Renovating Holiness: Millennial and Gen-X Nazarenes Revision Sanctification

   Imagine that you inherited your grandparents' house.  The only condition is that you have to actually live in the house.   Your grandparents, whom you love, have lived in the same house for going on sixty years.  This simple abode holds an infinite amount of family memories.  

Tim Stanley Photography

   And yet, if you are going to live there, you'll have to make it your own.  The vinyl arm chair that is permanently imprinted with the shape of your Grandpa's posterior is not something to keep for posterity's sake.  Although the massive old faux-wood-boxed TV faithfully cranked out Wheel of Fortune at 6:30 for decades on end, it too will have to go.  

   But the furniture is just the beginning; the whole interior desperately needs to be updated.  12 inch pink flowers on the bathroom wallpaper may have been "snazzy" in the 70's, but now it just makes you feel like Pepto Bismol had a fight with the Easter Bunny.  New paint and new carpet are a must in every room.

   However, we haven't even started talking about the real improvements.  The whole house could use some basic environmental updating.  The windows leak air like a sieve.  (Maybe that's why Grandma always had that nappy afghan and two cats on her lap?)  The wood furnace is literally a fire trap.  And there's a spongy spot on the floor near the back porch where water has been seeping in every time they got a good rain.  

   The kitchen and dining room were designed for a time when meals were formal affairs with fine china.  Your family prefers an open kitchen/dining/living room, so a couple of walls will have to go.

   Furthermore, Grandpa sure saved a lot of money by doing the work himself when he added the extra bedroom in '69, and again when he built himself "Grandpa's workshop" in '83.  But the additions are showing their age, especially around the seems where the sheetrock is starting to turn brown because of some leaks.

   Don't get me wrong.  You're grateful for the house and all of the family heritage that goes with it.  It's just that Grandma and Grandpa didn't see that their house was deteriorating on pace with their bodies.  They didn't seem to notice that wonky faucet in the bathroom because they had lived with it for 30 years.  But if you are going to live there, you'll have to bring the house into the 21st century.  The challenge for you is to reshape the family history so that it can be a working home for your family.

   This is essentially the challenge facing younger Nazarenes.  We have inherited a doctrine of sanctification that our grandparents built.  

The Orphan Master's Son - Book Review

   Having living in South Korea for nine years, I've developed a bit of a fascination with North Korea.  I've stood on the other side of the DMZ.  I've looked through a telescope into the North Korean hills.  I've read several history books and followed the news to come out of the mysterious, murky North.
   Nothing has riveted me like Adam Johnson's The Orphan Master's Son.  It might be described as historical fiction, except that the history it describes is present day North Korea.  For one with a moderate knowledge of North Korea and a strong understanding of South Korean culture, this novel has the aura of authenticity.  Johnson has nailed the ethos of North Korea.
   Of course, he had to take some liberties with logic, making one person do far too many things.  However, some such bending of circumstances is often necessary for a cohesive and comprehensive narrative.
   Johnson has delivered a gripping and clear picture of life in North Korea through the lens of a single individual.  The voice alternates among various narrators and even to public service announcements broadcast into ever North Korean home through a nationwide intercom system.  The story deftly weaves humor, drama, suspense, intrigue, politics, love, despair, and hope.
   One of the most compelling lines comes from a supporting character, the high level Minister of Procurement, "No one is safe."  After the recent execution of Kim JeongEun's uncle (Korea's #2 leader), this one line is hauntingly true.
   It won a much deserved Pulitzer Prize in 2013.  I highly recommend it.  But don't start it when you're busy.  You'll want to read in every spare moment.

Georgia O'Keeffe - Review

Wandering through the library, I stumbled into the oversized section.  When I discovered Georgia O'Keeffe's self-authored description of her own work, I jumped.  In addition to holding gorgeous prints of her own work, this massive (14x10) work offers beautiful insights into the process of art.
A few comments stand out in my memory.

