It is such a beautiful thing to come to an understaning of the apologetic fathers of the first 6oo years after Christ. In a variety of concurrent classes, I have been learning more and more the ways in which early Christians discovered, revered, wrestled with, defended, and often died for their beliefs. It is interesting to understand the ways in which these men wrote and see that the apostle's were not unlike them in their writing. I think many people don't realize how much of the Biblical text in the New Testament is actually directed at secular thought of the time period. Much of the apostolic work was devoted to proving the validity of the gospel over the culture.
Truly, we should follow their leading and be culturally relevant and yet remain firm and outspoken in areas that clash with society. It seems that most of Christianity today either condemns society and has nothing to do with it or conforms so much that boundaries are never even created in a number of areas. Why are we not thinking through every single aspect of our lives and evaluating them through Scripture?

It's kinda funny the ads they put on here, some have nothing to do with the material on the blog and some are really thought provoking. Some of the ones that are for churches have some sketchy stuff on em, just like the e-mail I'm so eagerly awaiting to put on here. I have to say, its really eye-opening to see what peopel really truly believe about the God of the Bible.

I recently got my hands on the promotional sampler of a new book entitled The Red Letters by Tom Davis, and the chapter I was able to read is simply profound in its assesment of Christianity today. The book claims that Christianity today owes the world an apology for how little it has done to reach out and help the world in the way Christ commanded it. Here is a brief segment....

"I've discovered a new way to live. Every morning when I get out of bed, I look for Jesus. No, not because I've misplaced Him. And I'm not talking about a feeling I get during prayer, or revelation that comes to me while reading Scripture. I'm talking about finding Jesus in the eyes of real people. In the eyes of the poor, the handicapped, the oppressed, the orphan, the homeless, the AIDS victim-the abandoned and the forgotten.
Throughout Scripture, Jesus identified with teh poor in amazing ways. He was their champion, their advocate. He gave them purpose and meaning and hope. He held them in high esteem and blessed them. There is something deep and meaningful about this. In Matthew 25:40 Jesus said, 'Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me-you did it to me.' Was he truly saying that we will find him in the lives of the poor? This is a rich mistery."

Seems he has really hit something we don't hear much.
The book has come out since I recieved this sampler, to find out more, check out http://tomdavis.typepad.com/

I just have to say that I am so excited by the fact that I go to a school where I can learn about things like the historic philosophies surrounding politics, and from a Christian worldview! It seems today that we are so engrossed in our culture that few people have any regard for history, but it is in the history of various sciences that we see what they are really composed of. In this day and age, with so many unpresidented political situations that are new to the world in the last century, it is vital that we understand politics (and other similar studies) from an overarching view. It is impossible to gain a true understanding of politics from such a bias source as our modern political culture. It is extremely relevant to see how things have worked or failed in the past.
It is also interesting to see how political systems work or fail in other countries. Though there is some attention paid to the governing of coutries we are at odds with or siding with in conflict, as a general rule the positives and negatives of foriegn government attempts do not seem to be utilized in making better decisions here.
It is proven that American interest and involvement in politics has been decilining for years. The common man, and even the politician in seems from time to time, has no agenda that involves politics at all. This is scary.

It is easy to come to the belief that our personal position with God should be the main focus for the Christian life. We are, after all, called to be examples and live holy lives. However, I know that I personally have often come to the saddening conclusion that I am only able to sustain a holy lifestyle when I am focused on reaching others, being an example, or being a servant. These qualities seem to make it easier to to live the life God calls us to. I recently heard a guest speaker in a class say that he only wished he could recreate the dependancy on God that he had a a missionary here back in the states.
Why do we then struggle to fix ourselves instead of being outward focused? It is backwards to think that if we can fix ourselves we will be able to reach others. We know one fact to be foremost in all situations, and this is that God's glory always supersedes our humanity. There are three obvious issues: That God be glorified, that others see Christ, and that we live holy, set apart lives. All of these are directly related to one another.
However, it is proven to be a failing mindset to believe that a personal holiness will bring God's glory and show Christ to others. This is a system set for failure, because we are focusing on the least of the three, making it easiest to lose. The two greatest commandments are to love God foremost and to love others, so obviously the order in which we often approach these needs is faulty. It is healthy to purposefully glorify God even when we don't feel worthy or close to Him. Though repentance is key, we should train ourselves to unromantacize our walks with God and worship when we don't feel like it, reach out and minister when we don't feel worthy. We teach that truly loving a spouse is putting them first and doing things for their interests even when we don't feel in love or want to do it, but we treat God differently when we sin or lose sight of Him. There is no justifiable reason that we continue to beat ourselves up after God has forgiven us, but we ignore this and often stop even sooner by ignoring our sin, simply because we have false ideas of God in our mindset. Just as in any other, intrinsically lesser relationship, we should realize that our personal feelings and perceptions of our standing with God give no right to act selfishly.

Simply put, a life focused on the personal holiness in hope of achieving a servant and worship lifestyle is a life starting from a self centered, humanistic position, were we are foremost.

A life focused on serving God in every aspect and showing Him to others forgets self, and this is a truly glorious state of being.

Do not get me wrong, I am all for personal holiness, but it should come from a changed perception of the world.

It has been said that "Missions is the mother of Theology." If this is true, then Philosophy must be a younger sibling, for it is equally necessary and in fact a part of our Theology itself.
- Anonymous