Persuasive Living

I'm really thankful for a debate class that I took in college. The professor didn't care what we believed or what our interests were - she just loved teaching us how to debate. This has helped me a lot in life - not just to debate - but to think through what information is being presented to me.

In a typical class, there would be an assignment which might look a little like this: I would be given an issue with two opposing sides, and I'd have to be prepared to argue either for or against the issue. I wouldn't know what side of the debate I was on until I got to the podium. I'd walk to my podium and the professor would say - "Ok - you're for argument A," then point to the other student and say, "And you're against argument A."... And then we'd debate.

I had to be able to debate well on either side of the argument - or look like a fool. This was a real challenge to a lot of students. How does one argue against something they believe in?

It helped me a lot - it changed the way I see and approach a lot information that comes my way.

I also remember having to identify what kind of arguments people used. There were a lot of different ways to persuade. Emotional appeal, exaggeration, slippery slope, identification, endorsement, logical argument, etc.

I hear a lot of this in the political arena - as well as the religious arena. Everybody's arguing. Everybody wants to be right - to be correct.

But - when I look at Jesus - He does the opposite. There's not a lot of arguments in His storytelling. There's just stories. And - as He walked around - He seemed to dissuade people from following Him, rather than convincing them to. His invitation is actually ridiculous - if you just look at it with sober judgment: "Deny yourself, take up the cross, and come follow me." Who would do that, unless there's something behind what He's asking?

And then there's the cross. I've wondered about this in past posts - but - follow the stream of thought for a second. IF Jesus was indeed God - the creator of everything - then He was the most correct person to ever have lived. And, if He could do anything He wanted because He had ALL power, then why didn't He just prove how right (correct) He was - and how wrong everyone else was as His hands were getting nailed? He could use fire - or light - or do something crazy that you might see in a video game. But, He doesn't. He just takes it - and ends up dying.

I mean - think of it. God in flesh - hanging on a cross? He could have easily gotten out of it. He calmed storms, healed diseases, raised dead people. He has complete control. And, yet, He hangs there on a cross and says things like - "Forgive them, for they know not what they do" right before He dies.

Here's my point. Christianity - following Christ - whatever you wanna call it - is NOT an argument. But - somehow people have turned following Christ into one. I think Christianity is less appealing when it's turned into an argument. When I hear people arguing for Christianity - I want to argue the opposite. I hear some of the most ridiculous statements coming from pulpits - and many well-meaning Christ followers. If I can shoot tons of holes in their arguments - and I'm a believer - what must the unbelieving world think?

Yet - at the same time - nothing that I have witnessed is more inspiring than a life lived with the love of Christ. I've seen people that are truly amazing - all because of a life-changing moment with Jesus. The fruits of the Spirit are the best evidence of God's amazing love within His people.

And - the scriptures. They are truly brilliant. And they don't reek of argument. They point to a man that was murdered and then make a claim that that man was God in flesh. But the scriptures don't argue for Him, they just seem to present Him. I mean - there are statements that you can turn into arguments, don't get me wrong. Saying a man is God - that's an argument - for sure. But - the scriptures don't try to persuade the audience one way or another. Jesus is just presented, and we're left to decide.

If God's going to be persuasive - Jesus gives really bad arguments to follow Him. Crosses, death, people will hate you, give everything you own, - all while not worrying. And so much more. Yet - people follow Him. And millions have given up their lives for Him. It's pretty crazy - from a purely marketing standpoint.

It's hard for me to live a life that's not an argument. I feel like I've been trained that way. I'd rather be known for the love I gave to people than the things that I know. Yet - that's not how I live my life, for the most part. When I look at that standard, I completely fail.

And those - oh - few times that I do see clearly - it's not long before I find that I've lost my way again. Grrrr...

There's no wonder I need a Savior. I'd be hopeless without one.

Jer

Blogs

It's kind of fun to look back at some of the blogs I've written.

It's a bit like looking at a past me. It's what I was thinking about - or processing - at a different time in life. It's fun to revisit.

But I say "kind of fun" because some of the blogs are just not that good. Ya never want to read something you wrote and cringe. I don't want to erase them (even though it would be easy to do so) because that's just where I was at that time in life. They're a little written record etched in time. However - bad is bad.

But not everything I wrote was horrendous (ha!). Many blogs are way better than I would have thought. I'm actually surprised that I wrote a few of them. Going through them - it's like searching for the diamond in the rough. Every once in a while - it's not a cringe that crosses my face - it's a "Wow." That makes me glad at this endeavor.

