Religion for Good

Ironically and with mixed feelings that primarily lean toward gratitude, I am putting my reading of Purpose Driven Life on hold. The book took me to the brink of collapse and then ultimately back again. One of the conditions of my current stability is to not read the book, and I intend to respect that wholeheartedly.

Reflecting on this chapter, I feel like I just read a self-help book on conflict resolution.  The concepts here are not foreign to me, but the use of supporting statements from the Bible is new. Paraphrasing what Rick is asking each person to do, here's what I got out of the chapter: Think through the problem on your own first, before approaching the other party. Be the "bigger" person.  Instead of waiting for the other party to apologize or initiate reconciliation, you be the person to apologize or initiate reconciliation. Start by acknowledging the other party's feelings, before discussing the problem. Admit your own faults in the initial handling of the situation.  Truly believe that you did fault at some point, because you are neither perfect nor a saint. Avoid belittling or insulting the other party while trying to untangle and resolve the problem. Look for common values with the other party, the building blocks of collaboration. Rebuild the relationship...

Overall, I believe this chapter should be read by anyone who wants to be a leader in any context, Christian or not. I have one note about gossips in this chapter. Rick says, "They may get mad and leave your group or church if you confront them... but the fellowship of the church is more important than any individual."  As I'm reading this, I'm wondering to myself what happened to Rick's call to action in chapter 17 with the quote, "If you know people who have wandered off from God's truth, don't write them off.  Go after them.  Get them back" (James 5:19 Msg).  Gossiping sounds like a sin, and if a Christian gossips then to me that person's Christian family should try to help the person leave behind his or her sinful ways and become a better person.  Point to Ponder: Community requires commitment. Absolutely.  But in order for there to be community more than one person must be equally deeply invested in that community. Question to Consi...

Rick quotes the Bible, "Make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification" (Romans 14:19 NIV).  Either the Klan forgot to review this part of the Bible in their teachings, or doing what leads to peace does not exclude murdering.  Okay, I said that mostly because I have a strong distaste for the Klan.  I recognize that the Klan is one of those organizations that uses Christianity as a means toward un-Christian, nefarious ends, and that it is not representative of real Christians. But on a more serious note, does  doing what leads to peace exclude killing other human beings?  Rick says later in the chapter that "fellowship happens when mercy wins over justice."  Sometimes, in my opinion, justice takes the form of an eye for an eye.  What should society do with a driver who hits a 5-year-old girl in a city street and then proceeds to run over the victim with both front and rear wheels on the blood-stained car?  For me the answe...

I like Rick's statement that "the church is a body, not a building; an organism, not an organization." But I disagree with Rick's statement that "the first symptom of spiritual decline is usually inconsistent attendance at worship services and other gatherings of believers."  Would Rick say that all churches were created equal?  And that Catholics, Protestants, Baptists and all other subcategories of Christians are the same?  Perhaps they all start from the same base belief that Jesus Christ existed and that Jesus was the son of God, but what if a person stopped attending worship services and other gatherings of a particular group of Christians because that group's teachings seemed inconsistent with the individual's beliefs?  What if another Christian group's message made more sense to the individual, and that individual was subconsciously seeking this other group, not to the disavowal of Christianity altogether? Perhaps when Jesus existed, the...

How apt for me, in my current state of mind, to read the opening quote to the chapter: "No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love" (Corinthians 13:3b Msg).  I just had one of the most difficult conversations of my life, and the quote reminds me what is really, truly important that money can't buy. "'Love others as you love yourself'" (Galatians 5:14 LB).  Which parts of love does this quote refer to?  Does it mean just the praise?  Or also the way of living or approaching life?  Does it mean to impart some of our world views on others with the hope that we can all be better for it?  How does Rick or the Bible know how one loves him- or herself? "Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples" (John 13:35 LB).  This reminds me of the hypothetical, situational question I posed yesterday:  Can two Christians who have never met demonstrate this kind of love to each other an...

