Being Right and But Getting it Wrong

I've come across a number of posts and a few conversations recently regarding theology or liturgy or Biblical interpretation that really boil down to, "You've got it wrong" and summarily anathematizes the accused. Perhaps you've seen it on the web: Which Bible translation, liturgy book, worship style, or type of song is *really* okay to use. Who is *really* a priest or pastor. Which sacraments offered by whom are *really* valid. Who is *really* a Christian. Or who is *really* Catholic or Orthodox or Apostolic or Saved or Spirit Filled.

(Examples: here, here, and here for instance.)

I recognize the need for discerning what is good and right, for lifting up what is Holy, and for searching out He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. These are positive things. They build up others in love and truth. Many of the discussions I mention have nothing to offer as contributions, but rather only serve to tear one another apart. Remember, the Spirit, through St. Paul says to the Galatians (5:14-21, NRSV) and to us:

"For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment,

‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ 

If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."    (emphasis is mine)

Have we lost faith in God's grace? Tell me, what errors or sins is God unable to cover? And which one of us is perfect? And if we believe we are perfect, is it not Christ in us that has made us so, and this by grace and not of our own doing so that we cannot boast? Have we attained all that God has wanted for us in an instant, or has God been patient with each of us, calling repeatedly, and forgiving incessantly as we were changed, over time, more and more into the likeness of Christ?

From looking at some of our arguments with each other, it seems we believe God to be the underdog! We act as though we, not God, had better sort things out, because God can't or won't or doesn't know what he is really doing around here. Do we *really* think that the Almighty needs us to defend him? Christ could have chosen to say "you are the gladiators and centurions of Truth," but he didn't. He used the image a city on a hill and lamp on a lamp stand (Matt. 5:14-15). 

Instead, let us be the likeness of Christ to one another. Let us not condemn since Christ came not to condemn the world but to save it (John 3:17). Let us live in love, as Christ loved us (Eph. 5:2). Let God's grace be the truth and the righteousness we proclaim to one another and not bind each other in a new Law.  

A Response to NYT "Can Liberal Christianity Be Saved?"

An op-ed entitled "Can Liberal Christianity Be Saved?"  by Ross Douthat in the  New York Times offers a poignant critique of liberal Christianity and holds, in my opinion, some worthy points of consideration for many Episcopalians. 

To begin let me offer a note about conservative and liberal forms of Christianity here. In my opinion, conservative Christianity is more likely to pull away from the the societal trends surrounding it and 'conserve' the methods, ideas, arguments, and paradigms of the past. Liberal Christianity has the tendency to adapt to to the culture and society surrounding it, and be more "free" in its acceptance of contemporary trends and innovations. When we are honest with ourselves, none of us are fully 'liberal' (i.e. accepting everything freely) or fully 'conservative' (i.e. refusing everything new or innovative). Christianity has been, as Jesus was, both conservative and liberal.  

Why the discussion about conservative and liberal? Because I believe that Mr. Douthat is correct. The Divinity of Christ, personal conversion, societal transformation, and the mission of the Church are quite necessary elements of Liberal Christianity - elements, that some liberal Christians may have indeed forgotten or lost. In some, perhaps even many, places, Episcopalians have adopted the culture around them, rather than adapted to it. The critique of conservatives, which is outside the scope of aforementioned article, is to question whether conservatives are resisting not the innovations of human culture, but the call of God for change, growth, and sanctification. I would argue here that when conservative Christianity fails this question, it too has lost sight of the Divinity of Christ, personal conversion, societal transformation and the mission of the Church. 

It doesn't matter - conservative or liberal. Christianity asserts that Christ is Sovereign. Jesus is Lord. When, by grace, we accept God's supremacy in our lives, we will and must be changed by this faith (Eph. 2:8). As our lives change and conform to the Gospel, we will also work to transform our societies, because we love the people, our neighbors, that constitute them. And the mission of the Church is salvation in Christ, both temporal (now) and eternal (forever), physical (body) and spiritual (soul), individual (me) and corporate (us). 

Can Liberal Christianity be saved? I think only if the focus shifts from "Liberal" and returns to "Christ(ianity)". But beware: when that shift is made, worrying about "liberals" or "conservatives" will be among the least of any Christian's concerns.    

Do Episcopalians not eat meat on Fridays?

