Tribalism and Ecumenism

For having such an ever-increasing presence within our culture, tribalism is a word that isn't getting much use when it comes to describing current tensions in the world. Yet it couldn't be more accurate a description. Every day that I turn on the news I discover something that leads me to believe that we've all lost our minds.

Tribalism among ethnic groups has become the issue that's dominating the media. Now I must admit that I've always been rather puzzled by this, generally speaking. There could be any number of reasons why this is the case, not least of which is that I'm a white dude (with some possible Jewish background, although that's conjecture as of this posting). Several of my cousins are of multi-ethnic origins as was one of my closest friends from childhood. That shared bond between us came from familial love or just sharing mutual interests. Color didn't really ever enter into the equation.

Now ideological tribalism, that I can understand on some level. We're dealing in values and world views. We're talking about motivations and methodology. Unlike the genes we're born with, we have control and can change and evolve with ideology. We can debate the merits. But I still find myself very leery of ever joining a team, especially if it calls for unconditional support. It's why I've never joined a political party or identified with any particular philosophy. I can't bring myself to be tribal where my world views are concerned.

Except for Christianity.

That's not to say the Church doesn't have its own turf wars, so to speak. Even within Christendom we've had tribalism. Which is really what this entry is about. With the increase of divisiveness among our peers, what does this mean for Christianity? Are the denominations going to be driven further apart or brought closer together?

My answer is that we should be cautiously optimistic. I think we've made huge ecumenical strides with Roman Catholic-Protestant relations. Most notably with the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in 1999. In the past year, I've heard of at least two books that came out dealing with the topic of ecumenism in positive ways. Even I have become a little less chilly in my attitude toward Roman Catholicism. There's still some push-back and understandably so. I've mentioned in previous posts that I have certain reservations in relation to doctrine, but they aren't really anything that I would classify as deal-breakers.

I should also mention the explosion in demographics at my church. Our congregation keeps growing in its diversity. People of all sorts of different backgrounds. It looks like a Benetton ad. And not just ethnic, cultural, or socioeconomic diversity either. We're getting people from all sorts of denominations attending. There's some occasional head-butting when discussing doctrine. In a non-denominational church, that's to be expected. I would say that more often than not, it's productive discussion. We're not perfect, to be sure. But I look at all this progress and I imagine that it's a little glimpse of what the Church will look like one day.

I don't think it will be without its labor pains, however. Eventually, the Protestants will have to cease protesting. Which means that those of us who aren't Roman Catholics will more than likely have to give ground on some things. For that matter, Roman Catholics will have to make concessions for the Protestants. What that will be, I have no idea. With the misunderstanding of salvation and justification more or less resolved, the two biggies are papal authority and certain doctrines concerning Mary. Then we also have the myriad disagreements between the various Protestant denominations that need to be ironed out. We look to have our work cut out for us, but I don't believe it's insurmountable.

I once said that denominations are a good thing and that homogeneity would dilute the Church. Historically speaking, I still think that it's true. We need to be critical in our understanding of doctrine and ensure that it's ultimately consistent with the Bible. That has inevitably led to the formation of denominations.  However, I don't think we need be divided forever.

And with that, I will leave you with this funny image in my head of Jesus coming down from the heavens and instructing the churches to form into Voltron.


"Lutherans and Anglicans, form feet and legs! Catholics and Orthodox, form arms and body! And I'll form the head!"

-L. Travis Hoffman

8/24/2017

The Vegetable Analogy

Going to church is like eating vegetables.

That simile right there is the perfect stance to hold when considering whether to go to church or sleep in.

This came to me after reading an article from The Federalist that attributed millennials' lack of interest in religion to Vacation Bible School. While I'm not totally onboard with the author's critique of VBS, his article makes a valid point about our culture's attitude toward church. It's an attitude that says that people in church must be entertained and enthralled at all costs. This can lead to vacuous and/or cornball attempts at teaching biblical truths to children. If you've ever gone to Sunday school or VBS, you'll likely remember a few things that even as a child you were rolling your eyes at. But this problem also extends to adults. It could be the person speaking or the subject matter they discuss. It could be the music played. It could be any number of things, but it mostly comes down to us not wanting to be bored.

