What is Christmas to you?

Christmas is almost upon us.  The frantic pace of trying to get everything sorted, bought, prepared, decorated, wrapped, organized, and sent is here.  I don't know about you, but despite the hassles and crowds, I love Christmas time.  It conjours up images and memories of candy stuffed bellies; delight and wonder of amazing gifts; and of course fun family time.

No, not every Christmas was something right out of Hollywood circa 1954, but still the season was always a treat and something I looked forward to every year (and still do).  But of course it isn't like this for everyone.  And of course many Christians lament the way this Holiday period resembles something more out of a handguide to business success then the Bible.  There are all sorts of questions, queries, and/or concerns about Christmas - one of my personal favourites is the actual date (was December 25th the actual birth date of Jesus - probably not).

However, why do people focus and fret about the inconveniences or problems?  This is probably the time of year where more people think about giving, being together with family and friends, and having a thought or two about God and spiritual matters as compared to any other time of the year.  And isn't that one of the reasons that Jesus came to Earth - to promote giving, community, and an understanding of God.

So enjoy the Turkey and Christmas Pudding, enjoy the look of excitement on the children's faces, and try to step back and ask yourself what is Christmas to God - what does He look at and see, what is He doing, and how is God celebrating this time of year?

Merry Christmas (I'll be back in the New Year)

Bored with God?

This morning as I was riding in to work on the metro I took the opportunity to read a little from The Message on my iPhone (yes, how very modern of me - commuting to work on public transport and using an Apple product - soon the new Microsoft because they are everywhere - to read this modern translation of an ancient text).  I indeed had a few interesting thoughts from my readings, but my mind wandered a little to the big picture of my spiritual life and I asked myself if I was bored with God?

A scary question to be sure - because just the question let alone the answer is a bit insulting both to God and to me.  But I think one that bears asking.  Yes, God should be insulted by the thought that He could bore anyone (the question of whether God would be insulted or can be insulted is another topic).  Here is the most awe inspiring Person, the Creator of all things, a Being so powerful the very presence of Him could destroy all other things.  And yet I find myself asking - does God bore me?

Its insulting to God that I ask this question and its insulting to me.  Its insulting to me because it implies that I don't really understand the reality of having a relationship with God and the true joy and truth that that relationship should bring.  And yet I claim to be a Christian where a relationship to God is the core of my life.

Despite all this, I still find myself asking this question.  And this morning as I sped along under the streets of the traffic jams above me, contemplating how I emotionally respond to He who holds all things in His hands; I had to answer; Yes I was bored.

The truth of that is not at all flattering - because it reveals the truth of my relationship, or more accurately my lack of connectedness  with God.  In my mind, I know I should never be bored with God, how could I.  And yet my emotional response is one of boredom.  Therefore the only conclusion I can reach is that my disconnect is so immense that I am missing out on the most rewarding of human experiences.

I wonder how I shall respond to this revelation????

Faith, Death, and Perspective

Yesterday at church we had a guest speaker.  This was a man that had just won his battle with cancer and he shared about how his faith helped him through the scare, the pain, the disappointment, the questions, and all the other emotions that come from facing death.

I don't know about you, but do you tire of hearing the happy clappy version of life from people who have come through a scare like cancer, a car accident, or some other tragedy?  Somehow it just didn't seem authentic to me (and of course having never had to experience something like this I really don't know what I'm talking about).  But what I found so refreshing about what I heard yesterday was a man that relied heavily on his wife and family (community and family are so important in all areas of life) and didn't try to pretend all he needed was God to get him through it all.  That, and he really emphasized perspective.  Being able to step back and look at life from God's perspective.  You hear this advice a lot when you spend a good chunk of your time in the Christian sub-culture.  And its good advice.

The ability to step back and to see your place in the bigger picture, to see what God would see.  This is what separates someone who is in touch with another world and someone who is not.  And like most things in life that are worthwhile and rewarding, it is a skill that does not come quickly or easily or by following some little magical formula.  It takes time and discipline - to chase after God.

So my challenge - are you able to step back and see things from God's perspective?  When your life gets struck by some huge stressful event, or even harder; when your life is dull, monotonous, and tiring?

If not, time to chase after God.

