AM I ALLOWED TO PAINT GOD?

The second commandment of the celebrated ten, forbids making images of God or false gods that may become objects of worship.

I have a question. I won’t resolve it with this blog entry but I will ask it and speculate about it. As an artist, I wish to know whether that prevents me from painting an image of God if my intention is purely aesthetic rather than devotional.

JESUS IS ADEQUATE. JESUS IS ENOUGH. JESUS IS ALL YOU NEED.

JESUS IS ADEQUATE. JESUS IS ENOUGH. JESUS IS ALL YOU NEED.

Is it possible that some Christians in some Christian churches and leaders of some Christian congregations today are actually practicing aspects of faith to which the apostle Paul would object?

Paul maintained tenaciously that Jesus Christ is entirely adequate and nothing more than a faith relationship with Christ is required for admission to the presence of God the Father and a life with God beyond this earthly time. Sometimes church leaders, programs and practices which should remain supportive of the primary focus upon Christ, expect a loyalty that implies the relationship with Christ is dependent upon these ancillary aspects.

CHRISTMAS DAY DECEMBER 25, 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

ALL THE WEALTH IN THE WORLD

I’m a senior and I tire more easily than you. I tire of prosperity preachers who shamelessly urge people to live right and get rich. I also tire of preachers who teach about money with a controlling agenda to increase your giving to the church. Yet I do believe that an understanding of economy within God’s frame of reference will lead to generous, responsible charitable donations.

THE BIBLE- THE RING OF TRUTH & ALIVE WITH POWER

John Bertram Phillips (J.B.)

What seems like five millennia ago, when I was a young college student, I came across the Philips translation of the New Testament. It was such a refreshing way to read scripture. It was the product of John Bertram Phillips or, J. B. Phillips, who was an English Bible scholar, translator, author and clergyman. He learned that the young people that attended Church of the Good Shepherd in London UK, where he was minister, did not understand the King James Authorized Version of the Bible. During the London blitz of World War II, he spent hours in bomb shelters, time which he used to begin a translation of the New Testament into modern English, starting with the Epistle to the Colossians. His results had great appeal for his young people who found it easier to understand. Encouraged by this, following the war, he continued his rendering of the New Testament into colloquial English, completed it and it was published with great commercial success.

BACK TO THE ORIGINAL

I admit that my estimation about bible scripture is an unoriginal position. I believe that God inspired human authors to write the words that reveal his salvation blueprint for humanity and these words are contained within both the Old and New Testaments. Because they are God’s words they remain the definitive authority for knowledge about God and He is to be believed, trusted and obeyed on the basis of what he says in scripture. I am unapologetic for this position.

An original position would be something akin to this.

JESUS REGARDED THE OLD TESTAMENT AS GOD'S WORD

We are told that Jesus explained his identity and purpose using Old Testament scripture as resource material. Please read this bit of evidence.

According to Luke’s account, there was an occasion soon after Christ’s resurrection from death and the grave, Jesus made an appearance to two of the disciples who were walking on a road that would take them from Jerusalem to Emmaus, seven miles away. They were as yet unaware of the resurrection reality and were discussing everything that had transpired over the past several days.

DEHISTORIZING THE OLD TESTAMENT

Don’t bother reading this unless you have the time and the interest. The theme is, ‘Why would you Ignore the Old Testament?’ Some Christians disparage the Old Testament.

Christians have generally regarded the Old Testament as God’s Word and have often found pleasure in Proverbs and spiritual inspiration in Psalms. Christian preachers worthy of the calling have confirmed their proficiencies by drawing profound applications from Old Testament historical narratives.

Many Christians today are dismissing the Old Testament because they find parts of it morally offensive or quite bluntly, irrelevant.

WHETHER PLAYING OR PRAYING, FOLLOW A GOOD EXAMPLE

Do you want to play? Moe Norman was a Canadian golfer who, some say suffered from autism. It’s possible because he had societal challenges and his speech was sometimes confusing, but on the autism spectrum he was likely a genius, certainly as far as the biomechanics of his golf swing was concerned. He developed a unique uncomplicated swing with a simple grip. He won some Canadian golf championships but never made it in the PGA past a couple of appearances in the Master’s tournament. Professional golfers in any decade including Michelson, Woods, Zach Johnson still today say Norman was likely the most accurate striker of the ball that has ever played. People who have heeded his advice have knocked 20 strokes off their game because they learn to hit the ball straight time after time. What about praying?

