Seminary Dropout 123: AJ Swoboda, on Wandering, Doubt, and Hope

*Originally posted at MissioAlliance.org

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Dr. A. J. Swoboda is a professor, author, and pastor of Theophilus in urban Portland, Oregon. He teaches theology, biblical studies, and Christian history at George Fox Evangelical and Fuller Seminaries. He is the founder and director of Blessed Earth Northwest, a center that helps think creatively and strategically around creation care issues in the Pacific Northwest.

 The Dusty Ones: Why Wandering Deepens Your Faith

Through every turn of the biblical story, God’s people are a wandering people. When they are rescued from slavery in Egypt, God sends them into the desert, where they wander for a generation. Jesus and his disciples wander from town to town. In fact, some of God’s most important truths are imparted to people with dusty feet as they travel on the road.

With his trademark thoughtful introspection, A. J. Swoboda boldly suggests that wandering is not an absence of faith but a central component of faith. In The Dusty Ones, he leads the restless, the frustrated, and the curious on a spiritual journey to uncover the answers to questions like

– Do I wander because I’m failing or because God has left me?
– Is the desert something I can overcome?
– Why is God sometimes “hidden” in the Bible?
– What do I do when the end seems nowhere in sight?

This compassionate and contemplative book offers hope and peace to Christians and seekers alike as they make their way down the winding road of faith. -From the Publisher


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If you liked this episode then you might also like…

Seminary Dropout 114: Paul J. Pastor, Author of The Face of the Deep: Exploring the Mysterious Person of the Holy Spirit

Seminary Dropout 104: Sarah Bessey On Her New Book ‘Out of Sorts’


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A More Sophisticated Idolatry

I was all set today to write a post about Idolatry, but then a post on Tim Keller’s site came out today and said it better.

However, if I never spoke because someone else said it better, well I’d never speak. So I’ll add my take to the mix.

It seems that idolatry has evolved in the last several years. First idolatry was worshiping a literal idol made to represent a deity other than God, then idolatry took the form of saying “I love X more than God,” but the kind of idolatry practiced by most Christians today is more sophisticated, it’s just as dangerous and sinful (maybe more?), but it helps us sleep at night. This idolatry says “I love X as much as God because to love X is to love God.”

We’ve even created disturbing relics to proclaim our idolatry.

 

Some of these things are fine things to like, enjoy, and support (SOME!), but when we give them equal footing with Jesus in our hearts, that’s idolatry.

Your political party will lose. Those around you will disappoint you. Money will be fleeting. Your country will not forever stay the same. We had better put singular faith and hope into the only thing that will last forever.

What do you see as some of our blind spots at Christians? To what do we give undue prominence in our hearts?