The Bible does not say–for by Grace you have been saved through belief, and that, not of yourselves, is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.

Have some of us got that backwards?

The problem it seems, is why are some Christians so nasty?  What is that about?   If we examine their beliefs, we find that what they say is that they believe that Christ died for our sins, was buried, was resurrected and that by having faith in him we have eternal life.  That  should work, and it would work, but when we see how they treat others, especially other Christians, the disconnect seems obvious.  Nasty, judgemental, sarcastic, and other adjectives often describe the “loving” behavior of these “believers.”

I’m wondering if the problem is that they no longer have faith in Christ (now faith is the essence of things hoped for, things not seen. Heb 1) but they have faith in their beliefs about Christ. 

Different issue.   They believe their beliefs.  The “personal relationship” concept that Evangelicals bandy about so much seems seldom to be very personal.  Have these believers in their beliefs lost Jesus?  Do they not recognize how their actions belie the words they say?  ”But we have the truth!.. We must fight for the truth!” I’ve heard a couple of them say to me personally.  To them truth is a proposition. It is something to be argued, proven, pounded on and held up to glory. 

Apparently their truth is that they are right.  Period. 

No,   you’re not.    Your fruits show otherwise.

God is calling us out of our faith in our ideas, in our understanding, and out of our comfortable places of “scriptural” power.

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  John 14:6  NIV

There is more.  He is more.   

But as I was thinking about the political ideologies needing salt and light, it occurred to me that there may be the same issues with theological “systems”

I know, I know…heresy, damnation,  liberal, and whatever theological heretical descriptions that can be drug up from antiquity…a pox upon me.

Yet,  As I read any number of “Christian” blogs I find an interesting occurrence.   On most of them, eventually, you get to the the issues about their theological system and why it’s right.  It may not be a direct statement, it usually is one that disparages another’s wayward thinking…

Let’s see…Arminians are…Calvinists should…emergents think…mainliners ….evangelicals…

I’m beginning to wonder if Evil is using theological systems in much the way it uses political systems.   It divides us,  directs our attention to propositions and ideologies, it focuses on how we must somehow all think alike (and don’t) about what the Gospel is, what salvation is, what it means to be transformed…and puts everybody else in the “other” box.

Phooey!  Yes truth is important.   But our view of it is inherently skewed.    There is a reason that He said….I AM the Way and the Truth and the Life.    I need to figure out just what that means.    I ask humbly….don’t we all?

Now I might generally favor some aspects of either party over the other, but as I sit today…both parties need some salt and light by followers of Christ.  In fact, the other lesser known parties need it too.   It is because the main political parties, collections of interests of differing issues, overall are represented by an ideology.   I’ll define that as a collection of ideas, supposedly coherent in nature in that they depend upon each other and  fit together as a kind of philosophy.   I mention the word supposedly because sometimes the parties grab upon some issue to make it their own and then try to convolute the issues to make them fit into a coherent whole.   For example…the Republicans are a party for national defense, right?   Does anyone remember that the Democrats led the nation through WWII, the Korean, the Cuban missle crisis, and the beginning of the Vietnam conflict?  The Nixon came along, and conservatism (there’s that ideology again) and now the Republicans supposedly have a handle on that.   Then there were the big spending Democrats and along came G. W. and the deficit balloons.  It was to someone’s political advantage to do it…

The question is, are either (or any other) of these approaches Christian?  Is Christ reflected in the actions of a government when it comes to issues of justice, the poor, immigration, national defense, the economy, foreign policy, environment, etc.   Can we know that they are?   Is there enough scriptural evidence that either of the ideologies practiced as tools for political power have all the answers?    There simply isn’t.   When Christians are involved in politics, can you tell they are Christian?  Do they represent Christ, are they ambassadors for Him?  

When is political action undertaken merely to protect one’s own interests, even if (I have to be careful here) our interest is merely seeing that our feelings of offense at some issue are taken care of by throwing some money at it?  I would say the difference between a “bleeding heart liberal” response and Christ-like response is sometimes in the motivation for the response.   Is it to do good or to make us feel better?   Does it cost us or does it merely cost someone else?    That’s always easy…spend it when it is to your advantage and not your cost. 

 I do mean to imply that the political system is worldly and controlled by “powers” of greed, self-protection, self-interest, pride, racism, and more and I don’t mean to imply that there aren’t forces for good–self-sacrificing, well-intended, perhaps even loving powers working for good, but I would say they are rare.  