So now, I'm in the 2nd purpose that Rick's going to describe in the book.  But before I got to the actual chapter, I was struck by a Biblical quote Rick used to open the unit:  "Christ makes us one body...connected to each other" (Romans 12:15 GWT).  Who is the "us" referring to in that quote? I suppose Rick answers this question early on in the chapter when he says, "The family of God includes all believers in the past, the present, and the future."  So, when Rick talked earlier about "God building a family who will ... reign with him forever," did he mean that God's family will reign over all non-believers?  And if so, how does Rick define a believer or a non-believer?  How does he know that someone who says, "I'm a Christian," really is a Christian at heart?  And what about people who are baptized but later fall out of the relationship with Christ and God? To me, this question is further complicated by the points ra...

The theme of the chapter seems to be that one should worship God even when God's presence is not felt.  For me, I take this to mean on a deeper level that we should not act for immediate pleasure or satisfaction; we should act because we believe in what we are doing.  Similarly to what was discussed in the previous chapter(s), we should not be kind, generous or compassionate only when others can see us.  So, Christians should not worship God only when God can acknowledge them. If we all share the same core values and act accordingly, it should not make a difference whether another person or even God is there to acknowledge that act. Hrmm... but let me step back for a second and think about the situation from a different perspective:  Maybe it's not about getting feedback from God; actually, it's probably not.  The real question is, how does one worship God when one is suffering?  When one's prayers for a better life are not answered? I guess if we do things...

Rick says, "Worship must be based on the truth of the Scripture, not our opinions about God."  So, what if God is not just?  I want to worship a God that is just.  Or what if God has petty thoughts?  Then if we still worship the God described in the Scripture, would we then be worshiping out of fear and not love? Authenticity is not just about communicating to God; authenticity should be practiced with everyone at all times.  I generally agree with Rick that sincerity is desired above perfection in our actions, although it helps to not do something completely wrong. I have to remind myself, as Rick's talking about worshiping according to each person's unique predispositions, that in chapter 9 worship was defined as bringing pleasure to God. As I'm reading this chapter, I'm taken back to my earlier question about obedience vs. free will by Rick's phrase, "[God] commands us to praise his name."  Maybe obedience is following a general order, and fre...

I am reflecting on this chapter after having read it in its entirety.  Personally, I feel that Rick is misusing the word "friendship" here.  My idea of a friend is someone with whom I have a close relationship that is a two -way exchange of support, insights and other thoughts.  But the "friendship" with God, as Rick describes it, is not the same.  Rick says, "While these close companions had special privileges, they were still subject to the king and had to obey his commands."  Companion?  Maybe.  Friend?  No. Regardless, the actions that Rick is promoting, such as loving others, helping the needy, sharing our resources, living cleanly and offering forgiveness are all respectable actions that we would all do well to practice.  The mantra of living to capture the small opportunities to do good instead of waiting for one great opportunity is also a key concept.  It ties back to the earlier metaphor that life is a test at every moment. ...

The chapter starts with, "God wants to be my best friend."  Is this desire forever?  What happens if one lives by Christian values but never establishes that "best friend" relationship with God?  What is judgment like for that person?  I believe Rick intended for the idea to be comforting, but I feel like there's a lot more to know before one can truly believe the statement. I don't know the Biblical story behind the "veil in the temple", but I'm curious what first blocked direct access to God in the Old Testament...  The quote from Corinthians 5:18a adds further complexity to the situation by insinuating that we, humans were once enemies of God.  This is strange, because isn't God the creator of all things? Constant prayer and conversation with God is a very nice thought.  I actually wish that my grandma in China could believe in and enact this habit, as I suspect it will help her cope much better emotionally and mentally with everything t...

