Sunday, September 28, 2014

FAITH AND DOUBT--BE AT PEACE


Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

It is so hard to believe because it is so hard to obey. --Soren Kierkegaard

Doubt is a touchy subject among us.  Christians of all ages.  Those who have been Christians for a long time and Christians who are new to the faith are troubled that they have doubts about the Scriptures, doubts about the existence of God, doubts there is life after death, doubts their prayers are heard, and doubts about the divinity of Christ.  (And there are many other areas of uncertainty they doubt they can actually bring themselves to believe.)  on the one hand, in a certain sense, they know they ought to believe to be a true Christian.  On the other, by learning, reason, or experience, they doubt because many pieces of the faith seem to be far more likely to be the stuff of fairy tales and stale superstition.
Yet, there is an odd nature to doubt a Christian may have.  Most Christian doubters believe in Christ's resurrection--a huge leap of faith.  But then he brings himself to doubt much smaller things.  Things like Christ's miracles, the virgin birth, the divine inspiration of the Scriptures, or the conundrum of grace and free will. With character of belief, once the resurrection is believed, all other beliefs fall into place.  Nevertheless, often there is a quirk in human nature which readily provides the foundation for inconsistency.    One swallows the elephant whole but finds the gnat difficult to stomach.   If one believes in Christ's resurrection, why is his virgin birth so difficult to suppose.
The common wisdom taught to Christians young and old is that doubt is not the opposite of faith.  Doubt and faith are companions in the Christian life.  In fact, doubt can propel one into deeper faith as one explores the meaning of uncertain doctrines of Christianity.  (Although so few actually do.)  Some advise that one can take the deeper meanings of dubious articles without accepting them literally.  Absent that, some even advise that even if one cannot believe wholeheartedly in matters like the Nicene Creed--one should keep them as heirlooms of the faith of the Church--much like buying a home already furnished with antiques.
Personally, I dispense with the word "doubt" and prefer to call it what it is:  unbelief.  Because that is what it is.  Classic Lutheranism holds that experience is no guide to the truth.  Truth is only to be found in the Word of God. This, however, is more than we can accept.  We cannot as mere human beings disregard our treasure of experience.  We don't want to.  We look upon experience as too hard won and precious.  Neither can we abandon reason because surely reason is also too valuable and can be too easily lost by attacks from civilization's enemies.
Faith is the master, and reason the maid-servant. --- Martin Luther
But Luther once used the image of reason as a donkey from which man will fall off on one side only to mount again and fall off to the other side.  Reason has a bad habit of being buffeted about by the winds and notions of our time. What appears to be reasonable at one point is history is seen to be gravely flawed and unsound in another.   But the fact is by its nature reason is too frail weed that cannot bear the weight of the Cross.  The Lord's truth is not discoverable outside His Word.  He does not make it available in any other way.
Faith is a gift of God; do not believe that we said it was a gift of reasoning. Other religions do not say this of their faith. They only gave reasoning in order to arrive at it, and yet it does not bring them to it.  (Pascal, Pensees, 279)
The life of every Christian is plagued by unbelief.  Unbelief often raises its ugly head
in spite of ourselves and undermines the kind of man of God we want to be.  Many times unbelief appears in our thoughts and desires we do not understand--but are known unto God.  The good news is that God's grace is more than enough to cover our imperfect faith.  The Lord will save us as we are--unbelief as well as our sins.  Instead of feeling guilt and unease in our doubts, we should find peace in His loving grace.  He takes us to Himself in His righteousness and Truth with all our imperfections.   Battling our unbelief is often our desire to justify ourselves.  Beware, dwelling upon our unbelief can turn into a festering poison which can kill and destroy.
So, as Luther wrote and preached, when faced with our unbelief and confusion, trust Christ's promise.  He loves us still.

