Contributing with Hobbies

Talking with a friend tonight something occurred to me. OK, maybe it's obvious, but hobbies, interests, and passions are important.

From a Biblical perspective, I think they serve a few purposes, and if they serve all three (there could be more), they can become a hobby for a long and purposeful time. For myself, I will use photography as an example.

1) Refreshing.

A hobby, interest, or passion should probably have a refreshing component. This means that it should recharge you. This could be something that makes you feel good afterwards or brings you back to a state of calmness or sharp thought. Photography is a great hobby that I feel like I really enjoy. It is an energizing experience shooting and editing photos and I love going back and looking at my work. It's really fun.

2) Worshipful.

A hobby, interest, or passion should probably incorporate God. I love creating for just God. I love creating in a way that is capturing. In this, I mean that I love to capture what God has put out there and frame it in a new way. It's also a great way to pray or listen to worship music and sermons while I work.

3) Contributing.

A hobby, interest, or passion should probably be fruiphotographytful. This means that my hobby is better if I contribute to society in some way (through service, creating, or sharing). This is convicting, as it tends to mean that video games aren't the best long term version for my life. However, is art and it helps to solidify memories for people. I am able to serve while I'm refreshed and worshipful.

Now, this is an off the cuff thought, but I really wanted to share it and am curious if there are things I'm missing or if these are disagreeable. I'd love feedback.

Ecclesiastes 9:3

It seems so tragic that one fate comes for all. That is why people are not more careful to be good. Instead, they choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.

Proverbs 16:7

"When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD,
he makes even his enemies live at peace with him."

I love it. My initial interpretation is that rather than retaliate, love cleverly.

How Did That Happen?

Listening to Tony Campolo's messages on Megachurches has really challenged me.

http://www.tonycampolo.org/podcast/tonycampolo_podcast.xml

He has overall really defended this way to do church. One of the things he has hit on is that mainline denominations say megachurches are entertaining and that's how they get people to come. His response is fascinating and I really enjoy it.

I paraphrase:

Since when is being boring a virtue? As long as Jesus is preached, and preached consistently, people will get to hear about him. If a church is entertaining and doesn't mention Jesus, then that's a different story. But if you can be entertaining and get people to hear the Gospel, then why not?

On top of that, he has wondered a fantastic thought (again, paraphrased).

How did we take the most compelling message in history, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and make it boring. Something that we just sorta talk about. It is exciting!

Challenging thoughts from a man who isn't scared to speak his mind.

Teaching at Summer Church

This summer, Illini Life has been doing church in a summer'y way. We've cut down on the complexity of our liturgy, we've moved from a lecture hall to a small room above a cookie shop, and we've focused ourselves on about 10 weeks of learning about characteristics of God. We've heard about God's sovereignty, self-existence, wrath, providing nature, and more.

In a week, I will be at the 'pulpit' in church, teaching from God's word and my own experiences. Kinda scary, exciting, interesting, etc. I won't divulge what it is I'm teaching on (as I'm not 100% confirmed), but I'm really excited about the topic. I hope many people are able to show up and make me a little nervous.

Now, the most interesting thing to me is that I'm 23. This means I'm still pretty young, dumb, and ugly (thanks to Weird Al). I'll be speaking to a group of Illini Lifers that are primarily, well, lifers. These are people that have committed themselves to this church and have had more years than I to have God's wisdom imparted upon them. So what can I give them? Not much. And that is pretty exciting.

It is an environment where I can relay on what Scripture, Church History, and General and Special Revelation have given me. Then I can comment with my own thoughts after I convey the clear truths. There is so little pressure, as God has revealed so much truth to us. I am just mining it and putting it into a short, 20-25 minute package.

Now this isn't to say that I have NOTHING to offer. I have a unique perspective, way of speaking, way of thinking, and on top of that, there are younger people around for the summer, and I hope I can reveal more of God's character to them.

