I begin today with a quote from one of Christendom's favorites:
C.S. Lewis writes, "Our faith is not a matter of our hearing what Christ said long ago and trying to carry it out. Rather the real Son of God is at your side. He is beginning, so to speak, to 'inject' His kind of life and thought, His 'Zoe' [life], into you; beginning to turn the tin soldier into a live man. The part of you that does not like it is the part that is still tin."
It should be quite clear that what Dallas Willard is talking about, what I am talking about, is nothing new. What is seen in a fresh light often has the shimmer of newness about it, yet even if appearances have changed, the presence and existence have not. When Lewis writes on this subject, he does so from the view of a tin man coming to life. When Willard writes, we see a plane flipping upside down. When I write, I see a hidden room, a diverging path, and a beautiful letdown. Okay, the last one was Switchfoot. The point being, these ideas are not original.
The subtitle is "Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God". Neither Willard nor I claim to have any new thoughts on old ideas. We simply have a lot of old ideas that should be thought of anew. God's plan for humanity has not changed in two-thousand years. I would even argue it has not changed since the dawn of creation. Take, for instance, the woman with the alabaster jar.
The woman saw Jesus and recognized who he was and who dwelt in him. That vision was her faith. She knew he was forgiving and accepting before he ever said, "Your sins are forgiven." She knew because she had seen a goodness in him that could only be God, and it broke her heart with gratitude and love. Such a response, along with many others familiar from the Gospels, illustrates how Jesus' hearers understood the invitation to base their own lives on the rule of God "at hand."
I've never understood this story. It seems simple enough. A woman walks into a conversation between Jesus and religious expert. One looks at her and judges her. One looks at her and loves her. I never see any recording of Jesus saying or doing anything other than what he had been doing all along. He doesn't offer her consoling words or say a prayer for her. What she initiates causes him to say to everyone that her sins are forgiven. But I think she already knew that.
Jesus tells the story of a man forgiving two debts owed him by two debtors. One was excessively large and one rather small. "Who will love more because of it?" he asks. "The one forgiven much," they answer. This woman is that forgiven one. She knew she was forgiven, she could tell she was forgiven, and in tearful and grateful response she bathes Jesus' feet and dries them with her hair. Is the rule of God that apparent? Is it so life-changing that its effects can affect those around it simply by its presence? Why did this woman approach Jesus? How did she know? Why was she so moved to love?
We must not overlook the connection between faith and love. The woman saw Jesus and recognized who he was and who dwelt in him. That vision was her faith... she had seen a goodness in him that could only be God, and it broke her heart with gratitude and love.
I want people to look at me and see God. I want to be living God's kingdom to such an extent that I can confidently say, as Jesus did, "Those who have seen me have seen the Father." (John 14:9) Is this even possible? I didn't used to think so. I am slowly coming to the realization that through Christ all things are possible, including, and especially, following after Christ. I want to be like him in as many ways as I can, yet I still feel I don't even know him. Therefore, I will start small. He exerted God's rule on this earth. He invited me to do the same. Who am I to turn down such an extraordinary invitation.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
God's Kingdom Opened to All
Having established a beachhead of divine life in an ordinary human existence, Jesus finally stepped into the public arena to expose his life and to make it available to the world. 'All the preliminaries have been taken care of,' he said, 'and the rule of God is now accessible to everyone. Review your plans for living and base your life on this remarkable new opportunity.' (Mark 1:15)
The preliminaries have been taken care of. The requirements are met for being a part of God's kingdom on this earth, or the rule of God. Jesus said this at the very beginning of his ministry. He made an open proclamation of the accessibility of the life he was currently living. It was a simple message, and it was repeated time and again.
Eugene Peterson's The Message translates his words this way: "Time's up! God's kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message." I have always wondered at what "message" Jesus could possibly be proclaiming before his ministry and teaching had even started. He hadn't made any revolutionary theological statements yet. He hadn't shown God's power of miracles and wonders. He hadn't defeated sin and the devil once and for all. So what, in God's name, was he preaching?
After a hundred readings of this passage looking for secret, hidden messages, I've finally returned to the two most basic meanings, clearly stated and out in the open for all to see.
1.) God's Kingdom is here
Now, before I go off into some merely academic wordfest on all the implications this seems to bring to my previous understanding of life, the universe, and everything, I'm going to add a few disclaimers. I do NOT have a doctorate in divinity. I haven't mastered theology. I haven't even swept through seminary. What I publish here are my simple thought reactions to the readings I come across. As stated plainly in the overview, you are welcome to add your own. Now without further ado...
2.) Change your life in reaction to the news of part 1
Jesus not only tells people that the Kingdom of Heaven is here on this earth at this very moment, but he adds the second part which tells them/us to change our lives in reaction to that news. This of course implies that we CAN change our lives. Meaning everyone who hears his message has the opportunity to enter this kingdom that he just told us all about. We have a chance, nay, an opportunity, nay, a destiny to take up now the eternal lives that have been waiting for us since our moment of creation.
After announcing and exhibiting the rule, or "kingdom," of God... his fame grew to the point where crowds were in the thousands. But they were only responding to the striking availability of God to meet present human need through the actions of Jesus. He simply was the good news about the kingdom. He still is.
Jesus, it would seem, does a lot more than just announce the eternal life of God; in some deeply intricate way he is attached to the access we have to it.
The rule of God, now present in the person of Jesus himself, submits to approaches that were previously not possible. Personal need and confidence in Jesus permits any person to blunder right into God's realm.
And it truly is a blundering. Anyone who tells you they've figured out the perfect step by step solution to accessing and pursuing God's kingdom, anyone who tells you they know exactly how to live the eternal kind of life, is only trying to impress upon you a sense of their greater spirituality. We are human. We are not divine. Grasping the divine may be simple, but it can also prove to be exceptionally hard. That is the essence of the Divine Conspiracy. What is standing just before us, what is readily available to us, what can cause our lives to flourish and blossom and boom in ways unimaginable, this is the very thing that we, as a people, turn away from on a daily basis.
Completing step one does not axiomatically bring about step two. One is a choice of God's; the other is a choice of ours.
The preliminaries have been taken care of. The requirements are met for being a part of God's kingdom on this earth, or the rule of God. Jesus said this at the very beginning of his ministry. He made an open proclamation of the accessibility of the life he was currently living. It was a simple message, and it was repeated time and again.
Eugene Peterson's The Message translates his words this way: "Time's up! God's kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message." I have always wondered at what "message" Jesus could possibly be proclaiming before his ministry and teaching had even started. He hadn't made any revolutionary theological statements yet. He hadn't shown God's power of miracles and wonders. He hadn't defeated sin and the devil once and for all. So what, in God's name, was he preaching?
