Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 5,100 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 9 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Here’s the thing… I don’t know very many Christians who truly believe in “the authority of Scripture”.

Here’s what I mean… Dictionary.com defines “authority” as “the power to determine, adjudicate, or otherwise settle issues or disputes; jurisdiction; the right to control, command, or determine.” Sounds good so far; most Christians will say that they give Scripture the power to settle differences or the right to control. But only so much…

In other words – how many Christians do you see walking around with only one hand or one eye? If your answer is “not many”, then they obviously haven’t given Mark 9:42-48 any authority in their lives. I know, I know – that verse was meant to be metaphorical. Jesus didn’t mean it literally.

But how many Christians do you know who sell everything and give the money to the poor (Matthew 19:21)? Or how many forgive the debts of people who owe them money (Leviticus 25)? Or how many will leave church if they have had a disagreement with someone (Matthew 5:23-24)?

I believe that there are two problems we have when it comes to giving Scripture authority in our lives. The first is a translation issue. Most churches (evangelical and otherwise) will generally have something in their statements of faith about Scripture being inspired “in its original autographs”. Meaning that the author of a particular Scripture would have been inspired, but the later copiers and translators were not inspired. Now most believe that the Holy Spirit took part in the copying and translation of Scripture, but this is somewhat different than the process of inspiration.

The problem arises when Christians give full authority to the translation of Scripture, but not the original of Scripture. Case in point – Ephesians 5:22; “Wives, submit to your husbands”. The Greek word that is translated as “submit” in this verse is “hupotasso”. Crosswalk.com makes this note on the word hupotasso – “A Greek military term meaning “to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader”. In non-military use, it was “a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden”. Now – in most cases – marriage is a non-military endeavour. But many churches have taken the English militaristic translation of hupotasso and elevated it above the original non-military meaning of hupotasso.

And that leads into the second issue – we generally aren’t as concerned about what Scripture says as we are about what we think it says. In other words, we give more authority to our interpretation of Scripture than we do to the actual Scripture. And that is normal – since Scripture was written 3500 to 2000 years ago in an entirely different culture, it needs to be translated and interpreted if we are going to use it in our daily lives.

But if we are honest with ourselves, we get our noses bent out of shape when someone takes a different tack than we do when it comes to certain Scriptures. Years ago I applied to work at a church that had a 27 page statement of faith (Be afraid… be very afraid!). In this massive document was the phrase “Scripture might have numerous applications, but only one correct interpretation”. Now – the major assumption this group was making was that they were able to correctly interpret Scripture. And anyone who did not agree with their interpretation was condemned as not “giving Scripture the authority it deserves”.

And that’s the problem. We can never be 100% sure that we have the correct interpretation of Scripture. We can be reasonably sure – “Thou shalt not murder” actually means “don’t murder” – but history is rife with examples of people who were certain they had the correct interpretation – and who were mistaken.

So I think it is entirely possible for two people to have two entirely different interpretations of what Scripture is saying, and yet to give complete authority to Scripture in their lives. So while I believe that the Calvinist is mistaken when it comes to what “predestination” means, I cannot accuse them of not giving Scripture authority in their lives. Or while I believe that complimentarianism distorts the nature of the relationship between man and woman, I have to believe that the complementarian gives authority to Scripture in their lives.

Do I have this all figured out yet? Not even close. But the journey continues…

The fact is, ever since the beginning of March, I have been struggling with some very debilitating emotional issues. I am “back from the brink”, but I still have some work to do. Hopefully, soon I will be back to a point where I feel that my thoughts are polished enough to be worth sharing.

Until then…

Chapter 1

Anytime one begins telling a story, it is usually best to begin at the beginning…

I was born and raised in Dauphin, Manitoba. Dauphin was a relatively small rural town of about 10,000 people. The two largest industries in the Dauphin area were agriculture and geriatric services – so most people in the Dauphin area either worked with farmers or retired farmers. Dauphin also holds the distinction of being the home of Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival. It has been said that 4 out of 5 people in the Dauphin area have a last name that ends in either “Chuk” or “Ski”.

Into this milieu came John Anderson and Eleanor Biddle. John (my dad) was a Metis and former soldier who had taken a position working at a residential school. Eleanor (my mom) was of English descent, and had been working as a teacher on an Indian reserve in Northern Manitoba, and through that experience had been offered a position at the same residential school. Both Mom and Dad came from deeply religious traditions – Dad had been raised Pentecostal, and Mom had been raised in the Anglican tradition.

(How they ever decided that marriage was a good idea is beyond me, but it worked…)

At any rate, marriage was in the cards, and soon John and Eleanor Anderson began adding to the family; Joel, Leon, and Kevin soon became welcome additions to the Anderson Clan. After Kevin came, my parents took a breather from the whole “be fruitful and multiply” thing. I still contend that it was to figure out what it was they were doing wrong to have kids like that… at any rate, they must have figured it out, because seven years later, little Shawn entered the world.