Some blogs, I can tell, were written at a particular time in life - so they almost have that diary feel to them. Many are way too long. It's hard to be concise. Oswald Chambers is more and more my hero - in the writing realm - cuz he could write a page long message with depth that nearly unreachable. If I could copy his length, and get half his depth - that'd be a good blog. So - I'll keep trying.

Someday in the future - this too will be a diary blog. I wonder how I'll see it a year from now - or ten. My future self will read these words someday. That's pretty weird to imagine.

Well, to my future self: I hope you're not cringing - hope this one's more of a "wow" than a "what was I thinking?" I doubt it'll be a wow or a cringe actually. It'll be more like a - "hmmm...that's kinda cool." I can hope anyway...

I'm gonna try my best to keep writing - even though I realize that some blogs will be cringe worthy. I'm not gonna be able to help that completely. But I hope more and more will become "Wow" worthy. Guess we'll have to wait and see...

have a great day!

Jer

Politics...

"Throwing the baby out with the bath water..."

This is the season of politics. I'm not a big fan of writing about politics - it's such a divisive topic (not that religious writing isn't). But - I'm pretty passionate about God topics - not so much with political speak.

However, I have to mention a pet peeve that I hear over and over again - from both sides of the aisle - that I don't want to ignore. The fear-mongering from both parties is a bit ridiculous. And the crux of the pet peeve comes down to stereotyping - or maybe generalizations would be a better word.

Right leaning people believe "government" is the problem. Left leaning people - "Wall Street and Corporations" are the problem.

What both sides miss is that there are actual people behind the "evil" scheming. Government - and huge profit businesses are run by people.

Government doesn't make decisions. People do. Government does not create problems - people do.

Corporations don't make decisions. People do. Corporations aren't greedy. People are.

I have friends that work in the government. They're awesome people - and try their best to make this place a better place. I know business owners that do the same with what they have worked for - amazing people both.

However - for whatever reason - when my mind just hears "government" or "corporations" - I tend to think of dark rooms and scheming. The reality is that this is just not the case. The propaganda machine is very effective and really does influence how we think. But illusion is far from reality. Actual people are the backbone of both corporations and government. And people make good and bad decisions. Here's a couple good ones I've witnessed from both business and government...

McDonalds. I don't know anyone in that corporation. I don't endorse their products (except for their friggin' fries - yummmm). But - I do recognize that they do wonderful things - and they're flexible to change. They have Ronald McDonald charities - look it up - it's awesome! And - after "Super Size Me" - the movie - they changed a lot of how they do business. People made those decisions. The public has the power to change how people run corporations and do business. Real people that make real decisions. Could they make some better decisions? Probably. Is everything perfect in their model? Probably not. But that's not the point...

I have a friend who works in the CCC (California Conservation Corps). He's awesome - and is helping a "lost" generation by giving them a job - and skills - to further their lives and careers. He's not taking advantage of the "system" - and is far from being a leach. In fact - his career is an honorable one - more honorable than most. A real person made this "government program" to help real people. And real people benefit from it. Is there government waste in the program? Probably. Is it a perfect government run program? Probably not. But - that's not the point either...

I guess the point is this: actual people break stereotypes and generalizations.

We can talk about motives - and good vs. bad - all that. And those are good discussions. But - that's not the point I'm trying to make. Stereotyping and generalizations come out of ignorance, not intelligent thinking.

Let's see if this hits it:

A person can HATE the Catholic Church because a group of their priests molested young boys.

Blaming the institution for the acts of a few - there's a HUGE problem with that line of logic. The Catholic Church had NOTHING to do with molesting boys. People (priests) did. And other priests (bishops) covered it up. People were the problem.

It'd be like saying "All teachers are bad" because one teacher molested some kid in some town.

Ummm...no.

YET - I hear it over and over again - with "Government" and "Corporations" and "Wall Street" (not about molesting - that'd be weird. I hear people making generalizations that create ridiculous fear laden arguments that lead people to make mind boggling conclusions). And no one's ever called out on it. It's sooooo annoying.

I made that mistake about God once. I thought all "Christians" were idiots due to a handful that were - and that God was irrelevant because of that. But - I was wrong. Dead wrong.

So - I guess I just wanna give a word of caution for those entering into this political season. Watch out for generalizations. And watch out that you don't make them. Just be careful in believing everything you hear.

There's that famous phrase:

"Ignorance is bliss."

Well, it might be bliss for some - but it's annoying for the rest of us...

Have a great day!

Jer

Pause...

It's been a while.

I think about those scriptures in Ecclesiastes where is says there's a time for this - and a time for that. A time for X and a time for Y. etc.

