sharing some perspective

Over the past few months I've been blessed to share some perspective on Cleveland NBC and CBS News. Here are the links to those pieces - I'd appreciate your prayers for any impact they might have on these themes. Thanks!

9/11 and Religion - 10 Years Later: http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/206378/278/%40-the-Table-Religion-911-at-Connection-Church

Editorial Response to Celebrating Osama Bin Laden's Death: http://www.woio.com/story/14670974/editorial-response-tony

earthquake punchline

I hope this isn't in bad taste, because so far I hear there aren't any casualties to the earthquake today. That said, take a look at the headline that was at the top of my Twitter feed (via this screenshot).

apparently there's another writer under my roof

I got to step back from writing for the newspaper this week.

Turns out there's a much better writer than me with the last name Myles.

Check it out: http://connectionchurch.org/pdfs/MedinaGazette_011211.pdf

(P.S. Yes - he actually wrote this all by himself. He spoke it out loud from his heart without pausing, and I tried to keep up and type it.)

will this news blurb read the same way in fifty years?

I came across a news blurb that is newsworthy in itself. It got me wondering, though, if in the next fifty years its content will read and impact us any differently than it might today.

Think about it - that's five more decades of us attempting to relabel the definition of love, marriage, civil rights in relationships and so on. 

What do you think - would the following hit us any differently?

The North American Man/Boy Love Association is being scrubbed from Facebook after Fox News purportedly alerted the social networking site to the group's pages there. Fox reporter Jana Winter writes, "Despite Facebook's policy against the posting of content that supports groups engaged in child exploitation, foxnews.com easily found dozens of pages proudly proclaiming an affiliation with the North American Man/Boy Love Association. Many of those pages featured numerous photos of unnamed boys, who appeared to be around 4 years old."[foxnews.com, 9/29/10]

"Of course not," you may say. "We'll still feel the same way in fifty years that we feel about this today."

Are you sure?  After all, what once was "offensive" or "perverted" fifty years ago is now the plot line of our favorite television shows.

The reality is that the standards never changed... but unfortunately we did and therefore believe they have.

today's newspaper article... and my favorite response so far

Something I
wrote in my
newspaper column
this week:

To The Young Man Who Wants To Marry My Daughter

My favorite reader's email so far is this one:

I AM A 96 YEAR OLD LADY WHO ENJOYS GOOD READING. I LIVE ALONE --MY SONS ARE SR CITIZENS--MARRIED--SO I HAVE NO ONE TO SEND YOUR WONDERFUL LETTER TO. BUT I HOPE MANY GUYS WILL READ YOUR LETTER. IT IS THE BEST I HAVE EVER SEEN--THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK.

SINCERELY... CATHERINE

a lost review

Regarding L O S T: I know many of you have asked if I liked the ending of the show or not. In short, I did for a number of reasons. I'm writing more about it in my weekly newspaper column this week, so I'll reference that link when it's up on Wednesday. In the meantime, here's an intriguing summary plus a lot of debate in the comments.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/reviews/2010-05-24-lostreview24_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

kfc sandwich - revisited and elvis-sized

You know that new KFC sandwich that is horribly bad for you?

A couple of guys decided to "Elvis-size" it.

Check it out HERE.

um... gross

Let it be said that at no time in my life do I ever plan on eating this.

The new KFC "Double Down" sandwich uses two boneless chicken breasts as the bun, covering two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel's Sauce. It's 540 calories, 32 grams of fat, with 10 grams of that saturated fat, 11 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 145 mg of cholesterol, and a whopping 1,380 mg of salt (about 60 percent of a day's recommended supply).

Read more here: http://www.myfox8.com/wghp-story-kfc-bunless-sandwich-100409,0,6881346.story

Um... gross.

And yet... while I already know that sandwich is "wrong," there are plenty of other "gross" things that I have eaten and will eat again.  For instance, White Castle cheeseburgers aren't the healthiest of foods, and yet I find myself drawn to them when I'm on a road trip.  Or how about the absurdity of donuts - pure sugar in a round shape that often has more sugar ladled on top?  Not to mention.. well, many other "foods" that shouldn't ever enter my mouth but do.

Have you ever considered how your tolerance level to certain things is both "on" and "off?"

It's been said that your body won't let you eat a whole tub of butter - it literally will shut you down.  Another urban legend  cites that the average human can't drink an entire gallon of whole milk in an hour.  Our bodies have been hardwired to reject the things that don't belong in them.

Even though we often attempt to put those very things right back into our bodies.

