tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6533114392689868082024-03-14T21:11:04.946+13:00thought influxMicah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-35310948835497926482017-08-21T14:16:00.000+12:002017-08-21T14:25:29.946+12:00When the Church Hurts People<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><br /><br /><br />I'm trying something different today. The following is the manuscript for a sermon I recently preached at my church based on <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+19%3A1-10&version=NIV">Luke 19:1-10</a> and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matt+5%3A46-48&version=NIV">Matthew 5:46-48</a>. An audio version can be found <a href="https://soundcloud.com/micah-d-3/sermon-when-the-church-hurts-people">here</a>. </i><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I really seem to get the fun topics to preach on. When we
first started this series on what is the church, the preaching team sat down
and had a planning meeting about what we wanted to talk about and I suggested
that we end the series with a sermon on when church goes wrong and hurts
people. In my tiredness I forgot the old piece of advice “don’t suggest
something unless you’re prepared to volunteer to do it”. After all, nobody
wants to be the bearer of bad news. Although the great thing is that because I’m
no longer an employee of the church you can’t fire me if you don’t like what I
say. But as I told people what I was planning to preach on I noticed something
interesting: a lot of people responded with “I have a friend/neighbour/etc.
that was hurt by the church”. Don’t get me wrong. Churches do many wonderful
things. I wouldn’t go to church if I didn’t believe in it. But sometimes we can
be oblivious to the way we hurt people. Or we don’t want to believe that we do.
In 2014 the Irish musician Hozier released a hit song called “Take Me To
Church”. Based on his experience growing up in a Christian family and seeing
the hypocrisy of the church, he sings “Take me to church/I’ll worship like a
dog at the shrine of your lies/I’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your
knife”. I was having a conversation with someone last year who called it a
horrible song. And I found myself explaining that although it may feel like a
horrible song it’s actually a very honest reflection on the experience that
many people have had with church. And being treated poorly by religious people
goes all the way back to biblical times. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <br /><br /> </span></div>
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In our Luke reading we come across a man named Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus is the chief tax collector for the city of Jericho. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tax collectors were utterly despised in Jewish
society. For one, they were agents of the oppressive occupying force. One of
the hot political topics of the day was “how are we, the descendants of Israel,
going to retake the land from the Romans and become a great nation again?” As a
result they had a particular dislike of the tax collectors and Roman soldiers.
Secondly, tax collectors were often greedy and corrupt. The system of tax
collection in first century Palestine operated like this: You would have a
chief tax collector who would hire other tax collectors to collect taxes on his
behalf. If it was a large area these tax collectors would then hire more tax
collectors to work for them. It ended up as essentially a first century pyramid
scheme in which everybody in the chain took their own cut of the profits. This
led to taxes being an exorbitantly high. What’s more, tax collectors were not
above harassing citizens. Sometimes tax collectors would stop travellers on the
road and demand a bribe or they would charge them with smuggling. We might
think of these tax collectors as being similar to corrupt cops. They were well
within their authority to extort ordinary civilians and because they were
agents of the state you couldn’t really do anything about it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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To be a Jewish tax collector was especially bad. Your
collusion with the Romans meant that you were regarded as a traitor to your
people. You were banned from the Temple and the synagogues and your people
shunned you. The rabbis taught that you were beyond God’s help and they encouraged
the people to lie and deceive you whenever possible. <br />
<br />
And Zacchaeus was one of the most notorious tax collectors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
But one day he hears that a famous rabbi is visiting his city and something in
him makes him want to see who this rabbi is. And so Zacchaeus runs to where
Jesus is but he can’t see above the crowd because he was a short guy. So he
runs ahead of Jesus and climbs up into a sycamore tree. And Jesus reaches this
tree, looks up, and says “Zacchaeus!” I sometimes wonder what ran through Zacchaeus’
mind when Jesus called his name. Did a jolt of fear strike his heart in
expectation that once again he’d be subjected to scorn from a religious leader?
Was he amazed that this wandering rabbi would even acknowledge him? <br />
<br />
But Jesus doesn’t scorn Zacchaeus. Quite the opposite. He says “Zacchaeus, come
down from that tree, for I must stay at your house tonight.” Now this might
sound rude to us in our culture. Who does Jesus think he is to invite himself
around to stay at someone’s house on such short notice and expect them to feed
him? But to have a rabbi stay at your house was a great honour because the
rabbis only stayed with the most respectable members of Jewish society. To
understand what Jesus did in today’s terms would be like if Bill Gates was to
visit one on his manufacturing facilities and say to the janitor “You might
want to ring the wife and tell her I’ve decided to cancel my dinner with the
management team because I’m coming around to yours tonight. Also I hope you
don’t mind if I spend the night on your couch”. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
And it says that when Zacchaeus came down the people started
murmuring amongst themselves. “That’s Zacchaeus the traitor!” “Doesn’t he know
who he is?” “He’s going to the house of a sinner!” “So much for being a rabbi!”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
But Zacchaeus ignores the crowd. After all, he’s had a
lifetime of constantly being reminded that he’s a dirty sinner and that he’ll
never be as good as the religious folk. But this day Jesus has treated him with
love and dignity. Zacchaeus declares in that moment that he is going to give
away half of his possessions to the poor, which is more than the accusers in
the crowd have ever done, and he declares that he will repay those he has
cheated four-fold. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Interestingly this isn’t the first time a tax collector is
portrayed favourably by Jesus. If we go back one chapter to Luke chapter 18
Jesus tells a parable of a Pharisee and a tax collector who go to the Temple to
pray. The Pharisee prays “<span class="woj"><span style="background: white; color: black;">God, I
thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or
even like that tax collector.<b><sup> </sup></b>I fast twice a week
and give a tenth of all I get.”</span></span> Meanwhile the tax collector
stands at a distance, with his head hung in shame, beating his breast, and
praying “God have mercy on me, a sinner.” Jesus declares the one who exalts
himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted, and
that only one of those men went home justified before God. I don’t think it’s a
coincidence that Luke put these two events so close together when writing the
Gospel. I think he was trying to tell us something about those who are hurt by
religious folk and how God views them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
There are many ways in which someone can be hurt by the church.
There can be a breach of trust in which embarrassing information about someone
is spread around the church. Church politics can lead to someone getting a
knife in the back (both metaphorically and literally!). Maybe the church
culture was toxic and was obsessed with policing who was in and who was out,
making people feel unwelcome. Some of you may remember that in our June 18<sup>th</sup>
newsletter Susan wrote a reflection called “<i>Is our Church Safe?” </i>which
included 12 characteristics of a counterfeit or toxic church. <br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The popular Christian writer Benjamin L. Corey recently
wrote a blog post called <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/formerlyfundie/christian-ghosting-destructive-christian-practice-dont-talk/">Christian Ghosting: The Destructive Christian PracticeWe Don’t Talk About</a>. It described his personal experience of ghosting: the
practice of suddenly ending a friendship with little to no explanation why and
then cutting all contact. It’s a particularly passive and cruel practice in
which a community will push someone out and it often affects entire families.
One week you can be enjoying the company of the people you have fellowshipped
with for years and the next you can be left all alone to deal with your
problems without any support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
And of course there are some people who are hurt by the
church without even setting foot inside a church. They are hurt simply by
Christians treating them poorly for being different or a member of an
unacceptable group. And so these people put up walls and walk away with the
impression that all Christians are hypocrites or hateful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
How many of you had ever heard the perfect answer to the
charge that the church is full of hypocrites? You’ve probably heard the
situation played out by over-confident preachers or on bumper stickers. The
non-Christian says “I don’t want to go to church; it’s full of hypocrites.” And
you smoothly reply, “Well, the world is full of hypocrites”. Boom. Mic drop
moment. With this bit of wildian wit you have completely obliterated their case
against going to church. In that moment you are Saint Paul preaching to the
Athenian philosophers on Mars’ Hill. You are Billy Graham leading a one-man
crusade for the soul of this person. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
But there’s one problem: Jesus never said to be just like
the world. At no point are believers encouraged to be just like unbelievers in
how they treat others. In fact, Jesus says <i>“<span class="woj">If you love
those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors
doing that?</span> <span class="woj"><sup> </sup>And if you greet only your
own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?</span>”</i>
“Hey at least we’re no worse than the rest of the world” doesn’t cut it for
Jesus. It’s not an acceptable baseline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
So what do we say in this situation? How do we respond to
someone saying that the church is full of hypocrites? I suggest you ask them
why they say that. They might be misinformed. It may be that they have a valid
criticism of Christians. But it may also be that their statement isn’t
hypothetical; it’s possible that their belief comes from personal experience in
being hurt by the church. Maybe they didn’t receive grace and love from the church
when they needed it most. Maybe they saw the church tear down one person while
turning a blind eye to another. Maybe they were made to feel like they didn’t
belong until they eventually left.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The point is that by saying “well the world is full of hypocrites
too” you shut down any chance of productive dialogue with this person. By
getting defensive and putting up a wall you have confirmed their suspicion that
church folk aren’t serious about change and growth. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The answer is a willingness to be humble and
vulnerable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
A rather radical example of this is found in the book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Save-Us-Your-Followers/dp/0849964857/ref=sr_1_cc_4?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1503281500&sr=1-4-catcorr&keywords=lord+save+us+from+your+followers">Lord Save Us From Your Followers</a></i> by Dan Merchant. The book follows Dan’s journey
across America to find out what ordinary people think of Jesus and the Church.
Part of this journey takes him to a gay pride festival in Portland, Oregon.
Despite being told he was wasting his time he builds a makeshift confessional
booth at the festival and waits nervously inside. But when the first person
steps inside, a woman in her mid-forties named Gloria, he doesn’t hear her
confession. Rather he confesses to her. He apologises for the way the church
has treated the LGBT community and for the church’s handling of the AIDS
crisis. But he also apologises for the hurtful and untrue things he has said
about gay people and asks for forgiveness for failing to live up to Christ’s
example. Gloria doesn’t take this opportunity to bash on Dan or to lecture him.
She simply says “absolved” – a fancy religious word that means “you’re
forgiven”. But she leans in and continues </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I want to thank you for speaking
this to me. I appreciate hearing these words. It does a lot to heal my heart. I
was just thinking the same thing, <i>How could Jesus’ followers hate so much? </i>So
it’s lovely to hear this from you and know all of you don’t hate us… You know,
I have to be honest Dan, one of the things that kept me from being a Christian
was being treated so poorly by Christians. And though I’m not a Christian, I
appreciate Christ’s teachings. I appreciate the words you’re saying to me
today, and I love you for it.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next person in the booth was a young man named Jovan who revealed that he
had stab wounds because he had been bashed for being gay on multiple occasions.
After this confession Dan poked his head out the door and saw that there was a
large crowd waiting in line at the entrance to the confessional booth. And each
person who came in thanked him for his kindness and had a very vulnerable and
honest conversation about the ways in which they had been hurt. An apology has
amazing power to level the playing field. And this wasn’t the first time this
approach had been tried. Dan Merchant got the idea for the confessional booth
while reading Don Miller’s account in Blue Like Jazz of setting up a
confessional booth while in university and apologising for the sins of the
church. In March 2000, Pope John Paul II gave a historic speech apologising for
the sins of the Catholic Church over the past 2000 years. He was begged by
people inside the church not to apologise as it would diminish the Church’s
authority and power. But I am convinced that it’s when the church tries to hold
onto power and control with tightly gripped hands that it loses its way and
hurts those it is meant to minister to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While I was preparing this sermon I realised something. Not
all people who are hurt by the church leave. Some remain in the church and they
either deal with the hurt in a healthy way or an unhealthy way. And as the old
saying goes, hurt people hurt people. We’re going to be hopeless at welcoming
hurt people into our community if we aren’t committed to helping those of us
who are already hurting. One of the ways we react to hurt is to try to defend
ourselves from further hurt. This can be in the form of anger towards those who
remind us of those who hurt us. But it can also be in the form of hostility
towards those who remind us that we are hurting in a desire to destroy the
evidence. It can also manifest itself in the need to have absolute control so
that no one can hurt us again. In his latest book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-Bible-Ancient-Transform-Everything/dp/0062194267/ref=sr_1_1_twi_har_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503281563&sr=1-1&keywords=what+is+the+bible+rob+bell"><i>What is the Bible?</i></a>,
Rob Bell notes: </div>
<blockquote>
“When your interior life is a mess, when you’re racked with
worry and guilt and anxiety, you’re desperate for a distraction, something to
take your thoughts off of the pain and chaos within you. Which often expresses
itself in judging and shaming and condemning others.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
People with a high need to control others are generally
doing it as a way of dealing with the lack of control they’re experiencing
within themselves.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"></span></span></span></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></span></span></a></blockquote>
I know that as a guy when I’m feeling frustrated, rejected,
and not in control I start to feel angry. Now, anger isn’t necessarily a bad
thing, but left unchecked it has a tendency to give you the feeling of being in
control when in reality your anger is controlling you. That’s why Ephesians 4
says “In your anger do not sin: do not let the sun go down while you are still
angry and do not give the devil a foothold”. It doesn’t say do not get angry,
it says that we inevitably get angry but when we do we should deal with it
appropriately.
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The problem when we repress our hurt and push it down is
that it becomes like a niggling wound that never quite heals. And every new
wound picks at that old wound. Every new hurt piles on top of the old hurt
until we’re dying under the weight. And often like a wounded animal we lash out
at anyone who tries to get close. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The good news is that you don’t have to stay in that hurt.
It may not go away overnight but you can begin the process of healing.
Sometimes that means acknowledging that you have been hurt. You may have to
talk and pray about it with a trusted friend or member of the church. It may be
that you also have to acknowledge the ways in which you’ve hurt others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it inevitably involves learning to
forgive those who hurt you. If not for their sake but for your sake. Part of
forgiving someone is making the decision that the hurt doesn’t have a hold on
you anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
One final note: before I mentioned that we are not called to
be like the world; Jesus holds us to a higher standard. That doesn’t mean that
there will not be hurt in the church. We are imperfect people put together in
an imperfect community. However, it does mean that we are called to own our
words and deeds when we hurt each other, love each other, and be a place where
we can work out that hurt together. As one of my professors at BTC once
elegantly said: “Church should be a place where we acknowledge that crap
happens and we can work it out in love and grace.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br />
<br />
Image courtesy of David Hayworth (<a href="https://nakedpastor.com/2015/03/the-number-one-reason-why-the-church-doesnt-care-for-its-own-victims/">The Naked Pastor</a>)<br />
Image used under "Non-Income Online Use"as stated on Hayworth's <a href="http://nakedpastor.com/image-use/">terms of use</a>.<br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> Dan
Merchant, <i>Lord, Save Us from Your Followers: Why Is the Gospel of Love
Dividing America?</i> (Place of publication not identified: Thomas Nelson,
2012), 168-70.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Rob Bell, <i>What Is the Bible? How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and
Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything</i> (New
York, NY: HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2017), loc 1185.</div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-33597807372536801842017-04-15T21:27:00.001+12:002017-04-16T09:31:37.272+12:00The Nails Aren’t the Point<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgs6JvVVZtJsIE5PgZ5-NEUlwhJKf-7ec9HXlZe0fkcwnz7kpD5Sqi_6ic0WItzgnAbWx2b-6xruLPzgOhousuvOMp2qJBhSjygXsbBK7fNH7zGrowLNpF2UJCabm2uC11vmxXjnJaLM/s1600/crucifixion+of+jesus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgs6JvVVZtJsIE5PgZ5-NEUlwhJKf-7ec9HXlZe0fkcwnz7kpD5Sqi_6ic0WItzgnAbWx2b-6xruLPzgOhousuvOMp2qJBhSjygXsbBK7fNH7zGrowLNpF2UJCabm2uC11vmxXjnJaLM/s400/crucifixion+of+jesus.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably sat through at
least one sermon where the preacher goes into graphic detail about the
crucifixion of Jesus. He<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
may have gone into detail about how they would slowly nail nine inch nails into
Jesus’ wrists and feet (and not his hands because the weight of the victim
would have just resulted in the nail tearing through the palms). You may have
heard that the victim of crucifixion was then lifted up and forced to hang from
the cross. The position they hung from meant that they slumped forward,
resulting in severe difficulty in breathing. In order to take a normal breath
the victim would have to push themselves up with their legs. But this was an
incredibly painful act and the victim would soon slump back down again into
their original position. Eventually the victim would be too exhausted to push
themselves up and they would suffocate to death. If the guards were feeling particularly
merciful they might break the victim’s legs to hasten the suffocation process.
And of course this was all often done after the victim was severely whipped
with a multi-thonged whip, each thong ending with a sharp shard that would dig
into the victim’s skin and rip their flesh out. <br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The whole point of going into this graphic detail is to show
you how much Jesus loved you. That he would go through such graphic torture on
your behalf because of his deep love for humanity. <br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>But to make the physical pain of crucifixion centre-stage
is to miss the point of what Christ went through.</b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
After all, in the ancient world there were many equally painful ways to execute
people. The ancient Greeks devised a method called the “brazen bull” in which
victims were placed inside a giant sculpture of a bronze bull and roasted alive
(for added effect tubes were installed which made the victim’s screams sound
like the bellowing of a bull). 2 Maccabees 7 describes how the Greek King
Antiochus IV Epiphanes ordered the execution of a Jewish martyr by cutting off
his tongue, hands, and feet, scalping him, and then cooking him to death in a
giant frying pan. And he made the young man’s mother and six brothers watch the
whole thing. And then he put them all to death in the exact same way. <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The point is that there was no shortage of horrific ways to
kill people in the ancient world.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
While horrifically painful, crucifixion served a greater
purpose than just torture. <br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>It was the most dehumanising and humiliating fate one
could meet. </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
When one was crucified they were taken outside of the city
gates (often to the side of a busy road), stripped naked and lifted high for
everyone to see. The victim would defecate and urinate over themselves as they
died slowly. Passers-by could gawk and jeer at you as you screamed in agony. After
you died your body was left on the cross until it rotted away or was devoured
by wild creatures. Romans forbade enemies of the state from having their bodies
buried because: 1) they wanted to set an example of what happens if you go
against them, and 2) in the ancient world a decent burial was seen as being key
to enjoying the afterlife.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Historian Bart Ehrman <a href="https://ehrmanblog.org/why-romans-crucified-people/">puts it succinctly</a>
“It [crucifixion] was a symbolic statement that WE are Roman power and YOU are
nothing. And if you oppose us, we will prove it, by rendering you
absolutely, completely powerless, while we wrack your body with pain and make
you scream.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
To make the horror Jesus experience on the cross simply
about physical pain may impress/move us but it ultimately ignores the
historical context and theological depth of the gospels. While modern
Westerners live in a guilt culture, Jesus lived in an honour-shame culture
where shame was used as a weapon. As we look over the events of Jesus’ capture
and death we constantly see the theme of humiliation. The Roman soldiers gather
the local battalion and dress him up as a king as part of a mock coronation in
which they bow before him and spit on him. The Roman soldiers were seen
gambling for his clothes at the crucifixion. “The King of the Jews” was placed
on the sign above the cross, a sign which usually bore the description of the
crime the person was being executed for. The religious leaders and even a
fellow crucified criminal mocked Jesus as he hung on the cross. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
To experience the humiliation Christ did on the cross
represented a complete destruction of your identity as a human. When Jesus was
crucified he became an outsider, an exile from his community. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>When Jesus suffered crucifixion he was dehumanised by the
Empire and in doing so he stood in solidarity with all of those throughout history
who have been dehumanised by the power of Empire. </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Jesus suffers with those who have suffered under unjust
regimes and economic systems. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Jesus suffers with those who have been killed for their
beliefs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Jesus suffers with those who have been treated as
second-class citizens.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Jesus suffers with those who have been subjected slander and
hate speech. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Jesus suffers with those who have suffered under toxic
theologies that dehumanise rather than liberate. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Jesus takes the shame that is often used to bully people
into submission by cowards in power and he takes it upon himself. In the crucifixion
we see more than a God who merely suffers physical pain for a few hours or even
an impassable God who doesn’t suffer at all. In the crucifixion Jesus shows us
a God who suffers with and for humanity. The crucified God is a graphic affirmation
of the loving God of justice portrayed by the prophets. It shows us a God who
is near to his people when they suffer, a God who grieves with his people, and
a God who suffers with his people. <br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I think that’s a far more compelling view of God and the
crucifixion.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> In
this view of God and the crucifixion we see a stunning climax of Christ’s earthly
ministry to the outcasts of society. The crucifixion of Christ becomes not just
a moment of reconciliation between God and humankind but a challenge to the
powers and principalities of this world. And before you breathe a sigh of
relief, this is a challenge to those of us who follow Jesus because it forces
us to confront our role in the systems that result in human suffering. We have
to consider the effects of our vote, our purchasing decisions, and our words on
others. We may even have to consider the effects of our theologies on others (do
we create theologies which prop up Empire or do we create theologies which
liberate people?). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After all, if Jesus stands in solidarity with those who
suffer then do we stand against Jesus when we wilfully support systems which
dehumanise others? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br />
<br />
Photo credit: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.flickr.com/photos/64749744@N00/33218094253%22%3EGOOD%20FRIDAY%3C/a%3E%20via%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://photopin.com%22%3Ephotopin%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%22https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/%22%3E(license)%3C/a%3E">babasteve</a> <br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> Or
she. I fully support woman becoming pastors. </div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Bart Ehrman has written a really good post about why Romans crucified people <a href="https://ehrmanblog.org/why-romans-crucified-people/">here</a>.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
And if this idea appeals to you I would highly recommend checking out the work
of Jürgen Moltmann (aka “the Theologian of Hope”). Moltmann is a German
theologian who was deeply impacted by his experiences in World War II and the
events of the Holocaust. He’s been a prominent figure in the “suffering God”
theology and what it means for the Kingdom of God. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-7412868713127193762017-03-28T21:54:00.001+13:002017-03-28T22:34:14.144+13:00Wait, Adam Had Two Wives!?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_bgamfNjUsPpSYx4IwNJHxRH4INs0YF3jocH0fAkwNRoBUQTXEB6s9StpmfG761JJDYy_XLhpT9LS_bI2We5KBJeqhPfDpGUaSCio7R7SZnIN5b34urJF7pnEnINlv2SjsFti69WrOs/s1600/Lilith_%2528John_Collier_painting%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_bgamfNjUsPpSYx4IwNJHxRH4INs0YF3jocH0fAkwNRoBUQTXEB6s9StpmfG761JJDYy_XLhpT9LS_bI2We5KBJeqhPfDpGUaSCio7R7SZnIN5b34urJF7pnEnINlv2SjsFti69WrOs/s320/Lilith_%2528John_Collier_painting%2529.jpg" width="167" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lilith</td></tr>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I recently had a bright young lady I know message me with a
rather odd question. Why does the Talmud say that Adam had a wife before Eve?