Blogless

OK, here it is near the end of November and I'm just getting around to putting up a blog. I think somehow I missed the basic idea of blogging - to put something up on a regular basis. Thus I'm calling myself Blogless. Or as some of my more astute friends might say - Useless.

OK, so if I say that I'm going to put something up here once a week - does that then make me accountable? Well I'm guessing that based on the lack of regular posts I'm not getting a lot of readers :) So I guess that statement makes me accountable only to myself. Well at least that is a place to begin.

So besides my self-incrimination, what do I have to share today. A quote:

"Whenever I meet a Buddhist leader, I meet a holy man in touch with another world. Whenever I meet a Christian leader, I meet a manager at home only in this world like I am."

Ouch - but all too true.

I know when people meet me they certainly don't feel like they have met a man in touch with another world. So my challenge to myself and to other like minded individuals - work on getting in touch with another world!

Not Disappeared and a Smile

Yes, yes, I know. You thought I'd returned to the hills of Afghanistan and abandoned my blog. Rest assured I'm still around and am getting back to my blog. In fact one of the big reasons for the lack of blogging is also the inspiration for today's blog - my daughter.

I, like all new fathers, have the best, cutest, more adorable, and obviously the most intelligent baby ever to grace the shores of our fair Earth. One thing I never imagined before becoming a father is the pure joy that a smile from my daughter can bring. When I look over the edge of the crib and she breaks into this great big smile and wiggles her legs and arms in happiness simply because I am there - well wow! That smile and the look on her face touch my heart and soul in ways I never experienced before.

So what does the smile of my wonderful daughter have to do with the spiritual thoughts I try to share on this blog. Well one day I was thinking about how my daughter makes me feel and I wonder if we have this same capacity to bring joy to God.

However this question presupposes a relationship/a connection/an interaction between a person and God - between me and God. The connection I have with my daughter is so vibrant and meaningful and I must confess that currently it outweighs the experience of God that I have from day to day. So does that mean because I don't have an emotional response to God's presence in my life that it is somehow less vibrant, less meaningful? Does God still experience a joy from His relationship with me if I don't feel anything?

Well you can see this whole train of thought has led me to questions about the role of feelings in the truth of God and one's own spiritual life. For many people there is a significant lack of personal emotive experiences that come from connecting or trying to connect with God. And yes of course we all tell ourselves and hear from the "experts" that it’s important not to rely on feelings when it comes to our relationship with Christ.

That may be very true, and we might truly believe it, but when you don't have an emotional experience from your relationship with God for long periods of time - it becomes increasingly difficult to spend time and energy on that relationships. We may wish this not to be true, we may tell ourselves that we can trust the truth of God over our feelings, but in reality it is a struggle.

So what is the clever conclusion? What is the little platitude of truth to be delivered that will help everyone with this little problem?

Sorry - there is none. Rather only a confession of reality. It’s very easy for me to spend time and energy on my daughter because of the great joy she brings me; and it can be very difficult to do the same with my relationship with God because there isn't always the same reward. And this is where patience, commitment, and perseverance come in.

Really there isn't anything new being said in this post - rather a plea to remain honest! Be honest and share the joy and excitement of having a significant experience of God's presence, comfort, and guidance in you life when you experience it. But in the same vein be honest and share the struggle; drudgery; excuses to avoid your Bible, church, and prayer; and downright boredom you experience at times in your relationship with God.

One of the biggest things we need to do is rid dishonesty from the church and Christian life. We need to learn to share the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Expecting and Expecting God

A little over a month ago my wife delivered our first baby, a wonderful girl that we have named Riva. Now before the event I must admit I had somewhat romantic ideals about the miracle of birth. Of course I never would say it as such, but my feelings were something along the lines of that at the moment our baby was born that the room would suddenly become brighter, we would hear angels, and it would be like the face of God was smiling at us.

People always talked about how the birth of a baby is such a miracle and one of those incredible experiences where God seems so real. So that was what I was expecting.

So what did I get - relief and happiness. Relief that it was all over for my wife and that we had a healthy baby; happiness that it was all over for my wife and that we had a healthy baby. To be honest God, miracles, and singing angels was the last thing on my mind.

