"Hi, my name is ________ and I was damaged by early attempts at religious instruction."
This is not a direct quote, but at points during our discussion on Friday afternoon I might have thought I was at a "Support Group for Students who have Rejected Religion." The comments were in response to this question:
"What is one opinion about God or Religion you had formed by age 12?"
"My first question about God was raised by mention of him in a comic book. After I asked my Mom about him I remember my response: 'So there's this man up in the sky who loves me but if I don't obey him he will send me to a dimension of eternal punishment?'" (At this point he is NOT a Christian - but likes to hang out with us.)
"I remember going to church and hearing stuff about God only on Sunday. It didn't mean anything or make any difference to us when we got home. I just figured it was something we did out of social obligation or tradition." (He IS a believer now but doesn't want anything to do with church. I am discipling him and he has a hunger for the Word.)
"It bothered me that there was supposed to be this loving God out there, but there were a lot of bad things happening. I wondered, 'Why isn't He doing anything?'" (A Religious Studies major visiting our group as part of a research project.)
"My father became a Christian when I was five years old. He came home excited and began reading the Bible to us. We went to church and I remember being told that Jesus was my Saviour, but I was missing the 'Man's Response' part of the Gospel Message. So it wasn't until college that I chose Christ and began to have a personal relationship with Him." (A new Christian who is growing in the Lord and wants to develop her skills interacting with the variety of views expressed at "The CAVE.")
One idea that I thought of as I listened was this: "Religious Instruction fails to connect with 'felt needs' by either giving answers to questions people are not asking, or by suppressing their REAL questions."
I shared my own early struggles with Grace and Obedience: "Why should I bother to obey (which involves suffering) when Heaven is guaranteed anyway?" One way I described the resolution was in terms of experiencing God's Love and coming under His authority (Lordship). These are not at odds, rather, His authority is the Way we experience His love through the protection, provision, and separation from sin that we find as we submit.
Each of these people deserves individual, personal and thoughtful responses to their struggles.
p.s. There was a silent participant "lurking in the shadows" at the Cave: the Barista appeared very interested in last Friday's topic!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Panel on Homosexuality & Religion
I arrived a week ago Thurs. at the New Science Bldg. in the evening.
The organizers greeted me and introduced me to the other panelists.
I had been told that I would have six minutes at the start to explain my position.
What I didn't know is that by the "luck-of-the-draw" I would be going first!
"As a Christian and a Baptist I not only hold to certain views but to a way of arriving at my positions. My epistemology (how we know what we know) is best described as "revelational." This means that, unlike the "Empiricist," I don't rely solely on what can be gathered from observations. And, unlike the "Rationalist," it is not human reason and the categories of the mind that inform my views. Accepting the authority of the Bible means that the God who made the world, has spoken. If this is true then we have access to some truth that is very much worth knowing and yet past our finding out apart from the Sacred Text."
With this opening I prepared the packed house of students and faculty members to hear something very politically incorrect and perhaps even culturally insensitive. And I excused myself from the burden of having to explain or defend my comments in terms that a Rationalist or Empiricist could accept.
"What God has revealed in the Bible is that He wants us to love Him and love others and that He cares very much how we treat one another. Our Creator has seen fit to give us some very definite guidelines on the use of His gift of sexuality. As a powerful expression of intimacy and a means of reproduction He has commanded that it only be enacted in the context of heterosexual monogamy."
There was much discussion during the Q & A time and many opportunities to share more about the relationship with God that demands a different standard of behavior. The christians in the audience gave me good positive feedback and the students and faculty involved in sponsoring the event thanked me and complimented me.
My favorite part was a bit of spontaneous preaching I did in response to a student who asked, "Why are we talking about this?" In other words, why is this such a hot topic? My response had the support of the other panelists, none of whom were in favor of sexual promiscuity.
"The Emperor's New Clothes," I explained, "are the view of 'free sex' that declares that you can make a responsible choice to be sexually active as young as thirteen years old, have any number of partners as you go through High School and College, and suffer no negative consequences as long as you use a condom."
There was a lot more to this, as I stated emphatically that in 20 years of campus ministry I have NEVER seen pre-marital sex do anything but damage and detract from the kind of closeness you want with the person you love. I wonder how many students had never heard that before?
The organizers greeted me and introduced me to the other panelists.
I had been told that I would have six minutes at the start to explain my position.
