Through a Glass Darkly

Please go back in time and into the minds of the first century Jews and completely understand the culture which Jesus and his disciples grew up in.

Please be inside the minds of the 40 people who wrote the scriptures which we now call 'The Bible' and read them in their original Hebrew and Greek languages, including the books that weren't included in our modern Bible, and ask which are parables and which are historic.


You can't, can you?


Things many Christian believers take for granted are more complicated than they seem.

You can argue your point of view from the translated and re translated Bible 2000 years later that you TRUST in but you can't tell people it's the absolute truth because you can't prove it. You have faith it is just like others have faith in their point of view. You can rattle off verse after verse supporting your views but do they really support them?


Have you ever heard the term 'lost in translation'? why do we think the Bible is exempt?


Why do you think God allowed it to be this way? For the same reason Jesus spoke in parables? Perhaps He wants us to be able to truly search for Him ourselves and think for ourselves and live with mystery over certitude, to be a people who trust Him to speak to our hearts and our souls rather then trust the words and translations of other men. God puts the 'knowledge' of Himself in each of us directly without going through a translator. We need to respect that and not label, proselytize and shun. People's questions about the validity of the Bible will never cease. We need to trust God's ability to reach people in HIS way not our way.


Many Christians have felt that there is something wrong with the formulaic views of 'getting saved' and 'going to hell' and that something doesn't add up. We give a god with these frightening oddities lip service but deep down we can't trust Him. We are not the first nor the last to view Christianity's God as suspect. Books like 'Jesus for the Non Religious' and 'Love Wins' have a voice because they speak to that check in our spirits, that voice that says "wait a second, this can't be right" Many, including myself, have grown up in an church environment that seemed to have all the answers, but didn't allow any questions. What is worse, is that if you managed to voice your questions without getting railroaded and didn't accept the answer given to you, you would get intimidated, scared and guilt tripped into it.


I think Jesus came to abolish religion and we went and made a religion out of Him.

The Bible is a stumbling block when used incorrectly and an idol for many. It is perpetuated as though you have to believe it was written by God, but it is the words of men.

The word of God is alive and lives in us, it is not a set of ancient words on a page. God is not a Christian nor a Jew or Muslim or can be defined by any of our human systems. The truth of God cannot be bound in any human creed in any human book. We honor our traditions and walk through our traditions because they point us toward the mysteries of God, they do not define God.

No matter how much time you spend studying the Bible you are still studying a human response to God. When this gets confused and people begin to claim absolutes about God from the Bible in their own understanding it causes others to throw the baby out with the bath water i.e. God out with the Bible.

And that's just a shame.

One more thought. Jesus... why didn't he just sit down himself and write it all down for us? wouldn't that have saved us all this confusion and arguing? wouldn't that have been a more productive way to spend His time rather then gallivanting around telling stories? ...Personally I think he was pure genius.

Rob Bell and harmful theology

So this whole Rob Bell, love Wins scandal has got me thinking, It's not just about good or bad theology, its an intensely personal debate for me and I suspect a lot of people and I'll tell you why.

First off let me summarize the conflict. One side is saying that he is preaching universalism and twisting what the bible says about heaven and hell. The other side is saying no he isn't preaching universalism and what the bible actually says about heaven and hell has already been twisted. I've read the book and it's full of bold new ideas fundamentalist are scared of and stuff I have already researched and believe on my own. The book also walks hand in hand with EVERY scripture about heaven and hell so obviously I side with the latter. But before you leave my blog in a huff let me tell you the very painful story of why...


When I was 20 years old my 18 year old brother Sammy fell off a cliff and died.... the fundamentalist pastor who performed the funeral barely knew Sammy but seemed to decide that he died unsaved and was in hell so he hijacked the service and made it into his own brand of 'turn or burn' sermon aimed at members of my family and my brothers teenage friends that came to grieve for him. We should have been able to focus on what an amazing, sensitive person my brother was... he was beautiful and he cared about everyone he was my best friend. He deserved better then that. I remember sitting in the front pew and having to stare out the window because I couldn't believe what was happening and what he was saying, that's not what Sammy was about. It was disgraceful it was the final injustice and the reason I left the church for years. It was only my longing for the love of God and His grace that lead me to eventually return to a fellowship but I will NEVER ever ever support men or pastors with this kind of poisonous judgemental beliefs. He valued an established interpretation of words on a page over honoring the vibrant life of someone I deeply loved. Someone who I know deep in my heart is now with Jesus.

