Tag Archives: Theology

Apr 07 2012
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John Lussier, Theology

Getting past the husk to the kernel…

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. – Jesus

What’s at the core of Christianity? Dig in deep, cut through everything, what’s in the marrow of Christ-following? When everything has completely gone to hell, what keeps you going as a Christian? What hill would you die on?

I recently read two short essays regarding these questions (and more) and wanted to share them with you. Both articles reflect on the increasing secularization the American church faces within itself, and how it could respond. The first was by Andrew Sullivan, and was the cover story of Newsweek this week. Sullivan takes this Holy Week to talk about “Christianity in Crisis“.:

Christianity itself is in crisis. It seems no accident to me that so many Christians now embrace materialist self-help rather than ascetic self-denial—or that most Catholics, even regular churchgoers, have tuned out the hierarchy in embarrassment or disgust. Given this crisis, it is no surprise that the fastest-growing segment of belief among the young is atheism, which has leapt in popularity in the new millennium. Nor is it a shock that so many have turned away from organized Christianity and toward “spirituality,” co-opting or adapting the practices of meditation or yoga, or wandering as lapsed Catholics in an inquisitive spiritual desert. The thirst for God is still there. How could it not be, when the profoundest human questions—Why does the universe exist rather than nothing? How did humanity come to be on this remote blue speck of a planet? What happens to us after death?—remain as pressing and mysterious as they’ve always been?

The second essay was by Dr. Paul Louis Metzger. He asks, very directly, in response to the secular world, what alone does the church have to offer? His essay “Religion for Atheists and Religionless Christianity“.:

In an April 2nd article discussing Swiss philosopher Alain de Botton’s book, Religion For Atheists: A Non-believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion, Kimberly Winston asks: “Stripped of its supernatural elements, does religion have anything to offer atheists? What can nonbelievers borrow from the organizations, practices and rituals of believers – without borrowing a belief in God?” (see here).

Beyond what atheists and other “nonbelievers” might strip away from and also borrow from religion, I am even more interested in what Christian religious folks like me would be willing to strip away from the Christian religion and what we might leave intact. What would we reject, and what would we retain if we were to do a thorough house-cleaning? What would we find essential?

I’d invite you to read the works listed above, and then ask yourself: “When Christ comes out of the tomb tomorrow, what’s he coming out for?”

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Mar 27 2012
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Confession, Jerk, John Lussier, Love, Theology, Uncategorized

Confessions of a Theological Jerk #4

[[This is a continuation of John's series "Confessions of a Theological Jerk", a discussion on being a jerk about theology, and how (hopefully) to stop it. You can see post #1 here, #2 here, and #3 here.]]

It’s Spring Break, and I took the opportunity of a free weekend to do some reading. One book I grabbed off my shelf was Dietrich Bonhoeffer‘s, Spiritual Care. The book is a very practical set of lectures Bonhoeffer wrote in between the Cost of Discipleship, and Life Together, while he was the “principal” of Finkenwalde Seminary.  The lectures were intended for ordained pastors as they perform the ministerial duty of “spiritual care”, and so it covers things like visiting homes, caring for the sick, etc. but has some great insights  for the entire church and can easily be read in an afternoon.

Spiritual Care

The book is all about the pastor’s role in spiritual dialogue or as the translator of Bonhoeffer puts it, “spiritual care”. This dialogue happens between two ,or sometimes with married couples three, individuals. It is listening and proclamation of the Word, alongside more general teaching (like preaching, Bible study, etc.). The mission of spiritual care is to remove all obstacles to an encounter between a person and the Word of God. This involves prayer, listening, prophetic speech, making a place and time for confession, the announcement of forgiveness, and discussion of how to press into the Gospel. Simply put by Bonhoeffer, “the Word is so close to us that we cannot insert a piece of paper between the self and the creative Word of God, [and] it is the task of spiritual care to enable people to become alive to this Word at their center.” (Please go read this book!)

