I shall vomit you out of my mouth Sen Clinton!

By personal choice.

And I like it.

In fact, I almost prefer it.

Now that Sen. Barack Obama has denounced his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, many of his critics, especially those who call themselves conservative, are happy he has put the dashiki-wearing, American-criticizing former Marine in his place. See, these same voices, many that are allegedly Christian, have reacted with glee by calling Wright a prophet of hate and a race baiter.

They hold themselves up to be so concerned about their fellow brother and sister, yet if you looked at their personal lives, I doubt you’d find many with African-American friends and associates (and I doubt their staffs are the most diverse in the world, but that’s another story)….

Read the whole article here.

Salvation comes from Christ and Christ alone.  He is the way, the truth, and the life.

But that doesn’t mean what you think it means.  It doesn’t mean that by merely ‘praying the sinner’s prayer’ you get to go to heaven.  The sinner’s prayer, in many contexts, sells the gospel short.  It is the classic example of “cheap grace” that Dietrich Bonhoeffer talked about.  Cheap grace is the definition of God’s grace that says you don’t have to do anything to be saved.

When we say that salvation comes from Christ alone, this means that following him to the cross is our means of salvation and liberation.  Jesus cannot be known outside of his crucifixion and resurrection, and we are not Christians unless we follow him to the crucifixion and resurrection.  We must accept the “costly grace” that our Lord Jesus offers us.  “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die” (again, Bonhoeffer).

It is when we die that we receive salvation and liberation.

He was just grinning at me the whole time even though I wasn’t looking at him.

Then the other night at about 3 in the morning I was rocking him to sleep. He had his pacifier in his mouth, and he appeared to be almost asleep. I put my finger in his hand so he could have something to hold, and he grabbed it and started to giggle.

(more photos on the Sammy page).

In The Crucified God, pp. 204 & 205.

Moshe Weinfeld’s Social Justice in Ancient Israel and in the Ancient Near East examines how the Old Testament and other ancient Near Eastern culture tackled the problem of social justice.

In the introduction of his book, Weinfeld points out that the concepts of justice and righteousness are “more associated with mercy and loving kindness or… are to be seen with the context of ameliorating the situation of the destitute.” The point of his book then, is to show that the practice of righteousness and justice in the OT and in ancient Israel is essentially acting on behalf of the poor and less fortunate classes of people.

He compares the practice of Israel with other Mesopotamian cultures: the Mesopotamian kings instituted liberty and freedom when they came into power. This proclamation of liberty appears to be a propaganda tool so as to win over the hearts of the people. For instance, King Cyrus sends the exiles home during the Persian Empire. In Israel’s case, on the other hand, the proclamation of justice and righteousness is done on the part of YHWH. Thus, the sabbatical and jubilee years (established periods of liberation) “were understood as divinely ordained institutions, in which human interests fulfilled no role whatever.”

In other words, the OT calls the people of Israel to consistently pursue justice and righteousness. This is not a negative command (that is, it is not a command not to do something), but a positive command. Justice and righteousness are positive actions, such as feeding the hungry or visiting the sick. Plus, there is a stronger call for the ruling classes to remember the plight of the disenfranchised.

The introduction is intriguing because it contrasts the divine inspiration and general goodwill of justice and righteousness of the OT with the often times oppressive nature of “justice and righteousness” in other ancient cultures.

More to come…

It seems to me that the problem stems from our selfish, individualistic view of salvation.

In the Old Testament, salvation is a term used to describe YHWH’s salvation for the community of Israel.  Salvation occurs when the people of covenant practice righteousness and justice.  And in the Old Testament, righteousness and justice are deeply connected with how the nation acts towards the hungry, the widow, the downtrodden, the alien.  If the rich neglect the needs of the poor, if the powerful do not seek justice for the weak, YHWH gets mad and it doesn’t go so well for Israel.

What would happen if the American evangelical church took on the notion of salvation as social justice?  How do we act out the principles of social responsibility that are so deeply rooted in the covenant of the Old Testament?  How do we rationalize the New Testament call to care for the “least of these” with American material wealth?

These are all things that I’m struggling through, and issues I want to see the church take up both on a large scale and in local congregations.  I wish the call to end poverty struck a chord with more Christians than the call to abolish homosexual marriage, for instance.

In short, salvation is a promise for the people of God.  Yes, it is a promise for the individual, but only insomuch as they are a part of the community of God.  That might strike some nerves in our individualistic, materialistic culture, but I think that it’s true.  Liberation from oppression is a task that the people of God must pursue if they are to experience the full nature of salvation.  Because, you see, salvation is not something that I get out of following Jesus.  Salvation is something that YHWH gives to his people.

Salvation is liberation, and liberation is salvation.

The common theme is that we all feel called to do the work of God.  We want to participate in the ministry of the Kingdom, and we feel that Seminary is one of the best places to learn about that ministry.  And at the same time so many of us are frustrated with the traditional/institutional way of doing things – so much so that it leaves a bad taste in our mouths.  And so much so that it makes us dread working in a church.

But we certainly can’t support our families and make any kind of income with an MDiv degree outside of the church.  So what are we to do?  I feel that I would be doing a disservice to the church if I were to work in one right now, namely because my attitude would not be right.  At the same time, I need income, and I don’t want to work at Target.

It seems that there are a couple of possibilities to pursue.   Church plants are an appropriate option.  Establishing a community of believers who are committed to a similar purpose outside of the institution seems like a good option.  Another option might be volunteer ministry.  One might work full time for a business or teach at a public school and get involved in organizations like Mission Waco.  An MDiv would  certainly be an asset for this kind of ministry.  Then there’s the more difficult road of doing PhD work, which involves more school and more money spent.

But that’s all the ideas I have for now as far as long term plans.  I know that there are more of you out there with this problem – I’ve talked to you.  Any other ideas?  How can we use our MDiv outside of the institutional church?