Posted on

Bible Interpretation: You’re Doing It Wrong. (maybe)

It’s not a cardboard platform, those aren’t flat plastic game pieces, and we’re not playing with our 4 year old nephew at the family reunion because we don’t want to watch the slide show of my 3rd cousins, grandparents baby pictures because I don’t even know who those people are anyway.

We’re playing on a board made of marble, with 3 dimensional pieces that are pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, a queen, and a king. So it’s a problem if we’re still playing by the rules of checkers. Maybe someone tries to tell us that we’re not utilizing the game for it’s intended purpose, but we insist that we are, because we’ve been king’ed twice and look at how many times we’ve jumped the opponent. It works, so I must be doing it right. Someone may point out that it doesn’t really work that well because those pieces don’t balance on each other when we’re king’ed, and most importantly, there’s a better, more accurate game to be played.

If you’ve been close to the Christian subculture for any amount of time you’ve probably heard someone espouse the nobility of interpreting scripture “literally.” I agree with some of those people on their meaning behind that, but the fact is that no one interprets scripture literally, not all of it, and no one should. I am in no way advocating for interpreting scripture any way you like, reading into it whatever suits you, in fact it’s quite the opposite of that, one purpose of good interpretation is to discover the story that God is trying to tell, not the one we are trying insert.

Let me give you an example of the “literal” problem; 1 Thessalonians 5:26 says clearly to “Greet all brothers with a holy kiss,” if there is any sect of Christianity that currently does this, I am not aware of it. Yet there it is, in black and white, no way around it. But for some reason, with this scripture, most believers across the spectrum seem to all agree that this begs to be put in context, and so we look to the culture of the day and we see that kissing was a common way of expressing sisterly and brotherly love, and that the heart of this passage, Paul’s intent, was that we should show our love, in Christ, to each other.

When you don’t look to the cultural context you wind up with some bad theology, you make Esther out to be a whore, men can’t wear hats (and women have to), heck Adam and Eve weren’t even properly married were they(maybe eating the apple was really their 2nd sin)!

This is not to say that nothing can be taken literally because much of the Bible should be. Jesus’s command to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the prisoner,  for instance, was meant to be taken very literally.  The Bible’s call for sexual purity, while perhaps out of fashion,was meant to be taken literally.

In addition to scriptures original cultural context, we must also interpret through the lens of Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected, he forever altered history. Now we have to interpret everything that came before and after through the lens of Jesus’s death and resurrection. This is not something I’ve pulled from the sky, but Jesus himself in the Bible, proclaimed it. In John 5, he tells the Jewish leaders who are out to kill him “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you possess eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me…” We must read scripture, Old & New Testaments, in the light of Jesus. We must see, as Paul said, the “shadows” of the old covenant, speaking of the coming new covenant, that Jesus ushered in.

The problem comes when we don’t use our Holy Spirit driven discernment. Most of the time it’s because we don’t want to. We’d rather read specific passages, the way our parents, friends, or pastors tell us to read them, lest we be a isolated in our theology. Just as bad, we decide what we’re going to believe, what’s consistent with our politics or other worldview, and then we go looking for it in scripture, and what do you know, we tend to find it every time.

Don’t take the checkers/chess metaphor too far; interpreting scripture demands humility, and it isn’t about outfoxing an opponent. The thing about checkers is, it’s less complicated, you don’t have to think much, and it doesn’t demand much of you. It’s also not very fulfilling, I mean really, have you ever been overjoyed about winning checkers?!

But to play chess, you have to fully engage, it is more difficult, more is required on your part, but it’s also more rewarding. And if you’re playing with chess pieces, on a chess board, the only correct game to play, is chess.

This obviously isn’t an exaustive look at proper exegesis, but what do you think? Am I off base? Have you seen the checkers method of interpretation?