Spiritual Care and the Theological Jerk

One particular section really hits home for any student of theology, pastor, teacher, etc. and especially theological jerks like me. In this section Bonhoeffer discusses spiritual care specifically with other pastors, those who have been given the office of listening and proclaiming the Word as shepherds of a group of people (we all have the general call to do so, but there is also the office which comes with greater responsibility). After discussing how pastors must be in partnership with one another (including not gossiping about each other to their congregation) Bonhoeffer goes on to something that must be a central concern for anyone who studies the Word. (I have changed some of Bonheoffer’s language to the first person plural in order to avoid controversey over issues regarding gender and the pastorship,  as well as to present this material as a reality for all of us.)

The greatest difficulty for a pastor stems from our theology. We know all there is to be known about sin and forgiveness. We know what the faith is and talk about it so much that we wind up no longer living in faith but in thinking about faith. We even know that our nonfaith is the right form of faith: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). Knowledge reveals our daimonism. It drives us further and further into factual unbelief. We can then have no experience of faith. Our only experience is reflection on the faith.

The problem is exacberated by our constant preaching. We have to say things we have not experientially discovered. Such “misuse” of the Word must bother us very deeply. Indeed it is our singular mission not to preach our experience but to preach from Scripture. That can be proven and justified on the best theological grounds. Everything indeed depends on the Word. But it’s a sorry state of affairs if we are not bothered that our experience lags so far behind the Word, or if we strike the pose of a martyr who renouncing his own experience, subjected himself for the sake of proclaiming a strange Word. The peak of theological craftiness is to conceal necessary and wholesome unrest under such self-justification. In this case, one cannot believe hecause one doesn’t want to believe. The conscience has been put to sleep. Theology becomes a science by which one learns to excuse everything and justify everything. This justification even has ultimate authority from Luther, from the confessions, and finally from the New Testament. The theologian knows that he cannot be shot out of the saddle by other theologians. Everything his theology admits is justified. This is the curse of theology. One cannot express this without anxiety and embarrassment. It must be the theology.  But here it is worth repeating: “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 16:25).

Whoever has once begun to justify ourselves with the help of theology is in the clutches of Satan. Naturally Satan is a great theologian! But he keeps our understanding three steps removed from our body. Otherwise it might be threatening for our lives: we might fall into a swamp where our faith will suffocate. When we appear so hollow, there is no way to convince us theologically that experience can never be decisive and that faith depends on an objective base. The only help is to call a person to the simplest things of Scripture, prayer, confession, and to concrete obedience in one definite matter. And to allow ourselves to be led forward step by step to Christ.

The life of a pastor completes itself in reading, meditation, prayer, and struggle. The means is the words of Scripture with which everything begins and to which everything returns. We read Scripture in order that our hearts may be moved. It will lead us into prayer for the church, for brothers and sisters in the faith, for our work, and for our own souls. Prayer leads us into the world in which we must keep the faith. Where Scripture, prayer, and keeping the faith exist, temptation will always find its way in. Temptation is the sign that our hearing, prayer, and faith have touched down in reality. There is no escape from temptation except by giving ourselves to renewed reading and meditation. So the circle is complete. We will not often be permitted to see the fruits of our labors; but through the joy of community with brothers and sisters who offer us spiritual care, we become certain of the proclamation and the ministry.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Spiritual Care, pg. 67-69

Bonhoeffer sits on the razor’s edge of a dialectic. We are at one and the same time asked not to preach from our own experience and only from Scripture, yet if we preach we must experience the Scripture! Our theology must be based solely on the Word of God, but must be enlivened with experience. I’d say it is this dialectic that keeps us from becoming theological jerks.

-If we speak from primarily from our own experience, we are bound to make proclamations of things beyond or opposite of the Scriptures. Yet our experience (which can be false because it is solely ours and interpreted by us!) can be the thing most central to us, so we will defend it as far as possible! When we make theology about our experience, we lose any objective base to it, but we still cling to it because we have not made the Word our foundation.  ”This is my experience” is fighting AND failing words all at the same time. Christianity is not about our experience, but God’s expression of who He is, to a community of believers.

