Recently I read Hutter's Suffering Diving Things, a book recommended to me by a very intelligent friend who is much more conservative (not to mention intelligent) than myself. It was a decent book. But one of the things that I have been mulling over since I read it was his belief that the Holy Spirit guides us in creating doctrine and dogma. I thought and thought about it and realized one thing: I disagree.
Let's use Hans-Georg Gadamer's thoughts in Truth and Method to help with this. He writes about the Catholic church's hermeneutic that led to the Reformation, saying "the Bible was the church's sacred book and as such was constantly read, but the understanding of it was determined, and...obscured, by the dogmatic tradition of the church" (174). All of us Protestants then typically jump in and celebrate how Luther made everything better. But Gadamer knows better: the Reformers "developed the universal principle that all the details of a text were to be understood from the contextus and from the scopus, the unified sense at which the whole aims" (175). This doesn't seem too terrible. But Gadamer goes on; "Insofar as Reformation theology relies on this principle in interpreting Scripture, it remains bound to a postulate that is itself based on a dogma, namely that the Bible is itself a unity...Reformed theology is also dogmatic and excludes any sound individual interpretation of Scripture that takes account of the relative context of a text, it's specific purpose, and its composition" (175).
If you've followed along this far, this statement will hopefully be the kicker: "By ultimately asserting the Protestant credal formulae as guides to the understanding of the unity of the Bible, it too supersedes the scriptural principle in favor of a rather brief Reformation tradition" (175). Meaning is not fixed. If we objectively declare what scripture means, there is no longer any need for scripture. We can just follow our dogma and doctrines at that point. Gadamer wrote that "understanding belongs to the encounter with the work of art itself" (100), and I would say it is the same with scripture. If we read the text through the lens of dogma, we suddenly put ourselves over the text, rather than at it's feet. It is the equivalent of Moses looking at the burning bush for ~30 seconds, declaring that it is a symbolic representation of God's mercy, and going back to his shepherding, never to hear from God.
To be a "good" interpreter, I believe we must first allow a real encounter that looks for the things in scripture that challenge our dogmas, our doctrines, our presuppositions, and then chooses to not explain them away (see nearly everything Charles Colson says these days for an example), but dwell on them and be challenged and changed by scripture. We believe that we have a complicated God, and that Bible was inspired by him, so why do we so often try to make the Bible simplistic? Brueggemann is right, God is irascible. Let's work from there for once!
Peace,
Matt
Friday, February 24, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Dick Cheney
Okay, let's just say it; Cheney is a scary, evil man, and this little bit of humor is what we need in the face of such powerful hatred. That's all I have to say about that.
End of my rope...
Reasons why my week has left me at the end of my rope:
1. My wife has left me. She is on vacation for the week in Kaui (spelling?), while I linger in the nastiness of a typical Bellingham February.
2. I have been working ~75 hours a week for the past three weeks, and this week is the hardest yet.
3. I never dreamed of seeing teenagers have to go through so much garbage, let alone having myself stuck in the mix constantly. The things I've been a part of this week are absolutely gut-wrenching.
4. We have an all-nighter this Friday/Saturday for the 30 Hour Famine. Because of all the counseling, house-calls, court appointments, etc I've made this week, I can only work on this stuff after ~5 each day. 12 hour days seem to be the minimum.
5. We are doing an experiential walk through the prophets this Sunday night, inspired by Jonny Baker, which will be amazing, though I have no idea when I'll have the time to put it together.
6. I lost the ability to blog. It was terrible. I didn't really know how much I enjoyed this until I lost it. Luckily, the computer moron was able to fix the problem and I'm back!
I cannot even begin to say how stressed, tired, and overworked I am. Only a fool would choose to go into youth ministry.
Peace,
Matt
Currently Reading: Holy crap, this is the one cool thing from this week. I'm reading Brian McLaren's new book, The Secret Message of Jesus, which won't be released until March, but I got myself a FREE, ADVANCED copy of it! Maybe I'm not supposed to say that though... Anyway, the deal is that I can't write a review of it yet, so you'll just have to wait. Oh, I also just read Affluenza, which is a life-changing book (and I don't mean life-changing like people who read Prayer of Jabez say their life is changed, then go on living the same way, but am actually a changed man for having read it). Also reading Time magazine, as always, and the newest issue of Mother Jones magazine. Oh, and I've been obsessively reading the prophets, for obvious reasons. All for now.
1. My wife has left me. She is on vacation for the week in Kaui (spelling?), while I linger in the nastiness of a typical Bellingham February.
2. I have been working ~75 hours a week for the past three weeks, and this week is the hardest yet.
3. I never dreamed of seeing teenagers have to go through so much garbage, let alone having myself stuck in the mix constantly. The things I've been a part of this week are absolutely gut-wrenching.
