Saturday, May 28, 2011

Why there is division in the church...

...and ultimately why we fight for the gospel.

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." -Galations 1:6-10 (ESV)

As I was reading these verses this morning, a few things struck me. First, verse 8 rang home. We have the extremely hard privilege of holding high the gospel of Christ, but in a day and age (like any other) where Biblical ideas such as 'original sin' and 'hell' and 'God is love' are thrown aside or greatly cheapened, we cannot back down on our stance to uphold the gospel. Paul says "even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed." That's some mighty strong language. But it also means we should be more firmly planted in the Word of God than in the teachings of our most revered pastor, or scholar.

Second, in verse 10 Paul asks us twice if we are trying to please men. Repetition is key to driving home a point and this question is so challenging he asks it twice. Then, he writes, "If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." It's like Paul gets you to realize that in some, if not many, areas of your life, you esteem man higher than you esteem God. Only to then make another extremely strong statement, challenging you to realize that, in Christ, your new identity defines you.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

How many ears must one man have


before he can hear people cry?
Yes, how many deaths will it take til he knows
that too many people have died?
The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
-Bob Dylan, Blowin' in the Wind

One day after Lady Gaga's new album caused an amazon overload because it was $1, Bob Dylan turned 70. On the one hand, we have a woman capable of entertaining like the best of them. Of writing songs so catchy, we could care less about the content, but download her album like crazy because it's $1. On the other hand, we have someone who pissed people off because he wouldn't fit one music mold, but still wrote songs that became anthems for a generation (i.e. 'Blowin' in the Wind', 'The Times They are a-Changing', 'Forever Young'). Someone who's personal life remains an enigma. Someone who, along with the likes of Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen, and Neil Young, remains one of the greatest living song-writers. Someone who's voice is so raspy that it takes nothing less than a long journey to appreciate his music. To that end, I offer 7 brief reflections based on my 7 favorite Bob Dylan songs that shed light on my journey to a full-boar appreciation of Bob Dylan's music:

7. Desolation Row, off Highway 61 Revisited
This 11-minute ballad has no chorus, taking your imagination down countless trails, ranging from Cinderella to the Hunchback of Notre Dame to the Phantom of the Opera to Einstein disguised as Robin Hood. To me, the largest impact comes in the verse on Ophelia, sadly, but vividly portraying someone who grew old long before her time: "Now Ophelia, she's 'neath the window. For her I feel so afraid. On her 22nd birthday, she already is an old maid. To her, death is quite romantic...And though her eyes are fixed on Noah's great rainbow, she spends her time peeking into desolation row."

6. It Ain't Me Babe off Another Side of Bob Dylan
Yeah, this song was NOT written by Johnny Cash. And Bob Dylan's version is better. Bob Dylan was the master of writing all kinds of love songs, whether it's on a worked-at, enduring love (i.e. Nettie Moore, Make You Feel My Love), on love that dissolves into animosity (i.e. Idiot Wind, Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat), or, as in this case, on mistaken love (also see: Visions of Joanna).

5. Lay Lady Lay off Nashville Skyline
Suffice it to say I totally thought the chorus to this song was something different. And sung it that way until my roomates laughed at me and corrected me on the way home from a Dylan concert. This song is the one that brings back great memories of good times with friends and actually seeing Bob Dylan (though, ironically, he didn't play this song that night).

4. Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again off Blonde on Blonde
The first Bob Dylan song I fell in love with. As such, it holds a special spot in my heart. The lyrics to this song are amazing, as Bob subtly interchanges verbs. For example, "And I would send a message, to find out if she's talked. But the post office has been stolen, and the mailbox is locked."

3. Tangled up in Blue off Blood on the Tracks
For one, I would argue that Blood on the Tracks is Dylan's most accessible album, as his voice is the most melodic. Additionally, my favorite authors include Steinbeck and Irving, two authors who fully embrace the 'americana theme.' So much so that Irving quotes this song in his latest novel: "I had a job in the great north woods working as a cook for a spell. But I never did like it all that much and one day the ax just fell."

2. Mississippi off Love & Theft
With an 'americana' setting, this song represents a tragic reflection on and the desire to rekindle a love that went south. It's also proof that Dylan can still make some of his best music in his 60's. "Only one thing I did wrong, stayed in Mississippi a day too long."