ILL-INFORMED ECCLESIOLOGY

With hands together and fingers extended like the spire of a church, the dated rhyme was recited when I was a child. “Here’s the church, and here’s the steeple, open the door and see all the people.” I had no idea that I was quoting faulty theology. Actually, the terms ‘church’ and ‘people’ are not distinct from one another. Academically most of us understand that ‘church’ is people rather than stone, concrete, dry wall and seating. Church is people, each of whom is a living temple in which God’s Holy Spirit lives. Scripture uses the Greek word ekklesia, meaning assembly to convey the idea of ‘church.’ The theology of the child’s rhyme is improve if we change it to, “Here’s the building and on top is a steeple, open the doors and the church is the people.’

BORED AT CHURCH? THINKING OF CHANGING?

Mr. Bean 

I will dish out two credits as I start. One goes to Micah Lang who wrote the article ‘When Good Pastors Preach Boring Sermons,’ that I reference today from the Relevant magazine and the second kudo goes to Drew Unruh, an entrepreneurial nephew who asked me what my thoughts were on the article.

The content struck a chord with me because I have found myself doing the very thing for which I want to indict others.

WEAR YOUR WHITE POPPY TOMORROW

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada. The sentiment expressed by a white poppy is commendable but the employment of it on Remembrance Day in lieu of the red poppy is inappropriate. In a democratic society people should have a choice and not feel vilified if they wear a white poppy. I can concur with that because democracy and that freedom of statement and choice is the outcome of lives laid down by valiant Canadians fighting to preserve it. It is advisable and preferable that a white poppy be worn on any other day of the year than Remembrance Day. It is understandable that a sensitive uproar broke out in Canada when the Royal Canadian Legion accused peace activists of hijacking their red poppy symbol by selling white poppies. Red poppies are not a defense for or justification of war, but a commemoration of the human cost to insure our peace.

DO WE OWN ANYTHING?

'Pop's Cycle,' acrylic 11X14
by Ron Unruh

Were you aware that when I sell you one of my original paintings, I as the artist, retain exclusive rights to the image, unless I have sold duplication privileges to you. Is it that way with God?

In a recent family conversation we expressed opinions about ownership and God, essentially whether we own anything or whether we must acknowledge that God owns everything.

SOMETHING IN CHURCH IS EMERGING ALRIGHT

Some analysts say that colossal transitions in the church occur about every 500 years. They also suggest that we may be in such a time. That implies displeasure in what the church presently is, or how it functions. Something is emerging in the church - dissatisfaction. Do you share this?

CHECK YOUR FACTS OR SOMEONE ELSE WILL

“Really?” I have heard that one word question a few times when discussing with others what they heard from respected pastors in a sermon. And it’s not just millenials who are checking the facts. When preachers tell stories or illustrate key points with anecdotes purported as fact, rest assured, a few people are scrutinizing the evidence. Increasing numbers of churchgoers are living with internet constancy, and that means that when the ear flags a questionable statement, google or Snopes are referenced immediately, and you may have lost that hearer for the duration. Get your facts straight. Don’t spew myths. Don’t fail to do your homework on the stories as well as the bible text. Check your facts so your credibility remains convincing.

THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION

Well it may be Halloween, but the 31st October, is important for a far more significant reason than costumes and candy. This is the day in 1517 when a Catholic monk named Martin Luther, nailed a list of demands for church reform on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. That gesture demanded church reform and led to the creation of Protest-ant churches of the 16th century.

While the gospel spins from this historical event, it would seem a great opportunity for churches today to explain to other religious groups and secular listeners and readers, the importance of freedom of speech and freedom of faith. It would also be appropriate for students of the Bible who are also students of today’s issues, to tell the world what the Bible says about a surplus of concerns that are persistently in our news. The Bible teaches about economy, equality, gender justice, sexuality, cooperation, compassion, wealth and poverty, environmental management, social service and more.

MEDICALLY ASSISTED DEATH

There is no definitive answer in this article. I am making some statements and asking some questions. Death on request or aid to suicide violates deeply-rooted moral beliefs of most faiths and is deemed ethically unjustifiable. These beliefs have most certainly influenced our civic laws. In Canada euthanasia and assisted suicide are forbidden. Ten years ago the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against physician-assisted suicide when Sue Rodriguez petitioned to end her life. Recent cases are again challenging that ruling? Journalists evoke approval of assisted death by emotionally describing the petitioners’ desire to leave their pain behind. Anti-doctor-assisted suicide proponents ask whether legalization implies a normalization and approval of euthanasia, turning it into an ordinary and established element of medical and clinical practice. Should this legislation be changed? If the ruling isn’t changed, and if the church continues to oppose this practice, it must realize a responsibility to suffering people, to help them deal with the experience of meaningless suffering. Civil libertarians assert that the right to life does not imply an obligation to live. This debate will not go away. They will say that neither from a legal nor a Christian point of view have we the right to oblige others to live or to go on living. Do we or don't we?

