The glory of God is a man fully alive.

The medieval theologian Bede the Venerable gave a parable where he likened human existence to that of a bird that in the night flies out of the darkness into a dimly lit room of a castle, lights for a moment, and then flies out the opposite window. Bede meant to present human existence as transitory and essentially preparatory for the next. This was the prevailing medieval view of human existence.

Then the Renaissance happened.

With the Renaissance came a new way of looking at life. Human existence came to be viewed as worthwhile. Worthwhile for its own sake.
For medieval theologians like Thomas Aquinas, all that mattered was the glory of God. Renaissance thinkers like Leonardo da Vinci emphasized the dignity of man. The mistake we don’t want to make is to think that these views are mutually exclusive. They are not. The dignity of man is that he is called to bear the image of God. And nothing confers greater dignity upon man than the Incarnation ” that God could become human and lose none of his divinity.
What does John say in the opening of his gospel?

The Word was God.
The Word become flesh.
The Word dwelt among us.
And we have seen his glory,
Glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

In what way did John see the glory of God? In the full humanity of Christ. That is astoundingly profound and should not be overlooked.

The full glory of God was expressed in the full humanity of Christ.

Let me say it again. (Read it slow and think about it.)

The full glory of God was expressed in the full humanity of Christ.

Thomas Aquinas and Leonardo da Vinci need not be at odds. They can be reconciled. The glory of God and the dignity of man can and should go together.

(The Bible calls this salvation.)

Much of the evangelical church seems to be experiencing a Christian Renaissance. This is a good thing. We are discovering that human existence is worthwhile. That human existence is not merely preparation for another life to come, and thus lacking intrinsic worth. Human existence is worth living for its own sake.

For me, Fyodor Dostoevsky is to literature what Bob Dylan is to music ” he is hands down the greatest novelist ever. It’s hard for me to convey how much I have learned from the great Russian writer. But I’m not the only one. Malcolm Muggeridge, Eugene Peterson, Lewis Smedes and N.T. Wright have all said the same thing. And by common consensus Dostoevskys greatest work is The Brothers Karamazov.
One of my favourite characters in all of literature comes from The Brothers Karamazov, the wise and spiritual Father Zossima, who was the spiritual mentor to the young Aloysha Karamazov. As Father Zossima approached his death, Dostoevsky, who was, unknowingly, approaching his own death, had Father Zossima say this:

‘My life is ending. But with every day that is left me I feel in touch with a new, infinite, unknown, but approaching life, the nearness of which sets my heart quivering with rapture, my mind glowing, and my heart weeping with joy.’

Father Zossima had the hope of heaven. But the lure of heaven in no way diminished his love for the earth. For he goes on to say to those gathered at his bedside in his monk’s cell…

“Kiss the earth and love it, love it with an unceasing, consuming love. Love all men, love everything. Water the earth with the tears of your joy and love those tears. Don’t be ashamed of that ecstasy. Prize it, for it is a gift of God, and a great one.”

Father Zossima had learned to live in both heaven and earth” in both time and eternity. He had learned to live.

A few years ago I went through a period where I was regularly awakened in the dead of night with this question burning in my mind: When do we live?

I felt that this question was very important and that I had to answer it honestly.

After a considerable period of serious contemplation on this question, I eventually had to admit that my theology and world view was such that my honest answer was… when we die.

When do we live? When we die.

Eventually I realized this answer is unacceptable and un-scriptural. This discovery played a large part in what led me to profoundly rethink my Christianity.

To view life as little more than an entrance exam for another life to come, makes this life little more than a joke, and a cruel joke at that. I cannot believe this is what God intends. I am reminded of the enigmatic conversation between the joker and the thief in Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower…

No reason to get excited, the thief he kindly spoke
There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I we’ve been through that, and this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late

Let us not think falsely. Life is not a joke. It’s not merely a test either. God intends life to be honestly and fully lived. According to the gospel that Jesus Christ proclaimed, the answer to the question. When do we live? ” is not, when we die, but right now!

Jesus didn’t say, I have come that you might have a ticket to heaven in the sweet bye and bye after you die. He said that he came that we might have life abundantly… now!

Jesus came to make life livable.
A new way to be human.
The Elevation after the Fall.
The restoration of human dignity.
To the glory of God.

So when should a Christian live? Now and forever.

What should a Christian do? All things that belong to the goodness of human existence.

We should reconcile people to God, we should reconcile people to one another, we should heal the sick, we should elevate the poor, we should set the captive free, we should bring justice to the oppressed, we should do good work, we should play enthusiastically, we should beautify the world, we should work for peace, we should work for prosperity, we should get married, we should raise children, we should compose music, we should write novels, we should paint masterpieces, we should create art, we should educate ourselves and others, we should study God’s creation, we should study the stars, we should study the sand, we should live beautiful lives, we should celebrate human existence, we should climb mountains, we should swim in the ocean, we should love, we should laugh, we should live, we should confer dignity upon one another, we should worship God, we should do all these things to the glory of God.

