Head Scratcher Quote of the Day
Rob Bell is a fast rising and popular figure in the Emerging Church movement. His book, Velvet Elvis, is a Christian best seller which warns the modern church that it is in jeopardy of becoming obsolete, like a velvet Elvis, if it doesn't change with the times.
"....For a mind-blowing introduction to emergence theory and divine creativity, set aside three months and read Ken Wilber’s A Brief History of Everything. (Rob Bell in Velvet Elvis, pg 192, endnote 143)
Here's how Ken Wilbur describes himself;
“…a longtime practicing Buddhist, and many of the key ideas in my approach are Buddhist or Buddhist inspired. First and foremost, Nagarjuna and Madhyamika philosophy: pure Emptiness and primordial purity is the “central philosophy” of my approach as well.”
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Let me start out on the issue before my tangent, yes, Bill Bryson is a Buddhist, but with all of his studying and sources behind “A Brief History” his religion is not what comes out in this book. And I do think Rob Bell is doing amazing things in the Church right now, but the issue I have is much bigger than that, and maybe it’s unrelated, but…
ReplyDeleteI’ve been thinking about this post a lot and I think what it comes down to is our source of Truth. I think most of us who read your blog would all agree that Truth comes from our Creator being God.
Where we tend to go askew is where we teach others that this Truth can be found.
I was in an astronomy class (at a Christian college) and a girl who came from a Christian high school was really having a hard time with some of the teachings. For instance that the sun is billions of years old, when that contradicts the “New Earth” idea she had been taught in church.
We need to understand that again, if it is True, it is of God, and I can own that Truth. And that can be found everywhere, not just in our churches. In astronomy, in coffee shops, in chemistry, in calculus, in music and art, in (are you ready for it?) Buddhism. And no, you cannot do that blindly “hey, guess what my teacher told us today…” but it does need to be felt out, and in the end, if it is right, we can accept that.
Now, by no means am I Universalist, I understand that the ultimate Truth is found in Scripture. But we need to understand, and teach, that Truth is not found exclusively in our churches, and Christian schools, but in everything.
I believe that this is a main reason why when we send our high school seniors off to college, they leave what they’ve been taught. And we need to embrace the idea that we are not at odds with the teachings of, specifically, the sciences. And *gasp* that not all of the Bible is literal. (Which Rob Bell does a great job of explaining the history behind some of them.)
All of that so say that if I find a Truth, regardless of it’s source (church, science, life…) I know that it’s ultimate Source is God, so I can embrace that Truth.
My comment is more directed towards Steph. I do not think that I agree with with your statement that "truth" is found in God. I agree that the ultimate Truth is God, however I think there is a distinction. How do we know what that truth is. If it just any form of God (Buddist, Muslim, Mormon and Etc.) then that truth will vary greatly. I think that the truth comes from the Word of God, and it is how we know the True God, The One who is Truth. I gather that you refer to the "Christian College" in loose terminology. Why would a Christian Collge espouse billions of years for the age of the sun, unless it also endorsed Evolution as its basis? I also curious as to what you would say in the Bible is not always literal. I would agree that there are types and some symbolism, but very litle as a whole. Most of the Bible I take literally. Including the account of Creation which does indeed proclaim a "Young Earth" Pastor Bob Hoke
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