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> What Are You Asking? -December 2005
 


Tom Ehrich
Tom Ehrich

 
   

What are You asking?

Pastor, Author and Speaker Tom Ehrich responds to
your questions about God, faith and
living spiritually

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DECEMBER 2005


It is pretty logical to me that the God who created the heavens and the earth would have the most popular book in the world, and whoever translated or physically wrote the word were believers themselves and were asked by God to do so. Since there is no one who can oppose him, that eliminates the possibility of their changing the word to suit themselves. I am still learning and studying the bible, so have not found any scripture to support my ideas. Can you give me some help?

Faith is largely an intuitive process, not an adding up of proofs, data and certainties. In faith, we respond to God's love and presence. The Bible was written over many centuries by men and women who had been touched by God's presence. They looked at actual events, like the conquest of Canaan and the exile in Babylon, and tried to understand God's purpose and activities in those events. They looked at the life of their faith community and tried to understand what God wanted them to believe and how God wanted them to behave, worship and serve. They imagined the time before recorded history and pictured God walking in a garden with the first man and woman. They sang the songs of faith and enumerated what they considered to be God's laws and commandments for the Hebrew tribe. They shared important stories about King David and Jesus of Nazareth. They wrote about the powerful impact that Jesus had on their lives and what that meant about God's purposes going forward.

The Bible, in other words, contains many writings about God. They don't agree with each other, but taken as a whole, they reveal the nature of God and how God has changed human history.

Faith generally starts in one's own experience—a moment of grace, for example —and then turns to Scripture for some deeper understanding of it. Can any of this proved? I don't think proof is the point. The point is to help you experience God and to rethink how you live your life.

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What are the exact biblical views on pornography and strip clubs? Though he does not go to them since we’ve been married, my husband still thinks there is nothing really wrong with going to a strip club. I know such behavior is wrong not only because he is married, but because it is unholy. How can I help him see this?

To the best of my knowledge, Scripture doesn't deal directly with pornography, as such. (Pornography being defined as depictions of sex intended to cause sexual arousal.) The usual Biblical argument against pornography is that God intended sex to be part of marriage for the purpose of procreation, and anything other than that is sinful. (However, that view of sex is contested by many Christians.)

In general, the Bible is far less concerned with sexuality than we seem to be in our age. The ancient Hebrews were concerned about stability within the tribe, orderly transfer of heredity and property, and respect for each other's property. Sexuality touched on those concerns, but wasn't itself the primary concern. Thus, adultery was a violation of another man's property (as they saw wives in that era). Marriage outside the tribe confused issues of ethnic identity.

Jesus didn't deal directly with pornography, but he did something radical that touches on the issue: he treated women as equals, as fully deserving of a place at the table, as no longer in the traditional one-down position to men, and therefore, by extension, not as a man's property. By its nature, pornography objectifies a person (usually the woman in the scene) and sees her as existing for the man's enjoyment, in a sense as his property. Jesus' treatment of women would contradict such behavior, as would his commandment to love one another (in the Biblical sense of orienting one's will for the good of the other, as opposed to lust.)

It seems to me that, rather than seek an external authority for your views, you can ask your husband to respect your values, whether or not he agrees with them. In a marriage, we make a commitment to take the other's needs, values and beliefs into consideration and, when we disagree, to find middle ground.

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What is the common thought amongst theologians on what/whom caused the death of Ananias and Sapphira?

I am not aware of any significant theological discussion about the death of Ananias and his wife Sapphira for withholding a portion of a donation to the Christian community. (Acts 5.1-11) One resource that I consulted termed their death a “punitive miracle,” that is, an event that cannot be explained except as divine punishment for their deceitful behavior. The Book of Acts doesn't explain their death, except to say that each “fell down and died” after Peter exposed their dishonesty.

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I have prayed for a husband and life-long partner who will be good to me and my child. I don’t know if I am asking for the right thing. I don’t seem to get any answers to my prayers. Am I praying wrong? I know you’re supposed to be secure with yourself before you can be happy with anyone else. How do you do this? And, since I seem to not get any answers, how can I keep from being frustrated with God and losing faith that I will ever be married?