So... what if the "other" parts of our lives are the same way?  Only we're so used to consuming the junk that we never think twice about what's entering into us?

What if the sense of awfulness we feel after we've hurt someone isn't a sign that we aren't supposed to propagate the hate in this world but judo it with love, forgiveness, and grace? (Even if they "really" deserve it?)

What if our first sense of awkwardness with seeing something sexual isn't to be a sign that we're supposed to flood every component of our entertainment with nudity and hooking up?

What if  that first time you tasted an "acquired taste" and spit it out, you weren't supposed to keep it out in the first place?

What if that first time you watch a horror movie and it freaks you out, that's supposed to be a sign that our minds aren't intended to choose to look at evil... so much to the point where it "no longer affects us?"

Keep in mind, I'm well aware that many of us look at that KFC picture and begin to salivate.  Our palates, after all, have become warped by living in this world.  As I said, it's why I yearn for something as unhealthy as a greasy hamburger or why I grew up drinking soda after soda after soda.

But shouldn't there come a point when we no longer let our stomachs guide us?  Be it in this, or any other way?  Shouldn't we start paying more attention to what we're are taking in physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, and relationally?  Not to mention what we put "on the table" for others in our household to have to "digest?"

In case you don't see a problem with this yet, you need to watch these kids acting out "Scarface." (yeah, you read that right - not a school play, but still kids doing it nonetheless)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Del6viNWSk



Maybe it's time we stop feeding our sense of "freedom" and "entitlement" and begin to become offended at things that we've turned into a pillow.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. (1 Corinthians 13:11)

You also say, "Food is meant for our bodies, and our bodies are meant for food." But I tell you that God will destroy them both. We are not supposed to do indecent things with our bodies. We are to use them for the Lord who is in charge of our bodies.(1 Corinthians 6:13, CEV)

something I wrote for the paper this week

If you have a moment, I want to invite you to read something I wrote for the newspaper this week.

Consider it a personal invitation... thanks!

http://www.connectionchurch.org/tony/033110.pdf

haiti, faith, and a whole lot of questions - pt 5

Please tell me you saw this - a Haitian teen was found alive in the rubble of her home 15 days after the quake.

That's just over two days of darkness.  Can you imagine how horrible that would be?  Nothing but being stuck without relief for days on end.

And then suddenly... light, and people, and care, and nourishment.  Your entire world changes in the blink of an eye.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (Revelation 21:1-3)

I was watching video footage from a pastor the other day in Haiti, and he shared how just moments before a boy was shot on the streets.  Not even an hour before the pastor had bought all the boy's ice cream - 200+ bars - and given them away to local kids.  The boy went away and then came back with more, but was shot on the street and left dead while people walked around.  Then the camera panned over and showed the scene... a boy in the street, with blood around him.

I didn't know how to respond.

My 8-year-old son did, though.  Granted, I didn't show him the footage I saw that afternoon... but later that night we got on the topic of how hard things have gotten for the community of Haiti as they're trying to survive.  I said, "One of the reasons we only drank water last week was to remind us of what is happening over there and that we're responsible to love our neighbor... to think of a way to take care of those who are hurting."  He asked a bit about that, and assumed all would be fine since "We've sent help over."

I said, "Well, that is good, but it's not enough to only help one time.  For example, today I learned about a boy who had been shot on the street because someone wanted the ice cream he had."

My son began to cry... really, really, cry.  I didn't expect that, but it was absolutely appropriate.  He asked through his tears, "Is he alright?"

I knew my answer was about to change him.  "Actually, no. He... well, he ended up dying."  My son's tears began to pour out, and my wife and I tried to comfort him without losing the sobriety of this learning curve.  "Joshua, you're absolutely right for crying over that," I said, moving closer.  "There's a reason why you feel that way, and it's because God feels the same way about tragedy like this."

Did you know that?

In the second to last chapter of the Bible, we read this description of what the end of things as they currently are will be like before they begin to become something entirely better:

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."” (Revelation 21:4)

The things that cause us suffering now - death, pain, mourning - will one day...

be gone.

On what basis is this claim made? 

The resurrection of Jesus Christ Himself from the dead.

Out of all the things we call "evil" in the world - poverty, war, abuse, relational pain, disease, and ultimately death itself - only one of them is unique... death is the only one that can never be avoided.

