Why jtr is Not a Christian

And Maybe I'm Not Either

My friend John-Thomas wants to enter the ministry. He also claims he is not a Christian. What's that all about? This post of his should be read by every American believer (my international friends may find it an interesting read too). He does a good job of swiping at some problems in the American church, particularly our failure as Evangelicals to avoid intertwining ourselves with the Republican party to the point, as he puts it, that we lately have been resolving to be “knowing nothing but George W. Bush and him re-elected.”

This isn't a question of whether President Bush is a good president or not. It is a question of the purpose of the church. Should the church worry about politicized issues such as abortion, euthanasia, poverty, and so on? By all means! But, we ought not let our social concerns, and especially our partisan concerns, override our calling to preach the Gospel. I am loyal to Christ first, my family second, my country third and my party last; it is only a means to an end and we should not let it be anything more than that. If we aren't careful, the American church will simply have the mainlines supporting liberal politics faced off against the Evangelicals and Fundamentalists supporting conservative or neo-conservative politics and no one actually changing lives and declaring the Good News effectively.

I'm not going to spoil his whole post, so go read it to find out about the stuff about not being a Christian.

FridayQ's: Foreign Places and Lovely Spaces

Michael has been doing this meme for a little while, and I thought I might give it a try, doing the past two weeks worth in reverse order. The first one is on foreign countries, the second on romance. If you'd like to answer the questions as well, feel free to do so in the comments.

FQ1: What's your native language? Do you speak any foreign languages? If so, how did you come to learn them?
English. I'm working on Koine Greek, presently, although the my main goal is to be good at reading it, not speaking it (who exactly am I going to speak it to?). This is my second time around with Greek, previously through books, now via a Greek instructor. As I've said before, I probably should learn Spanish someday soon.

I have friends and acquaintances who speak the following languages as their native tongues (in order of frequency that I converse with them): Romanian, Spanish, German and Swedish. If I was really good at languages, or at least had lots of spare time, I think I would try to learn all of the above; I feel bad that I know at least one person from each of the above language groups who probably speaks better English than I do, yet I cannot say one iota back to them in their native language or even another language native to neither of us (unless I time travel back to meet the apostles and greet them in Koine Greek).

FQ2: What's your native country? Have you visited any foreign countries? If so, which ones?
The good old US of A. I have not been outside of its borders; I was suppose to go on a trip a few years back, but a family emergency canceled that and other opportunities have not arisen.

FQ3: Are there any foreign foods, books, movies, or other items that you are particularly fond of? Name some of your favorites.
Foods, yes, most definitely. Probably my favorite foreign food would be Mexican, although I'll admit that I'd generally prefer the Americanized versions at Taco Bell over authentic Mexican food (not that I don't like the latter). Next would be Italian; I love finding a restaurant still owned by an Italian family and ordering a pizza from it. Chinese would probably be next; I really like egg rolls and broccoli chicken fried rice, among other things. I like a lot of German foods too, but I'm not sure how Americanized what I've eaten has been.

Books… well, I guess I have a number of books I like that are from outside the U.S. I mean, technically C.S. Lewis is a foreign writer, but I don't generally think about him like that. If we are going to do translated works, I'll say Jorge Luis Borges's writings, off the top of my head. Or does Dante count?

I'm not a big movie buff in general, so foreign movies aren't a big deal for me. I barely see any domestic movies! What else do I like foreign? Hmm… well, I like German cars (well, Japanese ones are nice too). I had some good chocolates from Austria a few years back as well. I'm not sure, perhaps it is too late at night for me to think of these types of things.

FQ NATIVE: If you had to trade your nationality for that of any foreign country, which would you choose and why?

Sheesh. I'm not sure. For practical reasons, I would choose a first world country. I dunno — maybe I'd “become” German, Italian, Switzerland, Sweden or something like that if I am imagining myself being a native of someplace else. If I was going for something a little different, maybe I'd pick Greece, Israel, Japan or Romania. Now, if I we are talking about yours truly expatriating and going somewhere else, I'd pragmatically pick someplace where I could actually communicate easily, which would give me the U.K., Australia, Canada and Ireland. Of those, I'd probably pick Canada or the U.K.

