Sorry. Cannot Count on God. Really.

Who do you know who is absolutely predictable?  

Your spouse?  You always know what she/he will say, do, feel, be like in EVERY circumstance.  Truly ALWAYS predictable.  

Yeah.  Probably not.

Congress?  The weather?  The economy?  The Taliban?  Texas?

Sorry.  Not absolutely predictable.  

We make laws and rules to increase the PQ (Predictability Quotient).  Traffic lights, driving on the right side of the road (or left side in the British Isles).  Requiring people to stop at stop signs and pull over for emergency vehicles add certainty to the predictability of life.  

But it only adds.  The total is never 100%.

People run stop signs, drive the wrong way on the freeway, and (from time to time) muck up our expectations of predictability.  

I'm not saying God breaks the rules.  But to the extent that Jesus is a person, fully human, Jesus cannot be 100% predictable.  If Jesus is, in some sense, God incarnate, then God is not 100% predictable, either.  Thus there are no magic formulae, no proper wave of the wand, no manipulated circumstances or proper tone of the voice to always know what God will do and when God will do it.

Get used to it.  (Tune out the TV preachers BS -- they make claims they cannot back up, ever.)

What do you think?  Leave a comment and let us know

Institution or Organism?

"The church needs you," Pope Francis is quoted as saying.  Of course, he said it in Spanish.  But it raises a chasm of understanding to visibility, doesn't it?

When Jesus talked about the "church", just once, he seemed to see it as an organism, something that just "is" because a few people follow his lead by faith.  Later New Testament writings continue the theme of the church as the "body of Christ" and the "people of God", for instance.  It's organic.  You are not so much "in" as an organic part of something simply by virtue of being "in Christ".  

The church doesn't "need you", to sort of quote Pope Francis.  The institution needs you.  I suspect that Jesus did not have an institution in mind, ever.  The church as institution is a human invention of timid, and sometimes power-hungry, humans.  

The church that just "is" by virtue of something important is very different from the Church which seeks to wield power, has investment scandals, and denies this or that segment of humanity their full equality in status or service.  

What do you think?  Leave a comment and let us know.

What Would It Mean if . . . ?

Mulling over the discussion at Theology Pub last week  got me to asking myself, "What would it mean if I was an atheist?"

Side note:  early Christians were considered atheists because they only believed in one god, not the multitudes of god and goddesses most folks believed in.  "Only one!?!  What are you, an atheist?" exclaimed their acquaintances.)

If I considered myself an atheist it would mean . . .

• I had to have a tremendous amount of faith
• I must find some kind of moral compass 
• I had a fairly comfortable life (comfort for one person is discomfort for another, of course)
• I would find a way or several ways to handle despair when it broke down the front door
• I could find the time and energy to work out the "whys" of relationships 

among other things.

For me, I would also have to make sense of the significant times and experiences when something or someone (I think, "God") interrupted my life in ways of which I was conscious.

I'll continue to mull this over, but I find myself more inclined to think of myself, in Leslie Weatherhead's words, a Christian Agnostic.

What about you?  What would it mean if you considered yourself an atheist?  Leave a comment and let us know.

Expectations - First Installment in 2013

What expectations to people bring, if any, to their faith journey?

•   I'm saved and that's all that matters.
•   God will protect me from all harm, including disease.
•   I have hard work ahead of me to prove to God that I am worthy.
•   I have hard work ahead of me to prove to others that God loves me.
•   I no longer have to think.  The church/group/seminaries/TV evangelists have done the hard thinking.  I can just coast now.
•   I must think.  I have to figure this all out or I'll make a serious, soul-threatening mistake.
•   I can stop thinking.  All I need to do it "feel" God.  
•   It's all about being a loyal church member now.  That's my life.  
•   I can expect to be persecuted for my faith.
•   I can expect to believe I am being persecuted for my faith whenever anyone disagrees with me or overrides me or disciplines me.
•   I will become a more whole person, with fewer cracks (chasms) between doing, thinking and feeling.  

What expectations did you begin with when you began your faith journey?

How has that worked out?  What is and has life been like in contrast to your early expectations?  Are you still trying to make your reality conform to your expectations?

Leave a comment.  Let us know what you expected and what you think now.

Character, Integrity, Positions Taken and Sucking Up

I listen to people.  Lots of people.  Inside the churches, outside the churches, an many kinds of gatherings.

I have worked at many things to put food on the table, get my girls through college without debt, make lives more comfortable and be able to give to meet needs.

I observe.  I wonder.  I question.

Does "faith" care about character?  Do intentions count as integrity?  When someone takes a position on a theological point, who cares?  Can you get by in todays employment world without sucking up?  If you suck up, is it better to be seen to suck up, or to be sort of 'invisible' about it?

I listen to employers.  I watch employers.  Most employers say they want integrity and good character in their employees.  But as I watch employer behavior I sometimes see a different stance:  they want to be rubber-stamped, defended and agreed with.  Not all the time, maybe, but. . . sometimes.

I listen to young people seeking employment.  Few think character or integrity is important.  They have learned in school and in part-time jobs that sucking up succeeds and if you can make the employer more profit by edging over the ethical line without seeming to, you will probably get a promotion (or good grade).

So many people looking for jobs and so few employment possibilities available   How should people of faith advise these young folks as they begin what older people of faith have been at for some time?

What do you think?  Leave a comment and let us know.