He is Risen

Piero della Francesca's, "The Resurrection"

Romans 1:4

And he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Philippians 3:10-12

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 

Pan-Ban-Choc-Croc CAKE

I live in a dorm apartment that is ridiculously hot -- pushing into the high 80s regularly -- it's disgusting. The heat causes my roommates and myself to walk around with far less clothes than you'd expect for a normal February day, it provides an excellent napping environment, and it also causes problems for our food. It is quite normal to grab a candy bar off the shelf and find that it is nice and soft, and when we do try to make healthy choices and go for some fruit we will find that the heat has ripened the banana frightfully fast. Overripe bananas are the reason I'm writing...overripe bananas and my hunger.

I was sad to see my bananas go to waste and so I decided to redeem the decay as best I could. Everyone knows you can use overripe bananas for banana bread, but everyone also knows that six guys in an apartment do not have the ingredients needed to make the bread. There are way too many ingredients that we never use...like flour.

So what to do? Well, I took a look at things we do have and decided I could pull something off. So here it is. I call it...

PAN-BAN-CHOC-CROC CAKE 

A scrumptious croc pot cake made primarily out of pancake mix, bananas, & chocolate chips

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups pancake mix (the just-add-water kind)
• 2 large eggs

• 2-3 overripe bananas
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 4 tbs. sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tbs. butter
• rum extract 
(real rum if you're  a normal college)
• vanilla extract 
(not needed if you have real rum)


Directions:
Mix it all up. Throw it in the croc pot on high for 1 hr 45 mins to 2 hours. 
See if it looks done then. 

Yogurt Emergency Mishap

I was talking to Tash and got really hungry. I decided to find something to eat. I felt like being sort of healthy and was also missing jugendherberge breakfasts that I had all last semester. So I got out the yogurt, added some oats (weren't the same as what we had in Germany), tried to add some mini chocolate chips, and then went for it. Nasty. Oats mixed with plain yogurt is not a winner. The chocolate did nothing. I threw in some sugar. Didn't help much. Then I decided it needed some fruit flavor. I don't have any fruit. Orange juice? ...sure. Soupy yogurt? ...yup. Taste better? ...sort of. Looks nasty. Then I had a brilliant idea. Emergen-C! (artificially orange flavored powder that is a vitamin C supplement). That'll do the trick. Mix in the powder...then watch my yogurt fizz and bubble. Again...nasty.

A complete fail at getting that nostalgic feeling I was going for. I was able to get it down though. Sort of filling. Lots of vitamin c. So that's good. But yes...my Monday Mishap.

Religion ≠ or = Jesus?

Jefferson Bethke's audience is different than this blog's audience. He made a video that went viral, and I think we can praise God for that. He made a point (and made it well) that I think many people needed to hear. There are countless people that grew up with animosity towards the Church/Christianity and his video speaks to them well. And yes, it even speaks to those that grew up without ill feeling towards the Church, but admittedly struggle with legalism and hypocrisy  That is a good thing. This post is then written not to be against what's cool, not to be controversial, and not to make something out of nothing, but rather it is to enter into healthy discussion for those that are interested. And perhaps it will act as a catalyst and make people interested who thought they'd never care. My hope is that it will help us all as thinking Christians who want to impact our world. 


My roommate, Kevin Holmen, and myself were discussing the video and making plans to co-write a blog in reaction to it; however, The Gospel Driven Church post, "Jesus Was Religious" beat us to the punch (something I am thankful for since they have such a large audience and great minds) and said much of what we wanted to explain. If you have the time, I encourage you to read their post before continuing. It is great brotherly dialogue and I agree with a good chunk of it, but I have some other thoughts to share as well that hopefully add another dimension to the conversation.


[UPDATE: Since I started writing this blog earlier today, another post went live from The Gospel Coalition with Kevin DeYoung's response to the video, titled  "Does Jesus Hate Religion? Kinda, Sorta, Not Really." He had even more to say and gave a verse by verse examination of everything Bethke said in the poem. This also had some helpful insights. Whether or not DeYoung became more of a whistleblower than necessary is up for debate. He did acknowledge that Bethke's heart was in a good place and later posts show brotherly conversation between the two men. Feel free to take a look for yourself.]

