Christianity and Same Sex Marriage

In light of the Supreme court’s decision to legalize same sex marriage in all 50 states I, like many others, felt that I should say something. I thought it would be appropriate to do so here instead of forcing myself to do it on a Facebook thread. I hope that for anyone reading this I am clear and fair and respectful. Anyway, here it goes…

TO THE CHRISTIAN: My initial reaction is one of disappointment, marriage is sacred for so many reasons, the foremost I think being that it symbolizes the covenant between ourselves and our creator. However, that is where our lament should stop. We all have our sins of choice, the sin in question may not be yours, but you still have one, probably many. (I know I do) And if we really hated sin as an affront to God then we should start where we can actually affect change, ourselves.

Biblically speaking the only difference between a Christian and a non christian is Jesus. The Christian has accepted God’s authority in their life, the non believer has not. Additionally, the only capability we have to NOT sin comes from the Holy Spirit, who only indwells believers. The non believer does not have access to the Holy Spirit. So judgement on our part for their sin is not practical. (Nor is it directly biblical. Paul says in 1 Cor. 5:12  ^“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside.”) We are our brothers keepers, not the keepers of an entire demographic of sexual orientation.  If a homosexual commits to Jesus and accepts his authority in their life then there is precedent. But the precedent is patient, loving, and understanding, while still dispensing truth faithfully and firmly.

Also Christian, the United States of America is not God’s chosen nation. That was Israel. We are not God’s chosen people. Also Israel. (though this topic is mildly complicated theologically speaking but I digress) The point is America is not God’s kingdom come. God’s Kingdom is a divine monarchy (and no it’s not a theocracy. look it up) America is a Democratic republic so within the laws of the nation itself (And God has stated in Romans 13 that we’re to follow) we cannot constitutionally deny the right to decide what the definition of marriage is. We may disagree and we can vote against how the world decides to define it,but we cannot enjoy the freedoms this country offers and deny it to others simply because we disagree with it.

 

However this does not mean we should not be entitled to our beliefs. I’m simply pointing out there must be a middle ground in an imperfect world. We’re called to love and make disciples of all nations. It’s unlikely we will do this if we approach those who are different from us with pitch forks and rejection.

AS TO THE EFFECTS OF SCOTUS AND GOVERNMENT: Christians. The Bible, as well as history, has shown us the a comfortable life following Jesus is not guaranteed. In fact the opposite is more true. Maybe if we lost more privileges and rights we’d get better at being the church. America is not God’s kingdom so we should stop acting like it is.

TO THE LGBT COMMUNITY:  I don’t think I necessarily have the right words for this discourse. Most of my words will come out clumsily or just may not make sense. But I’ll try anyway and most likely look foolish.The Church has dropped the ball in how we have related to you (Mostly because we haven’t related to you at all) For this we should apologize and should take every opportunity to make amends. Jesus spent most of his ministry with those whom society rejected as outcasts. Society sucks. You’re not less of a person because of who you love. You’re not less of a person just because you don’t believe in Jesus. I wish my experiences with God were good enough to convince other people of the existence and greatness of God, but the truth is I know that isn’t the case. My experiences are just that, mine. And your experiences are your own. Though true empathy is difficult without experience. I pray that you would not feel rejected by society, that you wouldn’t need to hide, that you would know that you are loved and that you have worth. I promise to do my best to make you feel those things. But I will also pray that you experience Jesus.

There is probably a lot more I could say. But I’m tired and have lost my train of thought. So I’ll end here.

In the end we’re all fighting about love. I just pray we all can see God’s love is greater than our scope can imagine.

A song for the single heart

 

I’ve been single for quite a few years. My last, and only real serious relationship, ended with very little flair. In the years since I have made no secret of my desire to remain the perennial bachelor, and other than a couple of awkward attempts to the contrary, my relationship status has remained exactly where I have planned for it to be.

And for the most part it’s been great! I can go and do anything I want without having to check with someone else. I can eat pizza for breakfast and cereal for dinner! I can spend all my free time doing whatever I want! And if I want to I can even leave the toilet seat up. (I don’t though. I grew up with four women in the house, some things can’t be unlearned)

However, I realize that being single for so long and meditating on it for years have given me are (what I hope) some important and insightful truths into the identity of singleness.

First of all, it’s not a bad thing.

As a single man I’ve realized, in no small part due to a friend, that I am best prepared to serve others right now. I have no commitments to speak of that would take precedence over serving people. (And if we’re being frank, serving and loving others is a commitment we make when we decide to follow Jesus. This is true regardless of your marital status.) So the impetus here is to simply take advantage of the time God has given us single folk to bless others with whatever gifts we have.

