Paradox of paradoxii:
The older I get, the more I like Superchic[k].
Why is this a paradox, you may ask? Well, it's a paradox because Superchic[k] annoyed me in high school because I felt it too "teenage girly."
Hahahaha. Yeah, right.
Sometimes it's nice to listen to a straight-up, pulling-no-punches, girl-power band. It's nice to be reminded that sometimes "falling in love" downright sucks. It's nice to be reminded that someone out there is cheering for me and finds value in single hood.
I relate to Superchic[k] lyrics more than ever, now, I think. In high school I was...removed from planet earth entirely.
I get it now. I get it.
And, Superchic[k] is AMAZING road trip music.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
my absolutes #2
This weird thing happened on Sunday morning.
I felt as if God was speaking to me through His Word, and in a way that I felt confident sharing.
I don't know if I have blogged about this before, but in the past few years, I've stopped feeling at all confident to share what God is teaching me. I've stopped asking people what God is "teaching them" because it's so personally uncomfortable. It's not so much that I'm not learning things, about my faith, about God, about what He wants from me. It's more that I don't feel confident putting those things into words - I find myself afraid that I might be wrong...that I might have "heard" God incorrectly.
I realize how ridiculous the above is.
But it has been my reality.
That changed on Sunday morning in church.
I walked into worship team practice entirely distracted over being scammed out of a dollar at the gas station minutes before (long story not worth going into, because, after all, it was one dollar...). For a while I was wondering how I was going to engage at all that morning, because I was so distracted.
And then, we were singing a song with lyrics about God's holiness, and I got to thinking about how unworthy I was to be singing those words, because if they're true...God doesn't deserve my half-hearted or entirely absent-hearted praise. And I got to thinking about the ridiculousness of singing such words at all...we're horrible messed up people who live horrible messed up lives...and then we come to church and sing some praise songs, maybe tell ourselves we'll do better that week, and then go back to our horrible messed up lives.
And I was drawn to Isaiah 6:
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
And I realized something. Isaiah was confronted with the full holiness of God. Right after the current king had died because of his decision to disregard the holiness of God. He thought it was over. Game over. And then... he was forgiven. Simple as that. Sins atoned for. That was Jesus (there's a passage in Luke that confirms that interpretation).
And I realized the power of that. Isaiah repented, recognized his sin...and it was taken away. Simple as that. No barrier. No darkness.
And, then, the natural reaction to such grace was to say "Here am I, send me."
I felt as if God was speaking to me through His Word, and in a way that I felt confident sharing.
I don't know if I have blogged about this before, but in the past few years, I've stopped feeling at all confident to share what God is teaching me. I've stopped asking people what God is "teaching them" because it's so personally uncomfortable. It's not so much that I'm not learning things, about my faith, about God, about what He wants from me. It's more that I don't feel confident putting those things into words - I find myself afraid that I might be wrong...that I might have "heard" God incorrectly.
I realize how ridiculous the above is.
But it has been my reality.
That changed on Sunday morning in church.
I walked into worship team practice entirely distracted over being scammed out of a dollar at the gas station minutes before (long story not worth going into, because, after all, it was one dollar...). For a while I was wondering how I was going to engage at all that morning, because I was so distracted.
And then, we were singing a song with lyrics about God's holiness, and I got to thinking about how unworthy I was to be singing those words, because if they're true...God doesn't deserve my half-hearted or entirely absent-hearted praise. And I got to thinking about the ridiculousness of singing such words at all...we're horrible messed up people who live horrible messed up lives...and then we come to church and sing some praise songs, maybe tell ourselves we'll do better that week, and then go back to our horrible messed up lives.
And I was drawn to Isaiah 6:
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
9 He said, “Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.[a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.[a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”
And he answered:
“Until the cities lie ruined
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted
and the fields ruined and ravaged,
12 until the LORD has sent everyone far away
and the land is utterly forsaken.
13 And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps when they are cut down,
so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted
and the fields ruined and ravaged,
12 until the LORD has sent everyone far away
and the land is utterly forsaken.
13 And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps when they are cut down,
so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”
And I realized something. Isaiah was confronted with the full holiness of God. Right after the current king had died because of his decision to disregard the holiness of God. He thought it was over. Game over. And then... he was forgiven. Simple as that. Sins atoned for. That was Jesus (there's a passage in Luke that confirms that interpretation).
And I realized the power of that. Isaiah repented, recognized his sin...and it was taken away. Simple as that. No barrier. No darkness.