4. We have an all-nighter this Friday/Saturday for the 30 Hour Famine. Because of all the counseling, house-calls, court appointments, etc I've made this week, I can only work on this stuff after ~5 each day. 12 hour days seem to be the minimum.
5. We are doing an experiential walk through the prophets this Sunday night, inspired by Jonny Baker, which will be amazing, though I have no idea when I'll have the time to put it together.
6. I lost the ability to blog. It was terrible. I didn't really know how much I enjoyed this until I lost it. Luckily, the computer moron was able to fix the problem and I'm back!
I cannot even begin to say how stressed, tired, and overworked I am. Only a fool would choose to go into youth ministry.
Peace,
Matt
Currently Reading: Holy crap, this is the one cool thing from this week. I'm reading Brian McLaren's new book, The Secret Message of Jesus, which won't be released until March, but I got myself a FREE, ADVANCED copy of it! Maybe I'm not supposed to say that though... Anyway, the deal is that I can't write a review of it yet, so you'll just have to wait. Oh, I also just read Affluenza, which is a life-changing book (and I don't mean life-changing like people who read Prayer of Jabez say their life is changed, then go on living the same way, but am actually a changed man for having read it). Also reading Time magazine, as always, and the newest issue of Mother Jones magazine. Oh, and I've been obsessively reading the prophets, for obvious reasons. All for now.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Brueggemann, Hegel and God-Wrestling
Yesterday I had 3 different people come into my office to talk about difficulties they are facing. As Christians, it isn't surprising that their problems boil down to certain frustrations about God that are played out in their interactions with others. What is surprising to me is the way Walter Brueggemann and Hegel speak into the conversation.
One of Brueggemann's many brilliant thoughts is this one: we have certain scripts, or beliefs about life, God, etc, and how they are supposed to work. This is our orientation. And it works fine until God does something that doesn't seem to fit with our orientation. Then we move into disorientation as we try to work out what's going on and why God would apparently turn his back on us. Finally we are able to make some sort of sense of things, accept that God is who God is, and have a deeper understanding of him and our relationship with him, a.k.a. - a new orientation. Hegel, who doesn't typically speak to our generation too much these days, said something similar, only his dialectical process was thesis, antithesis, synthesis. With either thinker, we are being asked to recognize and accept a God that will continually blow our presuppositions about a life of faith out of the water. The beauty of this is that we are then less likely to put God in the box that most of our reductionistic modernist forebearers shoved him into.
So for the people who arrived yesterday with questions/concerns/frustrations with God I was able to listen intently and challenge their ideas about God. I saw them moving towards disorientation/antithesis, and for once I wasn't worried because I knew that their new orientation/synthesis, whether it comes in a day or a year, will be a much better place to be in than where they currently operate from in their faith. It's hard not to be fearful when you see somebody questioning or even fighting against YHWH, but I'm realizing more and more often how deep his reply runs; it's not our job to fight his fights. It's my job to help people realize who it is that they are wrestling with.
Peace,
Matt
Currently Reading: Desire in Language: A Semiotic Approach to Literature and Art by Julia Kristeva. I found a massive amount of interesting, intelligent books at a Goodwill last month and have been slowly making my way through the pile since then. Seriously, what are the odds of finding Edward Said, Julia Kristeva, Stanley Hauerwas, Karl Rahner and Thomas Kuhn at the same store?
One of Brueggemann's many brilliant thoughts is this one: we have certain scripts, or beliefs about life, God, etc, and how they are supposed to work. This is our orientation. And it works fine until God does something that doesn't seem to fit with our orientation. Then we move into disorientation as we try to work out what's going on and why God would apparently turn his back on us. Finally we are able to make some sort of sense of things, accept that God is who God is, and have a deeper understanding of him and our relationship with him, a.k.a. - a new orientation. Hegel, who doesn't typically speak to our generation too much these days, said something similar, only his dialectical process was thesis, antithesis, synthesis. With either thinker, we are being asked to recognize and accept a God that will continually blow our presuppositions about a life of faith out of the water. The beauty of this is that we are then less likely to put God in the box that most of our reductionistic modernist forebearers shoved him into.
So for the people who arrived yesterday with questions/concerns/frustrations with God I was able to listen intently and challenge their ideas about God. I saw them moving towards disorientation/antithesis, and for once I wasn't worried because I knew that their new orientation/synthesis, whether it comes in a day or a year, will be a much better place to be in than where they currently operate from in their faith. It's hard not to be fearful when you see somebody questioning or even fighting against YHWH, but I'm realizing more and more often how deep his reply runs; it's not our job to fight his fights. It's my job to help people realize who it is that they are wrestling with.
