While teaching a year 6 scripture class a few years ago, one of the kids told the class that while he definitely believed in God, he didn't believe in heaven and hell, and he certainly didn't believe that Jesus actually died and rose again. I responded by asking him if he thought you could just choose what you want to believe and then call it true? If His teacher was introducing the class to 12 x tables, and this bright spark put up his hand and said “Miss, I can cope with 12x1 and 12x2, but there is just no way in the world that I can believe 12x3=36, I'm sure his teacher would be upset with him for being so arrogant and tell him that you can't change what is true just because you don't believe it. Truth is truth, all we get to do is discover it.
My great ambition in life is to follow Jesus with all my heart and to help others do the same. My parents feel exactly the same, and I've always deeply admired that about them. Growing up in their house, I saw how real their faith was and wanted that for myself. But what If I was born in a remote village in Pakistan and my parents were devoted Muslims, would I now be a religious leader teaching the way of Islam?
So then if all religions claim to own “the truth” how do we decide which one is right? Are all religions basically the same? If you are in the market for a new religion, how do you know which one is best? Is it just about personal taste or preference like choosing cereal from the supermarket? Can you just choose the best bits from each of them?
Karl Marx said “Man is incurably religious.” People feel the need to be seen doing something to actively work towards their own salvation and to try and keep the God's happy. Yet I think our basic problem is that no amount of self control, hard work, and good deeds can ever make a person clean and new. We do actually need someone to help us, maybe even to save us from ourselves.
Look I don't know everything, but If someone were to ask my advice, I would always say that although Christians don't have a monopoly on truth or on God, there is only one savior and that is Jesus, so if our basic problem is that we do actually need rescuing its probably going to be a good plan to trust Jesus to save. I'm not going to tell anyone to trust in Buddha or Mohammad, not because they are dodgy blokes, but just because they never claimed they could save anyone
Whether you grow up in a Christian culture or a Muslim one, the question remains 'Do I blindly follow a religious system of beliefs and practices, or do I seek, ask, search, for what is real and true?' God is not insecure, He promises that if anyone really goes looking for him with their whole heart, they will find Him.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
What about Hell?
If I could have a dollar for every time someone has asked me “How could a loving God send people to hell?”...well I'd still be scratching for money, but it certainly is one of the most common complaints against Christianity. Yet in addressing the issue, I'm sure most people's immediate assumption is that God is some sort of cosmic bully. i.e: “here is what I want you to do - believe in me, be a good person, go to church etc and if you don't do what I want, then I'm going to destroy you and send you to suffer in Hell.” It seems that God is determined to punish those who won’t do what he says.
I know some Christians who feel that people need to be constantly reminded about the dangers of Hell for the sinful person as a way of motivating people into joining the church. Yet when is avoiding punishment or pain ever an appropriate basis for a relationship? Think of a marriage where the only reason she hasn’t left is because of the fear of what he’ll do if she walks out.
Ultimately people resent being judged. I think there is built up anger towards the church from most non Christians because they feel as though they are constantly hearing that their life is wrong, they are bad and that they had better change big time. So if God is just going to reinforce the guilt and judgment then why bother at all. 'Turn or Burn' doesn't sound very much like good news!
Yet while Jesus was on the earth, His message was one of acceptance and inclusion especially toward those who were labeled sinful and were rejected by society. In fact, the only words of judgment were reserved for the religious leaders who were making it impossible for people to really experience the love of God.
Now as much as I wish it wasn't so, I do think that Hell is a reality. But as for God sending people there, I'm really not sure that's how it works. Just like a loving father would be devastated if one of his kids chose to leave home at 15 to do whatever they want, so a brokenhearted God, feels the same at our choice to reject His love and choose independence from Him. Maybe the choice is up to us? If someone willfully chooses to live their life totally independent from God on this earth, then why would they be with God when they die? It's not what they wanted.
Hell will be a terrifying place not because people are being punished, but because they've chosen to be in a place where God is not. If He is the source of all good, then if He is not present then only only evil and darkness will remain.
