On “A Pagan sermon to the Christian clergy”

Recently, Purdue had it’s annual “fall break”. We got last Monday and Tuesday off of classes. It was pretty swell, I spent the first part of the weekend camping with my church group and then got back to Purdue. It was very quiet around my house and I decided to go for a nice walk. I ended up on campus, and somehow ended up in one of the libraries. I then went back to the periodicals section, because it’s a really cool musty-library atmosphere and no one ever goes back there. As I was walking around, marveling at the thousands of books with hundreds of years worth of knowledge from millions of brilliant minds, I decided to crack open a random book. So I grab this periodical called “The Nation”, it was the volume from Mar-Jul 1958. So this is a 55 year old book. It was published when my parents were still in diapers. I open it up and what do I see? “A PAGAN SERMON to the CHRISTIAN CLERGY” . . . by C. Wright Mills. Written in large letters along the top of the page. Well that’s an attention getter! I then proceed to read one of the most interesting articles I’ve ever seen in my life.

For some background, this article was from a self-described “pagan” to the “Christian clergy”. It was focused on the “atrocity” of World War III, and what was happening with the nuclear research and in the light of the atomic bombings. It was stating how could the Christians, in any good conscience, condone any of the military activities occurring? Well I’m not here to debate whether he was right or wrong in that regard, but some of the statements that he made about Christianity as a whole were very very pertinent to today’s church, so I wanted to share some of them.

The first interesting thing I saw: “As a social and as a personal force, religion has become a dependent variable. It does not originate; it reacts. It does not denounce; it adapts. It does not set forth new models of conduct and sensibility; it imitates. Its rhetoric is without deep appeal; the worship it organizes is without piety. It has become less a revitalization of the spirit in permanent tension with the world than a respectable distraction from the sourness of life. . . their religion is a religion of good cheer and glad tidings. That it is a religion without dreary religious content is less important than that is is socially brisk and that is is not spiritually unsettling. It is a getting chummy with God, as a means to quite secular good feelings. With such religion, ours is indeed a world in which the idea of God is dead.”

So this is obviously an attack on our faith right? But is it without basis? If someone said these exact words to me today, would I be able to disagree? I know that’s not how I feel about my own faith, but do I feel that way about Christianity in America? Yes. Yes I do. And this very issue is addressed time and time again in the Bible under the context of what we know all too well to be “lukewarm”. “A respectable distraction from the sourness of life”… That is the definition of a lukewarm faith! A “getting chummy with God, as a means to quite secular good feelings”. That is the definition of a lukewarm faith! Our Christian society was, and still is, viewed by others through the lens of a lukewarm faith. Either that or the lens of those like Westboro Baptist Church. That is what they see. How can we change this? The only way to unmistakably change what we look like is to first change what we are, as a Christian society in America. But how can we change a country? I’m not sure. But if we as a church must constantly be worried about how the rest of the church is portraying our faith, then something is obviously wrong.

Another interesting quote by Mills: “What does it mean to preach? Does it not mean, first of all, to be religiously conscious? I do not see how you can preach unless as a man you are the opposite to the religiously indifferent. To be religiously conscious, I suppose, is to find some sort of religious meaning in one’s own insecurities and desires, to know oneself as a creature in some kind of relation with God which increases your hope that your expectations and prayers and actions will come off. I must ask: for you, today, what is that religious meaning? To preach, secondly, means to serve as a moral conscience, and to articulate that conscience. I do not see how you can do that by joining the publicity fraternity and the weekend crusaders. You cannot do it by ‘staying out of politics.’ I think there is only one way in which you can compete as a religious men with religious effect: you must be yourself in such a way that your views emanate unmistakably from you as a moral center. From that center of yourself, you must speak.

Wow. I bolded that last sentence as I felt it carried the most weight. A fairly common phrase in our society is “walk the talk”. And it’s stated here by Mills that unless we walk the talk, we cannot compete with any effect! If we, as Christians, are to be effective in competing with the world, we must emanate our views from actions! We can’t just say them! We cannot simply speak, we must live in such a way that our actions tell our words. Only then will our words have impact. In James 2:14-16, it states “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” Our words carry no weight unless they are preceded by actions. As a Christian church, we should keep our mouths shut until we first prove that we’re worth listening to!

The final quote by Mills that I found extreme interest in was the following: “But you may say: ‘Don’t let’s get the church into politics.’ If you do say that, you are saying: ‘Don’t let’s get the church into the world; let’s be another distraction from reality.’ This world is political. Politics, understood for what it really is today, has to do with the decisions men make which determine how they shall live and how they shall die. They are not living very well, and they are not going to die very well, either. Politics is now the locale of morality; it is the locale both of evil and of good. If you do not get the church into the moral issues of politics, you cannot confront evil and you cannot work for good. You will be a subordinate amusement and a political satrap of whatever is going. You will be the great Christian joke.
Men and ideas, the will and the spirit, are now being tested, perhaps in all truth for the final time; and in this testing so far, you Christians are standing in default.”