Peace,
Matt
Currently Reading: Desire in Language: A Semiotic Approach to Literature and Art by Julia Kristeva. I found a massive amount of interesting, intelligent books at a Goodwill last month and have been slowly making my way through the pile since then. Seriously, what are the odds of finding Edward Said, Julia Kristeva, Stanley Hauerwas, Karl Rahner and Thomas Kuhn at the same store?
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Read all of this!
Here's some different articles, thoughts, etc, I ran into on the net this morning. Check them out!
Eugene Peterson had some amazing thoughts on U2.
Also, Wendell Berry has his typically brilliant wisdom to share on Christianity and the environment.
Dick Cheney is obviously an easy target, but some of the jokes comedians poked at him were brilliant.
Lastly, Ryan Bolger posted some great thoughts on youth ministry in the postmodern church. I know that as a youth pastor I should stand up for my profession, but honestly I look forward to the day youth ministry is no more and teens are once again incorporated into the church.
Eugene Peterson had some amazing thoughts on U2.
Also, Wendell Berry has his typically brilliant wisdom to share on Christianity and the environment.
Dick Cheney is obviously an easy target, but some of the jokes comedians poked at him were brilliant.
Lastly, Ryan Bolger posted some great thoughts on youth ministry in the postmodern church. I know that as a youth pastor I should stand up for my profession, but honestly I look forward to the day youth ministry is no more and teens are once again incorporated into the church.
Holier Than Thou
I work in a church. I don't know if I could say I work for a church, because I'm not sure how many people in this church actually want me there. I do high school ministry, and they like me, respect me, and are growing under my leadership. But they aren't the movers and shakers when it comes to church finances, so of course have little say.
Almost every conversation I've had with adults here has been discouraging. They want more numbers of students, as if that's the most important thing. Or they want Bible quizzing. Or they want me to fix their son/daughter. Or they want me to teach some fundamentalist doctrine. The one thing they like is that I have our students reading through the Bible this year, though my reason for it is far different than the reason they like it.
Last weekend I spoke at our church "believers service." After my message, which was on mercy, the feedback I received was negative because I made reference to James Bond movies. I was told that James Bond has no place when discussing the Bible. The truth is, I'm way too honest to work with most adults. If I ever take the insane plunge and begin leading a congregation, I know that I'll have to make it very clear that Bible-thumping fundamentalists will not like me. If you are holier than thou, if you are too good for all the other believers around you, why burden us with your holiness? Go away, be perfect somewhere else, so the rest of us can continue working out our salvation with fear and trembling.
Peace,
Matt
Currently Reading: Holy Baptism by Karl Rahner, and Covering Islam by Edward Said. Said's book is fascinating as he disects the media's coverage of the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. It's crazy to read a book that is over 25 years old, yet still relevant to much of the current relationship between the Middle East and the U.S. Maybe a bit pathetic too.
Almost every conversation I've had with adults here has been discouraging. They want more numbers of students, as if that's the most important thing. Or they want Bible quizzing. Or they want me to fix their son/daughter. Or they want me to teach some fundamentalist doctrine. The one thing they like is that I have our students reading through the Bible this year, though my reason for it is far different than the reason they like it.
Last weekend I spoke at our church "believers service." After my message, which was on mercy, the feedback I received was negative because I made reference to James Bond movies. I was told that James Bond has no place when discussing the Bible. The truth is, I'm way too honest to work with most adults. If I ever take the insane plunge and begin leading a congregation, I know that I'll have to make it very clear that Bible-thumping fundamentalists will not like me. If you are holier than thou, if you are too good for all the other believers around you, why burden us with your holiness? Go away, be perfect somewhere else, so the rest of us can continue working out our salvation with fear and trembling.
Peace,
Matt
Currently Reading: Holy Baptism by Karl Rahner, and Covering Islam by Edward Said. Said's book is fascinating as he disects the media's coverage of the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. It's crazy to read a book that is over 25 years old, yet still relevant to much of the current relationship between the Middle East and the U.S. Maybe a bit pathetic too.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
The Church Has Left the Building
I'm really excited about this conference that I will hopefully be attending April 28-29 in Seattle. It's called The Church Has Left the Building, and it's put on by Mustard Seed Associates. What is amazing/wonderful for me is three of the main things it looks like they'll be focusing on are missionality, spirituality, and community, which are the three main focuses of my ministry. Besides the fact that its exciting to go somewhere where people hold the same values, hopefully it also means that I can get my church to foot the bill...
In all honesty, though, I typically have a strong dislike (aka hatred) for conferences and feel like most churches/pastors waste too much money going to these things. But this looks a lot different to me and I am both intrigued and excited to go. It looks like I'll need to pick up a couple of related books to read beforehand...any excuse to buy more books, I'll take.
