Intro to Religious Thought (or: What They Don't Teach in Sunday School)

The academic study of religion is the most thoroughly depressing field out there. I'm pretty sure of it. It shouldn't be, but it is. They take everything you believe and show you how stupid it is to believe in it. All interpretations (at least according to my professor, and yes he means all, as in every, including those by non-believers) are wrong (yeah, he's a big fan of Nietzsche, for those who were wondering). What's weird is when you get home and realize you still believe, despite how incredible the beliefs are. There's an old joke I once heard, that if you have enough faith to still believe after going through Seminary, you have enough faith to be a preacher. I'm starting to think the same is true for religion majors. This reminds me of a mewithoutYou quote, "We have all our beliefs, but we don't want our beliefs; God of Peace, we want you."

The problem with the way we teach beliefs in modern churches is that we claim them to be fact. In the most conservative churches, it goes without question that Moses wrote the Torah, the world was created in seven days, we are the only religion to hold this view, there was a flood, we are the only people who believe in a Noah figure, the Patriarchs are all very real, we can prove that the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, and the Bible has absolutely no contradictions, historical or otherwise. In reality, the Torah has four sources and probably more authors, our TWO accounts of creation coincide with accounts from all over the Near and Middle East, the Epic of Gilgamesh recounts a flood and an ark, there is not proof for any of the Patriarchs, least of all Joseph, who should have proof, and no proof of Israelite presence in Egypt. On top of that, the mention of iron and the Philistines should not be in the Torah, as neither would not be in Canaan until after 1200 BCE. Not to mention the fact that there are multiple versions of the texts we found at the Dead Sea, especially Isaiah, on who's prophecies much of our understanding of Jesus as Christ is based. It's quite sad to listen to the students in my class who haven't been introduced to these ideas until now. Their entire faith is shattering before them (though whether or not their faith should be based on creationism is another topic).

Then there are the ideas that nobody sees coming, no matter how progressive of a church they attended or how much study they do on their own. The idea that the Israelites worshiped multiple gods, that the Hebrew Bible affirms the existence of multiple gods, the idea that God had to wrestle a sea monster during creation, the suggestion that Noah's son slept with him while he was drunk, and the idea that Mary very possibly wasn't a virgin. Even though these ideas are not as wide-spread as the first, they'll still through you for a loop the first time you hear them.

So why isn't the Church teaching its members to think? Why is it that you don't hear these ideas until you get into the lecture hall? I'm not saying they should be a part of every sermon, but they are certainly things that older Christians should be concerned with. These are serious problems for our faith and if we want to be able to say we have a relationship with God and that we understand our faith and where it comes from, these are issues that need to be addressed.

On the issue of where our faith comes from, why is it that we don't look into the Israelite background of our faith? What makes Jesus distinct from all these other deities in the ancient world is not being born of a virgin or rising from the dead. It's the long, glorious history that culminates in Christ. Almost as if God looked around at all of these ancient cults and said, "Ha, watch this," and blew them all out of the water. If you don't learn about what distinguishes Jesus from others in the "divine man" genre of ancient history, then when you hear about these other "divinities", you face a tremendous crisis.

In Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell says our faith should be more like a spring than a brick, in that it should be flexible (and springs can be used for trampolines and to invite people to come play, where as bricks can only be used in walls, to keep people out). When we raise people to have brick-like faith, when it comes time for someone to need to reexamine their faith, it shatters. When a person whose faith is like a spring reexamines their faith, they survive. How do we make our faith like a spring? By learning about it.

Rock on.

Edit: Ben Witherington expresses his thoughts on a similar subject at his blog.
My friend Pat writes on a broader sense of Christian complacency over at Notes from Underground.

Giving - The College Edition

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

When I first read "You will be made rich..." I immediately checked my wallet, hoping to find a $5 bill (or, preferably, larger) I had forgotten about. No such luck.

