In Memoriam

This post is to commemorate my grandfather, Rudy, who passed away on 1 February. He was a humble man of God, a family man, a man of community. May we all in his family (and he included more than just his blood relatives in his care) live up to his high example, and remember him with love and joy.

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.

Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;

One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

-John Donne

INTO THE WEST

'Lay down your sweet and weary head

Night is falling; you have come to journey's end

Sleep now and dream of the ones who came before

They are calling from across a distant shore

Why do you weep? What are these tears upon your face?

Soon you will see all of your fears will pass away

Safe in my arms, you're only sleeping

What can you see on the horizon?

Why do the white gulls call?

Across the Sea a pale moon rises

The ships have come to carry you home

And all will turn to silver glass

A light on the water, all souls pass

Hope fades into the world of night

Through shadows falling out of memory and time

Don't say we have come now to the end

White shores are calling, you and I will meet again

And you'll be here in my arms, just sleeping

What can you see on the horizon?

Why do the white gulls call?

Across the Sea a pale moon rises

The ships have come to carry you home

And all will turn to silver glass

A light on the water, grey ships pass
Into the West.'

From the film The Return of the Kings,

Original lyric by Fran Walsh

Our Own Brand of Fundamentalism

I am not about to call conservative Christians terrorists. Certainly Islam and the most extreme versions of Judaism also have militant overtones which, if carried to their logical conclusion, could be very dangerous indeed. I agree with the vast majority of the tenets of evangelical Christianity. But there does seem to be a certain agenda in some popular interpretations of prophecy which I am starting to worry about. And as Christ calls us to first remove the log from our own eye, before attempting to remove the speck from someone else's, I feel a need to point out the danger in our own camp.

I want to point out some dangerous trends in Fundamentalist and Evangelical Christianity as it is popularly taught and preached today through series like Left Behind and similar television shows. And I am a believing Christian who falls more towards the Evangelical end of the spectrum! What worries me is the theory of the premillenial rapture. This is a long and convoluted tale, but the main point is that in its most extreme interpretation, true Christians will be raptured off of planet Earth before a really nasty period of time called the Tribulation. During this time a third of the Earth's land mass and seas will be destroyed in nuclear explosion, and the rest of the planet will suffer plague and pestilence and earthquakes to the point of near-destruction. Those Left Behind will have to struggle to survive these seven years before Christ returns for good and sets up his thousand-year reign.

The main problem with this theory is that it is at heart hopeless. There is no point in saving the planet, it's going to be destroyed anyway. There is no point in social justice, things are only going to get worse anyway until we blessed few are Raptured away to (presumably) watch the carnage from on high. We may as well withdraw to our little Christian enclave and wait it out. And the really scary part: there is no point to peace in the Middle East because the Bible says the Temple must be rebuilt and then violated in some mysterious fashion before the end can come. Therefore we must encourage the destruction of the Muslim side of the Temple Mount (Al Aqsa Mosque in Arabic) so that Christ can return!

That is the agenda. I reject it entirely, simply because it does not square with Christ's teachings of peace and not returning injustice with injustice. He warned that there would be division and trouble in this life, so I don't expect a utopia until he does return. But we are to be the light of the Earth, not contributers to the darkness.

As for the prophecies, one needn't follow the Left Behind interpretation to be a believer. I believe that most of Christ's predictions (like the destruction of the Temple) were fulfilled when the Romans attacked and defeated Jerusalem around 70 A.D. And I believe this was a direct result of the Israelites once again rejecting the words of a Prophet sent by God (the Old Testament is full of this.) "He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword."

Prophecies have a way of being completely fulfilled, to the letter, in a way no one expected. Christ himself was an example. He was not the great warrior-king who would physically vanquish Israel's enemies and set up city-state on Earth to rule the world. He was a mere carpenter and itenerant preacher and died like a lamb to slaughter. His Kingdom is, strangely enough, right here with us and without borders, set up in the hearts and minds of any man, woman, or child who will listen to his call, and believe.

Those prophecies of Revelation which have yet come to pass (and that is a minority of them in my view) will be fulfilled in a similarly unexpected way. So quit trying to interpret them so hard and just live the way Christ told us all to. Quit trying to work out mathematical equations based on tiny details of the prophecies and live by the plain teachings:

"Why do you call me `Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." Luke 6:46