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I've met so many wonderful, sincerely open and talented bloggers here on Vox, but members who solely use the site to publicize their enslavement to porn keep adding me to their neighborhoods, and it's getting a little annoying.

Note:  I am not referring to friends who like to express their artistic appreciation of specific Homo sapiens body parts, or their passion for or encounters with actual sex as one feature among others in life.  Instead I am speaking of the commercial and non-commercial distribution of internet pornography under the disguise of a friendship request.

At first, when these members were few and far between, I didn't mind - not because I'm into porn, but it didn't vex me too much since they are just 2D images on a page fueled by a person (or group of people) in an attempt to gain something(?) they seem to be desperately missing....

In other words, porn sites are hardly real people.  They are only pictures and talk about sex - ugly sex, in my opinion, but that is completely off the subject.  While I think that sex is one of the most beautiful and thrilling aspects of creation, there is much more to people, and life, than eroticism anyway.

So, while I am eternally grateful for cyber friendships, near and far, tight and minutely acquaintanced, my patience only lasts so long before my time feels much too wasted by requesting Vox Feedback to delete the increasing array of porn sites (the only way of reporting these non-people) and messaging the new neighbors to ask them to please remove me from their sorry neighborhoods (the only way of disassociating my blog from theirs.)  If I am mistakened about this Vox technicality, I would appreciate the correction.

As long as you are not primarily online to sell me something I don't need, or using Vox, or any other site, to spend your valuable life making porn addicts, I would like to be your friend.  I love people and among our great stupidity I have found amazing attributes within humans that far outweigh the things that make me roll my eyes and sigh a great long sigh.  But I can't get to know you through your porn site.

Facebook has worked great for me as far as friendships are concerned.  I can stay in touch easily with new and longstanding friends/family and I have never had to view porn ads nor have I received requests to be their "neighbor".  I am on MySpace too (for the music) and if you would like to stay in touch with me, as well as my blogs, feel free to send me a friend request if you are a member too.  I never deny genuine friendship requests and I never delete friends, although I also understand why some people prefer to use the delete button.

Click the links below to find me:

Facebook
MySpace

My plan is to transfer my Vox posts to another blogging network, most likely Wordpress, and then I'll delete this account.  I will regret losing contributing reader comments.

I hope to somehow stay in touch with all of you Vox peeps, and I wish you genuine happiness for your soul.

Paz,
Elizabeth

If you've been wondering why or how I've been so quiet lately, it's only because my dear friend Marc and I have been conjuring up a new website called Unravel.  We wanted to provide a place for people to honestly and openly discuss issues that relate to Christianity.  Readers from all walks of life, different churches and even different religions are welcomed to join in and we hope to somehow attract a wide diversity in order to create livelier and more informed discussions.  If this is of any interest to you, bookmark or subscribe at this link.  Also, if you are on Facebook, you can send me a friend request at Elizabeth Dahl Kingery and stay informed of some of the issues that are posted on the new site.  I will be keeping this blog at Vox in order to write out all of those random thoughts of mine that seem to have nothing to do with anything.  (smile)  Thanks for reading!

All of my love,
Elizabeth

My two sisters and their boyfriends were able to visit my two nephews, 12 and 14 years old, last night at the group home where they are being held. My brother, my nephews' dad, who has had critical health and financial problems, and also his girlfriend were arrested this week under the charges of cultivating marijuana and offering it to minor dependents. His girlfriend is from England and has been living in America without legal citizenship. My brother was told that if he signed a confession, which he did, she would be released. No one has heard from or of her since she was arrested. My brother's trial is today at 1:30pm and charges still stand.

Hello America.  I am sensing lots of worry and fear right now from our country as the news continues to blare out the thousands of job lay-offs and big business foreclosures.  Even with the hope of a new government, there is still talk of something similar to the Great Depression which may be just around the corner.  Could it really be possible?

It feels a little bit like an earthquake.  The ground that we learn to trust as solid each day suddenly begins moving, even rolling like large hills of wake.  It is a strange sensation because it rarely happens.  The most frightful thing about it is that one never knows how big it will become and how long it will last.  Will it just shake us up a little or will people actually be injured, with even news of some fatalities?

It breaks my heart when I hear of people who are going hungry or middle-class citizens who are now standing in line at the food bank, which is running low in their stock.  Families who once had plenty are now rationing their food each week.  Grown men are searching for a new job after decades of working the same trade for the same business.

While I was talking to my sister about these things today, she said that she could feel the stress and tension from people at the grocery store.  Many feel insecure at this time and do not enjoy the unanswered question:  How bad is this going to get?  It is easy to blame-shift our problems onto fortune-making businesses and excessive government spending when perhaps we were not so wise to prepare for the possibility of an economic crisis ourselves.

