Brian McLaren and How to Read the Bible

Last week I went over Brian McLaren's thoughts about the overarching story line of the Bible. Now let's take a look at McLaren's #2 question in A New Kind of Christianity: How should the Bible be understood?

McLaren starts things off in chapter 7 by stating the obvious--we've really messed things up! We've used the Bible to condone slavery, misogyny, segregation, and (currently) ignoring our role in being stewards for God's creation. The problem, he writes, is that we've been reading the Bible like a legal constitution, citing various verses to prove how we're right. The Bible is not a legal constitution, but "a portable library of poems, prophecies, histories, fables, parables, letters, sage sayings, quarrels, and so on." (p. 79) It's an inspired library, no doubt, but a library nonetheless.

So how should we approach this portable inspired library? Using that classic emerging buzzword, McLaren says that the revelation occurs through conversation. He uses the Book of Job as an example. Most of Job is told as a conversation between Job and his friends. Job says, "Why is this happening to me?" and his friends reply, "Well, you must've done something wrong." Finally God chimes in, but instead of giving a straight answer He asks Job more questions.

Revelation doesn't simply reside in this or that particular verse of Job like cereal in a box, waiting to be opened and poured out into a bowl. Instead, it emerges through the whole story of Job, through the conversation that unfolds between these many voices, like meaning in a novel or perhaps even the punch line in a joke. (p. 95)

As you may remember from my interview with Adele Sakler, we talked about how there's room in Christianity for different interpretations. This is why I believe in conversation, because I think we can learn a lot from each other if we all just talked. And as Rob Bell once said, we don't follow the Bible, we interpret it. However, recently a friend of mine shared this article by Kevin DeYoung with me, and DeYoung says that, even though respectful dialogue itself is a good thing, the conversation sometimes drags on:

Intra-Christian debates are just as overrun by dialogue - the tool of choice for resolving (read: delaying) denominational conflicts, especially those having to do with homosexuality. The plea is always for more talking. But do we ever call an end to the meeting of the minds and simply make up our minds? Do we ever declare, ala Martin Luther, "Here we stand"?

So, what do you all think? Does revelation occur through conversation? Should we read the Bible as a legal constitution, or a library?

Monday Morning Awesomeness: 02/22/10

I'm not sure if this is really considered "awesomeness." More like "awesomely badness." Nevertheless, here is Pastor Ed Young . . . doing hip-hop.



Don't say I didn't warn you!

Coffee Chats Episode 3 - George Elerick

Well folks, Coffee Chats is back! And today we have George Elerick who blogs at The Love Revolution. We had a great discussion about love and interpreting the Bible.

You can listen to it here.

Enjoy!

Brian McLaren and the Biblical Narrative

No other name can sharply divide Christians than Brian McLaren. Some say he's a brilliant and liberating teacher, others say he's the son of Satan. I like to think of McLaren as just a regular guy trying to figure it all out, like me. He may be wrong, he may be right. Either way, he always makes you think seriously about your faith.

I'm currently reading his new book A New Kind of Christianity. In this book, McLaren presents ten questions that are "transforming the faith," as he writes. They are:

1. What is the overarching story line of the Bible?
2. How should the Bible be understood?
3. Is God Violent?
4. Who is Jesus and why is He important?
5. What is the Gospel?
6. What do we do about the Church?
7. Can we find a way to address human sexuality without fighting about it?
8. Can we find a better way of viewing the future?
9. How should followers of Jesus relate to people of other religions?
10. How can we translate our quest into action?

Today I want to discuss McLaren's answer to Question #1.

But before I go any further, let me make it clear that this is what McLaren says, not necessarily what I think.

Anyway, according to McLaren, the traditional way mainstream Christians view the overarching story line of the Bible (Eden, the Fall, Condemnation, Salvation, Heaven or Hell) is based more on the Greco-Roman philosophy of Plato and Aristotle than the Bible. Instead, throughout the Old Testament McLaren sees three dimensions of the Bible's narrative. First, the book of Genesis explains how the good, evolving world God created has been tainted by human evil. Yet despite mankind's screw ups, God still has mercy. Second, the Exodus story (or account, if you prefer) shows how God act as a liberator "freeing us from external and internal oppression and forming us as the people of God." (p. 58) This is a God who sides with the oppressed. Third, throughout the prophets we see "the sacred dream of the peaceable kingdom" (p. 59) where men beat their swords into plowshares (Isaiah 2:4), and the leopard lies down with the goat (11:6). However, from the way McLaren describes it, it sounds like this kingdom can be achieved in this world instead of the next. I could be wrong about that last part, though.

