Genesis--Book of Cursing or Love

Growing up in the institutional church, I thought that the book of Genesis was filled with "bad news"--the Fall of Man, the banishment from the Garden of Eden, the Flood, and many other stories of God's cursing of man.  Instead, the book of Genesis is filled with "good news"--it tells of God's gracious response to the sin of man.  This was brought home to me once again this past week through an Internet sermon and a discussion in a brewery tap room.

At my 25th law school reunion, one of my good friends told me about her pastor's sermon on Jacob and Esau and how God blessed the second son (not the first) who just happened to be a trickster.  So, thinking this fellow might understand the Bible, I looked him up on the Internet and listened to several of his sermons.  I was not disappointed!  He proclaimed that, when Adam and Eve sinned, God clothed them with animal skins, a better covering for their shame than what they had made for themselves--a garment of leaves.  He preached that, even though God had said that they would "surely die on the day that they ate of the tree," God let them live, and indeed the woman was named "life."  He then showed how God allowed Cain to live even though he was a murderer.  So, God favors life over death for mankind.  God is gracious to sinners--even murderers.  In one of his sermons, he pointed out that, sometimes, discipline from God is the kindest thing that He can do.  So, God is gracious, but also just.  His justice in the form of discipline is usually, if not always, for our benefit.  This is brought home most beautifully in one's understanding of the curses which God ordained in response to the Fall.

In response to the Fall, God ordained that man would encounter thorns and thistles in man's tilling of the field.  So, man's agricultural efforts (his means of sustaining his and his family's life) would now be filled with difficulty.  With respect to women, God ordained that women would have pain in childbirth.  What gives?  Neither of these curses sounds like "good news."  But, is it true that God's discipline is loving?

The measure of God's love in ordaining these curses was confirmed by my taproom conversation with two divorce attorneys.  I told them that, once I learned that God was a god of love and not condemnation, 

I began to read the Bible differently.  We discussed the various curses in Genesis including the two in response to the Fall.  I told them my belief that God cursed work, because man is inclined to place his work above his family, God, and everything else.  I told them that I believed that God cursed childbirth, because women tend to put their children above their husbands, God, and everything else.  The two divorce attorneys looked at one another, and one said:  "that is brilliant."  They both then began to discuss how, in their practice, the women always complain that their husbands are wed to their work, and the men always complain that their wives are wed to their children.  So, both sexes are guilty of putting other matters above God and their spouse.  God's curse, therefore, was gracious.  God gives men difficulty in their work, and gives women difficulty in child-bearing and rearing, so that they won't find their ultimate identity in those endeavors.  God's curses are designed to open us to the possibility of relationship with Him, and thereby with our spouses, children, and everyone else in our lives.  

To me, the profundity of Genesis confirms its divine origin.  How could the writer of Genesis have thought that working too hard in growing food for his family was a bad thing?  How could the writer of Genesis have thought that placing too much emphasis on the children (when children were everything to the Jews) was a bad thing?  The book of Genesis is "simply brilliant."

P.S.  One of the divorce attorneys grew up in a SBC church.  She is now an agnostic.  She said that, while she loved the Jesus described in the Gospels, she did not like St. Paul.  I told her to focus on Jesus, and to read the Bible for herself, rather than relying upon what she had been taught in the IC.  Presumably, for her, Paul was a "bearer of bad news," as he had been for me until I truly began to understand God's character.  

Jesus was a political enigma

My Republican and my Democratic friends both claim that Jesus would be a member of their political party today.  How is this possible?  How can both claim him?  They can both claim Him, because he was a political enigma.  They can both claim Him, because he held views which are held by each party.  But, importantly, neither party can claim Him exclusively if they can claim Him at all.  What's more, Jesus did not become embroiled in the political goings-on of his day, so I don't think he would become embroiled in the American political mess that we find ourselves in.

