Posts Tagged ‘spirituality’

what I learned at church last week

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

I’ve been visiting in Abilene and had the opportunity to attend with the Southern Hills congregation last Sunday morning. Around the time the young ones were going to their classes, a little boy who looked to be about 8 or 9 years old came wandering up our aisle. We were all singing, but he was obviously looking for something.

After about ten seconds, he gave up his search and started screaming, “DAAAAAAAAD!!” at the top of his lungs. It was pretty funny to see, especially since everyone in the pews (myself included) just looked on and continued to sing. This little guy just kept screaming, and… we just kept singing. I mean, neither I nor any of the people I was with knew who this boy was or where his Dad might have been. Eventually, a young lady who seemed to know his parents came and helped guide him along.

I was thinking about how often this happens in our congregations. We are really good at getting into patterns. We know the drill. There’s always a sermon, always the Lord’s supper, always singing, always praying, and always giving, and as long as all those things happen, we stay happy.

If that ever gets interrupted though, it is no good for the person through whom that interruption comes. It would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their ne–

Well, maybe it’s not quite that bad. At least we feel it would be better if they left well enough alone.

Sometimes people get lost, though. Even amid a well-oiled congregation’s ministries, people get out of place. They are looking for their Father. Sometimes they get to needing Him so bad that they step out of line. They get out in the aisle. They look up and down. They might even scream if their search goes on long enough. You can bet they won’t be singing, or giving, or listening to a sermon, or anything like that if they’ve lost sight of their Father. Sometimes that screaming comes in the form of asking for attention. Sometimes it comes in the form of sinning. Sometimes it comes in actual screams.

How should we react to that? Should we just keep on singing? Should we tolerate the interruption in a bemused or perhaps irritated fashion? Maybe we should consider a different approach.

If there is any place in the world where a person should be able to scream out loud for the Father, it should be in our congregations. That’s the place it should be because that’s the place where there should be the most people willing to help.

That’s not how it always works out.

Sometimes we’re pretty content to keep on singing, or to keep on doing whatever it is we were doing before the interruption came. That’s a bad plan. Jesus said that He came to help the sick, and when we lose sight of the Father, we are sick, indeed. The worst thing about it is that, for some people, the kind young woman guiding the way never comes along. Sometimes people are left to scream and cry and seek, and none of us lifts a finger to help. When that happens, they keep wandering down the aisle until they come to the foyer. Then they wander out into the parking lot. If no one stops them, sometimes they never wander back at all.

So, next time there is someone wandering the aisle, screaming for the Father, and interrupting our perfectly good worship service, let’s try and remember why we came in the first place. Perhaps God is more concerned about the welfare of the one child who is desperately seeking Him out in the aisle than with hearing the end of “Just as I am” from the ninety nine who are still in the pews.

what christians can learn from vampires: an essay

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

I watched a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer during my last semester in college. I wanted to decompress after classes, and I deemed it to be the best thing on television one afternoon around 2 o’clock. That was it. I used to make fun of people who watched that show, too. It just so happens that Joss Whedon is a very good storyteller.

Buffy is not the only vampire story I’ve liked, though. I was enmeshed in the Twilight series earlier this year; I read all four books in about three weeks. On the one hand, I like a good plot. On the other, I eschew pretty much all things scary. I’ve decided that I can stomach vampires because they have super powers and are surrounded in mystery. It’s the same reason I enjoy comics so much: Supernatural powers + mythological saga = Lloyd is hooked.

Given my Buffy and Twilight affinity, it’s not surprising that this article, written by self-described feminist Latoya Peterson, grabbed my attention. If I am understanding correctly, her premise is that recent vampire lore fails to exhibit feminist values and actually retards the liberation of women, as it were. She sees a trend in which women are relegated to a weak position: they are the object of violence and in need of protection. She believes that, compared to newer implementations, Buffy is more faithful to true feminist ideals. I’m not going to spend any time criticizing Ms. Peterson’s understanding of Buffy or Twilight (it seems a good number of people have already done so in the comments), nor am I going to try to judge this application of feminism (I’m unqualified to do so). What I will do is contend that followers of Jesus can learn something from the argument presented in her column.

