Confluence

A Meditation on Abandonment to God

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:15:00 +0000

My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Abandonment. A word of devastation. A word of pain. A word of rejection. Forsaken, despised by others, we all know something of the sting and terror of that kind of abandonment. No one wants to be abandoned by someone.

Psalm 13 is a psalm of abandonment. It is the desperate cry of someone that has no one left, and apparently not even God, to help him. The first part says:

How long, O LORD Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

When someone abandons us, when we are the object of abandonment, then devastation, desolation, desertion, renunciation and rejection are all appropriate synonyms, and valid expressions of what we might feel. Like the psalmist, when many think of God, they immediately think of abandonment in that sense of the word.

Jesus knew what it was like to be the object of abandonment by those he loved. In his last hours he was abandoned by his closest followers, denied vehemently and publicly by one of his closest friends Peter, and rejected by the people who had hoped that he might save them. Matthew 27:39-41 records that:

Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Finally, when there was nothing left, no more humiliation that could be inflicted, no one to turn to, and after three hours of the excruciating pain and humiliation of public crucifixion we read that Jesus in agony cried out to God the words of the devasted psalmist from Psalm 22:1:

46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

When we Christians disrespect others, forsake them, withhold forgiveness and refuse to listen to their stories of pain and devastation, then we only serve to confirm their suspicion that God has abandoned us, that he has abandoned them. May God forgive our sins, as we forgive the sins of others.

Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit

There is a big difference between abandonment by someone, and abandonment to someone. Changing that one small word transforms pain into joy, fear into love, and despair into hope.

Abandonment to someone is different. In abandonment to someone we are the subject of abandonment, not the object. This abandonment is voluntary. Abandonment to someone involves an act of trust, an act of the will, a decision to make. It takes courage and faith in the fidelity and integrity of another to abandon oneself to them. We have a sense of how this works in everyday life in friendship, in causes, and even more so in marriage. We abandon ourselves to someone out of love and affection for the other person.

This is not abandonment in the sense of desolation, desertion, or forsakenness. Rather, in a positive sense, it refers to the notion of surrender or committment to someone or something greater than oneself – to someone worthy of our trust and commitment.

When a person abandons themself to a worthy cause, or commits themself in marriage to the love of their life, it involves a resolution to abandon themself unreservedly to that cause or person. You can’t hold back out of fear of being abandoned. In that act, in that commitment, the whole heart and imagination is captured by the object of its affection and desire. In the same way, abandoning oneself to our eternal, infinite, personal Creator is to open ourself up to his presence in our lives and recognize his work in the lives of those around us. This is the positive side of abandonment to someone.

However, there is a negative sense to abandoning ourselves to others and to God. Not “negative” in terms of disadvantage, but rather in terms of arranging our priorities and desires correctly, which leads to focusing on some things at the expense of others.

We know this to be true in all of life. At times we must abandon some things, the lesser things, in order to attain the greater. We save money, giving up buying now that we might purchase something better in the future. We vacation and rest, giving up working that we might live fuller lives and be more effective when we return to work.

We fast, and realize that food is not our life. We seek solitude, and return to richer friendships as a result. We pray and meditate, forsaking other activities and other people momentarily for time alone with God, and return with a deeper awareness of living in a world charged with his grandeur as Gerard Manly Hopkins so beautifully stated.

This type of abandonment means joyfully choosing to be released from the burden of other lesser commitments, such as when a person commits to a life of “forsaking all others” so that they might be completely single-minded towards their spouse. The husband does not retreat from life to do abandon himself to his wife, but rather embraces the joyful reality and expectation of their new life together.

In all of life we recognize and affirm the good, but at the same time give our greater allegiance to the greater. Abandonment to God is a renunciation of other, lesser loves for the greater prize of loving God above all others, unreservedly relinquishing our hold on these lesser things. We relinquish the lesser that we might attain to the greater. Augustine, with his neoplatonic understanding of a hierarchy of goodness, understood this and tried to teach his readers:

…through reflection on his own experience, that we must think about what we love and how we love the things we love. In his view, it is better to love some things than others. Augustine suggested that our desires, our loves, can only be satisfied in God… Speaking to God [in The Confessions], he prays, “You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

From p. 82 of Christian Love, by Bernard Vincent Brady [emphasis mine].

Therefore, in abandonment to God we reorient our focus around God and his loving, governing (i.e. providential) presence (what Jesus called “the Kingdom of God”) in the world. That is why the prayer Jesus taught his disciples begins in this way (Matthew 6:9-10):

⁹"This, then, is how you should pray:
   " 'Our Father in heaven,
   hallowed be your name,
¹⁰your kingdom come,
   your will be done
      on earth as it is in heaven.

The emphasis in the Lord’s prayer is very much on abandoning oneself to God’s loving parental care in all things. Jesus lived this type of abandonment to God. In the darkest moment of his death, in the moment when the powers of evil triumphed over this invincible man, his words proclaimed his complete trust in God. The Gospel of John states in 19:30 that Jesus said, “It is finished.” This meant that his mission was now accomplished, and he was announcing it to the world for all to hear.

But he said something else too. Something else, not to the bystanders, but to God. According to Luke (Luke 23:46), his last words from the cross immediately before he died went like this:

46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.

As his followers, we are to follow Jesus’ example of abandonment to God. The writer of Hebrews highlights this sense of following Jesus’ example of abandonment to God and letting go of lessor loves and priorities to achieve the greater in Hebrews 12:1-2:

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The beauty of approaching God in this way, is that opening and expanding our hearts in receiving and giving love to God increases our capacity to do the same with those around us. Loving God enables us to better love our neigbor. This seems contrary to reason, but is a common theme in historical Christian writing.

I am very aware as I write this of the uncertainty that life and our many failures present, and of the fear that such uncertainty about the future can bring. My friends with Cancer, with a loved one suffering from Parkinson’s, with chronic fatigue, without employment, or suffering in untold other ways feel this uncertainty much more keenly than I ever could, but in the end, it is our hope that sustains us all - our hope that even through tragedy we can triumph in life. This is our sure hope because we have the example of Jesus demonstrating how it is done. It is his example which enables us to cast our hopes, fears and very lives every moment into God’s care.

When we live in the light of this hope, the cry of desperation in Psalm 13 given above does not have to be the final word. We, like the psalmist, can persevere by proclaiming with confidence our abandonment to the loving embrace of our Father in heaven:

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.

Perhaps it is fitting and best to end this meditation with a prayer from Celtic Daily Prayer (Meditation day 4, p. 49).

PRAYER OF ABANDONMENT TO GOD
Father, I abandon myself
   into Your hands.
Do with me what You will,
whatever You do, I will thank You.
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only Your will be done in me,
as in all Your creatures,
and I’ll ask nothing else, my Lord.

Into Your hands I commend my spirit;
I give it all to You
   with all the love of my heart,
for I love You, Lord,
   and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into Your hands
   with a trust beyond all measure,
   because you are my Father.

Charles de Foucault.

Join with me, however hesitantly and fearfully, in acknowledging our shared dependence on the Good and Loving One greater than ourselves, the One who rewards our trust by giving us more of Himself.

Work, Providence and the Kingdom – Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:36:00 +0000

Our Father in heaven
May your name be hallowed
May your righteous rule be fully revealed
May your will be done on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread
And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us
Save us from the time of trial and rescue us from the evil one
For yours are the kingdom and the power and the glory through all time
Amen.[1]

Matthew 6:9-13

From Jesus’ model prayer we learn a great deal about not only how to pray, but also what kind of world we live and work in, how we are to view that world, and what God expects of us as we work our way through it. It speaks of who God is and how we are to acknowledge his transcendence and Fatherly care. It says to pray for his kingdom, his rule, to come – to be made complete in the soon-future, but also to be manifested in tangible ways in our lives, our work, and world today. Then the prayer expresses this profound hope again, but in different words this time, by seeking the realization of God’s loving will in our everyday experience. And, lest we grow proud and callous towards God’s providential care, we are expected every day to ask anew for his provision over our most basic needs. Do we ever stop to think how God answers that request? Because in his providence he does, every day.

Since we are in community with our neighbors, this prayer forces us to recognize that in our work and other aspects of our life we often offend and poison others through sins of commission and omission. We must bring those large and small debts to God, and deal with them so they do not accrue on our balance sheets and poison our relationship with our loving Father. But we humans are not the only active agents in this world; there are principalities and powers that are set against us and the purposes of God. We need protection and deliverance from them. We need strength to stand. We are to resist the forces of darkness that seek to destroy our potential and our future, that work to create “structures of sin” in human organizations – corporate, political and otherwise – and encourage the development of work environments that seem designed to destroy our humanity: our body, and our spirit.