And if it’s true then why wasn’t it mentioned in the Genesis creation accounts?<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well it’s certainly true that certain Jewish texts refer to Adam
having a wife before Eve. The most famous one is The Alphabet of ben Sirach (although
contrary to the original question it is not part of the Talmud).<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
The story of Adam’s first wife sets out to fix a discrepancy in Scripture: why
does Genesis 1 state that man and woman were created simultaneously but Genesis
2 states that the man was created before the woman?<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
The answer is that God created two wives – one in chapter one (Lilith) and the
other (Eve) in chapter two. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And, believe it or not, Adam’s “first” wife is mentioned in
the Bible. Isaiah 34:12-14 states: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="text">They shall name it No Kingdom There,</span><br />
<span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text">and
all its princes shall be nothing.</span><br />
<span class="text"><sup><span id="en-NRSV-18317"> </span></sup>Thorns shall grow over
its strongholds,</span><br />
<span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text">nettles
and thistles in its fortresses.</span><br />
<span class="text">It shall be the haunt of jackals,</span><br />
<span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text">an
abode for ostriches.</span><br />
<span class="text"><sup><span id="en-NRSV-18318"> </span></sup>Wildcats shall meet
with hyenas,</span><br />
<span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text">goat-demons
shall call to each other;</span><br />
<span class="text">there too <b>Lilith</b> shall repose,</span><br />
<span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text">and
find a place to rest.</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wait why is she still alive during the time of Isaiah and
why is her description so unflattering? She must be the ex from hell! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well yeah, she is.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Lilith is literally a demon.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A Babylonian demon to be precise. And not just any demon. Lilith
is a demon that preys on pregnant women and their infants. She would later be
portrayed as a succubus (a female demon that seduces men). Did I mention that
her breasts excreted poison instead of milk? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And we know that the Jewish people took Lilith very
seriously because of artefacts that have been unearthed by archaeologists.
Charms bearing Lilith’s name would be placed around the necks of new-born
children because it was believed that Lilith would depart if she saw her name. “Incantation
bowls” from circa 700 C.E. have been found bearing Lilith’s image. The purpose
of these bowls was to trap demons. A sorcerer would fashion the bowl with the image
of a feared demon and written wards against the demon. The bowl would then be
place upside down under the floor of the house as a “demon trap”.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span>
</div>
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The author of the Alphabet of ben Sirach posits that Lilith
was created by God as the first wife for Adam.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a>
But all was not well in paradise for Lilith refused to submit to Adam, even
going as far as to refuse to be on bottom during sex.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam demands that Lilith perform her
wifely duties and Lilith demands that Adam gives her freedom. Eventually Lilith
utters the unspeakable name of God (the Tetragrammaton) and flies away to the
desert, paving the way for Eve to come into the story.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So is this story Scripture? </div>
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<br /></div>
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No.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Alphabet of ben Sirach’s earliest possible composition
date is 700 C.E., long after the biblical canon was decided. There is also no
evidence that it was considered an authoritative text. It is folklore rather
than Scripture. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So is it important?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I would tentatively say yes. I was chatting with some other
youth pastor friends about the topic of Lilith and one said that as something
not biblical it’s not worth pondering over. While I can see where they were
coming from, I respectfully disagree. After all, bright young people rarely
react positively to their questions being dismissed!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s why I think the story of Lilith is important to
address. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>It tells us how people thought about their world and how
it shaped their faith.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although I haven’t written about this topic on this blog,
anyone who has attended any of my sermons or talks on biblical interpretation
will know that I am big on the idea of reading religious texts within their
wider historical and cultural context, especially in comparison and contrast to
neighbouring cultures and religions.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a>
The reason for this is because people throughout history have held vastly
different worldviews to the modern Western worldview. Especially ancient Near
Eastern and Medieval Jews. While we may not believe that infant deaths were
caused by the interference, they did and it affected how they practiced their
faith (see: incantation bowls) and read Scripture. Reconstructing the ancient Near
Eastern view of Scripture is especially important because it helps to avoid
forcing modern ideas onto the Bible and lets us read Scripture for what it is.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>It shows us that religions change over time.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think one of the big pitfalls many modern evangelicals (especially
those belonging to the Hebrew Roots movement or Christian Zionism) fall into is
having a very romanticised view of Judaism where biblical Judaism is trapped
frozen in time. But the fact is that Judaism, just like Christianity, has
undergone a lot of change over the millenniums. Contrary to the popular view of
some atheists, religions are not static monoliths stubbornly resisting change. All
religions change and adapt in response to the changing culture, new questions,
and internal conflict. We can even see this in the Bible when the Jews were
sent into exile and had to wrestle with how they would practice their faith without
a temple. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the big problem is that not acknowledging that Judaism
has changed can lead to some rather embarrassing mistakes. They can be being
condescending or patronising towards Jewish people. Or they can be downright
cringe-inducing. Consider the controversy a pastor caused last year when he
placed a <i>tallit</i> <i>godal </i>(Jewish prayer shawl) on Donald Trump as a “symbol
of God’s anointing”, noting that it was “straight from Israel”. Many Jews were
offended that a Christian pastor would bestow a special symbol of Jewish
identity upon a man like Trump (one person compared it to a non-Catholic taking
the Eucharist because they fancied a snack or a rabbi giving another rabbi a
crucifix). Others were baffled and wondered if the pastor actually understood what
the tallit godal is. In her excellent article <i><a href="http://forward.com/opinion/349221/why-its-absurd-for-a-pastor-to-give-donald-trump-a-jewish-prayer-shawl/">Why
It’s Absurd for a Pastor to Give Donald Trump a Jewish Prayer Shawl</a></i>,
Jewish scholar Jen Taylor Friedman says that many Christians wear the tallit
godal under the impression that it’s what Jesus wore (Friedman calls it “playing
dress-up-as-Jesus”).<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a>
Except he probably didn’t. Friedman points out that the wearing of the tallit
godal is a late medieval development. But that doesn’t stop us from using a
garment of religious significance in every way that it wasn’t designed to be
used.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fact is that when you don’t acknowledge that religions
change and adapt you end up with a caricature of that religion and will make
any dialogue with people of that religion more difficult than it needs to be. And
for those who care about spreading the Gospel, we should remember that causing
undue offense is a really stupid thing to do and you might come across as a bit
of an idiot. And besides that, not claiming that you know more about someone
else’s religion is simply being a humble and decent human being. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And that is why I think it’s important to recognise that at
some point in history someone wrote a book about how Adam was married to a
demon.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[10]</span></span></span></span></a>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
Picture credit:<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith#/media/File:Lilith_(John_Collier_painting).jpg"> <i>Lilith</i> (1982) by John Collier</a>. Public domain. <br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
She asked me this because “I know things”. </div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> I
should note here that some scholars believe that this text is a satirical one
and one not meant to be taken seriously. However, the idea that Adam had a wife
before Eve appears in the earlier <a href="http://thoughtinflux.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/thoughts-on-darren-aronofskys-noah.html">midrash</a>
Genesis Rabbah. This post is written with the assumption that it’s a serious
piece of text because it acts as a springboard for what I want to talk about.
Keep that in mind. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> My
primary source for this post is an excellent article called <i><a href="http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/lilith/">Lilith</a>
</i>by Janet Howe Gaines over at the Biblical Archaeology Society. I would
recommend reading it if you want a more in-depth and scholarly treatment of the
subject than what I intend here (after you’ve finished reading this post of
course!). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Some translations use other words in place of Lilith (including “the night hag”
or “night creatures”).</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
Haaretz <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/life/.premium-1.778024">recently
published a story</a> about Dr. Naama Vilozny’s work on these bowls. I
recommend reading it for more information on incantation bowls. </div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> That
or Adam was using the world’s worst matchmaker website.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a>
Can you believe that they let me teach Sunday school? </div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a> One
of my big areas of interest is how the Genesis creation narratives take
elements of the pagan creation narratives to present a criticism of the
worldview of the surrounding cultures and to define Judaism as being a radically
different religion. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a> I’ve
heard one religious Jew refer to Christians who do this as “Jewish cosplayers” –
cosplay (a portmanteau of “costume play”) refers to <s>geeks</s> people who
design elaborate costumes of fictional characters and act like them at comic
conventions.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[10]</span></span></span></span></a>
And I guess some people can relate to that.</div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-19901728190446932062017-03-14T14:30:00.000+13:002017-03-14T14:30:56.916+13:00Must I Like My Enemies? <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><br /><br /><span class="woj"><i>“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love
your neighbour and hate your enemy.’</i></span><i> <span class="woj">But I tell
you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,<sup> </sup>that
you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the
evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.</span> <span class="woj"><sup> </sup>If you love those who love you, what reward will you
get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? – Matthew 5: 43-48</span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Love your enemies is easily one of the most annoying
commandments of Jesus. Partly because hating your enemies is a fantastic way to
feel smugly superior to them and partly because it’s so darn hard to do. And I
suck at it. I mean I wouldn’t wish death upon my enemies and I was pretty
disgusted at the crowds of people celebrating Osama Bin Laden’s death.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
And, as a follower of consistent life ethics, I’m staunchly anti-death penalty.
But part of me struggles with the whole loving part, especially when there’s a
good joke to be made at their expense. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And it’s because loving people we see as a threat is
incredibly hard and counterintuitive to our minds.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In fact, the Lutheran minister Nadia Bolz-Weber makes an
astute observation in her book <i>Pastrix</i>:<br /></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“Where exactly is the verse that says you shall love your
neighbour and hate your enemies? Because I hadn’t remembered reading that in
the Old Testament, which is where Jesus usually gets his best material.<br />
…<br />
Paul was right. It’s not in the Bible. But when I hung up, I realised why “love
your neighbour and hate your enemy” sounds so familiar… I’m pretty sure it’s in
my heart. It’s like, in my DNA.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Simply put, hating those who are different from us and who
we perceive to threaten us is part of our survival instincts. And Jesus’
command is that we are to go against these instincts if we are to follow his
new way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But for now let’s assume that we all agree with Jesus<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
and look at what I think is a more interesting question: Do I have to <i>like </i>my
enemy? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or put it another way: what the limits of loving your enemy?
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In fact, spend enough time on Christian message boards and
you’ll probably end up in a debate over whether the command to love your
enemies means you can keep a 12 gauge shotgun to shoot home intruders or is
Jesus limiting you to a single 9mm handgun? And this is a very real question
for some Christians who are facing actual persecution (i.e. actual death, not
“the cashier said happy holidays rather than merry Christmas”). And I’m
painfully aware that I can’t understand what they are going through, nor am I
going to pretend to. But I’m going to look at a Christian who did suffer grave
oppression: Martin Luther King Jr.<br /><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In his sermon <i>Loving Your Enemies</i>, King asks the
question of whether we are called to like our enemies. And his answer is no. In
fact he says that we should be glad that Jesus only commanded us to love our
enemies and not to like them because liking someone implies affection and
approval of their actions.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
<br /><br /><br />In his words:<br />
</div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“How can we be affectionate toward a person whose avowed aim is to crush our
very being and place innumerable stumbling blocks in our path? How can we like
a person who is threatening our children and bombing our homes? That is
impossible. But Jesus recognised that love is greater than like.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I think starting from here we can pinpoint to principles when it comes to
loving our enemies even if we don’t like them:<br /><br /></div>
<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1. <span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span></b><span dir="LTR"></span><b>We are called to
speak out against injustice without mirroring injustice.</b>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />One of the central themes of the Bible is the responsibility
of God’s people to confront injustice and protect the vulnerable. Isaiah 1:17<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a>
says </div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="line">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b><span class="text">Learn to do right; seek justice.</span><br />
<span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text">Defend
the oppressed.</span><br />
<span class="text">Take up the cause of the fatherless;</span><br />
<span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text">plead
the case of the widow.</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Bible is clear that all humans have an innate dignity
because they are made in the Image of God. And guess what, this includes our
enemies! <br /><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
King writes:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<br />
<blockquote>
<i>“Second, we must recognise that the evil deed of the
enemy-neighbour, the thing that hurts, never quite expresses all that he is. An
element of goodness may be found even in our worst enemy.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>…</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>This simply means that there is some good in the worst of
us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to
hate our enemies. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
When we look beneath the surface, beneath the impulsive evil deed, we see
within our enemy-neighbour a measure of goodness and know that the viciousness
and evilness of his acts are not quite representative of all that he is. We see
him in a new light. We recognise that his hate grows out of fear, pride,
ignorance, prejudice, and misunderstanding, but in spite of this, we God’s
image is ineffably etched in his being. Then we love our enemies by realising
that they are not totally bad and that they are not beyond the reach of God’s
redemptive love.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Any act of injustice mars the humanity of both the victim
and the perpetrator. The victim is dehumanised by the cruelty of the
perpetrator and the perpetrator is dehumanised by giving into cruelty and
prejudice. This can be because it stands in the way of peace that God intended
us to live in. As a prophetic voice we are required by God to speak out in
these situations. But the peace that the Bible talks about (<i>shalom</i>) is
not just the absence of conflict; it is the flourishing of humans in their
relationship with God and each other. Therefore Jesus does not command us to be
peacekeepers; he commands us to be <i>peacemakers</i> who seek the <i>reconciliation</i>
of victim and perpetrator and <i>restoration</i> of their shared humanity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2. <span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span></b><span dir="LTR"></span><b>We mustn’t spread
false witness against our enemies. </b>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />Or for those who don’t speak King James English: don’t
spread false rumours or allegations about your enemies. For one, it’s often
illegal. In most countries freedom of speech laws don’t extend to libel or
slander. But it’s also part of the Big Ten in the book of Exodus: do not bear
false witness against your neighbour. This commandment originally applied
within a legal sense within Israel. To bring false charges against another
Israelite was a very serious crime. In fact, if the judge discovered that you
had brought false charges in a criminal case you would often receive the
punishment for the crime you accused the defendant of committing (up to and
including execution!). </div>
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<br />James goes a step further and writes:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<blockquote>
“<span class="text">With the tongue we praise our Lord and
Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.</span>
<span class="text"><sup><span id="en-NIV-30330">10 </span></sup>Out of the same mouth
come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.</span>”
– James 3: 9-10</blockquote>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Again this theme of the dignity of humans comes up. When we
spread false words about our enemies we make it easier to demonise and
dehumanise them. When we lose sight of the humanity of others we lose
opportunities for reconciliation and the higher path of loving them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />There is also a pragmatic reason for not spreading lies
about our enemies: we can weaken our case by doing so when standing up to
injustice. There is a rhetorical technique/informal fallacy called
strawmanning. The straw man fallacy is when you take your opponent’s argument,
misrepresent it, and then “knock down” this distorted version of their words.
The problem is that while this may convince the impressionable, an intelligent
person will see through this and you will lose credibility in their eyes.
Instead, let your enemy’s words speak for themselves and let them be judged for
it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However way you decide to engage with your enemies you must
do so while remembering that they are fellow humans loved by God. Even though
it is really hard to do. It may be a cliché but Nietzsche was right when he
said “He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not
become a monster.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Post note: I have previously written an entry about what a Muslim taught me about loving your enemy <a href="http://thoughtinflux.blogspot.co.nz/2014/10/blogging-below-line-day-3.html">here</a>. </span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br />Photo credit: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.flickr.com/photos/40045573@N03/7072997273%22%3E#104/366%20Think%3C/a%3E%20via%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://photopin.com%22%3Ephotopin%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%22https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/%22%3E(license)%3C/a%3E">bobsfever</a> <br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Ah, there’s that smug sense of superiority. </div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Nadia Bolz-Weber, <i>Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint</i>
(New York: Jericho Books, 2014), loc1195.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
You wouldn’t want to be seen disagreeing with Jesus, would you? WOULD YOU?</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Martin Luther King, <i>A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other
Preachings</i>, The King Legacy Series (Boston: Beacon Press, 2012), 48.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
Ibid.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> If
you aren’t familiar with Isaiah he was a prophet in the Bible. Prophets were
people chosen by God to speak on God’s behalf to the people. Isaiah was so
important that he’s considered one of the “major” prophets and he has a really
long book in the Bible that’s kinda boring at first but gets really good about
halfway through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a>
Martin Luther King, <i>A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other
Preachings</i>, The King Legacy Series (Boston: Beacon Press, 2012), 47.</div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-83735913594948074812017-03-07T11:45:00.000+13:002018-04-02T11:58:21.626+12:00Reading the Bible is a Lot like Dating<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByQsPxF21qXZdPZj-sAZDRS6MUaBaUtHW6Vzv5Z83eFMR_AllLat0O6lbxuaQapktZna7JzUqd3N-LLLdU5zx0PZrjbrH5K9BdjmLq7SxefVFGS8gxtJTNKrE4eDsgy9vux6SFrq014E/s1600/stormtrooper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByQsPxF21qXZdPZj-sAZDRS6MUaBaUtHW6Vzv5Z83eFMR_AllLat0O6lbxuaQapktZna7JzUqd3N-LLLdU5zx0PZrjbrH5K9BdjmLq7SxefVFGS8gxtJTNKrE4eDsgy9vux6SFrq014E/s400/stormtrooper.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because I’m bad at it and most of the time I have no idea
what I’m doing. </span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />
But now that we have the obvious joke <span style="font-family: inherit;">out of the way</span>, I’m currently reading Peter Enns’ book The Sin of Certainty
and I came across this passage:</span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">""Speak for yourself. I'm not creating God in my
own image. I'm just following the Bible."<br />
No one just "follows" the Bible. We <i>interpret</i> it as people
with a past and present, and in community with others, within certain
traditions, none of which is absolute. Many factors influence how we
"follow" the Bible. None of us rises above our place in the human
drama and grasps God with pure clarity, without our own baggage coming along
for the ride. We all bring our broken and limited selves into how we think of
God."<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And I think that Enns is onto something. Often I have heard Christians
say “I’m just reading the Bible for what it says” when pressed on an issue or
even as an exhortation towards someone who takes a less literal reading of
Scripture. But are they really reading the Bible for it says? </span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />I don’t think so. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But first we have to look at a misunderstanding of an idea
called “the clarity of Scripture”. Popular within evangelical circles, the
clarity of Scripture is the belief that the meaning of the Bible can be grasped
by all people, both the educated and the uneducated. However, this idea is
sometimes taken beyond its limits to mean that the meaning of scripture is
always clear at the surface level. For example, one can read a passage and know
its true meaning instantly, often “due to the Holy Spirit”. And while I wouldn’t
say this never happens, I don’t think it’s the norm.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Consider how romantic relationships work in the Western
world. Often, the start of a successful romantic relationship is characterised
by first dates. Typically, these consist of asking questions about the person’s
job, family, upbringing, experiences in an effort to get to know them. We might
call this the act of <i>getting to know who the person says they are</i>. And
if there is a mutual attraction the relationship will progress past the early
stages and mature into something more. The couple experiences joy, pain, loss,
fights, love, and relies on each other for support. In this they get to <i>learn
who the person is</i>. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that many couples
with long-lasting marriages will talk about the joy (and sometimes frustration)
that can come from this deeper part of the relationship. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And reading the Bible is a similar experience. At first we
may read the Bible and see the meaning of the text that is most obvious to us.
