God the Idiot: Part 1

A few months ago I had to write a paper using a "cultural" text to talk about our understanding of God.  For my paper I chose the portrayal of God in Family Guy.  What follows is some of my thoughts about both the portrayal of God and ways that we should respond.

Recently I was watching the highly popular cartoon “Family Guy.”  The son, Chris, is talking about how he is afraid to try and do homework because there is an evil monkey living in his closet and says that he has proof that it exists there.  Peter responds, “You’ll have to do better than you did on your science exam, or than God did when he left the iron on too long on Ellen Barkins face.”  The scene cuts to a clip of God, distracted, ironing a lady on an ironing board.  He looks down and the conversation goes as follows:
God; “ Oh *$%#.”
Ellen; “How is it?”
God: “Get in the van we’ll put you in the 80s where you’ll pass for hot” (Family Guy Hannah Banana season 8 Episode 4 Two minutes in).

“Family Guy” is no stranger to insulting God.  In season 3, there is a scene where God is trying to pick up a girl at a bar.  He uses his finger to light her cigarette and a second later he makes the same motion and sets the girl on fire.  Then he proceeds to run away, leaving the girl and bar to burn down.  Most of the time I was just offended by these clips.  However, when I started to put them together, I noticed something about the way that God is portrayed in these clips.  Seth MacFarlane, creator of “Family Guy,” portrays God as old, male, pudgy, balding, and completely inept.  In fact, one could call MacFarlane’s god a bumbling idiot.

    What leads a person to picture God this way?  How do I as a Christian respond to MacFarlane’s portrayal of the God I love?  As I reflect on these clips, three things seem to me to be a driving force behind the “Family Guy god.” 

First is the idea in western Christianity that God is male.  For the non-believer, is it understandable that the logical path leads to gods being womanizers?  This was certainly the case for the Greeks, Romans, Ancient Mesopotamians etc.  In those cultures the gods were always sneaking around having sex with women.  As the culture in North America has shifted, it is little wonder that our predominant language of talking about God as male has led to a view of God being more like Baal or Zeus than like the God of the Bible. 

Secondly, I wonder how much of the Christians’ belief in God’s omnipotence plays into MacFarelane’s view.  If MacFarlane grew up within any proximity to Christianity, he would have heard about how God has all the power in the world; that God is able to do all things.  Yet, when one looks at the world, it is clear that things are not all good.  If God is all-powerful, why is it that some people are born with physical defects that will go on to limit them in life?  Children are born all over the world with abnormalities and diseases.  If God is the creator of all these lives, why would he not do a better job?
  
Finally, there is the idea that God is absent and disengaged from the world.  In the clip, “god’s” flippant remark to Ellen about getting into the van indicates that God can’t be bothered to fix his mistake.  Or perhaps an even better example is the scene of “god” setting the woman on fire with his finger.  His reaction is to run out of the bar after setting her on fire.  Our very language sometimes seems to indicate that this is the case.  When a hurricane or flood hits we call it an “act of God” and are then left asking “where was God in this?”  Did God just set the world in motion and then leave?  The world spirals into disaster and God can be seemingly absent.  In brief, the “Family Guy god” is a jumble of distorted images that come from the language we use to talk about God the Father.

God is Love: and the Flannel-graph

I saw this video today and I thought it was pretty sweet.  Perhaps best of all the video was constructed using felt.  The flannel-graph makes a come back!  What do you think?

At Cedarwood

Right now I'm maxin and relaxin in my speakers suite at Camp Cedarwood. I'm speaking at the Winkler EMMC Sr. Youth retreat. So far I just have a few things to say.
1) Camp Cedarwood is one of the most beautiful camps I have ever been to. The lodge is unbelievable!!! It is so plush, I just couldn't imagine being a camper (or staff here). I'd heard good things, but words just don't do it justice.
2) I am constantly amazed at how the Holy Spirit just comes in power and uses a broken vessel like me. I find this every time. Whether I am preaching or speaking or doing a Bible study, I always get so nervous before speaking. I go over my notes a million times I think, well it's ok, but not great. And then when it actually comes time to share it seems like the Holy Spirit just comes and takes over. I love it when God does that. He is just beyond anything I can think or say.
3) I like being the speaker. It's really sweet not having to organize stuff or worry about the schedule or anything. I just speak couple times and then it's up to me how I spend the rest of my time. It's actually really relaxing.
4) I miss Niki like crazy!!! She went to Saskatchewan on Wednesday so now it's been 4 days, and I am officially at the point where I want to see her so bad it actually makes me almost hurt.
Well I guess that's all for now from beautiful Cedarwood. Thanks to all of you who are praying I really know that they are making a difference.