I am not sure what I would do if I lost my job.  Worry, panic and despair would certainly be tempting.  As a single mother of four, I often feel a heavy weight of responsibility.  Yet at the same time, I feel hopeful.  Please allow me to explain.

There are three good things that are now possible that would not be otherwise, in our current state of affairs.

First of all, difficulties bring growth.  The emotion of alarm motivates us to break free from our daily rut.  We open our eyes and we observe.  We ponder and think.  We learn.  We make lasting changes in order to lessen our chances of that problem happening again, or we take the risk of exploring a different route.  Perhaps a job change or a new business idea.  Perhaps we learn to garden and grow our own food.  Maybe we simplify our lives.

This brings me to good thing #2.  Americans have lots of stuff.  We have stuff to clean all of our stuff.  And then we have stuff to store the stuff we use to clean our stuff.  It is not wrong to appreciate possessions.  Our country has been very blessed with comfort.  But sometimes we depend on luxuries too much or we mistakenly think it can fulfill our purpose for living.  Then our possessions cause us undue stress and anxiety, especially in the thought of losing them.  A decrease in our income can prove to us that joy will remain or even be discovered for the first time without all the extra stuff.

The third good thing is my favorite of all.  Hard times bring people together.  They create opportunities to help our friends, our relatives, even complete strangers.  I love to hear stories of charity especially when the giver has very little.  I have a difficult time telling my acquaintances only that I will pray for them when they are struggling financially.  But what else can I do?  Ponder Elizabeth.  Think.  Ah, I can use my passion for writing to inform and encourage people.  Even small things like a blog can be helpful, for it brings people together.

"....  Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and {yet} your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?....  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."  Matthew 6:24-34 (NASB)          

The Biblical understanding of hell has been one of the greatest controversies throughout church history.  The issue has undergone many debates.  The traditional view over the centuries has been generally a picture of a dark cave on fire, filled with unimaginable physical torment that never ends and is irrevocable.  It has been the subject of famous sermons and comic strips alike.

Since we are speaking about existence after death, that great unknown, we must rely primarily upon prophecy.  Few other documents give us as much solid and consistent insight as the Holy Bible, although those truths can be difficult to comprehend.

In my limited study of the issue, I've been compelled to look at differing viewpoints such as Conditionalism, that souls are naturally mortal unless granted immortality by God; Annihilationism, the belief that sinners are completely destroyed either before or after a time of punishment; and Universalism, that all humans will eventually be reconciled to God and saved from hell in the afterlife.  All of these views have been supported by theologians and Bible scholars, some greatly renown.

Conditionalism is argued mainly from the Scriptures 1 Timothy 6:15-16 that "God ...alone is immortal" and 2 Timothy 1:10 that "Christ Jesus... has brought immortality... through the gospel."  Many Eastern Orthodox theologians advocate this view of the mortality of the soul.

Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses are two churches among others that commonly accept the Annihilationism theory, although the belief is gaining more acceptance as legitimate for some Protestant theologians.  Their main Scriptural support is Matthew 10:28, "... fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" and also John 3:16, that unbelievers will perish and not have everlasting life.  They believe that the second death spoken of in Revelation 21:8 is the death of the soul.

Universalism, a belief that was held by people such as M K Ghandi, George MacDonald, and possibly the beloved C.S. Lewis, is based largely on the verses that speak of God as loving and merciful, that Christ came not to condemn the world but to save it, and from other scriptures such as Luke 3:6, "And all mankind will see God's salvation."

The study of hell or Gehenna is one worth doing in my opinion.  The documented records in the Bible have much more to say about it than I had previously realized and many words about death and the after-life were spoken by Christ Himself.  Our belief about heaven and hell profoundly affects the way we live presently as well as vice versa.  What purpose is one without the other?

I believe that there is much indication that rewards and punishments will be administered in various degrees in accordance with works performed while individuals were on earth.  There also seems to be a strong gesture for the exception of innocents such as unborn babies, children and mentally challenged or disabled and those who never heard the gospel in this regard.  But all of these propositions are for another post. 

While the aforementioned views seem to have valid biblical support, I would like to deal primarily with refuting the Annihilationist view from Scripture which, I think, will also ultimately oppose the others.  How the Bible defines death and describes hell is of great significance to our understanding.  For the sake of brevity, I will assume the reader has already had some exposure to biblical doctrine concerning these issues.

The Bible describes the picture of hell differently than many common portrayals which has caused much confusion such as, how can darkness and the fire of hell exist in the same place?  Darkness in the Bible is often figurative such as in John 3:19, "...men loved darkness rather than light...."  Eternal fire is also often symbolic.  The fire and brimstone of Revelation 20:10 appears to be a metaphor (along with the "wine of the wrath of God" as well as the rest of the book of Revelation) referencing verses in the Old Testament.