But, to borrow an idea from Old Testament scholar John Walton, the Bible wasn’t
written to us.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></a> It
was written for us in the sense that it was written for all humankind, but it
was primarily written to an ancient audience (Israel) very different from our
own.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></a>
And they thought very differently than we do in our post-Greco-Roman Western
world. And it was a very strange world full of gods, chaos monsters, and values
far removed from our own. Furthermore, and this may raise some hackles amongst
my more conservative readers, the Bible doesn’t escape this ancient milieu.
Contrary to the popular idea, the Bible being God’s word doesn’t mean that it
was literally dictated by God. As any biblical studies student knows, the
result of this is that the Bible has the fingerprints of its ancient world all
over it. And this results in some very strange and sometimes disturbing things
in the Bible. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And sometimes we don’t know what to make of this.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And it can take a lot of humility to admit that we don’t
know.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Or we can go the other route and brush aside the areas that
don’t make sense to us or horrify us. Or we can even try to smooth these parts
out with simplistic explanations. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But a faithful reading of the Bible won’t let us do that. To
stay in the surface level of Scripture is to stay in the shallow end of the
pool where our feet touch the ground instead of kicking off to the deep end and
trusting in the buoyancy of the water to keep us afloat. It is to stay in the
early days of our dating where everything is giddy and light. But the Bible
calls to us to go deeper. It calls us to chew it over and wrestle with its
meaning.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span></span></a>
</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And just like in dating we bring our own baggage to the
table. We bring our hurts, our fears, our hopes, our culture, and our sometimes
just bad ideas with us into any relationship we enter.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></span></span></a>
And surprise, surprise, we bring all of this to our efforts to interpret the
Bible. The most obvious is that we bring our own culture to the text. Consider
the fact that an American evangelical is probably going to have a different
understanding of certain passages than, for example, a Palestinian Christian.
If the distorted version of the clarity of Scripture is true who gets to claim
that they have the right understanding of Scripture?<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></span></span></a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But it’s not just our culture that affects how we read the
Bible. Were you raised with an image of an angry vengeful God waiting to punish
anyone who even thinks out of line? Were you raised with an image of a loving
God who gives grace to all you ask for it and understands our sufferings? The
chances are that these are going to affect the way you read Scripture. Even
your level and field of education is going to influence your reading of
Scripture.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Does this mean that the meaning of Scripture is some post-modern, relativistic mess of whatever we make of it? Of course not. One of
the key principles of biblical interpretation is the striving to understand
what the original author meant within their own culture. And while we can never
escape our biases, we can be mindful of them and try to minimise their
influence on our attempt to understand what the original author meant.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[7]</span></span></span></a>
</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One closing thought: wrestling with Scripture is a good thing.
Asking questions of Scripture is a good thing. It’s a mark of spiritual
maturity. But we were created to wrestle and mature within the context of
community. And a healthy faith community is characterised by being safe to ask
the difficult questions, and maybe more importantly, the questions being
acknowledged instead of being brushed off aside. As <a href="http://thoughtinflux.blogspot.co.nz/2014/06/the-loneliness-of-doubting.html">I’ve written about before</a>, communities play a huge role in how an individual works through
their doubts. Be that safe community. Don’t resort to easy answers. It may be
scary but kicking off from the safety of the shallow end often is. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br /><br />photo credit: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.flickr.com/photos/45940879@N04/7658081474%22%3Estage%20fright%3C/a%3E%20via%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://photopin.com%22%3Ephotopin%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%22https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/%22%3E(license)%3C/a%3E">Kalexanderson</a> </span></span>
<br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a> Peter
Enns, <i>The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our</i> (HarperOne,
2016), 17.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></a> John
H. Walton, <i>The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins
Debate</i> (IVP Academic, 2010), 9.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></a>
Ibid.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span></span></a> Don’t
worry; God is cool with us wrestling with His word. In fact, the name Israel means
“God contended” or (very loosely) “he who wrestles with God”.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></span></span></a> I’m
full of bad ideas. Like that time as a youth pastor when I interpreted Jesus’
command to be fishers of men literally and drove a pair of trucks with a
dragnet between them through the local school. </span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></span></span></a> My
money is on the Palestinian Christian seeing as Palestine is the birthplace of
Christianity and is closer to Jesus’ culture than the American so-called “Judeo-Christian”
culture is.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[7]</span></span></span></a> One
of my lecturers in theological college was a former microbiologist who
specialised in the field of virology. I remember in one class he explained that
scientists aren’t always as objective as they’re popularly portrayed and they
often have to fight their expectations for the experiment (this isn’t a slight
against the work scientists do. Scientists are awesome). </span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-60026479368153868332014-10-09T16:31:00.004+13:002014-10-09T16:31:44.788+13:00Blogging Below the Line Day 4<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE413y5cdx30kaB5vdNx1PwmJdJGh3UKvtRNDbc1wFeUtA8FwEolNp2axTwQpjiwe0jJUZtTvnGhUxDdTaS4pdsAlogExAjvHcfcUJsGVgVcSPiaxhj4X-vw55V_i7fp5Ng8hwaq_LuWw/s1600/origin_5884796087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE413y5cdx30kaB5vdNx1PwmJdJGh3UKvtRNDbc1wFeUtA8FwEolNp2axTwQpjiwe0jJUZtTvnGhUxDdTaS4pdsAlogExAjvHcfcUJsGVgVcSPiaxhj4X-vw55V_i7fp5Ng8hwaq_LuWw/s1600/origin_5884796087.jpg" height="263" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Homesickness" by Kristina Alexanderson Source: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/photo%20credit:%20%3Ca%20href=%22https://www.flickr.com/photos/kalexanderson/5884796087/%22%3EKalexanderson%3C/a%3E%20via%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://photopin.com%22%3Ephotopin%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/%22%3Ecc%3C/a%3E">Photopin</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Meals</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Breakfast: N/A<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
<br />
Lunch: Omelette (1 egg) and 30g of rice. One glass of budget cola (200ml).<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><br />
Dinner: Pizza dough with quarter of a can of spaghetti. One glass of budget
cola (200ml).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Total Kj consumed: 2905j</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Total burnt off through exercise: 532kj</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Recommended minimum Kj intake: 4187kj<br />
If every day was like today: I’d lose 9kg over 5 weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Observations</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They say that the second and third days of Live Below the
Line are the hardest. I disagree. Today is the hardest. I’m just so sick of
tasteless food and all I can think about is chocolate, bacon, and chicken, and
how this will all be over soon.<br />
<br />
Also, I’ve started having nightmares about Live Below the Line. Well not full
on nightmares but I keep dreaming that I’m halfway through a really nice meal
and then I remember I’m actually supposed to be doing the challenge, and that
I’ve cheated everyone who sponsored me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the bright side, I’m going out for breakfast on Saturday
morning. Baaaacon…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Reflection </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I recently came across the Parable of the Rapture by
theologian/philosopher Peter Rollins. I think it provides a very interesting spin
on the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats found in Matthew 25:31-46.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y5QGR0BgTWI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I really like this spin on the parable because it confronts
the idea that the Gospel is all about shooting off to Heaven after you die to
go and live in the clouds to escape the fate of earth. Although this is a very
popular view in the Church today, I think more and more people are coming
around to realise that this simply isn’t all that Biblical and that the Gospel
is as much about life BEFORE death as it is about life AFTER death.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In his latest book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Surprised-Scripture-Engaging-Contemporary-Issues/dp/0062230530/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1412824089">Surprised
by Scripture</a>, the prominent New Testament scholar N.T. Wright writes:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The early Christians were not very interested, in the way
our world has been interested, in what happens to people immediately after they
die. They were extremely interested in a topic many Western Christians in the
last few hundred years have forgotten about altogether, namely the final new creation,
new heavens and new earth joined together, and the resurrection of the body
that will create new human beings to live in that new world.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He goes on to write:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But what is inheritance? Here centuries of the Western
Christian tradition have given the emphatic, though often implicit, reply:
heaven. Heaven is our home, our inheritance; we have reread the story of the
Exodus in those terms, with the crossing of the Jordan symbolizing, as in <i>Pilgrim’s
Progress</i>, by John Bunyan, the bodily death that will bring us to heaven
itself, the Canaan for which we long. But 0 and this, as you will realize, is
the whole point I’ve taken so long to get to – <i>this is precisely not what
Paul says</i>. What he says would have been clear had not the whole Western
tradition been determined to look the other way at the crucial point. The inheritance
is not heaven. Nor is it Palestine, a small geographical strip in the Middle
East. The inheritance is the whole renewed, restored creation. I will say it
again: <i>the whole world is now God’s holy land. </i>That is how Paul’s retold
Exodus narrative makes full and complete sense. And that, I suggest, is the
ground plan for a fully biblical, fully Christian view of creation and of our responsibility
towards it.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seriously, if you haven’t read his book go out and buy it
now.</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Okay so I know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day but I just
could not stomach eating porridge today.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Okay so I know that I rationed myself to one glass a day but I’m under budget
for today so I figured why not?</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> I wrote
about this in two of my earliest posts: “<a href="http://thoughtinflux.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/citizens-of-heaven.html">Citizens
of Heaven?</a>” and “<a href="http://thoughtinflux.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/forgetting-gospel.html">Forgetting
the Gospel</a>” </div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> N
T. Wright, <i>Surprised by Scripture: Engaging Contemporary Issues</i> (New
York: HarperOne, 2014), loc1281.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> N
T. Wright, <i>Surprised by Scripture: Engaging Contemporary Issues</i> (New
York: HarperOne, 2014), loc1415.</div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-17297512742031554742014-10-09T14:58:00.001+13:002014-10-09T16:03:32.964+13:00Blogging Below the Line Day 3<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QguDPr2sZ-ZM6OzUjIY5I7DNrVqId-1C-7Yr-cf9t8wKeYog44fqib1KN3BeHkH-SuT2omvhrlyCfOIMBE0NKl3xy6mQgJQjAx6g7F02f6NH00hG1dji2HcJrpYqgFSBZca2_7FkcBs/s1600/origin_5432140973.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QguDPr2sZ-ZM6OzUjIY5I7DNrVqId-1C-7Yr-cf9t8wKeYog44fqib1KN3BeHkH-SuT2omvhrlyCfOIMBE0NKl3xy6mQgJQjAx6g7F02f6NH00hG1dji2HcJrpYqgFSBZca2_7FkcBs/s1600/origin_5432140973.jpg" height="320" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish, Source: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/photo%20credit:%20%3Ca%20href=%22https://www.flickr.com/photos/speakingoffaith/5432140973/%22%3EOn%20Being%3C/a%3E%20via%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://photopin.com%22%3Ephotopin%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/%22%3Ecc%3C/a%3E">Photopin</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Meals</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Breakfast: Porridge (100g) <br />
Lunch: N/A (I didn’t have time for lunch today).<br />
Dinner: Pizza dough with quarter of a can of spaghetti.. One glass of budget
cola (250ml).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Total Kj consumed: 2416kj</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Total burnt off through exercise: 1202kj</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Recommended minimum Kj intake: 4187kj<br />
If every day was like today: I’d lose 10kg over 5 weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Observations</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think my body is starting to adapt to not having much to
eat. I have to say though that I was really tempted by the free jelly beans I
was given at the video store. I have found though that is a lot harder to
concentrate for long periods of time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Reflection – I Shall Not Hate</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Matthew 5:43-48 Love Your Enemies </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="woj"><sup> </sup>“You have heard that it was
said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’<sup data-cr="#cen-NIV-23278B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-23278B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)"> </sup>But I tell you, love your enemies and
pray for those who persecute you,</span> that you may be children of your
Father in heaven.”<b><i> </i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These words are no less challenging today than they were two
thousand years ago when Jesus preached them. But back then the Jews were
residing under Roman occupation and they hated the Romans. As far as they were
concerned the land belonged to them and the Romans had to leave – and some (the
Zealots) weren’t opposed to using violence to achieve this goal. But Jesus
turns this around and tells them that they are actually to love the Romans. But
I think that Jesus understood that violence and hatred just perpetuate more
violence and hatred. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now I have a hard enough time consistently loving those who
annoy me, let alone those who are trying to kill me.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
And that’s why when I read Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish’s simultaneously heart-breaking
and inspiring autobiography <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shall-Not-Hate-Doctors-Journey/dp/B0071UFI04">I
Shall Not Hate</a> I found myself extremely challenged. The book takes you from
his childhood growing up in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, through his
struggle to get an education in refugee schools, through to the climax of the
book: his experience during the 2008-2009 Gaza War. Abuelaish recounts in
horrific detail what it was like to live under siege trapped in his house,
including the experience of his whole family sleeping in one room with the kids
spread out across different walls so that if a shell hit their wall not all of
them would be killed.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
But nothing prepares you for the horrific description he gives of the fateful
day on 12<sup>th</sup> December when his house was targeted by tanks (a warning
that his description is pretty graphic): <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There was a monstrous explosion that seemed to be all
around us, and a thundering, fulminating sound that penetrated my body as
though it were coming from within me. I remember the sound. I remember the
blinding flash. Suddenly it was pitch-dark, there was dust everywhere, something
was sucking the air out of me, I was suffocating. Abdullah was still on my
shoulders, Raffah came running screaming from the kitchen, Mohammed stood
frozen at the front door. As the dust began to settle, I realized the explosion
had come from my daughters’ bedroom. I put Abdullah down, and Bessan ran ahead
of me from the kitchen—we wound up at the bedroom door at the same time. The
sight in front of me was something I hope no other person ever has to witness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bedroom furniture,
school books, dolls, running shoes and pieces of wood were splintered in a
heap, along with the body parts of my daughters and my niece. Shatha was the
only one standing. Her eye was on her cheek, her body covered in bloody
puncture wounds, her finger hanging by a thread of skin. I found Mayar’s body
on the ground; she’d been decapitated. There was brain material on the ceiling,
little girls’ hands and feet on the floor as if dropped there by someone who
left too quickly. Blood spattered the entire room, and arms in familiar sweaters
and legs in pants that belonged to my children leaned at crazed angles where
they had blown off the torsos of my beloved daughters and niece. I ran to the
front door for help but realized I couldn’t go outside because there were
soldiers on the street. A second rocket smashed into the room while I was at
the door. To this day I am not absolutely certain about who was killed when.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I couldn’t find Bessan (aged 21) and kept calling her name: “Bessen,
Bessan, where are you? Tell me where you are so I can help you.” But she was
now dead, along with Mayar (aged 15). So was Aya (aged 14) and so was Noor (niece,
aged 17).”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
<i>[Ages added]</i></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now if there’s someone who deserves to be able to hate
someone it’s Abuelaish. One cannot fathom the grief he must have felt,
especially so soon after losing his wife to illness. But this is where the real
lesson of his life comes in: He chose not to hate the people who took his
daughters’ lives.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Reflecting on the incident he writes:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My three precious daughters and my niece are dead. Revenge,
a disorder that is endemic in the Middle East, won’t get them back for me. It
is important to feel anger in the wake of events like this; anger that signals
that you do not accept what has happened, that spurs you to make a difference.
But you have to choose not to spiral into hate. All the desire for revenge and
hatred does is drive away wisdom, increase sorrow, and prolong strife. The
potential good that could come out of this soul-searing bad is that together we
might bridge the fractious divide that has kept us apart for six decades.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And this, I think, is what it means to love your enemies. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">If you would like to donate to my campaign you can do so here: <a href="https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/micahd">https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/micahd</a></span></i></b> </div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> I’m
sure there are a few out there who want to do this.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> Izzeldin
Abuelaish, <i>I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey On the Road to Peace
and Human Dignity</i>, u.s. ed. (New York, NY: Walker & Co., 2011), xv.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> Izzeldin
Abuelaish, <i>I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey On the Road to Peace
and Human Dignity</i>, u.s. ed. (New York, NY: Walker & Co., 2011), 176-177.</div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> Izzeldin
Abuelaish, <i>I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey On the Road to Peace
and Human Dignity</i>, u.s. ed. (New York, NY: Walker & Co., 2011), 196.</div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-15262061013956645252014-10-08T16:46:00.001+13:002014-10-08T16:46:26.102+13:00Blogging Below the Line Day 2<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxvyx82D20-wtPRrRNGVU3hfIcocTwFcnRgRxJ90R2DfFo6iGkuBbrEoxFsZ5F-QctijeAyOPHgiPqCotm7kXg65Rvy43WxboXJUcHncuZ0vPII6iM6vYandbUuiG4O3Y8akrrIJsyIw/s1600/origin_9163338961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxvyx82D20-wtPRrRNGVU3hfIcocTwFcnRgRxJ90R2DfFo6iGkuBbrEoxFsZ5F-QctijeAyOPHgiPqCotm7kXg65Rvy43WxboXJUcHncuZ0vPII6iM6vYandbUuiG4O3Y8akrrIJsyIw/s1600/origin_9163338961.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Source: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/photo%20credit:%20%3Ca%20href=%22https://www.flickr.com/photos/renaud-camus/9163338961/%22%3ERenaud%20Camus%3C/a%3E%20via%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://photopin.com%22%3Ephotopin%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/%22%3Ecc%3C/a%3E">Photopin/Renaud Camus</a><b><br /></b></i></td></tr>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Meals</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Breakfast: Porridge (100g) <br />
Lunch: Pizza dough with quarter of a can of spaghetti.<br />
Dinner: Spiral pasta (50g) with frozen vegetables (50g). One glass of budget
cola (250ml).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Total Kj consumed: 3286</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Total burnt off through exercise: N/A (I stayed inside and
watched Lord of the Rings)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Recommended minimum Kj intake: 4187kj<br />
If every day was like today: I’d lose 8kg over 5 weeks. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Observations</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today was a bit harder. I really started to feel the hunger
about 2pm. I also started to really feel the effects of not eating as much as I
usually would in regards to energy levels. I just felt completely flat today. Also
I’m really starting to crave sushi. And yoghurt. The problem is that I gave all
the packets of chips and chocolate biscuits to my sister to store at her place
so they wouldn’t tempt me, but I didn’t thing to give her the pottles of
yoghurt in my fridge as well. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Reflection – Won’t you be my neighbour? </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Luke 10 25-37: The Good Samaritan</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This episode starts when “an expert of the Law [of Moses]” (i.e.
a religious expert) asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So Jesus turns the question back on him and
asks him what is written in the Law. The expert replies correctly by quoting Deuteronomy
6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 – Love God with all your being and love your neighbour.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a> But then it says that the expert seeks to justify himself
and asks “well, who is my neighbour?”
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This may seem odd at first, after all he is an expert of the
Law, and he should know the answer. And he does know the answer. At least he
thinks he does. This is where knowing the historical context comes in handy. At
the time there was a debate between religious scholars over what the Old
Testament meant by “neighbour”; in particular they would point to an apocryphal
Jewish wisdom book called Sirach which contained a passage admonishing readers
not to help a sinner. So the expert is asking Jesus to vindicate his
interpretation of Scripture, either to win a debate he was having or to justify
the way he lives his life. He is essentially asking “who can I get away with
not loving?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So Jesus tells a story of a Jewish man going down from Jerusalem
to Jericho, a treacherous road infamous for bandit attacks. The man (unsurprisingly)
ends up being mugged, beaten half to death, and left naked. A Jewish priest
walks by and does nothing. Second a Levite (another holy man) walks by and also
does nothing. Finally, a Samaritan arrives on the scene. Now it’s a shame that
the word Samaritan is a positive word associated with helpfulness because that
certainly isn’t the case within Jesus’ context. The Samaritans were Jews who
had mixed with other races and breed with them. The Jews and the Samaritans <b>really</b>
did not like each other. Think of them as the first century equivalent of the
Bloods and the Crips.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But instead of walking by, the Samaritan takes pity on the
man and uses his own supplies to tend to his wounds. He then drops him off at a
local inn, pays for it out of his own pocket and offers to pay more the next
time he’s in town if the bill comes to be higher. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now Jesus knows that he has the expert trapped.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
He very pointedly asks “Now who do you think was a neighbour to the man?” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The expert knows what the implications are. The Samaritan,
the half-bred the Jews looked down upon, was following the Law of Moses better
than the so-called pious Jewish leaders. The expert admits that it was “the one
who took pity on him” (notice how he can’t bring himself to say “the Samaritan”).
