Several years ago, I was a part of a short term missions program/college course in Papua New Guinea. I spent two months in New Guinea. Most of that time was spent on the bamboo hut campus situated up in the Bena Bena tribe in the highlands, but there were a few excursions out to other existing mission sites. One of these excursions was an overnight to the Yagaria tribe, also located in the highlands a few hours drive from the campus.
I and another student spent the night in the home of one of the Christian men from that tribe. His name was Michael. He and his family lived in what can loosely be described as a two bedroom, bamboo, wood, and “pit-pit” hut, raised off the ground. He kept his chickens and pigs underneath his house. Just out side his house, but within a fence, was his large garden where he grew most of their food. He and his family were barefoot, as most rural New Guineans were. They cooked their meals over a fire pit started in the traditional way which involved bamboo, wood, and a lot of friction. As my companion and I shared a meal with our host, we talked with him. His English wasn't great, but then neither was our Pidgin (one of the things we spent our time learning on campus). Between our bad Pidgin and his bad English we managed to eek out a conversation of sorts. It was a conversation that I still remember almost eighteen years later.
The part I remember about it was when he said something to the effect of “you Americans have all this money, bajillions and zillions of dollars, and you come here, and you aren't happy. Look at me, all I have is my family, my home, and my garden, and we're happy. We have everything we need.”
I spent those two months that summer possessing only what I brought with me and could keep in my cabin. I remember when I returned to the US, and to my bedroom full of stuff, I was in a kind of shock. Reverse culture shock is normal for this kind of thing, but I distinctly remember looking around my bedroom and realizing everything I had which I didn't actually need. I knew I didn't need it because I had just gone for two months without it and survived just fine.
It doesn't seem to make any difference anymore how much money you have or make, it never seems to be enough. When my wife and I were first married, we would have been thrilled to be making $35,000 a year. Somewhere in our minds, we thought “if only we were able to make this amount of money, then we'll be ok.” When we were living in California, we were making a little over $36k, and we were barely scraping by. It never seemed to be enough. I have a friend who was making something like $95k per year, and as he described it to me, he said something like “even with that kind of money, we were barely keeping our heads above water.”
It doesn't ever seem to be enough. When we have money or things, it always seems like it is never enough. We always need more, or find a reason why we need more. Near as I can tell, this is the reason for all the debt that we're in right now. Some of those things were because of things we really did need at the time; some of them seemed a lot like needs at the time. Thinking back, I wonder if they really were, but hindsight is always at least 20/20.
Evagrios the Solitary (at least I think it was Evagrios), one of the fathers of the Christian contemplative tradition, along with other writers, gave what I think is very sound advice for the Christian. He said, in a nutshell, don't own anything and what you have give away. Even if you desire to have more money to be able to give it to the poor, this is only a trap laid for you by the enemy for you to give in to thinly disguised avarice, the desire to have more. And once you give in to avarice, you open the doorway for other demons (literal or figurative) to rush in and attack. He and the others taught, and practiced, that it is completely possible to carry out the teachings of Christ if you own nothing, and that it can be a hindrance to those teachings if you do either own something or especially if you seek to own something, irregardless of the justification for it.
The more I keep this in mind, the more I realize how infested with this avarice I have become. I seek and desire things that, truthfully, I just don't need. I want them just to have them. I justify this in my mind by something like “well, what if I need it at some point in time and don't have it.” It doesn't matter if it's books, games, programs, paid or free.
I haven't thought about Michael from the Yagaria for a long time, but I never forgot him or his family. Somehow, somewhere they've always been in the back of my mind. Thinking back, I wish they had been in the forefront a little more.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Back to the Basics
“Back to the Basics.” “Let's all get back to the basics.” If I had a nickel for every time I heard that phrase I'd never need to work another day in my life. This phrase is used to try and reorient people back to where they started to get a clearer perspective on where they're going, and what they should do next. It's been a common enough catchphrase within business offices. On occasion you hear it within political campaigns. And you also hear it frequently within churches. There often seem to be churches that start on their basics, and never leave them.
