both/and.

I hardly ever listen to CDs anymore but the other day I was riding with a friend that had a CD player and he asked me to bring some along.  As I flipped through my case, I came upon two Ryan Adams albums side by side – Rock N Roll and Jacksonville City Nights.  If you know anything about Ryan Adams’ music, you know these album are as opposite as can be.  The former is full of rock-n-roll anthems as the title implies, while the later is a classic country album reminiscent of Hank Williams.  These are the polar extremes of Mr. Adams, with the vast majority of his music lying somewhere in between – see Heartbreaker, Gold, Demolition, Easy Tiger, etc.  He isn’t either/or.  He is both/and – somewhere in the middle.

Theology should be the same way.  Granted, there are some issues where you have to pick a side because the options are mutually exclusive – its either Rock N Roll or its Jacksonville.  But normally, its Gold.  Rather than rushing to polar extremes like we often do, we should survey the similarities in opposing views and seek a comprehensive, complementary theology.  We should look for a synthesis that emphasizes unity in diversity along the theological spectrum.  We should be irenic in our approach toward other positions and ecumenical in our outlook.  Just like Ryan Adams crafts beautiful music that blends the best of country and rock, we should construct beautiful theology that reflects the commonality of all Christians and gives highest priority to the love of Christ.  Instead of looking at everything like it is either/or, we should take a lesson from Ryan and perfect the both/and.

Infallibility

For my theology class we have to write a series of position papers and I’ve decided to post them here.  I don’t pretend to be an authority on any of these subjects nor do I offer exhaustive arguments in their support.  I do want to get my thoughts out there and receive some feedback.  Since our God is primarily a relational being, I believe theology is best formed in community.  Beer me some thoughts.

Inerrancy vs. Infallibility

My arrival at Truett is almost a direct result of this issue.  A pastor from a conservative church in Houston offered to pay for me to go to seminary.  However, when I mentioned Truett he immediately qualified his offer by limiting it to schools that taught the true view of inerrancy.  I had to reject his offer because I stand firmly within the infallibility camp.  This prompted me to probe further into the theology of the seminaries that I was considering and as a result I decided to attend Truett.
The main reason I prefer infallibility is that I believe it most adequately deals with the Biblical material.  Scripture clearly teaches that it is the primary source for knowledge of God, salvation, other matters of faith, and Christian behavior.  The main passage dealing with inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16-17) focuses on the fact that Scripture is primarily used “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”  This text clearly deals with matters of faith and practice.  However, nowhere in the Bible do I find the claim that it is a science manual or a history textbook.  Quite to the contrary, I see things that are historically debatable and scientifically incorrect.  In dealing with these things I see no need to throw my arms up in despair or yell “Mystery!  We’ll figure it out later.”  I simply acknowledge the fact that Scripture was written in a different time when modern standards of accuracy were not that important.  The Biblical authors don’t seem to be as concerned with presenting historical fact as they are with presenting theological truths and the Grand Narrative.  This lack of modern precision can be clearly demonstrated by the discrepancies found in the Gospel accounts.  Most certainly the authors arranged things in ways to communicate theology and included details to prove points, rather than give a chronological, factual account of what happened.  I think it foolish to force a modern sense of accuracy or inerrancy on a very ancient text.  We only create a problem for ourselves by doing this.  If we proclaim inerrancy, outsiders simply have to point out one discrepancy to nullify the whole of scripture.  We create a slippery slope toward discrediting all of the Bible’s legitimate claims by inserting a claim it never makes.  (I find it humorous that proponents of inerrancy often use this very argument against infallibility.)  Infallibility preserves the fact that the Bible communicates truth from God while acknowledging that there are some factual discrepancies that simply don’t matter one way or another.
As a lesser reason, I also support infallibility because it stands against the prevailing bibliolatry that many inerrantists fall into today.  (I don’t pretend to believe that all people that believe inerrancy end up here.  However, I would argue that the people in the pews that believe inerrancy almost all fall into this trap.)  The inerrant view seems to easily place Scripture on too high a pedestal, even to the point of implicitly equating it with God.  No doubt, the Bible is the word of God and is very important.  It is the primary source from which we derive all we believe about God.  But it is not God.  For example, this past Sunday the church I attended sang a song that I felt reinforced bibliolatry.  The Bible was the focus of the song and rather than singing to God, the congregation was singing to the Scriptures.  I understand the intention of the song and I agree with many of its claims but I believe it subtly supports a dangerous folk view.  Infallibalists could end up making the same mistake, but they tend to acknowledge that Jesus stands over and above Scripture in all situations.  The Bible is valued but it is not made an object of worship.
As demonstrated, I believe infallibility is the best term used to describe the authority of Scripture. However, I ultimately believe it should be a non-issue within the Church.  Rather than getting caught up in this argument, we should focus on the fact that Scripture is the divine Word of God and that it communicates the truth of the Gospel regardless of errors.  The Bible presents God’s story and invites us to participate.

politics

A good friend just asked me why I support Obama. This was my response.