What I didn't know is that by the "luck-of-the-draw" I would be going first!
"As a Christian and a Baptist I not only hold to certain views but to a way of arriving at my positions. My epistemology (how we know what we know) is best described as "revelational." This means that, unlike the "Empiricist," I don't rely solely on what can be gathered from observations. And, unlike the "Rationalist," it is not human reason and the categories of the mind that inform my views. Accepting the authority of the Bible means that the God who made the world, has spoken. If this is true then we have access to some truth that is very much worth knowing and yet past our finding out apart from the Sacred Text."
With this opening I prepared the packed house of students and faculty members to hear something very politically incorrect and perhaps even culturally insensitive. And I excused myself from the burden of having to explain or defend my comments in terms that a Rationalist or Empiricist could accept.
"What God has revealed in the Bible is that He wants us to love Him and love others and that He cares very much how we treat one another. Our Creator has seen fit to give us some very definite guidelines on the use of His gift of sexuality. As a powerful expression of intimacy and a means of reproduction He has commanded that it only be enacted in the context of heterosexual monogamy."
There was much discussion during the Q & A time and many opportunities to share more about the relationship with God that demands a different standard of behavior. The christians in the audience gave me good positive feedback and the students and faculty involved in sponsoring the event thanked me and complimented me.
My favorite part was a bit of spontaneous preaching I did in response to a student who asked, "Why are we talking about this?" In other words, why is this such a hot topic? My response had the support of the other panelists, none of whom were in favor of sexual promiscuity.
"The Emperor's New Clothes," I explained, "are the view of 'free sex' that declares that you can make a responsible choice to be sexually active as young as thirteen years old, have any number of partners as you go through High School and College, and suffer no negative consequences as long as you use a condom."
There was a lot more to this, as I stated emphatically that in 20 years of campus ministry I have NEVER seen pre-marital sex do anything but damage and detract from the kind of closeness you want with the person you love. I wonder how many students had never heard that before?
What happens after death?
I was having pizza late at night with four old friends from High School. We had named a half dozen classmates who had died.
"I have a question," one friend interjected into the five-way chatter.
"Okay, let's hear Bruce's question." I suggested, trying to quiet the others.
"I want to know what Matt thinks about this." Bruce said, directing his question to me.
"So what's the question?" I said, hoping it would be a good one.
"I want to know," he began, "if there's a purpose to all this?"
By now we had the full attention of the other three and they were awaiting my response.
"It would seem that human life is full of purposes, large and small, good and bad, worthy and worthless. We choose our goals and adapt means to ends in trying to reach them. That's what it means to be a rational creature." I continued,
"So why would the Creator of the Universe be any less purposeful about His creation. Of course from our perspective we can't always see or understand His plans and purposes."
I went on to talk about the importance of relationships, and how God wants us to have a relationship with Him.
My time alone with Bob centered on what was coming next for him and also what he would want to happen at his funeral.
"I know that Jesus loves me." he declared confidently.
"What if God asks you why He should let you into heaven?" I asked.
I told him that the only answer would be because of what Christ has done, not our own efforts. He agreed.
The pace of the trip was a bit of a whirlwind, going from one thing to the next. But I saw a lot of people and enjoyed the interaction.
"I have a question," one friend interjected into the five-way chatter.
"Okay, let's hear Bruce's question." I suggested, trying to quiet the others.
"I want to know what Matt thinks about this." Bruce said, directing his question to me.
"So what's the question?" I said, hoping it would be a good one.
"I want to know," he began, "if there's a purpose to all this?"
By now we had the full attention of the other three and they were awaiting my response.
"It would seem that human life is full of purposes, large and small, good and bad, worthy and worthless. We choose our goals and adapt means to ends in trying to reach them. That's what it means to be a rational creature." I continued,
"So why would the Creator of the Universe be any less purposeful about His creation. Of course from our perspective we can't always see or understand His plans and purposes."
I went on to talk about the importance of relationships, and how God wants us to have a relationship with Him.
My time alone with Bob centered on what was coming next for him and also what he would want to happen at his funeral.
"I know that Jesus loves me." he declared confidently.
"What if God asks you why He should let you into heaven?" I asked.
I told him that the only answer would be because of what Christ has done, not our own efforts. He agreed.
The pace of the trip was a bit of a whirlwind, going from one thing to the next. But I saw a lot of people and enjoyed the interaction.
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