Christian Politics and H. Richard Niebuhr

I must admit that politics is one of those areas of discussion that I try to say clear of with many people because it can be so divisive. If I'm going to draw a hard line in the sand, I want to make sure that it is for the sake of the Gospel. However, I do believe that it is important for Christians to take part in the political process in order to be "salt and light" in our world. At the same time, we should realize that our particular political party or concern is not synonymous with God's kingdom. The only hope for the world is the Gospel and finally the reign of Christ in the New Creation, so how does this fit within Niebuhr's Christ and Culture paradigms?

In 1951 H. Richard Niebuhr wrote a book called Christ and Culture, which presented the model that is still commonly used when Christians discuss how Christians should engage the culture. He believed that there were five prevalent ways the Church has viewed culture:
1. Christ against culture
2. Christ of culture
3. Christ above culture
4. Christ and culture in paradox
5. Christ transforming culture

When we look at Nieburhr's five approaches to "Christ and culture", the "Christ transforming culture" model is highly compatible with Christians engaging in political spheres. Dennis Hollinger writes, "Adherents emphasize that God the creator and God the redeemer are one, and thus redemption is not a move away from the world but a transformation of the world that God created and still rules." John Calvin saw that "in some measure, begins the heavenly kingdom in us, even now upon earth, and in this mortal and evanescent life commences immortal and incorruptible blessedness, while to the latter it is assigned, so long as we live among men, to foster and maintain the external worship of God, to defend sound doctrine and the condition of the Church, to adapt our conduct to human society, to form our manners to civil justice, to conciliate us to each other, to cherish common peace and tranquility." According to Jonathan Blanchard, "every true minister of Christ is a universal reformer, whose business it is, so far as possible, to reform all the evils which press on human concerns." Matthew 5:13-16 makes it clear that we are to be salt and light in our world and to "let [our] light shine before others." As Martin Luther King Jr. pointed out, "the church is the body of Christ...but...we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect."

Understanding that Christ wants to use His body as a transforming agent in society, Christians can be free to lobby and vote for better laws to effect change. However, I tend to side with Stephen Carter who believes that "religions...will almost always lose their best, most spiritual selves when they choose to be involved in the partisan, electoral side of American politics" (as quoted in Hollinger's Choosing the Good: Christian Ethics In a Complex World), so I feel that it is probably best for the Church at large to stick to a prophetic model, using general principles and middle axioms. In working for Christ's kingdom, we must not forget what Jesus told Pilate, "My kingdom is not from this world" (John 18:36). It becomes very easy for Christians to slip into the optimism and softening of the harder teachings of the "Christ of culture" model.

May we find some help in the "Christ against culture" paradigm? I'll look at this in my next post. In the mean time, please share your thoughts on how you understand the Christian's role in politics.

Sow A Thought--The Art of Mental Graven Images

Last night I picked up a book from my shelf called The Art of Thinking. The author had one idea that I couldn't seem to let go of until I wrote about it:

 "All we can say is: 1. That most of our mental operations are inseparable from images, or are produced by images...2. That those images closely correspond to wishes or repulsions, to things we want or do not want, so that this wanting or not wanting seems to be the ultimate motive power in our psychology, probably in connection with elementary conditions in our being. 3. That inevitably, people will reveal in their thoughts and speeches, in their outlook on life and in their lives themselves, the quality of the images filling their minds. Investigation and estimation of these images, together with investigation and estimation of our likes and dislikes, will tell us what we are worth morally more accurately than even our actions, for they are the roots of action" (19).

This quote in turn brings to mind the famous proverb often attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny." So, it hit me that we should guard our minds against these images and be very careful what we allow to enter our minds. I realize this is not a new thought, but it struck me in a fresh way.

Our thoughts are made up of images, so if we want to change our thoughts or our actions we have to tackle it at the level of the images. Maybe this I why God placed a ban on idols and graven images in Israel. In the classic book 1984 Orwell writes about the idea that if a society eliminates words from the vocabulary it also eliminates the ideas associated with those words. If you don't have words to convey a concept, it's difficult to have a clear thought, let alone pass it along.