After a hundred readings of this passage looking for secret, hidden messages, I've finally returned to the two most basic meanings, clearly stated and out in the open for all to see.
1.) God's Kingdom is here
- Not "God's Kingdom is in heaven".
- But rather "God's Kingdom is here."
- Not "God's Kingdom is going to be here at the end of times."
- But rather "God's Kingdom has arrived, landed, and persisted for the past 2000 years."
- Not "God's Kingdom is a mystical realm of spiritual nirvana to be accessed by brilliant minds after a lifetime of dedication."
- But Rather "God's Kingdom is available and open to all."
Now, before I go off into some merely academic wordfest on all the implications this seems to bring to my previous understanding of life, the universe, and everything, I'm going to add a few disclaimers. I do NOT have a doctorate in divinity. I haven't mastered theology. I haven't even swept through seminary. What I publish here are my simple thought reactions to the readings I come across. As stated plainly in the overview, you are welcome to add your own. Now without further ado...
2.) Change your life in reaction to the news of part 1
Jesus not only tells people that the Kingdom of Heaven is here on this earth at this very moment, but he adds the second part which tells them/us to change our lives in reaction to that news. This of course implies that we CAN change our lives. Meaning everyone who hears his message has the opportunity to enter this kingdom that he just told us all about. We have a chance, nay, an opportunity, nay, a destiny to take up now the eternal lives that have been waiting for us since our moment of creation.
After announcing and exhibiting the rule, or "kingdom," of God... his fame grew to the point where crowds were in the thousands. But they were only responding to the striking availability of God to meet present human need through the actions of Jesus. He simply was the good news about the kingdom. He still is.
Jesus, it would seem, does a lot more than just announce the eternal life of God; in some deeply intricate way he is attached to the access we have to it.
The rule of God, now present in the person of Jesus himself, submits to approaches that were previously not possible. Personal need and confidence in Jesus permits any person to blunder right into God's realm.
And it truly is a blundering. Anyone who tells you they've figured out the perfect step by step solution to accessing and pursuing God's kingdom, anyone who tells you they know exactly how to live the eternal kind of life, is only trying to impress upon you a sense of their greater spirituality. We are human. We are not divine. Grasping the divine may be simple, but it can also prove to be exceptionally hard. That is the essence of the Divine Conspiracy. What is standing just before us, what is readily available to us, what can cause our lives to flourish and blossom and boom in ways unimaginable, this is the very thing that we, as a people, turn away from on a daily basis.
Completing step one does not axiomatically bring about step two. One is a choice of God's; the other is a choice of ours.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Entering the Ordinary
I ended the last post with an invitation to an eternal kind of life, one worth living forever. You might ask just what kind of life is that, do I want it, and could I even have it considering the way I live now? Wouldn't it just be too much effort to change the way things are going? Is it even possible?
I argue that it is not only possible, but it's been done. Jesus lived it. He came not only to show us how to live an eternal life, not only to grant us access to it, but also to prove that it is doable.
If Jesus were to come today he could very well do what you do. He could very well live in your apartment or house, hold down your ob, have your education and life prospects, and live within your family, surroundings, and time. None of this would be the least hindrance to the eternal kind of life that was his by nature and becomes available to us through him. Our human life, it turns out, is not destroyed by God's life but is fulfilled in it and in it alone.
Rather than ask the question "what would Jesus do?" I prefer to ask "what COULD Jesus do." He lived as a carpenter for 30 years. And he did so perfectly. He lived a perfectly fulfilling, satisfying, rewarding, abundant, eternal life... as a small-businessman.
Sure, three years of his life were spent teaching revolutionary concepts that have affected more of the world than any other thoughts, words, or actions known to man. Sure, he ended up fulfilling his God-role as perfect replacement sacrifice in the most gruesome and painful death an empire could devise. Sure, he had God's spirit descend on him like a dove, he transformed matter, and he created food out of thin air. But those first 30 years... he lived the same life you and I possess, and he did it in such a way that, when he was called upon to save the world, he was ready.
The well kept secret of the "ordinary" is that it is made to be a receptacle of the divine, a place where the life of God flows. But the divine is not pushy.
Have you ever considered that? Have you ever considered that you were created simple only to become beautifully complex as you interact in the machinery of God's world?
This is why everyone, from the smallest child to the oldest adult, naturally wants in some way to be extraordinary, outstanding, or making a unique contribution.
We have the natural desires. We cannot deny them. We want to be SOMETHING, no matter what that something is. We know we are meant for more. We were meant for the life eternal. We were meant to reside in a place where the life of God flows. Want to hear more?
The drive to significance is a simple extension of the creative impulse of God that gave us being. We were built to count, as water is made to run downhill. We are placed in a specific context to count in ways no one else does. That is our destiny.
I could stop writing here, and it would be sufficient for the entirety of the work. We have found our purpose, our destiny. It is to create, to thrive, and to be unique. It is to experience God every day. It is to live life in union with him and in expression of the individual design plan each of our lives has. I could stop writing here, but that would be a mistake because finding out our purpose is just the first step to living it. Didn't someone recently ask (see previous posts) "what's the point of knowing good if you won't actually become good?" Life is a journey, my friends, and we are about to enter into it on a whole new level.
I argue that it is not only possible, but it's been done. Jesus lived it. He came not only to show us how to live an eternal life, not only to grant us access to it, but also to prove that it is doable.
If Jesus were to come today he could very well do what you do. He could very well live in your apartment or house, hold down your ob, have your education and life prospects, and live within your family, surroundings, and time. None of this would be the least hindrance to the eternal kind of life that was his by nature and becomes available to us through him. Our human life, it turns out, is not destroyed by God's life but is fulfilled in it and in it alone.
Rather than ask the question "what would Jesus do?" I prefer to ask "what COULD Jesus do." He lived as a carpenter for 30 years. And he did so perfectly. He lived a perfectly fulfilling, satisfying, rewarding, abundant, eternal life... as a small-businessman.
Sure, three years of his life were spent teaching revolutionary concepts that have affected more of the world than any other thoughts, words, or actions known to man. Sure, he ended up fulfilling his God-role as perfect replacement sacrifice in the most gruesome and painful death an empire could devise. Sure, he had God's spirit descend on him like a dove, he transformed matter, and he created food out of thin air. But those first 30 years... he lived the same life you and I possess, and he did it in such a way that, when he was called upon to save the world, he was ready.
The well kept secret of the "ordinary" is that it is made to be a receptacle of the divine, a place where the life of God flows. But the divine is not pushy.