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To which Jesus replies “Now go and do likewise.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now it’s easy for us to look at the story and condemn the
Jews and the Samaritans for their bigotry towards each other. After-all, the Samaritans
were essentially just Jews who believed in inter-racial marriage! But Rev. Stephen
Sizer brings up a really good point about the story: the fact that the man was
naked and unconscious isn’t incidental. These details form a dilemma for all
who came across the beaten man: without being able to judge from his dress or
accent they can’t tell whether he was one of “us” or one of “them”. The man
lying on the road is a human being!<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Now this should give make us pause for thought: In what ways
do we, personally, judge people as being unworthy of our love? <b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">If you would like to donate to my campaign you can do so here: <a href="https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/micahd">https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/micahd</a> </span></i></b></div>
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<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Jesus was clever like that.</div>
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<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hzmRn2W4V8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hzmRn2W4V8</a></div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-1567461516370172762014-10-07T12:40:00.004+13:002014-10-07T12:42:34.457+13:00Blogging Below the Line: Day 1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<i> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7x7svHBsfmGKauxONZzA9FN5XHKTN0NZa28A2OEYkiaYveqaV0PIeVJVHx4nMdO1bJFto-KQVFdW_Sk7YtFPurq-fx8znYZCQdhj6H6Fadb0QuBRGouHDUvknF1-pQsJNOBM3grojkc/s1600/origin_3125693592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7x7svHBsfmGKauxONZzA9FN5XHKTN0NZa28A2OEYkiaYveqaV0PIeVJVHx4nMdO1bJFto-KQVFdW_Sk7YtFPurq-fx8znYZCQdhj6H6Fadb0QuBRGouHDUvknF1-pQsJNOBM3grojkc/s1600/origin_3125693592.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/photo%20credit:%20%3Ca%20href=%22https://www.flickr.com/photos/eworm/3125693592/%22%3Eeworm%3C/a%3E%20via%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://photopin.com%22%3Ephotopin%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/%22%3Ecc%3C/a%3E">Photopin.</a></td></tr>
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<i>Don’t know what Live Below the Line is? Read today’s
reflection at the bottom of this post first.</i><br />
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<br /></div>
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<b>Meals</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>This section will contain my meals for the day plus
information on the kjs I consume through eating, those I burn off through
exercise, and a projected weight loss amount that I would experience if I lived
in extreme poverty for five weeks.</i><br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Breakfast: Porridge (100g) <br />
Lunch: Rice (20g) and frozen vegetables (30g)<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><br />
Dinner: Pizza dough with quarter of a can of spaghetti. One glass of budget
cola (250ml).<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Total Kj consumed: 2760</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Total burnt off through exercise: 1096 </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Recommended Kj intake: 4187kj<br />
If every day was like today: I’d lose 10kg over 5 weeks. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Observations: <br />
</b><i>This section will include my random observations throughout the day on
what it feels like –both mentally and physically - to live under the extreme
poverty line in regards to diet.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br />
</b>I’m feeling a bit optimistic but also pretty tired at the same time. I
really didn’t expect to feel the effects of not eating my normal amount so
quickly. The hardest part of the day was surprisingly not catching up with a
friend at McDonald’s while he ate lunch but walking back past Pizza Hut and
having the smell waft down the road at me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Reflection</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Each day I’ll be writing a reflection on issues to do
with poverty in this section. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
What is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Below_the_Line">Live Below
the Line</a> and why am I doing it? LBTL is a global anti-poverty campaign in
which participants live below the Extreme Poverty Line (US$1.50/£1/NZ$2.25) in
regards to their diet for five days.<b> </b>Participants choose a charity partner
and any money they raise through sponsorship goes to a project run by their
chosen charity. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My charity partner is World Vision. In particular I am
raising money for the World Vision Children of War Rehabilitation Centre in
Gulu, Uganda. This centre works to rehabilitate former child-soldiers who have
escaped from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s_Resistance_Army">Lord’s
Resistance Army</a>. The LRA came back into the spotlight thanks to the KONY
2012 campaign and the film <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Gun_Preacher">Machine Gun Preacher</a>.
But getting child soldiers out of the LRA is only the first step to helping
them. Many of them were kidnapped from their villages and subjected to
psychological abuse in order to keep them too afraid to leave the LRA. Many
were forced to kill a friend or family member to avoid being executed
themselves. On top of this, they also miss out on an education – one of the key
things needed to escape poverty. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An excerpt from an Al-Jazerra <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2014/05/former-lra-child-soldiers-return-home-20145215175373392.html">article
on the centre</a> describes what happens to child soldiers well:</div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Bala
Walter says the first time he killed a child was when he was 13 years old.
"I was told to hit one to death. I had to do it. Definitely that is what
had to happen, or else they killed you." He says he cannot really remember
how many more people he killed after that. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He had
been abducted from his village in northern Uganda, by rebels from the Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA). Typically, the LRA forced newly-abducted children to
kill their friends or relatives, in extremely cruel ways, so that they were
themselves brutalised, terrified of the same fate, and also scared of reprisals
if they ran home. The tactic was effective in Walter's case. He was abducted in
1997 and did not dare try to escape from the rebel group for 17 years.” </span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what does the Children of War Rehabilitation Centre do to
help the former child-soldiers?</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span>Provides food and shelter.</li>
<li><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Provides medical treatment
and HIV and AIDS education.</li>
<li><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Provides psychosocial counselling
and vocational training.</li>
<li><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Provides education on how
to function in society, including basic laws.</li>
<li><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Helps to reconcile former
child soldiers with their families (this can be extra difficult if they were forced
to kill a family member).</li>
<li><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Provides spiritual care
including opportunities to hear the Gospel. </li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Since 1995, they have rehabilitated 14,000 children back
into their communities.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Dennis Ocan, a former child soldier who was helped by the
clinic <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2014/05/former-lra-child-soldiers-return-home-20145215175373392.html">says
it best</a>:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I just feel joy. I am so happy. It is going to be difficult
for me find a livelihood because I missed out on school, but anything at home
will still be better than the bush.” </div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
If you would like to donate to my campaign you can do so
here: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/micahd">https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/micahd</a></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> I
didn’t intend to eat this little. It kind of just happened.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> It
may seem odd to be consuming budget cola if I’m trying to replicate poverty. In
some poorer places where water is unsafe to drink cola and other fizzy drinks are
cheaper options than bottled water. Also I need something sweet to look forward
to after spending a whole day eating bland food.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> http://www.worldvision.org/news/uganda-continues-recovery-after-konys-reign-terror</div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-40634724630482936872014-08-28T14:28:00.002+12:002014-08-28T17:39:57.223+12:00Walking With Those Who Doubt<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnyZNXlqpeuLKvReBi7KgSXKf-reLcWAgLeaw6pQDbpQzXL8JbbUqzYCSTf_7ZKja6numM5N0lbRTd2IPUYBPrc4LC006h00ZIfaICaHybvd4Kuv9vUCAQ6t3fBg7YoNGMvHbeRLsdqlQ/s1600/origin_7173571865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnyZNXlqpeuLKvReBi7KgSXKf-reLcWAgLeaw6pQDbpQzXL8JbbUqzYCSTf_7ZKja6numM5N0lbRTd2IPUYBPrc4LC006h00ZIfaICaHybvd4Kuv9vUCAQ6t3fBg7YoNGMvHbeRLsdqlQ/s1600/origin_7173571865.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/photo%20credit:%20%3Ca%20href=%22https://www.flickr.com/photos/kalexanderson/7173571865/%22%3EKalexanderson%3C/a%3E%20via%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://photopin.com%22%3Ephotopin%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/%22%3Ecc%3C/a%3E">Photopin</a></td></tr>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_UsXs4t3DjZCCIkVNg-k-pbWuZo226olOmnCM1oRWKHFEJv3-yzojSXFCI74Ed3_VxqKnI5XVpAZaQXvnVmU7BGWGN7D_Yotij4M9fCgaGi2cvBM23Aary0LUM19ulzEKkaAW57IRaA/s1600/Hotus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have a problem.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I’m a guy.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">This means when someone comes to me with a problem my first
instinct is to fly into problem-solving mode. I want to give people five easy
steps to fix their problem so they can stop worrying about the problem rather
than being particularly sympathetic.<a href="http://<sup><a title="Footnote text here.">3</a></sup>"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Case in point: The reason I’m very open about my struggles
with doubt is so that I can be more approachable for those dealing with doubt.
I want to help them through what I went through. So when a fellow student
mentioned some doubts he was having I sprang into action. You see he had asked
a theology lecturer what he thought of Adam and Eve in context of the
creation/evolution debate. The lecturer, being a former biologist, gave him a
very different answer to the one he was used to. This, understandably, lead the
student to become very confused as to what to believe. This is where I sprang
into action with my vast library of books on the subject. I immediately went
through a list of books he could read on the subject. I told him to read
chapters nine and ten of Denis Alexander’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Creation-Evolution-Do-Have-Choose/dp/0825462924">Creation
or Evolution: Do We Have to Choose?</a>, Francis Collins’ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Language-God-Scientist-Presents-Evidence/dp/1416542744/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409177852&sr=1-1&keywords=the+language+of+god">The
Language of God</a>, and John Walton’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lost-World-Genesis-One-Cosmology/dp/0830837043/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409177918&sr=1-1&keywords=the+lost+world+of+genesis+one">The
Lost World of Genesis One</a>.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></a></span></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">But I’ve recently come to wonder if that was really the
right way to handle the situation. The student’s problem wasn’t that he hadn’t
been given answers, it was that he had experienced a whole paradigm shift where
what he thought was true wasn’t lining up with new information. He had to
rethink his metanarrative. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Perhaps my latest episode with doubt illustrates this better.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Those who know me well will know that I particularly have a
heart for the Palestinian people, a people loved by God but often marginalised
by the evangelical church.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></a>
Within the past few days a long-term ceasefire was announced to end seven weeks
of fighting between the IDF and Hamas, a conflict that has cost the lives 64
Israeli soldiers, six Israeli civilians, and 2,139 Gazans, with an estimated
71-76.8% of those Gazans being innocent civilians.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span></span></a>
Of the Gazan dead <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/gaza/11056976/The-children-killed-in-Gaza-during-50-days-of-conflict.html">504
are children</a> with a further 3,000 wounded, and many more homeless,
orphaned, or in need of trauma counselling.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></span></span></a></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">How can one’s heart not be broken at the suffering of the
children in a war they never asked to be a part of? But surely the Western
world, the champions of freedom and justice, will address these war crimes?
Nope. Many Western countries are trying to block an investigation by the International
Criminal Court, and Israel are blocking Amnesty International and Human Rights
Watch investigators from entering Gaza and have indicated that they will not
cooperate with a UN Human Rights Council investigation, despite the fact that
all three of these organisations would be investigating war crimes committed by
Hamas just as much as those by Israel.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></span></span></a></span></span>
</div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">And the real sucker punch is that
factions within the evangelical church have been defending war crimes committed
by both sides. How do reconcile this with the charge to seek justice, love
compassion, and be humble before God (Micah 6:8), or to let justice roll on
like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream (Amos 5:24), or
Christ’s declaration that it is the peacemakers, not the warmakers, that are
blessed in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 5:9)? No matter who you think was in the
right or the wrong (or if you think both are wrong), we are called to be a
people who thirst for God’s love and justice in the world above all other
political aspirations. </span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">And don’t get me started on the
rest of the suffering in the world.</span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">This lead me to call out to God
in prayer recently “Why is there no justice in the world? Why do wicked people
who care more about power than people prosper? In the Bible you intervened when
this stuff happened so where are you now?”</span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Of course I know all the
theological reasons for why there is evil in the world: we live in a sinful,
fallen world, and like the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+13%3A24-30&version=NIV">Parable
of the Wheat and the Weeds</a> the Kingdom of Evil and the Kingdom of God will
grow together until Christ comes back and defeats evil and death. I know the
apologetic answers to the problem of evil.</span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">But somehow that doesn’t bring me
any comfort.</span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">My favourite Christian blogger,
Randall Hardman, <a href="http://thebarainitiative.com/the-more-knowledge-the-more-pain/">wrote a
brilliant post</a> recently on the problem of the knowledge of evil and it’s
been weighing heavily on my mind. He writes:</span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>“There is a reason why, I
think, so many of the philosophers, theologians, poets, and novelists who have
attempted to treat the topic of evil through the centuries have found
themselves in logical, existential, and emotional nihilism. It’s because this
is where evil leads. There is no comprehension of The Shoah; there is no
sufficient rationalization for genocide of any group of individuals (including
those spoken about in the Bible); God’s glory is a terrible reason for tsunamis
that take out entire nations or planes that fly into buildings. There is no
logical theory as to why a child loses a parent or why a three year old
develops incurable cancer.</i><i>”</i></span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i>
</span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">And this, I think, is the failure
of modern Christian apologetics. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against
apologetics. I believe we should have answers to tough questions, and I have
even taught apologetics workshops. But the problem with apologetics is that the
intellectual arguments will ultimately fail you when your doubts are emotional.
No argument is going to convince you when your doubts are born out of the pain
and anguish of losing a child. </span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">And that’s what my doubts are.
Emotional. They’re born out of heartbrokenness and anger and rage against the
injustice and suffering in the world.</span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">And this is where I think the
experience of hotus comes in. </span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Don’t try to Google the term,
it’s a made-up term. I heard it at a recent youth ministry conference in a talk
about relational youth ministry. The speaker said it was a word his three year
old had made up to describe that experience when you’re all alone and crying
and there’s no one there to be with you. And while the context of this talk was
about ministering to people who are hurting, I think it’s also applicable to
those who doubt. </span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the spoken word poem, <a href="http://www.theliturgists.com/garden/">Saturday</a>, Rachel Held Evans
says the following words:<br />
<br />
</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
<i>“But you won't know how to explain that there is nothing nominal or
lukewarm or indifferent about standing in this hurricane of questions every day
and staring each one down until you've mustered all the bravery and fortitude
and trust it takes to whisper just one of them out loud on the car ride home: <br />
<br />
"What if we made this up because we're afraid of death?" <br />
<br />
And you won't know how to explain why, in that moment when the whisper rose out
of your mouth like Jesus from the grave, you felt more alive and awake and
resurrected than you have in ages because at least it was out, at least it was
said, at least it wasn't buried in your chest anymore, clawing for freedom. <br />
<br />
And, if you're lucky, someone in the car will recognize the bravery of the act.
If you're lucky, there will be a moment of holy silence before someone wonders
out loud if such a question might put a damper on Easter brunch. <br />
<br />
But if you're not—if the question gets answered too quickly or if the silence
goes on too long—please know you are not alone.”</i></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">And maybe this is
what it means to walk with those who doubt. Just as our job is not so much to
fix the hurting as it is to support them, maybe sometimes the best thing we can
do for those who doubt is not to give them easy answers but to simply sit with
them in their doubt. </span></span></div>
<div class="lang-en" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br clear="all" /></span></span>
<br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a>
I’ve been told I should work on this before I get married.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></a>
Seriously, John Walton’s book is amazing. It completely changed how I read
Genesis 1.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></a> I
do have hope for change though. A recent issue of ICEJ’s Word From Jerusalem
lamented that <i>“For many decades, Evangelical support for Israel seemed rock
solid. Today, however, many younger Christians in Western churches are hesitant
to give Israel the same unconditional support which their parents did. Stories
of Palestinian suffering have attracted the sympathy of young Evangelicals,
rather than the struggles and triumphs of Israel. They appear to be motivated
more by the cause of social justice for the ‘oppressed’ Palestinians than a
prophecy-driven backing of the restored Jewish state. Many Christian youngsters
have sided with the Palestinians as the perceived underdog.”</i> (Jurgen
Buhler, “Jesus and the Palestinians,” <i>Word From Jerusalem</i>, May 2014.)
This move away from the idolatrous notion of giving a nation unconditional
support to a focus on biblical justice can only be a good thing. </span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span></span></a>
Source for casualty numbers: Nidal al-Mughrabi and Jeffrey Heller, “Gaza Truce
Holding but Israel's Netanyahu under Fire at Home,” <i>Reuters U.S.</i>, August
27, 2014, accessed August 27, 2014, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/27/us-mideast-gaza-idUSKBN0GM11320140827" target="newTurabian">http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/27/us-mideast-gaza-idUSKBN0GM11320140827</a>.<br />
Source for percentage of civilians killed: Amira Hass, “How Many Palestinian
Civilians Is a Single Militant Worth?,” <i>Haaretz</i>, August 22, 2014,
accessed August 27, 2014, <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.611924" target="newTurabian">http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.611924</a>.
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></span></span></a> <span style="line-height: 115%;">“Gaza: Un Says Over 370,000
Palestinian Children in Need of 'psycho-Social First Aid',” <i>UN News Centre</i>,
21 August 2014, accessed August 27, 2014, <a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48532" target="newTurabian"><span style="line-height: 115%;">http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48532</span></a>.</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[6]</span></span></span></a>
“Expert Q,” Institute for Middle East Understanding, August 27, 2014, accessed
August 27, 2014, <a href="http://imeu.org/article/expert-qa-amnesty-international-human-rights-watch-on-being-denied-entry-to" target="newTurabian">http://imeu.org/article/expert-qa-amnesty-international-human-rights-watch-on-being-denied-entry-to</a>.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Yifa Yaakov, “Netanyahu
Indicates Israel Won’t Cooperate with Un Probe,” <i>Times of Israel</i>, August
13, 2014, accessed August 27, 2014, <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/un-legitimizes-islamic-state-esque-groups-says-netanyahu/" target="newTurabian"><span style="line-height: 115%;">http://www.timesofisrael.com/un-legitimizes-islamic-state-esque-groups-says-netanyahu/</span></a>.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
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</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-80248608281081854942014-08-21T12:35:00.000+12:002014-08-21T18:37:47.694+12:00What We Talk About When We Talk About Muslims<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/photo%20credit:%20%3Ca%20href=%22https://www.flickr.com/photos/hawg/2586928793/%22%3Etsweden%3C/a%3E%20via%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://photopin.com%22%3Ephotopin%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/%22%3Ecc%3C/a%3E">Photopin/Ted Swedenburg</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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There’s something I’ve noticed about the way we evangelicals
talk about Muslims. </div>
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<br /></div>
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We’re terrible at it. </div>
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Okay this is the point where I state the obvious and point
out that we’re not a monolithic entity of talking-terribly-about-Muslims-ness.
Often it’s the most extreme voices shouting the loudest. But it’s enough to
make me cringe when the topic is brought up in Christian circles. </div>
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And this bothers me. It bothers me that when we talk about
the subject of Muslims there will usually be that one person who characterises
them all as jihadists. It bothers me that <a href="http://www.snopes.com/photos/advertisements/vwpolo.asp">a viral video</a>
posing as a VW ad defines suicide bombing as “Muslim culture” despite the fact
that suicide bombing is an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_attack#Islam">incredibly
controversial topic</a> amongst Muslims with the majority condemning it. It
bothers me that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keffiyeh">keffiyeh</a>,
a traditional Arab/Turkish headscarf, is often <a href="http://istandwithpalestine.com/why-we-wear-keffiyeh/">branded by those in
the Western world</a> as “a terrorist scarf”. I’m tired of hearing that we
can’t allow more Muslims into Western countries because they’ll go all Sharia
law on us and slit our throats as soon as we let them in.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Now I know what some people will already be thinking. I’m
some namby-pamby political correctness police. I’m not.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Instead I want to put forth a case arguing from a logical, biblical, and
practical viewpoint as to why we need to learn to talk better about Muslims. </div>
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<b></b></div>
<a name='more'></a><b>Logical</b><br />
There seems to be this Cold War-esque fear of Muslims in our society, which in
some ways is understandable as to how we reached it. Most of the wars the
Western world is involved in at the moment are with Middle Eastern countries.
Arabs are the latest stock characters to stand as generic terrorists in action
movies; most “modern warfare” games have you running through Unspecifiedastan
shooting hordes of generic Arabs (one of the reasons I enjoyed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIoJnMT3yUI">Spec Ops: The Line</a> so
much was for its reversal of this trope).<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
And here’s the thing: these stereotypes are pretty harmful. Stereotypes, <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-motives/201302/the-pain-positive-stereotypes">even
positive ones</a>, affect our expectations of other people in subtle ways. And
although I suspect we know that it’s mostly the extremists that are to blame,
the <a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2011/07/21/chapter-2-how-muslims-and-westerners-view-each-other/#non-muslim-views-of-muslims">statistics
show</a> that we tend to paint Muslims with a pretty broad brush. The big
problem here is that with the boom of globalisation Muslims are a growing part
of our communities with which we interact with in our daily lives. And it’s
hard to show genuine love to people when you constantly see people as belief
systems instead of people, especially when you focus on the most extreme
excesses of that belief system.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<b>Biblical </b></div>
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We can also turn to the Bible for examples of how we are to
speak to and about Muslims as Christians. Scholar of Muslim-Christian studies
Dr Ida Glaser has identified three stories in the Bible that we can draw wisdom
from.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
</div>
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The first is Peter and Cornelius (Acts 10). Peter is called
to go to the house of Cornelius the centurion, a God-worshiping Gentile.