Our modern world is organized around work. This may seem obvious, but try to imagine a world without work. Is that even possible? Maybe you can, but then try to think carefully about how such a world could be a meaningful one for human beings. It is by no means an easy task.[2] Part of the reason for this is that God has designed us to work, to fill his creation with the “fruits of our labors” as we shape it and tend it.

Work may be viewed as little more than a means of providing for our needs and wants. Or maybe we find it – at least some of the time – to be an incredibly fulfilling and rewarding activity in itself. For many, work is a dehumanizing drudgery that eviscerates and enervates the worker even as it provides the means to live another day. Working is part of what we are intended to do as God’s creatures, and yet this very statement seems difficult to accept because of the many struggles and frustrations we encounter in our work, and what we can observe about the alienating nature of work for much of the world’s population.

The final line of the prayer reminds us that this present world - as it is now with all its often dehumanizing and alienating work - is not the end. The story has not yet reached the final chapter. God is still in control and active in the renewal and redemption of all things in his good creation in Christ; his kingdom will come, and is coming. His power will accomplish this, and He will be glorified. He will be glorified in our work. He will restore his creation and transform the fruits of our work into things fitting for life and ministry after heaven and earth have joined and the Lamb is the light of the eternal city.

[1] Author’s translation.

[2] Kory Schaff, ed., Philosophy and the Problems of Work: A Reader (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001), 1.

Image sourced from http://hr.ucsb.edu/icons/work_life.jpg.

The Imitation of Christ By Thomas A. Kempis

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:07:00 +0000

Jesus has many lovers of His heavenly kingdom, but few bearers of His cross. He has many seekers of consolation, but few of tribulation. He finds many companions at His feasting, but few at His fasting. All desire to rejoice in Him; Few are willing to endure anything for Him. Many follow Jesus as far as the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the cup of His passion. Many reverence His miracles, but few will follow the shame of His cross. Many love Jesus as long as no adversaries befall them. Many praise and bless Him so long as they receive some consolation from Him. But if Jesus hide Himself and leave them but for a brief time, they begin to complain or become overly despondent in mind.

Thomas à Kempis

Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace each of us may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.†

From The Divine Hours.

Ash Wednesday: The Prayer Appointed for the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:12:00 +0000

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent:

Create and make in me a new and contrite heart, that I,
worthily lamenting my sins and acknowledging my wretchedness,
may obtain of you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. †

From The Divine Hours – Prayers for Springtime.

On Truth by Harry Frankfurt

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 05:23:00 +0000

This last week I read Harry Frankfurt’s wonderful little gold book, On Truth, for this semester’s philosophy class, Writing for Publication, in the Denver Seminary MA Philosophy of Religion degree program. The book is short, only 101 pages, but it sure packs a punch.

I thought that I might include a few quotes here to give a feel for the types of issues that Frankfurt is dealing with and the approach that he takes. In this book he presents a compelling argument against the postmodern tendency to deny the reality of objective truth. I would recommend the book to anyone who would like a counterpoint to antirealist and relativistic notions of truth.

On the incoherence of denying the three classic laws of thought as applied to truth both epistemically and metaphysically:

“…even those who profess to deny the validity or the objective reality of the true-false distinction continue to maintain without apparent embaressment that this denial is a position that they do truly endorse. The statement that they reject the distinction between true and false is, they insist, an unqualifiedly true statement about their beliefs, not a false one. This prima facie incoherence in the articulation of their doctrine makes it uncertain precisely how to construe what it is that they propose to deny. It is also enough to make us wonder just how seriously we need to take their claim that there is no objectively meaningful or worthwhile distinction to be made between what is true and what is false.” (p. 9)

On the idea that normative (i.e. evaluative) judgements cannot properly be regarded is being either true or false:

“…societies cannot afford to tolerate anyone or anything that fosters a slovenly indifference to the distinction between true and false. Much less can they indulge the shabby, narcissistic pretense that being true to the facts is less important than being “true to oneself.” If there is any attitude that is inherently antithetical to a decent and orderly social life, that is it.” (p. 33)

So is the question of truth as an objective reality something that actually matters?

“Our success or failure in whatever we undertake, and therefore in life altogether, depends on whether we are guided by truth or whether we proceed in ignorance or on the basis of falsehood. It also depends critically, of course, on what we do with the truth. Without truth, however, we are out of luck before we even start…

We really cannot live without truth. We need truth not only in order to understand how to live well, but in order to know how to survive at all… truth is not a feature of belief to which we can permit ourselves to be indifferent. Indifference would be a matter not just of negligent imprudence. It would quickly prove fatal.” (pp. 36-7)

Frankfurt spends a whole chapter discussing some of Spinoza’s insights on truth and joy, and ends the chapter with this thought:

“Practically all of us do love truth, whether or not we are aware that we do so. And, to the extent that we recognize what dealing effectively with the problems of life entails, we cannot help loving truth.” (pp. 47-8)

So why do truths possess instrumental value (i.e. are useful in a pragmatic fashion for getting by in the world)?

“Insofar as truths possess instrumental value, they do so because they capture and convey the nature of these realities. Truths have practical utility because they consist of, and because they can therefore provide us with, accurate accounts of the properties (including, especially, the causal powers and potentialities) of the real objects and events with which we must deal when we act.” (p. 52)

On the nature of factuality:

“Now, the relevant facts are what they are regardless of what we may happen to believe about them, and regardless of what we may wish them to be. This is, indeed, the essence and the defining character of factuality, of being real: the properties of reality, and accordingly the truths about its properties, are what they are, independent of any direct or immediate control of our will…

The facts – the true nature of reality – are the final and incontrovertible recourse of inquiry. They dictate and support an ultimately decisive resolution and rebuttal of all uncertainties and doubts.” (pp. 54-55)

And, to end this with an obligatory SG-1 reference…

Waiting for the World to Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 03:57:00 +0000

I heard the Jars of Clay song “Waiting for the World to Fall” from the album Music Inspired by The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on Pandora a few times this week, and it moved me so much that I thought that I would mention it here.

For those that have not heard the song, here is an excellent fan-video that overlays the song with clips from early parts of the movie where the Pevensie children have yet to discover what lies within the wardrobe.

I'm afraid it's been too long
to try to find the reasons why
I let my world close in around
a smaller patch of fading sky
But now I've grown beyond the walls
to where I've never been
And it's still winter in my wonderland

Chorus

I'm waiting for the world to fall
I'm waiting for the scene to change
I'm waiting when the colors come
I'm waiting to let my world come undone
I close my eyes and try to see
the world unbroken underneath
The farther off and already
it just might make the life I lead
A little more than make-believe
when all my skies are painted blue
And the clouds don't ever change
the shape of who I am to You

Chorus

I'm waiting for the world to fall
I'm waiting for the scene to change
I'm waiting when the colors come
I'm waiting to let my world come undone
When I catch the light of falling stars my view is changing me
My view is changing me
I'm waiting

The lyrics and tone of the song capture and evoke the deep longing that we all feel for transcendence. As Marc Newman points out in his review of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:

There is no way to completely describe the feeling you get when you experience a moving passage of music, tremble beneath the array of stars on a dark and moonless mountain night, or even when you bask in the afterglow of a particularly wonderful day. C.S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, called this feeling sehnsucht, which, roughly translated, means longing.

The longing of sehnsucht is not a thing to be grasped. It is always in passing, like an image that strikes upon the senses and is gone. … It is a kind of desire that knows it cannot be fulfilled here, yet is worth desiring and seeking after nonetheless.

Wonder

Lewis argued that humans long “to see with other eyes, to imagine with other imaginations, to feel with other hearts, as well as with our own.” We were made for awe. Unfortunately, the modern privileging of scientific fact as the “only” reliable type of truth often tries to push aside the competing truth claims of intuition and revelation. But the longing for transcendence -- the desire of human nature to move beyond that nature into something beyond – will not be denied.

As I reflected on this, it also reminded me of N.T. Wright’s idea of our quest for the transcendent and the spiritual as the “echoes of a voice” in his book Simply Christian:

“If anything like the Christian story is in fact true (in other words, if there is a God whom we can know most clearly in Jesus), this interest is exactly what we should expect; because in Jesus we glimpse a God who loves people and wants them to know and respond to that love. (p. 24)

James Sire, in his excellent review of Wright’s book, notes that:

Wright identifies four main "echoes of a voice" (recalling Peter Berger's "signals of transcendence"): "the longing for justice, the quest for spirituality, the hunger for relationships, and the delight in beauty."

