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Karma Chameleon.
06.07.08 | Permalink | 6 Comments | 100Thank you, God, for the things you do for me - in spite of me. I used to believe in some sort of Holy Karma type of thing - that the more good I did, the better God would be to me. At some point I realized that this was a losing proposition. There is no way that I could “earn” God’s blessings. That’s not to say that I shouldn’t try. But it really doesn’t seem to work that way. If it did, I would be in bad shape.
It took me a long time to understand and accept the concept of God’s grace. The church organization (not church) that I grew up in, and still am a part of, places less of an emphasis on grace than I think they should. I was always led to believe that much of God’s favor on me depended on my behavior (and the way I looked). As a kid, you wonder if you may have upset the balance and lost your salvation because of that one lie you told. It is a recipe for disaster through guilt and regret. Many of you reading this now may still have similar beliefs. You may also be thinking that I have softened my views on what it takes to travel down the “straight and narrow.” That’s simply not the case.
Look, I am not suggesting that once you become a Christian, you are good to go. “Once saved, always saved” is the scornful label given to those who put too much emphasis on God’s grace. What I am suggesting, however, is that if you are a Christian and do not seek to do good, then maybe you haven’t really given your life to God after all. Your behavior and good works should be a reflection of your comfort in knowing that God will never give up on you. You have given your life to him, and have become one of His own. If you don’t make an effort to follow His teachings, then why are you calling yourself a Christian in the first place?
The karma-based concept leads to a lot of negative side effects. I knew many people growing up who would stumble, then feel that they had “tipped the scales,” lost their salvation, and felt like they had to start all over. Entire lives are led this way. Be super holy for a week, make a mistake, then give up and have a big falling out, then grovel before God, come back, rinse and repeat. It is a miserable way to live, and I think it is at odds with the salvation plan of the new testament.
Be the best Christian you can be; not because if you don’t you will lose your salvation and go to Hell, but rather because you love God and want to please him. The net result may be the same in your mind, but it’s the difference between an immature, negatively-reinforced relationship, and a positive one.
And give up trying to earn God’s love. You’ve already got it.
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Reviews
Answer the Skeptics.
Those of you that know me (or read the sidebars in this blog) know that I am a fan of Greg Boyd. I was introduced to his writing by my good friend Kevin Burgess. Boyd is an extremely intellectual guy with some pretty controversial (some say heretical) stances that I will likely reference at a later time. But his book, Letters from a Skeptic, is a fantastic read for Christians and non-Christians alike who want answers (or proposed answers) to some tough questions.
The format of the book is very interesting because it is essentially a series of letters between Greg and his dad over the course of several years. At the beginning of the process, Greg’s dad is a non-believer. By the end, he has given his life to God. Greg cleverly suggested that they open this dialog through the mail. Every time they would get together in person and discuss these issues, one of them would get frustrated or angry and shut down the conversation. I think that is something to which we all can relate. The last thing many people want to do at Thanksgiving or a family reunion is discuss religion or politics.
It wasn’t until later that Greg decided to assemble the letters, and “co-write” this book with his dad. The thought was that many of the questions posed by his dad were common concerns. Some of the topics addressed in the book are:
- Why is the world so full of suffering?
- What about earthquakes and famines?
- What’s the point of prayer?
- Why do you think Jesus actually rose from the dead?
- Why does God make believing in Him so difficult?
Greg’s dad has since passed on, but his co-efforts in bringing this book to the public will serve as a great legacy. It is really an engaging book. I highly recommend it.
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Opinion
Division Among the Ranks.
I used to spend a lot of time out on christianforums.com. Actually, I still drop by there from time to time, but I can only handle it in small doses. It is a massive forum where Christians from all denominations get together to discuss philosophy, spirituality, addiction, abuse, etc. It is a really diverse collection of people. I know that there are hundreds (if not thousands) of great people that post.
The sections of the site that I would regularly visit were war zones. They aren’t like that as much anymore, because so many people became so disgusted with the rampant in-fighting, that they just left. Nonetheless, there is still a great deal of conflict. Part of the reason is that most of the people seemed to fall into three camps. The people from these camps would inevitably cross paths, and all hell would break loose.
- Group 1
Everything is black and white, and the rules are absolute. All passages from the Bible are literal with no room for interpretation based on cultural context. If you disagree with this, you are a heretic. - Group 2
Everything is pretty cut and dry. I hold strongly to my opinion, but I am willing to discuss. I will treat you with respect as long as you show me the same consideration. - Group 3
Nothing is absolute. If you try to defend your position, or if you take a stand on anything, you are being overly defensive and close-minded.
