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A Christian Worldview?

On Sunday evening I took the "Political Ideology Quiz" on Facebook, the result suggested that I might be "moderately liberal." I think this is a fair assessment of where I fall in the grand scheme of American political ideology. Of interest to me was the comment from my dear friend Mark, "So, as a follower of Jesus, pastor and serious student of the Bible, would you then say that God's word espouses a moderately liberal worldview?"

So how do I respond to Mark's question?
The simple answer to the question Mark poses is "no!"
God's word doesn't espouse either a conservative or liberal worldview, it gives us a kingdom of God view of the world. It reminds us that our allegiance is no longer to any nation of this world but rather to God and the building of His kingdom. Quite frankly there are simply too many people who try and describe the so-called "Christian Worldview" as a set of political and social positions that one must hold in the world, nonsense is all I have to say to that.

So what then is a Christian Worldview? The answer is that it is one informed by a relationship with the living God through Jesus Christ. It is a subversive position in regards to every kingdom (nation) of this world in that it challenges the assumptions of power and authority structures as they currently exist.

It is a worldview that gives special recognition to the poor in spirit (just poor in Luke), to those who mourn, to the meek, to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, to the merciful, to the peacemakers and to the persecuted. It is a worldview in which the first will be last and the last will be first. It is a worldview that turns the pride, ambition and arrogance of the world's systems on its head.

A truly "Christian Worldview" will recognize the danger of anger (Matt 5:22), the reality that lust is the equivalent of adultery (Matt 5:28) and the importance of faithfulness in marriage (Matt 5:32 this passage needs further explanation). A "Christian Worldview" is one where we can trust one another to be truth-tellers (Matt 5:37).

At this point I don't think there is anything here that is inherently conservative or liberal.

A "Christian Worldview" does not resist an evil person but rather turns the other cheek, gives more than is asked, goes the extra mile and gives to the one who asks.

 A "Christian Worldview" is one in which we love, don't kill, our enemies. Indeed it is a worldview in which we pray for our persecutors so we may be known as children of our Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:44). If our enemy is hungry we are to feed them, if they are thirsty we are to give them something to drink (Romans 12:20) this is how we do battle with our enemies in the kingdom of God.

A "Christian Worldview" is one in which we give to the needy but don't boast about it, are prayerful but keep it simple and fast not for show but for growth in our relationship with God.

A "Christian Worldview" doesn't worry about about things beyond your control and serves God and God alone, it is a call not to self-fulfillment but rather to self-denial. (Luke 9:23)

A "Christian Worldview" in contrast to the worlds view doesn't judge others before taking a long hard look at youself. It understands that that God has good gifts to give you and to all who would follow Christ.

A "Christian Worldview" is not a big wide easy road, rather it is a narrow gate that leads to life.

Would I dare suggest that a "Christian Worldview" demands equality? I might but certainly Scripture does... "Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality." (2Cor. 8:13)

Conservative or Liberal? Wrong question.
Are you seeking to follow God with all you have? Right Question.

 

Left or Right?

Here's a crazy optical illusion. The silhouette can be seen to be spinning in both directions... don't believe me just watch long enough and you'll see it (you may have to focus on the shadow the shadow to see it change direction.)

Is she spinning clockwise? YES! Is she spinning anti-clockwise? YES! Can she be spinning both ways at the same time? NO! But two people could argue rightly for hours over which way she is actually spinning.

Hmm... makes me think about how important it is to listen to others who may see things from a slightly different perspective.

Inside the Real High School Musical - they really are great kids!

If you didn't see "Inside The Real High School Musical" on 20/20 last night then you should check out the videos posted on ABC site here. It was great to see so many of these young people who are part of our church family on national TV! I've enjoyed getting to know some of them through our church productions of Godspell, Footloose and the Nifty Fifties.

If you're in the Centreville area and would like to hear more of Nick Cirillo, he will be playing the prelude for us on December 28!

Running the [cross] country

I was reading to my youngest last night. The story was "Arthur Meets The President." In the story Arthur's kid sister DW says, "I have a lot of ideas about how to run the country." To which my dear little one says, "my sisters run the country too dad!"

Just last week her two older sisters had started running cross country, but to a three year running cross country and running the country seemed like the same thing... hmm... I wonder?

Technology and Nature

Another day at the lake, the haunting cry of the Loon fills the air. The sun sets and there is a strange blend of the natural and technology.

Wisconsin Blogging!!!

Well, here I am in Amery, Wisconsin, on the shore of Lake Wapogasset. Any blog posts this week will be coming from here...

It's beautiful at sunset...

(Photographs by eldest and second child)

Cost of Gas

I know we bemoan the cost of gas, but in the UK right now the cost of gas is 113.67p and that's for a litre, not a gallon.

So we take the average cost of gas 113, and convert that to USD, 113 x 1.97 = 222.61 so a litre of gas is $2.22 and we convert into a cost per gallon, 2.22 x 3.785 = 8.40

The cost of gas in the UK is $8.40 per gallon!