Pray for me as I compile my thoughts and seek out God's heart in this message. And come check it out! It'll be next week on Wednesday, July 22 at 6:00 PM at the Illini Life Ministry Center (above Insomnia Cookies on John St. in Champaign). Even if you haven't been to church with me, to church at all, or barely know me, come hear what I have to say and what God has to say through me.

Jesus and his short time: a thought

In my readings of scripture, I don't get the impression Jesus spent a lot of time discussing what the Hebrew means here vs. the Greek there in the scriptures. I don't get the impression he spent a lot of time discussing the science of salvation. I don't get the impression he spent a ton of time discussing the nature of existence or transubstantiation or how to run a contemporary worship service.

God didn't come into the world to say "Hey, this part of scripture means that!" Instead, God came into the world to redeem it and explain the simplicity of that message. It is a fulfillment of the law, not a re-clarification of the law, but a fulfillment.


I'm sure there is something wrong or confusing about my thought here, but I wanted to get it down before I forgot it while falling asleep.

Jesus didn't come to be a scholar, but a savior.

Currents

From my photo collection of the coast of Maine (summer 08)

Lately, I've been reading the book "Life of the Beloved" by Henry Nouwen, which has been a great read. He is a very plain writer who tackles heavy issues with simple and profound language.

One image he really created wonderfully for me was the way he described the soul as an ocean. The major players in the movement of an ocean are the undercurrents and the winds around the surface. Both can be strong, and both can create waves. Nouwen suggests that our convictions, the undercurrents, must be so strong, that they are what creates the waves in our lives. This is in opposition to having currents that vacillate and don't build momentum to change things. In this case, the winds can be strong enough to create waves. These waves are created from an external source. Nouwen insists that our waves must be created from inside.

This imagery was really powerful to me, especially as I hit the real world running. My convictions become even more my own and I must really allow them to control me and have them only be transformed by the most powerful of forces. I pray that the winds of the world may not whip me into a frenzy, but that instead I may be steadfast.

Relating the Eucharist to the Passover

While listening to a John Piper sermon from his podcast, he mentioned that lambs in Jesus' time had two purposes. They were meant for slaughter or to be eaten. He then went on to say, when the writers of Scripture called Jesus the "Lamb of God", they meant he was to be slaughtered. This was a sacrifice offered to God, much in the same way actual lambs were sacrificed to God for atonement. This sacrifice was the ultimate one for the atonement of all peoples. He didn't take it any further though. For me, this was interesting.

If we are to relate the sacrifice of Jesus to a new passover, meaning he is a new sacrificial lamb, we must look at this situation as a whole. During the Passover of the Old Covenant, the lamb was sacrificed and then eaten by the believers. This was a time to share in the sacrifice together and eat of the lamb. What does this mean for the new Paschal Lamb? Let's look at it in the context of this passage

53Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." 59He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

- John 6:53-59

After Jesus says this, some followers leave him because of the difficult teaching. He doesn't ask them to come back, saying "Hey! Hold up. That was just a metaphor." It seems that we must not just let the Lamb be slaughtered, but eat of him as well. This is an interesting point as we look at what the sacrament/practice of communion is.

From all of this, I would argue that communion is not just a symbol. It is far more and must be held with a level of reference. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. This is not to go as far as to say that the doctrine of Transubstantiation is believable to me, but it does mean that Jesus is in communion and we must eat of it and know what it is. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:29

For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

However, when St. Thomas Aquinas developed Transubstantiation, I believe he tried to explain something that cannot be explained. Instead, the mystery of communion will be preserved by God. Perhaps this is confusing to some of you and to others it is very clear, but I'd love to hear thoughts if you have any.

The Dark Night of the Soul

In my circles, this phrase, the "dark night of the soul," refers to a time when we are stuck, feeling lonely in the middle of the night, or in a time when our soul feels covered in darkness. It had been used to describe loneliness. How limited the English language is though, that we would only see this interpretation.

