People live in the Inland Northwest for a variety of reasons; one that most agree on is the intrinsic beauty of the area and the accessibility of the outdoors. Whether you are a cyclist, skier, hunter, fisher or a boater the opportunities are nearly endless.
I am a fly fisher. In my younger years I spent hundreds of hours a year floating in a float tube or wading a stream in pursuit of trout. Those bright southern Idaho days are wonderful memories that fill me with nostalgia and peace. These days I do not spend nearly as much time in the rivers and lakes as I did 20 years ago, however the time I do spend in a river allows me to reflect on my spiritual well being.
Living through middle age is not a unique experience, everyone that lives long enough goes through some kind of transition, sometimes several transitions. While it may not be humanly unique it is individually unique, each person experiences life individually and the path through middle age can be a lonely one, even when you are surrounded by friends and family that love and care for you. That has been my experience.
Coming through a “dry stretch” both metaphorically and literally (did I mention that fishing has been on a back burner for several years?) and seeing the blessed waters ahead I find reflection on the pursuit of trout an appropriate topic for my first column here.
I spent a few days on the Missouri River near Wolf Creek, Montana recently with my father and a very good friend. After preaching at a congregation on Sunday morning I was treated the gift of hospitality in the form of a wonderful London Broil dinner, and then my fishing companions and I “wadered-up” and made our way to the river.
When I arrived at my designated water on Sunday evening I had already been fishing pretty hard for several days, and I had just offered ministry of the word. I was feeling pretty good about life so I was in no real hurry to wave my magic graphite wand in the air. I was content to sit on the bank and watch my dad fish.
As I sat there a family of beaver swam up stream stopping every 20 to 30 yards to crawl up the bank and nip off a willow, then crawl down the bank to eat the bark in the water. Because I was just enjoying the river and the life present there I was able to watch as the water drained from the beaver’s fur to transform them from a shiny black animals into a deeply rich cocoa brown fluffy animals. As I think about my own experience in life, the transformation of the beaver, before my very eyes, seems kind of like the transformation we make in life as things drain away from us. I am a different critter than I was 20 years ago when I was bent on catching all the trout in any given river or lake. I am different in not only the way I approach fishing but in the way I approach my faith.
As a young adult it was really important for me to be right: right in my thinking, right in my practice, right in my interpretations and belonging to the right community. Today, I am willing to admit that I am probably wrong about a lot of things. However, while recognizing that I may not have all the answers, I think I might have some pretty good ideas for me and my fellow sojourners to explore in our mutual search for truth. The list of truth I carry is getting shorter but will always include, “Love God and love your neighbor.”
Could it be, that just as the water drained from the beaver’s fur and transformed it from a rather intimidating looking critter into a wonderfully soft and gentle looking creature, that our churches should allow the orthodoxy (right thinking) that divides us to drain away? Is it time for people who call themselves Christian to start believing less and begin to be more? Our society is moving away from religion and moving toward spirituality at an astounding rate. In the midst of this change, many people continue to think that what they believe is more important than saving people from the hell in which they find themselves, allowing those who are seeking a relationship with God to be sacrificed on the altar of beliefs. Belief never really saved anyone. Relationship built on solid principles of love always saves. Belief is important only if it is a power that changes the mind and the life of a person. What would happen to our community if Christians would be instead of believe?
Great stuff John…welcome to the writing community.
“Belief never really saved anyone.” I understand that Christians ought to be living out (orthopraxy) their faith (orthodoxy) day by day, but I would contend that a correct orthodoxy (belief) is important for eternal life. Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9
I contend that Christians ought to believe and be. It is a “both and” not an “either or”.
Eric,
I think I support your statement in my article. The question then becomes: Who’s orthodoxy? Catholic, Baptist, Mormon, etc. So much of Christian energy is spent arguing over this very simple question and all the while the world around us continues to go to hell.
Mark not Eric.
Yep, I caught that. Sorry about that Eric. Newbies.
The Bible’s orthodoxy. The Bible is the only source for faith and practice. When any group deviates from the historical, grammatical, literal teaching of the Bible, their teaching is no longer orthodox. Validate or disqualify any teaching on the basis of the historical, grammatical and literal interpretation of the Bible.
Great post John- I always liked the saying that we are human BEings and not human DOings.
Mark: sorry, you lost me at literal. Can’t go there.
