Media Abstention

For ten days, I abstained from as many mediums as possible, including regular television, movies, the radio, blogs/tumblers, and social media including twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and HeyTell. I had not considered myself someone constantly tethered by technology, however the results of this fast were telling.

I was initially caught off guard by the unconscious nature of my habits. The first night I turned on the television for about 30 seconds before I “came to” and realized what I was doing. I ate my dinner in silence, and resolved to go to bed early out of my confusion of how to spend my time in the evening hours. The next couple days I learned to embrace my free time as an opportunity to get ahead on required reading, and even had enough time to spare for optional reading (gasp).  

My relationships were challenged, which was not expected at all. Family and friends were at a loss of how to engage with me, whether that was from entertainment or connecting me. “How do we engage if not in front of a TV,” and “how do I contact you if you are not on Facebook,” were questions I had to address. We dusted off the board games and I had the opportunity to share in more detail the nature of my studies. These conversations proved to be a blessing for myself and my friends, and I was encouraged and affirmed and they seemed refreshed at considering some new ideas they had never thought about before.

As I reflected, while taking advantage of my new found free time, I was able to come to a few conclusions. I have always been quick to notice and hold people accountable who are slipping into callousness, yet I deduced how calloused I myself had actually become. It was not that I had intrinsically been sinning by engaging in these specific mediums, but I had let my exposure to them gradually fog my judgment, steal my attention from the Lord, and lead me into temptation from which I am called to flee. Neil Postman has said that “forms of media favor particular kinds of content,” and I understood how applicable this statement is in light of television and it’s utilization of imagery.[1] Sexual immorality is usually stimulated visually, and therefore television must be watched most responsibly, if not simply abstained from all together.

I read in a personal testimony I had written some years ago, that I had noticed a tendency to busy myself out of fear of what I would find in the silence. After reading that I reflected on how I have let the specific medium of television become background noise in my life, again protecting me from the silence. However, I now realize that silence is not something from which to be protected.

During this media fast when I was too tired to study, yet not tired enough to sleep, I would try to sit still in reflect, but initially had to journal because it was so difficult to simply sit still. As Dr. Groothius has stated, I had to sit still long enough to stop twitching.[2]

I began to reflect on certain patterns. I was able to read through the lines on a current theme I had been hearing through lectures, scripture, and sermons, and noticed that God had been trying to get my attention. What God had been trying to teach me was directly hindered by certain media which, again, had fogged my judgment, stolen my attention from focusing on the Lord, and was what had led me into the specific temptation from which God was trying to free me.    

I mediated on Galatians 5, and was able to see it in a blatantly applicable light. Verse 13 tells us to not use our freedom to indulge the flesh (Galatians 13:5). As believers, I think sometimes we get caught up thinking that abstaining from worldliness is an infringement on our freedom, when in reality abstention is a way in which to experience freedom. This should be obvious as humans whom have experienced the effects of sin. 

Paul tells the Galatians “walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desire of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16), and in his letter to the Romans explains that “the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). James reiterates this point in his letter (James 1:15).

The Spirit should not be seen only as a helper to keep from what leads to death. Paul continues: “Those who belong to Christ have been crucified in the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24-25). Living by the Spirit should be seen as an inevitability, as it is the only way to continue the sanctification process after the moment of justification. However, in a world overwhelmed by secular media, we should read this as a commandment to intentionally keep from letting our minds be ruled by anything other than the Spirit, so that he may dwell as Lord.

If our worldview is dictated by which lens we see the world through, this will be evident from where our time is spent: engaging in secular culture or spending efforts to become enlightened to Christian truth. Through this fast I was able to see why there is such a tension that exists when Biblical truth is known and yet a secular worldview is practiced. Most of what our media portrays, though sometimes very subtly, is contrary to that which the Bible teaches gives life. Because of this, abstaining from indulging in secular media should be seen as a necessity in letting our lives become controlled by the Spirit.  

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul states first and foremost to no let oneself be burdened again by the yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1). When we allow our time to be spent influenced by secular media, we are asking to face this tension mentioned above.  

