About the form of the person

As I sit here listening to the band “Iron and Wine”, a current folk/shoe-gazing artist, I hear songs about gentle living in the countryside, long walks in the woods, keeping animals, simple country romance.  I previously this day was listening to Denzel Curry, a Broward county rapper, lamenting the injustices of race relations and inner city violence. Neither of these worldviews are familiar ground to me. I live in middle class white America, small town, Protestant Dutch world.  

In all of this I have to wonder why.  Three very different worlds, all in America, all having a shallow similarity, in that they all function, to some degree, upon a Christian worldview.  The folk singer sounds content, yet somewhat sad. The rapper sounds angry, yet badly wanting to make things right. And my cultural situation is that of indifference, not on my part, but within the culture itself.  All that seems to be considered is that of personal contentment and “keeping up appearances.”

It strikes me that these people are what they are because of the families into which they were born and the race into which they were born, the economic status and the point in history.  All of which were imposed upon them. Also, the people that raised them, the choices made by those people and the choices made for themselves (based upon the worldview with which they were inculcated in their youth).

I wonder how many people stay where they are, simply because it is all they know, and it is all they can comprehend to be.  We can look at something else, outside ourselves, outside our life experience and think that possibly it is superior/inferior to our current state, but it may not be.  Or it may be in our best interest to consider that which is different than our experience and adjust our reality.

My point is this.  We all live in and function based upon what we know.  But what we know is built upon genetics, upbringing and our immediate culture.  We should not limit ourselves to these things though. We need to learn to look around, ask questions about why we do what we do and try to understand the situations of others, without judgment.

Most important

One can speak of pursuing only that which is most important.  But it is never that simple. Every decision that we make in life will, inevitably, lead toward that which is most important, or away from it.  But like a road through the mountains, that path is seldom straight. When we say “x” is most important, this does not mean that “y” and “z” are NOT important, but that other things are simply less important.  Also, this does not mean that “y” and “z” can simply be ignored, at any expense.

Within Eastern Orthodoxy, they say that there is only one path to eternal life, not two, as some suggest, when considering either the married path or the monastic path.  These are one path with different emphases. When one chooses the married path, one is automatically taking on the responsibilities of things “not-spiritual” (which really is a misnomer, for God uses all things for our spiritual growth, we just need to learn to see that).  

So ultimately, yes, the one most important thing is our sanctification, but the path of sanctification is typically not what we may think it is.  To use a metaphor, one does not become a good runner by studying it, but by practicing it, often, and it often is very uncomfortable or even painful.  To the same end, our sanctification will be uncomfortable, confusing and even painful, but when we learn to trust God for leading us down that path, at least we won’t fall into despondency.

I, of all people, need to hear this truth  more than anyone.

Thrill of the kill

How is it considered normal or healthy to enjoy killing anything?  i.e., hunting for sport. I can understand someone hunting out of necessity.  This was probably far more common in the past, at least in the United States. Someone lived out in the deep woods and had to grow, hunt down or prepare their food. If you failed to gather or kill enough, you simply went hungry or even died of hunger. Or worse yet, you watched your family die of hunger. But that really is not the case any longer. No one "needs" to hunt in order to survive.  
And it cannot be argued that hunting is less expensive than buying groceries. I suppose that someone could argue that literal "wildlife" hunting/poaching is less expensive, if one is not picky about what one eats. But typically, the hunting that takes place is the "take one week of work off, pack up all the hunting/camping/hiking gear, buy a hunting license and ammunition" type of hunting. Which is not an inexpensive endeavor.
But to enjoy killing? Simply for the thrill of the kill? "Hey, look at that beautiful animal!  Let's kill it and hang its head on our wall."  Personally, that sort of mentality seems antithetical to the Christian faith. Man didn't eat meat until after the Great Flood. The animal sacrifice that took place in Old Testament, during the Old Covenant, was a direct result of and temporary covering for, sin.
I don't understand the enjoyment of taking the life of something else.

Deciding

When one deeply examines the world of philosophical debate, it simply comes down to faith.  Yes, one can argue about a myriad of philosophical details, but beneath all of one’s philosophy is faith. Eventually, digging down deep enough and asking the right questions, we believe something or some things that we do not prove nor do we seek a proof, we simply believe them.  Some things (probably many things) are embraced at the presuppositional level and thus, not questioned.

What do we do with this?  The first thought, for me anyway, in response to this, is to recognize the futility of debate and argumentation.  If someone holds to view contrary to our own and they are someone who has worked through the many philosophical questions that plague certain people, then arguing those philosophical beliefs will lead to nowhere, as there are presuppositions underlying those beliefs, that need to be addressed first.

My second thought has to do with learning to think presuppositionally.  We must learn to think down deep. In other words, we have to learn to ask the questions that lie beneath and behind the philosophical argumentation that so often takes place.  We need to learn to identify and find the rationale for those questions, so that, when interacting with others, we can construct and direct conversation to a fruitful conclusion.  

