The New Legalism

Over the past few weeks, we have heard a lot of ridiculous things concerning what Christians can and cannot do.

It started off with, David Barton says Christians can’t drink Starbucks.

And now, there is this whole debate as to whether or not Christians can watch shows like Game of Thrones.

I don’t read much from Christian Piatt, but I think he nails it in his latest Huffington Post article.

Seriously, enough already. This is turning into a new legalism. See, if something is inherently anti-Christian and one participates in said thing, then one’s salvation is at risk. However, I do not think that drinking Starbucks or watching Game of Thrones will throw one’s salvation into question. It is nothing more than adiaphora. Just the latest in a rising tide of bad theology.

Some Days Are Harder Than Others!

As anyone who suffers from doubt can tell you, some days are harder than others. Much like depression (something else I have battled), the littlest thing can set of an existential crisis that leads to the return of doubt. Today is one of those days for me…

One stray thought is all it takes. And in the whole scheme of things, it’s probably a petty stray thought. It’s probably a thought that in the long run, is insignificant and meaningless. But today, it has managed to work its magic. Needless to say, it has not been a pretty week.

It is not fun to have these thoughts and doubts. In fact, it pretty much sucks. I can’t speak for others who suffer with doubt, but I become downright inconsolable when I’m pushing through a period of doubt. Nothing like battling a case of doubt on an overcast day. Fun times!

Farewell @JohnPiper

After yesterday’s tragic tornado in Moore, OK, I was waiting for some pastor to say something asinine on the internet. Well, that honor goes to “Pastor” John Piper.

The tweet has since been deleted.

Seriously? It’s hard to believe that you were a pastor! Not helpful. At all.

And for all those that favorited this tweet, you are being led astray by a false teacher. You should be ashamed of yourselves!

I can think of several verses that are way more helpful that this drivel you posted. Maybe it’s time to stop the bad attempts at theology when a natural disaster strikes. You sure have enough of them under your belt!

Nice To See I’m Not The Only One

So it’s no secret that I have a Master of Divinity. It’s also no secret that I don’t work in a church. As it stands right now, I feel that I’m discerning my future ministry.

As I was browsing through my Facebook timeline today, I stumbled across this article from the Washington Post, Seminary graduates not always ministering from the pulpit. One thing I found interesting is the percentage of MDiv grads that expect to go into full-time church ministry.

About 41 percent of master’s of divinity graduates expect to pursue full-time church ministry, down from 52 percent in 2001 and from 90-something percent a few decades ago, according to the Association of Theological Schools, the country’s largest such group.

Interesting article, and nice to see that there are more people out there like me.

Michele Bachmann’s Wrathful God

According to Bachmann, our nation has experienced judgment twice on 9/11…

This is some of the worst of the bad theology out there, in my not so humble opinion.

Please, make the stupid stop!

And this comes after a recent study that shows a belief in an angry God is associated with poor mental health…

I’m just sayin’!

HT: Right Wing Watch

Mark Driscoll’s Bad Eschatology

I know I’m a bit late to the whole Mark Driscoll said something stupid (again) party, but tough.

During his talk at the Catalyst Conference, Driscoll said this little gem:

I know who made the environment and he’s coming back and going to burn it all up. So yes, I drive an SUV.

And several people thought this was tweet worthy and took the statement to Twitter. Stephanie Drury picked up on it and started retweeting.

The problem with this is it’s not a part of the biblical narrative. In Genesis, God gives dominion of creation to humankind, but here’s the kicker, we are to rule as God would rule. And, there is no corresponding biblical text exempting us from dominion over creation.

Dominion does not mean that we can do whatever the hell we want with creation, because ultimately, it isn’t ours. We are to rule over creation as God would rule over creation. And God called the whole of creation very good.

What this basically boils down to is Dricsoll’s theology of “fear.”

Read what others have to say. I’m not going to rehash their arguments.

Related articles

• Pastor Mark Driscoll: Christians Don’t Need to Care About the Environment because Jesus is Coming Back for Us (patheos.com)
• If You Are An Adherent of Mark Driscoll, I Feel Genuinely Sorry for You (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)

Glenn Beck’s Bad Theology

Glenn Beck attempts to wax theological on why God must destroy America.

The problem here is Beck is telling God what God must do. I’m sorry, but God doesn’t have to do what Beck thinks God must do. Any time someone tries to determine what God must do…they are usually wrong.

