Sunday, June 10, 2007

Redeem . . .

So Ive been teaching a college age Sunday School class for about 3 weeks now, and we're going through the book of Malachi. And Ive felt ok about it so far, nothing spectacular or anything, and I honestly havent gotten a lot of feedback from the students, they just sit there and listen and dont say much. So Ive been a little skeptical about it, and wondering if it does happen to grow, if this is the age I want to try to target my energy towards.

Well tonight I had dinner here with the Blums and one of the guys that is in the class, well he's been questioning a lot of what he knows and believes, which is a good thing, to make it his own, so he has been one that I have wanted to connect with. Well tonight at the dinner table, Courtney's younger sister said she was talking to him today and said that he just loves me and wants to be my best friend and hang out with me. Which that makes ya feel good and then someone else said that they were talking to one of the college age girls that hasnt been able to make it yet and has been disappointed cause she really wants to come to my class. So thats good news to hear that maybe Im making a bit of connection with the students and challenging them.

Thats really what Im trying to do with the students, is challenge them and really to challenge myself as well and make them think a little bit and to see that the Bible and the Old Testament here in particular is applicable to us today.

Here is an interesting statement and a question for you that I have . . proposed by Neo in A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren, Neo says that "That's why, in my mind, it should be possible to be a Christian and yet be culturally Buddhist, Muslim, or Navajo."

What do you think, is it possible?

"Jesus came not to drive the culture from the people but the sin from the culture. He came not to condemn our culture but to redeem it"

What do you think?

8 comments:

Going Weston said...

well, normally "worldviews" are used to describe and define cultures. Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, and Indians have the same worldview. So I think it's possible when looked at through a broad lense like cultural acceptance. It's in details that we draw the line.

Tim said...

What do you mean Muslims, Buddhists, Christians and Indians all have the same worldview? How do they have the SAME worldview?

bill said...

hey tim.

i've got too many thoughts on this. i just spent about 15 minutes writing them down and then realized that what i was saying wasn't really what i was trying to say.

thus, i erased it all and just went with a good ole "hey tim".

i guess i personally do better having these conversations are over a pipe and a game of yatzee (or dominoes).

but good thoughts. i remember struggling through that part of the book too.

Going Weston said...

well, for instance, a majority of Muslims and Christians are going to have the same opinions of Worldview characteristics...Epistemology, Cosmology, Ethics, society/government, etc.
Buddhists and Indians may have a few differing opinions as far as death and the metaphysical, but in the broad terms of cultural conduct or behavior....I think they all would be fairly identical.

The Anonymous Human said...

I loved that book.

I need to read it again.

Tim said...

Yea Jake (Keck that is), Im loving it right now, challenging my thought process so far, but Im loving it. In some sense, he is saying things that Ive always thought, but never thought I could say or knew how to say.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad the college class is going well for you, bro! We miss not being around you guys.

v.taimani said...

hey broddy..

i got to that part last week and have been thinking about it.. it is kinda interesting and i guess i just dont know enough about these other religions to comment on the possibility.. from my own experience, i noticed that there is a lot of christian religious influence on how tongan (my ethnic background) live out their culture, and there is a lot of cultural influence on how they live out their christianity.. i didnt think about this till now but i guess being a tongan christian (from my point of view) is no difference then being a navajo christian.. of course acknowledging the deity of god always but still seeing how the two world of tonga and christ come together.. does that make sense?