Nihil est verum. Licet Omnia.

I am supposed to be asleep. I haven’t slept well in days, weeks really. If I lay it out, completely and honestly, I have not gotten more than 2 hours of consecutive sleep in a night in months. My Sunday afternoon naps are more productive than my nights. My nights consist of crawling into bed and my mind wandering into places of deep thought, sometimes deep worry. When my mind shuts off, as sometimes happens, two small girls crawl into my bed and make my large, lonely bed, feel like a toddler bed. I move to the couch and stare at the ceiling, or a book, and let the little ones sleep. I fade in and out of sleep, and crawl back into bed sometime before my alarm goes off at 4:41 am. Most of the time, I’m conversing with God. Praying for guidance, protection, vision, wisdom.

worthy is the Lamb who was slain, worthy is the Lamb who conquered the grave.

Lately my mind has wandered to thoughts of my mother, who is currently stuck in a hospital bed. My mother. To say that Diane Bauman is a champion is quite an understatement. My father, and siblings would easily hold to that truth. Her co-workers, and those she ministers to, would praise her. But, my mom would quietly go about her work. She’d tell you to have the party, she has work yet to be done. She doesn’t complain. She doesn’t give up and I’ve never seen her give in. 

Who breaks the power of sin and darkness
Whose love is mighty and so much stronger
The King of Glory, the King above all kings 

Anyone who truly knows my mother, knows that if needed she would give you anything she could. She would offer you her own dining room table, saying, “Oh, Roy can make me another one…” She not only gives her time, and money, she gives her love, and life. She offers her home, and she is always ready to offer the freedom and redemption  that she has found in the love of Jesus Christ. 

Who brings our chaos back into order

Who makes the orphan a son and daughter

The King of Glory, the King above all kings 

My mother is far too humble. The ministry that she Pastors, The Value Life Ministry at Vineyard Columbus has helped hundreds of women in who have found themselves in difficult or unintended pregnancies find the help and support that they need. In short, my mother has given a voice to those that have none. The widows, and orphans. The single mothers, (or fathers) and the children who this cruel world would call otherwise unwanted. She has worked with churches around Ohio and the US, along with our lawmakers and legislators, but she wouldn’t tell you that.

She is my mother, she fed me, clothed me, and gave me life, but she has become a mother to hundreds of women and children who had none. She emulates Jesus. He picked up the cross and carried it to his end for all of us. I have no doubt that she would do the same for a child, because it is what Jesus would do.

What other King would use his promise?
What other King would use his Glory?

Please join us in praying for my mother’s full healing and recovery. She’s doing the same for hundreds of others right now.

If you want to know more about Value Life, ask me. If you want to know more about Jesus, I’d love to share that with you too.

    There are many claims today that Europe, and ultimately the entire world is facing the end of Modern Christianity. Churches are empty and closing their doors, and those who were “raised Christian” are seeking different things to feed their spiritual and religious needs. The words Post-Christian allude to the end of Christianity in specified areas. Just as one would say “Post-Apocalyptic” meaning the world after the Apocalypse, we say Post-Christian in terms of a world after Christianity. While it may be one way to address this issues of Christianity and the decline of the church, Post-Christian may not be the most accurate terminology. What the world, and more pointedly Europe, faces today, and has faced since the Seventeenth Century is the decline of the Church. What we fail to see is that the decline of the church does not allude to the decline of Christianity. It pertains to the decline of bodies filling pews and coffers. While less people fill the church on Sunday mornings, more people are taking to the street to live out the teachings of Jesus rather than just listen to them spewed haphazardly from behind the pulpit. Since the Reformation and the Enlightenment, and the subsequent shift in education for the masses rather than a caste system of ruling and submissive classes, a realization was made. That realization was that people no longer wished to be faced with hell based on their sins by those who were sinning against them. Some of the major points of Martin Luther’s “95 Theses,” written against the ruling Catholic church, resonated and caused a shockwave through Christianity which people rode into the Reformation. 

