Friday, September 30, 2011
How irrational are you?
Here's a great article on the irrational beliefs we tend to hold to. Read this!
Defining Evangelical
Jim Wallis writes a good, balanced call for Evangelicals to not let ourselves be defined by either extreme. Check it out here.
Thursday, September 08, 2011
What makes an American?
What are the core aspects of being an American? What are American values?
A friend asked me these questions recently. He asked me to blog about it...it makes me feel small just thinking about it. I mean, who am I to try an answer such questions? Yet here I am, sitting at my laptop, unable to escape an attempt at a response.
First (as always), my disclaimers.
As I said already, I feel inadequate for this. There is an incredible diversity to being American. First of all, I'm only including the United States of America. Yes, I know that's what most people mean by "American", but as I've learned from many people (including my South American wife) America involves 2 continents and multiple countries. But just within the US, there is diversity in culture (southern hospitality vs the speed of the metropolis) and language (what is the plural of "you"?) and timing (what defines "American" today? how is that different from 1911? 1811? 1411?) and I'm sure hundreds of other categories. To try and identify definitively the core things that make us Americans seems inherently arrogant. So I'm humbly offering my list in hopes that a dialogue might emerge where we can learn from each other. I declare my list to be faulty and biased before I even start it, because I know that I am faulty and biased.
Second caveat: American values and biblical values are not the same thing. Oddly, I'm much more comfortable talking about what I believe the Bible says that what I think an American values. But they are clearly not the same set of values. There are times when they will agree, there are times when they can be complementary and there are times when they will clash. And perhaps clash hard, harder than any American who is following Jesus is comfortable with, if we really engage the teachings of Jesus and scripture as a whole. Which leads to my third disclaimer;
Every American follower of Jesus will at some point be confronted with the choice of which "kingdom" comes first, which sets of values will be more influential on our families, our work, our choices, our beliefs. Honestly, we are probably confronted with that choice at least daily, we just don't realize it. And my fourth disclaimer? Following on the heels of #3;
Too many Americans who self-identify as Christians are living as though the "kingdom" of America and her values are at least as important as biblical values, if not more so. Yes, I am admitting that I believe many of us (yes, us, as in "me too") are failing miserably at "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness."
So with those caveats, if you're still interested, here's what I think are the core American values, not necessarily in a particular order (although you might see a pattern in a few of them if you're familiar with our Declaration of Independence and Constitution):
In the meantime, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments. Looking forward to the dialogue!
A friend asked me these questions recently. He asked me to blog about it...it makes me feel small just thinking about it. I mean, who am I to try an answer such questions? Yet here I am, sitting at my laptop, unable to escape an attempt at a response.
First (as always), my disclaimers.
As I said already, I feel inadequate for this. There is an incredible diversity to being American. First of all, I'm only including the United States of America. Yes, I know that's what most people mean by "American", but as I've learned from many people (including my South American wife) America involves 2 continents and multiple countries. But just within the US, there is diversity in culture (southern hospitality vs the speed of the metropolis) and language (what is the plural of "you"?) and timing (what defines "American" today? how is that different from 1911? 1811? 1411?) and I'm sure hundreds of other categories. To try and identify definitively the core things that make us Americans seems inherently arrogant. So I'm humbly offering my list in hopes that a dialogue might emerge where we can learn from each other. I declare my list to be faulty and biased before I even start it, because I know that I am faulty and biased.
Second caveat: American values and biblical values are not the same thing. Oddly, I'm much more comfortable talking about what I believe the Bible says that what I think an American values. But they are clearly not the same set of values. There are times when they will agree, there are times when they can be complementary and there are times when they will clash. And perhaps clash hard, harder than any American who is following Jesus is comfortable with, if we really engage the teachings of Jesus and scripture as a whole. Which leads to my third disclaimer;
Every American follower of Jesus will at some point be confronted with the choice of which "kingdom" comes first, which sets of values will be more influential on our families, our work, our choices, our beliefs. Honestly, we are probably confronted with that choice at least daily, we just don't realize it. And my fourth disclaimer? Following on the heels of #3;
Too many Americans who self-identify as Christians are living as though the "kingdom" of America and her values are at least as important as biblical values, if not more so. Yes, I am admitting that I believe many of us (yes, us, as in "me too") are failing miserably at "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness."
So with those caveats, if you're still interested, here's what I think are the core American values, not necessarily in a particular order (although you might see a pattern in a few of them if you're familiar with our Declaration of Independence and Constitution):
- freedom
- human rights and opposition to tyranny
- equality
- consent of the governed
- justice
- capitalism
- individualism and e pluribus unum
In the meantime, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments. Looking forward to the dialogue!
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Then why?
Conundrum: why do so many people who believe in smaller government still want to be president? Just wondering...
