A sad yet awesome day of world cup action

Today was a sad and glorious day for the world cup.  First It was glorious to watch Switzerland defeat Spain in a match were Spain had already been declared the winner. 

It was a sad day however to see South Africa lose so dramatically to Uruguay (who played awesome).  Despite the major home field advantage South Africa just could not meet Uruguay's relentless attack.  Not all was lost though because we did get to see some incredible passion and skill from Tshabalala the South African mid.  Thats the glory of soccer though, and the emotional roller coaster that is the World Cup.  

Perception?

Did you know that the average American teenager will spend around 150.00 a week? Or did you know that 1/3 or Americans have a total of three vehicles? Or did you know that 3.5 Billion people live on less then 2 American dollars a day? I am just wondering if you wonder about this. Because I think in America it is easy to become separated from the real world to begin thinking that America is really all there is, or that everybody else is probably like us, or that its weird that people live on less then two dollars a day. In truth however there is only 300 million Americans where as there is 3.5 Billion people living on less then 2 dollars a day, it looks like we are the weird ones doesn’t it?

Now don’t take me wrong here I am not saying its wrong that Americans are wealthy because I am not. My only worry is that in our wealth and prosperity we will forget about the realities that are just beyond our border, and historically that seems like a dangerous thing to do.

It’s hard though; I mean it’s hard to think about other people around the world when you have so much to deal with right here. The more stuff we accumulate the more time we have to put into taking care of the stuff we have accumulated and the more stuff we have to take of the more stuff we need in order to care for that other stuff. It’s the cycle of accumulation and with all that stuff on our minds there really isn’t room for thinking about things that don’t directly impact us.

Isn’t that kind of egocentric though? I know that’s a harsh word but isn’t that what is happening here in America? If it is what’s happening in America we truly are in a dangerous place think of Egypt, Israel, Rome all fell shortly after they forgot others in order to take care of all their stuff. When stuff consumes your mind there isn’t much room left for other people, so we begin to forget that in amassing wealth and protecting that wealth we might be negatively impacting some other group of people. For example American consumes 20 million gallons of oil a day and imports the majority that. The Persian Gulf is a region with the largest oil reserves in the world Saudi Arabia being number one and Iraq a close competitor. The Persian Gulf houses some the most holy and important places in Islamic faith, how does it look to Muslims and Persians when America has invaded their holy places and is exporting their oil? I am not saying America is in the Persian Gulf for oil; but I am saying that perception is reality.

What I am trying to get at here is that if you have lost 1 million country men to an invasion a term like “Iraqi Freedom” looks different then if you are 3,000 miles away talking about freeing Iraqi people.

This is just my train of thought; I am not saying that it is right or wrong just that it’s on my mind. What’s on your mind? What do you think about all of this? Am I totally off base here or am I not following the leads to the inevitable? I want to know your mind on these issues because I am truly working it all out right now.

P.S Micah 6:7-8

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

with ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I offer up my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has showed you, O man, what is good.

and what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

Irresistible Revolution

I just finished reading Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne and I must say it was one of the more challenging books I have read. Shane is a man who will deny that he is living very radically but that's because he compares his life to that of early church fathers. However when comparing his lifestyle to ours it is incredibly radical and very beautiful. As you read the book Shane takes you on a journey with him to Calcutta, Wall street, Willow Creek, and the inner streets of Philly and gives you a chance to see what he was doing and most importantly to meet the people that changed his life.

I don't want to give to much of the book away because it is better to read and experience it for the first time, but be prepared to feel either guilt or conviction. I don't think it is Shane's goal to make others feel guilty, but it is hard not too. As you read about His story you will become incredibly inspired and also begin to feel guilty that you have not sold all your possessions to live in a community in inner Philly, or that you are not living for people the way that he is.

Do not allow yourselves to just stop at feeling inspired and guilty though, take those feelings and change them! Go out and find ways to love those that are not being loved, treat them like Jesus would. I don't believe you need to sell all you have live like Jesus, I just believe you need put Jesus and others above all the stuff you have. If there is a struggle for power between our possession and others than maybe we do need to sell it and give the money away. I truly believe though that if we live like Jesus told us too in Matthew 25 than our possessions will hold no power over us.