Have you ever considered that? Have you ever considered that you were created simple only to become beautifully complex as you interact in the machinery of God's world?
This is why everyone, from the smallest child to the oldest adult, naturally wants in some way to be extraordinary, outstanding, or making a unique contribution.
We have the natural desires. We cannot deny them. We want to be SOMETHING, no matter what that something is. We know we are meant for more. We were meant for the life eternal. We were meant to reside in a place where the life of God flows. Want to hear more?
The drive to significance is a simple extension of the creative impulse of God that gave us being. We were built to count, as water is made to run downhill. We are placed in a specific context to count in ways no one else does. That is our destiny.
I could stop writing here, and it would be sufficient for the entirety of the work. We have found our purpose, our destiny. It is to create, to thrive, and to be unique. It is to experience God every day. It is to live life in union with him and in expression of the individual design plan each of our lives has. I could stop writing here, but that would be a mistake because finding out our purpose is just the first step to living it. Didn't someone recently ask (see previous posts) "what's the point of knowing good if you won't actually become good?" Life is a journey, my friends, and we are about to enter into it on a whole new level.
The Invitation
The last few posts have been a bit on the depressing side. We live in a world that is flying upside down, and no one can agree on how to right ourselves. But the buck does not stop here. This post is long, because there is so much good stuff crammed into three simple pages. It's beautiful really.
Yet, in the gloom a light glimmers and glows. We have received an invitation. We are invited to make a pilgrimage - into the heart and life of God. The invitation has long been on public record. You can hardly look anywhere across the human scene and not encounter it... "Whosoever will may come".
It is here that the book begins to accomplish its purpose. The reason for its creation begins to unfold.
The major problem with the invitation now is precisely overfamiliarity. Familiarity breeds unfamiliarity - unsuspected unfamiliarity, and then contempt. People think they have heard the invitation. They think they have accepted it - or rejected it. But they have not. The difficulty today is to hear it at all. Written everywhere, we may think, how could the invitation be subtle, or deep? But that is part of the Divine Conspiracy.
And so we have our first glimpse into what exactly this Conspiracy Divine entails. I am, quite frankly, excited. It appears a part of the Divine Conspiracy is that of an invitation, hidden in broad daylight. A request, easily overlooked, yet sitting right in front of us. We've become familiar with it to the point that we've forgotten what it is and what it evokes. This invitation is said to bring us directly into the "life and heart of God Himself". Mightn't we be looking for it a bit more eagerly?
Those who have have found Jesus. Not your everyday, preacher-and-a-teacher Jesus. Not your 8 pound 6 ounce newborn baby infant Jesus. The Jesus I speak of is knowable. He is real. He is present. And he offers himself as the access point for exactly that which I have been seeking.
Jesus offers himself as God's doorway into the life that is truly life. Confidence in him leads us today to become his apprentices in eternal living. "Those who come to me will be safe," he said. "They will go in and out and find all they need. I have come into their world that they may have life, and life to the limit."
What would it be like to live a life to the limit? Can we even understand what that implies? Our lives our normal, ordinary, everyday things. Even the rich and the famous are constantly seeking out new entertainment highs to bring something extra to their lives of the mundane.
Is life to the limit jumping off of buildings and riding on top of speeding trains and flying in front of bullets and saving damsels in distress? That's a great life for your friendly, neighborhood Spider-man, but I don't think it's the objective "limit" to what a human can live.
Actually, I don't think there is an objective limit at all. I think living life to the limit means living your life, with everything that it includes, and living it to the point of fulfillment every second of every minute of every hour of every day. But even that is not a perfect definition.
My point is this: if we can recognize that our lives are not lived to the limit (and who can honestly say theirs are?), then we can admit the potential for something far greater, something we are all missing out on. Well, perhaps not all of us.
How is it that multitudes today credit Jesus with their life and well-being? I think we have to say that Jesus' enduring relevance is based on his historically proven ability to speak to, to heal and empower the individual human condition. He matters because of what he brought and what he still brings to ordinary human beings, living their ordinary lives and coping daily with their surroundings. He promises wholeness for their lives. In sharing our weakness he gives us strength and imparts through his companionship a life that has the quality of eternity.
The quality of the eternal. Those words strike me in a way "eternal life" never has. I imagine a life that has the quality of the eternity is one that I could picture myself living forever. How many of you, given the choice, would pick the life you currently have and ask to be able to live it, exactly as it is, forever? If you answered yes, I think you're lying, because I think everyone has things they want to change, moments in their lives that they just dread getting through. I'm not saying there aren't high points, but are those enough that we would want this life forever? Or do we hunger for something more?
He comes where we are, and he brings us the life we hunger for. God's life to women and men where they are and as they are, is the secret of the enduring relevance of Jesus. Suddenly they are flying right-side up, in a world that makes sense.
Yet, in the gloom a light glimmers and glows. We have received an invitation. We are invited to make a pilgrimage - into the heart and life of God. The invitation has long been on public record. You can hardly look anywhere across the human scene and not encounter it... "Whosoever will may come".
It is here that the book begins to accomplish its purpose. The reason for its creation begins to unfold.
The major problem with the invitation now is precisely overfamiliarity. Familiarity breeds unfamiliarity - unsuspected unfamiliarity, and then contempt. People think they have heard the invitation. They think they have accepted it - or rejected it. But they have not. The difficulty today is to hear it at all. Written everywhere, we may think, how could the invitation be subtle, or deep? But that is part of the Divine Conspiracy.
And so we have our first glimpse into what exactly this Conspiracy Divine entails. I am, quite frankly, excited. It appears a part of the Divine Conspiracy is that of an invitation, hidden in broad daylight. A request, easily overlooked, yet sitting right in front of us. We've become familiar with it to the point that we've forgotten what it is and what it evokes. This invitation is said to bring us directly into the "life and heart of God Himself". Mightn't we be looking for it a bit more eagerly?
Those who have have found Jesus. Not your everyday, preacher-and-a-teacher Jesus. Not your 8 pound 6 ounce newborn baby infant Jesus. The Jesus I speak of is knowable. He is real. He is present. And he offers himself as the access point for exactly that which I have been seeking.
Jesus offers himself as God's doorway into the life that is truly life. Confidence in him leads us today to become his apprentices in eternal living. "Those who come to me will be safe," he said. "They will go in and out and find all they need. I have come into their world that they may have life, and life to the limit."
What would it be like to live a life to the limit? Can we even understand what that implies? Our lives our normal, ordinary, everyday things. Even the rich and the famous are constantly seeking out new entertainment highs to bring something extra to their lives of the mundane.
