Thanks for clicking in. Always a pleasure.
So this online issue is full of seasonal offerings, focusing on the events of the the cross and resurrection. In 'reconciling all things' we have pictures of a restored creation, a loving community, and a people looking towards Him and engaged in bringing His kingdom to the ends of the earth:
Message for Easter Sunday
Here Randy reflects on the continuing power of the resurrection to rip into our lives and change everything.
Review of "Keeping Earth in Common"
A few months back, A Rocha (Canada) and Regent College put on a wonderful conferenece. For those of us who could not make it then catch up on Heidi's summary.
Love (advent reflection)
One of our favorite long-lost writers, Matt, brings us this piece on Love, infused with experiences from his present cultural setting.
Three Days draws nigh
The first of two poems from a new poet, Miles, at the Place. This one looks towards easter morn.
Who is really being deceived?
From a 'resident' at Wilkie hotel ;-) this is a deep, honest reflection on life.
A Prayer
On Sunday night, we value community prayer, and here Launa helped puts words in our mouths as we sought communion with God.
Unseen
Miles' second piece: picking up on the theme of God calling out to us.
"Home" church
If you attend multiple communities during the week, where is your home and what would it look like? Justin confesses.
Jen's infamous rap
Anyone at the Place retreat 2005 would remember Jen's performance at the Open Mic. A rap that picks up on the social ills of abusive driving.
Reflections on mission trip to Disney World
James could not come away from this Florida kid-haven without being impacted by what it could be saying about salvation and heaven.
Friday, April 14, 2006
From the editor
Sunday night prayer (Jan 29 2006)
by Launa K - Based on 1 peter 2: 1 – 5, 1 john 3:18-20, and 1 Corinthians 13: 4- 7
Father by your holy spirit rid us of all malicious behaviour and deceit. Teach us how to not just pretend to be good! Remove in us hypocrisy and jealousy and backstabbing. Make us thirsty so that we will crave pure spiritual milk which will help us grow in the fullness of your salvation. Soften our hearts so that we cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk. Remind us of the sweet taste of our Lord’s kindness.
Father we bow before Christ who is the living cornerstone of Your temple. He was and is rejected by people, but to You he is most precious. Father strengthen us and build us, as living stones, into His spiritual temple.
We repent of all the times we have just said we love one another. Help us to stop this and inspire us to really show it by our actions. It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before You, even if our own hearts condemn us. For you are the almighty God who is greater than our hearts, and you know our motives and our actions and will judge accordingly.
Mentor us in patience and kindness. Discipline us so that we are not jealous, boastful, proud or rude. Remove in us our selfishness, our irritability, and our grudges. Break our hearts at injustice and teach us to celebrate whenever the truth wins out. Instruct us in the ways of perseverance, faithfulness, hope and forgiveness so that we can know what Love really is.
Amen
"Home" church
by Justin W
In a world where trashing the church became so common that people no longer even bother to do so; where Ghandi claimed that were it not for Christians he would be one, and others have assumed his mantra; where churches are often warned and even chastised by their teachers and pastors for too closely resembling those who would have stoned the woman caught in adultery, this often-cynic (known, I'm sure, to my shame by many in Christ's church at Lambrick for pointing the finger and much worse, even) begs the opportunity to laud this community.
Quite recently, Randy Hein voiced to me his compassionate concern that I had no fellowship I could call home. Was this true, I wondered? I have always considered the Place to my "home" church--my community in Christ--yet of late I had been venturing to new communities as well. Perhaps I misunderstood his concern. Perhaps he misunderstood me. Perhaps not. Regardless, in the week following this brief conversation, I was twice blessed with unsolicited understanding of the true meaning of a 'home' fellowship in Christ. And those were just the catalysts God used to bring me to an even fuller understanding: Home is where I go when I'm tired; home is where I go when I need to be loved; home is where I end up when I've been stumbling around, lost; and home is where I go to celebrate. Home is made up of people who look forward to seeing me, and love me. Home is a place I can be away from nearly forever, and still return to a warm embrace. Home is where I find forgiveness and sanctuary. In this community are individuals who defy Ghandi's stereotype and challenge the world's definition of "Christian"; people who offer unbridled hope and faith unwaivering; people who offer grace, love and encouragement to me, me!, a child of many harsh and cutting words, who truly has not one redemptive quality save for Christ in me. In the veins of these people pump the very life that Yeshua, Messiah gave and was resurrected to two-thousand years ago. This church is my home; these people my fellow members in the Body. Thank-you for being my home. Praise the Lord for His abundant blessing on me, that I should be one with you.
