Extended break

Hello friends;

Sorry that I have been absent for so long. I meant to post this earlier. I am currently reconsidering the value and consequences of blogging, and my role in that world. So for the time being I will be taking and extended leave of absence from this world. If I decided to get back on then I will let you know. Sorry for the inconvenience.


-Steb-

Scioto Hills

Hey friends, right now I am working for the summer at Scioto Hills Christian Camp. I bascially live out in the woods with a bunch of crazy middle school kids for an entire summer.

anyways I say that to let you know that I will not really be doing a whole lot in terms of posts for the next month or so. If I get a chance I might try to talk about some of the cool stuff that happens, or that I am learning in the art of love. So I hope to share some stuff soon.

-Steb-

???? Christian Nation ????

What is a "Christian Nation" ? Can there be such a thing? Are we one? At least those are question that I am confronted with.

Recently I have been learning and contemplating the genocides in Rowanda, and Darfur, and others. From my exposure to this subject (unknown to me until only recently) I have had some serious question about our Faith, God, and the Christian Religion that I have grown up with. So when I come back to this question of America I see it differently. I know that there is a great deal of tension with the issue of "America the Christian Nation", but for now lets just through this tension out the window and assume that it is. My question then is this, what then does that mean?

I ask myself how Jesus defines a Christian? Those who look after the orphans and the widows, who feed the hungry, who clothe the naked, who tend to the sick, who stand up for the oppressed! Not, those who believe certain doctrines, who adhere to various moral and religious codes, or who are associated with a religious institution.

Therefore if we are a "Christian Nation" then we would be primarily characterized a nation who cares for the orphans and widows, who stands up for the oppressed, who sacrifices it selves for the needy, and disenfranchised.

So here is the question: Are we a Christian Nation? What did WE do in Rowanda? What did WE do in Darfur? or What were WE doing during Darfur? What did WE do in Uganda????
Emphasis on the "WE". Its not "our nation", or "our government" Its WE (You, and myself included) ????????? What did WE do ?????????????

{{{{{{ Ambiguity of lifes porous boundaries }}}}}}}}

As I was reading a blog recently I got to thinking about some of the issues that were brought up at least indirectly. The issues was a question asking to define the difference between emerging and emergent. I really valued the response that was given by Tony Jones which basically critiqued the incessant need to label and categorize everything(typical postmodern critique). Of course this in my mind has a lot of value. But at the same time this thinking scares me immensely. This here introduces a trend that I see in my culture and in a lot of conversation that partake in. This fear and hatred of "labeling", or this overwhelming resistance to any kind of categorization, beurocracy, or even structure. (ex. What are you?? oh I am not part of a denomination I am non-denom.. or I'm not anything I am a Christian) And obviously the impetus for this thinking is the damage caused by excesses of the modern age (boxing people and life). But I am so afraid of this postmodern critique becoming the answer and then we are just in the same place again only looking differently. The fact is that our minds are built to categorize, we define and label everything throughout our day, that is how we think, and to try to move into some totally ambiguous blob of no boundaries seems to me to be somewhat foolish. Isnt there a proper place for label/defining/categorizing things even people??? Can these not be useful tool during some times and in some places.

This is where I like to concept of the hermenuetic circle which bascially means that we move from the whole to its parts and back to the whole again in a type of free flowing dance. Here it seems to me that labels and categories and structure are valuable tools or metaphors(dr. wright:) ) that allow us to think and speak rationally about reality. But at the same time we remember that they are just that, a metaphor, or a tool and should be put down when necessary.

The beauty of the metaphor is that it opens some doors and closes other doors. The emphasis that I wish to use here is that it "opens some doors"!!!!!

I'm just afraid of simply being apart of yet another historical reaction that just jumps to the other side and misses Jesus once again, but at the same time claims to have him. lol

???? Words ????

So I have been thinking recently about words. Fun times I know lol. As I read more and more, and discuss and continue to engage in my all consuming pass time of thinking I find that I run into a bit of a problem. I am confronted with words, that are larger or lesser used in out culture. I have tried to take from the wisdom of those who have gone before me who told me that the large ones vocabulary the deeper the understanding and the richer the mind. So i have taken on the onus of this task of trying to expand my vocabulary and descriptive capability.

