Everybody has already written (almost) everything that could be written. I am not so much given to the analysis of the news or timeline or motives, or anything else about the incident. For that I commend Allah at Hot Air, who has given fantastic coverage of the tragedy in numerous updated threads since the day of the shooting.

What I feel moved to write about are some of the peripheral issues - such as forgiveness, hatred, and misinformation. But, that’s just me.

Forgiveness

First, I followed a link over at relapsed catholic that led me here, to this thread at Mark Shea’s blog about the Virginia Tech students, and other students around the country, seeking to forgive Cho Seung Hui for killing 32 people, and then himself.

I’ll be honest. Completely honest. I am a Christian, of the Evangelical persuasion. I have been a Christian for about 14 years, I have gone through Seminary, and then Graduate and Post-Graduate education, all in the area of Theology, and specifically Practical Theology (theology you can actually use). And, after all of that, forgiveness is probably the hardest issue for me to grapple with. When do we forgive a person? Who do we forgive? Must a person “repent” first? Must there be at least remorse for one’s actions before they can be forgiven for them? And, what is the relationship between justice and forgiveness? These are some of the most difficult questions I have about my faith, and since they deal with an issue that my faith is founded upon (forgiveness), they also rank among the most important.

Central to the tension I feel is that offering forgiveness to a person who is unrepentant is merely enabling a person’s poor, even hurtful behavior. I do not believe that this is a biblical principle, especially since the New Testament does deal so much with discipline. There is discipline for those in the church - and it is an act of love to administer discipline along biblical guidelines (confronting a person one on one, then with another, then bringing the issue before the church, etc…). However, this principle cannot apply to those not associated with the church. Does Jesus ever call me to forgive those who have no desire for forgiveness - those who do not believe that they need forgiveness - those who believe that they are acting in line with their perverted view of God? Honestly, I struggle.

Mark Shea doesn’t though:

To the second group, a more elementary catechesis is required. Memorize Mark 11:25. Rinse. Repeat as necessary. If you refuse to forgive, you will go to hell. That is strong medicine, but it’s the medicine Christ prescribed and we dare not ignore it at risk of our immortal soul.

Maybe it is a Catholic thing, and us Protestants just don’t have it figured out yet…but something inside me says that it just isn’t so simple…

At this point, I don’t forgive Cho Seung Hui, just as I don’t forgive Osama Bin Laden, or any other madman that kills indiscriminately…For one thing, the Mark 11.25 passage talks about a grievance you have against another - in short, I am not sure that it is my place to “forgive” Cho Seung Hui…but for another, these people don’t want forgiveness. Note that I didn’t say that they don’t need it. But that they don’t want it. Is it our place to do something that our Lord won’t - namely for force forgiveness upon a person who does not want it? I don’t know. All I can say is: “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.” (Mark 9.24).

In the meantime, all I can say is that I can’t get on-board with things like this.

Compassion, yes. Forgiveness, I’m not ready to say that it is my place.

Hatred

I am, however, ready to condemn these fools: Fringe Church Plans to Picket Tech Funerals

Who are these fools? 71 in the church, 60 of them part of Phelps’ family. An incestuous organization if ever there was one. And, full of pride and hubris:

The 33 massacred at Virginia Tech died for America’s sins against WBC ( Westboro Baptist Church). Just as U.S. soldiers are dying in Iraq each day for America’s sins against WBC.”

Do they really think that God thinks that they are so important that God kills people to avenge them? What a joke. Even if they truly believe that they are “prophetic” in their operation, maybe they should go back to the text and see how the prophets are actually treated. God doesn’t avenge them - people kill them.

There is so much hatred in these people, and it is sick and sad that they soil the name of Christ, and the name of his church, for shameless hatred and self-promotion. I won’t link to it, because I can’t stand giving these people more play - but if you get a minute it is over at Ace’s. The Westboro Cult put together a music video, to the tune of “We are the world,” titled: God Hates The World. I wonder if they’ve ever seen those signs at sporting events that read: John 3.16…

Also, the third video at Ace’s post is pretty funny.

Elsewhere, Ms. Underestimated has the news, as does Slublog, who seems to have been found by the cult, and is now being spammed with their hate.

Misinformation

On the misinformation front, there is, what is either a deliberate or honest mistake, in associating Cho Seung Hui with Christianity. One of the details that came out in the whole affair was that Cho liked to listen to the song “Shine” by Collective Soul over and over and over again (reported numerous places, but see here).