If there's one thing that we millennials hate, it's being bored. Technology has largely alleviated that problem and when we do find ourselves deprived, it's absolute torture. We've come to associate boredom with wasted time, so any activity that is under-stimulating is immediately assumed as being unnecessary and not worth re-visiting. But boredom is important, especially for the mind. It fosters creativity and introspection. Virtually every post on this blog is the result of me not having anything interesting to do and just letting my mind wander.

Church is boring. A lot. Not all the time, mind you, but it can be very boring and that's a good thing. It makes it easier for you to quiet your mind and consider the words of the sermon. If you are able to do these things then you are more likely to apply the lessons and benefit from them.

Now about those vegetables. Vegetables are good for you but they generally don't taste all that great. Sometimes they're downright disgusting. But if you don't eat them, you won't grow and your health will diminish. In that same way, church isn't always pleasant. However, if you don't push past that then you can't grow spiritually.

Some of the greatest parenting to ever come from my mom and dad was when they would force me to go to church when I didn't want to. It sent a message that said, "Not everything that's good and worthwhile is fun." It's true and it's something I think about whenever the church vs. sleep issue comes up.

I'm not suggesting that churches should avoid tapping into pop culture altogether. Christianity is always relevant and sometimes it's helpful to do just that in order to illustrate a point. But it shouldn't be at the expense of the message or purely for the sake of putting butts in seats. Nor should we encourage a mentality that craves constant stimulation.

There's a few simple things that could reduce the boredom association problem while avoiding compromise. To start, it would probably be helpful to eschew the word "school" from the church setting. That is the last word that kids want to hear on their downtime. For adults, I think we should seek meatier topics to delve into. Apologetics, theology, and church history are largely MIA from sermons, which is a huge disservice and does nothing to cultivate intellectualism within modern Christendom. I have my issues with Roman Catholicism, but at least they don't forget where they come from. Christianity is a big deal, so let's stop treating it like a self-help course and start regarding it as the cultural revolution that it is.

-L. Travis Hoffman

8/20/2017     

But that's not real Christianity.

Note: For the purposes of this entry, I am referring to people professing to adhere to orthodox views of Christianity. There are valid doctrinal concerns to express over what is real Christianity (Trinitarianism, Nicene Creed, etc.), but I won't be covering those in this post. They will likely be explored in a future entry.


An ideology is put into practice and after a period of time, it fails.

Its supporters immediately trot out their defence: "But that's not real ____!"

Fill in the blank. It could be a lot of things. Libertarianism, anarchism, Marxism, Secular Humanism. The list could go on forever. Most of us will agree that quite often it's a hollow defence. As the saying goes, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it probably is.

So when a prominent figure or an organization taking on the banner of Christianity does something reprehensible and Christians resort to this defence, I'm with many in saying that it feels like an extraordinary cop-out. However, I do believe that Christianity has something unique in its beliefs that set it apart from other ideologies or belief systems.

Take Socialism, for example. The driving idea is that people own the means of production and that wealth and resources are shared equally for the benefit of all. Like many ideologies, it's utopian. Yet it fails constantly, oftentimes transforming into full-on Communism and leading to the death and oppression of the people living under it. Why? Because a utopia can only exist if all people are good all the time. Which means that human nature has to go. People can no longer be greedy. Everyone must be willing to work in some capacity. Not only that, but they have to be willing to share the fruits of their labor with people that may not have put in the same amount of work or that they don't even like. Oh, and everyone in the government must be trustworthy.

Christianity does not work this way. It's an overall optimistic belief set, but it's one that assumes the worst in people even when it commands the best from them. Its ultimate success isn't dictated by the deeds of mankind but by the will of God. Sometimes that will is executed directly and other times it's through His children. But make no mistake, God is the one that's making the plan work. That's where Christianity differs from ideologies. Socialism's effectiveness is predicated on the idea that people are going to willingly be selfless and altruistic. While those are both virtues worth extolling, it's not a realistic expectation to hold. Look no further than your news feed and you'll see that it's a pipe dream. There's little indication that mankind is becoming intrinsically better. For every Civil Rights Act that's passed there's a Roe v. Wade to follow it.