Each points to a realm beyond the material. Ultimately, Wright argues, these voices join the more direct revelation of God to become "the voice of Jesus, calling us to follow him into God's new world—the world in which the hints, signposts, and echoes of the present world turn into the reality of the next one."

Dan Haseltine points out in his comments on the song that Narnia embodies that sense of longing, but as a fantasy is able to capture our imaginations and provide a glimpse into the discovery of the transcendent reality that lies behind our oft mundane lives:

The song is really a song about discovery.

It's kind of being in a world where things maybe aren't as they should be or kind of living a mundane existence and wanting something more and then getting a glimpse of what that really is like and having your world kind of shift, your paradigm change, and that's what we loved about this story, was just the way there was this great movement and discovery of a whole new world.

As the writer of Ecclesiastes states:

⁹ What do workers gain from their toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

I’m waiting…

Eternal Timefullness

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 04:34:00 +0000

Some poignant thoughts on the ‘eternal timefullness’ of unleashing creativity in our artistic endeavors (in which I would certainly include coding) from Refractions (pp. 15-16), the amazing new book by Makoto Fujimura:

The process of creating renews my spirit, and I find myself attuned to the details of life rather than being stressed by being overwhelmed. I find myself listening rather than shouting into the void. Creating art opens my heart to see and listen to the world around me, opening a new vista of experience. This is the gift of the “second wind.” Such a state taps into what I now call eternal timefullness.

A timeful experience is given when our minds are allowed to fully respond to the senses, to tap into the eternal reality that God opens for us via creativity. It’s what William Blake, the eighteenth-century poet, meant when he wrote,

“To see a world in a grain of sand, / And a heaven in a wild lower, / hold ininity in the palm of your hand, / And eternity in an hour.”

In order to “see a world in a grain of sand,” we must pause to pay attention to the details of life, to let our eyes wander into the crevices of the earth below, to observe the shadows as well as the light, to perhaps even see how the light is refracted in the fragmental remains of sands. And such observational skills must be cultivated as a form of discipline, even in the midst of the hectic lives we lead.

An Exegetical Essay on Genesis 15:1-6

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:32:00 +0000

This was a very interesting intellectual and devotional exercise for me that I submitted as part of the requirements for my Early Israel and Its Wisdom Literature three-week Winter intensive class at Denver Seminary.

There are some very particular aspects and constraints on the essay content; see below for the essay question for this exegetical essay if the choice of content seems unusual.

Historical and Cultural Context

In Genesis 15:1-6 we see childless Abram straining against the utterly impossible promise of God for a large progeny (Genesis 12), perplexed at how against all the available evidence it might be fulfilled (Cotter p. 99; Brueggemann, p. 143). There are strong parallels in the Nuzi tablets to Abram’s lament in 15:2 about a household member needing to be adopted (Kitchen, p. 154). Many recent writers argue that any supposed evidence for separate sources can be better explained in terms of Hebrew literary conventions (Skinner, p. 277; Wenham, p. 326). I would argue for dating the writing of this passage to the late Bronze age/early Iron age, with the redaction of earlier material, in which the author wants the newly formed nation of Israel to be reassured that an exclusive faith in its God is both warranted and rewarded.[1] The Israelites are being encouraged to imitate the faith of Abram in trusting the promises of God, to look back to pivotal points in Abram’s life that demonstrate God’s covenant faithfulness, and to thus remember that they themselves are God’s answer to the hopes and prayers of that old man of faith.

Exegetical Issues

The major exegetical issue that I would like to focus on is in v.1 where we read that Abram heard the word of the LORD in a vision say: “Do not be afraid Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward” (TNIV). Most translations have rendered “shield” for MT māgēn (e.g. AV, RSV, NIV), and this is also the approach taken by many commentaries (see Cotter, p. 87; Lieber, p. 82; Matthews, p. 162-3; Skinner, p. 278; Wenham p. 327). Hamilton (p. 419), however, proposes an emendation that calls for reading the word as māgān, “benefactor, suzerain” so as to make more sense of his rendering of the following line: “your reward shall be exceedingly great” since it is a benefactor, rather than a shield, who provides a reward. He points out that Abram earlier had Pharaoh as a benefactor (ch. 12), had refused the donation of the king of Sodom as a benefactor (ch. 14), but that God is a benefactor that he will pursue. Thus the first part of v.1 states a fact from the speaker’s point of view: I am a benefactor for you, and the second part states the same point, but from the addressee’s point of view: your reward shall be exceedingly great (Hamilton, p. 418).

The term māgēn is typically and commonly used metaphorically in the psalms to refer to God’s protection (c.f. Ps. 3:4; 7:11; 18:3; but also Deut. 33:29; Pr. 2:7; 30:5) for God is a divine warrior and king who defends his people. It is on the basis of God as his shield that Abram may thus overcome his fear. Lieber (p. 82) says that given the immediate context (Abram’s victory over the kings of the plain in the previous chapter), the reference to “shield” can be seen as God’s assurance to Abram that in the face of hostilities he can rest in the protection that grants him victory. Matthews (p. 162) notes that the second and third lines can be synonymous[2] in which “shield” is the cause (metonymy) for the “reward,” that is, the Lord will bring about his reward. If this is the case, then “shield” makes sense and emending the reading is therefore superfluous.

Hamilton’s proposed emendation follows M.J. Dahood, who further suggested that 12 of the 19 occurrences of m-g-n in the Psalms be translated “suzerain” rather than “shield.” (Hamilton, p. 419; Longman, 2.846-847). In the light of the connection between shield and kingship, Dahood had posited a connection with an Ugaritic word that he translated “suzerain” based on a proposed confusion between māgēn and māgān in the MT in such passages as Psalm 47:9 and 84:11. Unfortunately for Hamilton’s position, Dahood’s thesis has been persuasively criticized by Craigie in his commentary on Psalms 1-50 (Longman, 2.847). Köckert (p. 772) agrees, stating that “there is no valid reason why one should read māgēn as māgān in the Psalms. If this is the case then Hamilton’s proposal is not only superfluous but also fundamentally flawed and unsustainable. Not only that, such an “interpretation assumes the context of the oriental state ruled by a king; it does not fit in with the social reality of an existence on the fringes of nomadism” that we find in Genesis 15:1 (Ibid.).

Theme and Purpose of the Passage

We see juxtaposed in the first three verses the powerful promise from God (v. 1) and the equally powerful refutation in the form of Abram’s double protest (“I remain childless…You have given me no children”, vv. 2-3). In response to his resolution that a member of his household will inherit his estate, he hears the word of God again in v. 4, “a son coming from your own body will be your heir” and sees a sign, a glance at the heavens. And then we have the result (v. 6) that “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” As Kaiser (p. 91) points out, there is no mere intellectual assent to God’s existence here, the object of Abram’s faith “was to be found in the content of the total promise.” This remarkable climactic statement makes it clear that the central purpose of the text is to hold up Abraham as a model of faith (Cotter, p. 100) – as an example of patient faithful trust in God’s firm promises - and to show that “this faith is not simply an embrace of the goodness which meets us in the world, but a reception of the goodness of God promised in spite of the way the world is” (Brueggermann, p. 146). Genesis 15:6 therefore becomes a particularly important text in later arguments concerning the relationship between faith and works for righteousness in Romans 4 and Galatians 2-4, and also in James 2:23.

In my work and service as a father, software developer and church member, I hope that I may also see beyond the often contrary circumstances and hold fast to God’s promises with the same type of tenacity and patience that Abram showed. I too need to trust that God is at work in my circumstances in ways that I cannot imagine to accomplish his purposes and fulfill his promises.

Bibliography

Brueggerman, Walter. Genesis (Interpretation Series). Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982.

Cotter, David W. Genesis (Berit Olam Series). Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2003.

Hamilton, Victor P. The Book of Genesis (New International Commentary on the Old Testament Series) 1-17. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.

Kaiser, Walter C. Toward an Old Testament Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978.

Kitchen, Kenneth A. Ancient Orient and Old Testament. Reprint edition, Newburgh: Trinity Press, 1966.

Köckert , M. “Shield of Abraham.” In Dictionary of Demons and Deities in the Bible, edited by Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter Willem Van Der Horst. Revised Edition, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.

Lieber, David L. Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary (Jewish Publication Society Series). Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2001.

Longman, Tremper, “#4482 māgēn,” in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, edited by Willem A VanGemeren. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997.

Matthews, Kenneth A. Genesis 11:27-50:26 (New American Commentary Series). Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2005.

Skinner, John. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Genesis (International Critical Commentary). 2^nd ed. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1934.

Wenham, Gordon J. Genesis 1-15. Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1987.