Now here is my issue in which I expereice a certain sense of trepidation, in order to learn and think with more words one must use them regularly. But what happens when those around you dont use those words, or even worse dont understand them. I want to be pellucid with all in sundry, but still go about learning in a felicitous way. So how does one cultivates ones mind without comming of as arrogant or "better than" those around him/her? How do you develop your speech in an unbiguitous environment not conducive to such and enterprise??????

I hope you get my humor lol :)

=== Imagination and War =====

After a stimulating conversation with some of my good friends over lunch the other day I had some thought that I would like to share about war and violence.

For most of us we are all for love peace, and living in shalom, and are willing to actively search for way of implementing these, especially the overcoming power of love.

But here is the issue: When we come up to a situation where we cannot conceive of how love can overcome, then we give up on it and assume that it cannot, and instead opt to implement the very tools which are inherently antithetical to love, the very things which destroy life(which love is all about)

Why do we so readily give up on love when it comes to facing grave evil and opt for the simpler option of war and violence? How did Jesus overcome the greatest evil of the world?

What ever happened to our imagination????????????

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>>>>> Pollution a Sin? <<<<<<

So today I heard that the Pope recentely declared pollution to be a sin. Ok well thats all fine and well with me.

But after this comment Travis Keller my good friend, asked this question:

Who is he to say what is and isnt a sin? hmmm..... interesting question my friend.

If I may I would like to probe a little deeper than the surface of this question to the assumption behind it. This, I think is a question of authority in terms of truth. Who or what do has the authority to give us truth or tell us what truth is?

Well to answer this I guess that I would have to say: Well it depends on what metacultural period you are thinking out of. If you were thinking from the medival time period then of course the pope has the authority to declare what is and isnt a sin, because human authorities are also God's authority on truth. If you come from the Modern time then each individual person can decide with his own rational mind what truth is because, each person is his or her own final authority on truth. And of course if you are of posty persuasion then no body can know anything anyways and its all hopeless so who are you to presume to have any kind of answer to the question or to even ask it lol :) . I'm sorry thats not fair, its just really hard to know.

So the pope being part of the church that has fossilized part of the medival past I would like to think would have all the authority in the world to make this declaration. At least as much as anyone else from other way of thinking. I wonder if (them or us(I like the posty thinking)) of the posty persuasion are adopting the arrogance of the modern age in assuming to have the higher knowledge or better perspective than those ages past. I dont know just a thought.

Friends what do you think about this or Travis's comment, or the pope declaration???? I would like to know..

???????Speeding????????

So one of the thoughts that has troubled my mind over the past couple of years, and that has caused much friction at various times. The issue is that of speeding. (when one exceeds the posted limit to speed on a given road). I know that I have been accused of being legalistic or of being a fundamentalist because of the view that I have taken. This is an unfortunate insult to me, but I guess it'll happen.

Personally I have and still think that knowingly willingly exceeding the posted speed limit is wrong and I would venture to say sinful.

I would really appreciate each of you leaving your thoughts and reactions to the proposition stated above. I will then respond with an additional post hopefully giving further insight to where I am coming from.

********Hermeneutic of Humility**********

So I have noticed (Me being an observer, thinker and analyser) that those of my friends, or those that i simply know about, that are of the postmodern/emergent persuasion (what ever that means?) have an almost smothering emphasis on a hermeneutic of humilty. What i mean is that life is not simple, perspectives and the sociological environment have a huge impact on what one does and believes, sees or thinks. For example for one to say that the issue of say... homosexuality is just wrong, and the answer is simple, would be an overt act of arogance. The word arrogance seems to be the vice to the virtue, to the point that arrogance is almost the greatest sin, and openmindedness is the highest virtue.