• Some are born into poverty, but they can be brought out of it.
• Wars occur when one force attempts to overtake another, but they can be ended.
• Abuses happen when one individual belittles the value of another, but they can be halted.
• Relational pain takes place when one life creates wounds to another life in proximity to it, but they can be held off and reconciled.
• Disease will often ravage a person or a people group, but they can be fought with medicine and hygiene.
  

But death... death is unavoidable, so while it in itself may seem neutral, it remains the strongest expression of evil that there is. Nothing and no one has ever ultimately defeated it - that is, except Jesus.

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." (Revelation 21:5)

When a rescue happens in Haiti, people cheer... for we have taken part in the miracle of "defeating death."  Truly, though, only Jesus has done this completely in that as God He not only suffered and died on our behalf, He also came to life again and defeated death itself. Which means if He can defeat the strongest of evils, then He can defeat all the rest.

Why does He not do so sooner?  Or in a way that minimizes suffering?  Or as we would do it if we had His power? The Bible doesn’t say.

Doesn't that suck sometimes?

So since we don't know the answer to this, does this mean there isn't one?

Philosopher William Alston gets at it this way:

Suppose that some of the very best scientists in the world come up with a new theory about quantum physics. Suppose I, as a non-physicist, look at their theory and say, “Because I cannot figure it out, they must be wrong.” It’s possible they might be wrong, but I have no real basis for knowing.

Alston’s point is simply that we are not in a position to assume that if an infinite God has reasons for allowing evil, then we as finite and fallible beings should be able to figure them out. And because we cannot assume this, any argument which does—such as the approach identified above—has not proved anything at all.

What we are certain about, though, is an end of the story that is not rooted in wishful thinking.  Rather, it is rooted in a cosmic battle that has already taken place, a battle in which Jesus has defeated the worst of all evils... death itself.  He not only comforts us in our present suffering, but who will one day come again and defeat suffering in all its forms. How amazing is that?

This - and nothing less - is the assurance that belongs to those who embrace His embrace, making Jesus their Lord and Savior.

So I'll end all of this discussion on another tragedy of sorts... one that involved the family of singer Steven Curtis Chapman.  They've been in the news over the past couple of years specifically regarding the tragic loss of their 5-year-old daughter Maria, their youngest adopted daughter, who had been accidentally struck in the family's driveway by one of her brothers returning home in his truck.

Chapmans new album, entitled "Beauty Will Rise," became his personal testament to Maria's life and the overwhelming assurance that they will be together again one day.  It must be nothing short of a miracle to attempt to find and somehow discover redemptive words for such pain. I ache for his ache... and am humbly silent at his praise. 

Life... 

found underneath the rubble.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9JTwJ_1lzE

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Revelation 21:7-8)

haiti, faith, and a whole lot of questions - pt 4

If you were to give God a grade for how He's doing these days, what grade would you give Him?

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."

When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.  (John 11:1-6)

Dangerous question, right?  We can answer it so emotionally, one way or the other.

Most people opt for a "Pass/Fail" system.  Either He's doing the job we all expect of Him, or He isn't.  Others might grade on the typical "A, B, C, D, F" system.  Someone clever might even throw in the "E" to indicate they feel He's turned in incomplete work.

Or at least, we think He has.

So Jesus then said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him."(John 11:14-15)

We need blind sass to even consider such things, don't we?  For it's our bent to look at a question like this through our own sense of history alone.  We say, "I'd give God an 'A' for sunsets and summers, but when someone I loved died for no reason whatsoever I decided He deserves nothing more than an 'F' in my book."

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died." (John 11:17-21)

There is nothing a person can say in response to that kind of declaration.  At least, nothing adequate.  That person is making an emotional statement, and so they feel "right" in the tremendous loss they are experiencing... because a tremendous loss should create a tremendous reaction.

It's why Jesus wept at the tomb of His friend Lazarus before He raised Him up from the grave.

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" he asked.
 

"Come and see, Lord," they replied.

Jesus wept.

Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" (John 11:33-36)

Because death is tragic...

but it isn't the end of the Story.

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said.

"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."

 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" (John 11:38-40)

Take a look at the account of Lazarus or the cross of Jesus and you will realize that suffering can have a purpose, even when it doesn't make sense.  The Lord isn't indifferent or detached from our condition.  Rather, a fuller view of things is not death but resurrection – not a cartoon heaven with harps and clouds but a true restoration of all the brokenness in this world and our hearts... all through a new relationship with God through Christ.

This isn't just some religious idea or something we chew on to feel better.  This means that literally every horrible thing that has ever happened will one day become a part of a greater perspective... like when you've been unemployed for a while and suddenly get a job, making you appreciate that blessing all the more.  In some way the experience of heaven will become even more joyful because of the way the pain and darkness has been finally outmatched by the healing and the Light that is Jesus.

