Believers are Dangerous

Well, since my last confession, several things have happened. We got a call from the doctor on Tuesday after Misty and the girls left for Texas. Looks like she will need surgery after all. So pray for her and for the rest of the family while mom recuperates. My four girls have been out and about since Tuesday morning and my house has never been quieter. I like quiet for a while, but it is getting old. I just want to tell some child to pipe down.

This quiet week was spent preparing for our church musical patriotic celebration this evening. I will tell you that up until today, I wondered if we would pull it off. But, true to form, the choir and other music groups pulled it together and did a phenomenal job. I wish I had recorded it after all. We had a covered dish supper and then our program of patriotic music. It went well and there was a full, very responsive house. I will refrain from discussing the fact that we had more at the patriotic shindig than we had in church this morning. God and country always seem to have a way of bringing out the best in people. I guess I should just be happy about it and not over analyze it. It was well-received and another point of endearment. It is nice to have fans.

In other news, last week I found out my "Understanding Music" class at the community college did not make. Well, this week, I was commandeered to teach another section of the course that did make but had no teacher. Odd, I know. So, now I have to prepare for a class with at least 30 students in it that I will start tomorrow evening. Funny, because of the timing, I missed the first two class meetings. At least I will get paid for the class and I do not have to prepare very much. It is nice to teach classes for which I already know all the answers.

I was watching this episode of Firefly, a cancelled sci-fi television show from a few years back, the other day. One of the main characters was a shepherd, a 26th century version of a pastor. In this episode, a very disturbed, yet highly intelligent young woman gets hold of the shepherd's Bible and begins to make corrections and ripping out problem passages. She starts telling him all that is wrong with it mathematically. Noah's ark is a problem. She wants to fix the Bible. The shepherd takes the Bible from her and tells her that you don't fix the Bible. It fixes you. I thought this was a good way to explain what faith does for us. It is not about everything in the Bible having to make perfect sense, but about the way it infiltrates us and changes us.

The movie follow up to the series, Serenity, also brings up the subject of believers. In a negative light, it discusses a man who is determined to undermine the plans of some of the main characters. This man is called a believer, and believers are dangerous because they do not see anything but what they believe. I have thought about this a good deal, how important it is to have something to truly believe in. It appears that most of us only pretend to be believers. Clearly, most of us are not dangerous and only true believers are willing to die for their cause.

This week I go back to Alabama for the second session with my ordination counselor. I was worried about it, but I have come to terms with my issues. I am sure things will be fine. But even if they are not, I know God will have a plan. He always seems to have a plan, whether or not I understand it or not--whether I like it or not. So, I might as well get used to it.

I got a new Bible this week called the Orthodox Study Bible. I have been tracking the progress of St. Athanasius' Academy's English version of the Septuagint since they began over a decade ago. The translation was begun by the same group of former evangelicals who entered the Antiochian Orthodox Church several years ago after searching out the ancient faith. [Their spiritual journey was chronicled in the book Becoming Orthodox by Peter Gilquist.] It purports to be a definitive translation of the Greek Old Testament for Orthodox Christians and contains commentary from an Orthodox perspective as well as thoughts from the Church Fathers. It is based on the New King James version of the Bible, but has some interesting differences in translation, not to mention its inclusion of the apocryphal books included in the Septuagint. You know, I like the Maccabees and Sirach as much as the next guy, though I must admit it is interesting and a little unnerving to see them and all the canonical books in Orthodox order. And, no, Malachi is not the last book of the Orthodox Old Testament. I have decided to try to read through this Bible during the rest of 2008. Should be fun, you know, in an Orthodox way.

I came across this passage in Genesis 16 concerning Hagar and Sarah. It is the passage in which Sarah offers Hagar to Abraham in order to raise up children since Sarah is barren. Hagar conceives and Sarah is jealous, behaves rather badly, and throws the now pregnant Hagar out of her house. Hagar is on the run and running out of options. The Angel of the Lord, a theophany in Orthodox understanding, calls out to Hagar and promises that her son will be a great nation. Hagar then calls God "the God who sees me" in this new Orthodox translation, as opposed to only the "God who sees" as the NKJV translates the verse. It is amazing how one word changes the entire meaning for me. Imagine, God sees me, and that is his name. He is known as the God who sees me. When I feel alone and do not seem to know how to cope, the God who sees me is there. It makes me want to be a dangerous believer.

Peace.