Here's a question. What are the basics of the Christian faith? This should be an easy question to answer for most of us who have been Christians, of one stripe or another, for most of our lives. What is the first thing which should be taught to new Christians and seekers of the faith of Jesus Christ?
I can count off of a list what is normally taught in most churches, at least what people tend to pick up from their first encounters: conservative political activism, literal six day creationism, pro-life anti-abortionism, don't smoke, don't drink, don't have pre-marital sex, and “we don't associate with those people” who do. These are generally the first impressions people get when visiting churches (yes, this sounds harsh, but let's be honest with ourselves here). If they stay to attend the church, they may go through discipleship classes which involve the doctrines of the Holy Trinity, man's sinfulness, Christ's death, burial and resurrection, Spiritual Gifts, tithing, the inerrancy of the Bible, End Times, and maybe things like baptism, and holy communion might be covered, depending on the church (I am largely talking about Protestant churches here, although the Catholic Churches are not necessarily far behind on this matter if they teach anything at all outside of the homily; let's face it, many don't). Generally, many churches don't stray too far from these topics.
So, these are the basics of the Christian faith. Are they? Are they really?
Why is it more important that people understand that God created the earth in six days than it is to understand what Jesus meant when He said “Don't judge so that you won't be judged, don't condemn so that you won't be condemned?” Why is it more important that new converts understand the importance of tithing than understanding what Jesus meant when he said “if anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross and follow Me?” And why is the goal of our salvation, the whole reason why we seek to follow Jesus Christ, i.e. union with God, considered deep theology and too much too soon for new converts?
It would seem to me that the basics of the faith ought to be the absolute minimum a person needs to know to progress in the faith. They should be the foundation on which a person can build his or her practice of Christianity and relationship with God. What good does it do a person if they fully understand the Holy Trinity (which is impossible by the way), yet have no tools on which to base a growing relationship with the Holy Trinity?
So what would I consider the basics of the faith of Jesus Christ? In no particular order:
First, that what Jesus and his apostles taught was a relationship with God through Christ. The rules of the religion of Christianity were put into place to foster that relationship, not to make people feel hopeless.
Second, the teachings of Jesus Christ. How can you claim to follow someone if you don't know what they are teaching? Furthermore, how can you follow someone if you don't put into practice what they taught? Jesus preached repentance. Jesus taught non-judgment. He taught forgiveness. He gave the command to love one another as He loved us. He taught non-retaliation, compassion, and love for one's enemies. The command to love and practice love was so important in the eyes of the Apostle John that he wrote that the person who does not love does not know God, because God is love. Jesus also taught detachment from possessions, trusting God for one's bodily provisions, and detachment from any relationship which becomes an obstacle to your relationship with God. If you look through the writings of the Apostles in the New Testament, they taught the exact same thing and explained it further.
What's deeply troubling is that the actual teaching of Jesus Christ is usually glossed over by most preachers today. It is consigned to the children's Sunday School because the adults have “deeper, more mature spiritual things” to learn. The truth is that people want excuses to not obey what He taught, or to not listen to it, and far too many preachers oblige them. This is a fundamentally dangerous way of thinking, especially since Jesus Himself warned against not doing what He taught.
Third, the union of the Christian with Jesus Christ in His death through baptism. Mechanically speaking, this is the mechanism, or foundation on which our salvation rests. We are joined to Him, and understanding that should not be relegated to “deep theology” which is never taught for fear it might be too deep for anyone to understand. This is where it begins and the sooner the new convert understands this new position he or she is in the better. Christians have a kind of split personality, and it can be enough to drive someone nuts if they don't really understand that God resides within them and is intertwined with them fundamentally and intimately.
Understanding this union with Him is key to understanding what Jesus meant when He said “remain in Me and I in you...” and “without Me you can do nothing,” and “if anyone doesn't remain in Me he dries up as a branch, they gather them together and throw them onto the fire where they are burned” and also “if you remain in Me and My word remains in you you will ask what you desire and it will be done for you.” This is the sum total of the normal Christian life and experience. Draw closer to Him and do what He taught, and union with God is yours. Draw away from Him, and like a branch which has been cut off, you dry up and are eventually destroyed.