Primarily, I want to look at the issue of terminology and definitions. Obviously Bethke's idea of "religion" is a false religion and Jesus, along with true Christianity, is what is good and right to follow. Has the word "religion" truly become a purely pejorative word, and should Christians be okay with this? I'm going to go a little post-modern on you, I guess, and say it depends. Relativism is not always a bad thing. Depending on the audience one is engaging with we might speak in different ways. So let's take a look at three options/contexts for the word "religion."


OPTION 1


Religion ≠ Jesus/Christianity: In this setting religion is defined as a legalistic system, something manmade, and something that Jesus sets us free from. This is how Bethke uses the term and he has and will have a great evangelistic/edifying impact with it, I believe. The Gospel Driven Church's blog gave some warnings on the over correction that this may bring and a possible misinterpretation of how Jesus fulfills that law and does not abolish it, but I will not elaborate on this now. On the contrary, it is worth noting that pastors/authors/poets/artists cannot live in constant fear of being misunderstood. Yes, be responsible and be mindful of what you say, but know that God will use your words how he pleases. 


What is most important is realizing your audience. Bethke wants to reach out to those that miss out on Jesus because they are stuck up on falsities. To get this message across, he used the words that people understand. Religion had a bad rap in his mind before he found Christ, and he knows it has negative connotations for other people as well. He met them where they were at, and ministered well. Whether or not he needs to be more conscientious of his word choices to avoid misinterpretation, I am not going to fret about it right now. He had to make rhymes work sometimes too, so we can even give some extra grace there. 


OPTION 2


Religion in a Sociological Context: "Religion" is a categorical term. It helps us communicate in every day life. Of course Christianity is a religion...and so is Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, etc. The difference is that Christianity is the one true religion. Just as there are many gods, there is only one God. We don't stop calling God by the name God just because there are false gods. We understand that "gods" is a categorical term that helps us communicate about what/whom people may worship and serve. Zeus isn't real, but he is still a false god. Perhaps we need to add capitalization and call Christianity a Religion, while all others are referred to as lower-case religions. Maybe that would help us all out?  I hope we can figure it out without all that work. (The "god" concept is an example and I'm sure it can break down at some point, but maybe you get the idea.)


Why does this matter though? It actually matters in the same way that the first definition matters. We want to be understood as Christians and we want to present the Gospel in the best receivable manner. Therefore, if a grandparent, someone from another country, or anyone else outside of your own demographic asks you if "you are religious," you can answer with a resounding yes. I would say that I am definitely religious and serve the one true God, and hopefully would be able to present the good news of Christ's lordship in the conversation.


Instead, what I often see happen is people shying away from the term religion. They answer, "No I'm not religious. I'm a follower of Jesus and care about relationship, not rules." That answer is fine and good in context number one, but maybe it is not the best idea here. You may be even more misunderstood now -- perhaps that grandparent, non-American, or whoever they are had a proper understanding about what religion means. Maybe they saw the Christian Religion as what the Bible actually explains it to be. It had never crossed their minds that "religion" is a bad thing. For them, religion does not equate to legalism and hypocrisy. Instead, they may now assume based on your answer that you only care about the warm and fuzzy "spiritual" side of Christianity, but don't care about entering a system that God has ordained and prescribed in the Bible. I hope that is not where you are at to start with, and I hope that people never think that you are. It is possible that an effort to be clear may haze things up. Let us not blacklist a word when it can be used in a good context to good ends.


OPTION 3


Religion = Christianity: Either because I was impatient, because I am not the best writer in the world, or because it was a necessity, this definition has implicitly been appearing in the sections above. In some contexts, especially historically and some may argue biblically (based on certain translations), the word "religion" does equate to true Christianity. Theologians have often referred to how religious a person is in order to describe their level of sanctification. Theology staples, such as Calvin's "Institutes of the Christian Religion" and Edward's "Religious Affections," could easily be retitled "Institutes of Christianity" and "Christian Affections." It is clearly seen in the way that Calvin and Edwards write that they meant "religion/religious" in this way. 


