A 2000 Year-Old Boat

Reading in Matthew 14 this morning, I came upon the passage where the disciples get into a boat on the Sea of Galilee while Jesus remains by Himself alone, praying. There is a note in the ESV Study Bible that presents a drawing of the kind of fishing boat that was used by Peter and Andrew and James and John. The note reveals that the rendering was based on the actual remains of a 2000 year-old boat discovered on the "northwestern short of the Sea of Galilee." When I saw the picture and read the note, something happened inside of me. It's just a rendering, but at the moment I saw it, my faith, once again, was reconnected afresh with reality. Christians don't believe in some kind of religious or spiritual truth divorced from the real world of facts and events. As Francis Schaeffer said so many times during his life, Christians believe in "true truth." Our faith in grounded in historical fact and in space/time detail. We don't follow some moralistic philosophy, but as Christians we relate personally to the Real God of the Universe Who is There! We live lives of faith/trust in a Personal God in a supernatural universe. Our faith is NOT hoping that God is really there, but trusting in a God Who IS there! The more we realize our faith keeps us firmly grounded in reality, the more we will live lives of world-changing prayer; the more we will live lives of Christ-honoring vision; the more we will live lives of culturally-transforming obedience; the more we will live lives of radical worship. Why did I get so excited about seeing a simple rendering of a 2000 year-old boat? Because I am meant to realize on a daily basis, that my faith is grounded in reality...in time and in space...in true truth. You are too!

How Big is Your Bible?

When I was a new Christian, it sometimes seemed as though one's spirituality was guaged by the size and color of one's Bible. The truly spiritual folk always walked around with a big, black, leather Bible. But I wonder how many folk who walk around with Big Bibles, fail to appreciate just how Big their Bible is supposed to be. A lot of people today seem to use less than a third of what is recorded for us in the Scriptures...we even have separate New Testaments we can buy! There is more going on there than meets the eye. In Matthew 13:52, Jesus, after delivering some parables of the Kingdom, says, "Therefore, every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed; the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. It's not like the OT is a God of wrath and the NT is a God of grace. The entire Bible from start to finish is about the Great Story of Grace...from beginning to end it is the Great Story of Redemption...the Hero and main Character, Christ, walks through every page. We are to be followers of Christ that appreciate Christ in ALL the Scriptures. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus, begining with Moses and all the prophets, interpreted to the disciples in ALL the Scriptures the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:27). So here's the deal...what's your view of the Bible? Not in theory, but in actual practice. Here are two questions that will help you answer the question for yourself: Do you believe that nothing from the Old Testament directly applies to Christians today unless it's been repeated by New Testament Scriptures? Or, do you believe that everything from the Old Testament applies directly to the Christian today, except for that which has been specifically changed by the New Testament Scripture? The first view believes that the Old Testament is a book primarily addressed to Israel in distinction to the Church. The second view (which, if you care, is my view) believes that the ENITRE Bible applies to the Church, the people of God in all generations. How Big is YOUR Bible?

Friend of Sinners, Gadsby Hymnal #1052

At Presbytery this morning, we sang a hymn from the Gadsby Hymnal: Friend of Sinners. One of the verses is:
"There, fastened to the rugged wood,
By Holy Love's resistless chain;
And life deriving from Thy blood,
Never to wander wide again."
That verse reminded me of a time 29 years ago when, as a relatively new follower of Christ, I entered into what believers of long ago called the "Dark Night of the Soul." I longed to know God, yet went through a long, long season when I experienced none of the Presence of God and very little sense of His love, favor and goodness. One night, while praying, I saw in my mind's eye, a scene at the cross (not a vision, it was simply a scene in my imagination!). In the scene, there was a lamb chained to the cross. It was a dark, cold, stormy night. Lightning was flashing, thunder clapping loudly. In the midst of the driving wind and rain, lightning and thunder, the lamb, filled with fear, jerked endlessly to try break free of the chain. Then another scene...this time, same lamb, same dark, cold, stormy night. Yet in the midst of it all, for some reason, the lamb was lying down, pressed in as close to the cross as it could get. Each time lightning cut holes in the darkness and thunder broke the silence, the lamb would shake, but remained pressed into the cross as it lay. The chain was still around its neck. Then, the last "frame" of the story. Same lamb, same cross, same dark, cold, stormy night. The lamb was still pressed into the cross, yet there was a peace, and it remained at ease even when the winds blew and rains fell and thunder clapped. And as I looked more closely, something was different....the chain was gone. The lamb was resting at the foot of the cross, not because it was chained there, but because it had no other place it would rather be in the midst of the storm. It took a lot of time for me to become that lamb, but the "resistless chain" of God's holy love never fails to accomplish its work. "And life deriving from Thy blood" enables and empowers us "never to wander wide again!"

