The Holy of Holies and Shallow Modern Worship

So, this is a thought that is long overdo, which I meant to post about 6 months ago. So if it sounds whiny or cynical, that's not me now. Well, no...I'm still cynical.
But anyway...

I started thinking (about 6 months ago before I fell into the deadly sin of blogger sloth-aka having a life off of the internet) about ancient Judaism, with the Temple, with God's dwelling place in the Holy of Holies where nobody but the High Priest dared enter (and even then with fear and trembling). And I started wondering: what would it have been like for that High Priest. What would it be like to go into a place where the presence of God was so powerful that people were known to die by entering with impure hearts?  Imagine how much preparation it would take for someone to be anywhere near able to do that- and I don't just mean Levitical purification rights (that would make a truly riveting post)...I'm talking about emotional, psychological preparation. I mean, it's the eternal, all powerful Creator of the Universe we're talking about here. And as for the final act of passing the threshold... that would surely entail an inexpressible amount of awe and reverence. To be the one person who could literally stand before God on behalf of a whole nation... yep, that's pretty intense.  

In the midst of this somewhat dumbfounded pondering, my mind drifted to something else, which had been on my mind a whole lot then, and even now months later: the shallowness of a great deal of modern Christian worship. And by this, I do mean all forms, but the particular one that irks me is corporate worship songs. So... we sing to the Almighty God, and all we can think to praise Him for is what He has done for us, and how He makes us feel? And even when songs are actually reverent, they have no meaningful content whatsoever?
Ok, I recognize that there are good worship songs out there, but going to a Christian college where I have chapel every day, I have been exposed to A LOT of stuff that is shallow, self centered, and has no real content. (Oh don't get me started on the utter lack of content in modern worship songs.) But, moving on to other forms of worship, there are a lot of the same issues there as well. Prayer is another case in point: we talk to God about what we want, how we feel, and quite often treat Him as a divine vending machine or genie of some sort.


I want to be clear: this is a criticism of myself as much- maybe even more- than anyone else. And I am not saying there is anything wrong with valuing the emotional connection that we have with God, or thanking Him for what He has done in our lives. In fact, I wish I were a lot better at these things. But the point I would like to make is that God is worthy of worship that is deeper, more thoughtful, and reverent than what most Christians (including myself) tend to give Him. Our prayers should go beyond simple thanksgiving when things go our way or 30 second prayers when someone asks us to intercede for them, or the more lengthy prayers we offer when we want something for ourselves or someone very close to us. We should go deeper. And this sometimes means Doing things like pouring the darkest parts of out hearts and minds to God in times of desperation and pain, or journaling to sort through deep issues and asking for wisdom. As for corporate worship, there is usual not much we can do when a song during service is shallow or devoid of content, but we can amend the way we engage in it. We can focus not just on the worship, but also on the fact that it is corporate. Community is o e of the most powerful things about structured worship in a church service. Honestly, most emotionally focused lyrical worship bugs the crap out of me, for reasons I have already mentioned. I prefer liturgy and a more meditative environment, as that is what really directs me to worship and reverence. But in situations such as chapel at my university, when I look around me and really listen to my fellow believers offering up their hearts to their creator, I am deeply moved and directed to God in an equally profound experience of worship. That is just one example of the sort of approach I am suggesting.

And of course, life itself is an act of worship. The greatest way for us to serve and worship God is to not separate out daily life from praise, prayer, meditation on God's truth, and possibly most importantly seeking out those moments in which He makes himself known in our lives.

My Art

As a follow-up to the last post, after speaking about my artistic passion, I must show some of my work. This is not anywhere near all of my stuff, but it is what I consider some of my best.
Enjoy, but I will warn you: if you even thing of stealing my ideas and violating copyright laws I will KICK YOU IN THE SHINS!!!!
Anyway, here it is...

 1st piece in a series on Plato's "Allegory of the Cave"

 

 The following 6 prices are a series on the biblical story of Jonah.                                   

                                                 

  From the biblical book of Daniel...

Daniel's vision of a man with skin like topaz and bronze, eyes like fire, surrounded by flashes of lighting. Actually, this is the inspiration for this blog's name!

The mysterious hand writing on the wall to predict the fall of king Nebuchadnezzar. "Mene mene hekel veparsin."

What it Actually Means to Avoid the Appearance of Evil, in Light of The Life of Christ

Growing up in the Church, there are various phrases that I constantly have heard, which I now know are completely faulty, and the result of taking scripture completely out of context.

One of those terms is "avoid the appearance of evil". Essentially this is used to urge "good Christians" to not do anything that may make them seem like they are sinning, pretty much so that they can maintain a flawless reputation. Ok, so I have some sarcasm going on here. I am aware that this is generally well meaning advice, but it completely misses the point for a couple reasons.

First, that is not what the text is even saying: in Greek, the phrase should actually be rendered something like "abstain from every form of evil". And in the broader context (Paul writing a letter to the Thessalonian Church about proper interpersonal conduct within the community), the passage is talking about living purely, and avoiding things that are clearly not of God. So, this verse is not trying to tell people that they cannot comfort a member of the opposite sex in a time of need for fear of  "giving the wrong idea" to other people, or that a Christian cannot be in a bar or club for fear of people thinking they are going out and getting wasted (granted, judgement and moderation is needed in all things).

