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Breaking the Chains that Bind Posts

Broken Eikons

Published by mhelbert on April 18, 2012

A few days ago I wrote a bit about humans being the image, or eikon, of God. As I continued to reflect on this I wondered about those other eikons that kings placed in the ANE. What happened to them? I imagine that over time they became worn and broken. They probably eroded to the point that the one to whom they referred could not be recognized. Think of the face of the Great Sphinx. Some of these eventually crumpled to dust. Others may have been purposely defaced by people who did not revere the king. None of them has survived intact to today.
But, what if the king were to send a new eikon. One who shared the substance of the broken ones. Who could also, potentially, be broken. And, what if this one came to some of the broken ones and, say, spit on the dust to make clay? Then, used that clay to fill in the cracks and mend the broken fingers. What would happen, then, if these newly repaired and restored eikons were given the ability to go and restore other broken eikons? In my mind’s eye I could see the eikons moving from one to another, picking up broken pieces and replacing them. Then Yahweh would have people, restored images of Yahweh, who could serve and preserve the good Earth in which Yahweh had settled them, (Gen. 2:15).

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Published by mhelbert on April 16, 2012

Over this past weekend, between taxes and chores, I read Suzanne Collins’  “The Hunger Games.” With all of the recent hype over the movie, I thought I’d check it out.
It was a very easy read. The plot moved along nicely for the most part. There were spots where the action trudged along, but overall, I was pleased with the pace. 
I can see why it’s a hit among young folks. Each generation has its version of Big Brother. This one is ‘The Capitol.’ The term refers to place and people. A pampered and indulgent culture that feeds off of 12 districts that vary in degree of exploitation based on whatever each produces. One is agriculture, another produces gems and baubles and such. The star of the story, Katniss, is from the least of the districts, which produces coal. From this lowly place we are introduced to characters with character. They have desires and goals. They hurt and they love. As the story unfolded, Katniss’ difficulties with being a teenage girl came out clearly. The emotional rollercoaster; no longer a girl, but not quite a woman. Her need for relationship was refreshing to me. She was a strong and capable personality, but Collins didn’t paint her as a young, female Rambo. Katniss was vulnerable in her strength. She was selfless in an extremely selfish world. 
There were other characters that also showed real humanity. Rue, the young girl from District 11, was one. Even the old drunk, Haymitch Abernathy, the lone Games survivor from District 12 and mentor to Katniss and her male counterpart, Peeta, was someone that one could admire.
Yes, there’s violence…lots of it. But, I don’t think that it was inappropriate. Culture is violent. Bad culture, more so. Overall, I was happy with the story and am looking forward to getting the second part, “Catching Fire.” While it is geared for a younger audience, geezer like me can still be entertained and provoked.

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From the keyboard of Diana Butler Bass

Published by mhelbert on April 13, 2012

I read this today over at Huffington Post. It seems that this person is zeroed in on some of the issues that we are wrestling with today. I especially appreciated the way she frames the questions that people ask of religion and spirituality, “
Religion always entails the “3B’s” of believing, behaving, and belonging. Over the centuries, Christianity has engaged the 3B’s in different ways, with different interrogators and emphases. For the last 300 years or so, the questions were asked as follows:
1) What do I believe? (What does my church say I should think about God?)
2) How should I behave? (What are the rules my church asks me to follow?)
3) Who am I? (What does it mean to be a faithful church member?)
But the questions have changed. Contemporary people care less about what to believe than how they might believe; less about rules for behavior than in what they should do with their lives; and less about church membership than in whose company they find themselves. The questions have become:
1) How do I believe? (How do I understand faith that seems to conflict with science and pluralism?)
2) What should I do? (How do my actions make a difference in the world?)
3) Whose am I? (How do my relationships shape my self-understanding?)
The foci of religion have not changed–believing, behaving, and belonging still matter. But the ways in which people engage each area have undergone a revolution”
I agree that we can get mired in the past. The things that once were relevant and life-giving seem to have lost their luster. New positions and, yes, questions arise that demand our attention.

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Is our God too small?