    The question remains, why the shift in the Christian world to that of a “Post-Christian” society throughout Europe. Paul Belien, author of the article “The Closing of Civilization in Europe” points to a collapse in faith in the church. Yet, it should be noted that he goes on to say that “a new religion and culture is supplanting the old one.” People are not throwing away faith and religion to grasp at nothing. People are, and have been for centuries, throwing away old, archaic thinking for new beliefs. While some of these beliefs can be based in true Christian thinking, other beliefs are merely compromising the message of the Gospel. David Rusin addresses this concept in his article “Fearing for Freedom in a Post-Christian Europe”. Rusin points out that some European Christian leaders today are not only conforming their churches towards a Post-Christian Europe, but they are putting other beliefs in front of their own once strong biblical views. He asserts that European Christianity is sitting precariously on the edge of becoming Christianized Islam. As well, the article points the finger at practicing Muslim immigrants moving into Christianized Europe for the changing belief systems. These immigrating individuals, rather than integrating into pre-existing conditions may be looking for society to reform around their own personal views. While this may be true in some cases, it surely isn’t the view of every individual moving from their native country into a known Christian European nation. The Archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Miroslav Vlk points out that it is not the influx of Muslim believers into Christian Europe that has created the Post-Christian vacuum, but rather the  declining church that has cleared the way for more Muslim believers to become firmly rooted in the what were once Christian strongholds. Vlk puts the brunt of the blame on the spread of Islam into European nations and calls for Christians to “respond to the threat of Islam.” His call is vaguely and eerily reminiscent of previous church leaders calls for a pre-emptive offensive stance on Islam. Those previous views led to bloody Crusades which left a stain on Christianity.

    What we see are two narrowing opinions on the decline of Christianity in the European world. One is that it is not that Christianity is faltering, but the church is emptying regardless. On the flip side of the coin are the thoughts by individuals such as Cardinal Vlk and David Rusin that the Christian church is compromising its beliefs to accommodate the traditions and ideals of other prominent religions. In Europe’s case, Islam is the accused religion. Author Erik Tryggestad of the Christian Chronicle shares a much different view point. In his article titled “‘Post-Christian’ No More? Churches Rethink Europe” Tryggestad shares his interviews with individuals from around Europe. While many people point out that they do not want to be taught how to live, others are sharing that they are “looking for something new.” The idea of a Post-Christian Europe is a foolish one when it alludes to the era after a Christian dominated Europe. Tryggestad also points out that the growth within the Christian churches of Europe are happening within the immigrant communities, which  is in direct opposition to the claims of Cardinal Vlk and the ideas of David Rusin. Tryggestad goes on to point out that people are looking for spirituality rather than just to sit in a pew and be lectured. Rather than a Post-Christian Europe could we be on the verge of a Neo-Christian Europe where individuals would rather have a deeper understanding of the person and place of Christ than just a simple list of directives and demands. The ideals beckon back, again, to Martin Luther and his “95 Theses”. Tryggestad points out that “European culture ‘is demanding an explanation, demanding relevancy, authenticity, community’ from its churches.” In short, it could be that individuals are tired of being led by fallen leaders who claim infallibility based on their positions within the church. Rampant sexual abuse and molestation spread like wildfires through the Roman Catholic Church throughout the twentieth century. That abuse was not limited to the United States. Yet even so, it seems that leaders of the Catholic Church would  pass the blame of the faltering church onto the shoulders of immigrants who may or may not be practicing Muslims rather than accept the failure of the church because of the failure to protect its parishioners from the very sins that it admonishes. 

