Digest #4
Day 1
1. TWEET FROM SAM ALLBERRY
2. WHERE TO FIND HOPE AND HELP AMID THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION - SAM ALLBERRY
So apparently today is just all Sam Allberry, but honestly, this article was so beautiful. Sam is always thoughtful and kind in his presentations, putting not argument, but relationship first - something this girl wants to be better at.
Please take a moment to read this article to hear a bit about how the moral intuition has shifted, and how God is good in all of his ways.
Day 4
1. PAUL VANDER KLAY : DECONSTRUCTING WITHOUT LOSING CHRISTIAN FAITH OR IDENTITY
I forget exactly how I first stumbled upon Paul’s work, but I’ve found it very intriguing. He’s a pastor, and most of his YouTube conversations tend to be around world views/narratives. Often his videos remind me of my Philosophy class in college - quite a bit of it goes over my head, but I grasp enough of it to have moments where concepts click together and spark me toward new or deeper thoughts, and hopefully change.
One very interesting aspect of Paul’s content is that he’s willing to take video chat requests with almost anyone. (I think you just have to send in a request via a link in his YouTube video descriptions.) And then he shares a lot of these conversations on his YouTube channel, so I get the opportunity to hear him engage on a wide range of topics with people with very different stories, backgrounds and beliefs.
This video was talking to a 25 year old man, Michael, who currently is wrestling with his faith. Perhaps teetering on the brink of what is commonly now deemed “deconstruction” within Christian circles. But really wanting to grapple with, and longing to hold onto, a faith in Jesus.
Notes:
- God sends people on really long, weird journeys. Just look at Moses or Paul.
- (Quoting a story about Mother Theresa) I won’t pray for you to have clarity, but what I will pray for you is trust. Clarity is, in a sense, idolatrous, because then we can trust the clarity rather than Christ.
- (Quoting an interview with Tony Compolo) I knew you were wandering away because you stopped going to church. But church is the place to go when you can’t believe. And you might sit there the entire time and think “I don’t know if I believe this” but if you want to be a Christian - go to church! Find one you can tolerate!
- The internal struggle will not be resolved solely by argumentation. People don’t often decide to follow Jesus, or decide to walk away, based solely on an argument. It’s far more complex.
- Okay Lord, you’re going to take me down a road I don’t like? Okay. That’s normal for your servants. And I ain’t going to like it, probably, but I will do my best to trust you. That’s the Christian life
- These are the stories my God tells, and he uses people’s lives to tell them … Look at Mother Theresa. She thinks God has abandoned her, but yet spends her life serving the dying in Calcutta … There is no greater storyteller. I believe in that kind of God.
- The closer you are to Jesus - the harder it is not to follow him … Judas being the exception. 😅
Digest #3
And this is the line I find myself trying to walk. A change of life not because I found a set of rules, but a change of life because I found the source of life and knowing him changes me.
A collection of thoughts from this week.
Day 1
1.
“Obedience isn’t legalism, it’s a symptom of salvation”
C.S. Lewis
I find this a constant hard line to walk. It seems pretty clear in the Biblical letters that coming to Christ should cause us to look different, live different, think different (read 1st John, it’s a doozy!), that there is an ethic, a way of living that Christians should exhibit. But rules doesn’t seem to be the reason why Christ came. In fact the Bible critiques those who follow the law by offering sacrifices without also offering a repentant heart.
And this is the line I find myself trying to walk. A change of life not because I found a set of rules, but a change of life because I found the source of life and knowing him changes me.
2. THE BIBLE & WESTERN CHRISTIANS - DECONSTRUCTIONIST’S PODCAST
Tim Mackie was interviewed in this episode of the podcast on what the Bible is, and some presuppositions that western Christians often bring with them into the reading of this ancient texts. As always, I found Tim Mackie thoughtful in his responses, and the way he views the Bible and God is just so beautiful that it makes me want to see more like him.
Some notes:
Humans wrote the Bible under the orchestration of the Spirit and the Bible, because of this, is exactly what he wanted his people to hear.
A narrative of what God’s doing in history to save and redeem people, and an invitation by God into covenant. To live under his rule and exist as a contrast community to other nations and live as new and different humans
A divine and human story about humans becoming more human by entering into a covenant with God.