The next truth is where I get a little heated. Now it’s true that most every single person goes through extreme bouts of loneliness. The problem is how they are generally encouraged by people looking to ease their burden. They spout well meant statements like

“Don’t worry, you’ll find someone someday” Or “God has the perfect person set aside for you” 

But the hard truth is that none of those statements are guaranteed. Are they likely? Sure. But our priority should be about cultivating our relationship with Jesus over developing one with another person. Though perhaps it’s God’s plan for my life that I not marry. Perhaps he wants my heart set aside for other things. Like I said this is a hard truth, but a distinct possibility.

Our chief goal in life is not to check off all the things we’d like off some proverbial list. Our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

Does this mean we forget about the possibility of marriage altogether? No, of course not. Marriage is a fantastic thing. It’s the closest way we can experience how God is in relationship with us. Moreover God said in Genesis that man is not meant to be alone. That’s why he created Eve for Adam. However we shouldn’t limit that verse simply to marriage. The new believer is brought into a family of other believers. So as a Christian you’re not alone! You’re part of a colossal family that is the church.

So my call out for those looking to encourage single people in their loneliness, Don’t let affirmation of them or of better relational prospects be your first encouragement. They were already bought by Christ’s blood into a relationship more complete than marriage in this life.

My call to the singles struggling with loneliness is to remember your identity in Jesus. That your value was decided in time immemorial when God decided to sent his son to die to restore you relationship to him. And seriously, enjoy the opportunity to spend some quality time Jesus.

Music in Review – Thrice – Major/Minor

Piggy backing on my last post, I’ll begin with trying to ‘renovate’ my reasons for writing.

This particular blurb is meant to share one of my passions with you. I have never really found an outlet to express my love of music besides a dopey smile and my pointing to the blood running in rivulets out of my ears.

Music is an amazing gift. It is the archetype of expression. For me it is the denouement of the artistic world, the climax of creativity.   It could even be argued that music has caused most of the shifts in the visible culture of our world. Hip-Hop boasts its strong bass tones, intersecting polyrhythm’s and is synonymous with D0-rags, thick bling, and baggy jeans.

Rock N Roll on the other hand is the Darwin of music. Constantly changing and evolving. From the tight pants and big guitar (and bigger hair) of the 80’s to the grungy, dirty ripped jeans of the 90’s to the ‘THE’ name craze of the early 2000’s

One particular band that has kept my attention through the years (and for those of you that know me understand this is no small feat) has been the Post Hardcore quartet known as Thrice. They, similar to Darwin, have symbolized change. Their beginnings and journey as musicians brought them from high speed California punk to one of the faces and alleged creators of the hardcore sub-genre Screamo (and yes it is different than emo. Don’t judge me.) Eventually they have settled into the less explored regions of a more experimental post hardcore. But they have also elements reminiscent of folk, blues, and alternative.

Their new album, Major/Minor (hit stores 9/20) is a similar blend musically to what I’ve described above.  Earthy tones, bluesy crooning and emotional lyrical climaxes.

Dustin Kensrue, the lead vocalist and main songwriter for the band expresses his faith in Christ very articulately. Dustin’s ability to combine scripture with his own poetry to tell the story of the human condition and our relationship with Jesus is phenomenal. Capturing the essence of the Gospel, our innate need of something more, and the likes of our frailties. This is no easy feat when you consider what else has flooded to music market today, especially in the mainstream.

For those of you looking for shredding and dueling guitar, those days for Thrice have passed, according to Dustin. But for anyone looking for thoughtful and inspiring music that is true to the gospel, this album is most definitely worth the grab. Especially for only $10.

 ★★★★★

Why the World Needs a Thesaurus

Before I begin this particular tirade I need first to credit Josh Cousineau for giving me today’s thought. (You can read his inspiring post here) He has a strange habit of usurping all my ideas before I think of them. I’m sure you can imagine how frustrating that is for me, so thank you in advance for your sympathies. But I digress.

Even before Josh’s blurb though, C.S. Lewis pointed out that our hackneyed use of language could distort the value of what we love

“Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.” 

It’s easy for us to snicker at this thought, as I did initially after reading Josh’s post.  But beyond this apparent absurdity lies truth.  Even Jesus alludes to the importance of our vernacular. Here’s Mark 10.18

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”   

Now admittedly, Jesus is primarily drawing out the truth that he is God. But that fact doesn’t lessen the meaning of the word used. No one but God is good.  We throw words around like a monkey flinging poo. But it isn’t just that we use overly expressive words like ‘awesome’ or ‘epic’ to describe the mundane.  Sometimes we choose the wrong ones altogether.