Oh snap. This Mills guy doesn’t play around does he? Now once again, I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says, but he brings up many valid points which I believe our church is failing to contend with, even 55 years later! I’ll be the first to admit that I shy away from politics because I don’t want to be offensive or have disagreements. But based on what I said earlier, and assuming I am exemplifying what I believe, then I will have a strong moral center to back up what I’m saying. And those listening will then be forced to either change what they think, or stand in opposition. But they will not have the option to declare me a hypocrite or fault my faith. I think this is the key, before you can influence others, you must convince them your words are worth their time. Your goal cannot be simply to force them to believe what you want. You must make them want to believe the things you say! And the only way to do that is to look like what they want to look like. They must want what you have. If you’re not worth emulating, you’re not worth hearing!

I will close with a passage from Romans 12:14-21.

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

We cannot overcome evil with words! We must overcome with actions!

Mills, C. W. (1958). A pagan sermon to the christian clergy.The Nation, 199-203.

Rags to Riches

So most of you have heard of Jesus. The guy (God) who died, wearing tattered rags and a crown of thorns, nailed to a cross. He literally stooped down to our level. I’m not sure how many of you have ever had to “stoop” to someone’s level before, but it’s not fun. It’s very easy to become “elevated” and to think that you’re better than them. Maybe it’s in school: “Bro, you literally just take the derivative with respect to X and then integrate with respect to Y. If it were simpler we’d have monkeys do it.” Maybe the workplace: “Really George? You need help with the stapler again?” Maybe at home: “Mom, you literally have no idea how to send an e-mail? How many ways can I spell this out?” It makes you wonder how anyone can get that stupid right? And then you remember, oh wait, I’m supposed to be this humble guy/gal and everything. So then you take pride in how you’re about to be “humble” and go minister to the ignorant souls about whatever it is you think you know. We become knights battling the dragon of ignorance in our friends and families lives. Check us out: humble, chivalrous, and not too shabby looking, I might add.

Well get this; that Jesus guy, the one I mentioned earlier. Yup, dude in rags dying on a cross. He’s the ultimate stooper. Nobody can stoop like Jesus. So just to get an understanding of how high he’s coming from, check out this verse: Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” Woah. So just to get this straight, Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory? So if God was a lightbulb, the Son is the light. When God radiates (which is all the time), Jesus is what you see. You might be thinking, big deal, I can stare at the sun for like a whole minute and I’m fine, what could God do?. But check this out, Daniel, a pretty swell guy, actually met an angel back in the day. An angel, according to Hebrews, is simply “a ministering spirit” (1:14). So basically God’s workforce. Now listen to Daniel’s response to the angel’s presence: “I Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. . . I said to the one standing before me, [the angel] ‘I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I am helpless. How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe'” (Dan 10:7-8,16-18). So this is a pretty tough guy. He’s been through a lions den, and has the gumption to stand up to the king of Babylon himself. And here he simply receives a message from an angel and is reduced to a blubbering heap. His friends literally run away and hide, and they can’t even see the angel! All this being said, I think we can agree that angels are pretty incredible. And those are just angels. Imagine the size and looks of a grain of sand, in all of it’s tiny glory. Now imagine the universe, millions of galaxies, theoretically infinite in size, etc. Kind of a big difference right? Well the angel is that grain of sand, and God is the universe. If the grain of sand makes a tough guy faint and subsequently tremble uncontrollably, what do you think the universe would do to him? So. Now you have an image, albeit a very dim representation, of God’s glory.

Back to the Jesus guy, he’s the radiance of that glory. So if you were to see that radiance, in your current state, I’d venture to say you would literally die. If not death, then for sure major fainting with some weeks of counseling required. “But wait!”, one might ask. “Didn’t Jesus come to earth? And nobody died from seeing him right?” One would be correct in that assumption, check this out: Philippians 2:5-8 “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!” Wow! What?! What did I just read!? So Jesus, Mr. Radiance himself, made himself nothing? I want to dwell on that word. Nothing. He didn’t say that he made himself “lesser”, or “almost nothing”, he said, simply, “nothing”, which is the absence of anything! Jesus, had none of his former radiance. Because he took on the human image. He looked just like a man, because all of his radiance was removed . I want to interject here that Jesus was still perfect and still God. Yet he wasn’t the same as before (in heaven), he didn’t consider “equality with God” something he could have anymore. His “radiance” wasn’t there anymore. Otherwise Jerusalem would have been putting on its best “fainting goats” impression. 