Instead of seeing God as the mean bully, what if God is constantly reaching out to us in every way, exercising mercy and love, forever drawing people close, forgiving, always giving more time, more chances, more mercy, but never forcing our hand, hoping, waiting, longing for us to choose Him...until it is too late and He can do no more.
I know some Christians who feel that people need to be constantly reminded about the dangers of Hell for the sinful person as a way of motivating people into joining the church. Yet when is avoiding punishment or pain ever an appropriate basis for a relationship? Think of a marriage where the only reason she hasn’t left is because of the fear of what he’ll do if she walks out.
Ultimately people resent being judged. I think there is built up anger towards the church from most non Christians because they feel as though they are constantly hearing that their life is wrong, they are bad and that they had better change big time. So if God is just going to reinforce the guilt and judgment then why bother at all. 'Turn or Burn' doesn't sound very much like good news!
Yet while Jesus was on the earth, His message was one of acceptance and inclusion especially toward those who were labeled sinful and were rejected by society. In fact, the only words of judgment were reserved for the religious leaders who were making it impossible for people to really experience the love of God.
Now as much as I wish it wasn't so, I do think that Hell is a reality. But as for God sending people there, I'm really not sure that's how it works. Just like a loving father would be devastated if one of his kids chose to leave home at 15 to do whatever they want, so a brokenhearted God, feels the same at our choice to reject His love and choose independence from Him. Maybe the choice is up to us? If someone willfully chooses to live their life totally independent from God on this earth, then why would they be with God when they die? It's not what they wanted.
Hell will be a terrifying place not because people are being punished, but because they've chosen to be in a place where God is not. If He is the source of all good, then if He is not present then only only evil and darkness will remain.
Instead of seeing God as the mean bully, what if God is constantly reaching out to us in every way, exercising mercy and love, forever drawing people close, forgiving, always giving more time, more chances, more mercy, but never forcing our hand, hoping, waiting, longing for us to choose Him...until it is too late and He can do no more.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The power of the choice
I’m a sport fan through and through. Where there are two individuals or teams battling it out against each other for the glory of victory – I’m there glued to the T.V. Hey I’ll even watch a game of netball if it looks like a close contest! The thing about sport, in particular winning at sport, is the battle to overcome all odds and opposition to prove to be the stronger, fitter, faster man or woman on the day. The thrill of victory is made most real in the presence of the genuine threat of defeat. It’s just not the same if you rock up to the SCG to see the Australian Cricket team do battle, when their opponent for the day is the under 13 girls B team from Mudgee. (Although on current form you’d be a brave man to bet against the young ladies) The point is – if there is no possibility of defeat, then victory loses all meaning.
Now even though God is a fanatical Sydney swans fan, I'm sure He loves all sport, and it was Him who actually invented the concept of victory and defeat in the first place.
People so often site the fact that there is so much evil, pain and suffering in the world as their major case against the existence of God. However, what if God’s most powerful act of love was to wire within our hard drive the capacity to make real decisions that have real consequences. I’m sure God could have made us to be entirely good without the option of doing anything wrong, yet could you imagine being a robot that could only do what you were told?
God knows there can only be love if there can also be hate, there can only be good if evil is also an option and there can only be victory if it is possible for us to be defeated by life's temptations. There's just no other way.
It seems like such a risky plan to let us choose whether we will accept and return His love, but when we do, it is actually real. God waits longing for us to choose Him, but he never forces our hand, You can’t very well choose to open yourself to God unless you can choose to reject him.
You were made with the incredible capacity to choose how you will live. There is so much evil in the world because people choose it all the time and God does not take that ability away from them. Sure God could stop evil, but in doing so he would violate who he has made us to be. In the words of a friend of mine “God has given you a free will, let that be a warning to you
Now even though God is a fanatical Sydney swans fan, I'm sure He loves all sport, and it was Him who actually invented the concept of victory and defeat in the first place.
