Just saying…

All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. (Ps 86:9)

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. (1 Ch 16:34)

“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.” (Joel 2:28)

The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. (Is 52:10)

And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Is 40:5)

You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. (Ps 145:16)

“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’” (Is 65:1)

Gather together and come! Approach together, you refugees from the nations! Those who carry wooden idols know nothing, those who pray to a god that cannot deliver. (Is 45:20)

O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. (Ps 65:2)

One of the central tensions I ran into while writing Discovering The God Imagination, was the confrontation with the traditional stories that informed my understanding of the Gospel. I had reached a point where I could no long live with the “traditional” theories of penal substitution, or even ransom in their existing form as reasonable alternatives.  I believe Scripture was communicating an idea of ransom and substitution but logic suggested to me that our understanding of these terms was deeply flawed.  So all I did was open myself to the possibility of another way of seeing the story.

Buddhism begins with a serious commitment to reality.

At the heart of my desire to understanding the Gospel was a desire to know God.  I have never really doubted that something happened in both the Garden of Eden or at the cross.  I have always been profoundly impacted by the cross and what Jesus did.  I just wanted to give in meaning that reconciled.  I chose to seek out and hold onto a commitment to reality.

And then I ran into this little audiobook called, The Universe In A Single Atom by His Holiness, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  Its a somewhat autobiographical account of the Dalai Lama’s interest and exploration into the world of science.  It’s a fascinating work to say the least for many reasons but one has consistently hit me square in the face as I’m listening.  Buddhism begins with a serious commitment to reality.

As he recounts his encounter with science, the Dalai Lama reveals that even the Buddha suggested that his followers use experience, then reason, then the Scriptures as a basis for reality.

“If when we investigate something we find there is reason and proof for it, we must acknowledge that as reality, even if it is in contradiction with a literal Scriptural explanation that has held sway for many centuries, or with a deeply held opinion or view.  So one fundamental attitude shared by Buddhism and science is the commitment to keep searching for reality by empirical means and to be willing to discard accepted or long held positions if our search finds the truth is different.  By contrast with religion, one such significant characteristic of science is the absence of an appeal to Scriptural authority as a source of validating truth claim.”

Hearing the Dalai Lama say that kind of blew me away.  The Buddha himself was suggesting each person wrestle with the experience of reality, even if it contradicted the Buddha.  That my friends is ballsy and a deep commitment to honesty, even at the expense of the ego.  He explores the nature of science which includes a sense of healthy skepticism that continually tests theories for the sake of reality.

I do believe Christianity has a commitment to truth, but many times it seems to begin with long held theories that are sacred cows.  And instead of listening with healthy skepticism, even with long standing theories, we begin with those theories as already established in stone.

What would happen to Christianity if we held the same ethic as Buddhism?

Rob Bell has always been a performance artist at heart. The Nooma films and his presentations were always part performance as much as message. But leave it to him to spin things in a new direction. How’s this for a Resurrection message. Booyah!

This caught my attention.  [RSS - See Embedded Video]

The question is: What are you sure of? What would you add?