Insights from a great mind

"Sooner or later He withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience, all those supports and incentives. He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs--to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best. [...] He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles."
-- Screwtape
from C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters

Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning, and now Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism by John Shelby Spong. Books that have touched my own heart--and the heart of God--in awesome and inspiring ways. I remember the spiritual renewing, the awesome and empowering life-truth, the saving and amazing grace, and the history changing difference that I gleaned from Mere Christianity and The Ragamuffin Gospel. When I set out to complete my Equality Ride readings, I was certainly not expecting a Christian awakening. How wrong was I?

There were moments as I read that the Evangelical inside of me sprung up and I was tempted to write it off as hippie-new-age-mushy-spirituality-not-really-Christian. But that notion was quickly dispelled. On multiple occasions (I can distinctly remember three), the words sent goosebumps over my body. I had previously thought about how there is a temptation to revere the Bible instead of revering God. That somehow it is the Bible that is the source of life, the source of goodness, the source of power.

It isn't.

The Bible is merely a messenger--one of many ways God reveals himself to us. Even the Bible talks of how God reveals Himself to all, even outside of Scripture. Scripture is beautiful. But Scripture is not God. It is the feeble, time-sensitive, culturally-tainted words of men (and women), striving to know God better and to pass on their magnificent, life-altering experience with him to others. God bless them! The Bible is a rich resource and we, Christians, would be lost without it. It's contribution cannot be overestimated. But it is but a mere reflection of the One it honors.

Spong proposes that while Fundamentalism offers a literalism that is both irrational, unacceptable, and eventually spiritually fatal, the alternative that many liberal/mainline churches present is no more appealing. Devoid of saying anything definite, lacking Biblical knowledge and authority, missing a real and urgent quest for God. Fundamentalism does not have a monopoly on the Bible. I was refreshed to hear an educated, progressive theologian talk about the importance of the Bible and the timelessness of its message. We have another option! Searching after God is not easy--but He never said it would be. When you wade past the limited knowledge of the day, the preconceptions, the assumptions, the culture, the language, and the experiences what you find is truly remarkable.
You find God.

I thank God that I might search after Him. And I pray that He might guide my journey as I do.

Gentle Words

Borrowed from fellow rider, Cylest Brooks:

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may just never be enough;
Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it's all between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Mother Teresa

Jesus, The Bible, and Homosexuality

Why am I doing this? I am not gay. No one in my family is gay. That is why I was able to stay on the sidelines for so long. It didn't touch me personally / I am a Christian who cares deeply about Christ's church. . . . This is a defining issue of our time.
- Jack Rogers; Jesus, The Bible, and Homosexuality

In his short book, Jack Rogers recounts his journey through GLBT issues from his theological roots, his ministerial positions, and his changing views on equality and inclusion. Rogers is an ordained minister of the PC(USA) church, he attended a conservative/evangelical seminary, and he in the past objected to the ordination of openly gay ministers. He served as moderator for one of the PC(USA) General Assemblies and has attended many others either as a seminary professor or an official representative. He has been directly involved in exploratory committees on the issues and after thoughtful and prayer consideration, Rogers has emerged on the other side as an advocate for full inclusion of GLBT individuals into the Christian family.

I commend Rogers on his straightforward approach. He doesn't beat around the bush or waste time with formalities. He makes no secret of his positions, past and present, and he gives guidance with a voice of authority.

To many Christians, gay people talking about how the Bible does not condemn them rings too much like alcoholics trying to justify their abuse. Luckily Rogers and others like him stand in solidarity with their GLBT brothers and sisters in Christ, unencumbered by accusations of selfish interests, speaking with authority that this marginalization can no longer be tolerated. There is no sin in being GLBT. Equality Rider Bram Wispelwey puts it this way, "Causing or even allowing any of God's children to feel like something less than His perfectly loved child may be the greatest heresy of the Christian faith." Bram rightfully sees it as what it is. This is not a gay issue, "this is a Christian issue, a human issue."

Amen.

Ragamuffins

Most of us believe in God's grace--in theory. But somehow we can't seem to apply it in our daily lives. We continue to see Him as a small-minded bookkeeper, tallying our failures and successes on a score sheet. Yet God gives us his grace, willingly, no matter what we've done. We come to Him as ragamuffins--dirty, bedraggled, and beat-up. And when we sit at His feet, He smiles upon us, the chosen objects of His "furious love."

A short while ago (read: 2.5 months), Brennan Manning came to speak at my church in Los Angeles, Bel Air Presbyterian, while our pastor was on sabbatical. Apparently I'm not up to snuff on my Christian authors because I had never heard of him before, but I think in the end I'm glad for that. I got to hear his message for the first time in person, which was really cool.

"God loves you just as you are, not as you should be, for you will never be as you should be."

That was the point he repeated over and over again. What a terrific point! For all of the fuss that modern-day Christianity is making, the simple truth is that Jesus came that we might know that God loves us, wants the best for us, and accepts us home just the way we are. We don't have to be perfect--or even good--before we come wandering back, His arms are already wide open.

Being thoroughly reinvigorated by the sermon and with Christmas only a few weeks away, his book The Ragamuffin Gospel, seemed like a natural thing to ask for when I got the annual phone call from Grandma.

I now betray my slow reading pace as I just finished the book a few days ago. It's not that I'm a slow reader, it's that I'm an infrequent reader. But I digress. The Ragamuffin Gospel was an neatly articulated, refined, more scripturally supported version of Manning's sermon. Plain and simple. My mind a few times strayed to the current "struggle" that Equality Ride is dealing with, though I attempted to read it with an unclouded mind.

If you are a Christian, I would highly recommend this book as a way to remember what is really important in life. If you aren't a Christian, I would highly recommend this book, too. Looking at the news headlines you might wonder why anyone would want to be a Christian -- this will answer that.

And if, for whatever reason, you feel lost and hopeless. Unloved or unworthy. Abandoned, betrayed, or simply alone. You definitely need to read this.

We come to God not because we have it all together, but because we are beat-up, worn out, and eager for rest. In the end, we all ragamuffins, and God loves us all just the same.