And there is something else that completely blows the typical interpretation out of the water: the life of Jesus. It is very clear that He took no pains to avoid "appearing" as if He were doing something wrong. Indeed, he was often accused of sinning when He hung out with prostitutes, "sinners", traitors (tax collectors, as they were seen by their fellow Jews), and lepers (Jesus would have been considered ritually unclean because of contact with a diseased person). And the irony is that it was the people who were avoiding the appearance of evil who were condemning Him- the religious leaders who "drew a fence around the law", so that there was no chance of even looking like they were sinning.

An even more poignant example of Jesus' disregard for maintaining appearances is His dialogue with the Samaritan woman at the well. There are a number of fascinating things going on there...

1. Men were strongly discouraged from socializing with women who were not their wives. (And some of the most conservative teachers of the Law even discouraged that!) This was especially frowned upon when they were alone.
2. Samaritan women were thought to be unclean from birth. Jesus would have been thought to be violating Mosaic Law.
3. In Jewish Literature, the meeting of a man and a woman at a well was often associated with romance. And some ancient accounts show that even asking a woman for water could be interpreted as flirting with her.
4. This is probably the most obvious: the people of her town would have known of the woman's promiscuity. Seeing a man talking to her would undoubtedly send "the wrong message".

My point in all this is Jesus cared much more about reaching "sinners" than He did about seeming like one.

As Christians, we need to have the same approach. We need not to guard our reputation at the cost of another person's well being. And, sometimes, trying to seem pure is a greater sin than seeming like you're sinning.

We don't need to avoid the appearance of evil. Rather, we must avoid evil itself.

Candlelight Easter Vigil at a Greek Orthodox Church- A Poem

As mentioned in my latest post, I had the wonderful opportunity last weekend to attend an Easter vigil at a Greek Orthodox church. And, for my poetry writing class, I ended up writing a poem about it. I thought I would share it here, and that someone may appreciate it. So, here it is.

Candlelight Easter Vigil at a Greek Orthodox Church

Christ gazes down on me,

an icon on the domed ceiling

and the room goes dark,

like His tomb.

The gathered saints hold candles,

illuminating their worship,
reflecting from the angelic

robes of the priests.

A chant echoes prayerfully:
“Kyrie eleison,

Christe eleison”

Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy.

I smell the rose petals and
bay leaves, strewn across

the floor, left over from
a ritual this morning

The scent of melting beeswax

mingles with the incense smoke

as it floats, with a blessing

toward the believers.

This place smells like

it is truly a house of prayer

My Experience at an Eastern Orthodox Easter Service

It is about 3:00 in the morning, and I just got back from a most wonderful experience: a candle light Easter vigil at a Greek Orthodox church. Yes, I just got back. At this point, many people would be ready to judge me as crazy for enduring a "long and boring, emotionless cermony-ridden service". And, having grown up in a very "low church" environment, I probably would have thought the same myself a couple years ago. But this is most certainly not the case. It was absolutely beautiful and inspiring. 

The candle lit darkness filled with the melodious chanting of hymns such as "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those within the tomb bestowing life", and the accompanying Greek translations is a scene I will not soon forget. The mood of the room was contemplative, prayerful, and everything was full of tremendous symbolism. It was extremely different than the highly emotional worship I am used to, but no less powerful- in some ways more, in fact. There is something profoundly impacting about an experience that has a great deal of background and tradition. And what especially struck me was that it truly felt like a place of prayer- and it smelled like it too, with the scents of incense and beeswax candles.

This experience was very profound for me. One of the main reasons, I think, is that recently my faith has come to a place where emotion has taken a backseat to intellect and practicality. God uses my mind to communicate with and guide me much more than He uses my emotions. This has even come to a point where emotionally driven corporate worship does not resonate with me, and does very little to help me worship God. I clearly see God move in many other ways, but this is not one of them. The Eastern Orthodox service gave me a refreshing opportunity to engage in a worship experience that was not emotionally driven, and as a result inspired me tremendously. And it gave me a deeper understanding of what it means for God to "inhabit the praises of His people"; even though this was a radically different environment and tradition from what I am used to, I could tell God was there.

The Book of Job and False Assumptions about Suffering

In one horrific moment, Job loses everything. His children and servants die, and his livestock is carried away by thieves. Even his wife tells him to curse God and die. And yet, he still maintains his integrity and faith in God. He is proven to be a righteous man.

Why then, would such tragedy befall him? This is the age old question of "why do bad things happen to good people?" But it is also deeper than that. Job legitimately thinks that God is punishing him. And, though perplexed and in despair, he accepts this apparent judgement.

It is this faulty assumption that drives the whole book. Not only does Job think this, but his friends do as well. And in an attempt to help him recover from his horrible circumstances, they actually condemn him based on their flawed perception.

Of course, as readers we know that this  is not God's doing at all. We are aware that it is simply the attempt of Satan to derail Job's faithfulness to God. But Job and his friends are going based on what they know, and from the information that is available to them, it seems entirely logical to conclude that the tragic events of Job's life are being directed by God.