If as a culture we are completely ready to throw out the term "religion," so be it. Language does change and there is no use in fighting it forever. Yet, at this time I think a reminder is needed that the word is used and understood in many different contexts. It really can be okay to say you are religious to one person and say that you are not religious to another. For the time being I would rather say I'm religious to all people and then if I get negative reaction I will use it as an opportunity to explain what the Bible teaches. That is not the only way to go, and I understand that. What matters is the truth of the Word. What matters is that we understand grace and then live out what the Word says. What matters is the Word being preached, and preached so that people can understand it. 


I'd say Bethke did this pretty well, and I also thank him for the opportunity and challenge that it gave me in figuring out how to articulate my thoughts more on the subject of "religion." I'm sure I still need a lot of work in that regard, but I hope it is a little bit helpful for some people at least. 

5 Words for Italy

Gelato

Art

Churches 

Pasta 

Moustaches

Click to enlarge photos

Berchtesgaden, Germany. On the boarder of Austria -
we spent a few days in Salzburg before heading down to Italy.
Did the Sound of Music thing and enjoyed the Alps on the way there.

Venice. I didn't do the Gondola thing
(overpriced and the girlfriend is in Poland), but the views were still great.

One of my favorite church interiors

Duomo, Florence. An amazing ceiling -- just one of the highlights of our
Art History Tour. Seeing the pieces by the "Ninja Turtle Artists" was great. 

Manarolo, Cinque Terre. This is where we ended the tour. The Cinque Terre
is five picturesque villages with great hiking in between them.    

Non-Stop (with a bonus mishap)

Travel Update:

I don’t think it's possible to fairly describe what the past couple of weeks have been like, nor do I have the time to try. But it has been amazing non-stop traveling and I really do want to share it, at least some highlights.

On Friday the 4th I finished a class on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church. Reading Bonhoeffer's work was very enjoyable. Challenging and encouraging – you can’t ask for much more. On Saturday, five other students and myself arrived at the tiny, discount-flight airport west of Munich. Our plan was to catch a flight to Porto, Portugal and then sleep in the airport there since we'd be getting in late. Most of the people flying with us were rather upset when they found out the flight was delayed until Sunday, but we quickly realized how great this might be.

In Porto

After a bit of chatting with the Ryanair personnel we got into our complimentary taxi, checked into the oh-so-free hotel, enjoyed the snacks and beverages we found in the stocked fridges, got a great night of sleep in actual beds (not airport benches) and finally woke up to a wonderful breakfast...paid for by Ryanair. If you ever find a brochure in airports that says something along the lines of "Know Your Rights!" it does a lot of good to pay attention to it.

Portugal Architecture 

On Sunday we arrived in Portugal and were quite impressed by the city of Porto. I didn't expect much there but I ended up liking the area even more than Barcelona. The port and bridges were beautiful, the architecture was splendid, and the seafood was succulent. It was a good stay....but by Tuesday everyone was antsy for Africa.

After another quick Ryanair flight we landed in Morocco. Haggling for a fair taxi price was quite the trick and deciding if we could trust the "guide" to our hostel was another obstacle, but we arrived safe and sound...and without getting too badly ripped off, as we learned was sadly the norm.

Impressions From the First Half Hour:

Outside the city wall to the Medina

Camels. Old tiny mopeds everywhere. Playing Frogger to cross the streets. A call to prayer heard throughout the entirety of the city. Men with Fez hats and pointy slippers. Only eyes showing of some women. People everywhere. Constant movement. My eyes and ears going buzurk.

We had booked a couple different places to stay through hostelbookers.com, but we liked our first place so much that we ended up staying there several nights. It was an old Riad (mini palace) that was turned into a hostel. Pretty great. We got to know the one worker there decently. His name was Azis. He was cool.

