Combining the Present and the Future

"Despite what many people think, within the Christian family and outside it, the point of Christianity isn't 'to go to heaven when you die." - N.T. Wright, Simply Christian.

"Earth and Heaven were made to overlap with one another, not fitfully, mysteriously, and partially as they do at the moment, but completely, gloriously, and utterly." N.T. Wright, Simply Christian.

"The great drama will end, not with 'saved souls' being snatched up into heaven, away from the wicked eather and the mortal bodies which have dragged them down into sin, but with the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven to earth, so that "the dwelling of God is with humans." N.T. Wright, Simply Christian

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'See the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." Revelation 21:3-4 NRSV

Earth and Heaven will be one.

Christ will again come to live among his people.

There is a purpose to why we are here and why we are called to live such a life.

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Revelation 21: 1-2

It is almost common place for humans to think in a dualistic sense, especially for Amercians. In other words, Heaven and Earth are two completely separate things.

To better understand my previous statement, allow me to engage in a comparison between Greek and Hebrew ways of thought. Thus, strengthening the idea that the American Christian Church views heaven and earth in a way unhealthy to the reality of the New Heaven and New Earth.

I believe that America has adapted more of a Greek way of viewing our present and future.

Words

When it comes to words Greek thought "usually expresses truth abstractly, using words, ideas, and logical definitions. It prefers the writing style of prose, and likes to see outlines, lists, and bullet points."-Ray Vaanderland (http://www.followtherabbi.org/)

While Hebrew thought "expresses truth concretely, using words pictures and stories. It prefers the writing style of poetry and like the use of imagery and symbolism." -Ray Vaanderland

Numbers

Greek thought primarily views numbers as a quantity.

Hebrew thought primarily views numbers as a quality or symbol

Community vs. Individual

Greek thought "foucses on the individual" -Ray Vaanderland

Hebrew thought "focuses on the community in relationship with God." -Ray Vaanderland

Error/ Sin

Greek thought sees sin as wrong belief or incorrect thinking. It emphasizes what a person knows about faith.

Hebrew thought sees sin as wrong behaviour. It emphasizes what a person does in response to faith.

Existence of God

Greek thought tries to prove the existence of God.

Hebrew thought assumes the existence of God.

Describing God

Greek thought focuses on the being of God.

Hebrew thought focuces on relationship with God.

Faith

Greek thought "sees faith as intellectual. It expresses faith in creeds and doctrine, listing proof texts to support their beliefs." -Ray Vaanderland

Hebrew thought "sees faith as relational and personal. It expresses faith in terms of a relationship with God, rather than as a rationalization." -Ray Vaanderland

Truth

Greek thought believes that Ultimate Truth tends to be scientific and rational. When viewing Scripture Greek thought focuses on how things are done. Truth is revealed as it is thought about. Truth is also static and unchanging.

Hebrew thought sees Truth as religious and experiential. When looking at scripture Hebrew thought tends to focus on what was done and who did it. Truth is revealed as it is experienced. Truth is also seen as unfolding.

Eternal Life

Greek thought views the Kingdom of God as detached from this world. It views enternal life as something that happens after earthly life is over.

Hebrew thought views the Kingdom of God as something beginning in this life. It views enternal life as a life lived in harmony with God.

I don't draw attention to these differences to say that one is more right than the other. I am not here to argue that point. Both ways of thought have their pros and cons. However, i am here to say that i think the Hebrew way of thought allows for greater understanding of our purpose and connection with God.

Allow me to make some observations.

Look at the Greek way of understanding Ultimate Truth. The mere fact that it is seen as something scientific and rational seems to point to a reliance on human abilities. Is it possible for a human to discover Ultimate Truth purely through science and human rationality?

Does this mean that God has to be rational? Or is the rationality described, defined by the Truth that God reveals?

Also, how can God reveal himself through Truth that is static and unchanging?

Now, I must move forward to explaining my previous point earlier in the blog, as well as, the purpose of this blog.

Previously, i made the statement that i believe the American Christian Church has adapted a more Greek way of thinking about God and more spefically about Heaven.

I believe that we have lost the majestic and gorgeous view of our present world by adapting the mentality that heaven is a far off place in which we will be going to spend time with our Lord after we die.

In thinking that heaven is something we can't experience until we are dead, we lose the holliness of Earth and the beauty in which God has bestowed upon it.

"God's plan is not to abandon this world, the world which he said was 'very good.' Rather, he intends to remake it. And when he does, he will raise all his people to new bodily life to live in it. That is the promise of the Christian Gospel." -N.T. Wright, Simply Christian.