When we bring the unloved into our homes, when we visit the hurting in prison, when we feed the hungry we are doing exactly what Christ asked us too. The more we put others before ourselves the more it becomes a way of life, and the more we will want nothing but Jesus and the community of love known as the Church.

Working

I am sitting at my computer working, trying to work on a new chapter, half of writing and being a writer really is just showing up.

This week

This week my best friend and I are heading to Portland, Oregon! Not for very long however we leave Salt Lake City Tuesday morning and will be driving all day until we reach Portland (approximately 12 hours away).

The purpose of the trip is two fold, first to go to a book reading at Powells for Donald Miller's new book a Million Miles in a Thousand Years.

Powell's city of books is the worlds largest book store it is a one city block in size!

The second purpose of this trip is to visit Stumptowns coffee, what I have imagined to be one of the worlds greatest coffee shops ever.

This is the trip hopefully we can avoid any crazy snow storms, I will upload some photos probably a few times throughout this trip.

Destiny of the unevangelized

This is half of a paper I wrote for my Theo 350 class, its only half because the other half of the paper deals with the nature of Hell. I hope it is thought provoking and I would love to hear your objections or questions.

Position Paper:

Destiny of the Unevangelized

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) So proclaims the New Testament, there is only one-way. Epistemologically and Ontologically Jesus as the single way to eternity permeates the New Testament, and spurred the disciples to spread the Gospel around the world. The heaviness of the first few chapters of Romans shows the desolate position of man kind, that despite God’s special revelation of Himself in creation (1:20) and His implementation of His law onto the hearts of mankind (2:15), man has suppressed the truth of God (1:32). Therefore no one is righteousness as it is written “both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; there is none righteous not even one… There is none who seeks for God.” (3:9-11). All are left needy rendered guilty by the universality of sin, but God in His awesome grace has provided redemption through his son Jesus (3:23-24), and only through Jesus are we saved (5:12-21). Furthermore only through cognitive and volitional acceptance and belief in Jesus and only Jesus will we be saved (10:9).

Paul was not alone in his exclusivity of salvation through Jesus; Jesus Himself stated that through Him and only Him would someone come to God (John 14:6) Along with Paul and Jesus the apostle John clearly wrote in his epistle of the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus, and that those who taught different are antichrists (I John 2:22-23, 4:3, II John 9). It seems clear that the bible teaches of the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone, but the question remains what is the destiny of the unevangelized?

Often the hardest doctrine for people to swallow is the condemnation of the unevangelized, and rightfully when working through this issue people look to the nature of God for answers. “Could a loving God condemn so many do to, misfortune (i.e. place of birth and time of birth)?” To answer this question it is necessary to look at the nature of God, God knows all He is omniscient, God is all-powerful He is omnipotent, and God is everywhere he is omnipresent. For the issue of the destiny of the unevangelized it is important to focus on the omniscience of God, for if He knows all then He already knows the outcome or the destiny of all. To take this even further if God knows all, then He knows what could have been along with what is; this is often referred to as middle knowledge, and it is essential for God to posses middle knowledge if He is to be God. William Lane Craig writes in his article on middle knowledge and the exclusivity of salvation through Christ

In the first, unconditioned moment God knows all possibilia, not only all individual essences, but also all possible worlds. Molina calls such knowledge "natural knowledge" because the content of such knowledge is essential to God and in no way depends on the free decisions of His will. By means of His natural knowledge, then, God has knowledge of every contingent state of affairs which could possibly obtain and of what the exemplification of the individual essence of any free creature could freely choose to do in any such state of affairs that should be actual.

(Craig, William L. "'No Other Name': A Middle Knowledge Perspective on the Exclusivity of Salvation through Christ")

If God knows all, the outcome and destiny of all and the possible outcome and possible destiny of all, then God knows who will and who would not except the gift of eternal life no matter their circumstances. Those who would not except no matter what the circumstance will often not hear the Gospel because it is only foolishness to them, but those who will believe and except will hear the Gospel of Jesus whether through evangelism or through the providence of God (Gen 20, Daniel 2).