Best of…

Here’s a collection of posts you may have missed that are worth a read, a second look, or passing glance:

1. On Speaking About Gender:  (A “how to”…in church this has gotten to be a sticky subject.)

2. And this too: (The poster that made me want to be a guy)

3. On Understanding the Bible: (Things you’ll get wrong when you study or read the Bible)

4. Most likely to surprise Evangelicals: Why the Rapture is garbage Doctrine.

5. On modern day Baal Worship: (Does Tech = Baal? Find out.)

6. 5 Mistakes you can make when you’re thinking about ditching your church: 

7. 7 Reasons Why (Christians) Aren’t Ready for Heaven.

8. Faith and Fleecing God: (Some surprising stuff about Gideon)

9. Post with the most puns referring to the word “sharp“. (Called Like Jael, I got you so Pegged) Remember the underdog, tent peg through the head story? Tough sledding for Sunday school teachers, but enough gore to keep the adults happy or guessing. Guessing what? Exactly.

10. Taste the Sensation: The Holy Spirit is (apparently) quite a bit like a York Peppermint Pattie: This self-test will give you the scoop. (humor) I should mention that the most popular humorous self-test on this site is here: Can Your Soul Fit into a Mailbox? Find Out Fast.

11. 7 Reasons Why My Blog Will Make you Cry Less than Jon Acuff’s (humor) blog

12. Funniest 18 seconds of video I ever shot:

I probably did a bad job with this…so maybe you can help me. What posts have you liked? You can “nominate” posts for “best of”. Think back, or Do a search, pick your favorites, and share them in the comments section. Thank you for reading.

What to promote your own favorite blog post? Leave a link.

Faith and Fleecing God- Hoodoo Part II

Gideon and wool

A common tactic among Christians who seek God’s guidance and direction is to follow the example of biblical hero, Gideon. (see Judges 6:1-8:32) Many people searching for God’s will, lay out a “proverbial fleece,” and ask that God show them which way to go. They hope for a sign, or at least a strong feeling.

Let’s think about Gideon for a moment. When God called Gideon to lead his people in victory over their oppressors, the man was hiding out in the bottom of a winepress threshing wheat. Remember, to thresh wheat, one needs the wind, and open air, so the chaff can blow away, and leave the kernels behind. (One doesn’t get much of that, in a pit of a winepress.) This man was scared silly. One can’t expect to feel even much of a breeze in a hole! God calls him “mighty warrior” too. HA! What a sense of humor! He was either being totally sarcastic, or meant Gideon could be this with God’s divine intervention–in the future. (or maybe both, I wasn’t there to hear the Angel of God’s actual tonal inflection) ;)

Then, Gideon starts mouthing off, acting all bitter, and asks that the Angel of God to actually prove he is really God. To my knowledge, no one else in the Bible is this brash. Graciously, God permits this, instead of just smiting his sorry butt, he obliges him, and burns up a meal, right in front of Gideon. This, of course, scares the snot out of Gideon, and he believes, sort of. He’s still a big-time coward. God instructs him to take down his family’s idols that they all worship. God’s not a big fan of idols. DUH. God was already putting up with a lot of bologna. This garbage removal is an obvious “first things first” order of business.

Everyone in Israel knows you should not worship idols, EVER (they all are aware of those 10 Commandments, and laws of Moses stuff.) Gideon is totally justified to rip them down immediately; so he marches over and does it, no problem. NOPE. Not at all. Gideon goes the cowardly route, and tears down the family idols, by sneaking out to do it in the middle of the night, with a few buddies.

After gathering troops, still, Gideon struggles to feel right or the least bit courageous about God’s calling, or God’s Almightiness. This unlikely victor asks for, not just one miracle, but 2, yes two, miracles, before he follows God’s direction. Very presumptuous, indeed, not to mention faithless.

Here’s the kicker sometimes left out in this hero’s story. After a mighty, and completely miraculous victory, over a powerful and oppressive enemy, the Midianites (with a tiny fighting force of just 300), Gideon constructs a sacred golden object in his town that is soon worshiped by him, his family, and the whole community. WTHuh? I think Gideon and his ways boarder on ridiculous. He’s quite ordinary, in fact. Just like you or me?

While some use the fleece part of the story as a prescriptive idea for determining God’s will–a genuine way to find God’s guidance and will–I believe the Bible includes it as a failure of faith on Gideon’s part, one of several. Really the entire story is part of a greater witness to an idolatrous and unfaithful era in the times of the Judges. It’s really not a picture of Gideon as a good follower, at all, but instead a picture of God, and his forbearance with a very weak individual, a supremely unlikely leader, and a faithless people he has called his own, and wants to save. God continues to use misfits, and losers in his is amazing Story, but we don’t have to emulate these folks in their weaknesses.