• After a decade of art training, O'Keeffe decided that she would have to completely breakaway from the art her teachers valued.  Their training had been valuable for the skills - fluency in the vocabulary and grammar of art (paints, brushes, strokes, chalks, etc).  However, to create the art she envisioned in her head, she would have to return to a blank slate and start anew because her teachers' art was encrusted within stale systems within which she didn't fit.
• She decided to paint huge portraits of single flowers so that people would slow down and actually look at the details of the flowers.  She realized that if she painted the flowers in life-size, a dozen in one frame, then people would simply glance past them just as they normally do.  However, if she magnified a single bud, then people would see the magnificent beauty hidden in plain sight within the details.  My only complaint is that the book had precious few of the these gorgeously magnified flowers.
• Sometimes, she would only paint one corner of a building, and she felt that by focusing our attention on that particular corner in great detail, she was able to give the viewer a truer sense of the building as a whole.  I see all kinds of parallels here in the world of narrative, in which I usually operate.

This would make a great coffee-table book, but even if one doesn't want to own a copy, it's well worth the trip to the local library.  Looking for a while through O'Keeffe's glasses will enhance your own lenses through which you see our world.

Captains Courageous and The Tender Bar

My brother-in-law and I started a book exchange tradition.  Every time we see each other in person, we will loan the person a book to read.  (We live across the country from each other, so we only get together a few times a year.)  We both chose coming of age books.
My first gift was Rudyard Kipling's Captains Courageous - a beautiful little tale about a poor little rich boy who gets lost at sea.  He is picked up by a fishing boat and is forced into manual labor.  Living by the sweat of his brow changes him and matures him and softens his heart in miraculous and beautiful ways.

Michaels' first book for me was The Tender Bar - a touching memoir by J. R. Moehringer.  Growing up with a single mom and without a significant male influence in his life, the neighborhood bar became his surrogate father.  Actually, it was both the people in the bar and the entity of the bar itself who fathered him.  They taught him how to play baseball, and they taught him how to drink.  But most essentially, they taught him how to be a man.
This particular neighborhood bar was an ironic mixture of a beautifully healthy community mixed with all of the unhealthiness of alcoholism and hedonism.  With that kind of surrogate parent, J. R. naturally had a mixed debt of gratitude and disfunction from the bar.
The most beautiful part of the memoir is J. R.'s coming of age process as a legitimate reporter.  He painfully learns that he must distance himself from the place and the people among whom he felt most at home.  But he does finally grow up and live into his full potential.  And he does come to a peace with his gratitude and separation from the bar, and that in itself is an essential element of his manhood.

Book Review - Building a Discipling Culture - Mike Breen

Best book I've ever read on how to do church.  Hands down.
The writing is not knock your socks off.  The cool factor is fairly low.  The editing is a little lacking.
But the concepts ...  WOW!

Here is a brief rundown.

• If you set out to make disciples, you will inevitably build the Church.  If you set out to build the Church, there is no guarantee that you will make disciples.  This is by far the most simple, most profound and most radical concept in the book.
• Everyone needs to be discipled by someone and actively discipling someone (or at least moving toward it).  This in itself is not radical or new.  People have been talking about this for centuries.  What is unique for our era is an actual plan for how to do this and the expectation that it can, must, and will be done.  We are actually asking people to model after us - so we better get our lives in line with what we see in Jesus!
• Discipleship takes a great deal of time, intentionality, relationship, and personal investment.  If we are genuinely going to disciple someone, we have to invite them deeply into our lives.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Review

I couldn't put it down.  Bathroom, bedroom, living room, breakfast table, car, mechanic.  I read it at every free moment until I was done.
Stieg Larsson deftly blends the narratives of the super-rich, struggling sociological outsiders, midlevel power players, abusers, and victims.  Its backdrop in Sweden, although obvious from the names of people and places, actually had almost no impact on the accessibility of the story for me as an American.  I instantly related to the themes of power, relationship, justice, identity, and discovery.
However, reader beware.  This is not a book for people with weak hearts or sensitive minds.  Violence and sexual abuse are major factors in the story.
On the other hand, without giving away the plot, I always love it when hope emerges out of the ashes of the pain.  Larson beautifully plumbs the depths of human pain, yet he also follows through to hope without the slightest bit of sentimental cheese.  Well done, sir.  Well done.

