Questions, Conservativism, Anabaptists and Orthodoxy

I'm one of those people who likes to understand things. Not just know the commonly accepted answer and be able to parrot it back--to actually get underneath the hood of a concept and become intimately familiar with how it works. (Which is, incidentally, why I struggled so much with math. I didn't get it, and I'm not big on working systems I don't understand.) The way I see it, if something is not worth understanding, it is not worth defending. Unquestioningly defending an answer someone else has come up, even if you perceive that someone else as being smarter than you, has caused a whole lot of heartache throughout the course of human history.

So, I come at my faith the same way, with a lot of questions. I know the commonly accepted "Sunday School answers," but I want to understand more, to understand deeper. If I'm wrong about something, or simply off-track, I'd rather know sooner than later. There are plenty of people who say we need to have "faith like a child," implying that we are simply supposed to simple-mindedly believe what we have been taught, but frankly, I can't believe that those people have spent a whole lot of time with children. Because healthy, secure, well-adjusted children ask a LOT of questions, questions that some would consider impertinent or improper, questions many adults are afraid to ask.

So, I'm cool with questions, and I think that examining and reexamining our beliefs is a good thing. I think many people are afraid of asking questions because they sense that their beliefs would not hold up under scrutiny, but you know what? I think that's okay. GOD is not going to crumble, even if some of our personal pet doctrinal issues do. Just because we may be wrong about something doesn't mean that God is wrong, that everything we have put our trust in is going to crumble under our feet, that we will be left in a free-fall through the cosmos with no one to catch us. If we place our trust in our own personal belief system, then yes, we are in trouble. But if we freely acknowledge our own weaknesses, foibles, and inadequacy and put our trust in God, well, then, what is there to worry about?

So, there was a long-winded introduction to the question of the day. This morning, Aaron and I were discussing the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism, and the different theories of atonement. (Theory 1 being the classical, ransom, or "Christus Victor" theory, theories 2 and 3 being the Anselmic theory of substitutionary atonement and the more specific penal substitution theory, and theory 4 being the moral influence theory.) (There-now you can look all of those up, LOL!) It all got started with a conversation about the growing popularity of Calvinism, and how neither Aaron or I can seem to get through a week without hitting our heads against something from either John Piper, Mark Driscoll, or the decidedly un-Calvinist Greg Boyd.

So here are my questions for you, fair readers. (How brave are you? ;-)) If you don't know the answers, research them and let me know your thoughts on the matter, because I am interested!

1. Why do you think Calvinism has enjoyed such a resurgence in recent years?

2. Do you personally lean more toward Calvinism, Arminianism, or something else entirely?

3. What are your thoughts on the various theories of atonement?

Personally, the more I dig, the more I find my views aligning with orthodox or Anabaptist understandings of certain issues. I find this interesting, especially since I know that my family isn't too many generations removed from Mennonite relatives. Did certain Anabaptist sensibilities seep down through generations of evangelical conservatism? Or did I just read too much C.S. Lewis as a kid? :-)

As to questions # 1 and 2, I'm a little bit confounded by the rise of Reformed theology. :-/ It seems counter-intuitive in our day and age. Calvinism and Arminianism both have good cases, and I actually see them as splitting a really thin hair, but if the hair has to be split, I'd guess I'd rather land on the Arminian side. It seems harder, but more hopeful, more in line with my perception of God's character. It's the same reason "Christus Victor" makes more sense to me, although I haven't settled my opinion on the matter of atonement yet.

Of course, I could be wrong. And that's why I keep asking questions. Seek and ye shall find, right? :-)

And Round One Goes To...

Pierced3, for their fantastic song "Just Drive!" *mad cheering and clapping* Way to go, girls--two more rounds to go!!!

Edited to add: Rumor is, they took it by a landslide. Like, a 71% of the total landslide. :-) Go girls--and go fans!!!

Girls Rock!

I've talked before about Pierced3--an uber-talented, uber-adorable sister act Aaron has been working with since they were 8, 11, and 13. (They're 11, 14, and 16 now.) Spunky, quirky, vegetarian homeschoolers who write, play and sing feel-good punk rock--what's not to like?

They've entered their song "Just Drive" in the USAA Garage Band Playoff, and would LOVE it if you would head on over and vote for them. Voting is open until Thursday, October 22, and you can vote as many times as you want.

So go vote, and show your support for girl rock! You go, girls!

Emerging Women

My article "Bumper Sticker Theology" is up at Emerging Women today, under the heading "It's Been a Rough Year."

