CCC Gainesville | Blog
Tim Keller–in the “Reason For God” chapter on God’s judgement–quotes a guy you can hear tonight at UF.
“Many people complain that those who believe in a God of judgment will not approach enemies with a desire to reconcile with them. If you believe in a God who smites evildoers, you may think it perfectly justified to do some of the smiting yourself. Yale theologian Miroslav Volf, a Croatian who has seen the violence in the Balkans, does not see the doctrine of God’s judgment that way. He writes: ‘
If God were not angry at injustice and deception and did not make a final end to violence — that God would not be worthy of worship… The only means of prohibiting all recourse to violence by ourselves is to insist that violence is legitimate only when it comes from God… My thesis that the practice of non-violence requires a belief in divine vengeance will be unpopular with many… in the West. … [But] it takes the quiet of a suburban home for the birth of the thesis that human non-violence [results from the belief in] God’s refusal to judge. In a sun-scorched land, soaked in the blood of the innocent, it will invariably die … [with] other pleasant captivities of the liberal mind
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Lecture: “Can Religion Help–or only hinder–Global Justice and Peace?”
6:15 p.m., Pugh Center, Room 170
Film-Speak: Life of Pi
Fri., Feb. 21, 6:30 pm, rm 124, Christ Community Church
The Opus Project on Faith, Work, and Culture, out of love for God and neighbor, nurtures reflection and conversation about the church’s shared contribution to the flourishing of society and the renewal of all things. In other words, we create space for considering and discussing things that matter. The outcome we hope to see is that as we consider embracing and participating in the cultural realms of our society, we would embody a “faithful presence” as followers of Jesus, offering the goodness God wherever we find ourselves. (more info here)
In this light, the Opus Project introduces a new series for cultural conversation: Film-Speak. Film-Speak will direct our attention to a cultural territory where we are prompted to think more deeply about human experience – film. As individuals, many of us watch lots of films; yet very rarely do we get together to discuss the ideas and stories of the films we see. Film-Speak is an on-going series sponsored by the Opus Project that has a simple, straightforward agenda: gather to watch a film together, then talk about it, and where it makes sense, consider it’s relationship to the Christian story.
But why film? Like other realms of cultural life, film is a place where creativity mixes with human experience to tell stories in which we see the good, the bad, and the ugly. So often, good films, like good literature, capture important facets about what it means to be human. They don’t so much give us answers to life, as much as they put us in touch with our questions and struggles. And they can even give us visions of truth, goodness, and beauty, even if they don’t come from an essentially Christian point of view (this is what we call common grace).
The apostle Paul encourages the Philippian church to carefully consider (“think about”) whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praise-worthy (Philippians 4:8). Contrary to the way some Christians use this verse to insulate themselves from anything that isn’t obviously and tightly synched up with Christian principles, Paul’s guidance seems, instead, to open us up to all these things wherever they be found. Furthermore, it would seem that “whatever is true”, for instance, could point us to lots of things that are actually very much out of synch with the Christian story. And about such things — yes, we should carefully think.
It is in this light that we embark on Film-Speak, not only to give us an opportunity to speak about films, but also to recognize that films themselves have the capacity to speak to us.
Please join us as we launch this series with the Oscar-winning Life of Pi on Feb. 21. Length: 2 hours, followed by 30 minute discussion. Note: we are particularly interested in having an adult conversation about this film, but certainly if there are parents who think their older children might be interested, they are certainly welcome. This film is rated PG – please consult a film review site of your choice to assess age appropriateness – e.g. commonsensemedia.org. No childcare will be provided this time.
For those interested in Jon Tyson’s video from tonight’s Foundations class, it is available on vimeo:
http://vimeo.com/m/84030182
My Big, Fat Greek New Testament, 9:00AM, Room 124
The Challenges of TranslationLast week we saw what can happen when two Greek words are translated by a single English word. This coming Sunday (2/16) Richard Horner will help us look at what can happen when a single Greek term gets translated (or should get translated) into two different English words.
Over the next few weeks we will be writing short previews of each session for the Spiritual Parenting conference in April. This will allow you to know what you can expect during the conference, how to explain it to others you may want to invite, and a teaser of sorts to whet your appetite.
Too much of our time is spent trying to chart God on a grid, and too little is spent allowing our hearts to feel awe. By reducing Christian spirituality to a formula, we deprive our hearts of wonder.
Donald Miller
As parents we want to do a good job raising our children. There are many books, blogs and other resources currently produced that give us all sorts of formulas (and charts) to parenting, to raising good kids. I recently saw the following topics; Raising the Confident Child, Raising the Happy Child, The Happiest Child on the Block, Key’s to Raising your Children the French Way (and the Chinese way), How to Make Awesome (happy, sporty, smart, gifted, funny) Kids. There is nothing wrong with checking these sorts of books out from the library. They all offer encouragement and support for our families. But we question the use of formulas as the main framework for raising children. In spiritual parenting we are learning how to put our children in the path of God and watching them learn to love Jesus. Spiritual parenting is about cultivating environments for God’s Spirit to be at work in our children’s hearts.
Spiritual Parenting, a term used by author Michelle Anthony, is not about seeking a formula. Rather spiritual parenting is about what it means to seek God as our primary audience “to please Him alone with our parenting and see Him alone for the strength and power to do so. Spiritual parenting is not perfect parenting–it’s parenting from a spiritual perspective with eternity in mind.” Through this conference we will explore ways to change our search for the perfect formula and say, “I want to parent the child or children the God gave me in such a way that I first honor God, and then second, create the best environment to put my children in the path of the Divine.”
In learning what a spiritual parent is we will explore the following conversations:
*How we define ourselves. What if our children were defined by their actions of justice and mercy, faithfulness and love? What if they were a generation who lived in the world and still proclaimed these things by their very lives? A spiritual life is one that is transformed and out of hiding.
*Cultivating environments for faith growth. The joy of parenting can be spent on cultivating environments for our children’s faith to grow, teaching them how to cultivate a love relationship with Jesus as we cultivate our own, living our lives authentically in front of them so that they become eyewitnesses to our own transformation.
*Igniting a transforming faith. I felt confident that I could teach them (my children) good morals and values and could for the most part keep them away from the dangers of this world… But if my job was not to merely control my children’s behavior in these matters, then what was it? I realized that my goal was much more grand than I had imagined–much more compelling. My goal was to pass on a vibrant and transforming faith.
We look forward to hearing Michelle Anthony discuss these topics more in depth at the conference through her DVD conference series. We hope you can join us.
Over the next few months the Opus group is also reading articles on parenting that you might enjoy as we approach the conference. Opus Readings & discussion dates
All quotes and italics come out of Spiritual Parenting; an awakening for today’s families. By Michelle Anthony
