Wondering Pilgrim

Universal truth or ultimate self-indulgence? (Part 2)

Does popular culture have its own way of addressing theological constructs? We briefly considered three movies to see how they handled preoccupation with the tension between determinism and free-will – “salvation” being seen in terms of liberation from controlling forces, be they personal or institutional. You can check out for yourself the reviews of Groundhog Day, Minority Report, and The Adjustment Bureau. Movie Review Query Engine offers more than you need.

This angst carried over into a review of a current debate in the so-called “emerging church” surrounding Rob Bell’s “Love Wins” – it seems colouring outside the lines is still a no-no for some high profile church leaders.

“Salvation today”, however, to retain the integrity of its biblical meaning, is focused on a lot more than individual security in the hereafter. Jim Wallis, of Sojourners fame, in his book Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street, opens up a host of practical ways for communities to reorient themselves to practical ways of living the values of the Kingdom.

One might recall that when Jericho’s version of a Wall Street hot shot similarly adjusted to the bearings on his inner compass, Jesus remarked “Salvation has come to this house today.”

In summary, there are many angles to a discussion on “Salvation Today.” They are as varied as life itself. The relevance of the biblical view of salvation as holistic, integral, healthy and concerned with relationship that is intrapersonal, interpersonal, and in harmony with creation and the Divine, gives it entry into all spheres of human activity.

Universal truth or ultimate self-indulgence? (Part 1)

This is the subtitle of the “Salvation Today” Lent series cooked up by my local Uniting Church colleagues and myself. I did promise some context for yesterday’s “Saving puppies from a runaway train” conundrum.

In the wake of the visit of evolutionary theologian, Bruce Sanguin, we pondered the meaning of “salvation”, a word more often associated with the big top revival mission scene than its original biblical context. Such pondering led to the suggestion of a three part series:

Karen would get us reflecting on a historical survey from Augustine to Borg.
I would look at some contemporary cultural understandings, particularly the interplay between determinism and free will.
Neville would project us from the present into the future, reflecting on the “salvation of the human race.”

So here’s a summary of Part One – the historical survey.

Salvation in the bible has to do with collective wholeness, health, well-being, integrity, completeness.

The New Testament is witness to the announcement of salvation in terms of the “kingdom of God”, announced by Jesus of Nazareth, demonstrated in his life, death and resurrection, and inherited by those who adopt the way he has shown.

Cultural and historical movements within and beyond the church that followed have coloured our understanding of the meaning and living of “salvation.”

Augustine battled and defeated Pelagius, asserting divine over human initiative in this matter, leaving us the dominant legacy of the doctrine of “original sin” – the idea that there is nothing we can do for our own salvation since all are born in total depravity – a legacy of the fall of Adam and Eve.

Anselm’s “substitutionary atonement” view of the cross vies with Abelard’s “exemplary atonement” hypothesis. That is, Jesus died “in our place” to satisfy the demands of a just God versus Jesus’ death as an example of the length to which one imbued with the life of the Kingdom of God will spend itself, thus turning the nature of death on its head.

Followers of John Calvin have coloured salvation with a predestination outlook as opposed to Arminius’ view of the supremacy of free will.

So “salvation today” is seen in a multiplicity of ways – not just the cleansing of personal sin, but, equally, suggestive metaphors of liberation from captivity, blind receiving sight, healing of broken hearts, restoration of the poor.

I myself favour the word I often use as a sign off – the Hebrew word “Shalom” (“Salaam” in Arabic), meaning completeness in relationship with self, the other, the whole created universe, the Divine.

Saving puppies – saving the world

A Peter Singer inspired question pops up in the WordPress postaday stimulus today: “An out of control train is about to run over a pile of happy puppies. You are standing at the control switch and can pull the lever to direct the train onto a different track, saving their lives. But that other track has a smaller pile of equally happy puppies on it.
What do you do and why?”

Peter Singer is a contemporary ethicist and the question is beyond hypothetical. We have wrestled with similar issues in the local “Salvation Today ” Lent program, where the latest question was posed “Do you have a pessimistic or optimistic outlook on the future of the human race?”

Pessimism would answer the hypothetical by suggesting we are limited to two options, depending on which track we direct the out of control train. Optimism suggests a plethora of alternatives, limited only by imagination, but responses already in are roughly grouped around slowing or redirecting the train or snatching the puppies away with various devices. (The picture shows another!) Transposed to something like the ecological threat, the metaphors are suggestive – use our collective creative will and brilliance to slow down the pollution producing juggernaut or snatch the human race away in an interstellar net to another habitable planet. Prizes for those who identify which is more feasible. Or we could limit ourselves to the original alternatives – using some mechanism to decide which category of the human species will survive a natural or human-created cataclysm.

