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Posts Tagged ‘Christianity’

RITA’S SECRET ALLY

Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 21, 2012| 4 Comments »

Rita Chretien had an ally that helped her survive 49 days in the wilderness of Nevada with nothing but her van (which was hopelessly stuck in mud) and carefully rationed road trip snacks.

It’s an ally that might surprise you, but it made all the difference in the world to Rita: it was her faith in Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is God’s Son).

According to a Calgary Sun article, Rita and husband Albert were on a road trip from their Pentiction, B.C. home to Las Vegas in March 2011 when they took a sightseeing detour and became stuck on a remote logging road.

After three days, Albert left to find help (a 35-kilometre trip to the nearest major highway), while Rita read books, took daily walks, and studied her Bible. She rationed her meagre supplies and drank melted snow.

Rita was discovered May 6, 2011 by men riding ATVs. A doctor at a hospital in northern Nevada said she probably had just a few days of life left. That said, her recovery was astonishingly fast and according to the Sun, the doctor, James Westberry of St. Luke’s Hospital, gave at least some of the credit to her faith.

“I must say, it is unusual for us to see someone in this type of situation to not only survive, but to be doing so well,” Westberry added.

News like this doesn’t surprise me; I’ve read about studies that connect faith with resilience and health. Indeed, a 2000 Health Psychology magazine analysis of 42 studies involving more than 125,000 patients found that those with some sort of “religious” involvement live longer.

So, what do you think of this? Does a neutral analysis of so many studies have credibility in your world?

There are lots of places in ancient documents where God is represented as a place of refuge and a solid foundation. During her endless days of worry and creeping fear, Rita must have read and relied on passages like this: “GOD is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight”. Or maybe Rita was encouraged by this: “We who have fled to God for refuge can have great confidence as we hold on to the hope before us.”

Now, you may be scoffing at all this, because Rita’s husband was finally found, dead, in September 2012. So in light of that, what credibility or hope do all those quotes have? If you believe there is nothing after this life, that when we die everything comes to a breathtaking halt, then those quotes may, indeed, strike you as meaningless.

But if something inside you says there has to be more than 70-odd years on this planet followed by decaying in a grave, then what I quoted above is worth seriously considering.

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CONSIDERING BLIND RELIGIOUS FAITH

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 15, 2012| 15 Comments »

We live in a world that, in ways you and I can’t even discern, goes out of its way to discourage serious thinking.

That’s why even though I’m a man of faith, I admire many atheists; I know most of them have gone against our culture and actually thought, long and hard, about their beliefs.

That’s also why I was so interested in a July 2012 National Post interview with Justin Trottier. At the time, he was with the Centre for Inquiry, Canada’s most organized atheist group.

Trottier is a crusader against blind religious faith. And I’m 100 per cent with him. Only one example is needed to explain our shared position: blind religious faith was among the major reasons for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

That said, beyond our obvious and dramatic differences, I want to highlight Trottier’s opposition to teaching religion to children. He told interviewer Charles Lewis that “robbing kids of critical faculties is a bad thing”.

From my vantage point, Trottier’s opinion sounds a lot like a characteristic of blind religious faith – in this case, believing there is no creator and teaching anyone otherwise is simply indoctrinating impressionable young minds.

In reading up on today’s best-known atheists (Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, the late Christopher Hitchens and Victor Stenger) I notice this militant absolutism is a common denominator.

Teaching faith to children simply gives them the opportunity to make up their own minds about what they do and don’t believe. How can I write this? Because I know that as soon as they are old enough to explore issues and weigh options, these young minds will be assaulted with an unending tsunami of images, events and opinions that are dead-set against faith.

Without any faith knowledge, the “fight” is over before it even begins. And if Trottier seeks to be a thoughtful and fair person, then I hope he will consider this incredible imbalance and change his stance.

What about you – are you a parent who’s unsure if there’s a God? Do you not know where you stand on the idea that not only is there a creator, but that He sent Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is His Son) to live, die and be resurrected for you and me?

Then set that aside for the sake of your offspring. Take them to church, let them hear about Jesus and allow them to make up their own minds. It’s a gift they deserve; a gift you won’t regret giving.

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WHO IS UNLOVABLE?

Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on August 9, 2012| 16 Comments »

The newspaper headline instantly grabbed my attention: “Demi worries about being unlovable”.

The article, published in early 2012, highlighted an interview actress Demi Moore did just a week after she filed for divorce from actor Ashton Kutcher, star of the TV sitcoms That ‘70s Show and Two and a Half Men.