Christians: No One Path to Salvation

I found this significant article from Time about the role religion is playing in America these days. It appears the monolithic evangelical movement is not what it once was. Here are some excerpts:

By DAVID VAN BIEMA Mon Jun 23, 3:30 PM ET

"Americans of every religious stripe are considerably more tolerant of the beliefs of others than most of us might have assumed, according to a new poll released Monday. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life last year surveyed 35,000 American, and found that 70% of respondents agreed with the statement "Many religions can lead to eternal life." Even more remarkable was the fact that 57% of Evangelical Christians were willing to accept that theirs might not be the only path to salvation, since most Christians historically have embraced the words of Jesus, in the Gospel of John, that "no one comes to the Father except through me." Even as mainline churches had become more tolerant, the exclusivity of Christianity's path to heaven has long been one of the Evangelicals' fundamental tenets. The new poll suggests a major shift, at least in the pews."

"The survey's biggest challenge is to the theologians and pastors who will have to reconcile their flocks' acceptance of a new, polyglot heaven with the strict admission criteria to the gated community that preceded it."

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The only religious groups to have a high majority of their adherents believe their religion was the only way to eternal life were the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses. Thoughts?

A Tale of Two Weeks

So it has been a couple of weeks since I last felt the necessity to comment on la vie Keaton. I spent a week preparing to go on vacation and a week on vacation and now I am back preparing to get back into life as usual, basically.

It has been almost two weeks since I ventured north to Prattville, Alabama to meet with the conference marriage and family therapist. As it turned out, this initial visit was just that--and initial consultation, a get to know you time that lasted only about thirty minutes. It was a bit of a let down since it takes over 3.5 hours to get to Prattville from Panama City and with the price of gas continuing to rise, it was a fairly expensive 30 minute tete-a-tete. Even better, I will get to go back the week after next (July 1 to be exact) to have the longer consultation in which we will discuss the results of my psychological evaluations that I took more than a month ago now. I am trying not to stress about this, and right now nothing is bothering me. I just may have had a decent vacation after all. The rest of the week was pointless since I was about to leave. I just had to make sure that things ran smoothly for Sunday (which I hope they did) and that I would be ready to walk right back in the next Sunday (which I hope to do).

So, last Saturday we left for central Florida. The only reason we ended up going to Lakeland was because every other time share in the Southeastern United States, with the exception of the horrible one we stayed at a couple of years ago, was booked months ago. So, with some reservations, we headed down I-75 toward Tampa. We had an uneventful trip in my little Toyota RAV-4. The girls watched the Brady Bunch most of the way down. We checked in 7 hours later at a nice condo with two bedrooms, a full kitchen, dining room, etc. It was nice.

We had planned to do little things and then maybe go to Disney one day since it was less than an hour away. We started out by visiting Cypress Gardens, the oldest amusement park in Florida, on Father's Day. A few years ago it was almost closed, but was bought out by Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia, just up the interstate. It was a lot like Wild Adventures, especially the rides. The girls really liked it. Unlike most amusement parks, they had a lot of rides geared toward children, so we had a lot to choose from. Emma has not been real big on riding roller coasters, but this time around I got her to ride all of the roller coasters in the park. Most of them were really tame compared to the ones at Six Flags or Universal Studios, so I thought this would be a good time to experiment. We got to ride an old fashioned wooden roller coaster that used to be in Panama City Beach called the Starliner. She did not care for that one too much, but she loved the more modern ones, especially this one called the Swamp Thing in which your feet hang out the bottom. I had never been on one of those before. The things we will do for our children.

Monday we stayed in Lakeland and went to their Children's museum. The girls really liked learning and playing there. We spent the afternoon at the pool. Later that night we went to the Rib Crib for dinner. After this little outing, Mommy got sick. It seems that she has been having some trouble lately. Tuesday we went back to Cypress Gardens since we had a second day free. Mommy did not ride that day and we left kind of early because she still did not feel well. Daddy took the little girls to the pool that afternoon while Mommy rested.

Wednesday, we decided to go into Tampa and visit the Florida Aquarium. It is really nice, much like the Dallas World Aquarium. We had a good time looking at fish and sharks and other aquatic life. Mommy started feeling bad, so we cut our day short and decided it was time to come home. So, Mommy called the doctor and we left Thursday morning to come home to make an appointment Friday morning. So, Misty went to the doctor this morning and has to have a battery of tests because they think it is her gall bladder for real. We have thought this was a possibility for some time, but Mommy, much like Daddy, refuses to go to the doctor when she should. So, instead of leaving for Texas on Monday as she had planned, Misty will be having blood tests and a sonogram of some sort. She will then leave on Tuesday to go back to Texas for a shorter visit. So, pray for us. Misty is not worried, but we hope it is not something really serious. While she was at the doctor today, I decided to get a little sick myself. I am feeling better now, just troublesome allergies and a headache to boot. Welcome back to northwest Florida to me!

