nice guy jesus

was with a friend trying to find some to talk to about jesus at sydney uni, and ended up chatting to this girl who had founded her own religion (membership = 1). what frustrated me most in the conversation was her inability to see the complete arbitrariness of a system that takes a foundation of pop-buddhism, part new-age-spirituality, and the nice-guy jesus who said some things that the gospels are just trying to distort.

it's not at all an uncommon thing, but i really don't know how to get through to this kind of person. C.S. Lewis' famous quote came back into my head as i've been reflecting on the conversation:

... you must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

quote originally from Mere Christianity, this one in From Narnia to a Space Odyssey, a conversation between Arthur C. Clarke (who could be classed as believing in 'scientism') and C.S. Lewis (who rejected the claim that science answered all of life's problems). book edited by Ryder W. Miller, iBooks, N.Y., 2004.

H. Richard Niebuhr on Sin

how do you like this as part of a working definition?

Sin is not quite so much lawbreaking as vice; it is the perverse direction of the drives in man, or of his will in general, towards ends not proper to him.

H. Richard Niebuhr, The Responsible Self, Harper and Row, 1962?. p131.

for those interested, i think my next essay, due in around four weeks, is going to be discussing how important it is or isn't to affirm an historical fall (i'm thinking Romans 5:15 is pretty key).

Club Member or Kingdom Citizen

as mooted, here is my article published just recently in AFES's Salt.

i should add, i didn't think of the title, that was all their idea. but it's something i want to keep thinking about, particularly as it has real impacts for how people think about what Christianity is when they first investigate it. maybe think, as you read it, how this way of thinking about Christianity (if you agree) could come in handy as you chat to people.

[i think my article's the 2nd row, 3rd from the right!]

A friend of mine was considering becoming a Christian. Maybe you too, dear reader, one day did the same. And like my friend, did you weigh up the pros and cons? Did you ‘count the cost’ as we say?

Is that a right view of becoming a Christian – is this the right way of working it out?

[Christianity is heaps like a club]

My friend was in many ways right to evaluate Christianity like a club. As he observed it, we all have a common purpose, we all share a love of the same thing (Jesus), and although we don’t have a dress code (Kathmandu jumpers and polo shirts aside), we do have an ethical code. We try to think things through in light of God’s commands and how they’re renewed in Jesus. You join up by applying (praying) and you’re accepted (Acts 16:31)!

BUT these are only things in common with a club. Indeed, most of the problems we see today in the church world have come from people seeing Christianity as a club and changing the rules as you might in a club: if Christianity is a club, then it’s a democracy. It’s got people who are voted in, and if enough of you want to change the rules of the club, or the emphases of a club, you do it.

[Christianity isn’t a club :: it’s a Kingdom]

One massive theme in the New Testament is that Jesus is the King of the whole world. He didn’t get voted for, there was no election, there was no charter of responsibilities and so on. The only one who had any say on the matter (God!) said that Jesus was His chosen son, Messiah, King.

You might feel a bit disenfranchised by this – why don’t I get a say, you say. Well possibly, because the club you would’ve made wouldn’t last!

If you’re part of a club – what do you have at the end of the day? You might get to along to a few meetings, get the club t-shirt (everyone loves those Christian t-shirts), and really have a great time of it. But if that is all Christianity is to you, then at the end of the day you’ve been sold a lie. The club will fold when there isn’t a quorum to vote, the club will get taken over, you’ll find out the things you signed up for in the first place aren’t even part of it anymore.

Christians believe that God speaks to us specifically, that the Bible is God’s Word to his people, by his Spirit, about his son. However in a club we don’t need this specific revelation; we can work it out for ourselves. Being part of a kingdom sees a purposeful revelation, a royal proclamation, with warnings, encouragements, promises and reasons to rejoice with your sovereign.

If Jesus is King, then there is a much bigger picture of reality we’re part of.

Philippians 3:20: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ”. This is a deliberate portrayal of the peace won by Christ (Pax Christi) in terms of the Peace won by Rome (Pax Romana). Jesus guarantees your safety, will bring his army to protect you, will not let the enemy prevail.

If Christianity is a Kingdom, then you are safe. You will be safe. You are part of something bigger than yourself, which will continue on into eternity. You haven’t signed up, but you’ve been conquered. If you trust in Jesus, you are part of a kingdom that will never fade, spoil or perish, but is united and galvanised around the only sure anchor in the storm, and you serve under a king who gave his life for you, the one who sits in the power-seat of the universe, at the Right Hand of the Almighty.