    Rich Nathan, author, and Senior pastor of Vineyard Columbus addressed the Post- Christian church, not only in Europe but in the world in a recent sermon titled Disciplining and Restoring Fallen Leaders from his series Derailed: What Causes People to Fail. Nathan goes into some detail on the “Catholic Abuse Scandals” and shares the story of Marie Collins, a thirteen year old girl who was sexually abused by a Catholic Friar while in Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Dublin Ireland in 1961. At 30 years old she shared her story and was told that the abuse was because of her temptation of the priest. She was subsequently told to repent and she would be offered absolution of her sins against Friar McGennis. Ultimately, the church has continued to place the blame of its short comings on its congregation rather than accepting, and exposing the faults of its failing leaders. Similar actions, by the church throughout the first and second millennium are what have led to the dramatic shifts in the church such as the Great Schism and the Reformation. Nathan points out later in his sermon that the fifteen percent of existing Catholic priests have been accused of sexual abuse, in the United States alone, yet the Roman Catholic stance on the declining church, or the Post-Christian world, is that people are no longer looking for Christ and the world is facing a “growing secularism”. Nathan also shares that in one decade attendance in the Irish Roman Catholic church was cut from eighty percent to forty percent. Attendance was not cut because of the growing need of secularism as implied by the church. Rather it was the realization that, just as has been the case over the centuries, the church is still taking advantage of its people in brazen ways. In turn placing the blame of sin rampant throughout leadership on the heads of its congregation and boldly asking for penance while continuing to sin without remorse or repentance. 

    The failing church in Europe may have very little to do with the influx of Islam and other religions throughout the region. Yet, what of that influx, if there truly is one? Miroslav Volf is the Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, and author of the book Allah: A Christian Response. In an interview with Patton Dodd, Volf points out that the Christian response to Islam should be to gain understanding, not to condemn. Volf shares the undeniable truth that regardless of our beliefs we still live in the same world under the same “moral roof”. There are many Christians that would take Zealous standpoints towards Islam, even calling for Crusade like actions, just as there are extremist Muslims with similar beliefs and views. Volf points out that Muslims and Christians believe in the same God, a ideal that is shared in the Quran, and by many past and current Christian leaders, even the Catholic leaders present at the Second Vatican Council. Volf’s ideals on Islam and Christianity co-existing completely invalidate the arguments of Vlk and Rusin in that, Volf asserts through his book Allah and his teachings that it is part of the inherent nature of a Christian to love. Jesus loved most fervently those who were the farthest away from him. When we look at John 4 we see a picture of this. Jesus is traveling through Samaria and when he comes upon the Samaritan woman at the well he asks for a drink. The woman’s response is that of shock. “You [Jesus] are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink? (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)” - John 4:9. Just as in the ancient world Jews and Samaritans did not associate with each other, today it is increasingly taboo for Christians and Muslims to associate, much less dialogue. Yet, is it not the central point of Jesus’ message to love everyone regardless of their beliefs or their class? Jesus was questioned many times by the overly righteous Pharisees on why he associated with sinners. Today, these questions are still asked, even though we have been handed and teach through a book, the Bible,  that is meant to guide us. If we use the Bible and the life of Jesus as a guide post, then are we not called to love one another? Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a late German Theologian, in his book Life Together, states makes this statement concerning love:

“Human Love constructs its own image of the other person, of what he is and should become. It takes the life of the other person into its own hands. Spiritual love recognizes the true image of the other person which he has received from Jesus Christ…”

    The failing church in Europe may have very little to do with the influx of Islam and other religions throughout the region. It may have little to do with the growing need for individualism, or secularism. Yet it may not even be because of the growing discourse between church leaders and parishioners. While “the Church” is faltering in Europe, it seems that people are still searching for spirituality and community. Those people are searching outside of the brick and mortar walls of the churches that has failed them in the past and finding spirituality within the so-called Post-Christian churches that are teaching the true message of Christ. The “Post-Christian” Christians are living out the message of the gospel, not by standing behind a pulpit, but by action in the real world. These Christians are showing the actions of Jesus by living out the actions of Jesus. 

Works Cited:
Belien, Paul. “The Closing of Civilization in Europe.” The Brussels Journal, 2006. accessed July 10, 2012. http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/852

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. New York: Harper & Row. 1954.