However, Peter’s understanding of holiness and cultural boundaries make him
resistant to meet with a Gentile. It is only when God convicts Peter that He
shows no favouritism that Peter is willing to evangelise Cornelius.</div>
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The second is Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4). The Samaritans
were an off-shoot of Judaism but they had many conflicts with the Jewish people
theologically, resulting in it being culturally taboo for the two groups to
interact with each other. But Jesus crosses these boundaries of prejudice to
bring salvation to an outcast.</div>
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The third is in the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke
24:13-35). In this story the resurrected Jesus appears to his disciples who are
struggling to grasp the recent events. Jesus responds by opening the scriptures
and showing how what happened to him was a fulfilment of scripture. This case
is especially relevant as according to one former Muslim “It is important for
the Muslim to see Christianity not as a religion but as a living, new
relationship with God.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a>
There has to be a sense in which Christianity is shown as being a continuation
to what they already know. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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There is also the important Biblical concept of taming the
tongue that needs to be taken into consideration (James 3:3-12).<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a>
James describes the tongue as a restless evil, full of poison, used to both
praise God and curse humans. James continues to say that this is not befitting
of Christ’s followers because all humans are created in the likeness of God.
New Testament scholar David P. Nystrom writes <i>“Failure to recognise that
each of us is created in God’s image will eventually allow us to oppress and
enslave one another. This is, in fact, a cardinal reason why the worship of
foreign gods was outlawed by God, for worship of other gods meant not only the
rejection of God, but also the repudiation of his social and ethical standards.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i>
Yes we are to decry the actions of ISIS and Boko Haram for they represent
atrocious human rights violations, but in our thirst for justice we should not
fall into dehumanizing a whole group of people. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b>Practical</b></div>
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Let’s take a moment to talk about something that annoys many
Christians (me included): people taking Bible verses (e.g. anything out of
Leviticus) drastically out of context to argue against Christianity. You know
the feeling you get as someone smugly pulls a verse out of context and all you
can do is claw at your face while you reply in a voice that sounds like
absolute death “that’s not what that scripture means”.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a>
The point is that it sucks when people cherry pick verses of scripture to use
against us instead of having an honest dialogue. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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So why do we do the same to Muslims?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Look I’m not saying that you give the Qur’an your stamp of
approval, but at least try to make an honest effort to understand what it says.
Instead of accusing a Muslim of being a bad Muslim for not following through on
a passage that seemingly advocates for your murder, ask them what it means. Ask
them how they interpret it for their daily faith. And this is how you take the
first step to healthy dialogue with people of other beliefs: when you are
willing to dialogue with them and learn from them instead of arguing past them.
You will have disagreements and that’s fine; part of having a healthy dialogue
is learning to disagree in ways that makes the other person feel respected. And
here’s the thing about healthy dialogue with Muslims: most literature I’ve read
on witnessing to Muslims emphasises that in the end your character as a
Christian is often the most effective witness for Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Finally let’s look at what I think is the most powerful
reason for learning to talk better about Muslims: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioUS_xwFfXw">the recent testimony of an
Iraqi TV host</a>:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>“<span class="textexposedshow">The Christians have done
nothing wrong. They haven't hurt a soul. On the contrary, they are peaceful
people, who love all sects. They are honourable people, with high moral values.
They always maintain their sense of justice.</span>” </i></div>
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Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were all known for being like
that?</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> Which
has always struck me as an odd thing to say considering that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_of_sharia_law_by_country">majority
of Muslim countries don’t follow complete Sharia law.</a> </div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
And not just because I think the term “political correctness” is extremely <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQCNS4eGmuY">problematic</a>. </div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> In
all fairness, the latest addition to the Call of Duty series, COD: Ghosts, has
moved away from using Arabs as terrorists in an effort to appear less
xenophobic. Instead you play a squad of well-armed burly white men who are the
last line of defence against a massive invasion of South Americans trying to
cross the border into the USA. Oh wait. </div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Blogger Nerdeen Kiswani <a href="http://istandwithpalestine.com/why-we-wear-keffiyeh/">recounts this
experience</a>: “On my campus, a middle-aged male professor approached me,
along with four other Palestinian women wearing the Keffiyeh, and said “don’t
shoot me.” We are typically expecting this sort of language when attending
peaceful rallies or protests, yet as Palestinians we also face this in our
learning environment, the one place we mistakenly thought we were supposed to
be safe.”</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> Ida
Glaser, <i>The Bible and Other Faiths: What Does the Lord Require of Us?</i>
(Carlisle, Cumbria: Global Christian Library, 2012), 207-11.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> Dean
C. Halverson, <i>The Illustrated Guide to World Religions</i> (Bloomington,
Minn.: Bethany House, 2003), 109.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a>
This sentiment is also expressed by Jesus in Matthew 15: 16-20 when he says
that it is not what goes into your mouth that makes you unclean, but what comes
out of it. </div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a> David
P. Nystrom, <i>James: The Niv Application Commentary</i>, The Niv Application
Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, ©1997), 181.</div>
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<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a>
It’s just me that does this? Maybe I’m overly-dramatic. </div>
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Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-30161113902688737982014-08-09T13:34:00.001+12:002014-08-09T13:35:55.385+12:00Gungor, Doubt, and the Church (Part 2)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtS6qPm6062Grz7AuCnAQrLwY0aHUpizmgPe0AdG-Hg9hmpaUNbS-rOAVkYnlE8Fv9-XocneSx6fU88gLOxxUeeKRnRs6XIkDeZxtO9wUIal5mYVfswqjXiGLlDzo0pONtRWlEpIN0CAk/s1600/gungor_2_20130730_143115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtS6qPm6062Grz7AuCnAQrLwY0aHUpizmgPe0AdG-Hg9hmpaUNbS-rOAVkYnlE8Fv9-XocneSx6fU88gLOxxUeeKRnRs6XIkDeZxtO9wUIal5mYVfswqjXiGLlDzo0pONtRWlEpIN0CAk/s1600/gungor_2_20130730_143115.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://gungormusic.com/media/">Photo by Luca Ventor</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Part 1 can be found <a href="http://thoughtinflux.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/gungor-doubt-and-church-part-1.html">here</a>.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The second aspect that I think makes the story so
significant is that Gungor represents a person of influence expressing their
doubt very publicly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Philosopher-theologian Peter Rollins makes the point that the church is
designed to insulate us from doubt. Churches often preach sermons of certainty
and sing songs of triumphalism. In short the Church believes for us when we
doubt.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
He says <i>“this only becomes apparent when a minister gets up and says I’m
full of doubt and not knowing. I don’t know if God’s there half the time. Or a
musician gets up and sings a song of darkness, a song of despair. Or someone
prays a prayer which says God I don’t think you’re there. Where are you? At
this point the people aren’t faced with something they don’t know; they have those
doubts as well. Rather they are faced with the reality of the thing they would
rather ignore.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></b></span></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And I think this is the reason why Gungor has caused such a
stir. Because while we know that there are many Christians with significant
questions, as a celebrity Christian, is a person of influence who reminds us
that sometimes believers don’t find their answers in the status quo. Now I
don’t think Gungor is trying to lead people astray. I don’t think he’s sitting
in his evil lair plotting how to unravel Christianity while flaring his cape
for effect. I think he’s someone genuinely doubting what he grew up with.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
</span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And I think how we deal with Gungor is going to send a huge
message to the doubters in our mist. I can guarantee you that when you go to
church on Sunday there will be people sitting in the pews who struggle with
doubt immensely. Of course we can choose to “farewell” or excommunitweet
Gungor. But what message does that send those who struggle with the loneliness
of doubt?<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Are we going to kick them out of the church if they dare to speak up about
their doubts? Are we going to revoke their Christian card?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think here we can turn to Jesus’ example. There’s a
beautiful episode at the end of John’s Gospel where Jesus appears to Peter, the
apostle who had previously denied three times that he knew Jesus. Mirroring
Peter’s previous failure, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him. It’s a
shame that English translations don’t communicate the nuances of the Greek very
well. N.T. Wright translates it in a way which I think captures what’s going on
quite well. Jesus asks “Peter, do you love me?”. Peter replies “Yes, Master, you know I’m your friend.”
Again Jesus asks the question and gets the same response “Yes, Master, you know
I’m your friend.” Peter can’t bring himself to say anything stronger, so Jesus
says “Peter, are you my friend?” to which Peter affirms that he is. Each time
Jesus gives Peter the command to look after and feed his sheep. Jesus meets Peter
where he is in his failure and he is essentially saying “If this is where you
are at, then this is where we’ll start.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And this is the beauty of the man who is the Word of God
become man: he condescends to our level and meets us where we are in our doubt
and brokenness. Give me people like Job or David who cried out to God in their
pain and doubt. Give me people like Gungor and Rachel Held Evans who are
willing to bare their doubts for everyone to see. Give me more Christians who
are willing to be like Jesus and love these doubters where they are. But we
don’t need any more Christians who are standing with rocks in hand, waiting to
throw them at anyone who steps out of line.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br clear="all" /></span>
<br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a> I
don’t necessarily believe this is a bad thing.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ZkGk8koBE&list=UUweF6BScvFnbsymouI-znDA">Refusing
to Know What We Know – Peter Rollins</a></span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></a>
For the record, Gungor has stated that a lot of his doubt has been caused by
the scientific impossibility of the YEC interpretations of these stories.</span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div id="ftn4">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span></span></a> <span style="line-height: 115%;">Rachel Held Evans recently recorded a
poem called </span><a href="http://www.theliturgists.com/garden/"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Saturday</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> about the heart-wrenching experience
of trying to hold onto your faith when you simply can’t believe anymore. I
highly recommend giving it a listen.</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[5]</span></span></span></a>
Wright, N T. <i>Surprised by Scripture: Engaging Contemporary Issues</i>. New
York, NY: HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2014, loc3402.</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-36374471461076130802014-08-08T12:08:00.002+12:002014-08-12T20:39:43.751+12:00Gungor, Doubt, and the Church (Part 1)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Dxpql-MZUGo0V_2vb9EU8Ywb3BiFQgmWuacaTbB3XS6l0d0DYgeeeqIMBZnbNxpL2NXUmHdrrsC7A51pILHbX0yAfdwgVVazSej5nXD-suxpkSJWfWVdHrIUOkOnjmGEs4JR21OBzzA/s1600/gungor_2_20130730_143115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Dxpql-MZUGo0V_2vb9EU8Ywb3BiFQgmWuacaTbB3XS6l0d0DYgeeeqIMBZnbNxpL2NXUmHdrrsC7A51pILHbX0yAfdwgVVazSej5nXD-suxpkSJWfWVdHrIUOkOnjmGEs4JR21OBzzA/s1600/gungor_2_20130730_143115.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://gungormusic.com/media/">Photo by Luca Ventor</a></td></tr>
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It seems that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Gungor">Michael Gungor</a> of the Dove-award winning band
Gungor has been creating a bit of a stir in the Evangelical world lately. Now I
have to admit that I’m not terribly familiar with Gungor’s music (I honestly
assumed that they were a Norwegian Black Metal band when I first heard their
name) and I usually would let this go without comment. But I think Gungor’s
latest controversy brings up a rather important issue.</div>
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In a recent blog post titled <a href="http://gungormusic.com/2014/02/what-do-we-believe/">What Do We Believe?</a>
Michael Gungor described his journey with doubt. Gungor recalled a conversation
he had with a friend who said he no longer considered Gungor a Christian. And
many Evangelicals have joined in with accusations that Gungor has departed from
biblical orthodoxy. So what fundamental belief has Gungor denied? Has he denied
the existence of God? The resurrection of Jesus? It’s actually neither of
these.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
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<b>Gungor has stated that he can no longer hold to a literal
interpretation of Genesis.</b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a> More specifically, Gungor has stated that he can no longer
believe in a historical Adam and Eve or a Noahic flood “any more than he can
believe in Santa Claus or not believe in gravity”. Now the topic of this
discussion is bound to raise a few eyebrows from those who know that I favour a
non-literal<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
reading of Genesis. I should be clear here that I don’t share the same
conclusions as Gungor. I believe in a historical Adam and Eve (albeit my understanding
is very different to that of Ken Ham and his ilk) and I hold to a local
interpretation of the Noahic flood. But I should point out that there are a
number of respected Evangelical theologians and biblical scholars who think
that the Adam and Eve story is probably a parable about how everyone rebels
away from God rather than a literal story about two individuals. And while I’m
not defending that interpretation, I have read their defence and I can see how
they can keep a logically consistent Gospel without a historical Adam. But I’m
not here to discuss the historical Adam and other rabbit trails. I’m here to
discuss the very real experience of doubt within the Church.
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In recent years it has become more acceptable to out
yourself as a doubter. So why has Gungor caused such a stir? I think it comes
down to how we define what is acceptable as doubt. Sometimes I think in the
Evangelical world that when we say “we’re open to people who doubt” we really
mean “we’re open to people entertaining doubts as long as they eventually
return to the status quo”. I have already written about what happens when
people don’t return to the status quo, but I want to talk about it from a
different angle. </div>
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The capital S sin that Gungor has committed in the eyes of
Evangelicals is that he can no longer take some of the Genesis prehistory
literally.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Of course I have heard the exact same criticism: How can you believe the Bible
if you don’t believe that the opening chapters are literal/true?<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
Ignoring the fact that this questions makes about as much sense as asking “how
can you believe that the non-fiction books in your local library are true if
there are also poetry books?”, the obvious answer is that literary studies
provide context as to the genre of the passage you are reading.</div>
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But Gungor raises an interesting point:</div>
<br />
<i>“But I have a choice on what to do with these unbeliefs. I could either
throw out those stories as lies, or I could try to find some value in them as
stories. But this is what happens…</i><br />
<br />
<i>If you try to find some value in them as stories, there will be some
people that say that you aren’t a Christian anymore because you don’t believe
the Bible is true or “authoritative”. Even if you try to argue that you think
there is a truth to the stories, just not in an historical sense; that doesn’t
matter. To some people, you denying the “truth” of a 6,000 year old earth with
naked people in a garden eating an apple being responsible for the death of
dinosaurs is the same thing as you nailing Jesus to the cross. You become part
of ‘them’. The deniers of God’s Word.”</i><br />
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Why has a literal reading of Genesis become the norm,
especially when there has been a wealth of evidence both in Church history and
Biblical Studies advocating for a non-literal reading of Genesis? Part of me
wonders if by making our main emphasis on the historicity of the narrative we
find a way to avoid grappling with the difficult theological questions these
stories pose. </div>
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The theologian Frederick Buechner has a rather interesting
insight on the Noah’s Ark story:</div>
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<i>“It is an ironic fact that this ancient legend about Noah
survives in our age mainly as a children's story. When I was a child, I had a
Noah's ark made of wood with a roof that came off so you could take the animals
out and put them in again, and my children have one too. Yet if you stop to
look at it at all, this is really as dark a tale as there is in the Bible,
which is full of dark tales. It is a tale of God's terrible despair over the
human race and his decision to visit them with a great flood that would destroy
them all except for this one old man, Noah, and his family. Only now we give it
to children to read. One wonders why. Not, I suspect, because children
particularly want to read it, but more because their elders particularly do not
want to read it, or at least do not want to read it for what it actually says
and so make it instead into a fairy tale, which no one has to take seriously.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></b></span></span></span></a>
</i></div>
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When Darren Aronofsky’s Noah came out many Evangelicals were
up in arms at how much the story deviated from the biblical narrative (I have
written a detailed defence of the film <a href="http://thoughtinflux.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/thoughts-on-darren-aronofskys-noah.html">here</a>).
I personally loved the film. I thought it did a fantastic job of showing the
visceral horror of the event while still exploring the themes of the biblical
account. But unfortunately this was not enough to redeem the film in the eyes
of those who wanted a literal retelling of the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br />
<i><a href="http://thoughtinflux.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/gungor-doubt-and-church-part-2.html">Part 2</a>: The second reason for Gungor's controversy and what Jesus can teach us about doubt will be posted tomorrow. </i><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Gungor has made quite clear that he believes in these in <a href="http://gungormusic.com/2014/08/im-with-you/">his latest post</a>.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
There has also been some controversy over a song of his that uses feminine
pronouns for God. I’ll refrain from commenting on this because I quite frankly
don’t know enough about it to comment on it and I fear that an analysis of it
would go beyond the intended scope of this post.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
Read: non-Young Earth Creationist</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Charisma News’ coverage of the story was accompanied by the sensationalistic
title “You Won’t Believe Who Doesn’t Believe the Whole Bible Anymore”.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> Of
course this is a very loaded definition of “true”, as if ancient literature has
to be literally true to satisfying our Enlightenment definition of “truth”.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="http://wwwf.frederickbuechner.com/content/secrets-dark-page-59">http://wwwf.frederickbuechner.com/content/secrets-dark-page-59</a></div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-67292586777644392022014-07-30T19:34:00.001+12:002014-07-31T15:50:59.262+12:00Medieval Misconceptions: Did Pope John XXI Really Ban Gravity? <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW8aFNmQ3hrNr5bP7G_Y3HcfKSnCvGx9jmBuzEsldO1zaxrdC6kPQqXOAz-3_P8meKLXWkUvPkpusO3F6qxTYEYuZ_C1fx178nl788GS-5d22CCA9sgH0tLkxjEFW3eaHvEy1YPZbSG9Q/s1600/origin_2769553173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW8aFNmQ3hrNr5bP7G_Y3HcfKSnCvGx9jmBuzEsldO1zaxrdC6kPQqXOAz-3_P8meKLXWkUvPkpusO3F6qxTYEYuZ_C1fx178nl788GS-5d22CCA9sgH0tLkxjEFW3eaHvEy1YPZbSG9Q/s1600/origin_2769553173.jpg" height="320" width="243" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plato debates Aristotle (right) in Raphael's <br />
The School of Athens (1509-1510) Source: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/photo%20credit:%20%3Ca%20href=%22https://www.flickr.com/photos/11304375@N07/2769553173/%22%3EImage%20Editor%3C/a%3E%20via%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://photopin.com%22%3Ephotopin%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/%22%3Ecc%3C/a%3E">Photopin</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<i>When people learn that the Medieval period is my
favourite period in history I can usually tell what they’re thinking without
them even saying it. Why would anybody want to study a period that was so
intellectually and culturally stagnant? Unfortunately the popular image of the
Middle Ages is often filled with misconceptions (which is actually what makes
it so interesting to study). This post is the first in an irregular series in
which I will examine popular misconceptions about the Middle Ages and try to
shed light on reality. </i></div>
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<i> </i></div>
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<b>The Myth:<i> </i></b>Pope John XXI (1215-1277) condemned
the laws of physics as heresy.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Popularised by: </b>Stephen Hawking in his documentary, <i>Curiosity:
Did God Create the Universe?</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b></div>
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<b>The Story Goes: </b>“Back in 1277, Pope John XXI felt so
threatened by the idea of [unbreakable] laws of nature that he decreed them a heresy.
Unfortunately that did nothing to change the law governing gravity. A few
months later the palace roof collapsed and fell on the Pope’s head.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Reality</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Much of the documentary’s first half goes to great pains to
emphasise the superiority of science over religion and superstition. This story
serves as a cautionary tale of what happens when you allow “superstition” to
govern your life instead of embracing science. That silly pope!</div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s also largely a distortion of the actual story. <b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></div>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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For starters Pope John XXI (sometimes referred to as Peter
of Spain) was by no means an anti-intellectual dunce. He was educated at the
University of Paris and became a physician to Pope Gregory X. His areas of
interest included theology, logic, physics, and metaphysics. He also made a
notable contribution to the curriculum of various universities. Any student
wishing to study for a bachelors degree was required to study the <i>trivium </i>–
grammar, logic, and rhetoric. During his academic career John XXI authored the
textbook <i>Summulae Logicales, </i>an introductory guide to Aristotelian
thought which would become the standard logic text for close to 300 years. When
Pope John XXI took papacy he had an apartment added onto his palace where he
could go to study medicine and philosophy in peace when he wished to. It was in
this apartment that he was studying when the roof collapsed in 1277, resulting
to injuries which lead to his death.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But the crux of this myth is that Pope John XXI was so threatened
by the laws of nature that he banned them. This assertion is referring to an
event known as the Condemnation of 1277. Before we delve into what this was
exactly, it is important to understand the intellectual climate it took place
in.</div>
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Science in its present form didn’t exist in the Middle Ages.
Instead the field of natural philosophy sought to understand the natural world
in accordance with the wisdom of the Greek philosophers. The Greek philosopher
par excellence in natural philosophy was Aristotle. By the mid-thirteenth
century Aristotle’s <i>Physics </i>was a central text in most European universities.