[1] Literary critical discussions have tended to focus on the unity and date of the material and to be elaborate and speculative. The considerations for an early date must be weighed carefully against possibly Deuteronomic language (“heir, possession”) and themes that typically cause critical scholars to push the date to the 7^th century or exilic/postexilic era (Matthews, 158).

[2] As translated in the NIV, given earlier.

Essay Question

The major purpose of this essay is to encourage you to critically read and evaluate commentaries.

The student will be expected to write an exegetical essay on a Bible passage. This should be selected from Genesis 2, 4-11 (but not 11:1-4), 13-50; Exodus 1-14, 16-19, 21-40, Leviticus 1-15, 17-22, 24-27, Numbers, Deuteronomy 1-4, 7-34, Joshua 3-24, Judges, Ruth, Job, Psalms 3-45, 47-150, Proverbs 3-31, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon 2-7. The essay assignments will not exceed 1000 words or three pages each.

The Bible passage chosen should be about 3-8 verses in length. A good essay will spend one sixth (or one half page of three pages) of its length addressing the historical and cultural context in which you believe the passage was written. One half of the essay will be devoted to identifying and addressing the major exegetical issues of the passage (one or two may be all you have room for), including a summary of solutions proposed by other scholars and your own choice of one of these solutions, along with a defense of why you chose it and why you reject the others. The best summary of solutions is one where scholars who wrote the approved commentaries disagree with one another on the issue and you demonstrate how and why they disagree.

The major purpose of this essay is to encourage you to critically read and evaluate commentaries. Finally, about a sixth of the essay (or one half page of three pages) should be devoted to stating your understanding of the theme and purpose of the passage in its present context. This could include a theological, literary, and/or political emphasis. At this point, include one or two sentences relating the passage to your Mentoring ministry (or if you don't have one, to some practical aspect of Christian service). The bibliography should appear at the end of the essay. All of the items in the bibliography should be referred to in your essay, as you interact with their views. Don't include Bible translations or study Bibles.

Sabbath and Holy Time

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:03:00 +0000

The biblical Sabbath is connected with the sanctification of time, just as sacrifice is related to the sanctification of the world.

In each case part of the whole is given back to the Creator in recognition of his prior ownership. This is the key idea behind this law. (Israelite Religions, pp 166-167)

Jan 8th - Concluding Prayer of the Church

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 02:44:00 +0000

Almighty God, whose loving hand has given me all that I possess: Grant me grace that I may honor you with my substance, and, remembering the account which I must one day give, may be a faithful steward of your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

From The Divine Hours, Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime, p. 539.

Prayers for Committing our Work to God

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:48:00 +0000

Part of an engaged and practiced theology of work must include learning how to pray meaningfully in and for our work. Learning to do this by praying the prayers of others can help get us started on such a journey of discovery. It can begin to give us a biblical vocabulary for directing our focus to God and His work, so that we might know and do his will through our work each day.

“My food is to will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” – John 5:34

The following prayers for committing our work to God has been taken from the prayers of the Northumbria Community as given in “Oswald – In Practical Ways” in Celtic Daily Prayer, pp. 153-7.

Challenge: Try stopping your work every day at noon (or as close to noon as you can), going to a quiet place and praying the prayer below. It should take about 10-15 minutes. Do it faithfully for a week and see what difference it makes.

This noon prayer for your work will be a difficult discipline to keep up, but adopting such a practice can allow the Spirit to build deeper into the moments of your daily work life. You will be joining others around the world in prayer, and together we will worship our wonderful God who created, ordained and sanctified our work rightfully to be worship and service to Himself.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:16-17

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

Colossians 3:23-25

* Indicates a change of reader
With a large group, split into two halves and read alternately
All say together the sections in bold type.

* This day is Your gift to me;
I take it, Lord, from Your hand
and thank You for the wonder of it.

God be with me
in this Your day,
every day
and every way,
with me and for me
in this Your day;
and the love
and affection
of heaven be toward me.

* All that I am, Lord,
I place into Your Hands.
All that I do, Lord,
I place into Your Hands.

* Everything I work for
I place into Your Hands.
Everything I hope for
I place into Your Hands.

* The troubles that weary me
I place into Your Hands.
The thoughts that disturb me
I place into Your Hands.
* Each that I pray for
I place into Your Hands.
Each that I care for
I place into Your Hands.

* I place into Your hands, Lord,
the choices that I face,
Guard me from choosing
the way perilous
of which the end is heart-pain
and the secret fear.

* Rich in counsel,
show us the way
that is plain and safe.

* May I feel Your presence
at the heart of my desire,
and so know it for Your desire for me.
Thus shall I prosper,
thus see that my purpose is from You,
thus have power to do the good which endures.

* Show me what blessing it is
that I have work to do.
And sometimes,
and most of all
when the day is overcast
and my courage faints,
let me hear Your voice, Saying,
’You are my beloved one
in whom I am well pleased.’

* Stand at the crossroads and look,
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is,
and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.

* In the name of Christ we stand,
and in his name
move out across the land
in fearfulness and blessing.

* To gather the Kingdom to the King
and claim this land for God:
a task indeed.

* Give us to see Your will,
and power to walk in its path;
and lo! the night is routed and gone.

* Lord, hasten the day
when those who fear You in every nation
will come from the east and the west,
from north and south,
and sit at table in Your Kingdom.
And, Lord,
let Your glory be seen in our land.

* He has shown you, O Man, what is right;
and what does the Lord require of you,
but to do justly, and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God?

* Keep me close to You, Lord.
Keep me close to You.
I lift my hands to You, Lord,
I lift them to You.

Hands, Lord, Your gift to us,
we stretch them up to You.
Always You hold them.

* Help me to find my happiness
in my acceptance
of what is your purpose for me:
in friendly eyes, in work well done,
in quietness born of trust,
and, most of all,
in the awareness of Your presence
in my spirit.

(Pause for reflection before resuming your activity.)

del.icio.us Tags: Theology of Work, Prayer, Daily Offices, Noon Office, Divine Hours, Celtic Prayer, Oswald of Northumbria

Advent Longing – A Poem by Christa Cunningham

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:51:00 +0000

Advent longing
beats in my heart
like the longing
of an expectant mother
who waits for a
face-to-face encounter
with the child within.

So I yearn for the birth
of a new child of grace
in me.

Then in the dark silence
an encounter takes place
heart-side within.

Listening I hear,
"be my Christ-mass
you will see me
be born
be sent."

--Sr. Christa Cunningham, OP
St. Augustine, Fla.

On Te Deum

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:22:00 +0000

I had never seen this hymn until a couple of years ago when it showed up in the liturgy at my church. This is an ancient hymn, dating back to the 4th or 5th century. I realize that it is not traditionally associated with Advent, but it is a beautiful expression of worship to our triune God.

Te Deum

You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of
power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church
acclaims you:
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not spurn the Virgin's womb.
You overcame the sting of death,
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come, and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting.
Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.
Govern and uphold them now and always.
Day by day we bless you.
We praise your name for ever.
Keep us today, Lord, from all sin.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
Lord, show us your love and mercy;
for we put our trust in you.
In you, Lord, is our hope:
and we shall never hope in vain.

From Encyclopedia Orbis Latini:

Te Deum is a Latin hymn to God the Father and Christ the Son, traditionally sung on occasions of public rejoicing (coronation of kings, proclamation of bishops, consecration of a virgin, canonization of a saint, divulgation of a peace treaty or a victory).

According to legend, it was improvised antiphonally by St. Ambrose and St. Augustine at the latter's baptism. It has more plausibly been attributed to Nicetas, bishop of Remesiana in the early 5th century, and its present form--equal sections devoted to the Father and Son, a half-clause to the Holy Spirit, followed by a litany--fit in historically with part of the Arian controversy (over the nature of Christ) of the 4th century. Much of the text is composed of traditional statements of belief; and unlike most hymns, it is prose.

Hymn text sourced from Encyclopedia Orbis Latini.

Learning to Pray the Daily Offices

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 06:58:00 +0000

Prayers are given, too, in the layers of broken, pulverized pigments. Beauty is in the brokenness, not in what we can conceive as the perfections, not in the "finished" images but in the incomplete gestures.

Now, I await for my paintings to reveal themselves. Perhaps I will find myself rising through the ashes, through the beauty of such broken limitations.
Beauty without Regret, by Makoto Fujimura

Life is messy, and thus prayer can be messy too. And we need to recognize that cultivating a practice of prayer is a lifetime project of seeking the infinite personal God as our Father and Savior.

