what, Jim, no LEFT BEHIND, part 63: the Anti-christ moves to Mayberry?

Posted by: canucklehead | August 29, 2007 2:20 PM

Jim's first recommended reading Christ and Culture by Reinhold Niebuhr is a transformational book that identifies the multiple facets of the Jesus we know through reading the Gospels. When I read it back in college, I was struck by how each generation in history has tried to ask the age-old Biblical question: "Who do you say that I am?" None of us who identify ourselves as Christians can ignore this radical question. It is the very different answers that we find from wrestling with this question that leads to the multiplicity of religions that call themselves Christian. I say "viva la differance" - the Jesus I know and love and follow not to well sometimes is that rich that many expressions cannot exhaust his reality. So whether you are fundamentalist, far right Christian, or the most liberal member of your mainline Church, each of us answers that question throught the way we live primarily, not just by what we say. It seems fundamental to me that we must love and embrace everyone in our world as neighbor in the style of Jesus Himself. What can we learn from each other about what it means to live in Christ - that is the burning question of our divided age!!!

Posted by: Bill Kessenich | August 29, 2007 3:35 PM

I want to be "open" to those who God has commanded me to minister to. However I am conflicted...how do we as Christians remain open and welcoming, while at the same time standing up for something righteous, something holy...a Holy God?

By deliberately being counter-cultural. The faith He intended was by design supposed to go "against the grain," but American evangelical Christianity, because of its relative affluence, comfort and cultural authority, has pretty much lost that. In fact, while I appreciate my own tradition (Reformed) on a theological level, it otherwise tends to frown on anything that does not fit its "system." In some cases it's still fighting the Reformation!

I wish you could attend my church, which avoids direct political involvement but which speaks up for God's justice and has taken issues of reconciliation head-on. Despite some minor theological "issues," I've never been so well-equipped spiritually.

Posted by: Rick Nowlin | August 29, 2007 4:56 PM

What, no Russell Kirk, or Leo Strauss?

Do they come from a religious background or orientation?

Posted by: Rick Nowlin | August 29, 2007 8:45 PM

Dorothy..

You and I sound like kindred spirits. I hear you, sister - wrestle with the same internal questions. How to be open and accepting...to the folks in my neighborhood and community - but still....be definite about what God says is true. Both are important.

Kind of like being "wise as a serpent" at the same time as being "innocent as a dove"? There's another one! Scripture has lots of those kinds of dilemmas.

Think once again, it's because the Greek word for sin is hamartia - an archery term - meaning to miss the bullseye of a target. You can go too far in ANY direction. Hitting God's target demands balance in all directions, the right mix of many competing ingredients.

I like what you added, Rick. I'm not against political involvement. I've been very politically involved (even had an excellent campaign manager offer to run a campaign for me to run for office). But...darn...political involvement tends to gobble up more and more and more time! It's like blackberry vines or a buddleia butterfly bush - delicious berries and lovely flowers that attract butterflies - but very invasive. They eat up more and more and more of your garden space. Crowd out OTHER worthy plants.

I got out of the organization I chaired because it demanded more time than I wanted to give.

If Jesus had been able to vote, I'm sure He would have voted the same way He lived - open, caring, giving. But that same Jesus never acted like this world was our home. His MAIN emphasis was sharing God's forgiveness and power available for their lives to transform them from the inside out. And I seek to copy that.

And so...I'm willing to spend an hour a week on political involvement - but I draw the line there. The rest I want to be direct ministry with the salt-of-the-earth, grassroots. Not a bunch of big shots who rarely give you a straight answer.

Dorothy, I agree with you on that I would be unlikely to attend a fellowship where politics was constantly being preached. Again...it goes back to this world not being our home. Our politics should come as an overflow of what's inside of us.
"Work OUT your salvation" (Philippians 2). Let it flow out to the surface.

"Having BEEN FILLED with the filled with the fruit of righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1)

And yes, I agree, churches in America tend to fight the same struggles we as individuals fight. We have so darned much money - and how do we use these gifts God gave us responsibly. Are we as individuals buying gadgets and spending money on things, and are our churches spending money on things - just because we "can"? Or are we using the funds God provided wisely, seeking His guidance in how to stretch our resources the furthest.

We individuals could do with a lot less. And a lot of churches could too. Temptation in having so much, huh?

Back to the question of how to communicate BOTH God's love and God's truth ("speaking the truth in love"?)...I'm wondering if perhaps the glue that can hold all that together is seeking to be open about OUR OWN STRUGGLES and FAILURES and seeking an attitude that "we're all in this fight together". We just struggle with different things.

This is difficult. Hard to find.