Well, I guess there's a time for sharing, and there's a time for soaking it all in. That's where I've been - really. Soakin' it all in. Learning. Learning some good things - and reflecting upon difficult things. But holding onto the fact that God is good in the midst of it all.

So - I hope to write a little more than I have been. It's been a nice break from writing (well, I'm still writing on another project - but nice break from this blog.) I can always find things to say. ha! Good ol' verbal diarrhea. Hopefully there'll be a nugget of something good every once in a while.

Hope you have a great day! and - BOO! - almost Halloween. Love it!

Jer

Truth

I heard a speaker say this: "The good news isn't that you're awesome. It's the opposite actually. We're despicable. And when we give our life to Him, he saves us from that."

This is popular Church theology. Basically - you're a pile of crap until you give God your life. Many preachers make this point, over and over again. It's nauseating.

I believe the good news is so much better than that. I wish the speaker had said something like this:

"The good news isn't' that you're awesome. The good news is that God is awesome! So awesome - He actually invites you into His very own family! To be His kids!!! And He made that possible because of what He did through His life, death, and resurrection. "

For many - the difference between these statements might not seem at all noticeable. But there's a giant difference. Many people preach the good news as "this is what you get." The good news becomes about what one might receive. The good news is about ME.

The good news in the bible is a person: Jesus Christ. It's sort of become cliche, but but the good news isn't about me - it's about Him. Going in a little nerdy route - when the good news is about me - truth becomes subjective. Now - we might perceive God subjectively - but who He is and what He is like is OBJECTIVE.

Ok - what does that mean? Subjective truth depends on the eye of the beholder. Beauty is subjective. I might think something is beautiful, you might think it's ugly! We perceive the same object differently. Our tastes are different - even though the object is the same.

Objective truth ISN'T dependent on the beholder. 2 + 2 = 4. That equation is true, whether I agree with it or not. It's also true, whether I know it exists or not. Objective truth is truth outside of the observer.

God's love for humanity and His characteristics are OBJECTIVE - not Subjective. The problem with much of Church Theology is that they turn the "good news" into a subjective good news. It becomes all about me. Me me me me me me me me me.

Like I said - nerdville. That's a little deep. But the point is - the good news is NOT dependent on how I perceive it. The good news is who God is - and what he had done to reveal Himself to us! God's good news is so good - it's Him. And He's available to all - everyone!!!

So - how is the first statement (above) subjective? Well, if you read it again, you'll notice that the emphasis on good news is on transformation of an individual. It becomes about what I become and am saved from. In the second statement - the emphasis of good news is about God's characteristics - who He is - and what I've been saved for. Go check. That's a very big difference, and it makes all the difference in the world when talking about God.

Does that mean that transformation is bad? or wrong? NOOOOO! In fact - God changes people all the time - amazing transformations!!! And many of those transformations are good news! However - His good news is even better than individual transformations. It's His person - who He is! He is NOT dependent on what you think of Him. He is good - whether you believe it or not - and whether you think it exists or not. He is not dependent on you. If you really think about it - that's incredibly good news!

So go seek out the good news. He's not far from you at all - He's actually with you now. He knows everything about you - and in spite of that - is madly in love with you!!! Because that's who He is - Love. He is good - He is awesome!

Have a great day!

Jer

Malibu, Canada!

Well - off to an adventure with over 100 high school students - to Canada! Woohoo! Two day road trip - then craziness! May we all learn more about God's goodness! Pray for us - if ya get a chance. Thanks! Have a great rest of July!!

Lookin' up,

Jer

Identity Crisis

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” (Romans 15:5-7)

We all have multiple identities.

There are family identities. Fathers and mothers. Children. Sisters and brothers. Grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. There are the adopted and the abandoned - the abused and the orphaned. Some families are very rich, some are dirt poor. Some families are very religious, others outright reject anything spiritual. Some families live on the “other” side of the tracks, others are famous just for being on TV. Some families are huge, some are very small. We all get part of our identity from our family - like it or not.

There are profession identities. Some people are lawyers, doctors, and politicians. Others are laborers, migrant workers, and sweat shop workers. Some are criminals, others are law enforcement. There are highly regarded jobs like firefighters and teachers. There are less than desirable jobs like convenient store clerk and working for the golden arches. There’s management, employed, underemployed, and the unemployed. There’s the owner of a successful company and the person who struggles with chronic homelessness. In the American culture - our identity is so closely tied to our profession that one of the first things a person asks when meeting someone new is “What do you do?”

There are gender and sexual identities. There’s the obvious: man and woman. There’s also the identity of a child. There’s heterosexual and homosexual - and everything in between. There’s confused, and mixed. There’s over-sexual and asexual. There are sexual disorders and just the plain normal average Joe/Jane. What’s normal for some might be pretty crazy for others. Morality often gets tied in with people’s sexual identity. Like it or not, we are partly known by our gender and sexual identities.