Is life to the limit jumping off of buildings and riding on top of speeding trains and flying in front of bullets and saving damsels in distress? That's a great life for your friendly, neighborhood Spider-man, but I don't think it's the objective "limit" to what a human can live.
Actually, I don't think there is an objective limit at all. I think living life to the limit means living your life, with everything that it includes, and living it to the point of fulfillment every second of every minute of every hour of every day. But even that is not a perfect definition.
My point is this: if we can recognize that our lives are not lived to the limit (and who can honestly say theirs are?), then we can admit the potential for something far greater, something we are all missing out on. Well, perhaps not all of us.
How is it that multitudes today credit Jesus with their life and well-being? I think we have to say that Jesus' enduring relevance is based on his historically proven ability to speak to, to heal and empower the individual human condition. He matters because of what he brought and what he still brings to ordinary human beings, living their ordinary lives and coping daily with their surroundings. He promises wholeness for their lives. In sharing our weakness he gives us strength and imparts through his companionship a life that has the quality of eternity.
The quality of the eternal. Those words strike me in a way "eternal life" never has. I imagine a life that has the quality of the eternity is one that I could picture myself living forever. How many of you, given the choice, would pick the life you currently have and ask to be able to live it, exactly as it is, forever? If you answered yes, I think you're lying, because I think everyone has things they want to change, moments in their lives that they just dread getting through. I'm not saying there aren't high points, but are those enough that we would want this life forever? Or do we hunger for something more?
He comes where we are, and he brings us the life we hunger for. God's life to women and men where they are and as they are, is the secret of the enduring relevance of Jesus. Suddenly they are flying right-side up, in a world that makes sense.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Merely Academic
What is truly profound is thought to be stupid and trivial, or worse, boring, while what is actually stupid and trivial is thought to be profound. That is what it means to fly upside down.
This is the world in which we live. Such a world puts meaning in the meaningless and worships the absurd. Let me be specific. Money, sex, power... winning. In the long run, they lack meaning. In the short run, they seem to offer value. We chase them knowing they won't fulfill, and when they don't fulfill, we ride it off with some clever statement such as, "You can't always get what you want."
That statement is true, precisely because we spend all of our time wanting the wrong things. Picture it this way. Imagine you play on a sports team. What is the goal of playing on a sports team? To win. Don't argue with me here, we both know it's not supposed to be to win. And yet all the same we know it is. We as a people want winning. We want to put someone else down so that we can move up. Our fans want us to win, our parents want us to win, and eventually, not knowing what to make of this absurd world, we decide we might as well want to win too, because maybe someday we will and then we'll be fulfilled.
Of course, winning doesn't bring fulfillment. Anyone who's ever experienced it knows that the next day, or at most the next week, you're back out on the field, in the classroom, at your job, and life goes on just the way it did before. Only this time you've won once, so you must win again. Otherwise everyone will know that you're not really a winner. Winners keep on winning ad absurdum. Such absurdity, such abuse, such trash. This is the world in which we live.
Did anyone ever stop to reconsider the underlying thought and ideas that govern our world? What if, God forbid, you walked into class the next day to brag about what a great loss you had? I imagine such a conversation would go something like this:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve: Hey Brian, did you hear about our awesome game last night?"
Brian: No man, what happened, did you guys cream 'em?
Steve: Boy did we ever! We lost 5-2, man what an awesome game.
Brian: Wait... you mean they lost?
Steve: No, we lost! Man, it was awesome. We started the game out playing tough, because we warmed up well, and everyone was playing together. They had a few players more talented than us, including the guy who scored their first two points. He was really fun to play against, he really made us step up to our best game. I figure we should have lost by about 8 points, but we kept our heads in the game, and eventually we came back and scored not 1, but 2 points against that team! It was incredible.
Brian: But... you guys only scored 2 points. I don't get it. Why are you so pumped?
Steve: You don't get it? What's not to get? We had a great time, we played well, we improved as a team, and I'd say everyone played to the best of their abilities. It was such a great time!
Brian: That's.... great. I guess?
Steve: So you want to come watch our next game and see what we're all about?
Brian: I uh... I don't know, maybe.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sound ridiculous? Perhaps it is. Or perhaps it's precisely what doing something for "sport" should be about. A challenge to yourself. A chance to run and exercise. A fellowship time with teammates and friends and fans, uniting in pursuit of a common "goal". Exuberant in victory and ecstatic in defeat. Happy to be given the chance to play. In a way, it almost sounds... fun.
This is not the world in which we live. But I wish it were.
This is the world in which we live. Such a world puts meaning in the meaningless and worships the absurd. Let me be specific. Money, sex, power... winning. In the long run, they lack meaning. In the short run, they seem to offer value. We chase them knowing they won't fulfill, and when they don't fulfill, we ride it off with some clever statement such as, "You can't always get what you want."
That statement is true, precisely because we spend all of our time wanting the wrong things. Picture it this way. Imagine you play on a sports team. What is the goal of playing on a sports team? To win. Don't argue with me here, we both know it's not supposed to be to win. And yet all the same we know it is. We as a people want winning. We want to put someone else down so that we can move up. Our fans want us to win, our parents want us to win, and eventually, not knowing what to make of this absurd world, we decide we might as well want to win too, because maybe someday we will and then we'll be fulfilled.
Of course, winning doesn't bring fulfillment. Anyone who's ever experienced it knows that the next day, or at most the next week, you're back out on the field, in the classroom, at your job, and life goes on just the way it did before. Only this time you've won once, so you must win again. Otherwise everyone will know that you're not really a winner. Winners keep on winning ad absurdum. Such absurdity, such abuse, such trash. This is the world in which we live.
Did anyone ever stop to reconsider the underlying thought and ideas that govern our world? What if, God forbid, you walked into class the next day to brag about what a great loss you had? I imagine such a conversation would go something like this:
Steve: Hey Brian, did you hear about our awesome game last night?"
Brian: No man, what happened, did you guys cream 'em?
Steve: Boy did we ever! We lost 5-2, man what an awesome game.
Brian: Wait... you mean they lost?
Steve: No, we lost! Man, it was awesome. We started the game out playing tough, because we warmed up well, and everyone was playing together. They had a few players more talented than us, including the guy who scored their first two points. He was really fun to play against, he really made us step up to our best game. I figure we should have lost by about 8 points, but we kept our heads in the game, and eventually we came back and scored not 1, but 2 points against that team! It was incredible.
Brian: But... you guys only scored 2 points. I don't get it. Why are you so pumped?
Steve: You don't get it? What's not to get? We had a great time, we played well, we improved as a team, and I'd say everyone played to the best of their abilities. It was such a great time!