Love
by Matthew H - an Advent reflection for the Place 2005
In winter, the only thing to do on the Korean peninsula is wait for spring, for the dragonfly season, when thousands of the insect oil-slicks stutter-buzz above, trippin’ the light fantastic on translucent wings in pursuit of mosquitoes. As I write this, the dragonfly season is at least 120 days away, and the air is frozen under an impossibly blue sky- a prairie sky, for those of us who speak Canadian. And I’m thinking about the West Coast of Canada, missing the slap-clatter of hockey sticks on asphalt, Randy’s bald head, and yes, the theme music at the beginning of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada.
I’m trying to write about love and I’m stalling. The topic’s scary. You should have seen the first five drafts of this. First I wrote about how love was hard work and compared it to climbing a mountain. I’m in the middle of planning a trip up Mt. Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo, and I couldn’t get mountains out of my head. After I deleted that paragraph I wrote about how the symbol of the advent candle isn’t enough, and that the church, by which I just mean you, needs to get past its symbols and actually do something. But I deleted that too. Then I wrote about the problem of symbols in general, how they’re never enough, and how words are really just symbols, but that just led to two days of depression because I’m a writer. When I came out of that, I deleted everything I’d written and wrote an email to Janet Doherty telling her that my head was too far up my, er, up in the clouds to write about love at all. But before I sent it I realized that I’d be really disappointed in myself if I didn’t at least keep trying, so I didn’t send the email. Then I decided to write about my marriage, but that’s just relational suicide, since examining things that work well often leads to them getting broken- just imagine me taking apart my dad’s laptop computer to see how it worked… I figured I could write about the ways that the church loves people, but that was too easy. And I considered writing about how the church fails to love people, but that was even easier. And that’s where I ended up. I mean, you can look at the advent candle and think about love, or not, and I can write to you about things that will make you feel good or things that will make you feel bad, but in the end, you’ve probably heard it all before. In the end, it’s up to you.
So this is a test: Will you please love me?
Sounds kinda strange eh? I’ve noticed that the longer I think about a piece of writing the more it leans towards confession. I guess once I sort through all the crap I start to take a look at myself.
Did you know that I stole three candy bars and a package of mints from Thrifty Foods when I was four?
Will you please love me?
Or that often I don’t believe in God? In fact, I’m not sure that I do as I write this. Maybe I’ll have faith tomorrow.
Will you please love me?
I’ve spent more time playing video games, watching sports on TV and looking at porn than reading the bible.
Will you please love me?
I’ve only been proud of Canada twice. Once when we won the gold medal in hockey at the Salt Lake City Olympics, and once when we made gay marriage legal.
Will you please love me?
I’m worried that as this is read out loud, most of you will be thinking about what a horrible person I am, and not about my question. I’m worried that I do the same thing everyday to people around me. I’m worried that the candle of love will burn out and that this Christmas season will be over and that we’ll go back to hating or forgetting about each other. I’m worried about a lot of things, really. I’m worried about how I can’t tell a lot of the people in my life that I love them. I’m worried that I don’t love them. I’m worried that I don’t know what love is.
But in thinking about writing this, I’ve discovered something that I do know without a doubt. I really want you to love me. I want to be loved. I doubt that I’m alone. Do you know that I even researched the history of the candle making process just to try to impress you? And in the end, this is what I wrote! A confession and a request for love that sounds kinda pathetic- sounds far away and strange even as I write it.
And so here I am, sitting in a small apartment on the Korean peninsula, thinking about love, about how to talk about love, how to write about it, and I’m worried, and I’m unsure of myself, and I’m starting to wish that I’d refused to write this at all. I’m just so human. But then, maybe that’s really what this Christmas thing is all about. Christ didn’t come to show us how to be gods, he came to show us how to be humans. And maybe wanting love is something that a lot of us have in common, and common ground is worth meditating on.
