Worldly

In the terms of a follower of Christ, what is "wordly" where is "the flesh"?

Essentially as a follower of Christ, what is not of God, what needs to be given up when you seek Christ (Well I'd say you have to give up everything, but God seems to return redeemable stuff to us, otherwise we'd just have to sit in sterile rooms all day), what needs to be avoided?

As you start to tick off things in your own mind, thing about them for a second.

Put a mental star next to the things that you just personally don't like (stuff you're not into and don't think you'd be even if you weren't a Christian) and the things that are personally tempting to you.

Now think about things that don't fit those things, the things that the Bible speaks out on that aren't in your initial list and remember to be careful to note what the scripture actually says, not expounding. For instance if it tells you to avoid unclean things, see what unclean is by the Bible's own admittance, don't just make the jump and fill in that blank with things YOU think are unclean. Keep in mind to remember the context and setting of each prohibition, warning or condemnation (and remember that in relation to our relationship with Christ and the Law)

I think you'll find a much longer list there, then ask yourself where your definitions of worldly or fleshy things don't line up with what the Bible is actually calling out. What in your list doesn't fit the Bibles list? If it doesn't line up, should it be there?

Anymore I think we've hit this sort of ethnocentrisim or more specifically selfish way of defining what is worldly. I'm guilty of it myself, but I have just seen a slew of this junk out on the internet, like the "goth" warning list found by Marko who posted on his blog to call out how silly it is
Or other blogs I've been reading latley that I won't give the traffic because I don't want you to think that the majority of Christians believe the same way, that have an discouraged fashion and music style list.

If the music doesn't sound like we like, if the fashion doesn't fit in our circle, if the movie doesn't agree with your opinions, often those are what we'll through into worldlyness.

For instance in my list, brand-name clothes, suits and ties, expensive haircuts, expensive jewelry, country music. Would all be things I would say contain things that are opposing the Gospel and shouldn't be indulged in by a Christian.

But what of these things is explicitly condemned in scripture? I could site verses about good stewardship, bring up things about materialism and loving your enemy (that last one to all the post-9/11 country music that came out...)

But those all require a jump. So while for myself, I'll steer clear of them, even though I don't like those things, I'm not in a position to shout from the rooftops that Christians must abandon these things, or even as a Christian leader to say that to those looking for my instruction.

It's not that I'm going to say they are good things, but rather I'm not going to condemn them. I'll chalk it up to me not being in those cultures.

You're not any less Christian to believe differently about how those things apply to those verses. One of us may still be wrong, but it's definitly with in the realm of our freedom as Christians.

The problem is styles of music and dress that fit the cultures bad list, seep into out definitions of worldly too. Hard music, darkly colored clothing, piercings in places we don't have them, spiked jewlry, hairstyles that don't appear in the Sears catalouge. These often get lumped in easy cause they are subcultures that are hip to look down on.

But it's just as ridiculous as me calling you out for listening to country and having a clothing label's title on your shirt. But since it's more acceptable in the culture to call the harder things out, the similarities often fall aside.

I think we have to accept the fact that things we don't like, can still be in bounds for a Christian, that things we don't like are not automatically "worldly" or "fleshy"

If it's something that was tied to sin for yourself, ask yourself if it's sin in itself. I know someone who had to steer clear of concerts with harder music. He didn't believie harder music to be a sin but it was so tied to sins he was involved in that no matter how neutral or reedeming the lyrics, it wasn't a place he could go.

That's more the atittitude we need to practice even when it goes beyond opinion to personal struggles, to know that we approach God and the world differently and if I had to give up EVERYTHING that has EVER tempted anyone, I'd have to give up everything from Playing Cards to Cutlery to the Bible (Satan used it to tempt Jesus).

I'd be in a sterile room waiting to die, medicated to keep my own imagination out and to keep me from dreaming, because everything can be a temptation.

But let's be more careful and honest about what is worldly and what just isn't us.

Marriage and Sinfulness

In preperation for our marriage, Tina and I interviewed a few married couples, just about this ins and outs of marriage.

One point that was made, by a wonderful couple we know that are moving into the empty nest years, was that marriage is like a highliter for your sinfulness.

I didn't quiet get what they meant until I got married, it seems like marriage on every level is opposed to sinfulness.

I think it's for a few reasons, and I marvel at marriage as an allagory for our relaitonship with God and as a gift from God.

One thing I've found with this idea is that marriage requires openness and honesty and sinfulness requires secrecy and deciet.

