tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24676968688744065212023-11-16T13:20:50.792-05:00CrucifiedConDiosBiblical & Theological Reflections from a young student/theologian/artist/writerChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-4228572187216990272013-06-29T20:32:00.001-04:002013-06-29T20:54:51.491-04:00Glamorizing Violence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWL5tSBAqlwtuCYctvHggnuh1ZNmxEHMcQUGARgb6dyt8Zl3Nv5qh__XYriQ9lfSNz51sq2vPGmoM4AwNOaDGsJuWy8Wkh5l9wOcNxmgJoluj3122G0NYusktEVTLBGkkbW_bx7iyiZQ/s1003/air-force-recruitment-poseters-propaganda-higher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWL5tSBAqlwtuCYctvHggnuh1ZNmxEHMcQUGARgb6dyt8Zl3Nv5qh__XYriQ9lfSNz51sq2vPGmoM4AwNOaDGsJuWy8Wkh5l9wOcNxmgJoluj3122G0NYusktEVTLBGkkbW_bx7iyiZQ/s320/air-force-recruitment-poseters-propaganda-higher.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last night I was walking through a local town festival when I spotted a large Air Force van passing out propaganda and recruiting prospects. Such recruitment posts make me cringe. When army commercials air before movies, the pit of my stomach crawls, but this particular instance was way beyond those usual feelings of dismay.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The van was a simulation game. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Experience what it's like to be a member of the U.S. Air Force," the signs said. "Climb into the cockpit and defend your country!"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I watched as many 8, 9, and 10-year old boys stepped up to the line and eagerly waited their turn to "shoot down enemy planes," as I overhead one little boy exclaim.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I. was. furious.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, I understand that many of my fellow brothers and sisters are advocates of just war, who see war as an unfortunate "necessary evil" that plagues our world due to the Fall. I sincerely respect their stance. Although I may not agree with it, I am comfortable with different viewpoints on war being represented in Christianity.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This, however, was nothing short of glamorizing violence, making the killing of others "cool." Propaganda like this casts war in a thrilling, video-game-like light, completely ignoring the cost that war always has. "Necessary evil," as my just war friends would call it, is never without consequences. Instead, this propaganda screams, "Forget the countless number of lives who are lost in battle. Forget the 'enemy' whom Christ has called us to love. War is exciting. War makes heroes. War is the most desirable employer."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Saying otherwise, being honest about how much violence and death is involved, probably would not be a good marketing tool. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet, it seems that war within Christianity is all or nothing. Either we are resistant to it, cultivating a life of disciplined nonviolence, or we are all for it, idolizing our troops and our celebrating our military prowess. There is a severe lack of middle ground. Those of us who view war as a viable option need to stop glamorizing the violence that comes with it, regardless of whether it is "necessary." Those of use who are for just war need to be for just war <i>reluctantly</i>, knowing that it is the result of a broken, hurting world and was never a part of God's plan for this world.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">War breaks God's heart. And that needs to be taken seriously without sparkles, gimmicks, or heightened CGI.</span></span>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-74769879757946381772013-06-29T09:55:00.003-04:002013-06-29T09:55:35.042-04:00Not Quite Settled<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCvo4CVhfRKH59xwkfGNxGELOBSDcbQkoqW1eDOI0bY2lF-S831ZtxTWdIZ3WcihApanjh5RfpuMlrhkMBu3AC8-xe_TcAIDFcXegGTNZoXTH-Hjk5H6ABhyphenhyphenX5PMFBiF77tJVuo4soZ0o/s667/God-Said-It.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCvo4CVhfRKH59xwkfGNxGELOBSDcbQkoqW1eDOI0bY2lF-S831ZtxTWdIZ3WcihApanjh5RfpuMlrhkMBu3AC8-xe_TcAIDFcXegGTNZoXTH-Hjk5H6ABhyphenhyphenX5PMFBiF77tJVuo4soZ0o/s320/God-Said-It.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="userContent">This t-shirt is very helpful in debunking this widely accepted cliche. However, I think there needs to be an explanation after
"God said it" as well, as it gives the impression that we have the
exact words from God. Maybe "God spoke through fallible human beings for
his purpose?" Suggestions from my theologically-inclined friends?</span></span></span><br />Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-47523436940493438312013-06-17T13:30:00.001-04:002013-06-17T13:30:04.357-04:00Richard Rohr on Cultural Fundamentalism<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The following is from </span><a href="http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Richard-Rohr-s-Daily-Meditations---New-Fundamentals--Are-a-Contradiction-in-Terms----Ecumenism----Father-s-Day--June-16--2013.html?soid=1103098668616&aid=Hfqy-qPpvFQ" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Richard Rohr's blog</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">:</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In recent years and elections one would have thought that homosexuality and abortion were the new litmus tests of authentic Christianity. Where did this come from? They never were the criteria of proper membership for the first 2000 years, but reflect very recent culture wars instead. And largely from people who think of themselves as “traditionalists”! (The fundamentals were already resolved in the early Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed. Note that none of the core beliefs are about morality at all. The Creeds are more mystical, cosmological, and about aligning our lives inside of a huge sacred story.) When you lose the great mystical level of religion, you always become moralistic about this or that as a cheap substitute. It gives you a false sense of being on higher spiritual ground than others.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jesus is clearly much more concerned about issues of pride, injustice, hypocrisy, blindness, and what I have often called “The Three Ps” of power, prestige, and possessions, which are probably 95 percent of Jesus’ written teaching. We conveniently ignore this 95 percent to concentrate on a morality that usually has to do with human embodiment. That’s where people get righteous, judgmental, and upset, for some reason. The body seems to be where we carry our sense of shame and inferiority, and early-stage religion has never gotten much beyond these “pelvic” issues. As Jesus put it, “You ignore the weightier matters of the law—justice, mercy, and good faith . . . and instead you strain out gnats and swallow camels” (Matthew 23:23-24). We worry about what people are doing in bed much more than making sure everybody has a bed to begin with. There certainly is a need for a life-giving sexual morality, and true pro-life morality, but one could sincerely question whether Christian nations and people have found it yet.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Christianity will regain its moral authority when it starts emphasizing social sin in equal measure with individual (read “body-based”) sin and weave them both into a seamless garment of love and truth.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-36818513115325230502013-06-13T20:18:00.001-04:002013-06-29T20:41:27.402-04:00Poetry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/128703470/chalkboard-art-hand-lettering-religious">Recent art piece</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">"For we are the product of His hand, heaven’s poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">- Ephesians 2:10 (The Voice Translation)</span></span></div>
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</span>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-90020430855629262072013-05-31T12:00:00.003-04:002013-06-29T20:41:01.407-04:0010 Things Religion Professors Wish Their Students Knew<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">10. We are people, too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">9. We love questions. Each of us is a "geek" in our field, and we don't get to talk very often about the things that <i>really</i> interest us. Questions don't scare us; it's scarier when people don't have questions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">8. We see everything that happens in the classroom. You may think you're being subversively sneaky by texting underneath the desk, but it doesn't fool us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">7. We put our very souls into our lessons (well, some of us do). We put a lot of thought into not only what to say but how to say it. We spend a large portion of our time researching and then translating this research into language that students can understand. We try to make the content creative, engaging and interesting. You could even say that the final product is a piece of art that bears a part of our souls.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">6. We take risks every single time we get in front of a class and start teaching. We risk messing up. We put our humor on the line. We worry whether our creative ideas will be effective.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">5. We believe the risk is worth it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">4. We genuinely care. We want our students to succeed. We pray for you and ask that God will speak to you in ways that we cannot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">3. We find no greater joy than when a student "gets it." It could be evident from a submitted paper, a comment in class, or a personal email, but we love it when a student critically engages in a way that they maybe hadn't before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2. We sometimes doubt ourselves at the end of the day. We wonder whether our efforts were truly worth it, whether it even mattered that we showed up to class that day. We worry whether we communicated clearly. We often secretly are dismayed with the thought that maybe weren't as inspiring as we had hoped to be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1. Each and every day we stand back up in the classroom, we die to ourselves once again. We teach for our students, hoping that we can awaken them to the beauty and the awe of the Biblical narrative. We teach for ourselves, processing thoughts and ideas so that they become even deeper convictions within our own selves. And finally, we teach for God, hoping that somehow, someway, our Creator will find pleasure in our efforts and at the end of the day he will say to us, "You gave everything I gave you, and that is enough."</span><br />
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Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-25756940814552902422013-05-27T11:53:00.004-04:002013-06-29T20:34:52.264-04:00Honoring While Lamenting<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxLTwvfQC1uQNu3KbEt3P7ZxvLCIY0Rd7GCyDnSnMZ1gNmV6XBYRtoMrSuNisL5p7CxXGJiktpWXpoBFlfotpXisn2kwqTq7SveMFbWrJce2I-NpnZBiRxEHNnrfbWCF5zssKL5TO568/s1600/N9903144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxLTwvfQC1uQNu3KbEt3P7ZxvLCIY0Rd7GCyDnSnMZ1gNmV6XBYRtoMrSuNisL5p7CxXGJiktpWXpoBFlfotpXisn2kwqTq7SveMFbWrJce2I-NpnZBiRxEHNnrfbWCF5zssKL5TO568/s320/N9903144.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo from <a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/war/">Boston.com</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Military holidays are difficult for me. Honestly, I'm never sure how to react. As someone who is vehemently opposed to all acts of violence, I am very much reluctant to honor those who engaged in such acts, regardless of whether it is for a "greater" cause.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Yet, I understand that not everyone feels as strongly as I do about war. Many of my family and friends believe that their service in the military was part of the calling that God placed upon their lives. They believe that protecting others via violent means is a virtue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">While I strongly disagree with their theological/ethical reasoning, I don't want to demonize them for trying to follow God in the way that they see fit. At the same time, I don't want to condone their acts of violence and glorify war as something that is God-sanctioned.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I would gladly give up my American "freedoms" if it meant the prevention of war's horrific consequences. My "freedoms" are not worth the countless lives of so many around the globe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So how do we, who are adherents of non-violent resistance, honor without condoning? How can we celebrate while lamenting?</span><br />
<br />Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-42968777286172040782013-03-31T18:44:00.003-04:002013-03-31T19:00:20.173-04:00Easter: Resurrection<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVy-2YHJsQW26Sh1EMg3kdpIoo2JJCra0EaNoRPzVb9w1ZwCABHt00zVHYA1AyEMVy5fxTnZUoSKvUM5KO_bvfOcFX-wz5d8ntr9iVAfYeHsi2Gbso3XJz47_j03r2fg0Xf1VeHJPvM4/s1600/Resurrection_988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVy-2YHJsQW26Sh1EMg3kdpIoo2JJCra0EaNoRPzVb9w1ZwCABHt00zVHYA1AyEMVy5fxTnZUoSKvUM5KO_bvfOcFX-wz5d8ntr9iVAfYeHsi2Gbso3XJz47_j03r2fg0Xf1VeHJPvM4/s320/Resurrection_988.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Illustration by <a href="http://jimlepage.com/" target="_blank">Jim LePage</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Darkness. Silence. Despair. Hope strangled and life stifled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then Sunday comes. Easter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Easter is by far my favorite holiday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This morning I breathed the cool morning air and was reminded that one day, after I am long gone and buried, I will breathe again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Easter is not about Christ's death. Neither is it about we as Christians dying and "going to heaven." Easter is about God's vindication. It's about God's triumph over death and our subsequent triumph that will occur in the future. Christ is the first fruit of the resurrection, and we are promised to follow (1 Cor. 15). Christ's past is our future.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Many times we emphasize God's sacrificial death and focus very little on his resurrection. Honestly, Christ's death isn't enough. We in the West seem to talk a lot about the justifying nature of Christ's death, but I think that the Eastern Church gets it right. If Christ only came to die, then he could have been killed in the slaughtering of the innocents and provided atonement for our sins. No, there's more to it. The wages of sin is not just spiritual death; it's physical death.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The spiritual consequences of sin have been undone through Christ’s death, but the physical consequences are still upon us. This is the promise of the resurrection: Christ will defeat death once and for all in his second coming. Without his return, our hope in God is futile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Did the grass rejoice when it felt Jesus once again? Did the wind dance when God breathed again? Did they mourn when he ascended into heaven?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I miss someone I've never really even met. But my soul and my dying body eagerly anticipate my Savior's return, when both spiritual and physical death will be finally overturned.</span></div>
Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-20879614428995875722013-03-28T11:07:00.002-04:002013-03-28T11:07:35.151-04:00Questions from Students: Jesus' Limitations<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGWzY3jvKKMpdziVfX9laxLNmVUkHmS3R5e2ZJQLCuqcK4EX99nx2t8VRrGRjeFSl_fnPx22gW8bJOgd0XcEmB8hriw9udsynWv7pYZlndZJRABbOXdzadMQEVjoU5Z4jMpIXmYs8xyY/s1600/gethsemane_garden_by_radojavor-d3ej3ye.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGWzY3jvKKMpdziVfX9laxLNmVUkHmS3R5e2ZJQLCuqcK4EX99nx2t8VRrGRjeFSl_fnPx22gW8bJOgd0XcEmB8hriw9udsynWv7pYZlndZJRABbOXdzadMQEVjoU5Z4jMpIXmYs8xyY/s400/gethsemane_garden_by_radojavor-d3ej3ye.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Illustration by <a href="http://radojavor.deviantart.com/art/gethsemane-garden-205804742" target="_blank">RadoJavor</a></span></td></tr>
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<i style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px;">"So did Jesus always know that he was going to die? Or did God reveal it to him?"</i><br />
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Believe it or not, but there are Biblical scholars who have actually dedicated their lives to studying what it means for Jesus to be fully human/fully God. As a human, there is a strong possibility that Jesus did not know everything that was going to happen to him. It could very well be that Jesus had a limited look into the future. For example, when Jesus is awaiting his betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was said to be "distressed" about what was going to happen (Greek:<i> ekthambeisthai</i>). A better rendering of this word is "terrified surprise." In other words, Jesus does not really know what is going to happen.</div>
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However, when we look at his life and all the tensions he was creating with the religious leaders and Roman authorities it becomes obvious that Jesus is going to reach a climax and be at least threatened with death.</div>
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Also, if we read Jesus in light of the prophets of the Old Testament, we can safely assume that he is going to have the same fate as they did. Even if Jesus did not know exactly what was going to happen, he probably had a good idea.</div>
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I think that this actually makes Jesus even more profound. As a human, he probably didn't know all that was going to come, yet he remained faithful to his Father. He was terrified, yet he willingly chose his death, even though he could have easily done it another way.</div>
Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-58387658854821230702013-03-26T19:18:00.002-04:002013-06-29T20:41:17.455-04:00Burnout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOFrBfsPQbNWYvxK3SEJg5273iYnLxgxUsF-sgQzcRIPw5yJDJy2EIhoPDDz_4KPdhJvZjVX_f8c1g0-MeI3hnDv4QmEdxttuLkjn0n7aYgAnWwZnYJ70kAeGyswTYPRzZe8uDBhLG0I/s1600/wve-white-flag-260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOFrBfsPQbNWYvxK3SEJg5273iYnLxgxUsF-sgQzcRIPw5yJDJy2EIhoPDDz_4KPdhJvZjVX_f8c1g0-MeI3hnDv4QmEdxttuLkjn0n7aYgAnWwZnYJ70kAeGyswTYPRzZe8uDBhLG0I/s200/wve-white-flag-260.jpg" width="145" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>After twenty-five years of priesthood, I found myself praying poorly, living somewhat isolated from other people, and very much preoccupied with burning issues. Everyone was saying that I was doing well, but something inside of me was telling me that my success was putting my own soul in danger. I began to ask myself whether my lack of contemplative prayer, my loneliness, and my constantly changing involvement in what seemed most urgent were signs that the Spirit was gradually being suppressed. It was very hard for me to see clearly, and though I never spoke about hell or only jokingly so, <b>I woke up one day with the realization that I was living in a very dark place and that the term "burnout" was a convenient psychological translation for a spiritual death.</b></i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">- Henri J. M. Nouwen, <i>In the Name of Jesus</i>, page 20</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Nouwen put succinctly into words exactly what I have been feeling this semester. I am exhausted -- physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. I am tired of feeling so much pressure from the academic arena to "succeed." I am tired of trying to impress others and of trying to appear "brilliant" or "profound."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'm hanging my hat up and resigning from the lifestyle academia thrusts upon me. It's not worth gaining the whole world if I lose my soul in the process.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"Giving up" has such a negative connotation in my American culture. It's often analogous with defeat and failure, but maybe it shouldn't be. Surrendering is not always a bad thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Sometimes raising that white flag is actually the bravest thing you can do. </b></span>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-69761704169588391322013-03-07T21:22:00.003-05:002013-03-07T21:22:57.411-05:00The Bible and Inspiration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvzXkJdLpxh-MrqpAv34HOh8doupv71qKj7kPQ9kQe9uDty_yI8xfJPNytCINd0qeI5OacLhR5E_yPr5CdovCiIpWRhsnIjnFnCd-oD8bI_9xdDUVigW3dzSLwQYp_em0SUQnRebWBus/s1600/The-manuscript-of-the-Bible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvzXkJdLpxh-MrqpAv34HOh8doupv71qKj7kPQ9kQe9uDty_yI8xfJPNytCINd0qeI5OacLhR5E_yPr5CdovCiIpWRhsnIjnFnCd-oD8bI_9xdDUVigW3dzSLwQYp_em0SUQnRebWBus/s320/The-manuscript-of-the-Bible.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One of the challenges of teaching a general ed class on the entire Bible is that freshmen just aren't developmentally ready for some of the critical thinking that is required. A hurdle I have to guide the students past at the very beginning of each semester is the theories of Scripture's inspiration. Is it more divine (dictation) or human (intuition), or maybe a bit of both (dynamic)?* Of course, this raises some tough questions from the students. This semester, one student wrote:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 15.546875px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"If the Wesleyan belief is the hybrid between the Divine and Human, how do you actually distinguish between what you do take as what is considered true and straight from God and what maybe is exactly not? Maybe that question is just a personal opinion on what one decides to believe, but i was just wondering what you thought about it."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">These students keep me on my toes. There are two challenges: presenting an answer in such a way that is understandable to a 19-year-old student and quelling the panic when they realize that the Bible may have some mistakes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here is my carefully thought-out response:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">God has a history (literally) of partnering with flawed human beings and using them for his glory. The Bible is full of examples. Even Jesus was fully human. He probably was clumsy sometimes and misspelled some words in school. Does this make him less than the perfect sacrifical Lamb that we needed? Of course not! Jesus wasn't sent into the world to be the world's best spelling bee winner. Jesus was sent to be sinless, not mistakeless. In the same way, God also partners with the Church, a body made up of both God and humans interacting together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The things that dynamic theorists would view as "human" are inconsequential to the message the original authors were trying to convey when they wrote Scripture. In the OT world, for instance, if a woman did not bear children it was thought that it was her fault, that it was her womb that was sterile. Modern science tells us that sometimes it's not the woman, but it's the man who's actually sterile. The Biblical people did not know this. This does not make the story about Sarah untrue, because the authors were not making a scientific claim about how a woman's womb functions. The plain meaning of the story, that Elizabeth could not bear children, is still understood. This is what the authors want us to know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It is important to note that Christians who hold to a dynamic theory of inspiration would NEVER say that Jesus never resurrected from the dead or that Moses never led the people out of Egypt. Since communicating these events were the authors' intent, we trust that they are not lying to us. The problems arise because the Israelites lived in a particular cultural and historical location. We have faults and inaccuracies in our own modern culture as well. But this does not prevent our intentions and ideas from getting across. When it all comes down to it, the Bible's intent is to communicate salvation history. Because of this, who is to say how to separate the Bible between the human and the divine? I don't think we can make that definite distinction. We thus believe that the Bible, in its entirety, is sufficient to lead us to God and salvation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">That's the beauty of the Bible -- God, in all his mercy, chose to partner with flawed creatures and to communicate his truth through a finite language. The end result is something that is both beautifully human and divine, not one or the other. It's a mistake to try to separate every part of Scripture into one category or the other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">I recognize that these are very broad categories and some people may even fall into a hybrid category. Since this is an entry-level class, we don't go into great detail about all of the various theories of inspiration.</span></div>
Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-78050422080921581322013-03-07T20:48:00.002-05:002013-03-07T20:54:38.992-05:00Ordinary But Determined<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8cMkQs-CEqHxjmPS-2Y7hGdBS83UBrOYXHibf5YfqQXixyxli_kHLVURfMhTDAmskTp-5JV_nYPYJ3BCvHmDuYf1s81apfBVdWe2tNpn_a9svvIDA8C2NhDeo6X7NLudc8WdgLc4h60I/s1600/nehemiah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8cMkQs-CEqHxjmPS-2Y7hGdBS83UBrOYXHibf5YfqQXixyxli_kHLVURfMhTDAmskTp-5JV_nYPYJ3BCvHmDuYf1s81apfBVdWe2tNpn_a9svvIDA8C2NhDeo6X7NLudc8WdgLc4h60I/s320/nehemiah.jpg" width="256" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">By Jim LePage</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For those of you who are the best of the best, the brightest, the ones voted “most likely to succeed” in high school, the cheerleader or the star athlete, I have good news for you: God can still use you.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /><br />God has a habit of using the most unlikely people to accomplish tasks for his kingdom. All throughout the Story God used the weak, like Gideon and Jeremiah. He used women, who were deemed worthless in Jewish society, like Ruth and Deborah. He used people with sinful pasts like Paul. He even used children, like Esther and Mary, who were probably no more than 13 years old. God loves to use the people in society that we would look at and deem completely short of greatness. God loves to use the ordinary.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One person in particular that God chose to use was an ordinary man by the name of Nehemiah. Nehemiah had a very normal job, perhaps even a very mundane job. He was a cupbearer for the Persian king. Nehemiah was the guy who drank the king's wine before he drank to make sure that no one had poisoned it. As you can imagine, this was a very blue collar job. No Israelite child would list this occupation as the job that they hoped to obtain when they grew up. You know the saying "Every job has it's poison?" Well, this one really did...</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Nehemiah lived during a very difficult time period for the Israelites. After disobeying God multiple times and not keeping their covenant with Him, God finally permitted foreign nations to come and occupy their land. Many Israelites were dragged away to live in a foreign nation away from the Promised Land and were forced to serve in a pagan kingdom.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Finally, a king named Cyrus the Great assumed the throne of Persia and permitted the Israelites to return to Israel and rebuild the city. Nehemiah remained in Persia serving the king, but when he heard the news about what was going on in Israel he was cut to the core.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here's how the story goes according to the Voice translation:</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Hanani and the Judean Men (to Nehemiah):</b> It’s a disaster. The survivors of the exile who are in the Persianprovince of Jerusalem have been wronged and are hated. The wall of Jerusalem has been reduced to piles of rock, and its gates consumed by flame.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hearing this, I was overwhelmed with grief and could only sit and weep. For days I mourned this news and sought the audience of the True God of heaven, praying and fasting before Him.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Nehemiah:</b> Notice me—Eternal One, God of heaven, great and awesome God. You are the keeper of the covenant and loyally love those who love You and follow Your commands. Now, pay attention with open ears and eyes to me and see how I, Your servant, plead day and night for Your consideration. I confess our wickedness, not just for Your servants the children of Israel, but for my family and the household of my father, Hacaliah. We have acted extremely wickedly toward You. We have rejected Your commands, disregarding the regulations and judgments You gave to Your servant Moses to show us how to live. I ask that You remember Your words to Your servant Moses,even when we did not. You told him, “If you are unfaithful to Me and choose another, then I will send you away and you will live separate from Me—you will live as aliens in strange lands; but if you have a change of heart and return to Me and walk according to My commands, then no matter how far you have gone, even to the places beyond the horizon, I will gather you and bring you to the place of My choosing, where My very name dwells.” They are Yours, God—they are Your servants; they are Your people whom You liberated from the exile by Your initiative and power. O Lord, hear Your servant praying to You and pay attention, and not just to my prayers but also to the prayers of these very Jews whose greatest joy is to live in fear and awe of You.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I am asking for success today, God; please make sure this man is compassionate to me, Your servant.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />So the Israelites had returned and were restoring the nation to the way it was prior to the foreign occupation. They had finished the foundation of the Temple and were beginning to rebuild the walls surrounding Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the Israelites faced opposition building the walls. As it said in the passage, the walls had been torn down and the gates were burned to a crisp. This may not seem like a big deal to us today, but this was devastating for the Israelites. In the ancient world, city walls were a symbol of strength and stability. A city without walls was vulnerable to being attacked by other hostile nations. Further, the ruined walls portrayed Israel’s God as powerless to the other nations. This was huge insult to Yahweh. Yahweh couldn't even protect his own nation from being attacked. This was deeply humiliating. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">By Lydia Nichols</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When Nehemiah hears the news, he sat down and cried for days. Plural. I don't know about you, but I don't think I've ever really cried about anything indirectly related to me for several days. This probably wasn't the neat, tidy kind of cry. The kind where a few drops of tears roll down your face and you're still photogenic. This was the snotty nose, bloodshot-eyed kind of cry. The first thing Nehemiah does is he cries for people thousands of miles away. Now, these people weren't in his immediate circle of influence. Back in ancient times, this was incredibly far away. They were a long trip away by camel. By the time you arrived back in Jerusalem, it would be like Oregon Trail. You would look like different people, somebody might have died along the way. This was a far distance. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /><br />It would have been easy for him to say, “Man, that’s awful. My heart goes out to my peeps in my homeland. Keep me posted on Facebook about what’s going on. Send me a picture on Twitter. I’ll be praying for y’all.”<br /><br />It is so easy to dodge suffering. I don't know about you, but I’m really good at ducking pain. Whenever we feel any sort of discomfort, we immediately try to find a distraction. Suffering is like Hot Potato -- as soon as it comes, we try to toss away lest it burrow within us.<br /><br />We've all been there. We were watching our favorite TV special when a commercial about starving children comes on. The commercial shows pictures of little kids living in the filth of slums with their bellies protruding from hunger and for a while we're moved. "Man, that's awful. People don't have access to clean water? Children are susceptible to malaria because of their living conditions?" We may shed a little tear. But then suddenly our program returns on TV and just as quickly we forget what we just saw and what we just felt. We find ourselves saying, “Hunger... I’m hungry… Man, I want some Cheetos!”<br /><br />We’re good at being upset about something for a while, but we do not allow the burden to sink deep into who we are. We've incredibly good at dodging pain.<br /><br />Let me ask you this, "What breaks your heart?" What disturbs you? What makes you comfortable? What, when you slow down and take time to reflect, makes you cry? <br /><br />* Maybe it directly relates to you. Maybe divorce breaks your heart. Your parents went through an awful divorce, or your friends, and you strongly believe that no one should have to go through this. Or maybe family members who don't know God or who have walked out on him break your heart. You think about those around you not living a life of worth with their Creator and you are cut to the core.<br /><br />* Maybe you become upset when animals are abused or we as humans damage God's creations. Unfortunately, creation care has been underemphathized by Christians or sometimes even labeled as unimportant when compared to other things. But God has affirmed the goodness of his creation time and time again through the Biblical narrative. The birds of the air, the flowers of the field, the mountains, the valleys, the entire ecosystem is subjugated to pollution and depletion. These environmental factors largely impact others. Prolonged droughts and invasive species are a result of our sin, and they are often causes of famine (which leads to poverty), economic crisis, and widespread migration. <br /><br />* Poverty, homelessness, children without parents, loneliness, depression, diseases... the list goes on.<br /><br /> So what breaks your heart? What area of suffering have you been hesitant to enter into? God didn’t put us here on this earth so that we can accumulate things and live comfortable lives and then die. God put us here for a purpose, and that purpose is building up his kingdom here on this earth. We become kingdom people when we invite suffering to resonate amongst us instead of pushing it aside, and we build His kingdom here on this by the ways that we pray for and participate in his work.<br /><br /> Like Nehemiah, God can take your misery and turn it into ministry.</span></div>
Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-24953623612038934542012-10-11T15:48:00.002-04:002012-10-11T16:23:32.950-04:00Voting Beyond the "Culture Wars"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPz2CtbnupPTGUpAdH6Oy0heSlKKZhL7Q7VuZXs3FQVPRx0tkwk9IVIwvZnP8OPNwnYJmN2o07nKrXaQLYbSkrXKtezgsaTDoOOKKt5k6cpfhNbuBC9bQX9mNUd55FWHplg1JdtXJ4weA/s1600/295-vote-sign_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPz2CtbnupPTGUpAdH6Oy0heSlKKZhL7Q7VuZXs3FQVPRx0tkwk9IVIwvZnP8OPNwnYJmN2o07nKrXaQLYbSkrXKtezgsaTDoOOKKt5k6cpfhNbuBC9bQX9mNUd55FWHplg1JdtXJ4weA/s320/295-vote-sign_0.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You've all seen them on TV and received them in the mail: political ads. They're everywhere. We can't escape them. I don't even watch TV, but I still get my daily allotment from the lawn signs I see whenever I jog through my neighborhood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I recently received an ad in the mail from a local politician geared toward the religious (but probably particularly Christian) community. Beneath all of the flashy graphics and proof-texted statistics the only two issues he covered were abortion and the "sanctity of marriage."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">Christians have bought into this idea that abortion and homosexuality are the only things that should demand our attention. We've developed a political litmus test, where politicians either pass or fail solely on these two contentions. These two factors override all others.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This, however, is too simplistic. By advocating for only one or two issues like these we are relinquishing our responsibility as Christians to speak out on a huge range of other important issues.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Now, don't hear me wrong. I'm not saying that abortion and marriage are unimportant. On the contrary, I think that they are very significant in our society today. However, these are two issues largely influenced by our culture. Government policy has little affect on them. Political policy merely serves as Band-Aid, ignoring the roots of the problems. A woman's decision about whether to keep her baby or to abort him or her is largely determined by the stability of her family and the moral values that were instilled within her. The same thing goes with an individual's stance on homosexuality. Laws are not going to change people's hearts. Only Jesus Christ can. Thus, we should be more concerned about teaching the Biblical values of life and love in our families and churches than we should be concerned about making this a political agenda.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Further, Christians should be advocates of all life, not just life for the unborn. Pro-life should mean being pro-life for all people, from conception until death. When we widen the scope, we suddenly become very much concerned about people who are impoverished and trapped in unjust systems. We should desire that fetuses not be aborted, but we should also desire that this world be a world worth living in for the children who are actually born.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In the same way, we should not just be against homosexual marriage. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">We should be against divorce and abuse that happens within heterosexual marriages. We should affirm Biblical examples of sacrificial, mutually submissive covenants. By exemplifying Christ in our marriages and mentoring young women from troubled homes we can have a greater impact on our culture than any governmental policy can.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The Bible says little about abortion and homosexuality, but it has a lot to say about looking after the poor, the widows (or, in our society, single moms), orphans, and immigrants. As Christians, we need to seek justice for the marginalized and disadvantaged in our society. In Deuteronomy 15, God commands his people to not be "tight-fisted" people, but to give to those in need generously. We need to be concerned about our monetary stewardship as a nation and to strive to be blessings to other nations around the world. We need to be actively involved in taking care of our environment. God has affirmed the goodness of his creation time and time again through the Biblical narrative. Creation does not have a monetary value but a spiritual and moral value. The birds of the air, the flowers of the field, the mountains, the valleys, the entire ecosystem is subjugated to pollution and depletion. These environmental factors largely impact others. Prolonged droughts and invasive species are a result of our sin, and they are often causes of famine (which leads to poverty), economic crisis, and widespread migration. