I'm back...for now...

The summer is coming to a close. My 3 1/2 month long vacation is nearly over. Work is starting, and so is school. So why am I resurrecting my blog? Good question. I'll let you know when I figure it out. I'm not very good at keeping up with the blog thing, but hopefully I'll keep up with it now.
I'm going to remain with my old theme: ruminations on faith, theology, and culture. But let me up date you on my life so far:

I moved to Portland, OR and spent the summer looking for a job. On Monday (Sept. 1st) I'm starting my job at Starbucks, then on Thursday I'm continuing my education at George Fox Evangelical Seminary. I went to an orientation last night for new students and it turns out I'm the youngest person there. That should be interesting.

I'm working at Starbucks because I figured..what better way could I fully immerse myself in Northwestern culture than Starbucks?

Anyways, that's all for now. See you again soon.

Child-like Imagination

I sometimes wonder when I lost my imagination.
In my backyard there used to be this very tiny patch of trees and brush that my brother and I (and whoever was with us) would play in constantly. It was a place where we would try, and fail, to build numerous forts. I think at one point I imagined it being the home of a monster, making it all the more exciting to explore in there.
My toys always became actors in a dramatic play filled with action, romance, and tragedy. My Luke Skywalker action figure was always the hero, and my T-Rex toy was his trusty sidekick. They would face the evils of the Black Hot Wheel car, and try to rescue the girl from the bad guy. During the final climactic battle the T-Rex figure would almost always take a bullet for Luke Skywalker and a long dramatic death scene would follow. I didn't always just act this out in my head. Sometimes I would do the different voices and sound effects for everything that was happening in my little production.
I used to think that trees made wind when they were sick, a windy day was just a bunch of sneezing trees.
When did I lose my imagination? When did the patch of trees and brush in the backyard become just...a patch of trees and brush? When did my toys become life-less pieces of plastic? When did the trees stop moving themselves?
Well, I grew up. Somethings that we imagine...just aren't "true" I guess. Should maturing mean that we lose our sixth sense of imagination? Shouldn't instead our imagination mature with us?
Of course, there are the people who haven't lost their imaginations. I envy the poets, the architects, the musicians, the artists, the photographers, the filmmakers...all of whom still use their imaginations to the fullest extent. The best art, the best writing, the best music... isn't the kind that denies reality, but that helps us look beyond reality to maybe see or feel something higher and better than what mere reality has to offer.
I wish I could see the world through they eyes of a child again, just for a little while. I want to look beyond what really is and to deeply ask "why?" without really knowing why I'm asking "why?" in the first place.
I think that without a lack of imagination that our worship, and even our view of God, can become stale and boring. Having no imagination also seems to automatically limit God. I say this because if we aren’t imagining God in any new ways then we have placed him into a category that he just doesn’t fit into. By having a lack of imagination we aren’t letting God be who He is. If we use our imaginations more then we can construct new and interesting ways to get people to look beyond our reality and to use their own imaginations. Without imagination we just let the world (and ourselves) be what it is, and never anything more than that. So it goes that if we don’t use our imaginations not only are we limiting God but we are also limiting ourselves.
I want to imagine a new way of living, a new way of viewing life, a new way of viewing God. I want to share my imagination with others with the hope that maybe they'll be encouraged to use their imaginations a little bit more as well.
Without imagination the world becomes just a painful place filled with famine, war, disease, and hate. If we refuse to use our imaginations then this is all we are ever going to see and know. But if we have the imagination, the creativity to look past the famine, the war, the disease, and the hate to something better and higher then we don't have accept that our reality is the way things have to be.
Imagine that.

Nothing but the blood?

Crucifix
Originally uploaded by James Watts Photo

It is hard not to be morbid when talking about the death of Jesus. Crucifixion was a very...messy thing. After being stretched out on a rough piece of wood and having your wrists and ankles impaled by thick nails you were raised up in the hot middle eastern sun and left to slowly suffocate over the course of two or three days. Yet...we sing praise songs about it. Yes, Jesus died for us, and he is awesome for it. But is talking about the flow of Jesus' blood covering us really appropriate for us nowadays?
There is a hymn that I find especially...irksome...you probably know it, it is called "Nothing But the Blood". The chorus goes like this:
"Oh! Precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow
No other fount I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus"
There is something about thinking of Jesus' blood flowing from him like a fountain that...is bothersome. Now, I understand the symbolism of Jesus' blood. He died for us and his death and resurrection ensures our salvation. But the symbolic use of Jesus' blood as a "cleansing" thing is one that goes back to 1st century Hebraic tradition. I guess it just carried on.
When speaking about Jesus' death on the cross isn't it possible to think of...more "up to date" language? I'm not talking about a "seeker-sensitive" or reality denying language. Like, I don't think we should shy away from the seriousness of the crucifixion event and say "no, it really wasn't all that bad" because, well, it probably was pretty terrible. But surely there must be more appropriate language about Christ's death that does both justice to the event and makes it easier to understand in our "queasy...but not really that queasy" culture. I don't know what it is, but as soon as you figure it out...let me know!