So what if these mental images work in the same way? If we begin to eradicate our minds of sinful images--images that fuel covetousness, lust, pride, etc.--we begin getting rid of the building blocks of sinful thoughts and actions. The authors of Every Man's Battle propose this when they write about "starving the eyes." But it's not enough to get rid of these images (if we even can) without overwriting them with other ones.

This is where Romans 12:1-2 helps me begin to understand this process. "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Paul adds more to this picture in Philippians 4:8 when he writes, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

If we want Christ Jesus to control our lives, it's time we start allowing Him to overwrite some of the corrupted files in our minds with His own image rather than lesser gods around us.

Image courtesy of Renjith Krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

3 Reasons Why You Need To Read More Fiction and/or Poetry

Becoming a thinking Christian requires a lot of things, but it certainly takes reading books on at least some level. In the quest for knowledge, it can be tempting to read primarily non-fiction. As a seminary student I can remember thinking at one point that all of those years that I spent reading fiction growing up where a complete waste of time. All I once thought gain, I counted as a loss! However, after several more years of studying, I discovered that reading good fiction is very important for the intellect. Here are some reasons that I have found to make more room in your reading list for good fiction and poetry:

1. Fiction and poetry engages the imagination.

    Many non-fiction books can been dry. They are usually written to communicate information rather than stimulate the imagination. Dr. Ellsworth Kalas once told me that seminaries and other academic institutions did not put out many skilled writers. Good writing, imaginative writing is not the goal of most professors. Content, no matter how dryly conveyed, is king. All it takes to become a success is a good peer review. However, a perusal of great Christian intellects will reveal imaginations that were alive and kicking. Just read G.K Chesterton or C.S. Lewis and you can see why they are still so popular today--they loved stories and poems and it showed through in their creative thinking.

  Adults lose their sense of wonder. The older we get the more it takes to impress us. To a three year old, a rock can be quite magical. A thirty-three year old can look at the same rock see something a lot more pedestrian. Chesterton asked the question of who was right in their thinking--the adult or the child? Reading fairy-tales and fantastic tales of adventure can give us some of our long-lost wonder back. Poetic language can inspire us to see common-placed items or scenarios in a new light. Imaginative thinking can be just as important as informational thinking.

2. Provides memorable illustrations and metaphors for writing and speaking.

  Some of my favorite authors and speakers are people who know the power of a good illustration. Literature, or even popular fiction, can be a great source to draw from when trying to connect with an audience. I can still remember a speaker using an illustration for Stephen King's Christine in a talk he gave in 1993! If he had never made the connection, the subject he was illustrating may have been forgotten long ago.

  My preaching professor had all his students read good literature and look for possible sermon illustrations. I chose Crime and Punishment and was pleasantly surprised by all the insights into human nature that it offered. He didn't just assign a novel, however, he would also read us a poem at the beginning of every class. By the end of the semester I rediscovered my love of literature and poetry and realized that my English degree could be a real asset to ministry and had't been a mistake after all.

  In addition to providing a treasure trove of illustrations, stories and poems give readers more linguistic tools in their tool box. One of my mentors, Dr. Steve Elliott (loving known as Pastor Steve), has shown me the value that good literature can bring to the table in crafting a great sermon. He doesn't mine books simply for illustrations; he allows his explorations into poetry and literature flavor the very language, metaphors, and cadence of his sermons.

3. Creates possible connections with secular intellectuals.
  Actually, this point could be made in relation to anything outside of a narrow field of study--art, music, even television. If you are a Christian thinker, artist, philosopher, apologist, or student, you need to find intelligent ways of connecting with non-Christian thinkers. If you are reading a steady diet of books on atonement theology or textual criticism, you may be able to debate your topic with others, but, chances are, you will have a difficult time connecting with them. However, a line or a thought from Chuck Palahnuik's Fight Club or George Orwell's 1984 may help you bridge the gap.

  A couple of years ago I watched the documentary Collision in which Pastor Douglas Wilson went on tour debating notable atheist Christopher Hitchens. Both men were voracious readers and both shared a love for P.G. Wodehouse. In the midst of all their debating, the documentary cut to one scene where both men where trading favorite Wodehouse quotes back and forth and genuinely having a good time. Even though Hitchens strongly disagreed with Wilson on many major issues, he said that he respected him as a thinker and person. I have found that secular thinkers tend to respect well-read Christians--especially Christians who are not afraid to engage the culture through the humanities.