It’s not much to hold onto, I know, but it’ll get me through the winter to dragonfly season at least, and it’s better than a sappy love poem, which, by the way, I also considered sending.
ps. The history of candle making isn’t very interesting.
pps. An out-of-season dragonfly landed on my shoulder the day after I wrote this. I sat still until it took off, disappeared from sight above the mumble-drunk traffic, like an idea or inkling that you glimpse for a second and then lose- at least until spring.
Pedestrian Outrage vs. Road Rage
by Jen (Kung) P - performed at the Place retreat 2005
Some drivers don’t obey da traffic signs and rules. They think they’re so hot, yo I think not! I hope one day that da bad driver’s get caught! Yeah, those crazy fools!
I’m walking across da street, drivers won’t stop! Almost, running over my feet. Where da heck is a cop?
Marked by da white paint, not chalk, there I was using a crosswalk. I finally get across to da sidewalk. There was my friend, we met up to talk.
I was waiting for da pedestrian signal, my turn to go. Da driver turning right, from behind me, not paying attention that I know! They were on da cell phone, probably with an annoying ring tone, not obeying da speed in a school zone. Cuts me off, I nearly drop my ice cream cone, with in the other hand a cheese scone!
Da speeder in da dam Trans Am, caused a big traffic jam. Got into an accident, BAM!
That maniac weaves in and out of lanes, as if they’re da boss. Who steps on da gas. Out da window, a cigarette toss. What a pain in da....well you know what! Gets caught, serves them right, ha their loss!
Yo, driver! This is a pedestrian traffic light, I’m crossing here! Da light is red, I go instead, check ya eye sight! It’s not ya turn, when will ya learn! Sometimes a driver stops when da light is still green, honking at me to go, but I wait for the pedestrian light, awe yeah, that’s right! I guess they don’t know how da light works, or what it means. Yeah, they’re real bright!
Drivers, as I’m wanting to cross da road, beep and yell at me. They don’t know da right of way, people young and old. I ‘beep beep’ back, words I shouldn’t say, but I don’t let this ruin my day.
Emergency vehicles driving through town, with lights and sirens on, drivers not slowing down. Pull over you moron!
I’m walking in da rain, here comes a speeding bus. Da driver thinks they have to dash, I get an overhead splash! I’m soaking wet, I almost cuss. That bus driver is insane, what a big discuss!
Two cars in a road race. As da lights flash, soon follows a police chase. One of racing cars crash! Da driver is OK, but will need some cash, because da cop writes a ticket, with a mad look on his face!
Da cyclist is cut off by a car with a loud bass. Gets knocked over, smash! Was given no space, on da leg suffers a big gash. Da driver didn’t stop, what a disgrace!
What a show off! That motorcyclist swerving in a fast pace. Pop-a-wheely, bails, ends up with a road rash. Why did it happen in da first place? At least, da motorbike isn’t trash. Yeah, what a basket case!
A driver shows road rage, by being aggressive and swearing. Tailgating another car, how very daring. What outrage, what helter-skelter! Why don’t they act their age? Their foul mouth should be rinsed out with Alkaseltzer!
That fool, thinks they can drink and drive. Gets pulled over, da cop takes a breathalyse, hoping to save a live. When will they realize, da innocent want to survive?
Why do they call it rush hour? There’s no move with da traffic flow. Don’t these vehicles have any horse power? Da crawl is way too slow. Impatient drivers looking sour, who have places to go to, ya know!
Like I said in this rap. When will they learn? That’s my concern! It’s all a bunch of cr*p!
Yo, word to ya Fatha!
Reflections on a “mission trip” to Walt Disney World…
by James Prette
I recently returned from a trip to ‘Walt Disney World’ in Orlando, Florida. This was a “mission” trip, as I was the speaker for an outreach camp for teenagers from Southern Ontario. I arranged to bring my thirteen-year-old daughter, Rebekah with me on this trip. I wanted to share the fun of Disney with her and I wanted to have her hear me proclaim the basic good news of Jesus Christ to these Ontario teens each evening.