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">There are many other issues. Slavery and human trafficking is becoming a worldwide endemic and we need to be political activists on their behalf. Our immigration policies are broken, and we need to seek to love our foreign friends, although we may differ on the specifics of the particular policies. Nevertheless, we need to seek to love both God with all of our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves. When we strive to fulfill these two greatest commands, we will critically think about the issue of overriding political choices and the web of interconnected, Biblical concerns that should demand our interest.</span></span>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-37526776792054384722012-10-08T21:09:00.002-04:002012-10-08T21:09:44.350-04:00Finally<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcI7A8-ewblgWYed_2HDIp4FpjCPimkj4cq6gEREhWI0Irb3BtoI3kB4eaKdPPT9R1BZMVIM7JPkQ4hkWg8y1GKsn4JWOPo7i4fktgdgD8ZYNKtNWFHcfmir8upWlTfK9btLnGHMzDMs0/s1600/school.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcI7A8-ewblgWYed_2HDIp4FpjCPimkj4cq6gEREhWI0Irb3BtoI3kB4eaKdPPT9R1BZMVIM7JPkQ4hkWg8y1GKsn4JWOPo7i4fktgdgD8ZYNKtNWFHcfmir8upWlTfK9btLnGHMzDMs0/s320/school.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo from <a href="http://kendieveryday.com/" target="_blank">Kendi Everyday</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">19 years after playing school with my dolls.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">10 years after beginning high school.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">6 years after beginning college.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2 years after beginning graduate school.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I became what I think I was always meant to be. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>I became a college professor.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Teaching has been the perfect fit for my personality because it enables me to engage my creative side as I think of new ways to present Biblical content. I consider myself to be both analytical and artistic. One of my teachers in high school even called me the "most balanced right-brained, left-brained person" she had ever met.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For a while, though, I wasn't sure if I would be able to keep pursuing Biblical studies as a discipline, much less a profession. Toward the end of my college studies and especially during grad school I just wanted to abandon Biblical studies altogether and take up another profession.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In grad school, the area of study I once thrived on became a source of dread and disdain. There was no room for creative thinking, no application of Biblical truth to the public realm where people often ache for illumination. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It’s
really quite ironic, actually. My deepest desire for the ministry God had called me to
was to instill a thirst for God’s Word/knowing God through his Word.
While studying to accomplish this I desired neither God nor his Word.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But now I'm teaching. I can feel the pent-up frustration and my forced inhibitions subside. Creative ways at presenting Biblical material weren't permitted in the scholastic world, but they certainly are permitted (and received very well, might I add!) in the education realm. In grad school I was forced to conform to a personality that frankly wasn't me. And because of this, I thought that my own unique qualities were incompatible with the area of Biblical studies. Now I know differently, and I can't express just how free and empowered I feel. Finally, I'm free to be who God created me to be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So don't feel like you were created "wrong" or that your personality traits and gifts cannot be used in a certain discipline or profession. God can use our traits that make us unique. He <i>wants</i> to use these traits. Knowing who you are and understanding who you are not will help you understand the "you" God created you to be. And the true "you," my friends, may just be the breath of fresh air that this world needs.</span><br />
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Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-66912800496492061212012-08-17T10:58:00.001-04:002012-08-17T10:59:45.202-04:00The Elephant in the Old Testament<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfMA5T7Z3h8WKlKZK8TCusenAeXAtRylYSTVa92RMNaT5Zw_VELfljweklUi5QCjnuRT0uKLydkoUCaE3jJmd47It7MFVENJqhf8mBezPSwqXeJn-h-PjnJ9Ur0E6qhWBOA-M6HmV3C0/s1600/Fallen_by_indorock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfMA5T7Z3h8WKlKZK8TCusenAeXAtRylYSTVa92RMNaT5Zw_VELfljweklUi5QCjnuRT0uKLydkoUCaE3jJmd47It7MFVENJqhf8mBezPSwqXeJn-h-PjnJ9Ur0E6qhWBOA-M6HmV3C0/s320/Fallen_by_indorock.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <a href="http://indorock.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">Indorock</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Social media is a minefield for conflict. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Seldom a day goes by that I do not see some sort of heated argument appearing in my news feed. Something about being able to type out responses in an online social media format makes even the shyest person bold in sharing their thoughts and opinions. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Maybe you're one of those people who loves conflict and heads into it straight on. Or maybe you'd rather avoid conflict at all costs and only post about neutral, everyday topics.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Regardless of which category you find yourself in, I know you have at some point seen what I like to call the "Holocaust argument." I would say that the Holocaust argument is the argument of all arguments in the Facebook realm. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Holocaust doesn’t even have to be directly related to the argument at hand. As long as you can somehow insinuate that someone's stance is in some way anti-Semitic, their point automatically becomes invalid.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here's a case in point:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimEAGRI7qlOOY2kTPdzPgIUlvI2_oaxXAYz71W8x20Sfac98hwj07Jn2rBONeUt3dFYErE7Ugl3W5y_0CGUzY55tk5znns7mVKc-t9BPjmZrXUZiiLFsXc_N2ybdxWAEo8tjRoLkPzyGk/s1600/facebook2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimEAGRI7qlOOY2kTPdzPgIUlvI2_oaxXAYz71W8x20Sfac98hwj07Jn2rBONeUt3dFYErE7Ugl3W5y_0CGUzY55tk5znns7mVKc-t9BPjmZrXUZiiLFsXc_N2ybdxWAEo8tjRoLkPzyGk/s400/facebook2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Owned by my own mother. ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In the same way, the argument to win all arguments in Christian circles is genocide in the OT. The issue of genocide is a stumbling block for both believers and skeptics/cynics alike. You can say anything about the Christian faith and someone will inevitably refute Christianity on the basis of the genocides in the Old Testament. The mass killings that God commanded make God seem untrustworthy. They make us question his goodness. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">How do we rationalize God’s seemingly cruel and insensitive behavior in the OT? How do we explain God’s seemingly different disposition in the NT? </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Is God really a good God if he ordered the killing of so many people?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There are three positions, and only three positions, that can be taken on this issue: <br /><br />1. The Israelite God is an absurdly vengeful God, and Jesus is the Christians’ attempt to redeem this side of Him. Some very fundamental Christians take this view, as well as many atheists, such as Richard Dawkins. This is probably the only time that fundamental Christians and Richard Dawkins will be found in the same category!<br /><br />2. The people who wrote the Bible were mistaken about God. They justified their zeal as God’s commandment to them to kill other people. Believe it or not, there were many students during my time at seminary who believed this. This is an easy answer to the problem. However, it creates many more problems. It makes the Biblical authors liars and downplays the inspiration of Scripture. If we cannot trust their account about God, how can we trust the rest of Scripture? <br /><br />3. God is a God of love, but he is also a Holy God. These two traits may seem contrary, but they coalesce. The genocides in the Old Testament do not damage God's goodness but actually reaffirm it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We are going to unpack this third position and discuss how it is Biblically accurate. The Bible tells us three different things about the genocides in the Old Testament.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>1. The genocides in the OT are an act of justice.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The first thing that must be understood is that God is not a toddler who is throwing a temper tantrum because someone took what belonged to him! By commanding the Israelites to annihilate the Canaanite nations, God was administering justice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Take a look at what God tells Abraham in Genesis</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> 15:16. God just finished promising Abraham that he would give him and his descendants land to inhabit. But he tells him that they can't have it just yet. Why? God says, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">God does not give Abraham the land immediately because the Canaanites’ sin had not reached the “no turning back” point. God was patient with the Canaanites and even gave them opportunities to repent. Take Rahab, for instance. When the two spies entered the land at the beginning of Joshua, they came across a prostitute named Rahab who knew all about Yahweh. </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Somehow word reached the Canaanites about the exodus from Egypt and the people were afraid of Yahweh (Joshua 2:8-11). However, as we will see in a little bit, their Canaanite religion offered them far too many comforts for them to abandon it in favor of Yahweh.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Finally, it must be understood that God is not guilty of ethnocentrism. God is not racist. God does not favor Israel over the Canaanites because their race is somehow more appealing to him. God orders the killing of the Canaanites out of judgment. They knew about Yahweh but refused to repent. We know that God is not racist because he later punishes Israel because she disobeys him and refuses to repent, just like the Canaanites did! Through the prophet Amos, Yahweh asks his people, "are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites" (</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -24px;">9:7)? God is a God of justice, and he does not show partiality.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">2. The genocides in the OT are an act of salvation.</b> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is perhaps the most difficult point because it does not fit into a neat, little package like we would like. But sometimes the easy answers are not the best answers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It is important to remember that the commandment to kill an entire people group in the OT was a unique part of <b>salvation history</b>. God had the plan since Eden and the fall of humankind to redeem the world. This plan culminates with Christ. In order to bring Christ into the world, though, God had to establish Israel as a nation. For reasons we do not know, God chose Israel as the context through which to reveal his Son. By granting the Israelite's land and setting them up as a nation, God is creating the conditions necessary for Christ's Incarnation.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Although it is not perfect, as no analogy is, I like how N.T. Wright puts it. He thinks about the Biblical narrative as a drama. This drama has several different acts. It begins with the first act of Creation. It progresses to the Fall. Then Israel is introduced in the third act. The plot culminates with the Incarnation of Christ, but you cannot jump from act one to act four. You need to have Israel before you can have Christ.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2467696868874406521#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As such, the instances of genocide in the Old Testament are a unique part of salvation history that are not to be repeated. Why did God choose to do act three this way? Couldn't he have done it some other way? Why didn't he give Israel a different land to inhabit? We simply don't know. We can't know. I wish I could give you an answer, but this is just simply the way God chose to do it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Regardless, act three is finished. We cannot use this special instance in salvation history as justification for genocide today. We now have the life and character of Jesus Christ as a model for dealing with conflict. We are not called to rage holy war; we are called to turn the other cheek.</span><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -24px;">3. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The genocides in the OT are an act of hope.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here's the big question that needs to be asked: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>How much does God want to save the world? </b>The hope of salvation depends on the preservation of the Israelite faith. The Canaanite faith was deeply enticing, and if the Israelites had occupied the land with them in it they would have undoubtedly succumbed and renounced their faith in Yahweh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You see, we tend to confuse Canaanites with “cave men.” Generally speaking, the Israelites were the “cave men.” The Canaanites were a very sophisticated and cosmopolitan civilization. They had extravagant cities, beautiful architecture, an advanced temple system. Compare this with the Israelites. They were nomads who had little material positions. They traveled in tents. They were ex-slaves. Think of how seductive the rich, prosperous Canaanite world would have been to the poor wilderness wanderers!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I always picture an Israelite boy and a Canaanite boy playing together in a sandbox. The Canaanite boy explains to the Israelite boy what his gods are like. "Our gods live in our magnificent temple. Have you seen our temple yet? It's HUGE! Our gods are rich and give us all sorts of riches too. They also live in the trees and ground and air. They give us what we want if we worship them. But they don't require us to live upright and moral lives. What are your gods like?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Israelite boy responds, "Well, we actually only worship one God. He's invisible. He lives in that little, grungy tent we have over there, although he does so willingly. He doesn't really give us lots of material possessions. Oh, and he commands us to be holy like he is holy."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Can you imagine the Canaanite boy's reaction? "Your god's 'invisible.' </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Riiiiggghhhtttt." The poor Israelite boy would get beat up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Canaanites believed that the divine was imbedded within creation. Their gods were not transcendent, or outside of nature, like the Israelite God was. They could see their gods and control them. Their gods granted them their immeasurable wealth. This kind of religion is extremely attractive to our human nature. We crave control without surrender. We only want what a religion can give us. We do not like to fully devote ourselves to something if we can manipulate it to our advantage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />In a very similar way, the Israelites were ready to abandon their faith in Yahweh for a false religion that promised them riches and success. If they followed the gods of the Canaanites, they could enjoy all of the benefits without having to commit to anything. The Israelites would have escaped Egypt only to get as far as Canaan before blowing it. But God was desperate to save the world. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">He was so intent on saving the world that he risked his very reputation as a good God. He ordered the sacrifice of thousands of sinful people so that the Israelites faith would be preserved for us. He wanted me to be saved. He wanted YOU to be saved!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In Joshua 24:14-23, the Israelites have finally obtained the land God had given them. Before his death, Joshua gives the Israelites an ultimatum. "Serve Yahweh, or serve the gods of the Canaanties and Amorites." Those are the Israelites only two options. Not serving is NOT an option. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Israelites quickly choose Yahweh, and Joshua reprimands them. "You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins." </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What is going on here? Joshua just gave this amazing evangelistic speech, and people start pouring down to the altar. Instead of welcoming them with outstretched arms, as any good preacher would do, Joshua sends them back to their seats. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You see, Joshua knew that the Israelites weren't ready for total commitment. He knew their hearts. They would serve Yahweh for a while, but then they would turn their devotion to other gods when they had something better to offer. Much like the video we just watched, the Israelites were seduced by the benefits that God would give them. It would not be long before a religion that offered something shinier and newer would replace their faith in Yahweh.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Unfortunately, we often do the same thing today. We follow Christ for what he can give us. When he does not meet our every desire, we begin following after other idols. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Perhaps we are uncomfortable with the issue of genocide in the Old Testament not just because it is difficult to explain. Perhaps we are also uncomfortable with the issue of genocide because it makes God a God who is very serious about sin. God is a jealous God, and he takes idolatry very seriously. It would be so much easier for us if God fit into the mold we wanted him to fit into. It is so much easier when God becomes an idol that we can meld and alter according to our every whim. We want an easy-going idol who is lenient about sin. We want the God who looks the other way when we follow other gods. We don't want the God who commands the deaths of thousands because they follow other gods.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But God takes idolatry <i>very </i>seriously. And we don't want that kind of God. We want the idols of the Canaanites who did not demand much of their patrons. We want to serve God AND our career. We want to serve God AND success. We want to serve God AND comfort. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our God is a jealous God. He wanted to save us so desperately that he risked his reputation as a good God so that salvation could eventually come to us. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">God requires absolute devotion from us. Following half-heartedly is not an option. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So choose for yourself this day whom you will serve: Whether it be a form of Christianity that meets your present desires, or the God of the Old Testament and New Testament who wants so desperately to save you from idolatry.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The issue is not <i>whether </i>you will serve, but <i>whom</i> you will serve.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />[i] <a href="http://ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Bible_Authoritative.htm">http://ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Bible_Authoritative.htm</a></span></div>
Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-81935588031346079062012-06-26T15:38:00.002-04:002013-03-07T20:55:03.474-05:00Confessions: Fragility<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <a href="http://alphotography.etsy.com/" target="_blank">AL Photography</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Growing up, my mom had a large cabinet filled with two sets of fine china. As a little girl, I would peer into the glass windows, tracing the soft blue and pink floral patterns with my finger. I begged my mom to let me take them out so I could play tea party with them. My mom insisted that the plates and teacups were very valuable. Someone very special had given them to her as a wedding present, and she didn't want to risk breaking them. They were only to be used for very special occasions. But I never remember using them to dine on. It made me a little sad thinking about how they were never really enjoyed. Did they feel like Mrs. Potts and Chip from Beauty and the Beast, longing for someone to come waltzing into the house to dust them off and put them to use?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lately, I have felt just as fragile as those pieces of china. This summer has left me feeling insecure to the point of paralysis. I doubt myself, I doubt my abilities, and I'd rather stay locked up in the china cabinet where no one has the opportunity to harm me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'm supposed to be writing a thesis about the Old Testament prophetic features of Revelation. But I feel like it won't be "new" and "cutting-edge" enough and I keep procrastinating, dreading the thought of having to defend it in front of my committee of world-renowned Biblical scholars. I might be chipped.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I just accepted a teaching position at a small Christian university, where I will begin teaching Bible courses full time this upcoming fall. I try to appear calm and confident about this new job, but inwardly I'm not sure I have what it takes to do well. What if the students ask something I don't know? What if I say something inaccurate? What if I'm boring? I might get chipped. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">To make matters worse, I have received so many kind words of congratulations. My friends have started calling me "professor." It all makes me cringe. I don't feel like I deserve any of this. I <i>know </i>I don't deserve any of this.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It amazes me sometimes how highly some people think of me. More often, it sends me into fits of despair. So often, people have only seen the best side of me and assume that that's the "normal" me. In reality, it's the side I want everyone to see as my "norm" as I hide the ugly counterpart. It's easy to do in this day and age by carefully controlling the content on my Facebook profile. This blog. I can easily present the illusion that I'm a perfect person who is completely confident and in control.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But I'm not. I'm flawed. I'm fragile.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I know how cynical, vain, and lazy I can be. I fear that these flaws will overpower the best parts of me. I also fear that the very best parts of me aren't enough and that if I do offer them, they'll be criticized, chipped. Then they'll be far less valuable than I initially thought they were worth.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But maybe, my gifts, no matter how little value I seem to give them, are too valuable to God <i>not</i> to be used. Maybe leaving the china in the cabinet thwarts the intentions of the Giver.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Maybe, like me, you feel like what you have to offer isn't good enough. You fear being vulnerable and "throwing yourself out there" will ultimately break you. But God, the Great Giver, only gives good gifts. Even if they may seem imperfect and insufficient, criticizing the gift is criticizing the Giver.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So take the risk. Open the china cabinet. Use the dining pieces indulgently. Enjoy the carefully-crafted teacups and saucers. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The tragedy is not chipping and breaking the plates. The tragedy is never appreciating the gift that the Giver gave you.</span></div>
Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-31492521116075270282012-04-20T12:08:00.000-04:002012-04-22T18:40:55.410-04:00Creativity as Divine<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">"Creative Mess" by <a href="http://cassetteface.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">CasseteFace</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I ran home in record speed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />As I threw open the door and dashed into the house, my husband looked up from his reading, startled. I gave him a "can't-talk-now" look and hurried past him to my art studio. I grabbed <a href="http://christyscomics.com/Comics/Angel/angel.html" target="_blank">my comic's</a> storyboard and started writing, praying that the creative impulse that had just struck me would linger long enough until I connected the vivid world hovering in my imagination with the physical pencil and paper. I couldn't help but to chuckle to myself, thinking, </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Aaron probably mistook my urgency for a very necessary trip to the bathroom. </span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i>For the past few months, I had been un-inspired to do any sort of art. Every time I sat down to draw or paint I'd stare at the blank sheet of paper or canvas, waiting for something to "hit" me. So why, out of all the times I intentionally set time aside to create, did I suddenly become inspired while on my daily run on the neighboring nature trail?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />For reasons I cannot explain, sudden moments that are </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">pregnant with creative possibilities seize me without forewarning. These are moments that only artists, poets, and musicians can understand. When these moments come upon me, I feel so alive. It's almost as if I've tapped into some sort of infinite creative energy. It's all I can do but to pray the moment doesn't leave me before I've managed to crudely assemble it onto paper. Even then paper can't completely encapsulate the immense imagery and ideas of the ethereal, creative realm.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finishing up my second degree in Biblical studies, where creatively is ironically minimized and occasionally even scorned, I began to think that my interests in art and creative writing wasn't really all that important. But then I read this passage from Scripture:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Exodus 35:30-36:1</span></b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 32 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 33 to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. 34 And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers.1 So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the LORD has commanded.”</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What first comes to your mind when you think about the Spirit of God coming upon someone? Do you think about Samson and his supernatural strength? Do you think about Isaiah, and his profound prophetic messages to apostate Israel? Very rarely have I ever thought about God's Spirit sweeping down upon someone for the task of creating!</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God didn't need a tabernacle to house him, because as Solomon later recounts in I Kings 8:26 even the heavens cannot contain God. How much more the earth, or the tabernacle/temple? But God graciously complied with the Israelites' house. Here's what tickles me - He essentially says in this passage from Exodus, "Well, if I'm going to dwell in a house it might as well be pretty." Yahweh saw the aesthetics of the tabernacle as something of importance, even to the extent that he gifted certain people with the job of overseeing the tabernacle's visual appearance.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When someone is complimented for their work, they typically reply, "I get it from my dad," or "I come from a long line of artists." But maybe we shouldn't attribute creativity to mere genetics. Sure, Bezalel's grandmother may have been a jewelry-maker. But what if Bezalel's artistic abilities was also given to him by God, simply because God sees creativity as important and he just wanted to give this ability to him?</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">n ancient Greece, it was believed that a person's capacity for creativity was not a product of his own ability but was a mark of the divine. An artist was merely the vessel, or conduit, of creativity. Poetry, woodworking, and music were spawned from what they called a "muse." This muse would come upon someone and grant them supernatural ability. Thus, if someone's sculpture came out disproportionate or lumpy, if wasn't the human creator's fault; he just had a bad genius. Similarly, when a person created a breathtaking masterpiece, it was attributed to the muse.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In Roman thought the "muse" was called a "genius." Now, in our modern world, a person no longer <i>has</i> a genius. A person <i>is</i> a genius.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But maybe we need to begin thinking about creativity as the mark of the Divine. Maybe we are mere conduits of God's creative activity and his Spirit comes upon certain people to create beauty, order, vision, and joy for His Kingdom. Maybe God's Spirit doesn't just come upon warriors like Samson or kings like David, but upon artists like Bezalel and Oholiab. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">People who know the Creator should be the most creative people in this world. May we surrender ourselves to the purpose of God's Kingdom so that we may become the point of contact between heaven's creative power and earth's destructive captivity.</span></span>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-46153803741476780322012-04-16T19:15:00.001-04:002012-04-17T18:15:20.352-04:00Loving the Strangers Among Us - Part 5: A Call for Biblical Human Rights<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4U2A2mg-qnrgG9S6yw4tv-VF9ROHlKPctnvFDFKmivlf214g2WRhzq1qWkzR69Oy6bC0oQRzy5jv7S-w7VToufN-aedhdo6ZKr_EXx8SYszyQn2EZrWUUE4XzNaK7m0yGPIUBy7WYNs/s1600/247156_504527517300_164901845_30436061_2344_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4U2A2mg-qnrgG9S6yw4tv-VF9ROHlKPctnvFDFKmivlf214g2WRhzq1qWkzR69Oy6bC0oQRzy5jv7S-w7VToufN-aedhdo6ZKr_EXx8SYszyQn2EZrWUUE4XzNaK7m0yGPIUBy7WYNs/s320/247156_504527517300_164901845_30436061_2344_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Two Somali boys I tutored in Columbus, Ohio</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;">--------------------------------------------------</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;" /><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">This is part 5 of a 5 part series that theologically critiques the perceptions that underlie the U.S. immigration issue. This final part explains the Biblical roots of human rights and explains why civil rights should not trump human rights.</i><br style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;" /><a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/03/loving-strangers-among-us-part-1.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Read part one here</a><br style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;" /><a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/03/loving-strangers-among-us-part-2.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Read part two here</a><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/04/loving-strangers-among-us-part-3.html" target="_blank">Read part three here</a><br /><a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/04/loving-strangers-among-us-part-4.html" target="_blank">Read part four here</a></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Looking Forward: A Call for Biblical Human Rights</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Thus far we have delved deeper into three different perceptions on the immigration issue in the United States, exposing their mythic structures and addressing them in light of Scripture. What if, however, some of these perceptions were true? What if in a few years we discover statistics that undocumented immigrants are taking from our economic resources, or that the majority of Hispanics living in the U.S. are negatively affecting our American identity? Should this affect how we treat them Biblically? <br /><br />The answer is an emphatic “no.” Undocumented immigrants are human beings created in the image of God, and for this reason alone they have intrinsic value. Their impact on our society has little to do with how we should love them and show hospitality toward them. We have this idea in the U.S. that all people are equal, yet we fail to treat undocumented immigrants with the same kind of equality we treat other people who are here legally. One of the famous lines from the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Constitution is that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." Somewhere along the way, however, we've agreed that these "unalienable rights" are for citizens of the United States only and not for "all men." </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In the cartoon series </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Simpsons</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">, the writers satirize this concept by placing the words “Liberty and Justice for Most” above the U.S. insignia in the town’s courthouse. We as Christians need to restore justice so that it is “for all” and not merely for "most." By rooting our understanding of human rights within the Christian tradition, we can assure that citizen/legal rights do not trump human rights. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />Natural rights, or what we frequently call “human rights” are given to people simply because they are part of the human race. In Western tradition, human equality does not typically need to be defended. It is the starting point in the issue of human rights, not the conclusion.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn1">[1]</a> Westerners, then, fail to realize just how much our current understandings of human rights are rooted in Biblical principles. Even the German philosopher Nietzsche remarks, "the poison of the doctrine of 'equal rights for all' - it was Christianity that spread if most fundamentally [...] Christianity has waged war unto death against all sense of respect and feeling of distance between man and man."</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn2" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[2]</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Similarly, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Michael Perry, an American law professor, notes that “the conviction that human beings are sacred is inescapably religious.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn2">[3]</a> <br /><br />It is easy to think about “rights” as being simply political privileges granted to citizens, such as the “right” to free speech, the “right” to carry arms, etc. Human rights are more than this political “right.” If we are to take human rights seriously, we need to realize that a human right is a claim. It is an “ought-ness.” Ramachandra so rightly concludes the following concerning human rights: “When we use the language of human rights we are not appealing to the generosity of governments, civil institutions, or other individuals. Rather, we are making a claim as a matter of justice: to receive what is owed to us. We do not beg for rights, we claim them.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn3">[4]</a> <br /><br />Therefore, human rights involve more than solely being “left alone,” or infringed upon. All humans, regardless of their social or legal status, have the right to receive certain things, such as food, shelter, and medical care. When we withhold these things from people, even undocumented immigrants, we are withholding justice from them. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ronald Sider of Evangelicals for Social Action summarizes this best by saying the following: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The goal of justice is not only the recovery of the integrity of the legal system. It is also the restoration of the community as a place where all live together in wholeness. Opportunity for everyone to have access to the material resources necessary for life in community is basic to the biblical concept of justice.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn4">[5]</a></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Water companies in Alabama should not refuse to supply undocumented immigrants with basic necessities.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn5">[6]</a> This is something that all humans are entitled to, not just legal residents. When human rights are debated, the debate is really about who should have the power and authority to “interpret the community’s traditions and culture.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn6">[7]</a> This is usually because people are vying for political and economic power. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When we value law, money, or our nationalistic identity to an </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">idolatrous state, we withhold Biblical human rights from undocumented immigrants.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As followers of Christ, we are called to actively seek this kind of justice in our communities by welcoming and loving the “strangers” among us.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> <br />One summer when I was in college, I learned much about loving the "strangers" who were in my own neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. I worked extensively with an Ethiopian woman named Hawa who had just immigrated to the U.S. There was one particularly stressful day where I multi-tasked between helping the husband fill out applications for jobs and sifting through the utility bills, trying to explain the process to Hawa. I remember looking into Hawa's worried brown eyes. Much shorter than I, she tottered back and forth, trying to balance the baby in her womb who was due very soon. Her husband spoke very little English, and I knew that she felt burdened trying to understand the American lifestyle solo. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">To my surprise, I looked at her and said, "Let's pray about all of this." Hawa immediately agreed. I don't know if I was more astounded by my bold suggestion or by this Muslim woman's eager reply. We prayed right there in the little apartment that God would take care of them. I prayed silently that others would see not a foreigner who was "taking advantage" of the free natal clinics, but a fragile human being who was very much in need.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I called the water company afterward and begged the person on the other line not to turn off their water just yet -- the check was on its way. Praise God that they were understanding of the situation!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From working with people like Hawa and many others (Fadumah, Omar, Mohammad, Hayu, Lisbeth...) I've seen just how alone and often neglected legal immigrants and undocumented immigrants can be. The immigration laws in our country are broken and they definitely need to be fixed. But more than that, as followers of Christ we need to start thinking Biblically about the human rights that undocumented immigrants already living in this country are entitled to. If we are serious about loving God with all of our hearts, souls, and minds, we will be intentional about treating immigrants as human beings created in the image of God.<br /> </span><br />