To me, the act of surrender is a way of expressing humility.  We should all be humble, recognizing that none of us are perfect and we are all working to better ourselves and our world together.  If surrendering oneself to God is the way for some people to achieve this level of humility, then I believe it is for the better. I think there are a number of seeming contradictions in this sermon on which I would eventually like to get some clarification.  One specifically that comes to mind is the juxtaposition of two statements: "God does not want robots to serve him," yet "Surrender is best demonstrated in obedience.  You say 'yes, Lord' to whatever he asks of you."  How do these statements work together to for one logical or understandable train of thought? Regardless of our different starting points, I think Rick's overall message here, to put aside our fears, to forfeit our pride and to seek understanding above confusion, is a very positive and supportabl...

To recap what I gather as the 5 ways to please God: Love God supremely above all else. Trust God completely. Obey God wholeheartedly. Praise and thank God continually. Use the abilities that God gave to us. Before I translate the 5 ways to please God into actions that I can better relate to, I want to comment on a few interesting statements in this chapter. First, I think it's scary to conjecture that we should trust God completely without question and carry out God's instructions exactly as given.  Isn't this how some of the more gruesome and shameful moments in our history came to be?  Haven't some people been so convinced that God was telling them to perform some violent acts that they actually followed through?  Maybe it's more appropriate to say that we should trust God, but we should question our interpretation of God's instructions, not God's instructions themselves.  After all, we are only human, right?  And if God doesn't speak to us ...

My Ebook Reader app on the iPhone 3GS actually has a bug that for some reason prevents it from rendering the 8th chapter of the book.  So yesterday, before I went to bed I actually read the 9th chapter without knowing it. Going back to the 8th chapter today, I'm struck by how much reading this book feels like listening to a sermon.  Listening to a sermon is exactly the kind of one-way communication that makes me wish for the ability to ask questions.  But perhaps most challenging with this sermon is that I feel lost because I don't start from the same point of view as Rick Warren. One of the first questions Rick asks about bringing enjoyment to God as man's first purpose in life is, "What greater significance could you have?"  I don't have a specific answer to Rick's question, but something still seems odd to me:  What is the difference between living to bring enjoyment to God and living to bring enjoyment to my fellow humans? What's interesting,...

Once again I'm reminded right from the start of this chapter that Rick Warren and I have very different starting points.  I don't claim to actually know where I start, but I know that it's not where Rick starts, where "the ultimate goal of the universe is to show the glory of God."  But let's see what else Rick has to say today. So, what does it mean to live for someone else or specifically for God's glory?  I wonder whether Christians have a different idea of what "glory" means.  To me, glory implies a lot of pride that is unbefitting of someone pursuing spiritual or religious humbleness.  But maybe "living for God's glory" in the Christian sense just means to live to a higher standard? And it's interesting to hear that "we cannot add anything to this glory."  Does this mean that the best we can do is to not screw it up? And to say that we should live for God's glory because "God deserves it" for c...

I think Rick could do a better job of relating this last metaphor, of life being a temporary assignment, to the previous two.  I believe the good intent behind this metaphor is that we should not get too attached, too fixated and addicted , to the earthly objects with which we're surrounded.  However, without explicitly stating this, I, the reader, am left to wonder, "Am I supposed to treat this as a rented apartment that I don't have to care for?  That I can dent and scratch without worrying about lasting consequences?"  I think the answer is "no", based on the previous metaphors that life is a test and that life is a trust. The metaphor of being an "ambassador to an enemy nation" seems very off-color to me.  Is earth an "enemy nation"?  One that God created?  This doesn't make any sense to me.  Furthermore, I'm curious where Christianity is "going" according to Rick with regard to identification and persecution of ...

The 2nd quote at the front of the chatper from Anaïs Nin struck me as completely relevant and unbelievably simple:  "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."  This couldn't be more clear to me from my conversation with my wife this morning, where we spent a fair amount of time hashing out a conversation she had with her mother and her sister.  She didn't take the words that came her way at face value; she added her own interpretation and meaning to the words beyond what they literally meant. I like this sentence, "To fulfill the purposes God made for you, you will have to challenge conventional wisdom and replace it with the biblical metaphors of life."  Specifically, I like it even more when I read it as, "To fulfill the purposes..., you will have to challenge conventional wisdom..."  The interesting thing here is what we define as "conventional". The word "conventional" to me implies a quality of bein...