Brian: That's.... great. I guess?
Steve: So you want to come watch our next game and see what we're all about?
Brian: I uh... I don't know, maybe.
Sound ridiculous? Perhaps it is. Or perhaps it's precisely what doing something for "sport" should be about. A challenge to yourself. A chance to run and exercise. A fellowship time with teammates and friends and fans, uniting in pursuit of a common "goal". Exuberant in victory and ecstatic in defeat. Happy to be given the chance to play. In a way, it almost sounds... fun.
This is not the world in which we live. But I wish it were.
The Incredible Power of "Mere Ideas"
I have some extra time this week, so I figured why not start two-a-days in an attempt to catch up with the rest of my reading group. At this rate I'll be through Chapter 1 by the end of the week.
I begin today's study with a quote from struggling college student.
"I've been taking all these philosophy courses, and we talk about what's true, what's important, what's good. Well, how do you teach people to be good... What's the point of knowing good if you don't keep trying to become a good person?"
I come from a philosophical background, to some extent, and I can relate to this girl's struggles. I once took a course on the meaning of life, or so I thought. Really, it was on what the meaning of life was not. Life was not about reaching goals, we were told, because then the purpose of living would be to die. I found it somewhat humorous that I might, with Paul's statement of "to live is Christ, and to die is gain", show that this isn't so far from the truth. But instead I tried to bring up how our purpose must be linked to our creation and therefore have much to do with interaction with our Creator. This did not go over well. Purpose, I was informed by classmates, had to be accessible to the atheist and the acolyte. In other words, it was meaningless where you got your meaning from, so long as you got it. Says Willard on the subject:
The problem here is less one of connecting character to intellect than one of connecting intellectual to moral and spiritual realities.
Many people are well-inclined to act out their beliefs on what is good, just as the pilot in the previous entry believed it a good idea to pull up, and so he did. Unfortunately for him, his ideas of what was good were based on fiction, and gravity quickly corrected his previous notions.
I believe there is a moral gravity to the world. But we fly so fast, that we can no longer feel its pull on us. We drown out the natural moral necessities with our own needs, or we push to a place we can ignore them with other "equally good" ideas. Why fly upright when you could fly sideways, or backwards or upside down? Why indeed, until the moment you forget the direction you're flying and decide to pull up. The world is designed to work a certain way, much as planes are. When we start with faulty assumptions, we will finish with tragic results.
The complaint of the young Harvard woman is actually a complaint about a system of ideas: a system of ideas about what is good and what is right... It conveys itself as simple reality and does so in such a way that it never has to justify itself.
We live in a world of mere ideas. One such idea is that no one knows which way is "up" (except for the little old man from Pixar). Now, I'll be the first to admit that no one really enjoys being told they're wrong and someone else is right. If you're facing up, and you're different than me, then, by the process of substitution, I must be facing down or some other equally undesirable direction. Therefore, it is not my intent to walk around in life telling people they're facing the wrong way. Nor was it Christ's.
But herein lies the key. How people live their ideas thoroughly pervades our world in its every aspect. Likewise, how I live MY ideas thoroughly pervades our world in its every aspect. So I give an alternative. Rather than shouting through closed glass at the pilots next to us, why don't we just start flying higher?
I begin today's study with a quote from struggling college student.
"I've been taking all these philosophy courses, and we talk about what's true, what's important, what's good. Well, how do you teach people to be good... What's the point of knowing good if you don't keep trying to become a good person?"
I come from a philosophical background, to some extent, and I can relate to this girl's struggles. I once took a course on the meaning of life, or so I thought. Really, it was on what the meaning of life was not. Life was not about reaching goals, we were told, because then the purpose of living would be to die. I found it somewhat humorous that I might, with Paul's statement of "to live is Christ, and to die is gain", show that this isn't so far from the truth. But instead I tried to bring up how our purpose must be linked to our creation and therefore have much to do with interaction with our Creator. This did not go over well. Purpose, I was informed by classmates, had to be accessible to the atheist and the acolyte. In other words, it was meaningless where you got your meaning from, so long as you got it. Says Willard on the subject:
The problem here is less one of connecting character to intellect than one of connecting intellectual to moral and spiritual realities.
Many people are well-inclined to act out their beliefs on what is good, just as the pilot in the previous entry believed it a good idea to pull up, and so he did. Unfortunately for him, his ideas of what was good were based on fiction, and gravity quickly corrected his previous notions.
I believe there is a moral gravity to the world. But we fly so fast, that we can no longer feel its pull on us. We drown out the natural moral necessities with our own needs, or we push to a place we can ignore them with other "equally good" ideas. Why fly upright when you could fly sideways, or backwards or upside down? Why indeed, until the moment you forget the direction you're flying and decide to pull up. The world is designed to work a certain way, much as planes are. When we start with faulty assumptions, we will finish with tragic results.
The complaint of the young Harvard woman is actually a complaint about a system of ideas: a system of ideas about what is good and what is right... It conveys itself as simple reality and does so in such a way that it never has to justify itself.
We live in a world of mere ideas. One such idea is that no one knows which way is "up" (except for the little old man from Pixar). Now, I'll be the first to admit that no one really enjoys being told they're wrong and someone else is right. If you're facing up, and you're different than me, then, by the process of substitution, I must be facing down or some other equally undesirable direction. Therefore, it is not my intent to walk around in life telling people they're facing the wrong way. Nor was it Christ's.
But herein lies the key. How people live their ideas thoroughly pervades our world in its every aspect. Likewise, how I live MY ideas thoroughly pervades our world in its every aspect. So I give an alternative. Rather than shouting through closed glass at the pilots next to us, why don't we just start flying higher?
Monday, July 25, 2011
Life in the Dark
And so we begin...
God's care for humanity was so great that he sent his unique Son among us, so that those who count on him might not lead a futile and failing existence, but have the undying life of God Himself.
God's care for humanity was so great that he sent his unique Son among us, so that those who count on him might not lead a futile and failing existence, but have the undying life of God Himself.
~John 3:16
I don't think I've ever heard such a common verse put in such an uncommon way. It's beautiful. The contrast between "a futile and failing existence" and the "undying life of God Himself" is, I think, what this book is all about. It's what the Bible is all about. It's what life is all about. And it's as fitting an intro to this grand work as any I could imagine.
Chapter 1 does not begin with the Eternal Life, however. It begins with the "futile and failing existence." It's where we all are or have been: in the dark. Willard gives a more modern example, that of a pilot flying upside down. Intending to pull up, the pilot flies headlong into the ground and explodes, much in the same way that our lives tend to.
