http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8840641224633551184
Some questions it raised for me (if I believe Jesus):
- Who is my worst enemy?
- How am I showing them love?
- How am I praying for them (or am I)?
- How can I bless them?
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Is jesus real
This is a link to a 34-minute video of Carl Medearis talking about his dealings with Al Jazeera tv; Hezbollah leaders; the place of politics in the world; the interaction between Christian and Islamic society; how Christians can show Christ to Muslims; and who Jesus was 2000 years ago and who he is today. Extremely informative, a little convicting, and a really good teaching. I would encourage anyone who stops by here to take a half hour and watch this. Thanks to Tom for the link (and I think his brother Dave is somehow connected with this guy).
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8840641224633551184
Some questions it raised for me (if I believe Jesus):
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8840641224633551184
Some questions it raised for me (if I believe Jesus):
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6 comments:
So how do you reconcile worshipping in an establishment when Jesus was so anti-establishment? I can see why you don't like leaders, by this ideaology, even the guy in this video could be persecuted for standing up and acting like he knows something about Jesus. Kind of a paradoxical idea.
This is a good question. It could possibly be the basis for what my entire ministry is about. I should probably have a better response, but it's late, so...
Certainly it is paradoxical. All of Christianity is. Especially so at this time of year when we celebrate that the ultimate instrument of death (the cross) is what gives us life. That's why the Bible says it is "foolishness." It doesn't make sense; it's a mystery...
But also, there is a difference between seeing the church as an establishment, and seeing it as the people of God. I recognize that there is a need for some organization and some institutions *within* the church, but I do not see the church as "an establishment." That's what Jesus was against, and that's what I am against. I reconcile what I do on Sunday mornings in our worship gatherings because I see that as a very small part of what it means to be a follower of Christ (Christian). I think what has happened is that a lot of people see Christianity as nothing more than "worshipping in an establishment." I believe it is something to be lived 24/7. Jesus was teaching a completely different way of living and looking at LIFE - not how to do church (or mass, or Sunday worship). God is sovereign over ALL things, not just our recognized establishments (imho).
As far as this guy being persecuted... that's part of the convicting part for me. If Jesus was persecuted for his faith, and Christians are to follow Jesus, then... maybe the most logical aspect of our entire faith ought to be the idea of being persecuted. And I know very few Christians who are. Most of us just get in trouble for being self-centered or stupid.
I don't know if I was very clear, or if I even answered the question you were asking, but I agree that paradoxical is a pretty good description of it all.
So let's say I have a totally different religion and Henry David Thoreau is my savior.
My "Vatican" is Walden Pond. I have this cabin in the woods where I live and invite people out to experience nature once a week. And they come to my cabin and I show them how to make fire with sticks and how to clean fish and live off the land. But then a bunch of those people buy these modernized campers and they continue to live in the city and contribute to the pollution, and once a week they take their campers out with the stove and refrigerator and other ammenities and they feel they are following Thoreau in that regard, but I see them as missing the point. Either live in the woods all the time and make that your life, or don't. But don't go telling people you follow Thoreau when you're making the weakest effort once a week.
So do I accept their attempt at following Thoreau as is, or do I tell them that Thoreau would have hated their campers? The organization probably wouldn't exist at all if I held them to my standard. So, maybe the campers are like a baby-step toward a cabin and I just have to help them build it. Which is a COMPLETE pain in the ass, so I maybe I only get two people a year to live in the woods.
I'm headed for a tangent if I don't stop now.
mmm... Sorry, but I really have no idea where you're going with this. And it's complicated by the fact that there is no religion that compares to Christianity, because only Christianity has a LIVING God. Jesus was, is, and always will be. Therefore he didn't need to tell people that they had to live in a certain place, or follow a specific set of rules. That would be legalism, or life according to the Law. Jesus was teaching stuff of the heart - which can be lived in any place and time. So, while I think I understand the analogy, I kinda think it's apples and oranges.
I don't think I'm qualified to have a conversation about this, I just like to take a stab at it every now and then.
...I'll go drink beer.
Oh man, I would hate to be responsible for an Irishman drinking beer.
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