There are achievement based identities. Some are really good - like professional baseball player or medal of honor recipient. Some are really bad - like rapist or a person on death row. There are student of the month, employee of the month, teacher of the year achievements. There’s winningest coach or team, there’s second place, and there’s just plain embarrassment. There’s winners and there are losers. There are people who are defined by barely missing the field goal, or just missing the putt. There’s the “almost” people. Many of us get our identities from our achievements.

We all have a ton of identities. There are sport fans - team fans. Consumer fans (Apple vs. PC). Comic fans. Fashion fans. Movie fans. Reading clubs. The elderly. The youth. The diseased. The diet health groups. Exercise groups. The obese. Clothing identity. School identity. Religious identity. Cultural identity. Political identity. Ethnic identity. Patriotic identity. And on and on...

We treat each other different depending on our identity. In some cases, there’s great camaraderie within a particular group. We offer support, throw parties, and wear even wear clothes to show off our affiliation towards a particular identity. But there are also some serious problems with putting so much emphasis on any particular identity.

Our identity often defines the borders that we may or may not cross. Our identities can create major division - and even outright war. Our identity can make it very difficult to love people that are different. It can be a frustrating problem.

Is there any way to erase our divisions - even when they seem insurmountable?

Well, there is an identity that we all share - every one of us. It’s an identity that supersedes all others - and we often miss it. It goes above and beyond any identity we might be affiliated with - to the extreme. It’s even above just being “human.” The author of the book of John writes about it often. He constantly identified himself as simply “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” All of humanity - every person on the planet (“For God so loved the world...) - has an identity that was given to them by God Himself. The identity we inherit is of a Father who loves His children (us!) He revealed that love to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. His love - His assigned identity - crosses all borders, all arguments, all groups - all identities. It covers all.

There are those that might not know their true identity at all. There are those that know their identity but ignore it. There are some that outright deny it. There are even those that fight against it. But no matter where a person stands with God - one thing that is undeniable is that God loves all - even His strongest enemies.

What if we lived in that truth? We all have multiple identities - but what if - first and foremost - our identity of being God’s kids - came first? Way out in first. And that's how we saw each other? Our father (God) loves every one of us! Is it possible that we could love and value those that are extremely different if we truly understood, and lived within, our real identity? Isn’t that what God constantly calls us to do anyway - to love everyone?

And, if that identity came first, how would we see ourselves? How would we see each other? How would we treat ourselves and others in light of our true identity?

I wonder...

Have a great day!

Jer

The Abandoning Father

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone." (Mark 10:18/Luke 18:19)

This past Easter, I realized that it never says in the scriptures that Jesus was flogged 39 times. He may have been, but it doesn’t say it. The scriptures point out that Paul was flogged 39 times – more than once. But not Jesus. Historical inference lead many to believe it was 39 times - but it’s not actually said in the scriptures. Look it up. And here I thought this was a given fact of the crucifixion. I was completely led to believe this “fact” (most recently by a popular movie), and it’s not even confirmable. It might not even be true. (The number of times being significant because 40 lashes was death) How often do I swallow what people say about the gospel without really testing it? I wonder…

Sometimes I hear something that someone says and immediately believe it’s true without ever testing it. I remember someone telling me that Jesus was in the direct line of David - as far as lineage goes. And this was the fulfillment of prophesy. But when I really looked at the scriptures (one in Matthew, one in Luke) - they actually say this:

Mat 1:1 “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham...”

Mat 1:16 “...and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is the Messiah”

Luke is similar - but starts with Jesus:

Luke 3:23 “Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,...”

So, what’s the big deal? Well, both scriptures point out that Joseph’s lineage went through David. But, there’s a problem with that - the scriptures make it very clear that Joseph was not Jesus’ actual dad. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit - through Mary. This would “break” any real claim to the lineage that Jesus had through David. If Joseph was the actual father, then it would break the claim that Jesus was begotten of the Father - the whole virgin birth prophesy. A definite conundrum.

I’ve brought this up to many people of faith (of whom I am one) as well as quite a few Pastors, and I’ve gotten some of the most ridiculous answers to these questions. Most often, they insist that the lineage goes through Mary, and not Joseph - even when it’s pointed out. The scriptures clearly say otherwise. Then, they change the subject. Or - they might say something like, “Well, that’s just how God works - you can’t really know everything,” or “God can do whatever He wants.” While there’s some truth to those statements - these are really pathetic attempts to answer legitimate questions about Jesus.