Magician's Nephew Review

Emma and I started the Chronicles of Narnia series.  We decided to read chronologically - probably easier for a kid.  We're both loving it.  (It's the second time around for me.) Two parts of the story really stand out to me.
1) Alsan creates Narnia by singing.  We often think of God's voice as a dry booming voice.  Lewis's singing Alsan brings out the powerful beauty of God.  I love that Lewis can do something that changes how we think about God.
2) The people who are attuned with God love Aslan and Narnia, but the people who are greedy and out of sync with God find Aslan and Narnia to be torturous.  Goodness is offensive to them.  Somehow that rings true and makes sense on a primal level.  Also - it could explain much about the coexistence of heaven and hell.  They could be the same "thing" experienced in different ways.

The Josh rating is a strong 4 Js: JJJJ.

The Hiding Place - Review

I grew up with my mom talking about The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boon.  She told and retold several of the stories until I felt like I had already read the book.  In my university ethics class, the professor referenced Corrie Ten Boon's ethical disagreements with her sister about whether it is ever OK to lie - even when lying might protect a human life.  Corrie Ten Boon's story has taken on the aura of a modern Christian legend.
As I picked up the book to read, I honestly had a mixture of interest and skepticism.  The interest came from the recognition that it must be a classic for a reason, and I guess the skepticism came from the postmodern distrust of easy answers from modernism.  Both my interest and my skepticism were rewarded, though not in equal measure. 
I was entranced by the story of Corrie's Dutch family's resistance to Nazism through underground work and care for the weak.  This was one of those books that I found myself reading at every spare minute at home.  Also, the way Corrie's family engages their faith in a good God while evil triumphs temporarily was fascinating and heart-warming.
A few times, though, I found myself uncomfortable with Corries sense that God was working in the tiny details of her life.  I heard the echos of my doubting friends in my head.  "If God could miraculously smuggle a Bible into her prison cell, why didn't he just eliminate the prison all together?" 
However, the co-existence of obvious tiny miracles and huge evils pushed me toward humility in determining what God should do in our world.  This juxtaposition pushed on me the realization that God can't always do what God wants to do because we humans often resist his desires. 
Also, Corrie found that even problems like fleas in their concentration camp barracks could become blessings (annoying critters that kept the even more bothersome German guards away).  Again, this pushed me toward humility - realizing that we often cannot see the total picture of what is good or bad for us at a given time.  The best response to all our circumstances is joyful trust in our Father - even if that does seem irrational or even lame at times.
This is a very good read, and although I don't agree with her perspective 100% percent, I certainly agree with and am inspired by her heart and life.
The Josh rating: JJJJ.

Sanctuary - Review

William Faulkner's Sanctuary was the best, weirdest, darkest, most difficult novel I've read in a while.  It was like reading a novel through a kaleidoscope.  The characters, settings, and times shift and turn at a dizzying pace.
Half-way through the novel, he gives information that makes sense of the opening scenes.  Even in the closing chapters, information unfolds that interprets many of the mysterious edges that haunted the whole novel.
It's almost as if Faulkner has this huge entrancing photograph that he has torn into little bits.  Then, he takes the readers through the frustratingly entrancing process of reassembling the original image.
This is not a novel for the faint at heart.  It deals with rape, murder, impotence, racism, class-ism, divorce, adultery, alcoholism, and more.  The general message seems to be that our world is a tangled up mess, where all our broken pieces are more connected to everyone else's broken pieces more than we'd like to admit.
The Josh rating: JJJJ.

The Last Juror - Review

Grisham veers a little from his traditional courtroom style, but not too far.  A legal drama is still a major factor in the story, but the lead character in this story is a kid fresh out of college (without graduating) who stumbles into the ownership of a small town newspaper.  His paper reports mercilessly on a hideous murder by a member of the county's most notorious criminal family, and he is wrapped up into the drama.
Outside the courtroom, we see a young man struggling to come into his manhood. We also get a fresh look at the racial tensions of the deep south in the 1970s.  However, this is refreshingly rendered through the lens of a hyper successful black family with eight kids and seven PhD's.
The Last Juror walks a fine line between gentle story telling and compelling suspense, and that seems to be exactly what Grisham is aiming for - just enough suspense to keep us interested in the main story: a positive image of small town America - even with its weaknesses and faux paus.  As Willie Traynor, a yankee at heart, adapts to life in rural Mississippi, the readers kind of get the feel that they too could make a home there.
Good, enjoyable reading, but not ground breaking or can't-put-it-down.  The Josh rating: JJJ.

