The Lord's Prayer: Some Observations

The Lord’s prayer stands as the most important prayer in the West. In Matthew Jesus states that we should not pray “as the Gentile, because they think that in their many words they will be heard.” In Luke, Jesus seems to encourage us to pray with an annoying persistence. The change in context does not change the meaning, but gives depth and texture to how we ought to present our requests to God.

Matthew

Matthew situates the prayer in a part of the Sermon of the Mount. Here Jesus focuses on our righteousness as we relate to God. First, Jesus states that when give, pray, fast, that we should do it in private. This theme runs throughout this section (Matt 6:1-18). Second, Jesus sums up the heart of the sermon by stating that we should store up our treasures in heaven (Matt 6:19-21) and give our concerns to God, who knows what we need anyway (Matt 6:25-34).

Here Jesus reiterates the fact that all good gifts come from God, we don’t have to manipulate him into providing for us. We need to exercise our faith and believe that he will provide for us when we need provision. We can live thankfully as we remember the times that he provided for us in the past.

Luke

Unlike Matthew, Luke omits the prayer from the Sermon (Luke 6:20-49). Luke places it later (Luke 11:2b-4). Here Jesus gives a parables that teaches us to ask for what we need with shameless persistence. The parable tells a story of a man, who is surprised by guests that stop by his house. He doesn't have anything to provide for these late night guests, so he goes to his neighbor. Jesus suggests that the neighbor will not want to provide food for his friend. After showing persistence, the neighbor finally gives the man bread (Luke 11:8). 

From a Western perspective, this seems to contradict what Matthew says--don’t pile up words to get God to do what we want. Yet in Luke, I imagine a man standing at the door knocking until the man gives him what he wants. The images are in conflict.

Luke describes the man as action without care of what others think of him, “ignoring convention.” In a first century Jewish context, it would have been offensive for the man not to offer his guests food after the journey. The only way that he can get the food he needs is to humble himself before his neighbor. He gets the bread by making himself a spectacle before his neighbor. The neighbor provides for him to save him from further embarrassment. 

We should approach God in the same way--realizing that everything we receive from him is based on sheer grace, not on anything within us.

Relating to God

On a surface level Matthew and Luke seem to draw two different pictures. Matthew says to avoid many words and believe in God. Luke says that we should demonstrate a shameless persistence in our prayer life. On a deeper level, these seem to be two sides of the same coin. Matthew focuses on how we should view God. He’s faithful; he will provide for us. Luke focuses on how we should present ourselves to God, as one who is contrite and dependent on God, realizing that there is nothing we can do to evoke his grace.

Gratitude, a Thanksgiving Reflection

Irony for today? An ad for gratitude.

Presumption permeates our current culture. We all feel like we are entitled to iPhones, cable TV, anything else that black Friday marketers highlight. Just below the surface of this is the feeling that we deserve it. The inverse, then, is that if we don’t get these things, then we feel wronged or betrayed. We didn't get what belonged to us. I’ve actually felt sorry for people that pull out their early 2000’s flip phone; this probably propels this sentiment in a negative way. Life begins to look like it isn’t fair.

The Christian story cuts against this idea. Paul tells the Philippians that he considers all that he has as something to thrown away. Paul is warning the Philippians against relying on anything other than Christ for salvation. You'll never hear a theological argument for the soteriological value of consumerism on Sunday morning. But it seems that more than not we place our lives in the hands of these things. And when they don’t come through we are either disappointed or angry. We definitely don’t feel Christian joy.

The opposite of this is gratitude.

Twelve steppers say that if you want to be successful in recovery, then you have to have an “attitude of gratitude.” This might sound like some type of platitude, but it summarizes the heart  any twelve step recovery program. It indicates that all that we have comes from someone or something bigger than ourselves, and that all we have is in spite of our best efforts. Gratitude is that emotion that results from the realization that despite ourselves we have received something wonderful. Whenever I begin to feel an entitlement-induced-depression, I make a list of the top five things for which I’m thankful.

