The absense of God

There are times in life when we don't feel the presence of God in our lives. Sometimes it's a long while and sometimes a short period. The fact that we still seek God in spite of this is a good sign that his Spirit is actually still with us for we don't seek God when we are not living in the Spirit.

Even Mother Theresa wrote about the absence of God. A dedicated servant of God living with the poor and dying of Calcutta. But she is far from the only saint who lived int he darkness.

This Easter I've been reflecting on what Christ's example to us is and how we should learn from it. I've also looked at the Tenebrae - the darkness faced while Christ was removed from the world. The Disciples faced this darkness when Jesus was crucified as they didn't know the ending we did (even though Jesus told them several times).

Likewise, David wrote about this darkness in Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.

But amidst his cries of despair he's got hope for he knows the God he serves is mighty and just.

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

I do recommend you read the whole psalm, it is a powerful one.

What I'm learning is that even when we're not filled with enthusiasm about our faith, we do know the ending so we should have an even more hopeful outlook than David. Getting back to the Disciples, they were crushed and dispirited upon the crucifixion of Christ, but when they learned the ending, when Jesus appeared to them in the upper room, they were filled with hope, and they were obedient to death. Martyrs (witnesses) for Christ through spreading the Gospel of Peace and living His example of perseverance in the face of persecution, of love in the face of spite. I cannot say there is no place for despair, but always in the middle of trials we should be sure of our hope in Christ.

The desire to kill

I had previously posted on Tertullian's argument for a separation of Church and State. I don't mean to be a "one-issue" guy, and I strive for literary diversity, but I came across one more quote from an early Church father. This time it is Cyprian whom I found quite enlightening on the subject Adin Ballou wrote in this last post I spoke of.

Wars are scattered all over the earth with the bloody horror of camps. The whole world is wet with mutual blood. And murder--which is admitted to be a crime in the case of an individual--is called a virtue when it is committed wholesale. Impunity is claimed for the wicked deeds, not because they are guiltless--but because the cruelty is perpetrated on a grand scale! (5.277)

This is another great point from one venerated in Roman, Eastern and Lutheran traditions. However it got me thinking to yet another logical point of contention between war and justice.

In war we are killing men (women and children are excluded at this point for sake of argument for it is generally considered unjust to kill them anyway) for deeds they have not done, we're killing them simply for their allegiance to a rival authority. Is that a punishment worthy of death? If we argue that if don't kill them they'll kill us we're basically saying we kill an enemy for their conscious decision to kill under the authority of their nation's ruler. Doesn't this mean anyone who would kill for their country is as worth of death as any other person of the same conviction?

We can't rebel against an authority who is placed here by God (Romans 13) but we can somehow rebel against an authority from the neighboring nation. It's a bit incongruous.

Lactantius put his own spin on the issue by saying:

How can a man be just who hates, who despoils, who puts to death? Yet, those who strive to be serviceable to their country do all these things.... When they speak of the "duties" relating to warfare, their speech pertains neither to justice nor to true virtue. (7.169)

Shari'a law and the fundamentalist Christian support of it

It seems like the same people who are so vocal about this fear of Shari'a law being implemented in Western countries are the same fundamentalist Christians who vehemently support the death penalty. They claim the Levitical law of the Old Testament in the Torah, as well as the Noahic Covenant, supports putting to death those who kill others.

This is a fallacious argument to be sure considering there are myriad laws deserving of capital punishment within the Jewish Law, including rebellious teens, and adultery. However they are perfectly fine in dispensing grace in this area.

Tying into the Shari'a law, the Levitical law is very similar calling for similar punishments. Yet the fundamentalist Christian is appalled by the application of this law; severing hands for theft, killing for impropriety. They seem to be appalled when viewing an even more fundamentalist, more conservative version of themselves.

If we are to acquiesce to the Old law concerning application in contemporary courts, should we not then lay the full course of judicial action in the hands of Mosaic dispensation? Or perhaps we should consider today's secular law apart from God's law in both practice and application. The legislation and execution of such secular law should then accomplish the consensus of citizens within this jurisdiction, and should be for the peace and prosperity thereof. We should not appeal to an outside source for divine support of laws.