My worldview and my faith is not built on my ability to find coherence. It’s based on my trust in Jesus and what he did for me and on my behalf, and not in my ability to always figure it out.
The Bible was not created to be easily understandable to anyone on the planet at first blush. That itself is a preconception of what it means for the Bible to be God’s word. That any person should be able to read it in a translation and just get it all the first time, and that’s just not true to what these texts are. They come assuming that you are immersed in the whole story.
Day 2
1. LUKE 14:27-33
I had so much to say about this that I put it in its own separate post. You can find that here.
2. THE POWER AND THE GLORY - INTERVIEW WITH HISTORIAN TOM HOLLAND
I began hearing about Tom Holland around a year ago with the release of his book - Dominion: How The Christian Revolution Remade The World. In this book Tom tracks how a large portion of the beliefs we hold as “universal” in the west find their roots in the rise of Christianity after the death of Christ. Concepts such as human rights and inherent value/dignity, hospitals, education, science. . . . he argues that these all find their grounding historically in the world view established by the Christian Bible.
Beyond being a historian and author, Tom is also an interesting Twitter follow, with tweets of random statues with captions rooted in history that I don’t understand, passionate pleas against the Stonehenge tunnel, and things like this - an epic sandcastle adventure.
All of that to say that since discovering his book, and his Twitter, I’ve really enjoyed listening and reading interviews with him. One of the most interesting things to me is that Tom warns that the dismantling of the Christian religion may also leave us in a society that also dismantles some of the truths we believe to be foundational, and yet he is not a Christian himself.
Especially near the end of this interview - he had some really great things to say.
Day 3
1. FRACTIONED HEART BY GABLE PRICE AND FRIENDS
My friend, Tristan, recently shared Ten Percent - a song off this album - with me, and instantly I was struck. It was delightful, and nostalgic, and thoughtful and instantly I fell in love.
Now, almost a week later, I have finally sat down to listen through the album, and I have been struck with awe.
You know when you find music that feels so deeply of home,
That puts words and notes to the longings
When it feels like somehow you’re connected with something other worldly.
God.
Like somehow my soul is vibrating at the same frequency of the universe?
Yeah.
That’s what listening to this album was like.
I reached Underdressed, and had to sit and listen to it on repeat.
The course is my heart.
Search me and prune me
I know Your words are true
Vindicate me, consecrate me
Make me one with You
Vindicate me, consecrate me
Make me one with You
As I finally listened to the album I sent Tristan a text, “Holy. So good. Everything has like a nostalgic 80s feel, and the lyrics are so thoughtful. They remind me of Jon Foreman's writing, but obviously less alt rock or whatever they are.”
And then Midway Drive hits, as the perfect road trip song that somehow is also a worship song. . . .
Please, just do me a favour and listen to this album, then please send me a message or leave a comment with your thoughts and your favourite song. I just want to share the experience that this album is with literally everyone I know . . . and everyone I don’t know.
I can’t get enough.
2. ASK N.T. WRIGHT ANYTHING PODCAST EPISODE #40: DO I HAVE TO AGREE WITH ST. PAUL?
Recently I’ve talked to a few people who believe, or have questions about a progressive interpretation, or a trajectory interpretation of the New Testament, and specifically Paul’s letters. Basically the question is, does Paul’s teachings in these letters apply to Christians today, OR were the teachings a product of their time? Or some combination of both?
In this episode of Ask N.T. Wright Anything, he gets asked this question exactly, and I believe his answer is quite helpful. So, if this is a question you’ve asked yourself, please take a listen to what he says.
Day 4
1. THIS TWITTER THREAD ON ‘DECONSTRUCTION’
I found this thread interesting in that it is directly speaking more to the political side of life. The break down of certain ideas and constructs that, I believe he’s looking at America in specific, society is founded on. We see this in ideas about what the word “racism” means, or in the conversation happening around gender and law, and like all things, some changes are good and necessary, but is the deconstruction ideology we’re using to cause that change beneficial?