From Relevant Dude to Spiritual Father
This was a great article for any man (or woman) who wants to have influence in their world, particularly on today's younger followers of Jesus.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Political Leaders with Religious Views
I've been thinking for a couple of weeks about the prayer rally in Houston a few weeks back. The rally featured the now leading Republican candidate and current Texas governor Rick Perry, among others. It was sponsored by the American Family Association.
But really this blog isn't about Rick Perry (I'm still formulating opinions on whether or not the event was primarily politically motivated) or AFA (whose organizational practices and techniques I usually do not care for). It's about this question: what should be okay and what should be out of bounds for a political leader when it comes to expressing their faith?
There are several levels to this conversation.
First, at the level of USAmerican politics, there is virtually no way to separate a candidate's political and religious views, particularly a presidential candidate. His or her religious practices are going to be interpreted by media and by the public as having political implications. This is a given, and right or wrong we're not going to change it. And the biases of those media or people determines how they view the religious expression. President Clinton attended church far more frequently than President Reagan, but that didn't help him with religious conservatives. Political opponents seem to always interpret their adversary's words and deeds in the worst light possible. So a rally calling Christians to prayer is seen as a ploy to win the vote of the religious conservative. But just because this happens does not mean that candidates should not express their faith in ways they see fit.
Second, at the level of USAmerican religious expression, the vast majority of the religious expressions of public leaders are not the same as biblical Christianity. There is, I'm not the first to point out, an American religion. It sounds like biblical language, but the god of that religion is always on the side of the US. I've written about that in previous posts, and I confess my own bias here, because I do not believe any Christian should be equating the USAmerican public religion with biblical Christianity. The US is not nor has it ever been a Christian nation, chosen by God, in the way the the Hebrews of the Old Testament were. I want to passionately follow the God of the Bible, the God revealed in human form in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. That God, in my opinion, is not impressed with statements of "God bless America" or overt references to biblical themes in political speeches (or in athletes scoring touchdowns, but that's a different soapbox of mine). I don't believe he cares for statements in support of "traditional marriage" from people who have been divorced multiple times, unless they're confessing their own sin. And I am convinced he does not call us to demonize those with whom we disagree, calling them or their actions disparaging names solely on the basis of our disagreement. The followers of Jesus who will impact the world in the most significant ways in the 21st century will be those who (1) understand the US and the world are pluralistic places where people should respect each other regardless of their differences, understanding that true faith can't be faked or coerced, and (2) who live out in word and action the countercultural lifestyle we are called to by Jesus himself.
Finally, I want to look at the level of the body of Christ itself, at life among those who live in the kingdom of heaven here on earth. There is a serious need for prophetic leadership today. The average believer is looking for someone who can--with all their flaws--authentically live out the teachings of Jesus. We need pastors and institutional leaders who do this. But we also need political leaders who do this. Just like we need plumbers and builders and bankers and [fill in the blank with any job here] who do this. Political candidates should not check their faith when they enter a race. A candidate who says their faith (whether Mormon, Buddhist, B'hai or atheistic humanism, or anything in between) does not inform their politics is not worth voting for. What we believe is a large determiner of who we are and how we live.
Did Rick Perry participate in the prayer rally primarily for prayer or primarily for political gain? I have no idea. But I do know that we are in desperate need of leaders in all facets of life who are passionately seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and calling us to do the same.
But really this blog isn't about Rick Perry (I'm still formulating opinions on whether or not the event was primarily politically motivated) or AFA (whose organizational practices and techniques I usually do not care for). It's about this question: what should be okay and what should be out of bounds for a political leader when it comes to expressing their faith?
There are several levels to this conversation.
First, at the level of USAmerican politics, there is virtually no way to separate a candidate's political and religious views, particularly a presidential candidate. His or her religious practices are going to be interpreted by media and by the public as having political implications. This is a given, and right or wrong we're not going to change it. And the biases of those media or people determines how they view the religious expression. President Clinton attended church far more frequently than President Reagan, but that didn't help him with religious conservatives. Political opponents seem to always interpret their adversary's words and deeds in the worst light possible. So a rally calling Christians to prayer is seen as a ploy to win the vote of the religious conservative. But just because this happens does not mean that candidates should not express their faith in ways they see fit.
Second, at the level of USAmerican religious expression, the vast majority of the religious expressions of public leaders are not the same as biblical Christianity. There is, I'm not the first to point out, an American religion. It sounds like biblical language, but the god of that religion is always on the side of the US. I've written about that in previous posts, and I confess my own bias here, because I do not believe any Christian should be equating the USAmerican public religion with biblical Christianity. The US is not nor has it ever been a Christian nation, chosen by God, in the way the the Hebrews of the Old Testament were. I want to passionately follow the God of the Bible, the God revealed in human form in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. That God, in my opinion, is not impressed with statements of "God bless America" or overt references to biblical themes in political speeches (or in athletes scoring touchdowns, but that's a different soapbox of mine). I don't believe he cares for statements in support of "traditional marriage" from people who have been divorced multiple times, unless they're confessing their own sin. And I am convinced he does not call us to demonize those with whom we disagree, calling them or their actions disparaging names solely on the basis of our disagreement. The followers of Jesus who will impact the world in the most significant ways in the 21st century will be those who (1) understand the US and the world are pluralistic places where people should respect each other regardless of their differences, understanding that true faith can't be faked or coerced, and (2) who live out in word and action the countercultural lifestyle we are called to by Jesus himself.