In case you haven’t read the article, let me present a few quotes (links have been removed):

The latest wave of novels and series … reflect our culture’s deep ambivalence about women’s sexuality and our obsession with glorifying chastity and sexual violence.

Stephanie Meyer … has been criticized for emphasizing chastity in the story arc between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. Quite often, their scenes together felt like an extended tease … Alan Ball, the creator of True Blood, may have more progressive politics than Meyer … But, from a feminist perspective, he is still transmitting the same idea: To be desired, a woman should be beautiful, virginal, and submissive.

In Buffy, there is also a slight whiff of the virginity good/sex bad dynamic. … Buffy’s approach to sex is remarkably third wave. After a relatively celibate Season Three, Buffy proceeds to sleep with three more men (two human, one vampire) before the series closes. … This attitude toward sex also extends to the rest of the cast … most of the characters, after the initial awkwardness of adolescence, go on to have healthy and varied sex lives with a variety of other partners.

When I first read this, my initial response was heavily critical. Peterson’s view presupposes that extra-marital sex is not a moral problem; she vilifies media she perceives as “glorifying chastity.” From a christian perspective, chastity is an asset to be desired — an ideal to be encouraged. The concept that celibacy results from awkward feelings or that it hinders a “healthy” lifestyle is clearly contrary to the assertions of scripture. It’s very easy to focus on these warring philosophies and miss the common ground. If we look closer, however, we will see that both camps act from a thirst for what is just and a disdain for what is counterfeit.

A Double Standard

We have to remember that Peterson writes from a feminist perspective; she is concerned about how media and literature influence social perceptions and expectations of women. She specifically complains that the modern vampire sagas promote a notion that women should be chaste and subject to a man’s protection (or lack thereof). Inherent in that complaint is the recognition that men are not subject to the same expectations. Can anyone claim that such a double standard does not exist? It is an ancient injustice that continues to find traction today. Followers of Jesus should deplore this double standard more than anyone.

I’d like to examine the Hebrew narrative of Tamar and Amnon. Even though it was forbidden for kings, David had many wives. Tamar and Amnon were half sister and brother, both children of David by different mothers. Amnon actually fell in love with his sister, but because of the familial relation, he could do nothing about it. He became so obsessed that he was nigh physically ill. On the advice of an evil friend, Amnon tricked Tamar into being alone with him. Then, he made his sexual intentions clear. Tamar begged for him to reconsider, and even suggested that he ask David to let them marry. It’s hard to tell if she honestly thought they might marry, or if she was just desperate for a way out of the immediate situation. Either way, Amnon did not listen; he raped her. Of course, this is plenty of injustice for one story, but it actually gets worse. After the rape, the scripture says, “Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, ‘Get up and get out!’ “ In the end, Tamar goes to live with her full brother, Absalom, as “a desolate woman.” That is the last we hear of her.

If there is a more apt display of this double standard that includes both sexual violence and the degradation of a woman due to her sexual status, I don’t know what it is. The point I want to make abundantly clear is this: Scripture never condones any part of this situation. Clearly, the reader is intended to react with disgust at Amnon’s actions and to mourn the travesty to which Tamar is subjected. We are told that David is made aware of the rape and is angry, but apparently he does not punish Amnon. Amnon is eventually killed by Absalom, but it appears that Absalom’s actions are politically motivated. Worse still, Absalom may have even helped plan Tamar’s rape in the first place. In the end, Tamar is never afforded true justice, and all parties involved (including David) suffer. Scripture does not condone Amnon’s actions, nor Absalom’s, nor David’s. Instead, we are shown exactly what can happen when God’s laws are subverted: there is only disaster.