My suggestion would be to start with the understanding that God loves you and wants the best for you. Your ability to perceive God's answer to your prayers is inevitably limited. The starting point, therefore, isn't proof by perceptible answers, but a decision to believe.

The next step, it seems to me, is to come to a fresh understanding of yourself as God sees you. Not as someone's partner, but as a person in her own right and a mother. Through prayer, self-examination and perhaps the help of a wise pastor, you can see yourself as God sees you. That might or might not be as someone's partner.

If it is God's desire that you move into a partnership, then self-awareness and a healthy regard for yourself will be critical factors. If God has another desire for you, then God will show you that alternative path. The point, I think, is to seek God's guidance, not to persist in a script of your choosing.

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"Love your neighbor as yourself." Do you see or know of a connection between Christ's command and U.S. citizens' duty in citizenship?

Jesus' summary of the Law—Love God, love your neighbor—seems an excellent starting point for citizenship.

Love of God needs to take into account differences of religion, of course, but the call to acknowledge a “higher power,” as some put it, seems wise for us all. The call to love our neighbor is critical to any healthy community. It is difficult to imagine responsible citizenship that isn't grounded in love of neighbor.

Without that love, we cannot build community, we cannot trust our civic institutions, we cannot sustain peace and harmony, and we are sure to stray from the path of justice. With love of neighbor as our foundation, we can endure any hardship, tackle any challenge, and work together for the good of the commonweal.

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I am a member of a local Methodist church. I recently began attending a supportive class at an Episcopal church following my divorce. I have come to appreciate the beauty of the services at the there. Could you explain to me the differences and similarities between the two denominations?

I can try. Both Methodism and Anglicanism were born in England. Both are expressions of Reformation Protestantism. The Church of England came first, when King Henry VIII broke away from Rome's authority and established a new national church, under the Crown's authority, to serve the English. Archbishop Thomas Cranmer supported the King, joined his new effort, and led the writing of a new worship manual called the Book of Common Prayer. It combined several Roman Catholic manuals and used the common tongue, rather than Latin. The Bible was used in English translation, as well. Warfare between Catholics and Protestants dominated British history for many years.

In the 18th Century, a movement that came to be called “Methodism” began within the Church of England, led by discontented Anglican priests who believed the Church of England had become corrupt, effete, and too focused on the needs of the aristocracy. Methodism cast its lot with the working class, especially with the new industrial poor. Worship was simplified, new hymns were written, certain forms of abstinence became mandatory, and styles such as clergy vestments became less extravagant.

Both movements came to the American colonies and eventually became competing denominations within a religious environment that now has more than 300 separate denominations. As I perceive it, Methodist worship uses many prayers from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer and, depending on the tastes of the local parish, can seem remarkably similar to “low church” Anglican worship. Some Methodist congregations make more of remaining simple and non-liturgical (not guided by standard liturgical forms). Some Episcopal parishes move in the opposite direction with “high church” styles such as incense.

For a time, the socioeconomic profiles of Methodists and Episcopalians seemed different. The old saw was that Methodist missionaries went west first and on horseback, and that Episcopal missionaries came later by Pullman car. Probably never true, but symptomatic of perceived differences. For many years now, however, the two denominations have seemed indistinguishable in terms of political views, socioeconomic profiles, location and theology. People seem to flow easily back and forth between the two denominations. The United Methodist Church is substantially larger than the Episcopal Church, equally open to certain expressions of modernism such as women in leadership, but perhaps not as far along in affirming gays and lesbians in leadership.

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It has been one year since my husband and I divorced. We were married 10 years, and have two children (7 and 14). How do I explain the divorce to the children as they mature? In Matthew, Jesus specifically prohibits divorce except in cases of adultery. If I am to live the life of a true believer, must I continue working and praying for a reconciliation? There were no affairs on either side. A dear friend of mine, while very supportive, has told me that "God can heal any marriage between two Christians." What is your response?

I think your children need to hear three lessons from you and your former husband. First, marriages do fail, for a variety of reasons, but not because the children were at fault. Second, it is possible for divorced persons to behave in an honorable and civil manner toward each other, and to continue loving their children, even if they can no longer love each other. Third, it will be possible for your children to form healthy and lifelong marriages, when their time comes. They need to hear those lessons, and to see them acted out, now, as well as later.

