Quod Scripsi, Scripsi

The Kingdom of Heaven

I’ve been wondering what the relation might be between the things I’m reading by McLaren and things I’m reading by Zacharias and others in his ministry. The concept of the Kingdom of Heaven being on Earth, here and now, and being relevant to every aspect of our daily lives is certainly counter to the major trends of the protestant church. I subscribe to “A Slice of Infinity” from rzim.org, and I got a jolt from today’s missive: “On Earth as it is in Heaven“.

Comparing this to McLaren’s books like “The Secret Message of Jesus” and “A Generous Orthodoxy” makes me wonder how much they read of each other. Something is happening…

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I finally saw this film last night, unintentionally. It disturbed me in ways that I’m still processing. The style is similar to Natural Born Killers, but it’s a romance. The point, it seems, is that love is not a series of shared memories or an electro-chemical reaction. Erasing the physical remnants of a person won’t remove them. Love is both a choice and a reminder that we are still children of mystery, shaped by our choices and choices made for us. Shaped also by whom we choose to love – if we can choose.

I’ve been where Joel was, many of us have been. It’s not a place I return to willingly.

The poem that Kirsten Dunst quotes.

The Emergent Church

I’ve been reading Brian McLaren’s books lately. He says a lot of things that I’ve been thinking for a long, long time. I come from an interesting religious background, part Roman, part Orthodox, mostly conservative Protestant. My political views are not easy to categorize, but tend to be based on the actual situation rather than any party line. I’ve taken some heat for arguing that no Christian can be a politician and remain true to the faith. The essence of democracy is compromise, and representation of the majority view even when that view conflicts with the personal views of the representative. I’m not sure yet what to think about some of the arguments McLaren makes about the teachings of Jesus and their relation to political and social involvement. I’m trying to sort out my own biases from genuine criticism.

I do absolutely agree with much of his thought on ecumenism, liturgy, cultural versus transformative Christianity, and a host of other issues. The ways that Christians have read and used Scripture have always intrigued and somewhat baffled me. I remember sitting in sunday school when I was only six or seven and hearing the teacher say that we know that the Bible is perfect because it says it is. That made my little head hurt.

As I continue to wrestle with the issues McLaren is raising, I’m getting a little nervous. I thought I’d found a nice box to keep my faith in, wrapped in Apologetics and debate, sipping tea and reading C.S. Lewis by the fire. McLaren quotes Lewis quite a bit, along with many other brilliant Christians. In fact, there seems to be quite a bit of crossover with the types of quotes and arguments in the books I’m reading by Ravi Zacharias. Hmm. My little head hurts.