and James 2, starting around verse 15. Now, moving on.
Consider two people. First, a personal hero of mine whose picture hangs on my wall next to one of my many Spiderman posters. No, not Optimus Prime. Mahatma Gandhi. In case you're not up to date on your Indian civil rights leaders, let me fill you in. Gandhi quit a job as a high paid lawyer in order to live with the Untouchables, a group of people in India who were seen as literally, untouchable. They lived in poverty and disease, because they were considered outside society, beneath the notice of civilization. Gandhi dedicated his life to these people, living among them and living like them, trying to help them. This is in fact the most Christ-like thing I've heard of since feeding a multitude.
Unfortunately Gandhi had a major problem in his worldview, namely, Hinduism. Now I'm not about to denigrate someone else's beliefs, but at the same time, I'm not about to say that all roads lead to God. They don't. Some roads lead to lots of vague and fictitious gods, and that's what Gandhi chose.
Exhibit B however is one of my least favorite people in the world. While he has yet to acknowledge our feud publicly, I consider this man to be one of my arch-enemies. I am of course speaking of Pat Robertson of the 700 Club. Pat, for those of you not in the know, has used his media empire to spread wonderful Christian beliefs. Like the time he said that 9-11 was the will of God, brought on to punish us because of feminism. (Might have been Katrina, I'm not entirely sure, so if you read this Pat, don't go getting all techinical on me. You know what I'm getting at.)
So Pat Robertson, a man who is far more concerned with making sure we know who goes to Hell than with helping others get to heaven, calls on the name of Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior. While I'm never ever going to say that Pat Robertson is any kind of Christian, at the same time, I also have to believe that grace can cover hypocrisy and bigotry, or a great number of Christians, including myself, are all going to Hell.
So consider this a different sort of post; rather than a challenge or a moral, today I leave you with a question. Which of these two is more pleasing to God? The man who lives a Christ-like life outside of Christ, or the man who embraces all encompassing grace but denies it to others?
(jake)
Anywho, in keeping with the great educators of history, this week I choose to teach by posing questions. The following is a series of questions that were posed in my Wednesday night High School class last week, and I've got to say, they handled it very well. So now, allow me to play Yoda to your Luke.
I'm not going to directly cite any scripture today, which might be a gutsy move, but I would rather that you open scripture and search for yourself on this one. I will direct you to the Sermon on the Mount in early Matthew, and James 2, starting around verse 15. Now, moving on.
Consider two people. First, a personal hero of mine whose picture hangs on my wall next to one of my many Spiderman posters. No, not Optimus Prime. Mahatma Gandhi. In case you're not up to date on your Indian civil rights leaders, let me fill you in. Gandhi quit a job as a high paid lawyer in order to live with the Untouchables, a group of people in India who were seen as literally, untouchable. They lived in poverty and disease, because they were considered outside society, beneath the notice of civilization. Gandhi dedicated his life to these people, living among them and living like them, trying to help them. This is in fact the most Christ-like thing I've heard of since feeding a multitude.
Unfortunately Gandhi had a major problem in his worldview, namely, Hinduism. Now I'm not about to denigrate someone else's beliefs, but at the same time, I'm not about to say that all roads lead to God. They don't. Some roads lead to lots of vague and fictitious gods, and that's what Gandhi chose.
Exhibit B however is one of my least favorite people in the world. While he has yet to acknowledge our feud publicly, I consider this man to be one of my arch-enemies. I am of course speaking of Pat Robertson of the 700 Club. Pat, for those of you not in the know, has used his media empire to spread wonderful Christian beliefs. Like the time he said that 9-11 was the will of God, brought on to punish us because of feminism. (Might have been Katrina, I'm not entirely sure, so if you read this Pat, don't go getting all techinical on me. You know what I'm getting at.)
