Hot and Sticky....Again: A Mutual Effort

We're back from our stint in Delhi, which, let me tell you, was cold! (comparatively) about 40 degrees at night and as low as 60 during the day. Now we are in Auroville and it is getting hotter by the day.

Delhi was Delhi, in that the air quality is so bad by the time you wake up from your first night there your throat and lungs start to hurt. The pain gets worse over the next two days and you begin to start coughing up lots of gross shit ranging in color from yellow to brackish grey. For whatever reason the chill in the air went straight to the bone unless a pile of blankets covered you when you are indoors, regardless of the time of day. Which just exacerbates the pain in your lungs and increases the gross shit.

Aside form all that, we had a wonderful time in Delhi...sorta. We spent all day, every day, shopping at an incredibly slow rate for the wedding. Thus not completing our extensive list, which was added to nearly daily. Then the familial attack of love and kisses was a routine welcome every time we entered the room, even if we had been in our room for ten minutes. On top of this tensions between our host and his s.o made the last few days uhhh awkward to say the least.

Upon our departure the airport was awful nice though. India has changed so much and its only been two years. Soon the India I remember will be gone and I’m not sure that’s such a good thing after all.

At BKK we were standing in line and there were four Indian men with huge plasma TV’s checking in. They had bags and bags and crates of stuff they had bought while on business in Bangkok. The richer India gets the more materialistic, as though they are trying desperately to escape the spiritual heritage that was left to them. I wonder if anyone realizes what they are losing. We ended up griping with a professor from Calcutta about the phenomena of prosperity that is both blessing and cursing the subcontinent.

So we were glad to leave Delhi and travel south, through Chennai and onwards to Pondicherry (Pondi). The first couple of days here in Auroville however, was quite the disappointment. We quickly discovered that bureaucratic French, inherently making things unwelcoming and inaccessible, mostly run the city. Needless to say they were very unhelpful in us getting settled. They seem to accept tourists because they know, but probably don’t know that we know, that they are milking us for our external moolah. Thus adding to their ever-growing economy. It seems very much like a gated community with several worthy tourist attractions. One of them not being, repeat not being, a sustainable eco-village.

Not to say that there aren’t wonderful things being done here. The list we have heard of the positive affects of Aurovillians on the community at large and even in the southern bit of India are quite long and worth repeating, but not now. Now we are off to do something other than sit in the dark internet café.

All in all we are slowly settling in and I can safely say the place is growing on me.

Can Buddha Forgive Tiger?

On Friday Tiger Woods gave a tearful apology to his fans, family and friends for his numerous affairs and unfaithfulness in his marriage.  He accepted full responsibility for his “wrongs” and asked forgiveness somewhere around 20 times in his written statement. 

The apology, watched by millions across the country was heartfelt, contrite and I believe a necessary step toward his recovery.   Woods apology contained all of necessary elements of this process.  He accepted full responsibility not just for his actions but also for a part of the root cause of his actions.  “I thought the rules didn’t apply to me”, he rightly admitted.  “It is hard for me to admit that I need help, but I do.”   

Curiously, his speech contained many of the words familiar to Christian repentance such as “atone”, “grace” and “forgiveness”.  And although he never used the word “sin”, he clearly admitted that in his case rules had been broken.   The reason I find this last point curious is that he framed his entire apology in light of his Buddhism. 