POST CONSERVATIVE EVANGELICALS

When my theology was in its formative stages, I was instructed by Great Tradition evangelicals. It was a conservative Evangelical theology that accepted the Bible as God’s inspired and trustworthy word. At the same time I was aware of scholars and theologians who attempted to reform or correct the great faith traditions. Reform or correction was accomplished by questioning divine authorship of parts of the Bible.

THE POSTMODERN MIND AND THE CHRISTIAN

A large percentage of people today have a naturalistic worldview and a relativistic morality. For them truth is perceptual and subjective rather than objective and absolute. Experience and observation determine whether something is true or false, and that renders a variable reality, which differs from person to person and culture to culture.

CHALLENGING THE ONE WAY STREET

Christianity avows its uniqueness and asserts that it does matter what a person believes. In fact, speaking of absolute truth, Jesus Christ declared himself to be the Truth: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6, NIV). Postmodernism denies Christ’s claim to be the truth. Postmodernists do not believe that there is only one way to the Father and/or to heaven. Christianity’s claim to uniqueness is interpreted as conceit and intolerance. In the modernist’s mind, all religions, faiths and philosophies are of equal legitimacy. Who are you going to believe? And why?

LABELS SUCK - Metanarrative, Postmodernism

Seriously, terms slurp and labels suck, but we speak with them so I must deal with them, usually to define them before we can carry on normal conversation.
Metanarrative, there’s one, a slurp. It means a grand story or the big story. The Bible may appear as a collection of unrelated stories among a select nation, yet a comprehensive appraisal suggests the Bible is God’s self revelation to the world through a chosen people who experienced God and so give meaning to life as well as define what is true.
Postmodernism, there’s another one, a label. Postmoderns do not believe in metanarratives. They contend that there are no grand stories which convey meaning to life and which define what is true. Postmodernism is a philosophy that says absolute truth does not exist. Typically, postmoderns deny long-held beliefs and maintain that all perspectives are equally valid. In fact, postmodernism rejects absolute truth, and accordingly discards the Bible. In postmodernism, all religion is abridged to mere opinions. Can an opinion get you to heaven?

CHURCH AS BUSINESS

Church today is increasingly business–like. Scripture makes no case for the gathering of Christians being a business. We call these gatherings churches, and collectively they are ‘The Church.’ That collective is described in scripture by terms like body, bride, family, and spiritual house. It is understood in the Bible as a living organism of which Jesus Christ is the head. But church today is increasingly business–like.

ASSESSING CHURCH - WHAT TO LOOK FOR

LOOKING FOR HELP FROM THE WRONG SOURCE

I don’t mean to rag on any individual or group desiring to help congregations but … I can’t help myself. I read with dismay the list of services being offered to churches by a consulting team. Like countless other consulting services, this team has developed strategies based upon working with some of America’s most innovative and fastest growing churches, which if applied to other churches, will unfailingly produce the same cutting edge outcomes. That’s the expectation.

BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION OR GRACE

Listen, I have gone to church since I was a boy. I have a good idea of what I heard then, what I trained to say, and what I hear now. I have been a participant in countless ecclesiastical programs and discussions. We tend to emphasize external change and obedience and underemphasize grace. We preach grace but are sort of afraid of it, lest it lead to recklessness.

INTELLIGENT RISKS

I will assume that if you have been attending church for a long time, you have heard a substantial portion of the Bible’s narratives and teaching sections. With that background, have you given yourself permission to explore the reliability and believability of the stories, that is, to pursue valid clarifications to hard questions about God?

Will intellectual inquiry kill your faith? Is that a concern? If the entire bible is God’s inspired word, shouldn’t the entire volume stand any authentic scrutiny? None of us believe that God wants us to set our intellect on ‘dumb’ simply to maintain faith do we?