Moore, best known for movies such as Ghost, A Few Good Men and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, said this to Harper’s Bazaar magazine: “What scares me is I’m going to find out at the end of my life that I’m … not worthy of being loved. That there’s something fundamentally wrong with me…”

It’s a startlingly frank statement for a media star like Moore to make, but it addresses a common human fear. There were many years of my life when I felt exactly the same.

But here’s the thing: since deciding to follow Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is God’s Son) in 2002, I’ve learned that it’s not all that important whether I feel unlovable. Because it’s simply not the truth.

The evidence? Consider these words from one of the primary source documents of Jesus’ life: “God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him would not be lost, but have eternal life.” I know ‘the world’ includes me and I’m pretty sure Demi Moore makes the cut, too. (In fact, EVERYONE qualifies, whether we like it or not.)

How about this, written by Paul, a missionary who spent much of his life telling others about Jesus: “Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much He loves us.” Once again, there are no qualifiers. Everyone can accept this gift, from Demi Moore to the worst person you can imagine.

Finally, this quote from an ancient prophet may be the most amazing of all: “You are precious to Me [God], and I have given you a special place of honour. I love you. That’s why I am willing to trade others, to give up whole nations, to save your life.”

When I read these excerpts, I’m reminded all over again why I decided to follow Jesus. By accepting the gift of His death and resurrection for all the wrong things I’ve done (and all the RIGHT things I HAVEN’T done), I give my love to the One who loved me first.

Jesus’ sacrifice addresses another part of Demi Moore’s statement – feeling like there’s something fundamentally wrong with her. That’s not just a feeling; it’s dead-on true. But not just for Demi – for me, too. And for you.

Indeed, there’s something ‘fundamentally wrong’ with every person on earth: we think we’re God, that we don’t need our creator and we can do whatever we want. So many of our planet’s problems are the result of this selfish thinking.

But rather than simply judge and convict us, God showed how much He loves humanity by reaching out and offering us the gift of Jesus. What’s keeping you from accepting it?

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WHAT’S YOUR “THING”?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , on August 3, 2012| Leave a Comment »

After one of my blogs was posted online, I emailed friends to get some feedback (in case they wanted to read it). Here are two responses:

The first asked me to stop sending her links to these essays because anything related to God is “not my thing.”

The second, from my old buddy Jim Mason (a former newspaper editor in Stouffville, Ontario), went like this:

“What has intrigued me are the number of people who have never believed. Period. Tell them you were just at church and there are no questions, just dismissals. Not to sound high and mighty, but I truly wonder what floats their boat … money? Power? Toys?”

My goodness; it almost sounds like these two people, who have never met, were emailing each other rather than me. The “exchange” certainly got me thinking.

If spirituality is not your thing, then what is? Because, whether we realize it or not, I believe every one of us has a “thing” – something we are passionate about, something we’re willing to spend time, resources, and emotion pursuing.

So, are you focused on money, power, or toys? All these things are certainly cherished in our culture, but if you die wealthy, are you better than those who leave this earth with just a few loonies? Will you have a more fulfilling and laudable life with millions of dollars, a fancy job title and an eye-popping home theatre system?

This reminds me of something Jesus told his followers: “What kind of deal is it to get everything you want, but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?”

Some might shake their heads at wealth and power and declare their “thing” is family, friends, and relationships. All these things are good, but what if they’re limited to nights at the pub, uncomfortable Christmas dinners, or cruise ship vacations? Doesn’t that get a little old after awhile?

Others might not say so, but their “thing” may be sex. Consider reruns of the TV sitcom Two and a Half Men. One of the main characters, played by Charlie Sheen, was a sex and party-obsessed bachelor.

At first, it’s easy to think Charlie Sheen’s character was smarter and cooler than his cheapskate, fussy, down-on-his-luck brother.  But in the end, the show made it clear that Charlie’s lifestyle was breathtakingly superficial and you feel just as sorry for him.

Extreme sports? Xbox? Wii? These are fun “things”, but how fulfilling are they in the end? My hobby is landscape photography, but no matter how wonderful some of my pictures might be, what can I do with them after putting them on my web page or collecting laudatory comments on the Flickr photo sharing site? Even if I were to get a publishing contract, would having a few coffee-table books be ultimately satisfying?

The point to all of this is simple:

  • children grow up and leave
  • marriages often end
  • spouses die
  • friends can (and often do) move or drift away
  • big-screen TVs need replacing
  • sexual attractiveness slips away
  • most books go out of print
  • you can’t do extreme sports forever
  • one day you’ll have to give up your fancy job title
  • you’ll get bored with Xbox and Wii

So what’s left to be your “thing”? What – or who – won’t change with the passage of time? What can you and I commit to, and have that commitment returned, for our entire lives? Could it be God?