And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.  (Mark 9: 17-27)

Friday, September 12, 2014

A JOYOUS GOODBYE: EAT A PEACH THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND

Eat a PeachThere exists up to this day a friendly argument as to whether EAT A PEACH or THE ALLMAN BROTHERS LIVE AT THE FILMORE EAST is the best album the Allman Brothers ever made. The argument, while friendly, is also at bottom quite pointless. Every man, woman, and child should have both--at the very least. Every Allman Brothers album from the best to the worst always had something to say. The triumphs and trials (yes, sometimes quite literally "trials" in the legal sense) wrenched and warped the band into non-existence during the 1980's. Suddenly, with the appearance of the box set, DREAMS, (a damn good box set at that), interest in the band peaked once again and the band reformed with the remarkable success of SEVEN TURNS followed by an excellent string of albums through the 1990's.

But EAT A Peach represents the end of the classic lineup featuring Duane Allman--one hell of a guitar player. Unfortunately, Duane would never see the success he had been working so hard to achieve for his band and for himself. As both volumes of THE DUANE ALLMAN ANTHOLOGY show, Duane offered his services to just about anyone could who use him: Wilson Picket, Herbie Mann, Delaney & Bonnie, Boz Scaggs, Aretha Franklin, Lulu (!?Lulu?!) and a host of others. But it was with the appearance of THE ALLMAN BROTHERS LIVE AT THE FILMORE EAST and LAYLA AND OTHER ASSORTED LOVE SONGS (sort of a "side project" with Eric Clapton that burnt out Clapton's fire for some time) that his mastery and greatness was recognized. This edition of EAT A PEACH is the very best one to have.

The first disc contains the entire original two LP set of EAT A PEACH. It marked an expansion of the band into new writing and mood. What strikes me even after all these years how joyous EAT A PEACH IS. The lyrical themes cover all the class "blues" subjects of giving up on a woman, sweet memories of a woman lost to the singer, cheating lovers and avoiding angry husbands. But the actual music is one glorious romp filled with excellent singing and hot guitars.

"Ain't Wastin' Time No More", "Melissa", "One Way Out" are stand out tracks that bear all the sweetness and smoke of Southern country boy blues. "Melissa" has been a particular favorite that is so perfect it almost makes you cry that nothing like it was ever to be made again. "Melissa" is simply one of the most beautiful songs in the rock catalogue. Dicky Betts' "Brers in A Minor" begins with a dive into the blue waters of atonal jazz that establishes the band's musical credibility if not quite everyone's cup of tea. But, keeping with the Allman Brothers' true spirit, "Brers" turns into a duel between Dicky Betts and Duane Allman that just rocks. "Blue Skies" is joyous and uplifting song of the country side and the wonders of loving a good woman. "Trouble No More" and "Stand Back" stand more in the vein of "Ain't Wastin' Time No More" if a little less artful but memorable nonetheless. "Little Martha" ends the album as Duane Allman's instrumental farewell. It sweet and glorious if a sad "goodbye" from a genius who died too young.

Strangely, the core of EATA PEACH is the extended "jams" or "boogies" called (of course) "Mountain Jam". Based loosely on Donavon's "There Is A Mountain. "Jam" is so long that it had to be broken into two LP sides on the original 1972 release. Here it presented as one piece without the separation of the original LP. When EAT A PEACH was first released in 1972, it didn't take the college boys very long to realize that "Mountain Jam" was a continuation of "Whipping Post" from THE ALLMAN BROTHERS LIVE AT THE FILMORE EAST. In other words, as performed at the actual performance, all the pieces fit together in one long 56 minute song/instrumental fest. It had everything from Gregg Allman's wrenching vocal lamentation, guitars switching leads, guitars in duets, changing melodies, and drum solos. Thousands labored hard with their cassette recorders to put all the parts together in one seamless stream. Those born after the heydays of the first half of the seventies may question "why"; but long instrumental performances were quite popular at the time. The "long versions" of what were originally three minute songs marked the difference between juvenile "hits" and serious rock music lovers. Tastes have changed and long "boogies" are no longer done; but they were wonderful to behold. In any event, in these days of the CD, the entire "Mountain" performance is presented in its entirety on the Chronicles version THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND: THE FILLMORE CONCERTS.

Like the deluxe edition of Santana III, this edition includes a second disc of the band's complete last performance at the Fillmore East as Bill Graham was closing the venue to build larger concert halls. This disc is every bit as good as THE ALLMAN BROTHERS LIVE AT THE FILMORE EAST. The song list is jumbled up in a little different order and included three extra songs: "Don't Keep Me Wondering", "One Way Out" and "Midnight Rider". Fun in its own way.

