At the risk of furthering Clare Werbeloff's so-called fame by blogging about it here, I have to say, I am disgusted by the situation.
Funnily enough, it's not actually her I have a problem with and she will go back to being a nobody fairly soon so I hope she thoroughly enjoys her five minutes in the spotlight.
My gripe is this: what kind of society decides that this deserves so much attention? Why are people YouTubing this, Twittering this, Facebooking this, for goodness sake I'm Blogspotting this. Why does Clare have fan pages? Why are people making t-shirts bearing the slogan 'chk chk Boom'? Is there nothing and no one else for us to be looking up to? Why is this important? Why did she have a news story on A Current Affair? (Oh, how I despise that television show) Do her nonsensical and potentially offensive comments actually rate as newsworthy?
Apparently, YES.
Why? Why? Why? What happened to us???
And don't even get me started on this rubbish with the virtual acceptance of football players and their sex scandals. 'Support Matthew Johns'. Please. So he had the guts to come forward and admit his part in a shameful act - this does not make him a hero relative to his mates. Whether it was consensual or not - something needs to be done to address the consistent shortcomings (and thats putting it nicely) of sports stars who have a lot of influence over society.
I sometimes think I was born in the wrong era. No, that's not it. It's that I am longing, longing for a new creation. So very far away from all of this.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Election.
"I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name they bear witness to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep."
John 10:25-26
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."
John 10:27-29
Belonging to the sheep, in this text, is not dependent on believing. It's the other way around. Believing is dependent on being a sheep. Belonging to the sheep enables a person to believe. (John Piper, The Pleasures of God, Ch.5: The Pleasure of God in Election)
Two things strike me about this.
Firstly, assurance. If God has truly elected me, if I am one of his sheep, then nothing can come between us. I am his and he is mine.
This passage also seems relevant to a discussion we had during our church weekend away (Tara, do you remember? When I read this, I was thinking of a question you might have raised). And I've just remembered what we were discussing:
"It is impossible for those who have been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."
Hebrew 6:4-6
And now I have another question. Even if a person did experience all of these things, would it mean that they could fall away because they're not one of God's chosen sheep?
Because here's my second thought. Where does this leave free will? I can decide right now to turn my back on Jesus (oh gosh what a chilling thought). Or can I? If I have already been chosen, what say do I have in this? The one who was once on fire for God falls away and the one who swore that Christians were idiots falls to their knees in repentance - it's all part of God's plan. He has an elect. And when you elect, you have a choice. You can take this person or the other. None of us deserve it. And so do I really have assurance? I am living for God. I would die for his name. I have never written or typed or spoken those words because I didn't know if I could but right now, as I am, I would die for my faith. But have I been chosen? Is it possible that I've just tasted God's goodness and one day will be so overcome by logic that I turn my back on the one who died for me? And all because - God hasn't actually chosen me?
I'm concerned because yes, I know that Jesus died for me. I know that he rose again. I believe that. But if I am not one of God's elect, what does that even matter? How do I know for sure that I am one of his sheep?
Please, please don't think that whenever I question my faith I'm going through some terrible spiritual battle and will throw it all away in the next five seconds. I ask questions because I expect there to be answers, good ones, and if other Christians I know and trust tell me that at the end of the day we need to trust God, then I am quite happy to do that. I think it's better to ask the questions and find answers instead of letting it all accumulate until you think you've found enough holes to abandon Christianity altogether.
I really don't like the flow of this blog but I can't be bothered to fix it up.
John 10:25-26
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."
John 10:27-29
Belonging to the sheep, in this text, is not dependent on believing. It's the other way around. Believing is dependent on being a sheep. Belonging to the sheep enables a person to believe. (John Piper, The Pleasures of God, Ch.5: The Pleasure of God in Election)
Two things strike me about this.
Firstly, assurance. If God has truly elected me, if I am one of his sheep, then nothing can come between us. I am his and he is mine.