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WE’RE ALL INVITED HOME

Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 30, 2012| 5 Comments »

The Calgary Sun article was incredibly sad. It detailed how a grieving mother struggled to understand an unprovoked, random attack that killed her son.

After painting a glowing picture of the 37-year-old victim, the reporter quoted the mom as saying “We mere mortals will never understand why, but God only wants the good ones.”

As painful as the article was to read, and as much as my heart went out to the mother, her words caused my brain to pause and ponder.

Who are the “good ones”? Are they funny, shy, gentle computer experts like the victim in this terrible event? What about someone who’s caused horrible pain to others, then turned his or her life around and tried to fix the damage? What if, somewhere down the road, that someone is the man charged in this Calgary murder?

There are some challenging forgiveness issues here. But there’s something else, too.

I happened to come across something written by an ancient guy who followed Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God. He wrote, “There’s nobody living right, not even one.”

If you believe that, then everyone – even murderers and their random victims – is included in that levelling-the-playing-field statement. So if nobody’s “living right”, does God want any of us? Absolutely!

I’ve heard it said that the story of humanity is all about us wildly imperfect people spurning God and Him refusing to walk away from us, refusing to stop loving us, refusing to rescind the invitation to have a relationship with Him, through Jesus, that lasts for eternity.

Looking for proof? Check out these words from one of the people Jesus personally trained to follow Him: “God does not want anyone to be lost, but He wants all people to change their hearts and lives.”

That means every person on this planet, from the person you admire most to the Calgary killer, is in His sights. Everyone is invited home. What’s keeping you from accepting the invitation?

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WHAT’S WITH THIS “WORSHIP” THING?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »

What’s with this “worship” thing?

I used to ask that question when I passed by churches and the sign referred to Sunday “worship services”. Or, if I was at a service and the musicians started playing “worship songs”.

I just couldn’t figure it out. Why would the creator and master of time, space and the universe need us to worship Him? Does that mean He has a universe-sized ego that requires stroking? Really?? If that’s the case, why? I mean, it’s not like he has a lot of competition from other gods, right?

I used to ask my Jesus-following friends about this, but never received a credible answer. And those questions were among the things that kept me from having a relationship with God and Jesus. I associate monumental egos with Adolf Hitler, Osama Bin Laden and torture killers like Paul Bernardo. So if that was part of God’s makeup, then I wanted nothing to do with Him.

I’m not sure when that changed, but as someone with a deep and life-long passion for music, it had to do with hearing songs by amazing spiritual artists such as Russ Taff and Whiteheart, both popular in the 1980s and ’90s. In a literate and talented way, these folks presented a very different picture of God than the one I grew up. And that picture sure didn’t fit with an egomaniac.

So I started to worship. THEN I understood and that took me to a deeper place with Jesus (who many people believe is the son of God).

Here’s the deal: think of your relationship with your spouse/significant other as a micro-version of your relationship with God. When you express love for your spouse/significant other, that opens the door for them to return the favour.

That’s how it is with God. When I stand in church, or at a concert, and tell Jesus how much I love Him, I’m lowering the drawbridge to my heart and soul to receive that love back. And guess what? That’s exactly what happens.

Until we make that love offering – to our spouses/significant others AND to God – we just aren’t in the right emotional and spiritual place to receive it back. But when we do, it’s an incredible bargain because we receive far more than what we ‘put out’. At least that’s my experience.

What do you think…does this put the notion of worshipping God into an understandable and – more importantly – credible place for you?

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HERE TODAY, HERE FOREVER

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , on July 20, 2012| 5 Comments »

Some days I’m simply struck by the disposable, here-today-gone-tomorrow nature of life in North America.

A cellphone manufacturer has recently been in the news; it’s in trouble because a new version of its phone won’t be ready for another six months. Meanwhile, the company’s latest phone is less than two years old.

Then I look through magazines for photographers and runners (both are passions for me). They are filled with advertisements and articles about the latest cameras and shoes.

I’m amazed at how many cameras one manufacturer can put on the market and how the entire idea is to make you feel ashamed to leave the house with that outdated two-year-old waste of materials.

Running shoes? Manufacturers “update” their product lines every six months. Sometimes, that means little more than changing the colour of the trim. Nevertheless, that’s apparently worth articles and ads to subtly tell you to get with it and swap your hideous current shoes for something that’s sure to be infinitely better.

All this makes me long for something permanent (besides death, taxes and government deficits, that is) and something that doesn’t have a ‘best before’ date.

Is it out there? Yes it is.

