Global Empathy

This video was on The Burner Blog from Fuller Theological Seminary, and I simply can't stop thinking about it. Take a look!

It is interesting to me how we are wired and how empathy is in our nature. In fact it seems to be our default. As my wife said, "this all makes sense and is nothing earth-shattering", yet somehow it is. Why? Because we find empathy so hard! We fight against our very NATURE, the IMAGE in which we were created (IMAGO DEI).

This scientific study and lecture sounds a LOT like the Kingdom of God of which Christ went on about. It IS conceivable that we can reach a level of global empathy, yet we still can't empathize with those people around us. If we can't respond emphatically with our neighbor, how then can we expect to grow into an empathetic relationship on a global scale.

There is a LOT to think on in this video. Ideas of empathy, not only for other humans, but also for all of creation including the planet itself. There is also a lot to ponder when they mention the way institutions we have structured to stabilize our lives push us away from empathy. There is a lot of good thoughts Brian McLaren has on this subject in his book, Everything Must Change.

In any case, it is worth pondering. Too much for me to go into properly, but def. worth a watch or three.

Feel free to comment!

Imaginary Jesus: A Review

Imaginary Jesus is a gem of a book. Above it is described as something similar to Vonnegut, but It felt a lot more like Christopher Moore's "Lamb", just not as edgy!

As a matter of fact, if I had to come up with a complaint against this book it would be that I wish it had been more edgy. However, I also didn't thing "The Shack" was that edgy either, but we saw the ruckus that that stirred up.

Either way, this is simply a good tale. Matt has a good sense of humor and tales a tale of a tale! He catches the reader off-guard from the first scene. Yes I knew that Jesus was going to be punched in the face, but you'll never guess by whom the punch was thrown. I won't spoil it here, but for that alone one should pick up the book!

However, amidst Matt's fun road-trip through the variety of Jesus' we make up, we find something deep yet so simple: WE ALL MAKE UP OUR OWN JESUS(ES)! we find the Jesus that fits our beliefs and our own experiences, knowledge and circumstances.

What I love about this is that for Matt there is no "sacred cows". He has his own particular imaginary Jesus, but also throws in every thinkable stereotype one can imagine. Yes he presents the typical (and that is the key word in appreciating this book) conservative/evangelical Jesus, along with the political Jesus. But before you can get upset with him for picking on YOUR Jesus, he will throw in the liberal hippie Jesus and the emergent Jesus. (and these may be your Jesus, if so put that sentence in reverse).

And that is the point of the book. It doesn't matter where you are on the spectrum, what denomination you lean towards, what your political agendas are... we ALL have an imaginary Jesus. Thus the point of the book: when we stop seeking the REAL Jesus, then we automatically SETTLE for an imaginary one. And that's not because Christ is changing, it's simply because we always are.

A very simple, yet beautiful and challenging point. And what a fun way Matt has of making his point. Using humor and outlandish situations, he disarms his reader into considering what imaginary construct she or he is settling for.

This book gets a MUST READ from me. I love what Matt has done here, and I hope that people will take the meaning of this book seriously while not taking the story or themselves too seriously at the same time!

LINKS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FBO0qrxHIw – A well-done book trailer

http://blog.imaginaryjesus.com/ – Matt’s blog

A review for theOoze.com

Laughing With Sarah: A review

I chose to review "Laughing with Sarah" not only because the description on the back (I'm a sucker for the anyone who is willing to admit that faith is a journey), but, also, being a minister of a small home church that is discussion-based, I love when books add a group discussion section into the book.

Perhaps my hopes were a bit high!

Jennings' book is a collection of sermons on differing topics. The best word I could use to describe this book is pedestrian. It is a feel-good devotional. Now that is not a bad thing by itself. However, Jennings is very very illustration heavy. He is constantly using a story from a book, movie, or some other media source. These start to feel less than genuine. Very few of the stories are personal and thus, I 1) never felt I formed a personal connection with this author and 2) It simply began to overshadow any Biblical texts that he might use. In this case, I also could not form a connection with the topic or text as well as it always seemed to fall short of anything really meaty!

Don't get me wrong. There are some good illustrations in there. A couple I have flagged for any occasion I may need them. However, they will have to be used sparingly and naturally connect with the text. Yet even the good illustrations are easily glossed over by the sheer number that he chooses to use. I neither think that this makes for a good sermon, nor a good devotional.

I will admit that my wish and disappointment came from whizzing through the Biblical texts. I wanted something much more to chew on. I would have loved for him to spend more time on the texts he chose and given some background that would tie it all together; something that would make a connection between the text and the topic stick with me. Instead I am more likely to be faced with a topic and a short pop-culture illustration that comes to mind.

I understand that this book will be good for some people. If you like, for instance, "Guideposts" magazine with their inspirational stories, than you would probably find this book enlightening and soothing. This is neither a condemnation of either publication, simply an observation (I used to love "Guideposts" growing up).

However, if you want something with a bit more meat on it's bones... something that truly inspires conversation (the discussion notes did not inspire much to talk about in my trial), then perhaps this is not the book for you.

For more info about the book please visit:

http://www.genejennings.com – Gene’s blog

http://www.laughingwithsarah.blogspot.com – Laughing With Sarah booksite

A Review for theOoze.com