The Allman Brothers would move on to a new phase with BROTHERS AND SISTERS the following year which marked a brand new success for the Allman "family". It began to disintegrate after that as fame, drugs and in-fighting took their toll. A new generation of rock bands rose up and, as they say, the rest is history.

If music is important to you in the spiritual sense of the art and not just a kind of background soundtrack in your life, then it is time to drink the water from this well. This is the real thing.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

NINE OUT OF TEN RAPTURE THEOLOGIANS AGREE: LUTHERANS WILL BE "LEFT BEHIND"

Among Lutherans, the theology concerning the Second Coming was relatively simple.  It consisted and can be summed up in two lines from the Apostles Creed:

6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
In other words, Lutheran eschatology teaches that on the Last Day Jesus will return in glory and judge all who are and all who have ever been--unbelievers will be condemned and believers will be received into His wonderful kingdom of Heaven.  The theology is rather short and sweet.  In this fashion, Lutheran eschatology mirrors historic Catholic and Eastern Orthodox eschatology.
Today, thousands of Christians have come to believe in something summed up in the term "The Rapture".  the long and short of it is that Jesus will return (the first time) and catch up all who believe in Him and leave those who are not Christ behind to face a tumultuous age of disasters and tribulations on earth.  After a time (various theologians differ how long this age will be), Christ will return (a second time!), the earth will be destroyed, and the final judgment of mankind will be done.
One of the central images of the Rapture is one day during every day events some people (the true believers) will suddenly disappear and cars will be suddenly driverless, out of the blue planes may be without pilots, and those (left behind) will abruptly not be able to find their spouses and children.  (Rapture theologians differ on whether all children who had not attained "age of reason" will be taken or whether only believing children will be united with Jesus.)
Another common feature is a focus on prophecy.  While Jesus Himself said that even He did not know the day nor the hour of the End of Days--only the Father knows--( Matthew 24:36), Rapturists strongly believe God provides signs for believers to discern and predict the time of His Return.  Much verbal diarrhea among Rapturists about the End occurs in relating current events to passages in the books of Daniel and Ezekial along with the Revelation of St. John.
In reality, Rapture theology is of relativity vintage.  John Nelson Darby, an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, developed the Rapture end-times theory during the 1830s  which was widely popularized in the 20th century by footnotes in the Scofield Reference Bible.  It must be noted that many if not most Rapture theologians hold that various forms of teachings about the Rapture in pre-date Darby.  Nevertheless, popular present day Rapture theology originates directly from Darby. 
Principle Rapture teaching centers on two Biblical passages. 
Thessalonians 4:17:  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
And Matthew 24: 37-41:  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
By entwining these two passages, one has almost the entirety of Rapture theology.  The first objection to Rapture theology one may note is that in Protestantism it is commonly taught that no major doctrines should be derived from less than three Biblical passages.  Another objection, of course, is that, with their original contexts in mind, these two passages cannot and should not be so interlaced.
As to Thessalonians 4:17, a closer reading of the entire forth chapter--particularly verses 13 through 18, shows that the real subject is about believers who had died before Christ's return.
Post resurrection, first century Christians had often expected Christ's return within their lifetimes.  Soon, however, Christians all over the known world were met with death.  The fear was that believers who had died would miss Christ's return and then would dwell forever in Hell or some sort of oblivion because they were not present to meet Christ on the Last Day.
The concern which persuaded Paul to write to the Thessalonians was the grief they were suffering for the loss of their Christian family members, friends as well as those of churchly fellowship who had died often in martyrdom from the hands of violent persecutors. 
In his epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote that the Thessalonians anguish was misplaced:   But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
The dead will be released from their graves.  On the Day of the Lord: …since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord] that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them [the dead] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.  (Thessalonians 4:14-17)
Thus Paul affirms that those in Christ--both the living and the dead--will be received into Christ's kingdom.
The image Paul uses (…will be caught up together … in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord…)  was derived directly from contemporary Jewish apocalyptic literature--imagery in which the Messiah would come like a rightful king or a triumphant military general into Zion.
Given its full context and Paul's intended message, the contemporary notion of the Rapture is at best fanciful and does not bear scrutiny.  This. of course, will not satisfy advocates of Rapture theology; but within historic Lutheranism it has no Biblical standing.  It least as far as this passage is concerned.
But what about Matthew 24: 37-41?  It reads:  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
Boy.  Look on the web and you will find tons of commentary on this passage.  Quite a lot of it very intricate with a myriad of references to Bible passages one would not normally associate with the End of Days let alone with The Rapture.  Many commentaries are absolutely dizzying in their complexity--particularly those which put forth the "Pre-tribulation" theology.  There are commentaries which are convinced the Church will suffer the tribulation along with the rest of mankind.  Others hold that the Church will be taken from the world before the tribulation.  Some believe only the "righteous" Christians will be taken in The Rapture.  And many assert that Christ's return will not be a single event but will occur in two stages.  (I am sure I'm leaving out many others.)
But from a Lutheran point of view, every one of these make an crucial mistake--an error so foundational that it renders all them entirely a waste of time.  The mistake concerns just who is it Matthew says will be "left behind" and what Matthew means by "left behind".
The reading of "40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left." by Rapture theologians is that those righteous in the Lord will be taken and the unrighteous will remain.  The fact they-- the men and women--Matthew refers to are doing normal activities gives rise to these images of cars careening over roads and highways because the drivers are suddenly gone and planes flying aimlessly and possibility crashing because no one is at the controls.  And by inference, many will not be able to find family members because they were inexplicably secreted away supernaturally.
But one has to read Matthew 24:40 in the context of the whole passage and that context is that Matthew is comparing the Day of the Lord to Noah and the flood:  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.