But isn't that the way it is sometimes with us and God. We expect Him to show up and do certain things, and yet reality is normally much different from that. However, we never stop with the expectations. I was so happy and proud of my wife and my new little daughter. As I mentioned, I didn't even think of the divine at the delivery. Later I did, and appreciated the little miracle that I held in my arms, but at the time the divine was far from my mind. It would have been a shame if I had let my expectaions interfere with the joy of reality.

God is going to show up in your life as He often shows up in mine; but not always as we expect Him to and often in the most surprising and unexpected ways. And isn't that the joy of the mystery and greatness of our God?

Black and White Life?????

One of the issues that seems to keep worrying me about life is why don’t more people in my culture believe in and follow God.  Why is it that the majority of people don’t believe in God?  It is something that deeply troubles me.  Similarly, and perhaps more disturbing, is why is that so many people who once believed deeply and personally in God no longer do so?  So many people who once appeared to have a vibrant spiritual life with a connection to Christ walk away from the faith that I hold dear.  In our Christian sub-culture we call these people “backsliders”.

 

To be honest the reason that so many people seem to abandon their faith is not a simple one.  The answers are normally complex and interwoven with each person’s individual history and experiences.  However the most common theme coloring their stories is disappointment.  Disappointment with a Christian leader they followed, disappointment with church politics, disappointment from unmet expectations of God, and so the list could go on.

 

I think we, as a Church, set people up for these disappointments by the way we make life so black and white.   Something is always wrong, another thing is always right.  A good Christian never does this; a good Christian always does that.  We reduce the complexity of life to formulas and patterns.  We teach our children and we preach from our pulpits that if you push this button you always get this result.  Of course the occasional caveat is thrown in – an escape clause to explain away the fact that life doesn’t always mirror the pattern we are teaching.  But the problem is that the caveat is always just thrown in, a minor inconvenience that distorts the pretty picture we are trying to paint.  And as a result the caveat is easily ignored and forgotten – the picture of the Christian life with all the appropriate awards and niceties for following the rules is the one that sticks in the mind of most church goers.

 

Disappointment comes when the reality of life impinges on the picture perfect image we have created.  When God does not give me riches after I prayed the “Prayer of Jabez” so fervently, I will struggle.  When I find that people outside of the church really aren’t all that depraved and evil, but rather seem to be a lot like me; I begin to question the need for a conversion.  I was taught that people who were not in a relationship with God and who have not had their sins forgiven are weighed down by guilt, have a natural propensity to do wrong, and are searching for meaning or purpose.  Well when I meet these non-Christian sinners I normally find them to be caring, kind, generous, and loving.  Not at all the way they were portrayed to me by Bible study leaders and pastors.

 

As I sit in churches and listen to sermons or read through books on the Christian life I can’t help but be annoyed by the simplistic way life is depicted.  More often then naught the lessons for life are laid out in strong black and white terms with simple life lessons to apply.  I can understand the reason for this – we like to have certainties, it helps us get through a very complicated world.  The problem is that we live in a complicated world and to teach ourselves that by following this simple pattern of avoiding evil, doing good, going to church, praying and reading your Bible that life will be as full and rewarding as can be expected is a huge disservice.  We set ourselves up for disappointment because life is so very complicated.

 

I think we need to get into the messiness of what life is really about.  As a Church we need to stop trying to reduce life to formulas and teaching people to live for God; and instead teach people how to explore life with God.  This of course is difficult to do – its not something that lends itself to 4 module Sunday School lessons complete with felt figures to go on the board.  However, if we can find a way; I think we will prepare ourselves for the reality of life so much more.  It’ll allow us to explore our world with God, instead of trying to retreat into an artificial world created by children’s Sunday school lessons (the same lessons being taught from the pulpit, just with less interaction and bigger words).  God is more then just love and forgiveness.  If we can do this, I think we will have a lot less disappointed people leaving the Church and a lot more people reflecting the richness and infinite complexities of God that surpasses all the nuances, changes, questions, and difficulties seen in the reality of our day to day lives.

Over the last few weeks I've been reading a few books and one theme that has jumped out at me is Salvation.  There appears to be resurgence to some form of Universalism.  The basic idea of Universalism is that God's love and mercy covers everyone and that all people will be saved and spend eternity in Heaven.  The current form of Universalism that is making the rounds does allow for a Heaven and a Hell, but its more of a salvation of "we're all in" first rather then a "we're all out" and need to do something to be saved.