Peace On Earth...and Squirrels...

In order to understand this post your going to have to watch that video. It is about 8 1/2 minutes long but I really think that it is worth the view. :-)

That cartoon was awesome for a lot of reasons. It had talking animals, lots of explosions, and Christmas music. That is an amazing combination. What I love the most is the very serious message it tries to convey in a very...different sort of way...
If you didn't watch it, it was about an old squirrel who is asked by his young grandchildren (also squirrels...) what "men" are. He obliges by describing them as nasty monster soldiers who were always fighting. The whole cartoon is very anti-war...and I love it! Who would have thought that some guy could use animated squirrels to spread peace and love? Especially in the time period that this was made in! This cartoon was produced in 1939, not the 60's when being anti-war was a hippy thing, but right at the beginning of World War Two. Most cartoons you see from this era are "pro-war stop the Nazis and the Japanese from destroying the world" propaganda stuff.
The most hilarious part about this cartoon is that all of the cute little creatures are Christians. Yes. You heard me. As soon as all the men (and women?) on earth destroy themselves, an owl picks up a Bible and read "thou shalt not kill...hmm, it looks like there are a lot of good rules in this book that men didn't follow." Hilarious! Mostly because it's true.
I love the message: War doesn't solve anything. It's true. It doesn't. There is no "war to end all wars". There are only "wars that may end temporarily but will start again somewhere else by someone else". If we look back through history at all of the wars we'll see that they just don't work. There will always be one more war. Miroslav Volf said in his book Exclusion and Embrace that violence is what happens when reason and rationality are ignored or forgotten.
A lot of people use the Bible to support war. But actually I think that if we take a closer look at the Bible we'll find a peaceful message. Take Jesus, for example. Jesus was a lover, not a fighter. There was no hint of violence in him. Now, Jesus is the ultimate and most intimate revelation of God that has ever (and will ever) occur in history.
Shouldn't we follow the same path that God took?
I mean, if we don't, if we fail at what we're supposed to do...the squirrels might have to take things into their own hands...
...or paws...or whatever.

The Trinity and You

Last semester I went on a trip with my World Religions class to visit a synagogue, an Islamic center, and a Zen Buddhism center. At the Islamic center we were able to sit down with the Imam (who is kind of like the pastor) and have a discussion. He was a smart guy who had a PhD and taught at (I think) R.I.T. When we sat down to talk with him I thought that he was just going to field some questions of ours, so I was surprised when he actually started to ask us questions.
"What are the three main monotheistic faiths?", He asked us.
We sat quietly. It was one of those questions that are really easy, but no one in the class will answer because it seems way too obvious. Eventually, we all scatteredly said "Christianity, Judaism, and Islam."
"That's correct," he said "now out of those three faiths which one is not purely monotheistic?"
We all knew the answer he wanted. "Christianity" I said, kind of bitterly.
"That's right," he replied "the Christian doctrine of the Trinity separates them from the pure monotheism of Judaism and Islam."
It was a humbling moment.
It is true, though. The idea of God as Trinity is one that is completely unique to Christianity. There are a few parts of the Koran that specifically denounce the idea of the Trinity, saying it soils the "oneness" of God. So what do we do with the Trinity? It is such a crazy complicated doctrine that it is easy to ignore. But the truth is that the doctrine of the Trinity has an effect on every other doctrine of the Christian faith. The Trinity is central to our faith. But one of the most important beliefs of our faith is also one of the most controversial. God in three persons. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. What does that mean?
The Trinity is very difficult. Trying to explain it is like walking a tight rope, if you lean too much in any direction you're going to be in trouble. Lean too much one way and you fall into Tri-Theism (three Gods). If you lean too much the other way you fall into modalism (sort of one unknown God wearing "masks" and assuming the roles of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at different times in history). Every analogy for the Trinity falls short and can be subject to harsh criticism. So what do we do? Just leave it alone? Duh...no.
Like I said, the Trinity has an impact on the rest of Christian doctrine. Without it our Christology would be completely different, and from there on so would our doctrine of justification, sanctification, etc. etc. It would effect our worship. It would effect our very lives. But how?
The Trinity is important to our ideas about what it means to live in community. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit live in perfect union with one another without any subordination or anything like that. They have one purpose and God works perfectly within himself to carry it out. The Trinity is like a tree. The Father is the trunk, the Son is the branches, the Spirit is the leaves. Three parts, but one tree. This analogy falls short in a lot of ways, but its a start into the idea of God. The Trinity gives and sustains life. The Trinity gives love.
So should our communities. The purpose of a Christian community is to work towards one purpose, and that purpose is to spread as much love through the world as possible. It means spreading life and giving life. Like the three persons of the Trinity, we all in the community have different jobs to do. None of them are lower or higher or any more or less importance. Our relationships within the community should be completely loving and respectful. Living in a community means completely giving ourselves to one another. Our communities should reflect the Trinity. This is what it means to live in the light of God. How amazing would a Trinity centered community be? How effective and incredible and world changing would it be?
I know. How idealistic of me.