Category: Musings

Knowing God

Published by mhelbert on May 14, 2012

Awhile back I had a discussion, well, let’s say a momentary interchange, with one of the pastoral leaders of the church I was attending. I was excited about the scriptures, in that they were becoming alive for me in ways that I had not experienced previously. I mentioned to him that I did not think that the Bible was a users manual for humans. It’s purpose is not so much to tell us how to behave as it was to reveal God’s love for the Cosmos. Although, there are things that point to how God expects those who are called as God’s children to live and act, this was secondary. My point being that unless we allow God’s word to transform us internally, the external things are of little importance. His response was that the Bible is a guide to living a morally and godly life. That it is imperative to follow the guidelines and precepts present in the text in order to please God.
Hmmm….I don’t think so. In Jesus’ day there were groups of people who thought like this pastor. We know them as Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees loved Yahweh. They tried to follow the Torah in their everyday lives. They followed all of the prescribed behaviors in order to respond in righteousness to the grace they had received as God’s chosen people. This kind of thinking led Paul to state that he was, in fact, righteous according to the Law. But, the Pharisees missed something. Jesus said about them, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). Many today, like this pastor, think that by reading, memorizing, and attempting to apply the scripture as if it is law, they will achieve righteousness and, ultimately, eternal life. Yet, like the Pharisees, they aren’t able to “come to me” and receive life.
Like the Sadducees who were mistaken about the resurrection, people today impose on God presuppositions that limit what they allow God to be. They have an idea of how God is supposed to work, and try to fit the scriptures to that small understanding of the Creator/Yahweh who walked among us. Jesus’ response? “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God?” (Mark 12:24). We all try to fit the infinite Yahweh Elohim into our finite minds. We are not built to grasp and understand the transcendent. But, we do God, the very good creation, and ourselves a great disservice when we try to do that very thing. God will not be fitted to our image. God, on the other hand, will try to make us into the image dei.

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Published by mhelbert on May 13, 2012

I saw this cartoon over at Dr. John Byron’s blog. For me, it sums up the position of biblicists. Folks who come to the scripture with presuppositions that specify how God must act, speak, exist in order to shore up a poorly designed position of biblical inerrancy. More on that to come.

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The Next Generation

Published by mhelbert on May 3, 2012

And, I don’t mean Star Trek.
There’s been a lot of talk for many years about how to prepare the so-called ‘next generation’ of Christ followers to carry the faith forward. This discussion is usually held among the elders of the present or near-past generation about young, mostly male, children of these elders. (If you’re not confused yet, you will be.)
Anyway, I want to point out at least one fallacy and raise questions about this position. On the surface, this idea sounds plausible. Deuteronomy discusses the importance of teaching children about God and the works that had been performed by God, i.e., the Exodus. There also seems to be some age division that took place between those who were old enough to fight and those who were not. But, throughout the Old Testament a ‘generation’ referred to all who were alive at any given time. It was not neatly divided into some specific number of years, say, 40. Even those who espouse the above idea of training the ‘yet-to-be-involved’ age group, there is no consensus on what a generation actually is. If we want to hand the reigns over to those who are younger, then we need to include them NOW in the faith. That includes in all levels of leadership and ministry. The fallacy of generational divisions simply doesn’t hold in view of scripture. Some may want to argue about the age of 13 being when males became full members of the community. That does little to help us today as we try to integrate both male and female into active roles in the church. In fact, this is pretty much ceremonial anyway. We really don’t trust young people at this age. Yet, it is precisely at this age that we must begin to integrate them into the community. We need to let them learn through practice, not preaching, how to live and grow in the community of faith. They need the opportunities to succeed and fail. Yet, we continue to talk.
One of the problems I see is, what are we leaving for them? We seem to want them to continue just as we have, to be the ‘protectors of orthodoxy’ in a hostile world. But, what if they don’t see things that way? What if God has other plans? Not only do we not trust youth, but we don’t trust Yahweh to keep and grow the body of Christ! We leave a legacy of paranoia and conflict. We leave our battles with the culture, but not the life necessary to navigate a way through them. Many young people do not share the culture war mentality of the modern church. Yet, we try to press the importance of this perceived war into their minds. Let it go, Church! Our battle is NOT with the culture. Our battle cannot be delineated along conservative and liberal lines. Our battle is not with politics and economics. Our battle is a spiritual one that requires spiritual communities. It requires people willing to step outside of doctrines and dogma that divide and hold to that which unifies. Even if that means joining with ‘outsiders.’
Young people need to be included. They need to collaborate and build community. They need to be a part of something significant. If we keep trying to crowbar something that doesn’t make sense to them into their lives, they will bolt and do it themselves, anyhow. Maybe that would not be such a bad idea.