The phrase actually emerges from St. John of the Cross, and it is a poem that he wrote in the 16th century. While listening to a podcast today, it was brought to my attention that this writing is more about John's time at night with God and how powerful and good an experience it was. Perhaps this thought process needs to be looked at more. Jesus often withdrew to lonely places while it was still dark, and I think there is a seriously amazing connection that can be made with God through the quite and still of the night. It also can be the time when the best conversations are had, and in many ways, I think it ends up being a double edged sword time. Yes, night is a time in which scary and evil things happen, but it is also a time for potentially fantastically forming times with Our Father and each other.

So, in this light, I really do look forward to more dark nights of my soul.

The Fall Retreat

The Summers HF - Goofy, originally uploaded by | Orthogonal Photography |.

This past weekend was the Illini Life Christian Fellowship Fall Retreat. Tammi Smith, the speaker for the retreat, was a fantastic educator and was really able to bear her heart for us all in a way that affected many people. We had a really cool group of new people come with us on the retreat as well. This picture is of the all of us posing at the end for a goofy group pic. This group has really become quite the family for me (outside of my real family) and I can't wait to see how God blesses this group.

The retreat topic was "Now and Forever" and it focused on the wounds in our past and the lies they make us believe now as well as the habits we have now and how they will affect our future actions. Now, there was a lot more depth to the weekend, and hopefully I can get some more thoughts after I look at the notes some more.

Brandon Heath

I, as of late, have had a love-hate relationship with Christian music. The musical styling has tended to be, in my opinion, stale and a bit too much like late 90's pop. So I find it interesting to be writing about Brandon Heath.

For whatever reason, in my mind, this artist seems like a guy who has a unique enough styling to stand apart. Now, this is going off of just 2 songs of his that I have, and 1 more that I've heard on the radio. They have a certain moving nature to them that really builds throughout a song, and for me, it is good enough to listen to.

The song "Give Me Your Eyes" has had the epic feel as I've work it out on my iPod. I recently (read: today) saw the music video for this song and found it equally powerful (am I cheesy...maybe). This screams James 2 to me. And not just for the monetarily poor, but those of us who are needy, those of us who are "poor in spirit"

5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?

8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 9 But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.

So consider checking out more of Mr. Heath, as I know I will. And let us really learn to slow down and love. Because we are accelerating past not only our lives, but the lives of those in need.

Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes from Brandon Heath on Vimeo.

The Cultural Christian

I started to re-read Romans today, as the last time I read it through was quite a while ago. It really is a fantastic book, laden with different facts, ideas, etc. As I read today, this passage really stuck out to me...

For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the Jewish ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not a cutting of the body but a change of heart produced by God's Spirit. Whoever has this kind of change seeks praise from God, not from people.

-Romans 2:28-29, NLT

Now, I'd be willing to guess, if Paul were alive today, and writing his Epistle to the Americans, it might go something like this

For you are not a true Christian just because you were born of Christian parents or because you have gone through the Christian ceremony of baptism. No, a true Christian is one whose heart is right with God. And true baptism is not an immersion in water, but a change of heart produced by immersion in God's Spirit. Whoever has this kind of change seeks praise from God, not from people.

-American 2:28-29, speculative

I know I can be guilty of just assuming that if I call myself a Christian, that it works as a cover all for me and my life sometimes. Perhaps I need to check and make sure that my life, as well as my heart, are in line with God. I think this is good advice for a nation that calls itself Christian and goes to church because it is 'what we do.' Let us change our hearts...

The Equipment

Today, in my first Mass at the St. John's Catholic Newman Center on campus, the sermon from father Greg Ketcham really caught my ear.

The scripture that he had to speak on is some of the most powerful scripture I know.

Romans 12:1-2
Matthew 16:21-27

He then spoke on how important it is to have our focus on the Resurrection. I think that is so easy to forget as I get caught up in performance for the church.

He also quoted C.S. Lewis, which is almost always a good idea, and in this case, especially so. He quoted this in reference to the idea that it can be difficult to see God or experience God.

