Sinking Sand
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| Joshua |
Why do we push people to take sides, to form opinions, to choose one stance or another? Most of our interactions are formed in false dichotomies; you are either with us or against us dualisms. Think about it we have a litmus test of questions that are asked to gauge where someone is theologically, politically, socially, or any other dividing wall people have put up. What do you believe about homosexuality? Are you Democrat or Republican? Do you watch Fox News or MSNBC? What is your take on the rapture or hell? So on and so on goes our list of qualifiers for consideration of membership.
I love the passage where the commander of the armies of Yahweh tells Joshua he is not there to take sides. And just like the commander of the Yahweh’s armies is not called to take sides, I do not think that Christians are either. We are the people who are to be all things to all people so that we might win some to Christ, just like Paul said.
Lately there has been a myriad of issues that people have tried to push me to take a side on like the LGBT community, the Rob Bell controversy, the death of Osama Bin Laden, and many other issues. I just do not feel it is my place to cast judgment. And to be honest I am hesitant to take any side, because I have a problem anytime we turn people into issues instead of treating them as solely and wholly loved by God. Now do not get me wrong there are lots of things that I do take sides on, sometimes rightly and other times failing to adhere to the ideals of grace. I will always try to take the side of love or the side of the oppressed and marginalized. When I look at the life of Jesus I see him taking those stands, which often put him at odds with the political and religious folks. I don’t know where I stand on many of these issues. It is not because I am ill informed and just need to be further enlightened, but rather because I do not want to treat any person as less then the image of God. Often we fight for our side and sacrifice people to do so. I would rather sacrifice my opinion and fight for people instead. You know I guess it boils down to this I stand on the solid rock all other ground is sinking sand.
Comments
The angel of the LORD that appeared to Joshua was on a side...just not an earthly one. And it's not really about sides more than it being a matter of what is right and what is wrong.
Is post-mortem salvation/pseudo universalism right or wrong?
Does teaching it make Rob Bell a wolf?
Is homosexuality a sin?
Should we love Osama bin Laden, and/or pray for justice against him?
There are right and wrong answers to all of these questions. Some of them simple, most of them not so much.
As Christians, we believe in absolute truth. Grace does not supplant this, it complements it. Because how much more meaning does it have when a church that believes homosexuality is sinful (as I do as well), raises $15,000 for the Gay and Lesbian center of Los Angeles for HIV and AIDS treatment? And how much more awesome is it when the pastor of that church is invited to lunch with the board members of the center and they ask him all kinds of questions about his faith, including that what they do is sinful.
Had Jesus defended the prostitute when she had done no wrong, why would it be such a big deal? It's because of her sin that the story of grace and mercy is so profound. Truth and grace, working together.
I am not trying to persuade anyone to change their opinion, but the reality is we are always far too quick to try and do so. Christians have become talking heads with big mouths and no ears. We do not listen. Once you wade into the water of absolute truth claims we often leave no room for conversation to take place. No room to see what God is doing in the lives of those God created. It becomes about being right. We lose many people in order to win the argument, but the reality is we need to be willing to lose the argument in order to win the person. So if you want to prove that you are right, you will always find yourself on the wrong side. I believe there is truth that supersedes our limited perpectives, but no one is capable of grasping it. We are all slaves to the perspective of our subjectivity.
"Does teaching it make Rob Bell a wolf?" No, it makes him a brother in Christ, who is wrestling with what does it mean to follow Jesus, as we all are. "Is Homosexuality a sin?" Depends on who you ask. I have met Christians who are bible believing otherwise Evangelical, who would say no it is not. Do I agree or disagree is not important, but what is important is that I seek to understand where they are coming from. The Church is not called to agree on everything be we are called to love one another, so anything that would cause me to act unloving towards a brother or sister in Christ I am willing to lay down in order to love them. Love is how the world will know we are followers of Jesus, not a certain set of doctrines.
"Should we love Osama Bin Laden, and/or pray for justice against him?" We should absolutely love Bin Laden. We are called to love our enemies and to do good to those who wrong us. And we should also pray for justice, but whose justice? Man's or God's? Even by American standards of Justice, Osama was not dealt with justly. He was unarmed and assassinated. Now I could be wrong but America believes that everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law by a jury of their peers. Justice in America is served by the slamming of a gavel, not the barrel of a gun. So the question is what does justice look like? and to that you will have a vast and varied sea of opinions.
So these questions are not necessarily right or wrong questions, they are questions that will derive different answers depending on your perspective.
I love the fact that you disagree with what I wrote, even though ironically my initial response was to write a defense of my position. My point is that if we are to really be all things to all people, as Paul suggests, we must lay down our perspectives once in a while in order to engage those standing on the "other" side. Because Christians are in the business of winning people not issues.
While Post-mortem salvation and universalism aren't the same, I put them in the same breath because ultimately, I believe that's where Bell stands on it. He's not a traditional universalist in that he believes there is no hell, but the thrust of his book is that God calls everyone and that everyone will make a free will decision for God, eventually.
I don't get the sense that Bell isn't genuine. I do believe he wrestles with these concepts. But at some point, especially as a teacher of God's Word and a shepherd to the sheep, there has to be accountability. Bell is a teacher, teaching something. He claims an eternal hell doesn't bring God glory. In the opening of the book, he says he believes the traditional view of hell is misguided (though, in his defense, I think his idea of traditional involves a big red dude with horns). It makes me believe he is the one forcing people to choose sides. Genuineness doesn't make a teacher not a wolf.
And you're right, we are to show love for one another and that agreeing on everything is not something that is required (or possible at this point). However, if quantity means anything, there are so much said about false doctrines and teachers, in the NT, and that we are not to have anything to do with them.
And determining what is sin, should not be a matter of who you ask. Whether that be homosexuality or our attitude towards perceived enemies. God decides what is good, and what is sin. The individual's interpretation notwithstanding, there is a right and wrong to what God says about homosexuality. Likewise, there is a right way and a wrong way to treat someone who would call themselves a homosexual.
And while our perspective is limited by what the Holy Spirit allows us to see, there is no reason not to set out to find what is truth. And not truth as it pertains to us, but truth as it's laid out in God's Word.
And when that truth comes to life and out of the pages…that's when the Kingdom grows and God is glorified :-)
I absolutely agree! Christianity is as much about winning as Charlie Sheen is. Because we look just as ridiculous trying! Coming to truth, revealed by the Holy Spirit, is a much more gratifying, satisfying and glorifying!