There were so many ways that ‘Disney World’ helped me proclaim this good news. First, I used Walt Disney’s unique creation as a picture of God creating the world: Mr. Disney didn’t just stumble upon a fully functioning park in Florida and start charging people to attend. He meticulously planned his dream park and then built it from the ground up. Likewise, God meticulously planned and executed his creation and his salvation plan in his perfect timing.
Then I utilized scenes from several Disney cartoons to illustrate the story of Jesus’ work in saving us. In ‘Toy Story 2’ Buzz asks Woody to recall who he belongs to. Woody looks on the inscription on his foot. It says, “Andy”. Each of us has been engraved with God’s signature. We are meant to be his. In ‘The Sword in the Stone’, Merlin changes Arthur into several animals to familiarize him with his future realm. Likewise, Jesus became one of us to familiarize us with the triune God. In ‘The Lion King’, we see Simba abandoning his true identity as a child of the King to live like a warthog. Because of sin in our lives, we have each abandoned our true potential identities as children of God and live in sin and depravity. In ‘Pinocchio’, the little puppet runs from his maker and lands in progressively worse trouble. But, the creator, Geppetto pursues his creation to the ends of the earth never giving up on his dream that Pinocchio could become “real”. God pursues us with his love and his desire that we become a “real” child of his. In the newest Disney movie, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’, the lion, Aslan dies for the sake of the rebellious child, Edmond. He silently accepts cruel torture and death at the hands of the White Witch in exchange for the life and freedom of Edmond, though Edmond knows nothing of it. Then Aslan rises from death because of the “stronger magic” that dictates that when a truly innocent one voluntarily dies for the guilty, death cannot hold him. In fact, “death would start working backward”. In the same way, Jesus’ death and resurrection destroys the power of sin and death, though we knew nothing of it. Finally, in ‘Aladdin’, the hero holds out his hand and offers a ride on his magic carpet. “Trust me” he says. Jesus holds out his hand and offers us a new life. And he can truly show us “a whole new world”.
I also saw in my daily experiences in the parks a picture of the Heaven that Jesus is preparing for us. I mixed with strangers of every walk and shape and language. We enjoyed the fun and spectacle of the parks together. For brief moments, we were all family as we laughed and cried and screamed on rides and in lines and at shows together. Jesus has saved us and is preparing “a whole new world” for us to experience that will include all of the true love and beauty and joy and fun and adventure and family that God invented and originally intended for his creation. We get to get in on it! I joked with some people that when Jesus said he was going away to prepare a place for us, I hope he gets some help form Mr. Disney. Of course, what Jesus is preparing for us in the resurrected new heaven and earth will be far more than even Walt could ask or imagine.
Who is really being deceived?
We struggle for years on end to acquire a disciplined method of living. We have a picture in our minds of what we are striving for, what we believe we are accomplishing, and we believe that we are fulfilling ourselves with sincerity and humility.
But all of this is erroneous from the onset. Not only are we unable to cope with the difficulties we experience in striving each new day to be spiritually ‘on top of our form’, we are also misled by the fiendish independence of the tool we use to achieve this – our intelligence. We think we have it under control, yet more often than not it conditions our thinking and inveigles us - thanks to its own magnetic attraction - into pursuing goals that are very different from the goals we had originally set for ourselves.
Thus I believed I was in control of my life, whereas in fact my choice of lifestyle was very much in control of me. As the weeks went by the outside world grew fainter – the world on which, once again, I had turned by back, though with no feeling of hatred. My own memories, even the ones that mattered to me most, seemed like an ice flow vaguely glimpsed through the fog. If I tried to focus on a specific incident in my youth, even only a decade ago, I would finish up like a marksman who’s staring so hard at his sighting notch that his vision is clouded by tears.
Anguish never becomes a stylistic exercise. I did whatever I needed to relieve my pain, preferring unbearable existence to greatness, and the guarantee of a little warmth to the risk of desolation. No, anguish never does become a stylistic exercise, but squalor can become habitual.