People so often site the fact that there is so much evil, pain and suffering in the world as their major case against the existence of God. However, what if God’s most powerful act of love was to wire within our hard drive the capacity to make real decisions that have real consequences. I’m sure God could have made us to be entirely good without the option of doing anything wrong, yet could you imagine being a robot that could only do what you were told?
God knows there can only be love if there can also be hate, there can only be good if evil is also an option and there can only be victory if it is possible for us to be defeated by life's temptations. There's just no other way.
It seems like such a risky plan to let us choose whether we will accept and return His love, but when we do, it is actually real. God waits longing for us to choose Him, but he never forces our hand, You can’t very well choose to open yourself to God unless you can choose to reject him.
You were made with the incredible capacity to choose how you will live. There is so much evil in the world because people choose it all the time and God does not take that ability away from them. Sure God could stop evil, but in doing so he would violate who he has made us to be. In the words of a friend of mine “God has given you a free will, let that be a warning to you
Thursday, February 19, 2009
What is a Christian anyway?
If Jesus were to rock into G town tomorrow with plans to stay for the weekend, which church would he go to?
The funny thing is that when Jesus came to the earth 2000 years ago, ( I recently overheard a yr 2 kid complaining to his scripture teacher “No way miss, it can’t still be 2000 years, they told us that last year!”) it was the religious people who hated him and who eventually killed Him. He was a major threat to their systems of control and ancient traditions - and I reckon it might just be the same today. As hard as it is to say, I really don’t know how comfortable he would be in any of our churches, instead you'd probably find Him at the Astor!
There is approximately 1.2 billion people around the world who would call themselves Christians, but without the title, what do they look like and how should they act? And if it's so good, why is there often just as much evil in the church as there is outside it? So what is a Christian anyway? Is it just about believing in God, faithful church attendance, not drinking smoking or swearing, belonging to a club of like minded believers that makes you feel better about yourself and better than others, a ticket to heaven, trying to keep the 10 commandments, or being a good person with good morals who gives to charity? While this may be the experience of a lot of 'Christians' I'm just not sure these things sum up what it should look like to live a life connected to God.
At the core of the real Christian message is the fact that at some stage everyone has chosen independence from God which has left us separated from Him. We have blood on our hands and dirt on our hearts and the only way back to God is to receive the forgiveness He offers each of us made possible by Jesus taking the punishment for wrong in our place.
So then Christianity is to have your life transformed by the power of that gift and as a result be genuinely plugged into God, then to follow Jesus all the way home. It is to be so changed by love and forgiveness that you no longer are driven by what is best for you, but filled with the love of God for others. Life then becomes a clear demonstration of all the things Jesus was about – love, justice, freedom, inclusion, hope, helping the poor, embracing the social outcasts , confronting the systems of control and injustice, real peace, truth, and generosity. Now that is really living!
The funny thing is that when Jesus came to the earth 2000 years ago, ( I recently overheard a yr 2 kid complaining to his scripture teacher “No way miss, it can’t still be 2000 years, they told us that last year!”) it was the religious people who hated him and who eventually killed Him. He was a major threat to their systems of control and ancient traditions - and I reckon it might just be the same today. As hard as it is to say, I really don’t know how comfortable he would be in any of our churches, instead you'd probably find Him at the Astor!
There is approximately 1.2 billion people around the world who would call themselves Christians, but without the title, what do they look like and how should they act? And if it's so good, why is there often just as much evil in the church as there is outside it? So what is a Christian anyway? Is it just about believing in God, faithful church attendance, not drinking smoking or swearing, belonging to a club of like minded believers that makes you feel better about yourself and better than others, a ticket to heaven, trying to keep the 10 commandments, or being a good person with good morals who gives to charity? While this may be the experience of a lot of 'Christians' I'm just not sure these things sum up what it should look like to live a life connected to God.
At the core of the real Christian message is the fact that at some stage everyone has chosen independence from God which has left us separated from Him. We have blood on our hands and dirt on our hearts and the only way back to God is to receive the forgiveness He offers each of us made possible by Jesus taking the punishment for wrong in our place.