But I had long felt like my morning prayers were lacking in depth and an awareness of the pervading presence of God. They seemed disconnected from what I did later during the day. And, despite my aversion to written prayers (simply because I didn’t really know any), I found myself saying very much the same rote things every day. I didn’t realize the vast difference between written, and rote, prayers. And that there is no necessary connection between the two. “Spontaneous” prayers can tend towards being mechanical and unthinking routine or repetition just as readily as prescribed prayers.

So I would pray in the morning before I started my day in seeking God for the upcoming day, as I had always done, but would often feel frustrated with the experience because I lacked the language and framework not only to consciously bring me into God’s presence in the day, but also to consciously bring God’s presence in the day to me.

As Makoto says, “beauty is in the brokenness”, and sometimes it takes recovering an ancient practice to open us up in a new way to God, that he might be revealed as the painter that causes us to rise “through the ashes, through the beauty of such broken limitations.” This has been my experience these last three years. God is the original and ultimate artist, and his desire is to paint on the canvas of our days with his love and grace. We need to do what we can to give him the room to do that.

In early 2005 I started reading Scot McKnight’s blog, and it was there that I first encountered the practice of fixed hour prayer, also known as the “daily offices” or “divine offices.” I was intrigued by what he described and, after reading some of the prayers from prayer books that he posted on his blog, decided that this was something I should try. These prayers were beautiful, thoughtful, poetic, inspiring, and deep.

As a result of Scot’s blog postings that year, I purchased my own copy of a prayer book and started using it – albeit tentatively and very much as a novice/haltingly - to observe morning, noon, evening, and bedtime prayers each day. That prayer book three years ago was The Divine Hours, by Phyllis Tickle.

On Dec 8th 2005 I mentioned on my blog that it was my first day of praying the daily offices. Over the next 12 months I bought the other two books in the series and since then have continued to grow in this practice. These three books cover the entire year and together provide a framework for a lifetime of growing in the spiritual discipline of fixed hour prayer. Phyllis provides a very helpful introduction in each of the books that gives a history of the practice, description of how The Divine Hours prayer books came to be, and a good explanation of how to use these prayer books effectively.

For the last three years I have followed this discipline, often imperfectly, and sought to order my day around the prescribed prayers. We tend to try to “fit” prayer into our days, which is another way of saying that we order our prayer around our daily activities. Praying the offices turns this on its head, but providing a framework for ordering our daily activities around praying to God.

For example, every day I stop work as close to noon as I can, go to a private room (Matthew 6:6) and pray the prescribed Scripture readings and prayers of the noon office (Luke 11:2) for about 5-10 minutes. This is a difficult pattern to observe (and it never seems to get any easier), but it has transformed the way I view and experience the presence of God in my daily activities. I am constantly and regularly “resetting my compass” to God throughout the day and consciously inviting him into my work and leisure, interactions and tasks, joys and frustrations. And I find him to be there waiting for me every moment of the day. That quiet presence hidden just out of reach, yet ready to act in the situations I find myself in answer to my prayers.

If you are interested in practicing the daily offices but would like some good guidance on how to get started, or perhaps you are unsure if it is a valid spiritual practice, then you should read Scot McKnight’s excellent book Praying With the Church.

This book, written in Scot’s typical lucid and engaging style, provides a gentle, yet comprehensive, introduction to the biblical basis, history, diversity, and practical aspects of the daily offices. I recently purchased and read this book and found it to be very helpful in filling in gaps in my knowledge and experience, as well as making me aware of the many resources available for those who want to try prayer books from other Christian traditions.

As a result of reading Praying With the Church I decided to try observing Celtic prayers from the Northumbria Community for the offices using the Celtic Daily Prayer book. I loved the creational earthiness and spiritual awareness of the Celtic prayer, and enjoyed the freshness that came from learning new prayers that I could add to my observance when I so desire. This prayer book also has a wonderful treasury of prayers by Celtic spiritual leaders that I have found to be very encouraging and inspiring.

The Concluding Prayer of the Church – Thursday, Second Week of Advent

Open Lord, my eyes that I may see.
Open Lord, my ears that I may hear.
Open Lord, my heart and my mind that I may understand.
So shall I turn to you and be healed.

Traditional (from The Divine Hours, p. 343)

May God bring more Christians into the joy of this practice of following in the steps of Jesus and the early Christians through observing fixed hours of prayer. As we open our daily lives to being ordered around prayer may God more readily indwell our daily moments more that we may see his beauty in the incomplete gestures that fill our days.

del.icio.us Tags: Daily offices, Fixed hour prayer, Divine Hours

The Prayer Appointed for the Second Week of Advent

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:41:00 +0000

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation:
Grant us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins,
that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen

Towards an Engaged Theology of Other Religions

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:34:00 +0000

Originally presented in an earlier form as the final paper for Religious Pluralism at Denver Seminary on December 12th, 2008. The paper is also available for download in pdf format.

Introduction

This paper is a call for Christians to put work into developing a more adequate theology of other religions, one that is neither provincial nor passive. This must be a thoughtful theology of understanding and intellectual engagement that seeks to allow Christians to interact meaningfully with adherents of other religions with respect and humility.

The Nature Of Religion

We need to start with a basic understanding of the nature of religion. Religion, as defined by Winfried Corduan, “is a system of beliefs and practices that provides values to give life meaning and coherence by directing a person toward transcendence.”[1] This system is typically comprehensive in its scope, extends to the deepest convictions that a person holds about the world in which they find themselves, and makes certain ethical demands on the person.

James Sire defines a worldview as “a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic makeup of our world.”[2] In terms of worldview elements, religions make objective truth claims (which, for adherents, form the basis for their defining beliefs) about the nature of ultimate reality, the human condition, and spiritual liberation and destiny.[3] As Sire mentions, these beliefs are presupposed, and thus form the doctrinal basis for the overall outlook of the person in their interactions with the world around them, including broader social practices and institutions that arise over time within the religion. Sacred literature, such as the Vedas, Bible, Qur’an and Tao Tsang, which may contain such diverse literary styles as “wisdom” writings and proverbs, religious narratives, poetry, prophecy, and apocalyptic usually provides the mythic grounding for the truths that are taught.[4]

Ethics is an important part of most religions. Believers are expected to live in certain ways and hold certain values so that they can be oriented rightly towards the sacred or holy spiritually, existentially, and socially. “This right orientation to the sacred or holy – meaning spiritual liberation or way of being – is viewed as necessarily connected to proper beliefs and practices.”[5] Religious communities regulate the behavior of their members through the ethical standards that are supported by the religious beliefs of the community members.

Religions also have a social aspect, since “in all ages and for most cultures, religion has been the glue that has held a society together.”[6] The social practices – both ritual and mystical - and institutions that form a key part of religion provide a significant normative social structure in which members of religious communities can find a place where they belong and can contribute to the fabric of the community.

It should be pointed out, even for religions that embrace a broad inclusivism (such as Hinduism or Buddhism) or religious pluralism (such as that of John Hick) that objective, universal truth claims are still being made about the nature of things. Whether it is Hick’s truth claim about the transcendent phenomenon of “the Real” as being what underlies all religious practice and experience, the Hindu notions of karma and transmigration, or the Buddhist beliefs in rebirth and nirvana: all of these are truth claims about the real state of affairs that informs subsequent religious activity and secondary beliefs. As another example, even though many Buddhists may be very inclusive of other religious beliefs, they still will deny the authority of the Hindu Scriptures, the Vedas and Upanishads, and the existence of individual souls which transmigrate in the cycle of rebirths.[7] Therefore, the radical exclusivism of religions such as Islam and Christianity may be an unpopular view in our postmodern, relativistic society today, but it is neither morally questionable nor inappropriate.[8]

Since religions operate at the level of a worldview, they are all exclusive to a certain extent because they claim to know (with varying levels of justification) that their view of reality is the most accurate. Therefore, we should be wary of attempts to brand Islam, Christianity and other “exclusive” religions as narrow-minded and intolerant because they make exclusive claims about the way things are.[9] Christianity affirms that Jesus is the unique and universal Son of God while Islam says he is nothing more than one of many human prophets. Some Hindus would likely affirm Jesus as merely another sage or perhaps an avatar of Krishna, and Buddhist might label him as another teacher. These assertions, if they are to have any meaning at all, cannot all be true.

“Pluralism seeks to censure all truth claims as imperialistic, dogmatic, and divisive” but embracing that position means that we are not being fair to what religions really claim and allowing them “to be ensnared in the swamp of religious pluralism, which concludes that we are all saying the same thing.”[10] If we affirm all truth claims as either true or irrelevant then the “only remaining arbiter for truth is the sole perspective of an autonomous, vacillating individual,” but “to say that any person’s view of truth, if sincerely held, is equally valid is ludicrous, because it would mean the end of all moral discrimination.”[11] Religious dialogue becomes a waste of breath, since according to the postmodernist we are all saying essentially “the same thing”, and ethical judgments become relative and therefore ultimately arbitrary.