Less than half a year ago I decided to consensually leave this world that I found so hateful. At that time everything that happened brought me further proof that it was ludicrous to put any faith in the human race. Little by little, having once believed that life is endlessly renewed in the pursuit of perfection, I started loathing the human race. I started loathing myself. I personally had lost any desire to save myself from the annihilation that had been my lot from the outset, and my life had been a failure.
During that time I watched as my ideals fell about my ears. One after the other, all my hopes crumbled and my vision of man was transformed into something quite horrific. Rather than let the abyss come to me, I had elected to go willingly to the abyss myself. To quote St. Paul, “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”
Something happened to me then. Somehow the Grace of God saved me from a situation that I could not even imagine my way out of. I’ve come to realize that I was going through great lengths to mask my pain, preferring a bearable existence to one of greatness, and the guarantee of a little warmth to the risk of desolation. I am through sacrificing my future for a familiar, and thereby comfortable today. I have utilized my period of incarceration in very much the same way as a caterpillar uses its chrysalis state, to undergo a period of fundamental transformation.
Although I cannot hope to restore the sense of security that I have robbed from so many communities, it is my hope that perhaps my writing will give you some insight into my mindset during my thirteen year run as an addict, and offer a glimmer of hope that change is not out of reach for anybody, even a long term addict.
Unseen
Today that guy was at the door
He comes everyday
Always demanding more
I said there is nothing more to give
You took it all
Just let me live
Please now just go away
You are unwanted
I don't want you to stay
Your life is mine he said to me
I won't leave you alone
You will never be free
All he said was just a lie
My life is my own
Until the day I die
That guy he tried to play his game
He would ring the doorbell
Each day he left in shame
Today that guy wasn't at the door
He never came again
Never demanding more
Three Days Draws Nigh
It was his words that killed him
That brought him such disgrace
He said he was the Son of God
Such blasphemy
Claiming equality with God
His blasphemy is such a lie
And by our law
He must die
He will die for all
Not our nation
Our people will not fall
Here he is upon that cross
Dying in pain and agony
Is it really such a loss
The end has come to his time
Look at him suffer
Paying for his sinful crime
Approaching now is the hour of death
The sky is getting darker
Closer to his final breath
It is finished he screams aloud
He is dead at last
To the amazement of the crowd
There is still one more lie
The one we most fear
Three days draws nigh
Easter Sunday message
by Randy Hein
Reflecting on the qualities of what makes a story a good story, Aristotle said that every good story has a beginning, a middle and an ending. The Gospel according to Mark has a clear beginning, it has a clear middle … but when you get to the end, you get the sense that the ending is to be found beyond the gospel somehow. If the gospel of Mark were translated into music, it’s as if Mark plays the first seven notes of the scale and then just waits … why would he do that? Why would he leave his gospel open and, if I could be so bold, unresolved?
Hopefully my message tonight will answer that question …
If you ever read all of the gospels – one after another – you will discover that each writer, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, has their own particular way of telling us about Jesus. Each one of them has certain themes that they wish to articulate and emphasize. One thing that has become very clear to me in our study of Mark. One theme he wants to emphasize is this: that, in Jesus Christ, God is on the loose.
It begins at the beginning. Mark spares no time emphasizing this. Right there, in Chapter one, right after Jesus gets baptized in the river Jordan we have this scene … he emerges from the water and heavens part, the Spirit descends like a dove, the Father speaks … “that’s my boy”. At least that’s how I’ve always pictured it. But this isn’t what Mark says.
But unlike the other gospel accounts, Mark doesn’t simply write, “The heavens opened”. He writes that, “The heavens tore open”. Why does he add that? What is opened may be closed, but what is ripped and torn? Well, that’s a little more permanent. “The heavens tore open” … the Spirit descends, the Father speaks … and Jesus goes forth. The veil between heaven and earth has been broken. God has penetrated our world and he is on the loose.
Now understand, very key to understanding Mark, the heavens have not torn open so that we can get to God, they have torn open so that God can get at us. We are the runaways, but God is pursuing us and coming after us and nothing can hold Jesus back.
Fast forward fifteen chapters, and you will find the only other place in all the gospels where this verb “to tear apart” occurs. It happens in the temple at the very moment Jesus dies. Now remember, it was believed that the temple was the place where God dwelt. It is the place where his presence was to be experienced. So there was a scared – “set-apart” – holy distance between that ground and the ground you and I are now standing on.
