Get Comfortable

Are we all insecure with our beliefs? Specifically, are we insecure that people believe differently than us? Yes. I think so. I think to a large extent we are threatened by these beliefs that are different than our own, even when the different beliefs are not actually threatening our own. Is it because we don't understand the other person? The Christian doesn't understand their atheist classmate, as the conservative doesn't understand their liberal cousin... And all of the misunderstanding lead to fear and assumptions.

This undercurrent of insecurity appears to be pretty constant, especially in our polar political climate. Therefore I was refreshed by reading this from Dennis Prager's article "Ann Coulter Wants Jews to Become Christian -- So What?"

"As a practicing Jew, I do not agree with Ann Coulter's theology any more than those attacking her do. But I am neither offended by her nor frightened by her or her beliefs. She believes that Christianity is better than Judaism. So what? Why is that in any way different from liberals thinking that liberalism is truer and morally superior to conservatism? Or conservatives thinking that their values are superior to liberal values?"

Prager's transparency is refreshing. Sometimes being candid about the elephants in the room-- such as our polar beliefs-- is just what is needed. And it reminds me to step back, and accept that it's okay for people to believe differently. I don't need to freak out or immediately become defensive, my natural response. I don't need to be fearful when my co-workers are secure in their belief in evolution-- as I am secure in my belief in creationism. I guess I am arguing for a holistic tolerance-- one that accepts not just the politically correct queer student group but also the so-called politically incorrect pro-family group.

Is this possible?

And even more importantly, is this Biblical and honoring to God?

Quotidian

In my GRE studies I ran across the word 'quotidian.' What a good word. So in order for it to be cemented in my brain, I dusted off the blog. It induced a coughing fit (A year of sitting around will do that) but I think it's good to be back rambling & thinking & processing the world in light of the gospel in this format again-- it's almost like talking out loud. I'm more accountable to what I say.
So here it goes...
I would argue that the gospel is quotidian. That is, the gospel belongs to each day. Each and EVERY day. It's not just a Sunday thing. Everyday I need to belong to the good news that Jesus is for me-- 100% for me-- and that his death and life opened the way to forgiveness and hope and joy and fulfillment in God. This daily "appropriation" of the gospel (As Jerry Bridges says) is NECESSARY. And the constancy of it does not make it commonplace or ordinary-- not in the least! Rather it increases my joy, because as I know myself more and more (and the depth of my sin and unbelief) I am more and more amazed at God's mercy to me...Mercy that is quotidian.

Demonstrations

I didn't attend this lecture, but it brings up some very provocative ideas... Here a summary from the Maclaurin Institute.

Europe Better Demonstrates the Christian Ideal, Says Middelmann
Udo Middelmann Lecture Summary November 1, 2006

“In many ways, Europe is closer to what a Christian reality should produce,"” said Udo Middelmann, the Francis A. Schaeffer Fellow of the MacLaurin Institute in a lecture sponsored by the Institute and its affiliated student group, Wednesday evening, November 1. Audience members included long-time students of his father-in-law, the late Francis Schaeffer, and University students in various fields of study.

In a wide-ranging and provocative lecture titled What America Can Learn from Secular Europe: Reflections of a Transatlantic Christian Thinker, Middelmann argued that while the USA is much more religious and robustly evangelical, Americans have always been more devoted to an ideal rather than giving thoughtful attention to the details of living. Whether they came to escape religious persecution or for economic opportunity, for Americans there has always been the hope of an ideal and better future. Philosophically,
this idea goes back to the Greek notion of the soul residing apart from the body.

“But, we are persons, both soul and spirit," said Middelmann, and, thus, we must also pay attention to the actual historical conditions of life. Europeans are “caught” in that history, not a future ideal. Their history is one of Enlightenment rebellion against ecclesiastical authority. They replaced the universalism of Christianity with that of nationalism, one fruit of which was the development of racism, an idea developed by Voltaire. As nationalism gave way to terrible wars, particularly those of the 20th century, Europeans
descended into a kind of nihilism, a loss of hope in any possibility of meaning.

Middelmann is impressed by much of American life, including its sense of the possible as well as its relative openness to Christian claims. But, because the American evangelical message has been so privatized to "“Jesus and me,"” it has failed to address larger systemic issues, such as poverty. Europeans, by contrast, even in the midst of their nihilism, have had to deal with the real rather than the ideal. They have had to develop social structures and systems that genuinely ameliorate pain and suffering while also fostering conditions where one’s neighbor can thrive.

