What I read on my "snow day"

What's up with snow days in March? Sheesh!

My sorry, housebound self turned being cooped up last Friday into an opportunity to read No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan.

Finally, six plus years after 9-11 I got to learn a little bit and put some pieces together...

*the story behind Muhammad the prophet

*How the Qur'an (= recitation) came about

*Understanding various parts of the Qur'an in historical context

*The origins of the Sunni versus Shiite divide

*Shariah, or Islamic law- where it came from- how some folks are trying to make it civil law today in Muslim countries

*the Sufi "sect" of Islam, a radical, mystical group that I find kind of cool (don't worry, I'm not converting!)

*the rise of political Islam in the 19th and early 20th centuries, from the Muslim Brothers in Egypt to the radical, fundamentalist sect called Wahhabisim- a group I find not cool at all- and I'm saddened that the oil in Saudi Arabia with the Wahhabi sect leaders and the political leaders funded the spread of this brand, "Petrol Islam," that now threatens the West and, even more so, other Muslim communities

*the anti-colonial origins of the Iranian Revolution and the Ayatollah Khomeni's whacked out model of Islam affecting several generations, including the author's

*Aslan's theory that after 1500 years Christianity endured a violent, bloody Reformation period, including a 30 Years War- and how it is now 1500 years after the Prophet- and it is Reformation time for the Islamic faith- and there is a battle going on to define what is true Islam

*Did you know that the 7-7 bombings in London were Muslims attacking other Muslims? I didn't. Aslan helped me to see anti-Muslim terrorism committed against other Muslims. Which version of Islam will prevail? I now see more clearly who I am rooting for.

What I realize...

*Wahhabism + Saudi oil + terror= bad news

*Need for majority Muslims to counter this form of Islam

*Need for the west to not lump Islam into one pot- there is as much diversity in this faith as there is in Christianity- it is unfair to compare Christian best with Muslim worst- and vice versa

Where I'm at...

*In my mind things are coming together, but...I can't really explain it to someone else

*When I hear things in the media, I understand how things fit together more

*As a Christian, I hope to build a bridge and find some Muslim friends- to talk about what we share in common, a prophet named Jesus- and to go from there

*I still don't have fond memories of the "call to prayer" at 4am in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Annoying!

My recommmendation:

It's well written book, but not an easy read.

You have to keep track of a lot of Arabic terms (with help from a glossary in the back)

You have to follow the trajectory of the story from the Prophet as orphan to Meccan radical to Medina exile to the succession challenges following his death

But the book will eventually bring you home to the relevance to our lives today, whether you are Muslim, Christian, Jews, something else, or atheist. I'm hoping to get some folks to talk about this book sometime.

Peace, salaam, shalom,

Duh-sciple Tim

Who is worthy?

Beggar's hands, palms face upward, touching

That's how I come to the Lord's Supper

Unworthy, undeserving, needing life/forgiveness/hope

Yet Jesus says, "My body given for you, my blood shed for you."

What does this mean?

Worthy are the unworthy!
(the beggars, the struggling, the repenting)

Unworthy are the worthy!
(self-congratulatory achievers who pretend to have their acts together
tragically, at times, that's been me)

So many need to hear these words "given for you" and "shed for you"

As we leave the Lord's Supper, having tasted Jesus

May people see His Body in us

Eat what you are

So that you may become what you eat!

Awesome Quote

Why is it that when you need love the most you deserve it the least?

Veterans Day

1. I give thanks for those who have sacrificed through their service in the armed forces.

2. I look forward to the fulfillment Isaiah 2:2-4, the days to come when military weapons will be turned into instruments of peace.

3. I commit myself to making peace in the world, with the Spirit's help, especially with those around me, knowing that this is easier said than done.--Matthew 5:9

4. I pray for Christ's power to love my enemies.-- Matthew 5:44

5. I honor those in uniform, interceding for their safety.

Duh-sciple Tim

Truth Seekers

"I want to convert people to become truth seekers instead of Christians; because everyone who seeks the truth will become a Christian, but not every Christian will become a truth seeker." -Sunil Sardar [church leader in India]

Monk [and Ted Haggard]

Lately my family is keeping Netflix in business, their stock is soaring, because we are sending away for all the DVD epidoses of Monk [from the USA network], the series about the obsessive, compulsive detective. What we like about Monk:

*the guy is messed up
*the guy is brilliant
*in spite and through his apparent weaknesses he solves crimes
*his friends and partners love and hate him
*he is a wounded man [his wife was murdered by a car bomb]
*and, most of all, he is funny!

