Month: February 2024

Perfect Love Disarms And Casts Away Fear

Published by mhelbert on February 28, 2024

I wrote a short while ago how I’m so over the current news cycles. Not only are they biased in order to garner clicks and advertisers, they are truly skewed to generate negative emotions. Not like mine. I get frustrated and turn the shit off. On the other hand, there are a huge number of people who sit enthralled by the latest headlines of shootings and war and politicians’ lies. They want to know why these things are happening so they turn to any source that can provide them with some kind of solace. Even if that means diving into the sewer that is Q-anon or the Chans. Even idiotic conspiracy theories are better than nothing when it comes to explaining the world.
Why is this? How is it that normally rational human beings turn to nonsense dressed in satin and lace? I have a theory.
Fear.
Ok, it’s not so much mine. Nor is it a theory. It’s pretty much a proven fact that fear drives people to think and do things that, under normal existence, they would never consider. This is the prime motivation that all of the news networks employ to keep people coming back for more and more bad news. That’s because fear is a great motivator. Folks live in fear for their lives, their livelihoods, and their children. Fear of losing a job or, worse, to lose status and power in the culture sends people into the streets, (and, onto the Capitol steps).
If I was an anthropologist I could likely spin a tale of evolutionary conditioning in which fear was a good thing. Fear kept our ancestors on the lookout for predators. Fear enabled them to ‘fight or flight’ reactions. Our ancient fears allowed our species to survive and thrive. Yeah, if I was that anthropologist. I’m not.
The fear that I’m talking about really has nothing to do with those old self-preservation fears, anyhow. This fear is totally irrational. I know that the main character on the TV show, Irrational, says that all people do irrational things. He’s likely right. But, in today’s world fear drives people to live in irrationality. Fear drives them deeper and deeper into the darkness where light diminishes into shadow.
I wrote several years ago about how some so-called preachers instill fear into those under their care. That is a type of abuse aimed at control. Today’s fear isn’t too far removed from that. Only now the media and political leaders use fear to control everyone within earshot. I am pointing my finger at ALL media and ALL politicians. It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle, fear is the chain that binds people. If you hadn’t noticed, the name of this blog is Breaking the Chains that Bind. That’s why I’m writing this post. We don’t need to be shackled by the cultural public fear that we’re being fed every hour of every day.
Of course, we could simply walk away and ignore it. That’s not practical, but it is possible. We would effectively need to remove ourselves from the public domain and hibernate in a cave somewhere. There’s always the option of educating ourselves about what’s going on. But, when folks are bound up in their own fearful little corner of the world, education doesn’t work. Their personal shields make it impossible for them to accept any facts that may contradict the safety of their world. No, something much more powerful than education must be used. I could claim that faith in God is the only true solution. So many powerful people, re., men, proclaim that Jesus is the Answer. However, they neglect to tell us what the question is. Jesus is touted as the Perfect Elixir for All That Ails Ya. All ya gotta do is think and believe exactly like I tell you to. (Not how I actually think and believe. Just sayin’.)
Way back in the days when the first communities of faith were getting their feet, there was a lot of reason to fear. Not these made up fears that bombard us day and night. There was the real chance that those folks would not live to see another day because of their beliefs. Many of them did not survive. They lost whatever social community they may have grown up with. Their means to earn a living was many times taken from them. Martyrdom was a real possibility. If anyone should be allowed some lee way when it comes to fear, these were the people.
They didn’t. At least not all of them. We read of Ignatius of Antioch we hear of a man who was en-route to Rome in order to die in the arena. A spectacle for Rome that would show that Rome had the true power. Yet, Ignatius is said to have written letters to others and spoken about his impending martyrdom. These sources reveal a person who was a peace.
Why?
St. John the Elder wrote, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love” (1 John 4:18).
Love.
Love is the answer to fear.
If we have love of the ‘other’ then fear of migrants or minorities melts away into vapor. If we love our enemy as Jesus, himself, taught his followers we remove any reason that they may have to harm us. (Of course, some people cannot be deflected from doing harm. Even with the Love of God offered to them.) Even with that parenthesis, our love disallows fear. Love keeps that foul seed from taking root. It’s written that love covers a multitude of sins. That’s true. Fear is one of those sins that love covers and subsumes.
I don’t know why I wrote this particular post. Perhaps, it is a timely word for some folks to hear. All I do know is that I am still working on that whole love thing myself. It isn’t perfected in me. But, I know that fear is not where I want to live. And, Love is the only way to disarm and defeat fear.