Fish and Chips - A Friday Favorite!

Many Roman Catholics abstain from red meat on Fridays, often choosing fish instead. Why is that? And do Episcopalians do that too?

The simple answer is yes and no. The longer answer follows…

The Book of Common Prayer is not just our worship service book. It’s our manual and handbook on devotion, spirituality, theology, and Christian practice. It doesn’t contain everything we might be looking for, but most people find in contains a whole lot more than they suspected. It is, in essence, our guidebook for practicing the Christian faith. (The Bible, of course, is our guidebook on what the Christian faith actually is.)

For instance, did you know that the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) provides us a spiritual schedule? That's right. The BCP has a calendar that gives us a spiritual way of encountering the entirety of Christ’s life, the major themes of Scripture, and a diverse package of spiritual disciplines and practices.

In regards to spiritual disciplines, the Book of Common Prayer provides a  list of “Days of Special Devotion” (p. 17).  In this section it says, “The following days are observed by special acts of discipline and self-denial: … Good Friday and all other Fridays of the years in commemoration of the Lord’s crucifixion, except for Fridays in the Christmas and Easter Seasons…”

Now here’s the trick. We are, according to our manual on keeping the faith, to observe Fridays with special acts of discipline and self-denial. This is not an optional observance. Optional observances are listed in the next section (p. 17-18). Our Friday observances, however, aren’t limited to abstaining from meat of Fridays. It's up to each of us in our personal conversations with God to determine how we will “commemorate” – that is, to commit to our memories together – Christ’s self-sacrificing love for us and his submission to God by his death on the cross, which are cornerstones of our salvation.

So, in this new year, what will your Friday acts of self-denial and spiritual discipline look like? 

What is the purpose of Satan in Christian theology?

Question: “What exactly is the purpose of Satan in Christian theology? Is he just a bogeyman type scare tactic? I ask because I remember being terrified on the bus in elementary school when an older girl told me all about Revelations, the anti-Christ, Satan, etc--this little Episcopalian had never heard any of that. And if he's not just something to scare waverers--if he represents an actual power that strives against God, then how is it a monotheistic religion?”

An Answer:

C.S. Lewis has a marvelous way of explaining the traditional view of the Devil/Satan for modern thinkers in his book Mere Christiantiy. Much of what I have to say here is inspired by his thoughts. Lewis points out that the concept of the Devil and Satan reveal several things about Christianity's view of existence:

‎1) God and the Devil are not equals. The philosophy that says good and evil are equal is called “dualism.” In dualism there is a never-ending struggle between good and evil and it is the opposition to the other that defines each. So a dualist would say, “We don’t know good times without the hard times.” The problem with dualism is that human existence is doomed to always know evil, wrong, and tragedy.  There is no possibility of existence without evil – a very grim forecast.

      The Christian view believes in a blissful paradise, an ideal state where good exists without evil. This is explained by the story of origin where good (God) exists before evil (the Devil). In short, the devil was the Archangel Lucifer, a created being who, though originally good, corrupted himself with envy, pride, malice, and self-deceit.  

Thus, Christianity teaches it is possible to have good without evil (God without the Devil) but evil without good cannot exist, just as Lucifer/the Devil would never have existed without God, his creator. The end result of which is that Christians don’t believe evil must exist, should exist, or will always exist. In other words, Christians have hope that evil will eventually not exist.   

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2) Evil cannot create. It can only corrupt.  Christianity believes that evil was never able to create, to make something from nothing. Evil can only take what is good and change it in some way God had not intended. There are several lessons here:

    - All created things are, by their original nature, good. There is nothing that exists that was ever   solely evil.

    - Many things that are good can be turned to evil. This is a warning against complacency. 

    - There is hope that anything evil might be turned back to good. This is called redemption.

    - If evil were ever successful in destroying good, evil would not be able to proliferate (since it cannot create) and would eventually die. Thus the end of evil is nihilism – self-destruction and non-existence.

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3) The names for evil specify its primary activity. The "Devil" means "deceiver" and "Satan" means "accuser". Thus in Job, the Satan is more like a lawyer making a case against Job. However, by the time of Revelation, Satan is in outright war with God, attempting to be Judge and Ruler of the world, accusing creation and God of abandoning each other. Revelation is the counter story, where neither God nor the People of God have abandoned one another. As the Deceiver, the Devil is attempting to convince God and Creation of the truth of a false reality – that neither loves, cares, or belongs to the other. 

