so good to be bad

Col. 3:5 (NLT)
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry.

Why does every actor want to play the role of a bad guy? They don’t want to be typecast that way but read any interview of an actor known for being a hero or good guy and they relish the evil role. Tom Cruise in Collateral comes to mind. Why is it so good to play bad?

I don’t know but when you read Paul’s list of sin here it starts getting stuffy in the room. In the King James version it even sounds “naughty.” especially “evil concupiscence.” Evil concupiscence? Gotta’ get me some of that tonight!

No, I don’t think so. “concupiscence” literally means getting a “rush,” as in breath. Evil concupiscence means just being consumed by your passion for something evil. Paul is talking about how good it feels to be bad.

At least humanity has evolved enough where these sexual and bodily obsessions no longer are a problem…

I don’t think so.

These passions for the wrong stuff have been devouring us since Adam. Modern humanity may think of our being sophisticated but to tell you the truth, our bodies ache with the desire to be the bad guy. Obsessions. In the language of the Bible, Paul is saying literally, “Put to death your body parts.”

But we can’t go back to the days of beating ourselves with thorn branches like the monks of old. Sleeping naked on the cold stone floor in the middle of winter like Luther in the monastery. It might help for the moment, but the body part that gets in the way the most is not just our body at all. It is our mind. Our thought life.

Here is a test for those “sinful, earthly things lurking within you.” Imagine videotaping your thought life for a day and then playing it back for your mother. Ouch!!

Now, realize Jesus sees that tape every day.

What are we going to do? Paul is not finished, yet. He has another list.

real life

Col. 3:4 (NLT)
And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

This is what I am trying to understand. This is what I so desperately want to have happen. This is what I am trying to avoid??!! Christ is my real life.

I thought my real life was negotiation. My real life is not my wife, negotiating with her as we move along the journey of nurturing our three children? It’s not working out a system where we step in, retreat, step in, retreat, with our blossoming offspring? Yes, raising teenagers is a lot like fencing. But that is not real life?

Or what about my thought life? Failures and accomplishments being worked out during every waking moment. The struggle of what it means to move. Move ahead. Move ahead without looking behind. Move ahead without looking behind at what I did and did not do when I moved ahead. My thinking is not my real life?

Jesus has a plan in all of this. I have a purpose in that plan. My real life is actually all of those things and more but it is not real unless I am no longer the focal point, but Jesus who is working through me. The reality of who I am is not me. I am hidden in Christ, remember? Real life is happening right now, but it won’t be crystal clear until he shows up again. Really. Then for the first time, I will see, along with the rest of creation, who I really am, as well as who he really is.

hidden with Christ

Col. 3:3 (NLT)
For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

I remember when the singer, “Prince,” decided to change is name. In 1993 his name became a symbol O(+>. Well, you aren’t going to pronounce that, so he was called “the artist formerly known as Prince.” By the year 2000, he was back to good old “Prince.” This is rock and roll, or funk, or whatever label you would give Prince music (he wouldn’t), so this is not weird. We expect strange things to come from a “strange” world.

I am reminded of this whole name change situation when I think about the words, “your real life is hidden with Christ in God.” Do I really know who I am? In one sense, yes. Born and raised in Racine Wisconsin. Son of Edward and Nancy Hanson. Now, husband of Nancy (don’t get all Freudian on me), and father of Kristina, Gregory, and David. This is good for a start. But, is this who I really am?

I don’t know.

When I connect with Jesus and trust in him, what you see in me is not all there is. The life I am living and the life others are witnessing is not my real life. My whole life. The essence of who I really am is known only to God. Just call me “the disciple formerly known as Dana but hidden with Christ now.”

the real world

Col. 3:2 (NLT)
Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.

If we think about life immersed in God’s grace and knowing that he is in charge, we are inoculated from the false view that we are at risk here on earth. Notice Paul says in Colossians, “only.” We are to think about what concerns us in life, of course. But we don’t take a human view. We view life through the God’s-eye filter. Our security rests in our ability to allow God’s view to become dominate in our mind.