Neither a Gospel prohibition of divorce nor a Church rule against divorce can make a marriage healthy and enduring. It isn't that easy. Marriage takes significant work and sacrifice by both parties. When that work isn't done, the marriage is likely to fail. The legality of divorce simply acknowledges what has already happened. Should estrangement have happened? No, I doubt any couple starts a marriage with the intention of ending it in divorce. But estrangement does happen. Faithful people in all Christian traditions, including those that prohibit divorce, do get divorced, do suffer from it, do get on with new lives, and, in many cases, do marry again and often with wonderful success.

Sure, God can heal any marriage. But both husband and wife must want that healing and do the difficult work of allowing healing to occur. God won't compel them.

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Can you tell me why God created different races and cultures?

I believe the current theory of evolution is that humankind is descended from a single African original, and that as humans spread to other parts of the world, a variety of influences such as weather and diet led the original species to subdivide into different races. Those peoples, in turn, lived in a variety of ways— hunter, gatherer, fisher, farmer, artisan, warrior, artist, and eventually town-dweller, city-dweller, explorer, ruler—and each of those ways of living produced different cultures. That development of cultures continues in different forms, such as the changing nature of childhood in developed countries in just the past century, changing roles of women, and the emergence of a long-lived period of non-work known as retirement.

The Old Testament put these realities into stories like the Tower of Babel, from which came multiplicity of languages, and stories explaining how the sons of the patriarchs produced different tribes and races. Ancient Israel looked for some divine order in that development, in which, for example, the sons of Isaac would be considered closer to God's heart than the sons of his brother Ishmael. The Christian era, on the other hand, ought to take its cue from the ways Jesus responded to such fundamental differences, which was to ignore them and to focus instead on our common humanity.

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I recently went to the cemetery. Most of my family is buried there. I rarely go but since my grandmother went, and my mother is buried there, I went too. I have strong faith in God that when we die, we pass over to where we are destined to be. I don't believe that anyone is in a cemetery—the soul has passed on. Is it really necessary to visit the cemetery?

Cemeteries and other burial places serve two purposes. First, they demonstrate our respect for a person after their death. Rather than just discard human remains, we inter them in a special place. We mark the moment with prayer. In the process, we honor the life that has culminated in this death, and we give tender care to those left behind.

Second, burial places give us somewhere to go to “show our respects,” as the saying goes. That means saying further prayer, continuing our grief, giving thanks for blessings received, and celebrating life. It isn't necessary to do that work in a cemetery. It can be done anywhere. But cemeteries usually have a serenity that brings our prayer, grieving and remembering to the surface.

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I was born and raised a Catholic. Lately, I have been exploring the “born again” Christian way. Can you explain the difference between the two? The born again seems to push, push, push. If Catholics are Christian-based, what is the separation between them?

You are asking two questions, I think. One is: what makes one Christian tradition different from another? The other is: why do we let those differences matter so much?

As for the first question, Roman Catholicism is a continuing expression of the earliest Christian communities. It values apostolic authority, a three-level hierarchy of ordained ministries, the unique role of the Virgin Mary, standardized sacramental liturgies, infant baptism, monastic orders, saints as intermediaries and guides to faith, and tradition-based teaching.

Born-again communities arose from a time when some Christians felt it necessary to break with Rome's continuing expressions because, in their opinion, Roman practices had become corrupt. These reformed traditions tend to be more independent of any external ecclesiastical authority. They form around a single pastor, or possibly a senior pastor and staff. They emphasize Biblical teaching, baptism at an older age, variety in worship, the direct impact of the Holy Spirit, and life-transforming experiences known as conversion or being saved.

In my opinion, those are differences primarily of style and emphasis, and they don't make either tradition uniquely correct or righteous. Why, then, do partisans for each tradition war so violently against each other? Why can't they just coexist?

The answers, sad to say, usually have to do with those standard human failings: power, wealth and pride. Who gets the king's ear? Who controls property? Whose doctrines control lives? Who claims the satisfaction of being right, superior, uniquely favored by God?

Wisdom lies in accepting diversity, even celebrating diversity and learning from it. I encourage you to seek wisdom, not power, wealth or bragging rights.

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To learn more about Tom Ehrich’s writings, visit www.onajourney.org.
 


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