Unfortunately I did not get the quote exactly, and I didn't look too hard for it, but at its root, Lewis is saying that the sun shows no favorites, it just shines better in a clean mirror than in a dusty one. We are the instruments through which we see God and there is some work to be done for us to best experience and see God.

I love this idea, especially when combined with the idea of spiritual discipline and putting ourselves in the best situations to experience God. Now, some days may be cloudy and the sun will be hard to see regardless, but we must be prepared when the sun does shine, to reflect it as well as we can.

The American Flag

I was watching the DNC a bit last night with some friends, and at some point, a prayer was being said and the American flag was being pictured, and I blurted something (probably louder in my head) about how the Christian Flag was showing. Isn't that just awful? The American Flag, and the phrase "God Bless America" have become so tied together that our nation is truly seen as Christian (despite our war hawk status), and these symbols as Christian probably by the world. I truly imagine a foreigner seeing the American flag and having them more and more associate it with Christianity, rather than the cross or many other long lasting symbols. What a bad circumstance that puts us as believers in, especially with a "Christian" president. All he can be seen as is a hypocrite who doesn't live to Christian standards, despite what may be in his heart. I also found it fascinating as of late that the phrase "God Bless America" has crept up everywhere, onto license plates in Alabama, bumper stickers, and other medium, and yet, there is not one spiritual reference on it. It has become our meaningless mantra. Please consider this as you live your day today as a Christian Patriot, and recall which Kingdom your first allegiance belongs to.

Bow Fishing

Bow Fishing

I went bow fishing in one of my last nights in Alabama. This is a sport in which you go out on a boat, typically with a regular boat motor and a fan on top for really shallow water. You float around really shallow water and look for the fish that the game fishermen don’t want to catch, cuz they aren’t tasty and they are a nuisance. Then you shoot them with a bow and arrow. The arrow is attached to a string and a reel which you use to reel in your fish once you have pierced it. The people I know who do it will catch upwards of 30 fish a night, and then give them away to somebody that actually likes the way they taste.

I had never heard of this sport before I came to Alabama, but let me tell you something, it fascinated me to no end. I wanted to go, and when I finally got invited and it worked out, I jumped at the opportunity. So here we were, in a simple fishing boat flying across the Tennessee River to the murky swampland that is stereotypical Alabama. After being given a crash course in the equipment, another intern and I tried our hands at hitting the fish, while our host guided his boat through lily pads and brush. It took a while to finally see the fish, even with the aid of intense spotlights. Once I saw one, I lined it up though, and fired away. Stuck in the mud…

I thought to myself, this is no big deal. It was my first shot. I reeled my arrow back in after struggling with it in the mud. Resetting the arrow in the bow, I scanned for more targets to hone my skills on. This lasted for 2 hours. And I don’t mean the fishing, I mean the process of shoot, miss, stuck in mud, pull out, reset. It was a frustrating experience. Even after accounting for the refraction of the light and placing the fish a bit lower than I saw it, I still whiffed about 15 times. The other intern was no luckier, and we rode back to the south side of the Tennessee River a bit bruised in the ego department.

What made it even more striking is how good people actually are at this sport. Our guide told us he has about a 95% accuracy and when he sees a fish, he almost always is able to shoot at it too. Just amazing to me. Perhaps I will get a chance to try again, but what I know now is that I have a LOT of respect for somebody that does that

The Environment

Having been in Alabama all this summer, I’ve wanted to experience the place, and not just settle for living in a bubble. This experience definitely added to it, as the terrain we were in was absolutely surreal. With our floodlights shining on, you could see the murky water, lily pads that let water pool on them, but not drown them, trees sticking right out of the water, and shallow enough regions that our guide had to jump out and get his feet we to push us out. This was all accented by it being night time the frog sounds, the turtles bobbing their heads, and the herons flying around. It definitely felt like a true southern experience, at least what I imagined it to be.