Last Week's FridayQ: Romance
FQ1: What music puts you in the mood for romance?
Not having ever had a “romance,” I guess I cannot say exactly. To me, though, I'd say that I think cordoning off romance into a particular area is rather foolish; it isn't what you are listening to, but who you're with, right? Admittedly, perhaps some music would be a bad choice, but if you love someone, I think all music would seem romantic in her presence.

FQ2: Where is the perfect place for romancing someone?
Similar to what I said above. I suppose I would think some place quiet that is well suited to talking. Perhaps someplace scenic. But, I do not think that need be necessary. I don't like the idea of “romancing” someone though — it sounds too much like a premeditated attempt at selling one's self. Call me idealistic or a hopeless romantic (pun intended), but I think a relationship ought to be formed simply because two people who enjoy each other's company, and are of opposite sexes, find themselves moving from friendship to mutual love. I have no doubt that this is naive, but still…

FQ3: What kind of foods get you feeling romantic?
Well, ditto what I've already said. I would think whatever food it was that one ate frequently with the beloved.

FQ LOVER: How would somebody go about winning your heart?
Just being herself. If she was kind, interesting to talk to and had a good sense of humor, that would go a long way to it. I think ideally, that person would have a lot of the same interests, but enough different ones that we both could have things to talk about in common and things to share that were not. In other words, not one particular action, but just the general way of being is important; this is a gradual process. Can you see a theme here in my answers?

I'll be honest here; I've had one person win my heart — I'm quite sure inadvertently on her part — so this is not idle speculation on this last question. Of course, the problem is reciprocating by winning hers… if that ever happens, it will only be by grace God chooses to grant me, for I am dubious about whether it could ever occur from what I say and do, and it certainly is not aided at all by my appearance.

Another One Bites the Dust

Yesterday, I had my last final of the semester. I think all of my finals, save one, went quite well, and the one that didn't go quite as well shouldn't be too much a of a problem, because I had built up plenty of cushion from other things I had turned in during the semester.

The final I was really worried about, (Koine) Greek I, turned out great — I managed to get 95.5 on the final, giving me a margin of 3.5 above the threshold for an “A” (a 92 in that class). Now the main task will be holding on to what I've learned until the fall, when I will be taking Greek II. I've already let my Greek abilities lapse once, I do not intend to do so again. I'm not sure I'll follow through, but the adjunct instructor for the course suggested that we should try learning Latin vocabulary over the summer, since the basic structure of Latin is similar in many ways to Greek; I may just do that (as if I don't have enough to do!).

The end of the semester is always a mixed event for me. I'm glad it is over so that I don't have to be rushing around trying to balance everything anymore; for the next three months, I only have to worry about my business (other than any hobbies I might want to pick back up). I'm also glad it is over in that I dislike the last few weeks of a school year, it just seems to melancholy as things wrap up. On the other hand, there are a few people I really hated saying goodbye to for the summer — particularly one professor, my religion professor whom I've mentioned before, and one fellow student I spent a lot of time talking to over the academic year. I've never been good at goodbyes. I remind myself of an old Garrison Keillor skit from the Prairie Home Companion; I was going to try to explain it, but I don't think I can do it adequately. I should see if I can find it on his web site.

I'll post my semi-annual look back at my predictions for the classes sometime soon.

Oops

I forgot to give credit to Kevin for finding the quiz I took yesterday.

I Don't Know About That...

This web poll says I am a fundamentalist and that I believe that science has brought on corruption of society. Oddly enough, I answered favorably to virtually every question about science, save for the one that evolution has helped us become more spiritual (as a whole, I think regardless of one's position concerning evolutionary theory, it is hard to assert that it has made the world more spiritual). I took the quiz twice, actually; the first time it said I was a “cultural creative” (which it reported as being “spiritual, but not religious”). I went back through because I realized I'd marked a few wrong, and also tried to read their questions a bit more closely.

As a whole, I think the poll is flawed. While I've been accused of being a fundamentalist, I generally do not fit well in true fundamentalist circles. I've come to the conclusion I am not a fundamentalist at all. I'm certainly not a post-modernist though, I'm more of about anything than a po-mo. I tend to see post-modernism as the enemy of rational thought — scientific, religious and philosophical. I do probably fit somewhat into the Romanticists, though.

