What is “the world?”

For anyone who grew up in church, the world is a common buzz word that encompasses anything that is not considered Christian or godly. People don’t watch certain movies because they are of “the world.” Science is of “the world” (unless it agrees with scripture or tradition). Non-Christian music is of “the world.” Drinking is of “the world.” Sex (outside of marriage) is of “the world.”

The comparison between the world and godliness is made as a moral one, and these days the moral focus tends to be on personal sin. That’s what most preachers and teachers hit on. She’s immoral because she had sex with her boyfriend. He’s immoral because he got drunk last night.

THE WORLD WILL HATE YOU

Jesus taught that the world would hate us. Paul admonished his followers to not be given to the patterns of the world, and promised that there would be persecution when we stood for righteousness. If that’s the case, then something is wrong here. I’ve never been hated because I refuse to cheat on my wife. I was never hated or persecuted when I didn’t drink. No one has ever wanted to harm me for cursing or watching a rated-R movie. The only time we’ve been hated because of issues of morality have been when we’ve tried to force our moral views on others (case in point, the current anti-homosexual movement).

WHAT IS “THE WORLD?”

“The world” is a system. It’s a machine. In the Jewish scriptures the world was a system of injustice and marginalization. In Egypt the Hebrews were pressed down by the world, and the motivation of the oppressor was power. Later, every time a prophet brought judgement against the nation of Israel, it was because of their injustice toward others. It was because Israel had become like the world…had become the machine. They had become a powerful nation that stood on the shoulders of others (I find it quite telling that Solomon built his temple with slave labor, when every year Pesach was celebrated to remember their own slavery).

The world is a self-serving system. The world looks out only for itself. The world will get ahead, no matter what. How many people did Jesus confront because of personal morality? I can think of two, and in both cases the confrontation was extremely mild compared to his confrontation with those who acted in injustice. The first was the woman caught in adultery, and he spent more time on the Pharisees who were trying to condemn her than he did on her. The only thing he said to her was to go and stop sinning, which is good, sound advice, as adultery is a selfish act (which makes it of the world). The second incident was the Samaritan woman at the well, and he didn’t even confront her for not being married to her current lover. He confronted her for lying, as a means to prove who he said he was.

I believe that personal morality is important. Immorality on a personal level can have a profound effect on who we are, but it’s still personal. At some point, I get to choose what effects me negatively and what does not. It’s like the law of the Sabbath, which says no work on the Sabbath because it is to be a day of rest. However, what if I find mowing my lawn to be the most relaxing thing ever? Am I then breaking the Sabbath? According to Jewish law, I am, but according to the spirit of the law, I’m not.

WE’VE LOST SIGHT

If we spent more time focusing on fighting against the true system of the world, and much less against the personal morality of others, we really would change the world, and we would be hated by many for it. For a decade I’ve stood perplexed as churches have been run like corporations. I’ve been dumbfounded by Christian support of a war for money. I’ve watched some of the “holiest” people raise their hands in support of measures that improve our lot at the expense of others. I’ve seen them jeer the “Occupy” crowd instead of realizing the truth of their message – this world is a self-serving place, and those in power intend to keep their power at our expense.

You would think that a nation with such a long history of having Christianity as the majority religion (and at some points by a wide margin) would not be in such dire straights. Atheists haven’t spent 200 years in the political arena, creating a system of inclusion and power, but Christians have. We’ve lost our focus. We’re not supposed to be here just to hold out until heaven. We’re supposed to make this world a better place, and that has a lot less to do with tsk’ing at immodest teenagers, and much more to do with fighting against the way we treat one another.

SELFISHNESS

The entirety of sin can be summed up in selfishness. In the story of the Garden, Eve ate the fruit out of selfishness. Selfishness was the first and only sin. It is the root of it all.

The world is a selfish place, and we’ve bought into it hook, line and sinker. We build million dollar sanctuaries in neighborhoods surrounded by starving people. We shop at Walmart, knowing full well that our products were made by child labor and underpaid workers (and few of us actually even care to think about that). We buy Hummers and put Jesus fish on them, and the consequences to the environment (of which we are supposed to be stewards) be damned.