 

At first glance I think that would be great.  Now that would be "Good News" to share with the world.  What a huge example of God's goodness and love.  Everyone is so loved by God that God, will take everyone with Him to heaven and that only the people who refuse to come in will end up separated from God (hell).

 

Of course this flies in the face of what I was taught growing up in the church and the predominate theology of salvation for the last few hundred years.  And to be honest, just seemed a bit hard for me to swallow - but I have to admit I would like this everyone is already saved theology to be true.

 

Despite my conflict on Universalism, it did get me thinking about Salvation and what the Bible has to say about it.  It occurred to me that the Bible really doesn't lay out a complete theology of salvation.  We are given a lot of information (information I might add that also lends itself to a possibility that God will save all people) that we need to think through and put into a logical salvation theology.

 

I've come to the conclusion that we put way too much emphasis on salvation.  We seem to want to know beyond a shadow of a doubt about how to "get in" and who will not be there.  I think its a product of our Western Society where certainty is something that is a must.  I'm all in favour of having confidence in God, which how this certainty of salvation talks is most often couched in; but the emphasis seems to have moved from God to our theology.  If we have all this certainty, then where is the role of Faith?

 

I've often said that when it’s all over and done, I think all us will have gotten most of what God has been trying to teach us wrong.  And I think salvation is going to be one of the things that we get most wrong.

 

For myself, I really don't care what your salvation theology is, I trust God to make the right choice.  The God that I have fallen in love with is not precarious, temperamental, petty, or nit-picking.  A person is not going to heaven or hell on a technicality.  Whatever happens to a person after they die its going to be fair and just; and all people will agree that it was fair and just.  The reason I know this is because the Bible spends a whole lot more time and energy describing the character of God then it does the method of salvation.  And the character of the God I read about in the Bible and experience in my own life is one that is good, fair, just, and much more generous, kind, merciful, and loving that any person on earth deserves (be that person a Christian, a Buddhist, an atheist, or just an ordinary confused person trying to find their way through life).  As a result I can trust God; I can have faith in God.

 

My trust and faith in God means that I don't have to be particularly worried about salvation theology - I know that God will work it all out in the end properly.

 

I also know that living life trying to connect with God and follow His teachings and guidance creates a richer, fuller, more meaningful life then living without God.  Therefore I aspire to be a Christian in as far as that means I strive to have a relationship with God to the best of my abilities and encourage others to do likewise.

Can We Save Our Churches? - A Review of "Reclaiming the Church"

One aspect of the Transforming Theology project is to have people like myself read some books and then review them.  The question to myself is how do I write this review.  To be honest I don't want to do an English 101 book review style or some rigorous academic inspection complete with rebuttals, references, supportive evidence and/or contradictory thoughts and philosophy.  Somehow I didn't think I'd get people piling all over themselves to read that sort of thing.  So I thought I'd write a little about what I read and the thoughts that were stirred up as a result. 

(I'm going to have to amend my style - the following turned out to be a bit long!)

 

Review of Reclaiming the Church by John Cobb, Jr

     The ten second review of the book is that it is good and thought provoking (short enough for you).  Cobb basically states that churches are becoming irrelevant and that those within the Church either are ignoring the problem; want to restore the Church to its previous state of purity and relevance; or want to transform the church into something new and more interactive with today's culture.  The book is Cobb's way of exploring these issues and offering some hope.

     Let me move on from the 10 second review, and I'll get into a few more details and thoughts from the book.  I don't think I need to get into everything that Cobb has to say, but I would like to key in on a few points that Cobb does write about.

1.  We've Stopped Thinking

Cobb recognizes that people within the Church have stopped thinking - that THEOLOGY has moved from the Church to the University.  About the time of World War II and until now, theology has been removed from practical living.  In fact it has gotten to the point that Cobb believes that about the only thing people think about during times of Bible study is their own personal issues.  There simply isn't enough "normal people" trying to think through the

 implications of the reality of God and how that reality might impact their day to day lives, the lives of their communities, and the big picture of the human existence. 