Author and Theologian, N.T. Wright has, what i believe to be, a revolutionary way of looking at our place in the present and our call in the future. He writes, "In, God's new world Jesus himself will of course be the central figure. That's why from the very beginning the church has always spoken of his "second coming," though in terms of the overlap of heaven and earth it would be more appropriate to speak, as some early Christians also did, of the "reappearing" of Jesus. He is, at the moment, present with us, but hidden behind that invisible veil which keeps heaven and earth apart, and which we pierce in those moments, such as prayer, the sacraments, the reading of scripture, and our work with the poor, when the veil seems particularly thin. But one day the veil will be lifted; earth and heaven will be one; Jesus will be personally present, and every knee shall bow at his name; creation will be renewed; the dead will be raised; and God's new world will at last be in place, full of new prospects and possibilities."

This is what i believe life is about. It is about peering into the future through our experiences in the present.

We are called to live a certain way, not just so that we are following the rules layed out by God, but as a way of God revealing our future to us.

Think about it.

All the bible verses on Loving one another, not being angry with each other, feeding the poor, praying for your brother and sister in Christ, worshipping God endlessly, etc.

God is revealing part of heaven to us here and now through the ways in which he has called us to live.

This blog is not the extent of the thoughts i have on this subject. Instead, it is simply the beginning of many conversations on the topic of what it means to experience God here and now.

Blessings on those who read this. May it spark thought in your day!

Time to Change the Words

HAVE YOU EVER?! "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me.... I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now, I see. T'was Grace that taught... my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear... the hour I first believed. Through many dangers, toils and snares... we have already come. T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far... and Grace will lead us home. The Lord has promised good to me... His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be... as long as life endures. When we've been here ten thousand years... bright shining as the sun. We've no less days to sing God's praise... then when we've first begun. "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me.... I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now, I see. Have you ever really dissected these lyrics to understand their deeper meaning? Most of us sing these words while in church, or at a funeral, and sometimes even at a wedding... But have you ever really stopped and thought about what they mean.. To fully grip what these words mean and the passion in which they inspire, you have to know the story of the man who wrote them... His name was John Newton... Before John wrote these words he was a slave ship captain in the 18th century.. He saw things and did things to African's that none of us could ever imagine doing... During one of his trips back to England the ship he was commanding got caught in a horrible storm..

Filled with fear from the tossing of the waves. John cried out to God to save him... and while crying out to God john made a promise to God.. A promise that would, FOREVER, change his life... He promised God that if he was saved from this storm that he would change his life... he would quit being a slave ship captain and do something to better himself...Well, to no surprise, God saved John.. and as soon as John got home to England, he became a minister of the Lord... John's past haunted him forever.. Sleepless nights, and thought-filled days, took over John's life... In the angst of his troubles John sat down and wrote these words... Words that people all over the world sing daily... They sing these words when they are happy, sad, confused...

I never really took a deeper look at these words until recently, but when i did, something amazing happened to me, and i want to share it with you all... John Newton said something that absolutely sums up my feelings on life... He said, "I can only remember two things. One, I'm a great sinner, and two, Christ is a great Savior." This morning I have been sitting around thinking about what exactly Grace is... and the only logical thing i could come up with is this... Grace is a tangible sign of God's Love ... By tangible sign I mean this... When somebody receives God's Amazing Grace something in them changes... They become different. They start acting different...Their acting different is something tangible that we can all see... For example, later in John's life he lost his eye sight and was no longer able to see... What is ironic about this is that in his song he writes the words..."Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me....I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now, I see."

At the time he wrote this John was able to see, but later lost the physical ability to see... The amazing thing is because of God's Grace he never really lost his ability to see whats in God's Heart... If anything John saw more clearly... and the people around John saw that... A close friend of John's, William Wilberforce (an abolitionist in the English Parliament) saw that, because of God's Grace in John's life, John never really lost his ability to see what's important in the heart of God.. and that later inspired William to risk his life in the fight against slavery in 18th century England...

Like i said earlier, I believe God's Grace is a tangible sign of God's Love...I I want you all to share the passion that is inside my heart for God.. I hope and pray that you feel the Love of God through every inch of your being... The song "Amazing Grace" is a reminder to us that God Loves US!!!! God is not in this far off place sitting on his throne waiting till he wants to come back to do what he said he is going to do... He is here, NOW, with you... While you read this he's knocking at the door of your heart... and he will continue to knock until you let him in... and its not this impatient knock... its a knock like that of a survivor of September 11th on the door of the firefighter who carried them out of the building two minutes before it fell down... its like the knock of a daughter on the door of her long lost father she hasn't seen in thirty years..... its like the knock of your mom on your door checking to see if you feel any better after being sick for a week... when you open the door to your heart, he's not going to say anything... just like the survivor; just like the daughter; and just like the mom; he's going to look you in the eyes...into the window of your soul........... he's going to hug you, close the door behind him, and lock it....God's Love is something we can not deny...

we need it for our very existence.. you can not fully live until you have God's Love... and by having it, i mean believing in it... that it's real... that it's never-ending.... To end, I want you to read the lyrics of Amazing Grace again but instead of the word Grace i have replaced it with the word Love... Like i said before, I believe that God's Grace is a tangible sign of God's Love for us... May this version of Amazing Grace , help you peer through the peep-hole of your heart..................... May this version of Amazing Grace help you unlock the door....... May this version of Amazing Grace help you open the door......... And Finally may this version of Amazing Grace allow you to receive the hug of Christ....