(My brother still contends that my parents really wanted a girl, and that’s why they had me. Thus began my long and storied career of disappointing my parents. But that’s a whole other chapter…)

So, there is where my story begins. My parents, three brothers and me, living in a small house in a small settlement about 10 miles outside of a small rural town in Manitoba. Like most stories that begin this way, “money” was not something that we had to struggle with on a regular basis. Dad worked hard to keep the family clothed and fed, but there wasn’t usually a lot left after those two necessities were taken care of. Mom grew a lot of our food in her garden, and most of my clothes were hand-me-downs… one of the reasons I am glad that God did not give me older sisters.

After Dad left the residential school where he and Mom had met, he worked a variety of jobs – none that included farming. So, the fact that my dad was not a farmer – added to the fact that my last name is neither Anderchuk nor Anderski – and you have a little boy who never quite feels like he fits in. Plus, you put that little boy into clothes that have been patched more than a few times, and the other kids begin to notice that said little boy doesn’t quite fit in either.

Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that people in Dauphin were racist if you’re not Ukrainian. There might have been a few like that, but it retrospect most people didn’t really care what your last name was. But in my own little mind way back when, I always felt like I was on the outside looking in.

I suppose that I began applying that mindset to the church we attended. My brothers and I were raised in the Baptist tradition. See, with Mom being Anglican, she would rather not go to church than go to a Pentecostal church. And Dad being Pentecostal – he would have sooner chewed tinfoil than go Anglican. So – in the spirit of compromise – they settled on Baptist.

(I’ll wait while you wrap your head around the concept of Baptists being a compromise. May I also suggest a cold cloth on your forehead?)

Now when I say the word “Baptist”, this might conjure up more than a few frightening images in your minds. Believe me; I know how you feel…

 For those of you who lack any real exposure to the world of the “Baptist”, a little context: this was a small evangelical church in a rural town during “the 80’s” – a period in time in which the evangelical church is not exactly known for its open mindedness to new ideas. (Some might argue that period of time has never ended, but more on that in Chapter 12…) This Baptist church was no exception – a bastion of “that ole time reeeeligion” where right was right and wrong was wrong. And it was expected that you would pick one or the other.

And how did you know whether you were “right” or “wrong”? Simple, really…

Do ya smoke? Lots of people smoke where you’re going…

Do ya drink? Enjoy it now, the lake where you’re going ain’t ‘zactly fit for drinkin’…

Rock music? That’s what probably started you on smokin’ and drinkin’ in the first place!

Movies? Nope… unless they’re “good evangelical” movies…

(And just between you and me, I’m still waiting for them to make one.)

What else? Well, ya gotta vote Conservative, support all the right “Christian” political causes, always go to church on Sunday, make sure that people know “I’m a Christian, not a Catholic”, walk out of class if the teacher mentions “evolution” or “safe sex”, avoid anyone who doesn’t fit into all the nice criteria we’ve set out for you… and above all, if you DARE to question any of the above – any of it – well, your hand basket to Hell is outside and waiting for you. Enjoy the ride.

In that kind of environment, it’s a wonder that anyone is able to feel like they’re in – so it’s no wonder that I never did. 

(my favourite bit is at 1:58, where the host talks about how religious nerds are the only nerds willing to kill for their franchise, and you’d never see Star Trek nerds killing over which captain is better, Kirk or Picard. By the way, you’re both wrong. Sisko for the win…)

At any rate, the poignancy of this piece was driven home for me again as I have been reflecting on my new found hobby – unemployment. During the first week after I was “let go”, I was filled in on a troubling statistic. Since I graduated from Prairie Bible Institute in 2009, know how many of my friends in ministry have been driven out of ministry?

Five, not including myself…

Now six might not seem that high of a number, but when you stop and consider the fact that I probably only have a couple of dozen friends that are in full time ministry, six becomes a big number.

Add to that, these are not guys who have said, “I feel like becoming a plumber and making some money” or “I feel God calling me to another opportunity”. These are guys who have been emotionally betrayed by the churches that they called “family” and “home”. When I started telling my wife what happened to some of our friends, she called it an “emotional holocaust”.

Now I’m not trying to disparage the collective experiences of the Jewish people, but there does seem to be a massive disconnect between how the people of God are supposed to act and how they treat those that God appoints to tend His flock. I’ve spoken to many pastors during this time, and most have at least one personal story about how they were mistreated by one of their former churches.

These stories all sound the same – things were going great, but someone somewhere in the church didn’t like something we said (or didn’t say) or something we did (or didn’t do). Soon stories begin circulating, and one day, we walk into our office or we’re called to a board meeting, and we’re asked to leave and never come back.