Since this is only Question #1, things aren't totally clear yet. However, from what I've read so far I haven't seen too many proverbial red flags. Genesis definitely has a lot of examples of mankind screwing up God's good creation. And Exodus is still an inspiring story of liberation. However, I'm not sure how these three dimensions apply to the entire Bible, like the Gospels and the Epistles.

We shall see.

Giving Up Giving Things Up For Lent

"Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn
Desiring this man's gift and that man's scope
I no longer strive to strive towards such things
(Why should the aged eagle stretch its wings?)
Why should I mourn
The vanished power of the usual reign?"--T. S. Eliot

Here we are again at Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the 40-day journey to Easter Sunday known as Lent. It's a time for reflection, preparation, and asking each other one thing: "What are you giving up for Lent?"

My answer: Don't know, don't care.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I don't believe in Lent. I try to follow the Church Calendar to keep myself focused spiritually. However, like with New Year's resolutions, I've found that consciously giving up something up for 40 days is just another lofty goal that I'll never meet.

Of course it's not like I haven't tried. For example, one year I tried giving up chocolate. I failed within an hour. Last year I went even further and tried to give up selfishness. Since that's an internal thing that comes from my sinful nature, that was even harder than giving up the chocolate.

Lately I've been thinking that I've got the point of Lent all wrong. As Julie Clawson writes, Lent is not about denial, but transformation:

It is the season in which we prepare to encounter Christ’s sacrifice by endeavoring to become more Christ like ourselves. Transformation is about letting ourselves be filled with God’s presence so that we can be shaped by God’s grace. Our acts of kenosis – denying ourselves in order to empty ourselves enough to allow God to fill us – are means to an end. They are disciplines that prepare us to be transformed. We deny ourselves so that we can be reborn as new creations – to live more fully as the Kingdom citizens God desires us to be.

So instead of some lofty unattainable goal, my primary focus this Lenten season is the transforming power of Christ, because it is only through Him that I can drop my bad habits and self-destructive ways.

Hear No Evil

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

"Music reminded us that we could trust God even when 'his people' failed us." This is what Matthew Paul Turner writes in his new book Hear No Evil. And truer words were never spoken.

Hear No Evil is a hilarious collection of essays about Turner's life in music. We follow he as he hides his Sandi Patty albums from his fundamentalist Baptist parents, dreams of becoming the "Michael Jackson of Christian music," hangs out with artsy hippie Calvinists at Belmount University, and is forced by his boss at CCM Magazine to make Amy Grant apologize for her divorce. Besides being funny-as-heck, there are great moments of poignancy as Turner reveals some of the not-so-pleasant things about the Christian music scene. For example, there is one story where one of Turner's Christian musician friend loses his faith after having his manager use his virginity as a marketing tool.

If you love music and love to laugh, you should definitely check out Hear No Evil.

And the folks at Random House want me to post this link.

Tiptoe Through the TULIPs

Like secular pop culture, Christian culture has its fair share of fads. Examples include WWJD bracelets, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, metrosexual worship pastors, and Thomas Kinkade. The latest trend I see is actually not a new fad, but the return of a classic piece of theology: Calvinism.

Thanks to folks like Mark Driscoll and John Piper, Christians can't stop talking about predestination and depravity. I don't know much about John Calvin, but from what I've read Calvinism is summed up in five points (also known as TULIP):

1. Total Depravity. We are by nature sinful and disobedient beings.
2. Unconditional Election. Salvation is based on God's mercy alone.
3. Limited Atonement. This is the part I'm not sure about. I think it means Jesus died the sins of "the elect," not sins in general.
4. Irresistible Grace. Wikipedia says this means "the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save (that is, the elect) and, in God's timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to a saving faith."
5. Perseverance of the Saints. Once again, Wikipedia: "The doctrine asserts that, since God is sovereign and his will cannot be frustrated by humans or anything else, those whom God has called into communion with himself will continue in faith until the end. Those who apparently fall away either never had true faith to begin with or will return."