In this age of instant access to everything, cell phones, text messaging, wireless “hot spots,” and on and on, is it any wonder we “let heaven” in at all? We are bombarded with the urgent and the pseudo-urgent. Everything is a crisis or an opportunity or a critical opportunity. The only thing for sure is you have to act now. It’s a “first 30 callers” world. You know, as in “if you act now, the first 30 callers will receive…”

We are overwhelmed by the “things down here on earth.” This naturally means we are under whelmed by God’s eye thoughts. But, what is reality? The security of knowing God is in charge. Knowing that all that seems so desperately important today and tomorrow will amount to what in the blink of eternity? The real world is the world where heaven fills your thoughts. The real world is what you and Jesus can accomplish together today.

a God's eye view

Col. 3:1-2 (NLT)
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. [2] Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.

What are you thinking? Apparently, this is an important question. How so?

Well, what is going on in our mind affects everything else afterward doesn’t it? The actual reality of our circumstances becomes tremendously influenced by how they are filtered through our mind. This is why these words from the Bible make so much sense.

“Set your sights on the realities of heaven.” “Heaven,” or the “things above,” is the Bible’s way of saying, “Take a God’s eye view.” Does that ever change everything.

God sees past, present, and future; everything at once. God sees us conquer anything that would keep us from seeing him. God sees that for those who have new life with Jesus, the final word in any situation is, “Jesus was with you before, he is with you now, and he will be with you after.”

When heaven fills your thoughts it doesn’t mean you are ignoring reality. You have a superior view of reality because you are viewing the world through the truth. Taking a God’s eye view instills a tremendous amount of confidence in living moment to moment, day to day. You are able to see things in the big picture and the healthier your view the healthier you are.

some final obsevations

Today, I am concluding my postings on the Catholic/Protestant similarites and differences. I hope I was able to provide a bit more clarity. Protestants can always find things we disagree with when it comes to the Roman Catholic Church. Purgatory, celibacy for the religious, and such, but the bottom line is all who call on Jesus as Lord and follow him as his disciples are on the same team.

Let me make a final observation. There appears to be an anti-Catholic bent in our public media forums. Some of the fantasy of Dan Brown’s The Di Vinci Code certainly didn’t help. Obviously, the Roman Catholic Church is scrutinized more than others because of the size of the Church. 1.2 billion Catholics and there is going to be a lot of attention. Obviously, when there is ungodly behavior by some within a Church, such as the sexual misconduct of some priests and the subsequent secrecy exhibited by some Church authorities, it is a bad mark on all of Christianity. At the same time there is awful sinful behavior found within all Christian Church bodies, as with any human organization (Catholic brothers and sisters I know you will disagree with me calling the Church a human organization, but that is simply one of those places we disagree. I would argue that only Jesus can see the Church). We are all sinful people in need of repentance, and as fellow Christians we can encourage each other to connect with Jesus and live life as a new creation.

I don’t believe everyone who calls themselves a Catholic is a Christian. Same with any other Christian group. God will sort out those who trust in Jesus as Lord in the end. In the meantime, it is not a Christian’s place to criticize and fan the flames of bias against brothers and sisters. Let’s focus on what we hold in common. Our mission to reach those who don’t know Jesus with our message of hope and new life. Protestants and Roman Catholics and all Christians throughout the world are invited to lift each other up in prayer and remember the words of Philippians 2:3.

Philip. 2:3b (NLT)
Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.

hard-line Pope?

I have been reading some accounts about Pope Benedict XVI. I find it interesting when I see news organizations use the adjective, “hard-line,” in describing him. I have no idea what that could mean in this context. I would describe the Pope as a “normal” Roman Catholic. This is a person who is faithful to the teachings of his Church. A Church that includes in these teachings that the bishops elect a man who is the one God would choose. Then, according to this logic, all you are really saying is God is “hard-line” if you want to describe Benedict this way. That’s fine to say but let’s be clear about it. To those outside the Roman Catholic Church, the Church doctrine may appear “hard-line," but they aren’t bound to those teachings.