Salt :: Identity

that's right, pre-empting AFES's announcement, the new edition of Salt is out, on identity. it's so hot off the press there's not even a picture on their website to look at!

my article on Club Member or Kingdom Citizen? wasn't the leading article, but p23 is usually where you find the key ideas for most important books. check out CD, inst, the Bible, to cite just a few books with killer p23s.

explaining the thrust of the article just now, what i didn't write but would've been excellent, was:

a club reflects its membership, a kingdom reflects its king.

that's what it's about. i'll post the full article up here soon.

pick one up from your nearest AFES office, MTC mailroom, or university christian ministry (do go to AFES to find one if you aren't involved and are at uni - what's the worst that could happen?). you'll also get the chance to read some articles by Michael Jensen, Mark Barry and many others.

ecumenism 1

a lot of thoughts in the last few months about ecumenism [= the promotion of unity among Christian churches], one of a few experiences and reflections:

vision valley snow camp
i did some talks on a camp where the leaders were from a variety of denominations which could in really broad brush strokes by typecast as evangelical, pentecostal, charismatic, liberal. one real positive was that there was a unity in purpose, in that we sought to care for and love the campers as taught by Christ. another positive for me was that i (because i'm perfect in doctrine and understanding!) got to set the theological brackets for the discussions that took place over the 3 days, in framing the gospel as a response to God's love for us shown in the death and resurrection of Christ. there were only positive responses to the way i explained the gospel from the other leaders.

some of the discussions i had with the other leaders showed some very different expressions, language like 'journeying', 'claiming' and so on. very different expressions for what i would maybe describe as 'seeking to live out in concord with the scriptures' and 'receiving new life given by grace'. what this shows is perhaps that it's not the base definition where we differ, but in what we'd add to that basic gospel outline. but the emphasis for the camp and the discussions on the ski lifts over the time was that basic outline.

so i was really happy to be a part of it, but was really thankful i was doing the talks. which goes to show, i'm all for ecumenism when i get to set the agenda. it definitely reeks of arrogance on my part.

more to come.

1 Samuel Song

reading 1 Samuel this morning i was reminded of a song i wrote for a memory verse for sunday school a few years ago (to the tune of Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant)

The LORD has chosen you to be
        to be his own people
The LORD has chosen you to be
        to be his own people
He will always take care of you
        Just to show how great he is
That's from 1 Samuel
        chapter 12 verse 22

tune: (c) Arlo Guthrie 1967
words: (c) Douglas Fyfe 2005

as with the original song, you can just keep the chords going and tell the story that surrounds this verse, coming in every 10 minutes or so with the chorus here.

nb :: this is the GNB or CEV translation i think.

**UPDATE :: the chords**

A   /   F#m /
    B   E   A   /
A   /   F#m   /
    B   /   E   /
A   /   A7   /
    D   /   D7   /
A   /   F#m   /
    B   E   A   /

Jesus in you

i haven't yet read a Greek Grammar textbook and said 'oh wow'. but i did say 'that's really interesting' after reading the section on the preposition Πρός (pros).* i've always assumed the idea of 'asking Jesus into your heart' was a Biblical idea, talking about what you do when you become a Christian.

it seems the place this comes from is Revelation 3:20 (hovering should show the verse). but what does it mean to come in to (not into), and to whom is Jesus talking to?

anyway, long story short, the people he's talking to are already Christians, who are being lukewarm in the way they're living out their lives. and εἰσελεύσομαι πρός (eiseleusomai pros [enter in]+[to]) always has the idea in the NT of coming in toward/before someone/thing.

so what we can say is that it's not an offer of salvation, but a consequence thereof. and i would want to say it's a 'being with' idea, not 'dwelling within' - the verse continues with a shared meal, which would otherwise be parasitic!!! it's about fellowship with Jesus.

i was going to finish off this post talking about the fact that the holy spirit is who does dwell within the heart of the believer - but the closest i can find is 1 Corinthians 6:19 and 2 Timothy 1:14, but even they are inconclusive - especially 2 Timothy which could just as well be translated 'among us' (ἐν ἡμιν - en hemin) whilst 1 Corinthians talks about the Holy Spirit being in 'the body' of 'youse' - part of the theme of the picture of a church being one body, with Christ as the head.

where do we get this idea of inhabitation? sci-fi?
where else in the bible???

i guess if anything, it puts the emphasis back on salvation being relational.