This is the ultimate defeat of evil and suffering, and it can begin our hearts when we begin to unleash the truth of it in our lives.  Such a reference point for hope can offer perspective to the questions our hearts raise.  That's why the Bible says "by faith" we see ahead with our soul what our eyes haven't yet taken in.

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." (John 11:41-42)

Sometimes when you get down the road of a tragedy and you look back, you realize that something was accomplished in tragedy.  I say this with trembling and caution, though, for I'm not attempting to water down the very real pain that we experience when it happens.  The world is broken by sin, so there are all kinds of things that God did not originally design the world to contain. His blueprints did not have hunger, earthquakes, rape, disease, or human death. Even from the perspective of eternity, we will look back and realize that much of the suffering that's occurred in our lives and in the world could have been avoided by human decision.

But we are intended to look back from a new vantage point... one that doesn't give God a grade based on the moment but on the curve of His Story.

In other words, just because you can't think of a good reason why God hasn't stopped the pain in this world yet doesn't mean there cannot be any. First you have to acknowledge that the meaninglessness you feel in the face of suffering is part of the fact that we are not created for these things and now we are facing them. Then we have to acknowledge that our vantage point is not everything.

Which makes what God *has* done all the more powerful.

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." (John 11:43-44)

The Lord entered the suffering world as its Savior, living the best life possible and yet being punished in the worst way conceivable. The cross shows that He loves us, because if He didn't love us He wouldn't have gotten involved... He is not indifferent to us by any means. As Jesus, God has suffered, and we can rest assured that that He shares our pain and knows our sufferings. God put into motion a proactive chain of events through the cross and the raising of Jesus from the dead... a chain of events that points to our ultimate hope of final restoration when we are finally united with God for eternity.

Still want to give God an 'F' based on your vantage point?  Maybe you feel that's what He deserves.

I won't argue with your vantage point... because that is what it is and I'll give you the space to have it.

Perhaps tomorrow, though, your vantage point will increase.  That's why I've written this post... to remind you that the way you see life today should grow tomorrow... not shrink or merely stay the same.

And it's possible to place your faith today in what you will place your faith in tomorrow.

Tune in tomorrow for the final word.

haiti, faith, and a whole lot of questions - pt 3

What was the last thing you tried to fix that was broken?  For me it was a broken door on our entertainment center, and before that it was a garbage disposal.

Yeah... that's right... I fixed the garbage disposal.  Take that, average 4th grader.

When something is broken and you're attempting to fix it, you need a point a reference.  Specifically, you have to envision or find a picture/blueprint of what the cracked or "out of order" thing once looked like.  Only with this reference point can you begin to see the flawed object as originally intended, giving context to that which is currently broken and how you need to go about restoring it.

That's one reason why the first two chapters of the Bible are such a gift - they remind us that humanity and this world didn't start out flawed, but rather were whole and interconnected.  There was a time when our relationship with God wasn't cloudy, our relationship with others wasn't strained, and our relationship with nature wasn't adversarial.

Oh, and another gift we were given?  Free will.

And we exercised that in the worst way possible.

I mention this because the reason we all sort of "know" what has happened in Haiti is "wrong" is because buried within us is a sort of Divine "Original Idea" blueprint for the way things are supposed to be. The once-atheist-turned-Christian C.S. Lewis once put it this way:

“My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of 'just' and 'unjust?'… What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?… Of course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too – for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my private fancies…Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple."

Lewis was on to something here, for he came to realize that suffering provided a better argument for God’s existence than one against it.  In order to recognize something wasn't right, you unconsciously have to admit there is a "right."  So whether someone realizes it or not, they have gone back to the Original Idea of the Creator set in motion when they cry out against the way things currently are.

This is one way that God can use destruction to bring about a recognition and process of healing.

Think about it - what we learn from the Blueprint of Genesis 1-2 is that the Lord desired us to be in a mutually caring relationship with one another.  Jesus underscored this when He commanded us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  We've certainly had the opportunity to do so with Haiti for many years, and yet we've let them goe by with the average Haitian trying to get by and live on less than $2 a day.

I wonder... why didn't we TXT a pledge to help Haiti with that before the past week?  How come efforts to raise funds didn't make headlines until just recently?  Why has the effort to adopt Haitian orphans only just increased... in the past week and a half?

Oh yeah...

because we really didn't care about Haiti.