Published by mhelbert on April 13, 2012

Back in 1986 Peter Gabriel released the song, Big Time. Part of the lyric reads, “And I will pray to a big god, as I kneel in the big church.” Now, as I understand it the song was primarily about someone getting out of a small town. But, the words reveal something about how people view the Christian God. This God is small. This God cannot do anything about the hurt and evil in the world. This God has small, narrow-minded followers. This God cannot put up a substantive defense, so it’s necessary for the small, narrow-minded followers to defend God’s honor. And, for sure this God cannot handle the intellect of people who challenge the published words  that the churches that bear God’s name adhere to.
This morning as I was praying, I considered a discussion with some people I know. People who love and desire to serve and worship God. They are, however, locked into a way of believing that has no room for the discussion of science, the authority of scripture, or anything other than a ‘simple reading’ of that scripture. The Bible must be taken literally or not at all. Then, I remembered something I read about John Calvin, the hero of reformed theology. When confronted with the discovery of the size of Saturn, the church became a tad perplexed. If God created a greater light, the sun, and a lesser light, the moon, then what was this ‘other’ light that was larger than the lesser light? This apparently rocked their theology. Calvin’s response? Well, the ancient writers used the knowledge they had at that time to render their conclusions. Now, we know better and that’s ok. Wow! We should have that mindset.
Anyhow, my mind immediately wandered off to consider the vastness of God, the creator and sustainer of all things. What can a finite mind discover about the infinite? How can it even touch or consider it? God, in God’s infinite grace, gives glimpses. Only as much as can be tolerated by our smallness. I received one of those glimpses. I began to realize that our arguments about what/who God is are intolerably small. We need to understand that God is not threatened by our discussions about science and evolution. Shoot! God created the human mind that has developed these! God is not concerned about our arguments about sola scriptura and inerrancy. God’s Word transcends whatever we can possibly understand. Yes, these are important to how we live our lives in this finite cosmos. It is proper that we discuss and argue and strive to understand our world, ourselves and how this all relates to an infinite God. But, we also need to remember that the Infinite will not condescend to fit our mold; we must be willing to fit into the Infinite. After all, we already have a BIG GOD!

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American Pie: Christian Style

Published by mhelbert on April 12, 2012

I am always on the lookout for pieces that help to put cultural hermeneutics in some kind of proper perspective. I have learned over the past few years that much of what I had thought true is actually a view that has been skewed by my position as a white male in North America. Not only is the view of this dominant culture biased in the extreme, it is wrong in more places than I can get to in a short blog. Thankfully, there are a multitude of others who see this as a problem and are discussing it in books, blogs, seminaries, colleges, and even some churches. The link I have posted here leads to one view that I think is important for Christ followers to ruminate on. Enjoy!
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/emergentvillage/2012/04/strange-christianity-made-in-america-part-iii-by-randy-woodley/#more-1228

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Sometimes I wonder…

Published by mhelbert on April 10, 2012

Recently, I heard a pastor talk about the place of human kind in the creation. His comments revolved around humans being the pinnacle of God’s creative  work. Not bald eagles or spotted owls or sequoias; people. A case can be made for his point, but a poor case it is, indeed.
As I read the scripture I find that in the beginning, when God formed things, God put humans as eikons in the creation to be God’s representatives in the world. Kings in the ANE would place statues, or eikons, of themselves at various places in their domains to remind folks who was the real authority. People in the realm were subject to the king. Similarly, idols were used as representative images of whatever deity in order to show that the particular deity had some sovereignty in these places. In both cases the eikon represented something or someone.
Humans were/are God’s eikons. As such, we represent God’s interests in the world. We are stewards, not owners. The world does not belong to humans, but to Yahweh. We have a responsibility to watch over the creation and to honor and care for it. This includes the bald eagles, spotted owls and sequoias. To diminish these, as this particular pastor appeared to have done, is to diminish God’s presence in the world and elevate some human-made image above God’s image. I  think we need to be careful before making irresponsible statements that are not based in the scripture nor the revelation of God.

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It’s Easter

Published by mhelbert on April 8, 2012

Well, it’s Easter. The day when countless Christians celebrate the empty tomb of Jesus. It must have been quite an event for those alive at the time. For about 3 years Jesus had been teaching and healing. He had proclaimed the inauguration of the kingdom of God. He was the hope of Israel to free them from Roman domination and establish Israel as the jewel of God in the world. After all, look at the power with which he spoke and performed miracles. He had to be the Messiah of God. But, that last week was strange. Jesus began to act in counterproductive ways. He trashed the temple court. He said some things to the ‘powers that be’ that seemed to insult them. In fact, he seemed to be pushing against the very people who should have been allies. Rome was the enemy, not the Temple.
Then, it ended. Jesus had tweeked the nose of the wrong person and wound up hanging on a tree. All of the hopes and desires of these past few years…gone, dashed, dead. From Friday evening through Saturday I can imagine the followers of Christ trying to reassess their options. They had given up so much to follow and support Jesus. Now, they had to figure out how to return to their previous lives and explain to their families and friends that they had really messed up. Humiliation on top of humiliation. How could they have been so wrong.
But then, a report from some women. The tomb was empty. Something, no one knew exactly what, had happened to Jesus’ body. One of them said that someone, maybe an angel(?), had said that Jesus was risen. Talk about confusion and conflicting emotions! Just take a few moments to reflect on the internal reaction of these people. From triumph to defeat to tentative hope. Could it be true?
We know that it was. Jesus left the tomb; the realm of the dead. He appeared to many and, ultimately, entered into heaven where he sat down at the right hand of Yahweh. It’s this that gives the cosmos hope. Not just humans, but all of God’s good creation. During this time, the celebration of new life, may God Bless You Real Good.