* pp380 in Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, Zondervan 1996

does music matter?

this isn't one of those posts where i pose a question about which i've already made up my mind. rather, in response to a chat tonight at another sydney-theoblogger-hang (sign up to justin moffatt's blog to keep updated for future meet-ups), i was wondering to what extent our theory and praxis meet in this area.

i know not a few who go to hillsong or oxford falls ccc on an alternating basis with their 'regular bible-teaching place'; they get their worship one week, their teaching the next.

of course, this has a few presuppositions: that worship=emotional singing; that being changed and responding to a deeper and/or corrected understanding of who God is and how he has acted in his world is not worship - of course this does not diminish the importance of teaching and led reflection, but it does say they're different things.


but as mooted, this post is the question of the meeting of theory and praxis. to explain - at my old church they have an awesome band, most of whom play most weeks of the year. music there rocks. but where i went this week, while not bad, was... lacklustre? in comparison?

now while i want to say with all my mind that this doesn't matter, my heart tells me otherwise. so the question is then why? and is it a right feeling or a wrong understanding (if you understand my distinction).

someone suggested tonight (not sure if i should use their name or not - if they contact me i can know one way or the other!) that we should understand the distinction and emphasis as not music but singing. i guess this is to say that the best music in the world with lacklustre singing is nothing, because music is a servant to the singing of praises to God. but something i have been a part of is the most heartfelt singing with at the most a guitar or piano or organ or acapella.

i don't really know where this post is going except to say i want to know how better to match my theory with my praxis. hmmm i think i'm out of the swing of this whole blogging thing.

German Bible Café

[UPDATE :: new site :: germanbiblecafe.com]

last sunday was the last at my church. this sunday was the first at German Bible Café.

it was pretty exciting to read and pray in German, in our first steps to reach out to the 20,000+ German speakers in Sydney, 5,000+ of whom live in Sydney's east.

seven grown-ups met at St Matthias, Paddington, and we ate, drank and chatted through Ephesians 1:1-14.

needless to say, your prayers are appreciated. if you know of German-speakers (hint: if they're from Germany, Austria or the east of Switzerland, they more than likely speak some kind of German) who are Christians, or who are interested in finding out about God, do point them in our direction.

anyway, that's what's going on. hope you're well.
D5

Honourifics

there was a lively discussion on 702 about the place of honourifics - titles of respect.

• Mr
  
• Mrs
  
• Master
  
• Miss
  
• Ms
  
• Uncle
  
• Auntie
  
• Grandma
  
• Grandpa
  
• Grandfather

Do you use all of these - do you rebel against any of these?

on the radio a demographer said the honourific terms for grandparents were rapidly dying out as everyone says 'i'm too young to be called grandma'.

i had nan/grandpa on one side of the father, grandma/granddad on the other.
but none of my parents' siblings ever got the auntie/uncle - dunno why.

of course the Mrs/Miss vs Ms is a weird one - some people i know are completely revulsed by Mzzzzz - what does it mean, they say. they actually get quite angry when they fill in a form with Mrs and receive it back with Ms.

maybe it's nice to go from miss to ms, saying you're grown up now - in much the same way as boys go from master to mister at a certain age. it could just be about there being only two terms - much like German - either Frau or Herr (Fraülein - Miss - is dying out i think, and there's definitely no Herrlein!)

History versus Theological Intent

that's what my essay's on. i've done 8hrs of reading thus far, still not sure what my question is asking.*

but i keep coming back to Spike Milligan's introduction to his ground-breaking memoir, Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall.

“Of the events of the war, I have not ventured to speak from any chance information, nor according to any notion of my own. I have described nothing but what I saw myself, or learned from others of whom I have made the most careful and particular inquiry”.
          Thucydides, Peloponnesian War.

“I’ve just jazzed mine up a little”.
          Spike Milligan, WWII.

so is that what the evangelists have done? just jazzed it up a little?
are they historical fictions? are they based on a true story?

does it matter - it's all about faith, the Christ we apprehend by faith. but what's the point of a faith approachable only in a mythical fable?

* i mean, i do know what it's asking, the question is: The historicity of the synoptic gospels is compromised by their theological intent. discuss. i just don't know what it's asking. that's all.

'supdate

if you've been grieving my blogospheric absence, let me fill you in on where i've been:

nowhere really – just busy!

i stepped in at the last minute to do a sermon on prayer, a great time - though not long enough - to think through whether i really do value prayer or not.

essay on Isaiah 26 was great fun, but took waaaaay too long - i spent 2 and a half weeks working on the Hebrew, and only a couple of days looking at the theological issues surrounding it.

next on the list was exam fun and games - philosophy was first, and then Church History (European Reformation).

the mayhem was broken up with a weekend camp for SWAC youth, where i had the honour of talking through 2 Peter with them.

i arrived back in time for my New Testament exam, translating and exegeting 2 passages from John 7:29-31 and John 1:11-13. it was good fun, but there was a little too much winging-it, not quite enough knowing-what-on-earth-i'm-talking-about.

i arrived back yesterday from speaking at a vision valley snow camp on the two sons in Luke 15. it was a great couple of days, very tiring, but an awesome opportunity to share the reckless love of our heavenly father with some young people who may not have heard of it ever before.