So Pat Robertson, a man who is far more concerned with making sure we know who goes to Hell than with helping others get to heaven, calls on the name of Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior. While I'm never ever going to say that Pat Robertson is any kind of Christian, at the same time, I also have to believe that grace can cover hypocrisy and bigotry, or a great number of Christians, including myself, are all going to Hell.
So consider this a different sort of post; rather than a challenge or a moral, today I leave you with a question. Which of these two is more pleasing to God? The man who lives a Christ-like life outside of Christ, or the man who embraces all encompassing grace but denies it to others?
(jake)
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Broken Tools
So I have a confession: I have not been in Mexico for two months. I have in fact been in York, Nebraska, finishing up the fourth year of what I'm beginning to suspect is a forty year wandering as punishment for some past sin. The good news is that I am still playing guitar, and I believe it shows; last night some stranger paid for my food at Buffalo Wild Wings, and just today, the girl at the coffee shop gave me a few extra packages of tea as I bought my rooibus. I've said it before, chicks dig the artsy type.
So I have begun to consider leadership. A little late in the game perhaps, but it is important I think that I re-evaluate. I'm not always the best leader, and next year I've got more to lead.
So I took to reading from the Bible, specifically the parts that deal with The Jesus and his take on leadership. Now there are lots of great passages, and one that I want to focus in on, but first I want to take a look at something written by Paul. Pay close attention children, as I can only perform this trick once:
So I have begun to consider leadership. A little late in the game perhaps, but it is important I think that I re-evaluate. I'm not always the best leader, and next year I've got more to lead.
So I took to reading from the Bible, specifically the parts that deal with The Jesus and his take on leadership. Now there are lots of great passages, and one that I want to focus in on, but first I want to take a look at something written by Paul. Pay close attention children, as I can only perform this trick once:
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. (1 Cor 1:25)
Understand before we go any further on this adventure that God is not concerned with how humans do things. Humanity views leadership as an upward climb, a battle to the top. You step on who you can to get higher up, you demonstrate the most strength, and people will inevitably respect and follow you. Basically, the idea is to look like you have everything together, even though we all know no one has it all together. Maybe we follow people like this in order to forget our own brokenness? "Hey, he's got it figured out. If I do like him, maybe I'll get all of my crap together." The incredible thing is, that that person we're following is likely every bit if not more broken than we are.
Okay, so with all of that in mind, here's the Jesus part. There's this great passage in Mark where Jesus is just sitting down after a long journey, and he decides he's going to nail the disciples. See, earlier on the road they had been arguing about who was greatest of them, and Jesus decides to put in his two cents. And what does he say? Simply this.
"If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." (Mark 9:35b)
You getting that? Jesus doesn't want people who are powerful and have it all together. If you don't think that's what this verse means, then read the whole freaking story of his life. Jesus didn't show up and change the world by finding the rich and powerful; he went to the broken, the rejected. He picked fishermen and con-men to be his best friends, and then went and hung out with hookers and sick people. What do all of these have in common?
Brokenness.
I submit to you that I, Jake Owens, am a poor leader, because I am completely wrapped up in getting it all together, and projecting an aura of confidence and power. I have wasted my time and talent on trying to appear like I have life figured out, when in reality, I have no freaking clue what I'm doing. I am 22 years old, still in college, and doing my absolute best to figure out how to get out of debt. Sometimes I avoid saying hi to people not because I don't like them or because I'm shy, but because I just assume the don't want to talk to me. Somedays I worry I might be borderline OCD, and every day I wonder if I'll ever get my student loans paid off.
I am messed up. And God still chooses me, and God still loves me.
Leadership is not about getting it all together. Leadership is about admitting to God how broken you are, and letting him do what he will with you. One of the most wonderful things about Jesus is that he does his best work with broken tools like me.
(jake)
Friday, March 14, 2008
Hola Ninos!
I'm gonna be in the land down under (Mexico) for a week or so. I've got a few good ideas for blog when I get back. I'll try and get one posted before I leave, but don't hold out on that. More to come true believers!
