God Doesn’t Need You

February 24, 2009 at 6:18 pm (Zack)

So I was listening to The Bible Experience today on the subway, because listening to the Bible is one of the only ways that I can stay sane after a day of teaching high school math in South Philly. I was listening to the book of Esther while staring blankly at the blur of subway platforms when I was unexpectedly hit with a verse. At this point, Xerxes (the king of Persia) has issued a decree to wipe out the Jewish people across the empire, but little does he know that his lovely new bride (Esther) is a Jew. Her cousin Mordecai sends her word, begging her to use her position in the palace to save her people. When she initially refuses out of fear of the wrath of the king, Mordecai responds with this…

12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

How humbling is that?

He basically said, “You are in the best position to save your people, but honestly, God doesn’t need you if He wants to save the Jews”.

I don’t know about you, but I’m usually pretty convinced that the task of saving the world is basically on my shoulders. I’ve spent untold amounts of time spurring people on to transforming the world around us with the prevailing undertone that we are pretty important. As if the ultimate success or failure of the renewal of creation hinges on how well I help to usher it in. I’ve been thinking a lot since my ride home about my place in Christ’s redemptive work.

If I stop doing what I’m doing, run away to the mountains, and never see another human being again, could God still be as successful on Earth? Of course He could. If every Christian on Earth decided to stop doing what they should be doing, would God’s plan come crashing down? Not a chance. He would find a way. When the religious leaders told Jesus to make his disciples stop singing His praises, He responded by saying, “If they remain silent, the rocks themselves will cry out!”

I don’t really have a lot to say about this point because it is one of those ideas that is best left simmering in your mind for a long time like a good pot of chili instead of being carefully dissected and parsed. Basically, I want to see the mission of God a little differently. It’s so easy to see it like a riot that gains strength and momentum as more people join and get excited about the cause, but that’s not how it works. The kingdom of God is progressing like a tidal wave. Ultimately, we can neither add nor subtract to it, but we have the choice to either ride the wave to its fruition, or stand opposed to it and eventually be destroyed by it. God is in charge of renewing all creation, and I’m more or less just along for the ride. There is something incredibly comforting about that thought. God is sovereign over everything, and sometimes I just need to be reminded of that.

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Surprised by Hope Chapter 1 & 2

February 18, 2009 at 8:45 pm (Howard)

“Why oil the wheels of a machine that will soon plunge over a cliff”?

Of all the questions Wright is asking and talking about in the first two chapters, I think this one is my favorite. The other questions are important. They way we see death, what happens after we die. The theology of those questions does determine the way we feel about the present. But what I like most about the above question is that it is getting at what we are actually doing right now, not just what we think about it, or how we feel about it.

Let me try to elaborate. I sometimes have a problem with theological issues that keep us so wrapped up in our own minds and thoughts and the opinions of others that it doesn’t actually ever amount to us serving Jesus better. Good theology will do just that, make a difference in the way we serve Jesus. So while it is important that we should be corrected if our theology is weak or incorrect, like Wright claims it is on modern Christian thought concerning the afterlife, it is more important to see how that theology can change the way we are really living to serve Jesus better.

I admit that I sometimes fall into the trap that Wright mentions: The world is so messed up that I don’t even want to try to own it. I look forward to heaven when we can happily leave all the problems of the world behind. Why try to fix the entire world if we are going to be redeemed and everything will be taken care of when we get to heaven? Or, “Why oil the wheels of a machine that will soon plunge over a cliff”?

Wright is setting up the argument that the machine is not plunging off the cliff. That it is going to be around much longer and have a larger impact than we anticipate. This is why what we do right now in the present world is so important. I believe Wright is arguing and will continue to argue throughout the book that our present actions are more important than we realize. That is theology that I can serve with.

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Surprised by Hope (Chapter 1 and 2)

February 17, 2009 at 11:07 pm (Raleigh)

Chapter 1 was very interesting. The chapter delt with common beliefs on the idea of life after death. Writght briefly discussed reincarnation, New Age views on death, Annihilation, the paranormal.  

Wright then sets the stage for the next chapter. He explains how (generally speaking) Christians don’t truly believe in resurrection. We tend to disconnect heaven and earth as two distinctly separate realms. There is a major problem with this train of thought. It leads us to neglect our role here on earth.

Chapter 2 goes on to discuss the Christian misinterpretations as well as the traditional views that stem from worldly Philosophy, which are eventually are indoctrinated into Christian thought through assimilation. Many Christians believe that when we die, we leave our present reality and are transported up to heaven. Wright argues that one of the major reasons for this is due to the mistranslations of “Kingdom of God” to “Kingdom of Heaven” found throughout the gospels (especially Matthew), as well as the view that our present bodies are evil and corrupt. The view that our body is a cage for our soul comes from Plato and not the New Testament. Wright goes onto say that our prayers, liturgies, songs, and worship are plagued with this idea that we are  ”destined to go to heaven” when we die. 

Write claims that funerals are filled with mislead theology. Often Elegy’s are given with the seemingly contrived goal of comforting those who are there to morn the death of someone near and dear to them. We recognize this when we hear that “They are in heaven looking down on us”. But is this Biblical? Hardly, says Wright. 

Karl Marx is correct to say that “Religion is the opiate of the masses”. Rulers could use a view of the world as temporary and fleeting to make sure that people are complacent and don’t start a revolution. For N.T. Wright, the proclamation “on earth as it is in heaven” found in the Lord’s prayer, should be  the crux of Jewish and Christian thought dealing with the afterlife. As Christians, it is our duty to bring heaven to earth as they will one day be united as one. This is far more radical and revolutionary than the Platonic form of Christianity that has crept in over the years. He believes that this is what was believed by first century Christians and Jews, which he will attempt to show in chapter 3.

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Surprised by Hope

February 12, 2009 at 10:55 pm (Raleigh)

My dear friend and housemate Howard and I are planning on reading through Surprised by Hope by Tom Wright. I hope to post chapter by chapter impressions, thoughts, and criticisms here at Sword of Peace. 

The title Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church sounds ambitious. I heard that the book deals with our misconception of heaven. I want to first start off by some of my thoughts about heaven.

First and foremost I believe that God calls us to bring heaven to earth. When we accept Christ as our Savior, it becomes our priority to take up the cross and follow him into the marginalized areas of society. Jesus wants us to look after the poor, the oppressed, those imprisoned, the unemployed, those without homes. God’s Kingdom can be and is to be experienced here on earth.

Heaven is very confusing to me. I of course do not believe heaven to be a cloudy nirvana or an alternative reality, but something more like earth. Like earth 2. Only this earth 2 is in a state of complete harmony. Like earth before the fall. I picture the wolf lying with the lamb. Every creature has respect and compassion for one another and consumes only fruits and herbs. There is no longer war, there is no longer hierarchy. Everyone is living in peace with the Creator. What’s missing from this world is sin. humankind’s first sin was the conquest of the power of the knowledge of good and evil. In paradise there will no longer be exploitation of land, and everyone will gather only enough for themselves. There will be no need for storing food for tomorrow. If we totally trust in God, He will provide. There will be no pain or suffering.

I do however believe that you can stub your toe and it will hurt! I can’t imagine a world without physical pain, only a world without emotional pain that are the consequence of our sin.

What are your views on the afterlife?

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