A bit harsh, but probably not that far from the truth.  I hate to say it, but we (we being regular church attenders) really don't like to wrestle with the difficult stuff do we?  Of course there is always that one guy who always brings up the hard questions, but he also usually dresses a little weird and doesn't have the greatest social skills so we don't take him too seriously.

Cobb also points out that part of the problem with the lack of theology within the Church is a result of the specialization in expertise that has occurred in our Western culture that came out of the Enlightenment.  We have splintered everything into narrow fields of expertise, to the point where you can hear someone say that they have a PhD in Advanced Protein Synthesis of Ancient East Norwegian Canine Fleas.  Its gotten to the point that you can't really have an opinion on something unless you know absolutely everything there is to know about one thing that no one else on the planet has ever heard of.  And this is what has happened to theology.  Cobb states that pastors and lay people don't see themselves as theologians - rather believes theology has been professionalized. This is because "proper theology" needed to pass the "test" - rigorous

 academic inspection - history, intellectual inspection, congruence, etc.   Surely it couldn't be possible for someone to have a useful relevant thought unless they had studied the topic in a dark hole for at least 8 years.

In his book Cobb states that because of the long silence on theological thought within the Church, there is a legitimate fear that when all these theological questions are raised - we will find that people have moved in so many different directions that its all "chaos" or conflicting ideas, diversity and confusion.

Which leads me to the next point....

2.  Division not Unity

Cobb actually has a lot to say on unity and division; and a lack of passion within churches.  I won't go into all the details here but I wanted to key on something that is a bit of a pet peeve of mine and something that Cobb goes into.  There is so much division between Christians all over the world and for the most part its not about the deity of Christ or the goodness of God, but rather its about how fast or slow the music should be in a church; whether it is OK to be divorced or not; can we allow active homosexual couples in our churches; will Christ come back before or after the Tribulation; or other similar issues.  Some of these things are important and some or not; but the key is that none of them are more important that what we all share - a belief and love of Christ.

Why do we have to focus on the minor issues that are different, or on the best way to run a church service?  Why do we even go as far as to fight and war over differences in interpreting the Bible when Christ taught us to love and accept others?

It seems to me that if we could focus on Christ instead of the details that we (and by we, this time I mean all Christians all over the world) could work together and put into practice a phrase that Christ stated, "by your love for one another they will know you".

"It is without strong, shared Christian convictions among their members, churches decline. That is what is happening now."  Cobb stated the previous in his book and it struck me as true.  Moving past the differences and focusing on the shared convictions the Church could really come together.  However, those strong, shared convictions are only going to come about when we have the Theology that allows people to get behind the idea.  To be passionate about being Christians!

3.  Lukewarmness

"Unless the Christian faith can provide the basis for assimilating the truth of the new challenges of the twentieth century into a whole that is communicable to many, and unless Christians can point convincingly to what this new vision requires, old line Protestantism will relapse more and more into lukewarmness - and death."

Quite a bold statement by Cobb, but I don't think its too far off.  I think the world tolerates us Christians as that is the nature of our Western culture - to accept; but I don't think they see the teaching of the Church as relevant.  By relevant, I don't mean they have to agree with us; I just think they need to believe that what we say actually relates to the world they live in.  Unfortunately, at the moment, most do not see such things in our teachings.  And I believe this is a part of our lukewarmness.  When everyone around a Christian is smiling and nodding their heads in a very condescending way its hard to keep up the passion.  No one likes being treated like a senile old relative that is tolerated because that is the polite thing to do.  And that is what we have become to our Western culture - the senile old relative.

In his book Cobb does a good job of looking at some of the issues of lukewarmness from periods of the past.

An important issue in dealing with how the church should change (see below on Renew and Transform) is that we need to have clear Theological conclusions.  It is important to listen to each other and from time to time agree to disagree, but we should not just compromise.  "Compromise alienates those who have strong convictions on both sides and carries the churches still deeper into lukewarmness"

4.  Renew or Transform

According to Cobb there are 2 basic ways of dealing with this lukewarmness/decline of the Church.  We can either renew or transform. (There is also the stick your head in the sand and pretend there isn't a problem, but neither Cobb nor I find that option particularly helpful.)

