A Crossroads...

I feel like I’m at a bit of a crossroads with the blog.

When I decided to write, I thought it would be a good medium through which to communicate some of the occurrences in our lives – particularly the transition that has taken place over the last 3 years (and continues). On one hand, that’s been achieved – and I’m quite content about it. I’ve avoided tarring and feathering that I feared (at least to date). And it has generated some good discussions. That’s pretty cool.

The Story of Stuff

You might like this. You might hate this.

This video covers a lot of ground in 20 minutes. But it’s very important ground. You might find it a little cartoonish. And it might offend your right-wing affections. Despite any real or perceived faults, it does an outstanding job of articulating why our western way of life is unsustainable. In fact, this video paints the clearest and simplest picture I’ve seen portraying the economic realities we’re facing, if we care to consider realities.

Fundamentalism

I’ve been working on a post for the better part of a week, and this isn’t it. It’s not a long post (compared to previous ones); it’s just that I’m not sure exactly what I’m trying to say. In addition to that, I’m not sure how much of it I should be saying anyway. I feel like I’m at a crossroads with the blog. I’ll unpack that in the next post, but I’m just not sure how much unpacking to do.

In the meantime, I saw this today. I’m not sure if you’ll like it at all, but it’s right up my alley. Rather than try to figure out how to embed the video here, I’ll just give you the link, since Mike has already done the work (and made his comments). Seth’s ideas are generally geared more to the business community, but, as you’ll see here, there’s probably more relevance to the religious community.

There’s so much I could say about fundamentalism. Maybe another day.

Irrestible Revolution – chapters 7-9

Shane makes me uncomfortable. Most of it’s a good uncomfortable (the kind I know I need). Some of it, I don’t know. He’s a different guy. But it is really hard to argue with a guy whose faith is lived out so practically, even if imperfectly. His faith has really transformed his life – in every aspect. I think that’s how it’s supposed to be.

I can’t say that that’s been the effect of faith in my life. Sure there was the piety, the commitment to ritual, the resistance of taboo behaviours. I remember giving devotions about “commitment.” But my concept of “commitment” was a commitment to daily devotions, to youth group attendance, to church service, to not drinking at parties. I’m not even slightly exaggerating. And there’s some good there, don’t get me wrong. But my commitment to those activities was an end in itself. I did the things that good Christians do. But I think I was kidding myself.

Another Quote From...Who Else?

How do I evade Jesus’ teachings?

How is it that after two thousand years of meditation on Jesus, we’ve managed so effectively to avoid most of what he taught so unequivocally? This is true of all the churches. The most we could usually do is emphasize one or the other part of his teaching, and still call ourselves orthodox or “Bible based”.

All of us, for example, have evaded most of the Sermon on the Mount.
All of us have evaded the unmistakable teaching of Jesus on a simple life-style, non-status-seeking, non-greed.
All of us have evaded Jesus’ teaching on non-violence (except for the Amish, the Quakers, and the Mennonites).
All of us have evaded his straightforward teaching on loving our enemy.

Jesus is just too much for all of us!

Richard Rohr, Adapted from Simplicity, pp. 161 - 162. I thieved it from Mike Todd.

Brief Comments on Haiti

No doubt you’ve been thinking a lot about Haiti in the last week. Hopefully we’ve all been able to help in some way, as inconsequential as it seems. Personally, I feel I tremendous amount of helplessness –I’m really not able to do much to help. But, then again, it’s not about me, is it?

As I mentioned in a previous post, Tony Campolo’s work in Haiti is what first sparked my interest in the country. What an unfortunate situation – and I’m talking about before the earthquake. To have poverty that deep, that desperate, and that pervasive in a country situated so closely to our continent of wealth and excess is truly sad. Much more to say – but how can I write about a problem where I’m the more of the cause than solution?

Rather than make further comments, I would recommend this post from Mike Todd’s blog. He raises some very thought-provoking points in response to the earthquake in Haiti. And the comments below his post take the conversation deeper. I’m not sure where poverty and social justice fit on your interest/priority scale – they’re pretty new to my scale, I’m ashamed to admit.

The Irresistible Revolution - chapters 3-6

I wrote this last night when I stopped reading part of the way through Chapter 6. Yes, it was a little emotional - you know me. This is the kind of stuff that keeps my up at night. At least it was PG-rated (the written version, anyway).

The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne

Normally I’d wait until I finished reading a book to recommend it, but I’m gonna jump the gun on this one. I’m 2 chapters into The Irresistible Revolution and just can’t help but suggest it’s worth reading – even if the remainder of the book is a bunch of crap. [Update: It’s not. It’s a very important book.]