The Jews rejected Christ as the Messiah for several reasons, but one of the most significant was that he did not provide a resolution to their political problems.   The Jews believed that the Messiah would deliver them from the political bondage of Rome.  So, when Christ did not do this, they deemed Him not to be the Messiah.  As my son Mathis said in Second Grade:  "The Jews were smug.  If Jesus had thrown the Romans out, the Jews would only have become more smug."  Mathis was right.  Jesus' main complaint against the religious people of his day was that they were self-righteous.  So, liberating Israel from Rome would have been a negative consequence towards the sanctification of the Jews.

This is the same today.  Both the Democrats and the Republicans believe that they hold the moral high ground, as advocated by Jesus.  The Democrats claim that, by upholding social programs, they are carrying out Jesus' admonition  to "feed the poor."  But, these programs don't seem to be delivering what they promise, and they are bankrupting America.  So, I don't think Jesus would be a Democratic social activist.  What's more, if Jesus were a Democrat, the Democrats would become more insufferable in their claim to the moral high ground.

But the same is true for the Republicans.  The Republicans want to claim Jesus as the moral authority for regulating the conduct of American citizens.  They want to claim that the churches should help the poor, and not the government.  Yet, there are valid social programs which should "help those who cannot help themselves."  I don't see the churches stepping up and fulfilling this role.  What's more, the middle class Republicans are "shooting themselves in the feet" by protecting more wealthy Republicans from paying higher taxes.  We all look back on the Clinton presidency and long for those days of financial strength.  Yet, most Republicans steadfastly refuse to go back to the tax structure which produced that prosperity and fiscal stability.  Oh, by the way, Jesus doesn't want us to have higher taxes--this is what so many  claim.  Yet, Jesus took the Roman coin and said "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's."

So, it's fair to say that Jesus would not be a Democrat nor a Republican.  As Americans, we need to stop claiming that only our political party holds the truth and moral high ground.  We need to shed our political smugness and treat others with respect in our political dialogue.  Then, and only then, can we lay claim to  Christ.

Abba, Living Life, and the Third Use of the Law

There are two theories of life--one is much more prevalent than the other and insidiously wrong.  The first is what is theologically termed the "third use of the law."  Some examples: "God helps those who help themselves."  "Run the good race."  "Fight the good fight."  (By the way, I'm not denigrating St. Paul.  I just think his words are very often mis-taught.)  These are religious affirmations that I grew up with.  These are American ideals that I grew up with.  "Now that you are a Christian, live the holy, pious, upstanding life."  What an unbelievable burden!  This is how we control others, or attempt to control others.  This is how most preachers try to make their congregations look "just and upright." Jesus chastised the religious folks of his day for heaping burdens on others.  According to Jesus, the antithesis of this is love.

These affirmations are fundamentally flawed, flawed to the core (at least in the way that they are customarily taught).  If you have any doubt about the fallacy of these statements, consider death, the grim reaper, the cessation of your life, and the fact that no one will remember your "good deeds" for long after your death.  Think about it--by the time of your great, great grandchildren, most memories of you will be gone.  No one will remember whether you "fought the good fight" or not.  In other words, our "good deeds" are but chaff in the wind (at their best.)  More importantly, at their worst, our good deeds and our efforts to have our loved ones live "good lives" are strangling, murderous impediments to love.  What will be known, if not remembered, is the extent that you loved and passed along love.  Your grandchildren will either be the victims of your living "the third use of the law" or the beneficiaries of your living a life of love.

My grandchildren, if I'm fortunate enough to have any, won't be discussing whether I was a successful lawyer.  They won't be ruminating over whether I had a vibrant Sunday School class or was a church leader.  What they will be considering--if anything--is the degree to which I have passed along generational curses.  To the extent that our lives are filled with achievement, or efforts to achieve, that is the extent to which we will pass along generational curses.  To the degree that our lives are filled with love and grace, that's the degree to which we can defeat generational curses.  Our capacity to love arises only when we truly suffer defeat, when we lose rather than win by this world's standards.

