Truth or lack thereof

I sat in a room at the top of the building with a woman yesterday.

Well, actually it was three women - well, two women, one girl - and a man.

The room was one of the Disputes Tribunal rooms at Auckland District Court. The man was a referee, or arbiter, or I don't actually know his title.

One woman was my mum, witness to the event that brought us there.

The other woman was Brenda, driver of "the other car". The girl was her daughter, witness to her side of the story.

It was an interesting experience.

I said Brenda's car hit mine. She said my car hit hers.

It made me think ... how do I deal with people of different belief systems from my own?

My family members, my wife, my friends at church, my work colleagues... all believe some things at odds with what I believe.

Most times, those beliefs are not that important.

But in this case, the belief had consequences. My belief meant I shouldn't pay for the damage (her car was undamaged). Her belief meant I should.

I wanted to get along with her, be on the same page, etc. But I could not accept her truth.

How about the many people I come across every day whose opinions differ from mine on key issues, like:

• whether God exists
• whether Jesus is the messiah
• whether Jesus is God
• whether Jesus rose from the dead
• whether there is an objective Truth or just many truths
• a whole host of other stuff coming out of that...

?

I'm learning the difference between communicating in an understanding way... and agreeing with, celebrating or championing the beliefs of the other.

Understanding is a whole lot different from agreement.

Many of my fellow Christians need to learn the understanding side; too often I've heard people who appear good arguers but that's only because they don't really hear what the other side is saying. They pick holes and technicalities and win the war of words, but not of hearts.

I'm kind of coming from the other end of the spectrum.

I'm learning to be steadfast in my own beliefs, still seeking to understand, but not violating my beliefs by leaving assumptions unchallenged.

Church Shopping

Strange Culture: Church Shopping on King of the Hill

LOL

Constantine

That book says Constantine is the mastermind behind what we know as orthodox Christianity. Here's a brief bio:

Christian History - Constantine - 131 Christians Everyone Should Know

Another theme that's coming up with all the DVC discussion is who cares if Jesus got married?

Good point. I know it does matter, and I'm going to do some thinking about that and post some stuff here.

Another Da Vinci resource

The Da Vinci Code: A Biblical Response -- CBN.com

What's great about this is the at-a-glance refutation of points made in the book.

I am so renting this movie when it comes out on DVD. I'm not going to bother going to the cinema to see it though.

The da Vinci-ing continues...

Christians crack | Movies | Breaking News 24/7 - NEWS.com.au (15-05-2006)

In the above story, the last quote says it all...

Adds Lutzer of Chicago's Moody Church: "There is a huge battle going on today on who has the best telling of the Christian story.

"People want to believe the Da Vinci Code so badly because they want a Christ who is manageable, a Jesus that is not going to challenge you or threaten your lifestyle."

Ain't that the truth!

The inevitable da Vinci code post

I haven't read the book, I haven't seen the movie (obviously, since it hasn't come out yet!) ... but it's pretty much impossible to avoid the da Vinci Code....

On the one hand there are those who claim to be open minded, insisting Christians should see it - what do we have to fear?

Then there are Christians saying we should see it so we're informed of what's going on.

Then there are Christians saying don't support it, it's not worth it!

Here's what I posted to an email discussion group recently:

"The da Vinci Code is compelling because who wouldn't want to challenge the authority figures that have dominated western european history? But the history behind it to my understanding is very flimsy.

No I haven't read Holy Blood, Holy Grail, and yes I am a born again Christian, so I am probably biased.

But I'd also contend that many of those who really love the idea behind dVC are also biased against traditional Christianity, and relishing a chance to "get back" at it, feeling threatened by the perceived danger of "the Christian right".

What's great though is that it has got many people on all levels communicating about the subject matter. There's a whole smattering of Christian websites that have come up since the movie was announced, including:

http://pcgmedia.org/davincianswers.html

http://www.thetruthaboutdavinci.com/

http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/special/davincicode.html

Hopefully people who fear all evangelical Christians are rabid proselytes who can't handle a bit of digging for the truth, will see that not all Christians are fanatics and are, in fact, quite human. "

News story: Woman dies of starvation trying to emulate Christ

Woman dies of starvation trying to emulate Christ - 11 May 2006 - World News

An example of a sensationalist headline that makes Christians sound and look like weirdos.

When I actually read the story I discovered:

* They haven't determined the cause of death - so it's not certain that starvation was the reason
* She comes from a family who encouraged her in her faith, didn't see fasting as unusual
* She sounds like a normal, well-adjusted person: "she was a 'bubbly' person, who always dressed fashionably and was good with children."

Strange things to point out, but proof that Rosaline Gilbert was not a kook, nevertheless.

starving jesus

starving jesus

I'm kinda liking this!

Nice verse in a rocky chapter

There are some Bible chapters that are quite rough because they ... well, they disagree with me.

Quite a problem, I know. You get this view of how life should be, and then along comes a chapter like Acts 20.

Here I am with my paradigm of what our calling should be like - kinda warm and fuzzy, and fun, lots of fun.

Then here's the apostle Paul telling a group of his friends that he has served them with "humility" and "tears". That he's looking forward to "prison" and "hardships". That he'll "never see" his friends again.

It's a bit grim, to say the least.

But in the midst of it, there's a gem. Paul blesses his friends, and I want to grab this verse and ask God for the same kind of blessing today:

Now I'm turning you over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends.

There's a phrase I've heard twice in the last week: "If it's to be, it's up to me." This is only half true. I'm on a journey of knowing the real God - the God who can make me into what he wants me to be.

It's less comfortable than the mere idea of God, but I'd rather have the genuine article than a cheap copy any day.

God is a multi-dimensional character

Excellent musing from Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) about how God is not a flat character, but sometimes we would like him to be. Particularly of interest to me because of my learnings in filmmaking and drama.

Excerpt:

"A flat character merely exists to embody a particular quality or personify and abstract idea. These are the characters that serve as plot devices or provide a foil to the round characters. The very best writing includes very few flat characters.

I believe that one of the reasons many readers are puzzled by the actions of God portrayed in the Bible is that they really expect God to be a flat character rather than a round one. Many of us consider the existence of God to be a logical necessity, but this does not mean that God is an impersonal "first cause." It can be easy to think of God as the abstract sum of his attributes, but the Scriptures portray Him as having emotions and motivations."

Read more