(If I got it all wrong, please forgive and correct me.)

Theologically I consider myself Luthermergent: I attend a Lutheran church and adhere to its teachings, but I mix in a little postmodernism. Like Calvinism, Lutherans believe that we are sinful beings, tainted by sin from birth, and that we cannot be saved through our own actions. We also believe we are saved by God's grace through Jesus Christ alone. However, I've noticed that Calvinists talk about total depravity, they REALLY lay down the guilt trip! For example, there's Jonathan Edwards' classic fire-and-brimstone sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. When I first read it for 11th grad English, I was a hardcore agnostic, and Edwards wasn't exactly helping.

Then there's Driscoll, who in this video, says God hates both the sin and the sinner:



Ah, yes, nothing puts me quite in the worshipping mood like being told God hates me!

Then there's the predestination/limited atonement issue. Here's what Paul T. McCain of Cyberbrethren has to say about it:

So how do Lutherans answer this question? The answer is that Lutherans do not try to answer it, because (we believe) the Bible itself does not provide an answer to this question that is comprehensible to human reason. Lutherans affirm, with Scripture, that whoever is saved is saved by God’s grace alone, a grace so sure that it excludes all human “action” and “choice” but rather rests on the foundation of God’s action in Christ and his “choice” (predestination) from before the beginning of time. Lutherans also affirm, with Scripture, that those who are damned are damned not by God’s “choice” but on account of their own human sin and rebellion and unbelief. From a human perspective, there is no “rational” or “logical” way to put these two truths together. Lutherans believe and confess them not because they are “rational” and “logical,” but because this is what we find taught in Scripture.

(Emphases mine, of course)

So now I turn it over to you, my readers. Why do you think Calvinism is popular all of a sudden? Where do you stand on the Calvinism/Arminian debate? Have I got Calvinism all wrong?

Discuss.

Monday Morning Awesomeness: 02/15/10

In honor of President's Day, today's MMA is brought to you by the Presidents of the United States of America (or PUSA, if you like).

Stuff You Should Check Out: 02/12/10

-First of all, the U.S. cancels Haiti's debt. It's about doggone time!

-Michelle Malkin claims that the "Green Police" Super Bowl commercial is more than just a satirical commercial. Keep in mind that this is the same woman who thought Rachel Ray was wearing some terrorist scarf, so I'd take everything she says with a grain of salt.

-Black Flag's Henry Rollins has some choice words for the so-called Tea Party movement. Personally, I'd rather have a TV party with Hank than a tea party with Palin any day. "Spray paint the walls!"

-In case you missed it Tuesday, American Idol contestant Andy Garcia did a funky acoustic cover of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up." Still not as good as "Pants on the Ground," though.

-A 22-year-old woman was busted at the Mexican border carrying 30 pounds of marijuana . . . hidden in a picture of Jesus. Must've been some of that holy s**t.

-And finally on Disturbed Christians I give props to one of my favorite singers, Mindy Smith.

Snowpocalypse 2010: The View From My House

Storms--A Short Meditation

Thanks to the so-called "snowpocalypse," I am once again cooped up inside my house this morning. Last weekend we received about 3 ft. of snow, and today they're calling up to 18 inches. Usually I love snow, but this is just ridiculous!

But as my mom reminded me this morning, eventually all the snow will melt and it will be spring again. Which is true. I just wish it would arrive sooner.

This reminds me of other storms in my life: emotional storms. Depression storms. Anxiety storms. When these storms come, they never seem to go away. Even when I pray that Jesus would calm these storms, like He did in Matthew 8:26, the storms continue.

Or maybe I'm interpreting things wrong. Maybe instead of ending the storms, Jesus is giving me peace through the storms. Some preachers like to say that all of your troubles will go away once you have Jesus in your life, but that's not entirely true. Jesus Himself said, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Even though the storms seem to last forever, Jesus' peace reminds us that they won't.