In short, we must decide to believe.  The questions that lie at the bottom of who we are, do not have answers constructed from fine, logical argumentation.  We decide to believe. This is where prayer comes in. We can argue all we want (but shouldn’t) about philosophy. But it won’t go anywhere.  We must, instead, lead to the deep questions, with no answers, and then pray that God would reveal himself and the futility of life without God, to those with whom we interact.  

Only prayer can change a man’s heart.

Preparation

Most people follow some sort of general cyclical pattern in their lives.  I'm thinking of a yearly pattern. We have our basic holidays and summer vacations.  We have birthdays, weekends and schooling schedule.  And without fail, we plan for these things.  Most people do not simply "wing it", when they go on vacation.  They make not necessarily make a list of specific plans, down to the miniscule details, but they do plan.  Airplane tickets, hotel reservations, car rental, possibly some key places to visit.
But what about eternity?  We plan our schooling, we plan our vocations, we plan our retirements, but practically speaking, this is really only about about a 50 year period.  What about eternity?  What planning are we doing to be prepared for eternity?  Does sitting in a pew, once a week constitute preparation?  Does our thoughts about eternity or even simply things spiritual take place only on Sunday morning, for about 45 minutes?  And even at that, how often do we sit though a feel good sermon that we typically don't even "hear" anyways?
We plan an exercise regimen.  We plan a vacation.  We plan a retirement financial approach?  But do we plan for eternity?
Do we even have any idea what it means to prepare ourselves for eternity?  We have a basic understanding of what it means to be in shape, to exercise, to have a healthy heart, but do we have any idea what it means to have a healthy soul?  Do we do ANYTHING to feed/care for/ prepare our souls?
Or are we simply focused on the here and now?

Too hard?

The subject of “being too hard”on your kids, in regards to religious practice, seems to come up quite often.  There are many examples of this taking place, always with really bad results. A few notable names come to mind, such as Maynard Keenan (from the band Tool) and GG Allin (from the band, The Murder Junkies).  Both of these men were raised in very strict religious homes and both men reacted strongly in rebellion against that religiosity that was foisted upon them.

I have to wonder what exactly is taking place.  On the surface, the child is raised in a situation that stifles, controls and suppresses them, rather than challenging, maturing and loving them.  Everyone has a different personality and to force religion, something that is supposed to fulfill, upon them, in a manner that drives them away is, in my opinion, about the worst action one can take.

So my question is this? What does it mean to be "too hard" on your kids? Scripture does speak of this when it says, "Fathers do not exasperate your children." (Ephesians 6:4). One of the biggest problems with this passage is the way that it is handled, according to personal interpretation. In the world of Protestantism/Evangelicalism, one can interpret Scripture in whatever way one seeks fit. I can guarantee that no father guilty of being too hard on his children even sees himself that way. 

In order to keep this practical, we can say two things. One, never make the faith a matter of grief, animosity or disdain. Going to church or church related events should not be a pain point for kids. If it is, we are doing something wrong. This is not to say that church/religion should be fun and games. But it is our responsibility to make our faith real to our kids.

It really comes down to love. If we are loving God and loving neighbor
 (ie, our kids), like we should a relationship of open communication should 
be natural. Yes, children will rebel and want to define things for themselves. 
But that is a progression that should take place. Our kids must embrace
 faith for themselves and not simply mimic us. And this may mean a different 
path to come into a faith for themselves.

What to do

It is the feeling of helplessness that is so bothersome.  The older I become, the more I realize just how powerless I am and how little I know.  As an idealistic youth and young man, the world was black and white.  What the pastor said in his weekly sermons were true and defensible. But now, as I have reached middle age, life is much more complex, every incomprehensible at times.  Sure, there is black and white, but the gray area in the middle continues to grow.  Circumstances change everything.
What then are we to do, when we are essentially powerless to really make any difference in the world around us?  Governments are corrupt, sex drives everything, people have become objects to be used and thrown away.  Abortion is common, abuse is common, euthanasia is common, neglect of reality and a focus on the temporal rules the day.
As I've mentioned in a previous post, the physical world around us, that everyone focuses on, to the neglect of the other 90% of reality, is painful to live in.  There is so much wrong, so much messed up, so much going the complete wrong direction, that I have to ask, "What to do?"
We cannot become fatalists, for we truly believe that prayer makes a difference.  We cannot simply stop caring, for we have loved ones that need us and that we need.  As Jesus said, "the poor you will always have with you."  So we have to get used to the idea of the persistent nature of evil and suffering.  As long as we are on this side of the final judgment, life is suffering.
The only answer I can offer, the only answer the church has to offer, is that of prayer and repentance. We pray for those in need and we strive after holiness, repenting as we go.