The Analogy

How could I go fishing without having the stories of scripture regarding fishing go through my head? I guess pretty easily, but for whatever reason, my mind was struck with all sorts of analogy from the night of fishing. The first point I want to make is that I would have struggled as a fisherman in Biblical times. I probably would have been the tax collector who was converted. That job seems easier. I love that agrarian stories and parables come so much more alive when you experience them for yourself. When Jesus talks about Fishers of Men, I see how difficult it is and how patient we must be. I even think it is interesting how there is a difference between the fish we want and the fish we expect to get. As we rode back across the Tennessee River to our dock, there were fish just jumping out of the water right in our boat's wake. They were not the ones we wanted, but they were the most available. I think in the spiritual world, these are the people we must minister to. The people that want to hear the message. I also appreciated the nighttime calm that was around us as we fished. It really helps me to appreciate the retreating to quiet lonely places that Jesus loved so much.

The Green Hat

In American socio-economics, for the last few decades at the very least, there has existed the working and business class, the white collar and the blue collar, and any other way you could split it. Generally, you would get to know those who were along side you and didn't spend a lot of time with the others. If you worked at a GM plant, chances are you didn't associate with the bankers in the community. And vice versa is often true as well. Now, this isn't to say that the division is in stone, but it definitely seems to exist.

Now, I am over-simplifying all of that, but let me finish...

Nucor Steel (the company I am working for this summer), has in many ways, spit in the face of socio-economics. This is in a lot of ways due to the vision of Ken Iverson, and those who joined with him and those who followed in his footsteps. His book, Plain Talk, is a good, quick, and fascinating read. In the steel industry, this split of cultures has existed for a long time. In Bethlehem steel, the issue was so intense that the corporate folks had their own golf course, and operations had their own separate one. They didn't interact with each other, and blue and white collar were divided. Based upon your rank, people in steel wear different colored hats based upon rank, execs get special treatment, etc.

Not so much at Nucor. No special treatment for those who wear polo shirts. They park in the same spot as guys who wear dirty greens (the common wear in a steel mill). These once separate two classes are not just asked to interact, but they enjoy it. It is realized that this is best for business, and it really is the most human thing to do. This culture is fascinating to me, and since everybody gets paid and treated well, there has been no need for workers to organize a union.

Anyway, I'm not here to dode on a company. After all, it definitely is not the most important thing in my life, the business world that is. In any case...

I got a green hat today. It was a big honor. New hires and interns are given a yellow hat for safety reasons, so people can watch out for them and make sure they're in a safe place. But today, when I returned to my desk from the mill, I had a shiny green hat on my desk with my name on it. It was a huge honor to receive it. I tried it on, and felt kind of like I didn't deserve it. I am just an intern. After being assured I had earned it though, I will wear it for my last week proudly. I am now 'one of the guys,' and I love that feeling. The camaraderie of people coming together for a common cause is a beautiful thing. We must carry these ideals into the business world, and I would argue that many of them are Christ-like values even (I know, be careful Alan. I mean the part about treating people fairly and equally and with respect, even love.) to live in life.

I will wear my green hat proudly as a Nucor employee intern.

Theology of Saved

"When did you get saved?"

"Oh i was 5 years old and I followed the alter call because my mom encouraged me. I didn't really get it then, but that's when I got saved."

"So what's going on now?..."


Antique Christogram, originally uploaded by | Orthogonal Photography |.

So after my pathetic attempt at creating a dialogue, I present to you my thoughts on the word saved.

While this word isn't limited to protestant or evangelical, it is primarily seen there. I would say from my perspective it is used to say that at some point the savior came and saved me from myself and my sin. While I totally agree with that idea, I think it is very incomplete. It is seen in many worship songs today as well. These songs say that God did this or God did that. I once sinned, or I'm done with that. I find this to be incomplete.

Instead, the perspective of a priest that used to be here at the U of I rings truest to me. He says that

"We were saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved."