There should be a distinction between us and the world. That’s a clear tenant of Christianity. However, the distinction will not be made in the movies we refuse to see or the words we do not say. The distinction will be made purely on the level of how we treat others, both as individuals, and as an institution. If I preach that cursing is wrong, then go and buy a diamond that was dug up by slave labor, I’ve supported the world.

RENEW THE WORLD

So, be not of this world…renew it. Some are beginning to grasp this. Shane Claiborne gave up everything he had to go live with the homeless in Philadelphia. But he didn’t go live with them just to say he lived with the homeless. He started a community. An entire movement based on helping each other out. People are off the streets and are being fed because he put the system of the world behind him. Others are doing similar things around the globe. They are renewing the world, and as a result they are truly infuriating the system.

They are being hated for love, which is the way of righteousness.

W(TF)WJD?

I don’t listen to a lot of Christian-branded music these days. Most of contemporary Christian music is stuck in the ’90s, and there’s actually a market for that. There are a few bands that have stayed relevant to me, and have even had varying levels of mainstream success. Christian metal band P.O.D. just released their eight studio album, Murdered Love. I bought it tonight, and it’s great.

One of the songs on the album is stirring up quite a bit of controversy for the use of the word “fuck.” In the song I Am Sonny Sandoval asks “But I know this is the one and only Son of God, so tell me, who the fuck is he?” It’s not entirely clear what the context is, but the way I hear it, he’s asking this about the expressed “person of sin” mentioned in the opening verse.

At very least, this was a brave move on the band’s part. Their roots are in Christian music, and it’s still their largest crowd. Using this word was a gamble. I’m not qualified to judge their motives, but the way I see it, they either did it with an earnest desire to shake some people awake and perhaps have a hand in changing lives, or they did it as a way to start breaking away from Christian music and earn more mainstream success. It was brave either way.

But the actual use of the word is what’s stirring things up right now, not the motive. Cursing is one of those staples that Christians just aren’t supposed to do, the idea being that it’s of the world. I’ve never met a youth pastor who didn’t have cursing on their list of sins for each sermon. The message could be on why giving to the poor is a good thing to do, and at some point you’d hear “And you can’t be a good witness if you’re not living for God. What would that poor family think of you if you gave them some money and then they heard you say a bad word, or found out that you were having sex with your boyfriend, or knew that you drank last weekend at that party?” (the answer is, they would think “That guy was nice for giving us money. Now we can pay that bill.”)

Many of the Christians I know are out of touch about how everyone else views them. The things that they think help them witness to the world are the things that most people could care less about, and the things that are largely ignored by many Christians, are the things that most people want to see them care about.

I’ve never personally met anyone who cared if a Christian cursed, provided that the Christian cared about the poor and the environment, treated others with respect, and tried to be an all around good person. I’ve seen Christians be called hypocrites for cursing, but only because they were already hated for being judgmental and snarky (okay, that was actually me. I used to be a pretty crappy person on the inside, though it was even masked to me for a long time).

People are turning to Ephesians and James in the current situation, making sure it’s known that Christians are not to curse, but cursing is about intent. If you hate someone, it doesn’t matter if you call them an ass or a jerk, the hatred in your heart is still the same. It’s the same with positive emotional expressions (say, “woo hoo” and “hell yeah”).

I’m not advocating that people should take up cursing as a hobby, but I am saying that cursing is not intrinsically bad. There are honestly more important things to worry about in making the world a better place than who uses which words. Refraining from cursing is not going to make the world a better or worse place.

My friend, Steve Bremner, has written on this as well from his differing perspective. Go check out his article, Cussing Christians – When is the F-Bomb Ever “Necessary?” It’s a good piece, and though we disagree, he makes his own valid points.