Dragon Seed - Review

"The woman had hair as yellow as cat's fur, and it did not lie smooth about her head as hair does, but it stood out like lamb's wool."  These were the thoughts of Ling Sao as she came face to face with her first white woman.
Pearl Buck's Dragon Seed is set in northeastern China during Japan's invasion between 1937-1941.  It tells the story in all its brutal details through the lens of a single farming family living on the outskirts of a large city - possibly Nanjing or Shanghai.  This simple, hardy family suffers all the ravages of war and being conquered - flight, rape, murder, oppression, irrational injustice, heavy taxation, poverty, hunger, disease, and extreme instability.  In the midst of this single family, we all the options of resistance - flight, subversive fighting from the hills, compromise with the enemy, sabotage from within the enemy's camp, passive endurance, and sly evasion of taxes and oppression.
In addition to telling a riveting story, Pearl Buck has also revealed the difficulties of isolated people coming into contact with outsiders for the first time.  As one living in Korea, where contact with foreigners is still somewhat new.  These little bits of insight from the perspective of the indigenous people shed light on many of my experiences.  On more than one occasion, we have caused a baby to cry simply by entering an elevator with our white faces.  But even more common is a deep reticence to talk with us simply because we are different.  When one has been exposed to only one type of people for many generations, the sudden advent of diversity is radically disconcerting.
I recommend this book, not only because it's a great novel, but also because it can help expats living in Asia to understand a little bit more about how we are often experienced by many in our host nation.  The Josh rating: JJJJ.

Love Wins - Review

I read Rob Bell's controversial Love Wins yesterday - as in I started at 8:30 and was done by 3:30.  Granted, I'm preaching on heaven and hell this week, so I figured I should at least read the most debated book on the topic in recent memory.
If you missed the controversy, let me just say it was messy and ugly, and I was only viewing the remnants and echos from the other side of the world.  For a not-so-brief summary of the controversy, check out this article.  For a beautiful interview with Rob Bell about how he has handled all this controversy, click here.  For a look at what this conversation means for the current state of North American Christianity - especially evangelicalism, read this excellent article by theologian Scott McKnight. 
Essentially, the controversy is all about two long debated points within Christian theology.
1. What does it take to be saved (to go to heaven and to avoid hell)?  (Specifically, can people who have never heard about Jesus be saved?)
2. Is hell a place of eternal, conscious punishment from which there is no escape - ever?
Both of these questions have been asked by theologians almost since the time of Christ, and for almost that long, our best Christian thinkers have come up with a variety of answers.  There is no Christian consensus on these two points.  Neither of these two points are critical questions of Christian orthodoxy.  Therefore, throughout history, most Christians have afforded each other the freedom to disagree.  Rob Bell's answers to both questions fall well within the scope of the varied Christian opinion throughout history.
So what does Bell actually say?  Although he says it very well, in his wonderful way of putting very complex ideas in simple and beautiful words, he actually only makes a few specific points.

Regarding heaven, Bell clarifies the use of the word heaven in the Bible.  In the New Testament, the word "heaven" is used in three different ways: (a) as a reference to God (e.g. "Kingdom of Heaven"), (b) the place/time of total restoration in the future, (c) the invasion of that future reality into our present reality ("Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" - type of thinking).  Basically, heaven is something we can experience in part now. (Remember all your pastors talking about starting the "eternal life" now.  This is what Bell is talking about.)  But one day, this foretaste will become the real deal, explosively joyful, unfiltered presence of God among the loving community of God's people.  So far, Bell is right in line with all good theologians.

Regarding hell, Bell unpacks almost every Biblical reference to hell.  And then he slowly works to prove that it is at least possible that a person's experience of hell might not be forever.  The fires of hell might be for the sake of purification rather than eternal punishment.  There might be a second (or third) opportunity to repent and to return to God's grace even after death.  It is possible that God might eventually empty hell and reclaim every lost child.  This may sound strange to people who have grown up with the concept of hell as a place of eternal, conscious, permanent punishment.  However, as Bell points out, good Christian theologians ranging from Justin Martyr to Origen to Luther have said exactly this.

