faithasawayoflife

Next: Apple introduces the so-called 'Jesus Tablet'? Or what?

 Who is curious about the introduction of the new Apple whatever it is that will be announced at 10:00 a.m. in the Yerba Buena Center in San Fran today?  I am, of course, but with some mixed feelings with the clear sense of how huge the technology divide is as one manifestation of the gap between rich and poor.  These products promise salvation or at least worldly joy to those who partake or can.  The hype with this new release, expected to be some sort of 'hyper tablet' has people talking about it as if it were Jesus.  Hilarious. It is supposed to 'save the word' as in the printed word.  Well, I love to read, and I love the hyperlinked world offered by the net.  So, we'll see.   I'm watching the live blogging here.  

Edit: Here is a funny but also powerful take on just how important technology is becoming: Apple Vs. Obama. Money fact: 4 billion people now have cell phones, including 400 million in India alone.

Edit: here it is--(photo:Jim Wilson, NYT)  

Anon and peace,

Chris

On violence and theories of the atonement (and it'll make you laugh)

This found in the comments section on Amazon.com in a comment responding to a reviewer who wanted all substitutionary atonement all the time.  I thought it was pretty funny, and persuasive, too!  For those who have eyes to see, my 'atonement theory' in the sermon in my previous post is drawing on Rene Girard's scapegoat theory, appropriated brilliantly by the likes of James Allison, Rowan Williams, Mark Heim and others.

How can you claim to believe in the Jesus of the gospels and yet believe that he died in order to appease an angry God? That is the real question. Moreover, "theories of atonement" are much disputed even among Christians who believe that an atonement theory is central to Christianity. You shouldn't arrogantly assume that your theory of penal substitution is the proper "Christian" one. To paraphrase C. S. Lewis: Have your theory if you must, but don't condemn the theories of others. And to quote Stanley Hauerwas: "If you need a theory to worship Christ, worship your %&*$ing theory."

Anyone who knows or has heard Stanley knows that last line is vintage Hauerwas. 

Anon, and +peace,

Chris

Looking for congregations that have a practice of praying weekly for enemies

I've been increasing interested in the fact that congregations and worshiping communities I'm part of don't pray for those who persecute them, and I wonder what that practice would do to a community to have to discern, discuss and pray about enemies week by week. (Image above by Pr. Daniel Erlander) So I've decided to try to seek out examples and make a little study of it, perhaps writing more about it here, or perhaps writing a little booklet on prayer when I get some stories.  I preached on this topic Sunday, and although I don't usually put my sermons  here, I've posted it below.  We were looking for a hymn of the day about loving enemies and those who persecute us, and found that actually there isn't really a hymn about that in our Lutheran hymnal!  Wow!  So we sang a Bret Hesla original (he is a wonderful contemporary hymn writer in the folk tradition and belongs to our church). So, if your church regularly prays for enemies, write me an email or leave a comment and tell me about it!

Sermon below

Anon, and peace,

Chris

Sermon for Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Epiphany 3C

Nehemiah 8:1-10

Psalm 19

I Corinthians 12:12-31a

Luke 4:14-21

This gospel lesson is a tale of love and rejection. 

Secular Britain rediscovers the faith of MLK Jr.

Our family tradition on Sunday nights (at least in the winter) is to watch a movie with the kids while we eat a light dinner of cheese, crackers, fruit and popcorn.  Last night, on the weekend of the celebration of the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. we watched a documentary about his life produced in 2008 by the BBC titled Martin Luther King: American Prophett.  I have to say it was pretty well done, but the whole premise of the show was so shocking to me that I had to share it.  The viewpoint of the show, narrated by Oona King, a young British Labour politician who lost reelection to parliament in 2005 and has been working in media since.  Her whole take, and I think it was produced because the view is widely held, is that King is celebrated as a primarily political hero, a campaigner for social justice and human rights.  So what do secular British like her do with the radical religious rhetoric so prevalent just under the surface of that public image of the relentless human rights campaigner?  Did King really believe this radical faith or did he use it for political expediency? She sets off on a journey to the American South (especially Georgia and Alabama) to talk with friends and colleagues of Dr. King, along the way both exposing the biases of secular culture about religious faith.  She finds it inconceivable that one could be, as he put it once, 'an extremist for love' and says in a post 9/11 world we hear that as quite unsettling.  Yet, in a lovely conversation with Andrew Young, she finds that the traditional King represents is a deep and powerfully authentic understanding of Christian faith that says one ought to love not just friends and neighbors but strangers and enemies.  One of the delights in the film is to watch her surprise as she grows in respect and even enthusiasm for the kind of faith that animated this great American pastor and civil rights leader.  It is worth a watch, and the first part is here:

anon, and +peace,

Chris

Join the One Campaign in asking banks to drop Haiti's debts

The Jubilee 2000 campaign, with activist help from Bono, Pope John Paul II and many Christian organizations and people, helped the poorest nations emerge from crushing debts to allow focus on infrastructure, education and economic development.  Haiti needs this now more than ever.  Here's a note from Sheila Nix from the ONE campaign asking for your help in doing that now as a means to aid their recovery from the current devastation.

The harrowing images and stories coming out of Haiti are devastating to watch. The incredible outpouring of concern, aid and assistance coming from the United States and all over the world offers hope, but for many of us the question lingers: “What else can I do?” One way we can help Haitians build a better tomorrow is to convince global creditors to cancel Haiti’s $890 million international debt. Doing so will help make sure that every possible future dollar goes towards rebuilding a stronger Haiti, not to servicing old debts. Thankfully, the United States has already forgiven Haiti’s past debts and now only gives assistance in the form of grants. We need Haiti’s other creditors—the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and countries like Taiwan and Venezuela—to follow our lead and do the same. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has the power to help make that happen. Please click the link below to join me and send Secretary Geithner this urgent message: http://www.one.org/us/actnow/drophaitiandebt/o.pl?id=1398-4361484-l2BaOmx&t=2

As Haiti rebuilds from this disaster, please work to secure the immediate cancellation of Haiti’s $890 million debt and ensure that any emergency earthquake assistance is provided in the forms of grants, not debt-incurring loans.

Even before the earthquake hit, Haiti—the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere—faced tremendous challenges. But there was also hope. Recent years have brought a more stable government and tenuous gains in the fight against poverty. Haiti needs an international effort to make sure that, as it begins the long road to recovery, it is not burdened with unpayable debts. We must also be vigilant that any new aid from the IMF and other sources doesn’t come in the form of loans that would create new debt for Haiti. It all starts by calling on Secretary Geithner to use his influence to persuade international lending institutions and countries to do the right thing and drop Haiti’s debt. Take action now: http://www.one.org/us/actnow/drophaitiandebt/o.pl?id=1398-4361484-l2BaOmx&t=3 Thank you, Sheila Nix

U.S. Executive Director, ONE

anon, and +peace,

Chris

Sad ends for the Xmas tree

Why does this make me sad? Oh, let me count the ways . . .

Joining Arcade Fire in singing for Haiti

The earthquake in Haiti has been terrible. It always is especially difficult to have this kind of tragedy take place in a place already suffering so much, and Haiti has decade after decade.  Régine Chassagne, one of the leaders of the band The Arcade Fire, comes from a Haitian family and the band has worked actively in their music and activism to connect with the circumstances of the people there.   Please consider making a donation to the Arcade Fire endorsed charity organization Partners In Health and their Haiti earthquake relief fund. Lord, have mercy.

Anon, and peace,

Chris

Hooray! Martha E. Stortz appointed Christensen Chair at Augsburg College

I'm delighted to point to the official announcement at Augsburg College in Minneapolis of the appointment of my mentor and friend Marta Ellen Stortz, long-time professor of ethics and historical theology at PLTS and the GTU.  I studied under Marty, who directed my MA thesis (later published as Married in the Sight of God) and who has inspired me by her depth of faith, relentless curiosity, and great personal generosity.  She is a wonderful, engaging teacher and will, I think, make a quick and substantial impact on Augsburg's students.  It is a substantial loss for PLTS and the GTU--places dear to me because of their deeply formative role in my graduate education. I wish them well, in the interim, as they look for new leadership in Marty's wake, and look forward to having renewed collaboration with Marty in this new era of her professional life.

Congratulations, Marty, and welcome to (back) to Minnesota.