In Matthew, Christ talks about the Last Day by comparing it to the day the rains came and Noah and his family were saved through the Ark God commanded him to build.  The "they" who were taken away were not Noah and the those in the ark--it was the unrighteous.  Noah was "left behind".  It was those who were saved from the flood who were not taken..It is when we understand that Christ is speaking of His return "as in the days of Noah" that we understand the true import of the rest of what He is saying.  Being saved from the waters of the flood and being saved from the wrath to come are exactly corresponding to each other.   His return "as in the days of Noah" that we understand the true import of the rest of what He is saying.  Being saved from the waters of the flood and being saved from the wrath to come are exactly corresponding to each other.  return "as in the days of Noah" that we understand the true import of the rest of what He is saying.  Being saved from the waters of the flood and being saved from the wrath to come are exactly corresponding to each other.  His return "as in the days of Noah" that we understand the true import of the rest of what He is saying.  Being saved from the waters of the flood and being saved from the wrath to come are exactly corresponding to each other. 


Thessalonians and Matthew are not related the way Rapture theology assumes.  Nor is there a hitherto secret link between them the Church did not see nor understand before modern times.  From the Scriptures and from the consistent teaching of the Church (from the apostles in Jerusalem, the ecumenical councils, the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, through the Churches of the Reformation, the Second Coming of Christ will be a singular event.  It will be an event , sudden unmistakable and seen by all:  So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
 