How we think about ourselves is part of our worldview, and I see the "Jesus and me" thinking in my own life. My eternal destiny is secure by faith in his atonement, a safety which pacifies some of the urgency to share this good news, to sacrifice, to press for NEEDED change in our systems. Since growing in my faith I've been disenfranchised with the governmental system and less interested in working in it. I don't know if that is good or bad, maturity or apathy. That said, America does need to create structures that GENUINELY ameliorate pain and suffering, rather than just in name. But of course, the question is, should the structures come from public or private monies and groups... It seems in Europe it has been the government, and I’ve heard lecturers comment on the bureaucracy of the environmental regulations of the EU. Regulations are good, but layers are not.

Pressed during the question and answer period about what seemed like his incipient socialism, Middelmann insisted that he is not a socialist, but that he thought that European attendance to social conditions (including government support for various services, such as government-funded concerts) deserved consideration by Americans who are so focused on the individual and individual development.

Udo’s reflections "are finely tuned," said Bob Osburn, the Institute’s executive director. "We American Christians must give attention to them, especially because they are carried by someone who is deeply faithful to a Christian worldview informed by biblical ideas."

And this is what we must all be-- INFORMED, not CONFORMED to the world, RENEWED in mind by the WORD... and then taking ACTION to LIVE a renewed life. How easy it is to talk, to think, for rhetoric to subdue and comfort us. And who is sufficient for these things-- for genuine, renewed living? With man it is impossible, but IN CHRIST all things ARE possible.

Definitions

Well I just googled 'inasmuch' for fun, and it turns out there are some interesting sites...
one of them being a single christian dating service. Hmm...

Don't let the man...

...Get ya down. Kinda hard when Captain U.P. is banned from school, though.

Well, at least we're up to date on critical issues in education.

What the world needs now....

Is NOT another $tarbucks...

To sum up the article:
Guess there's still money to be had in the market place--
the ratio of 1 store to 11,000 people is a sure indicator of the opportunity!
And talk about international prospects, consider the 5 letter word= CHINA.

Man. It makes me pretty sick...
but rest assured, soon I'll be able to get a frappichino anodyne within walking distance.

Feeling thirsty

Reading Doyle's article below, I bolded some of the topics I thought were important, but not expanded upon. Like who has done research on water consumption and biofuels? And who has thought through the uncertainties: "economic growth in China and climate change," as "the key drivers of changes in water and food." It leaves me wondering how will these factors effect our lives in the coming months and years... and who will feel the pinch the most?

World Water Demand Surging Due to Rising Population

September 18, 2006 - By Alister Doyle, Reuters

STOCKHOLM - Surging demand for irrigation to grow crops for food and
biofuels will add to pressure on water supplies in a world where one in
three people already suffer from shortages.

Following is an interview with Frank Rijsberman, the Dutch director
general of the U.N.-backed International Water Management Institute,
which issued an assessment of world water resources in late August based
on the work of 700 researchers.

Q. What are your main findings?

A. Our results show that a third of the world population is facing water
scarcity. There's two types of problem: about a quarter of the world's
population lives in areas with physical water scarcity -- in places like
the United States, Australia -- and more than a billion people live in
areas where water is available but not fully exploited. In sub-Saharan
Africa the water is in the rivers but there are no dams or pumps to use
it.

Q. Can the problems be solved?

A. The positive message is that we can increase what we call the
productivity of water. We will simply have to make do with less, get
more out of the water we do have. That can mean growing
drought-resistant varieties of crops, having better policies in
government. While it currently takes about 2,000 litres of water to
produce a kilo of rice it's possible to drive it down to about 500
litres a kilo. That's the challenge.

Q. Will biofuels make it harder to feed the world by taking land
previously sown for food crops?

A. About 800 million people do not have enough to eat and now on top of
that, because there are currently high oil prices, people come up with
this marvellous idea to grow biofuels. Yes, we can grow biofuels instead
of using oil but we should then take into account that that will use a
massive amount of water that is not in our calculations. That, economic
growth in China, climate change, those are the key drivers of changes in
water and food.

Q. What will it cost to sort out the world's water problems?

A. It will take more human ingenuity and creativity, some courageous
politicians, some investments in research, different types of
investments. It doesn't even have to cost that much more -- it's just
doing the smart thing.

Q. Do you think that wars will be fought over water in the 21st century?


A. I don't really expect wars over water because ... the benefits of
collaboration are so great. We see a lot more countries that come up
with good agreements (over water). At the same time there are many
places where there are tensions over water.

Source: Reuters