And, then, the natural reaction to such grace was to say "Here am I, send me."
Friday, November 18, 2011
my absolutes #1
So I thought I'd start a parallel but unrelated thread to the universal reconciliation thread, because I don't have the time or energy to continue with that thread for at least a while, and this sounds more fruitful at the moment.
I have quite recently been convicted of my need to decide what it is that I do, at core, believe, and put that in writing. So much is up in the air for me right now theologically, and I guess I, perhaps a little like CS Lewis and Mere Christianity want to affirm what I do believe. And more than that, I want to live like I believe it. So often theology becomes this academic exercise of mine that does not always impact my day to day life. But what is faith if not hopelessly interconnected with action? Meaningless (James 2).
So, here I go.
My first absolute (based on Psalm 19):
God, the God revealed to us through the Bible, is perfect, holy, and trustworthy. This God reveals himself through creation, a creation that constantly bears witness to God's goodness. Humanity fails, but God never fails. He is our Rock. In his holiness, perfection and trustworthiness, God is entirely unwavering. It is good to fear this God. God also reveals himself through his law, which is a perfect reflection of the nature of God himself. This law is life giving. It can be trusted; it makes us wise. God's law fills us with joy and helps us to see our way through this life. We are hopelessly flawed, and yet by looking to the law, we find hope and direction.
I have quite recently been convicted of my need to decide what it is that I do, at core, believe, and put that in writing. So much is up in the air for me right now theologically, and I guess I, perhaps a little like CS Lewis and Mere Christianity want to affirm what I do believe. And more than that, I want to live like I believe it. So often theology becomes this academic exercise of mine that does not always impact my day to day life. But what is faith if not hopelessly interconnected with action? Meaningless (James 2).
So, here I go.
My first absolute (based on Psalm 19):
God, the God revealed to us through the Bible, is perfect, holy, and trustworthy. This God reveals himself through creation, a creation that constantly bears witness to God's goodness. Humanity fails, but God never fails. He is our Rock. In his holiness, perfection and trustworthiness, God is entirely unwavering. It is good to fear this God. God also reveals himself through his law, which is a perfect reflection of the nature of God himself. This law is life giving. It can be trusted; it makes us wise. God's law fills us with joy and helps us to see our way through this life. We are hopelessly flawed, and yet by looking to the law, we find hope and direction.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
universal reconciliation? part 2
Here's the link to Beck's second part question, which is
Univeralists don't believe in hell, right?
Beck does believe in hell.
He argues further that "hell" in the New Testament grew out of the Old Testament prophetic tradition. More specifically, he says that "So, particularly in Isaiah, you see the prophets looking down the road, in anticipation of the New Testament's eschatological vision, and seeing the New Jerusalem, the ultimate victory of Good and a final punishment of evil. This view intensifies in the New Testament, eventually coalescing into the visions of heaven and hell." Beck then goes on to argue that the more one loves, the angrier one gets, which explains all of the violent reactions of God in both the Old and New Testaments. God's wrath and God's love are both infinite. And although God gets really angry in the Old Testament, he also shows love in the Old Testament. The final word is always love, according to Beck.
On the one hand, I get this. I mean, clearly, God is a God of mercy as well as wrath.
I think, though, what is possibly missing is the fact that for those who suffered it, God's wrath was very real. Consider those struck dead by God for their sins. They were dead. Gone. Love the final word? Well, maybe not. They sinned, and they were punished for it.
Of course, this life isn't the end...which does give Beck's theory some credit. But, over all, it doesn't convince me any more than Calvinism or Arminianism.
Univeralists don't believe in hell, right?
Beck does believe in hell.
He argues further that "hell" in the New Testament grew out of the Old Testament prophetic tradition. More specifically, he says that "So, particularly in Isaiah, you see the prophets looking down the road, in anticipation of the New Testament's eschatological vision, and seeing the New Jerusalem, the ultimate victory of Good and a final punishment of evil. This view intensifies in the New Testament, eventually coalescing into the visions of heaven and hell." Beck then goes on to argue that the more one loves, the angrier one gets, which explains all of the violent reactions of God in both the Old and New Testaments. God's wrath and God's love are both infinite. And although God gets really angry in the Old Testament, he also shows love in the Old Testament. The final word is always love, according to Beck.
On the one hand, I get this. I mean, clearly, God is a God of mercy as well as wrath.
I think, though, what is possibly missing is the fact that for those who suffered it, God's wrath was very real. Consider those struck dead by God for their sins. They were dead. Gone. Love the final word? Well, maybe not. They sinned, and they were punished for it.