(jake)
(jake)
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Comfortably Dead
I have been learning guitar. My fingers hurt pretty bad while typing the last blog, but now they just don't feel at all. I kind of hate that, but I am really convicted that God wants me to play guitar, because I think it will make girls love me, and I think that God wants that for me. I also buy lotto tickets and pray over them. True story.
Bible classes now consume my life. The good news is that I love the Bible, so it's been a pretty good semester so far. One thing I have noticed in my scholarly pursuits of the Old Testament is an interesting trend with the people of Israel. See, early on in Israel's career as a nation, they were just a loose group of tribes, who were constantly harassed by other nations. God always bailed them out, and that was the system. Trust God, live well.
Eventually, Israel decided they'd had enough of that, and asked for a king. Without posting the whole verse, in the book of 1 Samuel God essentially declares that the Israelites have rejected him as their king. Then, he goes on to declare that the king would be horrible for them, and ruin them. He says that this king will turn their hearts away from God, and that he will lead them to destruction. But they want it, so he gives it.
Skip ahead. Ignore a couple centuries of history. Israel now wants a temple. Specifically, the aforementioned king wants to build a temple. Again I will leave the scripture out, but it's in the reign of Solomon that the temple is built, and during David's reign that the idea comes about, which is in 1 Kings and 2 Samuel respectively. But God's not too keen on the temple thing either. He's more than happy to live in a tent, and to dwell among his people. Still, he gives them what they want.
So where does this lead? Why exactly where God said it would! See, king after king after king continues to bring in pagan Gods, and destroy the worship of Yahweh, the true God of Israel. And as the Temple becomes more and more important, the Hebrew nation begins to forget the real purpose of the ceremonies, of the sacrifices, all of it. They eventually become comfortable in their faith, revelling in the security that their kingdom and religion have given them.
Then God gets mad.
In Isaiah, the Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.
God is ticked! God sends these nasty guys called the Babylonians to kick butt and take names. The entire nation is destroyed, eventually the temple is ransacked and trashed, the king sent into exile, and for all of her safety and comfort, Israel is reduced to a pile of rubble.
Then things get fixed.
The amazing thing about the story of Israel is that it is in exile, in suffering, in the most horrible and shameful experience of its history as a nation, the people of God rediscover just what it means to serve Yahweh. With the protection of the king gone, with the religious security of the temple gone, Israel is finally stripped down to bare bones and forced to turn back to the God who loves them enough to send them into exile.
I am not blaming God for our struggles, nor am I suggesting that church buildings and appointed leaders are evil. (Thought about it, but decided against it.) I am saying that in the end, it is not the comfortable times that I remember God from, it is the painful ones. When I look back on my life, the most precious moments shared between me and my Lord were the ones where I was hurting the most.
Sometimes it takes suffering to break us down and expose us to God's glory. In exile, we rediscover who we are, and what God intends for us. I pray that whoever may read this will be blessed with the wisdom to see through their suffering, to the glorious work that God is preparing them for.
(jake)
Bible classes now consume my life. The good news is that I love the Bible, so it's been a pretty good semester so far. One thing I have noticed in my scholarly pursuits of the Old Testament is an interesting trend with the people of Israel. See, early on in Israel's career as a nation, they were just a loose group of tribes, who were constantly harassed by other nations. God always bailed them out, and that was the system. Trust God, live well.
Eventually, Israel decided they'd had enough of that, and asked for a king. Without posting the whole verse, in the book of 1 Samuel God essentially declares that the Israelites have rejected him as their king. Then, he goes on to declare that the king would be horrible for them, and ruin them. He says that this king will turn their hearts away from God, and that he will lead them to destruction. But they want it, so he gives it.
Skip ahead. Ignore a couple centuries of history. Israel now wants a temple. Specifically, the aforementioned king wants to build a temple. Again I will leave the scripture out, but it's in the reign of Solomon that the temple is built, and during David's reign that the idea comes about, which is in 1 Kings and 2 Samuel respectively. But God's not too keen on the temple thing either. He's more than happy to live in a tent, and to dwell among his people. Still, he gives them what they want.
