Q & R: Christ in a Violent World - Brad Jersak

At CWR, we've received some excellent feedback re: our response to violence. We really do appreciate this kind of input and our readers' thoughtful questions, especially as we see our readers as partners in our ministry and its mission. 

The following are some direct responses to the concerns from one of our readers, as well as a formal response we're posting in the Winter CWRm to another reader.

The reader (in blue) began:

The fall issue of CWRm left me with some negative feelings about our response with violence based on Jesus' teaching, and your claim that Christendom is on the violent, wrong, side of the Cross.

Not very surprising, especially since it's very difficult for believers to come to a consensus about violence and our response to it. This is especially true because when we ask, "what shall we do," we are already dealing with the problem of "who is WE?" Is WE the UN, NATO, the US and its political allies? 

Or is we the Church (which church? the universal body of Christ? a particular denomination? or individual believers?). And if Christendom itself were a unified voice, how shall we relate to our politicians and their foreign policies? As chaplains affirming whatever the state decides? Or as a prophet challenging the powers that be? A corporate conscience with niggling questions? Or the voice of God (presuming a lot here)? 

You can see how agreement on this is extremely tough to find. What is the way forward? You continue: 

I agree that Christians should always seek non-violent solutions ...

Indeed, Christ commands it ... and Paul clarifies: "Our weapons are not of this world," "Our enemy is not flesh and blood," and "Overcome evil with good." Here, Paul is speaking to believers across regions, rather than to political powers ... so then it's a question of our first allegiance among competing claims: the call of the Prince of Peace vs. the agendas of the state. 

But it's not so simple as we live with a foot in each kingdom. To the degree that we are also citizens of our nations (and our authors come from quite a few nations on at least three continents), we do participate in the world and it's problems. 

Be Still - Greg Albrecht

When in danger, when in doubt,

Run in circles, scream and shout

The British Navy has a strange custom, I am told. If a sudden disaster happens, "the still" is blown. If you live in certain parts of the United States you may think of a still as a place where bootleg whiskey is produced. 

The "still" in the British Navy, as I understand it, is a whistle which calls the crew of a ship to a moment of silence in a time of crisis. It's a moment of calm that allows everyone to collect their thoughts before they respond to an emergency. 

My wife, Karen, and I recently witnessed the results of failure to be still in the face of a crisis. Thirty-five years ago, when we first moved into our neighborhood, we would occasionally see peacocks stroll through our front yard. Peafowl are incredibly beautiful, especially when the male peacock fans out his tail feathers. This breathtaking display is often a part of a courting ritual as the male attempts to impress and attract the female peahen.

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Fact, Fiction or Truth ... or Why Aren't You Reading Novels? Bradley Jersak

I frequently encounter surprise and even occasional disdain when I recommend works of fiction as a critical element of one's spiritual or theological diet. 

"What's the point? Novels aren't true," I'm asked with incredulity. Or sometimes, "I only read spiritual books," with a judgmental edge. As if works of fiction are neither spiritual nor true.

This belies a fundamental lack of understanding about the nature of truth. Truth, especially God's truth, is true regardless of the genre by which it is delivered, whether fiction or nonfiction; prophecy, poetry or parable; apocalyptic or dystopia, and so on. 

Add to the literary genres other mediums, such as movies and television (and not just documentaries!), stage plays, art shows and music of every type. All of these forms suggest the possibility of a message and where there's a message, there may be truth (or a lie, just as in nonfiction).

Unique and Exaggerated Truth Claims - Greg Albrecht

"IHS" is an anagram for "JESUS"

We are only days away from the US Presidential Election.  Soon the equivocations, prevarications, character assassinations and mudslinging will all be over… or will it? 

In an attempt to help further educate (or is it “influence”) voters “fact checks” have attempted to serve us, the gullible public, by informing us about which of the two candidates tells more lies most often.  But now we hear claims that even “fact checks” have their own agenda. Say it ain’t so! Given the outrageous claims that both candidates and their teams have leveled at each other it might be comforting to think that the incriminating accusations will end on November 9 – but oh no, it will not be over – politics as usual will continue with its double speak, sleight of hand and outrageous truth claims.

Even though we don’t always know what to accept and what to reject, most of us are prepared for lies and chicanery in the world of politics. We live in a marketplace economy, so as we grow up we become aware of hyperbolic marketing claims that seek to persuade us and sell us on a particular product, thereby achieving the goal of lifting money out of our pockets and depositing it somewhere else. 

Few are ready for outrageous truth claims when it comes to their faith.

While many are on guard for the lies of politics and advertising and promotion at large, few are ready for outrageous truth claims when it comes to their faith. When someone does question the veracity of a belief or practice of a particular church or denomination, the religious institution in question often directs them to documents called “statements of belief” or “statements of faith.”  Sometimes, in longer forms (sometimes books and even several volumes of books) these statements are called “confessions.”

Bricks or Stones - Dr. P. Michael Peterson

Bricks or stones?

As you look around any college campus you see many bricks, and they are a wonderful building material in construction and architecture.

However, bricks are also a metaphor for sameness, lack of individuality, and commonness.

Bricks are made in a mold, and heated to create an identical building material that lacks individuality.  Bricks are symbolic of pressure, systems, and structures that conform individuals to specific behaviors, ideologies and perspectives.   Common Core programs in schools, government over-regulation, media bias, religious dogmas, and political correct standards are forces that can mold and conform us into bricks.  Faced with these forces and pressures that seem to be the accepted social norms, we can stop thinking, stop questioning, stop reasoning, and stop trying.  We risk becoming what others want us to be, think and believe, rather than what we are designed to be, and know to be right and true.

3 Things to Teach Children about the Cross - Brad Jersak

What is God like? 

Jesus showed us! 

In every Gospel story, 

Jesus showed us what God is like, 

Because Jesus is "God with us." 

What did Jesus show us about God? 

That God is perfect love! 

That God loves us! 

This is the intro to our new children’s book, Jesus Showed Us! The book is a series of sixteen gospel pictures (inspired by the child-friendly Coptic iconography of the persecuted church in Egypt). In each case, the artwork portrays Christ demonstrating the truth that God is love.

We created this book for children because so many children grow up afraid of God and alienated from God, some because of abuse, others because of the brand of gospel well-meaning Christian parents and teachers shared with them. Otherwise healthy and well-loved children often suffer spiritual and emotional damage due to the distorted images of God presented in their early religious education.

This is especially true in what we tell children about the meaning of the Cross.

CLICK HERE to continue reading how to teach children about the Cross.

Let the Party Begin - Greg Albrecht

WHEN JESUS WANTED PEOPLE TO 

UNDERSTAND GOD'S KINGDOM PRESENCE, 

HE USED PARTIES AS A PICTURE

Key Text: The Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11)

The very idea of any kind of party, any kind of laughter, feasting, light-heartedness and yes, even enjoyment of life itself, is suspect in some religious environments. Our keynote passage does more than just record history, it is inviting you and me to a party, a party that is already in progress! There's important teaching in this passage. 

You may have heard one of the take-offs on our passage, which goes something like this:

Jesus turned water into wine almost 2,000 years ago, and ever since that time, legalistic religion has been trying to turn wine into grape juice. 

I don't want to spend a lot of time on the specific chemical properties of what Jesus created, but we cannot ignore the obvious. Alcohol was not only served at the wedding celebration that Jesus attended, but he contributed to the fact that alcohol was present by creating it when the original supply had run out. There's no getting around that fact, though there are some religious authorities who twist themselves into theological pretzels attempting to do so. 

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