Whew! Thanks Grammys!

I was on my way home from the church last night and received a call from my dauhter..."Dad, where are you? Are you on your way home? Mom and I are watching the Grammy's...we've taped it. We think you'll really like it." "Yes, sweetie, I'm on my way home...be there in a minute." "Ok, dad, we're waiting for you before we watch any more." Hmmm. That was interesting. She seemed REALLY excited, but I had no idea why. So I get home, take off my coat, change into my warm-ups, sit on the couch, and they crank up the DVR. First thing out of the shoot is U2 opening the Grammy's, with, you guessed it...Get On Your Boots. It was great...now I understood the phone call...and the excitement. My wife and my daughter just started laughing at me as I stopped bringing my spoon from my bowl of gumbo to my mouth...my hand was paralyzed, my mouth gaped open. The boys from Dublin did it again...made their faith and their music clear. Through the song there were crosses flashed up on the screen again and again...there was also a point where the crosses merged into stars on an American flag...what a relief! Not only did I enjoy the song, but I was excited to see that my interpretation of their song might actually be on target (see past Blog "U2's New Song). For most people in the Grammy's, the crosses likely didn't mean much, but as Bono often states, as they "draw their fish in the sand" the message is there for people to see.

Redemptive Universalism vs. redemptive universalism

I just finished teaching a class at a local university on the impact of faith and spirituality on U2's music. I told the class that that subject needed a whole semester, not just one class period. As it turns out, it was a great time and there were some fantastic questions. One of the better ones revolved around the last Vertigo Tour. At one point, Bono dons a head band that has the symbols of the three great religions that trace back to Abraham...Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There were also, if my memory of my attendance at the Chicago concert serves me right, writings from the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran that flashed up on the screen. Typical of American Evangelicalism, there were immediate cries of "universalism" and U2's spiritual compromise (Folk have been levying that charge for almost 25 years, and each time U2 continues to do things that still leave these evangelicals scratching their heads!). The question in the class this morning was this: "How can Bono as a follower of Christ, speak so inclusively of Judaism and Islam. My answer was two-fold. First, you need only to read Bono's owns words (as well as those of the Edge, Larry Mullen, and now, also, Adam Clayton) concerning their faith in Christ. When it comes to Redemptive Universalism..."Redemptive" used in terms of being saved by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ, Bono and U2 are not Universalists but clearly stand in the stream of Orthodox Christianity. Second, however, there is another kind of redemptive universalism--that which flows from the call of Scripture for followers of Christ to live redemptively in this world; to live in such a way so that the goodness, beauty and truth of Kingdom Living brings redemptive elements to society and culture. When it comes to living redemptively to bring beauty to earth, there is room for a universalistic approach as it relates to working with others. If we are no longer talking about redemption solely in terms of the work of the cross to save souls and are now talking about redemption in terms of bringing the values of the Kingdom to bear upon the world, we ought to talk about working alongside all humanity. If we're talking about redemptive values of remembering the poor, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, showing mercy to those facing AIDS, etc, then we ought to include others in the conversation. Bono's point in his 2006 National Prayer Breakfast speech is that the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran all speak of helping the poor...therefore, when it comes to tackling issues of human brokenness, we need to enlist the help of as many as possible. Bono and U2 are motivated by love and obedience to Christ...others may not share the same motivation...but others may be willing to join hands in tackling difficult issues. So, what we have is redemptive universalism, NOT Redemptive Universalism! Get it?