It is recorded that when Jesus breathed out his last breath, that the heavy temple curtain that separates the very holiest of places from you and me was ripped in two.
I was always led to believe that this event signified that I have access to the Holy of Holies. That, because of what Jesus did on the cross, if I want I can “walk in and out” – so to speak – anytime I want. But it’s more than that.
God is not a passive agent here. It is God that is “tearing through” and “bursting forth” from the confines that we have placed on him. He can’t be contained. It ripped from top to bottom and inside-out.
The curtain was torn not so we could get to God – not from bottom to top, but from top to bottom – the curtain was torn so God could get at us. We are the runaways, but God is pursuing us and coming after us and nothing can hold Jesus back.
Nothing can contain him. Not even death.
I love how the gospel accounts show the women disciples arriving on the scene first. Typical. The boys are off hiding cuz their scared … or sulking.
It speaks to the authenticity of the event. If Mark was trying to fabricate the story to convince people of the truth of the event he would have had the men arrive first. Because, culturally, women weren’t considered credible witnesses. To the first century ear, this doesn’t have the ring of great drama. It has the ring of reality. There is no skill to this writing, no fanfare, Mark is simply telling it the way it was.
The women arrive at the tomb. Obviously have not anticipated his resurrection: they are there to anoint a dead body. They’re probably grief-stricken; with no hope … the only thing motivating them is loyalty and devotion to the one they loved. They come across the tomb and the stone has been rolled away and there – in the entryway – was a messenger …
"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "Is the gospel story now resolved? Have we heard the last note of the scale? Does it end with the resurrection of Jesus, or does it begin with His resurrection? Jesus is still on the move.
“He’s going ahead of you into Galilee.”He is still on the move and God is still ahead of us. The heavens have ripped open, the temple curtains have tore in two open, the stone has been rolled away and God is on the loose
These things happened, the heavens, the temple curtain, the resurrection, not simply so we could get to God, but so that God could get at us. We are the runaways, but God is pursuing us and coming after us and nothing can hold Jesus back.
He has broken through every boundary and taken down every wall to get into our lives.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Keeping Earth In Common: A Just Faith For A Whole World
reviewed by Heidi F
The focus of this year’s Regent/A Rocha conference (February 24-26th, 2006) was the link between people and the land. Noting that if the land suffers, the people suffer, and if people suffer, the land suffers, the conference explored the link between ecological and social justice. Featuring five speakers and a selection of five workshops, the conference was an opportunity to counteract misinformed theology regarding concepts of redemption which has pervaded the Church for some time. From previous contact with Regent and A Rocha, I know that the emphasis in the title of the conference of “a whole world” refers to the fact that “world” in Scripture often refers to human and non-human Creation—animals AND mankind (see John 3:16—the Greek word means Jesus died for the whole created world, not just people.) One thing I love about those I’ve come into contact with at Regent and A Rocha, is that even though they’re passionate about Creation care, and are concerned with the abuse, they are very gracious in not being fundamentalist or dogmatic about it. It’s an invitation to become part of Creation care, not an imperative command. So I invite you to join me in my journey towards earth + people keeping (you’ll learn more about this below).
Here’s my breakdown on the workshops and speakers whose lectures I attended. Please feel free to leave any comments to this post as I would love to help clarify any questions and keep this conversation going.
Speaker 1 - Iain Provan “The land is mine and you are only tenants: Earth-keeping and People-keeping in the Old Testament”
Iain Provan (the fantastic OT professor with a beautiful Scottish accent and dry sense of humour) started the weekend with a response to Lynn White’s criticism of Christianity and its role in Creation destruction and disrespect during the 1960’s. Dealing specifically with the concepts of “Earth-keeping” and “people-keeping”, Provan shared a theology which asserts that we are stewards of the Earth, and it is our job to take care of it; hence we are “Earth-keepers.” Likewise, the term “people-keeping” comes from the same concept; with social justice in mind Provan described (using Matthew 25:35 + and Isaiah 58:7) that we indeed are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers in that we are our neighbours’ keepers – and our neighbour is anyone thirsty, hungry, naked or in danger.