All this will, no doubt, be hotly debated in the final session of our Lent series next Wednesday night.

[Edit – of course, this is only one aspect of the nature of our “Salvation” discussions – more context in tomorrow’s post]

Raising Lazarus

Two weeks before Easter and it is not surprising that the story of the raising of Lazarus comes out for an airing (see John 11:1-45). Tales of “dead men walking” hold particularly morbid fascination for us. So compelling is the narrative, that a former Australian Prime Minister’s autobiography, which includes an episode of his fall and comeback, is titled Lazarus Rising.

It anticipates the big Easter question, “What is resurrection?” When responding to such questions, there is much focus on somatic physicality or “What do we understand about the nature of the resurrected body?” Discussing this with a colleague earlier today, we pondered how best to approach opening up the “meaning of resurrection.” Our former Prime Minister saw a particular meaning in his sphere of activity. John’s gospel, rich with symbolism and signs, obviously takes the meaning to be higher, broader and deeper. My colleague is presiding over the Easter service at which I am preaching, and I neither want to steal his thunder nor flag my punches, but it’s a good question to ponder as the next two weeks have us journeying to the cross and beyond.

Rebuilding trust with indigenous communities the first step

This morning’s article in The Age, Rebuilding trust with indigenous communities the first step, coincides with a conversation I was involved in earlier today. Recently, Reconciliation Australia’s barometer revealed that “trust” is the most significant current obstacle on the roadway to genuine reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia. It is so easy, in our respective communities, to discuss what is the “right” thing to do to improve life quality through health, housing and education – leading either to such heavy-handed initiatives as the infamous “intervention,” or piecemeal guess work.

Good intentions, however, are no substitute for sitting down, talking together and re-assessing presuppositions and mind-sets. What we thought was so might turn out not to be so. Some of our ready made “solutions” may, instead, simply exacerbate the problems that lead to poverty and sickness. The most successful communities have been collaborative ones, where mutual respect is cherished and indigenous and exotic expertise are blended.

Intervention is easy – it can be done with the stroke of a politician’s pen. But it kills trust.

Collaboration takes work, and it begins by sitting down in the community circle and listening with respectful ears.

Meditating with Rumi

It was an Iraqi man who introduced me to the beauty of Rumi.

Today’s post from Spirituality and Practice also celebrates the spirit of this wise medieval poet and mystic”

Search the Darkness
Sit with your friends; don’t go back to sleep.
Don’t sink like a fish to the bottom of the sea.

Surge like an ocean,
don’t scatter yourself like a storm.

Life’s waters flow from darkness.
Search the darkness, don’t run from it.

Night travelers are full of light,
and you are, too; don’t leave this companionship.

Be a wakeful candle in a golden dish,
don’t slip in the dirt like quicksilver.

The moon appears for night travelers,
be watchful when the moon is full.

from Love Is a Stranger: Selected Lyric Poetry of Jelaluddin Rumi by Kabir Helminski

Gerry Harvey shares the love online – Eureka Street

“If you can’t beat them join them!” it seems.

One of Australia’s best known shopkeepers is well known for his ability to make a buck.
His and similar companies recently beat a hasty retreat from public reaction to their lobbying for exemptions in order to compete with on-line shopping.

Only one person can say whether love is the motivator for him popping up on-line, but this piece reminds us of the human side of economics – there is more than one bottom line.

Enjoy!

Gerry Harvey shares the love online – Eureka Street.

On discombobulating…

Scrabble, Word Games — Image by windygig via Flickr

Towards the close of this morning’s harangue, I experienced a disconnect with what I was saying and ended up saying the opposite. My carefully listening audience rippled with assorted “eh?s” and “what?”s?

I paused and said “Hang on – I’m all discombobulated. Let’s try that again…”

Afterwards.. you guessed it… all anyone wanted to discuss was the word “discombobulate.” With the overload of teachers and academics in my congregation, this was the focus.

So here’s proof – right from http://dictionary.reference.com/

dis·com·bob·u·late

http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/d/g/speaker.swf [dis-kuhm-bob-yuh-leyt]

and http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/discombobulate

(these have some pedigree!)

So who says I make up words, even when discombobulated?

Playing with light…

nepal-deep-street-scene1 b&w — Once upon a time, I saw the world only in terms of black and white...

… things got a bit complicated and I began to see shades of grey…

…now all is a chaos of technicolor!

Dwelling on tomorrow’s text from Ephesians 5:8-14: “Live as children of light.”