Welcome to the very first issue of #Rethink, a monthly newsletter designed to help us explore the ways cultural and religious Christianity have affected our perception of the Real God. I pray these words encourage you on your journey of rediscovery and hope.
So here's the thing. I know that it's important to teach people (and ourselves) to follow Jesus. But how do we do this without making it about behaviors? The epistles are full of exhortations to avoid sin and choose holiness. And yet I have personally watched those same exhortations be transformed into checklists to follow. I have plenty of examples where spiritual leaders used Paul's and even Jesus' words to try and change behaviors through guilt and shame. That's not okay. Because while conviction is a tool of the Holy Spirit, guilt and shame are not.
I'm orthodox in my view of sin. I believe that as people we have been totally corrupted by a sin nature. I know that living in sin brings negative consequences simply through the laws of cause and effect. More importantly, without Jesus, sin separates us from God.
However, I also know that sin is more than behaviors. I believe it's this deep self-centeredness that colors everything. Jesus came not only to forgive us of our sins, but to provide us with new life. But...
I'm just not sure that the methods we've used and the words we've often said in church and across Christian culture are right.
Does God really want our "goodness" if it comes with a prideful heart?
If our motives for behaving are to get God to like us better, is that really holy or right?
If sin is part of our brokenness and Jesus wants to restore us to holiness, what does that look like and how does it work?
How can we begin to understand sanctification (becoming like Jesus) apart from religion?
I don't have answers yet, just questions. :-)
An acquaintance of mine wrote a powerful article at Christianity Today last month. K.J. Ramsey tackled the fallout that occurs when miracles don't happen. As someone who struggles with chronic illness, K.J. is all too familiar with suffering and unanswered prayers. Using her personal experience coupled with her knowledge as a therapist, K.J. nailed beautiful truth as she talked about the #WakeUpOlive movement that recently swept social media and the Internet. Here's my favorite quote from the article:
"Declaring power over death is alluring—suffering and death do sting. But the demonstration of God’s love wasn’t a seizure of power by proclamation but a surrender of status."
I think too often, as we live in this broken world, we Christians try to find the right formula to wrestle heaven down to earth rather than choosing to lament the brokenness we experience while we long for our Forever Home.
Our church started an informal Bible School on Sunday nights last semester. The classes are taught by professors who attend our church and basically donate their time. In the fall I took Bible Study Methods and now I'm taking Torah. Both classes have been taught by a brilliant Hebrew scholar who also teaches at Dallas Theological Seminary. Every week my mind gets blown!
Last week was just the introduction to the Torah but in less than an hour my professor changed the way I will read the Old Testament for the rest of my life. He walked us through a Suzerian Vassal Treaty. This was a tool used in the Ancient Near East to form a legal agreement between someone in authority, the Suzerian, and someone under their authority, the vassal (new words to me). Also known as a covenant, it had seven sections.
The Introduction: where both parties are identified
The Historical Prologue: giving the background of their relationship
The Stipulations: explaining the details of the covenant and how it will work
The Blessings: listing positive things that will happen if the covenant is kept
The Curses: stating negative consequences for breaking the covenant
Document Clause: telling where the covenant is written and stored
List of Witnesses: the people who see the agreement made
Our professor briefly walked us through the various books of the Old Testament showing how they all fall into one or more of these sections of the covenant. Then he came back to the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) and categorized them within the covenant. Suddenly scattered pieces joined together in my mind. I cannot wait to continue this class!
My favorite part of the night was seeing the way God chose the tool of a Suzerian Vassal Treaty, something familiar to the ancient people in the Old Testament, as a way to draw humanity back into a relationship with Himself. God has always pursued His people. That is the cry of His heart.
I also I came away realizing how foolish and honestly prideful it is for us English speaking Western Christians in the 21st century to assume that we can read a translation of a piece of ancient literature and grasp the full meaning without any extra research or work. Yet this is what happens all the time. And worse, not only do we assume that we understand, we take our false misconceptions and create theology and religious expectations. It's wrong.
I'm sure that I will continue to share about Torah class in this section over the next few months! :-)
I hope you enjoyed this first issue of #Rethink. Thanks for joining me on this new adventure. I'd love to hear your thoughts, questions, or comments.
Christy
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