Although darkness and fire are most likely figurative terms, the Bible describes hell in other, more literal, conscious terms of torment:  like a wandering star, a prison, a burning garbage dump, dark, uncomfortably hot; it feels like perpetual death.  It is where the full are now thirsty and hungry, the rich experience poverty, cowards are consumed with terror, the proud are rebuked, those who laughed are now weeping, the peaceful are now fighting, liars are lied to, kidnappers are held captive, etc.  Some will be physically tortured.

As a side note, the question always inevitably turns up regarding the atrocity of the whole situation of hell and this is why many have sought an alternative to it.  How could a loving God torture people?  Why not simply place these souls out of existence.  I do not feel that I have adequately understood this concept myself but I think it has much to do with the fact of justice and that love and mercy can not exist unless equity, fairness and standards of righteousness are upheld.  Undiminished justice is a difficult truth to accept, especially in our modern, "civilized" day but it is a truth nonetheless.  The Bible as well as reality are clear:  what we sow is what we will reap.

Hell and the second death are believed by most Christians to be the ultimate separation from God (Matthew 7:21-23, et al).  Since God is omnipresent "even the highest heavens can not contain Him", He will also be present in hell (Revelation 14:9-11).  The separation from God is a relational one, an absence of experiencing His mercy and grace.  Could part of hell's torment be for souls to see and know the goodness of God and yet be unable to experience it?  The parable of Luke 16:19-31 reminds us that nothing will be able to change the minds of those who reject Jesus Christ, even in the after-life.

Some annihilationists believe that punishment for the unrighteous will be served for a time and then these souls will be completely annihilated.  But "eternal" is the key word in the Bible.  Hell is described as a place where "their worm [figurative] does not die" (Mark 9:44, 46, 48) and Matthew 25:46 could not make the terms more clear, "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."  To say that the punishment ends at any time in eternity, one must completely ignore the term "eternal" as well as the definition of it.  It means without beginning or end, outside of time, endless, perpetual, changeless.

In Genesis 2 after the creation story, mankind was told that in the day he ate of the tree he would surely die.  Many theologians interpret the Hebrew word for "day" as figurative in Genesis, but it is clear in Genesis 2 that something changed the very moment that man ate from the wrong tree. The change was that he was now susceptible to certain horrors such as pain, disease, suffering and death, i.e. torment.  The realities of hell began to be experienced on earth.  Biblical death is interpreted by many as "in death always dying".

God told Adam that if he ate of the wrong tree he would surely die but he did not die. In the Bible, death never means extinction but always separation. Physical death is the separation of the body and soul. Spiritual death is the separation between man and God. "Dead" to sin and the law is the separation between Christians and sin and the law. Marital death is the separation between two spouses.  There is never any indication that death is extinction, but only separation, and this belief has been scrutinized repeatedly yet held consistently by Bible scholars throughout all of religious history.

The biblical definition of death is contrary to the finite human understanding of it.  The Bible not only defines death, destruction and perishing as ongoing existence, but it describes hell as an eternal death.  In the prophetic books as well as throughout the Bible, we are clearly warned.  If one seeks to understand truth according to the Bible, I can not see any way around the fact that hell and its inhabitants are eternal.

"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."  John 3:36 NASB

I recently read an admonishment from two good-intentioned souls to their fellow Christians concerning the fact that we, as a group, are notorious for being very poor tippers.  The conclusion from each of them was that we should change this tragic reputation and instead become VERY generous in that extra amount of money we pay on top of our restaurant bill, even if the server is having a bad day.  The theological foundation behind this exhortation is basically that God gives us much that we do not deserve, and tipping is a means to draw Non-believers inadvertently to Christianity.

Those who know me have already guessed that I have some (grave) arguments against this perceived doctrine, but first I have to humbly admit a few things.  Working for four years in the restaurant industry myself as a server, I can say that Sundays really can be the dreaded day of the week for waitpersons financially, even though it is usually the most crowded.  For me, there were always inevitable large groups of people at lunchtime, dressed up in their Sunday best who took up tables for hours, were very smiley and polite, although demanding, and generally left a large mess with a very small bill and an even more meager tip.

There were always welcomed exceptions, but the commonality of the situation was enough to make anyone steer clear of that church or religion for eternity.  Furthermore, I’ve been to enough churches and small groups to be able to confidently state that this empty, outward show sadly typifies us as a whole community.  But I am getting off the subject.

About tipping for service, further research on my part proved that even Non-Christians agree that tipping etiquette for all kinds of service involves great generosity and if we can not afford it then, well we should stay home (and, I assume, not receive anything from anyone).  If the person serving us is doing a poor job, complaints should be addressed to the management rather than affronted to the tip.  Also, waitperson staff is expected by their employers to receive a certain amount of wages in tips and this amount is reported on tax forms.  This means that not only do service people depend on tips for their livelihood, but they pay taxes for them as well.