WE SHOULD LIVE NOW!

And what comes next should be the natural sequel to a life well lived.

And so as my Jewish friends like to say,

La chaim!

To life!

In March of 2003, Todd and Sonja Burpo were living a nightmare. Their then four-year-old son, Colton, had suffered a burst appendix and developed a life-threatening infection. Doctors told the Burpos that surgery was Colton’s only option.

Colton narrowly survived the surgery. His survival, while miraculous, was not as spectacular as the journey he took while doctors worked to save his life – while Colton’s body was in surgery, his consciousness ascended to Heaven.

That’s right. Heaven.

Months after the surgery, when the family drove by the hospital in which he had stayed, Colton mentioned that angels had sung to him in Heaven. He described his experience in great detail. He had spoken to the archangels Gabriel and Michael. He had seen God’s throne.

At first, the Burpos were skeptical. But then, Colton started to describe things he shouldn’t have known about.

Colton accurately described his parents’ actions while he was in surgery. He talked about meeting his grandfather, who had died 30 years earlier. He revealed that he had met a sister who had been miscarried – except his parents hadn’t told Colton about the child they had lost prior to his birth.

Todd Burpo, who has written a book, “Heaven is For Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back,” about his son’s experience, was astounded when his son’s story matched up with scripture. For example, Colton mentioned several images that appear in the Book of Revelation.

Now 11, Colton is a happy and healthy sixth grader, who still regales his family with things he remembers from his otherworldly experience. His tale has only become richer and more detailed as he ages and learns how to better express what he has seen.

You can read all about Colton’s experience in Heaven by reading the book “Heaven is For Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back.” Visit www.thomasnelson.com for more information.

The Paper Burns...

An illiterate shepperd, Akiba married late to a wealthy man’s daughter, Rachel, who married him on condition that he devoted himself to learning. Rachel was banished by her father for marrying the poverty-stricken Akiba. When their child started school, Akiba accompanied him and so learned to read. Aged 40 he was admitted to the rabbinical academy of a Pharisaic teacher, and found himself championing the poor against the rich.

In 96 CE he went to Rome with other Rabbis to petition the emperor Domitian to revoke anti-Jewish laws. Fortunately Akiba received a bequest from a Jewish convert in Rome, which allowed him to set up an academy near Jaffa, where he attracted thousands of students.
Akiba developed a new method of textual interpretation which attached significance to every word of the Hebrew scriptures, and this allowed Akiba to adjust the law to the needs of the times.

He also rearranged the haphazard organization of the Oral Law. This system was further developed by his disciple, Rabbi Meir, and it was set up in its present form, the Mishnah, by Judah I arround 200 CE. Akiba played an important role in the bar Kochba revolt against Rome (132-135 CE) and insisted on continuing to teach the Law, though it was a capital offence. He was tortured and executed by the Romans, Being burnt at the stake with the Shema Yiroel (‘Hear O Israel’ Deuteronomy 6.4), Israel’s profession of faith, on his lips.

Available on:

Don't Forget to Write

“There are two types of writers: those who make you think and those who make you dream” says Brian Aldiss , who made me dream for such a long time with his science-fiction books. In principle I believe that every human being on this planet has at least one good story to tell his neighbour. What follows are my reflections on some important items in the process of creating a text:

Above all else, the writer has to be a good reader. The kind that sticks to academic texts and does not read what others write (and here I’m not just talking about books but also blogs, newspaper columns and so on) will never know his own qualities and defects.

So, before starting anything, look for people who are interested in sharing their experience through words. I’m not saying: “look for other writers”. What I say is: find people with different skills, because writing is no different from any other activity that is done with enthusiasm.

Your allies will not necessarily be those that everyone looks on with admiration and says: “there’s nobody better”. It’s very much the opposite: it’s people who are not afraid of making mistakes, and yet they do make mistakes. That is why their work is not always recognized. But that’s the type of people who change the world, and after many mistakes they manage to get something right that will make all the difference in their community.

These are people who cannot sit around waiting for things to happen before they decide on the best way to narrate them: they decide as they act, even knowing that this can be very risky.

Living close to these people is important for writers, because they need to understand that before putting anything down on paper, they should be free enough to change direction as their imagination wanders. When a sentence comes to an end, the writer should tell himself: “while I was writing I traveled a long road. Now I can finish this paragraph in the full awareness that I have risked enough and given the best of myself.”

The best allies are those who don’t think like the others. That’s why, while you are looking for your companions, trust your intuition and don’t pay any attention to others’ remarks. People always judge others using the model of their own limitations – and at times the opinion of the community is full of prejudices and fears.