Posted by: Amazon Creek | August 30, 2007 1:19 AM

You can be sure that the Ivy League Div-schools featured Da Vinci on many a reading list.

Posted by: kevin s. | August 30, 2007 8:04 AM

What a list of reading material! May I sussest you add "God in Public: Four Ways American Christianity and Public Life Relate" by Mark G. Toulouse.

Posted by: Davy | August 30, 2007 12:38 PM

Oh how I wish my cholesterol was lower. I have many a layer in bones of theological cholesterol. I wish it weren't so but it is.

There are rememdies, but they are far off:

Karl Barth, Martin Luther, and Stanley Hauerwas to name a few. But hitherto, my ailment continues. Who will remove my theological cholesterol before something more comes my way?

Posted by: Reginald Perkins III | August 30, 2007 2:39 PM

"August is upon us"? It's already the 29th.

Posted by: Jon | August 30, 2007 3:43 PM

"Many syllabi are now posted online. Would be easy enough to check. I'd be surprised to find any that assigned DaVinci Code, outside of courses on conspiracy theory and the like.

To my knowledge, none of my colleagues at my institution has done so."

I have a friend at Berkeley who was assigned it, which isn't an Ivy League school, but certainly boasts a similar clientele. At which school do you teach?

Posted by: kevin s. | August 30, 2007 4:48 PM

A few additional books and authors to possibly add to the end-of-summer reading list:

-"The Secret Message of Jesus," and "Everything Must Change," by Brian McLaren

-any of Karen Armstrong, Marcus Borg or John Dominic Crossan's excellent books on Christian spirituality and the "emerging way."

-"In the Name of Heaven: 3000 Yrs of Religious Persecution," by Mary Jane Engh

-"Sins of Scripture," John Shelby Spong

-"Wherever You Go, There You Are," Jon Kabat-Zinn

-"Process Theology," by John Cobb, jr & David Ray Griffin

Those are some of the excellent books that I've been working on this summer... I have already read Niebuhr & Yoder (I like Yoder a lot better), as well as Reza Aslan & David Kuo's books- Aslan's is a GREAT contemporary perspective and brief history of Islam; Kuo's book is a memoir on his disillusionment with the Bush administration's empty promises with the so-called "Faith Based Initiatives," that were never funded or adequately pursued.

Peace, John

Posted by: peacemover | August 30, 2007 4:49 PM

What course is Jim teaching at the Harvard Divinity School?

Posted by: jsens | August 30, 2007 5:28 PM

I suspect the issues raised in such a discussion would pinpoint many of the problems with American Christianity as it's practiced today.

Posted by: Jen

Jen I always thought it was we Americans seem to like conspiracy theories . 9/11 was an inside job , the grassy noll. Chenny was in cohoots with Haliburton to start a war for money , Clinton had Foster and others killed to protect secrets , the teletubies are a gay plot , etc .
Plus a conspiracy with a plot that somewhat goes against a traditional no n o , insulting the church , or like the Pope is ivolved in organized crime always adds to the plot . Causes Sort of the same incllination that makes people stop to look at an accident scene .

Posted by: Mick Sheldon | August 30, 2007 6:11 PM

Thanks for the recommendation of H. Richard Niehbur. When I was a student at Calvin College in the 1980's, I took a class based largely upon that book. It more than anything else clarified the difference between the various approaches to Christianity and the person of Christ--particularly the difference between Reformed theology and fundamentalism. I'll take your cue and reread it with the eyes of a jaded 40-something.

Posted by: I and I | August 31, 2007 10:35 AM

"Zinn is like a God to the left."

Who?! Never heard of him.

Posted by: squeaky | August 31, 2007 12:07 PM

"Jen I always thought it was we Americans seem to like conspiracy theories ."

Well...chuh! You forgot the favorites, though! JFK is still alive in a vegetative state on life support. Paul McCartney is dead. Hitler is now a South American dictator...

Posted by: squeaky | August 31, 2007 12:10 PM

...and Elvis Presley is alive and hiding out in a dingy London flat along with Salmon Rushdie, according to Far Side creator Gary Larson.

And there's a real Sasquatch buried in Elvis' "grave."

D

Posted by: Don | August 31, 2007 12:45 PM

Odd list from a Christian preacher... how come the Bible is no where to be found on the reading list?

Posted by: John | August 31, 2007 4:50 PM

We have a lot of fun playing with sharply different interpretations of American history

Well , Ok , you convinced me of your class importance . I remember the best lectures I heard were by History professors on FDR . One gave from the perspective he was a great Preident , one was he was Ok but the times were great that he was engulfed in , and one was he was marginal and we were basically lucky . All used facts and good points . Had a great effect on me and how I read history after that . I get on ZInn because of his obvious prejudices, political view points , and his historical views are projected as much . But he is a source . Ok , you get an apple .

