More Trends

Who would have thought that one of the top trends is a return to Calvinism.  But it's one of the things that TIME says is changing the world right now.  Here's a bit of the article

If you really want to follow the development of conservative Christianity, track its musical hits. In the early 1900s you might have heard "The Old Rugged Cross," a celebration of the atonement. By the 1980s you could have shared the Jesus-is-my-buddy intimacy of "Shine, Jesus, Shine." And today, more and more top songs feature a God who is very big, while we are...well, hark the David Crowder Band: "I am full of earth/ You are heaven's worth/ I am stained with dirt/ Prone to depravity."
The link to the rest

Trends

This week my blog will send you in other directions.  TIME Magazine latest issue had 10 ideas that are changing the world right now.  They are worth the time to read and reflect on.  So for the next few days links to TIME.  The first of the 10 ideas that are changing the world:  Jobs are the New Assets:  

Remember when jobs weren't worth your small talk? Think back a year or two. Picture yourself at a cocktail party or maybe picking up the kids from soccer. How did the conversation go? You talked about your house. A new deck! You talked about your portfolio. Gotta go small cap. Did you mention how much pleasure you derived from bringing home a steady paycheck? Probably not. "Land was valuable, and capital was valuable, and labor — who cared?" says David Ellison, a Boston-based money manager. "The attitude was, As long as I buy a few homes and invest in a hedge fund, I'm done. I can sit in my chair and watch football games."

Read the Rest

Waving Goodbye to organized Faith

Organized Religions Losing Believers In America
Reported by: Web Producer
Monday, Mar 9, 2009 @05:20am CST
Survey: Organized Religions Losing Believers In America
Americans are exploring a new spirituality according to a new survey.
The American Religious Identification poll is scheduled for release today.
It will say the percentage of Americans who label themselves as Christian has tumbled more than eleven-percent in a single generation.
The ARIS survey says almost all religious denominations have lost members since the poll was first taken in 1990.
"USA Today" quotes survey co-author Barry Kosmin as saying, "more than ever before, people are just making up their own stories of who they are.
They say, I'm everything, I'm nothing.  I believe in myself."
Among the survey findings: 15-percent of Americans claim they're affiliated with no organized religion.
While Baptists are represented by nearly 16-percent of the population the number is down from more than 19-percent in 1990.
The Catholic faith is claimed by more than 25-percent of survey respondents, down about one-percent from earlier polls.
Jewish numbers have dropped from one-point-eight-percent in 1990 to one-point-two-percent today.
Bucking the trend is the percentage of people saying they're Muslims.
That's doubled from three-tenths of a percent in 1990 to six-tenths of a percent today.
Some of the shift may be caused by an educational deficit.
Reverend Kendall Harmon, a theologian for the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina says a couple once walked into his office carrying a yellow pad full of questions their teenage son had provided.
Among them: "what is that guy doing hanging up there on the plus sign?"

Love those Rabbis

In the gospel of John, Jesus heals a blind man during the Feast of Tabernacles [Sukkot].  He does it on the Sabbath by spitting in the dirt, making mud and sending the man to the pool of Siloam to wash his eyes.  (The pool of Siloam is where the water is taken for rituals pertaining to the Feast of Tabernacles --Jesus interestingly  uses this ritual water to heal.)  The fact he heals on the Sabbath causes the usual problems.  Is such a healing alright on the Sabbath, is it unnecessary work, etc.?  Part of the problem centers around whether it is permissible to anoint your eyes on the Sabbath.  Jewish belief relates contrary ideas about anointing an eye on the sabbath.  My favorite argument is between Rabbi Jehuda and Rabbi Samuel.  R. Jehuda said it was permitted to do so; R. Samuel declared it was not, but when his own eyes gave him trouble he asked the former if it was allowable, and Jehuda said it was so for others, but not for him!.  Love those rabbis.

Just wondering

In John 8 those in the crowd asks Jesus one of those questions that makes you stop and say, "Really, you asked that?"  And then you wonder what a really good answer might be.  Here's the question, John 8:48    “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

In the Midst of Economic crisis, global meltdowns--priorities

McMeltdown: Cops respond to emergency McNuggets call
From The Smoking Gun:

Angered that her local McDonald’s was out of Chicken McNuggets, a Florida woman called 911 three times to report the fast food “emergency.” Latreasa Goodman, 27, last Saturday called police to complain that a cashier–citing a McDonald’s all sales are final policy–would not give her a refund. When cops responded to the restaurant, Goodman told them, “This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn’t have McNuggets, I wouldn’t have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don’t want one.”

Goodman noted, “I called 911 because I couldn’t get a refund, and I wanted my McNuggets,” according to the below Fort Pierce Police Department report. That logic, however, did not keep cops from citing Goodman for misusing the 911 system. Even after being issued a misdemeanor citation, Goodman contended, “this is an emergency, my McNuggets are an emergency.”

More of the Fallout

The New York Times posted an article that points out the pain of other nations as people invest their money in the U.S. as a safe haven in difficult times.  The financial crisis continues to have unexpected consequences.  It is worth reading the article to get a global perspective and also to remind those of us who have jobs to make sure that some of our giving money makes its way to those who are poor in other lands.

