I more than You

“Use a lot of “I” and not so many “You’s” when communicating sin to a secularized culture.”
- Dr. Rod Rosenbladt

I think that is good advice when thinking about depravity in general. Looking outward, pointing fingers, creates judgment and pride. Looking inward, humbles us, creates humility, and grace towards others.

Leo Tolstoy After Success

“But five years ago something very strange happened to me. At first I began having moments of bewilderment, when my life would come to a halt, as if I did not know how to live or what to do; I would lose my presence of mind and fall into a state of depression. But this passed, and I continued to live as before. Then the moments of bewilderment recurred more frequently, and they always took the same form. Whenever my life would come to a halt, the questions would arise: Why? And what next?”

Tolstoy continues, “At first I thought these were pointless and irrelevant questions. I thought that the answers to them were well known and that if I should ever want to resolve them, it would not be too hard for me; it was just that I could not be bothered with it now, but if I should take it upon myself, then I would find the answers. But the questions began to come up more and more frequently, and their demands to be answered became more and more urgent. And like points concentrated into one spot, these questions without answers came together to form a single black stain.”

-Leo Tolstoy, Confessions
(After Tolstoy had written his great classics War and Peace and Anna Karenina he became rich, famous, and celebrated—and then began to face his deeper questions)

Blaise Pascal on Meaningful Existence

“Being unable to cure death, wretchedness, and ignorance, men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things….The only good thing for men therefore is to be diverted from thinking of what they are, either by some occupation which takes their mind off it, or by some novel and agreeable passion which keeps them busy, like gambling, hunting, some absorbing show, in short by what is called diversion.”

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Pascal continues, “That is why gaming in feminine society, war in high office are so popular. It is not that they really bring happiness nor that anyone imagines that true bliss comes from possessing the money to be won at gaming or the hare that is hunted: no one would take it as a gift. What people want is not the easy peaceful life that allows us to think of our unhappy condition, nor the dangers of war, nor the burdens of office, but the agitation that takes our mind off it and diverts us. This is why we prefer the hunt to the capture.

This is why men cannot be too much occupied and distracted, and that is why, when they have been given so many things to do, if they have some time off they are advised to spend it on diversion and sport, and always to keep themselves fully occupied.”

-Blaise Pascal (philosopher, 17th Century)

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Humanity has always been driven to be entertained, whether it be religious rules or theatre or TV shows. And this entertainment, that we all love so much, can give great value to our lives, but it can also pull us away from a thoughtful, meaningful existence.

Bach and the Myth of Secular Music

[extended entry]

I think my first CD was Hootie and the Blowfish’s breakout album, Cracked Rear View, although it could’ve been the Soul Asylum album, Grave Dancers Union, with Runaway Train on it. I have always loved that song. That was before I learned that that sort of music, tunes without words like Jesus and cross in it, wasn’t the sort for good Christians. As a religious teen I learned to divide music, deeming a song either secular or Christian. The radio did this as well; two stations in our city played “Christian music” and the rest was secular, whether it be country, pop, or rock. Several church leaders I looked up to encouraged us to throw away our secular music and to only listen to “Christian” music. I was uneasy about all the labeling and banishing we were all doing but I wasn’t sure why, so I didn’t say anything when a couple of my friends threw away all their secular CD’s, but I did keep mine. I hid them in a separate CD case under my truck’s front seat.

It’s been fifteen years since those days, and I think I have an answer to my uneasiness. Recently, a friend of mine, who is a professionally trained musician, told me historically music has often been divided as “sacred” and “secular,” but the secular music wasn’t viewed as inappropriate to Christians. It wasn’t less pleasing to God, just different. “Sacred” music was written to be played in the church, and those pieces of music written for other occasions were called secular or “not sacred.” My friend said J.S. Bach wrote music to be played in the church and also non-church settings, such as galleries and festive occasions. Bach often borrowed melodies from his secular works to be used in his sacred pieces, and vice versa. For Bach, just because some music was created to be played in the church didn’t discount the other music. There was no difference between sacred and secular. Even on music written for non-sacred settings Bach would scribble “s.D.g.” or “soli Deo Gloria” at the bottom of each composition sheet. In English s.D.g. means “glory to God alone.” Bach knew something we should learn.
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Tags: culture, music

Avett Brothers: Head Full of Doubt / Road Full of Promise

RSS readers: Make the jump for the video. A reflective attitude is needed.

Controlling Truth: Part 2

While the law (think: Old Testament spirituality and our tendency to live spirituality by rules rather than grace) curses us and speaks judgement over us, it does give us a feeling of control. And we love control. The law gives us a rule we can manage, something we can put our efforts towards and feel good about. But inevitably we will even fail at the laws we usually conquer, and then even that law will speak judgment. Moralism and religion say to try harder, be more committed, longer prayer times and more verses to memorize. Part of us likes this, because we love control.

The thought to relinquishing all control over our standing with God is daunting, yet the gospel demands it. There’s nothing for us to control when God gives us our righteous standing with him through Christ. And beautifully, there’s nothing for us to boast over other than Christ.

But we soon (as the Galatians did) revert back to striving. Again, we form some rules to obey as to feel successful as Christians, and the cycle goes on. Freedom isn’t known until we quit fighting for control over our righteousness, leaving the law behind for good.

Rest

Controlling Truth

Many people end up in doubt, frustrated by our inabiltiy to comprehend all truth. In our inability we create our own truth, thus relativism and pluralism which creates manmade pseudo truths to live by. To say certainty of truth can’t be found is a pretty certain statement.

A lack of control over truth doesn’t make truth less true. A lack of control over truth gives truth control over you, which is the point.

Tags: truth

A Prayer of Mr. Spurgeon

“Your love drew me into the wilderness, stripped me of myself, and made me feel the guilt of my sin and the burden of my iniquity. And once I was totoally dismayed, Your love spoke these words of comfort to me, “Come to me…and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). -Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)

Thank you, Mr. Spurgeon, for reminding us of our story.