Caldwell, Simon. “Cardinal says Christian Europe is to blame for Islamisation.” The Telegraph. 2010. accessed July 11, 2012. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/6942088/Cardinal-says-Christian-Europe-is-to-blame-for-Islamisation.html

Dodd, Patton. “Moving from Exclusion to Embrace: Miroslav Volf on Christianity and Islam.” Patheos Evangelical.
2011. accessed July 11, 2012. http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Deeply-Unchristian-Patton-Dodd-08-29-2011.html

Rusin, David. “Fearing for Freedom in a Post-Christian Europe.” The Gatestone Institute. 2010. accessed July 10, 2012. http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/1041/fearing-for-freedom-in-a-post-christian-europe

Tryggestad, Erik. “‘Post-Christian’ no more? Churches re-think Europe.” The Christian Chronicle. 2007. accessed July 11, 2012. http://www.christianchronicle.org/article788~’Post-Christian’_no_more%3F_Churches_rethink_Europe

Marthaler, Bernard. The Creed. New London, CT: Twenty-Third Publications. 2007.

Nathan, Rich. “Disciplining and Restoring Fallen Leaders.” Presentation, Vineyard Columbus, Columbus, OH, July 8-9, 2012. http://vineyardcolumbus.org/watch-and-listen/derailed-what-causes-people-to-fail/disciplining-and-restoring-fallen-leaders/

“Paul McGennis.” Sexual Abuse Scandal in the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin. Wikipedia. accessed July 12, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_abuse_scandal_in_the_Catholic_archdiocese_of_Dublin

Why I am stepping away from live music…

For over 15 years I have been playing music. When I first learned to play guitar it was only because I wanted to worship. Shortly after I learned guitar I was approached to play bass in a band, and quickly picked up that as well. As time went on I continued to play in various bands outside of the church, and took to writing my own songs as well.

In the church I played with worship teams, for small groups and other random things. Inside the church I’ve always loved playing music and working on the technical side of things. I have been running live sound longer than I’ve actually been playing music.

Outside the church, playing with bands over the years has been taxing. Aside from being hurt by constant disrespect, I lost the joy of playing music. I never wanted music to be a job. I never wanted to hate what I did. Plainly stated; playing wasn’t enjoyable for me anymore. I haven’t written a song for just over a year. My last live show at the end of March was in fact my last live solo show for a while.

It’s time for me to refocus on why I learned to play in the first place. It’s time to worship.
 

A defectu nervi - A failure of nerve.

Your Love Never Fails Me. 

One of my favorite Theologians and philosophers, Søren Kierkegaard seemed to differ greatly from the majority of the Christian world on one thing. Community. It is a topic I have written about before on many occasions. In part because I don’t quite understand community. How volatile a group of people who supposedly love each other can be. Community is like a C4 explosive waiting for the charge. It can be fine as long as no one upsets the delicate balance that hangs over it. Once someone hits the charge though, everything explodes. Kierkegaard seemed to see this and come to his own understanding. He spoke in terms of a personal relationship with Jesus. In terms of outside personal relationships, Kierkegaard’s view was much different as can be seen in one of his own journal entries:

I have never confided in anyone. By being an author I have in a sense made the public my confidant. But in respect of my relation to the public I must, once again, make posterity my confidant. The same people who are there to laugh at one cannot very well be made one’s confidant…

Kierkegaard would shudder at today’s “Social Network”. He sat with the academics, but rarely said a word. His notions came in the form of his writings, which can be controversial at best. He wrote pseudonymously for that very reason.

Søren Kierkegaard shunned community so much he even ended his own engagement prematurely. He was said to never have loved another woman but was so fearful of failure in the relationship, he failed it before it even bloomed. His love for Regine Olsen was such that upon his death in 1855, he left his former love his possessions. Olsen, had of course moved on and married, but Kierkegaard poured his remaining love into his only relationship. That of Jesus Christ.