"I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices."

A while ago I felt like it was time to reread through all the gospels. I tend to spend most of my time reading in Mark (a personal fav) but I thought it was time to get the whole perspective on the story of Christ again. So the other day I read this cool verse from Matthew 9. Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, 'cause they are trippin’ that Jesus would hang out with the likes of Matthew and as they like to label them "scum." So Jesus throws out this response. He says in verse 13 "Then he added, 'Now go and learn the meaning of this scripture: 'I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices (Hosea 6:6).' For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough." So this struck me, and I thought it was a cool verse. Jesus is quoting Hosea 6:6 so I went back and read through the whole chapter to see the context of the passage Jesus is quoting. Well today I was reading Matthew 12 and Jesus is back in hot water with the Pharisees because the disciples are grabbing handfuls of grain and eating it on the Sabbath (has anyone ever thought about how gross that would be to eat? Mmmm raw grain, yummy! I think I'd rather go hungry... ANYWAY) Jesus looks at the Pharisees and says, "But you would not have condemned those who aren't guilty if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices." So I'm reading and I go 'huh? I think I've heard this before. So I'm thinking that if Jesus is repeating himself, He probably thinks that this is a pretty important thing. The whole part of Hosea 6:6 says, "I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices. I want you to know God; that's more important than burnt offerings." So here is Jesus repeating that what He is looking for, what He wants us to be doing, be merciful, and know God. He’s not interested in empty ritual, he is interested in people. Not always the easiest thing in the world to do, but a good challenge as we go about our days, so let us be merciful, and not fall into the trap of thinking we are already good enough.

God's Blueprint

So on Sunday I preached on the guidance of God in our lives. (you can listen to sermon here). In that sermon I mentioned that I don’t believe that God has a perfect blueprint for my life. I believe that I have choices in my life. There wasn’t just one person I was supposed to marry. But I chose Niki, and now I committee to live out the rest of my life with her (By the way I think it was an excellent choice). There isn’t just one school for us to go to, one church for us to serve in, one…anything. However, believing this does raises some interesting questions. What I’ve done here is laid out three of the main reasons why I struggle with the idea that God has a perfect plan laid out for my life. I would love to hear your responses and your thoughts. Hopefully we can discuss and learn together.

1) God Can Change his Mind, so then the plans Change.
First we are told in Hebrews 6:18 that it is impossible for God to lie. With this in mind when we read the story of Exodus 32:9-14 we are left with a clear picture of when God’s mind can be changed by his people. Because his threat to destroy the people was either, real, or a lie, God was clearly ready to destroy the Israelites, but because of Moses’ intercession, and arguing God relents and changes His mind. So if it is possible for us as humans to change God’s mind, how can He have a blueprint laid out for my life? Clearly there are things that can change His mind and make new plans.

2) We must have choice (To choose and reject)
God is Love, God created us for love. In Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis says,
“Free will is what has made evil possible. Why then, did God give (creatures) free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.”
Because God wants real love from us, it means we must have a choice. This choice is clear to us through the scriptures. It is repeatedly affirmed that God loves the whole world and does not want one person to be lost (1 Tim 2:4 4:10; 2 Pet 3:9)! And yet at the same time it tells us that many people will be lost. The possibility of saying no to God must be there just as the possibility of saying yes. People can and often do resist God. Choice is part of the fabric of who we are. So in my life I must have choice in the decisions I will make, if God has a blueprint of everything I will do, and am supposed to do, I become nothing more than a robot. It also raises questions about those who choose not to follow God. Either they have a choice, or God has a blueprint that says they will not choose to know Him. And so now He is the one responsible for them being lost. Seeing as we have already established that God cannot lie, and the God wants all people to be saved, so this clearly isn’t an option.