If someone that professes to be a Christian does something awful and not in keeping with the Church's values, that doesn't discredit the Religion because Christianity has never assumed that people are inherently good to begin with. Nor does it claim that its stability is contingent on the good works of people. If it did, we'd all be doing backstrokes in the lake of fire. We do good things because we know, consciously or not, that it is pleasing to God and that it's consistent with His nature. We desire to live in His nature (again, consciously or not), but there will always be that constant tug of war with the sinful nature that we were born into and our fates will ultimately be tied to which one we desire more. It's only through Christ living in us that we will make decisions that gravitate toward Him.

Of course that doesn't mean we shouldn't call out sins when we see them or that we should live complacent lives.  Which brings us back to the argument: "But that's not real Christianity!" Is that true? Well... yes and no. It's true that the sinful acts of a person aren't a representation of the Christian understanding of morality. But it's also false to maintain the perception that any Christian is capable of complete and absolute fidelity to that moral code or that our Religion teaches this as even being possible. The history of our faith is full of screw-ups and moral failures. We've got adulterers (David), hedonists (Solomon), liars (Jacob), traitors (Peter), extortionists (Matthew), persecutors (Paul), and murderers (Moses) among other things. Without their relationship with God, they would never have been able to move past their sins. Without their remorse, they would never have progressed in their faith. That so much of Christendom has been furthered by deeply flawed people is telling. It illustrates that Christianity relies on God and the strength of His word and not on the perfection of the people who believe.

-L. Travis Hoffman

8/19/2017

Fear, Anger, and the Two Greatest Commandments

Oh, where to begin... I have a feeling that this will be another entry that jumps all over the place, so my apologies in advance to those who bother reading this.

It's been two days since the outbreak of violence in Charlottesville and at least a week since rumblings emerged of North Korea planning to use nukes against the US. I'm not going to delve into the politics of it all but in a nutshell, I'd say the overall feeling among the populace is one of fear and anger and justifiably so.

I've had to impose on myself a strict cut-off point with exposure to media coverage. It's no challenge for me to become crippled with worry and that does nothing to give me clear or productive thinking. Which is, I think, a big contribution to the problems we're facing right now as a collective American culture. Fear is paralyzing but anger can be mobilizing. Anger that is unchecked and constantly fueled will easily become hatred and animosity. If a person is constantly being exposed to things high in negativity, whether that be toward themselves or toward perceived outsiders, it becomes toxic to our minds, bodies, and souls. These alt-right and antifa fools are being fed an hourly diet of news and ideological material that tells them to be enraged all the time and when they see what their "enemy" is absorbing they get even more enraged and feel justified in their antagonism. The world can be a cruel place and there's no shortage of injustice in it, but if we aren't willing to put aside our anger and use our words like civilized human beings we aren't long for this world.

Christ's two greatest commandments are to love the Lord with your entire being and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. It should come as no surprise that our negligence in doing the first commandment has led to problems with doing the second. A big part of that lies in what our perspective is. If we're too caught up in the direness of our circumstances, if we're unwilling to take joy in the little things in life that God's given us, we are going to become bitter and impose a hellish existence on ourselves. As someone that has suffered from anxiety and depression to varying degrees for the majority of his life, I will say that this is quite often easier said than done. But there are ways to get through it. Therapy is a huge help. Recognizing what you have in your life and expressing gratitude for it is another. Giving back to those that are less fortunate within your community, whether that be with your time or with resources. Surrounding yourself with productive and positive people. All of these are beneficial.

"Be the change you want in the world." It's a huge cliche that verges on platitude but that has more to do with us being too complacent about following through than anything else. It's much easier to spout campaign phrases about hope and change and making America great again when we don't have to be the ones facilitating it. Goodness knows, I'm no saint about it either. But if we don't want more incidents like in Charlottesville than we're going to need to take the initiative. Obeying our Lord's commandments is the best place to start.