The Man Behind the Stimulus Package

The real brains behind the stimulus package is not President Obama or his advisors but a man who live in the first part of the 20th century.  John Maynard Keynes.  Not many of us wandering down the regular paths of life know much about him, but his theories are at the root of the Obama administrations attempt to revive our economy.  So for those of you who are wondering what thinking is moving things right now, you can read this article in the New Republic.  Be aware that while it gives info on Keynes, it is also biased in its view.  I take no responsibility for the bias, but do recommend the article.  

For a different take on the Obama economic plan check out my blog from January 31.

Jesus in my Girlfriend

While reading a friend's blog he mentioned the theology of "Jesus is my girlfriend".  A rather interesting and provocative idea.  The bottom line is that we more and more are treating  Jesus more as our girlfriend or boyfriend (especially in our worship songs) than we treat him as the second person of the trinity, Lord of all creation, the one who is returning to rule over the cosmos.  Such a tilt in our theology inevitably impacts our actions.  Certainly one treats and pays attention to his girlfriend quite differently than he treats and pays attention to the one who as Paul writes in Colossians, 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by 6 him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.  Jesus as my girlfriend or the Jesus of Colossians?  For a bit more thinking on this, especially as it relates to music check out Jesus is my Girlfriend.

Restoring Trust as the Markets Crash

Jim Skillen of the Center for Public Justice recently wrote,

Let me put it more bluntly. People are not just angry about bankers' big bonuses and auto company CEOs' private jets; they are angry that they got taken by "the system"--by banks, by mortgage companies, by investment advisers, and by the government that aided and abetted and gave no warning of the coming collapse. As in a stagecoach robbery, writes Janet Tavakoli, "Wall Street bankers made off with the loot without firing a shot. They were enabled by Washington overseers and financial regulators who--when not beneficiaries of the good times--behaved like ostriches. Meanwhile, news of the fact that no one in the US has been brought to justice has not escaped notice" For more...

Symbols to Die For

We are leaving behind the crashing kings of 2 Chronicles and beginning a walk with Jesus over the next few weeks at EverGreen.  We are going to listen in as he teaches us essential truths about himself using symbols like bread, light, and a sheep gate.  One of the wonders of symbols is that they can bring so many things to mind and challenge us to think deeply and differently.  When it comes to Jesus the symbols that he uses to describe himself put him in such a place that finally those in power put him to death, thus the title of the series "Symbols to Die For".  

The first symbol that Jesus gives us is bread.  He tells us "I am the bread of life".  The words are connected with Jesus feeding the 5000.  They are rich words that connect with God the Father feeding the people manna in the desert and with Moses as the leader.  But what lies behind all of the story in John 6 is a deep longing for a political revolution.  The people sit on the hillside waiting for Jesus to declare a revolution.  His failure to do so and his call to eat his body and drink his blood cause the crowds to abandon him.  

One other thing.  When Jesus says "I am"  (The Greek is ego eimi, and literally says "I, I am") is a declaration by Jesus that he is at the very least connected to Yahweh who's name means "I am".  

So enjoy a good read for this week from John 6 and be ready for "Symbols to Die For".

The Importance of Debate

Global warming has become an accepted reality by many.   But this environmental issue along with others are always open to debate, and the truth is good debate makes for better solutions.  A recent article digs into this.  Here's a snippet

"Garte goes on to argue that excessive pessimism about the environment undermines good scientific investigation and distorts our understanding of important environmental challenges. He displays the frequent naïveté of a scientist observing the political world: "I have never understood why pessimism has for so long been associated with a liberal or progressive political world view." He criticizes anti-technological biases prevalent among environmentalists, but is also skeptical that market forces alone will suffice to continue our environmental progress in the future. He is guardedly optimistic that the creativity and adaptability of the human species will enable us to confront surprises and new problems. "We should pay attention to our successes as much as to our failures," Garte writes, "because in order to know where to go next, it is just as important to know where (and how) we went right as it is to know where we have gone wrong."

What is Love?

In our age of love we have a sense that love is first of all about feelings.  If the feeling of love dies, then love dies as well.  In the book of 1 John I'm reminded over and over again that love or perhaps more rightly, the evidence of love is not attached to feelings but to obedience.  John writes to his "little children", 2.3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.  In the gospel of John chapter 14 Jesus says to his disciples, 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.  Love, obedience, keeping the words of Christ are all intertwined.  You can't proclaim true love for Christ without also living as he calls you to live.  Certainly, there is the good news that when we fail to walk that path that there is forgiveness.  But if we believe there is no path to walk or that God is indifferent if we follow the way of Christ we are sadly mistaken.  

By the way the word "ought" in 1 John 2.6   has a  strong sense in this passage. This is not merely an expected outcome it has a strong sense of obligation to it. This is the kind of life that will be lived by a person who belongs to Christ. If this is so, it behooves us to really look at the commands of Christ so we know what they are and how we are supposed to live. It also puts a new emphasis on the great commandment: Make disciples teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.