So these two things clash. For a healthy marriage I need to be open, honest and transparent, 24/7. But for my sinfulness I need the secrecy.
I need to be on my own to justify whatever it is I did. If I unloaded bile on someone who crossed me the wrong way, I need to be alone to tell myself it was justified, that the person deserved it. Because by involving an intimate other, she'll be able to point out where I steped over a line, she'll be able to blow holes in my justification.

It requires deciet because some sinfulness isn't easily justifyiable and it just needs to be left in dark places. But in marriage there can't be these dark places, these secret rooms. It needs to be open.

So with this openness and honesty, I see my sinfulness, as soon as I do something the justifications are blown, as soon as I try to hide something it needs to come into the open for the health of the relationship.

Basically to feed the marriage you have to work on your own sinfulness, you have to face it, take responsibility for it and seek Christ's healing for it.

To ignore that, to feed the sinfulness, to be closed and decietful will kill the marriage. It keeps you from the one-ness it keeps you as two distinct people with two distinct lives and flesh opposed to the two unique people with one life and one flesh.

To cut off and keep those secret moments and secret places, to hide your life so you can justify your actions, it's just poisen for a marriage.

So I think that's why it's such a highliter, it either gets adressed right away, brought to the open by the intimate other in your life, or when you hide it you can see the damage on the marriage.

Either way it floats to the top, the hideous heart of what you've done beats louder and louder.

I think this is a good thing, I am seeing the Godly nature of marriage a whole lot more as I reflect on this, and am also being able to come to terms with my sinfulness more regularly rather then ignoring it for this reason or that.

Happy Post #2: Showbread

There are bands I listen to that are just a passing interest to me, and then there are those with staying power. Bands like Five Iron Frenzy, Calibretto, Mecury Radio Theater, Dick Dale and the Del-tones among others.

But I want to talk about one that rose to be one of my top favorite bands upon first listen, a band called Showbread.

After listening to their first album "No Sir, Nihilisim is not Practical" I was hooked, they haven't left my playlist since.

Their music is deep and different, thoughtful and talented. Their live shows are the same, with a mix of obscure humor and crazy stage antics mixed in.

Their songs are deep with spiritual instruction and encouragement, their album gives glory to God and helps to relay much of God's calls in our life.

I could write a ten page blog on each song, but I'll save that for another time. Their new album is different, the music style has changed and there's more songs focused on relationships.

I still love it, and the songs aren't any less deep (even the relationship ones, I hate when people say Christian bands can't sing about relationships, it's part of life and are thus in bounds!) but staying true to their ways there's two songs about horror/sci-fi films "Naked Lunch" and "George Romero will be at our wedding" (Which if it had come out in May would have been a contender for "our song" at my wedding)

I aprreciate this as I am a horror/sci-fi fan who likes harder music who is devoted to Christ and and I enjoy hearing lyrics and thoughts that kind of hit me where I'm at.

Recently there has been a surge of criticism against the band as apparantly slow to understand people have foud out that the second track of Showbread's old album is about a horror movie ("Dead by Dawn" is about the Evil Dead triology, more specifically Evil Dead 2) while largely ignoring that "Welcome to Plainfield Tobe Hooper" is too...

The criticisms run the same list of things I've gotten since I was in highschool, horror movies, rock music and creative clothing are all sinful.

Which to take a long debate and make it condescendingly short is just off target. These things fall under the realm of if it causes you to sin, leave it, but don't sweat the people for whom there's no problem. It's like the temple meat. You'll hear arguments that certain beats are satanic and horror movies are to somehow, but they take some serious leaps in logic and a great deal of certain presupposition to even make sense of. I've listened to these arguments and viewpoints and my first response is always something like "and this applies........how?" because I lack that second step, the leap in logic that is natural to them but alien to me.

Anything can be twisted and perverted into causing you to sin, even scripture. So while I'm not saying everyone should run out to a rock show or pick up the Romero series, I am saying you shouldn't sweat the believers who do.

But unfortunitly since Showbread sings about horror movies and is creative in their music, lyrics and dress, they've become a frequent, undeserving target of blogs and pundits who read and sound like ignorant, clashing cymbols.

It's harsher still because the actual lyrics and actions of the bands aren't even being adressed, these posts point to rock music, make-up and horror movies and assume that you the reader should understand their point already.

And worse even then that, joke interviews and goofy things the band does are being brought up to "speak for themselves", apparantly when we see people joking around and having fun we're supposed to assume their not Christians (well looks like all my friends are out..)