Wow. So we’ve covered what God’s glory is, how Jesus is the radiance of that glory, and how Jesus literally gave up that radiance so he could stoop to our level. Talk about humility! The reason he stooped to that level is even more incredible, let’s look at Hebrews again, this time, 2:18, “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” And then in 4:14-16 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” So the message here is pretty awesome. Jesus stooped to our level so he could suffer just like we do, and so he could understand our pain. Because of the fact that he became like us, he can now help us. His death in perfection (Heb 5:9), enabled our salvation and subsequently the confidence we are supposed to have when approaching God’s grace.

What a gift! What riches we have been given! We may draw near to God! (Heb 7:19). Remember that grain of sand vs. the universe thing? Well we can draw close to ‘the universe’ in the metaphor, that thing that is glorious beyond imagination, the creator of the actual universe itself, God. So next time you enter into worship, or prayer, or fasting, or any other method to approach the Lord, have confidence in your salvation. Remember who gave you that ability, why he did it, and how low he stooped for your gain.

Embers – Owl City

Before you read this, I ask that you listen to the song, Embers, preferably with the lyrics in front of you. So here’s a link because you’re lazy and didn’t want to look it up yourself.

Moving on. I will post the lyrics in green and write thoughts afterwards

There were days when each hour was a war I fought to survive
There were nights full of nightmares and I dreaded closing my eyes
There were skies that burst open with a downpour to drown me alive 
But the world took a spark like a match in the dark
And the fire brought me to life

So I’m fanning the flames to climb so high
‘Cause theres no other way we can stay alive

‘Cause we’re burning bright
As we all unite
And when it’s all said and done
We’ll shine like the sun
So don’t let the fire die
And we’ll watch the sky
As it fills with light
And though the embers are new
Whatever you do, just don’t let the fire die

And you’ll find there’ll be mornings
When the ashes and embers are cold
But you’ll fight with a passion
And you’ll never stop ’cause you know
Yeah you know, it gets better
And your story is yet to be told
Every push, every shove, every war, every love
Yeah, the coals are beginning to glow

So I’m fanning the flames to climb so high
‘Cause theres no other way we can stay alive

‘Cause we’re burning bright
As we all unite
And when it’s all said and done
We’ll shine like the sun
So don’t let the fire die
And we’ll watch the sky
As it fills with light
And though the embers are new
Whatever you do, just don’t let the fire die

Don’t let the fire die
It gets better
Just don’t let the fire die, no

‘Cause we’re burning bright (burning bright)
As we all unite
And when it’s all said and done
We’ll shine like the sun
So don’t let the fire die
And we’ll watch the sky (watch the sky)
As it fills with light
And though the embers are new
Whatever you do, just don’t let the fire die

And though the embers are new
Whatever you do, just don’t let the fire die
Don’t let the fire die.

So this song starts out with depression. Every hour is a war, every night is sleepless, even the sky is out to get us. But wait, a spark, a fire, flares up in the darkness. Obviously we should make that flame bigger to fend off the darkness. Then the chorus. We (as Christians) are burning bright as we all unite, so it’s the unity that is bright. And in the end, we’ll shine like the sun. Matthew 13:43. “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Owl City took a page straight out of the bible writing this song. And it’s just the story of my life it seems, where I’m fighting to keep the flame alive. My only goal should be to keep the fire alive. And unite that flame with other flames to make a great fire. 

Then we find that there are mornings where the ashes and embers are cold. Some days are bad, even after the fire has been lit. Some days, God just doesn’t seem present. But what should we do? We shouldn’t quit. We shouldn’t let the fire go out. We need to fight because we know it gets better. We know we’re made for more than what we have already done, our story is still untold. Until our last day, our story grows. Every single action that we’re a part of can make the coals glow brighter, fanning the flames.

Man. This song is good. It’s such a great image of the Christian life. It acknowledges the fact that there are crappy days, weeks, months, even years. But what else can we do but fan the flame? Remember the beginning of the song? Before the spark? Who would want to return to that? Why should we, as God’s children, adopted into the holy family, ever want to stop fanning that flame. It’s appalling to me that I’ve ever done anything OTHER than growing that flame. There are weeks where I ignore the fact it exists. It’s so easy to forget that that fire is not only part of me, but what’s keeping me from darkness. Without that fire, what am I? I’m in the darkness again, complete with nightmares, wars, and drowning alive.

The fire is a free gift. The sparks are easily created. But once we have it, it doesn’t maintain itself. If we don’t continue to feed our lives with spiritual tinder, then know exactly what will happen. What’s surprising to me is how most of this isn’t new information to Christians. We know how important God is, how important that fire is, but we consistently decide to leave it unattended, or even throw cups of water on it because “it’s fun”. We’re all guilty of this.