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Orthodoxy: God is the Only Object

Published by mhelbert on February 26, 2024

There’s one last thing that I want to muse about when it comes to orthodoxy. After this we’ll all take a break from that and pick on something else.
In the last post I talked about what my Correct Belief is not in: The Bible. Our Sacred Text was never meant to take the place of God. Neither are guns or country. In the first century, Jewish leaders put their faith in the Temple and the rites that took place there. Well, they found out how secure that was in 70 A.D. when Rome destroyed the Temple and put that entire system to the sword.
Stuff cannot be our God.
Here’s where I think that Correct Belief finds its true object.
God.
Period, end of story.
Perhaps not like you may think. I don’t think that belief IN God is adequate. Anyone can believe that God exists. James wrote in his epistle that the people believed “that God is one. Even the demons believe…and shudder.” Actually, when someone tells me that they believe in God I just shake my head. Those words mean nothing. I believe in gravity, also. What’s important is what I do with that belief.
That brings to what I think IS the Correct Belief. What it’s true subject has to be if we want to be faithful stewards of God’s love.
What we believe ABOUT God is paramount.
Who is God? What is God like? Show my God’s character and heart. These are the questions that we should be seeking answers to. Last year in our St. Barnabas Bible Study we spent several months on this question. What started out looking at how God’s wrath in the Bible can be an accurate description of God. Short answer, it can’t. The angry God that Jonathan Edwards preached about in an early American church in New England, doesn’t exist. From Edwards on the idea that God hates our sin so much that God can’t even look at us unless Jesus stands between God and humanity. That is a lie straight from the pit of hell. And, that lie has tied countless people into a bondage that suffocates the life out of their spirit.
Correct Belief, orthodoxy, starts at the Incarnation of God in Messiah Jesus. And, it ends with God sacrificing God’s self as Jesus the Son in order to defeat sin and death. The proof of this Correct Belief is the empty tomb. This is the Gospel. That the Kingdom of God is here, now. Jesus is the Messiah; the Christ; the Lord of all.
That is what we can know about God. That is the beginning of orthodoxy. That is where our Correct Belief finds its true object.

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There Is No Other! It’s All About God!

