Sunday
Jul052009
Entries in Justice (16)
Monday
Jun152009
Something Worth Dying For?
Warning, this video is not for the faint of heart....
(HT: The Daily Dish)
Today there are countless Iranians protesting, and some dying for the right to have their voice counted in free and fair elections. I am not of any illusionary belief that democracy is a God ordained institution, however it is by far the best thing humans have ever come up with for self-governance and it sure beats the theocratic fascism that Iran's conservative Muslim leaders are now fully revealed to be in favor of.
I have friends that have served bravely in the military and they are willing to die for their country and fellow citizens; even to die for another country and her citizens. The earliest Christians and the underground church today are persecuted and martyred for their faith. But is it really worth dying for?
The question of death and life and viewing some measure of worth as being associated with it is an interesting phenomena. Is your earthly existence less valuable than your right to vote? Is your hand being intact worth some tangible amount which once is met you agree to have it lobbed off? Is there anyway a well fed white mid-westerner whose most dangerous experience was a brush with a 5th grader on the tetherball court after recess can identify with and say that they would indeed die for anything?
The things worth dying for are often identified as existing 'outside' of ourselves, they are bigger than our own footprint. Will we die to save the life of another? Will we throw ourselves on the grenade tossed before our friends? Will we stand in front of the tanks and bullets thrown at us by extremist governments with terroristic visions of domination?
Do we have a faith in a God that sent a son that had something valuable to do, something worth being killed for? Is the hope of reconciliation of God and his creation worth dying for? I ask these questions because I don't think most Christians serve that God. They have faith in the God of the Sunday morning concert, the God of the felt needs, the God of the 'feed me' consumption of targeted Christonomic Americanism. That is surely not something worth dying for, because there is nothing 'outside' of ourselves to die for. That is a Christian faith that is personalized, and internalized. It is filtered, packaged, and made 'just for you' so that you can feel as though you are somehow being Christian by listening to it, reading it, or watching it. That is the ingrown and inbred faith of 'Christian Yellowbooks' and only letting your kids play with other Christian kids. It is a faith that is stained with red, white, and blue. It is a farce, a false religion, a heretic gospel, and I won't die for it.
So what will I die for? I will die for a Christ that is fully God and fully man, that was really born of a virgin, that was really a historical person, that really died on a cross, and really raised from the dead and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty! I will die for nothing less. I will die for a faith that causes me to embrace a radical and trinitarian love that is eternally focused on the well-being of others at the expense of my flesh. I will die for a faith that transcends consumerism. I will die for a faith in which all I am and all I do is but worthless unless it is bathed in the shadow of the cross. I will die for a faith with teeth, that stands up for it's beliefs in the face of syncretism and pluralistic pandering to a culture bent on diluting everything to a pale grey. And in paradox I will only die for a faith that is so radical in it's love for the other that we will be accused of being drunkards and harlots, sinners and tax collectors. In short I will die for nothing less than the Kingdom of God come to earth through the incarnated hands of Jesus Christ.
Do you have something worth dying for? If you don't then what are you living for?
Monday
Jun152009
Prayer for Iran
;)
For those of you that only follow what you see on TV, the coverage of the election protests following a most-likely fraudulent election in Iran are missing out on the whole picture. Here are some links that will keep you informed on this topic.
I urge you to pray for our muslim brothers and sisters in Iran; that despite an inspite of our differences that that God's desire to protect the innocent and the pursuit of justice and non-violent revolution will prevail.
A side effect of this online news is a sign of the coming revolution of our media and news sources. The days of big media and top-down newsmaking are numbered. Think organic, think highly focused, and think real-time.
tagged 
Justice, Peace, world events
Justice, Peace, world events Monday
Mar022009
Slavery Continues
It is sad to know that even today humans are bought and sold in a world-wide market.
RussiaToday: European Women Orchestrating Sex Slavery
In Europe, most slaves nowadays are bought and sold for one reason — sex, so it’s no surprise that most victims are women. What is surprising is that sex slavery is an industry dominated by women.
One divorced mother from Armenia reportedly testified that out of desperation she agreed to take a job in Dubai. She thought she was going to be working in a store, but when she got to Dubai she found out she would to be a prostitute.
…
Without further details, most people would likely assume that a man was responsible for trapping this woman in such a demeaning situation. However, she was recounting details in her testimony against another Armenian woman, Marine Poghosyan, who was convicted and sentenced for only 18 months.
Friday
Feb062009
Wherein God’s Will is the Best Thing Going
Three passages come into play in my thinking today, so bear with me.
Isaiah 45:9-10
9“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.
Does a clay pot argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,
‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’
Does the pot exclaim,
‘How clumsy can you be?’
10How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father,
‘Why was I born?’
or if it said to its mother,
‘Why did you make me this way?’ ”
Romans 9:21
21When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?
Isaiah 53:10-12
10But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
12I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
Here are three things to keep in mind about God as revealed in the passages:
- He can accomplish his will however he wants to.
- He owes us nothing.
- He wins out in the end.
God is wild and unpredictable; being both savage and loving in the same action. God is frightening in his ‘otherness’ his colossal strength, and yet reveals his character through the peacefulness of Christ. He is the God of condemnation for sins and the forgiver of the penitent. We can not place God into a box and anytime we try to do this we will be in for some major pain as God blows it up in our face.
In the act of surrendering to God we have handed over the self-created vision we held on to for ourselves. We die to our own desires, and place our hope in God’s plan. When we go under the hand of the potter we are shaped to suit his purpose, his will, not ours. That can often be a rough and painful process. In the potter’s process all that we are is broken apart, liquefied, reshaped, and fired in the kiln of God’s holiness.
It is important to remember that when we surrender ourselves to God, God takes that commitment seriously, whether we do or not. Whether we have taken our covenant with God seriously isn’t the issue. When God has taken and molded us to perform his will he expects us to do what he shaped us for, to follow through with his will.
What kind of vessel was Christ? Was Christ a decorative vase, in which God placed wild flowers? Or was Christ a vessel of low and mean purpose? If our Lord Christ did not argue how the potter had shaped him, than where is our excuse? Was he not shaped to contain grief, and sin? And yet he is considered exquisite beauty.
In following the will of God, Jesus Christ died the death of a rebel. Yet because of that death many rebels will be counted as righteous before God. As eikons would it not be a blessing to be considered a jar fit for trash?
tagged Biblical Studies, Christianity, Justice
Biblical Studies, Christianity, Justice