But what is the purpose of the tip?  It seems to have become one with the wage and the customer can not help but feel a little bit cheated in this respect.  I have to admit that paying extra charges at a checkout is no fun for me personally.  In my reconciled mind, there is a specific amount that I have agreed to pay for a certain item, only to find out that it can be up to twice the original amount after paying for shipping, handling, sales tax, or state tax.  And restaurants are not entirely different.  I would much rather know the whole deal in the beginning rather than try to figure out and then approximate (usually round way up) the extra percentage.  But maybe that is only because I failed Algebra 2 in tenth grade.

Still, if a tip really were a tip for service, it would add much more fun, and meaning, to the equation.  A good tip does not signify anything unless I possess the freedom, as well as exercise this freedom, to leave a low tip.  To emphatically imply that we must always leave a high amount, as good and dutiful citizens to the rest of mankind is forgetting the condition of cause and effect, or in other words, what one gets is also what one deserves.

From experience I can say that it is all too easy as a Christian to emphasize one valuable truth over another so much so that we exclude the other.  To say that all Christians should always tip generously is, in my view, crossing the border of legalism.  The Bible contains many absolute statements, but the requirement of high tipping is not one of them.  Also, to live under the burden of a law is to remove the joy of obeying that law.  It is only with the presence of options that we can will one way or another.

What is the point of mercy without justice?  While Christians will receive undeserved mercy upon entering heaven, meaning that we will not be punished for our sins, the price for our sins still had to be paid for, by Someone.  This was a steep and painful price, because sin tortures people....  Plus, although forgiven, we will still stand before a judgment seat to either receive or not receive just rewards for our works while we were on earth.

Therefore, as we would like for God to treat us, and as He does treat us, so we can also treat each other.  Gifts and compliments will only gain in value if things are seen for what they are – whether good, bad or a sway toward one or the other.  The accepted 15%-20% tip for a restaurant meal in America is the standard on which our freedom stands, for all liberties require a criterion from which to be measured.  We are free to not only to give appropriately within that range, but also more or less, depending on what is believed to be due.  Beliefs are based both on an objective standard as well as a subjective desire, and ultimately our beliefs will reflect in our tipping.  It’s in the Bible.

Amazing grace.  The most beautiful and powerful concept in the entire Bible, in my opinion.  This is the story of my conversion to grace, by grace.

Somewhere around ten or eleven years old, my mom confided in our pastor's wife that she was worried about me.  She thought that I would never walk with God.  The pastor's wife, possessing a charismatic nature, made a prophecy about me when she emphatically replied to my mom, "You have nothing to worry about with her."  It was through her husband's teaching that I began to follow Jesus, beginning with a very distinct event a couple of years later.  Soon after that, my pastor and his wife became missionaries to Guatemala and in spite of attempts to reach them, I have never been able to officially thank them, as well as their son who was my youth pastor, for saving my life.

But my journey after that was a rocky one, continual stumbling and getting back up again.  This Christian life was a difficult one.  I believed in Christ, but most of the time I didn't really feel like being a Christian.  It was either boring, or it was too much work.  Too much defeat, doom and gloom.  Was it supposed to be so unenjoyable?

Years later, in college, I became desperate.  I knew I was a believer.  I was sure that I wanted to remain as a Christian.  But I was missing some vital element.  Every week at church, I would bring up the same subject in every conversation with anyone - friends, acquaintances, pastors, deacons, even new Christians.  I would tell them that I wanted to grow, I wanted to change, but HOW?  I don't understand how!  Will somebody please explain to me how to overcome my sins!  I would almost be in tears.  Most reactions to me were confounded.  People thought I was fine the way I was, and didn't understand why I was so upset about it; nobody had a sufficient answer to my distress.

Finally the enlightenment came through a Bible college class that was completely unlike any other I had taken before.  The name of the class was "The New Covenant of Grace" and although I had heard grace preached many times before, this was something else, something new to me.  Light bulbs were lit at every corner as I frantically tried to write down as many words as possible in my notes that I was hearing.  Homework was not dreaded for this class, for I went home and reread the Scripture verses over and over and then went back to class the next week and questioned the pastor/teacher incessantly.  He smiled, and knew exactly what was happening to me.

The concept finally hit me all at once after the class was over and while I was reading a book called The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life, by Hannah Whitall Smith.  The transformation in me is impossible to explain especially since it concerns such basic concepts of Christianity:  repentance, faith and grace.  All I can say is that I finally understood what it meant to walk victoriously, and a tremendous relief occurred in me.  I imagine it is what Paul Bunyan was thinking when he wrote of Christian's burden falling off his back when he arrived at the cross in Pilgrim's Progress.

At the time, I worked as an administrator at the church for another pastor who was the overseer of the Bible college extension campus I was attending.  The same experience happened to him on the same day while he was on a missions trip.  Upon his return, we excitedly shared our stories with each other.  We were like two little kids without a care in the world, even raising our hands to heaven and praising God as we were talking to each other.  It must have been quite a spectacle.