It is one thing to realize that there is something bigger than ourselves, it's another to actually insert ourselves in the wider world. Giving back to those in need, true need, provides some significant insight. It puts our own life in perspective. When you help someone who doesn't know from where they will receive their next meal, it puts the delayed release date of iPhone 5 in perspective. It reminds us that God’s concern isn’t for my own accumulation of stuff, but for those who are in need.

When we begin to develop this attitude within our lives we’ll see that all good gifts come from the Father above. Similarly, the things in which we once boasted really get in the way of the gifts that God wants to give to us. Life really isn’t that fair; neither is grace.

How do you show gratitude? Even though it might not change your life circumstances, how does it alter your perspective?

Coke Zero--The Power of "And"

When I was a kid, I could only drink one coke a day, so I planned out when I would drink it, or else I would wait for a particularly busy day and sneak two. Once my metabolism slowed down, I learned to drink Diet Coke. It took a while to acquire the taste, but the thought of drinking all of the Coke I wanted was worth it. Pretty soon I became a Diet Coke fiend. Then Coca-Cola came out with Coke Zero--Real Coke taste without the calories. Now I ask waiters if they have Coke Zero. If they don't, I ask for water and glare hoping that they will report to the management the disappointment of another Coke Zero loving customer.

Just recently Coke Zero came out with a genius ad campaign playing off the the conjunction “and” which holds their tagline together. Why settle? You can have real Coke taste AND zero calories. What a deal!? The lead of the commercial loves the power of ‘and.’ He thinks about the times that he refused to settle. It starts at an early age when he upgrades his ice cream with sprinkles by saying “and.” He accepts a job with a great salary and negotiates stock options by simply saying “and.” He goes to bed with the store clerk who helps at the store by just saying “and” when she asks if she can assist him. 

The message is that you can get more out of life by just using the little conjunction. This idea of not settling but grabbing all that you can, really all that you can get resonates with our culture. The consumer mentality that we can never get enough, that we'll never be satisfied, that we ought to get what we deserve, resonates with the Coke Zero ‘and.’ Don’t become a victim of the tyranny of the ‘or.’

Coca-Cola has come a long way from a bunch of hippies on a hill singing about needing to teach the world a song. Before all we needed was a Coke and a smile. The message cuts against the grain of New Testament so much that its hard to think of a single text that addresses this mentality--many come to mind. James states that we don’t have what we ask for because we ask with wrong motives (James 4:1-3). Paul states that whatever he has gained, he counts as loss for the sake of gaining what’s truly important, being found in Christ (Phil 3:7-11). Jesus states that true gain comes from God (Matt 6:25-34). The New Testament provides a unified voice that we should focus on following Christ and seeking his kingdom. All else is futile.

So what if the and gets a little more. The little more will only take us further from where we need to be in Christ.

Green Exegesis

I just finished Richard Bauckham's book Living with other Creatures: Green Exegesis and Theology. Independent of that I stumbled upon a TED talk by Naomi Klein on the Western addiction to risk. The TED talk was about the environment, but its title was a little misleading--“Addicted to Risk.” Both Bauckham and Klein make a similar argument, but on wholly different grounds.

Bauckham’s work responds to an article that lays the blame of the current ecological crisis at the feet of the church. Bauckham responds that the real problem isn’t the church, but a modern approach to the Bible that views the world as a resource that needs to be exploited. Essentially Bauckham agrees with White, but claims its not the Bible that maintains that position. The problem is that we read the Bible in a culture that has taken on thought that the world is at our disposal.

On the other hand, Klein criticizes the prevalent western addiction to risk for our current ecological crisis. Our questions highlight some of the thinking: instead of asking how to keep the planet from getting hotter, we ask how hot can we get the planet before we have to do something different.