<br /></div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-62419945685184073352012-04-04T16:58:00.000-04:002012-04-16T19:33:39.273-04:00Loving the Strangers Among Us - Part 4: The Identity Argument<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg409aKe6tewRVzVY5ZemiWdR2_PiVversqqZjr94WvhgrJBs5GZasUgAdT_1S9nhiwH-XGHW9ITEK3JhWN2jtCUset9ue0agnlvU7PewEwOS6hOMubZwXbszuZ1RPnMEXYhi-ip6Wt698/s1600/249517_502673762240_164901845_30360190_997_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg409aKe6tewRVzVY5ZemiWdR2_PiVversqqZjr94WvhgrJBs5GZasUgAdT_1S9nhiwH-XGHW9ITEK3JhWN2jtCUset9ue0agnlvU7PewEwOS6hOMubZwXbszuZ1RPnMEXYhi-ip6Wt698/s320/249517_502673762240_164901845_30360190_997_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Joel, the Nicaraguan boy my parents sponsor with his friends</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">--------------------------------------------------<br />This is part 4 of a 5 part series that theologically critiques the perceptions that underlie the U.S. immigration issue. This third part analyzes the American identity argument prevalent in the United States and critiques it Biblically/theologically.<br /><a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/03/loving-strangers-among-us-part-1.html">Read part one here</a><br /><a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/03/loving-strangers-among-us-part-2.html">Read part two here</a><br /><a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/04/loving-strangers-among-us-part-3.html">Read part three here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Argument Three – Undocumented Immigrants Threaten Our Identity</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>“We send troops thousands of miles away to fight terrorists, but we refuse to put them on our own border to keep them out. We will never be able to win in the clash of civilizations if we don’t know who we are. If Western civilization succumbs to the siren cong of multiculturalism, I believe we’re finished.” </i><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn1">[1]</a> <br /><br />The more foreigners who come to the United States, the more the culture of the United States changes. As any sociologist will tell you, people are resilient to change. We like our world to remain constant. Consistency assures us of our identity. With thousands of undocumented immigrants coming into our country each year, we have grown wary of change and often view their cultural identities a threat to our own. According to the Migration Policy Institute, 76% of undocumented immigrants come from Hispanic countries in North America. A high 78% of these come from Mexico.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn2">[2]</a> To many Caucasian Americans and African Americans, this is too much change! <br /><br />This influx of undocumented immigrants has raised many significant questions about the concept of national identity. What does it mean to be an American? Who can be a part of this identity? Many Americans do not want Hispanics to be a part of their nationalistic identity. Samuel Huntington, for instance, accuses Hispanics of being unwilling to assimilate, become citizens, or to set aside their cultures, languages, and customs. He maintains that the heart of American’s national identity is Anglo-Protestant beliefs and values, which includes the English language and Western European culture.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn3">[3]</a> Strangely, though, Huntington views undocumented immigration as a positive shaper of American culture because it unites Americans against an enemy. He writes, “If external threats subside, deconstructionist movements could achieve renewed momentum.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn4">[4]</a> In other words, the meaning of American identity is already under attack internally due to multiculturalism. Americans thus need an external enemy (i.e., undocumented immigrants) to maintain our identity. This gives us a common creed that unites us, whereas multicultural creates multi-creeds, which tears us apart. <br /><br />In his book In Mortal Danger, Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo raises his concerns about undocumented immigrants’ negative contributions to American society. They not only hurt our public services, but they participate in gangs and drug trafficking. Victor Davis Hanson, too, has issued grievances against undocumented immigrants. He nicknames his home state of California as “Mexifornia,” claiming that the multiculturalism there makes governing California difficult. He accuses undocumented immigrants of viewing themselves as victimized, which has further created “tribalism.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn5">[5]</a> <br /><br />Many of these ideas have come to fruition through recent laws that have been passed that restrict undocumented immigrants in Arizona and Alabama. Within the past 2 years, both states issued laws that immigrants must carry their required documents on them at all times. Government officials are free to question anyone’s legal status and detain those who are not able to present documentation. Further, those who aid undocumented immigrants by providing housing, employment, or transportation are in violation of the law. Ironically, these increased restrictions have actually isolated them more, forcing them to become a separate sub-culture. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. <br /><br />Theologian Vinoth Ramachandra reflects on the inconsistencies in American culture regarding this issue. He writes that, due to technological advances, “globalization and the idea of a global village are being constantly touted, [but] national borders in rich nations have been vigorously reasserted and fortified to keep out refugees and undesirable immigrants.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn6">[6]</a> We applaud the idea of being technologically connected to people in a global scope. We want to be able to transfer money to someone in Japan, video chat with a business partner in India, but as soon as foreigners show up in our back yard we do not want them here. What kind of values are we attaching to being “American” that we do not want others to be a part of it? <br /><br />Yet, Americans are resistant to deem this kind of exclusion as racism. We claim that it is not based on their race, but based on their status. Although this distinction seems clear, the escalating discrimination against undocumented immigrants has blurred the two lines. We may dislike undocumented immigrants on the ground of their legal status, but this dislike has stereotyped the ones we are feeling threatened by. We have become to associate undocumented immigration with the Hispanic race, and this has created racial profiling and racial discrimination. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It also affects how we perceive those in the country legally. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Thousands of Hispanics, including legal residents of the U.S., have fled Arizona and Alabama out of fear of discrimination.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn7">[7]</a> An owner of a deli shop in Alabama, for instance, spoke out against the fear his Hispanic workers felt from the recent rulings. Although his employees had shown proper documentation prior to their hiring, the deli owner was verbally attacked by the community for being “un-American.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn8">[8]</a> Perhaps we are reluctant to think of this issue as racism because Americans typically associate race as having to do with the color of a person’s skin, not as having to do with the legal status stereotyped by a certain race. <br /><br />In New Testament times, the dominant culture was prejudice against people called <i>barbaroi</i>, the Greek word from whence we get our word for “barbarian.” The word <i>barbaroi</i> referred to a non-Greek speakers and was an onomatopoeia. Their “primitive” languages sounded like “bar bar bar” to Greek speakers, hence why they were characterized by this name. Like undocumented immigrants today, these kinds of people were seen as “foreign invaders.” They were viewed as uncultured and unintelligent. They were looked upon with scorn because they did not assimilate with the dominant Greek culture.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn9">[9]</a> <br /><br />Paul makes a profound statement about the <i>barbaroi</i> when he includes them in his list of people who are “one in Christ” (Col. 3:11). The “barbarians” were not to be seen as inferior or as less than human. They were the majority culture’s equals, and the Christians thus had the responsibility to welcome them into their communities. Christians should not fear “threats” of other cultures, for our identity resides within Christ. If anything, we should embrace other cultures and people groups and be inclusive of them in our communities, as this is a complete picture of what God’s kingdom looks like. </span></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref1" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[1]</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Tom Tancredo, U.S. Representative of Colorado at the Family Research Council event in April 2006. Qtd. in Soerens, Matthew and Jenny Hwang, pg. 93. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref2">[2]</a> Schildkraut, Deborah J., Americanism in the Twenty-First Century, pg. 3 <br /> <a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref3">[3]</a> Who Are We? <br /> <a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref4">[4]</a> Ibid., pg. 177. <br /> <a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref5">[5]</a> Carroll R., Christians at the Border, pg. 42. <br /> <a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref6">[6]</a> Subverting Global Myths, pg. 113. <br /> <a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref7">[7]</a> Epstein, Reid J., “Hispanics Flee From New Alabama Immigration Law,” <http: 0611="" 58049.html="" news="" stories="" www.politico.com="">. <br /> <a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref8">[8]</a> Jamieson, Dave. “Alabama Immigration Law: Deli Owner Defends Documented Latinos, Receives Boycott Threats,” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/20/alabama-immigration-law-deli owner_n_1022535.html?ir=Latino+Voices. <br /> <a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref9">[9]</a> Witherington, “Lecture on Acts 28.”</http:></span><br />
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</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-84981862447738545142012-04-02T13:57:00.003-04:002012-04-16T19:33:48.489-04:00Loving the Strangers Among Us - Part 3: The Economic Argument<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWuWweZNgwlpRV3bMvdAhtellGRiF0OktFSKzvfvfRNDLWiM1OiSwLG7Dz64aDZE6lmN-3_lICairvJY4HwLE3Cg71l9iVUzZ_vaIn4kNd1SP9zNBxwNNcnZ9EE0jmMFXUrpom7JVdnI/s1600/250376_504527497340_164901845_30436057_1063_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWuWweZNgwlpRV3bMvdAhtellGRiF0OktFSKzvfvfRNDLWiM1OiSwLG7Dz64aDZE6lmN-3_lICairvJY4HwLE3Cg71l9iVUzZ_vaIn4kNd1SP9zNBxwNNcnZ9EE0jmMFXUrpom7JVdnI/s320/250376_504527497340_164901845_30436057_1063_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Two Somali immigrants I used to tutor</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">--------------------------------------------------<br /><i>This is part 3 of a 5 part series that theologically critiques the perceptions that underlie the U.S. immigration issue. This third part analyzes the economic argument prevalent in the United States and critiques it Biblically/theologically.</i><br /><a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/03/loving-strangers-among-us-part-1.html">Read part one here</a><br /><a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/03/loving-strangers-among-us-part-2.html" target="_blank">Read part two here</a><br />--------------------------------------------------</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Argument Two – Undocumented Immigrants are Harming the Economy</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>“Take 12 million illegal immigrants out of the [U.S. poverty] statistics and it changes the percentage in poverty significantly! As in if they were not in the U.S. they would not be counted as in poverty!” </i><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn1">[1]</a> <br /><br /> In a recent episode of the popular sitcom The Office, the main characters fantasized about how they would spend the money if they ever won the lottery. While the majority of the office workers responded in typical fashion, one of the characters made a profound statement. “I already won the lottery. I was born in the U.S. of A.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn2">[2]</a> This characterizes what a lot of people, both within the U.S. and outside the U.S., think about US citizenship. Those who were natural born citizens somehow managed to “win the lottery,” while those who were born in other countries “lucked out.” As such, natural born citizens seem to have an entitlement to the prosperity that their country offers. Outsiders, however, do not have this entitlement. <br /><br />Talk about undocumented immigrants “stealing” our jobs and lowering our wages has heightened all over the country. There is an unprecedented fear and resentment against those who “do not belong” here. They are taking what we U.S. citizens are entitled to. In an ad aired in March 2011, Republican Representatives Lamar Smith of Texas, Sue Myrick of North Carolina, and Gary Miller of California riled American interest in immigration’s impact on the economy. Myrick made the economic issue sound easy. She stated, “Right now, with unemployment hovering around 10 percent, we thought it was time to talk about the direct link between unemployment and illegal immigration.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn3">[3]</a> <br /><br />It logically seems like the 15 million people unemployed in the U.S. are the result of the 8 million undocumented immigrants working in the U.S. "The numbers are simple," Miller said.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn4">[4]</a> It is really not as simple as it seems, though. The majority of economists, even those who are otherwise critical of the issue, agree that undocumented immigrants provide a small net growth to the U.S.’ economy.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn5">[5]</a> The idea that undocumented immigrants are taking U.S. citizens’ jobs has also been proven to be a myth. The majority of undocumented immigrants are what has been termed “low-skilled.” Since most Americans fall into jobs that are moderately-skilled, their jobs remained untouched by undocumented immigrants. Economist Ben Powell of Suffolk University concludes that “immigrants largely complement our talents, they don’t substitute them.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn6">[6]</a> This could not be illustrated more effectively than the vacancy of "low-skilled" jobs that have emerged following Alabama's strict immigration laws. Natural born citizens are not assuming the positions that immigrants left behind.<br /><br />Another common complaint against undocumented immigrants is that they are taking advantage of our public services, thereby costing taxpayers more money. This, too, has not been proven to be true. Undocumented immigrants are not capable of receiving government aid, such as food stamps and welfare, without proof of citizenship. The only two kinds of assistance that undocumented immigrants can receive are emergency care (hospital, natural disaster aid, etc) and education up through high school. Both of these services are also available to all American citizens. Further, undocumented immigrants in the very least pay taxes on sale transactions and social security. In order for an immigrant to be hired, he needs a (false) social security number. Payroll taxes are deducted from their paycheck and the Social Security Administration acknowledges that there are approximately $6 to $7 billion that do not match a valid Social Security number. It has been theorized that this is a main reason why Social Security cards are easy to forge. Unlike a driver's license or passport, a Social Security card's make has very little technology involved and resembles a blue piece of construction paper.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn7">[7]</a> <br /><br />This does not prevent politicians from using these economic myths to their advantage. On his website, New York Senator James L. Seward has an article detailing just what kinds of governmental assistance undocumented immigrants can receive. The senator places these two types of aid just mentioned (emergency and education) under the heading “Welfare.” This is very misleading. He concludes at the end of his article that “a fair interpretation of the federal statute and state regulation must result in the conclusion that illegal aliens should not receive any form of state public assistance. However, illegal aliens do, in fact, receive state public benefits.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn8">[8]</a> This statement is very manipulative of the term “welfare” and seems to deceive the reader into believing that undocumented immigrants receive more aid than they are legally capable of receiving. Ironically, if there is one government service that undocumented immigrants are receiving “illegally” it is foster care for the children left behind when immigrants are deported.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn9">[9]</a> <br /><br />We could sift through countless statistics on undocumented immigration and consult the plethora of studies that are available. Economics, however, is not the real issue at hand. The real issue is that we as Americans are feeling threatened by the presence of foreigners in the work force. <b>Interestingly, Hispanics lived and worked in the U.S. without documentation for decades without too much attention. It was only when people felt threatened by the economic downfall in 1929 that Americans became hostile toward undocumented immigrants.</b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn10">[10]</a> <b>We feel that we are being threatened, but the threat has not proven to be real. When crises occur, we need answers to help us cope. Hispanics have in many ways become this economic scapegoat. </b><br /><br />Even if statistics showed that immigrants really were causing negative effects on our economy, the root of our anger is that we feel that people should not have access to good wages, health care, and other economic benefits because of status. We think that as citizens we should have access to these benefits, even though we did not choose to be born here. Those who do not have citizenship should not have access to our economy, even though they had no control over which country’s economy they were born into. <br /><br />Our reaction toward immigration may be to only accept them into our country as long as they are financially benefitting us (or at least not taking from us). This attitude, however, cannot be reconciled with Scripture. <b>There should be no other commitments, including economics, that hinder us from fulfilling the command deeply rooted in Scripture that we are to love and care for the stranger.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn11">[11]</a> The Greek word from which we derive our word for “economy” connotes the idea of full flourishing for everyone who is in God’s household. God’s household is open to everyone and he invites everyone to sit at his table. Because of this, “the human person should not serve the economy, but the economy should serve the human person.”</b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn12">[12]</a> <br /><br />We must remember that we are first and foremost citizens of God’s kingdom and everything that we own is currently “on loan.” We as Christians are called to be good stewards of what God has given us, and sometimes that means sacrificing our monetary possessions for the betterment of others. Christians who live in the U.S. talk on a regular basis about how “good” God is to us or how much God has “blessed” us. We know that everything that we have is a gift from God and is not something that we have obtained for ourselves. Our God is a gracious God. <br /><br />If we say that all these good things in our lives are a product of God's goodness, what does that mean in other people's contexts? What about people, including undocumented immigrants, who do not have access to clean water and food? Would we say that God is not as good to them as he is to us? That God has not blessed them nearly as much as he has blessed us living in this country? We have this idea in the U.S. that "God will always provide.” This is a very interesting theological worldview that is very inconsistent with how the rest of the world operates. Why should God provide the jobs we need here in the U.S., or the new washing machine to replace the one that just broke down, or the money to "live comfortably" when he does not always provide for people who are desperately just trying to survive in other countries? We Americans have often assumed an attitude of entitlement and intermingled it with religion. What results in nothing more than a widely accepted "prosperity gospel."<br /><br />Why were we born in the U.S., where God has given us so many graces? For reason that we do not know, we have so much in our lives that have come to us by no merit of our own. Has God blessed us? Tremendously. Does that mean that God has chosen not to bless others? Perhaps it better means that God has chosen to bless others through our well being. Those he blesses are the instruments by which he uses to bless others. <br /><br />God does not desire us to be tight-fisted people who hold on to all of our good things (Deut. 15:11). May we extend our hands to others so that God can be known as a good God not just to those who are citizens of the United States, but to those who are living here on the fringes of society as undocumented immigrants. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/04/loving-strangers-among-us-part-4.html" target="_blank">Continue to Part 4 - The Identity Argument</a><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span> </span><br />