I've heard about the idea that life on Earth is but a blip in eternity, and that the life we live in this world will determine where we end up for eternity.  But one thing that I find weird is:  If life here and now is so short compared to eternity, why are we being judged so harshly after such a relatively insignificant amount of time?  For us to be placed in heaven or hell, forever , based simply on a life of less than 100 conventional years...  I feel that's the equivalent of giving a 1-year-old baby either $1 billion USD and complete freedom or a life sentence in a maximum security prison.  I feel that there must be a better explanation for what this life is about, if we are to believe in God and in eternity. It just occurred to me:  If people like me cannot even comprehend the significance of saving now for an earthly retirement 30 years down the road, how can we comprehend or begin to appreciate the weight of preparing for eternity ? Point to ...

If knowing one's purpose is so important, how does one know that he or she has found his or her true purpose?  Doesn't that presume that one knows God or God's plan? On to something that had me nodding my head:  "Never confuse activity with productivity."  I feel that at a very basic level this applies and manifests itself every day at work.  At work, I do a lot, but I often feel that I do not accomplish a lot. Point to Ponder:  Living on purpose is the path to peace. I can agree with this, which is exactly why I'm searching for my purpose. Question to Consider:  What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life?  What do I want it to be? I don't think the people around me can say anything  about the driving force of my life, because I neither know what it is nor talk to others about it.  As for what I want it to be... I don't have anything specific, but I do want it to be a passionate attempt to make Par...

I think it's interesting and important for me to reflect on the statements made in the first few sentences, that God "expected [my birth]".  I don't take this to mean that God knew exactly when or where I was going to be born, because that would indicate predestination or a the existence of a "master plan" that removes the possibility of free will. Okay, but the second paragraph becomes a little more conflicting for me, because the sentence "God prescribed every single detail of your body" implies a lot about how much direct control God has over any one human being, down to the level of "natural talents" and "uniqueness of your personality".  Interestingly enough, I don't necessarily agree that this interpretation is well inferred from the following quote from Psalm 139:15. Calvinism, if I understand Calvinism correctly to include a belief in predestination, is pretty strongly stated in the paragraph quoting Psalm 139:1...

The chapter starts with an an assertion that I, the reader, was "born by his purpose and for his purpose."  If this is the case, then why do I need free will?  Or am I asking the wrong question? I guess maybe it's not a question of free will or not, but rather how to feel like you've found a sense of purpose, and with that a sense of fulfillment.  If this is the case, looking outside of ourselves at the world around us, the people around us, will give us better insight into what we will truly find fulfilling. What is "self-actualization"?  It looks like the term came from Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, based on About.com's article on the topic.  My understanding is that self-actualization, simply put, is performing or producing at 100% of our real capacity, however that may be measured.  But, I can see a problem with this, in that how can we ever measure what our real capacity is?  Self-actualization is a nice idea, but it doesn't seem...

My friend Mike gave me Lesson 1 from One-on-One John Bible Study , a worksheet from the Berkland Baptist Church.  It turned out to be an easy, simple reason to read a chapter in the Bible today. To complete the worksheet, I thought I'd post my reflections here, with the intent that this blog will be supplemented with further reflections on other readings in the coming weeks.  This exercise will actually be an interesting test to see how much I retained from my reading this morning, 11 hours ago. 1. What is John's purpose in writing this Gospel?  What kind of life is he talking about here?  What do you think is the most important thing in this whole world? This question forced me to clarify the perspective from which I'm answering these questions:  I will answer the questions from my personal views while acknowledging what I think the questions want me to consider. I think John's primary purpose in writing this Gospel is to raise awareness of Jesus. ...