N.T. Wright: Scholarship vs. Smoke and Mirrors

Years ago, while studying Biblical Studies in a University context, I was perplexed by the degree to which "scholarly work" so often seemed synonymous with "skeptical work"; and not skeptical in the sense of the word as it was originally used, but rather meaning- disbelieving. There seemed to be this "conspiracy against the supernatural" going on. It felt like the Tower of Babel taken new shape in the form of human beings assuming they could remove the heart from scripture and set up in its place a monument to their own "exalted understanding".

It is with memories such as this that I find scholars such as N.T. (Tom) Wright to be such a welcome change. Wright's work is compelling scholarship indeed. It's amazing to me how, just by turning the microscope of scholarly enquiry on some of these strange, anti-supernatural assumptions about the happenings recorded in the New Testament, Wright is able to show these conclusions for what they really are- fanciful faith (or anti-faith depending on your perspective!) statements that are made in direct contradiction to the historical evidence we are aware of. I praise God for people such as N.T. Wright who are able to show much of this "anti-miraculous scholarship" for what it truly is- smoke and mirrors.

I am currently finishing up Wright's exhaustive work called "The Resurrection of the Son of God". The point that Wright returns to, over and over again, is the point that to be honest in our historical reconstruction, we cannot anachronistically tell the early Christians what they should believe. Rather, we must take their beliefs at face value. And at face value, the historical evidence suggests overwhelmingly so, that the early Christians marched forward- often to the death, proclaiming that Jesus was Lord and God- precisely because what they believed they had seen first hand in their experience of His resurrection. In the chapter "Hope in Person: Jesus as Messiah and Lord" Wright argues:

The worldview questions, when posed to the early Christians, elicit a set of resurrection-shaped answers. Who are we? Resurrection people: a people, that is, formed within the new world which began at Easter and which has embraced us, in the power of the Spirit, in baptism and faith. Where are we? In God's good creation, which is to be restored; in bodies that will be redeemed, though at present they are prone to suffering and decay and will one day die. What's wrong? The work is incomplete: the project which began at Easter (the defeat of sin and death) has not yet been finished. What's the solution? The full and final redemption of the creation, and ourselves with it; this will be accomplished through a fresh act of creative grace when Jesus reappears, and this in turn is anticipated in the present by the work of the Spirit. What time is it? In the overlap of the ages: the 'age to come', longed for by Israel, has already begun, but the 'present age' still continues.

If you're looking for a succinct summary of a meta-narrative for reality, I'd say this about does it.




Love Overcoming the World: One Inner City at a Time

In recent issues I have spoken up about the issue of spiritual poverty as being an element that largely goes unaddressed in the media. The other day I actually found a welcome exception to the rule. A newspaper in Canada ran a story about the comments of an influential reverend (who happens to be from Boston) as he addressed spiritual poverty. The Rev. Eugene Rivers spoke about the root issues that lie behind crime and violence in large metropolitan centers.

By the way, this issue used to be considered somewhat of an American dilemma. However, to the chagrin of Canadians, that is beginning to change. Toronto, for example- is beginning to see crime and homicide rates that rival large US cities.

So what is the issue? What's the root cause? According to the Rev. Rivers its fatherlessness in the lives of young black men.

The reverend was invited to speak in Toronto not just because of his beliefs, but also because of his effect. You see, Rev. Eugene and others actually tackled the problem in Boston head on- by roaming the "mean streets of Boston" and building relationship with young, fatherless men; offering them love, support, and mentoring. The result? A drastic reduction in the numbers of homicides in Boston. The reverend is credited with instigating the "Boston Miracle" which saw that city's homicide rate drop from, check this out, 150 deaths in 1990 to 31 in 1999.

Good on the reverend. And good on the mainstream media for actually running the story. Examples such as this serve as a reminder that money is not the most effective resource at our disposal; it is love. And more specifically- love incarnate.




Pat Robertson Passes Judgment... Again

It seems that Pat Robertson is up to his old antics again. This time around he had the audacity to claim that Ariel Sharon's recent health problems were the judgment of God for "dividing the land" of Israel. Robertson was of course referring to the recent hand over of certain territory to the Palestinian Authority as part of a brokered peace agreement.

It blows my mind (though perhaps it should not) to think that someone who is considered a Christian "leader" of the 21st century, would say such a thing. This claim is preposterous and would almost be hilarious if it were not so mean-spirited.

Not to mention the fact that this very form of bizarre biblical literalism (from which people Robertson draw their opinions) is one of the the very aspects responsible for the cycle of unceasing violence that has tortured the Middle East region for ages.