Interestingly enough, while we can commonly point out the surplus of stories of exploding lives (drug addicts, broken families, wrecked marriages), and while we often are told how to avoid such explosions (don't do drugs, don't cheat on your spouse, don't put work above your kids), these so called solutions often tend to be instructions on how to miss the ground, rather than how to fly towards the heavens.
Where is the instruction manual on how to flip the plane over. I don't want to spend my life skimming the ground, looking down, and fearing that one slight mistake could end everything. I would much rather be focused on how much I enjoy the fact that I'm given the opportunity to fly. I would like to be so far above the ground that I can experience freedoms in my flight, I can experiment, and I can take risks, knowing full well that my plane was built for just such a journey as this.
But alas, this is rarely the case. We don't find instruction booklets on how to "fly right side up" because so many people are afraid of being judged for making such a statement. After all, if you give someone instructions on how to fly upright, they will immediately assume that you consider them to being flying downright wrong. And who wants to be told that?
I do. I wish I had been told that years ago. I wish I had understood what this book has begun to enlighten me to... that there is a better life, a heavenly life, a life eternal, an undying life of God Himself... and this life is available to me, and has been available to me since the day I was born. I'm making a conscious decision to turn my plane over, and I'm thanking the one who pointed out that Heaven is the other direction.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Cabin Fever
Today could be quick. I'm eager to get out of the introduction and on to the material. I'm also in a cabin in the mountains. Hence this could be short.
Honestly there are only two subjects left to discuss in the introduction. One is the author's beliefs about the Bible, which I happen to agree with, and the other is his discussion of his other works, which I have already discussed.
Yet, hidden within these seemingly innocent discussions of other works of literature, the author throws in this meaty spiritual appetizer:
"Actual discipleship or apprenticeship to Jesus is, in our day, no longer thought of as in any way essential to faith in him. It is regarded as a costly option, a spiritual luxury, or possibly even an evasion. Why bother... with a conversational relationship with God? Let us get on with what we have to do."
Read that one more time. Do you agree? When you think of a Christian, do you think of an apprentice of Jesus? Be honest, is that the first thing that comes to mind? I completely agree with his terminology: a spiritual luxury. So, in other words, when you call yourself a "little Christ", you aren't actually trying to become like Jesus in every way. It's just label, a word implying status and beliefs and actions. An apprentice seems so mid-evil. Yet it also seems appropriate. When we become Christians, we are following the footsteps of Jesus. We are trying to become more like him in every way. We are learning from him and his life. Or at least... we should be. Yet that is considered a 'luxury'? How? Why? Have we abandoned the very meaning of the name we inanely claim?
Perhaps. But there is hope.
"The really good news for humanity is that Jesus is now taking students in the master class of life. The eternal life that begins with confidence in Jesus is a life in his present kingdom, now on earth and available to all."
While we may no longer be apprenticing under him, Jesus is still teaching, offering a course on life itself. Interested in how to get through this world better? Wonder why things happen? Curious why you're here? You have a teacher available. Classes cost your life, but they also reward you with a new one on graduation. Why not sign up to get a degree that counts for something.
Next Week: Chapter 1 in the master class of life. I bid you good reading.
Honestly there are only two subjects left to discuss in the introduction. One is the author's beliefs about the Bible, which I happen to agree with, and the other is his discussion of his other works, which I have already discussed.
Yet, hidden within these seemingly innocent discussions of other works of literature, the author throws in this meaty spiritual appetizer:
"Actual discipleship or apprenticeship to Jesus is, in our day, no longer thought of as in any way essential to faith in him. It is regarded as a costly option, a spiritual luxury, or possibly even an evasion. Why bother... with a conversational relationship with God? Let us get on with what we have to do."
Read that one more time. Do you agree? When you think of a Christian, do you think of an apprentice of Jesus? Be honest, is that the first thing that comes to mind? I completely agree with his terminology: a spiritual luxury. So, in other words, when you call yourself a "little Christ", you aren't actually trying to become like Jesus in every way. It's just label, a word implying status and beliefs and actions. An apprentice seems so mid-evil. Yet it also seems appropriate. When we become Christians, we are following the footsteps of Jesus. We are trying to become more like him in every way. We are learning from him and his life. Or at least... we should be. Yet that is considered a 'luxury'? How? Why? Have we abandoned the very meaning of the name we inanely claim?
Perhaps. But there is hope.
"The really good news for humanity is that Jesus is now taking students in the master class of life. The eternal life that begins with confidence in Jesus is a life in his present kingdom, now on earth and available to all."
While we may no longer be apprenticing under him, Jesus is still teaching, offering a course on life itself. Interested in how to get through this world better? Wonder why things happen? Curious why you're here? You have a teacher available. Classes cost your life, but they also reward you with a new one on graduation. Why not sign up to get a degree that counts for something.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Reintroductions
So perhaps I jumped the gun with my initial posting title. It's taken me to the third posting just to arrive at the conclusion of the introduction to this book with which I have been so foreword. Warning: I play freely with words.
Previously on The Eternal Life Now, I examined the book through the eyes of a stranger, Richard Foster. Tonight I allow the author to entice us to his work through his own words in the books Introduction. Fret not dear readers, next week I promise you the first chapter. But until then, I give you Mr. Dallas Willard...
"My hope is to gain a fresh hearing for Jesus, especially among those who believe they already understand him."
Do I understand Jesus? By all means no. I have lived my life with him. I have studied him. I have spoken to him. I have heard from him. But I am constantly amazed by what he does and by my renewed discoveries of who he is. I didn't realize before starting this book, but I really do have a longing to know Jesus beyond an intellectual knowledge. For instance, I can recite to you every parable he ever told. I can summarize them and expand on their meanings. I can tell you the towns he visited, the people he talked to and the words he said, but if you were to stop me in my tracks and ask me about him... What would I say? He's kind, compassionate and caring? He's God incarnate? He's man-God, killed but alive, here from the beginning and forever after? These are all still labels. Facts. A child could memorize them and repeat them, and honestly millions do every year.
But do I know him? And more importantly, do I presume to know him? Actually, I would answer no to both those questions. I do not have a deep understanding of who he is. It is for this reason that I read this book. This is a discovery journey, an entry into a far-off land. For me, Narnia.
"Now, in fact, Jesus and his words have never belonged to the categories of dogma or law, and to read them as if they did is simply to miss them."
