Be Radical

rad·i·cal

–adjective

1.of or going to the root or origin; fundamental: a radical difference.

2.thoroughgoing or extreme, esp. as regards change from accepted or traditional forms: a radical change in the policy of a company.

3.favoring drastic political, economic, or social reforms: radical ideas; radical and anarchistic ideologues.

4.forming a basis or foundation.

5.existing inherently in a thing or person: radical defects of character.

–noun

6.a person who holds or follows strong convictions or extreme principles; extremist.

7.a person who advocates fundamental political, economic, and social reforms by direct and often uncompromising methods.

Radical – it is an interesting word with many definitions, I took this off dictionary.com and cut off a number of them in order to more easily make the point I wanted in this post. When people think of radical, they often think of definitions 3, 6 and 7. But I find 1 and 4 very interesting. I do not often think as radical as basic, fundamental, getting to the root. But there it is.

Now if I apply this to the phrase one often hears, radical Christianity, I can think of getting back to basics (think the New Testament church in the Book of Acts) rather than being extreme.

And the irony of it is that if one were to seek to get back to this kind of Christianity, this kind of basics, one would be viewed in our culture as being extreme. Imagine living out your faith as the NT church did, praying, sharing, doing life in this fashion. Radical.

Go ahead.

Be radical.

It’s pretty basic.

If Christians Were Clocks...

...what kind would you be?




Would you be up in some tower banging away for all to hear, but basically unapproachable and so, mostly ignored but for a passing glance now and then?












Would you be some oddball clock that people mostly laughed at and you told the tale of time?















Would you just hang out with other clocks, seemingly in the world, but really completely apart and unconnected in any way?









Would you be an insistent sort, getting up in people's faces until they listened (and most likely turned you off and went about their business)?










Or would you be on a busy street, providing much needed help to those as they rushed by in their lives? Available, but apart; in the world, not of it. Noticeable and reachable, yet uncompromising in the message you gave out?


Tell me, tell me please, what kind of clock would you be?

A Quote I Enjoyed– #1

I am positive that in pursuing my seminary education I am going to run across some quotes that I will really enjoy, learn from and want to share. I am positive of this because I found one today. This one is in J P Moreland's "Love Your God with All Your Mind", in which Moreland quotes another deep thinker. I think one of the definitions of a good quote is one that when you read it, you see great relevance for today's world, regardless of when it was written.

Here goes:

"In an age in which infidelity abounds, do we observe them [parents] carefully instructing their children in the principles of faith which they profess? Or do they furnish their children with arguments for the defense of the faith? They would blush on their child's birth to think him inadequate in any branch of knowledge or any skill pertaining to his station in life. He cultivates these skills with becoming diligence. But he is left to collect his religion a she may. The study of Christianity has formed no part of his education. His attachment to it-where any attachment to it exists at all-is too often not the preference of sober reason and conviction. Instead his attachment to Christianity is merely the result of early and groundless possession. He was born in a Christian country, so of course he is a Christian. His father was a member of the Church of England so that is why he is, too. When religion is handed down among us by hereditary succession, it is not surprising to find youth of sense and spirit beginning to question the truth of the system in which they were brought up. And it is not surprising to see them abandon a position which they are unable to defend. Knowing Christianity chiefly by its difficulties and the impossibilities falsely imputed to it, they fall perhaps into the company of unbelievers."

William Wilberforce (1759-1833) - Real Christianity

We need to think, not just feel, Christianity. We need to question, in order to learn, in order to defend, our faith. And that hasn't changed all that much in the past couple of hundred years. I am so enjoying seminary.