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.  (Matthew 24: 26-31)
Many "orthodox" theologians believe Rapture theology is closely related to the Chiliastic heresy condemned by the The Second Ecumenical Council in 381.  While the Council did not specifically address Rapture theology (the Council rejected the literal interpretation of thousand-year Kingdom of Christ found in Revelation), all contemporary versions of Rapture theology are deemed heretical by implication. 
Nothing annoys Rapture theologians as bringing up The Second Ecumenical Council.  Which is a little odd since they belong to that branch of Christianity which assigns no value or standing to the traditional teachings of the Church.  As a matter of course, many such Protestant denominations have nothing but contempt for the Catholic and Orthodox Churches--more than a few times that disdain extends to Lutherans and Anglicans as well.  They even will teach that these historic Churches are not Christian at all.  Thus one would think they wouldn't care whatever the early Church and these "apostate" denominations have to say about the matter.  But they are rather touchy when authorities they don't regard as really Christian in the first place return the favor and pronounces many of their favorite doctrines as heretical.  After all, as they see it, the pronouncement of doctrinal heresy concerning The Rapture as such isn't directly made by Scripture itself.
While Lutheranism holds to the Scriptures as the sole authority in matters of faith, it is not that it assigns no value to tradition.  When the teachings of tradition are consistent with Scripture, it provides guidance into how the forbears of the faith read the Scriptures and believed.  As with such doctrines as the Trinity and the full humanity and divinity of Jesus, the early Councils brought these Biblical doctrines into sharper focus--either rejecting as in error or accepting as definitive the various and often disputed doctrines found among the diverse community of the faith.  (No Council condemned any Christian who believed an erroneous doctrine in ignorance--only those who still hold to those errors in malice after being instructed in the Church's faithful correct teaching.)
As heresies go, The Rapture is relatively harmless.  It is difficult to see how any belief in modern doctrine of The Rapture would endanger any Christians salvation.  But faithfulness to Scripture is not a trifling matter.  How one reads and uses Scripture in any dispute establishes how one reads and uses Scripture for others. 
Heresies have a way for leading to other heresies.  Churches who separate themselves from "historic" Christianity at times have become critical of the central doctrines such as the Trinity and the two natures of Christ--refusing to subscribe to the Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds--and teaching that all these are false man-made traditions the Bible appears to warn against.  Such destructive developments have a long "rap-sheet" within the history of Christianity.
Lutheranism had long found that many Churches are allergic to what the doctrine of "saved by grace alone" really means.  Indeed, such is our fallen, sinful nature, all of us (including Lutherans) have to be reminded again and again we are not saved by our works, thoughts or feelings.  We know we are saved because God tells us we are.  We are saved because God saves us.  Without the intervention of the Lord, we cannot choose such a God.  Even if it were possible, we would not choose such a God. 
The proclamation of the Gospel is more than enough for the Church to carry to our fallen world.  Like many things, an obsession with the Last Days has a way of obscuring our mission to go out into the world and make disciples.

 

 

Thursday, September 4, 2014

REMEMBERING CHRIST'S COMMAND TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER


It is well known that Christians of all sorts are persecuted in several regions around the world.  These persecutions are also roundly ignored.  After all, it is much more fun and useful to remember the sins of Christians oppressing non-Christians.  (Those non-Christians being the Jews more often than not--although Christians savaging other Christians would come in first.)  The wretchedly ignored actuality is that the main persecutors of Christians today are Muslins.
The most vicious persecution today is by the radical Muslins in Syria and northern Iraq who unite
under the umbrella of ISIS.  Faced with the prospect of the choice between converting or summary execution, many Christians are fleeing with little more than the clothes on their backs.  Some are finding refuge in other counties.  Many are trapped.  If the many testimonies of hundreds of refugees are to be believed, numerous Christians have already been put to the sword.

I say these persecutions are well known; but it also should be acknowledged many that governments and organizations deny or dismiss the existence of these persecutions of Christians.  Our own ELCA has put out a rather tepid statements condemning the violence against our brothers and sisters in the faith.  Even the statements from the Catholic Church have been little stronger.  Of course, there is little the Church at large can do.  It is not like the Church has anything like a standing army.  (Thank God!)  And to be fair, the Church may be doing more behind the scene than it appears.  (I am inclined to think it is.)
But there are no demonstrations filling the streets to denounce the worldwide oppressions of the Church.  Outrage does not ring from the editorial pages of newspapers in Europe and the Americas. The plight of our brothers and sisters is inconvenient or of little interest or importance.  Worse, a small but significant minority believes that Christians are merely getting what they due. 
Jesus promised these things would happen to his disciples.  But that doesn't mean we have to grin and bear it in all cases.  This clearly is not one of those occasions where to simply turn the other cheek is in order.

These persecution are thousands of miles away from us and the human tendency is to carry on as usual.  But while their looks and ways are strange to us, they are our brothers and sisters.  As foreign as they are, they also are object of God's love.  The Father would not want us to abandon them to their own desperate devises.
Write your congressman.  Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.  Petition the government.  Work to somehow get food and clothing to the refugees.  But do something.