Monday Morning Awesomeness: 02/08/10

Good morning, my dear readers. Hopefully you all can get a chance to get out of the house today. As for me, thanks to the weekend's epic snowstorm, I'm still cooped up here at home. I think this is day four now.

Anyway, I'm a huge Who fan, but I have to admit that they're not as lively as they were back in the day. So for today's Monday Morning Awesomeness, here are the Who in their prime performing one of my all-time favorite songs, "Baba O'Riley."

Stuff You Should Check Out: 02/06/10

Usually I do Stuff You Should Check Out Friday, but since yesterday I was getting ready for my interview with Adele Sakler I'm doing it today.

-As you may have already heard, Ten American Baptists were charged with kidnapping Haitian children. It seems like it was a case of miscommunication and misinformation, so hopefully they won't be found guilty.

-Brian Johnson from AC/DC slammed Bono and Bob Geldof for being too vocal about their humanitarian efforts. Johnson said Bono and Geldof should privately give to charity, like the rest of the AC/DC boys do. In other words, don't let your left hand know what you're right hand is doing.

-Gawker asks why conservatives aren't funny. This would definitely explain why "An American Carol" sucked so bad.

-I cross-posted my post about fundamentalism and reconciliation on Disturbed Christians.

-Mike Huckabee visits the Holy Land with none other than Pat Boone. Wait, isn't this in the Book Relevation?

-And finally, stock up on milk, bread, and toilet paper, 'cause the snowpocalypse is upon us!

Coffee Chats Episode 2 - Adele Sakler

Today I chat with Adele Sakler, an openly gay Christian who blogs at both Existential punk.com and Queermergent.com. We had a nice conversation about sexuality and faith.

Now please do not leave any nasty comments. I want to create a safe environment where people can have a civil discussion. If you leave a comment and say, "I disagree, and this is why," that's okay. Name-calling and threats, however, will not be tolerated.

You can listen to the interview here.

Coffee Chats Episode 1 - Renee Johnson

Well folks, here it is: the first episode of "Coffee Chats!" And today I'm starting things off with an interview with Renee Johnson, author of the upcoming book Faithbook of Jesus.

You can hear the interview here.

And don't forget to subscribe to the RSS feed for future episodes.

Enjoy!

*UPDATE: Coffee Chats is now on iTunes.

Getting Gypped By One Of The Least Of These

Yesterday morning I thought I encountered Jesus disguised as one of the "least of these." (Matthew 25:40) I was wrong; it was another crackhead wanting money.

It all started when I stop by a gas station to fill up my tank and pick up some more coffee for the office break room. This old guy walks up to me and says, "Are you a Christian?" I say yes, and he introduces himself. He tells me his car broke down and he needed a ride. He also needed about $25 for gas money. I don't give anybody money or rides unless I know them, I so kept saying, "Can't you call a road service?" But he kept saying he was legit. I thought, "Well, he might not be lying," so I let him in the car.

I'm still skeptical at this point, but once he prayed in the car thanking God for me, I thought, "Maybe he is legit." His cell phone kept ringing and every time he answered he said, "I'll be there in a few minutes." I drop him off (in a not-so-nice part of town, I might add), and as I start to give him the $25 for gas he says needs some more money for road service or something like that. So I end up giving him a lot more than he originally wanted. He promised he would mail me back the money, and wrote down my address. Then he said he would stop by the library I work at so I could take him home, or something like that.

So closing time arrives, and he's nowhere to be found. I even circle the block I dropped him off at, 'cause I thought maybe he was walking on his way to the library. Nope! So I stop by an ATM to get some dough, and drive home pissed off.

Then I realized, "Oh crap, I gave him my address! What if the guy comes looking for me?" I told my mom when I got home, and she said, "I don't think he even has a car, so I don't think he's coming here."

So let me ask you all this: how can you tell if it's Jesus disguised as one of the least of these, or just a dope fiend trying to roll you?

I try to do something nice for some one, and it blows up in my face. This is why I'm so cynical.

Monday Morning Awesomeness: My Official Top 3cast Debut

A few weeks ago I said that I would make my official debut as a rotating panelist on Top 3cast. Well, here it is!

You can download it here.

If you like what you hear, you can subscribe via iTunes or RSS.