-If we speak primarily from the Scriptures, but don’t find ourselves reading, meditating on, praying regarding, confessing through, and being obedient to to the Word, if our experience consistently lags behind what we say, we will be hypocrites. We end up being theological jerks because we speak of what we don’t know.  We must read the Scriptures, but can’t simply go from there to proclamation. Bonhoeffer makes clear that encountering the Word is a never-ending process in this age: read the Scriptures -> have our hearts changed -> pray out of this -> be lead by prayer into the world and realm of faith -> have our faith tested (through temptation) in the world -> escape temptation through reading and meditating on the Word (cf. Matt 4:1-11) It is only as we are involved in this process that we can proclaim. We will be encountering the Word, and giving witness to it, not in a hypocritical (theologically jerk-y) way, but in a way that grows step by step with Christ.

A Quick Word on Community

Before I end with a prayer, it should be noted that the entirety of Bonhoeffer’s discussion on spiritual care is grounded in the local church body.  The above quote focuses mostly on the solitary “pastor” (by now I hope you realize that by this I mean anyone who takes seriously the call to encountering the Word through theology) and his or her theology in the midst of the world. But the quote comes within a larger description of the pastor in regards to a community of other believers. It is only within this context that spiritual care actually happens. The pastor (student, teacher, lay person, etc.) is never one in isolation, but only exists under a communal God that has formed a communal people. We have to realize our dependence on this relational God and this covenant community for our existence. We are what we are, in and with them. This community is the concrete of our theology. Our encounter with the Word of God is experienced as and in the community of God, the church, the paradoxical mix of sinner/saints. We listen to one another. We proclaim the Word of God to one another. We confess to one another. We forgive one another. We are where the Gospel explodes. Any discussion of spiritual care and theology has to acknowledge that it is done in and for a community.

Razor’s Edge Prayer

Heavenly Father, give us the grace and strength and ability to avoid the temptation of being theological jerks. Help us to find ourselves always on the razor’s edge. May we never speak about theology solely from our own experience, fighting for something we can’t say is from you, but instead find ourselves solely proclaiming the Word of God. At the same time, may we speak the Word of God, only as we experience it, day by day, step by step becoming more and more like your Word, Jesus Christ. Join us together as a body. Father, unite us in your Son, through the Spirit. Let us listen and confess to one another. Amen.

————————————————————–

Over the next several weeks I look forward to a fifth (and perhaps sixth or seventh) post for this series focusing on some practical ways to avoid being theological jerks.  I’ll also be posting about international women”s month, and hopefully start a new series (whose topic I have not yet decided on).

Grace and peace,
John.

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Mar 15 2012
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Gabriel Stice, Theology

Transforming Theological Discussion Part 1

I’m often surprised at the degrees in which we hold firm to our theological views.  I mean surprised in a disappointed way.  I absolutely include myself in this disappointment, both past and present.  I’m not sure I know anybody who knows a lot about theology that responsibly distributes their passions for theological views.  I’m disappointed because I think we take a beautiful thing and make it a stage for self “kingdom building” and pride.  It’s beautiful thing to be able to lovingly discuss our experiences of scripture and learn from one another.  We need to consider some important things in order to help with this problem amongst Christian leaders and thinkers.

I subscribe to the idea that there are “open handed” and “close handed” views within theology.  Some people call them the majors and minors of the theological world.  A simple way to put the idea is that there are some views that are Orthodox and some that are open.  Open handed issues are more often debated between Christians.  Closed handed or Orthodox issues are more of a topic between Christians, “fringe Christianity”, cults, sects, atheists and other religious systems.

The common held belief within Christendom is that Orthodox theological views should be held by every person of faith in Jesus Christ.  These views include the Deity of Christ, the Trinity, the Perfection of Christ (sinlessness), etc.  There is obviously some debate on what gets in that list but I’m your typical evangelical theologian when it comes to those views.  I think we should fight much harder for the Orthodox theologies of our faith.

Open handed views are theological beliefs or systems that do not have to be held to uniformly amongst Christians.  These views include issues process of salvation (Calvinists, Arminians, Open Theissts), gender (Feminist, Egalitarian, Complimentarian, Authoritarian), eschatology (Pre-mil, Post-mil, A-mil, don’t-care-mil), etc.  Open handed is the area in which we are landing in this article.

