All tagged Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Bible teaches that we were created to do good works, but when notions of good get co-opted by the World then things quickly go off track. In this episode Mark and I talk about the different definitions of goodness and show how those can derail the Church, her identity, and her mission. For instance, there is a widespread idea today that if Christians would just shut up and do more good—build more soup kitchens, feed more people, start more orphanages—then the World will finally like us (and perhaps even want to join us). But that is not always a one-for one. Along the way we note some pertinent Bible verses that go into goodness, but also show that the Lord told us that if we were faithful we would be hated. The aroma of Christ that God can smell through our efforts can smell like a putrid stench in the nostrils of the World. Come and muse and laugh and think with myself and Mark about this sweepingly important topic, good.
The Scriptures are full of admonitions both to fight for the Lord and his ways and to rest in the Lord. But what does that look like in everyday life? When to fight? When to rest? And even worse for everyday-Sunday believers, what to do when a syrypy-goo is poured thick over all that?! We talk through everyday realities between the poles of fighting and resting, then we also ask what it means to fight (or whether to fight) for the health of culture and sign. On the one hand we're called to be gracious (which gets corrupted to mean "we must be nice!"). On the other hand we're called to be faithful. What did seizing the problem mean for Mark as a mailman? What did seizing the problem mean for Ed as a professor? What did Dietrich Bonhoeffer have to say about what it means to be a Christian in the midst of a fracasso? Come think and laugh with us!
Anchored in reality, the Bible is not shy about our suffering or lamenting our suffering. Jesus knew that, too. But he changed things when he told us that there is a cost to be paid for following him: the cross. What does that mean exactly? What did it mean in his day? What did Jesus do with regard to our suffering? Together let's press suffering through a Christ-centered sieve. (I also talk about the spiritual war we now find ourselves in.)