To conclude in the words of Chuck Colson, the best way to overcome this is to

“demand something better—to seek out, as Paul wrote in Philippians, whatever is noble, right, pure, admirable, and to 'think on these things. Paul is commanding us to discipline ourselves to reflect on excellence. And he doesn't limit that to spiritual things, either. The command applies to everything—the music we listen to, the books and magazines we read, the films we watch." [3]

 Groothius, Douglas. Orientation Lecture, Denver Seminary, August 24, 2012.

Postman, Nail. Amusing Ourselves to Death. Harrisonburg: R. R. Donnelly & Sons, 1987.

Colson, Chuck. "Elvis Mania," Breakpoint with Chuck Colson. June 1993, 17.

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[1] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death, (Harrisonburg: R. R. Donnelly & Sons, 1987), 9.

[2] Douglas Groothius, (Orientation Lecture, Denver Seminary, August 24, 2012).

[3] Chuck Colson, "Elvis Mania," Breakpoint with Chuck Colson, June 1993, 17.

Meditation #2

(...) God is necessarily good. Therefore, any conclusion we come to which portrays God in a negative light, necessarily has false premises or misunderstandings. Ethics are a reflection of God, and are therefore necessarily good. What the bible teaches can have arguments which prove their goodness, various unbiased apologetics, but at the end of the day is it in their essence to be good. Therefore, any conclusion we come to which claims the ethical teachings of the Bible are not in fact good, necessarily has false premises or misunderstandings.

Meditation #1

It is a curious idea to me, comprehension, both of writing and of reading. I have concluded and (then) find the desire or passion behind the importance of the conclusion. I retrace my thoughts to lead my reader to the same conclusion, yet I can't help but summarize, as this is my second time in this thought journey. This I struggle in meeting the minimum length requirements, do I also succumb to in-articulation? Is that a even a word? I am reminded that my goal is to be conversant, or my knowledge is gained in vain.

True Spirituality

Francis Schaeffer

With a God-given inquisitive mind, Francis Schaeffer became very interested in the field of philosophy in his late teens.[1] He discovered that philosophy without the acceptance of the existence of God left more questions unanswered than it answered. Schaeffer was led to the Bible, and regarding the questions that had been plaguing him, he found that the “Bible was sufficient in and of itself.”[2]

Schaeffer was gifted in facilitating small group environments, and faithfully used his gifting in opening a study center, L'abri Fellowship, nestled in the Swiss Alps. Though this was a somewhat quiet and secluded environment, Schaeffer was anything but uninvolved with challenging the culture in ways which are still relevant today.

True Spirituality

In True Spirituality, Schaeffer compares and contrasts justification with sanctification, acknowledging both as critical and necessary. Justification occurs only once, and reflects Christ's death as central in the Christian faith. "Christ died in history; Christ rose in history; we died with Christ when we accepted him as Savior. This, too, is a historic thing. It is something that happened (past tense) at a point of history."[3]  

Though justification happens once, sanctification involves a continual dying to the self, and reflects "how central and fundamental is our individual and continuing death by choice as Christians."[4]  Schaeffer approaches spirituality as the completing piece to Christianity, as opposed to the optional continuation after our justification, as certain cultures sometimes portrays it as. "There is a new birth, and then there is that Christian life to be lived... [it] means more than being justified and knowing I am going to Heaven."[5]                                                 Though justification has dealt with the metaphysical reality of sin separating us from God, the effects of sin in the fallen world are continually being faced by justified believers. Sanctification deals with the ever apparent power of sin in lives of Christians. However, the process of sanctification cannot even begin based solely on the strength of the believer. "In sanctification, we must see, acknowledge, and act upon the fact that we cannot live the Christian life in our own strength, or in our own goodness."[6] We are called to obedience and to be available, however we are in no way actually doing the sanctification of our selves. We demonstrate "active passivity."[7]

Caught in the midst of two competing views on Spirituality, that of legalism or perfectionism and that of apathy, Schaeffer challenged both in light of Biblical teachings. Christians should not be consumed with striving towards perfection, especially when "to worry about it is to do despite to the infinite value of the death of the Son of God."[8] However, believers must acknowledge specific sin as sin if there is to ever be hope of a restored relationship with God.[9]                                                                                                                                  