  In a nutshell--thoughtfully engaging poetry and fiction will keep you from being dry and crusty as a person, speaker, author, or intellectual. A steady diet of reading dissertations, journal articles, or how-to books will suck the creative life right out of you if you are not balancing it with some good writing and stories.

What are some other reasons to read more fiction?

7 Tips For Reading More Books

If you're a book-lover like me, then you probably have a growing stack of books to read and not enough time to read them. I love my books, but they seem to mock me from my shelves and beg me from my Kindle. Come on! If I wanted a guilt trip, I would call some of my many neglected friends and family. What to do? Here are some ideas to help you whittle down that mountain to more manageable proportions.

1. Set goals.
Have a plan with a date. Noting pushes me like a good deadline and accountability. I use an on-line site called Goodreads to help me catalog my books and set goals for reading. They have a built in tracker that lets me know if I'm behind. This pressure keeps me motivated to stay on task. There are several on-line tools that you can use for this purpose. Or you may decide to go the old-fashioned way and make a paper book-list and year-end goal. Either way, the important thing is to take charge of your reading.

2. Read How To Read A Book by Mortimer J. Adler
I heard about this book from Howard Hendricks some years ago and have had it recommended to me by several people since. I finally gave in and read it through a couple of years ago. I found it beneficial for navigating different types of reading material. Here's a hint: you don't read every book in the same way.

3. Hit the highlights
Several years ago I asked my Inductive Bible Study professor and mentor how he got through so many books. He has a personal library of over 3,000 books in his office and another, supposedly larger one, at home. For a man who picks through Scripture with a fine-toothed comb, I was surprised a what he told me. Here it is in a nutshell: don't worry about reading non-fiction books in order, try reading the first and last page of the book and then read the first sentence of every paragraph. For many books that will be enough to give you the information for which you are looking. But does this count as having read the book? According to several scholars I have interviewed or read, Yes! I still struggle with method of reading but if it advances my progress even a little, it is worth it.

4. Audio books
Many people I respect use audio books to get more reading done. There are services like Audible to which you can subscribe. I have used the public library's audio book selection quite a bit, and recently I have used librivox.org to download to my Kindle Fire. I have a thirty minute commute to work, so I have an hour a day to listen to something. Thus far, I have only used it for fiction, since I usually mark up my non-fiction reads pretty heavily...but to each his or her own.

5. Cut out "time-sucks"
In this day and age, it is becoming increasingly difficult to unplug. I don't know how often I have found myself reading at the table with my laptop right in front of me with Goodreads or Twitter or Facebook pulled up. Needless to say, those where not very productive reading times. Other people like to read with the TV or radio going. All of these forms of media cause unwarranted distractions and suck time away from your intellectual development.

6. Pause or quit books that aren't engaging at the moment
Too many people feel like they have to finish a book before they can move on to something else. If their book stalls out, so does their productivity. Here's the deal: life is too short to waste time on dull books. Give yourself a pass to either pause the book till a later date or quite it altogether. Then move on to something more interesting to you.

7. Quit shopping and start reading
This is something I have to tell myself every so often. The fact is that I'm not sure which I like more--reading or getting new books. I'm a bit of a book collector--my wife thinks of it in terms of hoarding--so rather than spend my free time reading, I often find myself at Half Price Books or Goodwill or Amazon.com. Declare a shopping fast and shop your own book collection. More importantly, use that time to actually read.

If you have any additional tips for getting more read, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you. I might even edit this post and include it!

Not So Crazy Over Crazy Love--A Book Review

This book has a huge fan base in the evangelical world. So many of my personal friends have gone gaga over this book that I feel a little guilty for busting it down to two stars. However, I have several reasons that I must do so. Is it because I'm quenching the Holy Spirit's voice in my life? Is it because I'm a calloused Christian that isn't willing to be "overwhelmed by a relentless God"? No. It's that I'm not overwhelmed by this book...let me count the ways.