Tolerance in religion therefore does not mean that every religious belief should be regarded as equally true (as affirmed by postmodern relativism and religious pluralism) or equally meaningless (as proposed by logical positivism and secular humanism), but that we should accept and affirm the right of others to hold beliefs different from our own and to their right to attempt to persuade us – with sensitivity and respect - of the truth of their beliefs.[12] “One can consider the beliefs or another to be false and yet treat that person with dignity and respect. For to deny this is to suggest that we can only respect and treat properly those with whom we happen to agree. But surely this is nonsense!”[13] We should acknowledge and denounce our human history of insensitivity and disrespect in interreligious dialogue and other forms of religion-based interaction, but strive to rise above our mistakes of the past and pursue a higher way.

We must not view genuine interreligious dialogue and persuasive witness to religious “others” as mutually exclusive. “The mutuality of dialogue is not sacrificed if everyone is permitted to speak with persuasion” since the real issue is not the strength of conviction in the witness to the truth of one’s position or beliefs, but whether that witness is conveyed with proper humility and sensitivity rather than coercively, dishonestly or in a manipulative manner.[14] Therefore, a theology of religions should be “apologetic” not in the sense of saying that religious believers should be embarrassed or ashamed of their religious beliefs, but rather in the sense that it recognizes the importance and rightful place of persuasion and engagement with people of other religious beliefs and convictions. To do anything less is to misunderstand the nature of religion and caricature the religious beliefs of others in unfair ways. Thus Christians can legitimately affirm an engaged exclusivism that affirms the universal right of all persons to engage others in religious dialogue in an appropriate manner with the goal of converting them.[15]

Theology and Redemptive History

As David Wells helpfully points out, theology may be thought of as consisting of three major elements: “confession, reflection upon this confession, and cultivation of a set of virtues grounded in confession and reflection”[16] As Christians, we start with what the church believes (“confession”) and then seek to reflect on how to bring God’s revelation to bear on the questions which arise as part of living in our world (“reflection”). And when we think about theology as product, and not just the process of theologizing, we must take into account the need for the resulting theology to be consistent, coherent and as comprehensive as possible. But it cannot end there since, in the case of a theology of religions, such confession and reflection must naturally lead to moral development and a sincere love for adherents of other religious traditions. This is why it must be an apologetic theology of religions; it must lead to humble, conscious, intentional engagement with others in constructive dialog and personal evangelism with the goal of conversion and long-term discipleship in the way of Jesus.[17]

Developing an adequate theology of religions involves more than comparative religion since it must attempt to give an adequate and accurate account for the religious dimension of human experience in all its rich diversity and history from the unique perspective of confessional, historical Christian orthodoxy rather than some kind of idealistic (yet impossible) objective “view from nowhere.”[18] And because a theology of religions should be approached from a confessional starting point, it is appropriate to ask about the nature of revelation and how that informs our understanding of the phenomena other religions.

Christian theology recognizes that God has revealed himself to humanity in two major ways. Firstly, he is revealed to us through creation in the form of general revelation. Romans chapters one and two teach that no one is ignorant of God’s existence, power and moral nature since these things are revealed to us through the creation order, including our own moral nature.[19] Also, God has revealed himself in special revelation both in Scripture and definitively in Jesus Christ.[20] Therefore, it is important that we frame any apologetic theology of religions with God’s gracious self-revelation to us in human history.

To do this we can start with the overall biblical framework of creation, fall, and redemption. Scripture teaches us that God created everything – including humanity – good and thus in a right relationship with himself.[21] At that point God was able to walk and to converse openly with his image-bearers and there was no relational or ethical conflict with God.[22] In Eden, in the beginning, all religion at that point was pure, right and true as God intended.

However, this situation was changed for the worse by our first parents’ rebellion against God and the subsequent corruption of creation that resulted from this introduction of sin.[23] From that time on, humans have felt the tension of being both drawn to their creator as the source of their life and meaning, and repelled by his holiness because we are sinful creatures.[24] But, thankfully, God made a way for us to be brought back into right relationship with him and to have a true knowledge of him. Through the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has made a way for us – and, in fact, all of creation - to be reconciled to him.[25] At the center of history is the resurrection of Christ, which validated everything that he claimed about himself and his saving work and opened the way to new life to his followers.[26] As Neil Plantinga succinctly states, “proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus isn’t nearly everything Christians have to offer the world, but it’s the platform for everything they have to offer.”[27]

This objective way of salvation through Christ is available to all and subjectively appropriated by faith in Christ.[28] Our redemption is something that God has provided on our behalf, but we must respond to his call and participate in his life through submission to his lordship and obedience to the teachings of Christ.[29] We are duty bound to seek to tell others about this message of the wonderful hope available in Christ as Lord and Savior.[30] This mission is not optional for Christians because it involves participating, through the power of the Holy Spirit and authority of Christ, in the mission of God the Father to bless all nations and peoples.[31]

What this means for an apologetic theology of religions, among other things, is that Christians can account for both the universal desire for transcendence in human experience and history and all its variety and contradictions. We seek God because we are made in his image and are incomplete without a true relationship with our maker. We long for our creator because of our innate spiritual awareness through his placement of “eternity in our hearts”, whether we recognize it or not.[32] As Augustine said, “You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”[33] Thus “we should not be surprised to find elements of truth and value in all religions” and “can think of the religions as displaying, in varying degrees, a rudimentary awareness of God’s reality through creation and general revelation.”[34]

There is notable common ground between Christianity and the other religions in doctrine, ethics and practice. Christians should affirm this common ground (since all truth is God’s truth) and recognize it as a work of God’s common grace (“common” in the sense that it is at work in all people and at all times) and as a result of the imago dei and part of general revelation.[35] We should use rational means as a means of proclaiming to others, and reasoning with others, for the truth of the Christian worldview in a manner that is respectful and humble.[36]

At the same time, we should not minimize differences in beliefs with other religions. For example, Muslims and Christians alike affirm belief in one God (i.e. monotheism). But what is meant by the term “God” in each religion is radically different. In Islam, God is the utterly transcendent, ultimately unknowable and incomprehensible creator. The Muslim God is a sovereign master seeking obedient slaves to his revealed will, not a loving father seeking to be reconciled to his lost children and fallen creation. [37] Also, the God of Islam is one person only. This is very clear in the Surah of Unity (or Oneness), Surah 112, which declares:

He is God alone, God the Eternal [undivided].
He does not beget and he is not begotten.
There is none co-equal with Him.[38]

The Muslim God has neither extension in personhood nor the possibility of incarnation; rather “his coming to persons is His omnipresence in them and with them at every time and in every place.”[39]

Scripture affirms that our seeking is corrupted by sin, and therefore other religions are “expressions of a genuine, although misguided, search and longing for God.”[40] Religion and religious practices are as a means for hiding from God as the source of all illumination and inspiration, because we are rebels and sinners.[41] “It is often our religiosity (even “Christian” religiosity) – our attempts to impress God or to earn his favor through following carefully prescribed religious rituals and rules – that keeps us furthest from him.”[42] Jesus reserved his harshest criticism for those who used religion as a cloak for avoiding the rightful claims of God on their lives.[43]

Scripture consistently condemns as idolatry, and in does so in no uncertain terms, the worship of deities other than the God of the Bible and participation in the rites of any other religious traditions.[44] As Nazir-Ali points out, “behind the critique of idolatry lies the profound concern of the biblical writers that the creation, whether in terms of its beauty, power or fruitfulness, should not be mistaken for the one who has brought it into being, sustains it at every moment and is fulfilling his purposes of judgement [sic] and salvation for it.”[45] Thus any attempt by people to blur the distinction between the Creator and creation is condemned as idolatrous and sinful. And, despite the best intentions, encouraging Christians to participate actively in the prayer practices and worship services of other religions is not an acceptable option.[46]

The Role of Jesus Christ

The Bible not only condemns idolatry, but also makes many exclusive statements about Jesus Christ. Christianity not only asserts that God is one in his nature, omnipresent and the all-powerful creator, but also that God is triune with respect to personhood: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are one in eternal essence, yet three distinct persons.[47] At the heart of Christian doctrine is the notion that God “can communicate himself as well as his will to human beings made in his image” and that he has done so through the God-man Jesus Christ.[48] The fullest revelation of God came to humanity when the Son of God took on a human nature and became incarnate as a man.[49]

Much of the New Testament witness to these historical assertions about Christ’s life, teachings (including his resurrection) can be attributed to first-hand witnesses and dated within the first century AD.[50] They are supported by Josephus, Tacitus and other contemporary historical sources. However, as seen from Surah 112 above, the Qur’an explicitly denies both the deity of Christ and the Trinity, yet makes these (and other) historical claims about the life and teachings of Christ more than 500 years after the events actually occurred.