Join those who have never said: “it’s finished, I have to stop here”. Because just as winter is followed by spring, nothing comes to an end: after reaching your objective, you have to start again, always using all that you have learnt on the way.

Join those who sing, tell stories, enjoy life and have happiness in their eyes. Because happiness is contagious and always manages to keep people from being paralysed by depression, loneliness and troubles.

And tell your story, even if it’s only for your family to read.

Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, April 1887

Lord Acton was the most prominent Catholic layman in Britain, a historian and politician, and the closest and most influential adviser of Prime Minister Gladstone.

This letter followed the crisis from 1870 onwards caused by Pope Pius IX promulgating the dogma of papal infallibility. Lord Acton had travelled to Rome to argue against it, but lost his case. Acton believed that no one was infallible, because power is a corrupting influence. He also sympathized with the Confederates in the American Civil War, in defence of States‘ rights against centralized power, writing to Robert E. Lee after the surrender: ‘I mourn for the stake which was lost at Richmond more deeply than I rejoice over that which was saved at Waterloo.’ In a letter to Mary Gladstone in 1881, he wrote: ‘The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class in unfit to govern.’

I really enjoyed this book. While at times it was tough to push through, because of the painful things that were happening- it was an opportunity to be encouraged, challenged, and inspired. If you enjoy coming into contact with stories of God’s love and grace, this book is for you. It’s a longer read than many are used to, but it went by so quickly, I forgot how big the book was.

Eric Metaxas has provided a window into the life of a humble man of God who would stop at nothing to help those in need. Take a moment, pick it up, and enjoy a time of being inspired.

“Christ has given us an entirely new way to be human.”
-Maximus the Confessor

“Now with the help of God I shall become myself.”
-Søren Kierkegaard

“Beauty will save the world.”
-Fyodor Dostoevsky

AfterYou Believe

“Why Christian Character Matters”

In his latest book, After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters, Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright of Durham, England, calls for a return to virtue as the means to reorient the church and society at large.

Christians have become so preoccupied with who gets their eternal reward and who doesn’t, Wright says, that they’ve lost sight of the bulk of the New Testament, which instructs believers on how to live this life, here and now.

Rather than a polemic in support of a more strident legalism or a treatise on what some might call “cheap grace,” Wright argues that the idea of virtue — moral strength — is the best way forward through our troubled times.

Wright discussed how virtue can be fostered in secular society as well as how the church can reclaim the message of the gospel. Some answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Q: It would seem the Western world has not dealt well with the nervous times we’re living in. Is this because we have not developed the virtues we ought to have?

A: We just haven’t had that discussion. People in public discourse haven’t had that to fall back on, so it’s, “Well, these people over here believe in a whole lot of rules. Well, good luck to them, but we don’t like rules.” Or, “Those people over there believe in doing what comes naturally. Well, that sounds like fun.” And then the only question is, “Is it going to hurt anybody?”

That’s the way that we’ve done a lot of our implicit and sometimes explicit moral reasoning. And it’s starting to show.

Q: How do you persuade people to embrace virtue?

A: People are getting totally fed up with the rule-book mentality in society as a whole. Character is what counts, not being able to check boxes on forms. That’s a kind of a groundswell in the wider secular society, as well as in the church. We need to ride that wave. Creating more and more rules is never the way to live a fully human life.

Q: In terms of fostering character and virtue, can society at large get there without the leadership of the church?

A: Well, that’s an interesting one, isn’t it? God is good and God’s grace does stuff sometimes despite the church and sometimes through the church. When I look at South Africa and what happened there over the last 20 or 30 years, I see on the one hand Desmond Tutu — one of the greatest Christian leaders of the 20th century. And I see on the other hand Nelson Mandela, who did not present himself as a “Christian leader.” He just happened to be an extraordinary human being who, in his years in prison, had learned virtue. He’d learned patience, dignity, self-control, composure, and was able to come out as a man of real stature.

I would say that, again and again, the church has an almost accidental leadership role where people emerge in communities and are in the right place, say the right thing, give comfort to the right people.

I don’t want to say that this is something Christian people can do and nobody else can do, but I do want to say that when Christian people are prepared to be led and guided by God to develop character, then leadership skills emerge in unlikely places, and sometimes turns up just when that society needs them.

Q: The development of virtue, as you describe it, is individual but you say it cannot be done in a vacuum. It must be done in community?

A: I think it’s rather like saying there may be machines that enable you to practice baseball by yourself — you know, a machine that will fling a ball at you and you hit it back. But in reality, if you want to learn how to play baseball, you have to have at least two other people and preferably even a few more than that.

The thing we need to learn is that morality is rather like that. It isn’t just an individual thing. It is about how we work together.

© 2010 Religion News Service. Used with permission.

First Published: April, 2010