FROM CYNICISM TO OPTIMISM

Maybe what needs to occur to modify our thinking about church from cynicism to optimism, is first of all to admit that it has not lived up to our expectations because we had an unrealistic picture of what she was. She is not Paradise. She is not Utopia. She is a gathering of once damaged people all of whom are in stages of recovery. Cynicism dissolves when we rid ourselves of wrong notions. Another thought shaper might be the acceptance of the role of the critic rather than the cynic. Criticism can be energizing to the subject of the criticism when it is genuinely delivered and honourably received. It’s like an objective performance analysis. Finally, a virtuous approach is to be the change that you wish to see in the church. This is far more demanding work than cynicism. It is about action and not merely about words. Yet how often in the past, those who have led by example, have been instrumental in awakening the church to new paradigms and necessary change. Maybe you have to live a radical life. Get past crabbing to contributing once again. If you truly want to become serious about the things that have made you cynical, then you must graduate to objectively speaking about this and living it.

JUST BE THE CHURCH

Or perhaps something more profound must be said to any of us who may be critical of church as it is being experienced today. Maybe we need to detach ourselves from the chorus of naysayers and lampooners. Maybe we need to reread the gospels and fall in love again with the church that Jesus loved enough to die for her. Okay, so the church with all that property, all that square footage, that fat revenue has not seen seekers come to faith in five years. And true enough, some high profile church leaders and even local pastors have embarrassed themselves and humiliated the church through one scandal or another. And yes, you’re right, the communication of good news gets buried sometimes under the mountains of self-reproach being pumped from pulpits. Then why not be a change agent. Don’t buck a system. Just be the church, you. I’m talking to you, and of course to me. You can let your own faith be so winsome that people will come to faith in Christ. You can identify in practical ways with poor and disenfranchised people. You can love. Strangers, neighbours, friends can be exposed to the love of God simply by you being you, a helper, a listener. You can have church in your apartment suite, your home, at Starbucks, and it is legitimate and genuine. In the process, church will be renewed, reformed.

SHOULD YOU BE INVOLVED IN RESTORING THE CHURCH?

What if God wants those who cannot help but be cynical about church right now, to actually help improve it? What if some of the observations that have fed the cynicism are actual? And now, what if you cynics are actually being called by God to reconstitute her, that is, the church? You can sit on your duffs and crab until you croak but that will serve no purpose. If you agree that the church is enduring, and by that I mean the church constituted of all whom Christ has emancipated, then you cannot in good faith give up on her. You are part of her. If you are correct to be cynical about the condition and the operations of church, are you not one of those many who should be active in restoring her credibility?

ROAST THE CHURCH

It bothers me. I have friends who are avid and unquestioning church supporters. They are uncomfortable with conversation that is critical of church. I also have friends who express cynicism about church, skepticism with which I do not altogether disagree. So I’ll tell you what I am thinking. People are disappointed with church. The church should want to hear about that, yet because it is a closed subject in church, articles, books, and blogs poke at the church, deride the church. There have always been jokes about religion. This is different. This is a preoccupation, even a movement. Knock the church. Roast the church. That’s partially explained by the failure of church leaders and members to listen and to discuss the reasons why a growing percentage of Christians are dissatisfied. So the disappointed withdraw and possibly become this vocal resistance to which I refer. The crazy thing is, both positions argue from the conviction that the church belongs to Jesus, and he loves the church. One side queries, “how can you dare to be cynical about Christ’s bride?” The other side charges, “the way you are doing church, is losing credibility, confidence and relevance.”

PLEASE TELL OTHERS ABOUT THIS SITE

I am having a rest day ... well, truthfully not. I am communicating some truth to an audience nearby, grateful for the opportunity and trusting that seed finds soil in which it can germinate and grow and become productive. I would be please if you refer this site to other readers as time goes on and you think something challenging is happening here.

ENGAGING THE WORLD LIKE JESUS DID

Pharisees by James Tissot

Today, Christians tend to relate to the world either as separatist Christians or as cultural Christians. Neither way works well and these approaches have been seen before.
Pharisees insistently enforced rigid obedience to God’s Law and developed additional traditions in order to protect Judaism against the impact of Greek culture. Pharisees held on to their Jewish identity at the expense of relevancy, (Matthew 15:8-14).
Sadducees contrarily clutched relevancy at the expense of their identity, seeking to assimilate with culture, even if it meant surrendering some doctrine. Resurrection was objectionable to the Greeks so the book of Acts reveals that Sadducees threw it out, Acts 17:3; Acts 23:7-8; Matthew 22:23. Into this religious climate Jesus came.