More on Bathsheba

If you're interested in digging into the story of Bathsheba and the exact nature of David's sin you should really read this article by James Jordan. According to him, Bathsheba grew up in and around the palace. David was something of an uncle or godfather to her. Her father and grandfather served him personally, and her husband likely converted because of David and looked up to him as a pastor. When David took Bathsheba he betrayed a long chain of trust with people who had served him faithfully his entire reign and he led astray a young woman who had likely looked up to him her entire life as the next thing to God Himself. For such a man (who spoke for God and already had numerous wives and concubines) it probably wasn't hard to coerce a girl who had been taught respect, trust, and admiration of him by every male relative in her life - a young woman who probably couldn't read the Torah herself and who looked to David as one of God's prophets and His anointed one. Thus David sinned not merely in adultery but in murdering one of his spiritual disciple, turning a young woman's trust to sin, and in general betraying the priestly position he held between God and Israel.

Theology of home design

This is the first time I've ever had some much scope for domestic activity, and I'm finding the task both daunting and inspiring. Where I once wondered about Ikea curtains I'm now contemplating new gas ranges and moving entire walls. It's a heady sense of possibility coupled with nervous glances towards the budget sheet and days spent sifting through chandeliers, fabric choices, and paint colors as I try to define a vision for our new home. This process is revealing how I'm both deeply stubborn and fiercely insecure. At times the reality that we're spending thousands of dollars based (largely) on my judgement and preferences sets a whole formation of doubts marching before my eyes. With Allen's support and guidance most of our decisions have come out well, but during the between times when we're handing out checks and not seeing the fruition it's easy for me question everything about my judgement and preferences. After all, if a girl grew up with formica countertops and never questioned them before why should she start romancing her imagination with soapstone? But, I'm stubborn. There are so many ugly, cheap and just plain pretentious things out there, and I want a home made with substance and beauty and simplicity. At one point we were considering formica countertops, and I was starting to feel a little batty trying to find something beautiful that wasn't fake stone. I realize other people feel differently, but to me the beauty of formica is that it's not stone. Technically speaking I'm sure you could make formica plaid if you wanted to, but instead everyone tries to make another granite look alike that ends up resembling granite about as well as melamine resembles antique mahogany. I like things that do a good job being what they are and don't try to be a poor version of something they definitely are not. And really my formica search was just the beginning. Lighting, fixtures, cabinets - it's a struggle assembling a pleasant home when you have views about faucet aesthetics.

I suppose this could all sound very much like a first world problems kind of blog post, but I actually think it goes way beyond that. This isn't about how much money you have because I've seen more beautiful options at virtually all price levels (especially when you include searching second hand stores and craigslist). It's about a world that often values the showy and "high status" over what is beautiful and enduring and what we homemakers can do to fight this trend. I think as Christians we need to live in ways that are gracious, peaceful, and welcoming, and our homes should reflect this. Think about the various historical periods of the past - many of them had a certain style of furnishings that developed along with that period's zeitgeist. That's sort of what I'm getting at here. There should be a Christian spirit that animates our door knobs and couches and window shutters, and I think this excludes much of what is ugly, cheap, or overly showy. To make an analogy - I'm saying not to buy all your clothes from Forever 21. They're mostly designed to make a show for a season and then fall apart in your washing machine three months later. By that same token, I think Christians should generally avoid bedazzling their chandeliers with gold mardi gras beads. (Don't laugh, I've shopped on Etsy before.) You can also paint things that clash and employ a modicum of aesthetic judgement when shopping for bargains. A slip cover can work wonders, or maybe you could wait a couple months to see if something nicer shows up at a yard sale. If you still aren't convinced this is worth spending time, money, and energy on I'll leave you with this - God thought it mattered. I can't recall if it was the tabernacle or the temple, but way back in the Old Testament God Himself raised up a class of artisans to beautify His residence on earth. When the arguments are over it all comes down to "because God said/did so, and we're called to be like Him."

More on how I'm personally applying this to come.

food theology

Lately I've been getting increasingly frustrated with all the food hoopla that's been going around on the internet - largely of the "Don't eat x" crowd with "x" increasingly coming to mean sugar, flour, dairy, coffee, alcohol - basically all the stuff that makes eating fun. Now I've read the blogs, and I know that most people would jump on here telling me how much better they feel and how they really don't miss whatever it is I'm not supposed to be eating and that if they do miss it they just remember the days when they couldn't leap tall buildings and bench press cars and tell me that it's all worth it. The problem is that I don't buy it. That is to say, I don't buy the philosophy that seems to be behind it. A lot of it seems to be driven by speculative forms of evolutionary biology and theories about so called primitive man and doesn't take into account some of the Bible's rather clear teachings on food. For instance, you'll find a whole group of people who will tell you (loudly) that gluten/wheat/grains are bad for you, and I have absolutely no doubt that for some people they are extremely harmful. However, when Christ instituted the Lord's Supper He did it with a baked product made (to the best of my knowledge) from some type of ground grains. Throughout the Bible bread is a powerful image of comfort and provision. God could have chose root vegetables or goat cheese or various other images, but He chooses to tell us about salvation with bread. So, I can't reject bread out of hand. Even if I got to a point where it seemed wise to avoid grains altogether I would have to admit that the problem is with my body and not with the bread. Ditto for things like wine. People who argue for this or that sort of diet (particularly Christians) point out that we have a duty to care for our bodies and keep them in good running order - Christians trot out that old verse about our body being a temple to justify any number of strange eating habits. And yet, few of them consider passages like Colossians 2:16 in which the Church is warned against people who judge other based on what they eat or another passage in Timothy 4 where God talks about the food He's made to be received with thanksgiving. Now I don't want to get simplistic here. Clearly there are some things we shouldn't be eating every day. There are other things we should only be ingesting after careful consideration and for clearly defined reasons (such as prescribed drugs of various kinds). This isn't carte blanche to go and be stupid about a mushroom patch in the woods. There's a whole lot of wisdom to be applied here. What I dislike are the repeated statements about how God designed people to eat as though God handed Eve a poached egg topped with grated carrots and told her to have fun. So maybe Adam and Eve didn't enjoy dark chocolate stout or a creme brulee after their pasta primavera. They also didn't have orthotic footwear, refrigeration, and paved roads. When Adam and Eve set out to cultivate the world I think there's an implied call to growth and maturity that wasn't confined solely to things like architecture and metal working. In fact, I think things like whiskey and soda and pumpernickel bread and chocolate chip cookies are part of that maturation process since they all result from exploring and probing God's creation to get all the goodness out of it that we can. The person who makes chocolate chip cookies takes God's bounty and through grace is allowed to transform that bounty into something even more desirable. It's the same way with babies and iron ore and sheep's wool. God gives us something and gives us the chance to transform it. It's a beautiful thing. That's why it irks me whenever I hear talk about what we were "designed" to eat or how we "evolved" on a certain diet and need to stick with it. We were designed to explore God's creation and shepherd it and transform it against Christ's return. This means, among other things, not acting as though the earth was a library book we had to return in the same condition it was issued.