Beyond You: Beginnings

I’m starting a blog series called Beyond You. It encapsulates the major parts of my journey to become a better person over the past seven years or so. I share it because, as a writer, I want others to read it, but I really write it for myself. Even when I use the pronoun “you,” I am chiefly talking about me.

This is not a series about doctrine, but it is a spiritual one. My journey has been nothing if not spiritual. I’ve questioned everything for truth. I’ve played inception with my own mind, actually questioning the motive of my motives at times. It has been an exhausting journey, but it has also been the most fulfilling thing I have ever done.

I’ve not arrived at the end. I’ve caught myself imagining that I was close at times, but something always comes along to snap me back to reality. I no longer believe that the end is the purpose of the journey, if an end even exists. I don’t know what I believe regarding the afterlife anymore, but I can tell you that even there I believe the journey will continue. If God is infinite, then the journey always continues.

So for me, every new step is a beginning. Every time I take a step toward change, I do it knowing that it could shake my world, and some steps have, but each one has also enhanced it. For some reason we tend to fear change and crave stability, but literally every part of our existence, from an atom to a mountain range, is in its current state because of pressure and change over time. Change is the true flow of life, which makes beginnings so exciting.

Humanity’s Greatest Threat – Soullesness

So someone created an algorithm that randomly selected 10 million YouTube videos and drew a composite concept of the average human face. The result is the picture shown here. Notice the missing eyes.

Don’t worry, I’m not going all Japanese horror film on you, but this composite, what is supposed to the average human being, is soulless. I find quite telling.

Soullessness is a quickly spreading disease. I’m not talking about morality; at least not in the conventional sense. I find it myself nonplussed when I realize that I live in a world in which Jackass or The Jersey Shore exists. I’m not saying that from conventional morality – I don’t care that they involve sexual situations, drugs, etc. It bothers me because of the fact that we, as a culture, are able to be entertained by the depravity of others.

Think about depravity. We usually think of the subject when talking about  depravity, the person doing the depraved action. But what about the object? What about the person who is the recipient of the depraved action?

We are a depraved society, and we are all the subject and the object of that depravity. No matter how much we have been crapped on, we are always willing to crap on someone we feel is lower than us. It extends from fighting over religion to being a douche at home because you had a bad day at work. In everything we do, a constant river of depravity flows through us. From above, to below.

That’s why humanity is losing its soul. No one is willing to be the one not sharing the crap. I talk to people every day who justify being rude in a conversation because the other person was being rude. I’ve called by my religious and non-religious friends out on being argumentative rather than humble, and every single time the retort has been “well, that’s how they treat us.” What are we, six year olds?

Jesus said that you can gain the world at the cost of your soul, and we’ve gained the world. Even the poorest of us, except in the most extreme of circumstances, live far better than the poor of other worlds, and feels a sense of freedom as an American too boot.

Religions have their massive buildings, conferences, and tax-free status. They have defined institutions and followers. They hold political sway and a feeling of moral supremacy. Religions have gained the world.

Corporations have their tax loopholes and their political clout. They get to pay workers a minimum wage far below a living wage. They have rules that go beyond protecting them, which is fair to any business. They have rules that actually greatly benefit them. Corporations have gained the world.

The media tells you what to know. Every day, every hour, in almost every story, the media stations, 90% of which in America are owned by six corporations, give you different sides of a story, depending on the political leaning of the corporate owner. The December 2011 edition of Time magazine in America had the featured article and cover design on anxiety. The cover in the rest of the world was on the Egyptian revolution. The media has gained the world.

Hollywood puts cameras in people’s houses, or puts people in a house with cameras, hoping to catch their most embarrassing moments on film, and we watch it. We laugh at it. We form very strong opinions about people we’ve never met. We are constantly bombarded with stereotypes, conditioning us to prejudge and categorize others. We are taught to feel like the grass is greener on the other side, leading us to discontent with our actual lives. Hollywood has gained the world.