Posted by: Mick Sheldon | August 31, 2007 5:15 PM

Hi Don!

Yes, I agree. Personally, if I were writing a novel about the Tribulation, I would be acutely aware that if I included characters doing things God didn't approve of - then I would need to be careful about portraying this as "human frailty" and not as "acceptable courses of action". I'd feel responsible as an author for the influence I might have on non-discerning people.

I tried to say that in my post, at one point. Perhaps I didn't emphasize it hard enough.

But at the same time, "art" is always very open to interpretation. Authors put things in there for all sorts of reasons.

I would be far more riled if a Christian non-fiction book advocated going incognito over at "Antichrist & Friends, Inc". Because that would be clearly wrong advice.

With fiction, artistic license often allows inclusion of people's misdeeds and misjudgments. Even the Scriptures includes the foibles of men and women of God - not to encourage us to copy them - but so we can learn the consequences.

The burden would be with the author to move the storyline around so that the foibles are NOT encouraged.

Don...actually, my views on prophecy are open to many ideas that the Left Behind series would find repulsive. I don't necessarily buy the propaganda.

For example, I'm not really sure at what point the Rapture will occur...pre-Trib....or mid-Trib.

And I am paying v-e-r-y close attention to the fact that the United States of America, the richest, most influential country and military super-power in the world can't seem to extricate ourselves from Iraq and has a military base in Baghdad. Iraq is ancient Babylon.

Connect the dots? Yuh..... we can't seem to get out of ancient Babylon. I SERIOUSLY challenge the common dogma that the United States has no place in Revelation prophecy. It just might be staring us so hard in the face - that we're completely blind to it. And that place might not be what we'd like our place to be.

And so...not sure how well I'd agree with Left Behind's version of events.

But...now I'm getting off topic.

So...anyhow....sorry I didn't make it clear enough that I do think an author should set a more responsible example of how to respond to such events than LaHaye did with some of the heroes actions.

Posted by: Amazon Creek | September 1, 2007 2:38 AM

My two cents ,

Blinded by Might , Why The Religious Right Can't save America.
By Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson .

Good book in my opinion .

Posted by: Mick Sheldon | September 1, 2007 3:46 PM

Again, while this was overlooked by all the literary psycho-babble:

Odd list from a Christian preacher... how come the Bible is no where to be found on the reading list?

Posted by: John | September 4, 2007 9:38 AM

Odd list from a Christian preacher... how come the Bible is no where to be found on the reading list?

Perhaps it was considered a given.

Posted by: Rick Nowlin | September 4, 2007 11:14 PM

Amen, Kevin.

People will love the love of knowledge more than love the Word of God...

I believe there is no greater diversion of people from the Word of God today than the secular humanistic world of our colleges and universities. What started out as a training school for Christian missionaries has evolved into one of the most liberal, secular humanistic institutions of our time: Yale University.

But Yale still has a divinity school, which I can only assume is on par with Harvard Divinity School regarding the which Kevin S. stated previously: In fairness, Harvard Divinity does not begin with the premise that God exists. It is more the study of religion than it is a theological grounding in what God intended through scripture.

It's just a sign of the times.

Mikhail Gorbachev could recite all four gospels, but that didn't make him a Christian. It was all head knowledge. You can have all the knowledge you want, but without wisdom, it's all trivia. Wisdom comes from the Word. Wisdom is given by God. You remove God from any educational source including a "Divinity School" all you get is a mass of trivia minded individuals and a very wealthy educational institution.

People need to get right with God before they get left behind.

Posted by: John | September 5, 2007 9:02 AM

Sorry, I meant "judgmental."

Posted by: I and I | September 6, 2007 10:53 AM

Thanks for the comments, "I and I." John, I must say you're quite offensive to a graduate of Harvard Divinity School such as myself. HDS is absolutely not just a secular institution. It does, however, allow for a diversity of viewpoints to be considered rather than assuming only one theological truth. What's so wrong with intellectually studying and learning about your own tradition and allowing it to be in conversation with other religions and world views? As for the students, I can attest that they spent their time with God in a variety of ways- worship, music, art, justice work- and are not just memorizing "trivia." Many of us go on to careers in ministry thankful for the education we received in preparation for our work. The school is what you make of it, and I for one am thankful for its influence in my life and my ministry. It sounds like you haven't spent much time getting to know the students, so perhaps you should refrain from the judgments.

Posted by: chaplain | September 18, 2007 10:19 AM