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref1" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[1]</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> A reader’s response to “Poverty Rate Hits 18-Year High as Median Income Falls.” </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/13/7742437-poverty-rate-hits-18-year-high-as-median-income-falls?GT1=43001 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref2" style="font-size: small;">[2]</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> “Lotto.” The Office. </span><br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref3" style="font-size: small;">[3]</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> “Does Immigration Cost Jobs?” </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.factcheck.org/2010/05/does-immigration-cost-jobs</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref4" style="font-size: small;">[4]</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Ibid. </span><br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref5" style="font-size: small;">[5]</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Soerens, Matthew and Jenny Hwang, Welcoming the Stranger, pg. 136. </span><br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref6" style="font-size: small;">[6]</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> “Top Three Myths About Immigration.” </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtRmS7q9DlM.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> This video is part of Learn Liberty’s video series on economics. I highly recommend the videos in this series, as they enlist leading economists to dispel many myths about American economics, including myths about the immigration issue. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref7" style="font-size: small;">[7]</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Porter, Eduardo. “Illegal Immigrants are Bolstering Social Security with Billions.” The New York Times. April 5, 2006. Business/Financial section, pg. 1. </span><br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref8" style="font-size: small;">[8]</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> http://www.nysenate.gov/report/what-benefits-can-illegal-aliens-receive </span><br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref9" style="font-size: small;">[9] </a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/race-multicultural/lost-in-detention/study-5100-kids-in-foster-care-after-parents-deported</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref10" style="font-size: small;">[10]</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Carroll R., Daniel M., Christians at the Border, pg. 33. </span><br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref11" style="font-size: small;">[11]</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Lev. 19:33-34; Deut. 10:18, 14:19-21, 24:14-15, 19-21; Mal. 3:5; Mt. 22:35-40, to name a few. Because of the scope set forth in this paper, I am unable to exegete these particular Scripture passages thoroughly. For extensive looks at the meanings of these Scripture passages, I highly recommend Daniel Carroll R.’s Christians on the Border and Jean-Pierre Ruiz’s Readings from the Edges: The Bible and People on the Move. </span><br /><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref12" style="font-size: small;">[12]</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Soerens, Matthew and Jenny Hwang, Welcoming the Stranger, pg. 137.</span></span><br />
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</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-4195456857284074512012-03-30T13:47:00.001-04:002012-04-03T14:51:46.343-04:00Loving the Strangers Among Us - Part 2: The Legality Argument<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4KFrwkms6BIetx5TISVMKx9YJ2ITJeeoes05v2zOj_AxkiNGf_rmj4j1bYEIRta_djQu13G9qV0k41m7LmUSgafEPe7_uMBcnkBg5MFM9pOLQNl-H6IxgabwCD2J4rVtet2JPYSaH9ho/s1600/253564_502679855030_164901845_30361377_4792_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4KFrwkms6BIetx5TISVMKx9YJ2ITJeeoes05v2zOj_AxkiNGf_rmj4j1bYEIRta_djQu13G9qV0k41m7LmUSgafEPe7_uMBcnkBg5MFM9pOLQNl-H6IxgabwCD2J4rVtet2JPYSaH9ho/s320/253564_502679855030_164901845_30361377_4792_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">Nicaraguan women at their village well</span> </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/03/loving-strangers-among-us-part-1.html" target="_blank">Read part one here</a></span></span></span><br />
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Argument One – Undocumented Immigrants are Breaking the Law</span></h2>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">We deport. We decide. Get in line like my
grandparents. Period.” </span></span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: black;">[1]</span></span></a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />One main argument against undocumented immigrants is
based on the status of their legality. Since undocumented immigrants have
trespassed on U.S. soil, they are in violation of breaking U.S. law. They
should therefore be viewed and tried as criminals. In response to a Yahoo news
article on the subject of immigration, one reader replied that “[…] anyone that
breaks the law should be punished […] I believe that people that steal, rob,
murder, drink and drive and break other laws should be punished. I also believe
that people that hire illegal immigrants should be punished, as well as people
harboring other law-breakers (of all laws and types). I believe in the rule of
law.”</span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="text-indent: 0.5in;" title="">[2]</a></span></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Many people who hold this
perspective wonder why it is that Hispanics do not simply come to the U.S. the
legal way. Other immigrants are capable of receiving proper documentation and
obtaining citizenship. Those who come here illegally should just “get in line”
and come the legal way. At a debate about immigration policies in 2006, U.S.
Representative James Sensenbrenner commented that “American citizenship is
priceless and it ought to be done the legal way just like my ancestors did.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[3]</span></span></a>
Americans across the country have echoed similar responses. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The problem with this reasoning is
that immigration policies have radically changed since many of our ancestors
immigrated to the U.S. over 100 years ago. For our American ancestors, however,
there was no illegal way. There were no visas, no green cards, no U.S. consulates.
You literally boarded a ship and traveled to the United States in order to
build a new life. It would probably have been more difficult to come illegally
than it would have been to come legally!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This all changed when the Chinese
Exclusion Act was instated in 1882. Immigrants from Asia were excluded from
entering the U.S. because they were seen as inferior. Females were especially
seen as “suspicious” because they could bear children that would gain
citizenship under the 14<sup>th</sup> Amendment. Ironically, the Chinese
Exclusion Act paved the way for Hispanic immigration. Since there was a higher
labor demand, employers hired undocumented Hispanics who were seeking safety
from the Mexican Revolution in 1910-1917. <span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In the 1920s, the Quota Act and the Johnson-Reed Act
were instated to bar certain European ethnicities from entering the United States. The Irish and
Italians were seen as educationally and culturally inferior, as well as a drain
on the economy. Plus, a majority of them were Catholic, which was thought to be
a threat to the American ethos.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Over the next four decades, immigration laws
gradually excluded more people groups, such as the poor, the sick, the
uneducated, and those suspected of holding controversial ideologies (particularly
Communism). This exclusion continued until 1965, when President Johnson signed
a new law that enabled people to immigrate based on their employability and
family ties, not based on race or ethnicity.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />However, the employment-based immigration system
does not offer as many visas as there are “low-skilled” jobs available. We can
tell people to wait their turn to immigrate legally, but if someone does not
already have a relative living here legally they will never get a turn, not if
they wait 10 years, 30 years, or even 50 years. This, in short, is why people
who are living in poverty have chosen to immigrate illegally. Telling them that
they should simply immigrate the “legal way” is an oversimplification of the
issue.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Another problem with the legality perspective is
that it tends to idolize the law. In this perception, the United States’ law is
viewed as flawless and absolute. Those who hold this perspective do not
question the legitimacy or truthfulness of the law. To them, the issue is
simple and “black and white”: the law says coming here without documentation is
wrong, so it is wrong.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA9EdA_66BGE9eovzdEX5Aj9KMmfJWK_Wfb1oZx2pDIOWSeVh4mUINU4SrgNYX0-fQVjElhtttlbv5_PxFVWKVstOqjmrASI3d9WUaA-Ug-EePMs49AVJOzwwj3daWlUd8kojSwIIwZsI/s1600/Immigration+Comic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA9EdA_66BGE9eovzdEX5Aj9KMmfJWK_Wfb1oZx2pDIOWSeVh4mUINU4SrgNYX0-fQVjElhtttlbv5_PxFVWKVstOqjmrASI3d9WUaA-Ug-EePMs49AVJOzwwj3daWlUd8kojSwIIwZsI/s320/Immigration+Comic.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-indent: 0.5in;">[A comic I created summarizing the history of immigration]</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />This argument for the supremacy of the law is particularly one of the most frequent arguments that Christians raise against the issue. Drawing from Romans 13:1-7,
they argue that God put the government in place and it is the responsibility
for Christians to obey it. We are not to question the laws that our country
creates, because the governing officials are given authority from God. This
logic is very dangerous for many reasons, not just for the immigration debate.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />Unfortunately, this is a poor interpretation of this
Scripture passage. As with all Scripture, passages are meant to be read within
its larger context. Verses are not isolated segments, meant to be read
independently of the passages that precede and follow it. In chapter 12, Paul
discusses just how it is that the Roman Christians he is addressing can discern
God’s will. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,” he
writes, “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (12:2). After our
minds are transformed, we can understand God’s will. Unfortunately, many
English translations do not accurately encompass the meaning of the latter half
of 12:2. The NIV, for instance, translates the adjectives “good, pleasing, and
perfect” as modifiers of “God’s will.” A better translation from the Greek
reads as follows: “[…] so that you may be able to prove what God’s will is –
that which is good, pleasing, and perfect.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableMediumGrid1Accent5" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background: #D2EAF1; border: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent5; mso-background-themetint: 63; mso-border-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-themetint: 191; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 144.9pt;" valign="top" width="193"><div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-yfti-cnfc: 5; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Text<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #D2EAF1; border-left: none; border: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent5; mso-background-themetint: 63; mso-border-left-alt: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-left-themetint: 191; mso-border-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-themetint: 191; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 333.9pt;" valign="top" width="445"><div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-yfti-cnfc: 1; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Translation<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #A5D5E2; border-top: none; border: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent5; mso-background-themetint: 127; mso-border-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-themetint: 191; mso-border-top-alt: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-top-themetint: 191; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 144.9pt;" valign="top" width="193"><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-yfti-cnfc: 68;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">English translations (NIV, KJV, ASV, etc)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #A5D5E2; border-bottom: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent5; mso-background-themetint: 127; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-bottom-themetint: 191; mso-border-left-alt: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-left-themetint: 191; mso-border-right-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-right-themetint: 191; mso-border-top-alt: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-top-themetint: 191; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 333.9pt;" valign="top" width="445"><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-yfti-cnfc: 64;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“God’s
will is good, pleasing, and perfect.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #D2EAF1; border-top: none; border: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent5; mso-background-themetint: 63; mso-border-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-themetint: 191; mso-border-top-alt: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-top-themetint: 191; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 144.9pt;" valign="top" width="193"><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-yfti-cnfc: 4;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Greek<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #D2EAF1; border-bottom: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent5; mso-background-themetint: 63; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-bottom-themetint: 191; mso-border-left-alt: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-left-themetint: 191; mso-border-right-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-right-themetint: 191; mso-border-top-alt: solid #78C0D4 1.0pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent5; mso-border-top-themetint: 191; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 333.9pt;" valign="top" width="445"><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“God’s
will is that which is good, pleasing, and perfect.”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
</div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: 0.5in;">Although these translation differences may be
subtle, they make a significant difference in how we should understand the
nature of God’s will. Are things “good” because God declares that they are
“good?” Or can things be “good” in themselves, and God affirms and delights in
their “goodness?”</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-indent: 0.5in;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[4]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: 0.5in;">
In light of Romans 12:2, the latter is the best understanding of God’s will. We
can know that things are within God’s will for humankind and creation because
they are in accordance with his goodness and perfection.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: 0.5in;">It should not be assumed, then, that the various
laws governing immigration are in accordance with God’s will. Although they may
be given authority by God, governments are fallible and often make laws that
stand in opposition to God’s character. Theologian John Yoder writes the
following concerning Romans 13:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Christian who accepts his
subjection to government retains his moral independence and judgment. The
authority of government is not self-justifying. Whatever government exists is
ordered by God; but the text does not say that whatever the government does or
asks of its citizens is good.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title="">[5]</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Relying
on the law as an absolute entity can be an excuse not to strive to discern
God’s will. It is much easier to accept all laws as “good” than it is to do the
hard work of probing deeper into the nature of God and his plan for the world. It
we want to understand and do God’s will, though, we have to open to the idea
that the current laws concerning immigration are not “good, pleasing, and
perfect.” Human laws are not the source of our allegiance; God’s will is. Ultimately,
we are to “obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/04/loving-strangers-among-us-part-3.html" target="_blank">Continue to Part 3: The Economic Argument</a></span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span></span></a> A response to a news article
articulating why undocumented immigrants are not welcome in the U.S.