And that is just what I was to become as I tried to talk about God's grace to anyone who would at least pretend to listen.  My pastor friend soon after became the lead director of the main Bible college campus and I left for the mission field in Eastern Europe where I wanted to live and die (although God had other plans.)  Being my impulsive and blurting self (I actually used to be much worse), I preached wherever I went.  It felt like I was saved all over again, a second time, except that I would no longer walk in defeat because my sins no longer had power over me.  This sounded exceptionally arrogant on my part and friends wondered what in the world I was talking about.  I didn't completely know myself.  Later I found out that some people call it the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

There were generally three different negative reactions to my testimony.  The first was that I became an extreme left-wing liberal in some minds (even though I was conservative), void of any absolutes.  It sounded like I was telling people that they could live in licentiousness when I said that as Christians we don't have to worry about our sins anymore.  They have been completely removed when we believe that Jesus died on the cross and said, "It is finished."  Now we can live how we want, not under the legal system of the law.  This sounded like blasphemy.  I tried to explain that the new covenant is a new law written on the heart, not on tablets of stone.  By simply loving God because of His great love and promises for us, we can now walk in newness of life, without sin.

This, however, came across like I believed in Christian perfectionism, that we can achieve perfection before we reach heaven.  So then I tried to explain that yes, we do still sin, and even fall into very destructive sins.  Although we have died to sin, we still live in sin.  We are always completely sinful as a matter of fact in our flesh, but under the new covenant, it feels like we are sinless because sin has lost its grasp on our spirit.  The Spirit within us is much greater, stronger, and alive than the life of our flesh.  Believing this truth has a profound affect on the way we live.  It is almost like sin decides to give up on us because we no longer care about it so much.  It is insignificant.  We are no longer slaves to addictions and destructions.  Sure, we might fall into a sin for a while, but it is short-lived, never permanent.  We are constantly growing.  Our sins actually become avenues or tools for that growth.

Over the last fifteen years, I've found that the most common misunderstanding of God's grace is that people confuse it with mercy.  The term grace is thrown around as some kind of fluffy act of pardon or forgiveness.  When Oprah Winfrey fell off the weightloss wagon and gained 40 lbs, people told Oprah that it was okay.  They could give her "grace" because they had experienced the same thing.  We give people "grace" because we have faults too.  Or, we ought to give people "grace" instead of judging them.  But this is mercy, not grace.

Grace actually changes things.  By giving grace to someone, we enable them to make lasting changes, and we can watch it happen.  It works by keeping the passion and the romance alive in our relationship with God.  It maintains a mysterious fire in our souls that is evident to the rest of the world.  When God forgives us of our sins, He wants to spare us the tragedy of remaining in them so He gives us the strength, or the power, to overcome them.  In this sense, grace provides a surpassing security.  If we as Christians are walking in certain sins for long periods of time, we do not know God's grace.  If we are not experiencing victories, we are not living by grace.  If there is not adequate evidence of our salvation in our actions, then we do not know God!  This ought to strike terrible fear in us.

The third negative reaction I encounter with grace is that it can be very offensive to people.  They feel as though they are being criticized, or excluded from some elite group of people who have experienced it.  First of all, it is possible to live in grace without understanding the concept of it.  One of the aspects about grace that I am currently learning is that Non-believers can express it too.  This surprised me.  I wondered if those people are really saved and they just don't know it, which is possible, but I'm realizing that anyone can be carried by God's grace, or love of goodness.  Although their faith is not imputed unto salvation, there are some Non-Christians who put many Christians to shame by their good works, in fact.  This is evidence of God's grace in their lives.

Secondly, grace is a tremendous blow to self-righteousness.  Believing in grace involves an absolute surrender of our own striving, or any trust in ourselves.  Losing our lives means living in a continual state of humility, becoming aware of and admitting our constant faults, weaknesses, sins or just plain "I could have handled that situation better".  Although grace is an inexplainable joy, it is also painful, like surgery, but it is the only way to remain living the abundant life.  The joy of grace is actually our strength.  It miraculously becomes a pleasure to admit our wrongs and to place others higher than ourselves.  Can you see how grace is a new law written on the heart?

Like I said earlier, this is nearly impossible to explain, and it has been portrayed a thousand times before, but we all have some sort of hint as to whether or not it is a reality in our lives, and to what extent.  It is the process by which we are saved, and the only way to grow.  Once we know grace, we can spot it in others.  Although many Reformed theologians believe in the new covenant of grace, it is not the Calvinist's doctrines of grace.  The new covenant is limitless, Spirit-filled and a condition of the heart, rather than locked into a systematic theology.  There is so much more to say about it and I feel that I did an awful injustice by not explaining it clearly.  I left out supporting Scriptures in order to keep this post brief.  Although I am learning that there is a proper place, time and expression for this subject, I can not keep it to myself, and I have no doubt that the power of His grace can release others from the tragic burden of defeat.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

Amazing Grace
John Newton (1725-1807)
Stanza 6 anon.