For years, this problem really bugged me, until I realized that Jesus was adopted into the line of David - with full privilege of a first born son. That actually seemed more like His character, because later on we would be adopted as God’s kids as well - through what Jesus accomplished on the cross. It totally made sense to me. However, it really bugged me that people would avoid some “difficult” questions and come up with some really lame answers to genuine inquiry.

We often take what we hear, and don’t question it. Or, we have really difficult questions about what we’re told, but don’t investigate the answers because we think it might threaten our faith. There’s always this cloud of worry that we might ask the wrong questions - and end up going to hell. So many of us don’t ask and we don’t investigate - even when the questions are deep down inside. But what if, in some instances - we’re just dead wrong? What if our fear of being “wrong” gives us a really awful picture of God?

This will definitely get me in trouble with some - but oh well...

I’ve heard many preachers say, “Sin is separation from God, and Hell is eternal separation from God.” This is a very popular theology in today’s church. And these statements are not just made by Pastors, they’re found in many Church creeds (statements of faith). Early on in my walk in faith, I took these statements and ran with them. I believed them because someone told me to believe them. But there was a problem - I never truly investigated whether those statements were actually true! I just heard someone say those statements, and believed you could support them in scripture. And I defended them strongly whenever they were questioned. But, deep down, something seemed a little out of whack.

I’ve come to find that my initial uneasiness with this theology may have had some merit. The “sin is separation from God” statements have serious logical flaws and don’t hold up very well with the scriptures. So - let’s investigate.

Nearly everyone who is a person of faith believes really amazing things about the characteristics of God. Theologians use big words like omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, meaning: all powerful, all knowing, and always present.

There’s a definite problem with one of these characteristics when matched up with the separation statements: always present means always present. This contradicts the claim the God could be separated from anything - especially eternally. God’s characteristic of omnipresence - the very nature of who He is - makes it impossible for Him to be separated from anything or anyone in all creation because He's always present. So - it’s one or the other. Either there’s separation when we sin and God is NOT omnipresent - or - there is no separation and He is omnipresent.

Let’s take a peak at the scriptures. It says in Colossians that God holds all things together (Col. 1:17). So that begs the question: Does all mean all? Or does all mean: everything, except when a person is “sinning”. If God holds all things together - including atoms - then He’s connected to all things - literally touching everything at all times - even in the process of a person “sinning.” Where’s the separation in that?

And Psalm 119:7-12

“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.”

The scriptures make it pretty clear that God is everywhere - even when we’re “hiding” in our darkness. Where’s the separation in that?

In one of Jesus’ stories - He touches a leper. In those days - no “clean” person could touch one that was deemed “unclean,” or they themselves would become unclean. Yet - Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. And Jesus is the exact representation of God. It was God Himself touching the leper. Where is God’s separation in that? In fact, where is God’s separation with anyone He interacts with when He walked on the world? He touches sinners, He hangs out with sinners, He chooses sinners to be His disciples, He eats with sinners, and becomes known as a friend of sinners. Where’s the separation in that? The very act of God coming to Earth - and became one of us - where’s the separation there? God is not afraid of our wretchedness - thank the Lord!

One of my favorite scriptures:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God? Hmmmm... And God is love - as it says in 1 John. Where is the separation there? Does all mean all? Does “all creation” mean - ALL creation? Or, does the scripture mean: all creation, except where there’s sin and hell?

I really believe that what is meant by “separation from God” is really - separation from the fellowship of God. There is a HUGE distinction between these two statements. When someone talks about “separation from God”, what they imply is that God turns His back on us when we sin. He turns His back on Humanity. He becomes the Abandoning Father. This is as bad of a picture of God as you can get! God NEVER abandons us! “I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

What some might be intending to say is that our sin separates any fellowship - or friendship - with God. Sin - in it’s base form - is rebellion towards God. But that action of abandoning is NOT from God - it’s from us. God doesn’t abandon us - ever. We spend our whole life abandoning God. Just look at your own life. And look at how the scriptures put it:

““There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;” (Romans 3:10b-12)

All have turned away - humanity turning its back on God. Not God turning His back on us.

Much of this “separation” theology stems from Old Testament thinking - having to do with the Holy of Holies - within the temple - where God’s presence was said to reside. The argument goes that God can’t be in the presence of sin because sin would taint His perfection. So - He was in a place that only He resided - the Holy of Holies - that was only entered into one time a year by a priest who had performed all the correct rituals so he could perform the atonement sacrifice for the people of Israel. It was a big deal. It also led to the roots of the thinking “God is separate” from us. That’s one reason that Jesus was so scandalous when He showed up (especially when announcing His arrival to lowly shepherds). From some people’s perspective - God becoming a man defamed God. Jesus broke the wrong perception that “God is separate” by becoming one of us.