This salvation that God gives us is a constant process as we constantly sit on the precipice of forsaking our King. I know there are moments we are presented with that could truly strain our trust with our relationship with God. It requires a strong effort to fight on. I don't mean to challenge the idea of assurance or anything like that today, but I do challenge you to think about the loaded language of the word "saved." Consider the idea that you are being saved constantly from yourself and the evils around you. The Kingdom of God is fighting strongly for you today.

On Hope

Many people are talking about hope these days. We're all very excited by the hope that different organizations, groups, and people are talking about.

It could be Barrack Obama speaking of a hope for a new America. His campaign is hoping to catch the heart of America making himself the voice for hope. He's even written a book on the subject. That has to count for something right?

It could be a company like Google. With their user friendly desire to make their software free, they have caught the eye of the world. They even care about the environment. I even saw an editorial in the school paper that addressed the good nature of Google and how we can really trust them.

It could be any number of 'green' organizations looking to save the world that we have worked so hard to destroy. Many companies have bought into this philosophy (Google, energy companies, California) and are showing genuine concern for the world we live in.

Shoot, even tech can get into the mix. Many an American can assuredly say that they've thought at some point, "Boy, if I just had that iPhone, my life would be easier. I could calendar, email, camera, and internet my life. All while listening to The Shins."

For whatever reason, this topic really struck me today about how much stuff we put our hopes into. I myself can't wait for a future where I have things 'figured out.' I also hope to get a new computer soon (one that doesn't run slower than this will catch on) and let me tell you, I've got probably 3-4 camera lenses/accessories that I want to get. On top of that, I spent plenty of time recently thinking about cars. And don't forget relationships.
What am I getting at with all of this? The fact is, we hope for so much and put our hope into so many things that are just unsure. For those of us who do indeed believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, we have something we can ultimately put our hope in that acts as a trump card. Let us not put our hopes in things that are unsure.

I can confidently tell you no matter how much support, money, etc that Barrack Obama gets, he will not solve all of America's problems and heal your hurts. I can promise you that Google is, no matter how friendly they are, a for profit organization that is taking advantage of our willingness to be advertised too. I with some sense of confidence can tell you that man isn't the only reason for global warming, and while we should do our part, let us not hope that we can fix it alone. An iPhone becomes obselete, a car dies, friendships hit rocks, cameras can only capture a picture of the memory, not the memory itself.

So let us move forward from today truly considering what our hope shall be put into. Let us truly weigh the options with faith and not just prudence. It will be hard, but it shall be so worth it...

xPosure

This spring break I spent most of my time in Memphis, TN. I was on a mission trip with an organization called SOS. We worked on a home in the Binghamton neighborhood. This area was once a thriving community that has since been left to crack dealers, prostitutes, unemployed, and unfortunate people. It could be called a 'white flight' neighborhood and was an interesting experience. While the neighborhood isn't extremely different from neighborhoods on our own doorstep in places like Decatur, IL, what is changing is fascinating. A high concentration of ministries have teamed together and exist separately to influence the community for the message of Christ. Many of my thoughts that will come to you soon come from that trip.

One of the most eye-opening experiences was our xPosure visit (I know, cheesy spelling, right?). In this time on Tuesday night, we went to the home of a 'strategic neighbor' in the community. These are people that are passionate about building up the community and are willing to live there despite gunshots and killings only blocks away. The family we met moved from the suburbs of Memphis to this inner city neighborhood in crisis. Their passion for their neighbors is a fantastic witness to the power that God has in this place. They built a new home with wide open rooms so that they can host a house church and truly build up the community. They have Burundi refugees in their neighborhood and in their church. Their neighbors are people with real struggles and in this neighborhood all problems are out in the open.

Witnessing their lifestyle choices truly gave me a sense of how much God can move when he puts a passion in our heart and we follow it. They are helping to bring this neighborhood back to a place to be proud of by encouraging those who go off to college to return and help people believe in Binghamton.