To those within the Roman Catholic Church, “hard-line” doesn’t have meaning because the Pope is the “Vicar of Christ,” represents Jesus, and so you are faithful to him as you are to Jesus. If you disagree with this then you disagree with the Roman Catholic doctrine. You can either choose a different Church body to connect with or be faithful to the teachings of your Roman Catholic Church. Either way, no one forced you to become Catholic and no one is forcing you to stay in this Church. If you choose to stay, and follow Roman Catholic doctrine, you are normal, not hard-line. If you wish to work to change the Roman Catholic doctrine from within, you are working to reform the normal teachings.

Mary, the mother of our Lord

The Roman Catholic teachings about Mary, the mother of our Lord, are different than Protestant teachings in several key points. First, in general, just as I posted yesterday, praying to Mary is not considered necessary from a biblical standpoint. You do not have to go to the mother to get the ear of the son. The God who knows “when a sparrow falls” and knows the “number of every hair on your head” can certainly hear you prayers outright. But, again, it is understandable to view Mary in this special light because she is such an awesome model of faith.

Second, the Catholic Church teaches Mary was forgiven her original sin at conception, her soul receiving grace through the merit of Jesus before it was infused into her body. This “Immaculate Conception” was finally established as official Catholic teaching in 1854. There is no direct biblical support for this doctrine and as such, Protestants would not support the theory. There is direct support (Matthew 11:11) of another human born of mother and father being superior in trust in Jesus, John the Baptist. Jesus said,

I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.


Third, another Catholic tradition concerning Mary is that she was taken directly to heaven when she died. As with the Immaculate Conception, the “Assumption of Mary” does not have biblical support and, therefore, is not part of Protestant teaching. Interestingly, there are those who are taken directly to heaven, Enoch (Hebrews 11:5) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11), though the Bible doesn’t say they died!

Finally, another teaching of many Catholics that is gaining in prominence (probably Pope John Paul II supported this, Mother Theresa, e.g.) is naming Mary, coredemptrix. This does not put another person in the Trinity, but honors Mary as one who participates in Christ’s redemption. The participation is supported by two events, the saying, “Yes,” to the angel Gabriel for bearing Jesus, and the suffering she experienced at Jesus’ Passion. A subtle view of the coredemptrix influence seems to appear in the film, The Passion of the Christ. Again, no direct biblical support for such a title, therefore, not a Protestant teaching.

So, you get the picture. Many Protestants have a great admiration of Mary, the mother of our Lord. Protestants do not have the Marian dogma concerning her, however, as Roman Catholic Church tradition is not on par with the Bible. Of course, some Protestants who are former Roman Catholics may continue to reflect Marian devotion in their prayer life.

Side note: Congratulations to my Roman Catholic brothers and sisters for the election of your new pope, Benedict XVI. May he be covered by the Holy Spirit and be given continued health and wisdom.

saints

The word “saint” is used in the New Testament 62 times. A saint is one who trusts in Jesus. One who is set apart by virtue of connecting to Jesus as Lord. In the Roman Catholic Church, the word “saint” takes on more specific meaning. Special saints are chosen by the Church as those who are lifted up as models of faith and are “routers” for prayer. Specific saints may be prayed to in order to get a more focused word to God the Father. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is considered the supreme example of a saint. More on Mary tomorrow.

Protestants emphasize the biblical aspect of a saint being one who follows Jesus. A Protestant would not prayer through a saint, but rather prays to God directly. Protestants route their prayers to one of the persons of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Depending on the Protestant Church, a specific person of the Trinity may get more focus in prayer, though Jesus is probably most frequently the one addressed. Protestants place a strong emphasis on the biblical model of prayer offered by Jesus to pray directly to God. “Take it to the Lord in prayer,” as the beloved hymn proclaims.

For many Protestants, the Roman Catholic practice of lifting up saints as models of faith is also shared. You will find Protestants who share a special place in their hearts for certain saints. Many Protestants also commemorate saint’s days. Many Protestant congregations also share the Catholic practice of naming their congregations after saints.

