Marginal Christianity

“Christ isn't merely a person. He is a road too. And the person who believes him takes the same road he took. There is no christology without christopraxis, no knowledge of Christ without the practice of Christ. We cannot grasp Christ merely with our heads or our hearts. We come to understand him through a total, all-embracing embracing practice of living; and that means discipleship. In the Reformation period, the Anabaptist Hans Denk put it by saying: 'No one is able verily to know Christ except he follow him in life.' Discipleship is the holistic knowledge of Christ, and for the people involved it has a cognitive as well as an ethical relevance: it means knowing and doing both.” ( Jesus Christ for Today's World Kindle loc. 501-508)  

Richard Rohr proposes five truths males need to face up to in order to grow and mature: Life is hard You are not important  Your life is not about you You are not in control  You are going to die I think that’s right. But I think it is of more general applicability. These five statements are essentially the message of Ecclesiastes. What life “under the sun,” apart from God, is and feels like. We do our best to fight against these realities but mostly end up screwing ourselves and others up in the process. And then we die. Living with God doesn’t mean life won’t feel like this. That’s life in a fallen world. God and his covenantal relationship to us is all that keeps our heads on straight and our heart centered where they need to be. And strengthens us to find our significance and security in relation to God rather than the myriads of other ways we try to find it. 

Onward and upward is the hope of any and every people group no matter how large or small. Human betterment is an obvious and understandable goal for all to aspire to. The church too sends out missionaries and other workers to aid in such betterment. Sometimes we’re even tempted to believe it might just happen! And in certain ways and places it has. Yet even as the church engages in such work for human betterment, we (should) live by a theology of ministry that follows Jesus’ own pattern of engagement – a cruciform, or cross-centered, pattern. His resurrection validated and vindicated this cruciform pattern of life for Jesus’ followers between his ascension and return. And that’s where the rub comes for many of us. We seem to think that Jesus’ victory through his resurrection means that his followers in history will (or should) be victorious too. That is, we believe the church should be -a cultural power, -a moral exemplar and judge, and -a major contributor to human ...

by Pete Enns | Aug 7, 2017 | Christian faith and life , doubt | 32 Comments In my last post , we looked at your 5 biggest challenges to staying Christian from a survey I took a few years ago. Now let’s move on and talk about moving forward amid those challenges. I’m a little nervous about using language of “moving on” and “moving forward,” since that could imply   minimizing the challenges — “Oh that’s not really a problem. Here’s the answer, now move on.” I avoid that common pattern like mold on bread. To get us started, below are my present thoughts on addressing and living with the challenges to staying Christian. In the comments section you can interact with them or add your own. To be extra clear, I am not in any way, shape, or form suggesting that what I think is mandate for the rest of you, an attempt at an iron-clad defense of Christianity, or an etched-in-stone “here I stand” statement. But this is where I am. You are, of course, free to acce...

Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist. – Pablo Picasso Vincent Van Gogh is widely known today as a typically eccentric artist. He might not have invented Impressionism, but he was the first to paint stars swirling uncontrollably in the night sky, or to depict sunflowers as golden explosions, or the sky on fire above a wheatfield. His pictures were vivid, wild, daring, chaotic, full of bright yellows and deep blues. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to visit the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and be surrounded by a room full of his work –  Sunflowers ,  Irises ,  Almond Blossom ,  The Bedroom  and  Potato Eaters  – you’ll know the powerful visceral effect it can have. And yet, if you go to the 2nd floor to the “Van Gogh Close Up” exhibit you’ll find scores of meticulous drawings of hands and feet made by Vincent when he was beginning to learn art. And then it dawns on you – Vincent didn’t simply pick up a brush and...

Wed, 01/03/2017 - 11:48 | Andrew Perriman I’ve just got back from a missions conference at which the idea that believers in general and “missionaries” in particular are being—or should be—transformed into the “image of Christ” got a lot of airtime. I can see what people are getting at. The assumption is that Jesus represents either an ideal way of being human or an ideal way of doing ministry. He’s Jesus, after all! Therefore, to grow towards spiritual maturity is to be conformed to his image. It’s a central plank of evangelical piety. Tim Challies quotes Jerry Bridges : “Christlikeness is God’s goal for all who trust in Christ, and that should be our goal also.” It is used with reference to character: Jesus sets the standard for holiness, love, justice, faithfulness, etc. But it was also suggested at the conference that Jesus perfectly embodies the APEST functions of Ephesians 4:11 in himself, therefore he constitutes the standard for the ministries...

What if the reading of the creation stories in Gen.1-2 offered by Greg Beale that the Garden of Eden, Eden itself, and the uninhabited lands outside Eden symbolize the temple (Garden=Holy of Holies, Eden=Holy Place, uninhabited lands=temple courtyard) and God’s aim is for his image-bearers to extend the boundaries of that Garden Holy of Holies to finally encompass the whole earth making it a place where God can dwell with his people forever is on target. That makes Gen.1:28 the original “Great Commission.” If God’s aim is as just stated then his mandate to turn this planet into a Holy of Holies is what human rebellion disrupted and what God’s call to Abraham and Sarah restarted by dealing with sin in order to fulfill God’s creational design. This means that God’s Tempe-building project is his primary concern and focus. That’s what he’s working on and what calls his followers to work on. This is the “it” the whole God-thing is about (or what we call “salvation”). And this sal...

John (1:9-11) “Discipleship of the Crucified leads necessarily to resistance to idolatry on every front. This resistance is and must be the most important mark of Christian freedom." [1] Ah, this quote – vintage Ernst Käsemann! And a most appropriate way to describe John the Seer. He practiced such freedom and leaves his vision for us that we too may practice such freedom in our age of Trump. The Religion of Trump                                                                                                           Christians, don’t be fooled: Trump h...