http://news.yahoo.com/why-gop-demonizes-illegals-055000771.html<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[2]</span></span></a> http://news.yahoo.com/why-gop-demonizes-illegals-055000771.html<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[3]</span></span></a> qtd. in Soerens, Hwang, <i>Welcoming the Stranger</i> , pg. 64<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[4]</span></span></a> This follows suit with Aquinas’
philosophical conundrum about how we should understand the “goodness” of natural
law.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[5]</span></span></a> <i>The Politics of Jesus, </i>p. 207.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-1974630669486611412012-03-30T13:33:00.000-04:002012-04-03T14:48:23.746-04:00Loving The Strangers Among Us - Part 1<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1pbPJHfvLqgGuB6jQU1K7I3OLtmKHjfRD6sfyG4tFVKXuQ2XrXejKolU7igFlsmDd9WhEQXaNHXv2h6qfMIjlrOwmAypThlopQoLKATH3Xw9jtrRL7TOZSoauKW3zkaZV7PFn4yf29DI/s1600/250067_502673652460_164901845_30360168_5589_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1pbPJHfvLqgGuB6jQU1K7I3OLtmKHjfRD6sfyG4tFVKXuQ2XrXejKolU7igFlsmDd9WhEQXaNHXv2h6qfMIjlrOwmAypThlopQoLKATH3Xw9jtrRL7TOZSoauKW3zkaZV7PFn4yf29DI/s320/250067_502673652460_164901845_30360168_5589_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">A young girl outside her home in La Carbonara, Nicaragua</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
--------------------------------------------------<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>This is part 1 of a 5 part series that theologically critiques the perceptions that underlie the U.S. immigration issue. Immigrants have long been a people group that I am very passionate about. This first part explains why immigration is important to me and why Christians should be thinking Biblically about this issue. The subsequent parts delve into the American perceptions that govern the issue and discuss 1) if they are accurate, 2) if they are Biblical.</i></span><br />
<div>
-------------------------------------------------- <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"I'm going to cut it open."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The
first person who had the audacity to say such a thing changed the course of
medical history forever. It was one thing to observe the external symptoms of
the body, but to actually cut an incision and take a look at the internal
composition of a human? What a brave idea! For thousands of years people had
wondered what it was that lay beneath the skin. Many speculated about the inner
workings of the body, but it was not until the Renaissance period that
physicians began to cut open human bodies for examination on a regular basis. This
revolution in medical practice dispelled misconceptions about the human anatomy
and created the foundation for future medicinal discovery. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The current issues about
undocumented immigration within the United States are topics that are
frequently discussed, but few have had the courage to really “cut them open.” It
is a very complex issue, and it is much easier to parrot what the politicians
and the media are saying about it than to carefully analyze the various
perceptions surrounding the issue. John Dewey correctly noted that the “ability
to repeat catch-phrases, cant terms, familiar propositions, gives the conceit
of learning and coats the mind with varnish, waterproof to new ideas."<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span></span></a> In
order to understand the immigration issue, then, we must refrain from
reductionistic tendencies and be open to reasoning that transcends the
external, basic presuppositions. This calls for an analysis that is
both deeply theological and deeply consistent with higher critical skills.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: 0.5in;">Let’s cut it open.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<h1>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><u>Why the Issue Matters</u></span></h1>
<h1>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
did not know too much about immigration until I was exposed to it in a context
outside my own country. At the age of 16, I traveled to Costa Rica, where my
home church sought to experience, understand, and address the increased
immigration of Nicaraguans to San Jose. We visited a slum in the capital where
impoverished Nicaraguans had flocked. I was surprised at the very negative
attitudes that the majority of the Costa Ricans had toward the Nicaraguan
immigrants. They blamed them for taking their resources and lowering their
standard of living. This was my first exposure to such an intense form of
poverty and my heart was broken. These living conditions were better than the
home they had left behind? How could the dominant culture have no compassion
for them?</span></span></h1>
<h1>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;">In
response, my home church began sponsoring a small community in Nicaragua
through child sponsorships, micro loans and building projects. I had the honor
of traveling to the little village to meet the people so we could learn how we
could assist them better. I witnessed with my own eyes the reasons why they
were traveling to Costa Rica for a “better” life. I also learned why it was so
attractive for them to come to the United States undocumented. The U.S.
government does not grant visas to people who come from impoverished countries
because there is a strong chance that they will overstay their visa. This is
the most common way that people come to the U.S. illegally. The desperate
Nicaraguans could try to come to the U.S. the legal way, but they knew they
would be rejected and would still have to pay the expensive fee of about $100
for applying. For families that only make $1 a day, risking their lives to
cross a border illegally is a much better option than trying the legal way,
which leads to inevitable rejection and penalization.</span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I
write all this not as an anecdote to my argument, but as an effort to place a
human face on the issue. The immigration debate is not an impersonal issue;
neither is it an issue that affects only U.S. citizens. This issue affects
countless families living inside and outside the U.S. As we participate in the debate,
we must seek to love both God and our neighbors as ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Perceptions are powerful. Perceptions are
behind our every single conviction, action, and word. They are what make us say
the things we say, do the things we do, consciously and subconsciously. Most of
the time we do not even realize it. The perceptions that underlie the
immigration issue in the U.S. are pervasive. It may seem like the reasons people
have for being opposed to undocumented immigrants are just as they appear. For
the most part, there are powerful ideas behind these reasons that dictate these
responses. Instead of taking the rationales at face value, the various
perceptions that underlie them must be analyzed and addressed. Although there
are many complaints against undocumented immigration, the majority of
complaints fall into one of three categories: legality, economy, or American
identity. Each of these areas will be discussed, focusing on the specific
perceptions that govern them. The legitimacy of each argument will be scrutinized.
Finally, and most importantly, theological implications will be probed. <b>It will
be demonstrated that all of the categories in some way idolize a certain value,
whether it be the law, money, or nationalism.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For
the sake of this series, I will be focusing primarily on Hispanic undocumented
immigrants. Not only do they make up the largest percentage of undocumented
immigrants currently living in the U.S., but they are the demographic with the
most negative perceptions attached to them. It is estimated that the Hispanic
population within the U.S. has increased to over 40 million, accounting for
about half of the growth since 2000.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[2]</span></span></a>
Although Hispanics make up over 14% of the population, it is unknown how many
of these Hispanics are undocumented. Estimates range between 12-20 million.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title="">[3]</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For
semantic reasons, I will be referring to those who are here in the U.S. without
proper legal documentation as “undocumented immigrants.” Different words, such
as “illegal” and “aliens,” connote different meanings. The most common
designation for immigrants without paperwork is “illegal immigrants.” The
problem with this label is that it groups immigrants into a category with other
crimes, such as stealing and murder. By avoiding this name, I am not implying
that undocumented immigrants are here “legally,” as they have obviously broken
U.S. law. This does, however, provide a safeguard from associating Hispanic
immigrants with other crimes which further adds stigma and fear. Similarly, the
term “alien” conjectures up thoughts of immigrants as being strange or
otherworldly. Like the term “illegal,” the name “alien” creates a perception
that is neither constructive nor accurate. Thus, “undocumented immigrants” will
be the name of choice, as it is reflective of what the people in discussion are
– immigrants who do not have proper documentation of U.S. citizenship. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/03/loving-strangers-among-us-part-2.html" target="_blank">Continue to Part 2: The Legality Argument</a></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span></span></a> Dewey, John, <i>How We Think, </i>pg. 177.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[2]</span></span></a> Carroll M., <i>Christians at the Border,</i> 40.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Christina/Desktop/Escuela/ATS/Senior/Public%20Theology/Immigration%20Final.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[3]</span></span></a> Ibid., 40.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
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<div>
<div id="ftn1">
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</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-38218250338428424102012-03-08T18:28:00.004-05:002012-03-10T15:38:02.689-05:00Why Everything Does NOT Happen for a Reason<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9x8ka2RHoU3wZ1RZKEoOWdFnw7X16RFiqVwP_vwZtHxGBlr8mLyYzWmsWnNIsg4OO16eXMmh9UGDfPqoU3dXwzFr3hyphenhyphenQDfqFNTwXj9W7A1LiAuf3-6r0Tv7-d63F0-g39aGRkUI3cDRc/s1600/il_570xN.177758088.jpg" style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 142px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9x8ka2RHoU3wZ1RZKEoOWdFnw7X16RFiqVwP_vwZtHxGBlr8mLyYzWmsWnNIsg4OO16eXMmh9UGDfPqoU3dXwzFr3hyphenhyphenQDfqFNTwXj9W7A1LiAuf3-6r0Tv7-d63F0-g39aGRkUI3cDRc/s200/il_570xN.177758088.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717672539424908194" /></a><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; " ><----- See this saying over here?</span><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span ><br /></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span >It is a lie.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span ><br /></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span >A very popular lie.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span ><br /></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span >And a very dangerous one at that.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span ><br /></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span >It seems to be rampant everywhere. It appears on T-shirts and wall art, Justin Bieber says it, and American idol stars cite it when they get knocked out of the competition. </span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span ><br /></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span ><span>Problem is, if we really do believe it, it has serious consequences about how we think about God. If everything happens for a reason, s</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span>uddenly God caused the tsunami to occur in Japan and robs children of food to eat in war-torn Somalia because "he has a reason" to do it. That is neither the God I know nor worship.</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span ><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span ><span style="color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">I think that we wish that this cliche was true. It gives us reassurance that there is a "reason" for our sufferings. It makes sense of why we endure evil. However, this reassurance is superficial. While it may make us feel better about suffering, it completely strips away God's goodness. Why should we be comforted by a reason for evil if it completely distorts God's holiness and goodness?</span> </span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span ><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >Bad things happen as a result of a sinful world, not because God makes them happen. ALL of creation is marred from God's original intent, from human relationships to catastrophic weather patterns. It is a major flaw in reformed theology's view of God's sovereignty to think that God causes every bad thing for a purpose. Just because God can do anything does not mean that He chooses to do it. Is God capable of micromanaging every situation, including the tornadoes that recently rampaged my area? Yes. But that doesn't mean that he chooses to. God has freedom of choice as well.</span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span ><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; "><span ><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">This cliche is a gross misunderstanding of what Paul was talking about in Romans 8:28.</span><span><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> "</span><span style="font-style: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him," he writes, "who</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> have been called according to his purpose." This does not mean that God <i>causes </i>bad things to happen. This means that God is a master redeemer and he can transform the fallenness of our world into something beautiful.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; "><span ><span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Further, </span></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: -webkit-auto; ">Romans 8:28 needs to be read in light of the context of the chapter. The "and we know" is a cue that this is a continuation of what Paul was talking about. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: -webkit-auto; ">The "and we know" parallels the "we know" in v. 22, where Paul talks about God's plan to redeem creation. Thus, just as God wants to redeem creation and bring it under his control, so he also wants to redeem our lives. Romans 8:28 </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: -webkit-auto; ">is not about God turning our "lemons into lemonade" but is about God changing us to reflect Christ's image. God loves us the way we are, but he loves us so much that he does not want us to stay that way. He will even use ALL situations (good and bad) to make us into the person he created us to be!</span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span ><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; " >Sometimes, there simply is no soveriegn "reason" for bad things. Some of my friend's parents are going through a divorce. There is no reason for broken relationships to happen. Period. The tornadoes that hit my area did not occur for a divine reason. Period. Bad things just happen as a result of our sin. It's not God's fault; it's <i>my</i> fault. </span></div><div style="line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; " ><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; " >But the separated couple can be shaped into the image and likeness of God if they respond to his redemptive activity. The people who lost their homes in the tornadoes can be shaped into grateful, humble, and compassionate people. God may not have caused these horrific situations, but he can use them to bring about good. That's the beauty of the God we serve. He is so holy that He is incredibly separate from evil and does not cause evil, yet He is so gracious that He chooses to interact with evil to bring about good.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; " ><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; "><span ><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">We should not be confident in the face of evil because there is a "reason" for it. We should be confident in the face of evil because God is faithful and </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 17px; text-align: -webkit-auto; white-space: pre-wrap; ">will make us more like Christ, but only if we allow Him to.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; " ><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(33, 25, 34); line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span >Photo credit: "Everything Happens for a Reason" by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/theloveshop">TheLoveShop</a></span></span></div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-45871045104736566592012-03-02T18:54:00.007-05:002012-03-02T19:31:28.871-05:00Joy in the Mundane<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uNahH6PzYdGyN4xKCQpsEYneJRzwgDF4EfqUhE-zRe-AA2X9MiC7L_tSbvMDQhMTu5t31LjlL0MeSknCC-EE9GuOBsV6-x5j5b6bNEzFh1S_amfrFoZ2IVYNWcUs6ajD151qqsGM_1w/s1600/il_570xN.308612221.jpg" style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uNahH6PzYdGyN4xKCQpsEYneJRzwgDF4EfqUhE-zRe-AA2X9MiC7L_tSbvMDQhMTu5t31LjlL0MeSknCC-EE9GuOBsV6-x5j5b6bNEzFh1S_amfrFoZ2IVYNWcUs6ajD151qqsGM_1w/s200/il_570xN.308612221.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715457662109308370" /></a><span style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">"Hi, how are you?"</span><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span>"Good. How are you?"</span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span>"I'm having <i>a great time</i>, thanks for asking."</span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span>The postal worker replied with such enthusiasm that I couldn't resist retracing my steps to the seminary's post office window. A small campus has its arbitrary "how are you" greeting, but this exuberant response? Especially from the UPS man?</span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span>The man explained that he tried to enjoy his job, even when he woke up in the morning and monotonously delivering packages was the last thing on his wish list. "See, you can either go through life complaining about all the things you dislike, or you can find happiness in even the mundane. Life is what you make of it."</span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span>Since then, I've seen the UPS man delivering packages down my street on two more occasions. He smiles and waves, and I'm convinced that the joy he has is genuine.