Any understanding of nature had to be seen within the context of Aristotle’s
writings. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Within the University of Paris there existed a faction known
as the Averroists lead by Siger of Brabant. The Averroists were causing quite a
stir within the university with their assertion that philosophy was the supreme
knowledge and used this as a basis to challenge Church doctrine. The famous
philosopher Thomas Aquinas had previously tried to reach a middle ground with
his vast array of writings aimed at reconciling Aristotelian thought with
scripture. But just to be certain the faculty ruled that new entrants would
pledge not to meddle in areas of theology. This was an attempt to prevent
amateurs from speaking with authority in areas they had none in (other learned
professions were taking similar steps to prevent this problem).<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
But the current Averroists were exempt from taking this pledge and were still
causing a problem. So Pope John XXI wrote to the bishop of Paris requesting
that he do something about it. The bishop of Paris compiled a list of 219
propositions he found objectionable about Averroist and Aristotelian thought and
these were condemned as heresy. These 219 propositions could no longer be
taught or held within the University of Paris.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The crux of the issue was the question of whether God could
be constrained by natural laws. The theologians concluded that God was above
natural laws. This meant that you could not claim that God couldn’t
theoretically make several universes or move the universe in a straight line.
In short, philosophers couldn’t use philosophy to restrict God’s power.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But the modern question is whether this was beneficial or
restrictive to intellectual progress (in particular “science”). Well it’s important
to realise that Aristotle was wrong on a great deal of things. Let’s take the
force of gravity for example (partly because it’s relevant to the story).
Aristotle believed that there were essentially two types of motion: natural and
violent. Natural motions were motions involved in objects taking their “rightful
place.” Rocks are heavy and thus want to be low, water is lighter and is happy
with the middle ground, and fire is the lightest resulting in it wanting to be
higher.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
A violent motion is any motion that goes against a natural motion (e.g.
throwing a rock straight up). These two forces cannot co-exist in unison. Now
although this quite different from our modern understanding of gravity it still
worked as an observational theory. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until
the invention of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebuchet">trebuchet</a>. In his book <i>God’s Philosophers, </i>historian
James Hannam has a rather interesting discourse on how this medieval catapult
challenged conventional thinking about physics. Trebuchets are essentially
giant levers with a counter-weight at one end and a sling at the other. The
counter-weight drops, swinging the sling’s contents into the air towards the
target. Aristotelian thought said that because natural and violent actions
cannot coexist the projectile should travel in a straight line until it stops,
as opposed to in an arc as modern physics would say. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The point is that Aristotle was quite wrong on a concept
that is considered quite fundamental today. The Condemnations of 1277 had the
benefit of freeing natural philosophers from Aristotelian constraints and meant
that they could dream up all manner of theories about the natural world. This
freedom would have a tremendous effect on medieval scholarship and would prove
to set the foundations of modern science. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> <i>Curiosity</i>
writen by Stephen Hawking (Discovery Channel, 2011)</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> Of
course philosophers could speak on matters of theology as long as they
themselves held a degree in theology.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> James
Hannam, <i>God's Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of
Modern Science</i> (n.p.: Icon Books Ltd, 2009), 139.</div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-18377826963168670192014-07-21T09:33:00.002+12:002014-07-31T15:51:55.746+12:00God's Forgotten Ones<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/photo%20credit:%20%3Ca%20href=%22https://www.flickr.com/photos/eddiedangerous/2132504966/%22%3Eeddiedangerous%3C/a%3E%20via%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://photopin.com%22%3Ephotopin%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/%22%3Ecc%3C/a%3E">Photopin</a></td></tr>
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I recently finished reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Brothers-Dramatic-Palestinian-Christian/dp/0800793218/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405649407&sr=8-1&keywords=blood+brothers">Blood
Brothers</a>, the biography of Elias Chacour, a Palestinian priest. It’s a
roller-coaster ride that takes you from his childhood as a refugee, to his time
studying abroad, to his challenges in parish ministry and political activism.
When I finished it I couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness as he pleaded
with Western Christians not to judge his people. After all, it’s what we do
right? I’ve seen many churches that have Israel’s flag next to a cross or their
national flag, but I’ve never seen a church with a Palestinian flag in it. I’ve
heard many Christians proclaim a deep love for the people of Israel, but I
can’t remember the last time I heard Christians proclaim a deep love for the
Palestinian people. Are not Palestinians made in the Image of God too? Did
Jesus not die for them just as he died for “Jew and Gentile”? Does God not love
them? I doubt any reasonable Christian would deny that God loves the
Palestinians so why do we not show it? Why do we let them become God’s
forgotten ones?</div>
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In my last post I urged people to not get fooled by simplistic
narratives of the conflict. One of the most famous of these is that the
conflict is an unavoidable conflict when Jews and Arabs/Muslims, East and West.
But this narrative is challenged by the fact that in the early 1900s, Jews and
Arabs had a fairly peaceful coexistence in Palestine. The narrative also
ignores the 200,000 strong Christian community in the Holy Land.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
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Palestine is home to a rich diversity of Christians across
many different denominations, including the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican,
Lutheran, and Baptist denominations. Of particular significance is the Melkite
church, one of the world’s oldest denominations tracing its origins back to the
church in Antioch (Acts 11).</div>
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In British Mandate Palestine (before the formation of Israel)
it is believed that 15-20% of Palestine’s population was comprised of
Christians. However that number has steadily decreased down to just 4% today.
Most experts attribute this decline to the Christian population emigrating
because of the difficulties in day-to-day life caused by the conflict, in
particular the massive exodus that occurred during the 1948 war.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
In fact, it is believed that 56% of Palestinian Christians make up the
Palestinian Diaspora. </div>
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Alongside the difficulties that many Palestinians in the
West Bank face, Christian churches (and Muslim mosques) have often been the
target of threats, vandalism, and arson by Israeli settlers.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
These attacks are part of a tactic called “price tag attacks” where settlers
attack Palestinian civilian property or IDF personal in response to any
measures taken which they see to be against settlement enterprises. These acts
(along with the settlements) form a major barrier to peace in the region.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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But there is an insidious challenge that Palestinian
Christians face from the Western church: in our support of Israel we have often
neglected our Palestinian brothers and sisters, or worse. In Blood Brothers,
Elias Chacour recalls an incident that happened when he was studying abroad in
France. A wealthy and influential member of his church invited him to a
Christmas dinner party where he was to be a special guest. He felt flattered
until he was introduced as a Jewish seminary student from Bethlehem (apparently
the host wanted to parade the “fact” that he had a Jewish believer celebrating
with him). When Chacour took his host aside and asked him why he had been
announced as a Jew and not a Palestinian, he was told that “You’ll get along
much better if you stop announcing to the world that you are Palestinian.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
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But Chacour’s story is not unique. Speaking in an interview
in the documentary film “With God on Our Side”, Palestinian Christian - and
Director of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musalaha">Musalaha</a> - Dr.
Salim Munayer recalls his experiences in America. </div>
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“When you’re a Christian and you’re a minority you desire to
be in contact and fellowship and relationship with Christians from other
places. I do remember visiting a church in Dallas, and they said “we have a
brother from Israel” and I spoke for a few minutes and after that people came
to shake my hand. I still remember very vividly and distinctly one man came and
said “Oh I’ve so longed to shake the hand of somebody from Israel, I love the
Jewish people!” and I said yes great, I do love the Jewish people too but I am
not a Jew I am a Palestinian. This man took his hand from my hand, turned
around and left. I mean, and you experience that again, and again, and again.
And you ask the question what’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with my Christianity?
What’s wrong with this people? And you come to the conclusion that something is
wrong with their theology. Their theology causes them to reject and object to a
brother that doesn’t fit their end time theology. <b>And that is a sin.</b> ”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
[emphasis added]</div>
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A common sentiment in the writings of Palestinian Christians
is that a lot of the pro-Israel nationalist rhetoric spouted by some Christians
is deeply hurtful to their Palestinian brothers and sisters. One such line of
rhetoric is that all the Palestinians must leave the land so that Israel can
have it. But I think this ignores that the purpose of the election of Israel
and God’s allowing them to dwell in His land was always to bless the other
nations and point them towards salvation. The land was part of God’s plan to
redeem all of Creation but it was never an end within itself.</div>
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It also ignores another very important concept found in
Galatians 3:28-29. I quite like how the theologian and philosopher Peter Rollins
paraphrases this idea:</div>
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“To identify with Christ, to pick up your cross and follow
him means that your various identities, male, female, Jew, Gentile, slave, free
…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>any of these identities do not follow
define you. That those identities are robbed of their power and you enter into
this space where you realise you transcend those identities; you’re not
completely defined by them. And in that way we identify with others who have
different beliefs and are part of different tribes to ours.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a>
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Here’s the thing: If your theology stops you from loving a
whole group of people then your theology is in serious need of rethinking.
Christ’s command to love one another calls for a type of love that affirms that
all humans have intrinsic value because they are made in the Image of God. And
this sentiment is found not just in the teachings of Christ but throughout the
Bible. The Biblical view of God’s plan is a renewing of this world where all
people are called to become children of Abraham by faith and anticipate their inheritance
which is “not Palestine, a small geographical strip in the Middle East… [but]
the whole renewed, restored creation… the whole world which is now God’s holy
land.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
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<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="http://muftah.org/fact-sheet-palestines-christians/">http://muftah.org/fact-sheet-palestines-christians/</a></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Palestinian Christians have historically been wealthier and better connected
than Muslim Palestinians, making it easier to emigrate. </div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
Vandalism ranges from destruction of property to spray painting Settler slogans
such as “Arabs out”, “King David, king of the Jews. Jesus is Garbage”, or even
“Send Arabs to the gas chambers”.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> Elias
Chacour and David Hazard, <i>Blood Brothers</i> (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Chosen
Books, 2003), 112.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> <i>With
God On Our Side</i>, directed by Porter Speakerman Jr. (Rooftop Productions,
2010)</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> Peter
Rollins, “Crucified Identities” (video), 21 May 2013, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2_y_QM8yWw" target="newTurabian">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2_y_QM8yWw</a>.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a> Wright,
N T. <i>Surprised by Scripture: Engaging Contemporary Issues</i>. New York, NY:
HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2014, loc1416.</div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-52721606773349733782014-07-15T08:37:00.000+12:002014-07-31T15:53:25.937+12:00Why Discussions Over the Israel-Palestine Conflict Go Wrong<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCVyHnV2W8UNbLcuoF_vd-rjmhYiDah98bfuPlhn3S5Hl9wUoYU2WgT9AtIOwV4Be7UYfKvPkaQxER9_b5yfUZXHSCTZ_Z2PPxxEPHXINOdYqzFdZ-CJy4W-KJRZX1pvw7JETT74xVCVc/s1600/origin_47689692.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCVyHnV2W8UNbLcuoF_vd-rjmhYiDah98bfuPlhn3S5Hl9wUoYU2WgT9AtIOwV4Be7UYfKvPkaQxER9_b5yfUZXHSCTZ_Z2PPxxEPHXINOdYqzFdZ-CJy4W-KJRZX1pvw7JETT74xVCVc/s1600/origin_47689692.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/photo%20credit:%20%3Ca%20href=%22https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalgrace/47689692/%22%3Edanny.hammontree%3C/a%3E%20via%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://photopin.com%22%3Ephotopin%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/%22%3Ecc%3C/a%3E"><i>"From the Pulpit" by Danny Hammontree</i></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span class="text"><i>Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in
front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked,
“Are you for us or for our enemies?”</i></span><br />
<span class="text"><i><sup> </sup> </i></span><br />
<span class="text"><i>“Neither,” he replied, “but as
commander of the army of the </i></span><span class="small-caps"><i><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></i></span><span class="text"><i> I
have now come.” – Joshua 5:13-14</i></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><i><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">[1]</span></b></span></span></i></span></a><br />
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<br /></div>
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The world has looked on over the past week as Israeli
military forces and Gazan militants have exchanged fire across the border. At
the time of writing, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28275414">at least 133
Palestinians have been killed and 950 injured, many of them civilians</a>. It
seems like another episode in the ongoing conflict in which neither side are
willing to make concessions to ensure peace. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But there’s another battle going on a different front:
social media. My newsfeed has been ablaze with impassioned posts of people who
have chosen their side and are willing to fight to the virtual death to defend
it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The problem is that the cyberwar produces what I call the “highlights
reel” of the conflict. Instead of getting a nuanced understanding of the
conflict we end with a virtual one-upping of each other as both sides try to
show that other side is worse. Pro-Palestine posters post pictures of children
who have been injured by bombs, pro-Israel posters claim that the pictures are
from other conflicts and that these posts are the work of “Pallywood” (all the
while ignoring that whether these are photos are of actual Gazan children is
irrelevant when children <b>are</b> actually dying in the conflict). It ends up
being a case of whoever can argue the loudest “wins”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course the Israel-Palestine conflict is not the only
episode in history to fall victim to oversimplification. The ethno-nationalist conflict
in Ireland is due to “Protestants and Catholics naturally hating each other”.
Science and religion “have always been opposed”.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
The Japanese <i>tokkōtai (kamikaze)</i> pilots in World War 2 were “fanatical
suicide bombers”. The problem with these oversimplifications is that they do a
great disservice to the parties involved by ignoring the complex geopolitical
and socioeconomic factors that lead to conflict and in doing so leave us with a
wholly inaccurate picture of the nature of the conflict. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The popular narrative of the Israel-Palestine conflict
amongst evangelicals these days is that it’s a centuries-old conflict that is
exists today because “the Palestinians hate Israel and want all the Jews dead”.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
<a href="http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/1-million-simple-arguments-that-will-change-how-you-look-at-israel">In
this video which has been making the rounds on Facebook</a>, Dennis Prager
explains that “the conflict is the easiest in the world to explain”. He states
that “in a nutshell, one side wants the other side dead (accompanied by a
graphic of an Arab standing over the grave of a Jew)”. What follows is a very
one-sided retelling of the history of the conflict that is very reminiscent in
tone of ancient Hellenistic descriptions of the so-called “barbarians”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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The problem with one-sided narratives is that they demonize
and dehumanise the “other”. But as Christians we are not called to dehumanize
each other because we are all made in the Image of God.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
One of the wisest things I have ever read about the conflict is that there are
not two sides, but four sides. There are Palestinians who want Israel
destroyed, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elias_Chacour">Palestinians
who want to live in peace with Israel</a>, <a href="https://storify.com/davidsheen/israeli-army-the-next-generation">Israelis
who want Palestine destroyed</a>, and <a href="http://www.btselem.org/">Israelis
who want to live in peace with Palestine.</a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
N.T. Wright writes in his latest book <i>Surprised by
Scripture</i>: “How do we shape a generation through which the Spirit will
convict the world of sin (in the face of Western arrogance and assumed moral
superiority), <b>of justice (in a world where biblical meaning, justice for the
poor, has been obliterated in the shape of state-sanctioned violence)</b>, and
of judgement (in a culture that acts as if it were the arbiter of truth)? That
is the challenge”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
[emphasis added] </div>
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To say that “peace is not the absence of war” has almost
become something of an unexciting and banal platitude these days, but it
carries a lesson that we do not learn if we are simply content to view the
“highlights reel” of the conflict. We assume that just because one side is not
launching ordnance at another there is “peace”. But while one lives in fear of
the other there is no peace. While one controls the other there is no peace.
Huge amounts of injustice and pain has been enacted on both sides of the
conflict. Enacting Biblical justice means realising that neither side is
blameless and both sides have legitimate grievances that must be addressed
before peace can be established. Giving Israel carte blanche in how it deals
with Palestinians is not the Biblical mandate of Christians as many have tried
to argue (one only need to read the Old Testament prophets to realise this!).
Neither is it to justify the actions of Palestinian militants when they target
civilians. I think Brandon Robertson of Revangelical said it best: “<a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/revangelical/2014/07/03/churches-should-not-celebrate-independence-day.html">The
Church of Jesus Christ has no allegiance to any nation. Not America, Not
England, Not Rome, Not Israel. No one. We are a body of people united in common
faith to see the world transformed by the Gospel.</a>”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Until Christ returns we live in expectation of the Kingdom
of God and are servants of the Prince of Peace called to shine the light of the
Gospel to all people.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shalom,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Salaam,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Peace,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Micah <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Many Christian theologians identify the mysterious man as Jesus Christ.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
This characterisation is often referred to as the “Draper-White conflict
thesis” and has largely been discredited by historians. </div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
Conversely, I was watching the evening news the other night which had an
interview with a Gazan community leader who said that he believed that the
conflict was because “the Israelis hate us and want to see all the Palestinians
dead.” I found this quite thought provoking that both sides attributed the same
(and opposite) motives to each other’s actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+3%3A9-12&version=NIV">James
3:9-12</a></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> N.
T. Wright, <i>Surprised by Scripture: Engaging Contemporary Issues</i>
(HarperOne, 2014), loc 2885.</div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-49382836037050350132014-06-30T14:43:00.002+12:002014-07-31T15:56:17.794+12:00The Loneliness of Doubting<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjId5uGVhx22v863cozqGdMm1lXhVkgW7uRISHzLEQJFhEJ2EZCBgk4eCaiUqbghzhVKlc6Tw702KMkWq5Pmd0w99l2qtCZkx3NplnYdPxrnfRyFZKJgcekPv4N2snLiiyiO8ALp2rbB-s/s1600/7000133763_df30f5ebc6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjId5uGVhx22v863cozqGdMm1lXhVkgW7uRISHzLEQJFhEJ2EZCBgk4eCaiUqbghzhVKlc6Tw702KMkWq5Pmd0w99l2qtCZkx3NplnYdPxrnfRyFZKJgcekPv4N2snLiiyiO8ALp2rbB-s/s1600/7000133763_df30f5ebc6.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">© 2012 <a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/hannesambrosch/" title="'Am I Alone?' published on Flickr by capture-the-light.at">capture-the-light.at</a>, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hannesambrosch/7000133763/" title="from Flickr">Flickr</a> | <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/" title="Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">CC-BY-ND</a> | <a href="https://www.wylio.com/" title="Easily credit free 'am i alone' pictures with Wylio.">via Wylio</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Fyodor Dostoevsky once wrote “It is not as a child that I
believe and confess Jesus Christ. My hosanna is born of a furnace of doubt.” I’ve
always liked this quote by Dostoevsky. Rather than painting doubt as a negative
thing, it is painted as a means to a deeper faith (even if it is a painful
experience for some). In recent years we have seen an explosion in books
dedicated to helping those who doubt find answers. But I’ve always found it
curious that there is little ink spilled on the loneliness of doubt. From my
own struggles with intellectual doubts I know that it can be a terribly lonely experience
to stumble out into the great unknown areas of faith. I think there are two basic
reasons why intellectual doubts can make people feel lonely (and I have
experienced both). The first is that one can feel a reluctance talk about their
doubts for fear that they will drag others down with them. But it’s the second
reason that I want to spend this blog post addressing. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>It can represent a drifting away from peers</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Doubt, by nature, is when one finds the conventional
explanations they have been given insufficient in the face of new information.
A person in this situation is now at a crossroads with four possible directions
they can go in: (1) they can accept and become comfortable with unanswered
questions, (2) they can stay in a state of permanent doubt, not wanting to move
backwards or forwards, (3) they can find new evidence to bolster the original
explanations, or (4) they can move away towards a different explanation. It’s
this last one that I want to concentrate on. Sometimes finding the answers to
one’s questions involves moving beyond the beliefs of our peers. Now this isn’t
necessarily a bad thing – it can be a sign of spiritual growth, of moving on to
a deeper understanding of faith. Sometimes it’s the result of learning that a
long-held cherished belief isn’t actually all that biblically supported. The
real danger now can be social and spiritual isolation from peers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Within social psychology exists the concepts of in-group
bias and out-group bias. In-bias refers to the tendency of human beings to show
favouritism to those with similar views. Similarly we tend to be sceptical of
those outside our group because their very existence threatens the validity of
our views.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a>
The interesting thing is the effect doubt has on this dynamic. When one starts
to feel that they don’t fit into their own group their confidence in
interacting with members of the out-group is affected.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></a>
They can come to feel that they don’t have the ability to defend their views
from criticism. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">One of the hardest parts of doubting is that it seems like
everyone but you have all the answers. They may not necessarily be good answers
but the people espousing them seem so confident in what they believe (both
religious and non-religious). This sense of inadequacy can be further exacerbated
if people on both sides are demanding answers of you as to what you believe while
you’re still not even sure yourself. All of this can crush upon an individual
as they come to the realisation that they don’t belong anywhere.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></a>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">So how can we help those who are doubting? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">It used to be that one believed before they belong, but the
conventional wisdom these days is that you belong before you believe. As
churches we have often focused on how we make non-believers feel they belong,
but what do we do when those who believe feel they don’t belong?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Create a culture where doubt is acknowledged</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from the stigma
surrounding mental illness, it’s that sometimes the first step is to get
respected individuals to share their stories. To a degree, former All Blacks
player John Kirwan has done a lot for mental health awareness in New Zealand by
his openness to talk about his battle with depression. I suggest something
similar within the church. Leaders, be open about the fact that even you have
questions at times. Sometimes people need to know that despite our questions we
have managed to keep our faith. Someone with doubts is also more likely to
approach someone who has asked the same questions as them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Look to the example of the Church Fathers </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I suggest looking at the example of the Church Fathers for
two reasons. The first is that many of the questions people struggle with today
were relevant questions when the Church Fathers were writing and one can find a
wealth of spiritual wisdom in their writings.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span></span></a>
Secondly, there is a great diversity in how the Church Fathers interpreted
Scripture. We have already seen in a previous <a href="http://micahdsmusings.blogspot.co.nz/2014/06/the-biblical-drama-creation-and-fall.html">post</a> that although St Irenaeus
and St Augustine would have agreed on the essentials, they had vastly different
interpretations of the Adam and Eve story. Randal Rauser has written a great
<a href="http://randalrauser.com/2011/04/why-conservatism-is-often-riskier-than-you-might-think-and-other-observations-on-losing-faith/">post</a> about the dangers of offering a doubter only one solution to their
questions when there is really a wide array of beliefs one can hold within the
context of orthodox Christianity. Of course, not all beliefs are negotiable. I
firmly believe that the resurrection of Christ is essential but Christianity.