The Renew train of thought is to attempt to revert back to a style/way of living/time/purity of the Church in the past.  The idea here is that the Church's purity has been eroded and that we need to return to the past when we had things right.  The evidence that we had things right was seen in the impact on society, people's lives, and the world in general.  Those within the Renew thought believe that we must hold firmly to what has worked in the past, although allowing for growth in understanding.  

The Transform train of thought is that we need to to learn from the past, adapt to the present, and to Christianize the present environment.  The idea here is that just as Christ transformed the Church from the Old Testament version to the New Testament version so also should we transform the Church as we learn more about the world that God created and about God Himself.  The evidence that we need to transform is seen in the example set by Christ as well as in the Reformation.

I tend to agree with Cobb when he stated that it is neither Reform or Transform, but a combination of both.  Although both he and I tend to lean heavily in the direction of transformation.

An example of transformation and renewal working together was the Reformation with Luther and Calvin.  Renewal in that it went back to Biblical standards and tried to remove the influences of the world, transformed because it resulted in a Church that was significantly different from any that had existed before.

Cobb does a good job of pointing out how the 2 differing options of what need to change in the church can and should work together.  He points out the good in both and not just the extremes often used by one side to argue against the other.

"Advocates of renewal sometimes polemicize against transformation, and advocates of transformation often find only a small place for renewal. Nevertheless, in a broad historical perspective it seems that both have roles to play in the life of the church. When the problem is that the distinctive biblical themes are clouded by the dominance of cultural patterns, renewal is needed. Transformation is needed when our historic teaching limits us to the themes dominant in our own tradition, preventing us form hearing the voices of those who have suffered, because of our historic teaching, and when this limitation blocks our appropriation of liberating and enlarging insights from other sources. Our historical consciousness should prevent us from supposing that we can make normative judgements applicable to all places and all times." 

Cobb argues there can be neither renewal or transformation without widespread theological reflection.  Transformation requires more theological thought because it requires more thought to gain from our culture then disconnecting from it.

The focus of transformation is on reaching out to those alienated from the church; and this is something that resonates with me.  Much of what the Church has said in done in the past has hurt and pushed people away.  We need to acknowledge the damage done and move towards healing.  Always doing what we have always done, is not going to cut it.

The other thing that Cobb points out that I like about Transformation is that it allows us to learn from our environment, we may not accept everything, but we do learn.

Cobb points out that Christianity was a transformation of Judaism. He goes on to say that our transformation should be a return to the future orientation found throughout the Bible that focuses on what will be, not what was.  The Hebrew history reflects the changing nature of their faith as they grew and learned and adapted to things they experienced in other cultures.

One point that is often brought up against Transformation is that history ended with Christ.  Cobb argues against this by stating if this is the case then it means that God does not have any transforming power.  I think this belief of history beginning and ending in Christ is one that is pervasive throughout the Church and requires more theological thought and argument then presented by Cobb.  We need more theological thought on this issue to help some people overcome their fears of what Transformation means.

Whenever new ideas and thoughts are introduced into the Church, people are afraid they might be being led astray by "false prophets".  Before we argue what aspects of the church need to be transformed and what needs to be renewed, we need to have a theological argument as to why it is OK to transform what was previously believed to be true.

5. 5 Issues

Cobb goes into a lot of detail on five dominate issues that he believes are coming to an end:  Eurocentric living(Western way of life); Nationalism (given way to Economism); rationalism - specifically the Enlightenment; sexual repression (long associated with Christianity); and patriarchy (changing as a result of Feminism).

Personally, keying in on these five issues seems to limit the changes we are seeing and misses out on a few issues that I believe are important for the Church:  Victimization (everyone is a victim and therefore not responsible for the way their current predicament; and furthermore someone else should take care of their problems - this applies to personal issues, business, family, and just about every area of life); Comfort (the huge desire to not be inconvenienced and how that shapes our lives); and Informatization (the rapid dissemination of ideas, thoughts, and information that impacts our culture and leads to rapid changes).

Nonetheless, Cobb's five dominant issues do represent a significant part of the changes we are experiencing.

