I found my diary! It was inside a big textbook that was sitting on my desk at home. I don't really know how it got in there, perhaps it was lonely. Or hiding. Regardless, I'm very glad we're reunited, and I promptly copied down all the stuff that was scrawled all over my hand into the relevant spots in my diary so I can have a shower.
Tonight I had Japanese food for dinner with Christine. And you know what's good about Japanese food? It feels clean and fresh and you feel good about eating it. I also had sushi for dinner last night, so I feel a lot like Scarlett Johansson this week.
Last night I watched The Gods Aren't Angry (the Rob Bell teaching dvd, not to be confused with The Gods Must Be Crazy, the great 80s movie about a coke bottle in the Kalahari desert). What always strikes me first about this guy is that he is a phenomenal communicator, and must be a genius to remember all the content that he delivers.
This talk starts from the premise that many different cultures throughout history have tried to appease their god(s) through sacrifices...of animals, children, even the sacrifice of one's own body through cutting or self-mutilation. He contrasts this view of the gods as angry and in need of placating before they will "love" their followers, or give them what they are asking for, with the one true God, who loves first, and is slow to anger. In fact, the love this one true God has is so great, he offered his son as the last death sacrifice that was required. So, first and foremost God is not out to get us. First and foremost, He has offered love. So we don't need to worry about being unacceptable to God, it has been taken care of, so basically quit worrying was the message.
True, and freeing. But, what could be problematic is if he is saying that everyone is forgiven already, all they need to do is realise it. Is he saying it's just a perception change, rather than an actual change in status? (for lack of a better word) I'm not sure if he was saying this or not. Mostly because I'm not clear if he was talking to Christians or not. This would be true for someone who has already accepted the grace of Jesus (we are forgiven for our sin, even if we don't feel like it sometimes), but I don't think that people who have denied Jesus are forgiven, except they just don't realise it yet. I think they are not forgiven yet, because the sin makes them unacceptable to God. It's not comfortable or nice, but I think it's what the Bible teaches. I do believe Jesus offers forgiveness to all, but I don't believe all are forgiven (because not everyone accepts the offer). Thoughts?
We discussed this at length in bible study last night, and not everyone agreed with my thoughts, but I think those who had the same ideas as me thought he was talking about salvation, and those who had different ideas thought he was talking about living life as a believer. In which case their is truth in what he was saying.
He also spoke about how we can offer ourselves as sacrifices in the modern world to any number of things...money, drivenness, success, achievement, approval etc etc and contrasted this with what being a living sacrifice for God looks like. This I liked.
4 comments:
I am probably not all that comfortable with such simplistic lines of in an out eg Christians are forgiven non-Christians aren't.
The Bible has a lot to say about people who call themsleves Christians (or Jews at that time) but do not live it. Matthew 25 is but one example of that. I don't know if someone can can be a slave owner or send people to war or live a life of absolute privelege and do nothing about poverty and injustice but say, I am a Christian so I am forgiven.
Also, I think we are constantly on a journey. For many people they may not be able to say a definite I am a Christian or I am not a Christian. This could be due to reasons of pain and brokeness but they are seeking or journeying towards God. I believe in a God, who meets us and welcomes us no matter where we are at. A Jesus who shared his table his lief with everyone. The man that Jesus forgave on the cross probably did not call himself a Christian or say the sinners prayer. He just reached out and found forgiveness where he was at.
And finally I guess I don't believe (as Mark Driscoll would say) that "Ghandi is batting for the other team". Despite being a Hindu he seeked Jesus and lived more like Him than me. And as far as I know there are many people of other religions who live more like Jesus than a lot of Chritians. The Good Samiraitan was not a Christian, perhaps if Jesus was to tell that story today he would be a Muslim. By doing this he calls us as his followers to learn from other religions, to walk with them not just force our religion on them. For peace, for the sake of this world I believe that is so crucial.
I know this is messy and in some parts I contradict myself even. And most people would probably disagree with me. I guess I don't have the answers just questions.
Thanks for your ideas Mil. It pains me to see and hear so much done in the "name of Jesus" that jesus wouldn't be proud of. Equally, it pains me when stuff isn't done in His name that should be. So I agree with you here. I think we need to have a meaningful response with our lives to what Jesus has offered us.
But perhaps that's also where I take a different path to understanding what it means to live as "Christian" (as you say the label can be artificial). To me, saving faith is primary and this other stuff is the response to grace, rather than a way to somehow deserve grace more than someone who doesn't respond this way. Though I don't think you're really saying that either.
I also agree with you that living in ongoing, wilfull disobedience and using Christianity as a forgiveness disclaimer is both heartbreaking and not ok.
Thanks for your thoughts! They're helpful.
Hi Jess, really enjoyed reading your blog Bethany showed it to me, it got me thinking so much i got my own blog spot just so i could write a comment. I've heard all sorts of crazy things about the theology of Rob Bell and the emergent movement. It's something i know i should look more into but is on the long list of things i'll do when i have free time. I Think i'd like to have look at The Gods aren't angry dvd i'll have to have a look for it. The point on forgiveness is interesting 1 John 9 says "ïf we confess our sins, he is faithfull and just and will forgive our sins and purifies us from unrighteousness" I guess my understanding is Jesus has won for us forgiveness, it is freely available to anyone but there is a process to being able to recieve forgiveness which is confessing sins. I feel as though Rob Bell has an evolutionary aproach to his theology by which i mean he believes we are more enlightened today than the writers were in biblical times and so we need to bring a new perspective to what is written in the bible, perhaps that we are evolving towards a new greater understanding of God. It doesn't sit well with me. I do agree though with the original point that God isn't mad at us and i think Jesus everyday that he made that possible. Like i said though its not something i know a whole lot about but perhaps it's something i need to investigate further. Hope your doing well. It's cool to see a little part of Jess's life online. ps Glad you found your diary.
Simon
Simon, great to hear from you and thanks for your comments and insights! As thoughtful as ever. On first reading, I think I agree with you completely on your forgiveness thoughts.
Re: Rob Bell, as I've said to many people this week as a result of this post, I think he has a lot to offer and what he says/writes is often moving and inspires me to know and love Jesus more. But sometimes it's what he doesn't say that leaves question marks to the effect of "What exactly is he getting at?" or "Where exactly does he stand on this issue?"
Thanks for taking the time. Much appreciated. Hope you and B are well. Tell her hi, and I like that you're readiing this, makes me feel a bit connected to you guys!
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