This passage also seems relevant to a discussion we had during our church weekend away (Tara, do you remember? When I read this, I was thinking of a question you might have raised). And I've just remembered what we were discussing:
"It is impossible for those who have been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."
Hebrew 6:4-6
And now I have another question. Even if a person did experience all of these things, would it mean that they could fall away because they're not one of God's chosen sheep?
Because here's my second thought. Where does this leave free will? I can decide right now to turn my back on Jesus (oh gosh what a chilling thought). Or can I? If I have already been chosen, what say do I have in this? The one who was once on fire for God falls away and the one who swore that Christians were idiots falls to their knees in repentance - it's all part of God's plan. He has an elect. And when you elect, you have a choice. You can take this person or the other. None of us deserve it. And so do I really have assurance? I am living for God. I would die for his name. I have never written or typed or spoken those words because I didn't know if I could but right now, as I am, I would die for my faith. But have I been chosen? Is it possible that I've just tasted God's goodness and one day will be so overcome by logic that I turn my back on the one who died for me? And all because - God hasn't actually chosen me?
I'm concerned because yes, I know that Jesus died for me. I know that he rose again. I believe that. But if I am not one of God's elect, what does that even matter? How do I know for sure that I am one of his sheep?
Please, please don't think that whenever I question my faith I'm going through some terrible spiritual battle and will throw it all away in the next five seconds. I ask questions because I expect there to be answers, good ones, and if other Christians I know and trust tell me that at the end of the day we need to trust God, then I am quite happy to do that. I think it's better to ask the questions and find answers instead of letting it all accumulate until you think you've found enough holes to abandon Christianity altogether.
I really don't like the flow of this blog but I can't be bothered to fix it up.
Friday, May 22, 2009
I'm not a potato.
Phew. Thanks Facebook quiz!
I'm pretty sure I have the lamest Friday nights of anybody I know. They usually consist of uni catch-up because weekends go in a flash. At the moment I'm trying to make a dent in my (late) major English essay on Beloved. That book is disturbing.
So there seems to be a direct correlation between increased uni work and a) a higher frequency of blog posting and b) the discovery of new music to listen to. I blog when I don't want to work anymore, which is ironic considering you'd think I'd want to get away from this stupid laptop, and I listen to music while I research because it's a lot more bearable that way.
Favourite music this week:
- Bon Iver
- Phoenix
- Jose Gonzalez
- Scott Matthews
- Does It Offend You, Yeah?
- Er, Vanessa Hudgens
What? I don't have a complex about only listening to super cool indie.
Coffee and Milo is awesome.
I've just realised how awake I suddenly am. I haven't felt the effects of caffeine so strongly in a while. Another cup! Another cup!
Super excited about EQUIP tomorrow. I've spoken to Isobel about it every Wednesday night for the past couple of months so I'm really looking forward to it. I got a sneak peek of the EQUIP booklet and saw the section about fundraising for India - I'm in the photo of the ashram on Christmas Day! Miss that place like crazy. I'm also keen for the elective on Depression by Claire Smith. I've heard that she's heavy on the theology and that she'll really make her audience work. I've also been thinking a lot more about depression lately, and have been surprised at just how common it is. Also, I've been told that those who go into full-time ministry are quite susceptible to it, so thought it would be good to start learning more.
And of course we'll be going through the book of Esther! I've never studied it before so should be great.
Back to it.
I'm pretty sure I have the lamest Friday nights of anybody I know. They usually consist of uni catch-up because weekends go in a flash. At the moment I'm trying to make a dent in my (late) major English essay on Beloved. That book is disturbing.
So there seems to be a direct correlation between increased uni work and a) a higher frequency of blog posting and b) the discovery of new music to listen to. I blog when I don't want to work anymore, which is ironic considering you'd think I'd want to get away from this stupid laptop, and I listen to music while I research because it's a lot more bearable that way.
Favourite music this week:
- Bon Iver
- Phoenix
- Jose Gonzalez
- Scott Matthews
- Does It Offend You, Yeah?