 The ideology of political freedom is hard to find in the Bible, yet for some, it is Scriptural.  The ideology that the Constitution is somehow an inspired piece of government may even be true,  but I can’t find that in Scripture either.   Free market capitalism doesn’t seem to care about some of the issues that deeply hurt people.  Socialistic responses don’t seem to care how tied down we all are as choices are reduced.  There are philosophical reasons for preferring the Government  doesn’t do much–there are also philosophical reasons for the Government to do a lot.   Which are salted by following Christ?   Which political actions reflect loving God and loving our neighbors–all of them?  

I think that whatever side you’re on, it’s important to inject Christ into the discussion–whether it is by how we do it or what we do.   Let’s call all sides to account, not just theirs.

I say that there is a time when people could question it, and from the looks of things, not many are willing to take that journey.  But, I have to.   Things have changed.  The pain has gotten my attention.   Not the aches and pains of getting close to 60, but the aches and pains of life that are becoming visible in others. 

For example, I had yet another young man in the Bible discussion group I lead at a youth “boot camp” facility who lost a best friend to a gunshot.  That’s at least six of the 20 or so different young men in the study over the past couple of months who have lost someone they know–by violence.  A lady sat in front of us at church with her daughter..they were staying in our community so they could attend the sentencing of the man that had killed their daughter and sister.  Before I heard those, I had chosen to remain blind to that sort of thing, keeping it at a distance, and seeing it as a distant issue, someone else’s problem.  But these people were and are real.  I have seen the look on their faces. Heard the description–”I just held him in my arms, he didn’t know he was shot, he was just shaking, and…then he stopped.”  That was a real person.  Not some nameless, faceless image.  Not someone who deserved to lose a brother to a careless bullet.  And that’s just one example.

I keep running into issues that my former worldview is unwilling to face….. Things like the appalling state of much of Christianity in America,  the unwillingness to see anyone’s viewpoint but their own,  the incredible perversion that is created when people confuse their faith with their culture,  the self righteous attitude of so-called “conservatives” and so-called “liberals” regarding their approaches to the world’s problems,  the loss of credibility due to hypocrisy,  the perversion of Christian influence toward getting political power, unwillingness to listen,  and mostly unwillingness to love.  I hear them say,”it’s not really our business…those minorities just need to try harder, get a job,  get off the gravy train and make something of themselves.” These seem to be the same people that are worried our theology is getting liberal if we talk about hunger, poverty, AIDS, or other subjects where concern for real people comes up.  I’m not talking politics here, I’m talking people who call themselves Christians.. not all of them…just some. You know the ones..they are loud and more concerned about their self interest than they are about justice…justice is a liberal issue.  And ironically, some mean well, some try hard to be “righteous” and just want others to do the same…of course it has to be a certain view of righteous that must be enforced.    

 I have the right to say this, I think, because I’m mostly talking about me.    I suddenly heard Jesus talking to the Pharisees,  and I was standing there with them.  These issues are  forcing me to come to grips with who I am and who I’ve imagined myself to be.  I’m feeling that a reality that I had occasionally glimpsed over my almost 57 years is now unveiling itself for my personal introspection and growth…and the calling to do whatever my part is in that.    I don’t know yet exactly what that is. 

But God is faithful…and full of Grace.      Thankfully.     I need it….and so does the rest of the world.

I don’t get called “sir” very often.  I don’t take it lightly.  I know that’s what they have to call the staff all week, so I expect it.  Perhaps it makes it a bit unreal.   I would imagine they wouldn’t call me sir on the street.

Here I am, a 56 year-old white guy.  Here they are…a mix of faces, of colors, of backgrounds, of faith…I wonder if God can use me to make a difference with these guys.  I wonder.   I have no clue sometimes.  I can’t know them well enough when I only see them once a week and then in a group of 8-10.

Most of them like rap music. Sports are seldom mentioned. Movies are a commonality.

  At one sitting, 5 of the 11 had seen someone die–all violence related.  “Who did you live with?”  I ask, attempting to find something upon which to draw experience. ” Mom,  my uncle, my mom,  mom and her boyfriend,   mom and my stepdad,  myself,   myself,  myself..”

I’m guessing 15-20% of these 15-17 year-old males at this boot camp setting are fathers of children.  Some haven’t seen their kids.   All of them still are kids.  We discuss Jesus.