So where does this lead? Why exactly where God said it would! See, king after king after king continues to bring in pagan Gods, and destroy the worship of Yahweh, the true God of Israel. And as the Temple becomes more and more important, the Hebrew nation begins to forget the real purpose of the ceremonies, of the sacrifices, all of it. They eventually become comfortable in their faith, revelling in the security that their kingdom and religion have given them.
Then God gets mad.
In Isaiah, the Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.
God is ticked! God sends these nasty guys called the Babylonians to kick butt and take names. The entire nation is destroyed, eventually the temple is ransacked and trashed, the king sent into exile, and for all of her safety and comfort, Israel is reduced to a pile of rubble.
Then things get fixed.
The amazing thing about the story of Israel is that it is in exile, in suffering, in the most horrible and shameful experience of its history as a nation, the people of God rediscover just what it means to serve Yahweh. With the protection of the king gone, with the religious security of the temple gone, Israel is finally stripped down to bare bones and forced to turn back to the God who loves them enough to send them into exile.
I am not blaming God for our struggles, nor am I suggesting that church buildings and appointed leaders are evil. (Thought about it, but decided against it.) I am saying that in the end, it is not the comfortable times that I remember God from, it is the painful ones. When I look back on my life, the most precious moments shared between me and my Lord were the ones where I was hurting the most.
Sometimes it takes suffering to break us down and expose us to God's glory. In exile, we rediscover who we are, and what God intends for us. I pray that whoever may read this will be blessed with the wisdom to see through their suffering, to the glorious work that God is preparing them for.
(jake)
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Of Eye Pokes and Tooth Fairies
Tomorrow morning I will do something terrifying. I will drive an hour and a half to southern Nebraska to preach to people I have never met before. I am told that this is a great honor, that people enjoy hearing me speak. Rather, I just think God is making me wander all over Nebraska like some sort of wilderness until I'm ready to do his work. Another blog for another day I suppose.
Us against them. It's a mentality that permeates our society, our very way of life. Race, gender, economics, religion, heck, what side of the cafeteria you sit on, it's all one big way of deciding whether you're with us, or with them. I wonder a lot how we got to this point, if there's something encoded in us post-Eden that makes us need an adversary of some kind. Even our view of God is affected; a lot of times we give Satan way too much credit by picturing him on the same playing field as the Almighty, simply because we assume God has to be fighting someone, he has to have some sort of enemy.
I say all of this to make myself look less sinful when I admit that I am in fact one of the worst about this. When I was young, I was surrounded by a very dogmatic form of Christianity, and it was all us against the other denominations. As I got older and began feeling ashamed of that line of thinking, it became us against people who hate other denominations. Then it was us against pharisees, because that sounded better, then it finally settled into us against the non-Christians. It's really very sad to be honest, and I hope you'll accept my apologies on behalf of all humanity.
Having confessed that, I have a story to tell. It happened last semester, and remains one of the best nights of my life. I was going to Lincoln with a bunch of friends, and as I was driving through the labyrinthine parking of O Street, I saw a few other friends of mine standing on a street corner screaming at some people holding signs.
Let me back up.
There is a guy in Lincoln, or it might be a couple of guys working in shifts, who carries around a cross. He stands on O Street, a busy party-type street, and shouts at people walking by. He screams at them that they're sinners, that they're going to burn in Hell, and accuses them of things they probably have never done. At least I've never done any of the things he's accused me of. (Baby killing being primary among those. I've also never had any kind of romantic entanglement with another man. He accused me of both. No lie. It's the bald head. SCREAMS infanticidal Nazi homosexual.)