1. I am really hard pressed to find any new material in this book. Recently there has been a wave of similar books calling for comfortable suburban Christians to get Radical about their faith and realize that there is a Hole In the Gospel (well...at least their Gospel), and that each of us is called to be a disciple and Not A Fan. That covers several of them anyway. I haven't read all of these books, so I will refrain from commenting on them and stick to Crazy Love. Here's the deal: Tozer and Bonhoffer said it better. I'll stick with them.

2. I usually like books that give me a kick in the pants, but this one did not engage me at all. I agreed with much of what Chan was saying. Christians play it entirely too safe and half-heartedly worship Christ all the time. So, when I was bored to tears reading this book, I sat down and analyzed why. This point alone will require subpoints (sorry folks, that's just the kind of mood I'm in at the moment).

A. Chan should have fired his editor and hired a new one who would tell him when he was going all over the place, or say, "Hey, Francis, could you flesh this out more. This was just starting to get interesting and you left it dangling only to repeat some of this in a further chapter." Or maybe someone should have said, "You are making broad generalized claims about Christians, the Church, America. They seem true but if you really want to sell me, it would help to have some supporting data or stories or whatever." The fact is that the book could have been greatly improved by shifting some of the content around--dispersing some of his illustrations throughout the book and developing arguments well the first time instead of rehashing the same old arguments half way several times over. Am I being hard on Francis? Maybe but that is because...

B. I like good writing, and this is not good writing. Reading this felt like reading a blog instead of a book. "Well, Nick, Chan never claims to be a great writer!" Fair enough, but when Crazy Love is receiving such high accolades I feel that it is my duty to critique it. I am probably spoiled by reading guys like C.S. Lewis, A.W. Tozer, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and N.T. Wright. That might be true, but if you are going to all the work of publishing a book, learn how to write well. Give your sentences some zip--for crying out loud!

C. This may just go back to subpoint A...I'm still not sure, and so it gets its own subpoint. Chan's approach to his goal is confusing and muddled. I notice that several other reviewers have picked up on this as well. He begins his book by talking about how we SHOULD be in Love with God and be AWED by him. So he sends you to some websites (I hate when books do this by the way. I'm reading a book. If you wanted me to link to something, write a blog. Take the time to describe or quote the content for crying out loud!). What happens a couple years down the road when these sites are dead links? Your book is outdated that's what. But I digress. He spends several chapters upfront trying to guilt the reader into loving God more. Then it seems that he back pedals somewhat, saying that you cannot make yourself love God more. He spends a whole chapter on the "Profile of a Lukewarm Christian" in which some of the traits are distilled from Scripture and some have no referent other than the opinions of Chan. He makes some hard claims, but then softens them in the next chapter. He says that he is not trying to preach works and that the Holy Spirit must do the work. I believe that he is attempting to preach a gospel of grace, but his delivery stinks. He needs to build clearer, more nuanced arguments instead of making sweeping claims that he has to clarify later. In the end, I am kind of confused about how Chan wants his readers to go about being "overwhelmed by a relentless God." Perhaps this is because he never fully diagnoses the reason why many Christians are in the shape we are. He states the problem and says we need to change, but when it comes to reasons why this is the case he comes up short. Maybe he should have spent more time dwelling on the gospel. The vibrant gospel message is what fans the flames of love in our hearts.

3. And finally, it suffers from the same problems that many of these type of books do, namely it focuses on extreme examples of social justice or financial stewardship. If you aren't downsizing your house or biking to work, then you aren't an extreme enough Christian. These types of books give lip service to less dramatic ways of serving God, but they don't get page time when it comes to examples. Nor is there ever any insight into what "Crazy Love" might look like in rural Kentucky or Montana rather than Urban/suburban Chicago or San Diego. This last point reveals the limitations of the authors, but if you are going to make general statements for the American Church at least get a peek into the world of average small town America.

Well, I guess I was pretty hard on this book. It works for a lot of people. I actually liked some of what he had to say, but in the end I have to say that I think this book is greatly over rated. The huge success of this book, and others like it, reveals that there is a desperate need in our churches for real, life changing relationship with Jesus Christ. I commend Chan for speaking out against self-absorbed, cushy Christianity. I only wish he had done a better job. Literarily and intellectually speaking, I don't think this popular book has much staying power.