A few look forward to getting out when they have completed their program. They want to start life out right, get a fresh start.  Others weep in fear, fear of failing again, fear of falling back to what brought them here.  Others worry about their family members, worry about their mother’s depression, or her drug addiction, or both.  Some pray for all their nieces and nephews every week.  When was the last time I did that?   I can’t remember.   ” My dad’s (or sub brother or in one case brothers) in the pen….I’ve been in (fill in the blank) placements…I finally woke up…”   

“God brought me to this place,” one animated young man said to me Sunday.   “He brought me here to turn me around.”

 There is hope. 

Thankfully.    I learned something Sunday.

What I have thought of identity..of who I am, of who others are, has been proven wrong…

Salvation is much more than a rescue.We do obtain identity through relationship.   It is not all of what identifies us as individuals, but it is profoundly significant.

And it is not merely the fact of relationship, that we have them, nor is it the nature of individual relationships, but it is the significance of the relationships that guides, forms, and molds who we are…our overall self.

God, in his wisdom, reserved the primary relationship as the one with himself, and yet, without the relationships of others, especially the significant relationships..especially parents or parental surrogates…our relationship with God suffers. 

Our culture venerates our individualism.  We are bent on self-improvement, self-image, self-discovery, and even self construction or reconstruction.  We are told we can make of ourselves anything that we want.  Our culture even says that self is so important that it is better to let a criminal go free than have the possibility of an innocent self to be unjustly punished.   Self is more important than community.     Is it any wonder we have the division we have today in the good ‘ole USA?   When this overarching culture of self is superimposed upon the Church, and we unknowingly think it is good theology,  we have a problem.  An entire culture of self assimilates the Church…the body of Christ…

The system is admirably suited to achieve the results–an ineffective and hypocritical Church, supposedly concerned about others (even the heathens know that’s what Christ is about) when we are so infinitely submerged in ourselves–going to church to be comfortable, to feel better, to get strokes, to feel self important, to feed our own hungry egos.

We have no space for others.   The spaces in our lives are filled with us…there is no room for those who think differently, whether it be politically, religiously, culturally, scientifically, etc. 

Here we have this remarkable diversity of viewpoints and talents, the miraculous and incredible parts of the body of Christ,  completely dissected and being stored in isolated jars of preservative.  The formaldehyde of individualism stinking up the church, protecting us from community responsibility and challenge, anestheticizing relationship and shaming the Christ we supposedly love.

How could I be so blind?  How can we miss it so far?    Why can’t we get beyond our tunnel vision?  

Just random thoughts…

It’s somebody against somebody wherever one looks.  American politics (take your pick of party),  African genocide,  Pakistani unrest, Shia and Sunni, Red versus blue, us versus radical Islamists, the race card and Obama, small town versus the city,  illegals versus citizens, anybody versus Hillary,  Palestinians and Israelis,  writers versus production companies, …..

My question for the day is this– Is this about identity?  Do we not know who we are so that we must identify ourselves by who we are against?  Have we lost ourselves so much by our constant technological and cursory social attachments that we have no idea who we are and must demonstrate it only when we can identify who we aren’t..or who we don’t want to be or relate to.

 It’s interesting that so much of the New Testament is about relationships…positive ones.  Isolation and division are not concepts taught in the New Testament.  Community for the Christian is the Church…messy, selfish, opinionated, and wayward souls brought together in a common relationship with their creator and with each other.   Does it always work?  No.   But it always can work, depending upon the hearts of the participants who must, despite their lack of concern for others, determine just what it means that God has reached out to them in their state of counter-otherishness.  

How is it that we can have positive relationships in a world such as this?  It would seem that the only infallible and absolute way is to know who we are, not as otherness, but as who we are together and what part of each us plays in the whole.  That requires effort, it requires “failure.”  It requires our entering into something that is bigger than our puny selves, despite our penchant for autonomous independent freedom.  

That independence, that freedom, is merely a curse when it is found outside of the context of God’s relation with us and our relation with others.  Ultimate freedom is isolation and death.  Freedom from the constraints of relationship, especially relationship with those who are different than ourselves, paints us into an ever shrinking corner.   It can only end in emptiness and isolation and in a place where we only can deal with those who are  perfectly like us and we can relish in our superiority over those who aren’t.  It will be a place where we can no longer know ourselves for there will be no one to really know in return. 

 While there is obviously more to conflict than this, identity does play a crucial role.  We need to have the ultimate identity…one based not on contrasting, but on who we were made to be and who made us.  This is the real good news.  God loves us, no matter who we are.  He created us.   He gave of himself that we might have a never ending kind of life.  We are chosen, gifted, loved, and restored.   

That should make a difference. 

shouldn’t it?