John: did Jesu literally resurrect from the dead according to the Bible? Did His body, that which was crucified and died, come back to life again literally and come out of the tomb literally?
John: did Jesus literally resurrect from the dead according to the Bible? Did His body, that which was crucified and died, come back to life again literally and come out of the tomb literally?
Is this a test of my faith?
A few years ago, shortly after the Rwanda genocide, I was privileged to attend a concert presented by orphans from that horror stricken land. The youth were from 10 to 17 years old and the music they presented was full of hope and beauty, something very foreign to most people who have experienced what they did. One young lady, probably 15 years of age told her story of survival. During one of the raids she was in a church with hundreds of her kins-people when the butchers attacked, hacking people to pieces with machetes. She survived by praying and falling to the floor hiding under the dead and dying for hours if not days until it was safe. I was moved by her story.
During the next number I watched her, I was riveted to her, staring with rare intensity. She was standing on the third row from the front left hand side of the group. I began to see her with eyes I had not possessed before, and I began to notice the light shining from her and the Spirit bore witness to me that I was gazing at the face of Christ as she bore her witness that he is indeed alive.
I believe that Jesus is alive, that the resurrection is real and that it is a mystery. I don’t have to be a literalist to believe those things to be true.
Not meant to be a test of faith. Simply to show that you do take the Bible literally. The Bible makes a factual, literal statement that Jesus rose from the dead. That is a factual, literal truth. Jesus literally walked on water. Jesus literally took five loaves and two fish and fed a multitude of people. Jesus literally healed the sick. Jesus literally turned water into wine. Jesus literally raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus literally chose 12 disciples.
The point is, that the Bible is to be taken literally (exception: when the Bible speaks poetically, figuratively and prophetically; and those are easy to determine). Why would it be so difficult to accept the Bible literally?
Your interpretation of my comments takes a lot of liberty. In Christianity the interpretation of resurrection is pretty broad, I am somewhere in there, not understanding just exactly what that means.
To answer your last question Mark: For me a literal reading of the scriptural text crams God into a leather bound prison of human error and limited understanding. The God who receives my praise and worship can not be explained in a book or even a whole series of books. Rather the God I worship reveals Godself when I prayerfully approach the scripture with an open mind trying to understand what the authors in the context from which they wrote were trying to explain about their experience with God. This is revelation, it is current, personal and communal at the same time, and it requires devotion not to the words of scripture but the Word of God to whom scripture points.
The thing is, the Bible claims for itself, “all Scripture is inspired by God” (God breathed),
that no scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, but men moved by the Holy Spirit, spoke from God (II Pet. 1:21). God has spoken to us in His Word, this Scriptures, the Bible. God Himself has given it to us, inspired by Him, so as to be authoritative, profitable for reproof, for correction and instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be competent, thoroughly equipped for every good work. God is not in a box, but He has revealed to us all that we need to know about Him.
Dennis,
thanks for the comment, however there is a chink in this argument. The New Testament did not exist as scripture when II Peter was written. So the question arises which scripture? Many world religions have sacred texts that they uphold as scripture, are they “God breathed?” Many of them predate Christian scripture.
The last statement in your comment actually blows my mind. If God desires an intimate relationship with humanity in general and individuals specifically, how can the Bible contain all God wants us to know about him? I do not believe in a God that remains hidden behind a book, no matter how amazingly instructive it is. Jesus told his disciples we should love God and love our neighbor, love involves vulnerability on the part of both parties. A god hidden behind a book is neither vulnerable or close.
I can’t buy this approach to scripture, it makes God to small and limited to me.
Finally I may get in the last word: This thread of comments really makes the point of my article above. Believing is important, but convincing people through rhetoric and debate is a complete turn-off to those who seek a relationship with community and with the mystery that is God. My point is that if we continue to argue the finer points of belief instead of using that energy to be in Christ in the world, the world will continue to suffer. Thanks to everyone for their comments.
John<><
Sorry to add one more here, but there’s a couple things I can’t leave hanging.
First, Peter didn’t say “all scripture up until now”, but “all scripture”. I believe the Holy Spirit purposely left it that way. In fact in II Peter 3:15,16 he equates all of Paul’s letters with Old Testament scriptures.
Lastly, I agree that it’s wrong to argue over the finer points, but the inspiration of scripture is not one of those. If we can’t trust the Bible then we have nothing to share.