The sexual double standard survives in our own culture, despite advances in feminist thinking. A number of comedic movie plots revolve around a young man’s quest to lose his virginity. Virginal men are viewed as weak, inept, and unattractive to the opposite sex. After all, why else would they choose to remain celibate? On the other hand, men who engage in sex with multiple partners are viewed as desirable, adventurous, and more masculine in general. Conversely, women who have sex with multiple partners are viewed as immoral, self-debasing, and undesirable as a mate. In a perversion of logic, women who are chaste find themselves equally accosted as prudish or non-affectionate. In this scenario, men are encouraged to pursue sexual pleasure while women are relegated to the untenable station of being judged no matter what they do. It is no wonder, then, that feminists (and anyone else who cares for justice) would reject these terms.

Unfortunately, this is not the only sexual double standard that exists. Some followers of Jesus have allowed an even less equitable arrangement to survive over the years. What else can we call it when homosexual practices are attacked as immoral, but a blind eye is turned to premarital heterosexual activity? Surely it is unethical to apply God’s standards to one group of people while failing to do so with another. If that injustice is allowed to continue, we can be sure that very few among those who do not follow Jesus will ever be persuaded to start.

In both cases, we would do well to follow consider the thoughts of Jesus: Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Let us not miss the main point here; Jesus is not saying that we should all walk around with sawdust and planks in our eyes. That would be ill-advised. So what, exactly, is He saying?

It isn’t really rocket science; both sawdust and planks make it impossible to see clearly. We need to cleanse our eyes. It is not wrong to help a fellow believer clear their vision if they are stumbling (sexually, or otherwise); we simply need to make sure our own is clear before we get out the tweezers.

The truth about sex is that God designed it for our benefit. Whether one believes in God or not, and irrespective of gender, the plan attributed to Him in scripture still works best. It was devised to be shared between a husband and wife, exclusively. When we engage in it any other way, we miss out on the full benefit that God intends.

An Impossible Battle

Nonetheless, even those who submit fully to scriptural teaching about sex find it difficult to wait. Remember Peterson’s Twilight observation? “Quite often, their scenes together felt like an extended tease.” I have to agree with her… that can’t be right. Surely God is not interested in seeing us suffer while we fight against the desires He established in our bodies? Yet, almost every christian dating couple I know struggles with maintaining chastity before marriage. Is God just setting us up for failure? I don’t think so.

Secular thought tells us that the solution is for everyone to satiate their sexual desires as they please. However, followers of Jesus are not free to pursue that course; it is incompatible with biblical teaching. So how can we date and have limited physical contact without wanting to consummate the relationship?

Part of the difficulty arises from facets of our contemporary culture. Humans usually reach sexual maturity around our early to mid teen years. Despite this fact, in most states we are not even allowed to marry on our own cognizance until age 18. Even then, the average age of first marriage for men in the U.S. is 27.7, with women marrying slightly earlier at 25.6. That means most followers of Jesus in the U.S. are dealing with a decade of sexual maturity before they are able to consummate in a chaste way.

Christians have also taken secular dating norms and attempted to merge them with a christian lifestyle. Simply put, it is nearly impossible to abstain from sexual activity if one is constantly engaging in what is normally considered foreplay.

The solution is not to adopt unscriptural sexual values, but rather to effect practical standards by which we can live out true chastity. First, we may need to consider whether we want to discourage marriage at a relatively young age. As Paul said, it is better to marry than to burn with passion. I think many concerned parents have opted to encourage later marrying ages to ensure financial and emotional stability, with the tacit understanding that chastity is difficult or impossible. Perhaps we need to reconsider our priorities as we raise new generations of believers. Second, we need to assess why we’ve embraced our culture’s dating standards. The simple fact is that foreplay without consummation amounts to an “extended tease.” We should be able to agree that this is not good.

A Look in the Mirror

One characteristic of the newer vampire series is a habitual deviation from traditional vampire lore. For instance, vampires in Twilight and True Blood cast reflections in mirrors, but those in the Buffyverse do not. In yet another unlikely convergence with Ms. Peterson, I like Buffy’s world the best. I like the idea that soulless, parasitic creatures cannot see their own reflection. If that is true, then creatures with souls who spread life, rather than take it, must surely see a reflection when they look in the mirror.