But then suddenly - a tragedy occurred - and we started caring.

Did you notice that?

It's why the current President and the previous two Presidents began hanging out. These men who have wasted so much of their energy trying to destroy each other's credibility in order to make their own shinier... put their arms around one another.  Folks, that's not a political statement... that's a spiritual one.

For we've done the same, haven't we?

It happened during 9/11.  It happened during Hurricane Katrina.  And it's happened in previous generations as well... from World Wars to Great Depressions.  People who never spoke to one another started having sober conversations; friends and family members began to reconcile; a grassroots effort began to bring hope and healing to those who had been hurt.

As if the Original Idea of caring for one another kicked in, even after years of suppressing it beneath our own agendas for life.  Something was broken, and so we all reached back to an unconscious understanding of our responsibility to care for one another and begin restoring the devastation of creation back into its original image.

It's as if God tries to get our attention in the best way possible, but we put our headphones on to listen to our favorite music instead.  So He shouts a bit - and for a split second we tune out the music and try to hear Him, because it momentarily rattled us.  Then He taps us on the shoulder - and again we pause, but then go back to our own beat.  Finally He shakes us, and we complain, "Hey!  Why did You have to shake me like that?"

Listen to these words spoken by singer Keith Green at a concert in 1979, addressing the theme of how God speaks to His people when they are hard-hearted (again - keep in mind this was shared 31 years ago and look at the timeliness of these eternal thoughts):

"When God wants to talk to (stubborn) people He talks to them in three ways. First, He touches them where it hurts - in their economy.  If that doesn't get their attention, then He touches their ecology... the rains, the locusts, the famine, the earthquakes, and so on.  And if that doesn't work, He raises up a nation to come and invade them.  I think we have struck out in two of those areas.


I'm not a prophet of doom... I'm a prophet of love. But love will bid a warning doom to those children that play on the freeway.  And I tell you this - we need to wake up, for Jesus wept over Jerusalem and said, 'Bid that the Father, the Lord of the Harvest, send laborers into the Harvest."

Maybe sometimes God has to allow the worst to happen to us in order to bring out the best in us.

Perhaps the Lord isn't as inactive as we think He is.

"It takes no faith to trust God when He is obviously moving. Real faith is holding on and believing when God SEEMS absent." - Rick Warren

And yet... perhaps the emotional question still remains.  "Why this way?"

Again, first think about how you even "know" to ask that question.

And then... I'll spend some time addressing that question tomorrow.

haiti, faith, and a whole lot of questions - pt 2

I am not sure that anyone can be argued into placing their faith in God.  It would seem that a lot of Christians invest their time into debating, and I've definitely spent my share doing so in the past.  While I've found that I could dismantle many arguments thrown my way, it often boiled down to if the person was willing to change what he/she believed about God... and in most cases the person wasn't willing.

All that energy... blocked by a shield of hard-heartedness. And yet most Christians pursue others as if they were trying to get them to purchase a movie ticket when they'd rather go bowling.  "Fine, you've convinced me," the believer hopes the unbeliever might say. "I'll choose Jesus. Does He come with a bucket of popcorn?" 

So I'm not expecting this series of thoughts on "Haiti, faith, and a whole lot of questions" to convert anyone.  Rather, you need to come to God because you realize that there is something quite beautiful and indescribably majestic about who He is... or perhaps the other way around, in that you recognize you are hypocritical and full of sin, in desperate need of a Savior who can free you from it all. 

For you to see any of that - truly, for you to even glimpse at that - you need to understand how much of your life is already "faith-based," for there are plenty of things you place your faith in each day that involve trust in something you don't fully understand.  You hop in a car in faith that the company who made it knows what they're doing; you turn on the water in faith that the water company got your payment and hasn't shut off your service; you make an appointment with a friend and have faith they will show up on time; you have children in faith that they will add to your life and you will add to theirs.  Recognizing these small examples can help you navigate what to do with the hurdles you have yet to reconcile.  Which gets into the first thought I'd like to explore in this issue of pain, destruction, God, and what it all means. 

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He answered “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength," adding that the second was to "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." (Mark 12:30-31) Often when we attempt to go one-on-one with God we only use  1-3 of those approaches, inadvertently sacrificing a 4th in the process.  For instance, someone may have never really learned to love God with their mind because they grew up in a Christian home and have never felt the urge to question their faith... even though they should.  On the other hand, someone else may have come to God through some thorough Q&A through history and archeology, and yet their faith is so cerebral that they've never truly worshipped Jesus from the depths of their soul... even though they should.