- Er, Vanessa Hudgens
What? I don't have a complex about only listening to super cool indie.
Coffee and Milo is awesome.
I've just realised how awake I suddenly am. I haven't felt the effects of caffeine so strongly in a while. Another cup! Another cup!
Super excited about EQUIP tomorrow. I've spoken to Isobel about it every Wednesday night for the past couple of months so I'm really looking forward to it. I got a sneak peek of the EQUIP booklet and saw the section about fundraising for India - I'm in the photo of the ashram on Christmas Day! Miss that place like crazy. I'm also keen for the elective on Depression by Claire Smith. I've heard that she's heavy on the theology and that she'll really make her audience work. I've also been thinking a lot more about depression lately, and have been surprised at just how common it is. Also, I've been told that those who go into full-time ministry are quite susceptible to it, so thought it would be good to start learning more.
And of course we'll be going through the book of Esther! I've never studied it before so should be great.
Back to it.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Too profound for building blocks?
I sometimes joke that ministers must categorise their life moments and view every event as a potential illustration.
But -
Lately I've found myself doing this unconsciously.
Emily has lots of wooden blocks to play with. Well, she just puts them in her mouth because apparently it's pleasant to have things to bite when one is teething. I however, enjoy building little towers.
I never seem to get far, though. A tower can be only three blocks high before Emily reaches across, utterly determined to knock it over.
I try to build out of arm's length. This time I'm using the smaller blocks and I'm quite happy with this perfectly symmetrical and colour co-ordinated construction. I'm so overprotective that I put my arms in front to stop her from destroying it, because she inevitably crawls over to ensure that it won't stand for much longer. Her little arms stretch out and her hand tries to get past me, every which way.
I've built this, I think. I'm happy with it. I think it's quite good. But Emily - she won't rest until she's messed it up completely. It doesn't matter that I've made it, that she might be hurting me by turning my creation upside down. This is what she wants.
Sound like somebody else you know?
Note: I love Emily. I know they're just blocks.
But -
Lately I've found myself doing this unconsciously.
Emily has lots of wooden blocks to play with. Well, she just puts them in her mouth because apparently it's pleasant to have things to bite when one is teething. I however, enjoy building little towers.
I never seem to get far, though. A tower can be only three blocks high before Emily reaches across, utterly determined to knock it over.
I try to build out of arm's length. This time I'm using the smaller blocks and I'm quite happy with this perfectly symmetrical and colour co-ordinated construction. I'm so overprotective that I put my arms in front to stop her from destroying it, because she inevitably crawls over to ensure that it won't stand for much longer. Her little arms stretch out and her hand tries to get past me, every which way.
I've built this, I think. I'm happy with it. I think it's quite good. But Emily - she won't rest until she's messed it up completely. It doesn't matter that I've made it, that she might be hurting me by turning my creation upside down. This is what she wants.
Sound like somebody else you know?
Note: I love Emily. I know they're just blocks.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Clyde Kilby's Resolutions.
Quoted in John Piper's The Pleasures of God:
1. At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above and about me.
2. Instead of the accustomed idea of a mindless and endless evolutionary change to which we can neither add nor subtract, I shall suppose the universe guided by an Intelligence which, as Aristotle said of Greek drama, requires a beginning, a middle, and an end. I think this will save me from the cynicism expressed by Bertrand Russell before his death, when he said: "There is darkness without, and when I die there will be darkness within. There is no splendour, no vastness anywhere, only triviality for a moment, and then nothing".
3. I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event, filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities. I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly evil parentheses in my existence but, just as likely, ladders to be climbed toward moral and spiritual manhood.
4. I shall not turn my life into a thin straight line which prefers abstractions to reality. I shall know what I am doing when I abstract, which of course I shall often have to do.
5. I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. I shall stop boring into myself to discover what psychological or social categories I might belong to. Mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work.
6. I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are, but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their "divine, magical, terrifying, and ecstatic" existence.
