Feast of Tabernacles 2014

Merry Tabernacles brethren!

Yup, it's that time of year when devotees of what is often called 'Armstrongism' pack up their bags, the kids and their hard-earned "second tithe" and head off to a designated festival site for the Feast of Tabernacles.

A week of sermons, hymns, social events and those all-important special offerings.

For some reason - hard to imagine what it is - Mormons tend to be curious about other fringe Christian groups. No wonder then that the Deseret News is covering the phenomena.

But, digging slightly deeper, isn't that a familiar by-line? Mark Kellner. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Mark a former AC graduate? Last time I heard, Mark had decamped to the Seventh-day Adventist Church where he has a position in church media.

Kellner mainly focuses on spokesperson Paul Eddington and the UCG (United Church of God) splinter, but also mentions Rod Meredith and the LCG (Living Church of God) along with a couple of more mainstream groups.

It's a positive, respectful piece, so there's no real critique. Gary Leonard, however, reminds us of the tribalism of the various FOT-observing sects.

Two of the COG's most loyal and faithful churches claim to be the final repository of all things correctly biblical and believe they alone are God's most beloved church organization in this dispensation, are showing to the rest of the COG's how much they are NOT brotherly in their deeds and actions.  Two different Church of God's are meeting in the same location in the Philippines. Then add to that mess a third non-COG group that is also meeting there for their version of the Feast of Tabernacles.   It could get any more messy than this! Both of these splinter personality cults are meeting in the Philippines in the SAME complex, but in different rooms.  They have been encouraging to NOT attend with the other group...

Several other cities around the world will be hosting simultaneous COG Feast sites. None of these will gather in fellowship or even picnic together because of their shared heritage.  Bitterness, intrigue and a false facade of superiority is the preferred route of presenting their public face.  When truth only resides in the particular group it would be spiritual damaging and dangerous to let members make up their own minds as to whom they fellowship with.

I have some fond memories of the FOT in days gone by, and wish those observing the 2014 festival an enjoyable time. Just remember not to check in your brain as you enter services.

Calvin's Ghetto

Spotted today in the suburbs. The local Reformed Church proudly proclaims its ignorance of science.

Reformed Christians come in two main varieties. Presbyterians  are the most common in these parts, their Calvinism being strained through a Scottish sieve. Generally these folk are relatively innocuous, though the New Zealand church is increasingly taking on a more conservative position as those with 'get up and go' get up and go. Recent reversals on social issues indicate an ageing membership corralled by Rotarians and National Party electorate committee members.

The Reformed Churches of NZ seem to provide a safe haven for strict Calvinists, home-schoolers, and members of the white South African diaspora.

Though the word 'debate' is used on the sign, I doubt whether there'll be anyone there to defend a non-creationist perspective. Notable too is that there is no speaker's name provided. I guess they'll dredge up one of the regular guys on the apologetics circuit. Whoever it is will be preaching to the choir; it's hard to imagine anyone other than the already convinced turning up. This is one battle that is well and truly lost.

Except in intellectual ghettoes like this.

Fear Religion

Following up from an earlier post, it's no surprise that the second part of Creationist or Evolutionist appears in this week's Waiuku Post. It's a rambling affair that concludes with one of those dark threats fanatics make when their arguments are weak.

"Every man and woman in the world is either a creationist or an evolutionist."

Oh really?

"Evolution is infidelity; it is death. Creation; is fidelity, Christianity; this is real life. Choose Creation, Christianity, and Life, that you may live."

No pressure...

Sophisticated readers (anyone capable of seeing shades of grey) who find this way over the top may object but, alas, this caricature is what is too often promoted - and accepted - as the Christian consensus. And it's not as though anyone with a more balanced perspective is speaking out. No wonder the churches are dying. Recently Waiuku's only Anglican church closed its doors, selling off the fixtures (I watched as pews were loaded onto the back of a truck). On the opposite side of the road a historic Methodist church has been rebranded as a Shinto shrine. I doubt too many of those congregants would have agreed with dogmatic fundamentalist statements like those quoted, but stupidity sticks by association.

The problem is that nobody speaks for Christianity. No pope or bishop, evangelist, elder or moderator represents any agreed position. So, in effect, everybody speaks for Christianity, and the result is a confused cacophony where the loudest, dopiest voices attract the most attention.

This same issue of the Post features a letter from a local atheist taking the earlier Maranatha ad to task. Fair enough I guess. But what would be really helpful - a letter from a Christian strongly expressing a dissenting view from the Maranatha one - is of course absent. 

And therein lies half the problem.

Waiuku is of course a small town that most people have never heard of, but the issues there are a microcosm of those being fought over in many places in many nations. In the Christian camp the idiots are winning, and the consequent slide into irrelevance now seems unstoppable.

A Bible for all Seasons and Reasons

I wandered through the local Christian book store this morning and paused - as I usually do in that establishment - to see what Bible translations and editions they had in stock. One caught my eye called the "Poverty and Justice Bible." It uses they dubious CEB translation but, thought I to myself, at least it seems to be have a more worthwhile focus than the usual gaggle of self-indulgently themed Bibles.