And yet Buddhism has none of these concepts.  In Buddhism there is no fully formed concept of atonement because there is no concept of sin.   In Buddhism as in most Eastern religions atonement centers not on forgiveness but on “release from delusion and suffering through meditative insight into the nature of reality.”*   Buddhism is not a theistic religion and so there is no God to sin against.  So when Tiger says that he “broke the rules” and he is not talking about civil law, then one has to ask, “what rule?”  There are no such “rules” in Buddhism.  If he is talking about his rules for marriage, then why would any one besides his wife be offended if there was no greater authoritative moral law at play?  As Karma Lekshe Tsomo, a leading teacher in Tibetan Buddhism has put it:

"There are no moral absolutes in Buddhism and it is recognized that ethical decision-making involves a complex nexus of causes and conditions. 'Buddhism' encompasses a wide spectrum of beliefs and practices, and the canonical scriptures leave room for a range of interpretations. All of these are grounded in a theory of intentionality, and individuals are encouraged to analyze issues carefully for themselves. ... When making moral choices, individuals are advised to examine their motivation--whether aversion, attachment, ignorance, wisdom, or compassion--and to weigh the consequences of their actions in light of the Buddha's teachings." (Karma Lekshe Tsomo, a professor of theology and a nun in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in an essay entitled, PROLIFE, PROCHOICE: BUDDHISM AND REPRODUCTIVE ETHICS)

It is interesting to me that Tiger framed his problem from a distinctively Christian world-view and yet called on his Buddhism to get him through it.   My contention is that you can have one or the other but not both at the same time.  

Buddhism and Christianity are not the same thing.  They are two completely different and mutually exclusive worldviews.

In Christianity we learn that it is only in coming to a knowledge of a holy and righteous God and His revealed Word that we come to understand there is a “moral law” or “covenant” that applies to us.  And in this law we find the basis of our relationship with God.   It is only in that understanding that we see that we have sin that must be atoned for.  And it is only in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, that we are able to find that atonement. 

In Christianity we learn that we are completely powerless without His grace- to know our sin, to call on His mercy, to ask for His forgiveness and to find true repentance.    

Perhaps it was because Tiger’s father was raised a Christian that he was able to articulate those qualities that one finds in Christian repentance and atonement.  Or perhaps he expressed these sentiments because they are a natural outcry of the human heart in the midst of brokenness and shame.  But to take these expressions all the way through to there most important conclusion one must turn not to his own meditation or sense of enlightenment- but to the One who has been sinned against and who by His grace was willing to atone for that sin.

To Tiger I would say your sin is no delusion.   It is real and horribly destructive with eternal consequences. Your solution will not be found in the enlightenment of Buddhas teaching, but in the sacrificial death of the Son of God, whose work of atonement we celebrate during this Lent season is the most important reality of all of our lives.

*Joseph S. O'Leary,  Forgiveness and Buddhism 

Make Easter a Season

We are one of those rare conservative evangelical churches that actually observes the Lent season so every year at this time I give my annual explanation of why.

There is one simple answer:  "We are all about the cross."  It is our magnificent obsession.   We seek to be a cross centered church.

There is nothing more important to us than our daily habit of focusing on the cross and the intricate meaning of the gospel.  We find it a very good discipline to focus our hearts and minds for an entire season on the central issue of our existence- that our sin is so wretched and devastating that our lives are being pulled into a Christless eternity except for the incredible unimaginable grace of a Holy and loving God who was willing to give His life as a sacrifice for our sins.  And the more we focus on that reality the more our lives and hearts are changed.

We believe the Lent season is an excellent way to teach our kids the meaning of the cross and to help bring their lives in alignment with the priorities of scripture.  All of scripture points to the cross, from Genesis to Revelation.  Every story of the Bible is a reflection of THE story- the story of our redemption.

In a similar way, our lives should point to that one overarching truth- that our sin was so bad that God had to die to pay the price but at the same time His love for us was so incredible that He was willing to die.  On the cross we have both bad news and the best news.  The bad news is that our sin has a terrible price.  But the good news is that God's grace is greater than we could ever dream.

At the cross we see an intersection of God's justice and God's mercy.  Jesus satisfied the sense of wrath and justice of a Holy God and at the same time demonstrated the incredible compassion and grace of a loving God.

