ShelfLife

This week’s entry is from David Peters:

Keller makes his case for “The Reality of The Resurrection” in Chapter 13 of The Reason for God. I think he has some good points in the chapter but, on the whole, I found it largely lacking. He doesn’t make any logical argument that cannot also be applied to many of the world’s other religions. It is disappointing since, as he writes, “The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”

The tone of the chapter was set poorly for me in the beginning when Keller wrote: “The resurrection also puts a burden of proof on nonbelievers.” (What? You are arguing the affirmative, Keller!) He continues: ”It is not enough to simply believe Jesus did not rise from the dead. You must then come up with a historically feasible alternate explanation for the birth of the church.”

I don’t understand this reasoning at all. There are over 4,000 faiths in our world. Most of them claim to be the one true belief system and exclusive of all other belief systems.  If I follow Keller’s logic then I, as a Christian, should come up with a historically feasible alternate explanation for the birth of each of these.  And if I don’t feel that burden, then why should it be imposed on non-Christians? Keller never answers this question and continues building the rest of the chapter on what I believe to be a shaky foundation.

To be fair, Keller had his work cut out for him. When I was asked to write about another chapter, I picked this one because I wanted to read ”proof” of the resurrection and write about it. However, I am a skeptic by nature. I wish I could read what Keller wrote and say “You know, his logic is flawless and the case is airtight.” But I can’t.

I guess that is why it is called faith; why Jesus calls on me to believe. I can’t help but wonder if I just opened my eyes to a self-evident truth, then would I really love God?

The resurrection is real to me because I have a deep longing for a savior. I know that I cannot perform, that I am a sinner. Jesus came to Earth and lifted the veil shrouding God. He also broke the mold of karma, or deed-based, religions. Keller didn’t prove this. But I “trust” it.

On the good days.

To whom is the story of the Cross more relevant: believer or non-believer?

One of my struggles with “Christian living” has been viewing the story of the Cross as simply a ticket into a future event: heaven.  It has been kind of like the last concert I attended.  I had heard the story that my favorite band was coming to town, investigated the story, believed the story was true and used my hard earned money to purchase a ticket.  After I purchased the ticket, it didn’t really have much value to me until the day of the concert.  Yeah, every once in a while I would look at the ticket on my bulletin board and be reminded of this future event and have a little bit of excitement, but the ticket certainly didn’t have a dramatic change on the pattern of my life.

What struck me most about Keller’s message in chapter twelve was the Cross’ ability to influence the pattern of our life.  Having been in the church for 13+ years, I knew Christians were to be “different” and to not live like the “world”, but for some reason I never remember hearing that the basis for why we do this is the pattern of the Cross.

Those who are shaped by the great reversal of the Cross no longer need self-justification through money, status, career, or pride of race and class.  So the Cross creates a counterculture in which sex, money, and power cease to control us and are used in life-giving and community-building rather than destructive ways. – Pg 197

Sitting here right now, I think the story of the Cross is equally relevant to both the believer and the non-believer.  Yes, there is as benefit of the Cross that will be fully realized in the future, but that does not mean it should not be central to the life of a believer in the “here and now”.  I need the story of the Cross today just as much as my co-worker who does not know Jesus as his savior.  I believe the church will have the greatest impact in furthering the Kingdom of God by living the pattern of the Cross as opposed to only preaching the story of the Cross.

The blog post this week is from Suzanne Sanderson:

I had a conversation this week with a friend and we were discussing all the things that happen to us when we get tired.  Typically… we get emotional, we get irrational, we get irritable, we become more self focused and more often than not, unproductive.  As I read through Chapter 11 discussing the difference between religion and the gospel, it hit me… Christ died that I may have “rest”!

Keller discusses the differences between living for a set of rules and living in the freedom of grace.  When we lived to follow a set of rules we end up frustrated and tired.  We realize that we really can’t ever do enough.  We are driven by performance always finding out that someone is better.  In running after the perfect performance of the rules we must be self dependent, fighting pride.  Or on the flip side we find that we never measure up and shame and guilt come rushing in to be our companions.  God NEVER intended our lives to be this way.

He was clear in His Word that Christ came that we might have life and have it abundantly.  That truth has come to set us free, that we are saved by grace alone.  We can’t earn it, change it, influence it… it just is.  Grace allows us to live with confidence and dignity.  It always drives us to humility realizing the cost to God and His Son and the amazing gift to us.  It shows us what our worth is and while we don’t deserve it, it comes with great riches.  It allows us to rest, to be filled up with what He created us for… HIS LOVE.  And it is unfailing, never changing and pretty mind blowing.