This is important to recognize because there will be times when it's hard to "wrap our minds around" something like Haiti.  We may not ever be able to for that matter.  We are desperately trying to understand something we don't understand, and since we can't seem to do so we conclude that there isn't an adequate answer, hence, "God doesn't exist."  After all, if God is good He would certainly never allow bad things to happen, right?

There is a major flaw in this reasoning, for buried beneath the assertion that the world is filled with pointless evil is a hidden premise.  Specifically, the person claiming it believes, "If evil appears pointless to me, then it must be pointless."

Several years back I was on a road trip and helped some students set their tents up for the night.  Before I could set mine up it started raining, and so I ended up sleeping in a van for the night.  By morning I had a pinched nerve in my neck that ended up staying with me for almost six months.  Keep in mind, that's six months of pain... all the time.  A few weeks in I decided to see a chiropractor, and then in turn he suggested I see a doctor so I could take part in physical therapy.  All of this angered me for it seemed to be purely pointless pain... for while I had been doing a very good thing - "the Lord's work" - by taking these kids on the trip, there wasn't any need for me to experience what I did.  "What kind of God would let me suffer like that?"

And yet...

The chiropractor and I struck up a friendship, and eventually I ended up getting to know him and his girlfriend, which in turn led me to marry them and help that marriage get an amazing start.  And the doctor I saw for physical therapy?  Before he sent me off he ran some blood work on me... and noticed something that otherwise would have gone undetected, eventually becoming life-threatening.  I was able to put new habits in my life that helped reverse what had happened (versus something more severe and fatal).

Huh.

So maybe the pain wasn't so pointless after all.  Though I would have really liked to have traded the active pain of those six months, I would not trade the insights I gained from it.

There are times that God doesn't make sense to the mind, which is where the soul comes into play... the mind sees the here-and-now, but the soul through faith sees a bigger picture.  Sort of like comparing watching a train as it passes car-by-car versus seeing the birds-eye view of the whole thing at once... we sit and wait at the flashing stop lights for the thing to be over, while the Creator sees and knows its context from above.

So... could it be possible that while God intended for this world to be without pain or disease, and we broke it, that He can use even our bent toward destruction to bring about healing?   Just because we can't see it just yet, does it mean there isn't a proactive reason we shouldn't consider?  One that can't been seen with the mind alone, but only when the mind works in tandem with the heart, the soul, and the strength of a person/community?  Or perhaps one that can't be seen at all on this side of heaven?

Again - we seem to care more about Haiti and its people after the earthquake than we did before the earthquake... for before the earthquake hit they were barely surviving as a people while we paid our $20 to see Avatar in 3-D with $12 worth of snacks on our lap.

Huh.

I'll write more on that tomorrow.

haiti, faith, and a whole lot of questions - pt 1

Okay... it's time to ask the question and attempt to wrestle with it.

You know the question, don't you?

I saw it this past week when I received a text message from someone in our church who said, "(My husband and I have been) praying... trying to get our heads around over 100,000 people confirmed dead and more to be expected. A whole school of children! How do you get your brain/heart around that? Oh God!"

And then there was another this morning from someone who said via Facebook, "My heart is breaking for the Haitian people....ANOTHER earthquack/aftershock??? This seems SO not fair! I'm having a little trouble reconciling a God of Mercy right now.....:("

Personally, I think these moments of tension are powerful.  I know I'm not supposed to, because these are supposed to be thoughts that atheists do a little dance about when Christians become speechless at the tragedy in this world.  They hurl insults like, "Look at this mess. Where is your God now?  See, I told you!  He isn't there, is He?"

Ah... what a great opportunity.  I don't by any means in saying that mean to lighten the heaviness of what has happened, but rather to point out the pure growth that can happen now that we are asking those questions.

Because the atheists have a point - the deity that we've been worshipping doesn't exist, and in these moments we learn that.   But that doesn't mean God doesn't exist - read what I just wrote... "the deity that we've been worshipping doesn't exist."

Let me be clearer - many well meaning people worship a God that is more of a math problem than a Lord over the universe.  He's the "God who always makes sense" and "doesn't give you more than you can handle" - the one that says if you're good and vote Republican/Democrat, good things will happen to you and you'll have a prosperous life.  He's the "safety-net-God," the "it's-okay-to-look-down-your-nose-at-other-people-who-are-living-apart-from-so-you-can-feel-good-that-you-aren't-like-them-God," and "go-to-church-every-Sunday-and-life-will-make-sense-God."