For some reason the other day I found myself scanning The Huffington Post, which is not one of my regular reads, when I saw this in the sidebar:

Christian Band? Huh? So, I clicked over to BuzzFeed, where you find this:

Well, interestingly enough, Collective Soul is not a Christian Band, and never were. In fact the Wikipedia page for the band states:

Some have called Collective Soul a Christian rock band, a styling the band has repeatedly denied (at least one song, “Counting the Days,” has mild polytheistic implications, an unlikely thing to find in hard-core Christian music). They do, however, acknowledge that their lyrics are often spiritual and introspective in nature.

So, someone over at BuzzFeed needs to do a little research before [purposefully?] tainting a band’s, and a faith’s, reputation there.

Oh, and did you like their spelling of “Seoul.” What a bunch of wanks.

–

I wanted to say, finally, that I do pray for the victims, and their families. God be with you and keep you.

Tags: Virginia Tech, Cho Seung Hui, Forgiveness, Christianity, Westboro Baptist Church, Cult, Misinformation, Collective Soul

theology, news, media, religion | 1 Comment »

I found this article a few weeks ago about a church in the process of welcoming a convicted child sex offender into the congregation: Congregation Grapples With Sex Offender in Worship:

Clergy and the congregation at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd have had their Christianity tested since a sex offender has asked to worship there.

The pastors and faith community are grappling with the ubiquitous question: What would Jesus do?

“I have thought for years that this would be the acid test of a group of Christians practicing what they preach,” said the Rev. Carl Wilfrid, senior pastor. “Jesus makes it a priority to include people who mainstream society tends to push out: prostitutes, tax collectors, sinners, whatever. And so it’s pretty clear that to be people of Christ you would work to include people.”

The question is how should the faith community welcome 60-year-old Calvin Brugge, a tier three sex offender.

…

After several conversations with Brugge, his counselor, members of the congregation and other professionals, Wilfrid said the church has constructed a covenant with 17 conditions for Brugge, who said he will sign the covenant.

A group of people, called a support team, will meet with him regularly, and an accountability team will observe Brugge while he is on church property.

“This is a very strange welcome,” Wilfrid said. “If you ever get welcomed to a group with a contract like that, you’re in trouble.”

…

Brugge is on parole for five more months after completing eight months in a California prison for violating his parole in 2005.

According to the state’s sex offender registry, Brugge was convicted in California in 1989 for an “indecent act or liberties with a child.” He was convicted in 1997 for “lewd/lascivious acts with a child, genital penetration with a foreign object.”

The Regional Sex Offender Notification Unit defines tier three as an “offender who is assessed as posing a high risk of recidivism and threat to public safety.”

Attending church, working with a counselor and group therapy, and having a support team and pastor from the faith community are valuable components that Brugge said he needs for rehabilitation.

“My only saving grace is to be open, honest and ask for assistance,” he said.

On the one hand, I understand the minister’s position, and the church’s decision to cautiously welcome the man into the church. He was given rules that he must follow, such as only being allowed to attend the 7.30 am service, never using the church washroom, and never attending church functions where families with children will be present. Further, the church has a support team in place for Brugge. The congregation has been informed of Brugge’s past as well, and he seems to have been open and honest about his status from the beginning. It isn’t as if they have set a pedophile loose on a congregation with no caution, or warning.

On the other hand, however, I also understand the attitude of the mother with an 8 year old daughter, who wants Brugge out of the church:

Mary Carlson was in a Sunday morning adult class when she said Wilfrid informed the group about Brugge.

“My response was astonishment that this individual had already been worshiping among us and that we were unaware of it,” she said. “Evil has already touched our lives. I thought the church was a safe place.”

Since Brugge arrived in church that Sunday in December, Wilfrid said it has been a “continuously snowballing conversation.”

…

As a “highly protective” single mother of an 8-year-old girl, Carlson said she wants to know everything about Brugge and what he did to children.

“I want to know who he molested,” she said. “I want to know the degree of molestation.

“I feel that the details of his crime will help to better assess the risk.”

She said she feels alienated from many in the congregation because she is asking questions and voicing her concerns.

“If only you could be faithful and embrace this man as God has embraced us” is the message she said she has interpreted.

But Carlson said she is overly protective because the woman who was the child-care provider for her daughter is in prison for murdering a child.

“That’s why I will go to the nth degree to get the information, and then I will make my decision,” she said. She said she did not go to church last Sunday but plans to return and weigh her trepidation against her faith.

Now, the whole part about evil already having touched their lives I think is a bit out there, in the way that us Evangelicals tend to blame everything on the devil. But, whatever. The gist is that: I don’t want my kid molested. And that, no matter who you are, or what Christ said, is reasonable.