My blog partner John Lussier and I have spent many hours going back and forth on open handed issues.  This is mostly due to the fact that we disagree to some extent on most everything.  People would actually watch us debate in the student lounge at Multnomah University.  Some would join in and others would shake their heads.  The head shakers would honestly bother me from time to time.  I usually wrote them off as people who weren’t passionate about the bible.  It took time, confrontations with friends, and maturing to figure out that they were disappointed in our lack of brotherly love for one another.

My disappointments though were the reactions to the complete other side.  Theological arguments have caused so many of my brothers and sisters in Christ to completely avoid theological topics.  Like most problems, these are two sides of the spectrums that don’t fit the solution.  Can we talk theology in a loving and edifying way?  Can we do it in a way that furthers the Gospel and doesn’t make non-Christians cringe while asking, “Where is your Jesus?”  I think we can.  John and I both individually have worked hard to get better at this problem.  I encourage my friends and readers to engage in this issue with us.  Whether you are a prideful arguer, a humble discusser, or a known avoider, let’s talk about Theology.

I personally think that there are extremely fundamental issues that divide us when talking about theological issues.  I think these things include but are not exclusive to, hermeneutics chiefly (methods of studying scripture), Church experience, life experience, theological influences (pastors, peers, professors, books, Christian sub-culture), feelings, and culture.  I think hermeneutics is the most important one because at its very base it gives us a fair playing field for discussion.  I’m not against the other fundamental issues influencing you as long as they are filtered through good exegesis (biblical interpretation).  John and I for the most part share this view and it’s why our conversations always come back to hermeneutics.

We must first realize on an issue-by-issue basis how well we’ve developed our theological views.  If you hold strongly to a view that you’ve heard of a couple of times and think sounds good, then I’m probably going to hate that discussion.  You would too.  I’m saying that how sure you are about a topic should directly correlate with the amount of quality time you’ve spent on the topic.  This not only applies to theology but most areas of debate.  I don’t get to passionate about home-schooling versus public-schooling because I haven’t studied statistics or heard many testimonies on the issue.   I do however think it’s okay to hold a stance on things you’ve studied a lot.  I read a lot on Church ministry methods and have participated in a few so think I can lovingly contribute to that discussion.

I’m going to write part two on “The journey of a theological view”.  So we’ll save more writing pertaining to the previous paragraph for later.  If you are a student of theology, a Church leader, a Pastor/Preacher, etc I hope you could benefit from my next post.

The last thing I wanted to talk about pertaining to this topic is listening.  I don’t know how many times a theological conversation could have gone better if myself and other parties had listened more carefully.  Working on being a good listener is a fundamental step to being a loving discusser of theology.  I remember a conversation that I had with my friends Jason Lane and Dean Wolz.  All three of us were going back and forth on the issue of human free will.  About half way through the conversation I realized I wasn’t listening well and was spending more cognitive time thinking about how to “win” the debate.  I began to listen intently and realized that we were all articulating very similar views in very different ways.  We weren’t trying to understand where the other was coming from because we were consumed with self-benefit.  How can you oppose a view that you don’t understand?  I’d argue that you might oppose it because you don’t understand it.  Listening is an amazing relational tool that breeds empathy.  I think that empathy will be one of the most loving tools for combating our collective pride.

There is no quick fix to this issue.  I do have goals though.  There is a common misconception amongst Christians that the most knowledgeable people about theology are the most un-loving.  I think that’s a gross generalization.  It’s true that knowledge without love is useless.  It’s also true that love without much knowledge typically isn’t as useful.  Knowledge is a core component of wisdom and shouldn’t be looked down upon as striving for arrogance.  There is a knowledge that loves.  It can be elusive but it’s a beautiful sight.  One of my goals is to kill this conception.  Another goal is to promote a knowledge that loves.  If we grow in knowledge of God and knowing God deeply than we will make strives forward with the Gospel in our churches.  Those two things produce a demand for the growth of the Gospel.