-L. Travis Hoffman

8/14/2017

Good, Bad, or Just Ugly?

Logan isn't very charitable.

Logan says some pretty horrible things and mistreats people. 

Logan is a liar.

Logan just cares about himself.

Logan is a hypocrite.

Logan is arrogant.


If one were to describe me strictly with these six statements to a stranger, the stranger would likely conclude that I'm a pretty awful person. They may well even believe me to be an evil person. But they're also making a judgement based on only a few scraps of details. All of this is true. I'm not as charitable as my betters. I've said some truly hurtful things to people and I've even mistreated them. I've lied. I've been selfish. I've been a hypocrite. And I most definitely have an ego problem.

I'm grateful to the Lord that I don't have to work my way into heaven because there's absolutely no way that my good deeds would outweigh my bad ones. But yet we inevitably find ourselves comparing our goodness to other people on a curve.

Sure, I've stolen some CDs. At least I've never robbed a bank.

Yeah, I've cheated on my tests. But that's nothing compared to those guys who sell the answers!

I've said some harsh words to my wife, but it's not like I'm beating her.


There's always someone worse than ourselves that we can use to claim moral superiority over. Quite often we don't bother to consider that there's always someone better than us, too.

Obviously, to some extent we have to have gradation in order to properly punish or reward people. It's unavoidable. And Christians should be willing and able to judge one another accordingly for the purposes of spiritual growth.  Yet we Christians also need to recognize that not all fruit from the spirit presents itself in the same way, time, or place.

Take David, for example. Here is a man who abused his power as king for selfish reasons. He had an affair with a soldier's wife and when he couldn't cover it up, he sent the husband into the front lines to be killed. Were we to apply this scenario to a modern day politician, most people (including Christians) would conclude that this guy is a certified d-bag.

David is regarded as one of the most righteous figures in the Bible even though he did something truly awful. But David had remorse and he asked for forgiveness and he suffered from his sins when he lost the child he sired. After his mourning, he went on with a stronger love, virtue, and dedication to God.

I think of all the leaders just in American history alone that have contributed great things, moral things and yet also have done appalling and immoral things.

Examples:

Thomas Jefferson
Good things: Declaration of Independence, advocate for religious freedoms
Bad things: Owned slaves, had numerous children with a slave (quite possibly through rape)

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Good things: New Deal, joining conflict against Axis powers
Bad things: Japanese internment camps

John F. Kennedy
Good things: Peace Corps., support of Civil Rights Movement
Bad things: Possibly mob ties, concealed frequent judgment-impairing drug use for injury, serial womanizer


There's plenty more, but I think you get the point. How do you weigh the independence of a country against the dehumanization and degradation of people with darker skin? How do you compare the wrongful imprisonment of Japanese people with the opposition to a genocidal regime?

The answer is that you can't. We let history weigh in on who the heroes are and it's often that they are the winners. But we can't keep doing that. The men and women that do good things and acknowledge and show remorse for the bad things that they've done, they should be the ones that are called heroes. Humility is a virtue that is short in supply these days and even shorter when it comes to leaders.

Sometimes I drive myself bonkers just thinking about crappy things that I've done or the fact that I haven't done enough to benefit others or even glorify God. I'm needing to stop and consider that maybe my spiritual fruit is not presenting itself at the time, place, or way that I'm expecting of myself. I'm not suggesting complacency, only quieting of the mind. Which is quite possibly the most demanding task the Lord can ask of me.

The first thing, the easiest thing (relatively speaking), is to address any offenses made against others. You don't know how humbling an apology can be until it's difficult or uncomfortable. But I'd also say that those are the most liberating and the most rewarding (especially when forgiveness is granted).

This whole entry has kind of gone all over the map. I don't have an answer.  Not one that isn't paradoxical, anyway. Ugh. My head hurts.

-L. Travis Hoffman

8/9/2017