Posted on

A Prayer for Vilson

In my previous post I introduced you to Supriya from India, and Vilson in Haiti. Recently my wife Kate and I received contact from Compassion concerning Vilson, detailing the following:

  • Tropical Storm Isaac caused flash floods and landslides in Haiti
  • There have been no reports of lives lost among Compassion children, however many of them & their families have lost belongings, & homes
  • The potential for cholera has increased because of the flooding
  • If Vilson was directly affected Compassion will contact us as soon as possible

With this in mind. I’d like to use today’s post to pray for Vilson and others in Haiti, and I invite you to do so with me.

Father,

Knowing that devestation and destruction are not apart of your character, we pray against it.
We ask that you bring reconciliation throughout creation.

For Vilson, his family, and those throughout Haiti, we ask for protection for the their physical bodies, that they would be unharmed, that their immune systems would be strong and able to fight off disease and sickness.
Provide for all of their needs: food, clean water, sanitary conditions, and shelter.

For their emotional and spiritual well-beings, please give them strength, mercy, and comfort, let them feel your presence amongst them in a very tangible way.

Be a rescuer, and a refuge.
Amen. 

Posted on

They Don’t Care Who I’m Voting For.

A number of years ago, my church sponsored a Compassion Sunday and encouraged us to sponsor children through Compassion International. Since then I’ve followed the amazing work of Compassion, so when I learned that CI was asking bloggers to participate in their blog month, I was eager to jump on board. For this month, along with my normal posts, I’ll be posting based on specific assignments given to me by Compassion. 

                       

 


Meet Supriya & Vilson. Supriya is from India and Vilson is from Haiti. From what I can gather, Supriya & Vilson don’t care who I’m voting for. In all of the letters they’ve written Kate and me throughout the years, they’ve never inquired about our political opinions. Not once have they asked what we thought about Obama’s tax policy or Romney’s stance on immigration. My only conclusion is that they just don’t care, they’re concerned about more important things, things that most American kids their age don’t ever think about.

What they do ask about is our personal lives. They want to know how our vacation was, how our new jobs are working out and what’s going on with our extended family. It’s not all questions, they also tell us what’s going on in their lives, their hopes and interests. For instance Supriya wants to be a doctor, has for years, and she get very good grades. Vilson likes sports and games, and has a sister that he’s very close to.

They also thank us quite often, and almost every time they write, they tell us they are praying for us. We’ve grown to love these kids, and someday I hope we are lucky enough to meet them in person.

I’ll be talking more about Supriya & Vilson as the month goes on, but in the meantime, please take a minute to visit Compassion by clicking on the picture below. Just go there; you’re not agreeing to sponsor a child, just see what’s there, pray for them, think on them.

Posted on

Death’s Sting Is Right Here And It Hurts Like Hell

On December 26th of last year, just hours after my wife, her family and I went to sleep on Christmas night, we awoke to devastating, life-altering news. My wife’s 23 year old brother, Jordan, had lost his life. This came less than a year after my wife’s Aunt Cathy and Uncle Mark lost their 20 year old son, Carson.

As a kid, I lost a few older family members, but when I became an adult and close family and friends started to pass away, I began to process these experiences based on what I knew about God and faith.

One question I kept coming back to was this: If we believe that we will see our loved ones again someday, if we believe that all of eternity will make life on earth seem short, like the blink of an eye, if death truly is a “see you later” rather than “goodbye,” then why do we grieve so deeply; why does it hurt so badly? This can be especially troubling

when you consider that in his letter to the church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul asked “Where, oh death, is your sting?”

Where, oh death, is your sting?!?! IT’S RIGHT HERE! THE STING IS RIGHT HERE AND IT HURTS LIKE HELL!