And this is the problem: fundamentalists say, "it is thus or naught." They do not leave room for compromise in this institution where they have previously compromised in all other parts of Levitical penalties. For the Christian is a citizen of a spiritual nation, a sojourner in this land. We must live according to our conviction and faith and let secular humanity, in its unregenerate state, to live as their depraved hearts will.

The Christian duty is to speak the Gospel into this darkened world that the Kingdom of God may increase against the gates of Hell.

Tertullian explains Christian anarchy

Tertullian is an early church father (known as ante-Nicene) from the period circa 160-225 C.E. He was one of the first Christian apologists, and the first to write in Latin. This is what he says regarding the Christian's view of earthly affairs:

Unless I mistake the matter, the prevention of such associations [of illicit societies] is based on a prudential regard to public order, that the state may not be divided into parties, which would naturally lead to disturbance in the electoral assemblies, the councils, the curiae, the special conventions, even in the public shows by the hostile collisions of rival parties; especially when now, in pursuit of gain, men have begun to consider their violence an article to be bought and sold. But as those in whom all ardour in the pursuit of glory and honour is dead, we have no pressing inducement to take part in your public meetings; nor is there aught more entirely foreign to us than affairs of state. We acknowledge one all-embracing commonwealth--the world. ( Apology XXXVIII)

This essentially explains how when we are born unto Christ, we are born into an international community with no earthly boundaries. All of humanity is in service to the Lord, and all nations answer unto Him. The Kingdom of God goes out to all nations, and all tongues. When we have solidarity through Christ amongst the varied nations, how can we support one nation's triumph over another?

A little known American Christian activist from the 19th Century named Adin Ballou is a personal inspiration to me (I actually started and wrote most of the beginnings of the Wikipedia article on him). Ballou expounded on this idea, bringing it into the discussion of morality.

How many does it take to annul the commandments of God, and render that lawful, which HE has forbidden? How many does it take to metamorphose wickedness into righteousness?

One man must not kill. If he does it is murder. Two, ten, one hundred men, acting on their own responsibility, must not kill. If they do, it is still murder. But a state or nation may kill as many as they please, and it is no murder. It is just, necessary, commendable and right. Only get people enough to agree to it, and the butchery of myriads of human beings is perfectly innocent.

These are some serious thoughts in the face of the new American imperialism. To whom do we give allegiance. In whom do we trust? It is the Lord of Hosts and his son, the Prince of Peace.

The Power of Christ Compels You

I wrote this one in September 2004

So, as it turns out, Christian non-resistance is misunderstood. Everyone thinks of a non-resistant as someone who removes themselves from society and doesn't care about anyone. This couldn't be farther from the truth.

I was just reading in the new Relevant Magazine about Soul Survivor. This church in England took a ton of people into (I think it was) Manchester and did good in the community. They did it for days on end. Throughout this time the crime in the city was . . . zero. After they left the crime rate dropped 40% from before they were there. That is non-resistance in action. As it says in scripture:

Titus 2
7In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

Romans 12
17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Etc, etc. The scriptures continue to admonish us into a lifestyle of actively serving God and doing good to make out light "shine before all men that they might praise the Father in Heaven." It says that nobody will go against good, lest they be put to shame. God, through us, is a light to the world, and we ought to be slaves to righteousness so that good will continue to shine through us and evil will be resisted by evil, not through our carnal ways as man knows. Not through evil.

The bible says all the world knows is evil, and those who are against non-resistance agree and say that this is the only way we can stop them, and this is the only thing they will understand - that is by being violent to them. They say to root out evil we must become the greatest evil. This is wrong. God's power is evident in our weakness. God is shown in our good works. The people will not recognize the good from anyone but God, because all they know is evil.

God came to this earth as a human and displayed the power of God in the most humiliating, most weak way ever. He hung on a cross. That is the power of God shown in this world. Jesus didn't come riding on a horse, He didn't insist on putting on a strong face and imposing his power over everyone else. He became a servant to show the power of God. He did not take it on himself to make himself equal with God, even though He was God, but became a servant.