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Believing the Unbelievable

Published by mhelbert on May 2, 2012

I enjoy reading blogs. There are several that I follow regularly. And, from these, I chase down others. I love finding out what other people are thinking, and how they are thinking. I learn from them what is important outside of my little corner of the cosmos. (I also learn how much I don’t know about, well, most things.)
On one of these little excursions, I found the following: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithforward/2012/04/how-to-live-as-a-christian-without-having-to-believe-the-unbelievable/#comments.It was posted by a person named Jim Burklo. You can check out his cv @ http://www.jimburklo.com/.
Anyway, in this post Burklo presented much of what can be described as progressive theology. Much of this thought is also found in the emergent church. I’m not going to review the post. But, I do want to think about it for a minute.
He wrote that what is important about following Christ is, well, the actual ‘following’ part. We should be more concerned about living the love of Christ over against believing all of the doctrine, dogma, (and I might add ‘drama’), that has grown up with the the Church over 2,000 years. He wrote,

“It really isn’t important whether or not you take the Bible literally, or whether or not you believe all the creeds word-for-word. If they don’t make sense to you, don’t worry about them. Don’t let dogma and doctrine get in the way of practicing Love, who is God … But repeating creeds is not the price of admission into Christianity. Instead of caring whether the story of Jesus’ resurrection was a fact or a myth, let’s concern ourselves with things that matter. Let’s care about our neighbors without jobs or health insurance, face the resentment in our hearts that needs to be released, struggle with how vote and be activist citizens, and learn how to bring our careers in alignment with our highest values. Let’s gather in churches, soup kitchens, work-places, living rooms, and cafés to support each other in doing things that matter, and let go of old doctrines that don’t.”

I agree with him. There’s an old saying that states Christians are one of the few groups on this planet that regularly shoot their own wounded. We are, by and large, argumentative and spiteful. We stand on a plank and call it truth while the whole platform goes up in flames around us. And all the while, people die of starvation and thirst. They lose their homes, if they ever had one to begin with. They are raped, murdered, sold into slavery, oppressed and forgotten. Hey, folks…these are the ones Jesus came to save. Where are we?

But, there are some inconsistencies in Burklo’s presentation. He suggested that it is important to find a community of like-minded with whom to serve. It is important to practice spiritual disciplines and Bible study. Don’t these require some small seed of belief in something? Is not prayer a miracle of God’s grace?
By simply stating that we must work with the “spark of the divine that is in every one of us,” faith in what cannot be seen seems to be left out of the equation. If Jesus is not God, (part of orthodox doctrine), then why bother with the poor? They can fend for themselves in this survival of the fittest universe. If the invisible Ruach Elohim, the Spirit of God, is not brooding over and in the creation, then what ignites that spark of the divine within us? Why should we care for our neighbor? What difference does it make if Palestinians and Israelis blow each other up? Why should the rich not get richer?
I’m sorry, but I don’t put much faith in the human heart to do what’s good and just. I can, however, put my trust, and life, in the hands of the God of gods who alone is able to transform my heart of stone into one of flesh.

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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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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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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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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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Playing with Mud

Published by mhelbert on April 3, 2012

A few years back I heard a lecture by Old Testament scholar Terence Fretheim. In it he spoke about God’s use of agency in the affairs of the world. One area, in particular, had to do with the creation story. He painted an image of Yahweh stooping down to play in the mud. Yahweh took some clay and molded it and fashioned it into humankind. One can visualize the care with which the great Creator God took. There is an intimacy present with this image. Yahweh, with dirt under the divine fingernails, breathing God’s own breath of life, the Ruach Elohim, into the clay bringing life to this carefully and wonderfully designed new creation.
Yahweh is still playing with mud. If not for the water of life poured out on the dust, which is humanity, we remain dust to be blown away. But, because of Jesus we can become clay in the hands of the great Re-creator God who molds and fashions new humans…while getting the divine fingernails dirty.

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