The morning that Jordan died, we all gathered at my wife’s grandparents’ house. We originally thought that we would be celebrating Christmas together, as the 25th hadn’t worked out for everyone. Instead, we spent the day grieving. It was good for us to be together; we cried, talked and gave hugs. Mark and Cathy were there and were a distinct comfort to all of us, especially my in-laws. At one point Cathy said “I know that Carson is with Jesus now, and that he’s okay, and not hurting, but I don’t care. I want him here with me,” and I thought- “That’s it! That’s why it hurts so badly.” Because even though we may have great faith, even though at some point this life may seem like a distant memory, right now it is not. Right now the minutes pass slowly and 40, 60, or 80 years without people we love feels like such a very long time; it feels like forever.

God never intended for us to be stoic supermen and women void of human emotions, or even worse, live some kind of Stepford Wife existence in which we are happy and smiling in the midst of our hearts being ripped out, all because of some misplaced notion that God is exalted by horrific tragedies.

So for now, I trust that Paul knew what he was talking about, and perhaps someday I will understand it on a deeper level. But today I’m comforted by Jesus himself. I remember that when Lazarus, Jesus’s close friend, “the one [he] loved so very much,” had died, Jesus wept. It’s almost as if we hear Jesus thinking “Wow, that does hurt.” He wasn’t just crying, he was weeping. Weeping is more than tears, it’s deeper, it’s ugly, your whole body convulses. It is the outward manifestation of what is going on inside the heart.

In chronic pain syndrome, the intervals between the https://www.cruiseshipdrugs.com/Drugs/buy_tramadol.html doses must be as long as possible, since the half-life of the drug increases, leading to the risk of a cumulative effect.

That image is important, because if I can see Jesus weeping there in front of Lazarus’s tomb, then it’s easier to see him weeping with me, with us.

Your thoughts?

Posted on

Update!

Update: The comments are working again! Please please please go comment! Thanks.

 

 

Hi, I just wanted to let everyone know that the comments are temporarily not working. It’s very important that this be a dialog and not a monologue so your comments are extremely valuable to me. I have my best man on it, and hope to have it resolved today. I’ll make an announcement when it happens at which time I encourage you to go and leave comments. Thank you!

Posted on

I’ve Already Decided What I Believe, Don’t Confuse Me With The Facts

Last week a Christian blogger I follow on twitter (not a personal friend, just someone I started following along the way) posted a link to an article about the spending of President Obama’s administration. The blogger summed up the article by saying that the administration spent less than any other president since before President Reagan. It caught my attention, so I followed the link and read the article.

It essentially said the Obama administrations rate of increase in spending was less than any other President before Reagan. That’s not nothing, it’s noteworthy. However a lower rate of increased spending is very different than spending less.

I sent the blogger a private message explaining what the article was really saying. He sent me back a message saying “Thanks. Good catch.” And that was it. No redaction or correction to his twitter audience.

On the other side of the political spectrum, yesterday a facebook friend posted a link to an article detailing how President Obama allegedly sent out “robosigned” form letters to families of Navy SEALS killed in action. My friend let everyone know there was no excuse for this, and of course the title of the article left out the word “allegedly.” After some quick googling, I found that the truth is that President Bush also sent out form letters, as most likely every president before him did, and honestly, with the number of American soldier fatalities being what they are, what different things could a president hypothetically say in every letter he typed out to families of fallen soldiers? And the signature, as it was later revealed, is real. To be fair, my facebook friend probably read and posted the article before the truth came out, but as of now, there is no redaction, no correction.

I could give examples all day. If your inbox or facebook news feed looks anything like mine, you are inundated with followers of Jesus, dispersing misinformation and half-truths as if they’re on a mission from God. We follow someone who said the “truth will set you free,” but by our behavior you would think we follow the father of lies.

The most troubling thing about is that it’s almost as if we don’t care about the truth. If we find something that we want to believe, that backs up what we already have decided to believe, then we believe it.

But truth is important. Whether it’s truth about politics or theology or science, Christians should be known for searching for and valuing truth. All too often we are children, with our fingers in our ears screaming- “I’ve already made up my mind. Don’t confuse me with the facts.”