Interior of the Riad

This was all in Marrakesh, a city that is famous for its massive market, the souks, in the Medina (old town). This market was like nothing else I’ve seen. A massive square with snake charmers and monkeys, music playing, amazing fresh orange juice stands, women giving henna, and men giving there all to convince you to eat at their food tent. From the square it branched out in every direction with aisles upon aisles of little shops or kiosks. The goods being sold ranged from ornate lamps, ornamental glass and pottery, copper work, clothes, many spices, nuts and fruits, scarves, a lot of leather items, jewelry, and so much more.

Chicken Tagine

Aside from the markets, I’ll definitely remember Marrakech for the food. Couscous, Tagine, and Moroccan mint tea – so good.

Fez was the other city that we visited in Morocco. One of the guys I was traveling with, Stephen, knew a missionary there so she was able to give us a wirlwind city tour, which we were really thankful for. The medina was even older than Marrakech’s and had very narrow streets lined with little shops and stands. One of our stops was one of the King’s palaces. It’s pretty interesting to realize that you’re in a country where the King actually has the power.

Inside a shop in the market

Other bits from the trip:

Eating Pastilla – pigeon pie. Incredibly aggressive shop keepers in Marrakech. Intense and fun bartering/haggling experiences. Great interaction with locals. Locals getting really mad at us. A man in the hostel giving us some bracelet string that was blessed by the Dhali Lama. Getting a lift down a mountain in a hippy van. A hostel not opening its door for us at 3am. Being stranded at 3am. Finding another hostel by 3:30am. Crystal menthol in tea making us cry.

And that about sums up my final reading/travel week. After a taxi, two planes, and a couple trains we reunited with the rest of our cohort in Salzburg, ready to start our Academic Art History tour through Italy. We got back from Italy yesterday and I just finished our first Art classroom lecture. There is a ton to do before the program ends on December 1st, but I'll do my best to update this again. 

***Monday Mishap Bonus:
I haven't had the time or the internet access to give some mishaps lately, but heres a little bonus for you. In  Italy the green nozzle at the gas station does NOT mean it pumps diesel fuel. Our group was riding in diesel vans. We arrived back in Regensburg about seven hours late and made some nice friends at the autoshop.

Pensées

My attempt at some “thoughts.” Feedback is welcome. Obviously they are not complete arguments, but simply some things I've been working through in the past few years. If you know me well then hardly any of this will be new – both the serious thoughts and those that are tongue in cheek. I shoot these thoughts around all the time and decided I would write them down. Also, they are definitely influenced by many authors and other people. Sure, I hope some can be helpful and unique, but I’m not claiming complete originality.

Pensées:

1

Contentment without complacency. Anticipation.

2

The idea of “relationship not religion” is often unhelpful.

3

Christians need not surrender the word “religion.” Use it well. Or do you want to change the titles of the works by Calvin and Edwards?

4

Baptism and the Eucharist clearly and rightly connote death and resurrection, but it seems to be the doctrine of the incarnation that begins to explain the sacrament’s meaning and significance.

5

We are amazing at unconscious, blind, self-affirmation of predisposed, possibly ungrounded, convictions, yet we fail to preach the gospel to ourselves daily and affirm the one unshakable foundation we have.

6

Guys: Ask her on a date.

7

It seems that American Evangelicalism elevates the paradigm of a teeter-totter: always trying to find the proper “balance” in doctrine and praxis. Balance is not the goal of a Christian. In fidelity to Scripture, be willing to embrace doctrine and tradition.

8

Obedience over measurable success

9

Gospel ≠ Salvation (?) Implications. 

10

Reactionary theology. None are above it, still frustrating.

11

No political/economic/societal system is ideal (/intrinsically superior?).  Working to redeem the system one is placed in is paramount; working to create or sustain the most redeemable system is secondary.

12

Burning books is dangerous and should not be supported. But if the fire is going… you might as well toss in the Christian girl’s dating books that you find laying around. 

13

Answering God’s call to sit on the floor or to have the best seat takes humility.  Humility is truly encompassed in obedience.

(I’m guilty of both taking the chair by my own will and by refusing sit on the chair when I should.)

14

I am a Christian because I love God and because I want to be in heaven/the New Creation. Be shy of neither reason.

15

Crochet a hat, but jump off a cliff.