7. I shall follow Darwin's advice and turn frequently to imaginative things such as good literature and good music, preferably, as Lewis suggests, an old book and timeless music.
8. I shall not allow the devilish onrush of this century to usurp all my energies but will instead, as Charles Williams suggested, "fulfill the moment as the moment." I shall try to live well just now because the only time that exists is now.
9. If for nothing more than the sake of a change of view, I shall assume my ancestry to be from the heavens rather than from the caves.
10. Even if I turn out to be wrong, I shall bet my life on the assumption that this world is not idiotic, neither run by an absentee landlord, but that today, this very day, some stroke is being added to the cosmic canvas that in due course I shall understand with joy as a stroke made by the Architect who calls himself Alpha and Omega.
11. I shall sometimes look back at the freshness of vision I had in childhood and try, at least for a little while, to be, in the words of Lewis Carroll, the "child of the pure unclouded brow, and dreaming eyes of wonder".
1. At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above and about me.
2. Instead of the accustomed idea of a mindless and endless evolutionary change to which we can neither add nor subtract, I shall suppose the universe guided by an Intelligence which, as Aristotle said of Greek drama, requires a beginning, a middle, and an end. I think this will save me from the cynicism expressed by Bertrand Russell before his death, when he said: "There is darkness without, and when I die there will be darkness within. There is no splendour, no vastness anywhere, only triviality for a moment, and then nothing".
3. I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event, filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities. I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly evil parentheses in my existence but, just as likely, ladders to be climbed toward moral and spiritual manhood.
4. I shall not turn my life into a thin straight line which prefers abstractions to reality. I shall know what I am doing when I abstract, which of course I shall often have to do.
5. I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. I shall stop boring into myself to discover what psychological or social categories I might belong to. Mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work.
6. I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are, but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their "divine, magical, terrifying, and ecstatic" existence.
7. I shall follow Darwin's advice and turn frequently to imaginative things such as good literature and good music, preferably, as Lewis suggests, an old book and timeless music.
8. I shall not allow the devilish onrush of this century to usurp all my energies but will instead, as Charles Williams suggested, "fulfill the moment as the moment." I shall try to live well just now because the only time that exists is now.
9. If for nothing more than the sake of a change of view, I shall assume my ancestry to be from the heavens rather than from the caves.
10. Even if I turn out to be wrong, I shall bet my life on the assumption that this world is not idiotic, neither run by an absentee landlord, but that today, this very day, some stroke is being added to the cosmic canvas that in due course I shall understand with joy as a stroke made by the Architect who calls himself Alpha and Omega.
11. I shall sometimes look back at the freshness of vision I had in childhood and try, at least for a little while, to be, in the words of Lewis Carroll, the "child of the pure unclouded brow, and dreaming eyes of wonder".
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
I know...
Pray, instead.
For:
- L & B & T: For the ashram, for the travellers, for a city seeped in spiritual darkness
- J: For the unreached people group he will be ministering to, for team mates to be raised up
- C: For guidance on how to use the media to minister to his mission field, for financial support
- K: That the women working on the income regeneration project she oversees will come to Christ
- U: That God would guard her heart and mind and strengthen her for the work that she does
They are on my heart. Prayer for them would be a far more valuable way to spend the next 3-5 minutes of your time. This is something I'm going to keep in mind the next time I am impatient about wanting to GO: I'll pray for those who by God's grace, already have.
For:
- L & B & T: For the ashram, for the travellers, for a city seeped in spiritual darkness
- J: For the unreached people group he will be ministering to, for team mates to be raised up
- C: For guidance on how to use the media to minister to his mission field, for financial support
- K: That the women working on the income regeneration project she oversees will come to Christ
- U: That God would guard her heart and mind and strengthen her for the work that she does
They are on my heart. Prayer for them would be a far more valuable way to spend the next 3-5 minutes of your time. This is something I'm going to keep in mind the next time I am impatient about wanting to GO: I'll pray for those who by God's grace, already have.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)