I am not interested in pushing forth a moral system. I am interested in sharing a message of grace. It seems to me that the idea is to share Jesus, and then let Jesus establish the moral convictions in the hearts of his followers.

I am not fighting for a Christian society, I am serving in an unchristian society by showing love to the outcasts.

I think far too often, Christians come across as portraying what they are against in society rather then what they are for. Maybe that isn’t a fair statement, because the media does portray an unbalanced view on the Christian worldview. However, there seems to be a lot of discussions about a culture war and very little about loving your neighbor.

Here’s the deal… Same-sex marriage will be legalized. There is no culture war to win here. As a Christian, you can choose to fight this to the end, and divide yourself from those whom you believe are the opposition… Or… you can choose to see this as an opportunity to relay the real message of grace.

Cast your stone, or drop it. The choice is yours.

10. Catholic :  Must state “Peace be with you” , and respond “and also with you”
9. Reformed :  Hand-shake along with a nod to confirm that you are one of the elect
8. Pentecostal :  Bypass the handshake… go right to the hug
7. Health and Wealth :  A hand-wipe after every hand-shake
6. Baptist :  Must use the word ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ while hand-shaking
5. Eastern Orthodox :  Sign of the cross on one hand while hand-shaking on the other
4. Unity :  Don’t need to shake hands, everyone is already holding hands
3. Scientology :  Use the power of the mind to shake-hands, no need for physical contact
2. Prosperity :  Flash the hand jewelry while shaking hands
1. Episcopalian :  No shaking hands as it might offend someone

We don’t derive our identity from belief statements, or propositions that validate as rational, we derive our identity from the narrative of our lives. How we live day-to-day; the choices we make; the people and the context we surround ourselves with.

Our identity comes from the home
Our identity comes from living

For those of us that are followers of Jesus, we understand that our story is part of a bigger story. It is the story God is writing, and choosing to let us participate in. We are not the main actor in this story.

Therefore, if we think that our identity as ‘Jesus followers’ comes from a weekly worship service in a building, we would be mistaken. That would never sustain our identity. We must enter into the story that is being written around Jesus… on a daily basis.

The following short video by Leonard Sweet and Sean Gladding explains this well…

“500 years ago, Martin Luther asked a very simple question, “How can I be righteous before a perfect God?” For almost 500 years, that question, and Scripture’s answer of by grace through faith in Christ, has shaped Western Christianity. It was a question driven by guilt. Luther was acutely aware of his sinful actions. As an Augustinian Monk, Luther did everything he could to stop sinning. He couldn’t and felt incredibly guilty. As a result, he lived terrified that God would condemn him. But what happens to Luther’s answer when we’re no longer asking Luther’s question?”

Joe then goes on to make a distinction between guilt and shame. You can read his post here.

Joe’s premise is a good one, and it got me thinking about the relevance of guilt in our postmodern culture . Is the church by-and-large addressing a protestant question that no longer connects to it’s intended audience?

I am not suggesting that the church needs to contextualize the Jesus’ message to make it somehow relevant in our time, I think that misses the point. The question I am asking is more akin to a patient being told they are sick, when they don’t have any symptoms. Not only would the patient not believe the doctor’s prognosis, they wouldn’t even visit the doctor in the first place.

So what might a common-day postmodernist be asking in regard to God?

Here are some examples…

I am not interested in organized religion, how can I experience God?
Since all paths lead to God, how is God making himself known to me in my personal journey?
I don’t believe in a God of judgement, how can I experience God’s love?
How do I know God is real for me?

I have however, listened to what people are saying about the movie, such as reviews; online and social media comments, conversations, etc… In some cases, I hear people saying that it shouldn’t be labeled as a Christian movie because it is not family friendly, or appropriate. Some conservative Christians are saying it fails because it doesn’t proclaim the Gospel, or it is too loose theologically. Really?

My initial thought is… since when is ‘Christianity’ synonymous with ‘family friendly’?  You can have family movies that have a Christian worldview that is safe to watch with kids; but you can also have honest brute reality films that are not for young kids. It seems to me that movies that portray a Christian perspective should be more raw; less safe; and more honest to the problems of the world then anything else.

The brutal reality of sin and the drama of redemption is serious stuff.
Why must it be packaged as something safe

This may be harsh but a lot of the movies I’ve watched under the so called ‘Christian Genre’ are just too unreal for me. They don’t go far enough to show the reality of suffering, of doubting, of portraying the complexity of life. Maybe it’s a combination of the weak storyline and poor acting, I can’t put my finger on it, but they just tend to feel ‘too packaged.’

Blue Like Jazz the book, is not a doctrinal thesis.
It is the story of one man’s journey through a life of faith.
I don’t expect the movie to be a doctrinal thesis either.

In my opinion, the experiment failed.

Of course you can listen to Free Jazz and make your own opinion, but even in Jazz circles (from articles I read), Jazz musicians will tell you it’s an interesting exercise, but it doesn’t really work.

Why?
because true freedom works within a framework; a context; an underlying structure.

A fish is only truly free when it swims in the context of it’s environment. Remove a fish from water and it will die.

Humanity is only truly free when lived from a point of reference, such as a moral conscience, in relationship, and in service to others. I would also take that further and say that the point of reference only makes sense when it is objective.

Like free jazz, Relativism seeks to remove the underlying structure of ‘purpose’ and therefore removes any real meaning. Without an objective framework, freedom is simply chaos.

Consider these words from the most respected and finest Jazz pianist, who says it best:

“It’s very important to remember that no matter how far I might diverge or find freedom in this format (jazz), it only is free insofar as it has reference to the strictness of the original form. And that’s what gives it its strength. In other words, there is no freedom except in reference to something.”
– Bill Evans

Today, the teacher/student model is based on a teacher delivering carefully parsed and categorized information to a group of students in a closed room. We assimilate knowledge by a flurry of different forms, such as books, blogs, media, and anything digital. We gain a certificate and enter the job market hoping we may like the day to day process. In today’s academia, we learn about the job before we experience the job.

What have we lost from the ancient learning model?

The hands-on apprenticeship was not just about knowledge; it was relational. The student didn’t simply learn the craft, he learned how the master breathed the craft. The struggles; the rhythm of the day; the work ethic in real life context.

We can follow great thinkers and craftsmen online and in a classroom, but we are not really ‘following’ them, we are listening to them. There’s a difference.

And yet I wonder if your longing is for something greater then these self-indulgent gods. I wonder if there is an unknown god that you desire and cannot seem to find. For It is this very unknown God that I want to proclaim to you.

This God who made you and everything around you, does not live in cathedrals or religious buildings. He is not the God of a political party or of religious tradition. He is not served by rituals or good works, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. He desires that you seek and find him as he is not far from any of us.

This God is calling you to turn away from these altars of self-deception and indulgence, and turn to the one whom he has sent, who has defeated death through his resurrection. This man Jesus, who has come to bring justice and salvation to the world, has come to restore your relationship back with God; to restore creations rightful worship towards her creator.

The following was a paraphrase imagining what the Apostle Paul’s address to the Athenians (in Acts 17) might look like in 21st century context. Since I live in North East America, this is specific to the culture I am familiar with. This was also inspired by Daniel Denk, staff member of inter-varsity Christian fellowship, who wrote a paraphrase addressing the academic culture of the University he was attending.