Robertson has made a mockery of his leadership in recent months. Who can forget the headlines of last year when he said of Venezuelan dictator, Hugo Chavez "…if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it”? My oh my. Such behavior boggles the mind. And do people still support "leaders" like Robertson? Apparently so; he's still on the air.

Such comments are so ridiculous that one almost imagines that Robertson is becoming the Howard Stern of Christian media- saying increasingly insensitive an outlandish things just for the sake of the publicity. Unfortunately though, unlike half of the stuff that Howard Stern barks about, I get the feeling that Pat Robertson actually believes in what he's saying.




Music as an Exception to the Rule

I am one of those people who does his best not to rant about the state of the "Christian music industry". I do so because it's just not that fruitful to do so. To some extent what is one person's garbage is another person's art. I would definitely be one of the people who sees many "efforts" landing in the former category. While there may be no such thing as "Christian music", its amazing to me how often people who claim that label for themselves offer art that is.umm, to be charitable - less than inspiring. And shouldn't inspiration be a major factor in the writing of "Christian music"?

Alas, I digress. Rather than rant about the state of what's wrong, let me point towards a hopeful exception to the rule. Derek Webb has just released his third solo album titled, "Mockingbird". The title track as well as the song "A New Law" addresses both the categorical boxing of Christian thinking and the decline of individual intellectual thought, along the lines of Mark Noll's "The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind". In "A New Law" Derek writes:

Don't teach me about politics and government
Just tell me who to vote for
Don't teach me about truth and beauty
Just label my music

Truth be known I know Derek from years ago when we both went to the same church in Houston, Texas. We were both in bands at the time and so sometimes ran into each other. At the time Derek kind of sat second seat to Cliff Young in a newly formed Caedmon's Call. Derek has come a long way since then. And this artistic progression is definitely on display on this new album.

Derek addresses a broad spectrum of issues on the new album- all of which are important. In the song "My Enemies Are Men Like Me" for instance, he addresses the issue of the means NOT being justified by their ends:

Peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication
It's like telling someone murder is wrong
And then showing them by way of execution

I think Derek's growth as a lyricist is what is most evident on "Mockingbird". But in my opinion the music is also his best effort as well. His compelling guitar work is nicely complimented this time around by piano and, at times, a horn section. Lament is at the forefront on this record. But it is lament that is focused towards repentance and growth- rather than mere angst.

If I were to recommend one album this year- it would be "Mockingbird".




Voices Crying out over Atrocities in Darfur

In what is always a refreshing example of bipartisanship in government, Barack Obama and Sam Brownback recently released an article via the Web and the New York Times expressing concern about the quickly unraveling situation in Darfur in the Sudan. They write:

The United States has spent almost $1 billion aiding refugees and displaced persons who might otherwise have died of disease or starvation. And the U.S. military has helped airlift and fund African Union troops stationed in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Yet, despite American engagement, Darfur's humanitarian, security and political conditions are deteriorating. If the United States does not change its approach to Darfur, an already grim situation is likely to spiral out of control.

Darfur is yet another example of a region torn by ethnic and religious intolerance. It is completely disheartening just how frequently such events occur in the 21st century. In many ways, the root issue here is the same as the one that fueled the atrocities in Rwanda- not so long ago. The Muslim controlled government in Khartoum has given almost free license to marauding bands (known as the janjaweed) that attack those in the South- who are mostly Christians and other non-Muslim minorities.

The only factor that keeps the government in check at all is the threat of funds and co-operation from the West being cut off. If it were not for this external influence the situation in Darfur would undoubtedly be a total bloodbath.

In trying to remedy the deteriorating situation Obama and Brownback have proposed a four-fold approach:

First, the administration must help transform the African Union protection force into a sizable, effective multinational force.

In the near term, Washington must pressure Khartoum to allow more advisers from Western nations to embed within the African Union's mission so they support intelligence, logistics and communications. It must work with other nations to provide military assets to African Union forces, such as attack helicopters and armored personnel carriers, so they can respond immediately to attacks. And it must urge the African Union to be more aggressive in protecting civilians. More important, Washington must immediately spearhead efforts to create a larger multinational force. The African Union has begun discussions with the United Nations about folding itself into a follow-on U.N. mission, but because of the West's reluctance to offend African sensibilities, all parties seem resigned to muddling along. It has become clear that a U.N.- or NATO-led force is required, and the administration must use diplomacy to override Chinese and Sudanese opposition to such a force and persuade outside troops to join it.

Second, the administration must keep up the pressure on the rebels to unite their negotiating positions, and it must enlist Sudan's allies to increase the pressure on Khartoum to share power and resources. Third, the United States and other nations must place additional pressure on key nations -- Chad, Eritrea and Libya -- to stop playing a destructive role in the conflict.

