Opus 2013-45: Headlines: Rape on the RTD

I imagine you have seen the articles reporting on women being raped, brutalized and murdered on buses in India.  I have not read the articles in their entirety but in what I have read, I have not seen any mention of religion.  This puzzles me, or it did until I realized it was our media reporting on it and this is a third rail they refuse to touch.

India is a country swamped in religious tension and violence.  In the far north you have the Sikhs.  In the northwest you have the Muslims.  In the middle you have the Hindus.  Mixed in you have a good number of Christians and Buddhists.  It is a regular thing to see angry mobs of Muslims and Hindus attacking people of other faiths, usually each other. 

It makes me wonder about these attacks on the buses.  Is religion a factor?  In America we are not tuned into this much.  In spite of all the outcry about racism and hate crimes Americans don’t get too worked up just because people are different.  We expect it and generally overlook it.  It is not a focus.  We might notice a Jew wearing different types of hats.  We might notice the dot on the forehead of some women, but we are generally out to lunch, and glad to be there.  About all we notice is the guys in turbans and most think they are Arabs when in reality they are usually Sikhs. 

That is not the way it is in other countries.  In most parts of the world you cannot go into another neighborhood without fear of being attacked.  Are these Muslims out attacking Hindu women as prostitutes or attacking Muslim women who are hanging with men.  Are these honor killings?  We may not want to admit it, but it makes a difference and with the growth of the number of Muslims and Hindus in our country it is something we need to be aware of.

 How many of us can tell the difference between a Persian and an Arab or a Turk and an Arab?  How many can tell the difference between an Armenian and an Azerbaijani.  Believe me, they know.

Should we?

homo unius libri

Opus 2013-44: Headline: Shocked at Decline in GDP?

This morning when I went on line I checked the headlines on the Drudge Report.  The banner talked about a shocking report that the Gross Domestic Product had declined.  It did not say “slowed in growth,” it said “decline.”  My first reaction was, “Well, duh!”  I wondered who in the world could be surprised at this in light of the current things happening in Washington, D.C.  So I jumped over and found out. 

Another “Duh!”  It was the MSM.  The link took me to an article at CNBC.   If you bother reading it you will see that although they admit it went down, they have all kinds of reasons to explain how it isn’t really a big deal.

It is a big deal and it will get bigger.

The government needs to stop spending on things that are not mandated in the Constitution.  Remember that old fashioned document?

homo unius libri

Opus 2013-43: Christian Cliches: Keys to the Kingdom

Most people have heard the expression “Keys to the Kingdom.”  Peter received them. 

(Matthew 16:19 KJV)  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Romans Catholics use this as evidence that Peter was the first pope and that the church has authority.  The secular world has made this a source of cartoons about Peter being gatekeeper to heaven with all kinds of punch lines between him and people wanting to enter the pearly gates.  That is our culture’s unbiblical image of getting into heaven. 

I think we miss the point of having the keys.  Think about what it means this Sunday.  The person who has the keys at church gets there early and leaves late.  The one who has the keys to every door is usually a servant, a janitor.  They are the ones who are expected to do all the work.

Think about it in the world today.  Most kings don’t have any keys.  I would guess that the President of the United States does not carry any keys.  They don’t need them because someone else opens the doors.  Someone else checks the locks.  Keys are a sign of being a servant, not of being in charge.

We have changed the image.  We give people keys to the city.  We have made keys a badge of rank instead of the tools of a servant.  We want to be kings instead of servants so we take a Biblical idea and change it to serve ourselves.

We should begin to give keys as signs of trust and responsibility.  They should come with a job description and a list of duties.  Do you deserve the keys to the kingdom?  Do you have keys to the church?  Do you remember the first time you had the keys to the car?

Following Jesus means being called to servanthood not positions of power.

homo unius libri

Opus 2013-42: Finding a church, part 4 of 4

Are you happy with the church you attend?  You have two choices, really.

The first choice is to stay and try to make a difference.  Remember when Elijah was complaining to the Lord.  It looked like all had turned away.  He was ready to give up and throw in the mantle.  God told him,

  (1 Kings 19:18 KJV)  Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

It may be that your job is to keep your mantle on and be salt in your church.  I would say you need to be active salt.  You need to be vocal without being screechy.  You need to be strong without being arrogant.  You need to be prayed up and Spirit filled.  It is a legitimate choice.

