c. scott andreas

When I meet new people in Christian circles, they often ask me if I like “Christian music,” and if so, which artists?

I’ll put on a smirk and reply, “Yeah - Depeche Mode, Coldplay, U2, and Death Cab are stellar! You?”

Everybody and their dog has written their piece on the Christian media industry; if you want to hear about that, just shout real loud. Someone nearby will be happy to opine.

This is a more Augustinian perspective on the issue. Rather than funding our own little media empire, what might happen if we started engaging “Christianish” themes in everything we find?

Take this excerpt from a song called “The Sinner in Me” by Depeche Mode:

If I could just hide
The sinner inside
And keep him denied
How sweet life would be
If I could be free
From the sinner in me

When I adopted a narrative worldview a year or two ago - that is, seeing “life as a stage,” and understanding every moment in terms of a story in which each of us carves a niche and plays a part - my perspective changed dramatically. N.T. Wright taught me to understand our role in the play today. Here’s the story:

• Act One: Creation
• Act Two: Fall
• Act Three: Israel
• Act Four: Jesus, Cross, and Resurrection
• Act Five (Scene One): [ Today ]
• Act Five (Scene Two): The return of our good King

Wright suggests that we already know the beginning, most of the middle, and the end. Today, we’re improvising in the direction of God’s justice and love, to be revealed fully on the day in which He will put the world to rights.

Often when making a decision, we struggle to understand whether a given course of action is “God’s will for my life.” I’d suggest that the mission of God in human history is direction enough – for God’s will is for His will to be done. We’ve got about 66 authoritative books telling us what that will is, and countless derivative works (some of which are better off unread).  With that in mind, perhaps it’s time to start improvising.
When I listen to Depeche’s dungeon beats, I hear a story of a human trying to make sense of captivity, pain, and oppression while yearning for redemption and the triumph of good. If you listen to the rest of the song, you might hear a story of people admitting their faults, helping each other up, and struggling toward something much greater in community. Oh, and some damn good music.

[ Depeche Mode: On iTunes ]

[ N.T. Wright:  How can the Bible be Authoritative? ]

[ N.T. Wright:  A quick summary of the “play” ]

Repentance, redemption, and renewal have been on my mind a lot this summer in a very holistic and communal sense. Today, Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed wrote about who’s groaning in Paul’s letter to the church at Rome.

He settles upon Creation, the Church, and the Spirit. Creation yearns for the redemption of the “Eikons” (we call it the “Imago Dei” / “Image of God” in these parts), while the Church and the Spirit long for liberation.

From McKnight in Embracing Grace:

“The gospel is the work of the triune, interpersonal God to restore cracked Eikons to union with God and communion with others.â€?

Check out his post, and follow this series. Look for more from me on the image of God shortly.

- csa

This is the formal conclusion to a four-part series; I may or may not extend it.
Read parts one, two, and three.

I concluded the previous installment by highlighting a portion of Jesus’ statement which I believe has profound implications for us today. Now, we’ll explore what he meant by this.

Jesus tells us that “the Kingdom of God is at hand.”

Other translations of this text include “is/draws near and draws nigh.” The Greek word used here is “eggizo“. It means to join one thing to another or to approach. There are two implications for this interpretation. First, we see that the Kingdom of Heaven is immediately available to us — we need only respond to this call to repentance (that is, allow our minds to be completely transformed — from which action will flow).

Second, we see that the Kingdom of Heaven is approaching the kingdoms of the world. As God has no intention of retreating, his Kingdom will crash into earth as he reclaims, restores, and renews what is His.

When a king comes to visit — or better yet, take up residence, it’s a pretty good idea to put things in order. We see this in the Parable of the Ten Minas in Luke 19 (a mina was about three month’s wages for a laborer). In this parable, a king entrusts three servants with a significant amount of resources in order that they might invest and grow them. But we’re told that “his citizens hated him…saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’” In this story, those who submit themselves to the authority of the king are trusted and loved. Conversely, those who refuse the king’s authority and failed to obey him were put to death.

As such, we’ve good reason to submit ourselves to the Kingdom of God. We’re called to trust in Him, to freely give as we have received, to minister to widows and orphans, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked — in other words, to be Just. The King calls us to push against the pain and brokenness of sin. Though we’ve long participated in its destruction, we must do what we can to make good on it. Not for salvation’s sake (at least as we tend to think of it). But because we know that the will of the King is obedience, justice, restoration, and renewal. Waiting around for him to simply return would be much like the third servant in the story of the minas. He was viciously scolded and had what was entrusted to him taken away.