Muslims hold that the true text of the Bible prophesies the coming of Muhammad (Surah 26:196), but that it has either been misinterpreted or corrupted by Jews and Christians to hide these prophecies (Surah 5:13).[51] For example, Muslims assert that Jesus’ promise to send “another Counselor” in John 14:16 really refers to Muhammad rather than the Holy Spirit. But John 14:25 explicitly names the Counselor as the Holy Spirit, Acts 1:4-5 and 2:1-4 tie the events of the Day of Pentecost to this outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and for John 14:16 there are no variant readings – nor any other evidence – for this supposed corruption of the text in any of the more than 5000 extant manuscripts of the New Testament today.[52] In fact, as mentioned previously, there is abundant evidence for the historicity and textual integrity – and therefore trustworthiness – of not only the New Testament assertions about Christ, but also the entire Bible.[53]

Conclusion

Why is it important for Christians to develop an engaged theology of religions? An apologetic theology of religions matters because people matter. For Christians such a theology has a personal aspect because it directly impacts how we relate to our friends, coworkers and neighbors as adherents of other religious faiths. It has an important social aspect, because it affects not only how we understand the place of respectful tolerance and dialogue, but also the rightful place of religion in government and other social institutions in a religiously diverse society.

If Jesus Christ really is the universal and unique incarnation of God, then this makes the truth claims of the Christian worldview normative for every person regardless of their religion.[54] The implications of the cross are universal and “nothing is untouched by it and all are brought to judgement [sic] under it but also salvation through it if they respond with faith and love.”[55] Not only can Christians account well for the phenomena of human religious diversity, but at the same time we can and should humbly and boldly proclaim the binding truth of Christianity to all people no matter what their faith.

[1] Winfried Corduan, Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduction to World Religions (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1998), 21.

[2] James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog, 3d ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 16.

[3] However, we must be careful not to reduce religions to worldviews or ignore the fact that religions are culturally situated.

[4] “Mythic” in the sense of playing an important role in forming and informing beliefs, which does not necessarily relate to the truth or falsehood of what the story affirms relative to human history.

[5] Douglas Groothuis, Religious Pluralism (class lecture, Denver Seminary, 28^th August 2008).

[6] Michael Nazir-Ali, The Unique and Universal Christ: Jesus in a Pluralistic World (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2008), 85.

[7] Harold A. Netland, Dissonant Voices: Religious Pluralism and the Question of Truth (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 1991), 57.

[8] “Exclusive” in the sense that they make truth claims that are universal, binding and normative on all other people regardless of their religion.

[9] Ibid., 278.

[10] Timothy C. Tennent, Christianity at the Religious Roundtable: Evangelicalism in Conversation with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 240.

[11] Ibid., 242.

[12] Netland, Dissonant Voices, 308.

[13] Ibid., 308. Emphasis mine.

[14] Tennent, 240.

[15] Ibid., 25-27.

[16] David F. Wells, No Place for Truth: Or, Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), pp. 97-103; quoted in Harold A. Netland, Encountering Religious Pluralism: The Challenge to Christian Faith and Mission (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 311.

[17] Netland, Dissonant Voices, 282.

[18] Netland, Encountering Religious Pluralism, 312.

[19] Netland, Dissonant Voices, 294.

[20] 2 Timothy 3 :16-17; John 1:1-18; Hebrews 1:1-3.

[21] Genesis 1:25-31.

[22] Genesis 2.

[23] Genesis 3; Mark 7:20-23; Romans 3.

[24] Netland, Encountering Religious Pluralism, 335.

[25] Genesis 3:15; John 3:16-18; 14:6; Mt. 11:27; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5; Colossians 1:19-23.

[26] Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 1:4; 1 Corinthians 15:1-19.

[27] Cornelius Plantinga Jr., Engaging God’s World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), 80.

[28] Romans 10: 9-12; Ephesians 2:8-9.

[29] Matthew 7:21-27; Philippians 2:5-16.

[30] 1 Corinthians 9:16.

[31] Genesis 12:1-3; Acts 1:8; Romans 4:16-25.

[32] Ecclesiastes 3:11.

[33] Augustine, Confessions, trans. Henry Chadwick (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), 3.

[34] Netland, Encountering Religious Pluralism, 333.

[35] Arthur F. Holmes, All Truth is God’s Truth (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1983).

[36] 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; 1 Peter 3:15-16

[37] Mark A. Gabriel, Jesus and Muhammad: Profound Differences and Surprising Similarities (Lake Mary: Frontline, 2004), 165; Saal, 42; Matthew 6:1-18; Ephesians 1:3-14.

[38] Cragg, Kenneth, The Call of the Minaret, 3d ed (Boston: OneWorld Publications, 2000), 33.

[39] . Kateregga and David W. Shenk, A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue (Scottdale: Herald Press, 1997),, 10.

[40] Ibid., 334.

[41] Nazir-Ali, 103.

[42] Ibid., 335.

[43] Matthew 6:1-18; 23:1-36.

[44] Exodus 20:2-5; Deuteronomy 7:1-6, 25-26; Psalm 115; Isaiah 41:21-24; 44:9-20; Acts 14:15; 17:16, 23-24, 29; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6.

[45] Nazir-Ali,88.

[46] See an example of this recommendation in Jacques Dupuis, Christianity and the Religions: From Confrontation to Dialogue, (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2001), 236-252.

[47] Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 139; Matthew 28:18-20; John 1:1-14, 18; Acts 5:3-4.

[48] Timothy George, Is the Father of Jesus the God of Muhammad? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 61.

[49] Romans 1:3; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 2:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-3.

[50] Craig L. Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of the Gospels (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1987); William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1984), 255-298.

[51] Gabriel, 224-5.

[52] George, 34.

[53] Gabriel, 224-229; Norman L. Geisler and Abdul Saleeb, Answering Islam: The Crescent in the Light of the Cross (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993), 207-226; William J. Saal, Reaching Muslims for Christ (Chicago: Moody Press, 1991), 83-101.

[54] Stanley Grenz, “The Universality of the “Jesus-Story,” in No Other Gods Before Me? Evangelicals and the Challenge of World Religions, ed. John Stackhouse Jr. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2001), 110.

[55] Nazir-Ali, 59.

Towards a Theology of Software

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 04:24:00 +0000

For a long time now I have been very interested in developing a robust and substantial theology of work. But now I am also starting to think beyond that to what a theology of software would look like.

In the coming Spring I will be doing a 2 credit hr independent study with Dr. Payne, Assistant Professor of Theology and Ministry at Denver Seminary, on a theology of work as it relates to software. I’m very excited about the possibilities this holds. Part of the class will be helping Dr. Payne by putting together a preliminary curriculum for a new graduate level Theology of Work course (including an annotated bibliography of the top 50 books to read in that area) to be a future elective for the new MA Theology degree program that just started this year.

As part of the independent study I will be reading Work in the Spirit by Miroslav Volf and A Theology of Work: Work and the New Creation by Darrell Cosden.

I also need to find another work that either deals directly with technology and sofware, or applies philosophy/theology to technology and software somehow, but I am not sure what. One that I already have sitting on my shelf that I am considering is Technopoly by Neil Postman. I was very challenged by his Amusing Ourselves to Death, and would expect Technopoly to be a similar reading experience. However, what I read as the third book is still up in the air. Any suggestions?

My main interest is in integrating what I do professionally with my faith at all levels, and helping others do the same in their professions. I have been very interested in theology of work for a while now, which led (among other things) to several blog postings here late last year such as: Becoming a Missiological Software Developer, a sermon on “The Place God Calls You To” & People First – In Missions and in Business.

I searched Google for "Theology of software" and only one substantial posting by Daniel Azuma came up entitled What has Silicon Valley to do with Jerusalem? I was pleasantly surprised that at least one other christian in software was interested enough in reflecting theologically about their craft to write a blog posting on it.

Daniel emphasizes, rightly I think, the importance of software development (or engineering, as he refers to it – I will treat the terms as roughly synonymous for the purpose of this article) as primarily a human activity, particularly as it relates to recognizing and pursuing beauty, goodness and truth:

Software engineering is sometimes thought to go hand in hand with capitalism, but I would dispute that in the strongest terms. It is not an economic activity, but a human one; its goal is not to make a buck, but to make something beautiful. Engineers who try to behave otherwise will probably fail, and will definitely be miserable doing it.