Another practice of some Protestants that is not official but is similar to the practice of praying through saints is addressing loved ones who have died and gone to be with the Lord. They may not admit to it, but the practice of asking mom or grandma or some other close loved one to put in a good word for them is not unheard of.

more on authority

The Roman Catholic Church has canon law. These are rules that govern the way the Church operates. The Catholic Church makes declarations about various issues of life, both within the Church and expectations for Catholics. Canon law is considered binding in all matters of faith and life. Again, the passing down of the teaching of the apostles through the papacy is central here.

For Protestants, the Bible is the ultimate authority of all matters of faith and life. Some Protestants take a much defined viewpoint of what the Bible teaches. Others use the Bible as a guide but have a more loose structure for interpretation. In most cases Protestant congregations there is a constitution that governs how the individual church operates. Protestant denominations will have rules and guidelines to follow; always with the understanding the Bible is the final say.

In matters of daily life, a Roman Catholic follows the canon law, informed by scripture reason, and conscience. The Protestant will more likely follow scripture, reason, and conscience, informed by guidelines from the church. Roman Catholics would be disciplined in specific ways spelled out by the law, while Protestant discipline varies. Some Protestant Churches are “covenant” churches, where specific guidelines are adhered to by members who sign what amounts to contracts. Other Protestant Churches are more loosely governed, with many following a guideline of based on Matthew 18:15-17. Almost all Protestants would have specific standards for pastors.

authority of leadership

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that from the time of Christ the Church is preserved through passing on faith, the sacraments, and the hierarchy of ministry. This hierarchy is bishop, priest, and deacon. The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the head of the Church. Then the hierarchy proceeds downward through other bishops, then priests, then deacons, and then lay people. Authority rests in the order of this authority.

The Catholic Church teaches that Peter was the first Pope. They use the biblical support of Jesus’ emphasis on Peter’s leadership (e.g. Matthew 16:18; John 21:15-17) as their main reason for this hierarchy, passed from Peter to successive leaders, being chosen by other bishops. A technical term for this passing on the mantle of leadership is “apostolic succession.”

For Protestants, it is the teaching of the apostles that is passed down, not the validity of the leaders that follow. Anglican Protestants, however, have a similar hierarchy of ministry of bishop, priest, and deacon. Other Protestants may use the model of elders and deacons. All Protestant churches have leaders, though the authority of the leaders varies. For many Protestants, the concept of “priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9),” reemphasized through the teachings of Martin Luther, places the authority of the Church in the people. From out of the people, leaders are called to lead, usually under the oversight of the senior pastor working with or under the authority of a board or council. Decision making in most Protestant churches ultimately rests with the entire congregation, though some Protestants have connections to a wider church emphasis in denominations. Denominations set up guidelines that their churches follow, though authority rests in the local church. If there is disagreement about teachings then congregations who voluntarily join denominations may be disciplined or expelled.

A good rule of thumb to follow in considering authority is the authority rests in the hierarchy in the Roman Catholic Church and authority rests in the local church in the Protestant church, understanding the voluntary arrangements made in denominational churches. How this authority is carried out will be the next post.

the Church

We continue with similarities and differences between Protestant and Roman Catholic teachings.

The Church

Roman Catholic teaching is that Jesus trained his 12 leaders and chose Peter as the head and gave them the office of teaching, ruling, and sanctifying (making holy). The Catholic Church has the entirety of revealed truth “through the faithful preaching of the Gospel, the administration of the sacraments, and through government in love exercised by the apostles and their successors under the action of the Holy Spirit.”

Protestant teaching varies on this issue, but most groups would place their main emphasis on following the model of Jesus and the authority of the Bible. Most Protestants would agree that handing down the teachings of the apostles is essential, though they would not accept the validity or requirement of some succession of human leaders, beginning with Peter. Leaders within Protestant Churches would be based more on the biblical teachings of elders and deacons. Protestants would also vary as to what constitutes a sacrament.

The bottom line for Roman Catholics appears to be that the Catholic Church is the true Church set up by Jesus. Other Churches are recognized as places where Christ can work and bring salvation, and the Catholic Church is working on emphasizing the truths held in common with other Christian communities.