I think the big problem here is that the quiz had questions such as whether religious texts should be taken symbolically, wherein the meaning is somewhat ambiguous. Sure, they are filled with symbols and even literal parts can have a secondary interpretation that is symbolic. On the other hand, I suspected what the author meant was “scriptures should be read only as mythological truths,” to which I had to answer in disagreement. In truth, then, despite this poll's support for varying levels of agreeing and disagreeing on statements, it really is rather polar. When I answered that statement as being somewhat true, I was a cultural creative; when I answered it as false, I was a fundamentalist. There is no middle ground in the poll, which is too bad, because it could have been interesting.

I'm not a polar person. I agree with fundamentalists on many things, but I reject the anti-intellectualism that I am seeing in the fundamentalist movement presently. For that matter, not only anti-intellectual, but just generally anti-all-kinds-of-things attitude, from Harry Potter to the Da Vinci Code. I find myself attracted most closely to the neo-Orthodox theologians such as C.S. Lewis, and more recently, Karl Barth (from what I've read of him thus far). I neither reject rationality nor revelation, but believe that both will ultimately be true. Seek truth knowing that there can be no conflict between God and truth.

Job Should Have Talked to Lewis

“The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.”

—C.S. Lewis

That's the concise way to look at the problem of pain and evil. Things like this are all in the way we look at them. Usually, when addressing the problem of evil, we start from “why should bad things happen to good people,” which is somewhat problematic. We ought to ask why we should not begin with the inverse: “why should good things happen to bad people?” Now, I know a many people I consider really good, nice people, but at the same time, I know that none of us is good when placed in comparison to the ultimate touchstone: God.

Christians should neither spend all their time listening to readings of Jonathan Edwards' Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, nor should we become convinced that we deserve good. Jesus says His way will be hard. He also tells us that His yoke is easy. Both are true. Life does not get any easier when one believes in Jesus in many ways, but at the same time, to know that there is a future hope makes all the difference. We are given a center to our life; our compass no longer simply spins around in no particular direction.

“Talk to me about the truth of religion and I'll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I'll listen submissively. But don't come talking to me about the consolations of religion or I shall suspect that you don't understand.”

It is all very much a paradox. Lewis reminds us not to start telling everyone how much consultation faith always is. It is not. Things still hurt. Loved ones still die and leave us feeling their absence. The existence of an all powerful God only makes it more painful, since we know that God could intervene. We have that hope that His plans will work out in the future, but we are still stuck with both feet in the present. On the other hand, sometimes we don't need to be made to feel better so much as just to know that God has been there on the same journey we are on — and He has.

“[Jesus] made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!”

—Philippians 2.7-8 (NIV)

As I noted in my Good Friday meditation, this is only scratching the surface. Jesus not only walked the same Earth, felt the same feelings and then died a horrid death, but He also took upon our sins and was forsaken from the Father. When we feel pain, we only feel a tidbit of the pain of Jesus. This may not make everything easier, but it puts things into perspective.

So long as I am on this earth, not everything will make sense. That's where faith comes in. I have faith that God is a perfect God, and therefore know that I deserve nothing. More importantly, I have faith that God loves me anyway, even if I cannot always understand why everything happens the way it does. As Karl Barth said when asked to summarize his theology: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Challenge Set #10

For instructions on how to play the Challenge, click here (also see the modifications listed here).

Scoreboard
Kevin: 220 (up from 215 on April 16) — An incorrect but good guess concerning April 29 helps Kevin.
Flip: 130 (up from 105 on February 13) — Nietzsche and Homer moves Flip forward.
Christopher: 70
Jason: 35
Josiah: 30
Eduardo: 20
Ed: 10
Chris (answering vicariously for his wife): 10

New Questions
10.1) What are the three most popular countries for tourism in the world (in correct order). (10 pts.)

10.2) What was launched this day (May 14) in 1973? (5 pts.)

10.3) What was Ludwig Wittgenstein's view of how we could relate different religions? (10 pts.)

10.4) What part of speech is “accusative” in English? (5 pts.)

The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself—
Yea, all which it inherit—shall dissolve,
And like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind.

10.6) Whose shoe was lost this week during the evacuation of the U.S. Capitol Building and who returned it? (5 pts.)