The Kingdom New Testament--A Great Resource But Not Perfect

Starting in January, I decided to read through N.T. Wright's translation for my New Testament portion of Bible reading. As far as a contemporary translation goes, The Kingdom New Testament (TKNT) won't be for everyone (even if it is derived from the translation sections of Wright's commentary series "For Everyone").

I don't think this translation will ever become mainstream in the US. There are some turns of phrase that will just ring awkwardly in contemporary American ears, perhaps like Jesus telling the disciples "off you go." However, as somewhat of an Anglo-phile, British turns of speech do not bother me in the least. I find them quaint. Personally, I found this translation insightful and refreshing.

Wright has his loyal followers who tend to love his foci, and then there are his detractors who do not agree with his New Pauline Perspective. For this latter group, I would venture that they will not be making use of this translation, which would be a shame because it could help them engage Wright's reading of Scripture all the better. When I chose to read through it, though, I was also reading it with an eye to better understanding Wright's take on the NT. I have read 9 or 10 of his books at this point, and I've listened to hours of his lectures and sermons, but I was still unclear at several points what he made of certain passages in light of his theology. This translation was a window into that world, and I found it helpful to that purpose as well. In particular he highlights the message of the Kingdom and Jesus as King. Also, his translation of the Pauline material was quite helpful for piecing together his understanding of justification.

My particular copy is on Kindle and at numerous points, especially in the Gospels, the headings would get off by a section and continue off-track for several chapters. That was annoying and something a careful editor should have caught, but overall it didn't ruin my enjoyment of reading the text. I recommend this translation as a helpful tool to anyone.

Is a "Literal" Translation the Best?: Martin Luther Weighs In

“What is the best Bible translation? Should I go with a ‘literal’ translation (word for word) or a dynamic equivalent one (thought for thought)?” How many times have we had someone ask us those questions? How many books and blog posts have we read on the subject? If you’ve been a Christian-intellectual-in-training for a while, then you have probably seen or heard your fair share. Some people swear up and down that there is only one correct translation (usually the KJV) or method (usually the literal with its current champion the ESV) while all the other ones are an abomination.

One of my colleagues at seminary, the Rev. Chad Brooks, said that while he was working at a Christian bookstore he actually had a man come in and ask for “one of those Bibles like Paul carried.” Chad replied, “I’m sorry, sir, we are fresh out of scrolls.” That little story illustrates the fact that too few people understand—unless we read Greek and Hebrew we are not reading the Bible as it was originally written. I have written about this more fully in my post Kissing Through a Veil. But if we get locked in on one method or translation we may miss the actual message of the Scripture itself.

Interestingly enough, debates of this nature go back to the Reformation. While some Reformed churches today get their britches in a wad over “dynamic equivalent” translations versus “literal translations” (one thinks of the nearly fallacious claims made about the ESV over and above translations like the NLT or NIV for instance), Dr. Martin Luther was battling this way of thinking as early as 1530 A.D. He did it in high style, lambasting Papists and calling many people “asses” along the way.

A couple of weeks ago I read a short treatise called “An Open Letter On Translating.” [Click here to read it.] In it Luther justifies his translating methods, particularly surrounding his decision to include sola fide even though it was not in the original language. He writes, “It has been charged by the despisers of truth that the text has been modified and even falsified in many places, which has shocked and startled many simple Christians, even among the educated who do not know any Hebrew or Greek.” This could easily have been written last week, but he moves on to explain why this claim has been made in the first place. “The letters s-o-l-a are not there. And these knotheads stare at them like cows at a new gate, while at the same time they do not recognize that it conveys the sense of the text-if the translation is to be clear and accurate, it belongs there…We do not have to ask about the literal Latin or how we are to speak German—as these asses do. Rather we must ask the mother in the home, the children on the street, the common person in the market about this. We must be guided by their tongue, the manner of their speech, and do our translating accordingly. Then they will understand it and recognize that we are speaking German to them.”

Of course, he spends more space on his arguments than I have quoted here, but I hope you can catch the drift. For Luther, the most important thing was for common people to be able to understand the Bible in their own vernacular. He had no qualms in smoothing out idioms or shifting syntax to aid comprehension. I wonder how he would have weighed in on the subject if he were alive today.

 I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Please let us know what you’re favorite translation is and why.