As a pastor I know that all of us are broken. The character Adrian Monk demonstrates this in an entertaining fashion. From the oldest (me at 47) to our youngest (Jeremy at 10), we delight in his struggling, hilarious, yet heroic antics. Yet among Christians and in congregations we can't be like the Adrian Monks of the world. We are expected to have our act together. And, since we don't, we have to fake it. Lots of masks. Plenty of pretending. A fair amount of hypocrisy, and know that I use that word for everyone, even, and especially for myself.

That brings me to Pastor Ted Haggard, the recently resigned president of the National Evangelical Association, accused this past week of sexual sins, purchasing drugs, and using illegal substances. I can't imagine the shame, pain, and humiliation Pastor Haggard and his loved ones are going through right now. He preached family and moral values. Now this. While we don't know all the details, it seems that he did not live up to what he expected from others, what he felt God desired from his people.

Here's the deal. I am saddened that folks in churches can't be real. No Adrian Monks allowed. No Ted Haggards above ground, out in the open. Better to hide your secret sins. Hope and pray that no one finds out. Tragically, you see what happens. The world acts like sharks near blood, going in for the kill- at the very moment when the sinner is most wounded and vulnerable.

That's not how it was with Jesus. Sat in the diner on the stool next to Zaccheaus the tax collector, notorious collaborator with evil. Just sat there when a sinful woman washed his feet, drenched them with perfume. Fed the traitor, Judas, who would turn him into the feds on a bogus charge. Among the accusations against Jesus: he parties and stuffs himself with the rejects, low lifes, and sinners. I long for the church to be accused of such a thing! Instead of joining the sharks in the feeding frenzy, I pray that we might tend the wounded and the hurting. I'm desperate for a church that looks like Jesus.

I know what you're thinking. For what it's worth, I don't approve of what Pastor Haggard is accused of. Yet I pray for the healing of Pastor Haggard, his family, his church, his accuser, the media, our current political process, and our nation.

I believe that the path towards healing is through the authentic, wild, radical, dangerous, kind, compassionate, religion critiquing, big shot smashing, hypocrite challenging Jesus. Where there is bleeding, you can count on Jesus being there. Where there is a feeding frenzy, you can count on Jesus not feeding upon the wounded, but, ironically being fed upon by us sinner-sharks, so that we might have abundant, eternal life.

Enough for now.

If you read this, don't forget to comment, even if just to say "hi, I stopped by."

Kindness to all,

Duh-sciple Tim

Diana Butler Bass: The Real Danger of Bad Religion

Found this piece at the God's politics blog over at beliefnet. Diana Butler Bass writes about a real concern of mine, the destructiveness of bad religion in our world today. Tell me what you think! Duh-sciple Tim

http://www.beliefnet.com/blogs/godspolitics/2006/10/diana-butler-bass-real-danger-of-bad.html

Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Diana Butler Bass: The Real Danger of Bad Religion

Last Sunday’s New York Times reminded me that fundamentalism is, indeed, dangerous. What story underscored this point? Something about religion in the upcoming elections? Religious violence in the Middle East?

No, what caught my attention was the New York Times Book Review. Only two religion books made last week’s list: Sam Harris’ Letter to a Christian Nation and Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion. Both Harris and Dawkins attack Christianity, arguing that all religion is bad (not just that bad religion is bad) and that faith is a significant source of evil.

While Dawkins revives a scientific argument against the existence of God, Harris takes a slightly different tact. He argues that all forms of Christianity are intellectually, morally, and politically suspect—with “extremism” being the worst offender. He writes that, “Christians have abused, oppressed, enslaved, insulted, tormented, tortured, and killed people in the name of God for centuries.” Accordingly, the best thing that could happen for civilization is the eradication of religion.

Many people are alarmed about the dangers of extremist religion, especially of the Religious Right—afraid of dogmatism, inquisitions, theocracy, and violence. I worry about crusades, pogroms, and terrorism as much as the next person. But I confess to a different worry: the effects of religious fundamentalism on religion.
Harris and Dawkins go to the heart of my concern. When bad religion becomes the primary way people define faith, the opposite result will not necessarily be good religion—the backlash is often no religion.
Modern atheism was birthed in the late seventeenth century. After a century of religious warfare following the Protestant Reformation, many Europeans opted out of faith. Instead of finding peace in God, they found peace by concluding that no God existed. The option proved comforting, and, for next century, European Christianity struggled to regain both intellectual credibility and popular support.

