Quitting Christianity

This headline just came across the newswire: "Anne Rice Leaves Christianity."

And here's the rest of the story:

Legendary author Anne Rice has announced that she’s quitting Christianity.
The “Interview with a Vampire” author, who wrote a book about her spirituality titled "Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession" in 2008, said Wednesday that she refuses to be “anti-gay,” “anti-feminist," “anti-science” and “anti-Democrat.”
Rice wrote, “For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian ... It's simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.”

Rice then added another post explaining her decision on Thursday:
“My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me," Rice wrote. "But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been or might become.”

 My two cents:

When I first saw the headline, I thought, "Oh no. That's a shame. Guess she didn't have enough endurance to continue following the faith. I hope she reconsiders."

After I read the article, I thought, "Great point. I'm glad she's still a believer and I really can't blame her for wanting to separate Christ from His people in America."

Of course, Anne, the saddest thing is that even though Christ is represented — many times very badly — by His people in this country you cannot separate Christ from His Body, the Church. Removing yourself from association with other believers because of their political agendas really hurts both parties. They can stand to learn from you and you can stand to learn from them.

I hate the judgmental attitude of the church in America, too, Anne, but they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. I must learn to live with them and focus on modeling Christ-likeness before them to the best of my effort. It hurts me, too, when I see so-called Christians showing up at the funeral of a homosexual man with protest signs that say, "God hates (slur)" or "(Slurs) are going to hell." It hurts when die-hard political junkies say that God wants me to only vote Republican. Straight ticket. Or that anyone who supports (or is silent about) abortion is lost on the highway to hell.

I understand that you don't want to get wrapped up in the Western-based sociological judging that has given Christians a black eye for centuries. I don't either. You say, "following Christ does not mean following His followers" and you're very right. Follow Christ! Read the Gospels. Live out His example. But also look for His example in the lives of the saints and those who are truly following Him. Following Christ means rejecting what you know to be false and cleaving to what is true.

I wish you the very best, Anne, as you continue to follow Christ. But please do what His followers so often fail to do by showing them some grace and the love of Christ. You don't have to follow them. Follow Christ. Leave religion behind and engage Him in a lasting relationship.

As one of my fellow ministers said, "Follow the Christ who IS rather than the Christ we want him to be."

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The Core of Creativity

Last night I taught my final Creative Writing class of the summer at the church. Five weeks have passed since I embarked on this new adventure. I've taught the Bible and theology and spiritual discipline but never a creative subject like writing. As I approached the course, I didn't even feel remotely qualified to teach the subject. I despised English classes in high school and college and have run away from good grammar ever since. Sometimes I read books. Sometimes. Rarely do I finish a book. In fact, last night I stared at my foot-high bedside stack of books and just sighed. I've started every one over the past two years. Been neglecting each ever since. I read a lot of magazine and newspaper articles every day, though.

One thing I love is a good story. You know, hero or heroine battles dragon or pirate, with adventure, suspense and the sort. Maybe that's why I find myself drawn to movies and music, history and legend. My imagination can hardly contain its excitement when I hear the Marty Robbins ballads "El Paso"and "Big Iron" or when my eyes marvel at "Forrest Gump" or "Lord of the Rings." I wish I was talented enough to write such marvelous stories and maybe someday I'll come close. Maybe not. Back in the day I used to tell stories in my newspaper columns and I've relayed a tale or two via e-mail, blog and journal, but I've never finished writing that "great American novel" every writer dreams of penning.

Teaching creative writing was a wonderful experience not because of my own skill but because of my students. I had a good class size for the subject. Not too many, not too few. They were all able to share and do the assignments and laugh along with me. And they were all very creative, even if they didn't think they were!

Last night I closed the course with an observation about creativity made by songwriter, author and Bible teacher Michael Card. Michael sees creativity as being a response to God and not something that originates within us. We don't cause creativity to happen, he wrote in his book, Scribbling in the Sand, just like we don't cause worship to happen. Worship comes as a response to who God is and what he has done. So it is with being creative. We create because we were created. And we were made in the image of our Creator. So our expressions of creativity, like worship, are responses to God's person and work. So we should, as followers of His, be active in creating not because we think we're talented and awesome and such but instead because it's a response of praise and worship towards our Creator.

Interesting, eh?