It is a season to focus, to meditate, to fast and to prioritize our lives around the meaning of the cross.  In our worship songs, prayers, scripture reading and preaching we focus our attention on the meaning of the cross.  We encourage all of our families to go through a daily devotional around the meaning of the cross each day of the forty days of Lent.  In other words, we are not just celebrating Easter over one weekend, we are creating the space to celebrate it for an entire season. We see this as especially important in a culture that is becoming increasingly secular humanist and materialistic.

One of the young couples in our church has written an excellent daily devotional for the Lent season for their kids they are calling "The Easter Tree".  They have graciously given me permission to make it available to all of our families.  

You can download the devotionals each day for the next forty days of lent here on Heathers blog.

I encourage everyone to come to our Ash Wednesday worship tomorrow night and begin preparing your heart to celebrate the meaning of Easter not just for one brief weekend in April but for an entire season.

The Impact of Life on Life

Yesterday was an awsome day of celebration for me.  Most significantly, it was a day that Teri and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary.  Teri has been the love of my life for close to 25 years now- for more than half my life she has been at my side- it is hard for me to imagine what life was like before I met her.   Teri has been my best friend, my lover, my steadfast supporter, and prayer partner for all of these years.  How wonderful to celebrate the blessing God has given us in our marriage! 

It was also a day that I baptized one of my high school buddies for whom I have been praying for close to thirty five years.  I don't have space to blog about the significance of my "old" friend coming to Christ and being baptized yesterday- suffice it to say that one should never give up praying for a friend who needs to know the Lord.  The gospel teaches us that God's love for us is tenacious and long suffering and that He doggedly pursues us.  That point was never more poignantly brought home to me than when I baptized Rick.  

Finally, it was a day of tremendous worship for our church family as we celebrated how our faith is passed down from generation to generation.   What made the worship meaningful to me was that we focused on that element of discipleship within the church that is universally understood but rarely celebrated- the incredible impact of "life on life". 

What I mean is this - I believe all of us as believers know intuitively both the WHY and WAY of spiritual growth.  We know that it is the instruction of His word and the guidance of His Holy Spirit that is the WHY of growth.  And we know that it is because we have relationships with other Christians who know the word and live the word in front of us that is the WAY of growth.

But because the dynamics of that growth are so intuitive and understood, they are easy to take for granted and therefore overlook.  What made yesterday's worship so special was that we took the time to purposefully celebrate that dynamic.  It is Biblical community, life on life, and the dedicated influence of Christian love and grace that is most impactful in discipleship.  It is how we grow, how we serve, and how God uses us in each others lives.

And for families, it is how children are raised within the dynamic context of Biblical community.  God wants us to live life together in this way so that we both receive His instruction AND we live out His word in way that exponentially increases the impact of what we hear. 

This is why the Bible says in Hebrews 10:23-25:

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Super Bowl Predictions

I have three predictions for the Super Bowl on Sunday:

1.  The Saints fans will yell louder than the Colts fans.
2.  Payton Manning will lead the Colts to victory in the 4th quarter.
3.  When people see the Tim Tebow pro-life commercial they will ask "So what's the controversy?"

Reports from people who have actually seen the commercial say it is a very positive, pro-family feel good kind of message couched in a great story.

The story is how Tim's parents, Bob and Pam Tebow, moved to the Philippines in 1985 to begin their work as Baptist missionaries. While pregnant with Tim, Pam became very sick with amoebic dysentery through contaminated drinking water. Her doctor told her that the medications she needed to recover would result in irreversible damage to the child she was carrying. She was advised to have an abortion.  In the doctors opinion, carrying the baby full term was not worth the risk.

Pam made the decision to keep her baby.  It was a courageous choice that was made without hesitation. Our Christian faith teaches us that God is the author of life and that the central issue of our lives is that Christ sacrificed his life so that we could live.    The truth is every single one of us has life because someone made incredible sacrifices in order to bring us that life.   A woman carrying a baby literally gives a part of her self to that baby.  Every family makes sacrifices in order to raise a child.  Sacrifice is central to life.  If sacrificial love is not worth celebrating, nothing is worth celebrating.   