Two other issues that this article doesn’t address, and that I think are important, are those of adult survivors of abuse in the church, and liability.

How do adult survivors of child sexual abuse feel about a convicted pedophile being welcomed into their worshiping community? As a minister, I would have to take this seriously into consideration. It doesn’t mean that I would turn the person away, but if having a sex offender in the congregation, no matter what kind of guidelines were put into place, caused another person distress because of past offenses against them, I would have to ask whether this was the right place to welcome the sex offender to worship.

I also wonder what kind of liability issues are involved in such a situation. If the church welcomes in a sex offender who is likely to molest again, and that person does molest a child in the church, what kind of liability has the church assumed? What is the church responsible for, even if the congregation has been notified? An, if it is a great amount of liability, should this detract a congregation from loving a person and working for their restoration and providing them with an adequate support system.

One more issue that strikes me: Is the church adequately prepared for such a ministry? I think the answer is, sadly, no. However, I am glad that some churches are working in that direction.

The article ends with this quote from a counselor working with sex offenders, and working with various churches on integrating them into congregations:

“Children are more at risk of abuse of in their congregation than any other institution other than their own family,” Ruth said. “They are safer in schools, Boy Scouts, Little League. The offender knows that. Anybody fishing for kids knows that. Congregations tend to believe you can trust anybody who comes.”

On the list of places where a kid is most likely to be sexually abused, number one is family, number two is church. Of all the places a child is supposed to feel safe…That, my friends, is incredibly, unspeakably, sad.

–

I noticed this article over at Ben Witherington’s blog, which relates: Should Pederasts Be In The Pews?. Witherington’s post deals with a different article, here (originally in the NY Times, but now for subscribers only, so I am pointing to another blog site, of which I make no particular endorsement, which reprints it). At the end of the article he notes:

I do not pretend to have pat answers to these sorts of difficult questions. But this I do know. If I did not believe that God can change people, sometimes even dramatically, I would not be in the ministry at all. At the same time, I also know that change in some people can be painfully slow, and sometimes what change looks like in a particular life is simply the power of restraint of the things that drive one in unhealthy directions. This power comes from the Holy Spirit.

There is a voice that haunts me in all of this. He is saying “Come unto me ALL you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest”. Should not this also be the primary posture of the church instead of mainly being self-protective?

And, finally, to balance things out, there is this, today over at Plains Feeder: He Just Couldn’t Help Himself. I agree that we need to protect our kids.

Tags: sex offenders, sexual abuse, religion, forgiveness, church, Christianity

ethics, ministry, church | No Comments »

Back from Mexico. Actually, we got back late Saturday night, and I have been super tired ever since. It was a fantastic trip.

We ended up putting a new roof on the Mexican church we were paired with. It really was an amazing thing - as, we didn’t know what we would be doing once we got down there, only that it might have a construction component to it. So, when the pastor told me that he needed the roof redone, I was amazed at God’s provision in the fact that one of my youth group members on the trip with us does roofing all Summers. Further, God was good to us in the acquiring, purchasing, and transportation of the materials…in more ways than I can recount here. Suffice it to say that I saw God at work all week in our activity, and in the lives of my youth group kids.

Leaving the church in Mexicali was difficult, but my student’s are already expressing a desire to go back next year, and it is my prayer that we will be able to. I am (most likely) signing on for another year of youth ministry with this church. It will be good, I have no doubt, but exhausting. I love high school kids - simultaneously a heap of unbridled energy and potential, as well as an unending source of annoyance and frustration. Now I know how my youth pastor used to feel about me.

Tags: youth ministry, Mexico Outreach, between the trees, short-term missions

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For just over a week. Taking a group of high school students to Mexico for about a week to work on a building project, partnering with a local church in Mexicali. So, I will be out. But, then again, I have been out for a little while already.

And I so wanted to have time to talk about that Chocolate Jesus…alas, maybe when I get back.

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I came across this post a couple of weeks ago at “The Resurgence,” by Mark Driscoll: Jack Bauer, Aslan, and Penal Substitutionary Atonement.

The gist is that Driscoll compares Jack Bauer from 24 to Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia, as a “Christ Figure,” who sacrifices his life as a ransom for many:

In it you will see that, like I described in an earlier blog, the show is a hit because Jack Bauer is a “type-ish” of Jesus. The trailer repeatedly says that Jack “must be sacrificed” to save the multitudes who will supposedly be given life through his substitionary death. Does this sound like anyone you know? A young, healthy, innocent guy dies for a whole bunch of people and willingly lays down his life as a sacrifice for them?