Stay tuned for part 2.  I’ll be discussing modern vs post-modern viewpoints on how to hold a theological view.  I’ll delve into methods that I think we need to throw out altogether.  I hope I can edify the readers with some challenges and ideas on where to start in the healing of theological discussion.  Remember that this discussion is not “objective truth” versus “personal experience”.  It may just be a healthy mixture of both.  Love you guys.

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Mar 06 2012
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Confession, Jerk, John Lussier, Love, Theology

Confessions of a theological jerk #3

“Hello, my name is John and I am a (theological) jerk. I haven’t loved God or my neighbor with my words.”

In my first post of this series I talked about Alcoholics Anonymous and their steps towards dealing with an addiction. In that post I gave a moral inventory of myself, and confessed that I have a problem with being a jerk with my words. Just the other day I got into a slight debate about contraception, and can admit that at one point I was a little dismissive of the other person in my words. I stand by the conversation as something that needed to be said, but I could have done it in way that was less firm. It just goes to show you: I don’t want to be a theological jerk but I am.

My second post in this series again utilized A.A. to talk about recovering (but never curing) an addiction. We’re never really done with our addictions, even when we’re ready to talk about them with others, and maybe try and help them with theirs… in fact, that is part of the process of healing. In that post I also made sure to frame everyting in a positive motivation. I don’t just want to stop being a jerk, I also want to love my God and my neighbor with how I use my mouth. I’ve gotten into trouble in the past by opening it, and more and more I want to get “into love” when I speak.

Why not just stop?

Now, you might be saying, “Why try and change, why not just stop putting your opinion on things out there? Is your thought really that great that people should have to hear it?”

You’re right. Part of me being less of a jerk may mean shutting my mouth at times, even if I don’t really want to. It might mean that instead of giving my opinion I point people to resources, or ask questions or… there is more than one way to have a conversation (about theology). Life doesn’t always have to be a debate.

Seeing theology as debate

If theology is just a debate for me, if it is just a presentation of my ideas about God where I expect to be critiqued and to have to defend them from other ideas, then something is wrong with me.

Maybe dualism is a buzzword today, but seeing theology as a debate is dualistic. It chooses to picture theology as a matter of right vs. wrong, good vs. bad, well thought out vs. folky, etc. Theology as a debate creates an us vs. them situation, instead of what it really is… us, together as children of God, thinking about the mystery of the revelation of God. Revelation isn’t something we have, that we have to shove in everyone’s face, it’s something that comes to us, knocks us off our feet, and that we have to talk about together to “figure out what happened.”

Seeing theology as debate also removes the idea of growth, and ultimately, any mystery to theological reality. If theology is only ever a debate for me, then it must be something that I think I can know completely and that only is black and white. It must be something I think I have, and know in a way that is pretty clear. It’s a static object I possess.

But if theology is something I can constantly grow in, and something that I may not necessarily have a thought about because it is too astounding for me to get, then there are any numbers of ways to engage it other than as a debate. Let’s not look at the burning bush and think we can handle it.

Muteness =/= love of God or neighbor

Now, don’t get me wrong. There are certain things we can say about God. Whatever we’ve seen in Jesus, we know of God. When we proclaim the goodness of Christ, we are, through the Spirit, loving God. If I were to go completely mute (some people would love that), suddenly an enormous way of loving God would be removed from my life. (Oh may they burn my bones up at that point!)

My ability to love would also be diminished in relationship to my neighbor. There are times when, in order to love my neighbor, I absolutely need to speak out: I love my neighbor when I proclaim the goodness of God to them. I love my neighbor when I confess my own shortcomings to them. I love my neighbor when I ask for forgiveness. And I love my neighbor when I correct them, in truth and grace (without one or the other… not love!)

So yeah, I could stop talking and be less of a jerk… but I won’t completely, because my capacity for love would be diminished and that would be an even bigger jerk move.