The collapse of the Eurocentric way of thinking is a byproduct of Globalization and Informatization.  We simply our seeing the world and ourselves through different sets of eyes and are really beginning to appreciate the insights that these different vantages give us.  This of course applies to the Theology as well - we are looking at the text of the Bible and the stories within it in a whole new light.  At times this new way of looking at things calls into question our previous understanding.

I believe this is great.  The more we examine what we believe the more solid our beliefs become as we hold on to the true and let go of the false.

Of all the five issues I think the one that is having the greatest impact is the end of Nationalism and the rise of Economism.  It is becoming less and less important which country you are from; and more and more important your earning potential and the company you work for.

Cobb wrote this book in 1997 and could not have seen the rapid expansion of wealth between 1997 and 2007, followed by the huge economic collapse that we are now experiencing.  However his thoughts reflect the reality that money now plays and how finances bridge borders.  Cobb states the end of Nationalism has resulted in less international conflict.  However, he did not see that the rise of Economism has resulted in a rise in conflicts as people with aligned financial interests fight over dwindling resources.

One issue that Cobb does not touch on is the factor that social-economic factors play in people's acceptance of religion.  For people whose futures do not look good, when the prospect that a person's children will be worse off then their parents, then these people turn to religion in greater numbers.  This is a huge factor in the growth of the Muslim faith.  People look for hope and the religion down the street - be that a mosque, a temple, or a church - offers it.  I think we need to realize that it is hope that people are looking for and when people have a hope in financial growth they are a lot less inclined to turn to a hope offered by religion.  This reality impacts the rich, the poor, and the emerging.  A factor that needs to be incorporated in any moves the Church is going to make in the future - be that renew, transform, or a combination of both.

The end of rationalism and the growth of the post-modern thought process has been well documented and Cobb continues to build on this.  Unfortunately I believe the Church has been slow to embrace this change and most Christians are still taught in the Rationalism mode of thought on how to think about their faith and share it with others.

Sexual repression!  Now there are two words that are sure to stir up interest, embarrassment, and debate.  Cobb touches on this topic a little but tends to move over it quickly.  However he does point out that sex is a huge factor in our culture and the Church needs to embrace all the implications and react from a truly well thought out Theology - not just in the same way as the last Century.

Patriarchy and feminism.  I have to admit that I am lacking on exposure to feminist thoughts and writings.  In general I support the basic foundations of feminism, but I found it hard to relate to the prominence that Cobb has given it in his book.  Perhaps this is a result of my own ignorance and so I won't criticise too much.  I will say that I appreciate the gender equality that feminism brings to understanding God and I think this can only help the Church as we move forward.

6. Looking to the Future

Cobb states that we need to find a message that will evoke a commitment to Christ but that also repsonds to the questions posed by Science and History, address' the damage done in the past by the teachings of the church (both to those in and outside the Church).

Cobb states that one issue that mighbe be a great starting point is the saving of the environment.  Its something that tends to be a unifying issue for people within the church and outside (of course the biggest obstacle is the financial costs and this obstacle occurs within and outside the church as well).  I think it is an excellent issue to begin with.  If we can establish an area of unity then we can use that as a basis to move into other areas of mutual concern - justice, participation, peace, and spiritual realities.

Within the church Cobb sees the most serious weakness is that we share no clear idea of "salvation".  Cobb proposes an inclusive salvation - "the salvation of the world" - incorporating forgiveness, healing, environment, lonliness, etc.   Cobb believes this would allows the Church to work with the world and with other religions.  In working towards this salvation of the world just because someone does some good, but is not Christian should not be of concern for us - we are working towards the goal of salvation of the world and all who work towards that goal can be appreciated.

This above issue would probably be the most controversial aspect of Cobb's book.  He stops short of saying that all religions lead to God and salvation, but his inclusive language will scare many within mainstream Christianity away.

He does make some interesting points, but if he really wants to get the Church to unite behind this and have this issue of salvation be a central rallying point then he needs to argue it more successfully.  I did like his statement:  "That God has worked and is working among people outside the chuch as well as among those within it should be no surprise to a reader fo the Bible."  It something that is obvious once you read the statement, but probably not something that many Christians would have thought beforehand.

7.  Conclusion and Questions

Well to make a long blog a little longer I wanted to give my 10 second conclusion and then leave with a few important theological questions that Cobb's book raised but did not answer to my satisfaction.