 The effects of sanctification and of the lack thereof, run “from the internal to the external." [10]  This is evident in Biblical examples such as the story of Joseph and his brothers selling him into slavery. They were "perfectly willing to kill their brother and break their father's heart. All these things arose in the internal world of their thoughts - in their hatred, in their envy." [11] The good news is that this same internal to external truth goes for restoration: as we become sanctified in our spiritual or internal life, there will naturally be external results. As God relates to the Christian in a personal way in the internal life, the Christian should be an external demonstration of the existence of God. [12]
            The same goes for the Church as a whole. "The church as the body of Christ should be Christ's means of communication to the external world."[13] In addition, the sanctification process is a tangible way to strengthen the unity of the body of Christ. "In the absence of present perfection, Christians are to help each other on to increasingly substantial healing on the basis of the finished work of Christ."[14]

Application

As believers in the twenty-first century, we should heed the wisdom of Francis Schaeffer, and seek ways to reach our own culture in ways similar to his. Much of what Schaeffer believed has relevance to our current culture, and we should be letting our own spirituality affect our external actions as they did his. We should be living a life reflective of our inward Christian spirituality, portraying a continual death to self as we call others to embrace the life-giving death of Christ.

We should not be as focused on formulas or programs for the masses, as we should be on actual individuals. We should follow Schaeffer’s example in conversing with people "always with great sympathy and gentleness but penetratingly because of his acute intellectual gifts."[15] We also must, therefore, be continually striving to become more intellectually competent and conversant.

As believers, we have the answers to so many of life’s unanswered questions. As Schaeffer puts it, "how beautiful Christianity is - first, because of the sparkling quality of its intellectual answers, but second, because of the beautiful quality of its human and personal answers."[16] The questions to which these intellectual answers support are inescapable as humans created in the image of God. How refreshing and joyous an opportunity we have to share the answer to people who are undoubtedly asking. When we "begin with the Christian worldview…everything makes sense: Start elsewhere and nothing does."[17]

As a believer myself, I conclude with the eloquent lines of Schaeffer in light of the sometimes painful sanctification process that I myself face, and to what I am calling others. 

"But thank God, now I can move; I am no longer running on ice...It does not need to be the old, endless circle. It is not any longer the dog chasing his tail. The light is let in. Things are oriented, and I can move as a whole man, with all the rationality I possess utterly in place. I will not expect to be perfect...but there now can be substantial overcoming of this psychological division in the present life on the basis of Christ's finished work."[18]

Bibliography

Macauley, Ranald. “What Can We Learn From Francis Schaeffer?” The Pearcey Report, (2007),                http://www.pearceyreport.com/archives/2007/10/ranald_macaulay.php (accessed           February 18th, 2004).

Schaeffer, Francis A. True Spirituality. Carol Steam: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 2011.

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[1] Ranald Macaulay, “What Can We Learn From Francis Schaeffer?,” The Pearcey Report, (2007), http://www.pearceyreport.com/archives/2007/10/ranald_macaulay.php (accessed February 18th, 2004).

[2] Ibid.

[3] Francis A. Schaeffer, True Spirituality, (Carol Steam: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 2011), 35.

[4] Ibid., 23.

[5] Ibid., 4, 14.

[6] Ibid., 76.

[7] Ibid., 77.

[8] Ibid., 92.

[9] Ibid., 89.

[10] Ibid., 100.

[11] Ibid., 99.

[12] Ibid., 135.

[13] Ibid., 145.

[14] Ibid., 158.

[15] Macaulay, What Can We Learn From Francis Schaeffer?

[16] Schaeffer, True Spirituality, 144.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Schaeffer, True Spirituality, 116.

Break Time

First semester done. Forgot what this feel like to have a 6 week break to relax, make snow angels, ski, sled, and not actually do any of that but work full time. Soo thankful for a job opportunity with the Development Center at The Vail Church, where I interned this summer.

Have been able to spend some time with this chica

and make some yummy treats

and spend some time with this wonderful bday boy

and even got to have a date night with myself. 

it's been a magical break.

Off to Texas tomorrow, see y'all soon.