Published by mhelbert on February 22, 2024

Earlier this week I wrote about my passion for God. I also expressed a defense for my Orthodoxy. Then, I wrote a bit about the inadequacy of any kind of correct belief that finds its object in dogma, doctrine, or propositions. That’s the world of Systematics. At best that world is too small. At worst, well, it is destructive in more ways than I care to mention right now. Maybe some other time.
What I didn’t discuss was what my own orthodoxy is founded on. In what, or Whom, do I ground my ‘right belief’ on?
I’m glad you asked that question.
Let me start by sharing a couple of things that it is Not.
It is not grounded in the Bible.
Whoa! Say what?! I can see all of my fundagelical friends clutching their pearls and wringing their hands. Isn’t the Bible the inerrant Word of God? Isn’t the Bible the only trustworthy way that we can even know God? How can we know what’s true and good? More importantly, how can we know if we’re IN?
Don’t get your boxers in a bunch.
There is no one on the planet who loves the scriptures more than I do. I read, study, and dwell in them every day. I have an extremely high view of them. They are inspired by God the Holy Spirit.
What I don’t do is venerate them. I am not a bibliolater…I don’t worship them. The Bible is a book. Granted, it’s an ancient book filled with even older texts. But, it is a book. It’s a tool. At best, it’s a sign post that points in the direction of what is truly worthy of veneration and worship…God.
Most people view the scriptures as a working document that one can use in order to find their way in life. To them it’s a road map or a users’ manual. If they follow the directions all will be well with the world. If not, well, bad stuff happens. God will getcha if you don’t follow the rules.
It’s not only Christians, but so-called orthodox members of any religious movement may fall into that trap. Rules are meant to be followed. Rules inspired by God inhabit an especially important space where any sign of rule breaking or bending can have eternal repercussions.
Ok, not to be too crass, I call bullshit. At least in the case of the Christian Bible I can be fairly certain that it was not designed to be taken as a literal treatise on the Ways and Workings of the God-fearing Person. Nor is it a book of history or science or any of the other things that bibliolaters claim.
If the creation story didn’t happen just as it is written, how can we trust any of it?
The short answer is, in respect to science, you can’t. That’s not what the Bible is for. You folks are asking the scriptures to carry something that they were never meant to carry. So, stop it, already!
The Bible, at its best, points to God and God’s plans for the world. And, those plans don’t include the rules and regulations that so many people like to impose. Again, stop doing that!
Thirty plus years ago I began to realize that the Bible is a love story. Yeah, that’s right, a Love Story. The Lover in this story is God. The scriptures are full of stories about this love. God’s love sustains the world. It is what moves the Cosmos forward. It is the all-encompassing love of God that leads us to worship and adore God.
But, it is NOT God.
Orthodoxy, correct belief, can never be focused on anything or anyone other than God. Period. End of story.

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There Is Only One Who Captures My Passion

Published by mhelbert on February 19, 2024

A whole bunch of years ago a co-worker who followed my blog told me that when I wrote about myself; my passions; my heart that the writing was much better. I allowed some of the ‘me’ that I keep bundled up in the corner to peek out. She said that when I wrote about technical stuff like the Church and theology the writing just wasn’t compelling.
I took that to heart. Of course I want people to read what I write. That’s why I write it! Her comments sent me down a road of constant concern for how I present myself through these little blog thingies.
A problem that I found with this is that there are things that I am passionate about that don’t necessarily reveal anything other than my thoughts on various topics. They’re not some kind of heart revealing story that may be anywhere near what my co-worker spoke about.
But, they are things that I am passionate about.
I am passionate about God. Who God is. What God speaks to me. Where God leads.
I am passionate about worshiping this God. The act of sharing my heart with God is irresistible.
I am passionate about sharing this God with others. Not in the way evangelicals do. But, in ways that I think may actually introduce the God I love to others. ANY others.
In all of this, I am passionate about Orthodoxy. Not the Eastern kind. The word ‘Orthodox’ is made of two Greek words. Ortho, meaning straight, right, or correct. And, Dox derives from a word that means belief. So, literally, Orthodox means Correct Belief.
Now, as a disclaimer, I am making no claim at all that what I believe is all correct. Nor is it my belief that everyone else follows what I think. I’m just an old white guy with some opinions. Nothing more than that.
As an open disclosure, I find my way to Orthodoxy within a fairly large community. There is my local parish and the people who attend there. They get to listen to me and respond to the things that I think. We don’t always agree. But, that’s ok. I am part of the larger diocese of Ohio as well as the Episcopal Church in the U.S. Again, we don’t always agree, but I find that the larger church does have some guardrails in place that help me to not go flying off of the road. I am in constant dialog with the Academy and the Scholarship that comes from it. Greater minds than mine have wrestled with the same things that I do. I avail myself of that. And, my community includes the ancient Church and Church Fathers who produced our framing documents defining Orthodoxy, the Creeds.
All of that to say, when I write on technical issues that affect faith and the Church, I stand on a fairly firm foundation. That foundation allows my passions to gain their footing and present to the world.