Now obviously I really resonate with this way of thinking. However as I have observed this way of thinking has not been characteristicly a life virtue but only a conversational or verbal one. From my perspective a glaring example of this is at sporting events. Go to any MVNU basketball game and sit with out fans and you will notice a complete change of character. Listen to the attitudes towards the referees, and observee the things said to and about them. Suddenly there is no such thing as a hermeneutic of humility, but instead there is a clear, absolute, objective, and final decision on every play, and the fans of course can see and know exactly what it is. But for some reason the referees suddenly become incapable of seeing and knowing what is so obviously true. Therefore the referees are obviously ignorant and are obviously maliciously biased.

But the thing is the referees job is inherantly subjective, and they inherantely have the more accurate persepective.

I guess that I just dont know what to think when I or others are attacked for our supposed arrogance and narrow mindedness, but then when real life situations come, suddenly things change dramatically.

So what is wrong with this picture????

Which one is better to have hermeneutic of humility that is lived out in actions, and example but at times seems absent in intellectual conversation..................or to have a hermeneutic of humility that is blatently present in conversation, but seems to be absent in ones life???????????

++++++Ashamed+++++++

I have two notable experiences to share from my trip to California that resonate the same theme in my heart.
First while we were in San Diego we took a day off and traveled down to the border town of Tiawana. I was excited because I had never been to Mexico, so my first visit would be a memorable one. Now of course this is a border town so it is different then a normal Mexican city. As we walked through the streets, I meditated on what I was experiencing, and I couldn't help but feel and deepening sense of shame. I realized that this entire city or subculture formed because of us (America). More specifically because of out consumerism/materialism. As I observed the lives that these people were living I was disgusted, not of them but of myself and my people. Here we are the wealthiest people in the world (6% world population with and using 50% of worlds wealth and resources), and we are more than content to let these people live at a sub-standard, while we pursue our lusts in obtaining more and more stuff. Instead of helping them we enslave them. The worst was when we were leaving and and we came upon 3 of the most beautiful little Latino children. As I observed I realized that their parents had forced them to work the street trying to sell "stuff", while prostituting themselves (using there innocence as a selling tool), and my group treated them like stray animals, teasing and laughing. No child should ever have to live like that! But what is there for them, Americans always want to buy something more. I want to cry, and I wanted to scream and curse!
My second experience was when we stopped at a Native American museum in Arizona. As we walked through the halls that depicted what America had done to the Native Americans, and to there children, especially with the "boarding schools", I was overwhelmed. I wanted to cry, and I wanted scream and cuss!

I've experienced shame before over things that I have dont, but this is the first time that I have felt a physcially painful shame over something that we have done.

What evil we have done, and what evil we continue too do. But we some how still live in ignorance, and complacency. I grew up hearing about how great America is, and about all the great things we do, and how we a "Blessed", "Christian" nation. Well to hell with that!!! We have so much and we use it all on ourselves, while so many go without.

When will we wake up? When will we repent for the evil we have done, and the great evils that we continue to do? When will we finally realize that we are no different than any other empire that had dominated the world past???????

:::::::::::::Inviting:::::::::::::

So while I was on my trip in California I had a lot of time to think while I was riding down the coast. I think that one of the more profound thoughts that I had came from "a generous Orthodoxy" by Brian Mclaren. It really wasn't one of his main points but this line struck me.

"always inviting, never coercing"

I wasn't expecting it to be all that profound but it was, and the more I thought about it the more real it became in my mind.

What significance does this line have for our faith? Do we live this? When we "share the gospel" which side do we land on? Meditate on this line, and please share some of your thoughts with me. How does it hit you??????????

-Steb-

\\\\Back from Calli////

Hey friends I finally made it back from the beautiful land of California. I had an awsome adventure, where I gain many invaluable insights, faced some crazy challenges, and developed some very meaningful friendships.

Over all I loved the trip, there were some great highs, and a few depressing lows. I don't think that I have every felt so ashamed of my people before, and I have never been so taking by God before. Over the next few days I hope to be posting some of the insights I gain, questions I received and, and share some concerns that I acquired. Thanks for your patience and I look forward to reading your comments............

-Steb-

-----California-----

Hey friends for the entire month of January I will be in California and I will not have access to the internet so please check back then..........

-Steb-