jog along theology

As I mentioned on another post soon after starting this blog I've gotten frustrated with the entire counseling/wellness process because (and I suppose some of this is necessary) it can start to feel very self absorbed after a while. This is not to say that counseling or taking care of yourself is bad. They're really very good. I've just been feeling a need to step away from all that and get a big picture. That's why I was so glad to hear tonight's sermon. Our church has been going through Philippians and tonight we came to the passage in chapter 3 where Paul says:

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

There are a few things that really sank in tonight. First, Paul hadn't "arrived" as a Christian. I know in the past I've seen that and just mentally dismissed that as pious apostle speak. "Yeah, ok so you haven't arrived. Yeah, you're the chief off all sinners. Ok, so maybe you murdered a few people. Wait - murder? Oh, but you had that dramatic conversion thing where you were stricken blind and heard the voice of Jesus, so that really kind of offsets everything else you ever actually did wrong." And so I talk to myself and fail to pick up what Paul is actually saying. But here's what I got tonight. Paul, as a Christian, wasn't satisfied with himself. Maybe he struggled with patience or a quick temper or getting up in the morning for prayer. I don't know. We do know that Paul had some sort of "thorn in the flesh," and it's probably one of the reasons he knew he still had a ways to go in sanctification. It's just not something we (ok - I) think about. When you're an apostle/pastor/Christian author being humble about where you are in life is just one of those things you're supposed to do. However, during the sermon, I started to think a little more about a man with a past I'm sure he'd desperately like to forget and who probably had more than one reason to wish God would just fix things already so he could get on with his life. At the time I suppose it's possible that Paul didn't realize what a huge amazing role he played in establishing the Church. So what did Paul do with his broken past and his temptations and weaknesses? He tried harder. He pressed forward. He strained and stretched his sinews out towards the goal line. Now, I've heard it said and continue to maintain that "just try harder" makes really lousy theology. It can lead to legalism, hopelessness (or smug superiority), and complete burn-out. Christianity isn't about just trying harder. So what's the bridge here? Is Paul saying something impossible or out of character? No, Paul is saying press forward towards Christ. Our pastor pointed out that if we look to ourselves we tap out. We are shallow wells and soon emptied. If we look to others (that very popular tactic for taking one "out of oneself") we're liable to envy and discontent. However, if we look to Jesus we find both our goal and the strength to reach that goal. Jesus is "the author and finisher of our faith" - the one who "wills and works in us to to accomplish every good work." Our goal is heaven and the likeness of Christ who is the second Adam. Our strength is Christ's will working in us.

And even Paul was a ways from the goal! He still had to get up every morning and keep jogging down the road towards the New Jerusalem.

He had to (in Christ's strength) keep working out his salvation. So while I'd say that "just try harder" still makes lousy theology I'm beginning to wonder if maybe a few of us are entirely missing the point that we are supposed to be engaged in an actual, physical marathon. Running the race isn't just something you do in your head (although I've heard that if you don't have your mental game in place you're never going to make it). It's something you do by lacing up your shoes and putting your feet down one after the other for a really, really long time. This might be a spiritually conditioned race, but it requires more than having your head game in order. Theology works itself out. For a marriage to look like God's intention you have to physically do some things and refrain from doing others. Same for loving your kids, your neighbors, your country, etc. And we know we're running the race when we start every new stretch by running to where Jesus is. And, here's where the conviction comes for me, we know where Jesus is by knowing who He is. We go to church and pray and read the Bible. I've gone to health professionals and counselors chasing after wellness, but I've neglected to chase after God revealed in His Word.

Writing all this I have to say I feel a little "oooh, hey look I'm writing about the BIBLE aren't I all spiritual and adorable," but I really want to try and hang on to this one. I mean it. Just a week ago I was climbing a peak in Yosemite. There wasn't a trail, and I didn't have any signs telling me how close I was to the top. There were several times I thought about turning around 'cause it was taking too long, and I was getting weary climbing scree at 10k + elevation, but I kept going because I knew just based on the surrounding geography there would be something worth seeing at the top. Let me just say that was one of the most amazing views of the Sierra Nevada range I have ever experienced. I pressed forward, and I saw the prize. There, object lesson inserted.