Ouch!!!

A Little Soccer Fun

It's been a little over a week since I posted anything and to be quite honest  with the nice spring weather I haven't felt like stirring the pot much so here's just a little fun with a soccer ball. These guys are talented!

Karl Barth makes the comics page!

Who'd have thought Karl Barth would make it onto the comics strip! Thanks to Mutts

Happy Thanksgiving with Adam Sandler

Enjoy the little things in life

Once again my children's friends got a thrill riding with me in my car. What's so exciting about my car? It's a Kia! Actually it's a Kia Rio with no frills attached (except air conditioning and CD player). What really amuses the kids is that if they want to open a window they have to crank it open with a good old fashioned hand crank! Several of our kids friends have got into our cars (Jenny's drives a basic Kia Sephia) and announced to us that they have never seen a car window that you had to wind.

It's Friday afternoon, enjoy the little things in life.

The National Institue for Play

Do you play enough? Check out The National Institute for Play. We all need to play more, one of the Institutes directors is Kevin Carroll of red rubber ball fame, when you have a moment check out his blog.

Now go and play.

Play time!

I'm going to the beach today! Virginia Beach, for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon, can't wait to play in the ocean, run in the race, listen to the bands and hang out with my best friend and wife, Jenny.

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Irish Demolition Prank

My brother-in-law, Neil, just sent me this. It's just hilarious!

Even in Belfast there were some things you just couldn't get away from!

Trailer for Summer Sermon Series!!!

                 

This is our trailer for our summer sermon series on Heaven. We will be using Randy Alcorn's book "Heaven" as our basic text. If you are in the Centreville area we would love to have you join us as we explore the questions people have about Heaven.

What's in store for me today???

Perhaps I only found this funny because this is what I've got in store for me this afternoon! Disclaimer, there are inappropriate comments in the first clip and some would say this is very "male" humor.

Miscommunication

The story is told of an ancient debate in the great city of Rome. In light of recent antisemitic activity the Jewish population is faced with expulsion from the city. In order to prevent this from happening the leading Rabbi approaches the Pope and challenges him to a debate, if the Pope wins the Jews will leave and if the Rabbi wins the Jews are free to stay and the antisemitism will come to an end. There is only one condition to the debate... no words are to be used.

The Pope agrees and the day of the debate arrives, the Rabbis of the city are gathered behind the lead Rabbi and the Cardinals are all there in support of the Pope. The Pope begins, he holds up three fingers... the Rabbi responds, he holds up one finger... The Pope draws a large circle around his head and the Rabbi points to the ground... The Pope produces some bread and wine and the Rabbi produces an apple... At which point the Pope throws his hands up in the air admits defeat and walks away.

Later that afternoon the Pope is asked about what happened so he explains. "I held up three fingers to explain that God is a trinity but he countered me by reminding me that God is one. I circled my hand above my head to point out that God is everywhere but he pointed to the ground reminding me that God is right here. Finally, in a last ditch effort I brought out the elements of the Lord's Supper to remind the Rabbi of Christ and his death and resurrection but he brought out an apple and reminded me of original sin and that was the end of it, what more could I have done?"

The Rabbi was also asked to explain what had happened. "The Pope told me we had three days to get out of Rome so I defiantly raised my finger to tell him we would stand as one against him. He then told me he would round us up wherever we were so I pointed to the ground and told him we were staying right here and going nowhere. I'm not sure what happened next, it appeared that he took out his lunch, so I took out mine and that was the end of the matter!"

How easily we misunderstand one another

Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford!

I first saw this on Michael Kruse's site. It's very funny, but unfortunately all to true.

Snl_dontbuystuff
Uploaded by shosterman

You Know You're From Northern Virginia If...

1. You constantly complain about there being nothing to do, even though you are right next to DC
2. You have at least 2 friends who have no idea what their parents do because its "top secret" government work
3. When people ask where you're from, you tell them DC because its easier to explain
4. You've never told someone you're from Virginia without putting "northern" in front of it
5. Its not actually tailgating unless your bumper is touching the car in front of you.
6. A yellow light means at least 5 more cars can get through.
7. A red light means 2 more can.
8. It takes you 30 minutes to drive 10 miles
9. Your local news is national news
10. Even if your high school is only a year old, its already overcrowded
11. Despite the fact that Virginia fought for the south in the Civil War, you are NOT, under ANY circumstances, a "southerner"
12. The cars in the student parking lot are worth 3x those in the teacher parking lot.
13. You can cross 4 lanes of traffic in under 30 seconds
14. When traveling, you have your choice of 3 airports
15. An inch of snow and you miss 3 days of school
16. When you were driving on the beltway at 2:13am on a Tuesday there was still traffic
17. Rush hour lasts all day
18. For the cost of your house, you could own a small town in Iowa
19. You have to dial the area code to call your neighbor
20. You refer to distances in minutes, not miles.