The second theory of life was expressed by Abba in its wonderful song, "Waterloo."  Thanks once again to PZ for prompting many of these thoughts with his recent Podcast about Abba.  He discusses the lyric from Waterloo--"I feel like I'm winning when I lose."  Loss in this life turns us from the  baubles, glamor, and promises of this world to something higher and more real--the eternal love of our Creator.  Of course, some people simply become embittered by loss.  But, if you recognize the value of loss, recognize that it diverts our attention from seeking the pleasure and recognition of this world, it frees us to pursue and find what is truly eternal.  Fortunately for mankind, God has revealed his true nature through his Son.  He has revealed his eternal, unchanging character.  He loves the sinner (which is all of us), while he upbraids those who are religious--those who think they are living righteous lives.  This is such wonderful news--it truly is "Good News."  (Jesus and St. Paul both lived lives which reflected this second theory.)

Our knowledge of God's character frees us from our efforts to be good.  It causes us to fall on our knees, to lift up our voices, in thankfulness to God.  It causes us to experience joy that was once incomprehensible.  When we experience this thankfulness, our failures at work, in parenting, in relating to our wives become opportunities to repent and love more.  When we are working to be good, we either ignore our failures or we become despondent rather than thankful.  For years, I ignored my sins, and their impact on my wife and children, because I thought that I was a "good person," living an otherwise "good life."  Since I was a "good person," I expected my wife and children to be "good people."  What burdens I was heaping on them!  My wife wasn't free to live or to love, because she thought that she wasn't a "good person."  (She couldn't measure up to my expectations.) This caused her to live just as shallow of a life that I was living.  This is how we pass along generational curses--by placing expectations on one another and thereby stifling love.  Once liberated from having to do good, I was free to confess my sins, to repent, and to seek forgiveness.  More importantly, I was free to love.  I was free to love my wife and children whether they were "good people" or not.  Once liberated from having to do good, my wife was freed from shame and guilt and able to express love more deeply and truly.

Similarly, Christ has freed us from God's expectations.  God doesn't expect us to "run the good race" or to "fight the good fight."  God expects us to sin, and to sin, and to sin.  This is why He sent His son--to liberate us, not just in the after-life but in this life as well, from the sin that He knew we would commit.  Christ spoke in no uncertain terms of His expectations if we tried to be good--we must be "perfect" if we try to be good.  Or, we can simply acknowledge our fallenness, give up on being good, and embrace His overwhelming, life-altering love.  This frees us from expectations.  This allows us to actually love others, without expecting anything in return.  This allows us to live lives that actually look "better."  This is how we "win when we lose."  This is how we "run the race" of life.  This is how our lives can live on, probably not in memory, but in our impact on the generations to come.

Easter--"Die, Die, Die," Reality, and the Kingdom of God

This Easter morning, I was listening to a podcast from my favorite philosopher/theologian/counsellor which dealt with the problem of life.  He said that he once believed that the greatest problem of life was dealing with the guilt that is inherent in our human nature.  We are by nature sinners, and we are always struggling to deal with the problem of guilt and shame.  He said that Christianity has an answer to guilt and shame—forgiveness—an idea which is most uniquely and profoundly expressed in Christianity.  Okay, I agree with all of that.  First, all of scripture speaks of our bondage to sin and our need for forgiveness.  Second, this has played out existentially in my life.  When my wife forgave me for significant transgressions against her, it produced a freedom from guilt which liberated me from my need, my drive, to be perfect.  This gave me freedom from trying to control everything in my life. What a life-giving moment!  It was a huge step forward for our marriage and for my relationships with everyone in my life.  

So, forgiveness is huge—it can change our lives in dramatic fashion.  But, there is something more important than forgiveness (dealing with the guilt problem).  According to my friend, the greater problem is dealing with reality—the fact that the world always wins.  We will always run into issues that are not solvable (whether they are personal or public)—if we live on the world's terms.  Whether the problem is an impossible elderly parent, a difficult boss, a child that flees to the opposite coast to live, the Debt Crisis, the present political acrimony and polarization in the U.S., the schism in the Anglican church,  or the ultimate victory of the world over man (death).