HT: Right Wing Watch

That Didn’t Take Long…

Although it did take longer than I though. Yep, someone has come out and said that the recent bombings at the Boston Marathon were God’s judgment against Massachusetts.

God promises in His Word that He brings providential judgment on a wicked people. Sometimes He does it through disasters such as earthquakes, floods, or tornadoes, and sometimes He does it by bringing enemies to attack an apostate people. God blesses covenant-keepers, and He brings judgment on covenant breakers.

…

While we work to console those injured in the bombing, and while we should actively pursue justice against the perpetrators, we should also at the same time be in prayer, asking God to bring the people of Massachusetts to their senses for their sins against the Lord. We should furthermore examine ourselves for our own sins and repent of them before the Lord. Even as we work to deal with civil evils in the civil realm, we must recognize God’s providential hand in these events, motivating us to walk in the fear of the Lord.

(Emphasis mine)

Let’s take a look at what Jesus says:

Some who were present on that occasion told Jesus about the Galileans whom Pilate had killed while they were offering sacrifices.He replied, “Do you think the suffering of these Galileans proves that they were more sinful than all the other Galileans?  No, I tell you, but unless you change your hearts and lives, you will die just as they did.  What about those twelve people who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them? Do you think that they were more guilty of wrongdoing than everyone else who lives in Jerusalem?  No, I tell you, but unless you change your hearts and lives, you will die just as they did.” (Luke 13:1-5)

The study note in my The Lutheran Study Bible has this to say:

Jesus points out tragedies as occasions for self-examination and reflection on our sinful frailty.  Contrary to popular thought, tragedy does not always strike people because they somehow deserve it.  Rather, in His wisdom God allows and uses even tragic events to warn of judgment, that He might bring us to repentance and eternal life through faith in Jesus. (TLSB, 1743)

Crap theology like this makes me want to throw up. Every time there’s some kind of disaster, whether it be natural or something else, someone comes out and says something stupid… Seriously, this is NOT God’s judgment. I think someone needs to read their Bible and lose the bad theology!

Doubt, Rough Seas and Jesus

I was sitting in church yesterday, lamenting the fact that my work schedule has changed and we don’t get to go to the service with our friends. Needless to say, I was only partially paying attention. This year, we are not using the Lectionary. Instead, we are doing a year long sermon series on Luke. And yesterday’s sermon was on Jesus calming the seas.

One day Jesus and his disciples boarded a boat. He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they set sail.

While they were sailing, he fell asleep. Gale-force winds swept down on the lake. The boat was filling up with water and they were in danger. ²⁴ So they went and woke Jesus, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” But he got up and gave orders to the wind and the violent waves. The storm died down and it was calm.

He said to his disciples, “Where is your faith?”

Filled with awe and wonder, they said to each other, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!” (Luke 8:22-25, CEB)

The pastor began preaching simply by saying the title of the sermon, “Jesus calms the storm.” When I heard this, I started paying attention a little bit more and my mind went to something I had read in Alister McGrath‘s book Doubting. In the book, McGrath points to several images of doubt in the Bible. One of the examples that he points to is doubt as a rough sea.

Whoever asks shouldn’t hesitate. They should ask in faith, without doubting. Whoever doubts is like the surf of the sea, tossed and turned by the wind. (James 1:6)

On this image of doubt, McGrath writes:

This is a very powerful image (especially for anyone who has over been violently seasick!), an image evoking a lack of stability. The sea – along with anything that happens to be floating in it – is tossed to a fro by the wind, unable to gain stability…Doubt in the Christian life is rather like permanent seasickness on a long ocean voyage. (McGrath, 57)

I’ve been reflecting on this ever since. If Jesus can calm the storms that arise on the Sea of Galilee, then Jesus can also calm the storms of doubt in our own lives!

Now it is important to keep in mind that doubt is not a lack of faith and doubt is not unbelief. As most people who have journeyed through doubt will tell you, their faith was important. McGrath writes:

Doubt often means asking questions or voicing uncertainties from the standpoint of faith. You believe – but have difficulties with that faith, or are worried about it in some way. (McGrath, 14)

Doubt is a tricky thing to overcome. As someone who has made the journey, I can attest to that! But things need to be put into perspective. Some things, like my new schedule, will not last until the Second Coming! My new schedule shall pass at some point. We need to hold fast to the promises of God and the gift of new life through Jesus Christ.

