The deepest reaches of my mind are filled with the libations of my darkest thoughts.
How can I be who I am? Can I remain sacrosanct?
Of course not, it was never meant to be.
Was I ever beyond the bowls of this inglorious existence?
Certainly I must have achieved some pedestrian level of influence on the body of my brothers and sisters.
I play it cool, like Mr. Blonde. I don’t care, but I do.
I’m heated ready to explode and I love everything.
I can’t be who I want to be, I get in my own way.
I yearn to be love plus nothing, but I continue to be me plus something.
I know I’m narcissistic, I realize I enjoy the sound of my own voice. But can’t I make a difference?
Won’t I bruise someone’s conscience?
My issue is not self loathing, it never has been.
The problem is I love myself too much. I can’t get past the Me and I can’t control the id in my soul.
Fly me away Superman. Perhaps this load is too heavy.
A shot to the belly and a bottle of scotch will cure all ills, but will I make a difference?
Will my dream to work to love endure? Or will Mr. Orange take me down to keep me from questioning those who question me?
It’s Wild E. and the Roadrunner, and I’m not sure who I am.
Today I feel like the road, unable to be part of the game and grind. Just a bystander, hoping my turns, hills and slopes will have an influence.
Today I am me.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Why Ask Why? The Socratic Method and Theological Interpretation
Some Christian traditionalists view the asking of questions as a form of disobedience. I see exploration and critical though processes regarding popular opinion based not on fact but upon the opinion of an authority as a truly virtuous consequence of a curious mind. Basing our opinions solely upon what others have told us, without exploration, is un-liberating. Living with a world view base upon out dated dogma and constricting rules of engagement between men is an act of obedience. But to what? And at what cost?
Obedience to God is not what is at stake here. You can challenge the contemporary understanding of The Church without questioning God’s commands. Jesus never intended His children to blindly follow the leadership within The Church. In fact, our understanding of Theology Proper is base upon, educated and curious men’s challenges of what The Bible is telling us and what we should believe as saints of God, living among men. If this were not true, we would be worshipping as we were two thousand years ago. The fact that we are not is a testament to our increased understanding of scriptural principles and a deeper regard for context and audience when interpreting Biblical texts.
The most telling incite into the nature of humanity, is what I call the “grandeur of the contemporary.” Each generation of The Church has a contingency that believes that finally, after all these years; they not only have a deeper understanding of Christ upon their lives than previous generations, but that their views are above suspicion and introspection. Where does the motivations for these feeling originate?
It would be easy to blame the leadership with in The Body of Christ. After all they are a target for all those that wish to criticize The Church. However, criticism is not the true motivation of incite. The fact is many Biblical Scholars gained knowledge through critical study of The Word, not memorization of known facts and texts. A deeper understanding, developed through asking tough theological questions, allows teachers and preachers to tie multidimensional Biblical concepts to one another providing for deeper and more complex sermons.
We cannot put the burden of inaction upon the congregation either. Jesus never blamed the Jews for the corruption of faith within the leadership. He placed the blame solely upon the upper echelon of teachers. The sheep should be lead, and follow they will. This is our nature. Many like their answers in black and white and many ideas in The Bible are just that. However, many more Christian ideas are base primarily upon opinion. Armenians versus Calvinists, Pentecostals versus Baptists, Protestants and Orthodox versus Catholics, Conservative Christianity versus Liberal Theology, Billy Graham versus Jerry Falwell and the list goes on and on. One side can prove the other wrong only as far as they can prove that their own ideas are also left wanting.
What is most important is that these questions are as much a cornerstone of our faith as baptism and worship. Though we may never find the answers, the experience that that exploration provides can bring us closer to our Deity. Each time we question opinion, we have an innate opportunity to either solidify our argument, or better understand the plausibility of dissenting opinions. Through this we come to a deeper and less compromised understanding of God and a closer and more intimate relationship to our Savior.
Obedience to God is not what is at stake here. You can challenge the contemporary understanding of The Church without questioning God’s commands. Jesus never intended His children to blindly follow the leadership within The Church. In fact, our understanding of Theology Proper is base upon, educated and curious men’s challenges of what The Bible is telling us and what we should believe as saints of God, living among men. If this were not true, we would be worshipping as we were two thousand years ago. The fact that we are not is a testament to our increased understanding of scriptural principles and a deeper regard for context and audience when interpreting Biblical texts.
The most telling incite into the nature of humanity, is what I call the “grandeur of the contemporary.” Each generation of The Church has a contingency that believes that finally, after all these years; they not only have a deeper understanding of Christ upon their lives than previous generations, but that their views are above suspicion and introspection. Where does the motivations for these feeling originate?
It would be easy to blame the leadership with in The Body of Christ. After all they are a target for all those that wish to criticize The Church. However, criticism is not the true motivation of incite. The fact is many Biblical Scholars gained knowledge through critical study of The Word, not memorization of known facts and texts. A deeper understanding, developed through asking tough theological questions, allows teachers and preachers to tie multidimensional Biblical concepts to one another providing for deeper and more complex sermons.
We cannot put the burden of inaction upon the congregation either. Jesus never blamed the Jews for the corruption of faith within the leadership. He placed the blame solely upon the upper echelon of teachers. The sheep should be lead, and follow they will. This is our nature. Many like their answers in black and white and many ideas in The Bible are just that. However, many more Christian ideas are base primarily upon opinion. Armenians versus Calvinists, Pentecostals versus Baptists, Protestants and Orthodox versus Catholics, Conservative Christianity versus Liberal Theology, Billy Graham versus Jerry Falwell and the list goes on and on. One side can prove the other wrong only as far as they can prove that their own ideas are also left wanting.
What is most important is that these questions are as much a cornerstone of our faith as baptism and worship. Though we may never find the answers, the experience that that exploration provides can bring us closer to our Deity. Each time we question opinion, we have an innate opportunity to either solidify our argument, or better understand the plausibility of dissenting opinions. Through this we come to a deeper and less compromised understanding of God and a closer and more intimate relationship to our Savior.
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