troubled

I hold to some things that trouble people.  Here's the list that is in my head at this moment:

Troubling things I hold to be true:

1. The Bible is the Word of God, inspired and inerrant in its original autographs.
2. There are some parts of the Bible that we are not quite sure what the original autographs said.
3. Modern translations of the Bible reflect both original authorial intent and the theology of the translator.
4. The Bible contains both cultural applications and timeless principles.
5. Justice is more than just helping the poor.
6. Justice is no less than helping the poor.
7. God hates sin.
8. There is a hell.
9. Jesus is the only way to the Father.
10. There is truth in other religions.
11. God is a person who is present.
12. The gospel of Jesus Christ cannot be reduced to moralism.
13. Legalism in all of its forms is an affront to the message of Jesus.
14. Pastors are people.
15. Being homosexually oriented is not a sin, but practicing it is.
16. God loves sinners, and we cannot claim to follow him yet not do the same.
17. God disciplines his children who disobey.
18. Love is sacrifice.
19. There is no separation between the secular and sacred.
20. There is a real difference between evil and good.
21. Evil sometimes must be stopped by force.
22. There is no such thing as a godly vote.
23. Global warming is real.
24. The mortgage crisis is the fault of greedy lenders AND borrowers.
25. Sex finds its place only in marriage.
26. Marriage is between a man and a woman.
27. Salvation is as much of an event as it is a process.
28. President Bush is not the worst president in U.S. history.
29. President Bush is not the prime example of a godly leader.
30. I am a citizen of God's kingdom before I am a citizen of the United States.  Those two are not the same.
31. Jesus wouldn't bomb anyone.
32. Jesus will one day kill all of those who oppose him.
33. Heaven isn't just later, it is now.
34. Retirement is not the goal of working.
35. The family unit is not the cornerstone of a good society.
36. You can not legislate morality.
37. We should not filter our votes by the hot-button issues of abortion and homosexuality.
38. Liberalism is fiscally irresponsible and dangerously naive.
39. Conservatism protects the wealthy at the expense of the poor, and permits the hating one's enemy.
40. Terrorism is a real threat.
41. Darwinistic evolution is incompatible with the Genesis story.
42. Geological evolution is compatible with the Genesis story.
43. Adam and Eve were real people.

And I could go on, and on, and on.  It just seems like lately, I've had to either test/reexamine some of these things, or stand up and claim allegiance to them under criticism or attack.  

mystery and clarity

Beautiful these two dancing together

Mystery and Clarity

To the music of nature,

Spirit and Word.

They swing and sway

Back and forth

Back and forth

Each step inspiring awe

Each step true and sure.

Neither will dance alone

Or with another suitor

For though invited and enticed

None other knows the step

Like the One 

Or like the Other.

A sad day it is indeed

When one of us claims to be dancing

In step with only Mystery

Or only Clarity

For in reality

We are dancing to a music of our own making

Which looks more like a parade

Of folly

Or perhaps like a dirge 

On the way to the grave.

Long have these Two danced to a rhythm

Made by the One who made all rhythms

A rhythm that we must discover

A step that we must learn

From the One who invites us to dance

The Dance of Mystery and Clarity

The Dance of Love and Obedience

The Dance of Beauty and Truth.