That God doesn't exist.

You may need to read that last sentence again.

And so the atheists have it right when they point it out to us.

Now, I don't believe that the people who wrote the comments I quoted earlier believe in this lesser-god, but rather are trying to make sense out of the real God.  And I totally applaud that and believe this is the time to do what they are attempting to do.  We must figure out what it means to reconcile the destruction in our world with who God is... and isn't.

Because the God that the atheists have formed that they will not believe in (yes, that is ironic) doesn't exist either.  The popular statement is that “A God who is good and all-powerful cannot allow evil to exist, but evil does exist, therefore there is no good and all-powerful God.”  Without realizing it, they have also made a statement of faith in forming their anti-faith.

I know... this is heavy and confusing stuff.

So maybe the greater question about all of this has to do with why we land where we land as we circle all the chaos in life.

• Why is it that on the same night as a major news special on the tragedy in Haiti the Golden Globes aired? Why do we allow that to happen?  Which did you tune into?
  
  
  
• Why is it that on a USA Today page that shows pictures of the devastation there are headlines just below like "Nicole Richie fashions a clothing line" and "Brad Pitt's beard turns heads?"  Why do we allow that to happen?  Which headline did you click on?
  

I'm going to write a bit on this each day for the next few days, and I hope in doing so your understanding of God - the real One, that is - grows.

That is, if you're willing to take part in this journey... which means holding your current understanding of God (or anti-God) a little looser so you might better understand what you do - or don't - believe in.

I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, "My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?"(Daniel 12:8)

something that i want to wreck me

I know there's much going on in our lives today, from "this thing we have to do" to "that place we have to get to." I want to ask you to slow down and stop for a moment... even if only for a moment, unless you can afford more.

I just got done looking at some pictures from Haiti, mainly because I'm tempted not to think about Haiti today. Instead, I'm tempted to consider what's going on in my life and the lives of those whom I'm able to see, hear, touch, feel, and smell. Meanwhile, there are others around the globe who are dealing with tremendous loss, sickness, and injury... be it their own or the issues of those around them. On my end of life, they are just images on a TV screen as I'm surfing my way to my favorite program or movie... unless I allow the Lord to do something more in me about it.

That's why I sat down and began to look through some of the pictures the news has been capturing. I'm not sure if you're ready for this, but if you are this link contains pictures and personal accounts of what's happening: http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/assignment-19/

Again, there will be hard pictures on that site.... but for me I needed to let the tragedy wreck me, and wreck me it has.

And then there's the "Now what?" question. I'm still wrestling with that... maybe you have a better answer than I do. But maybe we can wrestle with that together, and perhaps respond together.

e-stalking?

A Henderson, Tenn., woman has been arrested for virtually "poking" another woman on Facebook, thereby violating a restraining order. She faces up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

What do you think? Is this crossing the line or not? Apparently the jury is still out.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33622633/ns/local_news-nashville_tn/

nightline: ten commandments

You may or may not know this, but Nightline is doing a series on the Ten Commandments and how they are practically being lived out (or not lived out) today.

Check out the conversation: http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/10Commandments

(FYI: You will hear/read/see a variety of perspectives on topics, including those for and against)

Try their quiz while you're there.

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/10Commandments/fullpage?id=8604104

rant: an odd epilogue to 9.11

The family and I had free tickets to an Indians baseball game tonight, so we went with some friends and enjoyed some free food. And while the team lost in extra innings, I was more concerned about what we *really* lost.

There was barely a breath's mention about 9/11 - if it was a court case, you could argue there was no mention of it. The guy who does his little schticks in between innings sort of acknowledged that the music tonight would be patriotic... but he didn't say why.

Then there was the flag... it was at half mast for a few innings, but then for some odd reason it went up shortly into the game.

Keep in mind, I'm not a crazy American patriot. I enjoy the country I live in and do my best to support its original values, but my core allegiance is in deeper places.

Yet even I would have expected a bit more on a day like today. I mean, do we really have to just wait for the ten year anniversary to celebrate and say something? Or can't we honor the 8 year anniversary as well? I may be wrong, but I would guess that the empty chair around the dinner table in many homes affected by 09.11.01 is as painful today as it will be in two years.

Maybe I'm ranting, or maybe I'm right. But come on... even during the "On this day in history" montage in between innings there was mention that "On this day in history the Ford Pinto was introduced." I mean, the Ford Pinto. That makes the video's headlines.