So occasionally, this group of people come out to defend homosexuals. Primarily homosexuals. I think they just don't like Cross Guy, but they seem to especially hate that he's down on the gays. On this particular night, they were holding signs that said things like, "Homosexuals are People," and were handing out a pamphlet accusing God of being a bad guy who murdered people. Now I'm not saying I agreed with the pamphlet, but the signs weren't really that offensive. I happen to think that homosexuals are people too. Remember, raised by an ex-hippy.
Anyway, I manage to park (5 blocks down!) and walk back to the corner, happy to see my friends still locked in a shouting match with the Humanists. (That's who I later found out they were.) The humanists were very adament that we were very foolish for believing in God, and that if God really loved people he wouldn't hate gays or bomb abortion clinics. My friends were very upset and began shouting at these guys that they were just ignorant and were going to Hell. Really ugly scene, gotta be honest.
I say all of this to tell you that God works through broken vessels like me. That night, with one faithful friend sticking with me, the rest either running or shouting, I managed to preach the gospel to about 15 people on a street corner. It was exhilirating, unlike anything I had ever experienced. I raised my voice and began to speak loudly to the Humanists, explaining to them that Cross Guy was no more a Christian than they were. That the will of God was more about loving people than it was about stopping gay people from getting married. I explained to them that God wants more than for us to stop sinning, he wants us to start loving. And I told them that by showing up to love some sinners, they had done the will of God without even meaning to. By the time I stopped to take a breath, I realized that there was a small crowd growing.
We walked away that night friends. I shook hands and even hugged a few of them. (Except the fat chick with cartilage piercings who blew cigarette smoke in my face. Can't win 'em all.) Did they drop to their knees and beg to be baptized on the spot? No. But they left knowing that Cross Guy doesn't represent me, and he certainly doesn't represent my God.
I guess the point I'm making here is that if God can bring those people into my life and teach me about his love through Secular Humanists, then he can certainly teach me something through traditional right-wing Christians, through alcoholic athletes, elitist nerds, or any other opposing social group I've labeled as a "them". There is no them guys. It's just one big us. And if us don't start looking out for each other, then none of us will ever find any kind of heaven.
(jake)
Us against them. It's a mentality that permeates our society, our very way of life. Race, gender, economics, religion, heck, what side of the cafeteria you sit on, it's all one big way of deciding whether you're with us, or with them. I wonder a lot how we got to this point, if there's something encoded in us post-Eden that makes us need an adversary of some kind. Even our view of God is affected; a lot of times we give Satan way too much credit by picturing him on the same playing field as the Almighty, simply because we assume God has to be fighting someone, he has to have some sort of enemy.
I say all of this to make myself look less sinful when I admit that I am in fact one of the worst about this. When I was young, I was surrounded by a very dogmatic form of Christianity, and it was all us against the other denominations. As I got older and began feeling ashamed of that line of thinking, it became us against people who hate other denominations. Then it was us against pharisees, because that sounded better, then it finally settled into us against the non-Christians. It's really very sad to be honest, and I hope you'll accept my apologies on behalf of all humanity.
Having confessed that, I have a story to tell. It happened last semester, and remains one of the best nights of my life. I was going to Lincoln with a bunch of friends, and as I was driving through the labyrinthine parking of O Street, I saw a few other friends of mine standing on a street corner screaming at some people holding signs.
Let me back up.
There is a guy in Lincoln, or it might be a couple of guys working in shifts, who carries around a cross. He stands on O Street, a busy party-type street, and shouts at people walking by. He screams at them that they're sinners, that they're going to burn in Hell, and accuses them of things they probably have never done. At least I've never done any of the things he's accused me of. (Baby killing being primary among those. I've also never had any kind of romantic entanglement with another man. He accused me of both. No lie. It's the bald head. SCREAMS infanticidal Nazi homosexual.)
So occasionally, this group of people come out to defend homosexuals. Primarily homosexuals. I think they just don't like Cross Guy, but they seem to especially hate that he's down on the gays. On this particular night, they were holding signs that said things like, "Homosexuals are People," and were handing out a pamphlet accusing God of being a bad guy who murdered people. Now I'm not saying I agreed with the pamphlet, but the signs weren't really that offensive. I happen to think that homosexuals are people too. Remember, raised by an ex-hippy.