Politics is not really an interest for me, except where it interacts with other things such as identity, theology and world views. But this concept is one I see playing out within Christianity.
This thread makes the point that ‘deconstruction’ aims at undermining meaning. Often causing the meaning of words to be squishy, or left up to the interpretation of whoever is using it. I recently saw this play out in this interview with Lisa Gungor. Lisa says she is a Christian, but when asked who Jesus is in her worldview she states that he is the son of God, just as we all are, and that we all are the very bones of God. That the resurrection is not intrinsic to the Christian faith, and that all religions are inside God, there is no exclusionary aspect to Christianity. When asked what Jesus meant when he said that he was the only way to the Father, she said she didn’t know why Jesus would say such a thing. All of these beliefs go against what the word ‘Christian’ has meant for thousands of years.
Anyway, not really trying to make a point or sum anything up here. Just found this all fascinating. (Also people, please choose and use your words with intention and thought, and ask for clarification when others use words in a squishy kind of way. The best way to have meaningful conversation is to truly take the time to understand what the other person is saying - sometimes you’ll find you’re agreeing where you thought you were not. Other times you’ll find that you’ve been using the same word but meaning very different ideas by it.)
2. HONOR-SHAME CULTURE AND THE GOSPEL - THE BIBLE PROJECT
The Bible Project is currently in the middle of a series on how to read the New Testament letters. This episode talks about how the letters were written into an honour-shame culture, and how understanding this will enable us to understand some of the ways the apostles write.
In this episode, for me, it got interesting right around the 24 minute mark when they talk about the culture the apostles would have existed in, and some of the differences with western “American” culture.
And right following this when they speak about the meaning of the Greek word that we commonly interpret as “glory”.
What's he worth?
Growing up I dreamt of two things - living a life that matters and being married.
Why? I don’t know.
Was it a dream built into my heart by its creator, a dream woven into the biology of my being by evolution and chemicals and cells, or just one instructed by my culture? I don’t know. And I’m not sure it matters. Because whatever its founding it feels like it’s me. Who I am. I suppose I always assumed this meant that even in surrendering all of me to Christ that finding the (a) person to marry was inevitable - a matter of time.
Then when I was nearing my 30th year I came face to face with my deepest fear.
Today I was reading this post on the Your Other Brothers blog, and Aaron included this passage of scripture.
Renounce.
Well, that’s an extreme word isn’t it?
I pulled out my Bible to check what the two versions I generally read said,
”any of you who does not give up everything” reads the NIV.
”if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it goodbye.” In the Message.
What is dearest to me? Plans . . . people??
The study/translation notes in my translation say, “Jesus did not want a blind, naive commitment that expected only blessings. As a builder estimates costs or a king evaluates military strength, so a person must consider what Jesus expects of his followers. The cost, Jesus warns, is complete surrender to him.”
Finally I turned to a more recent translation that has become a new favourite of mine - The Passion Translation.
“Unless you surrender all to me . . . . you cannot be one of my disciples”.
And the translation notes state - pulling in the verses that follow -, “Followers of Jesus who are unwilling to pay the price are like worthless salt, unable to affect anyone or anything.”
But let’s also go back a few verses in this section, “When you follow me as my disciple, you must put aside your father, your mother, your wife, your sisters, your brothers, - yes, you will even seem as though you hate your own life. This is the price you’ll pay to be considered one of my followers.”
Wut.
This seems so anti to what I was taught Christians and church should be about.
Aren’t all supposed to be included?
Isn’t it just supposed to be as long as someone can say, “I believe Jesus existed” and BAM they’re in?
But here Jesus says that this costs you everything.
Being his follower is not a decision to be taken lightly, and not everyone is going to choose this life, because it is going to cost you something, and you must be willing to surrender it all. Dreams, loves, hopes, family, riches, meaningful momentos. Even possibly life itself.
“So don’t follow me without considering what it will cost you”
All are welcome.
But the way of Christ comes at a cost.
And Jesus himself says to consider what that cost is. To ask yourself if you’re prepared to surrender all of you and everything you love. Am I?
Am I honestly willing to count the cost?
I’m not sure.
I like to think I am, but each time I have to surrender more of my ways and wants I get faced with the question - am I ready to renounce that hope, that dream, that love to follow? Are you?