Muteness =/= a changed heart 

Let’s keep exploring this idea of muteness for a second. Say I were to stop talking about theology entirely, would I still be a jerk? My actions would have changed, but what of my heart? My heart! Oh that wretch thing! It would still be screaming at people when they make even the slightest error. Oh, my heart! That’s where the problem is.

At the core, being a theological jerk is a heart issue…

How do you change a heart?
How do you change your emotions?
How do you change your thought patterns?
How do you change your motivation?

 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.

May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
-Psalm 51

[[For part 4 of the series, click here.]]

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Mar 01 2012
4 Comments
Bible, Confession, Jerk, John Lussier, Love, Theology

Confessions of a theological jerk #2

In the past (you can read about it in this post) I’ve been a theological jerk.

I was, and perhaps on occassion will still be, someone that made theology an irritating thing to talk about. I made it irritating because I didn’t make it about God but about me: me being right, me looking smart, me laughing at you because my sarcasm went right over your head. That wasn’t nice of me. I got it in the way of talking about God, and I turned people off.

I don’t feel good about being a jerk, but I do know that God is gonna use it for the good.

12 Steps to not being a jerk

Last time I talked about the twelve step program of Alcoholics Anonymous, and how it was a boiled down version of repentance. There I recommended you look at the twelve steps. Now you have to with me:

  1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
  2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
  3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
  4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
  5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
  6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
  7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
  8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
  9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
  10. Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
  11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
  12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Powerlessness, belief in God, decision to turn, a searching inventory of self, admittance of sins, readiness to be changed, humble asking to be changed, listing of faults, amends made where possible, continuing change, prayer and meditation, carrying the message. If you can’t see the power of these steps, when done in community, get some eyeballs.

Step by Step (Insert Suzanne Somer’s reference here)

There is a definite order in the steps as you read them. One step leads to the next step, and so on, until you get to the end… but then you get to that last step and you almost get to start over. You now are tasked with talking to others about the change you have.

That last step is what these blog posts come from.

I know I have a had a spiritual awakening (generally about Jesus Christ and specifically about being a jerk) and now want to carry that message to others. I don’t say that as someone who is done with the steps, but as someone who knows I have a problem, sees that issue with other folks, and wonders if they might listen to the words of a recovering jerk. So maybe it wasn’t so great that I was a theological jerk in the past, but maybe God is gonna use it for good through these posts. Maybe in asking people to keep me accountable, and specific ways I am gonna try to be less of a jerk, others will change as well… or avoid the bad habits I had entirely.

From Negative to Positive

The impetus for these posts so far has been negative. I don’t want to be a jerk, so I will talk about not being a jerk. But I could, and want to, frame this positively. I think we can do so by looking at the greatest commandment.

Often you will hear Christians and non-Christians alike say that what the Church community is known for is mostly what we are against. Being against things is fine, but 4 out of the 4 Gospels report to us that the primary motivation of Church-folk isn’t negative, but positive.

In Matt. 22, Mark 12, and Luke 10, we have the explicit statement of Christ that the greatest commandment (there’s debate as to whether that should be plural or not, I say no) is the Love of God, and the Love of neighbor. In John 13-14  Jesus gives the commandment to love God, and to love one another (there is debate as to whether one another means only to other Christians or not here, I say… maybe).

There is a positive motivation to  the Christian ethic: love of God and love of neighbor.

Now, we could debate what love means, and who our neighbor is, and how we show our love for God, etc. etc. etc. but all those questions seem to get in the way. At the end of the day, as a Christian community, we all have a pretty good idea what it means to love, who God is, and who our neighbor is. The important part is doing it!

So, stated positively, the next couple of posts are me asking “How can I love God and neighbor with my words (about theology)?”  But before we get to the nitty-gritty I have one more post about why I won’t stop talking about theology, but have to stop seeing it as a debate…

[[For part 3 of the series, click here.]]

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Feb 23 2012
7 Comments
Confession, Jerk, John Lussier, Love, Theology

Confessions of a theological jerk #1

I’ve never been to an A.A. meeting.

But my mom did go to AlAnon (a support group for friends and family of alcoholics) for a season, and the parents of my highschool girlfried were A.A. leaders.