Fourth, of course His death, burial, and resurrection. This is everything.
Fifth, the practice of the faith. That is, what do we do as opposed to what is it we are supposed to be believing? How do we draw closer to Him and embrace this union with Him? The old saying goes something like this, give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. Why is it that we don't teach people what Christian practice as Jesus and His Apostles taught it looks like? Why is it that we're so often afraid of promoting the examples of people who actually did do what Jesus said to do? If we don't practice the faith, we can't draw closer to Him.
So, what is the practice of the faith? The practice of the faith is to move away from ourselves and towards Him. We do this through prayer, both in talking to God, and in listening to Him in stillness. We do this through voluntary poverty, giving up what we have to be free of the hold our possessions have on us. We do this through humility, keeping away from all thoughts of self-esteem. We also do this through self-control, not giving in to our desires to feel good. We choose to care about those who couldn't care less about us, and to defend those who can't defend themselves. We choose to do what He told us to do. All of what He told us to do.
Finally, the most important thing we can teach the new convert is the importance of compassion. It is more important than learning every doctrine perfectly, more important than tithing, more important than our own livelihoods or social standings or politics. It's more important than any Spiritual gift someone may or may not possess. Compassion doesn't judge. It doesn't retaliate. It forgives again and again and again. Compassion should be the absolute minimum of Christian faith and practice which is taught and displayed. It should be the thing which sets us apart from all others, the defining quality of the Christian faith. Compassion should be the first impression people get from a church, no matter which church it is, and if someone doesn't understand that then they don't understand Christ, the Gospel, or what it means to be Christian. If someone comes claiming to be a Christian, and is without compassion or mercy, then that person is a liar and shouldn't even be given Holy Communion. It's that serious that we understand and practice Compassion.
These are the absolute fundamentals of the Christian faith. These are the basics which must be taught in order to lay a good foundation for the new Christian to build on. I agree that it's time to get back to the basics, and if we stick to the basics we'll make good progress. Yes, some of the other stuff is important too, but we can focus on that once we've mastered the basics.
Here's a question. What are the basics of the Christian faith? This should be an easy question to answer for most of us who have been Christians, of one stripe or another, for most of our lives. What is the first thing which should be taught to new Christians and seekers of the faith of Jesus Christ?
I can count off of a list what is normally taught in most churches, at least what people tend to pick up from their first encounters: conservative political activism, literal six day creationism, pro-life anti-abortionism, don't smoke, don't drink, don't have pre-marital sex, and “we don't associate with those people” who do. These are generally the first impressions people get when visiting churches (yes, this sounds harsh, but let's be honest with ourselves here). If they stay to attend the church, they may go through discipleship classes which involve the doctrines of the Holy Trinity, man's sinfulness, Christ's death, burial and resurrection, Spiritual Gifts, tithing, the inerrancy of the Bible, End Times, and maybe things like baptism, and holy communion might be covered, depending on the church (I am largely talking about Protestant churches here, although the Catholic Churches are not necessarily far behind on this matter if they teach anything at all outside of the homily; let's face it, many don't). Generally, many churches don't stray too far from these topics.
So, these are the basics of the Christian faith. Are they? Are they really?
Why is it more important that people understand that God created the earth in six days than it is to understand what Jesus meant when He said “Don't judge so that you won't be judged, don't condemn so that you won't be condemned?” Why is it more important that new converts understand the importance of tithing than understanding what Jesus meant when he said “if anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross and follow Me?” And why is the goal of our salvation, the whole reason why we seek to follow Jesus Christ, i.e. union with God, considered deep theology and too much too soon for new converts?
It would seem to me that the basics of the faith ought to be the absolute minimum a person needs to know to progress in the faith. They should be the foundation on which a person can build his or her practice of Christianity and relationship with God. What good does it do a person if they fully understand the Holy Trinity (which is impossible by the way), yet have no tools on which to base a growing relationship with the Holy Trinity?
So what would I consider the basics of the faith of Jesus Christ? In no particular order:
First, that what Jesus and his apostles taught was a relationship with God through Christ. The rules of the religion of Christianity were put into place to foster that relationship, not to make people feel hopeless.