As you might expect, this lead to enormous fights and hurt feelings. The gaps between ideologies were so wide, that people often weren’t even in the same book - let alone on the same page. There were issues with people coming from the liberal forums into the conservative forums, and vica versa. Someone would come into the “enemy’s” forum and make some sort of “drive-by” comment to stir the pot, and then sit back and watch the fireworks. It was an interesting little social experiment, but also very depressing. I talk of all this in the past tense, because as I said, things have eased up quite a bit, and the site is under new management, but there are still plenty of interesting discussions out there if you do some digging.
I always try to remember that Christians are a broad demographic. Unfortunately, the term “Christian” has so many negative connotations these days, but I think many of them are deserved. We all make mistakes, and we are destined to be misunderstood to some extent, but just calling myself a “Christian” may not be enough anymore. What kind of a Christian am I? What do I stand for? It’s important that we stand out from the masses and are identified by our actual beliefs - whatever they may be. Often, it is the loudest group that is heard, and as a result, that group ends up speaking for everyone.
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Reviews
Unsung Heroes.
I think back to the music that shaped me when I was younger…
The Twist by The Swirling Eddies
hang on, believe
there’s nothing up my sleeve
i’ve got no magic tricks to save the day
put down the gun
you’re not helping anyone
and i’m not about to run or back awaydon’t walk the fence
then come to my defense
i don’t need fair weather kinds of friends around
so watch and pray
as a traitor’s kiss betrays
and rest your feet of clay on shaky groundchorus
and look me in the face, at least what’s left of it
tell me you still love me just a little bit
or nail me down, break the skin
hard enough to do me in
but don’t leave me hanging
dying and dangling
twisting in the windhere, touch my side
let doubt be crucified
nailed with your wounded pride
to love’s grim altar
here, taste my flesh
my bloody humanness
i am no phantom guest
no skinless martyrso taste and feel
there’s nothing to conceal
you always knew the deal
was sacrifice
stand up, be strong
when all you’ve got is gone
i left the light turned on in paradiseand when the walls cave in
and the curtain’s torn asunder
you’ll know we’re near the end
you’ll hear me in the thunder
and when the sun grows dim
this will be your sign and wonder
that soon we’ll meet again
just like we did last summer
______________________________________Back in the late eighties and early nineties, I wasn’t listening to popular music. And, it was years later before I knew much about The Beatles, The Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, etc. Sure, I had heard their songs on the radio when I was very young, but after getting into the church at age 7, additional exposure to that sort of thing would be delayed for many years.
Understand, this is not a complaint.
I had the opportunity to learn a great deal about a sub-culture of Christian music that has had a huge impact on my views and beliefs to this day. “Alternative” is such a cliched and undefinable term, but it truly was an alternative to typical Christian music. Honest, self-critical and often satirical - the music of Steve Taylor, Daniel Amos, the 77s, The Call and King’s X - to name a few - was truly an inspiration and source of comfort to me as I navigated my teenage years and early 20s. The voices behind these bands were those of humans with real questions, struggles and doubts that paralleled my own, and they taught be much about the necessity of questioning tradition, authority and religion. Those of you that know me know that, for better or worse, I rarely deal in black and white. I believe God gave us a mind and soul with the ability to intepret His Words and apply them to life’s situations without relying on some man-made set of religious guidelines. I learned that Christians are not perfect, and should not presume to be better than non-Christians. I learned that not all Christians are Republicans — ok, that was a joke. But most of all, I learned that in spite of all our struggles, questions, concerns, failures and shortcomings - we have a great Hope.
I must also point out that in spite of all of the other music I listen to now, I still go back to these songs for inspiration. An entire generation (or two) of musicians have since spawned from these bands (whether they know it or not), but many of the elders are still going strong. Some have gone on (we miss you, Gene), a few have lost their faith (we miss you too, Doug). But many can still be seen touring and making albums. It is a sign of their passion, and I admire them for it.
Thank you Terry, Steve, Mike, Gene, Doug and all the others.
Do yourself a favor and check some of them out. You may have trouble finding some of these albums, but they are worth finding.
Steve Taylor
www.sockheaven.net/Highlights:
I Predict 1990 (album)
Squint (album)
Meltdown (album)Daniel Amos (also DA, Da), Swirling Eddies
www.danielamos.comHighlights:
Zoom Daddy (Swirling Eddies album)
Darn Floor, Big Bite (DA album)
Kalhoun (album)
Shotgun Angle (album)The 77s
www.77s.comHighlights:
77s (album)
Sticks and Stones (album)
88 (live album)
Pray Naked (album)The Lost Dogs (members from DA, 77s and The Choir (and at one time, Adam Again)
www.thelostdogs.comHighlights:
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Scenic Routes (album)