I like a lot of the ideas behind A.A. because they don’t just seem to work for alcoholism, but for all kinds of addictions.

  • I like that A.A. emphasizes the community as a means and conviction for sobriety. This addiction isn’t just about me, but us.
  • I like that A.A. encourages “one day at a time” thinking. I’m can’t stop myself from this addiction in the future, but I can focus on today.
  • I like that A.A. recognizes accomplishments and stages of recovery. Beating an addiction isn’t a once-for-all-time event. It’s a slow progression.
  • I like that A.A. admits that addictions never really go away. I may have recovered from this, but I’m certainly not cured of this. It’s gonna be a struggle for the rest of my life.
  • I like the twelve steps of A.A. They are, in a way, a boiled down version of repentance. No, they aren’t perfect (afterall repentance without Jesus means nothing), but there is something inspired about them. If you’ve never read them before go do it
  • But most of all, I like that A.A. recognizes the limits of humanity. Step #1 in A.A. is the recognition, or confession, that we are powerless on our own.

My Moral Inventory

Part of the steps A.A. members take towards recovery is making a “moral inventory” of themselves. I have been convicted, as of late, that I am a jerk when it cmes to discussing theology (and politics, gender, and a couple other subjects important to me, but this is a blog about theology, so we’ll start there).

Jerk: “an annoyingly stupid or foolish person, an unlikable person; especially: one who is cruel, rude, or small-minded If you’ve ever watched me have a theological discussion on the internet, at a pub, at home, or elsewhere, you know that label fits.

It fits because I’ve made theology into something it isn’t supposed to be. Where there should have been love, I put passive-aggressive remarks. I put me being right, before us as the Church being one. I turned “dialogue” into “diatribe”. I dragged theology through the mud by making it an exercise in irritation when we talk about.

The examples of me doing so are pretty endless: There’s the multiple power debates I’ve had at home, with one family member in particular, that has lead to raised voices, stomping feet, a slammed door, and anxious family pets wondering what was happening.

There’s all the times I have let theology talk take over, and kill, a conversation.

There’s the times I have gotten so drawn into a theological debate, that I have excluded people that, frankly, don’t give a damn about the subject.

There’s the untold amount of people that ignore me now, whether on Facebook or Twitter or in real life, because I am one of “those guys”. And by those guys, I mean a jerk… a debater… a contrarian… an intelligenista… too serious… too eager to debate…

The Debates: Theological Minutia and Hurtful Words

I’ve debated about a lot of things in my life, especially theological things. And in all honesty, the arguments I have had weren’t about “big things”.  Most of these debates weren’t matters of the Gospel, or how we view God, or ourselves. No, they were things like “is video-screen preaching okay?” or is a “reader-response hermeutic heretical”. I’m actually having a hard time thinking of more examples. I know I have had hurtful conversations about theology, but I can’t even remember what I was advocating for in them. I swear they were important at the time!

My problem isn’t just that I was arguing about the small things though. You aren’t a jerk because you talk talk about small things, you’re a jerk because of how you talk about things. When I debated, I would do so with sarcasm, passive-aggressive tones, and assuming the worst about people’s intention. I would speak assuming people’s motivations (which of course were no good). I wouldn’t talk about the central message, but on the medium they were using, or an entirely too small point they had made.

I said things without restraint, without care, without gentleness or kindness, with cynical presuppositions, with self-righteousness, and with selfishness.  I had me at the middle of every heological conversation, instead of the actual truth, and even worse, instead of concern for God or neighbor.

I took Frank Viola seriously and tried to perfect “the art of being a jerk online”.

So with that out there…

A Confession 

“Hello, my name is John and I am a theological jerk. Woe to me, I am a man of unclean lips. Give me grace!”

A Prayer

God, I don’t want to be that person anymore. Keep me from being a jerk!

I want to change, help me to do so. I am not going to be able to change on my own, but only as you change my heart and what it longs after. May I love you more than I love being right or sarcastic or looking smart.

I need the community of God to take account of me, and keep me on track. Bring people into my life that will look to keep me from myself and point me towards you.