Having established that both earth-keeping and people-keeping are the Christian’s responsibility, Dr. Provan pointed out some OT scriptures that show how closely the two are linked. Hosea 4:1-3 is very explicit and powerful, saying that lying and adultery cause the land to mourn and animals to die. I love the line in Deuteronomy 20:19 where the author is talking about war and how Creation is an innocent victim, “Are the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them?” (I can’t help but think of the Ents in Lord of the Rings.)
From there, Dr. Provan addressed the issue of anthropocentrism in Biblical Creation Theology, showing that Creation has a purpose of its own apart from people. The created order and male-centrism was also addressed, showing that people-keeping in the Bible is not about hierarchy but about mutuality. Before concluding, Provan continued on to say that just government is important in the OT as is justice among neighbours. He also touched on the concept of Jubilee and the link between the land and tenants and stewardship and social justice - but that’s a whole other issue that’s too big to get into here!
His final statement sums up the theme of the weekend: “People-keeping and earth-keeping are not different options. They are both part of the same Christian calling.”
Speaker 2 - Dave Diewart “The People Cry Out & the Earth Mourns”
The second speaker is a favourite professor of mine from Regent: Dave Diewert. His call is to live in solidarity with the poor of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside; he’s only on staff part-time at Regent. An incredibly humble, courageous, gracious but challenging man, he called us to consider an alternative perspective to the dominant view of our world today—to challenge the status quo and listen to the cries of the poor and the mourning of the earth. A major point was that God hears the cries of his Creation (e.g. Israel under Pharaoh). Since Creation cries out (Rom 8:22), God will listen to its cries too. In Isaiah 24: 4-6, God judges Creation because the Israelites broke the covenant. Oppression of people is a huge offense to God, and oppression of the Earth is also offensive.
Speaker 3 - Alfredo Abreu “Justice, Earth and Heaven, According to the Beatitudes”
The third speaker on the day was Alfredo Abreu, a sociologist from Portugal with some Regent training who threw in some New Testament theology as he introduced the Beatitudes in terms of counter-cultural values and social justice. For example, meekness was described as being anti-power, position, possessions and violence. So much factors into our personal theologies of the role of Creation in our lives! Including exploitation and consumerism. Peter Harris (director of A Rocha) expanded on this by pointing out that facts aren’t enough—our attitude to Creation is rooted in choices which come from belief (which is why our theology is so important when it comes to Earth-keeping, and why bad recent theology has led to so much of Earth’s destruction). One example of underemphasized theology is the fact that when Jesus was resurrected (the first manifestation of the ‘eternally material’—of what we will be like in heaven in our resurrected bodies), he was flesh—he had scars and could be touched, and even ate.
Abreu focussed less on direct Scriptural examples of social and eco-justice, but on attitudes that cause inequality and oppression such as the desire for ‘relevancy,’ popularity, recognition, and power (apparently drawn from one of Nouwen’s interpretations of Jesus’ three temptations).
Speaker 4 - Stella Simiyu “The Word, Conservation and a Human Face: An African Perspective
Stella Simiyu, a biologist from Kenya involved with plant conservation asked about the role of those who worship the Creator considering “the global community has recognized the link among people, poverty, environmental conservation, economic growth and sustainable development.”
Speaker 5 - Peter Harris “Connecting Up”
The final speaker spoke very simply about basic Christianity and a just faith for the whole world. Much injustice in the world is due to selfishness and exploitation, which I think any Christian would agree is completely contrary to the values Jesus demonstrated. Another basic concept was brought up: Creation-care as worship. Very simply, we care for Creation because we love the Creator.
Workshop - Matthias Stiefel - “Political Security and Ecological Stress”
War was also talked about in the workshop I attended in the afternoon, which was directed by the president of Warn-torn Societies Project International (involved specifically in conflict resolution in Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa). He gave specific examples of how destructive war is to the land (acres of landmines making land unusable, refugees draining local resources out of need), and how control and use of resources leads to war. His suggestion is that Africa needs reconciliation, not justice (which leads to more war).
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editor's note:
For those interested/intrigued: An mp3 of the conference is available in full from Regent's online bookstore here