Kierkegaard had little love for the church as a community as well. His early works included De omnibus dubitandum est or Everything Must Be Doubted. Of course, even the authorship was in doubt because of Kierkegaard’s strict adherence to the use of pseudonyms. His work, Begrebet Angest or The Concept of Anxiety addresses the idea of fear. Fear that we as humans create ourselves. We create this fear because in all things we have two main choices; we can throw ourselves into that which we fear, or we can avoid it all together. When we throw ourselves into that which we fear we are faced with additional fears. When we avoid that which we fear our fear of failure has taken over and regret then reigns supreme. Much like in the case of Kierkegaard and his broken engagement. 

Fear is a tool of the enemy. Satan wants nothing more than for human beings to be in a constant state of angst regarding life’s many decisions, especially in regards to being in community and relationships. In C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters we find a great quote regarding this: 

“Tortured fear and stupid confidence are both desirable states of mind.”

In this sense, I fear that Kierkegaard failed. His fear overwhelmed him so much that the enemy won. He still had a relationship with God. He continued write and live for Christ, but in all aspects, he did so alone. Which is a sad existence, and not one that God desires for his people.  Kierkegaard also seemingly failed in following much of his own writings. In his manuscript Either/Or,  he argues Hegel’s philosophy on Logic, which also points to a Freewill/Pre-Destined idea. We have a personal responsibility to make choices based on our beliefs. God, being outside of our human concept of time, already knows the choice we will make, therefore, his will is already done, before we have ever made a choice. We will never make a choice that God did not know we would make. When we choose to follow God, our choices in life should reflect that, first and foremost. If we are living in close Christian community, our community is meant to keep us accountable in those choices.  

Kierkegaard’s life stands in stark contrast to the ideals that Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts forth in his short work Life Together which outlines the Christian Community’s path to God. Together. So what is a Christian to do then? Live in community? Or reject community knowing that humanity is filled with failures?

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” - Matthew 26:26-29

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”  - Mark 14:22-25

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. - Luke 22:17-20

Communion - accipite et dividite inter vos - Take this and divide it among you. Hours later Christ’s body was broken for the entire Christian community. Therefore, while a relationship with Christ happens on a very personal level and must be an individual, (not inherent) choice, Christian community happens with the body of Christ. Our own relationship with Christ will always be our own, but we can live outwardly while we live inwardly. That is not an Either/Or issue, it is a Both/And, much of our Christian walk revolves around the idea of Both/And.

While it is true, God’s love Never fails, we can, and do fail. We constantly fail each other, and what we choose not to see is that we fail in our commitment to Christ as well as in our commitment to community. When we think of Community, we must remember the kind words once shared to myself: “Do you feel like a failure? A loser? Good. You’re right where you need to be. Jesus loves losers.” Even when we are failures, we are faced with a love that never fails.

Just when you have none left.

Faith that is. Faith is a difficult thing to grasp. It is defined as this:

Complete trust of confidence in something or someone.

Faith is putting our trust in something that we cannot see. While we get tangible results, many times we still can’t see what we want to believe in.

Sarah couldn’t see how she would be blessed with a child in Genesis 16 and 17. She laughed it off. Abraham had so little faith that he went around God and got his servant pregnant. This may point to Abraham having little faith in his wife’s ability to carry a child as well.

Even after taking things into his own hands Abraham is blessed with a son. Then he is asked to sacrifice his son to God. His blessing. Twice God pushes Abraham to the last minute. But, God is faithful. The sacrificial ram comes to take Isaac’s place. 

The question is, can you wait on God until the last minute? When the clock has almost struck midnight, will you be scrambling to make things work on your own, or will you put it all into God’s hands and wait? While we can contribute little, God can do all things.

What have I?

Literally nothing. I have nothing to bring. Like the shepherds at Jesus’ birth. I come with nothing, to stand in awe of the Holy one.

I don’t have anything, but yet He gave me his everything.

Jesus lived his life knowing that it was forfeit. Knowing this, he still lived, he still loved and he still gave.
“And he said, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” - Luke 9:22 

Simeon knew it. 
“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” - Luke 2:34b-35

I have been rejected. 