Scripture and The Authority of God

Authority of God in Scripture

A topic of hot debate within religious circles is in regards to the authority of Scripture. N.T. Wright wrote an insightful book on the topic, and this essay will serve to critically review The Authority of God in Scripture. In the prologue of his book, N.T. states that “taken as a whole, the church clearly can't live without the Bible, but it doesn't seem to have much idea of how to live with it."  I agree with this statement, and believe it alludes to the importance of the study of the application of scripture. This is not an easy task, the Bible "tells a single overarching story which appears to be precisely the kind of thing people today have learned to resist." Culture plays a huge hindrance to the study of the Word. As Christians, we are "to hold in our minds and hearts what the Bible says about who we are, are to do our best to live by that, [but this] clashes head-on with our culture."  We must seriously reflect on the matter of to whom we are granting authority of our lives: culture or scripture? 

On Authority

Many people have questioned the nature of the word authority, and this must initially be discussed before we can proceed. N.T. states that the "'Authority of Scripture' is a shorthand for 'God's Authority exercised through Scripture'."  Therefore, the authority of God himself is the larger context of which scripture is set within. 

The debate continues, however, too much of it "has had the form of people hitting one another with locked suitcases. It is time to unpack our shorthand doctrines, to lay them out and inspect them."  We must remember what we are debating for. The debate on the authority of the book is not where the conversation ends, but rather with the wonderful words which this book contains, taken to be authoritative in our lives. God "remains present and active within that world, and one of the many ways in which this is so is through his living and active word." 

On Jesus and the church

Jesus is a key to understanding scripture, and a study of the early church shows how the early Christians understood in light of Jesus’s teaching. This is where N.T.’s attention turns. 

"Jesus opens the minds of the disciples to understand what the scriptures had been about all along." Jesus explains how the story of Israel is now told as reaching its climax in himself. Certain continuities and discontinuities naturally will happen, as 

"the law must be put aside...not because it was a bad thing but because it was a good thing whose task is now accomplished. But... the people of God renewed through Jesus and the Spirit can never and must never forget the road by which they had traveled." 

N.T. studies the history of the church over the first sixteen centuries and the various ways in which they attempted to interpret the Scriptures. He reflects on these attempts as being failures, because "once you can make scripture stand on its hind legs and dance a jig, it becomes a tame pet rather than a roaring lion."  We must remember that "the backbone of many traditional arguments for the authority of scripture has been those specific sayings of Jesus which stress that he himself regarded scripture as authoritative and criticized his opponents for not doing so." 

Christianity was undermined during the period of the Enlightenment as historical and rational study was used as a weapon against the church. “Much of what has been written about the Bible in the last two hundred years has either been following through the Enlightenment's program or reacting to it, or negotiating some kind of halfway house in between."  The act of God in Jesus Christ has been reduced to mere moral teaching. Or equally disappointing, Jesus’s death is now treated as simply “the mechanism whereby individual sinners can receive forgiveness and hope for an otherworldly future - leaving the politicians and economists... to take over the running, and as it turns out the ruining, of the world." 

"Whenever people today talk about 'authority' within the church, a regular appeal is made on behalf of 'experience'."  However, as Wright states, "'experience' is far too slippery for the concept to stand any chance of providing a stable basis sufficient to serve as an 'authority'." This idea is proved upon simple reflection, because when people's experiences differ, this would lead to a complete absence of authority. However, as Wright stresses, "it is vital that Christians should 'experience' the power and love of God in their own lives." 

To conclude in the wise words of N.T. Wright, We need to 

"highlight the role of the Spirit as the powerful, transformative agent... keep as its central focus the goal of God's Kingdom, inaugurated by Jesus on earth as in heaven and one day to be completed under the same rubric... envisage the church as characterized, at the very heart of its life, by prayerful listening to, strenuous wrestling with, humble obedience before, and powerful proclamation of scripture." 

Review

N.T. Wright has an insightful way with words, engaging his readers and stressing the importance of the issue of authority in the bible. I agree with his claim that we need to move from scrutinizing the Bible to letting it be more authoritative in our lives. We must engage in a way that will be transforming rather than in a way that will simply set us up to win debates. We must study scripture privately and corporately, as we look to it for counsel, prayer, devotion, example, study, and worship, all the while remaining conscious we do not look at it to justify our own agendas.