1. Positively 4th Street found on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits
At the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, Dylan went electric, creating an uproar from fans who thought he was 'selling out.' He wrote this in response, criticizing his fans for trying to keep him in a particular mold, while lamenting on how difficult it is to be a musician. "You say, how are you? Good luck. But you don't mean it, when you know as well as me, you'd rather see me paralyzed. Why don't you just come out once and scream it?"

Happy 70th, Robert Zimmerman!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Rain Down, Summer!


It may be raining outside and I may be burying my head into science paper-writing for the next couple weeks, but it's starting to feel like summer for these amazing reasons:

1) No more classes!! (duh...)

2) I now have time to read 'Conversacion en la Catedral' again! And this book just gets better with every page turned.

3) Several rousing games of ultimate frisbee last night simply felt so good and summertastic.

4) Moby's and Company of Thieves' new albums came out today! Their last two albums were my faves of 2009. Additionally, my summer last year ended with seeing CoT (among other bands) at Lollapalooza. Hence, the picture on this blogpost was taken by...me! Seriously, this Chicago band rocks like very few bands can and Genevieve's vocals are so wistfully powerful, it's mind-numbing. Use this coupon and get the album for FREE at FYE (I did!). And, what's not to love about Moby when he's at his best; producing the sweetest chill music known to mankind. So pick up Destroyed too, you won't be disappointed.

So let the Boston rain pour down; summer's here!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Thinking about our Nonbiblical Terminology

Among the phrases Christians toss around as if they make complete sense, is the notion that you "accept Jesus into your heart" and thereby receive the gift of salvation. Over the past year or so, I've been struggling with this idea, as this language is found nowhere in Scripture (though ideas behind this idea are) and can overly personalize the gospel. The gospel is the greatest news this world has and will ever see: that God in flesh, came as Christ, dying for our sins and rising from the dead so that we, too, one day will do the same and glorify Him forever. On the one hand, this is personal as Christ took on flesh to become like us and die for us. But in addition to subjectively moving us, this gospel is objective: it is the greatest event in human history. Ever. In discussing the Holy Spirit, I think this quote provided me with some much-needed illumination:

"The first thing the [Heidelberg] Catechism notes here is that the Holy Spirit "has been given to me personally." The Holy Spirit is not simply an omnipresent being who is with us in the sense that He is everywhere and so wherever we go there He will be also. The Spirit lives within us (1 Cor. 6:19) and makes His dwelling in our hearts (2 Cor. 1:22, Gal. 4:6). We have fellowship with Him (2 Cor. 13:14). This physical imagery should not be understood spatially as if the Spirit gets His mail delivered in the upper left chamber of that beating muscle in the chest. Rather, the Spirit dwells in us by animating our personality, shaping our character, renewing our mind, and stirring our emotions. His presence is not a physical residence as much as an experienced reality."
-KDY, The Good News We Almost Forgot

A loaded quote, especially the last two sentences. But I hope if grants you joy as you reflect on the amazingness of the Holy Spirit working within you!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Man is a Giddy Thing

Having finished another round of finals and my first year of graduate school, these next couple days are going to be rather relaxing. Among things I'm now finding time to do, today I wrote a letter to my grandparents (!) and dived into the devotional I've been picking at for some time now. I know eternity scares the living daylights out of many people, but my favorite theological topic remains eschatology (studying the "end things"). Eschatology echoes through the core of my being, because there is so much that is broken. Both in my personal life and globally. And while it's often difficult (try as hard as I might) to have faith that God's going to fix things now (which, sometimes He will, sometimes He won't), it's immeasurably uplifting to think about that day when the whole earth will be transformed and the tears wiped from every believer's eye.

So....today's devotional was on the Ascension and the importance of it to our faith. Here are a few selections that tickled my heartstrings, and I hope they may encourage you as well:

"Christ's ascension benefits us because we now have our own flesh in heaven; our lives are hidden with Christ who dwells in glory above (Col. 3:3-4). Christ's flesh in heaven is a guarantee that ours will be there too someday. Our hope is not an eternity as disembodied souls but real, resurrected, material human bodies in God's presence forever. Christ's body is the first one there, but not the last."

"The ascension also implies that "asking Jesus into your heart" does not mean inviting a kind friend or comforting therapist into your life. It means--if we are using the nonbiblical phrase in a biblical way--that we are expressing our desire to be one with the king of the universe. The Jesus who lives within our hearts is sitting exalted at the right hand of God the Father Almighty."