In reality, Gideon was like a lot of godless inhabitants of the region; he was a superstitious sort. This was an unfaithful and tumultuous time in Israel’s past as they co-opted with many ungodly practices. Are behaviors of Gideon’s type really the best for us, or the most advisable? I say, “No.”

So if not, what should we do? I’d love for you to weigh in here on this! But, I’ll put in a few ideas.

First, we shouldn’t think of spirituality/the Divine as magic. “If I do this, I’ll know I should do this thing here, if this such thing happens.” Totally hoodoo. That is trying to get God to jump through hoops, so we feel more comfortable. Yes, sometimes God works with this shortcoming in us, but we should also understand that God will purposefully let us flounder sometimes.

Which way to go, or what to decide, might be part of our growth process. Also, Biblical narratives show that God will purposefully allow us to encounter temptation, or the opportunity to make an unwise choice.

Loyalty, and a close walk with him is one of the best guards against going hoodoo with God. (I call this close walk, Practicing the Presence of God. So did Brother Lawrence.) If we are being loyal/obedient, and we thoroughly love God with all we are, it is much easier to choose what God wants for us. And I really think it’s not always just one specific thing we have to pick that is his “will” for us. Sometimes, it’s the situation of good, better, and best. God doesn’t bite his nails wondering if we’ll pick the right thing, and then viola– “be in his will.” He redeems situations, even the foolishness we get ourselves into. It’s that much better if we pick wisely, and make him the center and glory of our decision making.

Yes, sometimes God will open and close doors, and almost seem to force our hand. If we love and trust him, we’ll be okay with that, knowing that he will do that sort of thing for our best benefit and interest, (though it may be hard to see what that is at the time.) To test God, by fleecing him, is to deny ourselves the opportunity for a close intimacy with God. He is a relational Being. He gives us opportunities to walk with him by faith, and not just by sight.

I would love to hear your responses to this post.

Leave a comment, if you will.

How Christianity goes Hoodoo / voodoo part 1

 

Man divining for water with a divining rod
Man divining for water with a divining (or dowsing) rod

They don’t call it a “divining rod” for nothing. This little stick set up gives powers beyond unaided human abilities–it helps tap into the “Divine powers.” It’s woo-woo. Maybe even hoodoo. This guy used to find water underground with a diving rod in exchange for a bottle of whiskey. After he worked up to 15 bottles per day, he switched to cash.

But, people love the idea of knowing something beyond their typical capacity. With horoscopes, palm reading, psychics, crystal balls, or seances, the idea is the same: Get valuable information through supernatural means in order to get an edge, or special comfort from that knowledge.

But Christians don’t really do that, right?

BUZZ. wrong. Thanks for playing :)

(I got a little “Robin Williams” on you there for a second.)

Yes. Christians often try to maintain control over their world through the supernatural/divine, to use it to their benefit. It just might be a bit more subtle. Or, it’s just labeled differently so it has a Biblical righteousness to it. Nevertheless it’s a trap the produces shallow spiritual growth.

This new Series I’ll do, on “common Christian hoodoo,” I will unveil ways which we, as spiritual people, get all “witch doctory” on God, for our benefit. Ways we try to toy with him for our own advantage and comfort, most often without really realizing it. Our perspective has sort of gotten a mite warped in how we relate to the Divine. God might put up with it, (He’s gracious-that how he rolls.) but it surely stunts our spiritual growth, and intimacy with God, our loving Creator.

It’s not too much different than a average, healthy, 30 year old who expects to be fed by mommy  from a bottle, and wiped cleaned after using the potty. One can get by that way, but it’s really not so good, ya know? It’s not the best for the person. It’s not very mature, but one could get along that way.

Still, a good parent will often challenge a growing child to become stronger and more developed, which is not just better for that person, by for the community as a whole. God does the same thing, which could be part of the reason you are struggling with some tough things right now, and reading this as well. It’s challenge time for you, in some way.

If you think about it, you may have used prayer as a kind of divining rod tool a few times. Right? Have you ever prayed something like, “God, if you want me to do this, please, give me a sign.” We hope that a kind of “divining rod prayer” will show the way to or through something that seems outside our grasp, or beyond our vision. We get witchy with the supernatural to find out stuff we need to know. Be honest, you’ve done this! I sure have!

My questions/reflections…Is this just an immature attempt to get control? Is it a maneuver to manipulate the supernatural for our purposes? If not, what is it? When should it be done, if at all? Is there a better way?

More on this, in a specific way, later.                           But–Tell us your ideas!

Click here for The hoodoo / voodoo self-test. “How much Hoodoo do you do?”

Funny, so darn hip, and even mildly enlightening.

Leave your feedback. Do you, or anyone you know, get hocus-pocus with God?

(photo obtained here)