I paused here to think upon the meaning of this simple little phrase. First, we have the contrast of what the words of Jesus are not. They are not dogma, a list of beliefs to be memorized and defended. They are not law, a list of actions to be done or not done. Jesus' words were neither of these, yet how many times do we treat them just... like... that. I think I spend an entire evening on just this revelation alone. After all, I spent years of my life approaching Jesus with the questions, "What am I supposed to do?" or "What am I supposed to believe." A friend says something interesting about life, how am I supposed to respond? I'm thrown into a situation I've never seen before, how do I react? Tell me Jesus, give me the magical answer and then be off to sprout goodness in the lives of everyone else who knocks on your door with a question of similar urgency.
Isn't this true? Isn't this how we approach the Creator of the universe? Solve my problems. Give me the answers. Show me the solution. Perhaps it's my mathematical background speaking, but this is a trap I fell into for many, many years. I'm sure I still do. That's because I still view Jesus' words as representing both dogma and law. And yet...
"He himself described his words as 'spirit and life' (John 6:63)"
Spirit and life. I've read this statement over and over again, and still I'm clueless as to its meaning. John has always been my favorite of the gospels (next comes Luke, then Mark, then Matthew) namely because I feel there is so much more to John that I cannot see. It's complexity intrigues me, and the mere reading of its words brings to me the sense of greatness and wonder, pointing to mysteries of life that I am not even close to understanding. Much like these two simple words. Spirit and life.
His words are life. Not his words bring life, or point to life, but his words are life. They are full of it. The actual verse in John says:
63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Life. We are alive. Why would we need more life? I actually don't think it's a matter of degree. No such thing as 'more alive' or 'less alive', just as we aren't dead vs. nearly dead. We are one or the other. Dead or alive. Jesus speaks of a life in his words. Is he referring to a physical life or something beyond the physical? Have we been dead this whole time without knowing it? If so, what does it mean to be... alive. That is a question I intend to answer. I hate the thought of being dead the rest of my life.
"Jesus and his early associates overwhelmed the ancient world because they brought into it a stream of life at its deepest, along with the best information possible on the most important matters... The people initially impacted by that message generally concluded that they would be fools to disregard it. That was the basis of their conversion."
You mean they didn't believe the message because they wanted to get into Heaven? Or because they wanted to be 'good'? Or because it was popular and socially acceptable? Where is this message that teaches reality, not rules.
"It is the failure to understand Jesus and his words as reality and vital information about life that explains why, today, we do not routinely teach those who profess allegiance to him how to do what he said was best."
"More than any other single thing, in any case, the practical irrelevance of actual obedience to Christ accounts for the weakened effect of Christianity in the world today."
What is Christianity without Christ? It is the Christianity of today. In many ways, it was the Christianity I grew up with. A list of things not to do. I list of facts to believe. A group of arguments to defend. A place to go. A reputation to uphold. A self-smug satisfaction of having answers that others missed. This is doctrine, dogma, and a modern-day debacle. But it is NOT Christianity. A Christian is one who obeys Christ (the word literally translates to "little Christs"). And in order to do that, you have to understand what he said. You have to understand him.
His words are life. To be a Christian is to live.
Previously on The Eternal Life Now, I examined the book through the eyes of a stranger, Richard Foster. Tonight I allow the author to entice us to his work through his own words in the books Introduction. Fret not dear readers, next week I promise you the first chapter. But until then, I give you Mr. Dallas Willard...
"My hope is to gain a fresh hearing for Jesus, especially among those who believe they already understand him."
Do I understand Jesus? By all means no. I have lived my life with him. I have studied him. I have spoken to him. I have heard from him. But I am constantly amazed by what he does and by my renewed discoveries of who he is. I didn't realize before starting this book, but I really do have a longing to know Jesus beyond an intellectual knowledge. For instance, I can recite to you every parable he ever told. I can summarize them and expand on their meanings. I can tell you the towns he visited, the people he talked to and the words he said, but if you were to stop me in my tracks and ask me about him... What would I say? He's kind, compassionate and caring? He's God incarnate? He's man-God, killed but alive, here from the beginning and forever after? These are all still labels. Facts. A child could memorize them and repeat them, and honestly millions do every year.
But do I know him? And more importantly, do I presume to know him? Actually, I would answer no to both those questions. I do not have a deep understanding of who he is. It is for this reason that I read this book. This is a discovery journey, an entry into a far-off land. For me, Narnia.
"Now, in fact, Jesus and his words have never belonged to the categories of dogma or law, and to read them as if they did is simply to miss them."
I paused here to think upon the meaning of this simple little phrase. First, we have the contrast of what the words of Jesus are not. They are not dogma, a list of beliefs to be memorized and defended. They are not law, a list of actions to be done or not done. Jesus' words were neither of these, yet how many times do we treat them just... like... that. I think I spend an entire evening on just this revelation alone. After all, I spent years of my life approaching Jesus with the questions, "What am I supposed to do?" or "What am I supposed to believe." A friend says something interesting about life, how am I supposed to respond? I'm thrown into a situation I've never seen before, how do I react? Tell me Jesus, give me the magical answer and then be off to sprout goodness in the lives of everyone else who knocks on your door with a question of similar urgency.
Isn't this true? Isn't this how we approach the Creator of the universe? Solve my problems. Give me the answers. Show me the solution. Perhaps it's my mathematical background speaking, but this is a trap I fell into for many, many years. I'm sure I still do. That's because I still view Jesus' words as representing both dogma and law. And yet...
"He himself described his words as 'spirit and life' (John 6:63)"
Spirit and life. I've read this statement over and over again, and still I'm clueless as to its meaning. John has always been my favorite of the gospels (next comes Luke, then Mark, then Matthew) namely because I feel there is so much more to John that I cannot see. It's complexity intrigues me, and the mere reading of its words brings to me the sense of greatness and wonder, pointing to mysteries of life that I am not even close to understanding. Much like these two simple words. Spirit and life.
His words are life. Not his words bring life, or point to life, but his words are life. They are full of it. The actual verse in John says:
63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Life. We are alive. Why would we need more life? I actually don't think it's a matter of degree. No such thing as 'more alive' or 'less alive', just as we aren't dead vs. nearly dead. We are one or the other. Dead or alive. Jesus speaks of a life in his words. Is he referring to a physical life or something beyond the physical? Have we been dead this whole time without knowing it? If so, what does it mean to be... alive. That is a question I intend to answer. I hate the thought of being dead the rest of my life.
"Jesus and his early associates overwhelmed the ancient world because they brought into it a stream of life at its deepest, along with the best information possible on the most important matters... The people initially impacted by that message generally concluded that they would be fools to disregard it. That was the basis of their conversion."
You mean they didn't believe the message because they wanted to get into Heaven? Or because they wanted to be 'good'? Or because it was popular and socially acceptable? Where is this message that teaches reality, not rules.