Anon and +peace,

Chris

Try my favorite scones (cranberry chocolate chip)

I've been working on this recipe for years, and it is based on one from a Northwest Bed and Breakfast cookbook.  I love it and offer it for your trial.  These are not actually the scones, but look a lot like them.

1 1/3 cups flour (1/3 whole wheat if desired)

2/3 cups quick oats
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 salt
1 tbsp finely grated orange rind

1 cup of fresh cranberries
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup good chocolate chips (Ghiradelli or equivalent)

6 tbsp butter (I use ‘earth balance’)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Put oven on 400 (or 375 convection)

Take cranberries and soak in OJ for a minute, drain, and sprinkle sugar
Put in cast iron skillet and cook on medium heat just till they pop, then turn off.

Put into cuisinart:
flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt, and finely grated orange
Pulse a couple times to mix, then add butter, egg and milk
Pulse till mixed thouroughly and turn out on floured board

Then flatten out, spread out chocolate chips and cranberries, carefully fold a couple times and make a nice round shape about 1” thick.  paint with milk and sprinkle with sugar, then cut into wedges and back about 20 minutes.

Anon, and peace,

Chris

More on Avatar: Mike Wilker's Thoughtful Engagements

I wanted to post the really interesting comments of my friend Mike Wilker in response to my post a couple days ago about the blockbuster movie Avatar.  He's really smart and loves pop culture, especially movies (as you see by the ending).  Anon, and peace, Chris

Dear Chris,

I tried to comment on your blog, but couldn't. So I'm sending you my thoughts via FB.

I saw Avatar in 2-D on the largest screen in DC. I was psyched to see it since I love sci-fi. While I was entertained by the delights on Pandora, the techo-virtuosity of the filmmakers didn't allow me to ignore three main concerns. 1) The White Man of privilege cum race traitor and Savior of the People of Color. I was stunned to see this story line exaggerated so. The White Man doesn't just switch sides in solidarity to defend against injustice, nor do he and his compatriots form a community with the people of color that liberates and reconciles both "sides;" in Avatar the White Man is incarnate as a blue hybrid, saves the alien race, is killed and reborn. Think about this theologically: who is being saved and by what means? And, you don't have to equate the Avatar with Jesus Christ. What about simply thinking of the Avatar as one of Jesus' disciples like St. Francis Xavier--or even like you or me, at times?

2) The religious rituals in the movie were laughable to me. I know we liturgical Christians in our garb do appear and sound quite odd to the rest of U.S. society. And Christian mystics like Francis, Eckart, Catherine, Teresa, Thomas and Dorothy acted strangely. But the religious rituals reminded me of bad movies of natives jumping and dancing in African jungles. I found it hard to take the Na'Vi rituals seriously, but the images are provocative. Seeing the Na'Vi made me embarrassed to be seen praying in public, or eating bread which I believe is both really bread and really God's presence for me, or talking about the Holy Spirit that blows where she will, or reading that there is a tree whose leaves are for the healing of the nations.

3) The battle scene at the end is way too long and over the top. My body was tense and wrung out after witnessing the destruction. I think it glorified war and revenge killing.

Regarding Ross Douthat, I think he saw an easy target in the ridiculous appearing rituals. It was a "straw man" for his arguments against part of the historic Christian tradition as well as "New Age" theology, neither of which he respects. Mr. Douthat appeals for Christian theology, worship and other practices that help us "escape upward" or at least for "God to take on flesh and come among us, as the Christmas story has it" to save us from our tragic, agonized position as part of creation that suffers and dies. The cartoonish portrayal of religion in Avatar gave Mr. Douthat as easy way to assail Christian theology and practice that cares deeply, honestly for this creation. There are a lot of holes in his arguments, as well as in his characterizations of both the Na'Vi and Christian traditions. Maybe this is due to the newspaper column format and the intention of columnists to be opinionated and provocative themselves.

OK, but here's the clinker: Since I love sci-fi anyway--I want to go see Avatar again in 3-D, but I have a hard time paying/rewarding a movie that is bad in so many other ways. Now that (Mr. Douthat) is not agonizingly tragic, just laughably ironic. (Judy laughed feebly at my attempted humor.)

Peace,
Mike