Want Clarity and Focus in Your Christianity? Try Fear of Death

The title is obviously tongue-in-cheek, people. He’s a little story from my past.

In the fall of my senior year in high school, I closed off the subclavian vein in my right shoulder and developed multiple blood clots in the same region. No one is exactly sure how that happened – probably a combination of heavy weightlifting and a smaller upper chest cavity. One evening, I notice my right arm had swollen and was becoming discolored. I wasn’t too worried about it until we saw a vascular surgeon who admitted me to intensive care the same day. As a eighteen year old with his life ahead of him, I faced the possibility of restricted use of my arm (a horrible scenario for a piano player) or worse - death.

Needless to say, that information pulled the rug out from under me. Though I loved God and served him wholeheartedly, I was unaware of the numerous other aspects of life that I allowed to define me: academics, popularity, sports, music, and physical appearance. Though I had prided myself on being above such trappings, when confronted with the possibility of losing them, I was terrified. Obviously, I survived the ordeal – I was in ICU for about seven days (I think) while the clots were dissolved and a network of ancillary veins slowly took over for the damaged one. But my time in that hospital bed changed my life.

I remember coming back to school a few weeks later after missing the last two games of football season. As I walked the halls with the other students, something had changed. Conversations that I normally would have jumped in or found interesting held absolutely no significance for me. I was completely lost within a new paradigm far removed from my immediate surroundings. I didn’t know what to do. I don’t think I talked much for a few days other than basic pleasantries and questions about the hospital stay. I was overwhelmed by the two conflicting sets of priorities. Personally, my priorities had shrunk to a very tight set of values revolving around God, family, and evangelism. Suddenly who I was taking to the prom seemed frivolous.

Gradually I adjusted back towards a normal “teenager” mentality before I headed to college. But I will never forget that feeling of being completely lost inside the familiar. One literature teacher, after watching the look on my face for about two weeks, asked me about it. I told her how I was feeling and she still uses the story in a lecture on some book – I think All the King’s Men. Anyway, some experiences in life, no matter how unforeseen, can change you permanently. I guess the lesson in all of that is this: when you find yourself in the middle of one of those life experiences, do your best to recognize how those events may shape your life in the future. In this way (pardon the philosophizing for a moment ) process philosophy‘s concept of humans as the sum of their personal experiences is correct. We are, to an extent, our history. Whitehead was just stating the obvious. And everyone has a “storyline” that shapes their paradigm. True friendship comes when others are interested enough in you to learn your “storyline” and interact with it.

On a side-note, as a Christian, one of the other most memorable moments in that whole ordeal was right before a surgery. I had been tired and nauseated for days and really didn’t want to speak to anyone. I had people praying in my hospital room constantly. Frankly, I was tired of praying. Really tired. I put on some headphones and started listening to a CD, Extreme’s III Sides to Every Story to be exact - a really good rock album, by the way. The people in the room stopped me. Saying, “You’re right before surgery, don’t you think you should pray some more?” I said, “No. I really want to listen to this music. I just need a break.” They said, “There will be time for music later.” Reluctantly (mostly because I was too tired to argue) I turned off the CD player and listened to people pray the exact same things they had been praying all morning. I don’t mean to sound flippant or ungrateful. I was thankful and I believe God brought me back to health – I should not be able to use my arm at all…and I have full use of it without restriction. But in that moment, I did swear to myself that I would never put someone that emotionally and physically tired under that much spiritual pressure. I wanted to think about anything else other than that surgery. As Christians, we should learn to read the nuances and respect the wishes of those we are praying for. Strange lesson to learn when facing the possibility of death, but an important one nonetheless.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the trip down memory lane with me. I’ll try to pick a lighter topic next time…

The Theology of “The Shack”

I just finished The Shack by William Young. I laughed. I cried. I finished it in two days. What a beautiful, beautiful book. If you have not read it, please, for the love of all that is decent and holy, pick it up.

Though it’s fiction, Young deals with some amazingly complex theology in the book. And, though most reviews slam the book’s theological perspective, I would like to help set the record straight. Below I point you to some scholarly sources that confirm and elaborate on the ideas found in The Shack. I don’t agree with everything I read (though I certainly agree with a whole lot of it), but it’s important for you to know that Young isn’t expounding some “strange wind of doctrine” to whisk the Christian community into deception. He’s actually more theologically up-to-date than most of his detractors.

But how did I know I was really  going to like this book? In his acknowledgements, Young lists Malcolm Smith as an influence in writing the book. Malcolm is one of the most unrecognized yet most influential Bible teachers of the last 50 years. You want depth in your Christianity? Go to his site and buy every book and CD you can purchase.

I don’t have time to provide academic references for everything in The Shack, but a few should help you know that Young isn’t some crazy dude who’s making up stuff.