But let’s go back to the Holy of Holies. Can a Holy God be tainted by sin? Is God separate because He could be infected with our disease? If God could be tainted by sin - then that elevates the power of sin. Sin is not strong enough to taint God’s perfection. Look at it from a light perspective. Light can’t be tainted by darkness. Light makes darkness flee. From another angle - it’s like the leper story. God can’t be tainted by disease - He’s way too powerful. Disease flees from God. The unclean is made clean. And, in that story - it’s from a touch. (opposite of separation). Another angle - every time Jesus encounters demons in the scriptures, they freak out and think they’re going to be destroyed. Darkness shudders at the light - and ultimately will be destroyed by it. But God is never close to being tainted by darkness. It’s just not possible.

When Jesus walked the earth, He became the clearest picture of God to humanity than anything prior in history. When Jesus died, the temple curtain was torn, signifying that Jesus had fulfilled the law and God was no longer “contained” in a physical place. Do a study on the Holy of Holies and the temple curtain - and then you’ll really see the significance of the temple curtain being torn after Jesus’ death. It’s actually pretty interesting. God was no longer “separate” - but was now “free” from our prior perceptions of Him.

Actually, just the term “Holy” makes our understanding of God a little muddy. Holy means - set apart. But, set apart does NOT mean separate. These fine lines make it really tricky when talking about God. A person can have the best intentions in sharing their view of God, but end up giving a less than good picture of who God really is - without even realizing it.

There are a few New Testament backings for this “separation” theology, but they’re pretty weak in their arguments. Two are parables - the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16), and the parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Mat 25) are often pointed out. But both parables really talk about the separation of people groups - not separation from God. Lazarus and the rich man are separated from each other - but there’s really no mention of God, from a separation standpoint. We do see torment that the rich man is suffering - but we don’t see God turning His back on him. In fact, it was the rich man who turned his back on God. Same story in the Sheep and Goats parable. Separation of people groups - but not of God. The goats were the ones that didn’t give a rip about God.

There are one or two more arguments for separation theology within the letters that Paul writes - but, again - Paul is talking about separating people groups, not God separating Himself from us.

The biggest defense for this theology gets really screwy when taking a look at the Trinity. On the cross, Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The argument goes that Jesus felt the full brunt of humanity’s sin at that moment, and God the Father turned His back on His Son.

There’s a few problems that can be pointed out with this line of thinking. First - is Jesus God or not? God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirt - three in one. Trinity thinking. If Jesus IS God, then simple logic concludes that God couldn’t ever separate Himself from Himself. It was God Himself that died on the cross. Is Jesus God? Take it a step farther - it says in Galatians that Jesus became the curse:

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” (Gal 3:13)

Is Jesus God? Or does He take a break on the cross - when He died? Was God our atonement - or was it some random dude that God used, and then God walked away from at his very moment of need? That doesn’t sound like the God that I know.

So, then - why would "God" say, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Jesus was a Rabbi and He was quoting the first line of a Psalm. When a Rabbi quoted a Psalm’s first line, that included the entire Psalm. Jesus was quoting Psalm 22. Read it - it’s amazing! It describes the crucifixion - but it was written long before it ever happened. Look at the end of the Psalm - it’s not a Psalm of desperation or separation, it’s a Psalm of triumph. It ends with “He has done it!” Very close to another phrase that Jesus utters on the cross: “It is finished.” And look at these verses from that same Psalm:

For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help. (Psalm 22:24)

That doesn't sound like God turning His back on Jesus. To me - at least - that looks like the opposite...

People fight for separation theology like they’re fighting for life over death. It’s really interesting. The scriptures never really clearly define sin as separation from God - especially in the New Testament. It's even harder to back the "hell is separation from God" definition within scriptures. Seriously - go and try - don't take my word for it.

So - what’s the big deal? Why does this point matter?

This theology gives a very hurtful description of God. It’s not a very loving picture of our Savior. And it’s just not that accurate. I want to make it clear though - I’m not saying sin does not exist or that it’s not bad. Or that hell doesn’t exist - or is not awful. That’s not what I’m saying at all. Sin is destructive and leads to death.

What I am saying is that “sin is separation from God” and “Hell is eternal separation from God” is a VERY bad definition of sin and hell. Use something different when describing sin - like - rebellion, esteeming not, ignoring, missing the mark - etc. All these definitions point to our depravity - our movement away from God. Separation implies that God moves away from us - when that’s just not the case.