Cobb's book is well thought out and provides a great starting point for a lot of discussions.  The Church does need to change and it will probably be a combination of both renewal and transformation that leads to a new kind of Church that did not exist before.  This I believe is Cobb's most important contribution - the effort to bring the two together and then to look towards the future; based on a call to really begin to think Theologically that would make a united change in the Church possible.

I would love to see the Environment as the issue that unites Christians and non-Christians and serves as the beginning of having the Church, Theology, and Christians being relevant to those outside the Church doors.

A few questions that Cobb has raised that need more thought:

1.  Is there a history apart from Christ that can teach us more then what Christ taught us?

 

2.  How can changing what we have believed in the past be seen as a movement towards truth and not being led astray by false prophets?  (I see this as a huge fear that prevents many from accepting the ideas of the emerging chruch - the tranforming train of thought mentioned by Cobb)

3.  Acknowledging the role that hope plays in people turning to Christ, why would people who have a hope for the future and the future of their children outside of religion be interested in exploring spiritual issues? (Why change what appears not to need changing)

4.  Relevant theological thoughts on all matters sexual?

5.  Does the Bible really teach an "inclusive salvation"? (this is the issue that would prove the most decisive)

Transforming Theology Project

I will be participating in Tripp Fuller's Transforming Theology Project. So that means that I will be reviewing some theological books, blogs, and pod-casts from time to time on my blog. Check out the growing interest in theology that makes a difference.

Here is a short video on what the Transforming Theology Project is.

Veritasity Intro

I have noticed that I spend a lot of time defending Christianity. If you happen to be a member of the Christian sub-culture that opening phrase immediately makes you think of "apologetics" - always ready to give an argument as to what and why you believe. If, like me, you grew up in the Christian sub-culture then the idea of regularly ticking off the box that says we should be talking about and defending your faith is a good thing - in fact a very good thing, its one of the things that gets you a gold star in our sub-culture. However the problem is I'm not defending Christ.  I'm not talking about my spiritual life.  I can't get that far in the conversation. 

Allow me to illustrate.  I currently live and work in Central Europe and occasionally I travel for work.  On one such trip I was in Sarajevo with some colleagues.  In between meetings and a late dinner we had some time and so stopped in a local bar to sample the regional beer. 

(which I might add is quite tasty)   

The conversation got around to religion.  Its amazing how often that happens when you are an ex-pastor.  Anyways, I digress.  The question that was posed to me was along the lines of; "Randy, how come your lot is always causing problems?"  What followed was an hour long conversation about wars, discrimination, sexual exploitation, misuse of power and hatred.  

How did we get to this point? The point where the default understanding of a Christian is such a negative thing. Why doesn't the phrase, "Oh, he's a Christian" conjure up images of Christ, something positive? Why is that we as Christians are repugnant to the world? 

There is no simple answer to this conundrum(I like that word, it makes me sound smart doesn't it?). But it is something that needs to be addressed. I'm not talking about winning a popularity contest or being named to the Top 10 Trendiest Philosophies of the Year. I would just like it if when people looked at Christians they saw Christ and not a collection of jerks.

Unfortunately I have found in my travels and conversations that this negative image is the most commonly held view out beyond the pale of the church doors(and sometimes within the church doors).  We need to do something different, because what we are doing isn't working. And for me that is the biggest issue. Christianity is disappearing from the Western world and how does Christianity react - by doing exactly what it has been doing for the last 50 years or longer. We keep doing what we have always been doing and we expect things to get better. That is not a recipe for success.

Thus, the beginning of my blog.  I wanted a place to share a few things I have seen and experienced as it relates to the spiritual reality of life.  I want to state from the beginning that I strongly believe that there is a God, that God is good, and it is possible to relate to that God.  I can not prove this to you, beyond  anecdotal stories.  Nonetheless it is the foundation of my life's philosophy.  Therefore my blog will always start with these presuppositions in the background.  Everything else is open for debate.

Veritasity is the combination of the word "veritas" (which means truth - but is also the name of one of the sexiest cars I have ever ridden in - a 1949 Veritas Coupe) and "tenacity".   I want to chase after Truth, wherever it may be found, with a tenacity that will not be put in check by convenience, tradition, or  discomfort.