The most practical place where most Protestants have a challenge on the issue of the Church is the Roman Catholic practice of not inviting non-Catholic Christians to receive Holy Communion together. Some Protestant Churches (e.g. Lutheran Church Missouri Synod) also share this practice.

some basics

Romans 10:9 (NLT)
For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

“Jesus is Lord” means, Jesus is God who died for our sins, raised from the dead, and rules in our lives. Christians are those who trust in these truths. Christians live out that trust by joining with Jesus in the work of reaching others for His Kingdom. Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants; all who trust in Christ, crucified, raised, and ruling now are brothers and sisters in the faith.

There you have the essence of Christianity.

Now, within the community of those who trust, there are many similarities and many differences. My purpose in making observations is not to say one thing is bad or good, it is just to clarify. Christians of the Orthodox traditions, please forgive my not including general obsevations from your perspective. I will post on that for another time. Everyone, I repeat, I am only giving very general views. Here are some basics.

Baptism
Roman Catholics and many Protestants baptize infants and young children as a sign of a family’s connection to the family of God. When these children reach an age of accountability, they declare their trust in Jesus publicly in a rite of affirmation of baptism, or confirmation.

Teenagers and adults who come to trust in Jesus at a later point in their lives are baptized, after a public acknowledgement of their trust.

Many other Protestants baptize a young person when they publicly declare their desire to be baptized. These Protestants would also rebaptize a person who was baptized as an infant, as a sign of faith being declared as their own. This coincides with the Roman Catholics and many Protestants affirmation of baptism or confirmation.

Holy Communion
Jesus left the gift of Holy Communion as a way for him to be present with his people in a visible way, and as a sign of forgiveness of sin. Roman Catholics trust that the bread and wine are miraculously changed into Christ’s body and blood. Many Protestants also trust Jesus is present in the bread and wine in a special way. Other Protestants believe that the bread and wine are reminders of Jesus’ death and resurrection, though it remains bread and wine.

The Bible
Protestants and Roman Catholics trust that the Bible is the Word of God. Roman Catholics interpret the Bible under the teaching authority of the Church. Protestants interpret the Bible under the guidance of leaders, though it can be said that ultimately the authority of the Bible speaks for itself.

For Protestants, the Bible is the 66 books, divided into the Old Testament ("Hebrew scriptures") and the New Testament, recognized early on by Church leaders as the Bible. For Roman Catholics, the Old Testament has seven more books added after the early Church formed the Bible. These books are recognized as helpful for teaching by some Protestants, but not on par with the Bible. These Protestants would call the extra books, “Apocrypha,” or “Intertestamental Writings.” Other Protestants would not recognize these books.

Roman Catholics and Protestants?

I grew up in a Midwest city where the majority of Christians were Lutheran or Roman Catholic. I can’t recall there being a lot of tension between the two groups, but there were certainly differences. Being in the Lutheran “camp,” Reformation Day was a big deal. We would always start worship on that day singing, “A Mighty Fortress,” Luther’s best known hymn. The sermon would always be something about the importance of the Bible.

But there were differences. I remember another song we Lutheran kids would sing. Not in church, but privately, we would serenade our Roman Catholic buddies. It went something like this.

‘Ol Marty Luther
Good ‘ol Marty Luther
Played by the Reformation Band
He wrote the 95 theses
They tore the Pope to “pieceez”
I think the Reformation’s grand

‘Ol Marty Luther
‘Ol Marty Luther
Played by the Reformation Band
‘Ol Marty Luther
‘Ol Marty Luther
I think the Reformation’s grand

There you have a bizarre jingle (where the heck did that come from?) that is a trace of the left over radiation from the Big Bang of the Reformation. By the time I was a child, though, Catholics and Lutherans had basically gotten over the earlier tensions (I remember hearing stories of my grandparent’s generation having Protestant and Catholic families almost disown children who married a Catholic/ Protestant, ala’ Romero and Juliet), but we knew we were still different.

Are there basic differences in the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant churches? Most assuredly. One hesitates to make generalizations, but at the same time some observations may be helpful to answer questions by those who aren’t Christian, or for that matter, the many Christians who may not understand the differences. Considering the Roman Catholic Church is on center stage now, it will be timely to address this in the next couple of posts.

more on being a model

More rules of thumb to be a model of influence as a disciple.