The other danger is that we begin to live our theology. If we believe that God turns His back on people when they sin - how long before we might start turning their back on sinners? To be honest - I see churches that do that all the time. Just a thought to keep in mind...

This is already pretty exhaustive, and I could go on - but I won’t. If you’ve got this far - I’m amazed - and thanks for your time. I do want to explain one reason why I wrote it.

I went to a camp and this theology was preached. In my cabin of guys, there were at least four young men that had been abandoned by their real dads. Some others had suffered abuse - some physical, and some sexual - from their fathers. The night that sin was preached, the speaker gave a clear picture of God the Father turned His back on our “badness.” He said, “sin is separation with God, and Hell is eternal separation with God.” The picture he gave of God (who is supposed to be good) was almost identical to some of these kid’s experiences with their own fathers. God was an Abandoning God - and couldn’t be near to our sin. Ugh.

Yes - the cross was coming, but his description just really gave “the Father” a bad name. Last I heard - Jesus and the Father were one. When talking about sin - can't we just stick to "rebellion" or "ignoring God" or not putting God in His rightful place? Sin is awful - destructive - not good. But God - especially when looking at Jesus - doesn't separate Himself from us because of it. In fact, He's really the only one that can touch our sin and heal us - we can't do it on our own.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

When I look at Jesus - He just blows the Abandoning Father perception to smithereens. We need to be very careful on how we share the “good” news. And we need to not be scared to ask hard questions of the faith - whether they seem threatening or not.

May God guide you as you seek Him!

Jer

The Light Shines in the Darkness...

(Writer’s note: I hesitate writing my blatant opinions about certain topics concerning God because it puts me in the category of “I’m right, you’re wrong” type of thinking - which I normally don’t like. However, there is a level of frustration with certain types of theology that I come across from day to day. Some “theology” gives God a bad name. This is an opinion piece that is critical of a somewhat mainline theology of which I’m probably in the minority. With that being said, this is just a blog - feel free to disagree with me.)

And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Gen. 2:16-17)

There’s a scary theology that’s often preached from the pulpit at a lot of churches that I’ve come across. And it has everything to do with humanity’s view of good and evil. It also has a lot to do with value. I know that just writing these thoughts down will get me in trouble with some - but I guess I don’t really care.

I recently had a lively conversation with someone that doesn’t believe that humanity has value. Her view of people was that they were just bad - evil to the core. When I tried to explain to her that God showed our value by paying the price on the cross - she looked at me as if I were an alien. She didn’t believe that God died to show our value, but to simply save us from ourselves.

While there’s truth in both propositions (He came to save us and give us value) it got me thinking about how our theology (whether we know it or not) shapes how we see each other and how we see God. To make a blank statement that humanity is evil (or good) would miss the point of the garden story. We just can’t make that judgment. According to the scriptures - we can only know that God is good. In our limited judgment, all we can look at is what God says about humanity.

In the first chapter of the Bible - after creating all things, including people - God looked at His creation and said that it was very good. Those aren’t my words - read the story. The first judgment by God is that creation (humanity included) is good. And He created people in His very own image!

Now, it’s important to note that God isn’t a liar. What He says is truth. He is God - He dictates whatever He wants. He said it - “good.” Most people seem to ignore that part of the story.

That’s because then there’s the rebellion in the garden. Humanity ignored God and went their own way. The actions of people were bad - sin entered the picture - and that ultimately led humanity to death. But that doesn’t reduce the value that each of us have. In fact - God’s atonement (the death of an animal) was a foreshadow of the ultimate atonement (the cross) that was later to come. God didn’t destroy Adam and Eve - he saved them - because, for whatever reason, He saw value in them. He showed that humanity was valuable - and that He loves us. And He’s been showing it throughout history ever since.

If our theology tells us that humanity is bad/evil - then that’s how we’ll initially see people. It’s hard to value someone when we think of them as evil or bad. In fact, we’ll begin to think that they should get what they deserve - the whole “go to hell” type mentality - especially when people are really “bad.” These judgments usually aren’t blatant - but they creep into people’s way of thinking and shape how they see the world.

Judgment rears it’s ugly head - and with it comes a sense of superiority. But this type of judgment is the fruit from a tree that humanity shouldn’t have eaten from in the first place. We should all just let God be God. We should listen to and trust His judgement.

Jesus said,

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Mat 7:1-2)

That almost sounds like scary news until you flop Jesus’ saying back to who He is. God is love and His judgment is grace. What if grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love were the measure that we used when seeing people - all people? If we judge with grace - won’t we be given grace - by that standard?