You are welcome on this path.
This narrow way.
And life itself, and love itself, and God himself is waiting for you.
But like the parable of the treasure in the field - are you ready to sell everything you have to obtain it?
As Aaron says in his article, “All followers of Christ will find themselves in nearly unbearable conflicts between flesh and spirit; this is the cost of denying ourselves and bearing the cross of Christ. … It’s what Christ forwardly states at the beginning of that passage in Luke — following Him costs everything. Our family, our friends, our jobs, the whole of our lives. … What is Christ’s value to me? He costs everything, yes, but is He worth everything?”
Aaron goes on to talk about his own journey in relationship with Christ. Of asking God if following him would cost him a particular relationship, “asking if He would still be worth following, even if it cost me my dreams. If I could never accept His saying “no” to a husband for me, then why go on asking in the first place?
I am not yet prepared to ask if I’m not ready to follow Him regardless how He answers.
If the answer is no, if I could not follow Him even into celibacy, then the problem is my faith — that Christ isn’t worth everything to me — not my sexuality.”
His story echoes so meaningfully, so painfully my own.
Growing up I dreamt of two things - living a life that matters and being married.
Why? I don’t know.
Was it a dream built into my heart by its creator, a dream woven into the biology of my being by evolution and chemicals and cells, or just one instructed by my culture? I don’t know. And I’m not sure it matters. Because whatever its founding it feels like it’s me. Who I am. I suppose I always assumed this meant that even in surrendering all of me to Christ that finding the (a) person to marry was inevitable - a matter of time.
Then when I was nearing my 30th year I came face to face with my deepest fear.
It presented its dark, overwhelming face in the vulnerability of sleep.
I began waking up in the middle of the night, heart pounding, mind racing, panic coursing through every inch of my body.
What if I never got what I wanted? What if I remain single my whole life? What if no one ever loves me enough to choose to bind themselves to me?
To those of you who marriage came easily, or perhaps whose deepest desires was something other than this - maybe this seems silly.
Ridiculous.
Maybe you’re rolling your eyes.
So what would it be for you?
Having children?
Losing a family member?
Living without the security of a job? Knowing how you’re going to afford the things you need?
A specific dream or job?
And with the help of a wonderful Christian therapist I began the hard work of asking myself, is Christ worth it?
If the cost of following him is submitting the possibility of all I’ve dreamt of my entire life.
If it’s watching the people I’ve loved love others?
If it means I never experience a romantic relationship, being chosen, sex, a first kiss.
Do I honestly believe he is still worth following?
And my answer was yes. And maybe that’s easier to say now at the beginning of my 30s when the dream of finding someone to marry still lingers hopefully in the back corners of my heart then it will be at 40 or 50 or 70. But I hope I find my answer to be yes, no matter the cost.
I hope I, like Jesus told his other disciples before me, have considered what it will cost me, and found myself willing to pay the price. Found that he truly is the treasure worth selling everything else for.
WHAT’S A DREAM THAT YOU’VE ALWAYS HAD? SOMETHING THAT FEELS LIKE YOU WERE BUILT SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS, OR THAT IT JUST ‘IS’ YOU? LET ME KNOW IN A COMMENT
Digest #2
WEEK 2
A compilation of things that stood out to me and thoughts that I had.
DAY 1
1. TIM MACKIE - COMPELLED: SPEAKING & LIVING THE GOSPEL
Tim Mackie is one of my favourite people to listen to when it comes to understanding the Bible. He is thoughtful, and quirky and interesting to listen to, but also incredibly well educated. He’s a master at taking big ideas and making them understandable.
In this video, he did the best job of explaining what the good news the Bible claims to share is, as well as hell. In doing so he also inadvertently answers the question, “How could a good God send people to hell?” Please take an hour and watch this. In undermining the common representation of the good news, at least in western cultures, he reopens the hope the good news truly brings. The Kingdom of Heaven has come.
2. THIS THREAD BY MUSICIAN ANDY SQUYERS.
In it he talks about how worship/church songs need to incorporate deep theology so that in the moments when life hits us, we have something to hold onto. He compares the book of Psalms to how we should be writing our corporate music.