I think a lot of people struggle because grace just doesn’t make sense.  We want to be held accountable, be able to work for it, to not be in debt, especially to the God of the Universe.  But then the tired routine sets in, we can’t ever do enough.  So we find ourselves emotional, irrational, irritable, self focused, and unable to really live the life He intended for us.  He wants us to come to Him, to take His yoke upon us, to experience the peace and joy of trusting Him.  His plan is perfect, it is what we were created for.

When we really take the time to get to KNOW God, we are then drawn to BELIEVE Him.  Not just believe in Him, but actually believe what He says, about who He is and who we are.  Then we fall in LOVE with Him.  Then and only then are we motivated to serve Him and love others.  It takes time and space…  time with Him and time in His word.  And it means making space for Him, allowing Him to be the priority and allowing Him to change us.

Religion is exhausting!  Grace is God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense!  And those riches are unmatched by anything that we can make, produce, earn or work for.  So this week, give God time and space, allow your heart to be fed on the truth of His grace and rest, be free, and experience life abundantly!

What I appreciated most about this chapter was the way the way Keller universalized sin, without making everyone sound like they are offensively evil.  If I look back over my personal history in sharing the message of salvation with other people, I’ve struggled with a way to present the problem of sin that doesn’t come across as so offensive, that the other person believes I am basically calling them a not too distant relative of Hitler.  I think my problem is that I’ve been operating with a behavior oriented definition of sin rather than a heart oriented definition.  I’ve made the secondary the primary.  A heart that makes anything besides God ultimate will eventually lead to behavior that can be viewed as bad.

Unfortunately I have seen this problem play out in my own life in more ways than I’d care to admit.  In my mid-twenties I decided to leave my job as a CPA (which I eventually came back to) and pursue full-time ministry.  My first full-time ministry job was teaching at a small Bible study for single adults just outside of Atlanta.  Looking back on that season of my life, I am amazed at how quickly “teaching well” became an ultimate thing in my life. 

When my teaching fell flat or I didn’t receive praise from others, I was devastated.  It would impact my mood for days.  I felt worthless.  It never forgave me.  When my teaching went well and I did receive praise, it was empty and stressful.  Would I be able to perform again?  Were they just being nice?  Do people really like me?  It never satisfied me.

I could go on and on and share more stories of how I have done the same thing with friendships in high school, a girlfriend in college, my career as a CPA, my physical image, etc.  There are always things I’m tempted to make ultimate and in every case, I’m never satisfied when I achieve them and I am never forgiven when I fail them.

Praise be to God that in Jesus Christ we have the one “ultimate” that when obtained is deeply satisfying and when failed graciously forgives.  What a privilege to be ambassadors of this ultimate God who satisfies and forgives and who chooses to change the world not by starting with behavior change, but rather by rightly ordering our hearts.

A quick digression to start off – I believe one of the smartest things Keller did before starting this second section of the book was to make the distinction between “clues of God” and “proofs for God” as well as acknowledge the fact that any of the “clues” are “rationally avoidable at some point”.  To me, that intellectual honesty takes away a competitive pressure that I believe is sometimes present with discussing these topics.  I’m not sure why, but Alvin Plantinga’s quote from chapter eight is rather refreshing: “there are no proofs of God that will convince all rational persons.”

Back on topic – chapter 9:  I liked Keller’s “radical thesis” that every person’s innate sense of right and wrong (i.e. morals) indicate that they know there is a God, but they are repressing what they know.  If there is no God, then morality is not necessarily based on right and wrong, but rather on a person’s preferences.  And taken one step further, without God, then this whole thing we call “life” is also meaningless.

Right now, I work with a guy who appears to be repressing that he knows God exists and it is humbling to watch him try and explain the purpose and meaning of work, leadership, progress and “doing the right thing” without acknowledging Him.  Due to his position in the Company my co-worker often has the opportunity to get on a soapbox and pontificate about these topics and you can see the look in his eyes as he grasps for a reason why the work we do is important, why leading people well is important, why progress for our firm is important and why always doing the right thing is important.  It’s seems at times like he is trying to talk himself into buying what he’s selling.  Without the anchor of God, his reasons seem to be free floating and pointless and I think he knows it.

This chapter, like the others, has strengthened my own faith and has better equipped me to engage with folks like my co-worker.  I think the “Sez Who?” question is a great way to engage with others and quickly get to the core of what they believe about life.  The “good news” of Christ’s message has so many relevant applications, one of which is people don’t have to wander through life pointless.