Sunday, October 22, 2006

More Hell


One of my posts not long ago was about some of my thoughts after doing a quick Bible review of hell. I promised to look into it a bit more- especially by reading Brian McLaren's book The Last Word and the Word After That, which deals predominantly with the subject of hell.

It's the third book in his New Kind of Christian trilogy, although the subject seems to have led to a much less pure narrative book. To me (an admitted non-expert), it provided a nice, readable outline of different views typically mentioned on the subject (inclusivism, exclusivism, conditionalism, and universalism). The characters find "problems with all those views" and sort of, but not at all very clearly, I think, suggests another take. I'll leave it to your own reading to explore these options.

I found the historical/cultural background interesting- Zoroastrian, Egyption, Babylonian, and Greek takes on the afterlife, "Hades" and similar concepts- and how that cultural environment seems to have affected the Pharisees in particular. Reviewing Jesus' statement in this context really does raise a lot of questions about the traditional Biblical support of the traditional, exclusivistic view. "So whether or not Jesus endorses the idea of hell, when the Pharisees use hell to threaten sinners to fly right, Jesus takes it and kind of turns it back on them, doesn't he?" (by saying that not showing mercy and justice to the weak/least of these is what would send you to hell).

Another useful part of the book, I thought, was the "homework assignment" that tables out all the instances in the gospels that deal with the subject of judgement (not just those that refer to hell/hades). The table has four columns: the "passage" , the "behavior", the "consequence" and "The Point". I think most people would be shocked by what the list of "behaviors" were that were being judged- for example, sexual sin isn't in the list, but "not bearing fruit" is included many times and in a variety of ways.

It is also perhaps illuminating how many different (and mutually exclusive, if taken literally) ways the consequences are expressed. Jesus is the king of metaphors and parables, after all. The "gehenna" (the perpetually burning garbage pile outside of Jerusalem translated as hell or hades I talked about in my other post) sure seems to fall right in with the rest of the metaphors, it would appear to me.

Of course, at least equally interesting and perhaps more important is "the point" of each of these cases. After all it was "the point" of the parable/statement that was, well his point- regardless of whatever other theological inferences might be made.

At the very least it has been interesting to read the thoughts of so many other well respected, thoughtful Christian scholars/authors (certainly C.S Lewis comes to mind in particular) who are highly critical/skeptical of the traditional exclusivist view.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

An Experience in Worship

Another great time at the Zoe Conference! I think this makes for 4 years I've gone, and it never ceases to amaze me how powerful a worship experience it can be. Unfortunately, I think that probably sounds weird to a lot of Christians, but it's true. The main reason is you got about a thousand of some of the best Church of Christ singers all singing at the top of their lungs. Most of it is Acapella, of course- the guest speakers (that aren't from the Church of Christ tribe) are always amazed. I also really enjoy getting to know some of the elders and other leaders from churches around the country.





Usually, the most useful take away is a bunch of new songs that I can try to teach my church. Their latest CD, Closer, I think will provide quite a few decent possibilities. Current candidates are Rising; Closer; No Other Gods; The Power of The Cross, To God Be the Glory ( an updated version of the classic). mmmm... Can't wait! (If you're one of my family at my church, you can listen to them here.)


Perhaps the most amazing part of the conference was a"Plenary Session" with Dan McVey of ACU's Halbert Institute for Missions. Mostly this was an hour long missions report in which he blew us all away with the amazing statistics of how many people worldwide are becoming followers of Christ. I kind of had an inkling in a couple of places, like much of Africa and South Korea, but I had no idea of the millions being converted around the world. In particular I had no idea of how many Muslims are becoming followers of Christ. Dan told story after story of country after country where God is working powerfully. This includes places like Lebanon, Iran, and Uzbekistan. Part of his speech can be found here, but the breadth and shear numbers were simply staggering. Many, if not most, of this is due to non-American mission efforts. Indeed, South Korea and China and Singapore, and so on are sending out missionaries in numbers greater than the U.S. (at least by percentages). They aren't waiting on us! Praise be to God!

Monday, October 09, 2006

Really Good People lead to Really Good Funerals

After 94 years, my Granddaddy, Dr. BB Phillips, passed on this past Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006.



Everyone has been asking me how things went this week. I keep answering with "It was wonderful!" and it really was. Lot's of laughter, tears, and good remembrances. I don't know if the funeral home director just says this to everyone, but his comment to us after the funeral was "I've been doing funerals for 31 years and I have never seen more heartfelt accolades as I have today." Here are a couple of them...

Mine:

I want to thank you all for coming. I really don't quite feel worthy- or perhaps qualified- to speak for my family about my grandfather- it's been 22 years since I've lived here in Brownsville, and I just don't have the sustained, recent intimacy, the number of stories, or the story-telling ability of so many in my family. But I just don't think they're going to be able make it up here today.

But let me tell you what I do know.

First, Grandaddy was as strong as an ox. I can remember being a scrawny little teenager helping him bail hay out on the ranch, desperately trying to move around these 100 lb bails of hay, when he'd quitely wander over and effortlessly toss them up on a pile that seemed 3 stories high.

But despite being strong as an ox, he was always gentle as the proverbial lamb.

He also always seemed absolutely fearless. He never seemed to think twice about jumping in some little pen with the biggest bull you ever saw. And if you've never heard Rich's famous Snake & Shovel story, or the time with the Uncaged Lion, then you've really got to ask.

But while he always seemed fearless, he was a man of unparalleled humility. He was never about himself. I can't think of any time that self-pride was ever displayed by him.

Now Granddaddy was not a man of many words. So, when he spoke, people listened- both because he probably had something quite thoughtful to say, and because he had simply the best subtle wit.

While he was not a man of many words, he was a man of action/hard work/responsibility. I learned an awful lot working with him around the ranch that I still use in some fashion- by building barns, sinking fence posts, stringing barbed wire.

If, as I believe, God has put us here in part to build our character and prepare us for the work in his next creation, Grandaddy his no doubt raring to go.

I'm particularly grateful, however, for his Faith. What a blessing his faith has been to his family and, no doubt, all of you. I bet if he were proud of something, it would be that every family member close to him believes in the God and Father who created this amazing universe and in His Son, our Master through whom He created it. More importantly, they all love God and, at least try hard to love their neighbors, and want to bless this world by their presence and actions.

And I'm so thankful that this blessing of faith has extended to the husbands and wives of his daughter and grandchildren. I know my Dad, in particular, connects so much of his faith to the grace of God working through his father-in-law. What a wonderful man!

This world is a troubled place- it really always has been. But it has been a better place for having Doc Phillips here.

Thank you again for coming.

My Brother's:

Barclay Bernard Phillips was the epitome of what every man should be. He had more strength, wisdom and compassion than anyone I've ever known. My Grandfather was a man of few words, but when he spoke, people listened. He also had a great sense of humor. His witty quips and one-liners are something I already desperately miss. My Grandfather loved his family (blood and church families). We love him and will never forget him.

Sincerely, his Grandson,
Richard Barclay Parker