Anyway, I manage to park (5 blocks down!) and walk back to the corner, happy to see my friends still locked in a shouting match with the Humanists. (That's who I later found out they were.) The humanists were very adament that we were very foolish for believing in God, and that if God really loved people he wouldn't hate gays or bomb abortion clinics. My friends were very upset and began shouting at these guys that they were just ignorant and were going to Hell. Really ugly scene, gotta be honest.
I say all of this to tell you that God works through broken vessels like me. That night, with one faithful friend sticking with me, the rest either running or shouting, I managed to preach the gospel to about 15 people on a street corner. It was exhilirating, unlike anything I had ever experienced. I raised my voice and began to speak loudly to the Humanists, explaining to them that Cross Guy was no more a Christian than they were. That the will of God was more about loving people than it was about stopping gay people from getting married. I explained to them that God wants more than for us to stop sinning, he wants us to start loving. And I told them that by showing up to love some sinners, they had done the will of God without even meaning to. By the time I stopped to take a breath, I realized that there was a small crowd growing.
We walked away that night friends. I shook hands and even hugged a few of them. (Except the fat chick with cartilage piercings who blew cigarette smoke in my face. Can't win 'em all.) Did they drop to their knees and beg to be baptized on the spot? No. But they left knowing that Cross Guy doesn't represent me, and he certainly doesn't represent my God.
I guess the point I'm making here is that if God can bring those people into my life and teach me about his love through Secular Humanists, then he can certainly teach me something through traditional right-wing Christians, through alcoholic athletes, elitist nerds, or any other opposing social group I've labeled as a "them". There is no them guys. It's just one big us. And if us don't start looking out for each other, then none of us will ever find any kind of heaven.
(jake)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Banana-Flavored Faith
That's right, after a few months of absence, I'm about to strike back like the Empire! A few people have mentioned that they liked these, and my brain is flowing at normal speed again, so here we go again. I was going to save this until after next week because it was going to be my devo, but Greg's tonight was both fantastic and a lot like this, so I decided instead to make this a blog and the devo will be changed.
I'll go ahead and say it; I love my life. I have a great life's story that I really feel would make a good movie or book. Several other people think so too, so that makes it fact. My life is really the final act in a series of stories about some fantastic people and how they overcame their own challenges; I basically like to think of myself as the climax of several stories. (Literature nerd, I know.) The person I want to focus on is kind of the one who started all of this, my grandmother, or as we called her, Nanny.
I've talked about my grandmother a few times at school, but to bring everyone up to speed, she was hands down the coolest old lady alive. She was going to be a nun until she met my granddad, but by the time I came along she was essentially the definition of a "tough old bird." Granddad left her for a younger lady, but left her a nice chunk of money to live on in return. Nanny didn't bake me cookies but once (best cookies ever, the standard by which I still judge all subsequent cookies.) and she never knitted me anything. She did however teach me to keep score on a Cubs game, and explained to me that even when you're watching at home you have to get up and sing along when Harry Carray leads Take Me Out to the Ball Game. One of my favorite things about her house was the fruit; Nanny had great fruit, and my favorite was always bananas.
Whenever I eat a banana, I get swept away in nostalgia, remembering Nanny cussing at the announcers when they insulted Sammy Sosa, or how she used to take care of that nasty black cat I was so scared of. I can even remember the smell of her house, a good catholic house; cheap wine and cigarettes. But you know what? Banana-flavored candy isn't the same. This may seem like a no brainer for you, but for me it's shocking. Banana flavored taffy, runts, whatever, none of it invokes the same memories. It's fake, false, a substitute, and it fails to remind me of that tough old lady who taught me so much.