Christianity in essence is showing this power of God in the world around us, and that's what non-resistance is. It is the power of God, and not the evil of man.

Leo Tolstoy was right when he said of non-resistance that if it was true, the Church should grasp to it and live this way. Contrastingly, if it is false, they should answer it and put it away for good. But the Church is apathetic to the words of Christ, so they ignored it entirely. The government suppressed it so they can continue their coercive control over their subjects.

But we are Christians, and our freedom is not in this world. Even while Paul was in chains in a dungeon, he was more free than any American without Christ. And this is the freedom we need to stand for, and this is the power of God we need to exhibit.

As Romans says, we need to cast off the dead self and become alive in Christ. Give up ourselves as living sacrifices, pleasing and holy before God. (This is just before the passage I already posted about not resisting evil with evil).

This is the essence of Christian faith: To live like Christ.

(I have tons of scripture paraphrases and quotes in this text, but I am too lazy to bring them all out and type them in.)

Borderfree - Thoughts of the Declaration of Sentiments

I wrote this back in 2004:

I've been thinking a lot about how things are. How do we make God's word fit into our everyday lives? Into the political spectrum? How are some of our most deeply held beliefs reconciled through scripture when the Word tends to disagree?

Our country is the world, our countrymen are all mankind. We love the land of our nativity, only as we love all other lands. The interests, rights, liberties of American citizens are no more dear to us, than are those of the whole human race. Hence, we can allow no appeal to patriotism, to revenge any national insult or injury. The Prince of Peace, under whose stainless banner we rally, came not to destroy, but to save, even the worst of enemies. He has left us an example, that we should follow his steps. God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

That was part of the Declaration of Sentiments Adopted by the Peace Convention held in Boston, Mass., Sept. 18-20, 1838 (penned by William Lloyd Garrison, a quaker).

Many years ago the common man didn't have a political spectrum. He didn't have any notion of what went on in other counties, let alone other nations. But today, in our democratic society, we're fully aware of what goes on in every country throughout the world. Today we're all involved in the decision making, we're all a political voice. So how do we associate this difference with scripture wherein we're told to not make distinctions between the Jew and the Greek; the slave and the free? Making it more modern, we're not supposed to prejudge the American and the Afghani; the working-man and the politician. In the Kingdom of God there is no class, there is no borders.

The dogma, that all the governments of the world are approvingly ordained of God, and that the powers that be in the United States, in Russia, in Turkey, are in accordance with his will, is not less absurd than impious. It makes the impartial Author of human freedom and equality, unequal and tyrannical.

The Declaration continues.

Where do we find in scripture that people within a certain borders are to be regarded as worth more than others? The Bible tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, as well as our enemies. All are to be loved, and we can't make a distinction between a Mexican and an American (not that I can tell through scripture).

I can't draw any universal conclusions for everyone. It's all our own convictions we must follow. I'm just trying to see how we can reconcile our own beliefs with what God actually says. The Bible's answers seem irrational at times, it seems futile, or it seems it won't work. But God doesn't guarantee His commands for us will work out in our timing, only that we will be rewarded in the resurrection with crowns for the works that we do. Adjusting our lives to the ways of Christ might be uncomfortable, it might seem like things won't work out. But are we looking at things through our worldly eyes in stead of the eternal eyes of the Holy Spirit? We Americans are always so quick to not be "walked all over" or we'll extol "self defence" but I don't understand how this reconciles with the Word of God.

I'm writing too much already.

Hebrews 10:32-36
But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting. Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

Invest in righteousness

I just got my 401k investment enrollment yesterday and I decided on a great way to use it. I took a different approach to investment. I'm not looking to make the highest return possible, I want to put my money into investments which yield results in social change.

I want to find an investment portfolio dedicated to moral causes. You can't invest in non-profits, but companies like Cisco spend millions of dollars on poverty reduction and education to bring mountain down and valleys up. Companies who invest in green technologies and in medicine for the poor. That's something I'm willing to support.