Amazing Love "Amazing Love, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me.... I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now, I see. T'was Love that taught... my heart to fear. And Love, my fears relieved. How precious did that Love appear... the hour I first believed. Through many dangers, toils and snares... we have already come. T'was Love that brought us safe thus far... and Love will lead us home. The Lord has promised good to me... His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be... as long as life endures. When we've been here ten thousand years... bright shining as the sun. We've no less days to sing God's praise... then when we've first begun. "Amazing Love, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me.... I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now, I see.

I love you all with every inch of my being, because Christ loves me... and remember......Colossians 3:12-14 12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

Be as you wish to seem

We are constantly bombarded with messages telling us how we are supposed to seem. As if there is a certain way in which we are supposed to behave in a society that has lost all perspective on what it means to actually be something.

Culturally, the word be is understood as;

1) To exist in actuality, have life or reality

2) To occupy a specific position

3) To remain in a certain state or situation undisturbed, untouched, or unmolested

4) To take place; occur

When used as a copula the word be means;

1) To equal in identity

2) To have same significance

3) To belong to a specified class or group

4) To have or show a specified quality or characteristic

5) To seem to consist or be made of

So from these definitions of the word be, one must assert that when the Bible tells us we are to be like Christ the task at hand is no mole hill.

Essentially, what this means is, we, as followers of Christ, must have or show a specific quality or characteristic that Christ does.

We must seem to consist of or be made of Christ.

In other words, everything we do, think, say or participate in must be of Christ.

So, when we see the quote, "Be as you wish to seem" we must understand that to mean if you wish to be one with Christ you must do what Christ did, think what Christ thought, pray like Christ prayed, believe like Christ believed.

We must also understand what it means to be. Spiritually, if we want to be like Christ we must exist like Christ did. We must be what Christ is!

Being in the Kingdom of God means being able to say I Don't Know

The great Greek philosopher, Socrates, once said "I know nothing except for the fact of my ignorance." The ancient philosopher Descartes believed that the only thing he could be sure of was the fact he existed because he was aware of his ability to doubt his existence.

Since the beginging of time humans have been striving to solve any and all problems. In other words, from the begining of time man and woman has assumed that there is a knowable answer to every problem.

For example, the sole purpose of science is to spearhead the excursion into the unanswered!

I don't write this blog to say that we shouldn't be trying to find answer's to our problems. Instead, I write this to suggest that we find a different way of solving these problems! And this way starts with being okay to say I Don't Know.

Followers of Christ spend sooo much precious time trying to figure out answers to some of the most ridiculous questions. Such as;

"Did it really take God six literal days to create the earth?"
"When is the end of the world going to come?"
"Who is the Anti-Christ?"
"When am I going to die?"
"Where is Noah's Ark?"

It may be time for people who ask these kinds of questions to start saying I Don't Know.

Some of you may find it funny that a philosopher, like my self, is suggesting that we stop asking ridiculous questions. And to that, i say i couldn't agree more!

In the book of Matthew 21:31 Jesus says, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitues will get into the kingdom of God before you."

He goes on to say in verse 43, "Therefore I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it."

Maybe its poor exegesis, but I believe that Jesus is talking to people who seek answers to impossible questions when he says the Kingdom will be taken away from you.

I say this because, for me, everytime i encounter somebody who is seeking these crazy answers, an attitude of pride and arrogance comes with.

The Kingdom of God is not about finding answers to big impossible questions. Instead, the kingdom of God is about action. It's doing something about the less impossible, solvable questions. Such as,

"Why are people dying of hunger when there is enough food on the planet for everybody?"
"Why is there still racism in America?"
"Why can't humans live economically?"
"Why are humans killing each other?"
"What can I do about the homeless population in my city?"
"What can I do to teach people about the seriousness of equality?"

The Kingdom of God is pragmatic! It is about the here and now. It is about the practical. It's about becoming like Jesus. It's about becoming a Talmidim. It's about being covered in the dust of our Rabbi. It's about saying I don't know to the impossible and doing the necessary.