The responses that we have to ecological problems usually are high risk/high reward and usually executed without a lot of thought. Klein points to the idea of the junkshot, or the idea of shooting trash down a hole to stop a leak. This was an attempt of BP to stop the leak in the gulf. It didn’t work. It reminds me of a  German saying: “keep the ball low”--stay conservative.

Though Bauckham and Klein are coming from different perspectives, they both take a similar slant on ecological issues. They’re platform is to analyze the dominant cultural scripts at play in our culture and how they impact our behavior. In this case, the idea of consumerism is at work. We thrive on what we can consume. Bauckham’s point is that the biblical understanding of dominion in Gen 1-3 means that we ought to protect the environment, not exploit it. Klein argues that our addiction to risk and the belief that we have unlimited access to resources is the root of our approach to the environment with little regard for for the consequences. Both show how a dominant cultural narrative is challenged. Its interesting to see from both Bauckham and Klein.

Christianity calls us to something similar. Part of being a Christian is to look at the scripts that are at play within our own world and challenge them with the Christian narrative. Paul tells the Ephesians that as children of light they expose the the shameful things in the dark. This means that we have to understand our own Christianity, but also understand the culture in which we live and how our Christian belief challenges it.

Surviving Seminary: How to Read

Seminary Spoiler Alert: You will read a lot when you come to seminary. Like any graduate program reading plays a critical part of seminary. Students underestimate this necessity--everyone can read, right? But the ability to read well, and efficiently, can save you time in your coursework and many sleepless nights. Solomon says that the making of books there is no end; most seminary professors really try to put that statement to the test.

Historically, Christianity has always been a bookish religion centered around the Old and New Testament and the writings of the church fathers. Proclamation has always been a critical piece. Even Genesis indicates that God spoke the world into existence. Whether it is the Bible, an ancient sermon, a technical commentary being able to consume and comprehend large amounts of material will always be important for Christian workers. Our main job is understanding the Bible and communicating it to the world around us.

If you peruse the Dallas Theological Seminary schedule you'll see that most classes require students to read about three books roughly 200+ pages. An average course will have about 1,000 pages, which will be about 70 pages a week. This will vary upward or downward depending on the class or the week. This doesn't include reading you'll need to do for papers or projects. 

Here are some tips:

First, Tim Ferriss gives some good advice on how to increase the speed of your reading through the PX Project. Essentially speed readers have three goals: 1. decrease the number of fixations (or times that your eyes fix on a word) that you have on a line; 2. minimize back skipping or re-reading; and 3. increasing your peripheral vision so that you can read multiple words at a time. Essentially the best way to increase the speed of reading is to minimize the times that you have to reread a passage. When you begin this, you will want to monitor your speed to insure that it is increasing. I still monitor how fast I’m reading by checking how many pages per hour that I read. Standard speed reading classes will help students with reading strategies to increase the speed. 

Second, refuse to approach books in a standard manner, by beginning with page 1. The goal is to understand what the author is trying to say. A good author will summarize his argument at strategic parts of the book. Reading these points first can help you understand the entire book. Look for the thesis that the author is trying to make and note how he or she argues the case. Generally this will be in the introduction or conclusion of a chapter. This top-down approach is much more efficient than a chronological approach that most readers take. Even though professors may expect you to read the book in its entirety, to better comprehend a book you focusing on the thesis will help you read the rest of the author’s argument with more efficiency.

Third, find the best time of the day to read. Take time when you are the most alert to read. Keep a list of what you need (or would like to read) and keep at it. Don’t wait until a due date. This will keep your reading list manageable. If you find something that will be helpful for a paper then make a note and come back to it during that reserved reading time. Be consistent and make it a habit.

Fourth, take good notes that you can retrieve later. A good summary of a book will keep me from having to re-read a book. It also helps me retrieve old information when I need it for a different paper or class. Good notes will help you not only in later classes, but later in ministry when you need to put together a lesson or sermon.