Second, the teachings of Jesus Christ. How can you claim to follow someone if you don't know what they are teaching? Furthermore, how can you follow someone if you don't put into practice what they taught? Jesus preached repentance. Jesus taught non-judgment. He taught forgiveness. He gave the command to love one another as He loved us. He taught non-retaliation, compassion, and love for one's enemies. The command to love and practice love was so important in the eyes of the Apostle John that he wrote that the person who does not love does not know God, because God is love. Jesus also taught detachment from possessions, trusting God for one's bodily provisions, and detachment from any relationship which becomes an obstacle to your relationship with God. If you look through the writings of the Apostles in the New Testament, they taught the exact same thing and explained it further.
What's deeply troubling is that the actual teaching of Jesus Christ is usually glossed over by most preachers today. It is consigned to the children's Sunday School because the adults have “deeper, more mature spiritual things” to learn. The truth is that people want excuses to not obey what He taught, or to not listen to it, and far too many preachers oblige them. This is a fundamentally dangerous way of thinking, especially since Jesus Himself warned against not doing what He taught.
Third, the union of the Christian with Jesus Christ in His death through baptism. Mechanically speaking, this is the mechanism, or foundation on which our salvation rests. We are joined to Him, and understanding that should not be relegated to “deep theology” which is never taught for fear it might be too deep for anyone to understand. This is where it begins and the sooner the new convert understands this new position he or she is in the better. Christians have a kind of split personality, and it can be enough to drive someone nuts if they don't really understand that God resides within them and is intertwined with them fundamentally and intimately.
Understanding this union with Him is key to understanding what Jesus meant when He said “remain in Me and I in you...” and “without Me you can do nothing,” and “if anyone doesn't remain in Me he dries up as a branch, they gather them together and throw them onto the fire where they are burned” and also “if you remain in Me and My word remains in you you will ask what you desire and it will be done for you.” This is the sum total of the normal Christian life and experience. Draw closer to Him and do what He taught, and union with God is yours. Draw away from Him, and like a branch which has been cut off, you dry up and are eventually destroyed.
Fourth, of course His death, burial, and resurrection. This is everything.
Fifth, the practice of the faith. That is, what do we do as opposed to what is it we are supposed to be believing? How do we draw closer to Him and embrace this union with Him? The old saying goes something like this, give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. Why is it that we don't teach people what Christian practice as Jesus and His Apostles taught it looks like? Why is it that we're so often afraid of promoting the examples of people who actually did do what Jesus said to do? If we don't practice the faith, we can't draw closer to Him.
So, what is the practice of the faith? The practice of the faith is to move away from ourselves and towards Him. We do this through prayer, both in talking to God, and in listening to Him in stillness. We do this through voluntary poverty, giving up what we have to be free of the hold our possessions have on us. We do this through humility, keeping away from all thoughts of self-esteem. We also do this through self-control, not giving in to our desires to feel good. We choose to care about those who couldn't care less about us, and to defend those who can't defend themselves. We choose to do what He told us to do. All of what He told us to do.
Finally, the most important thing we can teach the new convert is the importance of compassion. It is more important than learning every doctrine perfectly, more important than tithing, more important than our own livelihoods or social standings or politics. It's more important than any Spiritual gift someone may or may not possess. Compassion doesn't judge. It doesn't retaliate. It forgives again and again and again. Compassion should be the absolute minimum of Christian faith and practice which is taught and displayed. It should be the thing which sets us apart from all others, the defining quality of the Christian faith. Compassion should be the first impression people get from a church, no matter which church it is, and if someone doesn't understand that then they don't understand Christ, the Gospel, or what it means to be Christian. If someone comes claiming to be a Christian, and is without compassion or mercy, then that person is a liar and shouldn't even be given Holy Communion. It's that serious that we understand and practice Compassion.
These are the absolute fundamentals of the Christian faith. These are the basics which must be taught in order to lay a good foundation for the new Christian to build on. I agree that it's time to get back to the basics, and if we stick to the basics we'll make good progress. Yes, some of the other stuff is important too, but we can focus on that once we've mastered the basics.
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