But I don't think art (creativity's physical expression) has to be "biblical" to bring praise to our Creator. It doesn't have to include a cross or folded hands or a Bible character. As musician and author Charlie Peacock notes, "Everything God created is good. Therefore, everywhere and everything should be the subject matter of the lyrics Christians write (and art they create, I add). Christians should speak to what they know, and what they know should represent every aspect of creation." He does add a caveat, though, in the recognition that the arts, like the rest of creation, is fallen and subject to the twisted darkness of sin. As a result there is a lot of unholy art in this world. But if the Christian reflects a kingdom mindset (all is God's) when they go about the work of creating then it will glorify our Creator.

Makes me want to go out and create!

— Be God's!

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Talk About a Bad Day!

From CNN.com this morning comes this humorous tale. Next time you think you're having a bad day, think of this poor black bear, who got itself into quite a predicament.

Bear gets stuck in car, goes on brief ride

By Phil Gast, CNN

(CNN) -- If you think you've heard it all, follow this tale of a hungry black bear who went for a ride — literally.

Douglas County (Colorado) Sheriff's deputies early Friday got a call about a honking car and a commotion inside. Perhaps it was teenagers or a thief, they thought as they approached Ralph Story's 2008 Toyota Corolla.

It turns out it was a thief, albeit the furry variety.

The deputies' first clue to something unusual was that the car was 125 feet below its normal parking spot in the driveway of the Storys' Larkspur home, which sits on five acres.

Imagine their further surprise when they turned on their flashlights and got a peek inside.

It was a full-grown black bear.

The deputies had earlier received a call from a neighbor. She had heard honking and came up to the Story home, where the family was asleep. She noticed the car was rocking back and both and she called deputies shortly after 3 a.m., according to spokeswoman Michelle Rademacher of the Sheriff's Department in the community 45 miles south of Denver.

Story said the bear was probably drawn to a peanut butter sandwich left inside by his 17-year-old son Ben. He said the family didn't realize what was going on until deputies arrived and the neighbor came back and called them. By then the car was no longer in the driveway.

Incredulous, Story, his wife and three teen children -- who have lived in Larkspur for 17 years -- rushed outside to see the red Toyota down the hill and near a tree.
Somehow, the bear had either opened the unlocked back door or pushed a window down to get inside. Understandably agitated, it bumped into the horn repeatedly and eventually knocked the car's gear into neutral. The Toyota rolled down the hill. The door added to the bear's indignity by closing at some point during the ordeal.

A sergeant and two deputies who arrived on the scene "were stymied on how to proceed," Story said. Finally, the officers decided the best outcome for all would be to keep everyone safe and let the bear live to see more adventures.
After taking pictures, one of them tied a long rope to a door handle and pulled. After a few moments, Story said, the bear bounded out around 5 a.m., at least two hours after it had gotten inside.

Rademacher said deputies have enough experience not to be shocked during a day's work. But this will make for a great memory. Ralph Story admitted the incident was pretty comical. He's glad the animal got away and no one was hurt.

"There's a bear in the car. Who are you gonna get mad at?"

Now, you talk about a bad day... especially for the bear! 

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A Peek into the Creative Frustration

Artists beware!

Sometimes when a seed gets planted for a project, and you start to water it, it begins to grow. Now growth is nothing bad in itself, in fact, it is quite necessary for a project to come to maturity or completion. But sometimes the seed you planted is not the seed you imagined and the growth you experience becomes more than you anticipated. And pretty soon you're up the proverbial creek without a paddle because the seed has grown into a massive tree and you're just a rice farmer. (I always wondered where the canoe was in that adage, or if you're just floating in the water...)

What I refer to is the ever-present notion of creative frustration — frustration not from the lack of a project or idea, but from the enormous scale a project develops.

Such is the case with my June vacation video. Four weeks ago I started editing nine hours of video into segments, and segments into sound bites, and sound bites into gamma rays and... well, I'd better stop there. The bottom line is that I've spent the past week or so up late at night swimming in a bottomless pit of video cutting, computer rendering, music creation, and sound editing. I like what I'm currently working on but... it's quickly becoming a dragon I'm forced to slay and not the cute little lizard I started with. Minus the princess in distress. Or the fire. Or the castle. Or... I'd better stop there.

There are so many varieties of creative frustration in this world. I know artists who are struggling to focus a simple idea into a simple project, others who have reached the halfway mark of a grand adventure and found a desert, still others have completed their project but don't know what to do with it. And me? I think I live in a constant state of all of the above. In one way or another.