The second choice is to go.  Lets assume that the church you attend has drifted into heresy and refuses to reform.  Suppose the pastor is rejecting the Bible.  Go.  But when you go, don’t look for a church to meet your needs.  That is the role of the Holy Spirit.  Look for a place where you can use your spiritual gifts to make a difference.  Find a place to serve.  Find a place that needs you.  Remember that we are called to be servants, not to be served.  Of course if you can master this attitude, you might not need to leave.

In either case the real focus should be on reviving yourself.  I think Groucho Marx make a quip one time about how he would never want to be part of a club that would accept him.  Another way I have heard it approached is that if you find the perfect church, don’t go there because then it won’t be perfect any more.

How do we revive the Church?  By allowing the Holy Spirit to revive us.  Then, go or stay we have the attitude and spiritual quality that makes us an asset, not a liability.

homo unius libri

Opus 2013-41: Finding a church, part 3 of 4

There are certain things people are looking for in a church that are unmentionable.  What do I mean by that?  There are choices we make based on prejudice, pride and arrogance.

Some people have racial hangups that make them avoid certain groups.  I am not talking about a preference for worship style or music.  I am talking about an inner feeling of superiority based on who your ancestors were and where in the world they came from.  Two thoughts.  First, this is not as common as it used to be.  I really don’t believe that racial hang-ups are as common as they used to be, at least not in the white population.  Does it still exist?  Sure.  I see it, but it is like sexual sin used to be.  People are aware of it and know it is wrong so they try to compensate.

Second, it cuts all ways.  This is not just a white problem.  It is a very real problem in Asian groups and even in different segments of the black community not wanting to associate with those who came to America by different routes.

Even more pernicious, and often confused with racism, is class.  By class I am not talking about the person who doesn’t want to sit next to the homeless drunk who wanders in to get warm and smells like a sewer.  I am talking about people who look down on you because you don’t drive the right kind of car, wear the right brand of clothes or have good taste in jewelry.  I know that in one church we were snubbed by many people because we drove an old station wagon.  They did not realize that it was a choice, not a necessity.  I always laugh at a fund raising dinner the church had.  They catered a very expensive menu with Chateaubriand and white table cloths.  We had some friends who lived well but didn’t have two nickels to rub together.  They were invited.  We were not even though we were much better off.  The difference was we did not look like it. 

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2013-40: Finding a church, part 2 of 4

Our children live in another state.  They have been seriously looking for a place to worship.  My son had an interesting observation.  The churches he has visited have one of several problems:  The Calvinism is so strong that it is distracting, the people are devout but really strange, it is more a social club than a house of worship or it is sadly compromised with the world.  These are all legitimate concerns, except the first if you are a Calvinist.

What are common complaints about churches?  We all hear them.

One big complaint is about the music.  It fascinates me how many people I have met who like a church in many ways but make sure that they arrive late to miss the music.  My daughter drives an hour to get to the church she has decided on.  She deliberately gets there late so that she is not forced to listen to the rock band, the-Lord-gave-me-this-song-last-night compositions and the my-way-of-singing-this-hymn-is-better-than-300 year-of-singing adaptations of Wesley, Watts, Newton and Crosby.  On the rare occasions that a hymn is sung in a traditional way the volume doubles.  It is obvious that the old stuff still sells but it is just as obviously ignored.

Another complaint is shallow preaching.  Sometimes this is warranted.  There are many pastors who either spend no time in preparation or steal someone else’s sermon.  Sometimes it is just a lack of communication skills.  I do know that this is often a smoke screen.  I believe that the Holy Spirit can speak to anyone who is listening.  I have had the experience of people coming up and complimenting me on a point I made or something I said.  The problem is that I know I did not make that point or say what they heard.  The Holy Spirit was speaking.  They were listening

Some people complain that everyone is too old, or too young.  Age can make a difference but it is usually a smoke screen.  A family with young children would receive more benefit from a congregation of senior citizens that they would from a sanctuary full of their peers.  The church is made up of people of all ages.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2013-39: Links: Frogs to Pigs

I have mentioned, probably more than once, the illustration of frogs being slowly heated in water and just lying there while they are cooked to death.  Gorges Grouse has an even better illustration involving catching wild pigs.  Check it out.

Wake up America.

homo unius libri