In this age I won’t ever be cured, but keep with me as I change. Help me to focus on being a gentle person this day, may I continue to feel the need in the future to repent of this, but at the same time have less reasons to.

Everyday, change my heart to be more civil, kind, loving, in the Truth that you are.

Amen.

An Invitation

The point of this blog isn’t just to let you into a personal confession. I am not a voyeur. I am a volunteer. I am volunteering this blog as a place for theological jerks to come to, and together with each other and God, get better. I need you, and you probably need me. We need each other, engulfed by the love of Triune God, to recover. Would you please think about how being a jerk, whether over theology or not, has hurt your life and the people you’re around? Would you help me be less of a jerk by keeping me accountable and encouraging me when I discuss well? Would you join Gabe and I in exile, as we hope upon God for new life? If so, I’d invite you to talk to me in person, email me (youtharerevolting at gmail.com), or leave a comment down below about the above?

Grace and peace,
John Lussier

*The original title of this series was a slightly harsher word, that up until the early 90s you couldn’t say on tv, but my blogging partner felt it would cut out a certain section of our readership, so we decided to change it. See, I’m already starting to watch my words.

[[For part 2 of the series, click here.]]

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Feb 23 2012
7 Comments
Bible, Daniel, Exile, Gabriel Stice, Theology

Hope in Exile: An Introduction

The book of Daniel has long been one of my favorite books of the Bible.  I love the literature.  I find the content enamoring.  I am especially interested in the setting of the book.  It’s a great time of despair for Israel.  They go from the promised people to a people in exile.  Their land is ransacked by the Assyrians and the Babylonians.  The people are scattered to foreign places.  If this were the end of scripture the Bible would be an absolute tragedy.  It’s not though.  God shows great favor to Daniel and his three friends in the court of a foreign king.

This book is a literary repeat of the Joseph story.  Both stories mark the beginning of exile for Israel.  Chronologically they are followed by a trial of many years of waiting for a savior.  For Joseph’s near descendants their salvation narrative is the Exodus.  For Daniel’s near descendants the Gospels were their salvation narrative.  Christ was the ultimate hope and promise of the OT meta-narrative.

The thing that fascinates me is Daniel’s dedication even though he himself, in the flesh, would never witness Christ’s ministry.  There is a prevailing hope in the story of Daniel.  He faces death and persecution while far away from God’s blessings for Israel, yet he is steadfast in dedication to the Lord.  The eschatological and apocalyptic literature of the book point towards Christ so heavily.  Daniel’s life also reflected his writings.

Late last year I got to preach the stories of the flaming furnace and the lions’ den to my home Church body back in Oregon.  The question I kept asking myself in preparation for the sermon was, “Could I believe in the future blessings of Christ in a circumstance that feels so far away from Him.”  That question is the heart of my passion for this blog.

When I read about the future kingdom, the new heavens new earth, and the kingdom commands for the Church I begin to get a sense of exile.  Despite popular beliefs of a Christian nation, the United States seems a bit more like Babylon than Israel.   The experience in the American Evangelical church feels distant from a functional form of living out our faith as a community.  There are not quick fixes.  There is only the Trinitarian love of God to finish the redemption of humanity back to Himself.

Many of you will either relate or debate on this assumption.  I understand both sides.  One thing we agree upon is the chance to grow up as Christians so the Church can grow up communally.  I think this blog can be one of the multiple facets included in reaching that lofty goal.  I want this to be a place where we think hard from multiple perspectives about the issues brought before us.  This is a big part of the reason John and I have decided to blog together.  We disagree on about everything.  It’s usually good-natured though.  We didn’t want our writings to be on a homogenous theological front.  Diversity usually breeds empathy.  Empathy is a big part of what we are missing out on as Evangelicals.

So join in with John and me while we endeavor to make the future Kingdom a more present reality in our own lives.  Have the courage to be a positive difference in the Local Church.  Feel free to think hard about tough issues.  Expand your theological knowledge and relational know how.  Always engage with us pursuing humility through the grace of Christ.  Live with a hope in a circumstance of exile. Enjoy yourselves!

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