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The Father turned his back…I don’t think so

Published by mhelbert on April 6, 2012

This is my 100th post. Holy Smokes! Maybe someone should bake a cake. So far, this has been fun for me. I’ve enjoyed trying, sometimes not so successfully, to get my thoughts organized and written. I hope that any who have chosen to visit here have not been disappointed by my lack of eloquence and understanding. This is, after all, a blog. It’s not meant to be a formal repository of all spiritual and experiential truth.
With that being said, I feel a need to rant just a bit. It’s my blog; I can do that.
Today is Good Friday. It’s the time when the Christian world remembers the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. After an eventful, and sometimes turbulent, public ministry the end came with a sudden ferocity that shocked those who were intimately relating with Jesus.
One thing that many people try to explain and understand is, what actually transpired on this day? Yes, we know that Jesus was unjustly tried, tortured, and hung on a tree where he died. But, what happened between the Father and the Son that day? Some have tried to say that between the hours of noon and 3 P.M., when darkness covered the world, the Father was compelled to turn away from the Son because your sin and mine were placed on Jesus. The Father’s holiness could not look on this sin. Therefore, the first and second persons of the Trinity were separated from one another for this time.
I’m sorry, but I don’t get this. Let me just share a couple points. The first is the ontological impossibility that I see in this. The very nature of Yahweh precludes this ‘separation.’ The Church has believed that there is, has, and always will be a perfect unity in the relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This unity cannot be broken because it is God’s will that it remain intact.
Another reason that is equally compelling for me is that this view gives a distorted image of the Father. What kind of Father would abandon his Son like this? Perhaps even stronger language is required. What kind of God would this represent? At best, one who is selfish and easily offended. At worst, one who is incapable of saving anyone. Now, I know that this idea of Jesus being totally forsaken and abandoned by everyone, including the Father evokes an emotional response that may cause someone to make a decision to follow Christ. But, what kind of God are these people deciding to follow? How deep is the commitment that is made by these people? I think that the distortions that this concept give of God, the loving Creator and Sustainer of the cosmos, are too many to recount.
So, what can we understand from this? Jesus, hanging on the cross, cried out, “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?” Rather than taking this as Jesus, the divine Son of God, perceiving a real break in his eternal relationship with the Father, we should see Jesus, the Son of man totally identifying with the humanity he came to redeem. We sometimes forget that the incarnation means that God came to dwell with humankind as a human being. As such, Jesus was open to experience all that being a human person could experience. As he came to the end of his life, he fully and completely became Emmanuel, God with us. As David expressed in Psalm 22 these very words that Jesus spoke; as the prophets cried out time and again, “where are you, God?”; as Job in the depths of his misery cried to see and speak with God who had apparently abandoned him; as countless women and men throughout history have experienced the desolation and loneliness of suddenly realizing that all seemed lost, Jesus tasted the true human condition, embraced it, and totally identified with it. The result? I am saved by a person who understands me. I have a high priest and advocate who knows what it’s like to live in a world that needs a compassionate Savior. More importantly, I have a heavenly Father who will not abandon me because I may get dirty while walking through this world. I have a God who is not afraid to get the divine hands dirty while lifting me from the muck and mire of my life. This God; Father, Son, Spirit can be trusted with our very lives because Jesus is Emmanuel.

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Just a thought…

Published by mhelbert on April 5, 2012

The story of the Father and the prodigal is one of my favorite stories in Scripture. It reveals the relentless love that our Abba has for humanity. This love, lavished on us, reveals that Yahweh also desires our love. Desires it so much that Jesus, the one and only Son of God, was ‘sent’ to make it possible for all of us to become the adopted daughters and sons of God. I don’t know about anyone else, but I find this amazing. Especially, as I look back over the train wrecks that I have left in my wake. God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, not only still puts up with me, but LOVES me!
And, not only me. The Scripture also speaks about rain falling on the just and the unjust. Luke 6:35 even takes it a step further. “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” Yahweh is kind to those who would be enemies. How cool is that?
The text is clear at this point. We, as Christ followers, should emulate our Abba, even as Jesus did. It’s easy to say, “Oh, yeah, I love my enemy.” But, it’s the doing of the love that we sometimes lack.

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Atonement stuph…

Published by mhelbert on April 4, 2012

It’s that season…Easter! The time when Christ followers around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And, ever since that time discussions have ensued as to the meaning of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.
Over at Theoblogy, Tony Jones has an interesting clutch of posts on the Atonement. Here is a link to a page that contains links to the discussions thus far. I’ve not read them all, but the discussion is open and diverse. I hope that you enjoy reading them!
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tonyjones/tag/atonement/

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