So then Christianity is to have your life transformed by the power of that gift and as a result be genuinely plugged into God, then to follow Jesus all the way home. It is to be so changed by love and forgiveness that you no longer are driven by what is best for you, but filled with the love of God for others. Life then becomes a clear demonstration of all the things Jesus was about – love, justice, freedom, inclusion, hope, helping the poor, embracing the social outcasts , confronting the systems of control and injustice, real peace, truth, and generosity. Now that is really living!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
God is at work in the world
I was on my way to a Church meeting, walking along Auburn st when I noticed to my dismay that I was about to by confronted by someone from green peace trying to squeeze me for the moths in my wallet.
Now I'm no red neck, but I'm sorry to say, my thoughts about green peace were that they are all a bunch of tree hugging, dolphin kissing, hooch smoking hippies, so my attitude toward this guy wasn't fantastic, yet as soon as he opened his mouth I was shocked to discover that he was an intelligent, passionate, compassionate bloke with a lot to teach me. He seemed compelled to act on behalf of the poor and needy, to speak for the oppressed, not to be blind consumer and to oppose greedy multinational companies who leave a trail of destruction in the pursuit big bucks. I tried to deflect the heat I was beginning to feel by mentioning that I happen to sponsor two children from the third world, unimpressed, he continued on saying his organisation was tackling the issue from a much bigger level, by addressing the corrupt governments in these countries that lead to the horrendous poverty in the first place.
In the course of the conversation he discovered that I was a Christian and proceeded to tell me that he'd be the first person going to hell, when I asked him why, he explained that he'd grown up in church with this passion stirring inside of him for the world and its sustainability, but there never seemed any common ground between his religious world, and his real world. When he was 16 his minister had shown him the door saying that he could go save the trees, but the mission of the church was to save souls.
I think it was at this point that something happened in me that really has changed the way I live. I was all of a sudden able to see God in this “hell bound hippie”. I asked him if he thought it possible that the burning passion for the world and its people might just come from the one who created that same world and that if he were to open his heart to this God, then this God inspired passion and energy for this task would only increase.
The bottom line is that for too long my Christianity had been about trying to make others like me. I was right and they were obviously wrong, God was with me and not with them, and so my job was to conquer them with my view of the truth.
I never did end up giving him any money, but since that day my eyes have been opened to see God at work in the world in all the places and with all the people I'd never thought He'd be.
God is at work in all of us... maybe we should open ourselves more to what He's doing.
Now I'm no red neck, but I'm sorry to say, my thoughts about green peace were that they are all a bunch of tree hugging, dolphin kissing, hooch smoking hippies, so my attitude toward this guy wasn't fantastic, yet as soon as he opened his mouth I was shocked to discover that he was an intelligent, passionate, compassionate bloke with a lot to teach me. He seemed compelled to act on behalf of the poor and needy, to speak for the oppressed, not to be blind consumer and to oppose greedy multinational companies who leave a trail of destruction in the pursuit big bucks. I tried to deflect the heat I was beginning to feel by mentioning that I happen to sponsor two children from the third world, unimpressed, he continued on saying his organisation was tackling the issue from a much bigger level, by addressing the corrupt governments in these countries that lead to the horrendous poverty in the first place.
In the course of the conversation he discovered that I was a Christian and proceeded to tell me that he'd be the first person going to hell, when I asked him why, he explained that he'd grown up in church with this passion stirring inside of him for the world and its sustainability, but there never seemed any common ground between his religious world, and his real world. When he was 16 his minister had shown him the door saying that he could go save the trees, but the mission of the church was to save souls.
I think it was at this point that something happened in me that really has changed the way I live. I was all of a sudden able to see God in this “hell bound hippie”. I asked him if he thought it possible that the burning passion for the world and its people might just come from the one who created that same world and that if he were to open his heart to this God, then this God inspired passion and energy for this task would only increase.