Today, Christ calls us to enter into the Kingdom, much like he called his first-century disciples. What might living life in the Kingdom of Heaven look like today?

Greek references from Blue Letter Bible.

This is the third part of a series. Read the first and second parts.

Previously, I’d asked why it is important that we repent in the manner Christ called us to repent — such that our minds are utterly and completely transformed.

Jesus tells us that “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Many interpret this to mean that the world will soon end — thus, people should repent now so they don’t wind up in hell later. Well, sure. But this is quite a reductionistic interpretation. Let’s take a closer look at this phrase.

First, “kingdom” used in the context of a first-century Jew did not refer to a physical place as we understand it. Instead, it indicated the right or authority to rule over a people. The word has much more to do with sovereignty and obedience than it does a spot on a cosmic map.

Our culture tells us that “heaven” is a place in the clouds where angels play harps and you get to do whatever you want — say, throw rocks at me for rambling. This was not what Jesus’ meant by heaven — nor did he mean a far-off place where we’ll one day go to worship God. The word for heaven, “ouranos” referred to the “order of things eternal and…perfect where God dwells.”

The “Kingdom of Heaven” refers to God’s authority to rule over the created universe.

Therefore, Jesus speaks to those who do not recognize God’s authority. His primary message is a call to obey the Lord as the good, wise, and just ruler of an eternal kingdom whose bounds are limitless.

What’s more — this Kingdom is “at hand.”

Check back on Friday for the (formal) conclusion of this series. Until then, leave a comment! What’s on your mind?

Greek references from Blue Letter Bible.

This is part two in a series. Read the first post.

In the first part of this series, I explored Jesus’ exhortation to “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” by considering the word “repent” as it’s often used.

Today, we’ll begin to unpack Christ’s call to repentance.

Matthew locates this statement at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Furthermore, he indicates that these words were perhaps Jesus’ central message. The phrase “From that time” (the NIV translates this “from that time on”) indicates that Jesus continued to use these words. The Greek phrase “apo tote” implies something beginning at a specific point, then continuing in a certain direction indefinitely — much like a ray in mathematics. This word is also used in the New Testament to mean that someone is the first to do something. The Son of God walked the earth, teaching people(s) to repent and enter the Kingdom of God.

But what does it mean to repent? I remember thinking that “repent” meant to say that you’re sorry. In this sense, Jesus’ command as we often think of it makes a lot of sense — “say you’re sorry so that you don’t go to hell!” But the word “repent” meant much more to Him than simply apologizing.

The Greek word for “repent” used here is “metanoeo.” This word primarily means “to change one’s mind.” In this context, it implies that this is a change for the better, resulting from an abhorrence of one’s sins and a desire to make amends.

So when Jesus commands us to repent, he’s not calling us to bow down at the front of a church or say the “sinner’s prayer” — though there’s nothing wrong with these. It’s just important that we keep separate in our minds what Christ has ordained and what His Church has instituted. But Jesus is calling us to change our minds completely by seeking, hearing, and obeying his teaching.

Paul echoes this in Romans 12, calling the church to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” A simple apology will not suffice. The transformation to which Christ calls us is a complete shift in thought and practice.

But why must we repent in this manner?

Check back here on Wednesday. Until then, leave a comment!

- csa

Greek references from Blue Letter Bible.

As a kid, I remember walking by an auto parts shop in the town where I grew up. It was almost always closed, which made me wonder how they made money. A simple sign often covered the door — it said, “Closed. Please call again.” Apart from never opening the door, I thought they were pretty stupid for hanging that sign up. “Call,” I thought? I hadn’t called them — I just walked by the door!

My dad later explained to me that before the telephone was invented, “calling” someone meant that you went to visit them. I pulled my foot out of my mouth and said that they were still stupid for using words two centuries out of date.

Looking back on this experience, I learned that words are not “timeless, unchanging containers of meaning.” Different cultures use them in different ways, and over time, the connotations of a single word within a single culture can shift entirely.

It’s easy to get caught up in a single interpretation of a word when reading the Bible — and entirely understandable! But we must remember that the twenty-first century is far-removed from the first century.

The Book of Matthew begins by establishing Jesus’ genealogy, the circumstances surrounding his birth, then tells us of his baptism and temptation. Following this, we find a rather curious passage:

“From that time, Jesus began to preach, saying
‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’”
- Matthew 4:17, ESV

Google is a great cultural thermometer.
An image search for “repent” turned up these three matches:

When we consider the word “repent,” we often think of altar calls, fire-and-brimstone rhetoric, and people with bullhorns shouting in the streets.

