Shadows.

Image is key I believe. We are created in God’s IMAGE. We are not God, we are merely shadows…

How can a shadow truly understand what the Being who casts the shadow consists of?  The complexities. The intricacies. Only if the Being makes himself as simple as his shadows cast.  As simple as a black outline sprawled out upon the sidewalk on a sunny day.  It is then and only then that we understand that the shadow and the Being are the same. Not fully, but yet the same in nature, just simplified to a high degree.

God feels. God yearns. God is saddened by unreciprocated love. God is just like humans. Of course we couldnt understand this at first. As Rob Bell points out in Sex God, The 10 commandments were almost too much for Israel to take. The first two, inferred to be spoken by God, were so powerful that the people pleaded for Moses to speak the commandments to them or else they “would surely die.” Humans couldn’t relate to the power or immensity of God.  Something had to change eventually, or God’s true message of love may never be expressed.  God had to express his love in basic terms.  He made himself a shadow, Jesus Christ. More than a shadow really, but nonetheless a image that we could begin to understand.  God and Jesus are still complex, but the image of Christ is an image showing the similarities between the Being and its shadow. Through his super-shadow if you will we realize that God yearns for us to love him, to love him back, the way that he loves us.  He made himself vulnerable when he loved us, because many will not reciprocate this love at all and nobody will ever reciprocate his love to its full extent, but yet he accepts our love. When some dont return the love of God, He feels like you feel when you are utterly rejected. These are just my observations.

CS LEWIS

I have to be honest…I did not know what to expect from The Problem of Pain, by C.S. Lewis. It seems as if he states where he wants to take you, then confuses the hell out of you, then states his point at the end of the chapter. Im not gonna lie, i was skeptical. Skeptical that i wasnt smart enough to understand. Skeptical that God was not going to teach me anything through this book. That CS Lewis and myself were just too unalike.

Well, if we are or not alike is unimportant. What is important is Lewis’ statements on suffering. Why it is necessary, and why it is a sign of God’s Divine Humility. Also, Lewis’ statement that life is just a dot a never-ending plane of our true life. Through the key idea that suffering is God’s effort to get humans attention as a last resort, he takes you on a journey exposing you to your life of selfishness and narcissism. The key is self-sacrifice. Human life is an investment. If we are faithful in the small amount of time we have, God blesses us with mind boggling joys. As we sacrifice we are content. As we indulge we are empty. God offers a life of community, where we are fulfilled through others deeds. The other choice is doing it all alone. Hell. As God uses suffering to open our eyes to Gods love, and we commit to share his love with OUR COMMUNITY, we find contentment. Thinking that we can do it all alone, and commit to nothing but ourselves will only lead to the ultimate suffering.

The Problem of Updating

I’m not sure if it’s C.S. Lewis or life in general that’s kicking our asses, but the BBC blog (BBCB) has been severely neglected lately.

“The Problem of Pain” has been an amazing book thus far, and with each chapter, the reading and understanding comes a little easier. The difficulty in understanding the book has been, for me, one of my favorite parts. It’s like Lewis assumes you to be his colleague, never speaking “down” to us, nor is he ever condescending, it’s like he expects the best of his readers, and it’s encouraging.

This week’s reading, “Human Pain” seems to be the crux of his book’s entire argument. It discusses explicitly the problems associated with our suffering. Lewis categorizes our pain into two distinct experiences, there is “Pain A” which is the dull kind of ache, sometimes associated with running or exercising; a pain that is experienced but almost appreciated for the potential benefit associated with it. “Pain B” however, is the pain most of the chapter is concerned with. This kind of pain is the suffering, the catastrophe either physical or mental that produces complete anguish and desperation.

The kind of pain people cannot associate with a loving God, thus the “problem” of pain is not the problem of experiencing discomfort or “pain” in our traditional sense, but the problem that comes with accepting the reality of the existence of pain, and trying to reconcile this belief with that with a faith in God. There is a problem in explaining a loving God to someone who has experienced great pain, or simply someone who recognizes pain as the opposite of love.

Lewis argues the contrary; that pain and love exist is no accident, in fact, they co-exist in such a way that they cannot be separated. The very fact that God allows us to feel this pain is proof that he loves us deeply and wants nothing more than for us to come to a redemptive knowledge of Him. It’s like His last resort.

God, of course does not want us to suffer, he just wants what is best for us, and thanks to Adam, our innate desire is no longer what’s best for us, thus necessitating God’s pruning and correction; Pain.

It’s a tough book and a tough chapter, there’s no popcorn reading going on, but really, I believe a book dealing with such an essential topic deserves the utmost seriousness, for there is no room for negligence when dealing with so dire a subject.