There are many others who make claims to a form of orthodoxy. They, like me, define orthodox as correct belief. Their right belief, however, is in dogma and doctrine rather than the Scripture, the Church, and the Tradition. Many of them reduce God to a series of systematic attributes. They call that Systematic Theology. The church I came from used a particular book as their sole education to theology. Reading the book, they said, was all that was necessary to be orthodox. If you read the book and believe what the writer said, you’re good to go. The problem with that is that people who write systematic theologies are usually old, white guys who are trying to justify all of the money that they wasted on education. Yeah, I’m looking at you, Wayne Grudem. God for them becomes little more than bite-sized bits of scripture texts taken out of context. These ‘theologies’ offer nothing that may actually bring life to people. It’s sterile academics at its worst. Probably, a lot like my co-worker thought of some of my blog posts.
Because of my passion for God, I will continue to push back against those who would put God into a systematic or doctrinal box. Too much of that has been done over the centuries. And, millions have suffered because someone said, “This is the only way to serve God. Follow these rules. Memorize these propositions. Do what I say. Not what I do.” If that’s to technical or doesn’t reveal who I am, so be it. I can only write the words that express what I am passionate about.
This IS me.
Deal with it.

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Misrepresenting the Church in Media

Published by mhelbert on February 17, 2024

I’m pretty much giving up on watching or listening to what the media claims is ‘news.’ It doesn’t matter what perspective the particular medium holds politically, socially, or economically. They all seem to be nothing more than providing scintillating gibberish in order to garner clicks or viewer. Gotta make the advertisers happy! No matter how much the stories must suffer.
And, suffer they do.
Some subjects seem to be considered “hands off.” We don’t want to offend our cash cow, er, constituent followers. This already tints the reporting. There is necessarily a bias toward any story that may make some folks uncomfortable.
That is truly devastating to people’s ability to know what’s going on. We aren’t trusted to be able to determine how an event or story will impact us. We are spoon fed the useless pablum of the current news cycle. Then we wonder why so many people miss the reality that is our life together.
One of my pet peeves, (you had to expect that there would be a peeve in here somewhere!), is how the media misrepresents the Church in the U.S. The most common misrepresentation is how the conservative evangelical church has become the action wing of the GOP. When religion and politics mix anywhere it’s a bad thing. When that happens within a reactionary political environment the outcome gets down right dangerous. Religion politicized is theocracy. Theocracy breeds things like the Inquisition. It makes the genocide of Indigenous People acceptable. Or, so says the Doctrine of Discovery. What we’re seeing in today’s world politic is the weaponization of religion in culture wars. In those, all are punished.
There is another side to this, however. One that isn’t so obvious. Yet, it is just as detrimental to the so-called sanctity of the Fifth Estate. This is how those who are progressive or liberal also use the news as political cannon fodder. They project their perception of their god onto the same social and cultural issues that there conservative sisters and brother. God is pro whatever it is that they believe holds people back from attaining their greatest potential. Of course, that potential is defined by themselves without the benefit of opinions of those who are affected by their humanitarian sensibilities.
Then, of course,there are the majority who really don’t give a damn. All they want is the weather forecast and the sports news. The rest is just something that allows them time to go to the bathroom and get a snack.
Some of you readers may wonder why I wrote this during the season of Lent. It all sounds like a rejection of turning religion into a political tool. And, it is that, to be sure. However, it’s also a call to repentance. And, repentance is kind of a key element to the Lenten season. It’s a time to reflect and introspect. During Lent we are told that from dust we come, to dust we return. Our perspective on our own importance and raison d’etre is held up to the Light of Messiah Jesus. In that light we may be able to see our folly and foibles as they are. Our politics may be important to us. But, in that bright light they may become transparent, unable to be seen at all.
When I consider this, I see God shaking the Divine Head. I’m not sure whether it’s in wonder, disbelief, or disgust. For when we put our politics and our perceptions of what’s good and important above the knowledge and love of God, well, repentance is necessary.
So, in this Lenten season I would call on the Church, big “C,” to repent. Put aside privilege and priority in order to sit and listen. Listen. Listen.
Perhaps once we shut up we will be able to actually hear God weeping.