The biggest danger is that when it becomes apparent to others that our political beliefs are based on something other than truth, the world has to wonder if our spiritual beliefs are also not based on truth. We appear ignorant, naïve and silly. We become nothing more than a punch line on Family Guy, and we earn it.

So brothers and sisters, if a politician or political party does something wrong, call them out in love, but check your facts. We are in the age of the 24 hour news cycle, so whatever your political leaning, there’s a channel, magazine, and radio show for you, but please don’t just listen to media that back up your beliefs. Search for truth.

Posted on

Guest Post: Right Gone Wrong (Thoughts on the 2012 Texas Republican Platform)

I’m excited to have a guest blogger here today and I’m interested to see the responses to this post. While today’s post is critical of the one political party, I assure you that this blog is non-partisan and that in the future both parties will be called out for their shortcomings. In fact, I’d love to point out the other side of this coin which was addressed beautifully on a post I read earlier this week here. Also, as politics tend to bring out passionate responses, it’s probably a good time to remind you of my comments policy which is outlined here. That’s all. Enjoy!  -Shane

 

I would venture to say that many of us have that one well-intentioned but embarrassing relative, don’t we?  The one who we love because they are family and because they treated us so well when we were young, but who, during our teenage years, we began to realize was not too bright, and frankly kind of a big racist. Maybe it’s just me and it pains me to say it but these days that’s how I feel sometimes about the Republican Party—or at least the branch of the party that tends to be loudest and proudest. Though I have always appreciated many traditionally liberal philosophies, for most of my life I have also found myself equally in agreement with conservatives on things like abortion and absolute truth and how delightful the south is. It was almost exclusively conservative, straight-ticket Republicans who taught me about Jesus, and loving my neighbor as myself, and judging not and seeking first to understand and then to be understood. So,  I can never quite disavow the Republican Party the way some of my more liberal counterparts might like me to, but it sure is getting hard to see any of myself in a group who puts out platforms that say things like this:

American Identity Patriotism and Loyalty – We believe the current teaching of a multicultural curriculum is divisive. We favor strengthening our common American identity and loyalty instead of political correctness that nurtures alienation among racial and ethnic groups. Students should pledge allegiance to the American and Texas flags daily to instill patriotism.

Multicultural education threatens unity in our country? I thought multiculturalism was the crux of our country. No, I’m sorry, but multicultural education only threatens individuals who are victims of internalized superiority and who believe that only the contributions of White Anglo Saxon Protestants can truly be characterized as real American history. Otherwise, why isn’t anyone suggesting that learning state history is divisive? Because the party agrees that all 50 states are truly and equally a part of America even despite their individual identities—I just don’t know that they feel the same certainty about the African American, Latinos, Native American or Asian American populations. The really divisive thing is to teach what is presumed to be a “unified” history almost exclusively from the vantage point of Anglo-American men when 61% of Texas students identify as something other than White and then to expect everyone to feel fine about that.

Even worse the Texas Republican platform goes on to say this:

Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.

 

Now to be fair, some of the platform creators have indicated that “critical thinking” was an oversight and not intended to be included in the list of prohibited educational methods, but Higher Order Thinking Skills such as synthesizing, evaluating and creating, as well as comparative activities such as Values Clarification exercises are really just another way of saying “critical thinking” so call it whatever you want, but the party is opposing critical thought. I guess now I understand why the “garbage in, garbage out” mentality is such a big deal to so many conservatives—because at least according to this platform, they are fundamentally opposed to teaching kids the assessment tools necessary to evaluate materials and ideas and would prefer instead to just have students memorize and regurgitate—processes which allow for “fixed” rather than evolving beliefs. I assume the parental authority and values which are being assaulted through the weapon of Bloom’s Taxonomy are of a religious, specifically Christian nature.  As a born-again Christian myself I have never understood fears of this variety. Doesn’t my refusal to allow any divergent perspective into my brain betray my own insecurities regarding the depth and validity of what I purport to believe is absolute truth? If Christianity is the truth, absolutely–if Jesus is strong like a lion, whom shall I fear? I need not defend a lion, at least that’s what C.S. Lewis and Charles Spurgeon seemed to think.