The ironic thing is that I think the pastor really did care about Sammy. The night in the hospital when he died my parents had called him and he came and wept over Sammy saying "oh buddy, buddy no".... I remember it vividly. But this is what rigid theology does to a man. I'm sure the immense pressure of his theology, family congregation and position led him to in essence act unlovingly toward Sammy and my family and all who came to honor him in that service. You see it doesn't just harm the unchurched and weak Christians, it puts religious handcuffs on pastors and leaders and everyone told they must subscribe to it.

I watched this same pastor begin to break through it though and after I laid offenses against him he sincerely was broken over it. He later told my mother that knowing my family and Sammy opened up his world and eyes and humbled his pride. He's asked my forgiveness and I have given it and wish him to best. You see, love has a way of breaking through the crap that we grow up with and breaking the chains of theological superiority complexes and spiritual intimidation. Love has a way of opening our eyes and softening our hearts and revealing what is truly important in our faith and theology. It's not listening to men in three piece suits with a bunch of degrees to decide what we believe. Jesus and His disciples didn't have doctorates and you don't need one either to think and decide for yourself what you believe. Most people sitting in pews feel that they are unqualified to form their own opinions on scriptures and it's their pastors and church leaders job to do it for them. We are each responsible for our own faith and it's time we do the footwork and examine closely what we buy so that we can take pride of ownership.

Love Wins

Rob Bell reveals a secret deep in the heart of millions of Christians–they don’t believe what they have been taught are the essential truths of their faith. Out of respect for their tradition, they keep quiet, confiding to a few close friends their doubts and questions about salvation, Jesus, and, of course, God.

Bell brings out to the open and faces squarely the questions on everyone’s mind: Does it really make sense that God is a loving, kind, compassionate God who wants to know people in a personal way, but if they reject this relationship with Jesus, they will be sent to hell where God will eternally punish them forever?

In Love Wins, Bell goes to the heart of these issues and argues that the church’s traditional understanding of heaven and hell is actually not taught by the Bible. Bell is emphatically not offering a new view of heaven and hell; instead, he closely examines every verse in the Bible on heaven and hell and shows what they really teach. And he discovers that Jesus’s most fundamental teaching about heaven and hell is, “Love wins.”

YAY! I have been waiting for this book since high school! Thank you Rob Bell

“In the current religious climate in America, it isn’t easy to develop an imagination, a thoroughly biblical imagination, that takes in the comprehensive and eternal work of Christ in all people and all circumstances in love and for salvation. Rob Bell goes a long way in helping us acquire just such an imagination. Love Wins accomplishes this without a trace of soft sentimentality and without compromising an inch of evangelical conviction in its proclamation of the good news that is most truly for all.”

- Eugene H. Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, and author of The Message

People respond to love not perpetuating the threat of hell, scare tactics and rigid interpretations on various theologies. The arrogance, snobbery and religious pride of elitist 'Christians' is so annoying and such a turn off... why would anyone reject this? Love does win. Duh. Rob Bell's books/ideas are beautiful and real and NOT at all unbiblical. He's just a man who dares to think outside the box much like another scandalous man of his day, Jesus and I for one dig it. If you've read my older blog about Hell The Book of Raven: What the Hell? you know my stance on it steaming from research done years ago while attending my christian high school and rejecting at my very core the demand that I believe in the eternal suffering doctrine of hell whilst also believing God is love, rubbish. Being unafraid to challenge what others take on authority has made it necessary for me too search out the truth myself and I am thankful for that because it has made me take a deeper look at what I chose to believe. Check out this blog about his forthcoming book 'Love Wins' reviewed by someone who has ACTUALLY read it.