Learn from people you disagree with. For example, the writings of Reinhold Niebuhr have had a strong influence in my life. There is much of his theology that I don’t hold to, but I didn’t stop studying him. Interesting that one of his teachings really helped me in this exact arena.

Niebuhr taught that we must not demonize those we disagree with. He said whatever we think about an issue in life, someone who has a different viewpoint than us is more right then we think, and we are less right than we think. Because we are human, our thinking needs to be adjusted along these lines.

Don’t get caught up in a language trap. Avoid using code words or phrases that are not clear. For example, what do we mean when we say things like, “Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?” I know what some of my brothers and sisters mean by this. They mean, “Do you just call yourself Christian but don’t really practice your faith?”

Now, a personal relationship with Jesus is the essence of being a disciple, I agree. I agree with the premise that there is a difference between a Christian and a disciple. But, discipleship is a path we are on. It’s not, “you’re either in or you’re out.” Disciples make themselves more and more available to learn from Jesus but it is not an either/or proposition. I don’t know any Christian who doesn’t in some sense want to be in relationship with Jesus in a deeper way, so the question about “personal relationship” seems set up more as an opportunity for me to correct you.

Work out your own ‘d***’ program. Friends in the recovery movements use this phrase. It is like Jesus’ comment about getting the log out of your own eye. In other words, worry about your own faith journey, without spending undo time correcting someone else.

Now, if you are in an accountable relationship with other Christians, in a small group and such, then you may voluntarily seek the wisdom of your friend as to how your “walk” is going. But that’s a far cry from figuring I have all the answers and so I need to let you know where you are at fault, whether you have asked me for counsel or not. Encouragement goes a long way compared to condemnation.

on being a good model

What are you passionate about? That probably goes a long way in analyzing issues from Jesus’ perspective in yesterday’s post. People make decisions most often by our passions and emotions rather than by pure principled logic. So, we naturally go to the “Jesus card” when it comes to our own passions.

Of course Jesus would have… (fill in the blank).

Well, like other Christians, I am called to speak for Jesus as he is using me as a conduit for what he wants known in the places in the world I find myself. This includes many actions, few words. Here are some rules of thumb I look to, in order to patiently and respectfully be a conduit, in particular with those whom you disagree.

I am not about using condemning absolutes. I am not about condemning at all. I can’t declare a person is outside of God’s care or love, because it is not my business to declare anything like that and through examining the Bible and the model of Jesus, I don’t believe that is true. God’s care is for all people and God’s love is for those who seek him and can recognize it as such. Not that he doesn’t love, but when I use the word in this context, it presupposes some sort of relationship to know the love. God is the final judge of everyone.

Don’t try to assume you know what is going on in a person’s mind and soul when you disagree with them. I don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure Michael Shiavo out, for instance, though I didn’t agree with many of his decisions. I believe he was wrong in the process, but I am not saying he was intentionally trying to wrong Terri. He may have thought he was doing what was best. We may not have known what was going on in Terri’s mind and soul, but neither do we know Michael, either.

More rules of thumb to follow.

Jesus said...

Everyone wants Jesus on their side. If you want only men in key leadership positions in churches you bring up the fact that all 12 of Jesus’ key leaders in his job training program were male. If you want women in key leadership positions you speak of the women who followed Jesus, and who appear to be the venture capitalists, funding his project (Luke 8:1-3). Everyone knows, “money talks.”

If you want to approve homoerotic behavior, you mention Jesus didn’t talk about it so he must not have been against it. Except that the evidence from ancient Jewish culture is this was considered such a forbidden practice that he wouldn’t need to address it (e.g. Robert Gagnon's work)

You might say, “Jesus would never support war,” because he said, “Turn the other cheek.” Of course in the context of the Sermon on the Mount he is describing what Kingdom Life looks like for a disciple, not giving military advice to the nations.

Jesus wasn’t married and so priests shouldn’t marry. Jesus said, “Tithe.” Jesus didn’t say, “Tithe.” This list is endless, but I will stop.