I believe it is, in part, this fear of deep and uncomfortable consideration that leads to simple and even more dangerous propositions like “the immediate repeal of the hate crimes act” in the Texas Republican platform. Are these really the traits that we as followers of Jesus want to be characterized by? Anti-thought and pro-hate?  If not, how do we reconcile, challenge or change an organization that so often feels compelled to introduce itself as Christianity’s spokesperson?  Or maybe I’m the only one annoyed with this strange drunk-uncle-ish policy-making regime. Tell me your thoughts—unless such an activity is against your religion.

 

Kerri Fisher is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Assistant Professor of Social Work at Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, TX.  Ms. Fisher is passionate about cultural humility, empowerment, responsible politics and Jesus.  She journals thoughts on these and similarly uncomfortable dinner-table conversation topics at www.mixed-company.blogspot.com .

Posted on

Is It Really Garbage In Garbage Out?

Growing up, my parents were very conservative in the media they allowed me to be exposed to; a move that I completely resented. Looking back, sometimes this was wise and today I really appreciate it, like when I was not allowed to see movies and TV shows with some violence that I wouldn’t have been able to handle. Other times it was a little silly, like when I was forbidden from watching Pee Wee’s playhouse after Paul Reubens was arrested for… well you know what he was arrested for (did my parents think he was going to do that on the show?!?).

When I was a kid and teenager, an often repeated aphorism in my church youth group was “garbage in, garbage out”, this was meant to be the proverbial knock out punch when someone said they were going to watch a new movie or listen to the newest hip hop/rock album. That’s not to say that God himself wasn’t invoked in support of this argument, in fact sometimes entire Bible studies were devoted to this subject.

In my college advertising class we learned that in the early years of modern advertising, people thought of advertising as a silver bullet. When people read, listened to, or view an advertisement, they had no choice in the matter, they were hit by the silver bullet and would go buy the product or service being advertised. To today’s ears, that sounds a little silly. In fact when I learned that in my class back in college, I thought, “Now only Christians believe that”.

Today, I’m a guy who loves movies and music. Moreover, I’m often struck by the gospel message in the media I consume, as well as the art and beauty of which God is the sole inventor. It seems that God has placed the idea of “story” in the hearts of human beings, and more specifically, the story of redemption: Gotham is saved from itself, the dark side is defeated, and Jack dies saving his friends with a wound made by a spear in his side.

Not all media tells that story. Last year I saw “Eat, Pray, Love”, because my wife wanted to, and because I was obviously vying for husband of the year or something. EPL is a perversion of God’s design for love, marriage, and life. Sometimes this happens in movies and TV, but when it does it’s usually ugly and revolting, the viewer isn’t suppose to like it, but in EPL the “protagonist” is guilty of these perversions with no repentence, and no redemption. The message is clear: “Unhappy with your marriage? You’re spouse isn’t all he/she could be? Leave him/her. It may be hard at time, but in the end, looking out for yourself first will make you happy.”

With all of that said, I was able to watch EPL without leaving my wife, and without her leaving me (crazy I know). That’s because media is not a silver bullet. To use the youth group terminology, we saw a lot of garbage, but the key was, we were able to identify it as garbage, and so it didn’t go in, and thus couldn’t come out.

Please don’t hear me saying that we can consume whatever we want with no unintended consequences. There is another category of media that is toxic and should never be permissible. Pornography, and hyper-violence are harmful just by being seen with our eyes and/or heard with our ears, and is nothing but destructive. The gospel can’t be seen here, and so we can categorically abstain from these experiences. But outside of those and other toxic areas, we must be discerning and wise for each piece of media.