…

…all things, including software, are built for people, and it is the people who matter, not the software. The Creator, while visiting his first-century world, made an oft-quoted point about this, saying “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). If an engineering feat’s own self-perpetuation becomes the priority, be it a particular technique, or a particular product, even a particular business, it will invariably turn into a monster.

…

The product will, in the end, eventually get thrown away, but the people, relationships, and community that arise from it will endure, and it is perhaps these things to which we ought to pay more attention.

…

I have sketched these ideas in only the broadest terms, but I hope it is clear what I have learned– that software engineering, far from being the sheltered sandbox of bespectacled IT geeks with no life, is indeed a broad discipline, interconnected with all the varied disciplines of living.

His posting makes some great points and is a great place to start, but much more is needed. To illustrate what I mean, over 30 years ago Francis Shaeffer wrote Art and the Bible in an effort to lay out a biblical grounding for the role of artistic endeavor for Christians. I wonder, if someone were to write it, what would Software and the Bible look like?

Another thing I am hoping to do (in the longer term) is to build up a network of christian software professionals that are interested in reflecting in practical ways on what it means to be a christian in software and sharing those insights with each other in various ways (blogs, mailing list?, online publication, conferences?). I feel that for a long time now software development has been seen as the domain of the secular thinker and practitioner, and I want to see what can be done to equip christians (and the church) to deal with the challenges of living in the age of software.

“The end that we are to seek is the redemption of our world – the world that is truly ours and of which we are ourselves a part… Our role as Christians, as the people of the cross within that world, is precisely what Jesus said it was: to be salt, yeast, and light” – Douglas John Hall ^[*]

What will the redemption of the software part of the world look like, and how can we be a part of discerning that?

^[*] T.M. Moore, Redeeming Pop Culture: A Kingdom Approach (Phillipburg: Presbyterian & Reformed, 2003), p. 107

O Come, Desire of Nations

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:31:00 +0000

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Let us pause this Advent and echo the ancient pleas of the apostle and the revelator, for the sure hope of the shalom expressed by the visionaries and seers to be realized at his soon return:

Maranatha!

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

From Isaiah 65:

¹⁷ "See, I will create
       new heavens and a new earth.
       The former things will not be remembered,
       nor will they come to mind.

¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever
       in what I will create,
       for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
       and its people a joy.

¹⁹ I will rejoice over Jerusalem
       and take delight in my people;
       the sound of weeping and of crying
       will be heard in it no more.

²⁰ "Never again will there be in it
       infants who live but a few days,
       or older people who do not live out their years;
       those who die at a hundred
       will be thought mere youths;
       those who fail to reach ^[a] a hundred
       will be considered accursed.

²¹ They will build houses and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

²² No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
       or plant and others eat.
       For as the days of a tree,
       so will be the days of my people;
       my chosen ones will long enjoy
       the work of their hands.

²³ They will not labor in vain,
       nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;
       for they will be a people blessed by the LORD,
       they and their descendants with them.

²⁴ Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear.

²⁵ The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
       and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
       but dust will be the serpent's food.
       They will neither harm nor destroy
       on all my holy mountain,"
       says the LORD.

del.icio.us Tags: O Come O Come Emmanuel, Advent, Isaiah, Maranatha

Come Now Where We Least Expect You

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:37:00 +0000

A hymn for this first week of the Christian new year to help us reorient our thinking around Christ’s coming in the past, present and future:

Come now where we least expect you,
Christ our hope and longing, come.
Show us where we still reject you
in the world you made your home.
Look around!
Christ is found
far beyond our sacred ground.

Come where we have tried to own you
locked within the distant past,
where your church has scarcely known you,
where the least remain the last.
Enter still
where you will,
come to challenge and fulfill.

Christ-child, come in loving kindness;
come, great Judge whom angels praise!
heal us of our pride and blindness,
purge our hearts and change our ways.
God's own Word,
love outpoured,
come to us, O Christ our Lord!

Marnie Barrell, 1996

Advent

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:36:00 +0000

Each year Advent has become more and more my favorite time of the year, ever since I started praying the daily offices three years ago, and even more so once we started attending services with The Light of Christ Anglican Church in Denver two years ago.

Here are some thoughts that Pastor Jay Holsted put in the church newsletter that I thought would be good to share:

Advent is the perfect antidote to 21st century America, and I would like to invite you to try a few things.

First and foremost, separate Advent from Christmas. Christmas begins on December 25. Save Christmas
for Christmas.
Pick a way to celebrate Advent in your home and make it a part of your weekly family life.
Use Advent to look forward to Christmas. Begin decorating with just greens, and add a little each week.
Don't turn on the lights until just before Christmas (or for a special party). If you use a nativity set, don't add the baby Jesus until Christmas eve. Then leave it up for 12 days. Whatever you do, save something for Christmas.
Make birthdays (or some other day) a time to splurge on gifts for others. Let Christmas gifts be more modest, things that say, "The real giver in this season is God."
Make a special effort to do something for someone else or include someone else in your celebration.

We're surrounded by counterfeit Christmas. Fighting against it just makes us sound grumpy. Do it different this year. Be for something! Be for sanity and sobriety and frugality. Live this season as if Christ were the center of the story, the center of our lives, the center of our celebration. Put him at the head of the table. Not only will everything else will fall into place, but Christmas day will be the celebration you've always wanted.

We are doing our best to take Jay’s counsel. My daughter has an Advent chain that she made at her preschool, and every night at dinner we also open a window on an Advent calendar, then read Scripture and talk a little about God’s story and Christ’s coming.

I love that this is just as much a time to feel the expectation of Christ’s return as it is to anticipate the celebration of his birth. I think this week’s collect from The Divine Hours does a great job of tying these two events together in a beautiful expression of trust, worship and hope.

The Prayer Appointed for the Week

Almighty God, give all of us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Seeking God - A Meditation

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:36:00 +0000

In prayer and fasting we often are seeking insight into God's will, wanting to know what it is that he would have us do. Yet we must be careful to remember that prayer and fasting are essentially about seeking God, regardless of whether he chooses to increase our level of knowledge about our circumstances or not.

We seek him, and in doing so find the confidence that God's rule (The Kingdom of God) has not diminished in power or reach. He is available to us in the details of our circumstance. And, because of our growing awareness of his character and availability, regardless of whether we obtain insights into whatever we are struggling with, we find our prayers answered. We find our Lord.

Christian prayer is essentially and inherently personal. All answers to prayer start and end with a person, and he is our sufficiency. Everything we receive is purely an act of his grace .

del.icio.us Tags: prayer, fasting, seeking God, Christian prayer

The Prayer Appointed for the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:25:00 +0000

Grant me, O Lord, to trust in you with all my heart; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

From The Divine Hours.

Daily Offices Online

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:17:00 +0000

Pray the Divine Hours at Explore Faith. Note that you need to select your timezone the first time.

This is a great way to maintain the discipline without having to carry around the book as I need to (this site is blocked as "religious" at my place of work).

del.icio.us Tags: Divine Hours, daily offices, prayer, fixed hour prayer

Update your feed

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:08:00 +0000

Please update your RSS feed for this blog to point to http://feeds.feedburner.com/rayneronline/Confluence. This will be the permanent feed for this blog from now on.

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The Great Thanksgiving - Anglican Liturgy

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:05:00 +0000

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is indeed right, for you made us, and before us, you made the world we inhabit, and before the world, you made the eternal home in which, through Christ, we have a place.

All that is spectacular, all that is plain have their origin in you; all that is lovely, all who are loving point to you as their fulfillment. And grateful as we are for the world we know and the universe beyond our ken, we particularly praise you, whom eternity cannot contain, for coming to earth and entering time in Jesus.

For his life which informs our living, for his compassion which changes our hearts, for his clear speaking which contradicts our harmless generalities, for his disturbing presence, his innocent suffering, his fearless dying, his rising to life breathing forgiveness, we praise you and worship him.

Here too gratitude rises, for the promise of the Holy Spirit, who even yet, even now, confronts us with your claims and attracts us to your goodness.

[Update] I thought that this was an Anglican liturgy, since it was used for communion at my Anglican church. But Paul Weary has since commented on this posting that the liturgy is actually from the Iona Community - to be precise "Liturgy for Holy Communion A" in the "Wee Worship Book" (4th edition) by Wild Goose Publications. Thanks for pointing that out Paul!