But is that was Jesus meant when he said, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand?”

Check back on Monday for part two.  In the meantime, leave a comment — I’d like to hear your thoughts.

This is the second post in a multi-part series on American History X and the Kingdom of God. Click here to read the first.

In the first post in this series, I offered a brief description of American History X and suggested that it converses with the story of the Kingdom of God in a variety of ways. Here’s one of them.

American History X can be seen as an ideological struggle that manifests itself in real, physical ways. A rhetoric of white power led to violence against racial minorities (primarily blacks and hispanics, both of which were referred to in alternate terms). Perhaps more importantly, however, is the fact that hate breeds hate. Though Derek’s violent speech and actions near the beginning of the film are directed against minorities, he soon found himself screaming at his mother and hitting her, grabbing his little sister by the hair, and shouting down voices of wise authority in his life. It appears that the medium is the message — a rhetoric of hatred is not capable of bringing peace.

Similarly, Paul writes in his letter to the church at Rome that followers of Christ are to “be transformed by the renewing of [their] minds.” He establishes a direct connection between patterns of thought and patterns of behavior. We’re also commanded by Christ to bear fruit as God the Father enables us. Here, a transformation of the spirit through the infusion of new life enters into the world in real, tangible ways.

Living in such a manner has the opposite implications from those we see at the beginning of American History X. Rather than violent speech of power and violence, we find words of humble and love restoring peace and respect to broken families, communities, and nations in the Kingdom. This is a kingdom that does not “force” itself upon those in its proximity, but one to which people are drawn by its fruit.

In the film, Dr. Sweeney, an incredibly wise black high school English teacher has a conversation with Derek (the former neo-Nazi protagonist):

Dr. Sweeney: There was a moment…when I used to blame everything and everyone. For all the pain and suffering and vile things that happened to me that I saw happen to my people. Used to blame everybody. Blamed white people, blamed society, blamed God. I didn’t get no answers ’cause I was asking the wrong questions. You have to ask the right questions.

Derek: Like what?

Dr. Sweeney: Has anything you’ve done made your life better?

Like Paul, Dr. Sweeney suggests that the nature of our minds, attitudes, and motives are directly responsible for the conditions in which we live, our welfare, and the welfare of those around us. It seems that we have an imperative to renew our minds. As we observe this transformation occuring by the work of the Spirit, we’re able to watch the Kingdom breaking into our flesh and the lives of those around us in real, tangible ways that have immediate implications for life today and for eternity.

welcome,

c. scott andreas

I just finished watching American History X with a few friends while molting and eating a bowl of ice cream (quite a Friday night, eh?). Over the next few days, I will be smashing this film and the Kingdom of God together. It’ll be a trip.

I’m not sure that I would recommend it to those who are uncomfortable with intense “adult themes” — it’s certainly not for the faint of heart. But it is a film that conveys an intensely powerful message which I believe we need to hear…whether or not we’ve a swastica tattooed over our heart (as the protagonist, Derek).

For those who have not seen the film or do not wish to, here’s a brief description of the plot:

[ possible spoilers ]

Derek, disillusioned by crime and poverty in his neighborhood, slowly begins to blame ethnic minorities and illegal immigrants for the situation he sees around him. Taking charge of the neighborhood, he forms a white supremacist gang to purify the streets. Hatred bred hatred; Derek began to abuse family members, hitting his mother and sister in short order. After killing two black men who’d attempted to break into his car, he was sentenced to three years in prison.

While away, his younger brother Danny came to idolize him — he sought to replace him in the area’s rising neo-Nazi youth culture. A respected teacher encourages Danny to investigate his brother’s past the night he was released from prison on parole.

Derek attempts to set his brother right, explaining to him the brutal story of transformation that came to define his life while in prison. Near the end of the film, he’s asked to enter back into the problem and begin to set things right, stopping the cycle of violence by confronting those who perpetuate it.

I’ll leave the rest of the tale for your DVD player to tell. Watch the trailer here.

[ /possible spoilers ]

In a few strange, intriguing, and problematic ways, I saw images of the Kingdom and our present reality in this film. If you have the opportunity to watch it and feel comfortable doing so before reading these next few posts, I’d recommend that you take it.

all the best from the pacific northwest,

c. scott andreas