After listening to this podcast, I switched to music to finish my walk—“Die, Die, Die” by the Avett Brothers.  “She’s fighting with the sky,  she thinks she can.  Livin' within a lie, —she thinks she can.   But nobody knows what lies behind the days before the day we die.”  What does lie behind those days?  Ultimate reality.  Reality is the ultimate problem.  We proceed through life fighting against obstacles—the loss of a job, a difficult spouse, etc.  We think we can come up with a way to defeat whatever problems assail us—whether it be political mechanations, working harder, or appealing to a higher authority.  But, thankfully, ultimately, we run up against a problem that we cannot solve.  We run up against the harsh reality of the world.   Only when we do will we begin to realize what “lies behind the days before the day we die.”

Holy Scripture has a remarkable answer to the problem of shame and guilt—forgiveness and absolution from the creator of the universe—“Grace”—the most beautiful word in Scripture to a thirsty sinner.  But does forgiveness solve the defeat that we receive at the hands of the world?  If not, does Holy Scripture provide an answer to reality?

Yes, Yes, Yes!  The Kingdom of God has been ushered into the world through the life and death of Christ.  For years, I have wondered two things about Jesus’ ministry:  a)what did He mean when he talked about the Kingdom of God;  and b)why did He talk so much about Hell.  Both of these questions are answered when we realize that there is a greater reality (which “lies behind the days before the day we die”).  This greater reality is the Kingdom of God.  Why did Jesus talk so much about Hell?  Jesus wanted to alert us to the fact that our focus on conquering reality is misplaced and unachievable.  First, reality is Hellish—any victory over it leads only to a temporary reprieve from the hellish effects of reality.  Second, we can’t conquer reality—even if we live lives relatively free from cancer, death of loved ones, poverty, etc., we will ultimately die.  (When I was young, I thought that 90% of people lived fairly comfortable lives—it is just the opposite.  What’s more, the unlucky ones are the ones that lead fairly comfortable lives, because they may never come to grips with the ultimately futility of our efforts to conquer reality.)

Christ wanted us to realize this—the ultimate futility of trying to have victory over this world.  Christ wanted us to realize that there is a greater reality—the Kingdom of God.   If you look for it, you can see it.  The victory over reality comes when our egos are conquered, and we become one with the Creator through the inhabitation of the Holy Spirit.  What does this look like?  What sort of experiences does one have when one becomes a citizen of the Kingdom of God?

The Kingdom of God is like my relationship with my wonderfully disparate group of FB friends—from all manner of religious beliefs (Protestantism, Catholicism, Agnosticism, Atheism, Buddhism, and there may be others), to all regions of the country, to all different segments of society.  The Kingdom of Heaven is like my wonderful Life Group at church—a group of believers from an array of all types of religious backgrounds  (Baptists, Methodists, Anglicans, Atheists, Wickens, etc.), different ages, different jobs—all drawn together by the Holy Spirit.  The Kingdom of Heaven is ruled by a God who loved us enough to give His life for us.

The Kingdom of Heaven is free from sin—it is a place where our relationships with God and man are expressed in perfect love.   The Kingdom of God is available now, in part, but not fully.  When parents and children are honest about past hurts, and reconciliation occurs, the Kingdom is present.  When siblings forgive one another, the Kingdom is present.  When spouses behave unselfishly towards one another, the Kingdom is present.  When we reconcile with those who have broken our trust, the Kingdom is present.  Finally, when the Kingdom is fully manifested,  we will live in perfect harmony with others and with the world.  No more hurricanes, tornadoes, diseases, genocide, infant death, poverty, famine—it will all go away. The Kingdom of Heaven will find its ultimate expression in the remaking of our reality—from a world where death and sin have great sway to a world without sin and death.  What a glorious day that will be!