I AM UNchristian

First, tonights group was sobering. I realized how I want to be used by God, but without exerting any effort whatsoever. This isn’t just something that happens occasionally…it happens quite frequently. I yearn to be used by God to do BIG things in peoples lives. To show them the genuine love that Christ would show. The problem is that it takes CHANGE. It takes a conscious decision to live the way you know is right. To go where God moves you. To obey what God is calling you to do. “Seizing a Divine Moment.” I resist, but I still want the glamour of feeling like I am holy enough to be used by God. It may be as simple as for praying for someone or giving a Bum a burrito. The feeling of purpose is indescribable when you walk in the path that God has set before you. We feel a part of something bigger than ourselves. The other part of the time, when we choose the opposite of the purposeful path, we feel like we have missed out or gotten something horribly wrong. We feel shamed. My shame came in the form of a burrito and a prayer. I realized how UNchristian i was when i chose to eat a burrito instead of doing as i felt God was calling me to do and give it away to a homeless man. I felt as insignificant as it seemed that I had missed by “Divine Moment” as Erwin McManus tells in his book Chasing daylight, to do as God was asking me to do. Instead I chose to eat a Burrito. The neglected prayer would have been simple, having my heart break enough for a person who will burn in hell forever and feel so alone in front of God that they can’t even speak or see, that i take time to lift them up in committed prayer. I missed it, in both situations. So many times we miss it. What would happen to the world if Christians didn’t miss it? What if we actually followed the path God desired, the “road less traveled?” What if we accepted petty differences and decided to become UNITED as a church of “little Christs” to infect our community with love? Our State? Our Country? Our World? What would happen to the horrible perception of Christianity if We hit it more than we missed it?

No Mere Tolerance

unChristian has given a sobering look at the realities of non-Christian perspectives on Christians.

According to an overwhelming amount of research, Christians portray a calloused, fearful, sheltered and ignorant faith that appears to be unwilling to change. The book is great, but to me, each chapter reveals the same problem which manifests itself in each of these ways.

Entitlement.

The Bible EXPLICITLY states “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). I don’t understand how we get to the realization that we’re superior in any way. As it says in The Alchemist “all of our stories were written by the same hand.”

We’re all made in the image of the same God, and just because I was fortunate enough to have been born in America, it does not mean I am entitled to anything. I want to love my brother not begrudgingly or because it’s my “Christian duty”, but because he’s just as important to my God as I am. I stumbled across the perfect C.S. Lewis quote:

“Our charity must be a real and costly love… no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object present to your senses.”

May be the perfect beer.

So I havent got a chance to enjoy this particular beer. After reading the description at Yardhouse today, i knew i had to try it. But before that i looked at the website for Maredsous. It summed up why monks are pretty awesome. Cant wait to enjoy with a few friends.

The NEXT Book…

                                                

The next book is “The Problem of Pain” by C.S. Lewis. This is where new members will be admitted. So get the book, if you are interested in joining. The date will be posted in a few weeks.

This is the book that we are in the process of reading.  It is basically a research based book, that puts forth research and statistics of the views of “outsiders.” Those are the people who would not identify as a Christian. It is a lot of information that is thrown at you, but it is all relevant information.  We are only about 4 chapters in out of a total 10. Almost every chapter hits on a certain belief about Christians. It is a response to what Christians have become, and why this should not be. It encourages Christians to understand these critiques and change them on a grassroots level. The only way that outsiders will change their views, is if genuine Christians live out the bibles commands. He mentions phrases such as “radical transparency” as tools to balance truth and grace. To go to the extreme of truth is to be LEGALISTIC, and seem unloving. BUT…to go to the far extreme of grace, is to become complacent. There must be a balance of Both truth and grace, but lived out in love. Well thats enough for today. I look forward to posts from this books members SEAN, BRADY, and MIKE D cause you have already heard too much from me…

LOVE. TRAVIS.

This is the first post.

Welcome to the BBC (Beer Book Club) this blog is very new, so please be patient. Wejust finished our first book VELVET ELVIS by Rob Bell. It was a great book, and a challenge modern day Christianity. I believe it was quite relevant to read, even if you are one of the crusaders against Rob Bell and some of his theology. We came to the conclusion that despite a persons specific beliefs, in which nobody can be exactly right, Mr. Bell brings up some very legitimate points in the area of Christians lives and despite likes or dislikes about him, he is actually trying to figure out how to live as a Christian, in the way that Christ wants us to live. Not focusing on legalism and other things, but focusing on love and change. So I encourage you to read this book, and create your own commentary. LOVE. TRAVIS. just finished our first book VELVET ELVIS by Rob Bell. It was a great book, and a challenge modern day Christianity. I believe it was quite relevant to read, even if you are one of the crusaders against Rob Bell and some of his theology. We came to the conclusion that despite a persons specific beliefs, in which nobody can be exactly right, Mr. Bell brings up some very legitimate points in the area of Christians lives and despite likes or dislikes about him, he is actually trying to figure out how to live as a Christian, in the way that Christ wants us to live. Not focusing on legalism and other things, but focusing on love and change. So I encourage you to read this book, and create your own commentary.LOVE. TRAVIS.