Kneading Bread

Conveniently enough a conservative Christian sounded off this past week directly contradicting what I am going to say. James Dobson has encouraged Christians to not worry about the environment because it can demoralize and divide evangelicalism… interesting. (see this story) 

Today’s little tidbit of change is this: That Christianity is not a single-issue faith; we are called to bring good news to the poor, bind the brokenhearted, free captives and prisoners and we don’t just do one or two of these things, we do them all. We combat injustice, and love and seek reconciliation between both the violated and the violator. Too often we tell ourselves that it is okay to limit actions to a few certain issues so that we can most effectively do them. Christ doesn’t call us to an effective ministry, He calls us to an holistic ministry. What we do is as much a working out of our faith to know Christ more as it is to do the work in the world. Christ is the only effective minister to the needs of this world, and we can only hope to imitate Him.

Some people box Jesus into a nice box, pro-family, pro-life, and pro-america – to this I add anti-poverty, pro-humanity, pro-peace, pro-justice, pro-righteousness, pro-holiness, pro-Jesus, pro-dustfromsandals, pro-anything that is as it will be in the world to come. We bring a foretaste of a great Kingdom, we don’t just bring breath-mints to to a rotting world, we bring a new world to it. When the Spirit works in my heart to make it ache I should listen, even if it makes my actions occur outside of the comfortable box of single-issue faith.

I’ve been struggling with a lot of things internally for quite some time… and I thought I might just just write it out here for the world to see, because I think I’m not the only one who wrestles with the reality of the Gospel.

The Gospel, the good news, can sometimes be anything but good news. We’re taught (including within church walls) that we can create a life of order, be pleasing to God, and make a reasonable buck while doing it. The tension I’m developing is that I think these are all false hopes, false doctrines, and false idols. Those who find themselves in the ”first world”/developed nations live in such an unrealistic world when compared to those in countries such as Sudan… that, in a way, we are almost all
the rich young man (Mark 10.)

Deep in our hearts I believe we all know we are the rich young man, but there exists in us an insurmountable hump, a massive mound composed of our surroundings. Marx once compared Christianity to a sedative, I’d like to posit that he misdiagnosed the problem and that religion was being held back because the entire world is sedated our preoccupation with ourselves and our stuff.

While a little late for a lenten exercise, I feel compelled to challenge anyone who is reading this to look inside and “name names” when it comes to what is your sedative when it comes to keeping your from following Jesus on the radical path of love. I’ll also try to post some of my own “sedatives” in the effort to detox myself and pay attention to what is really the mission we are called to.

Here’s some ideas as to what’s deadening your heart: TV, computers, video games, living in the suburbs, driving everywhere, pride in your job, pride in your family upbringing, pride in your country/government (yes, I said it – and if you want to debate me on it, go ahead) – the list can go on, and everyone possesses a unique combination.

Alister McGrath levels what might be called a warning shot at Richard Dawkins in this passionate article from the Daily Mail.

It goes along well with this little youtube presentation I saw on the web last week or so.

Many thanks to the Tall Skinny Kiwi for the story!

All sin is from temptation (James 1:14). Sin is a fruit that comes from only that root. [...] [Those who are aware of sin] are sensible of their sins, not of their temptations—are displeased with the bitter fruit but cherish the poisonous root. Hence, in the midst of their humiliations for sin, they will continue in those ways, those societies, in the pursuit of those ends, which have occasioned that sin

Yesterday’s post was a challenge to men, today’s is a challenge to women. Touchstone’s blog points readers to articles (and a book) by Dawn Eden that and while witty and winsome, still seriously reminds of the costs of sex outside of marriage.

At base, the champions of the sexual revolution are cynical. They know in their tin hearts that casual sex doesn’t make women happy — that’s why they feel the need to continually promote it. All the sex I ever had, far from bringing me closer to the personal fulfillment and marriage that I sought, had only made me less capable of attaining marriage or even a committed relationship. I sacrificed what should have been the best years of my life for a black lie.

The challenge of creating the core of a person who will value themselves in the light of a creator begins in the heart—the mind is nice, but it can only be engaged with this reality if the heart is.

for further reading

Reformation 21 has an excellent article on Biblical masculinity, taking a closer look at the hebrew words avad and shamar.

A real man is not a self-serving adventurer, but one who makes things flourish in the safety of his care and under the cultivation of his loving hand.

Check it out.

#6

The pope himself cannot remit guilt, but only declare and confirm that it has been remitted by God; or, at most, he can remit it in cases reserved to his discretion. Except for these cases, the guilt remains untouched.

The first part of this thesis is pretty clear, but the middle (what almost seems as a partial redaction) is confusing. What does Luther mean here? What are these cases that allow the pope to remit guilt? I’m not quite sure, Luther is clearly not talking about sin, but guilt, literally (contemptis culpa) “the disdain for the crime.”

I partly think that this has to do with the Christian world-view dominant at the time. In the 1500′s there were deeds that were good and deeds that were bad; if people did bad things there was an understanding as to what type of actions they had done. To put it in other words, the codified morals of the Bible allowed the people to have a common moral reference with which to both be judged and to judge themselves. If they realized their transgression they were also taught the proper response was to react to it with contempt. The false placation of this disdain prevents true repentance, a dangerous tool of deception.

#5
The pope has neither the will nor the power to remit any penalties beyond those imposed either at his own discretion or by canon law.

Simply put, Luther is cutting to bone many practices of the catholic church. This is not simply the practice of selling indulgences but the whole usurpation of Christ’s role as mediator (1 Tim 2:5) and judge (2 Tim 4:1) and it’s replacement with the Pope.

Luther grants the pope his purview, but that purview does not include things explicitly granted in the Bible to Christ. While this is the beginning of his objections to many of the Pope’s practices, Luther is still loyal to the structure. Luther later on would drift further from this initial support of the Catholic church, but this is a gradual development from this initial thesis.

Peace.

More reading:
Johann Tetzel
Indulgences
Pope Leo X

I’m constantly impressed by John Piper’s Desiring God ministry, he’s made his sermons and notes available for free online, but recently his books have been made available (I’m not sure when it started.)

Today the book, Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce was made available for free from the Desiring God website and it looks like it well worth a read.

This distribution method is just so amazing to me, I applaud the people behind it and I pray that it would be used to bless people around the world.

Further reading (for free!)
What Jesus Demands from the World
When the Darkness Will Not Lift

John 12:20-26
Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.