Regarding salvation, Bell makes three basic points.  (1) God is everywhere.  (2) God is always trying to woo people to him and his ways of love.  (3) We will be judged on how we respond to God's wooing - however or wherever we find it.  Although he puts the argument in more beautiful and more controversial tones, this is the essential point, and this is nothing new to Christianity.  Everywhere there have been Christian missionaries and thinkers, people have wondered about this, and many of them have said exactly the same thing.

So here's my conclusion.  Rob Bell didn't say anything new or unorthodox or unChristian, but he said it really, really well.  Honestly, I'm not sure he's right, but I think it's possible.  And I think it's important that we talk about hell and who may or may not go there with a little more humility and uncertainty.  (The Bible seems to be intentionally unclear on that point.)  And I am sure that Bell (or anyone else) can believe everything in this book and be authentically Christian.

The Josh rating: JJJJ.

(Coming soon, my sermon on Heaven and Hell.)

Ashes to Fire - Review

On Patrick's suggestion, we started up a new small group working through the Ashes to Fire devotional guide produced by Nazarene Publishing House.  The basic concept is that the whole church moves on a collective spiritual journey from Ash Wednesday (through Lent and Easter) all the way to Pentecost.  To compliment the devo guide, there are lots of other resources: a 14 week worship service guide, a DVD with lots of digital support tools, 16 original songs, and resources for children.
Our church got into Ashes to Fire a little late, so we just had one small group working through the curriculum.  But we're probably going to try to do the whole thing as a church next year.
Here are some of the things I liked most.

• Far and away, my favorite part was the daily devotional.  Each day there were morning and evening prayer and Bible guides.  When I was busy, I would just read the prayers and summary verses.  But when I had time, I would read through all the Bible selections.  I appreciated using a guide for the Bible reading, and I liked having it relate to the church season.
• Still related to the devotional, I enjoyed the prayers from John Wesley or the Book of Common Prayer.  I often felt like they put words to my actual desires for that day.
• Each devotional also included a quote - often from a church father (or mother).  It was great to live in historic community with those who have gone before us.
• I liked the small group discussions.  In fact, our group has already chosen another book and plans to continue meeting.  I'm hoping that next time around, we'll be able to use the momentum from Ashes to Fire to start several new small groups.
• I really liked some of the songs on the CD - especially the ones for the Lenten season.

However, the book/system could stand some improvements for next time.

• Once a week there is a 2-3 page devotional on the gospel text.  Some of these were good.  Others were pretty weak.  For our somewhat skeptical book, the cheese-factor here lessened their resolve to participate in the daily prayer guides as well.
• The daily quotes from church history could stand some improvement, (a) More women, (b) include the approximate date of the quote  (Most people have no clue when Gregory the Great lived.), (c) Make the quotes more connected with the readings (Sometimes, they seemed kind of random.), (d) Stay with the ancient writers for these quotes.  (It adds to the flavor.)
• Provide the lyrics for the CD.  I couldn't even find out who wrote or performed the various songs.  (Also, sheet music would be very important for incorporating some of these into our worship services.)
• Improve the promo videos.  We'll need something better to help us promote this within our church.

With that being said, overall, this was a good experience for us, and I think we'll be coming back to it next year with our whole church.  So the Josh rating here is: JJJJ.  (Missing one J because of some of the essays.)

The Hunt for Red October - Review

This was my first Tom Clancy book, and I can see why he is so popular.  Usually action-suspense novels like this one build slowly until about half-way through the book, you can't bear to put it down.  I felt like that from the first page of this book.
In the first chapter, Clancy reveals that the captain of the USSR's latest, greatest nuclear submarine plans to defect to the USA.  Instantly, I was drawn into the social, political, military, scientific, personal drama of the story.  The Hunt for Red October is a compelling story as well as an inside look to international subsurface politics and a social commentary on communism (albeit from the outside). 
The bulk of the book is based on Captain Ramius' attempts to avoid the Russian Navy and make contact with the American Navy so that he and his officers can defect.  The Russians have orders to sink Ramius' sub.  The Americans are more than a little freaked out by all of the Russian naval activity off their east coast.  In between it all, there is a spy game going on as well.
I loved this book.  I'll definitely be reading more of Clancy.  Clancy is like John Grisham mixed with the military.  Also, I want to watch the movie.  Itunes here I come.  As for the Josh rating, Red October barely misses the 5 Js.  It doesn't have overwhelming moral punch, but it was an extremely entertaining read.  (If you're following along with my reviews, you might notice, I'm getting stingier with the 5Js rating.  I'm trying to reserve it for truly exceptional works.)  Overall: JJJJ.

