The end of the story is at John's blog.A good, upright Christian reached for the well-worn, well-read Bible. The Bible by itself shifted away from reach. Startled by this the Christian thought That’s odd. Reaching out again to take the Bible, it slid away again and leaped from the table to the floor. This alarmed the Christian. What is going on here?! The Christian moved to retrieve the Bible. The Bible this time flew up and slapped hard against the Christian’s face. The Christian, stunned almost to oblivion, sank to the floor where the Bible fell.
The Christian heard a voice speaking in deeply loving, yet fiercely firm words, Stop! You must stop now. Do not read me anymore. I must read you!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Yes!
And with this, I place John Frye's blog, Jesus the Radical Pastor, on my sidebar:
Friday, November 7, 2008
Ouch, That Hurts!
But pain has a purpose. This post is something else, by the Internet Monk.
What DO we do with a nation that simply will not see the abortion issue our way? For decades now, pro-lifers voting for pro-life presidential candidates(who don't personally have any say in the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade), in the hopes of ending abortion have gotten no closer to the goal. And with the dawn of the post-modern generation, for whom the source of ultimate morality lies within any given individual, the prospects of electing a pro-lifer will only diminish more.
Is this a wake up call? Is Christian living just a more moral version of pagan living? Does Jesus' paradigm suggest that defeating the powers that be means exercising more and more influence over them? with votes? A sword? A fist?. Or a cross? Does this look Constantinian to anyone else? Does the Family Research Council have anything to do with Jesus Christ? He gets one mention that I see on FRC's 16-page letter from 2012, at the bottom(catch the link on Imonk's post). Even Todd Bentley gave him a few more mentions than that!
What DO we do with a nation that simply will not see the abortion issue our way? For decades now, pro-lifers voting for pro-life presidential candidates(who don't personally have any say in the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade), in the hopes of ending abortion have gotten no closer to the goal. And with the dawn of the post-modern generation, for whom the source of ultimate morality lies within any given individual, the prospects of electing a pro-lifer will only diminish more.
Is this a wake up call? Is Christian living just a more moral version of pagan living? Does Jesus' paradigm suggest that defeating the powers that be means exercising more and more influence over them? with votes? A sword? A fist?. Or a cross? Does this look Constantinian to anyone else? Does the Family Research Council have anything to do with Jesus Christ? He gets one mention that I see on FRC's 16-page letter from 2012, at the bottom(catch the link on Imonk's post). Even Todd Bentley gave him a few more mentions than that!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Obama and All That Stuff
I'm testing out a laptop!
This means...wait...if I have a laptop, I might...yes, that's right, I might be able to USE THE INTERNET! And that means I might be able to POST TO MY BLOG! Hooray!
First, I will direct you to Jared's 95 Theses for the American Church.
It is election night I am watching Barack Obama's electoral vote count soar above McCain's at about 9:30 EST. I voted a couple hours ago. I voted for Obama. I voted for him in spite of a large chasm in my understanding about what issues should carry weight, and how much, for someone whose primary motivator is the Kingdom of God and the glory of Jesus Christ(I considered for a moment at the booth harkening to Woody Guthrie and writing in Jesus Christ for president.) Do I vote for the guy who opposes abortion? What if he also plans to keep us incessantly at war? Do I trust what a candidate is telling me he will do in office, when the entire system he is engaged in demands capitulation to extremists and interests in order to get elected? Other than a feeling, (which Mr. Obama is widely noted for inspiring) I don't know how much I really have to go on.
The question I do have is this:
Do Americans really think they can go to the polls today and vote, and then as if they've done their civic duty, return to their debt-drenched lifestyles, watch TV, eat Chee-tos and bitch about the neighbors? Nov. 4 matters more than Nov. 3 or 5? Does the way one chooses to live daily register on anyone's gage of how the world is transformed? Or do we, like sedated consumers, sit quietly and stare at the blinking lights that our authorities manipulate, with our jaws hanging slightly open and a puddle of drool forming in our laps?
Newsflash people, Obama is not change. If America wants change, America will live differently. America votes with how it chooses to respond to Jesus Christ. America's vote is cast by the manner in which it treats the poor and rejected, the importance it places on money and power, approval and good looks. Does America walk by the thirsty and the hungry because it would be unproductive and unsightly to give them a glass of water? Then it votes for stagnation and an atrophying spirit. Does America love money and success and power? Then it votes for Pilate and Caiaphas, and to continue to make of itself an imploding imperial joke.
The way you defeat a declining stock market is remove your trust from it. The way you defeat economic downturn is consider all your money worthless. The way you defeat abortion is prophetically model cross-carrying love. The president can do none of these, I'm afraid, for the nation. The responsibility for these things is not before the president. It's before a people who are having the Good News shouted into their ear: Repent, believe the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth, and follow him. Or perish like Rome.
Update(Day after election): Congratulations, Mr. Obama, or as the media calls you- Barack. I am so glad we finally have a black president. I am also going to pray that God reveals his Kingdom mission to you in such a powerful way that you are consumed by it the way Jesus Christ was on his way to Calvary.
This means...wait...if I have a laptop, I might...yes, that's right, I might be able to USE THE INTERNET! And that means I might be able to POST TO MY BLOG! Hooray!
First, I will direct you to Jared's 95 Theses for the American Church.
It is election night I am watching Barack Obama's electoral vote count soar above McCain's at about 9:30 EST. I voted a couple hours ago. I voted for Obama. I voted for him in spite of a large chasm in my understanding about what issues should carry weight, and how much, for someone whose primary motivator is the Kingdom of God and the glory of Jesus Christ(I considered for a moment at the booth harkening to Woody Guthrie and writing in Jesus Christ for president.) Do I vote for the guy who opposes abortion? What if he also plans to keep us incessantly at war? Do I trust what a candidate is telling me he will do in office, when the entire system he is engaged in demands capitulation to extremists and interests in order to get elected? Other than a feeling, (which Mr. Obama is widely noted for inspiring) I don't know how much I really have to go on.
The question I do have is this:
Do Americans really think they can go to the polls today and vote, and then as if they've done their civic duty, return to their debt-drenched lifestyles, watch TV, eat Chee-tos and bitch about the neighbors? Nov. 4 matters more than Nov. 3 or 5? Does the way one chooses to live daily register on anyone's gage of how the world is transformed? Or do we, like sedated consumers, sit quietly and stare at the blinking lights that our authorities manipulate, with our jaws hanging slightly open and a puddle of drool forming in our laps?
Newsflash people, Obama is not change. If America wants change, America will live differently. America votes with how it chooses to respond to Jesus Christ. America's vote is cast by the manner in which it treats the poor and rejected, the importance it places on money and power, approval and good looks. Does America walk by the thirsty and the hungry because it would be unproductive and unsightly to give them a glass of water? Then it votes for stagnation and an atrophying spirit. Does America love money and success and power? Then it votes for Pilate and Caiaphas, and to continue to make of itself an imploding imperial joke.
The way you defeat a declining stock market is remove your trust from it. The way you defeat economic downturn is consider all your money worthless. The way you defeat abortion is prophetically model cross-carrying love. The president can do none of these, I'm afraid, for the nation. The responsibility for these things is not before the president. It's before a people who are having the Good News shouted into their ear: Repent, believe the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth, and follow him. Or perish like Rome.
Update(Day after election): Congratulations, Mr. Obama, or as the media calls you- Barack. I am so glad we finally have a black president. I am also going to pray that God reveals his Kingdom mission to you in such a powerful way that you are consumed by it the way Jesus Christ was on his way to Calvary.
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