But Young Earth Creationism isn’t. Nor is the rapture or political conservatism
or many other issues we tend to (falsely) exalt as important Christian beliefs.
Part of supporting those who doubt is to prayerfully consider when we need to
speak up and when we need to let someone come to a conclusion we don’t necessarily
hold.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Helping those who doubt is going to be a messy process that
will challenge us and force us to engage with culture but it has to be done,
especially with a younger generation with unprecedented access to information (and
disinformation). To step away from this challenge is something the church
cannot afford to do. <b> </b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br clear="all" /></span>
<br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a> I
want to quickly counter two misconceptions that could arise here. 1. In-group
and out-group bias don’t necessarily go together; it is possible to respect
those outside of your group. 2. This phenomenon is not particular to a group of
people; it affects people all over the political and religious spectrum. In
fact, to claim that it only happens to one group of people is a pretty clear
cut case of in-group-out-group bias. </span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></a>
Marlowe C. Embree, <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/13459606/The-Social-Psychology-of-the-Origins-Debate"><i>The Social Psychology of the Origins Debate</i></a>, 9.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></a> In
all fairness, not all doubters handle conflict maturely. I know from personal
experience that when you are in the vulnerable state doubting it can be much easier
to mock and delegitimize opposing viewpoints than it is to engage them.
Ultimately this is not a healthy way to deal with doubt and can lead to the
doubter pushing those away who may be challenging them out of genuine concern. </span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span></span></a> The
idea that religion is simply wish fulfilment is by no means a new concept (contrary
to how it is often presented). In 60BC Roman philosopher Lucretius wrote in his
book <i>De Rerum Natura</i> (On the Nature of Things) that humans made gods in
their image and that practices such as prayer, public religion, and spirituality
were attempts to ease our fears and suffering. Funnily enough, it was Medieval
monks who rediscovered <i>De Rerum Natura</i> after its disappearance and made
multiple copies of it for distribution as reading material. </span></div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-8509392171687840852014-06-23T15:13:00.000+12:002014-07-31T15:55:23.687+12:00 No, Faith is not the Crux of the Evolution Debate <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In the wake of the evangelical films God’s Not Dead and God
vs Evolution comes another film about <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christandpopculture/2013/10/gods-not-dead-but-this-trope-is/">Christians
vs “secular academia”</a> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiRGdJ2uPwk">A Matter of Faith</a>. The
film’s premise is essentially about a Christian girl who goes off to university
and starts to drift away from her faith after she is taught evolution in her Biology
class. As a result, her father decides to challenge her Biology professor to a
public debate to prove Creationism (and therefore the Bible) over the theory of
evolution. Now I don’t want to focus too much on this film, partly because I
haven’t seen it. Instead I want to focus on a quote by the film’s director Rich
Christiano. In an <a href="http://christiannews.net/2014/06/14/upcoming-christian-film-to-cause-a-stir-in-creationevolution-debate/">interview</a>
with Christian News Network the following was stated: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The crux of the evolution/creation debate, Christiano
said, ultimately comes down to a simple question: “Who are you putting your
faith in? Darwin? Or God?” </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I disagree with this sentiment quite strongly for three
reasons.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>There is virtually no scientific debate over the theory
of evolution</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The debate over evolution is sometimes portrayed as being a
highly controversial issue where scientists are divided on either side as to
whether it is true or not.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
In reality, the scientific community is pretty united in their acceptance of
evolution. A <a href="http://www.people-press.org/2009/07/09/section-5-evolution-climate-change-and-other-issues/">study</a>
conducted in 2009 by the Pew Research Center found that “nearly all scientists
(97%) say humans and other living things have evolved over time.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>It ignores the fact that many Christians see no conflict
between believing both evolution and God</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The creation debate evolution is often portrayed as a debate
between Christians and atheists (this was the dichotomy I grew up with). But
this caricature ignores the fact that there is a growing number of Christians
who see no conflict between holding a biblical faith and accepting the science
of evolution. And these aren’t obscure Christians or extremely liberal
theologians either; many respected Christian leaders including Billy Graham,
John Stott, C.S. Lewis, N.T. Wright, J.I. Packer, Karl Barth, and Alister
McGrath hold this view.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The problem with forcing a dichotomy between evolution and
God is that it both drives people away from faith and stops them from coming to
faith by saying that they need to choose between science and God, a distinction
the Church hasn’t historically held. During the Nye/Ham debate earlier this
year Ken Ham’s catchphrase when posed a scientific question was "There's a
book about that, and it already has the answers.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
But this ignores a long tradition in theology that has held that God gave us
not one book of revelation, but two books of revelation – The book of scripture
and the book of nature. Both have the same author but they tell us different
things. The book of scripture teaches us about the author and His plan for the
future redemption of creation (including humans), and the book of nature tells
us the history of His creation. Or as Cardinal Caesar Barionius succinctly put
it during the Galileo affair, <i>"The Bible teaches us how to go to
heaven, not how the heavens go."</i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>It misunderstands the nature of faith</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Faith is a commonly misunderstood concept these days. It is
often meant to mean an intellectual assent to a certain idea. But the nature of
faith is different. Faith does require an intellectual assent, but it goes
further in demanding a response in the way one lives their life. Jesus himself
said <i>“<span class="woj">This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much
fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.</span>”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i>And
this is where the idea that it’s a case of putting your faith in God or Darwin breaks
down. I accept evolution in the sense that I believe that it’s how God sustains
life, but I don’t have faith in it any more than I have faith in the
heliocentric model or the hydrologic cycle. These are simply scientific ideas
that I accept; they don’t make any particular demands on how I live my life. I
don’t particularly live my life in any way that consciously reflects
evolutionary principles. However, a faith in God <b>does</b> call for a
response in how I live my life (how well I answer that call at times is
debateable).<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> Faith
does call for us to live a life that reflects the Gospel we have received (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+1%3A27-30&version=NIVUK">Philippians
1:27-30</a>). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So is evolution a matter of faith? I don’t think so. Rather
it’s a matter of not confusing periphery issues with the essentials of the
Gospel.</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> I
partially suspect that this is due to confusion caused by the title “theory of
evolution”. In everyday speak theory refers to a hunch or supposition, giving
the impression that evolution is “just a hunch”. However, in scientific
parlance a theory is “a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the
natural world that can incorporate facts, laws, inferences, and tested
hypotheses.” (National Academy of Sciences definition) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> Yes
I was one of those people who not only watched the whole debate but watched it
on a live stream too.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
John 15:8</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Kierkegaard calls the moment you encounter Jesus “the crisis” where you have the
choice to submit or fight back.</div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-19678763588560246142014-06-21T13:03:00.002+12:002014-07-31T15:57:13.538+12:00The Biblical Drama: Creation and Fall<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFvVmN2djoUJZZGXSX1RubSIam9GlVXqBclftHUdUix3OfRAq0txWL8avKr68KilQr8P7h7QewuKXN4toCuidfDZFUeRSLB1q4gJ7KMzlN5RU_tGRzWocUdNVv0919iI2v3qe73VIqW0k/s1600/1024px-Kleinmariazell_-_Deckenfresco_3c_Adam_und_Eva.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFvVmN2djoUJZZGXSX1RubSIam9GlVXqBclftHUdUix3OfRAq0txWL8avKr68KilQr8P7h7QewuKXN4toCuidfDZFUeRSLB1q4gJ7KMzlN5RU_tGRzWocUdNVv0919iI2v3qe73VIqW0k/s1600/1024px-Kleinmariazell_-_Deckenfresco_3c_Adam_und_Eva.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:The_Fall#mediaviewer/File:Kleinmariazell_-_Deckenfresco_3c_Adam_und_Eva.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The opening chapters of Genesis are easily some of the most hotly debated
chapters in the Bible. But in our efforts to mine these passages for ammunition
in the origins debate we can miss the main thrust of what is happening in the
story. Chapters 1-9 of Genesis form the first two acts of the powerful story of
the Bible of creation and redemption.<br />
<br />
<b>Act 1 – Creation</b><br />
Act 1 begins with the declaration that in the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. The earth is formless and barren, covered by deep waters
of chaos. What follows next is the dramatic account of Yahweh overcoming chaos
to create the world. But to flatten this down to whether this was done in seven
days or in seven million years ignores what the narrative is trying to see. <b>It
is a story of God creating the world and the dwelling in it with His creation. </b>The
Bible’s story of creation is about God creating the world as a temple for
Himself and establishing His kingdom in it. One of the last things that God
does in His creative act is to put an image of Himself into the world – humans
(<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen+1%3A+26-28&version=NIVUK">Genesis 1:26-28</a>). The ancient audience would have readily recognised this as
kingdom language; when God placed humans in the world as His image-bearers it
was a symbol of His rule over the kingdom. What this image entails is quite
explicit in the text – to rule over creation.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
But this is command to rule is not justification for being environmentally
abusive as some have tried to argue. Rather it is a command to be stewards who
reflect God’s love and care into His created world. <b>God invites humans into
His creative work.</b><br />
<br />
And God declares it very good.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Act 2 – The Fall</b><br />
Within this world God creates a garden for His image-bearers to dwell with
Him in. Within in this garden humans are portrayed as being in right fellowship
with God, creation, and each other. But this is not to last. Humans rebel
against God and taste “the forbidden fruit”. Sin has entered the world. Now
this story is up to interpretation. The popular Protestant view has been that
Adam and Eve were immortal but lost their mortality when they ate of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil and were expelled from the garden as a
consequence. But I also want to tell the interpretation of the fall as
understood by the second-century theologians <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophilus_of_Antioch">Theophilus of Antioch</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irenaeus">Irenaeus</a>, and adopted by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Church">Eastern Orthodox Church</a>, because it provides an
interesting angle on the story.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><br />
<br />
In this version the Eden story is not about a falling from an untainted
state, rather it is a story of Adam and Eve’s naiveté and their loss of
childlike innocence. They were never meant to stay in this state of naiveté,
rather they were meant to learn to serve God and grow in wisdom and maturity.
God’s command to stay away from the tree is a lesson on how to pursue knowledge
on the path to spiritual maturity. There are many passages in the Old Testament
scriptures which speak of obtaining wisdom and knowledge as a good thing. The
issue is in how this wisdom is acquired. Proverbs portrays God as wanting to
grow in wisdom gradually through Godly instruction and training because it
gives life (2:16-19, 4:20-27, 8:32-26). Adam and Eve’s failure is in their
hastiness to obtain knowledge when they were not yet ready spiritually to grasp
it.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
Instead of growing in wisdom in the way God intended, they choose foolishness
and death. When Adam and Eve choose not to fear God and keep His instructions
they are cut off from the tree of life.<br />
<br />
Now I’m not here to argue for one interpretation of the other.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
I simply think it’s worth considering the nature of the fall from different
angles. No matter which interpretation you take the message is clear - humans
have rebelled against their maker and have abdicated their place in the
creative process. They have severed their fellowship with God, they have ruined
their relationships with each other, and they have ruined their relation with
creation (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen+3%3A14-19&version=NIVUK">Gen 3:14-19</a>). As a result of their sin they are exiled from the
garden where they had enjoyed a communion with God and are sent into the
wilderness.<br />
<br />
And thus ends the second act of Scripture. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> <b> </b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> Of
course there is more to it than simply this. However rather than dealing with
the full range of meanings here, it will be the subject of a post in my next
series on Genesis 1 in its historical context.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
The following summary is adapted from Peter Enn’s summary in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Adam-The-Doesnt-Origins/dp/158743315X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1402369428&sr=1-1">The Evolution of Adam</a>.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
Consider the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: <i>“Our scientific power has
outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.”</i></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Although Irenaeus’ interpretation does avoid the problem of why Adam and Eve
were held accountable for a moral failure when they supposedly had no knowledge
of right and wrong. </div>
</div>
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<![endif]-->Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-51008312031137627882014-06-09T11:49:00.000+12:002014-07-31T15:57:29.678+12:00The Biblical Drama: Moving Away From a Chapter a Day<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Someone once summed up the Bible as Basic Instructions
Before Leaving Earth. I want to slap that person. I really do. There are a few
reasons why I dislike this approach to reading scripture.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWmmLYPGIy0XcNCkIsnduY23yTq0Gtyg7WCL3WITpci8ECpvBClSzAQS6L0bVpJ1ujfMwoGsu7GtuvzaxBunFTub-iAoMicATXmIfJjvCMWtu4xJfSlw4051N0fFaVxn-nk87873RMkc/s1600/medium_184257405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWmmLYPGIy0XcNCkIsnduY23yTq0Gtyg7WCL3WITpci8ECpvBClSzAQS6L0bVpJ1ujfMwoGsu7GtuvzaxBunFTub-iAoMicATXmIfJjvCMWtu4xJfSlw4051N0fFaVxn-nk87873RMkc/s1600/medium_184257405.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/photo%20credit:%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.flickr.com/photos/gwilmore/184257405/%22%3Egwilmore%20(I%20HATE%20THE%20NEW%20LAYOUT!)%3C/a%3E%20via%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://photopin.com%22%3Ephotopin%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%22http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/%22%3Ecc%3C/a%3E">Garry Wilmore</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li>It takes the focus of scripture off God and places it onto
the individual.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>It represents an escape pod view of redemption where the
Christian hope is in flying off to a Heavenly existence rather than the
recreation and restoration of all creation.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>It tends to lead to a self-help view of Christianity - an
individualistic reading of scripture which becomes primarily about what the
individual can get out of the Bible. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>It’s an overly simplistic treatment of the Bible which
ignores that there is a great wealth of literary genres in the Bible from
poetry to history to instruction. </li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>
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But most of all, viewing the Bible as an instruction manual
is quite possibly the most boring way to look at the Bible in existence. I’m a
male; I don’t like instruction manuals. I can’t remember the last time I
actually read a computer game manual before sitting down to play the game (in
my rush to play the game I often find myself barely able to sit through the
opening cinematic sequence). To me, the manual is just the designer’s opinion
on how the game should be played. So you’ll have to excuse me if I have a
problem with the Bible being placed in the same category as IKEA manuals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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Part of the reason for the popularity of this approach I
think has been our emphasis as evangelicals on “a chapter a day keeps the Devil
away” where we work through a book over a set amount of time reading small
chunks of it every day. Now this arose partly as a result of churches splitting
up scripture into bite sized pieces that could be read out at certain points during
a church service. This approach isn’t inherently wrong and it can be useful to
just concentrate on a small section of scripture. But we can forget that
chapters and verses are a relatively recent addition to the Bible.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The books of
the Bible were originally written to be read as a whole, especially the New
Testament which is largely a collection of letters. Many of the Old Testament
books such as Ruth and Jonah are also meant to be read in one sitting. Or for
another example: try making sense of the book of Job by reading it a chapter a
day. The chances are you will probably get confused because the book is
structured as a dialogue between several people. It is much easier to
understand to get a feel for the flow of the book if you read it as a whole. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s similar to how some of us will spend a whole day
reading a great novel or spend our Saturday binge watching an entire season of
our favourite TV show. When you do this you may not remember all the details of
the story but you get a better grasp of the story arc and character
development. You see things you wouldn’t normally notice if you were to consume
the story in small chunks because you are now looking at the big picture.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I want to suggest a similar approach to reading the Bible,
an approach that is much more exciting than simply reading it as an instruction
manual for life. I want to suggest understanding the Bible as a six act drama
that tells the story of God’s relationship with humankind - past, present, and
future. And the exciting thing is that this approach invites us into the drama,
an act that changes us rather than leaving us as a passive audience. Over the
next few posts we will examine the Bible in the context of this drama
framework, seeing how the Old Testament relates to the New Testament and where
the story is going. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<![endif]-->Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-55973502270765808942014-06-03T09:13:00.001+12:002014-07-31T15:57:58.803+12:00Jesus Wasn't a Conservative (but He Wasn't a Liberal Either) - Part 2.<i>Yesterday we looked at attempts by the German Christian movement
to reinvent Jesus in order to support Nazi ideals, mainly by recasting
him as a Gentile or a destroyer of Judaism. Today we will look at an
influential theologian who fought against this movement. </i><br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9RPcU78kB8JzOXTTxizRIhcIWQdYTHwuTOFVlbo_kyMq8-TjujZpQ-qn2tRoI5J1bD75XZvy4qkArwnLk3G5ojXYsC8hCguSyaTeP7L88tSqLCl94wx8Y8M5cF1_iBv5OwXJduILUKA/s1600/723px-Wikipedia-karlbarth01.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9RPcU78kB8JzOXTTxizRIhcIWQdYTHwuTOFVlbo_kyMq8-TjujZpQ-qn2tRoI5J1bD75XZvy4qkArwnLk3G5ojXYsC8hCguSyaTeP7L88tSqLCl94wx8Y8M5cF1_iBv5OwXJduILUKA/s1600/723px-Wikipedia-karlbarth01.jpg" height="165" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karl Barth <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia-karlbarth01.jpg?uselang=en-gb">Wikimedia Commons</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Swiss theologian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Barth">Karl Barth</a> (1886-1968), in response to these attempts to redefine Jesus, emphasised Jesus’ Jewishness, writing:<br />
<br />
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<i>“A Jew, an Israelite, a Hebrew, Jesus is the Christ –
that is the bit of earthly history, which takes place on the way from Israel to
the Greeks, that is, to the whole world. We cannot split Jesus Christ and seek
to retain only one of the two components. Jesus Christ would not be what He is,
were He not the Christ, the Commissioner who come out of Israel, who is the Jew
Jesus.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i></div>
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For Barth, it was essential that Christ was Jewish because
of his place in the Salvation history. God had made a covenant with the people
of Israel that He would save them. In antiquity names and titles carried a
significant weight and meaning; they expressed an idea, revelation. The name
Jesus and Christos carry significant weight. Jesus, or Joshua, means “Jehovah
helps” and Christos is the Greek translation of the Jewish messiah, the one who
would save Israel. The fact that the Jewish people had survived into modern day
times when so many others crumbled was the greatest testament to Barth of God’s
faithfulness in His covenant. Israel was by no means faithful to God. The Old
Testament constantly portrays them as screwing up and running away from the God
who calls them. But by sending Jesus, Israel becomes an example of God’s grace.
Barth writes:</div>
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<i>“Revelation culminates in the existence of Jesus of Nazareth.
He comes out of Israel, born of Mary the Virgin, and yet from above, and so in
His glory the Revealer and Consummator of the covenant. Israel is not a sick
man who was allowed to recover, but One risen from the dead. By His appearing,
over against the verdict comes into view, to remove all human
self-condemnation. God’s faithfulness triumphs in this sea of sin and misery.
He has mercy on man. He shares with His inmost Being in this man. He has never
ceased to lead by cords of love this people which to His face has behaved like
a whore. It remains true that this man of Israel belongs to God and again and
again, not by nature but by the miracle of grace, may belong anew to God, be
rescued from death, be exalted to God’s right hand.”</i> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
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Barth was concerned that by denying this reality; we deny
God’s revelation and end up with a philosophical, Greek, German, etc.
Christianity that was removed from the revelation we have received.</div>
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<br /></div>
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While the example of
the German theologians may be seen as extreme, it illustrates the problem of
marrying Jesus to a political ideology. Far too often rather than the political
ideology taking on the characteristics of Christ’s teachings, Christ’s
teachings take on the characteristics of the political ideology. Jesus’
non-violent teachings suddenly get discarded in the name of a war which “God
supports”. The spiritual needs of the poor and oppressed suddenly become
irrelevant in relation to their physical needs. </div>
<h1>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So what are we to do? Do we disengage from politics all together? Of
course not, as followers of Christ we are called to be salt and light to the
world. Mahatma Ghandi once said: </span></h1>
<h1>
<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“You Christians look after a document containing enough dynamite to
blow all civilisation to pieces, turn the world upside down and bring peace to
a battle-torn planet. But you treat it as though it is nothing more than a
piece of literature.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></h1>
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I would suggest that whatever political ideology we choose
to adopt should always be viewed in light of the teachings of Christ and
scripture. I’m sure Jesus would have things he doesn’t like about conservative
politics and I’m sure there are things he doesn’t like about liberal politics.