Peace,
Matt
Currently Reading: Christ the Lord : Out of Egypt by Anne Rice, and The Anointing of the Sick by Karl Rahner. I'm still in shock over Rice's recent conversion. It's wild.
In all honesty, though, I typically have a strong dislike (aka hatred) for conferences and feel like most churches/pastors waste too much money going to these things. But this looks a lot different to me and I am both intrigued and excited to go. It looks like I'll need to pick up a couple of related books to read beforehand...any excuse to buy more books, I'll take.
Peace,
Matt
Currently Reading: Christ the Lord : Out of Egypt by Anne Rice, and The Anointing of the Sick by Karl Rahner. I'm still in shock over Rice's recent conversion. It's wild.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Hutter Quote
Pneumatology without ecclesiology is empty, ecclesiology without pneumatology blind.
-Hutter, Suffering Divine Things, p. 127
-Hutter, Suffering Divine Things, p. 127
Thursday, February 02, 2006
N.T. Wright
This morning I read N.T. Wright's article, The Historical Jesus and Christian Theology. I continue to beleive that if every Christian read and engaged with Wright's works, the world would be a better place. Anyway, I wanted to share this quote from the article:
"The cross and resurrection won the victory over evil, but it is the task of the Spirit, and those led by the Spirit, to implement that victory in and for all the world. This task demands a freshly-drawn worldview: new praxis, stories, symbols, and answers. These come together into a fresh vision of God in which - precisely because of this re-discovery of who God is - history, theology, spirituality, and vocation recover their proper relationship. For Jesus' followers, finding out who Jesus was in his historical context meant and means discovering their own tasks within their own contents."
Chew on that for a while.
"The cross and resurrection won the victory over evil, but it is the task of the Spirit, and those led by the Spirit, to implement that victory in and for all the world. This task demands a freshly-drawn worldview: new praxis, stories, symbols, and answers. These come together into a fresh vision of God in which - precisely because of this re-discovery of who God is - history, theology, spirituality, and vocation recover their proper relationship. For Jesus' followers, finding out who Jesus was in his historical context meant and means discovering their own tasks within their own contents."
Chew on that for a while.
Neither Churched nor Unchurched
For some reason yesterday it occurred to me why I dislike the terms "churched" and "unchurched." These phrases had never seemed like good ways to refer to people and I think I've finally figured out why. Before I get into it though, let me just say that I really do believe that the churches who usually employ this terminology do so with good intentions and hearts that long to see God's kingdom work done. That being said, here's why I really believe we need to drop these titles...
To say somebody is churched implies an ecclesiology that is far from Biblical, though I would not say it is counter-Biblical. What is unsaid, but implicit, in such a comment, is that the church happens to somebody. In other words, this sort of speach is in the same category as a phrase like "I'm going to church." It fails to recognize the church as a group of people, united by the Spirit, redeemed by Christ's blood, and obnoxiously in love with the Father. If we believe that this is what the church really is, then the hope would be that most people are churched, since they probably work or play softball with (etc...) a member of the church.
Honestly, I really just don't like titles, so I have not thought of a better title to give than churched/unchurched. The truth is, titles are not needed. We try to draw arbitrary lines between who is saved and who is unsaved, but they are never any good. Somebody dies and everybody who is "churched" whispers about whether or not they were saved, and then either smiles in satisfaction or hangs their head in sorrow, as if they know that individual's fate.
The goal that the gospel gives us is to make disciples, which means to continually push every single human being around you to grow in their faith. You do not know how much faith the person next to you has, nor their eternal destination. All you know is Christ crucified, whom you point them towards as much as you can, trusting that God's will is real as you go.
Peace,
Matt
To say somebody is churched implies an ecclesiology that is far from Biblical, though I would not say it is counter-Biblical. What is unsaid, but implicit, in such a comment, is that the church happens to somebody. In other words, this sort of speach is in the same category as a phrase like "I'm going to church." It fails to recognize the church as a group of people, united by the Spirit, redeemed by Christ's blood, and obnoxiously in love with the Father. If we believe that this is what the church really is, then the hope would be that most people are churched, since they probably work or play softball with (etc...) a member of the church.
Honestly, I really just don't like titles, so I have not thought of a better title to give than churched/unchurched. The truth is, titles are not needed. We try to draw arbitrary lines between who is saved and who is unsaved, but they are never any good. Somebody dies and everybody who is "churched" whispers about whether or not they were saved, and then either smiles in satisfaction or hangs their head in sorrow, as if they know that individual's fate.
The goal that the gospel gives us is to make disciples, which means to continually push every single human being around you to grow in their faith. You do not know how much faith the person next to you has, nor their eternal destination. All you know is Christ crucified, whom you point them towards as much as you can, trusting that God's will is real as you go.
Peace,
Matt
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