What makes this even worse is – this behaviour doesn’t just reflect badly on the churches involved, but somehow God ends up with mud on His name. When I see the way that some Christians act in public, I look at my atheist friends and really – I can’t blame them.

The argument can be made in a lot of our cases that – from a business standpoint – most pastors are treated more than fairly when they are let go. The standard business practice is to give one weeks worth of severance pay, and most pastors are given a lot more than that when they are terminated.

(The problem is… if you’re running your church like it’s a business… then it’s probably neither. I’m just sayin’…)

This is one of the reasons commonly given by those who leave the church as to why they left – the disconnect between stated beliefs and actions. Kids grow up in the church, and they are taught that the ways of the world is not the Way of the Church. But then, when disagreements come along, they see that the ways of the world and the ways of Church, Inc. aren’t all that different after all…

Someday, when I get to heaven and stand face to face with Jesus, I want to say to Him what I would have said to Gene Roddenberry (had I been given the chance to meet him…)

“I love what you created, but your fans can drive me nuts…”

http://www.atomicspirituality.com

For those of you that are in the habit of sending random bloggers money, I’m heading to the mailbox right now…

(..oh well, there’s always tomorrow…)

Before I get to my point, let me make a few observations here:

• As the article states, there is considerable debate over the legitimacy of standardized IQ tests and the methodology of the BU study.
• The study states that people with low IQ’s are “more likely to develop…”, not people with low IQ’s “are”…

On a personal note, I volunteered for a couple of years with the Canadian Alliance, and growing up I lived in the heart of NDP country in Manitoba. So I can say with all confidence that I know some very intelligent conservatives, and some very dumb liberals.

(However, as I say, my work with the Alliance coupled with my experiences with conservatives in Alberta compels me to accept the findings of the BU study at face value… Also, I know a lot of conservative types with whom I can’t use polysyllabic words… just sayin’…)

Dr. Gordon Dodson was one of the researchers at Brock that conducted the study. He said something very interesting in the HuffPost article:

Why might less intelligent people be drawn to conservative ideologies? Because such ideologies feature “structure and order” that make it easier to comprehend a complicated world, Dodson said.

This statement has all sorts of implications for those of us in ministry (or who are planning on going in to or returning to ministry). Christians (and more specifically, evangelicals) have a reputation for being… oh, how do I put it… not the brightest bulbs on the academic tree? If you ask the question, “What is critical thinking?”, most evangelicals might answer, “Something that atheists do.” Simply put, “critical thinking” is “focused thinking on what to believe or do”. Even more simply, critical thinking is “thinking about thinking”. (Thanks, Wikipedia…)

When it comes to critical thinking, Western evangelicals have dropped the ball. And to make matters worse, so much of evangelical groupthink revolves around “structure and order”; tell us what to do and what to believe and we’ll do it and believe it. Many evangelical institutions in the 20th century were built on this militaristic model that was more like brainwashing than it was building passionate disciples of Jesus.

There’s an old saying; “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” While I can understand and appreciate the sentiment behind this statement, I find it unsettling. I have seen so many times in the evangelical community people who say, “I believe that God said this. Why? Because that’s what I believe.”

One of the biggest concerns that parents of young Christians have is that young people today are becoming increasingly “biblically illiterate”. But those of us in the older generation have not done a very good job of modelling biblical literacy. We don’t show our young people how to read the Bible, how to look at the original context and the original language, and how to apply critical thinking skills to the original text so that it can be applied to our cultural context.

This is important. When we don’t think critically about Scripture, we get an environment like we see in the USA (and increasingly in Canada) where “evangelical Christianity” becomes synonymous with “anti-immigration, pro-corporation, pro-capital punishment, anti-criminal rehabilitation, anti-healthcare, anti-environmentalist” and a whole host of other issues that are blatantly anti-Scriptural.

In Matthew 22:37-39, we read:

³⁷ Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

“Love the Lord your God with all your mind.” In essence, think critically about your faith. Question the assumptions you have about your faith. Seriously reflect on what your faith demands of you, and ask, “Does this fit the Greatest Commandment? Am I loving God and my neighbour?”

The reality is, for a lot of evangelicals, the saying goes “The guy on the TV says that God said it. I believe it. That settles it.”

In this day and age, that’s not good enough.

• A place that sees itself as a place second, and the hands and feet of Jesus first.
• A place where the modus operandi is “go and tell”, not “come and see”.
• A place where doubts and discussion are welcomed, not squelched.
• A place where your value is judged on being a child of God, not who you vote for.
• A place that I would want to introduce my non-Christian friends to.
• A place that values authenticity and openness over performance and image.
• A place that values spiritual growth over numerical growth.
• A place where a Christ-follower can be a Christ-follower.

Is that too much to ask?