life in shifting shadows

Renée Altson September 10th, 2012

lately i’ve become saturated with American politics. Ideologies, promises, budgets, lies, accusations, arguments, heated conversations on Facebook– it has me feeling undone, overwhelmed, and uncomfortable.

money, jobs, the environment, gay marriage, women’s rights, “pro-life,” drug laws–its not that i don’t care about these issues; some of them i care very deeply about — it is the cacophony of voices and the opinions and raging fury and hatred that surrounds me whenever i try to learn more about or discuss them.

the church is already severely divided among many issues, and the political atmosphere these days makes it even worse.

what happened to the simplicity of Jesus?

“a new commandment … love one another …” (john 13:34)

and the wisdom of the other books?

"religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (james 1:27)

isn’t this a lot simpler than having parties and platforms and PACs and endorsers and big corporations and the mess that we call politics these days? and how blasphemous and horrible it is when anyone says that god endorses them or their views, or that god blesses some and kills others, or that the same hurricane that miraculously missed one point of view, came back around to punish the other?

do we even know what we are saying anymore? do we realize the depth that these words, these statements, these beliefs can damage? not just the ones we’re fighting against, who often we are so sure that that recent thunderstorm was meant for, but also to ourselves?

i know the world’s problems are not easy. war and jealousy and hatred have always existed. intolerance and unfairness have become well-worn and dull-edged over time, yet they continue to exist. humanity naturally finds an “us” and a “them.” selfishness and arrogance are our primarily rulers. people with diseases or difficulties have often been cast aside, poor people have often been looked down on:

“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?” (james 2: 1-26)

as believers, or even simply as human beings, what exactly is our job in this world? Are we called to demand and enforce a “moral nation”, to define a bubble of righteousness around some but not others? are we asked to insist that god’s law be followed and applied to everyone? is money the reason we live? what kind of people do we look down on? who are we to decide these things?

the poor…
the widows…
the orphans…

Such pain and desperation there. Such empty places to fill with compassion. such grief to be respected, held, and journeyed through. plenty enough to keep us busy. plenty enough to humble us. plenty enough to allow us to sit down quietly among the broken, below all the shouting and discord, and provide true hope to hurting people.

so many worry about the morality of governments, nations, about a kind of cloud that has begun to envelop our families and schools and libraries with unrighteousness. we worry of a decline of moral character, even as we tithe to our churches or to our “missionary’s”.

i believe that we are called to be hands and feet, hugs and hope, tangible reminders of a present god who loves us always, regardless of who we are, or what we do. we are to get deeply involved with helping others, not just merely write a check and think it is enough.

what would our world look like if we were to live according to love? not just infatuated middle school crushes or valentine doodles, but honest love. what kind of people would we be? what kind of laws would need to be made? would we even worry about laws if we were to all live like this?

i have been a fan of this verse out of james since i was a young child. it has been a tangible, concrete statement in a world that i often couldn’t trust or live in.

“every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)

we, as believers, are also good and perfect gifts. sent to each other, sent to the world. we are lights in a world of darkness and shadows, we are hands and feet in a world of amputations and broken limbs.

Ghandi once said: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

wouldn’t that be amazing?

Renée Altson is the author of Stumbling Toward Faith, a photographer, and a web developer. She lives with her husband, daughter, and 2 cats in Southern California. Click here to listen to Renée on Steve Brown Etc.

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Why Do People Die in Earthquakes? Blame Corrupt Governments, Not God

Fazale (Fuz) Rana September 4th, 2012

The last decade witnessed a number of devastating earthquakes, with death tolls among the highest in recorded history.

2010 – Haiti (7.0 magnitude) – 316,000 deaths

2004 – Sumatra (9.1 magnitude) – 227,898 deaths

2008 – China (7.9 magnitude) – 87,587 deaths

2005 – Pakistan (7.6 magnitude) – 86,000 deaths

2003 – Iran (6.6 magnitude) – 31,000 deaths

2011 – Japan (9.0 magnitude) – 20,896 deaths

2001 – India (7.6 magnitud … (Read More)

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Brandon Raub and the Thought Police

John W. Whitehead August 27th, 2012

(If you're on the front page of the site, click the title of this post to see the video player.)

For nearly a week, Brandon Raub, a former marine, found himself incarcerated against his will in a psychiatric facility for posting political opinions and song lyrics on Facebook. When the government can incarcerate American citizens for merely exercising their First Amendment rights, then we are truly living in frightening times.

Constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead is founder and presiden … (Read More)

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Imagine There's No Seacrest Hair

Susan Isaacs August 13th, 2012

I don’t watch sports on TV, and I only caught a few of the Olympic games. But when I found out I missed seeing director Danny Boyle and Sir Paul McCartney in the opening ceremonies, I made sure to watch the closing. Larry said it was going to have a load of great British bands, a tribute to John Lennon, and The Who would be the big closing act. I wanted to see if The Who would be cheeky enough to play “Won’t Get Fooled Again” in an election year.

I don’t watch broadcast TV. I’ll watc … (Read More)

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The Persistent Heresy of Nationalism

John H. Armstrong August 6th, 2012

Columnist Ross Douthat, in his much-discussed survey of American religion called Bad Religion, exposes one of our most persistent and complex Ameircan heresies in his final chapter. It bears the appropriate title: “The City on the Hill.” This particular heresy, which has reached across the entire social-political spectrum, is “the heresy of American nationalism” (Bad Religion, 244). Noting that “universal faiths are a relative novelty in human history” he correctly observes that ther … (Read More)

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Can We Discover Life in Loss?

Renée Altson July 16th, 2012

In the past few months, I’ve had several significant losses. They are deeply rooted inside me; interwoven into my very existence, and I have found myself angry, frustrated, afraid, and broken-hearted.

Loss is an inevitability that we all must face; its a common denominator of humankind. While abuse is not necessarily something everyone struggles with, we all know and relate to the grief we experience as we lose things that are important to us through the course of our lives.

I’m not just tal … (Read More)

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