Reading is a cognitive activity. Like anything else, to increase your effectiveness, you have to practice. The best way to do this is to take a reading class or to find some exercises that will help increase your speed. Periodically check the speed at which you are reading. I will generally monitor how much time I spend reading a book by reading or monitor how many pages that I'm reading per hour. 

Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue

Based on Köstenberger's address at the regional ETS meeting last week I decided to pick up his book on Godly Character and the pursuit of scholarship: Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue, (Crossway, 2011).

The book is largely devotional, which makes for an interesting paradox since its written for scholars, who generally avoid popular reading. However, it seems that Köstenberger might have niched the book so that it will only appeal to a select group of Evangelical readers.

Köstenberger basically builds the outline of the book from 2 Peter 1:3-11 and the virtues that Peter lays out for the believer to follow. Each chapter is a short essay that discusses the biblical theology of the virtue and then some practical outworking of the virtue in one's "pursuit of scholarship."

Two things struck me as I read the book: (1) the cost of doing good scholarship is pretty high, and (2) why wouldn't you want to do it. We truly are working with the Queen of the Sciences. As a result we should do it well and Christian-ly. Köstenberger shows that you can do both.

The chapter that stood out the most to me was his treatment of creativity. Because of our commitment to excellent scholarship, but also our doctrinal commitment, we are forced to be more creative. Oftentimes I find that creative-types want freedom, but really want is the mother of creativity. When I have to complete a task, but my resources are limited, these are the times that I'm able to find creative solutions. Sometimes these solutions are in place until I can find something better, but at other times they are actually work better than what I had before. I wouldn't have come to it unless the need arose.

Another chapter that stood out dealt with passion. Its amazing to think that there are scholars that can't get passionate about the Bible or theology. Most scholars got into this business because of a deep love for the Bible, God, the church. But by the end of a Th.M. or M.Div. students are more concerned with getting into a Ph.D. program or getting published. At what point to students lose their passion and develop a pride or hunger for fame?

Though Kösternberger states up front: "This is not a self-help book" (a plea that all self-help books make!), he makes a number of helpful tips for scholars to implement. Wake up at 4:30am; this is when you get your best work done. Make reading or writing a hobby. Don't neglect your relationships, particularly your family.

There is little negative to say about this book. I appreciated the vulnerability that Köstenberger displayed at times in helping young scholars develop and think through what it means to work within biblical studies (a real lacunae in biblical academic training). I would have liked to see it broaden out to other believers--they should study the Bible too.

The punchline of the book reminds me of a quote from J. Oswald Chambers that a co-worker sent me:

"The spirit of the welfare state does not produce leaders. If a Christian is not willing to rise early and work late, to expend greater effort in diligent study and faithful work, that person will not change a generation. Fatigue is the price of leadership. Mediocrity is the result of never getting tired."

Spiritual Life and Story

Stories are powerful. Stories provide meaning.

Postmodern historians make the point that when we write history, we aren't really recounting past events, but telling a story by plotting out past events. When we write history, we use the normal literary devices that we would to tell any other story. Postmodern historians would argue that because of this, history is simply literary. Here we would disagree, but they make  good point. Hayden White indicates that one historian can form past events into a tragedy and another can form past events into a comedy. Compare World War 2 histories from an American perspective versus a Japanese perspective and you'll see some real differences.

On the other hand we relate to one another through stories. Stories help us validate our own experiences, or help us think through how we ought to think about our own experiences. They evoke all of our emotions: happiness, fear, pain. Yet even when we come away from a sad story, we're rarely sorry that we shared the experience. Even when we don't like a story, we define our own story in contrast to it. It is through story that we begin to develop what our own life's mean.

When we think about our own spiritual past, we interpret these events through our worldview. This in turn will impact how we view our future, how we do things, our practical theology. The Bible tells the story that God has for us. The entire Bible, from Genesis 1–3 to Revelation 21–22, tells a story of loss and redemption. The Christian life is about re-orientating our own lives around the truth of the Gospel and the love that God and begin to look at our past through the redemptive lenses that he has provides for us.