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4) In continuing to teach about a "Devil" or "Satan", Christianity continues to assert that evil exists; can be recognized; is devious, cunning, adversarial, and even personal; and that we are currently in the middle of an epic conflict full of intention and not just random happenstance. Thus the Christian is likewise to be intentional in living life, carefully making choices and seeking God and not to naively or ignorantly stumble carelessly through life.

One last observation:  Our lives in the West are fairly shielded from some harsh realities - that's not to say life is easy here. I don’t mean that at all. What I do mean to say is that the idea of the Devil/Satan may look a lot more feasible to those of us in the world who have seen diabolical evil - millions injured or killed by plague, disaster, war, or genocide. 

In simple terms, without the Devil everything that happens, including tragedy, is a result of God's intention or negligence. Who else is left to attribute it to? And if God intends such tragedy, then we have to arrive at the conclusion that God is not supremely good.  

The Power to Live Life Abundantly

It’s a busy season. Final exams and papers, graduations, end of the year parties, finalizing summer vacation plans, garden planting, and out outdoor projects abound. Life’s busyness is abundant. But when Christ said, “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly,” I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean that he came to fill up our “to do” lists and schedules. Abundant life is something else.

In June we celebrate both the Ascension (June 2^nd) and Pentecost (June 12^th). These are two of the Seven Principle Feasts of the year. (Christmas and Easter are another two). Ascension celebrates Christ’s authority, his honor and power as ruler and governor seated “at the right hand of the Father”. In this celebration we recognize Christ’s power over our lives and over the universe. It is a celebration and acclamation that love, self-sacrifice, mercy, and justice rule – not greed, revenge, and spitefulness.

And lest you think that God has abandoned us on Earth in order to rule in Heaven, Pentecost is the celebration of God’s Holy Spirit indwelling God’s people, giving them the power to live in God’s kingdom on Earth, even in the midst of brokenness and evil.

These are beautiful days! These are days of abundance! And so when the busyness of seems to overtake us, the message of these Principle Feasts remind us that God’s abundant life is greater. Perhaps our motto should not be carpe diem, “seize the day” as we live life, but carpe regnum, “seize the Kingdom.” And thanks be to God, we can seize the Kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit within us!

Alleluia!   

Are we sugar-coating the Faith?

Recently, a Christian friend voiced concern about how many sermons and preachers were "sugar coating" God's message, the Scriptures, and the theology of the Church. I suspect what this person was looking for is some of the hard core "Thou shalt..." and "Thou shalt not..." found in the Bible, in the Christian and Hebrew Testaments (i.e. New & Old Testaments) alike.

At the time, I responded only by listening, but I suspect that many of us feel either the same way or the exact opposite. We want someone to tell us what we ought to do or we don't want anyone to tell us what ought to do! Sometimes we may even to want both. In my own life that shows up in a desire for a Rule of Life, a guide to how I intend to live out my faith on a daily basis, and also an aversion to deep and honest confession to my Confessor. I want direction, the "Thou shalt...", while at the same time not really wanting to face how I've broken the "Thou shalt not...". 

I strongly believe we need to hear both. But I also believe that the order is important. If the first thing we hear is how wrong we are, how badly we behave, and look first into the depraved depths of our sinfulness... well... I personally tend to run in terror or hide in shame. But if my first look at God is grace and mercy and love, if I honestly and truly know that there is nothing I can do to make God love me more or less, then and only then, can I face my brokenness and find redemption. I respond best to the "Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt not" once I know the loving heart of God that they emanate from. 

And so, yes. On Sunday, as veteran and rookie disciples, young and old in Christ, gather together for Word and Sacrament, you will find the sweetness of God's Love most prevalent. This is no sugar-coating. Christ reveals the nature of God, that God is Love, and this strengthens us for all else. 

Therefore, I trust that we will not stop at a Sunday faith. I trust we will continue to grow into Christian maturity. I trust that as our experience of the boundlessness and bond of God's love deepens we will go on to wrestle with God's Holy Perfection and our own brokenness. Then, and only then, shall we find Godly and graceful strength to live into "Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt not".