I wish I could better articulate how incredible these people were. They chose to leave a life of American dreams in the suburbs to live in a neighborhood where they, white middle class people, should not fit in. Their daughter just graduated from college and had as much passion for her neighbors as her parents. The father still works in the swimming pool business and is an encouragement to those who don't work in the neighborhood. They have brought hope to Binghamton through Jesus. They also were able to do so without traveling thousands of miles on a mission to Africa or some far off land. There are people on our doorsteps that need Christ's compassion as well. Let us be aware of them.

Cooperation with Grace

I'm taking a Religious Studies course here at the U of I called Intro to Christianity. What a fascinating course this is. We've spent the semester talking about what Christians have done. Just as simply as that. it is taught from an objective perspective and I'm pretty sure the professor himself has no religious affiliation. So while I must protect against slander to the church and things that would be wrong, I welcome the challenge to my faith, and I am getting a chance to see some of the great moments in the 2000 year history of Christianity. A very small number of the things I've learned or had confirmed include...

• The Catholic church was not always the Catholic church by name
• It was however the strong force for Christianity during the years up to the Reformation
• Christianity DID exist in the Middle Ages (that sounds like a stab, but I'm ok with it)
• The Papacy in Avignon was legit...for a while
• Aristotle plays a pretty large role in Christian thought
• The East-West Schism was caused by celibacy, unleavened bread, and "the son"...plus other things, but it seems so trivial to think that these things divide God's Church
• The Church hierarchy took a lot of liberty to anathematize people left and write
• The formation of the Canon of Scripture is far more complex than Protestants would believe...wow I sound SUPER Catholic today
  
• Christian theologians are fantastically deep people

That last point is my point of focus today. We've had to read documents of the Christian Church and a few of these have been from some of the greatest thinkers in the history of the faith. They include Augustine of Hippo, Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, and soon, Martin Luther.

To read the very thoughts of these great men and to see how much their interpretations of Scripture influence the modern church fascinates me. I really look forward to someday taking classes, maybe at a seminary, to better understand these writings from a Christian perspective. To read Aquinas' writings on the Eucharist fascinates me and helps to flesh out the thoughts of the church at that time and what my Catholic background teaches.

My thoughts tonight focus on Augustine and his discussions with his contemporary, Pelagius, laid the groundwork for thinkers like Aquinas, Anselm of Canterbury, and John Calvin.

These two men discussed predestination and Grace's role in salvation. Pelagius has been ascribed with thougths that humanity must work for their salvation, while Augustine presents the opposite extreme speaking of man's inability to earn salvation and it was dependent on Grace completely and he even spoke of predestination.

So, I find myself falling into moderation. I think I am pretty semi-Pelagian at this point in my life. (ICK, I hate labels. And if I totally butcher this, let me know). This concept came as a middle ground between the claimed extremes of the two thinkers. The Synod of Arles, c. 473 lays this out fairly well and says

Mans effort and endeavor is to be united with God's grace; man's freedom of will is not extinct but attenuated and weakened, he that is saved is in danger, and he that has perished could have been saved.

This feels like it still doesn't completely describe how Grace works, and I wouldn't expect it to. However, I think I agree with it. God makes the first move towards us. He draws us in, sometimes even when we don't want it, but he still lets us decide. He allows us to cooperate with him and buy into his plans for the world. I'm also pretty convinced that if we completely set ourselves apart from Him, he will step out of our lives for a while until he comes to draw us to him again, ala in the book of Hosea. So, once Grace presents itself, we must live our lives in cooperation with it. This has definitely become a life verse to challenge me and I'll use it again and again.

James 2:14-17 (The Message)
Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

So, that's a lot of writing and complicated thought. I know it isn't even complete, but it is a working model so to speak. Does it completely address salvation? Not really, and I think it is better that way. We must continue to live worthy, turn to God, and know that The King will bless us. I look forward to continuing to be baffled by God and his ways...

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Oh, and lots of new pics on flickr