http://being-the-body.blogspot.com/2011/02/love-wins.html

Johny Lingo's 8 cow wife

My trip to the Kiniwata Island in the Pacific was a memorable one. Although the island was beautiful and I had an enjoyable time, the thing I remember most about my trip was the fact "Johnny Lingo gave eight cows for his wife." I’m reminded of it every time I see a woman belittle her husband or a wife wither under her husband’s scorn. I want to say to them, "You should know why Johnny Lingo gave eight cows for his wife."
Johnny Lingo is known throughout the islands for his skills, intelligence, and savvy. If you hire him as a guide, he will show you the best fishing spots and the best places to get pearls. Johnny is also one of the sharpest traders in the islands. He can get you the best possible deals. The people of Kiniwata all speak highly of Johnny Lingo. Yet, when they speak of him, they always smile just a little mockingly.
A couple days after my arrival to Kiniwata, I went to the manager of the guesthouse to see who he thought would be a good fishing guide. "Johnny Lingo," said the manager. "He’s the best around. When you go shopping, let him do the bargaining. Johnny knows how to make a deal."
"Johnny Lingo!" hooted a nearby boy. The boy rocked with laughter as he said, "Yea, Johnny can make a deal alright!"
"What’s going on?" I demanded.
"Everybody tells me to get in touch with Johnny Lingo and then they start laughing. Please, let me in on the joke."
"Oh, the people like to laugh," the manager said, shrugging. "Johnny’s the brightest and strongest young man in the islands. He’s also the richest for his age."
"But …" I protested. "… if he’s all you say he is, why does everyone laugh at him behind his back?"
"Well, there is one thing. Five months ago, at fall festival, Johnny came to Kiniwata and found himself a wife. He gave her father eight cows!"
I knew enough about island customs to be impressed. A dowry of two or three cows would net a fair wife and four or five cows would net a very nice wife.
"Wow!" I said. "Eight cows! She must have beauty that takes your breath away."
"She’s not ugly, …" he conceded with a little smile, "… but calling her ‘plain’ would definitely be a compliment. Sam Karoo, her father, was afraid he wouldn’t be able to marry her off. Instead of being stuck with her, he got eight cows for her. Isn’t that extraordinary? This price has never been paid before."
"Yet, you called Johnny’s wife ‘plain?’ "
"I said it would be a compliment to call her plain. She was skinny and she walked with her shoulders hunched and her head ducked. She was scared of her own shadow."
"Well," I said, "I guess there’s just no accounting for love."
"True enough." agreed the man. "That’s why the villagers grin when they talk about Johnny. They get special satisfaction from the fact the sharpest trader in the islands was bested by dull old Sam Karoo."
"But how?"
"No one knows and everyone wonders. All of the cousins urged Sam to ask for three cows and hold out for two until he was sure Johnny would pay only one. To their surprise Johnny came to Sam Karoo and said, ‘Father of Sarita, I offer eight cows for your daughter.’ "
"Eight cows." I murmured. "I’d like to meet this Johnny Lingo."
I wanted fish and pearls, so the next afternoon I went to the island of Nurabandi. As I asked directions to Johnny’s house, I noticed Johnny’s neighbors were also amused at the mention of his name. When I met the slim, serious young man I could see immediately why everyone respected his skills. However, this only reinforced my confusion over him.
As we sat in his house, he asked me, "You come here from Kiniwata?"
"Yes."
"They speak of me on that island?"
"Yes. They say you can provide me anything I need. They say you’re intelligent, resourceful, and the sharpest trader in the islands."
He smiled gently. "My wife is from Kiniwata."
"Yes, I know."
"They speak of her?"
"A little."
"What do they say?"
"Why, just … ." The question caught me off balance. "They told me you were married at festival time."
"Nothing more?" The curve of his eyebrows told me he knew there had to be more.
"They also say the marriage settlement was eight cows." I paused. "They wonder why."
"They ask that?" His eyes lighted with pleasure. "Everyone in Kiniwata knows about the eight cows?"
I nodded.
"And in Nurabandi, everyone knows it too?" His chest expanded with satisfaction. "Always and forever, when they speak of marriage settlements, it will be remembered that Johnny Lingo paid eight cows for Sarita."
So that’s the answer, I thought: Vanity.
Just then Sarita entered the room to place flowers on the table. She stood still for a moment to smile at her husband and then left. She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. The lift of her shoulders, the tilt of her chin, and the sparkle in her eyes all spelled self-confidence and pride. Not an arrogant and haughty pride, but a confident inner beauty that radiated in her every movement.
I turned back to Johnny and found him looking at me.
"You admire her?" he murmured.
"She … she’s gorgeous." I said. "Obviously, this is not the one everyone is talking about. She can’t be the Sarita you married on Kiniwata."
"There’s only one Sarita. Perhaps, she doesn’t look the way you expected."
"She doesn’t. I heard she was homely. They all make fun of you because you let yourself be cheated by Sam Karoo."
"You think eight cows was too many?" A smile slid over his lips.
"No, but how can she be so different from the way they described her?"
Johnny said, "Think about how it must make a girl feel to know her husband paid a very low dowry for her? It must be insulting to her to know he places such little value on her. Think about how she must feel when the other women boast about the high prices their husbands paid for them. It must be embarrassing for her. I would not let this happen to my Sarita."
"So, you paid eight cows just to make your wife happy?"
"Well, of course I wanted Sarita to be happy, but there’s more to it than that. You say she is different from what you expected. This is true. Many things can change a woman. There are things that happen on the inside and things that happen on the outside. However, the thing that matters most is how she views herself. In Kiniwata, Sarita believed she was worth nothing. As a result, that’s the value she projected. Now, she knows she is worth more than any other woman in the islands. It shows, doesn’t it?"
"Then you wanted …"
"I wanted to marry Sarita. She is the only woman I love."
"But …" I was close to understanding.
"But," he finished softly, "I wanted an eight-cow wife."


by Patricia McGerr in 1965