Tim was born healthy and robust in 1987. His mother described him as "skinny, but rather long." Today he is a six-foot-three 235 pound Heisman trophy winner who many say may be the most successful college football player of all time.   There is no doubt that Tim Tebow has been a terrific witness for his faith.  In his acceptance speech for the Heisman, he made this statement:

"I just (want) to first start off by thanking my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave me the ability to play football, gave me a great family and support group and great coaches and everything around me."

My prediction is that when people see the commercial they will wonder why celebrating such an inspiring story has created a controversy in the first place.  The answer is that the polarizing forces that have turned a great story like this into a controversy are driven by a humanist ideology that makes it virtually impossible to see that that God is the source of love and life.   To know God is to know love and love always involves risk and sacrifice, and unselfish sacrificial choices get to the core of what it means to be fully human.

from the westfield to the holyoke of the east by fiz

For those not from Western MA, Westfield is a city… with nothing in it. It is a city that seems to have spontaneously sprouted up simply because people wanted a place to live that was close to the major highway in MA. Sukothai is the Westfield of Thailand, it is a town where the cool place to be, because it is the only place to be, is the 7/11. The surrounding scenery however, is beautiful.

The reason we went there in the first place was because, outside of the city, a bit of a ways off actually, was one of the old capitals of the Siamese kingdom. The ruins of this city were magnificent. We rented a scooter and drove around in between the crumbling remains of what must have been wats that towered over the streets. Some of the streets still had the original stones laid down. While other parts of the city were just lawns. The ruined city wall looked like nothing more than a levee.

What made the whole trip worthwhile was the white Buddha, which wasn't white really, but it was huge. We had to leave the city ruins behind us and go quite a ways down a road that eventually turned into dirt with many twists and turns, or at least that is how it felt on the way there (more than once we made a wrong turn).

We eventually found it and from the top of the driveway we caught our first glimpse of it. The entrance to the shrine was tall enough to see the Buddha in its entirety, and only wide enough to see his face in full. We parked our scooter and made our way inside only to have our awe grow. There was no roof to the shrine and it was the only place where the Buddha hadn't fallen into disrepair.

There was a small monastery tucked away behind the shrine. The statue was sitting cross-legged and his left hand was in his lap, while his right hand rested on his knee pointing down at the earth. This specific mudra (hand position) wards off desire. To give a sense of perspective there is this famous picture that found itself on an older edition of the Lonely Planet Thailand where a young monk is praying on his knees in front of the right hand, which has been covered in gold leaf, and the hand is twice as tall as the monk on his knees.

While exploring the shrine I found stairs that curved around the back of the Buddha and led up onto his lap . We snuck up it ( the sign said no climbing not no stairs ) and we each took turns sitting in his palm for a moment or two.
It felt amazing. I would go back just to see him again.

Other than that Sukothai really is dead. The only place to eat is a really seedy bar.
From there we made our way to Ayutthaya, another ancient capital of the Siamese kingdom. This city was said to have beautiful ruins scattered throughout downtown, which is an island at a junction of two rivers. However the city is still inhabited, so the charm of the ruins is lost entirely and after the ruins of Sukothai. If you are in Thailand and headed north remember Ayutthaya first then Sukothai, not the other way around.

Ayutthaya seems to be in ruins in much the same way as Holyoke. Which was a mill city that was once a hub of trade and the place to be if you had money. Ayutthaya was this kind of city, once. Called the "Venice of the East" between the 1500’s and the late 1700’s it was a city full of gold. (Actually if anywhere in the world had streets paved with gold it would probably have been here)
and guess where there is to eat... seedy bars!!!

In the last five days or so the charm of Thailand has deteriorated tremendously and we have run out of steam to see Ayutthaya's sites. We want to get out of the heat to the point where we saw a Thai movie in the cinema with no subtitles. Which we happened to enjoy a good bit, but that’s besides the point.