U2 and American Evangelicals

U2 has had it's issues with American Evangelicals...and American Evangelicals have had their issues with U2. I think I have come to understand some of the tension from traveling and speaking in Ireland (both Northern Ireland and the Republic). There is a real difference of emphasis between many evangelicals in Ireland/Northern Ireland/UK and evangelicals in America. In America, evangelicals tend to emphasize the gospel ethics of Paul's Epistles. This leads to an emphasis on issues of the religious right such as abortion, gambling, drunkenness, language, how we stand with respect to homosexuality, etc. These are very important spiritual and ethical issues, but they can become exclusive to other issues that are important as well. I describe this emphasis as a focus on the "dirty dozen, the filthy five, the sinful six, the awful eight, the nasty nine," etc. In Ireland/UK/Europe, however, they tend to emphasize the gospel ethics of Christ in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. So, there you see more of an emphasis on mercy and justice, peace and poverty and global issues. Now obviously these are generalizations, but they are generally true. All you would need to do to prove this is talk, as I have, to American Evangelicals and Irish/European Evangelicals about the last 3 presidential elections. By and large, American Evangelicals were strongly vocal in their support of Bush and recently, McCain. It's a much different picture in Ireland/UK/Europe...people over there were incredulous that Christians would be for Bush!; and Americans were incredulous that people across the pond didn't get it!! Now, when it comes to U2, the shoe still fits. American Evangelicals tend to condemn Bono because drops the F-bomb at the Grammy's, and immediately conclude, "He can't be a Christian." Now let me say, I do follow Paul where he says, "Let no unwholesome word come from your mouth." We are to obey ALL of God's word...so Bono was out of line. However, I can easily hear Bono saying, "Wait, Jesus said we're to remember the poor, that He came to preach good news to the poor. We're to be people of mercy and justice. So, American Evangelicals, what are you doing there?" How can YOU be Christians if you don't do much in the way of mercy and justice? By the way, do you know that Bono is highly responsible for the most developed/wealthy countries of the world forgiving hundreds of millions of dollars of developing countries' debt and for the care of AIDS victims and other mercy and justice issues. So, which is worse, to allow unwholesome speech to come from our lips; or, to fail to remember the poor and the sick and the needy? Obviously both are important...but it's interesting that we all DO tend to judge other peoples' spirituality by our standards. Instead of falling into an "Either/Or" mentality, we need to pursue a "Both/And" perspective. Its before our own Master that we will all stand or fall.

I'm Glad I'm in a Band

Those who know me, know I'm a U2 fanatic. Many people who know the band, realize they tend to be somewhat spiritual in their outlook. But most have no idea about just how committed to following Christ they are. If you've kept up with this blog, you may have already read my thoughts on their new song, "Get On Your Boots." Well, back in the 80's, U2 spent quite a bit of time and effort lobbying strongly for an MLK Remembrance Day. One of their songs, Pride (In the Name of Love) is all about the power of a life of love in two men: Jesus, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Bono wasn't saying MLK was divine or was even in the same league as Christ, but the song simply acknowledges all the MLK did for African-Americans, who like all others, are image-bearers of God. Surely the fact that we just elected an African-American President reveals just how great an impact MLK had on the world. Though it is hard to say for sure how much of us having MLK Day is due to U2, certainly we can say they played a role in it. Of course, not everyone was happy with U2's agenda. So, in the late 80's as U2 prepared for a concert in Arizona, the band received a death threat that said, "Don’t do the concert; and if do, don’t sing Pride. If you do sing the song, I will blow your head off, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Not surprisingly, U2 decided to play anyway. During the concert, the came time to sing Pride (In the Name of Love), and Bono became distracted with the thought that it was actually plausible for someone to make good their threat. This was before 9/11. Concert goers weren't checked for weapons, someone could hide in rafters...a shot could come from almost anywhere. Perhaps in danger of losing focus, Bono decided to close his eyes in an effort to marshal all his concentration, and sang the song. At the end of the verse, when Bono opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was bassist Adam Clayton, standing as a sentry directly in front of him. Apparently Adam began thinking the same thing Bono was thinking and at some point in the song decided to step directly in front of Bono, directly in the line of fire, basically saying, if some bullet heads toward Bono, its going to have to go through me first! Bono, recounting the story, shared, "It was one of those moments when you know what it means to be in a band (story taken from Christian Scharen's book, "One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Seeking God," p.154). I'm glad I'm in a Band too.