Christ’s message transcends partisan politics and is just as counter-cultural
today as it was in first century Palestine. In the end we have to remember
that, like the church in Philippi, <a href="http://micahdsmusings.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/citizens-of-heaven.html">our citizenship is primarily of heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Karl Barth, <i>Dogmatics in Outline by Barth, Karl 1st (First) Edition
[paperback(1959))</i> (Harper Perennial, 1958), 72.</div>
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Karl Barth, <i>Dogmatics in Outline by Barth, Karl 1st (First) Edition
[paperback(1959))</i> (Harper Perennial, 1958), 80.</div>
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Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-830043065271563962014-06-02T12:35:00.003+12:002014-07-31T15:58:13.069+12:00Jesus Wasn't a Conservative (but He Wasn't a Liberal Either) - Part 1.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgHAuBRwD3wDW7ZdEj2OpTXog42KF9JdrooJYFCeQdOTnLGzj_XylhJuSb6FIeC6PnfYi4AjsubnvFQCZQj1LqeAi10fzMoOXgWgRrJQeoUgY-k6qhdOPE2kJlug8ejLuhCJQgG0WkAY/s1600/800px-Pammakaristos_Church_-_main_dome_of_parekklesion_-_Jesus_Christ_-_P1030432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgHAuBRwD3wDW7ZdEj2OpTXog42KF9JdrooJYFCeQdOTnLGzj_XylhJuSb6FIeC6PnfYi4AjsubnvFQCZQj1LqeAi10fzMoOXgWgRrJQeoUgY-k6qhdOPE2kJlug8ejLuhCJQgG0WkAY/s1600/800px-Pammakaristos_Church_-_main_dome_of_parekklesion_-_Jesus_Christ_-_P1030432.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pammakaristos_Church_-_main_dome_of_parekklesion_-_Jesus_Christ_-_P1030432.JPG">Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
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It seems like there’s a bit of a battle over Jesus these days
with each side wanting to claim him for themselves. The conservative Christians
loudly proclaim that Jesus is a conservative; the liberals argue that Jesus is
a liberal, and the Marxists argue that Jesus was a Marxist. In fact I hear
these claims all the time. But I don’t think that we can rightly make those
claims. Why? The obvious reason is that apply these modern political systems on
a first century preacher from Palestine is quite anachronistic. Saying that
Jesus was a Greenie makes about as much sense as saying that Alexander the Great
was one too.<br />
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But with that out of the way, what’s to stop us from saying
that Jesus represented a proto-political party? Could he have been a proto-21<sup>st</sup>
century conservative or liberal? However, I would caution against identifying
Jesus as belonging to a particular political ideology. Why? Well we’re going to
look at a rather extreme example from history.</div>
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One of the most popular speculative arguments regarding Nazi
Germany is whether Hitler was a Christian or not. But we’re going to largely
ignore that question in favour of looking at the wider attempt by German
theologians to reinvent Jesus as a German Christ.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
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During 1939, a group of Protestant theologians, pastors, and
laypeople gathered together to found the Institute for the Study and Eradication
of Jewish Influence on German Church Life, a group whose goal was to “rescue Christianity
from Judaism”. The Institute was a well-funded part of the German Christian
movement, a faction of 600,000 people who sought to combine Nazi ideology and
the German Protestant church. This movement aimed to bring churches into
compliance with the Nazi ideology by prominently placing swastikas next to the
cross on the altar (at least one church removed the cross altogether), regarding
Hitler as a German messiah, and altering fundamental church doctrine where it
came into conflict with Nazi ideology. The most prominent example was the Institutes
efforts to remove the Old Testament from Christian Bibles to minimise the
Judaic influence on German Christianity.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
But what were they to do with Jesus? Wasn’t he explicitly a Jew? Not according
to the Institute who argued that Jesus was really an Aryan and that the Apostle
Paul, as a Jew, had perverted Jesus’ message to make it more Jewish.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Rather than acknowledging Christ’s Jewishness, members of
the German Christian movement took several approaches to recasting Jesus as an
Aryan. At this point it is helpful to realise that this attempt was not a
sudden movement that arose as a result of the Nazi Party gaining power; rather
it is best seen as the culmination of a German religious nationalistic movement
that stretched from 1870 to 1945. During this time we see many attempts to
redefine Jesus which later be used in Nazi thinking. <br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
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The first was to cast Jesus as a Jew who fought against
Judaism. The French scholar Ernest Renan put forth the idea in his 1863 wildly
popular book <i>Life of Jesus </i>that Jesus was a man born into Jewish culture
but he had managed to purify himself of Jewish traits and emerge a glorious Aryan.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Jesus was no longer the Son of God, but a Galilean man who was possessed by God’s
love and had reached a unique religious consciousness. In the words of Renan,
Jesus “appears no more as a Jewish reformer, but as a destroyer of Judaism…
Jesus was no longer a Jew.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
With this argument Renan had established a frame of thinking for future
scholars who wished to view Jesus as a destroyer of Judaism. But for others,
the problem of Jesus’ Jewish bloodline made this position untenable. Paul de
Lagarde (1827-1891) argued that Jesus certainly was not a Jew and that Paul had
Judaized him.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Others viewed Jesus as being a religious Buddhist, Hindu, or
Zoroastrian, either of which would make him an Aryan.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the beginning of the 20<sup>th</sup>
century Buddha had replaced Socrates as the darling of the intellectual elite,
and many sought to link Jesus’ teachings with Buddhist teachings. Others rewrote
history so as to create a version of history where first century Galilee had
actually been populated by Assyrians, meaning that Jesus was an Assyrian and
not a Jew. Some even insisted that the father of Jesus was a Roman soldier named
Panthera.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a>
Others sort to identify Jesus with Teutonic myths. In short, many attempts were
made to prove that Jesus was not a member of the Jewish race. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Lastly, there was a wide movement aimed at recasting Jesus
in terms of 1930s “heroic realism”. Portrayals of Jesus suffering on the cross
went out of vogue, with many artists portraying him as a manly warrior instead.
Pastor Immanuel Berthold Schairer believed that the traditional Jesus was
making the German people effeminate and that recovering “the real Jesus” would
harden them. In 1936, Reich Bishop Ludwig Muller rewrote the Sermon on the Mount
in order to make Jesus into a German hero. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+5%3A4-5&version=NIVUK">Matthew 5:4-5</a> now read: “Happy is he
who bears his sufferings like a man; he will find the strength never to despair
without courage. Happy is he who is always a good comrade; he will make his way
in the world.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a> </div>
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Jewish historian Susannah Heschel writes:</div>
<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Nazism’s relationship to Christianity was not
one of rejection, nor was it an effort to displace Christianity and become a
form of “political religion”… rather, Nazi ideology was a form of super-sessionism,
an usurpation and colonization of Christian theology, especially its anti-Semitism,
for its own purposes. The theology of the Institute was a similar effort at
supersessionism in reverse, taking over elements of Nazi racial ideology to
bolster and redefine the Christian message.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></b></span></span></span></a></span>
</i><br />
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br />
<i>Of course not all theologians thought like this. The next post will look at one who stood against this movement and will contain the conclusion to this blog post.</i> <br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> Of
course this does have implications for the debate over Hitler’s religion but
that’s for another time.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
The Institute weren’t the first to attempt to remove the Old Testament from the
Biblical canon. Marcion of Sinope (85-160AD) insisted that Christianity was in discontinuity
with Judaism, resulting in Marcion rejecting the Old Testament and certain New
Testament writings he saw as “too Jewish”. As a result he was declared a
heretic by the Church and excommunicated. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> From
private conversations we know that Hitler approved of the Institute’s views and
repeated many of them in rants.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
Renan, <i>The Life of Jesus, </i>206-7. As cited in The Aryan Jesus.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> Indians
and Persians were considered Aryans.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a>
Again, note the denial of the divinity of Christ.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a> Susannah
Heschel, <i>The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi
Germany</i> (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008), 53.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a> Susannah
Heschel, <i>The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi
Germany</i> (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008), 8.</div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-26795833237675556052014-05-28T22:40:00.000+12:002014-06-05T12:09:07.489+12:00Citizens of Heaven?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span class="text"><i>For,
as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many
live as enemies of the cross of Christ.<sup> </sup>Their destiny is
destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.
Their mind is set on earthly things.</i></span><i> <span class="text">But our
citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord
Jesus Christ,</span> <span class="text">who, by the power that enables him to
bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that
they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:18-21</span></i></div>
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<span class="text"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="text">What does it mean to be a citizen of
heaven? Does it mean we get a nice passport with the pearly gates on the front?
Does it mean our national citizenship is revoked? It can be a confusing phrase
but it’s an important one to understand what it means. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="text">First a quick history lesson on Philippi.
Philippi was a town built on the site of the Thracian city of Krinides in 356BC
by Philip ll of Macedon.</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><span class="text"> In 168-167 BC the Romans defeated the Macedonians and took control
of Philippi. Following the assassination of Julius Caesar, his heirs Mark
Antony and Octavian defeated his assassins Brutus and Longinus at the Battle of
Philippi in 42BC. In the aftermath of the battle the victors colonised the city
with military veterans and renamed it </span><i>Colonia Victrix Philippensium. </i>In
30BC Octavian defeated Antony in a civil war, became emperor, bolstered the
colony of Philippi with more settlers, and bestowed the honour of <i>ius
italicum</i> upon the colony. The <i>ius italicum</i>, the highest honour a
Roman colony could receive, meant that Philippi was subject to Roman law, was
exempt from certain taxes, and its citizens gained Roman citizenship. Roman
citizens were granted many additional rights such as property ownership, voting
powers, the right to a trial, and immunity to torture, whipping, and the death
penalty.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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By all accounts the citizens of Philippi were immensely
proud of their Roman citizenship and the Roman laws and customs they had
inherited. Paul plays off of this pride in Philippians 3:20 (and in some
versions 1:27) by telling his readers that they are citizens of heaven. But
Paul is not saying this world is not my home, I’m just passing through as the
hymn states. Nor is it meant to be a comfort for the afterlife. No it is a
challenge to the church in Philippi, and in order to understand this we need to
understand how citizenship worked in ancient Rome.</div>
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<br /></div>
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What we don’t often pick up in our English Bibles is that
although citizen is a noun in English, the word Paul uses in the 1:27 occurrence
is a verb <span lang="EL" style="font-family: "Cardo","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EL;">πολιτε</span><span lang="EL" style="mso-ansi-language: EL;">ύεσθε</span> (<i>politeuomai</i>).
This word literally means “to live as a citizen” or in the context of the
passage “to conduct oneself”. We have to remember that Philippi was a Roman
colony and the purpose of Roman colonies was to Romanize the Greek areas they
were in. These citizens may never set foot in Rome but they understood that
they were to bring Rome and its culture to their setting. And in the same way
Paul is telling the church in Philippi that they are colonists for the Kingdom
of God and are called to spread the culture of this kingdom in the area by
living a life worthy of the Gospel they have received (1:27). This is why Paul
compares them to those who have their minds set on earthly things. In a culture
they celebrated sexual depravity, gluttony, and emperor worship, the believers
were called to be a witness for the Gospel and live by different values. Paul
is by no means commanding them to renounce their Roman citizenship but to be
prepared to be different and to suffer from it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In the same way Christians are called to spread the Gospel
in their own cultures to transform the world. We are called to be radically
different in the way we conduct ourselves. We are called to live in an upside-down
kingdom where the king sacrificed Himself for his subjects and people strive to
put others ahead of them. This is what it means to be a citizen of heaven, not
an escapist fantasy, but a challenge to live differently. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="text"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
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<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> Some
scholars put the date at 358BC, but this is inconsequential. </div>
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<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Some may recall that Paul exercises his Roman citizenship to avoid being
whipped in Acts 22:25.</div>
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Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-16246336465362941862014-05-17T23:44:00.002+12:002014-06-05T12:09:46.895+12:00Forgetting the Gospel <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">I remember quite vividly when I was a teenager I was sitting
on my friend’s bed when I looked across at his desk and saw: a stark black
tract with the words in white point 16 Arial Bold font “If you died tonight
would you go to Heaven?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Many of us who have been in the evangelical church have
probably grown up with this phrase. For many it was the defining question of
the Gospel; where am I going to go when I die?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">I really don’t like this approach to the Gospel. Not because
it can lead to “turn or burn” pitches where the goal is to scare people into
Christianity, but because I feel it only emphasises one half of the
Gospel. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Within the Church we have two major religious holidays –
Christmas and Easter. The former is important because it represents the
incarnation - God becoming human; the latter is important because it represents
the atonement – God suffering to free us from our sins. The second is arguably
more emphasised in the Church, and rightly so because so much New Testament
theology is built around the atonement. But sometimes I wonder if we emphasise
the beginning and the end of the Gospel at the expense of what’s in between.
Sometimes I wonder if in the process of focusing on the </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"> atonement we’ve
forgotten the Kingdom of God.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>“<span class="woj">The
time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good
news!</span>” </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">These are literally the first words that come out of the
mouth of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, the oldest of the four gospels. In Luke 4
Jesus goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath and reads the following prophecy
from Isaiah:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>“<span class="woj">The
Spirit of the Lord is on me,</span><br />
<span class="woj">because he has anointed me</span><br />
<span class="woj">to proclaim good news to the poor.</span><br />
<span class="woj">He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners</span><br />
<span class="woj">and recovery of sight for the blind,</span><br />
<span class="woj">to set the oppressed free,</span><br />
<span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="woj">to proclaim the year
of the Lord’s favour.”</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="woj" style="font-size: small;">And he ends by telling them that on that day
the scripture is fulfilled in their hearing it. When Jesus talks about the
Kingdom of God he is not talking about some pie-in-the-sky idea. Nor are the
miracles and healings he performs just a chance to show off or to be a nice
guy. No, these are signs that something radical is happening in first century
Palestine. <i>The kingdom of God has come
near. </i>This is <i>the</i> most explosive
event in recorded history: the first seeds of the Kingdom of God are here. A
kingdom where justice, love, and mercy reign. A kingdom where the poor are
rich. A kingdom that is so radically counter-cultural and unlike anything
anyone has seen before. A kingdom where God’s will is done on earth as in heaven.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="woj" style="font-size: small;">When we talk about the Christian hope we are
not talking about some ethereal pie-in-the-sky harp playing for all eternity;
we are talking about the moment when the Kingdom of God is fully here and
permeates all Creation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="woj" style="font-size: small;">The beauty of the word gospel is that it
comes from the Greek word <i>euangelion</i> (lit. “good news”). But this word was a
special word. It wasn’t used to refer to winning the lottery, or getting a
promotion. It was a special term that was used to refer to the good news of the
birth of a royal heir, the expected arrival of a king, or a great victory. In
the Gospel we see all three of these things. First we see the good news of
birth of the saviour Christ, heir to the Kingdom of God. Second we see the good
news of the coming of the Kingdom of God. Thirdly we see this in the good news
of the death and resurrection of Jesus as he wins obtains victory over the
power of sin and death.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="woj" style="font-size: small;">This is the three-layered Gospel we need to
preach, not one that simply speaks of life after death, but one that also
speaks of <i>life before death </i>and what
it means to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br clear="all" /></span>
<br />
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<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=653311439268986808#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a> In
all fairness there are others who have gone to the other extreme and have made
the Gospel all about the Kingdom of God and have removed the atonement all
together and I would argue that this is much worse. </span></div>
</div>
</div>
Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-653311439268986808.post-73554785415902293262014-05-11T21:39:00.001+12:002014-07-31T10:01:05.739+12:00Thoughts on Darren Aronofsky's Noah.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8UV7ZzvXiO-US9ergB4fxA0Y2xYfqSi4S30RQ-JUL_tah6dA1uFii5u5A6rDx4GW3lCzCYO5cbb-GxYafFhxYiDQv3GQKiu7sruAIpqsIAKsjbWMdgucelcAOokUvuz6eX0CL25-pOMs/s1600/noah_intl_quad-poster-620x350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8UV7ZzvXiO-US9ergB4fxA0Y2xYfqSi4S30RQ-JUL_tah6dA1uFii5u5A6rDx4GW3lCzCYO5cbb-GxYafFhxYiDQv3GQKiu7sruAIpqsIAKsjbWMdgucelcAOokUvuz6eX0CL25-pOMs/s1600/noah_intl_quad-poster-620x350.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;"><i>Minor spoilers ahead. </i> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">One of
the interesting things I’ve noticed since watching Noah is the amount of
conversations I’ve had with Christians who are either confused by the
extra-biblical elements of the film (e.g. the rock monsters) or think it
diverts from the Biblical account too much. As someone who both enjoyed the
film and is interested in how the creation accounts have been interpreted
throughout the ages, I thought I’d weigh in on this to in order to help some of
those who are confused.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">First it
should be noted that Noah isn’t necessarily a Christian account of the Noahic
flood. I’m not saying this because Aronofsky, although Jewish by heritage, is
somewhat of an atheist. I’m saying this because the account of the Noahic flood
given in this film is a very Jewish version. While watching it I couldn’t help
but notice that Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel had drawn quite heavily on
extra-biblical Jewish religious texts. The Watchers (the rock monsters) who
teach mankind and end up helping Noah build the ark are not an invention of
Aronofsky’s but are lifted straight from the Jewish non-canonical text The Book
of Enoch. Aronofsky and Handel have also drawn heavily from the Jewish rabbinic
Midrash. The Midrash is where the teller (most usually a rabbi) takes a
Biblical story and adds details to it to fill in the gaps or puts a new spin on
it in order to teach a lesson. One Midrash tells of a stowaway on the ark.
Another speaks of people attacking the ark but the animals gather to protect
it. While neither the Book of Enoch nor the Midrash are considered to have the
authority of scripture in Judaism, they are still an important piece of
heritage for Jewish scholars. And this is why I think it’s more helpful to view
this movie as more of a Jewish cultural interpretation than as a purely
scriptural account. But as one person replied to me “it should be about what
the Bible says, not what a culture says.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">But this
brings up the interesting question of how our cultural presuppositions shape
our view of Biblical stories. I, like many other evangelicals, was raised with
the Sunday school flannelgraph version of the story in which the ark is
portrayed as a nice little house boat with cute animals sticking their heads
out of the various windows and Noah smiling on proudly (and a conspicuous lack
of floating corpses surrounding the boat). Noah on the other hand has Noah
having nightmares about drowning in a sea of corpses. The inhabitants of the
ark have to listen to the screams of those who are struggling against the waves
and are being dashed against the rocks. Noah is portrayed as a man deeply
conflicted and who struggles to make sense of what’s happening to him. In some
parts he starts to mistake his own will for God’s. It really is quite different
from the Sunday school depiction.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">Or take
the Sunday school depictions of the birth of Christ which often involve Mary
riding a donkey to a nice wooden stable where Jesus lies in a cosy wooden
manger while three kings come to present gifts to them. The problem is that
none of these images are particularly biblical for various reasons but a lot of
people believe they are. In short, they’re cultural artefacts imposed on the
biblical text by popular Western imaginings. Even period films beloved by
evangelicals such as Passion of the Christ insert stuff into the story that was
never in the biblical text. Does this mean we should do away with all cultural
depictions of biblical stories that aren’t 100% faithful to the text (e.g.
nativity scenes, films)? No, but we should recognise them for what they are:
cultural depictions and not scripture. In the end, if you want a biblical
account of the Noah story that’s what the biblical text is there for. Don’t
take your theology from action movies. But there’s nothing wrong with allowing
a film to prompt you to ask deeper questions (which I think this film should
do).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">And
funnily enough, if there is one area that the Noah movie is quite faithful it’s
in its theological themes. There is a repeated affirmation of God as the
creator and sustainer of all creation. There is a repeated affirmation that
creation is good. There is a repeated affirmation of the importance of the
importance of responsible care for creation. There is a repeated affirmation
that humans rebelled against God and are fallen creatures. There is a repeated
affirmation that humans are made in the image of God. In the flood we see God’s
judgement of the wicked. And in the film’s climax we see that God is merciful
and hasn’t given up on humanity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">That
doesn’t mean I don’t have problems with some of the ways the film depicts the
Biblical text. For one, I wish they had been a bit more explicit with
explaining the significance of the rainbow at the end of the film. But in the
end I take my theology from the Bible, not movies.</span></div>
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Micah Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349332788003993789noreply@blogger.com2