A quick flick through revealed that someone - presumably several someones - had gone through the text with a red highlighter in the pre-publishing stage. If it said something commendable it got the treatment.

I respect the intent of the editors who, to give them the benefit of the doubt, surely see this as more than another cynical marketing ploy to get a bigger slice of the lucrative Bible-buying market. If you are going to buy a Bible, why not get one pre-marked with meritorious admonitions to do good unto others. You could certainly do far worse.

Then again, you could go through the Good Book armed with a highlighter and far less praiseworthy intentions. Is a "Genocide and Violence Bible" conceivable? Sadly, yes. In fact it would be no great effort to do so. In this vast collection of ancient texts you can always cherry pick your way to show almost anything. For too many preachers the Bible functions as a smorgasbord of potential proof texts. The effect is that the scriptures merely function as a kind of sophisticated sock puppet.

So I left the book on the shelf. I hope whoever ends up buying it will indeed be inspired in the pursuit for justice and compassion. But the quest for a fairer, better world for all needs little validation from the Bible. As history shows us in distressing detail, it is Bible-readers who all too often simply get in the way.

Shuck and Jive

John Shuck is again blogging on Shuck and Jive. That's great. Moreover his Religion for Life podcast - available free on iTunes - has some stimulating recent interviews: Joseph Tyson and Dennis Smith both appeared in July, for example, on their paradigm challenging book Acts and Christian Beginnings.

John is a progressive Presbyterian minister in Tennessee. Back in July he posted a brief teaser on Sir Lloyd Geering's new book Reimagining God: The Faith Journey of a Modern Heretic, which is due out shortly. This promises to be a great read, and there's a free PDF sample available here. I confess to being a huge fan of Geering, a sentiment not much shared by conservative Christians. Read his books and you'll understand why!

Available on Amazon: Reimagining God

Paul: The Measure of the Man

There has been an awful lot of rubbish written about Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. Apologists wax eloquent about his theological genius and depth of insight into the human condition. Augustine, Luther and other worthies have cast their own mantle over his shoulders in order to convince lesser mortals that it is in fact Paul's mantle that covers theirs. Countless tomes have been written, gallons of ink spilled, in a thousand attempts to make sense of the great man's letters.

Spiritual depth and genius, however, are perhaps not the most obvious explanations for Paul's "impenetrability". After all, as it's clear from his own writings, the apostle was a cantankerous old coot. Perhaps he was just incoherent, much like a fickle politician on the hustings, making up policy according to whim. It certainly has been suggested.

Or perhaps there was method in his madness, though not of a particularly flattering variety. Enter Gerd Lüdemann.

Gerd Lüdemann

Lüdemann has, I think, got the measure of Paul, and he's not at all intimidated. Being a German professor, he's written some typically dense studies on the apostle that don't exactly make for light reading, especially for the non-specialist. But in his latest slim volume for Polebridge Press, The Earliest Christian Text, he gets straight to the point.

We encounter in Paul a tremendous degree of self-consciousness and self-importance; his emphatic statement that he was superior to many of his contemporaries in observing the law is not only a reflection of his Pharisaic sense of superiority, but also has a basis in his character...

It comes as no surprise that Paul dominated his communities by insisting on his wishes and authority and requiring the compliance of others. His claims of apostolic authority reinforced his sense of infallibility and often led him to bully any who disagreed. As one would expect, he thus gained devoted followers among docile members but also repelled many who were not easily swayed.

Ouch!

More comments on The Earliest Christian Text later.

Available on Amazon: The Earliest Christian Text

Concentrated Ignorance in Print

Each week the Waiuku Post arrives in the mailbox. It's a free community newspaper with the usual features you'd expect in a give-away tabloid. And every week there's a large ad from a group promoting the maranatha.kiwi.nz website.

This week there's a tiresomely long article called "Creationist or Evolutionist, Part 1." Even a quick skim through would raise the hackles of many. Concentrated ignorance in print. Just look at the first paragraph.

We are going to cover the subject of evolution. First of all, I will read to you what evolution is; then as we follow along, you can see whether or not you are an evolutionist. These statements are all copied from a treatise on evolution written by one of the chief evolutionists; therefore, they are all correct, so far as they go, as definitions.

First, I don't know anyone who actually calls themselves an "evolutionist." It's usually just a pejorative label used by fundamentalists. There are lots of people who accept the concept of evolution, just like there are lots of people who accept the idea that the earth goes around the sun, but nobody goes around proclaiming themselves a "heliocentrist."

Second, what the heck is a "chief evolutionist"? Is there some kind of masonic hierarchy?

Third, who is this "chief evolutionist" being quoted? No name, no bibliography, just an anonymous quote. Sloppy.

Finally, just what kind of qualifications does the writer hold in order to lecture readers of the Post? None are provided. In other words... a dilettante.

Anyway, I decided to check out their website to see who exactly these turkeys are. All you find there is two paragraphs of blather. The links page however has lots of Seventh-day Adventist referrals (bibleinfo.com, 3abn.org, sabbathtruth.com and more), a messianic link and - number 4 on the list... wait for it... ucg.org

It figures.