Of course, this life isn't the end...which does give Beck's theory some credit. But, over all, it doesn't convince me any more than Calvinism or Arminianism.
Friday, November 11, 2011
the state of my faith
This may be one of the saddest statements I've ever had to make:
There aren't many times in the past few years where I've been able to say with confidence that God was near.
Even tonight I struggle. Even tonight, with with my soul's senses heightened and a inexplicable sense of urgency acute, emotion and conviction that in the past I would have attributed without hesitation to the Holy Spirit is tonight resignedly relegated to the realm of simply that, the emotional.
And yet, the part of me that I have suppressed for so long out of fear that I will do and say things in a heightened emotional state that are not really of God, the part of me that I haven't seen since the dark days of 2009 - that part is reemerging tonight, reminding me that God is indeed near, that my cry to God is not always one sided. That God is not always silent. That God is here.
Tonight I sat in my room in silence, mindlessly playing Tetris, as the emotion slowly built inside me - the conviction that I must not allow my life to be dictated by fear, the conviction that I must step out in faith. Tonight I allowed myself to go back to those "Freedom" nights at Northwestern, or those hours upon hours I spent in the practice rooms in college playing piano and pouring my soul out to God. Tonight I (very quietly since it's 1 am) truly allowed myself to lament. I wouldn't even call it "worship," at least in the "Happy-and-you-know-it" sort of way. I turned my piano on, opened my Bible to Psalm 51, and sang David's prayer. Probably the crappiest composition ever, but it came from a place inside me that I had forgotten existed. I remembered as I sang the power of prayer through music, the power of Scripture through song. I remembered too the power of worship unhindered by rules - worship that is truly "free." I remembered those dark nights in the summer of 2009 when I spent many a night walking through the dark South Dakota prairies crying out to God. I remembered those moments when He was near, so near that I could almost explode from the sheer emotion of His presence. Those moments of solitude when I allowed myself to dance, to twirl, to jump, to skip, to run as fast as possible...because He was near. I remembered the holy presence of God in that little church up the hill from my farm, the power of singing "I Love You Lord" a cappella in an empty sanctuary in the middle of the night and hearing the simple melody fill the room to the bursting point.
All of my life I have allowed myself to be defined by my strengths. Growing up in a small town surrounded by loving family and friends was good for the ego. Here in this new place, that is all stripped away. I'm not the best thing since sliced bread here (not that I was back home, either, just for the record). Here I'm just another face in the crowd, another discordant voice adding to a beautiful symphony. But here I realize more fully the depth of my weakness. My strengths are no longer at the forefront. I find myself often dictated by fear. Fear not only of what people may think if I step out of the crowd to take a leadership role, but fear that I will fail in what I feel compelled to do. So I don't do it. And what I do, I do halfheartedly so that when I do fail, it won't be for trying.
That needs to be done.
I'm going to close by typing out Psalm 51. I challenge you to take the chance from time to time to find a place alone somewhere and sing the Psalms. It changes everything for me. Brings it alive...brings the sheer emotion of the words to life. After all, the Psalms were originally songs...that's what they're meant for.
My lament:
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
There aren't many times in the past few years where I've been able to say with confidence that God was near.
Even tonight I struggle. Even tonight, with with my soul's senses heightened and a inexplicable sense of urgency acute, emotion and conviction that in the past I would have attributed without hesitation to the Holy Spirit is tonight resignedly relegated to the realm of simply that, the emotional.
And yet, the part of me that I have suppressed for so long out of fear that I will do and say things in a heightened emotional state that are not really of God, the part of me that I haven't seen since the dark days of 2009 - that part is reemerging tonight, reminding me that God is indeed near, that my cry to God is not always one sided. That God is not always silent. That God is here.
Tonight I sat in my room in silence, mindlessly playing Tetris, as the emotion slowly built inside me - the conviction that I must not allow my life to be dictated by fear, the conviction that I must step out in faith. Tonight I allowed myself to go back to those "Freedom" nights at Northwestern, or those hours upon hours I spent in the practice rooms in college playing piano and pouring my soul out to God. Tonight I (very quietly since it's 1 am) truly allowed myself to lament. I wouldn't even call it "worship," at least in the "Happy-and-you-know-it" sort of way. I turned my piano on, opened my Bible to Psalm 51, and sang David's prayer. Probably the crappiest composition ever, but it came from a place inside me that I had forgotten existed. I remembered as I sang the power of prayer through music, the power of Scripture through song. I remembered too the power of worship unhindered by rules - worship that is truly "free." I remembered those dark nights in the summer of 2009 when I spent many a night walking through the dark South Dakota prairies crying out to God. I remembered those moments when He was near, so near that I could almost explode from the sheer emotion of His presence. Those moments of solitude when I allowed myself to dance, to twirl, to jump, to skip, to run as fast as possible...because He was near. I remembered the holy presence of God in that little church up the hill from my farm, the power of singing "I Love You Lord" a cappella in an empty sanctuary in the middle of the night and hearing the simple melody fill the room to the bursting point.