Jesus knows rejection. 
“Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” - Mark 14:72b

“But he [Peter] denied it. ‘I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,’ he said, and went out into the entryway.” - Mark 14:68

Jesus knows sacrificial love.

I bring nothing, but yet he still gives his all. On the cross, rejected, humiliated, stripped of all humanity. All for me. 

What can I bring? What can I give? Nothing that would be adequate of the gift he gave. Yet, he still takes me just as I am. 

It isn’t a fair trade. I know it. I feel ashamed that he gives so much and I give so little.
“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ 

Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ he said to them. ‘Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.’” - Mark 14:22-24

So, I am pretty sure that this morning’s storm was Jupiter’s response to the Roman celebration of the Ides of March.

Seriously. When I walked out to my car this morning the streets were bone dry, but lightning was streaking across the sky with fury. 

March 15 is, in Roman tradition, dedicated to Mars, the God of war, who the Romans celebrated far higher than Jupiter, the king of the Gods. After Augustus dedicated the Temple of Mars Ultor  in 2 B.C.E. I am guessing things just got awkward between Rome and Jupiter. Kinda like having your boyfriend start moving in while your husband still lives with you.  Also given the fact that America celebrates war just as much as the Romans did, I am guessing, Jupiter is still a little miffed. Add to that the fact that our national symbol is the bald eagle, which is the same symbol that the Romans carried into battle in the form of the Aquila, or the Eagle Standard. They were such treasured artifacts that missing Standards have become the stories of legend. Clearly we’ve built this country on mythology.

Of course before I crawled in bed last night I sat on the porch looking out at the clear sky with my four year old daughter. I pointed out the brightly shining Jupiter and Venus and told Lily the story of both Roman gods. While I don’t celebrate polytheism, I do see the value in passing on mythology. Obviously the Romans did too, since their gods are borrowed straight from the Greek pantheon.

So, I guess if you’re the celebratory type, here’s to you Mars… This war’s for you.

Can biblical scripture, after years of being edited and reworded, after hundreds of different versions and languages of the bible, be accurate? While Martin Luther shared the view that every Christian has the ability to interpret scripture, it is my belief that everyone, regardless of their religious beliefs, can interpret scripture. The issue of interpretation does not lie in who is interpreting, but in how the scripture is interpreted. For example, if I were to overhear a conversation between to people where the statement was made that “I have a lot of friends”. Had I only heard that statement I would make the assessment that the person who said that was arrogant. In truth I only heard part of the conversation, thus I made an assessment only knowing part of the story. The truth is that the conversation was about skiing and the statement being made was “I have a lot of friends who don’t know how to ski.” Therefore, in my interpretation I have taken the speaker’s words out of context and put my own meaning on them, pointing the conversation on friendship rather than skiing. It is in this way that we come to such varied arguments surrounding the interpretation of scripture. Scriptural understanding is purely at the discretion of the person interpreting the message. 

The thirteen Pauline Epistles throughout the New Testament would be an excellent case study in interpreting scripture. In understanding and interpreting Paul’s letters, we must first understand many other things. Initially, we must understand and know the author. One could read Mein Kampf with no knowledge of who Adolf Hitler was and believe, with conviction, that he was an eloquent politician with excellent ideals. Yet when we read Hitler with the knowledge of who he was, we read it with a completely different point of view. Paul was, before his conversion on the road to Damascus,

 (New International Version, Acts 9) a zealous Pharisee who spent his time persecuting Jewish Christians. At the time of his conversion Paul was, as many Pharisees were, a staunch believer in Hebrew laws, viewing them with very literal interpretation. Thus it should be surprising that in some of Paul’s letters he firmly rejects the law (Gal. 3) and rather focuses on spreading the message of the Gospel at any cost. After we have looked at the author, we need to look who the message was meant for. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians would not have been relevant to the Galatians. Corinth, at the time of Paul’s letters, was the hotbed of prostitution, and immorality while the Galatians followed strict Jewish laws and customs.  It would be comparable to writing a letter today to a church in the Bible belt of the Midwest and a second letter to the church in Los Angeles. The cultures, politics and people are (and were) polar opposites, hence the fact that the letters would read completely different.