There are a 1000 things I could say to try and explain myself. I will try to be brief.

In short, I am supporting Obama because of my theological education.

The American government [and all earthly governments for that matter] and following Christ have little or nothing to do with one another. No human government will ever change the world for good. Only steadfast commitment to the Kingdom of God will do that. We need to do a better job of separating the Kingdom of God from the Kingdom of America. Any time the Church has been aligned with a human government it has done terrible things in the name of Christ and marred his reputation. Any time the Church has wielded the sword as a kingdom of this world it has foolishly fallen prey to Satan and tried to change the world by force rather than love. The results have been disastrous [think the Crusades, the Inquisition, etc] Therefore, I believe that the Church is out of line as far as it tries to legislate morality through a human government. I don’t think it is the business of the church to try and elect “the Christian candidate” into office even if he did exist. Our way of change comes from a completely different place. Our allegiance is radically different. It is to a King and a Kingdom rather than a flag, country, or man [thank you Derek Webb].

You’ll note that I implied that a single Christian candidate doesn’t exist. Having a serious education let me in on the little secret that there is never, never, no not ever a single Christian candidate. Obviously there are Christ followers that seek election to public office. Two good examples currently are Obama and McCain. Both claim to be believers and I wouldn’t question the sincerity of either. At this point it all becomes a matter of perspective and conviction. Obviously, our convictions will lead us to support certain people for different reason. It is no big secret that within the Church we each have different convictions about different things.

This is where it gets personal. For me the major issues are of grace, hope, and justice. I personally look for a consistent life ethic. I’d like to see someone that values every human life and believes that all violence is wrong. Not only is abortion wrong but so are capital punishment and war. Seeking peace by nonviolent means is vital. Fighting poverty and hunger go right along with this ethic. Better gun control would also support it. Even treating the environment better could play a role. These issues matter. This is my heart and as I read scripture I believe it teaches these things as the heart of the Lord. Love, hope, and peace seem to trump all things, including the enforcement of morality. I just don’t see how banning gay marriage and abortion for people that aren’t Christians draws them into the church. Why should we ever expect them to behave as if they knew the Lord?

Here is where you run into trouble. No candidate embodies these principles completely. Only Christ could do that. But from my perspective I feel like Obama does a better job than McCain. As I weigh that ethic the scales happen to tip in Obama’s favor. I then have to acknowledge my first point, that no matter who gets elected, the American government will never be a positive agent for change from the perspective of the church. We are responsible for that ourselves. Despite this fact, as a citizen of this country [certainly second, or even 3rd or 4th, to my citizenship in Heaven], I do feel that I must vote for my convictions and beliefs. Those beliefs just happen to land me safely in the Obama camp.

No matter what America does not equal the Kingdom of God and never will.

fresh

For the first time in a long while, I feel as if my life is actually coming back together again.  Honestly, I don’t know what to make of it. 

On the one hand, it scares me to death.  It always seems when I have a slight bit of mastery over things, my world spins madly out of control.  [Perhaps that is for the best, as in my experience, control leads to complacency and contentment.  Those, in turn, lead to stagnation and stagnation is the worst place a believer could be.] 

Conversely, I am not sure that I have ever been more excited about life.  My aspirations are lofty and numerous and it seems that some of them might actually come to fruition [seminary in community and photography as vocation, in particular].  On top of this I am experiencing anew the redemption brought by Resurrection.  The Risen one takes the broken renouncers and restores them to fellowship.  Not only does he restore, but He also commissions.  The very ones that turn away are allowed to participate and even lead in establishing the New Creation. 

We can experience the same thing Peter did around those two charcoal fires. 

We turn our backs.  We fall away.  We scatter.  

Resurrection changes it all.  

We are met face to face and embraced.  We are picked up.  We are brought back. 

We are redeemed.

[re]visit

I often compile lists.  

 

The other day it was beers I have tried.  I grew weary after listing about 100.  

 

Right now, it’s cities to [re]visit.  In no particular order [which is not entirely true], I want to visit Chicago, Dallas, Charleston, Arkadelphia [lame, huh?], Little Rock, Kiev, Prague, Odessa, Memphis, London, Moscow, a specific anonymous place in North Africa, Dublin, Edinburg, Liverpool, Rome, Warsaw, Munich, Boston, NYC, Denver, LA, Seattle, Atlanta, Miami, Amsterdam, Zagreb, Athens, Sofia, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Sydney, etc.  