All of my life I have allowed myself to be defined by my strengths. Growing up in a small town surrounded by loving family and friends was good for the ego. Here in this new place, that is all stripped away. I'm not the best thing since sliced bread here (not that I was back home, either, just for the record). Here I'm just another face in the crowd, another discordant voice adding to a beautiful symphony. But here I realize more fully the depth of my weakness. My strengths are no longer at the forefront. I find myself often dictated by fear. Fear not only of what people may think if I step out of the crowd to take a leadership role, but fear that I will fail in what I feel compelled to do. So I don't do it. And what I do, I do halfheartedly so that when I do fail, it won't be for trying.
That needs to be done.
I'm going to close by typing out Psalm 51. I challenge you to take the chance from time to time to find a place alone somewhere and sing the Psalms. It changes everything for me. Brings it alive...brings the sheer emotion of the words to life. After all, the Psalms were originally songs...that's what they're meant for.
My lament:
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
universal reconciliation? part 1
The Three Propositions
The above link is the first part of Richard Beck's 10 part blog series on the topic of Christian universalism.
He cites Talbott's three propositions:
1) God desires everyone to be saved.
2) God will save who he desires.
3) Some people will not be saved.
Calvinists hold to 2 and 3.
Arminians hold to 1 and 3.
Universalists hold to 1 and 2.
I would consider myself to be an uncommitted Calvinist. I was raised Calvinist but obviously have a lot of good friends who are Arminian. I recognize the biblical support for each, and the fact that neither has a fool proof argument. But I'm biased toward Calvinism. Perhaps that's the power of Beck's argument for univeralism. Not only do universalists draw from the same set of propositions as "the rest of us," but they fully recognize that no one theory is going to perfectly tie together Scripture. It's too big for us. Calvinism makes sense. But, ignoring the huge amount of bias against a universal theory of salvation that I carry with me, universalism seems also to be biblically based. Plus, I hear that people like CS Lewis were universalists. Automatic bonus points to the universalists... :)
At this point I don't really have any valid reservations with his argument on this specific topic (at least logically/theoretically speaking). I would love to hear if anyone else does. The only thing floating around in my mind is the question of whether or not the three propositions are a fair framework to force onto Scripture. Can we really fit existing doctrines of salvation into that small of a box?
I wish I could get my hands on Talbott's book (the guy that originally came up with the three propositions). I'm having a hard time finding anything on google about them, and I certainly couldn't expect my calvinist theology book to offer me much help on the issue... haha.
~~
So all my life I was taught that because no one deserves salvation, election makes sense. No one deserves it, I don't, you don't... so the fact that God saves some of us means he's a merciful God. But He's still wrathful, so he "has to" not save some. Now that I think about it...that kinda bothers me a little. God has to do what? Send people to hell? Leaving Arminianism out of the picture for the moment and assuming God's absolute sovereignty to be absolute, why would he have to do anything? Was Jesus' blood not enough for everyone's sins? Clearly a Calvinist would say, "yes, Jesus' blood is sufficient." To say anything else is blasphemy. And yet, God chooses to send some of us to hell.
Of course, these questions that I am asking leave out the clear message of judgement and hell in the Bible. You can't get away from hell. It's quite clearly a very real presence in the New Testament, unless there's something major missing from my (and others') understanding of seemingly clear language. We mess it up, big time. We sin constantly. We're stained, and this keeps us from God. Nothing we do can make it right. We need Jesus to make it right. This seems to lend itself well to a Calvinist or Arminian understanding of the matter. And yet, as I have seen all to clearly, the matter is not so clear, at least not for someone like Beck.
The above link is the first part of Richard Beck's 10 part blog series on the topic of Christian universalism.
He cites Talbott's three propositions:
1) God desires everyone to be saved.
2) God will save who he desires.
3) Some people will not be saved.
Calvinists hold to 2 and 3.
Arminians hold to 1 and 3.