Again - look at what Jesus says:

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Mat 6:14-15)

If our measure is forgiveness - then we are forgiven. Period. This is actually a very profound thought - because we often judge others with condemnation, not forgiveness.

I definitely have more to say, but I'll save it for later...

May we learn to forgive one another, and may God’s good news actually be good news lived out in our lives!

Have a great day!

Jer

The Battle Inside

Excuses.

The easiest part of life is making excuses.

Let me rephrase that – the perceived “easiest” part of life is making excuses. I can find a million and one things to do to avoid what actually needs being done.

I can have really bad excuses

“I slept in.”

“I’ll start tomorrow.”

“I already did part of it, so that’s good enough.”

– or just the opposite – amazingly creative excuses. Some of my excuses might even be true!

“My kids are sick”

“I don’t have enough money”

“I don’t have enough time”

“I’m too busy.”

“I have other plans.”

But excuses are the prison I lock myself within that robs me from achieving my goals.

One of the reasons we allow excuses to imprison us is that our desire for long term change is too low. Desire can alter behavior. What’s at battle within our very heart is that our desire for immediacy (the “right now” phenomena) is too strong – and our desire for persistence is nearly non-existent.

Some of this comes from our culture. We live in a “right now” type of world. I remember, one day, going to a drive through at a fast food restaurant and the wait time was about 10 minutes. I didn’t really care, and had nowhere to go, but it was a long wait at the window for fast food. The server apologized profusely, and ended up giving me my food for free!

Now, I have no problem with free food, but this type of cultural push makes us believe that if we wait too long – we deserve things for free. Entitlement creeps into our way of thinking. We have been conditioned into thinking that if something is fast, it’s good, but if something takes time – it’s not worth it.

This plays right into making excuses. Lifelong goals are not achievable with short term thinking. Everywhere our culture pushes the “right now” doctrine on us. This belief is as powerful as a religious belief. It also steers us into making excuses that derail our ability to achieve our dreams and goals.

The "right now" doctrine is dangerous. It's definitely a habit that's crept into my way of thinking, and it's a hard one to fight. Persistence is the weapon - but mine seems to be pretty dull.

May God give me greater desire for long term goals, and less desire for the "right now" mentality. :-)

Have a great day!

Jer

Everyday First Step

One of the myths of attaining a goal is that the action of stepping at the beginning of the journey is different from the middle, or even the last step. Stepping is the same, wherever you are on the journey. When I believe the action within the journey is different, my way of seeing is cloudy at best. I'll often get stuck in a plateau and give up walking because I don't "feel" a change. At the beginning of my goal, if I believe that drastic change will happen just by walking a few short steps - I'll be up for disappointment, and I'll most likely give up.

At the start, much of what hurts me is my way of thinking:

I believe the journey will be easy.

I believe the journey should be fast.

I believe I’ll magically attain what I'm seeking.

I believe that tomorrow will be the day of arrival - when, in fact, it could be next year - or even longer.

This is all mythical thinking. It’s absolutely untrue. It’s what derails us!

In fact, this way of thinking destroys any chance of success. It’s what makes us put off tomorrow what we could actually accomplish today.

And there’s another way of thinking that unhinges us. We may believe that the action to accomplish a goal is absolutely impossible. A simple step won’t help me travel one thousand miles!

So…

Why start now?

Why even try?

What’s the point?

I can’t change.

When we see our heroes in the real world (especially in athletics), we often witness their last step. We see success, joy, triumph, and their life lived to the fullest. That’s where we want to be – what we desire to become. We want to arrive without going on a journey.

When someone attains a goal, it’s what we don’t see that’s important.

Here’s a secret that I think we all know, but choose not to observe. On a journey of a thousand miles – the actual first step is virtually the same as the very last step on this journey. A person will have changed through the course of a journey, but the movement that he or she makes in the actual step is the same movement as when he started. I think this is one of the keys. It’s a tool that everyone possesses, but rarely applies.

Here is what I’m trying to say:

First step. Beginning. More steps. Mile One. More steps. Mile seven. More steps. Mile 156. More steps. Mile 642. More steps. Mile 999. More steps. Step step step.

SAME ACTIONS – different location.

Transformation through walking.

It's no wonder that people call following Christ a walk. The great mystery of God is that, by grace, we are loved as we are - we've arrived! But at the same time, God refines us as we move forward to become more like Him (the walking definition and incarnation of love.) I learn to be content in life from His love - but I'm a thousand miles away from where I need to be to become anything like Him. But I'm taking a step forward.

Today, I'm gonna take my everyday first step - in regards to God and other areas of my life. And I'm not going to worry about arriving...

Have a great day!

Jer