Thu, 15/12/2016 - 12:20 | Andrew Perriman In his talk on Daniel 4 this week Barney made passing reference to the “biblical mandate to bring justice by changing the structures of society”. I forget exactly the point he was making, but it would have had something to do with Daniel’s words to Nebuchadnezzar after interpreting the dream about the tree that is cut back to the stump: Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity. ( Dan. 4:27 ) The talk was excellent and stimulated good conversation. But I’m not sure about that throw-away comment. Is there really such a “biblical mandate”? Is it clearly taught in scripture that a central task of the church is to go and bring justice by changing the structures of society? There’s no question that God’s people are expected to demonstrate justice internally , i...

Fr. Stephen Freeman 1 Comment In the minds of many, grace is a legal concept – an expression of the kindness of God in the forgiveness of sins. As such, grace is instant and complete. This fits well within the legal conceptions of salvation. In the classical understanding of the Orthodox faith, salvation can indeed have a quality of “suddenness” – the thief on the Cross found paradise “in a single moment” according to the hymns of the Orthodox Church. But for most people – salvation is a life-long process in which we “work out our salvation from day to day in fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). That experience, like most of life, has a slow quality to it. From  Prayer by the Elder Sophrony: At times prayer seems over-slow in bringing results, and life is so short. Instinctively we cry, “Make haste unto me.” But He does not always respond at once. Like fruit on a tree , our soul is left to scorch in the sun, to endure the cold wind, the scorching wind, to die of thirst or b...

August 09, 2016 / Craig Greenfield Enough with the Christian cliches, people. An unexpected heart attack just snatched the life of a dear friend, so I'm feeling a little raw.  A warrior and a storyteller, she worked fearlessly as a nurse in the refugee camps along the Thai border. Cambodians like my wife, found refuge in her care when they stumbled out of the jungles on the run from the Khmer Rouge regime. For that I will always be grateful. Khmer Rouge child soldiers enter Phnom Penh. Knowing the dangers, my friend and her husband then chose to relocate into Cambodia in the early 90's - a time when pockets of the country were still under siege from the communists. To better serve the poor, they moved into a slum.  It was not comfortable. It was not sanitary. Read more at http://www.craiggreenfield.com/blog/2016/safety

Jun 25, 2016 I used to wonder how large percentages of nations—including many Christian leaders—could support political leaders who advocate racism, misogyny, torture, hate, division, conflict, and authoritarianism . . . But, recently, we’ve seen the rise of political figures (all over the world) appealing to xenophobia and nationalism (and even Christendom). We’ve seen the magnetism of this message, in various parts of the globe, and the acquiescence of Christian leaders. I don’t want to name any particular politician here. In fact, I can think of many contemporary politicians who are appealing to these toxic cultural and social phenomena, all over the globe. The contemporary social conditions are ripe for a certain kind of politics and politician (as we’re seeing in many parts of the world at the moment). Those conditions support racism, misogyny, torture, hate, and authoritarianism. The church needs to address its complicity in these things, and cultivate a distinct ...

Jun 14, 2016 | Posted by Brett McCracken | Christian Life , Church , Politics | 0 comments | Last fall, around the time when Donald Trump first made his infamous call to ban all Muslim immigration to the United States out of fear that it may be a “Trojan Horse” of terrorist infiltration, I wrote a blog post calling for Christians to welcome immigrants and refugees, even if it is costly to us. I wrote: The way of Jesus Christ is not closing doors to asylum-seeking refugees or building walls to keep out foreigners. The way of Jesus Christ is not about forsaking the well-being of others in order to protect one’s ...

Richard Beck Posted on 4.05.2016 This week with an interlocutor I was describing the relationship between my books The Authenticity of Faith and The Slavery of Death . Specifically, I see those two books as my attempt to address, for myself, what I've always struggled with as a central question my own faith journey: How can my belief in God be held non-defensively, non-neurotically and non-violently? Pulling from my books, last spring I summarized my answer to that question in a post, but I want to share that summary again for both my conversation partner and because what follows is, in a condensed form, my best answer to what I consider to be one of the most pressing questions facing people of faith and faith communities: How can our beliefs in God can be held non-defensively, non-neurotically and non-violently? Read more at http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2016/04/believing-in-god-non-defensively.html

          Lent is over. Easter is here. Hot Cross buns have been eaten. Pageants performed. The great Easter hymns sung. But what’s next? Where do we go from here?           Life seems to return to “normal.” But the Easter message is that the Risen Christ has made all things new. What is this newness and how do we identify and participate in it?           Fortunately, C. S. Lewis has given us a wonderful fictional depiction of our participation in Christ’s resurrection triumph. In Prince Caspian , the second in the original published order of the Narnia Chronicles, the four Pevensie children from our world have returned to Aslan’s world of Narnia. There are a great kings and queens. They have been called to aid Prince Caspian, a young royal whose scurrilous uncle had his father killed and claimed the throne of Narnia for himself. Having no male hei...

The Book of the Twelve for Lent 2016 FUD – Zephaniah (1)           Lent 2016 grows old. Holy Week is almost here. The repeated warnings and calls from the Lord for the people to wake up and pay attention to him or calamity, the Day of the Lord, is coming upon them as gone largely unheeded. Yet the Lord continues to cry out to them, hoping against hope, it seems, for a sign of recognition and response. Zephaniah chimes in today keeping God’s voice ringing out clearly to stir the people to repentance.           Perhaps it is good at this point to draw back and ask ourselves why those people of God kept on resisting and resisting his call. Of Jerusalem I thought,      ‘Surely you will fear me     and accept correction!’ Then her place of refuge would not be destroyed,      nor all my punishments come upon her. But they were still eager ...