Well, I am still trying to find answers to the questions of church as it relates to the modern-day Christian in America.  What are some common problems that some Christians might struggle with in the church world today?  Are they unnecessary issues?  If so, how can we help to change these problems as much as possible on this side of heaven?  I finally got the bright idea to start searching the Bible for facts in hopes that I might begin to understand what God might have to say about this concept of church.  Here are some amateur thoughts of mine after reading some Scriptures.

Hebrews 10:25 establishes the fact that Christians should "assemble" together consistently.  Other verses explain why:  For spiritual protection provided by pastors, leaders and the presbytery (1 Tim 4:14) or body of elders as they "shepherd" us (1 Peter 5:1-2) through Bible teaching (Titus 1:7, 9) and leading by example for us to imitate (Hebrews 13:7); to use our talents to serve others (1 Peter 4:10), to encourage and build each other up (1 Thes 5:11), to confess our sins to each other, to pray for each other for healing (James 5:16), etc.

Many problems that Christians have with churches, and that I have encountered myself, have come from the simple fact that we are part of a fallible family.  Like a physical, nuclear or extended family, there are going to be faults, weaknesses, even very grave wrongs committed toward each other.  This is a fact that on one hand, must be lovingly pointed out as wrong, yet on the other hand, simply accepted.

Earthly families might quarrel or not see life from the same perspective even though they are in the same family.  These disagreements are often very sad and hurtful.  I was able to experience some of this over the holidays.  But communication helps us to grow closer and stronger through the differences, as long as we do not disown each other.  Some families have extremely damaging issues, yet they all still come together for Christmas, or a family reunion.  This is interesting to me.  Perhaps Christian unity exists much more than what meets the human eye?

Other problems concern false doctrines and practices within church leadership.  This is the reason for the mandate of a body of elders, plural.  A group can make better and more effective decisions than a single leader.  They are responsible to teach sound doctrine and warn of wrong influences.  A Christian is responsible to attend a church that is believed to be the most accurate model of the Biblical description of church.  But, what exactly is that model?  This is where I am confused and need to do further research.

At this point however, two key concepts in the New Testament stand out to me:  the Early Church and the body of Christ.  There seems to be one major difference between the early church world and the current one.  The Early Church saw themselves as one body, the body of Christ, which met in various geographical places (for obvious reasons).  The body of Christ today is divided into many denominations and movements, each claiming spoken and unspoken, to be the church that resembles the Biblical one.

Although the body of Christ in the Bible speaks of consisting of many members, it is still one body of Christ (Romans 12:5) held together by the unity of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3).  "There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all."  (Ephesians 4:5, 6) 

Could the Scriptures aforementioned concerning the reasons for attending church also be applied to the body of Christ?  In other words, do Christians have the same responsibility to all believers?  Acts 11:29-30 tells us that the church in Antioch sent financial aid to the church in Jerusalem.  Jerusalem had already sent an elder and prophets to Antioch.  Paul and Barnabas and others traveled from church to church.  This was truly one body of Christ.

The reason why I am wondering this is because although friction and division has its place, and we can learn much from differences, there seems to be a strange alienation today.  Perhaps the cause is the ease and comfort that the Industrial Revolution brought with it, or commercialism, or Hollywood.  I really don't know if there was a single cause or a root of the change, or even a marked change at all.

It just seems foreign to me that often when I step onto a full elevator, nobody says a word.  Vehicles with single, distant drivers crowd the freeway.  Passengers sitting 2 inches from each other on a plane for hours are not interested in even saying "hello".  Students at school and colleagues at work hardly know any personal details of each other in many parts of America.  I don't know the first names of most of my neighbors even though we exchange greetings quite often.  Does this seem weird to anyone else or is this the way it has always been?

Does this sense of separation from one another affect the church today?  The proclaimed reason for most church dissensions, such as the Reformation, if I understand it correctly, is that a group of people disagree with the main body. Necessary change is not feasible unless a break away occurs.  I can't see any problem with this, especially since Jesus led a movement which was contrary in many ways to the church world of His day while claiming that the unified gospel had always existed, and His disciples continued "to obey God rather than men".  But after that, any dissenters from the Early Church were considered heretics.

The members of the body of Christ belong to each other (Romans 12:5).  This spiritual family takes precedence over any other family or relationship, which Christ also exemplified.  I love to see close friendships among people at church, who hang out with each other outside of a worship service or small group, but it seems rare in my experience, or awkward, or as though Christian friends are only fulfilling some sort of "ministry" rather than a sense of belonging to each other.  Church programs try hard to create this kind of unity but they often seem fabricated to me.