</span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span>I have to suppress the urge to cheer him on as he places boxes on my neighbor's door. His joy is contagious. </span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span>I have great difficulty in finding joy in the "mundane." I'm currently taking two different Hebrew language classes, and the overexposure to textual criticism has been enough to pull my hair out. I am joyless. </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">I am not joyful enough to exult in monotony. "But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony," G.K. Chesterton writes. Children say "do it again," but we adults grow weary. He continues:</span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span></span></div><blockquote style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><div><span>"It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be absolute necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."</span></div><div><span>(<i>Orthodoxy</i>, 1943).</span></div></blockquote><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span>I want to learn how to approach life with the same kind of hopeful expectation that God can bring joy from the mundane. </span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span>Be filled with joy to the point of overflowing, so that every person you encounter has to retrace their steps to hear more.</span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; "><span ><span>Photo credit: "</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; ">Blazes of Brass" by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/92085644/antique-mail-boxes-industrial-art">ElectricRomance</a></span></span></div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-29588276919839008022012-02-22T20:49:00.005-05:002012-02-22T21:31:43.755-05:00ReThinking Lent<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPOUWEinxSFM1oSGUGnTdLCcz6RH8JTCZRucMYLUKrZOKf1EYYJm_wp0H0AI5A_IXy0lh0OWkO1OTzsDRXS5ZS_Z2TYLRUCbQdy3xyzDK3uqK0Js5bpbxdr1-a0y9x3h9iXFAdyhl-zw/s1600/Diet_by_h_aniko2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 195px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPOUWEinxSFM1oSGUGnTdLCcz6RH8JTCZRucMYLUKrZOKf1EYYJm_wp0H0AI5A_IXy0lh0OWkO1OTzsDRXS5ZS_Z2TYLRUCbQdy3xyzDK3uqK0Js5bpbxdr1-a0y9x3h9iXFAdyhl-zw/s200/Diet_by_h_aniko2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712153074133120370" /></a><span>Every year around this time, I'm amazed at how much talk about <span >the Lent season there is. Growing up, I never participated in Lent, and the only references I heard to it were from the mouths of Catholics. Thanks to social media publicizing it (and probably efforts to recover the rich religious tradition), Lent has seemed to become the "norm" in the Christian sphere. </span></span><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Problem is, it seems as though we have in many ways reduced Lent to a second New Years' resolution. Did your first one not work out for you? Well, just wait until a second opportunity presents itself in February...! This new New Years' resolution seems all the more binding, as it isn't merely a "resolution" anymore but is a pact with God Himself. All of a sudden, the Lent season has become a chance to lose weight, tone our bodies, abstain from drinking coffee or soda, and "bettering" ourselves. At least, on the outside.</span></div><div><span >(My personal favorite is when people choose to abstain from certain vices or sins. Shouldn't we as Christians be striving to expel sin from our lives at all times and not just for 40 days during Lent?)</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><span>As the peer pressure amounts ("What are you giving up for Lent?"), I'm finding that I need to be reminded about what Lent is really about. </span><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span>Lent is supposed to serve as a reminder of what Christ gave up for us. It is a time to mourn over our sins and realize how dependent we are on God's mercy. It is a time of repentance, reflection, and humbleness. </span></span></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; " ><br /></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; " >Giving up something for Lent, then, is not an end in itself but is a means to an end. Our goal should be to draw closer to Christ, not to shed x many pounds or run x many miles a day. While fasting and exercising certainly can become instruments whereby we better experience God's presence (I talk best to God while I'm running, for instance), the goal should not be to just complete these tasks and check them off of our list of things to do.</span></div><div><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; " >Maybe instead of giving something up we should add something to our lives. Sometimes, the presence of something new can invoke a sense of God's presence that the absence of something couldn't do. A few years ago, for instance, I wrote a little note to 40 different people, thanking them for their influence in my life and encouraging them in their faith. This helped me become aware of God in ways that forfeiting coffee can't.</span></div><div><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; " ><br /></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; " >I'm not giving up or adding anything this year, but that's ok. The quality of my relationship with God is not dependent on my participation in Lent. I am, however, trying to be aware of how God is present with me in each and every moment (<a href="http://crucifiedcondios.blogspot.com/2012/01/unaware.html">read here</a>). As sinful as I am, God has still chosen to make his dwelling place among me.</span></div><div><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; " ><br /></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; " >That's something to reflect on.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><br /></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; " >Photo credit: <a href="http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=diet&order=9&offset=24#/d1aaf85">"Diet" by h-aniko</a></span></div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467696868874406521.post-12114911860421367752012-02-11T13:41:00.007-05:002012-02-11T14:31:56.191-05:00A Theological Critique of The Hunger Games<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgJIBWdnGvQTD8i3AJt2XOsr11tUKUVnupvRlKnjz7Nn3cNXHD6TfhHAFU-XJWMa13oGYCmfMe7q1pDenmEfDzkmu8veixTZuFdJMKF5hJ2_QCacaDPCx_e6DNx_BTFc0z5PDbx2RppQ/s1600/200px-Hunger_games.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 132px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgJIBWdnGvQTD8i3AJt2XOsr11tUKUVnupvRlKnjz7Nn3cNXHD6TfhHAFU-XJWMa13oGYCmfMe7q1pDenmEfDzkmu8veixTZuFdJMKF5hJ2_QCacaDPCx_e6DNx_BTFc0z5PDbx2RppQ/s200/200px-Hunger_games.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707954383906835842" /></a><blockquote><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">Once, when I served as a youth pastor, I taught a lesson to the middle school students about peace. We discussed what God's peace looked like and how we could implement it into the world. We imagined what the world would look like when there would be perfect peace. I was just about to finish the lesson, confident that it had been a success, when one of the middle-school boys interrupted me. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">"I don't think that a world with peace would be very much fun," he contended.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">Puzzled, I asked him why he thought this way.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">"If there wasn't any violence or killing," he replied, "there wouldn't be any good movies or video games."</span><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; text-indent: 0.5in; "> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">A chill rose up inside of me and I tried to wipe my face of shock. Several of the students nodded their heads in agreement. This lesson had not gone in a way I had anticipated!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">When a friend recently recommended <i>The Hunger Games </i>to me, I had no idea that it was one of the most popular young adult novels, closely trailing <i>Harry Potter </i>and the <i>Twilight</i> saga<i>.</i> Neither did I know that it was saturated with violence masqueraded under the pretense of entertainment. Since its release in 2008, this novel has rapidly sold copies to youth all over the world, making its way onto USA Today’s bestselling book list for 110 weeks and counting (USA). Two more sequels in the trilogy and a movie scheduled to make its debut next year have fans abuzz. But despite its popularity and rave reviews from critics and fans alike, there are some significantly sinister theological claims that the readers are subconsciously absorbing and accepting.</span></p> <h2><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">Story Synopsis<o:p></o:p></span></h2> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">The story takes place sometime in the future in a country called Panem, situated in what previously was North America. Ravaged by war, famine, and natural disasters, the nation was fragmented into an affluent city called the Capitol and twelve impoverished districts. While the inhabitants of the Capitol lived in luxury, the oppressed majority lived from meal to meal. In order to keep the districts fearful of the regime’s power, the Panem government subjected the districts to the annual Hunger Games, a competition to the death on live television. During harvest, every child between the ages of 12 and 18 was entered into a lottery. A boy and a girl are drawn to participate in the Hunger Games. Since additional entries were rewarded with food, many parents were enticed to enter their children’s names into the drawing more than once.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">In District 12, among the poorest of the poor, 16-year-old Katniss volunteered to take the place of her sister when her name was drawn. In the blink of an eye her life had been issued a death sentence. Unless she could somehow win the gauntlet, her life would be over and her family left to fend for themselves in her absence. The stakes were high as she and the other contender from District 12, Peeta, fought for their lives against the other children.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpLast"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">I was intrigued by how the author described the disparity between the rich and the poor in the book. By presenting Katniss as the heroine in the story, the author rallied the reader to the side of the poor. She satirized the inhabitants of the Capitol and pointed out their sadistic fascination with watching children murder each other for pure entertainment. I was anticipating a redemptive solution to the Games whereby Katniss and Peeta creatively resist the forces of the regime. I was shocked, however, when they complied with the Game and proceeded to murder other children in order to survive, with little reflection of their violent actions. One by one, the 22 tributes in the Hunger Games were viciously murdered until the only teenagers remaining were Katniss and Peeta. The author announced them as the triumphant victors of the game, but were they?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <h1><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">Theological Claims<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">Nevertheless, the good points stopped there. The main truth claims about violence cast a dark shadow over the remainder of the book. Collins fashioned death into a façade that made death palatable. The heroes of the story were actually antagonists. Even though they disagreed with the game, they still submitted to the game. Collins cleverly separated the reader emotionally from the other tributes so that the heroes’ actions seemed acceptable. She did not disclose the other contestants’ names but simply referred to them as their district number. This made the other contenders just that to the readers’ minds: numbers.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">The author also cleverly avoided other ethical dilemmas by conveniently killing off certain characters before the two heroes had the opportunity. The only two characters that were named and attributed with character qualities were murdered by other tributes so that Katniss and Peeta would not have to do the ugly deed. This cunningly prevented the heroes from looking like the antagonists. Further, in the midst of all the violence in the arena, the author did little to demonstrate that the Katniss and Peeta were distraught over the others’ deaths. There is no reflection over the integrity of their actions, no musings about whether another way was possible.</span></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in; "><span style="font-size:8.5pt"><b>It quickly became apparent that Collins is the faceless Gamemaker in the story, sadistically murdering innocent children and rendering it as entertainment for the masses.</b></span></i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in; font-size: 8.5pt; "><b> </b>She may have parodied the Capitol inhabitants, but the youth who enjoy this book are nothing less than the Capitol TV watchers. This novel completely undergirds the one point the author appeared to be making. <i>If Suzanne Collins wished to provoke youth to think about how desensitized we have become to ungodly entertainment, is she not almost fostering more desensitization through her novel?</i></span></p> <h1><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">Theological Reflection<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">When it comes to media that portrays violence positively, it seems like we play what I like to call the “but” game. We say, “That movie is violent, but…” or “That song condones violence against women, but…” As followers of Christ, there is simply no excuse for such displays of brutality. We are called to seek peace and reconciliation with one another. Enjoying or even condoning violent acts is in direct violation of the Imago Dei (Gen. 9:6).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">Repeatedly, the Bible makes it clear that we are to overcome evil with goodness, not with more evil (Rom. 8:21). It is easy to conclude that the murders in the book can be justified because the heroes of the book came out alright in the end. This is based on utilitarian and teleology ideologies. It is utilitarian in that what works is the best solution, and it is teleological in that the end justifies the means. Just because the <i>telos</i> is “good” in the end (i.e. Katniss and Peeta survive and can later overthrow the government in subsequent books), it does not gratify the measures that were taken to achieve it. Rather than achieving results, it is more important that we as followers of Christ are being shaped into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">When the first century Christians faced persecution by the Roman regime, the book of Revelation encouraged them to persevere through nonviolent resistance. The author characterized the people of God as those who “did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Rev. 12:11). On numerous occasions the people of God are advised in Revelation to conquer not with weapons but through sacrifice. Even the Lamb was bathed is his own blood and not the blood of his enemies (Rev. 5:6). I believe that the Cross tells us a lot about our response to violence. We are commanded to lay down our lives and take up our crosses, not to seek to save our lives (Lk. 9:23-25).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">Right before the heroes were thrown into the gauntlet, Katniss and Peeta shared the following anxiety over their foreseen deaths: <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size: 8.5pt">“I don’t want them to change me in [the arena],” Peeta said. “Turn me into some monster I’m not.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size: 8.5pt"> “Do you mean you won’t kill anyone?” [Katniss asked.] <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size: 8.5pt">“No, when the time comes, I’m sure I’ll kill just like everybody else. I can’t go down without a fight. Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to… to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their Games.” (141)</span><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; text-indent: 0.5in; "> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size:8.5pt"><b>Peeta was so close to nailing it. He just missed it.</b> Participating in the Games did not prove to the Capitol their lack of ownership of him; it further instated their hold on him. Peeta and Katniss could have sacrificed themselves and perhaps started a whole revolution, but they instead sought to hang onto their lives.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">Let me propose a better ending to the book. Instead of complying with the Hunger Games, Katniss creatively subverts the Capitol and leads the other tributes in resisting violence. They resist to the point of death and die without innocent blood on their hands. Unfortunately, although this ending is biblically and ethically sound, it does not produce bestsellers. It does not produce money, and it does not produce sequels with which to make more money.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size:8.5pt">But we need to prophetically imagine another way. We need to dare to think that not only is another way possible, but it is commanded of us. <b>If we are to be living embodiments of God's grace and love individually as disciples and collectively as the Church, how does our participation and/or approval of acts of violence make the love of God known?</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> </p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. NY: Scholastic Press, 2008.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">“Michael A. Behr’s Review of The Hunger Games.” Amazon.com. 2008. 9 October 2011. <span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt; background-color: white; line-height: 12pt; ">http://www.amazon.com/review/R3M62HO4M6LXE6</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt; background-color: white; line-height: 12pt; "> </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">“Solana2Mira’s Review of The Hunger Games.” Amazon.com. 2010. 9 October 2011. <span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt; background-color: white; line-height: 12pt; ">http://www.amazon.com/review/R2NORC5TO9QE6</span></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:12.0pt;background:white"><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""><span style="color:#333333"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">“USA Today’s Best-selling Book List.” USAToday.com. 8 October 2011. </p><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-ansi-language: EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">http://books.usatoday.com/list/index</span></blockquote><p></p><p></p><p></p>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09662091424923136638noreply@blogger.com8