I guess I feel like our faith is like that. I don't mean for this to be one of the many rip on America posts out there, but the fact is that Christianity in this country is so screwed up. Sure, it's kind of like what Jesus wanted, but how is it any different from the other things out there? What I mean is, maybe the reason people aren't flocking to churches is because we're offering the same thing they can get at any other social club, like boy scouts, or scrapbooking circles, or book clubs. Are we really any different, or are we one more imitation that offers something similar to the real thing?
Faith is more than just a set of political beliefs, and it's a lot more than just sitting around with people who think like you do. True faith is to love people unconditionally, to sacrifice ANYTHING for other people, the same way Jesus did. I tried to find a verse that summed this up, and then I realized, it's all over the whole freaking Bible! The thing is full of it! If we were really offering that authentic flavor of faith, I think people would be way more interested in us.
So the point? No, it's not to go rage against the machine and burn the mother down. Leave your churches standing, they're full of good people who love God. The point here? Let your faith be real. Study the bible for yourself and see what God really wants. Find someone to love. Find an unlovable person, someone not deserving or not receiving unconditional love, and give it to them. That my friends is real faith. None of this bullcrap, "Keep the gays from marrying!" faith-flavored junk.
(jake)
I'll go ahead and say it; I love my life. I have a great life's story that I really feel would make a good movie or book. Several other people think so too, so that makes it fact. My life is really the final act in a series of stories about some fantastic people and how they overcame their own challenges; I basically like to think of myself as the climax of several stories. (Literature nerd, I know.) The person I want to focus on is kind of the one who started all of this, my grandmother, or as we called her, Nanny.
I've talked about my grandmother a few times at school, but to bring everyone up to speed, she was hands down the coolest old lady alive. She was going to be a nun until she met my granddad, but by the time I came along she was essentially the definition of a "tough old bird." Granddad left her for a younger lady, but left her a nice chunk of money to live on in return. Nanny didn't bake me cookies but once (best cookies ever, the standard by which I still judge all subsequent cookies.) and she never knitted me anything. She did however teach me to keep score on a Cubs game, and explained to me that even when you're watching at home you have to get up and sing along when Harry Carray leads Take Me Out to the Ball Game. One of my favorite things about her house was the fruit; Nanny had great fruit, and my favorite was always bananas.
Whenever I eat a banana, I get swept away in nostalgia, remembering Nanny cussing at the announcers when they insulted Sammy Sosa, or how she used to take care of that nasty black cat I was so scared of. I can even remember the smell of her house, a good catholic house; cheap wine and cigarettes. But you know what? Banana-flavored candy isn't the same. This may seem like a no brainer for you, but for me it's shocking. Banana flavored taffy, runts, whatever, none of it invokes the same memories. It's fake, false, a substitute, and it fails to remind me of that tough old lady who taught me so much.
I guess I feel like our faith is like that. I don't mean for this to be one of the many rip on America posts out there, but the fact is that Christianity in this country is so screwed up. Sure, it's kind of like what Jesus wanted, but how is it any different from the other things out there? What I mean is, maybe the reason people aren't flocking to churches is because we're offering the same thing they can get at any other social club, like boy scouts, or scrapbooking circles, or book clubs. Are we really any different, or are we one more imitation that offers something similar to the real thing?
Faith is more than just a set of political beliefs, and it's a lot more than just sitting around with people who think like you do. True faith is to love people unconditionally, to sacrifice ANYTHING for other people, the same way Jesus did. I tried to find a verse that summed this up, and then I realized, it's all over the whole freaking Bible! The thing is full of it! If we were really offering that authentic flavor of faith, I think people would be way more interested in us.
So the point? No, it's not to go rage against the machine and burn the mother down. Leave your churches standing, they're full of good people who love God. The point here? Let your faith be real. Study the bible for yourself and see what God really wants. Find someone to love. Find an unlovable person, someone not deserving or not receiving unconditional love, and give it to them. That my friends is real faith. None of this bullcrap, "Keep the gays from marrying!" faith-flavored junk.
(jake)
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