That one body of Christ often seems obscure at church.  I am surrounded by Christians, people who are devoted to Jesus Christ, and yet we hardly know each other.  We will visit each others' homes, eat meals together, even pray together every week for an entire year and still not know things like favorite scriptures, hobbies, likes and dislikes.  We know if they attended church last week, but we don't know their intense, internal dilemmas.  We know each others' position on eschatology but we don't know their political views.  So many taboos.  We are close without the closeness.

Unity does not mean total conformity.  I love the diversity of Christians.  It would be good for us to encourage each other in figuring out and supporting the wide range of different gifts and lifestyles.  It's difficult for very different people to be friends but what a beautiful picture to see odd couples and groups working together because of the common bond of Christ.  Together we fulfill a special purpose on earth and I think we all long for that unique togetherness.

Going to church seems so unlike my current understanding of gathering together with the body of Christ, almost as though the essence of church is in part missing.  Is it too formalized in the same way that public schools remove the heart of learning?  Theologians contrast a local church body with the body of Christ, but should we be striving to decrease that contrast as much as possible?  Does the multitude of Christianity's factions sadden God, even though He can still use them for His glory?

Or is everything okay, and going according to plan?  Maybe us Christians expend a lot of wasted energy on fruitless works, but when it's all said and done, in heaven, we will see all the ways that God used our weaknesses to prove His mercy, His free gifts and His unconditional love.

I really do not understand the problems I am trying to describe.  But in my heart I have this nagging longing for church to be different, not necessarily the specific church that I attend, only the modern American church world in general.  I desire to see more passion for Christ and care for each other.  But I also want to see that devotion and love spill over onto the world, not only for people but for the earth, our health, our possessions.  I want church to be a picture of the body of Christ.  I'm not trying to complain or state that I am above these issues since they are my problems too.  I am only attempting to explain this strong emotion in me.  Thus, my endless string of questions about church.  

The citizens of Newport Beach, California do not appreciate the airplanes that fly directly over their million dollar homes, and some of them fought to cause planes to be rerouted over the back bay to the Orange County airport, and to regulate them to engage in very steep landings and take-offs.  This does absolutely nothing to decrease my fear of flying.  The Seattle airport isn't much smoother with its always stormy weather.  And it was my lot to experience both landing strips over the holidays.

Even while my plane was in the air, every inconsistency meant potential trouble.  Why did the engine become louder?  Then I couldn't hear it at all.  Did the plane shut down?  Is the turbulence going to get worse?  Oh, thank God it stopped!  I watched the wing of the plane from my seat window just to make sure that it stayed attached to the main body.  It didn't help to see it shaking and jutting all over the place.  At any moment it could've snapped right off, and taken an engine along with it.

While some passengers on the plane were worried about their carry-ons, air temperature and when the flight attendants would serve the snacks, all I cared about was the airliner remaining in the air.  Sure, it was nice that I remembered to bring a good read, but who cares about a book if I wasn't alive to read it?

Part of the problem is the feeling of finality in the situation.  If I had the choice to safely exit the plane in midair during turbulence, I certainly would have chosen that option.  But there was no escaping the terror.  Did this describe hell in any sense?  I thought so.

On a more positive note, one can learn all sorts of lessons while experiencing fear, although it feels more like realities are forced into an uncomfortably close view rather than learning; for example, the fact that I am not in control of my life as much as I normally think I am, presented itself to me.  How often do I trust other transportation vehicles and other drivers?  How do I know that some unforeseen fatal event or biological malfunction will not occur?  Yes, there are plenty of precautions we can take in order to lessen our chances, but as much as I fool myself, I can never possess complete and absolute control of my ongoing breath.  I am always dependent upon someone else, even if it is a pilot locked away in a cabin that I will never see.

Why do I rarely experience this kind of desperation for life, or for anything really, while on the ground?  As a person who believes in an afterlife, why do I not take this fact more seriously?  I was flabbergasted, while flying and pondering the mundane, that I spent so much (heartless) time and activity regarding such things as food, money and relationships.  The curious fact is that these things are extremely important to life, but not nearly as vital as life itself.  What good does it do a person if she gains the whole world but loses her very soul?  Although a truism, this fear is much more rational than the one that concerned my beliefs toward airplanes.  

After receiving very helpful feedback about my past blogs, I should have allowed it to refine my writing so that I am more sensitive to the reader rather than freely blurting things.  Instead it made me afraid to continue writing.  The criticism and realization of my mistakes were painful and I didn't feel like playing with fire anymore.  But then, writing is a fire in my soul, whether refined or not, so I couldn't keep quiet for very long.  Promptly upon my return home from California, I wrote a long letter to every member of my family thanking them for my stay but also rebuking them for their trivial family feuds.  I am now back to my normal, writing self.