3) If God is responsible for everything that means evil as well
One final reason (although I’m sure I can think of more) I see a problem with the idea of God’s blueprint of my life is that then there is, “A specific divine reason for every particular event that transpires, including the activity of Satan, then the ultimate explanation for evil cannot be found in Satan. It must rather be found in the reason that God had for ordaining or allowing him to carry out that specific activity, The problem is that the New Testament doesn’t point toward that. Acts 10:38 says that Jesus “Went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.” In fact Jesus always treated disease as a work of the enemy.” If God has a plan for everything in my life it means that He is also in control of all the sickness, disease and disasters that happen in this world, that He NOT Satan is the perpetrator of these events. To me this is irreconcilable with God as good, and the pictures we see in the scripture as God’s kingdom fighting against the powers and principles of this world.

In Conclusion, I find the evidence of God’s ability to change His mind, His gift of choice to choose or reject Him, and the fact that a good God cannot be responsible for evil, is enough that God does not have a single plan for our lives. It seems to me that if God has a plan for our life it is that we will Love Him, and that we will live Holy Lives.

Now I also have to say that all of this doesn’t make total sense to me yet. I am just a pilgrim searching for answers. And while I don’t think that God has a specific plan for my life, I also believe that God calls people and commissions them for things. I believe that it is good to seek the guidance of God, and walk in His steps. So how that relates to what I’ve said before I am not totally sure yet. But this I do know, without choice, we stray too close to predestination for my liking.

Jealousy

“Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” - Exodus 34:14

Question: How do you deal with a God who’s very name is Jealous, a God that proclaims loudly and frequently that He is a Jealous God, and the fact that we as his people are not supposed to be Jealous?

This was the question I faced the other day. How do I respond? So I asked a few people how they would answer it. The best answer I got was, “Because He’s God, so he can do whatever He wants.” Fortunately this was said with a bit of a smirk, so I knew this wonderful woman that I admire hadn’t just crushed my opinion of her. But still…

So these are my thoughts on the topic.

1) Emotions are from God, and so Jealousy is not always a Bad thing.

Emotions are something that are God given, and important to who we are as people. Jesus showed us a wide variety of emotions during his time on earth. Whether it was anger at the money changers in the Temple, or the tears shed over Jerusalem, Jesus as a man who had emotions and used them. There are times when injustice calls us to a righteous anger. There are times when we hear stories that break our heart and call us into action. Even our sexual urges are something given by God. All of these emotions obviously can be used incorrectly. Anger can turn into destructive violence, sadness can lead to a unhealthy view of the state of the world, and sexual feelings, can lead to a whole host of problems. So is jealousy like these emotions? Can it be used correctly?

2) Really what is Jealousy

Well to answer that last question. First we need a framework, a definition of what Jealousy is. The one I found that actually helped a lot was from Wikipedia (the encyclopedia that allows even idiots to be experts). Anyway, they say. “Jealousy typically refers to the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that occur when a person believes a valued relationship is being threatened by a rival.” So then if Jealousy is our reaction when a valued relationship is being threatened by a rival, I think it starts to make a little more sense. We as the creation of God, are created to be in relationship. Because of the fall and some bad choices on our part, or relationship with God becomes threatened by the entrance of sin and Satan. Now maybe I’m putting human emotions on God, but wouldn’t it make sense for God to become jealous when He sees His perfect creation, His relationship with His children so threatened. This definition has helped be understand how God can be jealous, and how that can be a good thing.

But then we are still left with the question, What about us? Is there ever a place where it is right for us to be jealous? I’d really like your input here, because I can’t think of many. In fact the only one I can really think of would be marriage. When a husband or wife feels there relationship is threatened by an outside force, jealousy kicks in to protect that marriage. Now like all other emotions it can be misused and abused. But within the context of marriage jealousy can be a very good thing.

I guess the problem is that there is a very thin line between jealousy and envy. Envy is that desire for things you don’t have. And often it seems like Jealousy gets lumped in with it. But at least to me, I see a difference. I think I can see how God can be jealous, how there is place for us to be jealous. But at the same time the need to walk with care, to make sure we aren’t slipping over into envy. Longing for something that we have no right to.

So what are your thoughts?