Category Archives: Old Testament

Are you God?

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I won’t deceive you and say that this blog has not been grown through my current book addiction in some ways, but if we were honest how many of our thoughts are completely original anyways!

The Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faith are unique in that they believe in one God. Monotheism. Pretty exciting stuff right? Well in our western world (though times are changing) anything but monotheism was considered foreign, strange, and maybe even foolish. It was all those “other” places in the world that had many different gods, we are Christians and follow one God, THE God.

But here’s the reality, while we may have said that we follow one God our actions speak otherwise. You see when there are many gods you end up with a god of the river and a god of wine and a god of food and a god of sex and a god of the underworld, etc. Much time, then, is spent pleasing all the gods of the pantheon or at the very least trying not to piss them off. Whereas when there is just one God, wine and food and sex and…all belong under the same roof. They don’t all submit to different lords but rather are all submissive to the one Lord of the universe. Right? Are you drooling with excitement yet? ‘Cause here’s the part that I think is exciting…

I think many people who call themselves Christians actually do not believe in one God. Here’s the thing, if there is just one God and he is God over everything then when we call ourselves followers of this one God we must believe that we are called to submit all of our life to him. While I do believe that there is much room for our sinfulness and all that crap that comes along with being human, a dissociation has grown between much of what we call ourselves and what we consider our spiritual selves. It’s for this reason that Christians justify racial hatred, grotesque materialism, apathy toward social injustices, and greed. It has become two different worlds. It’s this odd dissociation that makes it possible for someone to proudly say “Yes I am a Christian and yes I hate colored people” (though they often find more offensive terms to use). In other words it has become normal and acceptable to believe in a god that has nothing to say about how you operate outside of church walls. This is not monotheism. “God” actually becomes some sort of pluralistic view in which there is the God of the Bible and then there is the god of my own preference.

What would it look like if we began to submit ourselves more consistently, more holistically to a God that is truly supreme, lord over everything, and creator of all? I wonder if this would change our preference concerning individuality over community, spending over giving, sex over relationship, drunkeness over honesty (often I think that peoples reasons for getting drunk is that it allows them a sort of freedom that their sober self won’t allow), busyness over simplicity, preference over sacrifice…

Jesus is an Elephant

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You’ve got to watch this video until the end in order to find out why Jesus is an elephant. I love Colbert, he’s a genious, and I think that if I die I will have my wife marry him.

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Bart Ehrman
colbertnation.com
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Grappling with the Ordered Death of Men, Women, and Children

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Have you read the Old Testament before? You should. It’s weird. It’s disturbing. It’s confusing. It’s generally a good read.
I’ve got to be honest, though, as a minister, a college graduate, and avid reader, I’ve got little understanding as to how to contextualize the Old Testament.
One thing is for certain, it makes me angry when people over simplify it. When they take horrific stories of the commanded death of women and children, stoning of people for seemingly insignificant things, and lack of justice concerning the plight of certain people groups and try to justify it with a Sunday school answer it makes me frustrated. That answer works at church, but if you claimed that God commanded you to kill all the men, women, children, and animals of Kazakhstan I don’t think I’d be speaking of God’s grace or mercy (no matter how true it is). It’s not that simple.
I’m grappling with my understanding and explanation (for lack of a better term). Have you thought through this? Have you grappled with this? Have you questioned Christians concerning this?
I won’t give my thought out response here because I’m not sure I can. I will say, however, that I love Jesus. And I believe that in Jesus we see the most clear and understandable picture of God’s identity. This brings me great peace…and a little more convolution.

Jubilee

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I have not yet done the study I need to do concerning the Old Testament biblical concept of jubilee. But, if I’m getting this right, God told Israel that every7 years your land was supposed to rest. On that seventh year there was no planting, and the fields themselves enjoyed a season of sabbath. Additionally, every 49 years (on the 50th year) it was a a year of jubilee where the land was to rest, slaves were to be set free, and land was to be returned to its ancestral owner. In other words, everything started over.

While, as I understand it, we have no proof that Israel ever practiced this 50th year jubilee, it is nonetheless God’s idea. And a beautiful one at that!

One author while calling Christianity today to practice the spirit of jubilee says:

Those who have been trained to trust God for provision are the only people who will ever believe that Jubilee is a good idea. Otherwise, it looks like losing everything you have worked so hard to earn. But if we never earn anything-if everything is a gift-then it begins to make sense that God would want to redistribute gifts as a guard against injustice in a broken and sinful world.

That’s a powerful thought isn’t it? Don’t we so often fall into that trap of thinking that our stuff is actually ours? God had intended that for Israel everything would be leased. Nothing would be owned longer than 50 years unless it was given to your family by God. Well in reality, doesn’t everything that we own belong to God? So, in essence, everything we have is leased. It belongs to us only for a season (for this life) and will not stay with us forever. And yet we spend so much time worrying about what we have…oops, sorry, I’m starting to preach. That’s not what I intended. Let me share one more connected and quick thought.

I once commented to a wise older friend saying that I loved capitalism, but what it seemed to be lacking was a year of jubilee. Capitalism works really well until eventually the scales get so lopsided that it no longer becomes a free market system but instead becomes a free market to those who are privileged with opportunity. So what capitalism is lacking is a do-over. I commented that capitalism needs a point in time where we start things new, and create a clean slate. My friend smiled and said “that’s what a recession is.”

interesting.

Levitical Musings

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I’ve had about ten blogs running through my head all day and now that I’m sitting here at the computer this is all I can think about…

I read this scripture from the New Living Translation this morning and found it intriguing.

“No one who has a defet may come near to me, whether he is blind or lame, stunted or deformed, or has a broken foot or hand, or has a humped back or is a dwarf, or has a defective eye, or has oozing sores or scabs on his skin, or has damaged testicles.” Leviticus 21:18-20

How does that contrast with Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke (teaching) up on you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”

Something has changed right? Either God has changed, we’ve changed, or the way we’re able to relate with God has changed. I’ve got my guess. Do you have yours?