Day 4
1. EXCESS & INDIVIDUALISM - BRIDGETOWN CHURCH
Individualism causes “our desires and needs and stories to exist in a vacuum independant of our families and communities and the generations before us . . . In the story of the Bible, there is no paradigm for individualism … They understand their identity as woven into the group or the tribe or the people.”
2. THIS INTERVIEW WITH PRESTON SPRINKLE ON THE USE OF THE WORD “HOMOSEXUAL” IN MODERN TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE
Not everyone is super interested in the ongoing conversation of Biblical ethics and sexuality, but for anyone who is, I often recommend Preston Sprinkle’s book - People To Be Loved. In it I think Preston tries to give a fair representation of the arguments for traditional sexual ethic, as well as for the more modern, affirming sexual ethic.
In this interview, Preston discusses one of the topics/arguments that he covers in his book - is “homosexual” an accurate translation in 1 Corinthians 6:9, and 1 Timothy.
3. JOHN LENNOX SPEAKING ABOUT AI
In this tweet, John Lennox is talking about advances in AI. But what really stood out to me was this one sentence in the middle where he is talking about the tension of privacy and security - “We need to resolve this tension by applying to the issue our value system.” And I just think that’s a wise word for all of us, but especially for Christians. Every time you come to a point where a tension needs to be resolved, lets go back to our value system, founded in the worldview presented by the Bible, to resolve where that tension should land.
Day 5
1. THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON GOD - THE HOLY POST PODCAST
“The strongest motive in the human brain is attachment - it’s who we love that forms our identity in the brain, it shapes our ideas much faster. We’re much more changed by who we love than what we believe.”
“Who we love becomes the examples that we incorporate as who I am, and how I’m supposed to operate, and where I like to go, and how I typically think, and those reactions that we typically call character - the way we react before we can think of what we would like to consciously do. . . . In adults, our attachment to our group is what’s going to form our responses to life, before we have the chance to consciously think about what we want to do.”
“Heresy always involves bad ideas, but could it also involve defective loves?”
“Attachment is the way your brain finds out, what gives me life? We attach to what feeds us.”
“After food, the next thing that forms attachment is joy.” You will attach to those who are super glad to see you, and whom you’re super glad to see.”
What have you read, listened to, watched, etc. this week that made you think?
Digest #1
I used to share a lot of the content I consume and come across in my Instagram Story, but recently I’ve come to wonder if perhaps this is annoying to people who follow me but aren’t super interested in the areas that I like to think deeply about. So for now I think I’m going to post my thoughts in posts here in my blog so that it’s available for those who are interested, but isn’t constantly popping up in the feeds of those who aren’t interested. 😊
I used to share a lot of the content I consume and come across in my Instagram Story, but recently I’ve come to wonder if perhaps this is annoying to people who follow me but aren’t super interested in the areas that I like to think deeply about. So for now I think I’m going to post my thoughts in posts here in my blog so that it’s available for those who are interested, but isn’t constantly popping up in the feeds of those who aren’t interested. 😊
Week 1
Day 4
1. I have loved Jon Foreman’s work since my teen years, but as I’ve grown, I’ve really come to appreciate deeply not only his music, but also the depth of his lyrics. Then when the internet happened, I began to watch interviews, read his written pieces, and have come to appreciate his depth, thoughtfulness and way of seeing and interacting with both God and the world
Today I watched this interview.
He tells this story of being in the card aisle, and from the aisle next to him this voice begins to sing these powerful words:
Show me an athlete who can run fast,
and ask him how he got his speed,
he’ll tell you, I’ve suffered.Show me a writer who has a bold voice,
and ask him how he got that,
he’ll tell you, I’ve suffered.Any culture that makes it their end to avoid pain is doomed
Jon continues with the interview, “Maybe there is something in the chaos, in the dissonance, that is useful.”
God doesn’t need a lawyer. Your job is to be honest. As a believer, when you look back through the scripture, there are parts that - if I was God’s PR team, there are parts that I would take this part out. It doesn’t make anyone look good, and no one needs to read that.