Heidi - Review

Emma and I just finished reading Johanna Spyri's classic Heidi.  Heidi is a little joyous girl who finds herself in daunting circumstances and yet still gives life and hope to all around her.  The story is set on the Swiss Alps (and a little in Frankfurt).
Heidi's parents both died in quick succession.  Her maternal aunt unceremoniously dumps Heidi at the doorstep of her gruff paternal grandfather.  Heidi seems to be the picture of perfect childhood innocence and wonder.  She engages life with amazing joy and resiliency.  One of the most beautiful parts of this story is how Heidi's joy is a healing force in the lives of those around her. 
First, Heidi softens the hard shell and bitter heart of her grandfather.  After losing his wife and daughter and experiencing some untold rejections, he turned inward retreating to his hut on the mountain and shunning the company of others.  But with Heidi's advent, he begins to have hope again - partially because he experiences the joys of loving and being loved again.
Second, Heidi is "hired out" as a playmate for Klara, a rich handicapped girl in Frankfurt.  Heidi is altogether too unsophisticated for the liking of the housekeeper and nanny, but her joyful innocence wins the day and adds life to the dreary household.  Eventually, when Klara returns with Heidi to the Alps for a visit, the mountain environment and hopeful air actually works a healing miracle in Klara as well.
Third, mixed into this story is a healing that Heidi's friendship works on her doctor.  He has recently lost his wife and daughter and has a great weight of sadness always about him.  However, his time with Heidi, her unfiltered affection for him, friendship with Heidi's grandfather, and time in the beauty of the Alps work healing in the good doctor's soul.  He eventually retires from Frankfurt to live near Heidi and her grandfather and the Alps. 
At times the story is overly simplistic, and at other times the language is archaic or stiff.  However, the overall story is heart-touching.  Heidi is a beautiful story of the power of simple love and appreciation of the wonder of life.  Emma loved it (once she got into it), and I really enjoyed reading it to her. 
The Josh rating: JJJJ.

The World Is Flat 3.0 - Reflection 1

A few weeks ago, on our anniversary trip, Sarah and I stopped into the English book mecca in Korea: What the Book. It's a small book store ... in a basement ... a few blocks off the beaten path. What makes it so special? All of the books are in English - 100%!! Most of the big book stores here in Korea have a few shelves of English books, but no one has selection like this. I loved it!
One of my finds was The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas L. Friedman. (This is his third edition of the book in as many years.) I got it because I thought it would help me understand postmodernism, which is becoming one of my new passions for research. I LOVE THIS BOOK!!
I'm going to write some reflections on it as I move along. Here is stage number one.

Why is the world "flat"? Discovering that the world was round was a big deal right - Christopher Columbus and all of that, right?
Here's how Friedman explains it: Flat "means equalizing, because the flattening forces are empowering more and more individuals to reach farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before, and that is equalizing power - and equalizing opportunity, by giving so many more people the tools and ability to connect, compete and collaborate. In my view, this flattening of the wolrd is the most important thing happening in the world today ... one that affects everything from individual empowerment to culture to how hierarchical institutions operate" (x).

Friedman says "there have been three great eras of globalization."

1. Globalization 1.0 - (1492-1800) - beginning when Columbus set sail for the "New World." The key forces were brute national strength and cunning application of that strength. Individuals participated in globalization through the work and activity of nations. World size: large --> medium.
   
2. Globalization 2.0 - (1800-2000) beginning with the Industrial Revolution. The key driving forces of this change were multinational companies. Individuals participated in globalization through their companies (and the companies doing business in their market place). World size: medium --> small.
3. Globalization 3.0 - (2000 -????) beginning with the mass availability of personal computers and high speed internet access. The unique force that causes this change "is the newfound power for individuals to collaborate and compete globally." Naturally (but also shockingly), then, individuals participate in globalization as independent individuals. World size: small --> tiny.
   