Another Gem From Richard Rohr

I couldn’t help but post this:

We need much more of a lifestyle-based Christianity: not “What do you believe?” but “How do you live?” What you believe in your head asks almost nothing of you. Lifestyle asks everything of us, and every day, and on ever new levels of choice. It is a journey that never stops.

My Journey to Post-Modernity - Part 2

Post-Modernity Does Not Equal Relativism:
I believe in absolute truth (and so does every person I’ve ever talked to about this - regardless of religious conviction - more on that later). I believe that God does have moral standards. I do not believe that we, as individuals, decide what is right or wrong for ourselves. However, I also believe that we, as Christians, do not understand fully what God’s morality is. If we had, Christians would have led
the charge on abolishing slavery in the US, and not been the feet-draggers. If we fully understood God’s morality now, we’d be leading the charge in caring for God’s creation, ending pervasive child slavery around the world, dealing with poverty at home and abroad, and other issues I’m currently blind to. For these reasons, I think we need a large dose of humility when we think we need to impose our morality (ironically narrow and incomplete as it is) on the rest of society.

Modernity and Post-Modernity from an Amateur Philosopher - Part 1

I mentioned previously that I would write further on the difference between modernism and post-modernism. And for the technical ones among you, I would be more correct to use the terms modernity and post-modernity, but I may not be consistent in my usage, so you’ll have to forgive me for that. These are not easily defined concepts, largely because their impact is so broad - impacting cultural tendencies, philosophy, art, and literature, among other things. Defining a type of thought or philosophy that prevails in society at a particular point in history is similar to describing the wind. We can describe its effects, but must perform careful examination to truly understand the wind itself.

I have divided this post into 2 parts. However, you’ll notice that they are best read as a cohesive unit. There weren’t any obvious “seams” that could be used to divide the document, but I decided to divide it to make it easier for you if you had to read it in multiple sittings and find your spot each time. That explains why the first part ends and the next begins rather abruptly.

Father Richard Rohr and C.S. Lewis on Certainty, Ignorance, and Our Images of God

I’ve come across a handful of quotes this week that seem pretty relevant – particularly as a preface to my anticipated post on post-modernity. There was a time when these types of quotes would’ve made me uncomfortable – so, my apologies if they have that effect. I do think they are important to wrestle with.

Here’s one from Father Richard Rohr that has tremendous application to me, both past and present:

How Becoming a Dad Affected My View of God

I’d like to summarize how becoming a dad has affected how I view God. Our relationships with our fathers often play an important role in defining how we view God, and I had been aware of that impact in my life (although, looking back, as my relationship with my dad deepened and matured, my view of God didn’t experience the same sort of development, which you’ll see below). I wasn’t prepared for my view of God to be challenged in a whole new way when I became a father. I didn’t see it coming.

Here's What's in the Pipeline...

I’m working on a couple more post topics that are near completion. One is on how becoming a father has impacted my view of God. The second is a longer entry on post-modernism (or, more correctly, post-modernity) and how it impacts our approach to living out faith in Christ (despite how boring it sounds). The second is particularly long, so I might try to break it up so the length doesn’t make you puke. After that, I might lay off the long autobiographies for awhile, since I will have summed up a good chunk of the hidden journey we’ve been on. Or maybe I'll think of something else. There are more details, certainly deeper ones, but I’m not sure I’m comfortable sharing those in this context.

I thought now might be a good time to pass on a quote I read yesterday that speaks to some of what I dream of accomplishing here:

Tony Campolo on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos

Here’s a link to a old video I watched late in 2008 that I immediately became a fan of. Tony put together some things I’d been wrestling with at the time. The 1st link is the complete interview on the CBC site. The second link is the same interview, minus the intro (which is a good one), in case you have technical difficulties.

Welcome to the World of Tough Questions

I didn’t start with such long-winded ambitions, but here I am and below you’ll find a high-level and incomplete summary of what I’ve been walking through over the past 3 years. I don’t explain everything - I think that would take 100 pages. So, here’s the Norm’s Notes version. Please be gracious. It’s hard to articulate tone in written word. I’m not writing from a position of accomplishment or arrival. I’m simply trying to give you a window into my world of doubt, wonder, and struggle.

Blog Prelude

I know this is risky. I’m not convinced that this is the best course of action ... but here goes nothing.

I started a blog. Yeah, that was fashionable about 5 years ago, but if my wardrobe was only 5 years behind, I’d be about 10 years more current than I am.