Inappropriate Conversations

A few years ago, a question was posed to me online: where would you be without God? There are two answers, actually. One is personal, which I'll cover next week. The other is philosophical, a combination of ontological and cosmological arguments going back a thousand years. "God's existence is necessary for my existence" is, in some ways, a faith-based equivalent for "I think; therefore, I am." A very old and original Christian answer to this question is that without God, there would be no "me" to ask the question, much less attempt an answer. Different Drummer: Anselm of Aosta

With all the talk about Mayan calendars and the end of the world, it is past time to discuss Christian understandings, and misunderstandings, about end-times prophecies.  The New Testament in the Bible contains more than one.  More often than not, though, Christians fail to recognize fulfilled prophecy and presume instead that everything in a book like Revelations refers to future events.  For those living in Jerusalem, though, the world (or, more precisely, the "Jewish Age") ended centuries ago.  There can be serious consequences when we fail to acknowledge the past, including events in history when the Bible itself was still being written. Different Drummer: John (of Patmos?)

Charges of liberal bias in the mainstream media fail to take into account the power of publishers as an authority that is likely to be more conservative than writers and editors.  At the same time, the rise of politically conservative and evangelical-Christian alternatives for "the press" have led many people to turn away from large media conglomerates altogether.  More and more citizens who aren't obsessed with ideology are getting their news and commentary online from blogs and podcasts, and it is making America surprisingly more like our colonial model than we would have expected. Different Drummer: Lee Strobel Many partisan-conservatives believe the media never ask hard questions of pro-choice candidates during debates and on the campaign trail.  It isn't because those questions are difficult to answer.  The second half of the show provides an off-the-cuff example.

Jesus once asked this question: "What can anyone give in exchange for their soul?" He was telling a crowd, not just 12 disciples, about what it meant to follow him. His answer had nothing to do with a "chosen people" or a "Christian nation." Jesus was speaking to a large group of individuals, and he asked each if he or she was willing to pick up their own cross and follow him. By "anyone" he meant "any one." This does not bode well for believers who think that electing the right leader or reviving some ancient laws will ensure salvation. In fact, hiding within such group-think is probably a sign that you are ashamed to follow Jesus his way. Different Drummer: Toby McKeehan DC Talk - "Jesus Freak"

Giving to charitable organizations is a good idea. It makes a difference. It helps. We must not confuse these types of contributions with missionary work, though. Being "in mission" is about intervening, and getting involved is not merely a financial offering. Different Drummer: Shane Claiborne Shane Claiborne and The Simple Way

The concept "heart" describes the deepest, most personally "real" part of ourselves.  A great many people have never revealed this Self to anyone, not even a spouse or other family member.  At the same time, any hope another person has for truly knowing you depends entirely on getting to "the heart of the matter" within that relationship.  This is one of the great truths that Jesus came to share, and it rests at the core of what Christians mean by "having a relationship" with God. Different Drummer: Frederick Buechner

Ritual can be a part of authentic worship, but if that's all there is then it is almost certainly false.  My faith has consistently affirmed the conviction that God is "present" within worship, not as a judgmental taskmaster but as a loving, creative force.  Genuine worship changes over time, even from week to week.  Rather than being regimented, if it is truly God-focused then it will reflect the Lord's mysterious ways.  Anything less than a journey into this heart of wonder may be "religious" but it certainly isn't spiritual. Different Drummer: Rick Moyer Take Him With You