I’ve heard it said many times, from guys to or about their significant others, that they’re  ‘smokin’ or ‘hot’ and for more than a given situation, they mean it perpetually.  While there isn’t anything inherently wrong with those statements (other than they’re oftentimes influenced by lust) why would we use words that we would eventually want to retract? Honestly, does any man really think that their wife or girlfriend is going to embody those traits at ninety? We have a language so equipped as to give us more affluent and endearing adjectives to describe what and who we love. Like ‘beautiful’ or ‘elegant’ or ‘resplendent’.

Tim Keller identifies with this point while answering a question about Rob Bells new book Love Wins. (In case you are unfamiliar with the controversy, I highly suggest you read this very articulate review) Keller asserts this about Bells book, that by removing wrath from God’s person we devalue what Christ has accomplished. He explains it like this

“when we lessen the penalty for a wrong you make the wrong less serious and make the wronged less serious.” 

   In this instance Keller is saying  if the weight of sin was only that of a paper-clip, than that is all Christ died and atoned for.  But the opposite is also true.  If we give undue esteem to items of less importance then we are devaluing things of a greater kind.

Some people may say that it would then assume increased status or caliber. But this isn’t that case. Especially in light of Christ and his gospel.  I refer back to Mark 10.18, only God is good.  The word ‘good’ is pretty nondescript. It doesn’t display a picture quite like ‘grand’ or ‘amazing’ but it neatly places everything else beneath it.

We know God is described by those words and described so into infinity. So we should be aware of how close our verbal associations become.  Our words are important, so while we can use greater words to describe other things, we should take care to note what they should first describe. Christ.

Anything less would be an epic fail.

The Greener Grass Conspiracy: A Review

“Greener Grass Conspiracy” Trailer – Stephen Altrogge from Crossway on Vimeo.

In today’s world there never seems to be a shortage of  material vying for complete control of our hearts.  As Christians we are able, however ostensibly, to make assent to this. Thankfully, Stephen Altrogge, through his clever comedy and honest wit, sheds light upon an issue so cloaked and clouded that it’s affirmed as normal. Unmasking our discontentment is no easy feat, but it’s one that Altrogge is sufficiently equipped to handle in his book The Greener Grass Conspiracy: Finding Contentment on Your Side of The Fence

Disclaimer: Before I get started I want to promise that despite being given this book for free to review (From Crossway Publishing), my opinions come honestly and without bias.  As much as I enjoy Stephen as a Twitter compatriot, proper presentation of the gospel is far more important to me than a free book (as proof, you couldn’t pay me to take possession of a Twilight novel) O.K. now that we have that covered let’s get started.

Altrogge claims to have the poop (oh yeah, that totally works here) on one of the greatest conspiracies this side of Roswell, discontentment. The conspiracy of mass discontentment seems, as Altrogge put’s it as “the stuff of Harrison Ford movies and Tom Clancy novels.”(pg. 11) But he’s right. And we can see so just by looking through magazine racks and flipping through our TV’s.

But the problem, he contends, isn’t inherently around the things we desire, but begins with ourselves. Discontentment sprouts from “Always dreaming of a brighter tomorrow without ever enjoying where God has me today.” (pg 14) We may be convinced that our contentment is a product of our circumstances, and experience seems to corroborate this statement.  Recently I’ve felt my own frustration regarding a broken car. My vehicle is now on the road again, but I still find myself wanting a better vehicle then my Toyota Solara sports coupe. Instead I should be thankful that it’s paid for and working (and that I have a nice, yet somewhat dilapidated dual overhead cam monster).

The point he draws here is that no matter our circumstances we are always craving what is beyond our grasp. When we achieve we will inevitably be drawn to the next level of desire because of the factory of idols in our own hearts. (pg. 16)  Discontentment is caught masquerading as ambition.

The most pleasant surprise for me came early and followed the flow throughout the rest of the book.  Well placed in the second chapter was a great reminder that Copernicus was right. Earth is not at the center of the universe, and thusly, neither am I. I found it refreshing and necessary that focus on God’s glory was addressed so early on. It seems often times authors feel they are being clever by putting God as the denouement to their discourse. But God is more than a simple climax, He’s also the beginning and the end.

But he doesn’t stop there,  Altrogge drives the dagger of conviction deeper when he lays bare that not only do we basically ignore God’s glory, discontentment also causes us to ignore God’s will.  One of the ways he communicates this is by teaching that discontentment “Starts when we believe sinful lies — lies about God, lies about ourselves, lies about the world, and lies about others.” (pg 51.) In fact, chapter five is dedicated to the insanity of the lies that we believe.