If you're an artist, even if you don't consider yourself to be one, don't give up. Sometimes projects get too big, sometimes the well dries up, and sometimes the painting sits on the office bookshelf. Put things aside for a while if you need to or start looking at that dragon as just an overgrown lizard that needs a warm meal and some tender, loving care. I've reduced my massive project to bite-sized pieces. I think I'm nearing the completion of my current effort.

It's a good feeling. And one I'll cling to next time my mustard seed decides to grow into an oak tree.

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Does Hard Work Always Net a Profit?

Yesterday our pastor, Steve, continued his wonderful series in Proverbs by exploring the topic of work. The book of Proverbs has a LOT to say about work and in those hallowed verses you can find great comparison between the man who chooses not to work (the sluggard) and the hard worker. Here's an example:

THE SLUGGARD


Prov. 20:4 —

A sluggard does not plow in season; 

so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.

Prov. 26:13-16 —

The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road, 

a fierce lion roaming the streets!” (aka "I can't go outside and work!")

As a door turns on its hinges, 

so a sluggard turns on his bed. 

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; 

he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. 

The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes 

than seven men who answer discreetly.

THE HARD WORKER

Prov. 10:4 —

Lazy hands make a man poor, 

but diligent hands bring wealth. 

Prov. 14:23 —

All hard work brings a profit, 

but mere talk leads only to poverty.

These are two extremes mentioned in Proverbs. The sluggard is lazy and makes excuses for not working. He would rather sleep than make a living. The hard worker, however, is diligent and the fruit of his labor is profit — maybe even wealth. I understand these two positions but I was perplexed by another scenario, one which Proverbs doesn't address.

What if a man works hard for a living and still does not reap a profit from his diligent labor?

I know of many men who work very, very hard as entrepreneurs, sacrificing family time and vacations in order to scrounge up enough money for their families. I see them struggle despite their labor and it confuses me. Also, where does ministry fall under the category of "hard work and profit"? Can someone be called to work hard for no profit for the sake of the kingdom of God? Where does that fit into the sayings of Proverbs? What about a man like Paul, who lived largely on the gifts of others to survive. He worked very hard yet financial wealth was far from him.

Like some of you I wonder about these things. As for me, I work very hard and have even given up many sabbath rests but am still struggling financially. I sometimes wonder where wealth and prosperity are and why they don't come my way. Then again, I've given up on wealth for the sake of church ministry. People in my professional field usually make a lot of money. But not at churches. Where does that fit in to the whole work scheme? 

So, does hard work always net a profit? I'm just wonderin...

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Happy 4th!

"The blood of the martyr is the seed of the Church."

— Tertullian, 2nd Century AD 

And with that joyful quote, I wish you all a happy July 4th! 

Actually, it is for that quote that I am happy to live in the United States of America — Texas branch. The church is facing great persecution in this world and many martyrs are shedding their blood as I type these words. Quite a few nations are closed to evangelism (though they cannot stop the Holy Spirit) and some are violently opposed to the Christian God. I remember sitting in the chairs at Gainesville Bible Church one Sunday evening and listening to a pastor from Pakistan share about the struggles believers are enduring in his country as well as across the Middle East. My eyes were opened even wider to the suffering facing Christians around the globe.


Tertullian was right. The church was born into persecution and persecution has caused it to grow through the ages. But what we believers face here in America, from ridicule to... well... ridicule is nothing compared to what the church has faced through the ages. Persecution has been light here. And I see this as a great blessing of God to those living in America.

Many times I fear that we Americans take our religious freedom for granted. We assume that we'll be able to use God's name in public anytime or continue meeting in church buildings without a government monitor. But America is the exception and not the rule. We are free! And we should be ever so thankful that God has given us such freedom.

That's why I take a deep breath here on July 4th. I am SO thankful to live in a place that, despite any political opinion, is still free for Christians to worship the Lord our God. The freest religious society on earth, I believe. I am thankful for God's many blessings on America, from financial wealth to victory in war. God has given us rain on our crops so our country has never suffered from a lack of food. And He has worked through our political system to bring about His will in our land and in our world.


God has blessed America. I think He will continue to bless us. And I'm ever so thankful to Him for allowing me to live here. 


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Did I Have Fun?

When I got back from my New Mexico vacation nearly three weeks ago, one question seemed to be on people's minds: did I have fun? Words could not express the depth of my southwestern adventure, so I put together a little teaser video to show you whether or not I had fun on my trip. You may need to let it finish loading in order to watch it without any issues.

Enjoy.



Off the Beaten Path (trailer) from John Newton on Vimeo.

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