In the late nineteenth century, during America’s fundamentalist/modernist controversy, agnostic Robert Ingersoll made a career attacking Christianity. Ingersoll’s skepticism fuelled the rise of popular secularism, thus leading to a general decline of church membership in the early twentieth century.
History reveals that bad religion often results in no religion. That books like Harris’ and Dawkins’ should gain traction at this time should come as no surprise. Religious fundamentalism leads those of tender conscience, doubters, and freethinkers to view all people of faith as crazy extremists. Harris, for example, implies that the difference between suicide bombers and religious progressives is merely one of degree.
Thus, the beauty of faith—its compassion, mercy, and love—is obscured in a haze of extremism. In this chaotic age, the potential exists that a weary public will turn not to God’s goodness as a way through our problems but will turn away from God altogether. The bestseller status of both Harris and Dawkins should worry moderate and liberal Christians. The Religious Right has succeeded in resurrecting Christianity’s main intellectual competitor: atheism.

I have nothing against secularism or questioning faith, and I agree with Harris and Dawkins that Christians have done many horrendous things. Despite the fact that some Christians practice Christianity badly, I remain a Christian. Not a “crazy extremist” one, but one that tries to imitate Jesus and follow his teachings—and one who believes those teachings can create a more peaceable world. The greatest danger of religious fundamentalism, with its narrow intellectual and political vision, is not to American society, but to Christianity itself.

Diana Butler Bass (www.dianabutlerbass.com) is an independent scholar and author. Her new book is Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith, from Harper San Francisco.

Jesus admirers versus Jesus followers: Part 2

More contrasts between the Jesus admirers and the Jesus followers:

Jesus admirers: expect others to be perfect
Jesus followers: look for the good in others, realizing they are not going to be perfect

Jesus admirers: satisfied with a tame, easily understood Bible with clear, simple answers
Jesus followers: explore the mystery of the actual Bible, a wild book that cannot be reduced/tamed

Jesus admirers: become crushed/disillustioned when life goes wrong
Jesus followers: see the world as a good creation, but filled with struggles- believe the world with God's grace will grow in wonder, beauty, order, complexity, and variety

Jesus admirers: sit in the stands watching the game
Jesus followers: play in the game

Jesus admirers: worry about getting themselves into heaven
Jesus followers: more concerned when they see others living a hell on earth

To be continued...

Duh-scipe Tim
An admirer seeking to become a follower

Jesus admirers versus Jesus followers: Part 1

Lately I've noticed that the majority of Christians are Jesus admirers rather than Jesus followers. From the very beginning this was the case.

On Sunday we will read from Mark 10:35-45. In this episode, Jesus has just finished his third seminar on the cross, he says, "I'm going to die a brutal death on the cross." James and John, "That's nice. We've been meanign to ask you something. Could you do something for us?" Outrageous!

That's like someone saying to me, "I'm entering hospice. The doctors say I have less than a week to live." Me, "Sorry to hear about that. Too bad. But before that happens, if it's not too much trouble, could you do me a favor?"

James and John covet the places of honor at the "glory banquet", sitting to the right and left of Jesus the "superstar". Irony. Soon Jesus will be stapled to a tree, anything but a superstar. To his right and to his left, two other pathetic losers hammered onto splintered planks." No wonder Jesus says, "You don't know what you're asking. You don't get it!" Duh!

What we have here is this: James and John admire Jesus, but they're not yet following Jesus. Mark's Gospel invites us to transformation from Jesus admiring to Jesus following. Consider the contrast between the two.

Jesus admirers: give away their left overs (= what they don't really want).
Jesus followers: give away their first fruits (= their very best).

Jesus admirers: run from trouble.
Jesus followers: work through trouble.

Jesus admirers: hard hearts (=harsh towards others), soft feet (= avoid serving when they might get hurt)
Jesus followers: soft hearts (= tender towards others), hard feet (= tough, willing to serve under brutal conditions)

Jesus admirers: complain that the church isn't perfect.
Jesus followers: don't expect the church to be perfect and love it anyway.

Enough for now. More to come.

Peace,

Duh-sciple Tim
[who is still on the journey from admiring to following]