If their understanding were accurate, then the assumption this is an act of divine punishment is a logical conclusion.

But the whole irony of the situation is that these horrific things are happening to Job because he is righteous. The reason that this started to begin with was that the enemy wanted to show God that Job's faith in Him was temporal, and only based on the blessing he had received. Satan saw that Job was righteous, and sought to undermine his integrity.

What is more, the very reason God allowed the enemy to attempt such a thing was that He knew it would end in failure. God knew Job would maintain his integrity, continue to live a life of worship, and ultimately bring glory to His name.

Yet, neither Job or his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad,and Zophar, see what is going on behind the scenes. His friends mean to do good. But they tell him that the cause of his trials are unrighteousness, and add to his pain more by condemning him.

The mistake Job's friends make is a common one. They assume that suffering is God's punishment for our sin. And while it is true that rebellion against God results in disarray in our lives, the majority of the time that is not the reason why we go through pain. Trials and tragedy are a natural part of life, as a result of the human condition.

This knowledge allows us to see meaning in our pain, and in the pain of others, that we might miss otherwise. When we suffer, it is because God knows we can handle it. He allows it to become part of His plan, and He knows that, like Job, we will bring Him glory through it. And ultimately, pain becomes part of God's redemptive plan; in suffering, we learn to be there for others, and we find out how to truly love. In the end, it gives us the chance to build deeper character, and to become more like Christ. And it is in our times of darkness that God uses us as a light to others who are also suffering.


As for Job, we see that all ends well. God finally makes Himself known, and sets the record straight. God proves Job to be a righteous man, and gives him to the opportunity to bless his friends that had been condemning him. Finally, God restores to Job what he had lost- and even more.

And just like Job, our struggles ultimately end in triumph. Beauty comes from our pain, life springs from our grief, and we see that our suffering is a part of God's plan.

Exegetical Frustrations

It’s been a while since my last post, but I’m back. And you could probably say I am back with a vengeance, because for this post, I am going to share some big beefs I have with various ways people misinterpret scripture. A lot of the time, people read certain parts of the Bible in some really inaccurate ways. In this post, I will list some of the issues that bother me the most, and hopefully get you thinking a bit. These will sound really harsh, but it’s something I’m super passionate about, and I’m in one of those moods today. So here goes:

•   Just because the word “Elohim” can be interpreted as a plural noun that does NOT mean it is a reference to the Trinity. To say that it is requires you to read beyond the clear meaning of the text, which defies one of the most fundamental principles of good hermeneutics.
  
  
  
• The “bride of Christ” metaphor pertains to the Church as a whole, NOT you personally. It is a very meaningful metaphor, and one that should be respected. So stop acting like Jesus is your boyfriend.
  
  
• I am sorry to burst your bubble, but Old Testament prophecy was not written directly for you, your country, or your church. It was intended for the nation of Israel. It has principles and promises that still apply today, but it is not intended for you personally. So stop reading it like it is.
  
  
  
• The book of Revelation is NOT a code to be cracked. It is not talking about nuclear war, the use of micro chip identification, or the certain public figures being the antichrist. This is not the plain reading of the text. Yes, there are symbols, but those would have been readily understood by the 1^st century Christian recipients of the book (originally written as a letter). They are not hidden messages that apply to specific situations.
  
  
• Dear church planter: Paul’s epistles to Timothy are not your definitive “how to guide”.
  
  
• When Christ compares the church in Laodicea to cold, hot, and lukewarm water, he is not trying to say that they need to be completely committed. He is making a reference to the waters of hot springs and cold, refreshing water from springs, as opposed to the lukewarm water of the aqueducts. He is saying that they aren’t refreshing or strengthening, and that He wants them to be that way. He is not saying that they are complacent; He is condemning them for not fulfilling their calling. So stop using this passage in sermons condemning complacency.
  
  
• The fact that Genesis says God created the earth as opposed to “earths” is not support for your defiance of any possibility of livable planets in another part of the universe. That was not an issue being addressed by the author. And it is unreasonable to try to make Genesis pertain to that debate at all. That is not the point of the book. Not that I believe in aliens or anything.
  
  
• Please don’t try to relate every passage of scripture to Jesus. It doesn’t work like that. That’s not how the Old Testament was intended to be read, and doing so is one surefire way to get messed up theology.
  
  And last, but certainly not least...
  
  
•   Song of Songs is clearly intended to be read as erotic love poetry that pertains to the sexual lives of a married couple, NOT as an allegory of Christ’s love for the Church. There is no doubt that that is what Solomon intended when he wrote the book. Furthermore, Song of Songs’ spiritual and practical value is actually degraded when it is read as an allegory.

So that’s that. There is a lot more that I could say, but I don’t want this to turn into a rant. And I hope that, despite the harshness of this list, I have helped get the wheels of your brain turning a little bit. And don’t just stop by reading my frustrations; look into it yourself. If what I have said annoys you, test it out. Look deeper into scripture. Check out some commentaries, or talk to somebody who is knowledgeable about this subject. And I promise you, it will do you a world of good.