I think though, that my biggest complaint comes from the inability of the length to cover certain topics, like is there a proper time for ambition? Due to the books brevity a few aspects of contentment are seemingly left out like the concept of people who claim to be content (there’s only, I think one paragraph regarding those who rely on worldly happiness)  and no mention at all of anything regarding a holy discontentment. They aren’t a main concern of the theme, but they would be helpful nonetheless. Perhaps it’s simply a call for a follow up.

Overall Stephen Altrogge graciously alerts us to the maliciously creeping idea of discontentment, even through things such as, prosperity and complaining (which he asserts is throwing God’s blessings back into his face). He brings the point of biblical contentment back vividly to center our affections on Christ. Noting that true affection begets true contentment.

Personally this book has been a great blessing to me recently, convicting me of where my affections have leaned away from Christ and as such my contentment has waned. It has helped strengthen my resolve  to cling to the promises that have been granted me through Christ.

I sincerely would recommend this book to anyone , but especially those struggling with happiness, it’s biblically grounded, endearingly and honestly written and Stephen Altrogge approaches his topics as one who has yet to arrive, knowingly still working through being just another sinner like the rest of us. It’s strategically set up for the person who dislikes reading and also for group study (with discussion questions at the end of each chapter)

Seriously, If I could read through this in less than a month anyone can. Just get the book.

Video Preview of The Greener Grass Conspiracy

Recently I’ve been given the opportunity to read and review a book by Stephen Altrogge, a fellow blogger and twitter compatriot (@StephenAltrogge). In anticipation for beginning the process (I am still waiting for the book to arrive in the mail) I figured I’d at least share the trailer with you.

“Greener Grass Conspiracy” Trailer – Stephen Altrogge from Crossway on Vimeo.

My new favorite question

After finishing Tim Keller’s book The Reason for God and hearing the influx of criticism of Rob Bell’s new book I started really thinking through a question about my own theology.

Why is this actually important?

It’s a interestingly simple question.  A query often forstalled by parents to their toddlers, or by math teachers to frustrated students. But it is one as Christians we should always be asking.  And why should we be asking it?

Because the answers have profound implications for our eternity. Here are a couple examples.

The Virgin Birth: This is most likely the least believable of Christianity’s teachings, but vital nonetheless.  If Christ was not immaculately conceived then we run into plenty of issues. Foremost, his completely human birth would mean that Jesus was, in fact, not God. Which would then display that he would have been a liar, based on his own words within scripture.(John 10.30, John 14:7-10) And if we cannot trust him concerning his origins then anything else he would claim would be suspect as well. Meaning that his atoning death on the cross was wasted and did absolutely nothing. In the end, a Christianity without the virgin birth means there is no salvation and God’s wrath is not satisfied.

The Trinity: By far one of the most confusing and paradoxical tenets of Christianity. But if it were lacking would probably change the way Christians acted immensely.  Simply put (and paraphrased from Keller) if he were not triune then he could not BE love, nor could he have loved before the foundation of the earth. In fact God could not have loved until after he created the very first thing, whatever that may be. God’s honesty once again becomes an object of scrutiny. And again we point back to the virgin birth, if Christ is simply a created being he cannot properly atone for our sin. Also a case may be made that without the unity of the trinity then God needed us. Not to mention Jesus would have been advocating worship of himself apart from God which would have been blasphemy and cause for even more wrath!

Thankfully though, Christ has proved the validity of his mission through the countless miracles, fulfilled prophecy, not to mention that whole resurrection thing.

I wish to point this out for a couple of reasons. One is to simply to help develop a greater awe of the gospel.  True and greater understanding of the gospel will yield a true and greater joy and awe. But more than just that, for myself at least, I hope a better understanding of theology will help make me a better communicator of Christ’s truth and make my prideful and arrogant heart humble.

Are there some tangible ways that anyone has seen where your theology has helped make Christ more beautiful? Or does it sometimes seem like its hard to implement it all the time?

 

 

I wrestled a girl in high school…

If  you haven’t heard all of the boisterous hoopla concerning an Iowa state wrestling tournament let me enlighten you.

A young man decided, through personal and faith driven convictions, that he would forfeit a match in this tournament instead of wrestling a girl. Essentially he thought the sport too violent to to allow a woman to compete. Though there are other things as well that make this exceptional.

First of all, Iowa is the kingdom seat for wrestling in the U.S. which means its in the blood. Second, as a former wrestler and student athlete, States is what you live for. Even if your good you may not have much chance to advance beyond that. So this is the biggest stage in the country for this decision to be made.

As a Christian I respect the young mans choice. He was convicted that it was wrong and acted on his convictions in a very large and vocal culture and the public eye.