It is with these views that I argue in favor of Luther’s view that every believer has the ability to interpret scripture, yet I take that statement even further, anyone, regardless of their religious views can interpret scripture. The true question becomes can that individual understand what they are interpreting. It is my opinion that if you do not interpret with the knowledge of who, or what, the letter was meant for, and the intentions of the author, then we cannot accurately understand that which we are saying. It would be like trying to preform a surgery with no formal training or knowledge of the human body. It is also through this ignorance of Biblical understanding that many Christians, today and throughout history, fail in the message of the gospel. They have become too caught up in interpreting the scriptures to fit their needs rather than placing emphasis on true interpretation. 

See: 

Stewart, Cynthia. The Catholic Church; A Brief Popular History. Winona, MN: Anselm Academic, 2008. Print

Thinline Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996. Print 

The New Student Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1991. Print 

As children most of us are taught the difference between right and wrong, good an evil. We are taught that lying is bad, that we shouldn’t hurt others, that we shouldn’t take from others what is theirs. Yet as we grow older, the sin nature inside us begins to take over. We begin to justify the small things, and then the bigger things, until some could even rationalize their way out of murder if needed. We all sin, yet, the effect is felt so differently for each individual. For some lying can lead to a small sense of guilt, easily forgotten. While for others, lying can end in a debilitating sense of helplessness and self deprecation. How can the same sin lead to such varying results? Is it the person, or the sin?

  One person’s sin, isn’t always their own. While that individual may take ownership of their sin, it rarely effects only themselves. More to the point, the greatest effect of sin is rarely felt by the sinner. This is something we can clearly see from the inception of sin in Genesis 3 and then throughout the Bible. Adam and Eve sinned, yet all of humanity must suffer the effects of their sin. For women, painful childbirth became their punishment. For man, because of Adam’s sin, we are doomed to work hard to cultivate the Earth for food and provision.  

We see an even better picture of the effect of one persons’ sin on others with King David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11. After watching Bathsheba bathe, King David calls for, and then sleeps with her. This is done with the full knowledge that Bathsheba is married. When Bathsheba sends word to the King that she is pregnant, King David sends for her husband Uriah and unsuccessfully tries to get him to sleep with Bathsheba to cover his own sin. Because Uriah will not sleep with his wife during the war, King David not only sends him back to the fight, but to the front line as well. King David also issues an order for the army to fall back and leave Uriah to be struck down. King David in essence, issued orders for the death of an innocent man to cover up his own sin. Who suffered from this sin the most, King David? No, Bathsheba, because David watched her bathe, wanted her as his own, was eventually impregnated, and finally lost her husband suffered the greatest.

Who suffers the greatest in an abusive relationship, the abuser or the abused? Does the alcoholic suffer more than the family watching their life being torn apart? Does the murderer truly feel the effects of his sin the way the family of the murdered does? 

 The greatest, most dramatic picture of sin, both inwardly, and outwardly, would be to compare it to a crystal methane addict. The more an individual uses the drug, the more they need it. Yet the more they use it, the more immune they become to the effects of it. Addicts chase an ultimate high that can never be achieved. As we sin, we do the same thing. We may steal once, feeling a small amount of remorse, and then a second and third time, feeling less and less, until we, the sinner, cannot feel the effect of our sin. On the other hand, those around us feel and see, those effects more greatly with each sin. 

It is with the picture of a Meth addict that we cannot only compare a sinner’s reaction to sin, but we can see what sin looks like. As we chase that high, we physically tear ourselves apart.  For the alcoholic, it may be liver disease. For the shopaholic, an unmountable debt. For the adulterer, failed relationship after failed relationship, ultimately leading to depression. It may be subtle, but over time the sinner, all of us, begin to tear ourselves apart both physically and mentally just to find that one unattainable high.