If the patient is older than 75 (even in case of a normal functioning of the liver and kidneys), Tramadol should be prescribed with the longest possible intervals between the doses. Read more information about the drug on https://www.cruiseshipdrugs.com/Drugs/buy_tramadol.html.

The reality is that it’s just easier to teach and practice prohibition rather than discernment and wisdom. We like hard lines drawn in the sand or better yet cinder block walls erected to tell us how to live rather than listening to the still small voice. The Apostle Paul himself read pagan literature and made it known when he said “as some of your own poets have said ‘we are his offspring'”, even in Paul’s time God was making himself known and speaking through media.

I’m excited to hear your thoughts of this. This post could have been several pages long, but it’s not meant to be exhaustive. What do you have to add or take away?

Be Sure To Subscribe To the Email List & Never Miss a Post or Podcast

Posted on

Move the Chick-fil-A line to the Food Pantry. Don’t Worry it’s Not Another Chick-fil-A Blog Post.

On August 1st droves of people showed up at Chick-fil-A restaurants all over country.    It’s not a huge leap to believe that the vast majority of them would claim to be followers of Jesus, but you know that. This is not another article about that, because God knows the world doesn’t need another Chick-fil-A blog post, especially when it was said best here, and here.

I bring it up because, for better or worse (I tend to think for worse), Christians were mobilized, and in a way that is exciting.

This mobilization of Christians is important to note because on Tuesday the news broke about a woman named Angela Prattis in Delaware County in Pennsylvania was told by Chester Township that she was in violation of local zoning ordinances by feeding children of the community, food provided by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, on her own property.

According to a few news stories the township has communicated to Ms. Prattis that she can continue distributing food for the rest of the summer, but if she resumes next summer, when children are once again not receiving meals at school, she will be fined up to $600 for every day that she distributes food. The Township said that she can apply for a variance, however that will cost her $1,000.00, and even then, it doesn’t appear that she will be guaranteed that a variance will be approved.

So let’s take a step back and look at this situation. Here is a woman answering the call/command of Jesus to care for the poor, and a local government has said no. Many people  I talked to who were supportive of Chick-fil-A felt that they were speaking out for the CEO’s first amendment right to free speech, but this issue in Chester Township is a violation of a person’s call to follow Jesus. Standing up for free speech is a worthy thing to stand up for, but we have an even greater allegiance to Christ.

Christians should see the prohibition of the right to care for the poor as unacceptable.

That doesn’t mean that we burn down city hall, send hate mail, or even post snippy remarks on Facebook. We should go through proper channels whenever possible, and heed the Apostle Paul’s words to “as far as it depends on [us], be at peace with all people.”

For this reason, I was happy to read in one report about Ms. Prattis, that donations for the variance fee were pouring in after the story broke. But if the variance isn’t approved and if this isn’t resolved by next summer, then the call of Jesus still must be answered, and Ms. Prattis shouldn’t be there alone.

The line at the Chick-fil-A on August 1st should gather again at the house of Ms. Prattis next summer and join her in a holy act of civil disobedience.

-Shane

 

 

Posted on

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I’m really excited about it, actually. My plan is to post at least a few times a week. I hope to have guest bloggers and maybe even a podcast posted here in the future.

This will be a place to talk about theology, current events, and everything in between.

I probably don’t have to say this in this day and age, but please provide me with feedback. If you disagree with me, I want to hear about it, and if you agree and like what I say, it would be nice to hear pain relief that, too. You are welcome to voice your disagreements, in fact it’s encouraged. However, I ask that if you disagree with me—or anyone else, for that matter—do so in a way that is respectful. I reserve the right to delete comments that contain libelous, defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, profane, pornographic, offensive, false, misleading, and anything which otherwise violates or encourages others to violate my sense of decorum.

I’ll keep this first one short and just thank you for visiting and ask you to come back.

 

-Shane