Finally, I want to look at the level of the body of Christ itself, at life among those who live in the kingdom of heaven here on earth. There is a serious need for prophetic leadership today. The average believer is looking for someone who can--with all their flaws--authentically live out the teachings of Jesus. We need pastors and institutional leaders who do this. But we also need political leaders who do this. Just like we need plumbers and builders and bankers and [fill in the blank with any job here] who do this. Political candidates should not check their faith when they enter a race. A candidate who says their faith (whether Mormon, Buddhist, B'hai or atheistic humanism, or anything in between) does not inform their politics is not worth voting for. What we believe is a large determiner of who we are and how we live.
Did Rick Perry participate in the prayer rally primarily for prayer or primarily for political gain? I have no idea. But I do know that we are in desperate need of leaders in all facets of life who are passionately seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and calling us to do the same.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Immigration the legal way?
Okay, summer is winding down, and I'm going to start writing more again (thanks for the cheers, faithful 3.5 readers!). In fact, I want to write some thoughts about last weekend's prayer rally at Reliant Stadium in Houston, but I don't have the time at the moment.
What I did want to do is give you a link to a short but well-written piece about immigration, and why those in the country without documentation today don't hop in the lines to legal immigration. Let me know what you think.
Here's the link...
What I did want to do is give you a link to a short but well-written piece about immigration, and why those in the country without documentation today don't hop in the lines to legal immigration. Let me know what you think.
Here's the link...
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Book Review: Tea With Hezbollah
I have a new favorite Ted Dekker book.
The 3.5 faithful readers will know that Ted is pretty much my favorite fiction writer. Okay, so he's pretty much the only fiction writer I have read in the past 10 years. His writing, while fiction, is so stimulating theologically that I suck it dry when I read it.
But this new book is not fiction. Far from it. It's all too real.
Ted, and his friend Carl Medearis, travelled a few years ago to the Middle East, on one specific quest: to discover if the teaching of Jesus--that we are to love our neighbor as ourself--is being talked about, taught, or even followed. And specifically when that neighbor is your enemy, what then?
Ted & Carl sit down with many people that leaders here in the US (and can I say, most people who call themselves Christians) would clearly define as enemies. Muslim teachers and leaders. Hezbollah. Hamas. Regular people like cabbies and tour guides. And in between the great writing of Ted, they post verbatim what these "enemies" have to say about life, about what makes them laugh, and what they think about Jesus' teaching to love your enemy. And at the end they even get to meet some of the remaining 700 or so Samaritans still living in Israel.
This book is, as my friend Thom Wolfe said on the back cover, irreverent. But it is full of truth. And it point to Truth in the man from Nazareth.
Muslims, Jews and Christians have several things in common. A couple of them are (1) they claim to worship the God of Abraham; and (2) they by and large ignore the actual teachings of Jesus.
This book gets the coveted 5 bellybutton rating. 00000. Read it. And take another look at what Jesus calls us to.
The 3.5 faithful readers will know that Ted is pretty much my favorite fiction writer. Okay, so he's pretty much the only fiction writer I have read in the past 10 years. His writing, while fiction, is so stimulating theologically that I suck it dry when I read it.
But this new book is not fiction. Far from it. It's all too real.
Ted, and his friend Carl Medearis, travelled a few years ago to the Middle East, on one specific quest: to discover if the teaching of Jesus--that we are to love our neighbor as ourself--is being talked about, taught, or even followed. And specifically when that neighbor is your enemy, what then?
Ted & Carl sit down with many people that leaders here in the US (and can I say, most people who call themselves Christians) would clearly define as enemies. Muslim teachers and leaders. Hezbollah. Hamas. Regular people like cabbies and tour guides. And in between the great writing of Ted, they post verbatim what these "enemies" have to say about life, about what makes them laugh, and what they think about Jesus' teaching to love your enemy. And at the end they even get to meet some of the remaining 700 or so Samaritans still living in Israel.
This book is, as my friend Thom Wolfe said on the back cover, irreverent. But it is full of truth. And it point to Truth in the man from Nazareth.
Muslims, Jews and Christians have several things in common. A couple of them are (1) they claim to worship the God of Abraham; and (2) they by and large ignore the actual teachings of Jesus.
This book gets the coveted 5 bellybutton rating. 00000. Read it. And take another look at what Jesus calls us to.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
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