"There are two great lies I've heard:
The day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die
And that Jesus Christ was a white middle-class Republican
And if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like Him" - Derek Webb, A King and a Kingdom
Lately Tyler and I have had lots of discussions on the subjects mentioned in the title of this post. To use a second quote from Derek Webb (I know, two in one post!), "A lot of the songs on Christian radio are just outright misrepresentations of the character of God." I want to move that beyond radio and music, however. I think that it is far too easy to fall into the trap of putting God in a box, as they say; for someone to write a book that gives a suddenly new "insight" into who God is and what He's about. It's also a problem to assume to have correctly interpreted the Bible, which has for centuries been hotly debated as to what it means or instructs in many instances.
What strikes me as happening very often, is that instead of gaining insight or understanding on who God is or who Jesus was, people (myself included) will project a part of themselves, a part of someone else they know (a parent, grandparent, mentor, lover, etc.), or a character quality they want to see or be close with. This is not to say that it is always incorrect, but not always correct either. Or, something also concerning to me at times, is the practice of finding God's providence in every tiny detail, or the gleening of a deep lesson errantly (such as if a decision you make results in a poor outcome, and then interpreting it as what God wanted, instead of recognizing the consequences of your intitial poor decision). My concern with these is that if every event, if every little coincidence, if every tiny good turn of events is portrayed in a miraculous light, how much less miraculous will true miracles be? How much more disheartened will we be when things go poorly, if we are conditioned to walking on a holy cloud of blessings? Bare with me, I am not raining judgement down on those folks who lace every conversation with reference to Christ or God; those people are truly blessed with a worshipful heart. Forgive me for being more, shall I say, suspicious.
In a country with the president we have, with the televangelists we have, with people so eager to find God in activities or lifestyles that are more for their benefit than the proper representation of who God is, we need to be more discerning. It may be a matter of semantics at times, or it may be simply understanding what in your life is truly God's work, what is your own; what is God's divine hand in situations, and what is God's instruction for living working out through His people in day to day Christian brotherly and sisterly love.
This was originally a little more coherent, but turned into a bit of a vent, and a whole lot of an imploring for discernment. I would use specific examples, but wish to keep things as anonymous as possible.
Addendum:
This may be something that, as a man, I'm not able to fully understand, but I know that for a lot of women there is this adoration of Christ as the "perfect lover", in a sense. I've seen it walk a hazy line between a truly Biblical example of the church as the bride and Christ the bridegroom and then something altogether different; Christ as the model lover for the girl who has had broken or failed relationships, or difficulty in general. For men, it can happen with a different persona, usually father, sometimes brother, also best friend. I find this kind of....replacement....dangerous, because as I said, it can become a matter of what do we want God to be, as opposed to what God is.
The day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die
And that Jesus Christ was a white middle-class Republican
And if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like Him" - Derek Webb, A King and a Kingdom
Lately Tyler and I have had lots of discussions on the subjects mentioned in the title of this post. To use a second quote from Derek Webb (I know, two in one post!), "A lot of the songs on Christian radio are just outright misrepresentations of the character of God." I want to move that beyond radio and music, however. I think that it is far too easy to fall into the trap of putting God in a box, as they say; for someone to write a book that gives a suddenly new "insight" into who God is and what He's about. It's also a problem to assume to have correctly interpreted the Bible, which has for centuries been hotly debated as to what it means or instructs in many instances.
What strikes me as happening very often, is that instead of gaining insight or understanding on who God is or who Jesus was, people (myself included) will project a part of themselves, a part of someone else they know (a parent, grandparent, mentor, lover, etc.), or a character quality they want to see or be close with. This is not to say that it is always incorrect, but not always correct either. Or, something also concerning to me at times, is the practice of finding God's providence in every tiny detail, or the gleening of a deep lesson errantly (such as if a decision you make results in a poor outcome, and then interpreting it as what God wanted, instead of recognizing the consequences of your intitial poor decision). My concern with these is that if every event, if every little coincidence, if every tiny good turn of events is portrayed in a miraculous light, how much less miraculous will true miracles be? How much more disheartened will we be when things go poorly, if we are conditioned to walking on a holy cloud of blessings? Bare with me, I am not raining judgement down on those folks who lace every conversation with reference to Christ or God; those people are truly blessed with a worshipful heart. Forgive me for being more, shall I say, suspicious.
In a country with the president we have, with the televangelists we have, with people so eager to find God in activities or lifestyles that are more for their benefit than the proper representation of who God is, we need to be more discerning. It may be a matter of semantics at times, or it may be simply understanding what in your life is truly God's work, what is your own; what is God's divine hand in situations, and what is God's instruction for living working out through His people in day to day Christian brotherly and sisterly love.
This was originally a little more coherent, but turned into a bit of a vent, and a whole lot of an imploring for discernment. I would use specific examples, but wish to keep things as anonymous as possible.
Addendum:
(my reply to a friend's comment)
I agree with you on the part of praying for what to eat, what to wear, etc. Trivial matters in life do not, in my opinion require divine intervention. That is why God gave us a capacity for wisdom and intelligence! It is right to try to become so close with God that you can feel open with him as a friend, although I don't want such a closeness if it makes me fail to recognize his Kingship.This may be something that, as a man, I'm not able to fully understand, but I know that for a lot of women there is this adoration of Christ as the "perfect lover", in a sense. I've seen it walk a hazy line between a truly Biblical example of the church as the bride and Christ the bridegroom and then something altogether different; Christ as the model lover for the girl who has had broken or failed relationships, or difficulty in general. For men, it can happen with a different persona, usually father, sometimes brother, also best friend. I find this kind of....replacement....dangerous, because as I said, it can become a matter of what do we want God to be, as opposed to what God is.