All is Relative

Well, it has been several days since I was inspired enough to write something down.

This week was absolutely crazy at church. We had vacation Bible school, which was fine. It just meant that I was not able to accomplish much during the mornings and then, when I was able to work, I had to watch my children. So, not as much accomplished as I would like. And, our ministers were out and about this past week, so the rest of us kind of had to keep things afloat.

My handbell choir performed today at two of the services. I enjoy having them play but it is a lot of work to get ready for a performance. This week was worse. Because of VBS, I had to set up and tear down the bells and tables 3 times. Not fun. Wednesday night we had this picnic on the lawn and the worship team played some songs while Choir practice was going on, Misty was out of town so I was in charge of the children, and I had to get the choir and handbells together because the bells were accompanying the choir Sunday. It was a little bit of a disaster, but eventually we got it together. Today, the performance went fine. We played three songs, the last of which with the Choir and all in all things were good. It was our last hurrah for the season.

I realized today that if I did not know I needed a vacation, I do now. So, we will leave for central Florida this next weekend and I intend to be gone as long as possible, which, turns out to be a week. I have already got everything ready for the Sunday I am gone and for the one on which I return, so I don't have to worry about anything for a while.

Tuesday, I get to visit with the conference counselor to continue in the ordination process. Because I am nervous about it, I am planning to go up to Prattville, Alabama, just north of Montgomery tomorrow evening so I can have some time to settle down before my appointment at 10:00 Tuesday morning. I do not think this will be an ordeal, but I over-analyze everything and so I really could stand to have a calm night before the inquisition. Pray that they do not immediately admit me to an institution. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my children, but I have been with them almost 24-7 for the last three weeks and they are driving me bonkers. It will do me some good to have one night away. Misty has gotten a couple of nights away over the last few months, so it is my turn. I am planning to take a book and read in quiet. It will be a nice respite before my vacation with the children. The following week, Misty and the girls will go back to Texas for about two weeks. Then my real vacation will begin. Of course, after a day or so I will really miss them, but absence does make the heart grow fonder.

In other news ~ Obama is the Democratic candidate. I have never heard so many folks tell me they are afraid of him. Hard to tell if this is just political or if it has a little bit of a racial tinge to it. Thoughts?

The gay Episcopalian bishop of New Hampshire, Rev. V. Gene Robinson got married yesterday. Well, it was a civil union, which is legal in New Hampshire. Where does one register for a gay wedding?

I have been reading this book Head and Heart: American Christianities by Garry Wills. The book discusses the different facets of Christianities in American history and how different groups helped shape national trends in Christianity. There is a long discussion on the separation of church and state, the Great Awakenings, and slavery and other issues that divided the church regionally. I wonder, how much of our reading of the Scriptures or our understanding of God is based on the time in which we live and how others around us view them? I like to think of myself as a liberal kind of guy, open to ideas. But I wonder what side of some the very divisive issues in American church history I would have come down on had I been there to come up with an unbiased decision. Is my understanding and compassion towards certain hot topic issues completely biased by the fact that I live in the 21st century? Would I be so open-minded if I lived 100 years ago?

There is a song by Gavin DeGraw called "Relative." Most of it is not really appropriate to discuss on this blog, no matter how true it might be. But the chorus goes something like this:

And all is relative, relative

Everything is relative, yes it is

It's all about the way we receive it

How much we believe it

Depending on the life you lead, if you lead it

Compare it to yourself

Compared to someone else, you care

And if you pick the threads in your closet, the cash in your wallet

The color of the skin in your blood, and how you got it

Compare it to yourself

Compared to someone else, you care

I remember back in high school we talked about relativism as this great evil, and maybe it is. But I wonder how many of our beliefs are based on a certain relativism? These could be things we believe in or things we stand against, but how does the time in which we live effect our understandings of these beliefs? Maybe I am grasping at straws here, and maybe I am just tired and cannot quite communicate my feelings, but there was a time when people in the north and south were able to biblically support the institution of slavery and I do not think there is a person alive today who thinks slavery is a good thing. Truth is, it has not been that long ago that people of color were not welcomed in the church where I work, but, thankfully, that is not the case today at all. Or take something ridiculous by comparison: There was a time when a person would have been asked to leave a church if they were not dressed appropriately. In most circles, this is considered ludicrous now, but it was a deal breaker back in the day. Will there come a day when some of our hotbed issues, like homosexuality or insert other issue here, are viewed in the same manner?

Well, I seek your prayers as I begin this next round of the "process." God help me.

Do you need a passport to go to Alabama?