Seems Like God - Reflections on Life and Faith from a progressive Christian perspective | Seems Like God | Reflections on Life and Faith from a progressive Christian perspective

A Wasted Jesus T-Shirt

Posted on May 7, 2012 by David

What the Swinimers and their pastor don’t get.

There’s a pretty good summary of the “Life is Wasted Without Jesus” T-shirt flap on the Bene Diction blog.

There’s a difference between living your faith and proselytizing. Especially to those who aren’t interested, which is what some of the other students interviewed said that Swiminer was doing (although they didn’t use that fancy word).

I’ve read a few comments suggesting that if Swiminer had been Muslim he “wouldn’t have been touched.”

I beg to differ.

I think that, had this young man walked around his school telling people that they’d go to hell if they didn’t convert to Islam, and if he subsequently showed up wearing a slogan similar to his Christian one, he would have been the focus of something much more official than media attention. A SWAT team perhaps.

And the Swiminers and their pastor would have been right out front calling for him to be arrested.

Christianity is not a faith of exclusion and intimidation, although many Christian religions are. The Message of the Christ is not something that can be reduced to a set of rules or dogma or doctrine. Nor can it be labelled and packaged.

Just the same, in one sense I agree with the sentiment in that slogan. Life without “Jesus” is wasted.

I just think that it’s unfortunate that those who think they can define what that means haven’t met “Him” yet.

As you go about your life this week, may you see the face of Jesus in everyone you meet.
And may everyone you meet see the face of Jesus in you.

Father pulls son from Nova Scotia school over Jesus T-shirt controversy (theglobeandmail.com)
Jesus T-shirt student returns to N.S. high school, but Dad pulls him out in protest (nationalpost.com)
Not that stupid Jesus T-Shirt again (macleans.ca)

What I Believe

Posted on April 24, 2012 by David

Over the years, I’ve been asked many times what I “believe.”

I think that I’ve been fairly clear in my writing how I understand my relationship with God. However, there are times when it’s worthwhile summarizing; if not for others, then for oneself.

Here then, in four simple points, is my faith statement. If it resonates with you, I hope that you will share it with others and even take the time to comment on it.

Is the Bible history?
No. The Bible is mythos. It is more than history. Its Truth is not in any way dependent on its historical accuracy. That doesn’t mean that its “fiction.” Nor does it mean that nothing in it happened in history. It simply means that the value of the Bible as sacred text is not affected by whether or not the events within it ever took places.

Is Jesus the Son of God?
Yes. But …
The Gospel writers have Jesus explicitly and forcefully make the distinction between himself and Theos (the word we translate as “God.”) Bill Phipps, former Moderator of the United Church of Canada, once said that Jesus is “all of God that we can understand.” That too is a good distinction to keep in mind.

Is Christianity about “salvation”?
No. It is about realizing that we are inseverably one with God. And then understanding the implications of that for how God calls us to act in our daily lives.

What is the Message of the Christ?
When challenged by the legalists, Jesus said the the Greatest Commandment is to love – to be in a mutual, agapé relationship with –God and to love one another in the way exemplified by Jesus in the Gospels. Once we accept that as the underlying principle of our faith, we can spend the rest of our lives trying to live up to the incredible, eternal promise that it embodies.

Balancing Doubt and Certainty

Posted on April 19, 2012 by David

Thomas wasn’t with the rest of the disciples when Jesus showed up. And even though they told him what they’d seen, he had his doubts. So a week later, Jesus popped in again, even though the door was locked. When Thomas stuck his fingers into the nail holes and the spear wound he of course was convinced. To which Jesus remarked ”have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” – paraphrase of JOHN 20:24-30

Both atheists and literalists point to passages like the one above from John to argue that the New Testament is a history text. Literalists take the passage to mean that “believing” is based on nothing more than believing that the physical body of Jesus came back to life. Atheists use it to argue that “believing” requires the suspension of common sense about how the universe works.

Both miss the point. Continue reading →

Simply Golden Rule Great

Posted on April 11, 2012 by David

If you have found something of value in other articles here, you might also enjoy this:

There is no greatness where there is not simplicity. – Leo Tolstoy

Of course, the Golden Rule immediately sprang to mind as soon as I saw this quote.

We’re often critical of the brevity of social media. Who, goes the argument, can say anything in 140 characters or less?

The Christian version of the Golden Rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is 49 characters, including spaces.

Read the entire article here

Why Is This So Surprising?

Posted on April 9, 2012 by David

GOD PREFERS KIND ATHEISTS OVER HATEFUL CHRISTIANS – Sign outside Rose City Park United Methodist Church in Portland, Oregon

This sign, which went viral on the Internet, was mentioned on the Huffington Post where it was called a “controversial” message, and on conservative site The Blaze, which characterized it as a “bold statement.”

What is it that’s bold or controversial about it? Continue reading →

It’s a Heart Thing – Easter 2012

Posted on April 6, 2012 by David

Easter is about Mystery

The Easter Story isn’t about the “historical reality” of the Gospel accounts. It’s about our living, inseverable, agapé relationship with God.

It’s not a rational, head thing.

It’s a heart thing.

It’s not about a man, tortured, killed, his body brought back to life

It isn’t a question of “salvation” or fixing our “brokenness.”

It’s about Mystery.

Neither atheists nor literalists like Mystery. Continue reading →

Metanoia – A Living Covenant

Posted on March 31, 2012 by David

The Transformation of Metanoia

I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. - JEREMIAH 31:33-34

Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour. - JOHN 12:25-26

The blood atonement interpretation of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, as I’ve written in other articles, doesn’t hold much power for me.

However, the spiritual transformation – the metanoia – that we’re called to as Christians, summed up in the passages above from Jeremiah and John, speaks volumes.

Metanoia is usually translated as repentance. It’s not. Continue reading →

A Perishing Gospel

Posted on March 4, 2012 by David

There’s a challenge for those who try to link traditional Christianity with its more progressive successor isn’t there?

It’s difficult to move the language to its deeper metaphorical meaning when it’s been interpreted literally for so long. There’s an inertia to the usage that both literalists and atheists have a vested interest in fostering.

However, if we’re to be true to both the Message of the Christ and to our heritage, we also can’t simply abandon the language altogether as some progressive Christians have done. That can render us unrecognizable. Continue reading →

The Face of Jesus Christ

Posted on February 18, 2012 by David

Note: This article, with minor edits, is taken directly from the Year B RCL material in John Shearman’s Lectionary Resource for Transfiguration Sunday. After reading it, I couldn’t think of anything that more succinctly and accurately summed up my own feelings about our role as people of faith in a broken world. I hope you enjoy it. - David

2 CORINTHIANS 4:3-6
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

In this brief excerpt Paul tries to explain why some people believe and some do not. He obviously believed that the eternal struggle between good and evil, Continue reading →

Immersed in God

Posted on February 11, 2012 by David

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Panentheism

All know that the drop merges into the ocean, but few know that the ocean merges into the drop – Kabir, fifteenth century Hindu mystic

Defining our relationship with God (Divinity/Theos) is a fundamental role of all faiths. Just as defining our relationship to the universe is one question science attempts to answer.

Often, we depend on metaphor to help us do that.

And all metaphors are imperfect. Our culture, our experience and our scientific knowledge all change, which means that our interpretation has to change as well. Continue reading →

What the Swinimers and their pastor don’t get.

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Over the years, I’ve been asked many times what I “believe.”

Easter is about Mystery

The Transformation of Metanoia