For all sorts of reasons buried in my past, I've learned that I want to fight for those things in which I believe, even if it ticks people off, rather than live the mindless, conformed life of the average American.  I'll take the risk of adventure (within limits), problems and all, in order to avoid apathy.  But I also do not want to go it alone, which means that I need to ground myself and work together with other people, especially those who desire the same.  There is a fine line between ticking people off and working with them, and much of the time I'm not sure of which one I am doing.  The balance seems impossibly unattainable to me at this point but as I already stated, I can't continue to be suppressed by my fear, including my fear of other opinions, when I have an inner longing that is greater than that fear.

There are two kinds of peacemakers:  one who makes peace, and one who revolts against a current oppressive system in order to provide an opportunity for peace.  I often have a bent for the latter.  Some people worship this kind of dramatic passion in me while others might label me as offbeat, opinionated, or offensive depending on whether or not they agree with me.  However, this only fuels my energy against them.  Show me a worthy fight in which I can jump in, some controversial issue, and I am happy... as well as writing about it.

My fear of what others think about my thoughts and beliefs as they are presented in my blog has caused me some necessary introspection.  Yes, I am outspoken, eccentric, rash and in need of improvement.  I am incomplete on this side of heaven.  Did I expect to be otherwise?  Maybe I am not so different from the general public after all.  Our fears, stresses and faults do not have to stop us in our tracks but they can serve to remind us of our desperation for life and make the path a little more clear.  Here I end with a profound conversation from, in my opinion an overall unfortunate movie, WALL-E:

Captain:  ...I can't just sit here and do nothing. That's all I've ever done! That's all anyone on this blasted ship has ever done - nothing!
Auto:  On the Axiom, you will survive.
Captain:  I don't want to survive, I want to live!

Ages and ages ago, in 1987, when Howard Schultz bought the Seattle Starbucks chain, he standardized and mainstreamed the sale of coffee so that the term "coffeehouse" began to be redefined.

Before that, in America, there were coffee shops such as the lonely diner you might spy while driving through the desert out on Route 66.  Coffee shops not only served plain old coffee but were notorious for their single mom waitresses and inexpensive bacon and egg breakfasts too.

In the 1960's after coffeehouses had immigrated from Italy, a coffeehouse became generally known as a countercultural espresso venue serving all kinds of artsy coffee drinks as well as other yummy homemade goodies.  They sometimes provided live entertainment, such as a jazz pianist, and utilized building structures that resembled a Victorian style house with wall-papered hallways and antique furniture.

In present day America, coffee shops and houses still exist but now a coffee shop also includes such forms as Dunkin' Doughnuts and Applebee's, while Starbucks is technically considered a coffeehouse.  The distinguished lines between the two are further obscured in the fact that many people intermix the ideas.  Somehow a coffeehouse is now widely known as, a coffee shop.

Some people, like me, make a ruckus about the whole ordeal by correcting people when the term isn't clear.  "At which 'coffee shop' did you want to meet me for a latte?"  Our problem is that there is no new term to call the inbetweener coffeehouse/shop since Starbucks and the likes have commercialized the "house" atmosphere.

Teenagers who are not yet teenagers but act like them are called tweens.  A country that is neither only republic nor exclusively democratic is known as a democratic republic.  But how does one associate a coffeehouse that isn't exactly that?

The current issue that many American citizens have with same-sex marriages is that there is a fundamental difference between a heterosexual marriage and a gay one.  They do not want the terms "marriage" and "family" to be redefined.  Thus many are seeking a compromise of a "civil union" law that would include all of the civil liberties of marriage.

In the world of Christianity, the Calvinist and Arminian theologies are similar to the coffeehouse dilemma only in that many believers can not fully identify themselves with either one.  Some people claim that the contradictory points of both systems are equally true:  The elect have a free will.  Others might preach that neither one has any truth, while still others are utterly and thoroughly confused.  In a case like this one, I find that my arguments can become stormy twisters only to end in statements such as, "Oh, we actually agree with each other.  We were fighting over semantical terms."

The same articulation could possibly pertain to the controversy of intelligent design versus evolution.  What should we title a person who believes in a literal 24-hour, 6 day creation of aged creatures and of an earth that had evolved over billions of years?  Or how does one describe a creationist who does not agree with creationism such as Robert T. Pennock?

I like knowing what you mean when you talk to me and I am thankful that there are standards of communication as well as a freedom to add new vocabulary.  It has been estimated that about 25,000 new words are combined with the English language every year.  Some scholars calculate that there are about five times as many English words today as in Shakespeare's time.  But, why are we now less precise?

Some thoughts concerning an answer to that question is for another blog, but at the moment I would really like to avoid unnecessary friction in communication, while remaining loyal to truth and my beliefs.  I would also be thrilled to see more attention given to the nomenclature of coffee.  Next time you order that grande triple decaf soy vanilla mocha, make sure your friend isn't waiting for you over at Johnny Rockets.