Yes, there is Christ imagery here. And, I am sure that it is no coincidence that the writing team of 24 chooses to portray probably the greatest American hero in recent American television history in terms of a Christ-like figure. But, Driscoll’s post betrays a trend in theological thought that is lazy and uncritical. Whenever we in the Christian church see something in a book, film, tv show, or any popular cultural artifact, we automatically try to assimilate that thing into the Christian faith, without being critical of the ways in which the particular artifact may not be commensurate with the Christian faith.

Sure, there is a pattern of death for the life of others. But, is the character of Jack Bauer really an echo of Christ of the Scriptures? Would Christ do some of the things Bauer does? A better example of this, I think, is the movie Man on Fire where Denzel Washington’s character sacrifices his life as a ransom for the little girl, which is Christ imagery - however, this is accomplished through extremely violent means. This raises the theological question of whether or not redemption can be accomplished violently. And, whether Christ accomplishes redemption violently - and, whether then the comparison with Christ is thoroughly justified.

Further, I think that the constant comparisons with Christ, especially non-critical comparisons, trivialize Christ and the Christ story. For instance, in the movie Cold Mountain the main character sacrifices himself, and through his death, many live, including his wife, their unborn child, and numerous others. The Christ imagery is striking as Inman dies in a cruciform position, with blood on his hands and side, and the last imagery of the movie is of a dead lamb saving an orphaned lambs life as the orphaned lamb is given the coat of the dead lamb. The transference imagery, and reference to Christ as the Lamb of God is unmistakable. Many people would point to this and say - how fantastic! However, in Cold Mountain the redemption that Inman effects is first and foremost a redemption of himself. He is a “self-redeeming redeemer.” This is a serious divergence from the Christ story of the Gospels, and a co-opting of Christ imagery in order to tell a different story.

I’m not saying that I don’t watch 24. I do. All the time. But, I am saying that a modicum of critical thinking by Christians would be appreciated, and I think is well past due. And, with the influence Driscoll has (deserved or not), it would be nice for a Christian leader to exercise a bit of intellectual and theological responsibility before comparing Jack Bauer to Jesus Christ.

Tags: Jack Bauer, 24, Mark Driscoll, Christ-Figure, Jesus Christ, Christianity, theology and popular culture

pop culture, theology, media | No Comments »

Right Girl has the story, with appropriate comments.

All I will say is that I have such little patience with members of an all volunteer military who think is appropriate to desert, flee to another country, and then declare that they are “refugees.” No compassion, no patience. But, at the anti-war rallies here, they make these guys out to be martyrs. Just look at the photos I posted below.

Tags: Iraq, Toronto, War Deserter

news, politics, Toronto | No Comments »

I don’t know, but I find this imminently ironic: Arab Lesbians Hold Rare Public Meeting in Israel.

Robert Spencer sums up the irony succinctly:

Moral equivalence alert: the only place where they could hold this meeting without being in imminent danger of death was in the one [country] that features in jihadist rhetoric as the locus of all evil, Israel.

I find it interesting that at the University of Toronto, the gay and lesbian members of our college community are largely vociferous about Israel as bad, Palestine as good. Yet, Israel is the only place in the entire Middle East where homosexuals are not in danger of being murdered for their sexual orientation. The same dynamic goes for feminist groups as well - everywhere in the Middle East women are oppressed, but Israel is the evil one. Is it just me, or is this weird?

Tags: Israel, Arab, Lesbian, Homosexual, Moral Equivalence

news, politics | 1 Comment »

I saw all the reports of Iran crying about the movie 300. But, this one, in my opinion takes the cake: The 300 Savages at Thermopylae: A Response to the Hollywood Film ‘300′.

The kicker:

SPARTA, AN APARTHEID STATE

Everything is an apartheid state now days…ugh.

Tags: Iran, Sparta, 300, apartheid

politics, movies | No Comments »

I received an email yesterday from my friend Wendy with the insightful, pithy, and appropriately condemning subject line: Bloggers Blog.

Well, on the surface it seems like a self-evident truth. To be a blogger one must blog. So, the natural conclusion is that I am shirking my blogging responsibilities, as I have not posted in about 3 weeks.

I do apologize for not living up to the noble responsibility I assumed when I put this blog up. As is always the case, school, work, and life have gotten in the way of the time I have to blog. And, to top it off, I leave tonight for a week in Mexico with a group of high school kids on a building project. So, I will be gone for another week before being able to write again.

Because of Wendy, and her insightful reminder, I am going to try to put some things up that I have had in the hopper for a while before I leave tonight. Because, it is true that bloggers actually blog. Though, from the looks of things around this ghost town, one might not know it… Thanks Wendy.

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