#Rethink: Religion, Eugene Peterson, and Heart Motivations
#Rethink: January 2022
This month let's contemplate the way religion always sucks us in, ponder Eugene Peterson's story, and dig into the motivations of our hearts.
Why are We so Drawn to Religion?
I started Season 6 of my podcast last week. As I've listened to The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill for the past few months and heard the story of Mark Driscoll going from a young man who wanted to start something new to the power hungry leader of an organization that began to feel like a cult, it stirred all kind of questions in my soul. Why were so many aspects of this story familiar?
Spending a decade following Bill Gothard of the Institute in Basic Life Principles, I learned the same "biblical" ideas of gender roles, marriage, family life, and Christian devotion. Gothard's followers were more like the Duggar family from TLC while Driscoll attracted indy punk rockers, but our hearts looked the same.
Why are we so attracted to religion?
Why does Evangelical Christianity always seem to be on the wrong side?
How does this tie into the Pharisees from Jesus' time on Earth?
What are we really looking for?
These are the questions I'm asking this season as I dive deeper into the beliefs of my Christian cult, connect those beliefs to mainstream Evangelical Christianity, ponder our bent towards religion, and tie it all back to Eden. I hope you will join me! You can find Looking for the Real God anywhere you listen to podcasts.
"This hunger for something radical--something so true that it burned in his bones--was a constant in Eugene's life. His longing for God ignited a ferocity in his soul."
Winn Collier A Burning in my Bones
My husband gave me the authorized biography of Eugene Peterson, translator of The Message, for Christmas. It's a thick book and I'm not even half way through, but I love it. The author was a personal friend of Eugene and his wife Jan and was given unlimited access to Eugene's study, letters, and journals as he wrote the book.
In a time where scandal among prominent Christian leaders has become normal, reading Eugene's story is a breath of fresh air. Here is a man who longed for genuineness above fame and fortune. He sought relationships with average people instead of well-known ones. He was a humble servant his whole life choosing obscurity instead of power even as his Bible translation impacted the world. I've wondered if this kind of a life was possible, and Eugene Peterson says that it is.
I cannot wait to finish this book, but at the same time it's the kind I want to slowly savor. I am so grateful for the example of this truly godly man. I'm going to follow him as he followed Jesus.
Desires of my Heart
Friends, it's been an exhausting two years, right? Life feels extra intense right now. People seem to be increasingly on edge. It's like the rudeness we feel free to exhibit online has been launched into real life as well.
If I ever wondered how broken the world actually was, I have a better idea now. And it's incredibly sad. Everyone can see the brokenness, but we all have different ideas of what the problem is and how to fix it.
We are all experiencing fear, chaos, and a lack of control, but we respond to that fear and uncertainty in different ways. And then we react to each others' responses. There isn't much grace given these days. So, what is really going on?
I'll explore this more on my podcast in the weeks to come, but here are a few truths that will help us as we navigate our messy world.
Everything is broken and even it we don't acknowledge that, we feel it.
Humans were made for Eden--a paradise where we are perfectly connected to God, each other, and the world around us.
We are all trying to recreate what we lost whether we know it or not.
When I settle into these truths, when I acknowledge the brokenness of our world, and when I realize what my heart is truly looking for, it centers me.
There is no magic biblical formula for a perfect life. But I do not walk through heartache and loss alone. I cannot recreate Eden. But I can reconnect with my Creator thanks to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit He has given us. The world will stay broken until Jesus comes and fixes it. But through the Spirit I can bring peace and restoration to my little part of it.
It's not easy to live in tension, but that is where we will find rest for our souls.
Thanks for taking a moment to #Rethink some of our religious traditions and beliefs. I know that it can be scary to deconstruct and reconstruct our faith, but finding the Real Jesus is absolutely worth it. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, questions, or comments.
If you know someone who would love to #rethink, please share!
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