Don't Pole Vault over Good Friday

In Bible Belt Christianity, we historically do not hold Good Friday services.  We go directly to Easter.  I don't know why, but I think it has to do with a revolt against anything deemed Catholic.  So, before 1998, although having been in an institutional church since age 6, I had never attended a Good Friday service.  Then, I began attending an Anglican bible study, and attended a Good Friday service at that church.  What I found was that a Good Friday service can be one of the most profound moments of one's year and life.  But it must be done correctly.  As the former rector at that church said: "You can't pole vault over Calvary."  In other words, you must absorb and reflect upon Good Friday and what the crucifixion tells us about mankind, ourselves, and our God.

What does Good Friday tell us about mankind?  It confirms the fallen nature of man.  A man performing miracles (restoring sight to the blind, causing the lame to walk, resurrecting a little girl, casting out demons) was killed, because he spoke out against the religious establishment.  This tells us that, as Christians, we must be cautious about our defense of our religious views.  As members of religious institutions, we need to recognize the sinful nature of such institutions.  Otherwise, our institutions will "crucify" people just like Jesus was crucified.  Who has not seen a church "crucify" someone, rather than offer grace?  We are no different from the Pharisees who cried for Christ's death.  We believe that our version of Christianity is correct, and we are deeply offended when someone challenges it.  Who are we to take offense when other's challenge our religious views, when Christ suffered the greatest offense--death at the hands of his religious accusers?  That is not to say that we shouldn't hold to our beliefs.  But we can either be condemning or gracious in holding to our beliefs.  Which way is ultimately going to demonstrate Christ to the world?  

What does Good Friday tell us about ourselves?  A good friend recently told me that Jesus died for sinners, not our sins.  Jesus didn't die to clean us up--to make us more appealing to ourselves or the world.  Jesus died to rescue us from the false comfort of self-righteousness, and from the rapacious jaws of self-condemnation.  Jesus died to divert us from our paths of self-destruction, to a new life of love and peace.  The result is that we receive some freedom in this life from our sins, but the aim was to divert us from our chosen paths, to the path which God desires for us.

What does Good Friday tell us about God?  It demonstrates that God recognizes that life on earth is difficult and even hellish.  It is difficult whether one is a Christian or not.  It is hellish because we are bent on having our own way and seeking happiness through our own means.  It reflects God's solidarity and empathy with us in our suffering.  It demonstrates that God will put an end to our suffering if we will let Him--both eternally and in the here and now.  God has walked the path of loneliness, rejection by friends, homelessness, physical suffering, familial discord, and death.  He did not have to walk that path for Himself.  He walked that path for us.

May this Good Friday be both an indictment of our self-centeredness (both corporate and individual) and a confirmation of the Creator's love for us in the midst of our self-centeredness.  May we find freedom through this knowledge and pass on to others the grace which God has shown to us.

Religion, The Placebo Effect, and Faith

A new friend told me that the human problem is that "we are alive but dying."  Christians are often criticized for focusing too much on heaven--a fair criticism.  While Jesus talked about eternal life by and through Him, He also focused on the "here and now"--"feed my sheep."  So, Christians should focus on both.  (In fact, the proper focus is the Kingdom of God, which has broken through into our time but will also continue forever.)  If one ignores the question of what happens after death, one is simply in denial.

Tim Keller explains that, if God loves us, then wouldn't He want us to be with Him forever?  Of course, this presumes that God is eternal, but, if there is a God, He must be eternal--the universe has been here for billions of years and its scope is beyond our comprehension.  So, if there is a God, He must be eternal.  Furthermore, if God loves us, He would want to be with us forever, i.e., there is rational hope for life after death.  If there is rational hope for life after death, shouldn't we consider this issue rather than ignore it?

Keller says, in a different sermon, that most religions offer simply a "placebo effect."  The placebo effect says that, if one takes a sugar pill which one thinks will help with sickness, one will actually feel better due to psychological effects.  However, if one is truly sick, the sugar pill will have no true curative effect on one's sickness.  Keller postulates that there is similarly a religious placebo effect.  One may through meditation and a focus on spirituality actually feel better and live a more satisfied life.  However, if this masks one's need for the true God, then the placebo effect is actually deadly, rather than helpful.