Remaining Questions
9.3) What is happening at 6:00 PM, 13 days from now (presently, it is April 16). (5 pts.)

9.5) What bill has made it to the President's desk in recent days that has the support of retailers and is hated by some consumer advocates? (5 pts.)

My Alphabet of Web Sites

Here’s the gig…type the letter in your address bar and share the link where it takes you. Add a reason why to explain or defend yourself.

A: asisaid — Yes, yours truly comes up on the top spot for A.
B: BBC Backstage — I was just reading the other day about the new ability to manipulate BBC news coverage. Looks pretty handy.
C: Christian Hedonist — Kevin has switched names a few times, but he's as interesting as ever. Kevin's blog was the second one I ever read.
D: Drudge — Would a day be complete without my daily dose of Drudge? It might not be as pleasant as reading the Post-Dispatch, but it keeps me up-to-date when I don't have time to enjoy a leisurely paper reading.
E: Plain Package (that's ed.asisaid.com) — I'm haivng trouble viewing Ed's site right now in Safari, which is disappointing. He always has good stuff on his blog.
F: 5-Speed Cassette (falconportal.com) — Mark's blog. Another excellent blog, wherein Mark is presently laughing it up about RIAA problems.
G: Series 60 Phones and Linux (gagravarr.org) — It has been awhile since I looked at this site to assess the possibility of sync'ing my Nokia 3650 with GNU/Linux.
H: Here Somewhere: Stuff — One of my newer blogging reads from the master of the PhotoQuest, Flip.
I: ICR: Institute for Creation Research — I cannot remember when I visited this, but it was probably when I was researching sites for my Site of the Month column for the church newsletter.
J: BuzzingBye (josiah.ritchietribe.net) — Yet another great blog of a more technical nature. Josiah's on CS-FSLUG, as is Ed, mentioned above.
K: Kelley Blue Book — I haven't been there for awhile. I must not visit many “k” sites.
L: Live Page (Apple) — normally, I don't use Apple's default home page, but here it is anyway.
M: MacBytes — an excellent aggregator of Mac news.
N: News.com — CNet's tech news journal, which I use combined with Drudge to stay pretty well informed.
O: Orbit — The helpdesk/billing/monitoring area for customers at the datacenter that provides my dedicated server.
P: Palm.com — It has been awhile since I've been there! I wonder why it came up?
Q: Quezon — I found this page on Google when looking for an alternative readability checker for blogs. Christopher mentioned one a few weeks ago, but it is presently unavailable.
R: Real Software — I cannot remember the last time I was there. Odd.
S: Sakamuyo Christian Fellowship — an excellent new (almost one year old, actually!) organization that I've been helping (to a small extent) with; first and foremost it is Kevin's brainchild. Come join us for discussion!
T: Time to Believe — Michael's blog; he always has something different on there.
U: USA Network — I was looking up the history of USA Networks/HSN, Inc./InterActiveCorp. the other day; they are presently in the process of buying Ask Jeeves and spinning off Expedia.com. I was also looking at Monk, which I keep hearing good things about.
V: VersionTracker — The best place to find Mac software. I have a subscription there courtesy of my .Mac account.
W: What in Tarnation!?!? — I always need a little WIT!?!? and wisdom from Christopher.
X: XBox.com — I have no intention of buying an XBox 360, but with the announcement yesterday, I was curious to see what the actual specs were. It is depressing to see it is going to have more PowerPC goodness in it than my PowerMac G5 has.
Y: Yahooligans — this must have been an Apple included bookmark; I go to Yahoo.com sometimes, but never Yahooligans.
Z: Mac Zone — an online Mac store. I think this is another default bookmark in Safari. A better result would have been ZDNet, which I usually end up at every few days.

Early Evening Haiku

I.
A warm wind blows by,
Birds sing in the distant trees,
A savored hour.

II.
So much to say now,
Time does not permit it. Alas!
Let another time come.

III.
Moving a mountain,
A mustard seed faith is all,
Can I muster that?

A Theology of Pluralism: Out of Context

Part One in a Series on the Problems of Religious Pluralism

I am working on getting this piece published, so I decided against posting it here on this blog. I'm sorry about the inconvenience.