Universalists hold to 1 and 2.
I would consider myself to be an uncommitted Calvinist. I was raised Calvinist but obviously have a lot of good friends who are Arminian. I recognize the biblical support for each, and the fact that neither has a fool proof argument. But I'm biased toward Calvinism. Perhaps that's the power of Beck's argument for univeralism. Not only do universalists draw from the same set of propositions as "the rest of us," but they fully recognize that no one theory is going to perfectly tie together Scripture. It's too big for us. Calvinism makes sense. But, ignoring the huge amount of bias against a universal theory of salvation that I carry with me, universalism seems also to be biblically based. Plus, I hear that people like CS Lewis were universalists. Automatic bonus points to the universalists... :)
At this point I don't really have any valid reservations with his argument on this specific topic (at least logically/theoretically speaking). I would love to hear if anyone else does. The only thing floating around in my mind is the question of whether or not the three propositions are a fair framework to force onto Scripture. Can we really fit existing doctrines of salvation into that small of a box?
I wish I could get my hands on Talbott's book (the guy that originally came up with the three propositions). I'm having a hard time finding anything on google about them, and I certainly couldn't expect my calvinist theology book to offer me much help on the issue... haha.
~~
So all my life I was taught that because no one deserves salvation, election makes sense. No one deserves it, I don't, you don't... so the fact that God saves some of us means he's a merciful God. But He's still wrathful, so he "has to" not save some. Now that I think about it...that kinda bothers me a little. God has to do what? Send people to hell? Leaving Arminianism out of the picture for the moment and assuming God's absolute sovereignty to be absolute, why would he have to do anything? Was Jesus' blood not enough for everyone's sins? Clearly a Calvinist would say, "yes, Jesus' blood is sufficient." To say anything else is blasphemy. And yet, God chooses to send some of us to hell.
Of course, these questions that I am asking leave out the clear message of judgement and hell in the Bible. You can't get away from hell. It's quite clearly a very real presence in the New Testament, unless there's something major missing from my (and others') understanding of seemingly clear language. We mess it up, big time. We sin constantly. We're stained, and this keeps us from God. Nothing we do can make it right. We need Jesus to make it right. This seems to lend itself well to a Calvinist or Arminian understanding of the matter. And yet, as I have seen all to clearly, the matter is not so clear, at least not for someone like Beck.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
universal reconciliation?
So, you should go HERE and read this. It's super long with lots of links to even longer articles, but it's crazy good. I'm not sure how much I "should" or do agree with, although I must admit that I find myself very intrigued by the 'biblicalness" of the theology and the adherence to Scripture as inspired, since in the past I would have seen this sort of thing as borderline heretical.
I think my long term goal is to tackle each of the topics that Beck addresses in this post - to explore the "other side" and to come to some sort of honest conclusion on where I stand. But, I'm a history graduate student with a masters' thesis to write, so I promise nothing on any sort of time table. For now, please consider taking the time to read the above link and feel free to comment with any thoughts you may have. Or if you know me, call me and we can talk voice to voice. Or if you live near me, let's get coffee and talk! :)
I think that's maybe my biggest goal with this blog's new emphasis - to stop hiding the questions, to stop running from the theological quandaries. To face them with the Bible as my basis and my guide. To stop falling in line with a denominational creed just "because." I want my faith to be my own, but to come from a careful searching of the Scriptures and consultation of wise people.
'Cause I know my God is big enough to handle it.
I think my long term goal is to tackle each of the topics that Beck addresses in this post - to explore the "other side" and to come to some sort of honest conclusion on where I stand. But, I'm a history graduate student with a masters' thesis to write, so I promise nothing on any sort of time table. For now, please consider taking the time to read the above link and feel free to comment with any thoughts you may have. Or if you know me, call me and we can talk voice to voice. Or if you live near me, let's get coffee and talk! :)
I think that's maybe my biggest goal with this blog's new emphasis - to stop hiding the questions, to stop running from the theological quandaries. To face them with the Bible as my basis and my guide. To stop falling in line with a denominational creed just "because." I want my faith to be my own, but to come from a careful searching of the Scriptures and consultation of wise people.
'Cause I know my God is big enough to handle it.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
shifting focus
So, after some thought, I've decided to change my blog up a little. I had contemplated starting a new blog entirely and abandoning this one, but I suppose there's no need for that. I won't be doing random life updates anymore though. Rather, I'll be attempting to tackle theological issues I find pressing and/or broader questions about life and faith. We shall see where it leads me.
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