A missing "eous"

These are just thoughts, I am not going to edit them or polish them but they have been in my head a while and I want to put them down somewhere.

I have a question...

Where did the gospel of right come from?

Not righteous but rightness.

Too many times I see or hear division because people are asserting their rightness.

If you encounter a blind man in the street walking into things, you reach out to help him... you walk beside him.  If you enquired as to his blindness and he claimed he was not you wouldn't push the issue because what is the point, if a man walking into things who can't see doesn't want to admit he is blind no words from your mouth will convince him otherwise.

But put this in a spiritual context and people spend a lot of time telling folk how blind they are.  My only conclusion is that the only way to assure you own rightness is to convince everyone of their wrongness...and people are scared of wrongness because it brings punishment.....but what if the outcome isn't as important as the process what if being right is not as important as being righteous.

What if when you encounter a Mormon and he declares that he has the most up to date  revelation from God, you get excited for him and said I am so glad you have that revelation but I haven't been given it, let's pray together that God will open our eyes, what if you did that with Islam?  What if you had the confidence in your own belief to say I am open that I may be wrong about the doctrine I hang on to but let's go before God with prayer and fasting until he shows us who he is in this?

What if we chose love and relationship ahead of right?

What if we gave up our right to be right?


What if?

The others....

I am not talking about the Nicole Kidman film but rather the concept of the others. This is related to my last post about Rob Bell and Love Wins. When discussing anything of a contentious nature within the Christian faith "The others" crop up; rarely are they referred to as the others and none of us are quite sure who they are we quite often give them vague titles as "the unchurched" "the under 18's" "the new to the faith". Our worry for "the others" would at first seem commendable but actually I think it might be disingenuous.

How big is our God? Pretty Big? Very Big? Awesomely Big? Unfathomably Big? Yet it is our concern for the others that is going to save them, if we can only discredit The Shack or Rob Bell or that Bill Johnson character then the others will be safe? Sounds kind of silly when you say it that way doesn't it? Or maybe a little arrogant, that we are so Godly that we have the absolute inside track on what is right and wrong and "the other" idiots may get fooled. I am pretty sure somewhere it says that only the Holy Spirit can keep us from deception. Perhaps if we are so worried for the others we should be teaching the beauty of a communicative relationship with the Holy Spirit.

I believe that "the others" is a tool we use to allow us to disagree with a theological stand point yet remain in relationship with someone - now that is a worthwhile aim. It says I think you are OK and I think you are probably a spirit inspired man but I am fearful of this gap you have opened between us but to keep us close I will transfer this gap to "the others". The problem with this strategy is that it doesn't build up the person the gap has occurred with; it breaks them down, it discredits them. It is time to find a positive way of staying in relationship with people we disagree with, not sidelining them or excluding them or feeling that their text, existence or whatever negates us as people. Let's concentrate on our walk with God in community and relationship and leave "the others" to retire and live in peace and be guided guarded and protected by God.

Monday's with Lloyd and the guys

Rob Bell. Love Wins. This is a book that has caused some hub bub because he may point to universalism; the idea that there are many ways to salvation rather than the one way through Christ which is a central teaching of Jesus (no man comes to the father but by me). I haven’t read the book but I probably will but I have read Sex God his other book and it’s pretty good. I am not sure I agree with everything that is written but on the whole I learned stuff. What interests me is why we focus on that which divides us? Surely there is something in Rob Bell’s writing that is good, why don’t we focus on that tell the world about that rather than our differences? I don’t have the answer, but I have the sneaky suspicion we need to stop doing it. We need to focus on our unity and community and in these places live out our beliefs guided by the spirit.

The shack a reasoned response

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK65Jfny70Y

The URL is a talk by Mike Driscoll a chruch leader in...erm somewhere. He effectively attacks another Christian in words; this is my response.


Heretical is a big word and I would edge away from judgment of anyone particularly with this word. I think this attack on The Shack goes to show that doctrine often only goes to divide.

I think WP Young was trying to describe how he related to the trinity. I don't agree with everything in The Shack but I certainly don't see it as damaging to God. God knows who he is and if people come to God through this book and then discover him to be different they still have a relationship.

Mark Driscoll offers the huge question at the end "Who is God" - this can only be hinted at in books - even the bible. If we could capture God on paper he would be pretty mediocre; I can't even capture my wife on paper.

Sure there are negatives in the book and some of them don't stand up to theological scrutiny. There are though positives in the fallabilities of this novel. Maybe God does not come to earth as an African American woman - his ways are not my ways so I don't profess to know if he can or would - but the Poppa character does show that God is a loving tender God who is prepared to meet as where we are not where we should be.

And maybe Sayaru (or however you spell it) is only a touch of what the Holy Spirit is but the action in the garden of uprooting toplant something beautiful and new is a great way to see the pain we sometimes feel as God works at changing us into his likeness.

I don't have to agree with Mark Driscoll or William Paul Young to know that they are both searching for the heart of God. I pray blessings on them both and that God might prevail in their lives and bless their ministries.

Let's step away from doctrine which devides us and into relationship which allows for ongoing discussion revelation and growth.

On The Buses

"I 'ate you Butler", who can forget Blakey miserable old mac wearing bus inspector from the series On the Buses. Everyone loved Reg Varney's Butler and no one who saw his sister Olive could ever call their daughter Olive just too many associations. But this is not the comedy that I am talking about.

The comedy I am talking about is the war of words erupting between atheists and christians on the buses of London, Manchester and probably half a dozen other metropolitan centres.

"There probably is no God, so stop worrying about it and enjoy yourself" - sponsored I believe by the human society.

"The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." " wades in the Trinitarian Bible Society - in a direct if literal and some might say out of context quote from Psalm 14.

It makes me laugh that we are carrying out the theology for a generation mixed amongst Tampax and Diesel clothing adverts on the sides of buses. I find it strange that Atheists employ so much time try to convince us that God doesn't exist. I don't believe in Santa but don't feel it necessary to prove to anyone else that he isn't real and the "Peter Pan probably didn't exist don't think happy thoughts and try to fly" bus is sorely missing.

For the sake of an even critique I have to say I have seen better sales pitches than the Trinitarian - YOU FOOL - you don't believe!!!!

I fully endorse any discussion which brings anyone, just one, to a greater understanding of who they are and why they are here. SO good on the Human Society, The trinitarians, Alpha International ....and the list goes on.

I think the question is there a God is a strange one to ask straight up. We have a concept of God and that is true as we are all arguing about it on the buses - surely the question we are actually asking is do we care? Judging by the amount of advertising on buses I would say we do - even the atheists!

If we then we do care if there is a God perhaps we should look for who, not whether, God is. I mean in looking for a life partner do we look for whether they exist or who they are? We might doubt from time to time that they exist when we are at a low ebb but we continue to seek out who they are. Believe me even when you get married you continue the voyage of looking for who your life partner is - my thought is that if we started applying this to God we'd all be a lot closer to knowing who God is and not worried about whether he is.

Apologies to all devotees of the wonderful British Comedy on the Buses, I loved it too!! Try Nick Nack Blog Attack for on the Buses Triv!!