So, what is going on here? Obviously Jesus gives us the general model of the godly life. His words and actions from the Gospels are key to understanding God. But, if you are a Christian, why stop there. Normal, straightforward teaching of Christianity is that Jesus is the source behind the whole Bible, not just the Gospels. You may disagree with Peter or Paul or any other of the 40+ authors of Scripture but Jesus doesn’t disagree with them. Why would he disagree with himself?

Certainly we are always interpreting the Bible through our own filter and we have challenges and confusion with many passages. But overall the source of the message of Jesus is Genesis- Revelation, not just Matthew- John.

the Trinity

The Trinity is an essential doctrine unique to Christianity. It is the great mystery of the Christian faith, a challenge to talk about, but not impossible. For example, Dr. Hugh Ross gives us understanding into the whole awesome nature of the Trinity in books such as, The Creator and the Cosmos, and Beyond the Cosmos.

That the Trinity would be a challenge is understandable. What kind of God would one worship that a human mind could totally comprehend? Only a God created by human imagination. We are limited in visualizing the true God because he isn’t limited to the four dimensions we are of height, width, length, and time. When we try to explain God by limiting him to the four dimensions we live in, it is putting God in a box. Fortunately, our metaphors are changing. What if we could speak of God as existing in extra dimensions, indeed, in no dimensions at all?

Well, the Bible already speaks of our extra dimensional God (e.g., Colossians 1:15-17) thousands of years ago, and we now have evidence through general relativity, the big bang, and superstring theory that points to there being at least six more dimensions besides the four we humans experience. Since God is the creator and controls these dimensions, he can certainly operate within them or outside of them if he chooses. A Trinitarian nature is no problem for such a God.

The bottom line is, religions invented in the minds of humans are going to be limited to human perspective, while it is logical to assume a message from a transcendent Being is going to in some ways transcend the limits of human perspective and visualization. New metaphors are readily available for those who are seeking.

freedom for

We are hearing a lot about freedom lately. In particular “freedom from.” In the Middle East, the rumblings of freedom from oppression, freedom from the domination of dictatorships, is not just a byproduct of elections in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Palestinian Authority. Many will argue that “freedom from” is inherent in the human conscience.

And Pope John Paul II represented a biblical view of freedom which is different than “freedom from.” It’s called, “Freedom for.” Freedom to reach out to your neighbor as a result of your being forgiven by Jesus. Freedom for the sake of the other. The Pope had a key influence in the fall of communism in Europe and his message was consistent. Men and women need freedom in order to be free to serve the needs of others. Christian freedom is not, “Free to do whatever I want,” and it is not, “Free to take advantage of you.” The healthy mix of “freedom from” and “freedom for” obviously has a powerful intrigue as witnessed by the outpouring of affirmation for the Pope from around the world. The truths of the Bible ring strangely true when they reach beyond the walls of opposition to give the Word a fair hearing.

a legacy of the Pope

I was teaching at a conference in Pennsylvania this weekend and so had little time or access to news. With the death of Pope John Paul II, there is much tribute to his legacy that will be expressed. Having lived through the oppression of Nazi and then Communist dictatorships, I think the most important lesson he may have left us with is the danger of moral relativism.

The idea that “there is no absolute truth, but only that you have your truth and I have my truth, and what is truth after all?” has swept through large parts of the world. Certainly this relativism is alive and well today. This is why it was so refreshing to hear from someone who had lived through two of the most destructive defining “truths” of human history, with his message intact. Pope John Paul outlived the Nazism and Communism of Poland to give another message to the world.

A message of respectful debate about the issues of our time. Making a case for the good- that which benefits lifting your fellow humans up rather than tearing them down. You could call this message, “Seeking the truth at all possible cost, with courage and consideration.” The benchmark of true tolerance (I disagree with you but I respect you as a fellow human being and will attend to what you are saying) is a rare legacy indeed in this age of “anything goes” or ad hominem (name-calling) attacks where the truth is off on the side of the stage somewhere.

I thank God for working through John Paul II. I pray for all who are mourning throughout the world.