But nothing about how "On this day in history our country's mask fell off...

and we realized our need for each other...

and we decided to pray again like we've hadn't prayed in a long time...

and red, white, and blue stood for something...

and people looked past celebrity icons and wondered why we even cared about them in the first place...

and the President wasn't a late night punchline... he was our President...

and there were people missing... who would hopefully be found beneath rubble... but often weren't...

and churches stepped up as God's hands and feet...

and people held one another like they hadn't before and possibly since.

Again, I'm not someone who tears up much at the Star Spangled Banner. But I am ready to shed a tear on behalf of tragedy that has occurred within the country I live in. I think that tear is still somewhere in my eye, and I want to find a way to intentionally work it out before I go to bed.

Because the Indians lost tonight in extra innings...

but I was more concerned about what we *really* lost.

9.11

A video I made when 9/11 first happened. There is perhaps "better" footage I could choose now - ones that make for a better montage. But I left it this way because using the scraps of what I could find on the news during those chaotic weeks seemed to be the more genuine ingredients.

People talk a lot about "remembering" and "never forgetting" - I agree, but only if we let it change who we are today and tomorrow.

text-ing God

Some of you may not be interested in this article, but others of you may be... and should be.

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2009/09/breaking_transl.html

It raises some interesting issues... and while you may have an opinion on what translation of the Bible we should and shouldn't read, I think the core issue this all puts into play is this tension:

• Should a translation of the Bible start with a subjectivity to the reader's interests/desires/preferences and then work its way back to the original Text?
  
  or
  
  
• Should a translation of the Bible start with the Text, and then work its way into whatever culture the reader lives in, objective to their interests/desires/preferences?

As a bit of backstory, some controversy arose when a popular translation of the Bible - the NIV - was "re-translated" and a new version emerged as another option. This was called the TNIV and a big piece of the debate was around the softening of gender when God was referenced. The advocates stated that this since the Lord made both male and female "in His image," we shouldn't call God a "He" but find more "inclusive" ways of referencing. Others felt that this was an unnecessary move away from the core inferences of the Scripture that utilized the masculine way of describing God even when it wasn't directly an issue. And even more importantly, it would lead to even more recreating of Scripture "in our image."

If you don't understand yet why this matters, it is the problem we see with any issue in our world - if you don't like something, change it... and if you don't have the authority to do so, create that authority by vote, force, or a whole lot of ranting.

And so the question remains: Is it up to a translation committee to recreate the Bible for its audience, or is the job of a committee to find ways to let the original Text speak to any given culture?

I remember back in 2002 when the Chairman of the TNIV board was being interviewed on the radio and taking phone calls. I grabbed the phone and ended up first in line, which was actually kind of humbling. Nonetheless, I asked him why "now" did the changes occur (versus back when the first NIV committee met a few decades earlier), and he mentioned they felt they had a more accurate read of the Bible and this would be a more inclusive offering culturally.

I respectfully pushed back a bit and asked him why that was a value, and he said it was important that people be able to see themselves in the Bible more.

Hmm.

I then asked a follow up - "So what happens if, say, many Christians and church leaders decide to loosen up on some things we consider sins today? Will you be putting out another version of the NIV five, ten, or twenty years from now?"

He sort of stumbled over his answer of, "Well, there's no way to predict if we'll need to change it."

So I asked, "Then... how confident are you... really... in this translation?"

I heard, "Well..." by the gentleman, and then quickly, "Thanks for the call." by the radio personality.

Keep in mind, I am convicted that the Bible is inspired and has been preserved as a perfect message even while it has passed through the hands of imperfect people. We see it affirming itself within its pages and find that archeology only continues to show how amazing a book the Scriptures are in their accuracy.

In addition to that, though, I also believe that there may not be one "translation" from the original languages to our own 21st Century ones that fully captures the Divinity of God in a way that humans can perfectly understand. As a tag, I do believe that there are translations that offer us perspective that is "more accurate" than others, but even then there is a component of mystery that will always exist - God will never be fully understood by people, but through the Scriptures we can fully connect with God in an accurate way.

There will always be critics of whatever is out there, and I don't think they should be ignored. However, I also don't think they should be elevated. It is a good idea to take in their thoughts with context. For without fundamentalists, we would forget the fundamentals... and without the liberals, we would forget to take risks. Both seem to be needed.

So whatever your favorite version of the Bible is, I'd encourage you to not be a groupie of it.

Rather, be a fan of the original Text...

and learn to appreciate what a struggle it is to not take authority over the Scriptures, but rather, let the Scriptures take authority over us.