This is a radical, cataclysmic, earth-shaking change! We are just beginning a very wild ride. Our world is changing faster than ever before, and the pace of change is increasing faster than ever before. What is the source of all of this change? People around the world are now able to participate in shaping the future. Because people in almost any country can have access to almost any information and can develop almost any skill and can create new information which can then be accessed by all other people all over the world, we have multiplied our mental workforce exponentially.
Maybe a visual picture will help. Imagine that before the internet, the world changers (the people who invented stuff and thought up the really cool new ideas and developed new systems) could all fit into one large auditorium in New York City - granted a very crowded room. N0w, with the massive implementation of the internet, the world changers are filling up all of New York City, all of New York State, and are spilling out all over the entire North American continent. Soon, they will take up every inch of the globe. (And this metaphor is not intended to be America-centric. I just had to pick somewhere as the starting point.) The point is that people all over the world are now able to be active players in shaping their own destiny and also the destiny of the entire world.
The world is flat ... and getting flatter all the time.

Judas and the Gospel of Jesus - Review

When my Mom and Dad came for Christmas, they gave me an N.T. Wright book, Judas and the Gospel of Jesus. I was eager to read stuff by N.T. Wright because he has been a formative thinker for many in the emerging and missional church movements. Christianity Today Magazine ranked him as one of the top 5 theologians of our time.
However, I wasn't all that eager to read a book about the Gospel of Judas - a newly discovered text from the 2nd century AD. I'm not all that in to conspiracy theories, and most of the people here in our church aren't either.
I wanted a light read, though, so I picked it up. I know - that says something weird about me that I consider a book about a 2nd century pseudo-gospel a "light read." I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this book and particularly with how relevant his analysis is for us.
Here's his basic thought line.
1. "The Gospel of Judas" is a genuine text, authentically written in the early 2nd century, but it is not a "gospel" of Jesus of Nazareth. It is in a distinctly different genre and class from the canonical (biblical) gospels. Those are written close to history, heavily relying on history, growing out of Judaism. The Gospel of Judas is written within the context of 2nd century gnosticism and reflects that background in all of its style and theology. Gnosticism basically says that this world is bad (created by a weak or evil God) and that the spiritual world is the real deal (created by the one true God). Jesus came to rescue us out of this evil world of flesh and blood and to take us into the world of the spirit. Some of the quotes from the Gospel of Judas sound eerily like the cults in North America who committed mass suicide to "escape" into the heavenly (or alien) world by leaving their bodies behind.
2. N.T. Wright said we should reject the Gospel of Judas (as a description of Jesus) for two reasons: a) It's picture of Jesus has little resemblance to the Jesus of Nazareth we know from more historically reliable sources, and it makes almost no attempt to connect with history since its theology promotes a disconnect with the physical world. b) It's theology is bad. It promotes completely rejecting Judaism and all connection with the physical material world. This is contrary to the rest of the Bible and would lead to all sorts of negative consequences for our world.
3. However, the real twist comes in the final chapters. In the process of explaining why the Gospel of Judas doesn't measure up to what we should expect from a religious work in general, much less to what we expect from an orthodox Christian text, Wright also analyzes current Christianity and finds us lacking for the same reasons. According to Wright, and several scholars whom he cites, Protestant Gnosticism is rampant among us. Both liberals and conservatives fall into gnostic tendencies from opposite extremes. Liberals tend to act as if our moral actions in this world are irrelevant, since God only cares about our hearts. Conservatives tend to act like this world is inherently evil and damned, and that salvation will mean being rescued from this world. Orthodox Christianity, on the other hand, proclaims that this world really matters because God is in the process of redeeming us and this world. Salvation will not be removal to heaven (and the subsequent destruction of the cosmos) but the rehabilitation of creation and all created beings who go along with God's rehabilitation process.
Let me try to rephrase this. The subtitle of the book is, "Have We Missed the Truth about Christianity?" N.T. Wright answers: "Well, partly, but not because of the we missed some secret conspiracy-theory information that the Gospel of Judas brings to light. We are actually, presently, missing true Christianity because we are unwittingly buying into the same lies (a.k.a. heresies) that caused the Gospel of Judas to be written in the first place."
I learned a lot, and I'm eager to read more from N.T. Wright. I give it 4 j's.