The Decline of Atheism

Last week the top five movies at the box office were:

1. Avatar
2. Book of Eli
3. Legion
4. The Tooth Fairy
5. Lovely Bones

I find it interesting that four of the top five movies last week all have significant religious overtones.  These box office hits say something very interesting about the decline of atheism.  Each of these movies flagrantly tap into deeply spiritual themes that drives the script- reflecting I believe the patently religious nature of the modern audience.

Ironically, popular atheists like Richard Dawkins keep insisting that interest in religion will die out within the next century.  A prediction that is inconveniently contradicted by the unprecedented growth of religion and especially Christianity world wide. As Dinesh D'souza so aptly put it:

The world is witnessing a huge explosion of religious conversion and growth, and Christianity is growing faster than any other religion.  Neitzsches proclamation that "God is dead" is now proven false.  Nietzsche is dead.  The ranks of unbelievers is shrinkiing as a proportion of the world's population…[this growth] has not gone unnoticed by leading atheists. Some of these nonbelievers, most of them Darwinists, express candid puzzlement at religion’s enduring vitality.  (Dinesh D'Souza, What's So Great About Christianity)

Hollywood knows something Dawkins won't admit- the world is becoming more religious, not less.  A hundred years ago during the rise of secularism it seemed people were arguing over the question of the existence of God.  But today there is a heightened interest in everything "spiritual".   People are more inclined toward religion and accepting of religious concepts and supernaturalism.  But this movement toward the acceptance of religion also brings challenges to modern believers.  Though more people are inclined to believe in the concept of God, they also seem to be somewhat confused about exact nature of that belief.

This is why we as Christians must "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks to give the reason for the hope (we) have." (1 Peter 3:15).  It is extremely important that we be able to effectively distinguish our belief from the multi-religious cutlure we interact with.

It is here that men like C.S. Lewis can be a big help.  Lewis contemplated Christianity in contrast to every other religious world view and wrote extensively about his process of belief.  The writings that resulted from that exercise are a wonderful gift to  the thoughtful Christian.  

Last week I made the point that one of the key issues for C.S. Lewis' conversion was that he found in Christianity something he could not see in other religions- that Jesus Christ was a historical figure and that the account of his life was not written as legend or myth, but that it was an obvious historical account.    Here is the exact quote I cited:

I have been reading poems, romances, vision-literature, legends, myths all my life. I know what they are like. I know that not one of them is like this. Of this text there are only two possible views. Either this is reportage– Or else, some unknown writer in the second century, without known predecessors, or successors, suddenly anticipated the whole technique of modern, novelistic, realistic narrative. If it is untrue, it must be narrative of that kind. The reader who doesn’t see this has simply not learned to read.   (C. S. Lewis, “Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism”)

I don't think this issue can be overstated.  Lewis, as a leading authority of ancient literary style, could see clearly that the claims of Christianity were so patently different from other religions, that they could not be easily dismissed.  And that the historicity of Christ turned comparitive religion "to dust".

When you have a clear picture of the dynamic doctrine of Christianity, as Lewis did, in contrast to all the other religions you encounter, it is much easier to talk to your friends about the difference between Christianity and the other popular trend religions found in Hollywood scripts.  The good news about religious interest is that people want to talk about it.  So as believers it is essential that we clearly identify our underlying belief.  In this way we can contend with culture with the love of Christ and avoid getting sucked into the vortex of competing religious perspectives that may make interesting movies but have nothing to do with spiritual reality.   By this I mean that it is important for modern believers to be both compassionate and thoughtful.

Because after all the box office is teaching us that people are interested.

I would encourage you to take the time to watch the video below for a better picture of how C.S. Lewis went from atheism to theism to Christianity:



For further reading on this topic, I recommend the following books:

What So Great About Christianity
God in the Dock
Mere Christianity