anyway, i'm off to Gradcon in a couple of days, i just need to knock this essay on the head before then!

anyway, that's where i've been. i hope you've been well too, dear reader.

speak soon,
D5

a mighty fortress

just tidying up an article on Christianity - Club or Kingdom?

thinking about it, i've found it hard to get the jilting tune of Luther's Ein' Feste Burg ist unser Gott (english title: a mighty stronghold is our God)

here's the first verse:

Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott,
Ein gute Wehr und Waffen;
Er hilft uns frei aus aller Not,
Die uns jetzt hat betroffen.
Der alt’ böse Feind,
Mit Ernst er’s jetzt meint,
Gross’ Macht und viel List
Sein’ grausam’ Ruestung ist,
Auf Erd’ ist nicht seingleichen.

words and music: Martin Luther, 1521?

just checked wikipedia - tells me this song was sung by the German princes at the 1530 Augsburg Diät - you can see how it would have been a good reinforcement!


i'm trying to think of a way to link this picture i took of a fenced-off opera house during the APEC protests a couple of years ago, but i'm failing. i like the photo tho - trying to protect the poor citizens from the scary opera house, were they? protecting us from the nasty politicians? who knows.

kauf die zeit aus

'make the most use of your time', or better, 'buy up the time', 'kauf die Zeit aus', or 'τὸν καιρὸν ἐξαγοραζόμενοι'

at the moment this seems like a hard thing to do. i don't actually feel like i have any time to make the most of, even though i finished my last exam yesterday (yay!).
i'm booked out for most of the holidays, all with good things, but on top of it all, i must attend a jury preselection trial on monday, for a potential 12 week trial, clearly impossible for me to do. this is my third jury duty call up, the first was during Orientation Week at uni, the key time in the uni-ministry year. the second was during Mid-Year-Conference, ditto. so kind people wrote letters for both of these and i didn't have to attend. but i was told i must attend and try my luck.

i spend all my spare time thinking about how nice it would be to have spare time, but also that i'm really enjoying how much i am doing. but what i really should be doing is as above; Colossians 4:5.
(i also need to remember what i preached on the weekend, that (2 Peter 3:9,15) God's patience means salvation, we have what time we do for a purpose.

my good friend Michael Morrow has written a good song on this, 'let us tell of his great love, he will come, for his patience means salvation'. buy it here. you can also hear another good friend's band, garage hymnal, have a crack here. the song, btw, is 'we belong to the day'. good stuff.

Calvin on the Lord's Supper

something that struck me about this document (which i've summarised below) is just how unlike himself Calvin is here - i feel like i've been reading Luther! How i wish he had've stopped at one of his earlier editions of his Institutes - when concise he is a pleasure to read! [incidentally, his earliest edition (1536) of his Institutes was only 50pp - my copy of his 1559 edition runs to 1521pp!]

and it's also like he just couldn't get around to writing this letter - it was really in 1529 (Marburg Colloquy) and 1530 (Diet of Augsburg) when this issue came up, particularly in point 5 where he explains the disputes between protestants on the matter.

Short Treatise on the Holy Supper
of our Lord Jesus Christ

            John Calvin, 1541

Why did he write it?
‘It is a very perilous thing to have no certainty on an ordinance, the understanding of which is so requisite for our salvation.’

1. Why Instituted? (3-6)
   just as in Baptism we enter into a new family
   so the Word nourishes children
   BUT due to our weakness*, a visible sign is required → Bread and Wine
   • it Signs and Seals Promises with certainty
   • that we might rejoice and praise
   • to lead us to holiness, innocence and brotherly charity
   
   
2. Fruit and Utility (7-19)
   • a mirror of Jesus’ death and ascension
   • Jesus and all his promises are found in the supper
   • receive the supper that we might receive the benefits & the benefits are only found there
   • Christ is offered to us there that we might possess him
   • spur to holiness and charity
   
   
3. Correct Use (20-32)
   • repentant
   • as saved sinners
   • unified
   • hungering
   
   
4. Errors (33-52)
   • not a sacrifice we make but one that has been made
   • no such thing as transubstantiation
   • not to be worshipped
   • not a Jewish festival
   • not in the bread alone but in both elements do we receive the benefits
   
   
5. Divisions (53-60)
   Luther is interested in holding onto Jesus’ words
   Zwingli & Œcolompadius are against idolatry, thus emphasis on signs
   → Neither listen to where the other are coming from

Big Picture:

• Jesus isn’t contained in a piece of bread (despite the jaffles you can buy on ebay with pictures of jesus - scroll down!)
  
• Don’t knock the efficacy of the Lord’s Supper

* by weakness i take it he means more our mortality than our sinfulness, although his inherent dualism means these are a little too closely linked for my liking