Concerned about Young’s use of metaphor and gender in describing God (chapter 5)? For metaphor, go read Sallie McFague’s Metaphorical Theology: Models of God in Religious Language. For gender, see Elizabeth Johnson’s She Who Is, or Paul Smith’s Is It Okay to Call God Mother?: Considering the Feminine Face of God.

Concerned about Young’s equality among the Trinity (chapter 8)? Read Robert Jenson’s The Triune Identity: God According to the Gospel, Karl Rahner’s The Trinity, or Catherine Lacugna’s God for Us: The Trinity and Christian Life.

Don’t like the idea of God having the “scars” of Jesus on his hands (chapter 6)? Read Jurgen Moltmann’s The Crucified God or The Creative Suffering of God by Paul Fiddes.

Don’t like the idea that Jesus proved his humanity in healing others (pp. 99-100)? Read about “Spirit Christology” in James Sheldon’s Mighty in Word and Deed or Gerald Hawthorne’s The Presence and the Power.

Confused by Sarayu’s speech on God as a “verb” rather than a “noun”? Read Miroslav Volf’s Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work.

Confused about Jesus’s lecture on submission and equality between men and women (chapter 10)? Go read Paul Jewett’s Man as Male and Female: A Study in Sexual Relationships from a Theological Point of View.

Don’t like Sophia’s view of judgment (chapter 11)? Go read Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Creation and Fall/Temptation.

Don’t like the idea of God being limited by his love for us? Read W.H. Vanstone’s The Risk of Love.

So, that should help. Young isn’t saying anything new – just things that have remained within academic circles until recently. Hopefully this encourages you to study out some of the ideas Young put forward in his book…oh, yeah, and go check out Malcolm Smith.

Some Links about “The Shack”

“Uh huh. That Shack book! I knew that guy was a heretic!” Whoa there, Kemosabe. I haven’t even read the book. But one thing I am serious about is making sure that proper information about a subject finds its way to daylight. USA Today did an article on the author Paul Young a few days back. You can read it here. Wayne Jacobsen, an author and minister, published the book (Windblown Media) and has some wonderful books himself. Wayne’s books have personally changed my life. He answers questions about the controversy surrounding the book at his blog here. Have fun!

And please don’t comment about how this book is the last sign of the apostasy. As far as I’m concerned, any book Mark Driscoll hates has got to be good…

Update: I read ”The Shack” a few weeks later and commented on it from a theological perspective here.

God Makes an Appearance in “Pride and Prejudice”

I watched that movie Pride and Prejudice for the second time the other day. I’ve never read the book but I really like that movie for one reason in particular: Mr. Darcy. He reminds me of God.

When the movie begins, Darcy is painted as a sour, aloof, seemingly condescending individual, unwilling to share in anyone else’s happiness or good fortune. He’s basically a jerk. The heroine, Elizabeth Bennett, certainly thinks so, though she’s attracted to him for some unknown reason. About a third or so through the movie, at a ball, Elizabeth accepts Darcy’s invitation to dance – although the conversation doesn’t go very well during the dance. Elizabeth begins to interrogate Darcy about his actions and demeanor. He questions, “Why do you ask?” She responds, “To make out your character.” Darcy then asks, “And what have you discovered?” Elizabeth sharply remarks, “Very little. To hear such different accounts of you puzzles me exceedingly.” Darcy pauses for a moment and says, “I hope to afford you more clarity in the future then.”

And this is where the story turns. Darcy goes to extreme measure to rescue Elizabeth’s family from a shameful reputation and financial ruin in several cases. Though the actions benefited her family, ultimately the excessive benevolence Darcy lavishes on them is to convince Elizabeth of his love and devotion to her. In the end, his goodness pushes aside her pride and prejudice and wins her affection.

There are a lot of people who say different things about God. But really the only person who speaks for God is…God. Many of these “different accounts” of him serve little purpose other than to drive honest seekers away form Jesus. I suppose all good intentions can be used against their maker when they fall into the hands of those lost in strife, self-centeredness, and self-righteousness. But that doesn’t take away from God’s original intent: to win over your heart, not as some ruthless, brooding, tyrant…but as a loving, patient, gentle Father. God often suffers from the same misperceptions as Darcy did. But if we’ll just get close enough to him, we find that his love and goodness were true all along. Some never get close enough and, consequently, they never receive the answers about God for which they are looking. So, what should they do? Search deeper. You’ll find the character of God you’ve wanted to believe hiding under the brash opinions of those who know little about him – though they often believe they speak on his behalf.

Sometimes you have to dance with “Mr. Darcy” a little longer to uncover the true nature of his affections for you. When you question God’s goodness while you dance with him, he’ll never dismiss your pain or call you foolish for questioning his inscrutable omnipotent will. On the contrary, he’ll whisper in your ear, “I hope to afford you more clarity in the future.”