Response to a Friend

My friend Justin posted a few questions on his blog but my answer got too long and so I decided to move it to a post rather than clog up his post. Here is his questions and my attempt at an answer.


What role does/should the bible play in our lives?

How much authority should we give the bible?

Is the Bible fallible? How do you define fallibility?

Why are you a Christian?

All I know is that I find the Bible meaningful because
1. It tells me what my identity. I can trace my faith back to the people that are recorded in it.
2. I can relate to many of the emotions and characters expressed within it.
3.It has challenged and encouraged me many times.

This all being said, I don't think all parts of it should have the same weight or role within our life. The Gospels should have a bigger impact on our ethics than Song of Solomon or Revelation.

Maybe I am making a double standard, but this is the order of which I give Scripture authority (In descending order) The Gospels, Rest of the New Testament. OT.

There is definitely a human element in the Bible and so I think it is fallible. Fallible in the sense that not all places or names may be right. Fallible in the sense that Paul clearly states that parts of his letters are his own opinion and therefore not necessarily correct. It is also fallible in the sense that it is usually a theological narrative and so it can't always give us scientific and historical data. I am still working out in my mind to what extent the bible is fallible and infallible.

Why am I a Christian? It is the only thing I have heard that truly gives any type of hope. I want to say that its the only thing that makes sense to me, but if I'm honest it doesn't always make sense to me. I'd also like to say that I have a peace in my heart and Christ constantly talks to me, but that would be a lie. A peaceful emotion is usually pretty fleeting and I am usually asking Jesus to talk to me or at least acknowledge that I'm speaking to him, but I rarely get a response. Despite all this I can't escape it. I've tried a couple of times and I was miserable. I keep coming back because I still get choked and sometimes outright cry when I read about the cross or take communion. I still get chills when I read about Pentecost and the things the early followers did even simple "non-miraculous" things like sharing their possessions. I can't help but cling to the glimpses of and short bursts of hope I find in Christianity.

Sorry about the length. I'd like to hear your answers to the questions though.

Glimpses of the Kingdom

I've been intrigued the past semester or so with the term kingdom (as in the Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven). It conjures up a lot of images and ideas, but I was having trouble really understanding what this kingdom is. What is it? Why am I wanting to further it? What does it look like?

I still don't know if I've nailed it down, but I think the past week I've been getting glimpses. This Kingdom is different than other kingdoms. It doesn't rely on glorious and bloody battles to further itself. It can be seen advancing in subtle and dynamic ways. It can be seen in someone opening a door for a guy having a hard time coming out of a store with his bike, or sitting on a porch talking and sharing concerns and hope and jokes with each other. It can be seen in people sharing their food with each other without conditions. It creeps further still in conversations iniated by a book cover with a line from the Sermon on the Mount on it that makes someone say "I didn't know Jesus said that..." It can be seen in a group of people pushing a car that ran out of gas across a busy a street to a gas station for an elderly man with heart problems. It can be seen in a cop seeing them do this and coming up behind them with his lights so they don't get hit by cars. And a man being a peacemaker and defusing what could be a heated situation. The Kingdom can be seen in people devoting themselves to the Apostles' teaching, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (I had get a Pentecost reference in there plus Dr. Sanders pounded this verse into us in the Fall).

I don't think its possible to give a detailed blueprint of what the Kingdom of God is; I think that's why Jesus had to resort to parables, ...The Kingdom of God is like:

A mustard seed

A man sowing seeds

A pearl of great worth

Yeast mixed in dough

A weed bursting through pavement?

Current Favorite Song

I love this song so much that I have been suggesting everyone I know listen to it. I myself have been listening to it a lot. In fact there are some afternoons that I just play it over and over. I don't actually own it so I go to youtube and play it there. I find that it calms me, challenges me, and encourages me and just reminds me in general that I am loved. You should listen to it.

Summer Reading List

Since it is almost summer, I will no longer have assigned reading and read for pleasure. So I am in the process of making a summer reading list and am wanting some more ideas. So if you don't mind give me some books you think are must-reads. Whatever genre; Fiction, Theology, history, biography or whatever else.

What is Holiness?

I was going to post this question in about a week so it would seem as if I was a good blogger and actually making posts on a regular basis, but I want some answers from you people and don't really want to wait. So here is the question (if you haven't figured it out from the title):

What is Holiness (how would you define it?). Is it attainable by us? If so how do we attain it? If not what is the point of the Christian walk?

I have been struggling with these questions and could use some input.

Music

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted anything, but I just haven't been inspired to write anything. But now I have 2 ideas on the same day. I'm only going to do one so I can save the other one for another post so it looks like I'm being steady in posting. I am pretty clever sometimes.



I have been listening to a lot of different music lately. Here is a sampling.



Sufjan Stevens- As a friend commented, "Sufjan= master of all things chill and musical.



Half-Handed Cloud- This band has a very unique sound that almost sounds kiddy. I love them though and have had the song We Don't Know How it Grows stuck in my head all the time.



Brother IZ- You have probably heard his cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World.



The Who- Their music just has so much emotion. (especially Love, Reign O'er Me)Plus its rebellious and I used to be pretty rebellious.



U2- I have mixed feeling about U2, Some of their music is sweet and other stuff is stupid (like Elevation), but other stuff I like a lot and I listened to a lot during some hard times this Winter (like Stuck in a Moment)

I have been listening to a lot of new artists and borrowing music from friends. So I will ask my blogging friends: What are you listening to? Give me some new artists or songs that are amazing.

The Heart of the Empire a.k.a. Washington D.C

Tomorrow at 8AM I will be leaving from Mount Vernon, Ohio and going to a city I have never been to. If you know me very well at all or if you've read some of my posts you have probably picked up on the fact that I am not a very patriotic person. Actually I am not patriotic at all. I am not sure what in my life changed me from the kid saying the Pledge of Allegiance and playing patriotic songs one note at a time on the piano, but I have come to believe that patriotism for me isn't compatible with my faith in Christ. I think at first it was my coming to understand that following Jesus is leaving violence. Because of this the militarism of the U.S. (though the people in the military have good motives and many are people of faith) gradually made me question what my loyalties as a Christian were to the nation I live in is. I have come to see myself as a citizen of the Kingdom of God and though I owe a certain amount of respect to those in authority over me and should do my best to obey their laws as long as they do not hinder my faith, I am no longer a citizen of this world and just can not muster feelings of patriotism anymore and actually feel a lot of tension when it comes to the U.S.

So it will be interesting being in the capital this spring break. I am looking forward to serving the church that we will be going to and whatever ministering that they have planned for us to do. But the fusion of quasi-Christianity and Nationalism will be frustrating to me.