Fourth, the administration needs to place its weight behind the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, which would impose targeted sanctions on the leading perpetrators of the genocide.

As with the situation in Rwanda, publicity is something that could actually really help the situation. The more this issue is brought front and center the more likely that western governments will be forced to lean heavily on the Sudanese government to curb their exploitive and outright murderous ways.

So wherever you can, raise the issue- till we, the comfortable West can no longer ignore the atrocities being committed upon our brothers, sisters and neighbors.




Prioritizing the Issues: Christmas and the Mega-Churches

It is rather amusing to me just how much attention was paid to the decision of many so-called "mega-churches" to close their facilities on Sunday - because Christmas fell on that day this year. I am certainly no great defender of the mega-churches; however isn't this a little over the top? Are we just taking pot shots at "them" whenever we can?

From an Emerging perspective I would hope that we would see that the Church is not an institution or a collective that gathers in a brick and mortar location but is actually - us, the family of God. And that being said, just because the building is shut down on Sunday doesn't mean that Church is shut down.

In fact, if as an alternative to the "mega-collective" people gathered in smaller clusters in people's homes all across the country this past Christmas, I think many of the same people who criticized the building closures might very well consider this progress.

Whatever the case, I think that issues such as the one described above (Darfur), are far more deserving of our attention than this one- especially when you consider the considerable amount of pen and bytes used to address this issue over the last three weeks.




Narnia Overdose

One of the most helpfull revelations of the postmodern era is that more is not always better. Indeed, sometimes less is more. And even when it comes to our favorite things, there is such a phenomena as "too much of a good thing". Take the hype around "The Chronicles of Narnia" for instance. All I can say is "enough already".

Don't get me wrong- I'm about as big a C.S. Lewis fan as there is. But that's partly what bugs me when the Disney juggernaut gets behind "the Narnia franchise" - you end up with exposure-shock. Over the last two months or so C.S. Lewis has turned into a bigger rock star than Bono. Come on- let's give it a rest.

News from cinema-land suggests that the first weekend ticket sales of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe alone were enough to guarantee a big-screen version of- Prince Caspian - the next in the Narnia chronology.

But other than passing on that little tidbit of information we at Precipice plan on practicing what we preach. We promise not to mention Clive Staples (aka Jack), lions or white witches till at least June. Enough said.




Putting Global Economics in Perspective

This past week the Economist published a very telling article about global economics. This particular piece aimed to put the numbers into perspective by comparing and contrasting the lives of an unemployed "mountain man" who lives in a trailer in the Appalachia region of Kentucky, with a trained and practicing surgeon who lives in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Believe it or not, these two men take in almost equal amounts of money in a month; at least when payments are made- which, unlike the Kentucky mountain man, the surgeon in the Congo cannot always count on. And to offer further perspective, this African surgeon has something like a dozen dependants living under his roof. Obviously he could leave the country in search of higher wages, but he chooses to stay in order to be "part of the solution" to his country's woes.

For those of us who live in the affluent West, it is very difficult to wrap our heads (and thus our hearts) around global poverty. What is poverty? And who draws the statistical lines? And based on what criteria?

Interestingly, this article points out that the Kentucky mountain man gripes about how little the government provides while the surgeon in Kinshasa "makes do" with what he gets. I think this is a telling commentary. Poverty and plenty are slippery concepts to grasp. There is no monetary figure that equals "happiness"- as this article points out.

If we are to draw any conclusions from this comparative scenario it is that for us in the well-to-do West, the truly gargantuan issue we face is that of spiritual poverty. And for that ill, no amount of money in the world will offer an effective cure. If we're going to tackle some of the dysfunctions of our own western societies we need to at least bring this subject into the conversation. From what I hear and see- it is noticeably absent from public debate. Whether this is due to the remnants of political correctness or whatever else, this needs to change. To do anything less is ultimately to be both uncharitable and inhumane.




The Israeli Dilemma

In a bizarre and frightening example of a "reader-response" view of history, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (who has consistently rustled the feathers of almost every freedom loving nation in the world) announced that the Holocaust was a "myth". He went on to say that the nation of Israel should be "wiped off the map" and reconstituted somewhere in North America or northern Europe where Israelis are welcome.

As I've said before, one can imagine just how difficult it must be for any Israeli citizen or government official to relax and embrace "a middle east community", when every neighbor it has is either publicly, or privately, opposed to its very existence.

That is not to write a blank check for the actions of Israeli governments past and present. Many of those actions have only hurt the peace process and prevented further constructive conversations between Israel and its neighbors.

However, all political posturing aside, it's important for us in the (safe and secure) West to remember that the issue facing Israel is not primarily one of territory and resources, but one of utter ethnic hatred and potential genocide.


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