The bottom line is that for too long my Christianity had been about trying to make others like me. I was right and they were obviously wrong, God was with me and not with them, and so my job was to conquer them with my view of the truth.
I never did end up giving him any money, but since that day my eyes have been opened to see God at work in the world in all the places and with all the people I'd never thought He'd be.
God is at work in all of us... maybe we should open ourselves more to what He's doing.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Keep it real
I've grown up in Goulburn . It's my home and I love the place, I tell people I was born here and I will die here. I've been the pastor a church for the last 6 years and my observations about the spirituality of young people in this town is that religion of any kind is irrelevant, boring, weird, and most of them “just don't get it”, and are “ just not into it”.
This follows an increasing trend all over the western world, yet in Goulburn it seems the issues are magnified as our youth on the whole are are just not into God.
The reality is we have everything we need and all we could ever want at our fingertips, we are smart, savvy and successful. We are the master of our own destiny, what need is there for God?
Maybe that's right. Or maybe the main reason a whole generation of young people feel like that is because too often those who have called themselves God's people, have dropped the ball, let the team down, and sadly done such an ordinary job at representing God on the earth.
We've blown it, and I'm so sorry.
We've turned so many people off God and repelled them from meaningful spirituality because a lot of what has been seen from the church is just plain ugly and has been about everything other than what Jesus was on about.
The real tragedy however is , that at some stage soon, you are going to need a spirituality that connects you to God in a real way. I'm going to go out on a limb here, you may be clever, but you don't have enough inside you to make this life work. You actually do need God.
People these days hate talking about God. I think the problem is that when God is brought up it always seems to be about someone forcing their opinion of God onto you, and people just get tired of that.
I remember trying to talk to someone about Jesus in the park one day and as soon as I mentioned His name they went bug eyed and totally freaked out. I don't want to put anyone through that kind of pain, I mean who knows what would happen if I scared someone half to death twice?
But heres the point: What if our young people need to talk about God?
There is a whole generation of young people growing up today who are facing all kinds of issues and problems that even their parents never encountered and they simply have to do it alone because God is off the radar.
The new year is a great opportunity for some reflection and a chance to rethink a few things - so lets go there. Lets try to have a fresh look at what it would look like to be connected to God in this world. Lets cut the nonsense, ask the hard questions, deal with the inconsistencies and keep it real.
This follows an increasing trend all over the western world, yet in Goulburn it seems the issues are magnified as our youth on the whole are are just not into God.
The reality is we have everything we need and all we could ever want at our fingertips, we are smart, savvy and successful. We are the master of our own destiny, what need is there for God?
Maybe that's right. Or maybe the main reason a whole generation of young people feel like that is because too often those who have called themselves God's people, have dropped the ball, let the team down, and sadly done such an ordinary job at representing God on the earth.
We've blown it, and I'm so sorry.
We've turned so many people off God and repelled them from meaningful spirituality because a lot of what has been seen from the church is just plain ugly and has been about everything other than what Jesus was on about.
The real tragedy however is , that at some stage soon, you are going to need a spirituality that connects you to God in a real way. I'm going to go out on a limb here, you may be clever, but you don't have enough inside you to make this life work. You actually do need God.
People these days hate talking about God. I think the problem is that when God is brought up it always seems to be about someone forcing their opinion of God onto you, and people just get tired of that.
I remember trying to talk to someone about Jesus in the park one day and as soon as I mentioned His name they went bug eyed and totally freaked out. I don't want to put anyone through that kind of pain, I mean who knows what would happen if I scared someone half to death twice?
But heres the point: What if our young people need to talk about God?
There is a whole generation of young people growing up today who are facing all kinds of issues and problems that even their parents never encountered and they simply have to do it alone because God is off the radar.
The new year is a great opportunity for some reflection and a chance to rethink a few things - so lets go there. Lets try to have a fresh look at what it would look like to be connected to God in this world. Lets cut the nonsense, ask the hard questions, deal with the inconsistencies and keep it real.
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