The Myth of a Christian Religion

by Jeremy Myers
via Till He Comes

I recently finished reading The Myth of a Christian Religion by Gregory Boyd. Overall, his approach is similar to the one I will take in Close Your Church for Good. He reveals how the church has become seduced by various powers which have kept us from living according to Kingdom principles. After laying the groundwork for this premise, he writes about various subjects that the church must avoid in order to revolt against these powers and return to living like Jesus. For example, he calls for a revolution in the areas of judgment (chap. 4), nationalism (chap. 7), racism (chap. 10), and greed (chap 11).

It was a good book, and I really appreciated how he approached each subject with grace and tact. After presenting an area of concern, he gave suggestions, but always with gentleness and respect, knowing that the Spirit may lead you or I to respond differently.

And that brings me to my only difficulty with the book. I think that he didn’t go far enough. Greg implies that though most churches in the world are enslaved to the Powers, he and his church have found a better way. I have never visited his church, but my guess is that if I did, I would not be able to tell that it was much different from almost any other church in town. He’s made some changes which I think are a move in the right direction, but are they enough to reverse the course we are on?

It’s like a Playboy photographer who doesn’t look at Playboy magazines, or a Tobacco Company CEO who doesn’t smoke, or a BP Oil Executive who drives a hybrid. If you’re still part of an abusive, exploitive, damaging system, who cares if you make a few tweaks with your own involvement?

Maybe what we need is not a revolution, or even another reformation. What we need is a death and resurrection.

[Full Article]

Dueling Marquees

via Florilegia

A Catholic church and a Presbyterian church across the street from one another.
Probably Photoshop since nothing ever changes in the background, but still kinda funny.

10 things the CNN Belief Blog learned in its first year

By Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor

After publishing 1,840 posts and sifting through 452,603 comments (OK, we may have missed one or two) the Belief Blog feels older than its 12 months would suggest. But it also feels wiser, having followed the faith angles of big news stories, commissioned lots of commentary and, yes, paid attention to all those reader comments for a solid year.

10 things we've learned:

1. Every big news story has a faith angle...
2. Atheists are the most fervent commenters on matters religious...
3. People are still intensely curious about the Bible, its meaning and its origins...
4. Most Americans are religiously illiterate...
5. It's impossible to understand much of the news without knowing something about religion...
6. Regardless of where they fit on the spectrum, people want others to understand what they believe...
7. Americans still have an uneasy relationship with Islam...
8. God may not prevent natural disasters, but religion is always a big part of the response...
9. Apocalyptic movements come and go...
10. Most Americans don't know that President Barack Obama is a Christian...

[Full Article]

"life" in the bunker

by Bonar Crump aka "bunker buster"

I will always be amazed by the massive volume of ways that my Christian friends attempt to protect themselves from sin and even the hint of displeasing God. It’s like watching someone build a bunker in which to live that is capable of withstanding flood, earthquake, fire, wind, and all other forms of natural disaster. Then as they sit snuggly inside their spiritual bunker feeling safe and rather pleased with themselves for their obvious foresight and preparation, the unexpected happens. There are bugs and mice and air quality issues that sneak in and begin to rob them of their sense of security. Their isolation from sin is an illusion at best.

I want to live out in the open where I get to see the trees sway in the wind and feel the sun on my face from time to time. Sure, living in the open presents its hazards, but there’s nothing like watching a gentle curtain of rain approach from the West atop a hill. Isolation is highly overrated—especially when the far-reaching result is isolation from other people that have much to teach us.

Most of my Christian friends are convinced that they have something genuinely wonderful to share with the world around them. The problem is that sitting in the bunker doesn’t quite lend itself to sharing anything with anyone. Come out into the light, folks! Take a breath of fresh air! We won’t tell anyone if you sit atop this hill and enjoy the view with us. It’ll be our little secret.

Boyett's O ME OF LITTLE FAITH

By Bonar Crump

I’m reading a book written by Jason Boyett called, O me of little faith: True Confessions of a Spiritual Weakling. The book acts as a testimony of sorts. It’s a well-reasoned collection of personal history used as a backdrop for explaining Jason’s doubts about the God and belief system of Christianity that’s been modeled for him his entire life. I don’t mean to imply that he blames anyone for the doubts he deals with, but he does feel compelled to explore the anomalies of his (and other’s) faith with an emphatic emphasis on asking “why?”

Why do we pray in such cryptic language? Why do we conjure up images of God which seem so paper-thin and flimsy? Why do we “sell” Jesus as a free gift or “get out of jail free card” only later to disclose that you’re gonna need to pay for the upgrades if you want to do this thing right? Why do we pit faith against logic and human experience in an attempt to rewrite all manners of time and space in a well-intentioned answer to the skeptics of “just because…that’s why”?

Here’s where I disagree with Jason: what he calls doubt in these situations I call honesty. His self-deprecating manner of presenting himself as a “spiritual weakling” seems very honest and forthright. His ability to untangle the spiritual knot in his life that is faith—doubt—understanding—self-evaluation—cosmic significance is an encouragement to us all to doubt. It is an encouragement to us all to be honest enough with ourselves to admit that a lot of what we’ve rubbed up against in contemporary organized religious circles CANNOT be from God.

My particular favorite section is about Jason’s struggle with the concept of prayer. I, too, don’t get what prayer is all about. If God is who He says He is then why do I need to be telling Him or asking Him anything? I never feel right praying for myself. It always feels like I’m using God as a Magic 8 Ball. Will someone give us an offer on the house this week? It is doubtful. Crap!

The message is clear…if you’re honest with your doubts and misgivings about your faith then you are asking the kinds of questions that will help you cast off the excessive garbage you’ve picked up along the way. That has to be a good thing. Whether you call it an “emergent” movement in the church or “postmodernism” it all translates into a generation of Christian believers that are honestly expressing their doubt in ways that are fundamentally enriching and controversially beneficial.

Thanks, Jason, for the cool read. My turtles rest on the outer rim of a black hole—there they wormhole through spacetime to wind up being connected to the top.  It’s a loop and I am the black hole. That’s the only way I can describe something that is without a beginning and without an end. You’ll have to read the book to understand what the hell I’m talking about…

I am ordering 4 more copies for friends today. Don't assume that you are one of the friends I'll be getting one for. Order one yourself.

[Get it at Amazon.com]