So, we should all consider the "placebo effect" of our religious beliefs, and whether there is underlying truth.  For myself, for many years, I professed a belief in a God who sent His son to die for me.  But, importantly, I was told that my belief should be based upon faith, which is true.  But I was also told that faith was "believing in the unbelievable."  This was horribly incorrect teaching.  If our faith isn't sustained by intellectual credibility, we have no true faith, but rather only a "placebo effect."  We tell ourselves that everything will be okay if we have faith.  But, in the dark of the nite, we know that this isn't sufficient.  We need truth to grasp and hold onto.

This is where Jesus' entry into the world comes into play.  Jesus' life was documented by the Jews and by the Romans.  So, it is clear that Jesus lived, and the important facts of His life were confirmed by non-Christian sources.  What's more, of all of the world's great religious figures, Jesus is the only one who claimed to be God--He is the only one who allowed others to worship Him.  So, one must wrestle with:  "Was He crazy or was He God?"  One can't simply say that He was a man with wonderful teachings.  In assessing the importance of his teachings, one must determine whether He was crazy or God.

What's more, of the great world religions, Christianity is the only one that allows us to know the true characteristics of God through a physical embodiment of those characteristics.  With all other religions, we have no "flesh and blood" to grasp, but only postulates about some ethereal being.  This is why Jesus' advent into the world is so important, beyond His salvific work.  His advent reveals the true characteristics of God, so that we can know and love Him.  Without Christ's advent, we are left to wonder whether God is for us or against us.  With Christ's advent, we know that, even though the world is full of pain and suffering, God understands fully our pain and suffering and walks with us through that pain and suffering.

The facts of Christ's life are well-documented, and they allow us to experience a faith based upon truth, not the "placebo effect."  It is this true faith which allows us to begin living in the Kingdom of God "here and now," but also to have intellectually-grounded hope in an eternal home.

Personal Evangelism

A recent sermon has caused me to reflect on my changed understanding of personal evangelism.  My son's comments in response to the sermon are also most instructive and reflect my current understanding.  What's more, my son's views were expressed as we walked out of church, before he heard my views.  His  views were actually more insightful than mine.  Minds that are uncluttered by legalism produce wonderful thoughts about God's love.

The pastor talked about our sharing our faith with others.  He said that many of us are afraid to witness, because we think we are invading the other person's space.  He said that, if we had a cure for cancer, we would want to share it, so why don't we want to share Christ?  Our pastor made some great points.  His points prompted my son's comments.

I am going to let my son's comments speak for themselves.  These quotes are as close as I could come from my notes about our conversation.


Sharing Jesus with others

Mathis--"If we decide we are going to share Jesus and try to pick who to witness to, we are robbing the Holy Spirit of its role.  When I have tried to witness to friends, they usually reject it.  When I have been successful in witnessing to others is when they bring up God in our conversation.  I have wound up witnessing to people that I would not have chosen to witness to, and I have said things guided by the Holy Spirt.  For instance, one friend asked me how Christianity could be the only true religion.  I told him  that Christianity is the only religion with multiple authors.  I told him that, since all 66 books are in agreement, there has to be something divine going on."


Are we invading other's space by sharing Jesus?


Mathis--"Dad, we are invading other people's space when we pick out someone to witness to.  Unless the Holy Spirt opens that person's heart and/or directs us to witness to them, our approaching them about Jesus is an invasion and won't be taken well.  It will cause that person to harden their heart further towards God."


Sharing Jesus is like sharing a cure for cancer


Mathis--"Some people don't want to be cured."


Prompting personal evangelism in a congregation


Mathis--"The way to get your congregation to tell others about Jesus is not to tell them it's a good thing to do.  They already know that.  The way to bring this about is to preach God's love for sinners, causing them to love Jesus more.  If you truly love Jesus, you share Him."