As followers of Christ, it is high time we take a look, ourselves. If the mirror we need comes in the form of someone with whom we do not fully agree, then all the better. We cannot refuse to learn from what is reflected back at us. Perhaps by making the necessary adjustments and cleaning up our act, we will better match the image God desires for us in the first place. Perhaps that image will be more appealing than the counterfeit version that some non-christian thinkers have seen.

We can refuse to look at the mirror at all, or choose to see nothing when we do. If that is our choice, we may have more in common with the vampires than we think.

pollice verso

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

I still remember my first experience with a horror movie. I think I was six, and we had a vhs claymation movie about prehistoric times. Triceratops and a T-Rex got into it with one another. T-Rex took a chomp out of Triceratops, but Triceratops came back by goring T-Rex’s stomach. There was clay blood. It was scary.

I never really liked watching that movie, and I always closed my eyes at the scary part. It wasn’t graphic at all by today’s standards, but at the time it was terrifying for me. I don’t think the death itself really bothered me, though. It’s just that it was so calculated, so protracted, and so inevitable. Even though T-Rex started the fight, I still felt badly for him as he was disemboweled. Of course, this type of thing happens among animals every day, from insects in my backyard to lions and antelope on the Serengeti. You gotta eat, and in the animal world, for many species that entails chasing something down and defeating it in battle. I always identified with Wilbur from Charlotte’s web. He understood cruel reality, but he never quite got over the fact that Charlotte had to kill her trapped insects. If he could change things, he would.

He couldn’t, though.

Charlotte still sucked the blood of her victims. Bambi’s mom still caught a bullet. Even king Mufasa was run down by a stampede of wildebeest.

So when I think about the harsh reality of death in the animal kingdom, I’m supremely glad to be a human. In most scenarios, I won’t have to face off against a predator. It’s very unlikely that I will be hunted down for food. In fact, I do not have to hunt my own food either. I don’t have to kill if I would rather not. I can even choose to be a vegetarian if the idea of animals dying for my sustenance bothers me.

Cartoons aside, real animals do not have the ability to plot out a murder in malice. Most certainly, they do not have the wherewithal to torture a victim. Of course, some animals have it worse than others. Cats play with their food all the time, and sometimes the prey dies slowly. However, no animal inflicts pain or distress on another for the purpose of seeing it suffer.

This is where I’m not quite as glad to be a human… because while we don’t have so much to worry about from the animal kingdom, we have a lot to be concerned about from one another.

I was reminded of this recently when I saw a trailer for the new Saw movie. I’ve never watched the series, but from what I understand, the antagonist traps victims and puts them in scenarios where they must gore, maim, or otherwise torture themselves to live. While it’s true that I have a particularly weak stomach, I’ve never been able to understand how anyone who values human life could enjoy watching torture. It is so abhorrent to me that I refuse to watch anything to do with it. The thought of a person causing fear and pain like that on purpose angers me. Last year, I went to see a movie with some friends. Within the first two minutes, it was evident that it would be focusing on torture. I asked the girls I was with if we could leave and watch something else, and they were kind enough to agree (I don’t think it bothered them like it did me).

I’ve asked friends what they enjoy about this type of entertainment in the past. I’ve never been able to understand how someone who values human life could enjoy watching torture. Some have defended the Saw series by explaining that it actually extolls the value of human life. Apparently, it teaches us how far we should be willing to go to protect it.

Seriously?

I cannot see how watching multiple gruesome scenes does anything but lower the value of human life in our eyes. Of course, I am not saying that everyone who watches these movies is in support of torturing and maiming people. In fact, many people who seem to enjoy watching Saw movies are the same ones who call for swift justice upon hearing news stories where someone is kidnapped and tortured. So apparently, while a situation is horrid and vile in reality, it is… entertaining when posed as fiction?