I applaud N.T. for stressing the study of Jesus, a point which I think is not stressed enough in our churches today, though His life is at the center of the gospel. The gospels must be in must be read in context, that we might know what is prescriptive and what is simply descriptive of the early Church. We must view it through a lens that grants the inspiration of Holy Spirit, rather than simply another worldly historical/wise document. We must view it more than simply an object of study or a research tool. We must set aside time to reflect in an intimate way with the Lord and the guiding of the Holy Spirit to enlighten us to the significance to our own lives. 

N.T. does not expect his reader to have presupposed the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but rather uses supporting evidence for his argument that this is the case. He used scripture throughout his book appropriately and effectively. Most of the claims in this book can be compared to the main objectives or elements of this course on Biblical Interpretation. The development of skills for the proper interpretation of scripture is a must. If we must initially study the scripture to see what it says before we can apply its authority to our lives, skills to determine a proper understanding is a necessary prerequisite. A properly weighted importance on this history of interpretation found in the book is also similar to that which has been stressed in class. False interpretations in the past have led to the compromise of the church and its message, and of this we should be wary. Context is key in any interpretive attempt, whether that be cultural or literary, that we might apply the text appropriately. We accept the teaching, both from the book and from class, that the importance of proper scripture interpretation is found in the fact that these truths form the foundation for our Faith. 

Studying the scripture will require everything that goes against our culture: humility, discipline, endurance, patience, and a moldable spirit. A willing and humble spirit must embrace the task, recognizing that this task in so small one. Daily prayer must be a theme in any believer’s life, that God would provide strength, clarity of mind, and perseverance. To this N.T. makes clear. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) Wright, NT. Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today. New York: HarperCollins, 2011.

25 days of Christmas

 As a tight-budgeted grad student, I had to get creative with gifts this year, thanks Pinterest! For the budget conscious gift-giver, check out my compiled list of easy cheap gifts for a creative personalized and complete 25 days of Christmas!

1)Favorite fast food not found in Vail: Chick-fil-a

2)Gift for the inner child: silly string and noise putty

3)Silly coupons: massage, get out of jail free...

  

4)Playing Cards: We always laugh at hipster paraphernalia, and Chris is terrible at Nerts, so I found a mustache shaped deck at Target!

5)Mug: Plain white mugs at IKEA are only $1, and you can decorate with a sharpie and bake for a personally designed treasure!

6)Baileys: Single shot bottles for some adult hot chocolate.

7)Hot chocolate: Or hot drink mix of choice 

8) Bag of favorite Candy

9)Potatoes and parmesan cheese

10)Truffle oil: Anytime we go to dinner we always order truffle fries if they are on the menu. Chris has a deep frier, so we made some of our own. Win. 

11) Book Safe: The library on campus has a great used book sale, so a grabbed a hardback for $4 and hollowed out the middle as a hiding place for treasures!

12)6-pack of favorite beer.

13) Favorite drink not found in Vail: Strawberry limeade

14) Ninja bread cookie cutters: Found on Amazon

15) Sprinkles and icing - cream cheese, duh. 

16) cookie dough: Yes, even the pre-made kind needs flour added to it before baking in the mountains. I thought I had learned this lesson from some would-be yummy blondies. 

Nailed it.

So this is how the cookies turned out. 

But we managed

What a trooper.

Ninja or pretty princess?

17) Touchscreen gloves

18) Favorite homemade dinner: I redeemed myself from the cookies, with homemade chicken cordon blue, thank you very much. 

19) His birthday is actually on the 19th, so I taped 25-$1 bills together and rolling up in a cardboard tube. Ok it was a toilet paper empty roll. He made it rain. 

20)Flannel Shirt

21) Picture Frame: Love simple frames from IKEA, and framed this bad boy.

22)Get creative

23)Get creative

24) Ornament: As the avid talented snowboarder, I started a little tradition for Chris and I with a wooden carved snowboarder ornament.

25) Monogrammed leather journal cover: Etsy is a great source for these! 

What was super fun was incorporating inside jokes, Chris' personal favorites, and having excuses to spend time with him by using the gifts. I also probably had way too much fun reusing bags and wrapping all the gifts to match. 

Some other ideas:

I attempted a scarf, but ran out of yarn. I can crochet one heck of a rectangle though.

Also, simple homemade treats are always a win. Especially when it means you get to spend an evening with a bestie. 

Also this. I love this idea for a simple ottoman if you can find a tire. And if you aren't flying home, doubt this would count as a carry on.