People like me, who follow Jesus of Nazareth (who many believe is the Son of God), get a great deal of strength and peace in this excerpt, from an ancient Jesus follower: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”

The Jesus that His followers believed in and followed a thousand years ago – because they knew He loved them enough to sacrifice himself for their wrongdoings – is not only still around, He’s still loving you, me and everyone else today.

That Jesus is still knocking at the door to our hearts, asking to come in, be our best friend, strengthen us for the hard times and show us how to be the person He wants us to be.

Looking for evidence? Consider this excerpt, from one of Jesus’ earliest followers: “God wants everyone to be saved and to fully understand the truth”.

He wanted that 2,000 years ago (when this quote was written) and, 2,000 years from now, He’ll still want it.

I don’t know about you, but I find that incredibly comforting. No matter what you’ve done (or not done), no matter how you’ve treated family members and work colleagues (or been mistreated by them), no matter what temptations you’ve given in to.

Jesus’ offer of a new life now – and an eternal life when your body gives out – still stands. No strings attached. All you have to do is hear Him knocking and open the door.

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CHURCH: A ‘DESERVEDLY INFAMOUS GROUP?’

Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 16, 2012| 4 Comments »

If you like Jesus, but don’t care for the Christian church, this news item may have grabbed your attention: bestselling vampire novelist Anne Rice (1941-2021), who returned to her Roman Catholic faith in 1998, renounced Christianity in 2010, but retained her commitment to following Jesus.

Is such a thing possible? Ms Rice (best known for writing Interview With The Vampire and The Vampire Lestat) certainly thought so.

Writing on her Facebook page, Ms Rice declared, “It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.”

At the same time, she maintained, “My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn’t understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God, is crucial to me.”

The reaction to all this was hugely mixed. Some people are sad, others (unfortunately) declare “good riddance” and some are understanding.

I fell into the latter camp. There’s no doubt about it, Jesus followers and their churches are a motley crew who exhibit all the traits of humanity. That means we can be, and often are, petty, smug, self-righteous, self-centred, intentionally blind to our own screw-ups while judging others’ failures, quarrelsome, pessimistic, and more. You get the picture, right?

However, I’m puzzled as to why Ms. Rice found this so intolerable. I don’t believe any human being on this planet today – Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Muslim, atheist, etc. – is immune to at least some of the same shortcomings. Was she?

The Christian church is made up of gloriously imperfect people, so it’s certainly no more virtuous than many other institutions. The trouble is, there was a time when church leaders held it up as a model of morality. Even though few leaders make that mistake today, the residue of that time continues and, in the eyes of the media and militant atheists, this makes the church a safe and easy target.

There are three points that Ms. Rice, and anyone pondering a life of faith, should consider:

1.  Today’s Christian church makes a hugely positive contribution to the world in everything from providing for the poor and helping single mothers to improving their communities and supplying aid to developing nations.
In all this, today’s churches are guided by Jesus, who tells His followers to care for the needy, love their enemies and treat people the way they themselves would like to be treated. Almost every other organization that’s committed to doing good works tries to follow these guidelines, whether they know it or not.

2.  Serious followers of Jesus realize they are called to be in a church. One of Jesus’s early followers wrote something that almost seems addressed to people like Anne Rice: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.”

3.  Being part of a church, no matter how imperfect it may be, helps serious Jesus followers deepen their faith and resist some of the nasty temptations offered up by our culture, such as pornography, shop-til-you-drop lifestyles, gambling, and dog-eat-dog competitiveness.

It’s not always easy being part of a church. But for most serious Jesus followers, the go-it-alone alternative is worse. I hope Anne Rice realized this before she left this life.

So, have you walked away from attending church? If so, why? And do the three points listed above make any difference in your viewpoint?

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THE BASIC FLAW OF DOUBT

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 11, 2012| 13 Comments »

Canadian politician/author/inventor/journalist/broadcaster Charles Templeton was a mostly brilliant jack-of-all-trades. But I’ve left one “occupation” out because it’s poignant and sad and, perhaps, telling the story can help us thoughtfully consider our lives.

Templeton (1915-2001) was also a gifted evangelist who was once on par with Billy Graham–considered by many to be the world’s greatest speaker on following Jesus of Nazareth. In fact, they travelled the continent together as a team.

Templeton hosted a weekly TV show in the United States, regularly preached at massive crusades and, during the 1950s, was a towering leader in the North American church.

But Templeton also had nagging doubts about Jesus – doubts which eventually led him to become an agnostic (someone who simply doesn’t know if there is a God) and walk away from the ministry.

I used to listen to Templeton every morning on Toronto’s CKEY radio. So once I discovered his past, Templeton’s story intrigued me to the point of writing a Calgary Herald review of his 1996 book Farewell To God: My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith.