Many of us, especially college students, think that we can't give back to God because we don't have enough for ourselves. I mean, we are in college and facing new expenses. At least $300 on books per semester, food, toiletries, and laundry. All of this was provided before and we have to buy it now. Plus, there's "entertainment expenses". New CDs, movies, going out to eat.

And forget about time. If we want to go to class, get our work done, sleep, eat, keep clean, and spend some time with friends, then we have no time to give back.

Of course, all of these are nothing more than excuses. Half of my"entertainment budget" for this semester could feed a starving child in Africa for over two months. And time? I have a problem. I can't find the time to do anything. That doesn't mean that it's not there. I just haven't found it. This is because I refuse to wake up more than thirty minutes before class and spend time I should be working on my favorite addiction: Facebook.

Now what does this mean? Is every single disciple called to take a vow of poverty? No. But all disciples should be very careful with their resources.

The Lord will provide something for you to give back to him. You just have to find it.

Rock on.

Post Script: Yea, it's been a while since I've posted on the Bible. Why? Because I planned on doing my quiet time in the mornings. However, as I've said, I sleep in the mornings. So please bare with me as I try to wake up in time to spend some time in and with the Word. And prayers are always appreciated.

All You Need is Love

1 Corinthians 13

Ok, I'll admit it. I like the Beatles, so the title of this piece is biased. But that's alright with me.

John Lennon was correct when he wrote those lyrics. They are some of the most profound, and yet blatantly obvious words, ever spoken. And probably somewhat misunderstood. Because in today's society, love is anything but Love. Love has been used to express feelings ("I love music") and the status of a relationship ("We're in Love"). Love is seen as something that happens. One little change, and the Love is gone. But that's not how it works.

In this chapter, Paul reminds of the characteristics of Love. Love is what makes spiritual matters important. Love is perfect. Love never fails. Love does not anger easily (this, however, is not to say that Love does not anger). In short, Love is more important than anything else.

Why is this? It is because all Love comes from God. The Love of God, shown on the Cross at Calvary, is obviously his gift to us. But so is the Love for God, family, and friends.

But there's another reason. A deeper one. Love is so much more than just a gift from God, but as we learn in 1 John 4:7-21, God IS Love.

Rock on.

Ministry

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

What does the perfect ministry look like? Is it a Billy Graham crusade? Is it Cornerstone?

How is the perfect ministry performed? Through speaking? Music? Writing?

Obviously, this is a hypothetical question. No ministry except for that of Christ has ever been or ever will be perfect. But more than that, there is no formula for the "best" ministry.

The reason for this is quite simple: Relationships. To reach someone, you must be able to relate to them, on an intellectual, spiritual, and emotional level. To reach the Jew, you must become like the Jew. To reach the weak, you must become weak.

To relate to someone, you have to do several things: Hear. This is most important. Speak. But only after hearing. And relating. Not only does this show that you heard, but that you understood and that you know what the person is going through.

And out of the three, relating is most important. It's not only how you can relate to the person, but how God can relate.

After all, Christianity itself is a relationship.

Rock on.

The Futility of Wisdom

Isaiah 1 and 2
I Corinthinians 1 and 2

I started reading Isaiah and Corinthians wondering what they could possibly have in common. After all, Isaiah is a prophetic book and the Corinthians are letters advising a church. But, as usual, God had a surprise in store for me.

I like to think that I am smart. Furthermore, I try to gain wisdom. After all, Proverbs highly recommends it. So you can imagine my dismay when I read in Isaiah that everything of man (though a prophecy concerning Israel, connections to different times can be seen) will fail. All earthly power, strength, society, culture, everything that is of man. Down the tubes. Including the wisdom of man. There will come a day when God reigns over all the Earth and all of humanity is fully dependent on Him.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul reminds us that true wisdom is from the Spirit, the very wisdom of God. Furthermore, he says that Christ is the Wisdom of God. In such, when we accept Christ, we admit that our wisdom has failed. We become fully dependent on him. When we become dependent on him, we are forgiven.

"'Come now, let us reason together,' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'" - Isaiah 1:18

Rock on.