It's nothing my "blog buddies" haven't read before--it's the same article I posted here about a year ago, and that appeared at TheOoze.com and in Geez Magazine--but if you've never been to Emerging Women before, the site is worth checking out. It's a gathering place of sorts for women who have a hard time fitting themselves into the traditional conservative Christian mold, and whose hearts break over the injustice in the world, particularly against women, their children, and the poor. Needless to say, it resonates with me. :-) The even posted recently about the movie "Pray the Devil Back to Hell," chronicling how Liberia's Women in White fought for--and got--peace.

So, hop over and check out some of their articles. It's a great place to hear women's varying perspectives on faith, justice, and what it means to be a follower of Christ in this day and age.

The Conservative Bible Project? Oh No They DI'INT!!!

You had to know it was coming. I'm just shocked that anyone calling themselves Christians could be so brazen about their agenda.

The Conservative Bible Project is, evidently, the backlash against "politically correct" translations of scripture. It will, among other things, "provide a framework against liberal bias," "utilize powerful conservative terms," "express free-market parables," and, most importantly, "debunk the pervasive and hurtful myth that Jesus would be a political liberal today."

Ironic that they admit "the project can adapt quickly to future threats from liberals to biblical integrity."

Oh. My. God. (And I mean that literally.) I mean, it's not like our culture hasn't already turned Christianity into a three-ring circus, a freak-show parading political pundits from every end of the spectrum, but this is just SO over the top.

Anyone else feel the sudden urge to learn Greek and Hebrew?

Little Seed Inside the Prune...

God is chasing me.

I know this, because everywhere I turn, I am being accosted with the message to press on. (Toward what goal I am not particularly sure, but happily I am one of those people who is pretty content to live "in the journey." I have lots of practice with that. :-D) Motivational books showing up in my mailbox. Friends and strangers encouraging me out of the blue. And tonight, a guest speaker at our church urging us not to settle for good things--to press on toward "God-sized things."

All this on top of this restlessness in my soul, this sense that I am a sprout pressing hard against the brittle seed surrounding me, that I must break out, unfurl my leaves, stretch toward the sun and bloom, or shrink back and suffocate, entombed in safe, invisible anonymity.

Sheesh. It all sounds so melodramatic. Did I mention that I've been critiquing my friends' fantasy manuscripts for the last several hours, LOL!

But seriously, something is stirring in me. Not that things haven't stirred in me before--it's just that this time, everything carries the air of plausibility. Like spring is imminent.

I don't know where I am going, but with God's grace, I know that I am not going to shrink back.

One foot in front of the other, one small, right decision at a time. That is my goal, my prayer for myself right now. It is not the big, global decisions that are a problem for me--it is the small, day-to-day entanglements that trip me up on a consistent basis. My inability to manage the small details of my life that eventually grows into a tidal wave of trivial crises, knocking my ship off course and wasting my valuable time weathering the storms, repairing the sails, and finding my way back on course.

But I am getting better.

My English skills, however, are not. I'm signing off and going to bed before I start sounding like a semi-literate refugee from an epic fantasy, or worse yet, the wise old sage from my children's' new favorite movie.

"Ah, Daniel-san. Walk on road, hmm? Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later, get squish just like grape."

Good night, kimosabes.

Book Review: You Were Born for This

"The Prayer of Jabez" got a bad rap. While many Christian preachers and publications were decrying it as a "bless ME, God" book--a lite version of the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel taken to the masses--millions of people inside and outside the church were learning that there is a God who is intimately interested in the details of their lives, who doesn't only want them to stop sinning, but who wants to use them to do extraordinary things, to bless others and glorify God.

I thought "The Prayer of Jabez" was a fantastic little book, and had a hard time believing that some of the negative reviewers had even actually read it. Had they missed the point entirely? God doesn't want to bless us so we can have material riches--he wants to bless us with SPIRITUAL riches, to fill us so full of grace that we overflow and spill out into a world that desperately needs more of God.

That's why I knew I had to read Bruce Wilkinson's latest book, "You Were Born for This--7 Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles." It talks about the "tiny, enormous difference" between living a life of "feeling good about what you've done to help others, and feeling astonished by what God has done for them through you."

See the difference?

I don't know about you, but I want to live a life that is marked by what GOD has done through me, not by the good works I've done through my own power. Good people doing good things can go a long way, but it will NEVER be enough to bring about the healing God wants in the world. The world doesn't need good people or good Christians, the world needs God. And God wants to work through us, if we'd just set our preconceptions of what God can and cannot do through us aside and give him free reign over our lives.

Since I think this is a point where a lot of us get hung up (myself included!) I requested an extra giveaway book. The first person to call dibs, either in the comments section of this blog or on FaceBook, gets it. :-) Email me your address at jennyraearmstrong@gmail.com. If someone else beats you to the punch but you still want the book, you can order it directly from Multnomah here.

If you're still not convinced, you can watch a video of Bruce talking about his book here. Enjoy!