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Brides and Ashes. It’s Lent.

Published by mhelbert on February 14, 2024

Today is Ash Wednesday. In the Christian liturgical calendar this is the beginning of forty days of fasting and reflection called Lent.
Now, I grew up in a nominal Christmas & Easter protestant home. Ash Wednesday and Lent weren’t even on our radar. I remember in elementary school seeing some of my classmates come to school with black stuff on their foreheads. When I asked, they said it was for Ash Wednesday. It was a Catholic thing. For us, Catholics were already weird. No meat on Fridays, church every Sunday, and now, dirty foreheads. Being protestant I had no clue what that was all about. But, I was glad that I didn’t have to do all of that. Sheesh!
It wasn’t really until I was a teen that I began to understand the history and tradition of this Lenten season. Even then, though, it wasn’t something that I observed. My whole time in the world of religious Fundagelicalism didn’t change that. Some years one of the leaders would offer a Lenten devotional for anyone who was moved to follow it.
Ash Wednesday and Lent simply weren’t important. They still aren’t in many traditions.
And, that’s sad.
We put so much effort into celebrating Christmas. I guess that’s understandable. Who doesn’t like a birthday party and babies? Amiright? Madison Ave. saw Christmas and great big silver and gold dollar signs danced in their heads. You can’t pitch a crucified guy like that. What are they gonna sell, Stigmata suits and crowns of thorns?
Now, however, I am part of a tradition that does embrace Lent. After all, the Resurrection we celebrate at the end of these 40 days is kinda important.
I wrote about this today in my journal. I mentioned Lent as something that we celebrate. Now, I know a lot of folks may push back on Lent being a celebration. “No, we OBSERVE Lent!” Yeah, I get it. Lent is supposed to be all about repenting and introspection. That doesn’t sound too celebratory. But, hear me out.
The Bible uses a lot of Wedding imagery when it comes to speaking about the Church. The Church is called the Bride of Christ. We read about the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Lent, in a way, is the preparation of the Bride of Christ to meet her Bridegroom on Easter. During this time we spend time cleansing ourselves in preparation. Yeah, the theological word for that is repentance. But, that simply means to turn away from the grit and grime that collects on us throughout the year. There are other forms of penance that may be followed. But, the point is, to be clean and ready for the Bridegroom. We may prepare our gown and get our hair done and buy new shoes and all of that. That may entail following a Lenten devotional or fasting. Spiritual practices that prepare us, mind and heart, for the Resurrection of Messiah Jesus.
All of this is celebratory. We prepare, not with heaviness in our hearts, but with the joy of anticipation.
“He’s coming!” cries the watcher on the wall. “He’s coming and He’s bearing gifts for His beloved! Prepare the Bride!”
That’s what Ash Wednesday and Lent are really about.
Let’s take time to reflect on this in 2024 as we enter the Lenten season.
Anticipation.
Preparation.
Bated breath.
Coming Joy!

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We Can Never Go Back, But Maybe Forward Is OK

Published by mhelbert on February 12, 2024

I chose Woody Woodpecker because, well, IT’S WOODY FREAKIN’ WOODPECKER!