I say it’s surprising because I would never treat a real fire like that. Has anyone seen Survivor? I haven’t watched it in the last few years, but I’ll assume it’s the same as it was the first ten years of its repetitive existence. Fire is the most important thing in the first week or two. The group is pretty much chaos until they have a fire going. And they give everyone shifts for tending it, getting the firewood, trying to build rain shelters for it. These groups trying to survive on an island consider the fire one of their most important possessions  They would never do anything to jeopardize it, and when someone messes up and lets it go out, they’re in big trouble. Imagine for a second what a survivor group would be like without a fire, for the whole time. They wouldn’t be able to cook anything. They’d be much colder. They can’t ward off lions (if they’re in that kind of location). The uses of the fire are endless.

So I’m going to start treating my relationship with God just like that island fire. Without it, I’m dead. How could I forget about it then?

Why I’m thankful for Obama.

The problem isn’t abortion. The problem isn’t gay marriage. The problem isn’t “no prayer in schools”. The problem is fear. That’s right. Fear. Since I can remember, I’ve seen a steady decline in the ratio of “Christian ethics” being upheld by the government. More and more things which I would consider morally unethical are becoming prevalent in both society and law. Many Christians cannot stand this. They fight for their rights as both American citizens and disciples of God.

In a perfect world, yes, the government would take it’s lawmaking straight from the new testament, and everyone would think that’s fine and dandy. Problem is, that’s never going to happen. Thankfully, we live in a country where each citizen’s voice, regardless of faith or origin, can be heard. This means that as Christians, we are allowed to vote and influence our government towards solutions which we see as more ethical, moral, or just plain smart. We also hold tight to the fact that the country was founded on Christian beliefs, and should stay that way. Not so surprisingly, as the general public has degenerating morals, so does the government. Yet Christians seem surprised, they fight to hold on to a government which doesn’t represent it’s people. The American public is becoming less and less morally upstanding (in my humble opinion). So obviously a government which represents it’s people is going to become less and less in tune with the ideas of Christ. And that’s why I say the problem isn’t abortion, gay marriage, or any other ethical quandary  The problem is fear. We fear persecution

Don’t take this message the wrong way, I do believe, as disciples of God, that we have a duty (haha… duty…) to our country. We should speak out. We should make our voice heard. We should try to vote Christian ethics into government. Yet as the population shifts away from Christian ideals, we must realize that so will our government. This doesn’t mean we should fight harder. This is one of the simple reasons Christians are getting such a foul reputation. Excuse me while I address this issue.

We are the minority now, fighting to control the majority. It seems rather obvious that the majority will look on us as entitled and obnoxious. I am reminded of a child, used to getting their way, being told “no”. They simply cannot fathom a world where the thing they desire and ask for is not handed to them. Proverbs 16:28-29 states simply, “A perverse man stirs up dissension, … A violent man entices his neighbor.” I believe that these two verses place some good guidelines on how we should be outspoken. Are we stirring up dissension? Then we’ve gone too far, are we enticing our neighbor (to anger, malice, hate, you name it)? Then we’ve gone too far. We don’t have any more rights to the government we want than the next guy. If there’s more “next guy’s” than “us”, then it simply will not go our way. We are called to make our voice heard, but not to shout over the rest of America.

Why do we shout ? We’re scared. Christians in America are so scared of persecution. We are scared that our way of life will no longer be “acceptable” in the eyes of the law. We are so accustomed (especially the older generations) to having a life where our faith is the “norm”, and where we are absolutely unwavering in our stance that persecution is a bad thing for us.

I’m here to gently remind everyone that the bible is painfully clear about persecution. It’s a blessing. A blessing. It’s not something to avoid. It’s not something to be scared of. It’s something to thank God for. Even something to ask God for.

2 Timothy 3:12 is quite clear, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Well sign me up for persecution then! I want to live a godly life! A godly life was never said to be easy. You know when persecution is a requirement that it’s going to be rough. Yet surprisingly, we are delivered with another comforting verse. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “But he [the Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.‘ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Man, if that’s not encouraging, I don’t know what is. A God who’s power is made perfect in weakness? Weakness is exactly what I’m heading towards! What with all this persecution and all.

My point is this. God never said we will have a Christian government. We can wish for one, we can vote for one, but that doesn’t always get us one. I believe God is going to use these changing winds in our society and government for his glory. Through persecution and peer pressure, Christians will simply either give up, or be given God’s power in their weakness. I pray this will lead to a much stronger “average” faith in America. I believe the church as a whole will only become more powerful (not in the law, but in love) than ever before in the coming decades. I look forward to that day and take comfort in God’s power now. It is both scary and exciting to head in a direction which does not allow for luke-warm Christianity. So are you in or out?