Remember, Jesus calms the storms!

Why We Need A (Good) Theology Of Doubting

I have been following the whole IRD/Rachel Held Evans conversation that was taking place on the IRD’s blog, Juicy Ecumenism, and one thing is pretty obvious…Christians need a good theology surrounding doubting. Let’s face the fact that our current theology concerning doubting flat out sucks. It’s complete garbage. Why? Because any time someone expresses a strong doubt, they are given funny looks, avoided like the plague, or just shunned. All one has to do is look at the comments in the post to see my point (although one commenter does get it right). Here are just some of the gems:

1. “Mark, she isn’t “wrestling with doubt,” that’s just liberal claptrap, makes it sound like they’re openminded and consider all the options while evangelicals are stuck in our rigid orthodoxy. They have their own orthodoxy of core beliefs that are non-negotiable, but they can’t come out and admit they’re trying to replace one orthodoxy with another. Ask a liberal if she has doubts about gay marriage or ordination of women, and she won’t hesitate a second. They’re not sure is marriage is essential for men and women any more but they’re gung-ho for same-sex couples.”
2. “Something has happened to the reasoning power of college students if they could sit through such poppycock and not laugh or walk out. She says we’re supposed to doubt (no Bible verse to support that, needless to say), but they says we’re supposed to have a “childlike faith.” Apparently she’s never had any contact with actual living children, because kids don’t like doubt, quite the contrary. I do agree that Christians should have a childlike trust in God, but in her mouth “childlike faith” sounds like an admonition to not think in a mature way about our beliefs and values. I don’t want to sound unkind, but the author strikes me as an overgrown kid who likes attention and knows bit and pieces of the Bible but isn’t mature enough to see the overall themes in it. Could we please get some adults to write Christian books”
3. “There is a seductive quality in this book—as in, a doubter trying to seduce others into doubting. The author honors doubt more than truth. Probably any purchaser of this book has already begun to doubt her faith, so it’s a relatively easy seduction. It is a sign of immaturity to boast of being in the Doubting Thomas Society instead of the Christian church—or, as the Doubters might call it, the Boring Close-Minded Reactionary Club. As a rule, the Doubting crowd ends up believing not much of anything, so there is no discernible difference between the ex-evangelical and the secular agnostic. Frankly, I have more respect for the ex-Christian who completely abandons the faith and says so bluntly. It is hard to respect this author who sorta kinda hangs on to the name of “Christian,” while she and her supposedly Christian publisher are happy to make money from books designed to tear down people’s faith instead of enriching it. When you find yourself mentally more comfortable with unbelievers than with believers, do the obvious thing: exit the church and go dabble in whatever flimsy-fluffy “spirituality” the All-Knowing Oprah is recommending that week.”

I will deal with each of these in turn.

1. Saying one is “wrestling with doubt” is not “liberal claptrap.” There are plenty of instances within the Bible where one is dealing with doubt: Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Thomas…to name a few. I think it’s safe to say that Moses, Isaiah and Jeremiah probably had their doubts concerning God’s call for them. Just look at the call stories. They tried to make excuses to get out of what God was calling them to do.
2. Point me to a verse that prohibits doubting. There are several that describe doubt and there are some that show God and Jesus dealing with doubters. To my knowledge, every story where God or Jesus is dealing with a doubter, they meet the doubter where they are and provide them with the support or evidence needed to overcome their doubt. There is no scolding or admonition.
3. So you would deny a part of the biblical narrative because it does not conform to your views on faith and doubt. And if you believe that the doubting crowd doesn’t end up believing in anything then what “doubters” have you actually conversed with? Yes, some people do not overcome their doubts, or they don’t want to. As someone who has made the journey through doubt, I can tell you it’s hard…very hard. But you can’t have true faith without having journeyed through some kind of doubt.

I’m not the only one who thinks doubting is a part of spiritual growth. Alister McGrath wrote an entire book on doubt and dealing with doubt. It’s a book that I highly recommend as it has been a great help to me. Also, James McGrath the following video earlier today. I watched it and you should too.

http://vimeo.com/59736520#

To read more of my story of the journey through doubt to faith, pre-order a copy of From Fear to Faith. I wrote a chapter detailing my spiritual journey through doubt.