 

This is a rather short list, I know.  Brevity is my forte.

 

Let’s go. 

Peace

We all want peace.  Peace in the wake of war’s violence and devastation.  Peace while wading through uncontrollable circumstances or while waiting for unforeseen events to run their course.  Peace concerning life’s myriad difficult decisions.  Peace in the face of the ever-looming certainty of death.  At one time or another [or perhaps even all at the same time] each of us experiences these various longings for peace.  We yearn for it.  Many times we even seek it at the expense of others.  However, the fact remains – we live in a broken, chaotic world where peace is hard to find.

 

All of this was on my mind as I read over Jesus’ post resurrection appearances in John.  I’d read those stories dozens of times but something strikingly simple stood out this go round.  When Jesus reveals himself to his closest followers, he immediately speaks peace to them.  Maybe he is just trying to offer a little reassurance since his disciples are encountering someone they know to be dead.  Maybe he is merely using a common greeting.  Regardless, I think Jesus is declaring a foundational truth.

 

Because He suffered and died on the cross and because he rose from the dead, people of the Kingdom can [and do] experience peace [even presently].  Jesus’ victory over sin and death inaugurated a new age.  Peace is possible [now]. 

 

The other day a good friend asked me if I thought Jesus came to bring peace or the sword.  My answer was yes.  In a certain sense Jesus did come to bring the sword.  It is readily observable that His message divides families, friends, tribes, and nations.  It is also apparent that the Gospel slices through all culture and presents a worldview that surpasses any established by man.  Rejection of the Kingdom also implies God’s wrath.  Each of these things demonstrates that Jesus does indeed bring the sword.  

 

But more importantly [at least from my perspective], Jesus came to bring peace.  He came to give direction and encouragement as life happens to us.  He came to conquer the destructive powers of sin and death that are all too real in our daily lives.  He came to heal the sick and give life to the dead.  He came ushering in a time when every one – people from all races, genders, and socio-economic levels – will live together in harmony.  He came to speak peace.  

 

Scripture abounds with messages of peace.  David tells us to turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.  Isaiah speaks of the Christ establishing peace without end.  Micah writes about a time we will beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks.  He continues by declaring we will not train for war anymore.  Paul encourages us that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.  The words show that peace is a [if not the] goal of the Kingdom.

 

So what does that look like now?  Obviously we aren’t witnessing the full extent of peace yet.  Honestly I doubt we ever will in this lifetime [unless of course Christ returns].  Wars will still happen.  People aren’t going to stop dying.  I’m still going to second guess my choices. None of these things nullify this vital truth of the Resurrection -peace is here.

 

We should act in a way that stands up to violence.  We should rest in the body surrounding us when things aren’t so great.  We should make every effort we can to make this present sojourn look like the future Kingdom.  As we resolutely wander towards the goal, we should relay the hope of peace to come and make earnest efforts to establish peace here and now.

 

In this Easter season [yes, it is more than a day] remember that the Resurrection brought the peace of God to earth in an entirely new way.

 

Peace be with you.

Slow

You should take the time to read this.  I wish that I was the one that was offering this wisdom. 

 

A fast call to slow down.

 

Beginnings

 

I have aspired to join the blogging community for quite some time.  It seems to be a very trendy and intriguing place to be.  Despite this, I have remained absent.  You may ask why I have failed to act on my ambition.  My hesitance has been due to a simple fact – I am bad with names.  Not in the sense of remembering the moniker given to a person or thing, but in the sense of assigning a title to a work.  I simply lack the creative ability to name things.  [It leaves me to wonder how I would have felt in Adam’s shoes…]  I have continued to dream dreams of the blogging world, refusing to make my dreams a reality until finding the perfect name.  Much to my excitement that moment happened this past weekend. 

 

Resolute wanderings. 

 

I am greatly indebted to Dr. Sickler for using a similar phrase in his sermon on Sunday that sparked a small bit of creative genius.  In reality there wasn’t much creativity on my part; I only had to be innovative enough to change -ers to -ings.  Nothing too groundbreaking but great improvement for me.  

 

This title resonated with me immediately.  It perfectly describes where I am [and probably most of you are] in life.  I find myself wandering aimlessly along any number of different courses, all the while knowing that I have resolutely set out toward a specific goal, namely the great Kingdom in which we participate.  The end result is in sight.  [It is already here.]  However, the road is long, winding, and often confusing.  [It is not yet here.]  We know where we are headed, we just aren’t exactly sure which route to take or how long it will be before we get there.  It might take me years to reach the goal, but nevertheless, I will reach it.   To steal from a close friend, this present sojourn is a resolute wandering.  

 

This is the beginning.