DISCALIMER: Since I wrestled in high school and have a ton of female friends who wrestled (including my younger sister) I may be a bit biased. But I will attempt to approach the following questions objectively.

As such there are a few points I fail to understand.

1. The amount of people suddenly, after years and years of wrestling, coming out of the woodwork saying its wrong for boys to wrestle girls.

Why the heck do we do this! Some people have no idea it happens, some people are unconcerned, then as soon as it hits the media everyone has an opinion? I’m not trying to single out this particular event. But simply posing the question because I think we do this with more than just events of no consequence, we even do it with things that do have value (as we should, but more consistently than in the vehement way we normally do)

2. From all the comments on articles and responses on Twitter that I’ve read (some from people I greatly respect) it seems that the only aspect of importance within this matter is the decision the boy made (one person went as far to say that the system, which I must assume is high school wrestling allows girls to wrestle boys, was corrupt)

This is strangely one sided. Again, I may be speaking from bias, but I have yet to find one article for praising the young woman for competing and doing quite well in a mans sport (with the victory she became the first woman to win a state tournament match in Iowa ever, and ended the season at 20-13) So using this line of logic, why is this young woman not as sick as the system in which she competes? And if she isn’t then someone else is at fault. Who then? Her parents for allowing it?  The schools for allowing it? someone has to take the blame for how inappropriate this is right?

I understand all of the arguments against this, really I do. It could send mixed messages to boys about violence towards woman.  Or maybe she could accuse him of sexual harassment if she thinks he was too touchy feely. Or in some cases more awkward than others, what if he gets aroused because he is attracted to her?

I’ve wrestled girls in high school. And those questions were the first ones in my head.  I understand its a culture thing, but its a culture not many people understand.

Which is why I simply wish to get that off of my chest.

Congratulations to Cassy Herkelman for all of your victories in a sport dominated by men and congratulations for all your hard work and training.

Congratulations to Joel Northrup for standing up for your convictions. Doing such has greatly glorified Jesus,  and good luck to both of them next year as they hit the mat.

Lastly, if anyone can find a Biblical precedent for not allowing women to compete in highly physical sports with men, please let me know, it would not pain me in the least. Otherwise lets make a conscious effort to avoid siding with extremes on open handed issues.

What’s wrong with the Superbowl?

The Superbowl is next week. And I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty excited. I must admit I hate the Steelers, so I hope thee lose, badly…and that someone sticks Oreo’s to all of their cars. (My hatred is a righteous one by the way, in case you were wondering…) The real point of this post though is to help drown a little bit of Superbowl euphoria with a much needed dose of revealed reality. I hadn’t discovered this myself until this year. So here it is.

The Superbowl is one of America’s largest Sex trafficking events

Here are two much more informed articles concerning this topic, I feel it would do a great deal for awareness if we simply were educated about these issues more.

http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/rescuing_the_superbowl_sex_slaves

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/11/17/super-bowlmagnet-for-sex-trafficking/

Now I just we be in prayer for the victims that will inevitably occur, and remember that God is always good no matte our circumstances.

From pens to plowshares

With Lead11 making its way down the calendar I’m getting a little giddy for the speakers that are coming. One of the Keynotes, Matt Chandler, Pastor of the Village Church in Texas, has been a hero of mine for a few years. I appreciate his passion for God and blunt,yet graciously loving personality, its charmingly endearing and a great way to teach.   What I have noticed of myself though is my ability to make people out to be more than they really are, to clothe them in the golden fleece per say. This, I’m sure is true not only of me, but of countless others as well.  Because of this misplaced idolatry it’s probably safe to say that even with the popularity of Christian speakers, their books, their blogs and their videos, that we still don’t fully understand just how important scripture and community really are. Otherwise a much larger scale of change would be taking place. This isn’t to nullify the work Christ is doing through these ministers or through other outlets. I gobble up (though an unusually a slow gobble) books by Mahaney and Driscoll, Piper and Keller. But they are merely to supplement Scripture, not supplant it.

Sometimes there can be a few issues at work here.

1. It’s a worship issue – This means that were idolizing these guys for their intellect, writing skill, or maybe just because everyone else thinks they’re cool.

2. It’s a belief issue – This means that we are not fully confident in God’s living word or perhaps just ashamed of it. It’s considerably easier to believe a man who wee can see, hear, and feel; rather than a seemingly plain leather bound book and the Author its attributed to.

By thinking through this, my hope is that whatever is organized through Atmosphere, East Auburn Baptist Church, or Gospel Alliance NE, I would remember what Christ is doing through people and that without Him we cannot assert value in anything.

Soli Deo Gloria