"It is the failure to understand Jesus and his words as reality and vital information about life that explains why, today, we do not routinely teach those who profess allegiance to him how to do what he said was best."
"More than any other single thing, in any case, the practical irrelevance of actual obedience to Christ accounts for the weakened effect of Christianity in the world today."
What is Christianity without Christ? It is the Christianity of today. In many ways, it was the Christianity I grew up with. A list of things not to do. I list of facts to believe. A group of arguments to defend. A place to go. A reputation to uphold. A self-smug satisfaction of having answers that others missed. This is doctrine, dogma, and a modern-day debacle. But it is NOT Christianity. A Christian is one who obeys Christ (the word literally translates to "little Christs"). And in order to do that, you have to understand what he said. You have to understand him.
His words are life. To be a Christian is to live.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
In the Beginning
For the sake of an exhaustive work, I shall begin with the Foreword of the work. I often find marvelous gems of thought are contained in these simplified summaries that are so often overlooked in modern works. Indeed, some books can be completely summarized by what the author chooses to include in the introduction. All else becomes extrapolation on a point that has already been stated. I do not believe this to be the case with The Divine Conspiracy (but speaking of summaries, I might have to start referring to it as TDC for the sake of sanity).
The Foreword to TDC is written by Richard J. Foster, a man I have not heard of. He writes that TDC is "the book I have been searching for all my life." He ranks Willard's writings with that of Martin Luther, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and even St. Augustine. The strange thing is that, even after only a chapter into it, I find myself wanting to agree with him.
Foster lists three main properties of the book that astound him. First is comprehensive nature of the book (hence my desire to also be comprehensive in my study of it). The book is a finale of three works, and yet it is marvel unto itself, completing the task it sets out to do. The other two books are not in my possession at this time, but that will probably change depending on the success of my endeavor here.
But back to the book at hand. Foster describes it as creating a Weltanschauung (I love that he uses that exact word), meaning a worldview. In layman's terms, the basics that this book sets down allow for me as a reader to make sense of everything else in the world. This is because it allows me "to make sense out of the whole of the biblical record." Logically it follows that once I make sense out of God's handbook for life, the rest of life will also make sense.
For those of you who enjoy sneekpeaks, Foster then goes into the highlights we can expect to see... if only you will continue following for the next twenty weeks. :) These include an authentic look at the Sermon on the Mount, contemporary materialism, and the destructive church ideology of "sin management", a concept which I am all too familiar with. I have been told by others who have read this book, that that chapter alone was enough to save their faith.
The second appealing factor to the book is the accessibility. Yes, it's written by a "world-class philosopher", but it is written for the common person. It's meant to be practical. It's meant to be applicable. It's meant to be understood. Dallas Willard does not theorize on life-changing ideas without figuring out how exactly they can change your life. For this reason alone I can recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the world and their place in it.
The third property listed is the book's depth. It is clear that Willard regards Jesus as a "serious, intelligent, fully competent Teacher. He writes, 'Jesus is not just nice, he is brilliant.'" Jesus is brilliant. I don't know that I've ever considered that thought before. Wise? Yes. Clever? Yes! Have you ever read how he outsmarts the greatest intellectuals of his day? His answers leave them speechless, so much so to the point that they stop asking him questions altogether. But brilliant as a teacher? In what way? I think he means quite brilliant in the manner and approach he uses to reach everyone of every type of life every where. And I don't mean today, I mean at the time when Jesus was teaching. Willard, who has studied Jesus' life far more than I, must have learned something about the way Jesus taught that was ingenious. I also happen to be a teacher, so naturally I am eager to find out what this is.
Finally, Foster is impressed by the book's warmth. He describes it quite simply as "a feast for the mind and the heart." I will be honest with you, as I always hope to be. I am a glutton when it comes to my mind. To me, wisdom and knowledge are like ice cream and cake, without the gnarly side-effects of diabetes and cavities. I devour books. I consume them. I sink my eyes into them until I find their sweet and savory core, then I throw them away as I move on to my next meal. Yet here, in the pages of this book, I find myself becoming so full that I must excrete my thoughts upon these pages lest my brain explode. There you have it. I've just compared my thoughts to excrement. The blog can only go up from here. And yet you now have an answer to the question why I chose to start doing this, and will likely continue doing this, until my feast is consumed. Until next time, I bid you good reading.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Introduction
I may not be able to write a book, but I certainly know how to read one, and this blog is about a book. But it's not just any book. I have read books. Many books. Hundreds of books. Perhaps even thousands. I have read books on quite a few academic subjects, from philosophy to British military history to classical prose and contemporary poetry. I have read books on music and on love. I've read books that make me wonder and books that make me bored. Quite a few books have made me angry; two have made me cry (
Les Miserables & The Shack). But no book, no literary work in all of my scholastic and academic history, has ever made me want to write a blog.
Until now.
Don't get me wrong, I greatly enjoy writing. I used to write on a daily basis, and perhaps for that reason I am returning to write again. But to do so requires an inspiration of sorts that is, in a word, uncanny. After all, writing every day for half a year is a daunting task. Even with great inspiration creativity tends to arrive in short bundles and bursts. For me to even consider this feat would be to assume that the material I am writing on is inspiration so incredible that it will never run dry. I submit to you, my dear readers, that I have found such a book.
It shall be my task over this next year to prove to you, through various discussions, ponderings, and exclamatory proclamations, that the material in this book is so life and game changing that it deserves, not only a blog, but your readership as well. You are free to judge to what extent I accomplish this task, and if you're feeling bold, perhaps even read along with me. Until tomorrow, I bid you good reading.
Les Miserables & The Shack). But no book, no literary work in all of my scholastic and academic history, has ever made me want to write a blog.
Until now.
Don't get me wrong, I greatly enjoy writing. I used to write on a daily basis, and perhaps for that reason I am returning to write again. But to do so requires an inspiration of sorts that is, in a word, uncanny. After all, writing every day for half a year is a daunting task. Even with great inspiration creativity tends to arrive in short bundles and bursts. For me to even consider this feat would be to assume that the material I am writing on is inspiration so incredible that it will never run dry. I submit to you, my dear readers, that I have found such a book.
"The Divine Conspiracy"
by Dallas Willard
It shall be my task over this next year to prove to you, through various discussions, ponderings, and exclamatory proclamations, that the material in this book is so life and game changing that it deserves, not only a blog, but your readership as well. You are free to judge to what extent I accomplish this task, and if you're feeling bold, perhaps even read along with me. Until tomorrow, I bid you good reading.
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