Showbread's site (showbread.net) has a very elequoent response to the people calling them out, I recommend you read it to see a gentle, Christ-centered response to unfair criticism (because if you're reading this and you have ever set foot in a church I imagine you've had the same problem at one time or another. If you haven't, then you haven't been going to church enough or you go to the best church on earth)

But Here's one of those things I like best about this band, even without the posted respons, their name stands a response to their critics, not really needing to say anymore.

Showbread started as a worship band, but was soon run out of their church for playing harder music (like DC talk and David Crowder style stuff). Their name stood in response to that as well.

Check out Mark 2:23-28. You find Jesus taking heat from the Pharisitical kingdom-bouncers for the fact that his disciples where picking up grain to eat. They go into a whole tireade about the sabbath, twisting it from it's intended purpose to a legalisitc end, turning the sabbath from a restful, holy day into an excuse to rule, control and attack.

Jesus responds that the sabbath was made for us, not for us to be slaves to, and he responds that He's the Lord of the sabbath. But right before he goes into that, he reminds them that even David wouldn't have fit with their legalistic handleing of things, reminding them that David and his friends ate the consecarted bread which wouldn't have fit their understanding of that law.

That bread is called Showbread, and it's place in Jesus's speaking was to remind them of the dangers of legalism.

This band too stands as a reminder to others of the dangers of legalisim and the threat it poses to a full understanding of who God is and what He has done for us.

That when people get caught up in hating good music, differing clothing style and horror movies in the name of Christ, it begins to cloud up who Christ actually is and what He has actually done for us with his sacrifice, his grace and his call to us to serve.

Did King Kong Die for our Sins?

Rod Bennett is interacting with this idea over at his blog, providing a great deal of insight into Christ, myth, history and the Story that seems to be repeated...

http://rod-bennett.blogspot.com/

Scroll down to King Kong Died for Your Sins Part 1 and then read up...

Happy Post #1: Holy Cow! Christian Comics

As anyone who's known me for 5 minutes knows, cartooning, comic books and graphic novels are my mediums of choice.

In this I do take in my doses of webcomics as well, but the net seems so full of them that often unless I get a recommendation from a friend, I won't often look for new ones on my own.

Well in my explorations on the net I ran across some of the work of Dean Rankine (http://www.webcomicsnation.com/deanrankine/)

Now I've seen about a dozen comics that attempt to use scripture as the basis of their work and it's really hit or miss. But Dean's "Holy Cow! Christian Comics" stand out to me, the style of the art, the way Dean paraphrases scripture and uses Christ-like messages is superurb.

My favorite strips so far have to be
Pants Free Frid'y
Goldfish Frank Kicks the Bucket
The Essential Sideshow Oddities Guide to God
Open your heart when they hate your guts.
Psalm 23 and the Vampire Death Squad
and anyone who would turn a "Begat" list into a comic...that's skill right there!

If you've got a moment, check out this artists work. If you don't have a moment, drop what you're doing and check it out.

Happy Posts

So looking over my blogger account, I have about 50+ drafts written.
Half finished reflections, thoughts that just tapered off into nonesense and the like, it's like a graveyard of text...

Usually I stop for a few reasons...I find that I don't know as much about what I'm talking about as I think I do, I find that a quote or refrence is needed and I'm too lazy to get it, I find the same sentiments shared elsewhere and more eloquent (mainly on Gotthammer's site and old articles...).

Or I find that my post or rant is just angry. Like really angry. About this or that, mainly about something I've heard a Christian speak out against and I think the person speaking out is missing the point or is like a clanging cymbol.

And I respond, taking it apart, taking it to task and find my tone is almost as angry as the viewpoint I'm speaking against. Sure there is a place for this and yes you'll see more of those in the future, but I want to try a different approach, for the next few posts I'll be posting about things I'm happy about, things I'm excited for, or things that encourage me.

Pirates

So I enjoyed the newest installment in the Pirates of the Caribean series, I wouldn't say I like it better then the first for a few reasons.

1. I like skeleton pirates better the fish pirates, visually and story wise.
2. I like Will as a reluctant pirate better then the driven guy who's passed his conflict that we find in this one, it's good for the series story-line wise because he's grown up and not a character on pause, but I just preffered him in the first.
3. Barbossa is a better villian then Davy Jones.

But I like the second one better because of...
1. The Ending, it's my favorite type.
2. The Krackan
3. It's meditations on life and death.
4. Davy Jone's ship is very very cool.


So it's a toss up, definitly see it in theaters and remember to stay after the credits for an extra scene.