Recently, my family took a trip to Universal, Orlando. I really didn’t want to go to Florida, but the trip was already booked and paid for. We did have a good time. Although, the weather was cool and cloudy by Florida standards. With my Ohio blood I wore shorts and tees most of the time. Fifty degrees is plenty warm enough to stand in lines for hours.
The trip was pleasant. It was really good to spend time with our adult kids. We haven’t done a “family vacation” for almost 20 years. We rode rides and ate way too much. The Volcano Nachos at Margaritaville were great!
On our way home, my wife and I had the pleasant opportunity to stop and visit some old friends who had moved out of state a bunch of years ago. Since they live close to the route we drove, it seemed like a good thing to catch up. It was good. Much has changed, besides our age. We’re all a little grayer and more wrinkled.
Physical appearances weren’t the only things that changed. Our worldviews and outlooks on life have, well, I guess you could say matured.
We all came out of the same Fundagelical milieu that I’ve written about before. We were all deeply affected by that world. We all have, somehow, escaped from there. We had various forms of leadership within the closed box that we helped to build. Our story goes back to the very beginning. To that time in the early 1970’s Jesus Movement. Yeah, we had some things to talk about.
I’ve written about how that world is extremely authoritarian. Yeah, we built that. The ‘church’ we built was, in a word, cultish. And, above all, we were certain that everything that we did was God’s will and, therefore, RIGHT! We couldn’t even conceive of our being wrong. We were building God’s Kingdom on earth. While at the same time, preparing to evacuate the world when the Rapture took us all to some disembodied heavenly bliss. Yeah, I know, good stuff!
Part of our main focus became our families. We who were husbands had the responsibility for running a tight ship. Our wives were indoctrinated, er, encouraged to submit to their husband’s authority as head of the household. Children, of course, had no say in anything. They were taught to obey all authority.
As parents it was our prime directive to ‘raise up our children in the way of the Lord.’ Besides the obvious heavy-handed discipline we were encouraged by our leaders impart, we were also instructed to make sure that those pliable little minds were taught all of the good things that the Bible said. (Although, much of what we taught as Bible was merely our own interpretation. So, it was ‘Biblical,’ not really the Bible.)
So, when we talked about things like the so-called ‘Rapture’ we were preparing our children to totally freak out when we didn’t come home exactly when we told them we would. They were left to wonder whether the rapture had happened and they had been left behind. Hell, I had those fears as an adult! I can’t imagine what a 10 year old might think.
When a leader would expressly target young people with the threat of damnation and hell-fire if they didn’t keep there sexual purity as pure as those leaders thought it should be. Or, just as evil, to threaten that same fire if they did not make the right decision to ‘give their lives to Christ and be born again.’
There are passages in the Bible that were regularly taught as God’s own truth that truly are NSFW. Yet, we fed our children a continuous diet of this. We tried our best to indoctrinate them to the truth.
And, we failed. Miserably.
What we did to our children falls under the heading of Child Abuse. Of course, we had no idea at the time. We thought that we were offering the best of love to them. To prepare them to walk in faith. To raise those godly children to become godly adults. Yeah, not so much.
The reason that I’m even writing this is because of the fact that I see the marks of abuse in my own kids. There is distrust in anything religious. Church is a dangerous place. And, God? Well, we taught them that their parents were God’s representative in their lives. Just like the Elders and leaders of the church were God’s voice to the church. So, yeah, God’s not necessarily their bff.
As my friend and I talked that evening we tried to console ourselves by confessing that we really did try to do our best. We had no idea that what we were doing was so damaging. What could we have done differently in the cultural context in which we lived?
Actually, I think that we could have done a lot. There were red flags that were ignored. Other voices of family and friends were there for us to listen to. Yet, we ignored them as the voices of the Tempter trying to knock us off of the path to Glory.
We didn’t talk about what we might do now to try and repair the damage. We are all working on that in our own ways. But, is there something that families that were part of such cults can do as, say, reparations? Can we ever repay to our children what we stole from them? Their childhoods? Their innocence? Their trust?
The only response I have is that I know that I have changed direction. I’ve turned away from all that world has. It’s evil.
I’ve learned my own limitations. I’m no longer certain about, well, anything. I’m just a fallible meat head like so many others.
I also have learned to accept my kids for who they are. They are, in fact, whole humans who are image bearers of God. And, I love them for that.
I know that I’m rambling a lot. Maybe trying to offer this story as some sort of penance for being an asshole.
I also know that there are still people living in these religious environments where these abuses are still happening. Many more children, (and adults), are being indoctrinated to hate in the name of God. Maybe, just maybe, some of them may read this and be encouraged to walk away from the abuse.
That would be good.

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