Politically, I hold libertarian views, so I’m not calling for government censorship of these types of movies. What I am asking is for those of us who are Christians to think about what we consume. Some will tell me to get off my high horse and recognize that there is a difference between fiction and reality. Truly, there is. Why not use that argument with pornography? Sexually immoral behavior in real life: sinful. As entertainment? OK. I think we have bought into too much of our culture’s assertions about fantasy. Namely, that what occurs in the heart is not as important as what occurs through our bodies. Jesus taught that what comes out of the mouth reflects what is in the heart, and that what is in the heart makes someone “unclean”. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” Similarly, when it comes to physical sins like murder or adultery, Jesus taught that entertaining the act in one’s heart amounts to the same thing as committing it.

I believe our culture is beginning to face the consequences of that truth now. We have continued to expand the outer limits of what is considered acceptable in terms of violence and sexual deviance. Of course, we are not the only culture to have done this. Toward the very end of Rome’s existence as a Republic, gladiatorial games came into mainstream use as a form of entertainment. POWs, slaves, and sometimes volunteers fought to the death for the entertainment of the populace and at the behest of political leaders. It is telling that only animals and second or third class citizens acted in this capacity. Legally speaking, citizens were forbidden from acting as gladiators because it would endanger their lives (this was not always enforced). In other words, the Romans respected life for some groups, but not others.

The patron of the games (or the crowd, in many instances) could determine whether an obviously defeated gladiator would live. The preference would be indicated by pollice verso, or “with a turned thumb”. It’s not clear whether this gesture is the same “thumbs up” (or down) with which we’re familiar today, but either way, the defeated gladiator was at the mercy of the audience. Now, we’re talking about people who were entertained by watching a fight to the death. Unless the defeated was popular, he had a very good chance of dying for his loss.

When I look at my culture, I see a people who is increasingly bloodthirsty. I see a people who requires more and more suffering to be satiated. I see the beginnings of barbarism creeping into mainstream acceptance.

I can think of no time in our country’s history in which we have more closely identified with the Romans. For many decades now, our legislature has eschewed the values of a republic and moved towards the perceived virtues of empire. If we are to repeat history, this change will continue to our own demise. Whether the decline of the state instigates the moral failure of the people, or whether the reverse is true, we would do well not to ignore the symptoms of this move. The devaluing of human life combined with the thirst for suffering can only lead to disaster.

An early Christian writer, Tertullian, commented on his culture’s ambivalence toward the gladiators:

On the one and the same account they glorify them and they degrade and diminish them; yes, further, they openly condemn them to disgrace and civil degradation; they keep them religiously excluded from council chamber, rostrum, senate, knighthood, and every other kind of office and a good many distinctions. The perversity of it! They love whom they lower; they despise whom they approve; the art they glorify, the artist they disgrace.

Could we not say the same of ourselves? If we patronize faithfully an art that glorifies torture, how can we condemn those who practice it in earnest? We have already done this in the sexual arena. If, in private, we are sexually immoral or consume pornography to no end, how do we then look down on prostitutes and use words like slut in our vitriol? Indeed we have fallen prey to the same attitude Tertullian condemned, and we are accelerating down that path even still.

The Roman empire which provided such excesses of cruelty in entertainment did not avoid it in public practice. It adopted the form of execution, which, even by its own standards was excessively cruel. This “ultimate penalty” is what Jesus of Nazareth suffered under the orders of Pontius Pilate.

I do not write this to condemn those who have chosen to patronize movies like Saw, most particularly if they do not consider themselves followers of Jesus. Certainly, it is not the place of Christians to judge those who do not believe. I do, however, want those of us who are Christians to consider what we are approving. Perhaps more importantly, we should ask ourselves where we are headed. After all, the cruelty of the arena was ultimately extended to Christians under Nero, Domitian, and even the relatively benign Marcus Aurelius.

It would be a shame to find ourselves giving the thumbs up to our own demise.

smells like freedom

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

My buddy Philip was up later than usual tonight and we were chatting about our usual range of topics (girls, politics, girls, the Bible, girls, food, etc.)