Later he shares about going to a live concert, and due to an electrical storm the power went out. But the musician came on stage and performed acoustic. He continues:
I remember thinking, when I go to a show, or any event, I go to see a hero. When you go to a baseball game, or whatever it is, you go to see a hero be a hero, and I realize that for that to happen, there has to be adversity. There has to be something that goes wrong, and you have to fight for it to be right. . . . In music, you set the stage. You have people who make sure everything is in tune, everything is right. And maybe that denies any possibility of a hero until something goes wrong.
And I find myself thinking - maybe this is life too.
All of us want to participate in these epic, adventure filled lives, where we’re either the hero - or we’re hero adjacent. Maybe we’re not Frodo, but we at least want to be Sam - or one of the other members of the Fellowship of the Ring. But , maybe we spend so much time avoiding adversity, and only in adversity can we actually overcome and triumph. Only in our interactions with adversity can we actually become heroes.
2. This video about what the gospel is is so beautiful Such a great overview. 🥰
3. THIS POST FROM DAVID BENNETT ON BEING A PILGRIM ON EARTH
You know, just briefly returning to the idea that we belong to a different kingdom.
Day 5
2. This video on Paul Vanderklay’s channel about monotheism that the Hebrew Bible presents compared to it’s neighbour’s polytheistic religions.
[In the Hebrew Bible] morality is seen as conforming to the will of God.
God is known not through nature, but through history. He’s known through his actions in the world through historical time and his relationship with a historical people.
3.
Day 6
1. MATT & LAURIE KRIEG: BEFORE WE SWITCH TO AN AFFIRMING WORLDVIEW OF MARRIAGE AND SEXUALITY
Laurie and Matt Krieg do a lot of work in the area of marriage and sexuality. They live in a mixed orientation marriage, and would like anyone who is considering switching to an affirming worldview to think about three specific things, which they share in this short video. I know that in my life, I’ve seen a lot of people - friends, local churches, Christian celebrities - switching to an affirming view of sexuality, and it has been really challenging for me, and maybe I’ll share some of why that has been challenging in the future, but for now I’ve just seen a lot of Laurie’s first point in action.
This point was that it sometimes seems like we’re only being given two options 1. have an affirming worldview and be loving, or 2. hold to a historical Christian worldview and be hateful. She suggests that these are not the only options. That those who hold to a historic worldview can be loving, should be loving, and should work to build communities that allow people to hold to an orthodox view of marriage/sex without being lonely/miserable/without family.
I know that as a single person, this is what I need too. I see the modern idea of marriage and sexuality slip into people’s conversations with me. When they hear that I long to be married but am not, they will often say things like, “Well if you don’t want to be single, just go on more dates”, “you need to be actively pursuing what you want”, “have you tried online dating? Asking your friends to set you up? Singles groups? etc.”. And honestly I’m not innately opposed to any of these (and honestly have tried most of them at some point), but what I am opposed to is that marriage is something for me to obtain. That this is my decision to make, and I get to choose for myself.
Honestly, as a Christian, this just isn’t true.
My life became not my own the moment I gave it to Christ and the work of the kingdom. Paul says that we’re “slaves” to Christ (1 Corinthians 7:22 & 23) - ironically this section of Paul’s letter is all about marriage and singleness and living out the call of God whichever your status. “Keeping God’s commands is what counts,” he says.
Over and over throughout the Bible there is this theme of kingdom and God as sovereign ruler of all. Currently I live in a type of democracy. I have a ton of rights and seem to have the freedom to make decisions. Monarchies, and specifically Theocracies are not this way. As citizens of these kingdoms, you do not have sole reign of your life. The day I chose Christ, I chose his kingdom, and my life is not my own. Whether I remain single for all my years, or marry, this decision is God’s to make. I belong to him. And besides, “this world in its present form is passing away” and one day we will have no need for the metaphor of marriage because we will have what the metaphor points to - union with God.
So before you tell me “to go on more dates” or before you say that a traditional view of marriage is inherently damaging for gay people, please ask yourself “as someone who belongs to God, how can I best encourage the person in front of me in the particular purpose God has for them and their role in the church/kingdom?”
Watch Matt & Laurie’s video here.