America has gained the world, and as a result has lost its soul. We wave our blessings in the faces of others, yet pull back when they reach for them. We parade our greatness around the world, and in doing so we don’t realize that we’re marching on the backs of others. Instead of humility and reasonable compromise, we fight to be right. We have literally carried out wars for stuff.  We have gained the world, but we are losing our souls.

I am a human being.
My religion does not change the fact that I am a human being.
The amount of money in my bank account does not make me any more or less human.
My social status and popularity level does not strip me of my humanity.

I am a human being.
When I get cut I bleed, and so do you.
When I lose in love I cry, just like great conquerers have.
One day I will die, and one day my grandchildren will die.

I am a human being.
When I am down I appreciate help up,
so when I’m up I should reach out to those who are down.
I cannot love myself more than you, because with out you, I would not be me.

 

More Hate Speech

 

This is Curis Knapp. He is dangerous.

Following the antics of Charles Worley, two more pastors have decided to up their game and call for killing or incarcerating homosexuals.

Let me be clear that I realize that hate speech is not only one sided. If you go to almost any link where these stories are posted you’ll find people on the left with just as much hatred and vitriol in their speech. However, I don’t come from that world. I used to be a minister…that’s the world I come from and it’s the world I feel the need to confront.

Here’s the really sad part though – many people I know flooded their Facebook feeds when President Obama said he agreed with gay marriage. They were incessed by his lack of respect for “Biblical” mandates. Yet, only a very tiny percentage of them have even dared touch the Worley (and now the new guys) issue. Not cool.

Here’s the latest from a Kansas pastor, Curtis Knapp. It truly is stomach churning.

The New Jezebel

My friend, Steve Bremner, recently conducted a podcast with ministers SJ Hill and Dr. Stephen Crosby. The subject was The New Jezebel, which is an moniker put forth by Dr. Crosby.

When I was growing up in the church the term “Jezebel” was used for anyone who was portrayed as rebellious, but more specifically, it was used for people who weren’t being outrightly rebellious. Rather, it was used for people who didn’t feel like falling perfectly in line with what the churches or pastors wanted. Leadership viewed it as a timid rebellion that went against their power structure.

The idea of a new Jezebel is intriguing. Listen for yourself.

War is Coming

War is coming. I feel it in my bones, and it scares me. I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I’m just a normal guy who tries to keep close to the pulse of the world. And I can’t shake the feeling that we are on the brink of war. Not war like we’re used to – a dominant force in another country – but war here. Amongst ourselves.

We’ve allowed ourselves to polarize. We’ve forgotten how to meet in the middle. We are built to self destruct. Our culture teaches us that “I” is the point. We really do think it’s about us, and any culture that has forgotten that it’s about others has fallen. We hate, but we call it things like “being honest about cultural differences,” or “concern for the moral climate.” But these are just monikers for hatred, because no true expression of God, love, or community ever calls for us shun and hate others. Spiritual experiences are private matters, as are moral beliefs. I understand the desire to share, but we are to live in such a manner that people will want to listen; we should never force someone to.

Two days ago an amendment to the Constitution of North Carolina passed that banned gay marriage at all in the State. It was a travesty to freedom. Your moral leaning, whether left or right, does not give you the right to force others to live how you think they should.

Last night the President of the United States declared his official support for gay marriage. It was brave of him, especially since it could cost him the election, but dangerous. I’m not certain this was the singularity in the matter – the point of no return – but it is definitely a potential singularity event. Over the next few days some some things could happen that escalate the tensions.

It may take a miracle to save us. Some huge mental shift toward the center from both sides. We don’t need to agree on everything, but we MUST learn to disagree honorably and with grace.

Otherwise, it will lead to war. I just can’t shake that feeling.

America was founded on the idea of freedom. The question of moral and religious leaning by the Founding Fathers is irrelevant. Even those who were devoutly religious expressed freedom as a most perfect attribute. They sometimes expressed their own moral angst in regard to those around them, but they still valued the freedom of others as long as people acted honorably.

If we cannot learn to love one another, we will self destruct.