This afternoon I received my brand new copy of The Revolution: A Manifesto, by Ron Paul. As Philip and I were talking, I began babbling some of my sentiments about “the good Dr.” as many of his supporters are wont to call him, and I thought I’d share that conversation here (unedited, in all it’s AIM glory):

i don't know why i've been so energized by this guy. less than a year ago, i thought politics were just another spectator sport
had no interest in economics past my own individual budget
probably wouldn't have even registered to vote yet
if it weren't for reading up on his campaign
i guess he's the first politician that i thought wasn't a liar or a sellout and who said things that i thought have real bearing on the direction of our country
and even when he gets excited he doesn't take pot shots at the other candidates
2:01 when the media tries to pin him down to support either mccain or obama, he tells them neither and then goes right back to talking about the issues
he won't shut up about it
it's awesome

Talk to any Ron Paul supporter and you’ll hear much the same story. Someone who was once apathetic becomes a near-raving lunatic trying to get out the news about this Ron Paul guy and more importantly, his message. (Part of his campaign even included a “Ron Paul cured my apathy” slogan.) Freedom makes people excited. Hopeful. The truth makes people resolute, even if the truth is incredibly scary. Knowing it just seems to take the fear out of things.

—–

One time there was a man who clambered up a slippery rock in Athens. He might have looked a little crazy as he eyed the polished statues around him and the philosophers who talked among them. Then he opens his mouth.

“Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.”

Later on this same man came to Ephesus and made some silversmiths angry for jeopardizing their income. They started a riot in the local stadium and the crowd wanted him dead. He wanted to get up and reason with them, but some of his good friends prevented him so that he wouldn’t be killed by the mob.

Eventually his travels brought him to Jerusalem, and once again some very angry people tried to kill him. The military took him into protective custody while they tried to sort things out, but he wouldn’t go quietly:

“I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.”

What in the world possessed this man who had been killing followers of the Way, to change? To become a near lunatic, risking death and torture in the service of this Way?

” ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied.”

Paul met Jesus Christ on his way to kill and imprison Christians. When he met Jesus, he completely changed his attitude. No one could dissuade him from speaking about the Resurrection. He would not shut up about it.

I’m a big fan of Ron Paul, and I think his message is important. But in the cosmic scope, it’s really not. The United States will one day be a union that used to exist. Whether it happens now, or at the end of time, it is an inevitability.

The message that really matters, that really gets me excited is the Resurrection. If I’m wrong about that, then all bets are off. As Paul said, pity me if I’m wrong about that. If I’m wrong, then I’ve been epically duped. All my eggs are in that one basket, because i believe it’s the truth.

Jesus of Nazareth was able to convince Saul of Tarsus to become excited. To become hopeful. Once he knew the truth about the Resurrection, it took the edge off even the sharpest of realities. Was Saul a murderer? Yes. Had he persecuted the Son of God? Yes. Would he be with God forever at the eschaton? Yes!

Those truths should mobilize us as Christians more than any political rally or concern for our own well-being. Let us wake up, open our eyes, and be hopeful about tomorrow, for we serve the Lord of the Resurrection.

what’s important?

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

You may have noticed that I’ve been blogging a lot about the state of our current economic system, frustration with the Federal Reserve, and as Philip calls it, my “Ron Paul man love.”

It occurs to me that even if our nation breaks down, even if we enter a world-wide collapse worse than the Great Depression, even if our country is dissolved and we lose the freedoms we hold so dear…

none of these things is important.

I am a citizen of the United States, and I’m proud to be one. However, before I’m a citizen of the U.S., I am a citizen of the Kingdom. Before I have civil rights or enjoy democratic privileges, I commit my life to the Ruler of the Kingdom. Jesus. Im mannu El (the God-with-us One). All power and authority belong to Him, and His kingdom is not of this world. If it were, His servants would have fought for Him at the crucifixion. If it were, this world would enjoy the light of His face daily. If it were, every tear would be dry, and there would be no more pain — or death.

I look forward to the day in which the Bride will join the Groom and all will be consummated. Until that time, let us remember that in this world we will have trouble, but no worries. He has overcome the world.