What that book left out was an incident from when he was struggling with his faith. Templeton had what can only be called a mystical experience, where he “saw” God and Jesus weeping for the sins, wars, and hatreds of humanity. As he wrote in another book, his anecdotal memoir:

“When I became conscious of my surroundings again, I was lying on the wet grass, convulsed by sobs. I had been outside myself and didn’t know for how long. Later, I couldn’t sleep and trembled as though with a fever at the thought that I had caught a glimpse through the veil.”

Templeton tried to repeat the experience, which is bizarre because how would one go about “creating” such an extraordinary event? When he couldn’t, Templeton researched mystical experiences until concluding they were not unusual, and in his words, “of no special significance. Mystical experience has added no insight to our knowledge of God or to Christian doctrine.”

Not unusual? Of no special significance?? People all over this planet would love to have the sort of mystical experience that was bestowed on Templeton, regardless of belief level. Indeed, Mother Teresa spent most of her adult life praying (in vain) to experience God this way. And what “authority” declared mystical experiences are irrelevant unless they add to our knowledge of God?

I find myself profoundly saddened that Templeton found ways to write off one of the most incredible moments any human being can ever pray to experience. The way I see it, God did, indeed, let him glimpse through the veil and see things most of us can never hope to see. God went out of his way for Templeton. And Templeton still walked away from a life of faith.

So what can we take away from this? In his book Your God Is Too Safe, Canadian author Mark Buchanan puts it this way: “Here lies the basic flaw of all doubt: it can never really be satisfied. No evidence is ever, fully, finally enough. Doubt wants always to consume, never to consummate.”

Before I decided to follow Jesus of Nazareth (whom many people believe is the Son of God), Buchanan’s words were a perfect description for me. At some point, I had to reconcile myself with not getting all the answers to my questions. Once I did that, the doors opened to a transformational chapter in my life – a transformation that won’t be finished until this life is done.

Can you set aside your nagging questions and trust in someone bigger than yourself? Or are you staring at the possibility of Charles Templeton’s fate? Post a comment and let me know.

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WASTING TIME WITH RELIGION

Posted in It's Not About 'Religion', tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 6, 2012| 3 Comments »

Are you as fascinated as I am with the spirituality of celebrities? In recent years, the media told us about pop singer Katy Perry not having a childhood because of her strict religious parents (they wouldn’t even let her buy non-Christian CDs), and about Brad Pitt (who grew up the son of very conservative Christian parents) saying his upbringing was stifling.

Now there’s another celebrity speaking out about faith.  Singer Brian Johnson, the 70-year-old member of AC/DC – I love his wolverine-in-heat singing style – told the website popeater.com that he doesn’t believe in religion.

“I believe all religions are bad,” he said. “I think they’re a waste of time.”

From a Christian perspective (and that was Johnson’s childhood environment), he couldn’t be more right. Religion is about rules and appearances – follow the rules and make sure you appear to have it all together. If you don’t, prepare to be criticized and ostracized.

Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God, has no use for this kind of thinking. He told the self-righteous religious leaders of His day (those are likely the sort of people Johnson is thinking about) that they were hopeless frauds.

One of the original source documents of His life records Him telling a crowd of people, “Instead of giving you God’s Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they [the self-righteous religious leaders] package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads.”

In the case of Katy Perry (famous for her outlandish outfits and the hit song ‘I Kissed a Girl’), she told Vanity Fair magazine her parents wouldn’t let her say ‘deviled eggs’ or ‘dirt devil’ and the only book her mother ever read to her was the Bible.

Now this may be a case of parents fearful of losing their child to all the attractions of our superficial, often-misguided culture. But that fear caused them to go to such laughable religious extremes that Perry abandoned her faith.

These were the same kinds of extremes Jesus dealt with. His followers were collecting food during the Sabbath – a holy day of rest for serious Jews – when those obnoxious, rule-obsessed religious leaders found out and accused them of breaking Jewish law. As before, Jesus refused to knuckle under.

“The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren’t made to serve the Sabbath,” He told them.

Notice what keeps happening? Now, as in ancient times, religion keeps getting in the way of people having a life-changing relationship with God – a relationship that ultimately guarantees us a place in Heaven with Jesus.

I’m not saying all rules are always bad; can you imagine the mayhem that would result if we tried playing hockey or soccer without rules? Those guidelines help us understand and enjoy hockey and soccer, just as the guidelines Jesus supported help us understand and enjoy a relationship with God, through Jesus.

If this makes sense, are you willing to give God (as opposed to religion) a try?

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