The Christian Imagination

Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law. (NIV)
Where there is no prophecy the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. (NRSV)
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (KJV)
- Proverbs 29:18

The last version is the best known, though we generally leave off the last part. Since the Psalms heavily rely on Hebrew parallelism, we do them a disservice if we don’t quote the whole proverb, which isn’t hard really, since a verse generally contains the entire proverb.

The latter half of the proverb makes the point that following the law, staying within bounds, makes a person blessed or happy. The first part of the proverb addresses why people don’t keep the law.

Let’s look at the word vision. In Hebrew, it literally means vision, though there are different types, including divine communication. In different Bible versions, it is translated vision, revelation, and prophecy. Since these words are too often strictly associated with telling the future, I need to make clear that that is not what it’s talking about. The role of a prophet, according to Brueggemann, is to Criticize and Energize. The first part is to speak truth and break through people’s complacency. The second part is to inspire and rekindle the imagination.

Cast off restraint seems to be the most accurate translation of the rest. It means to loosen, and can even mean ignore. A person who is complacent, self-absorbed, and numb can easily do both.

I’ve been reflecting on the verse this past week, partially because I’ve rediscovered passion for some things that I had forgotten I was passionate about. I strive to be a good person. Admittedly, life sometimes seems like a series of todo lists and to-not-do lists. Knowing what is good for me doesn’t always inspire me to be good though. Sin can have an illusion of life to do, even if only briefly. Sin is the easier path. And when the stories I am sold from Christian vendors don’t stir my heart and help me see into the distance, my reasons to follow the law and restrain my life just aren’t compelling. When trying to do just what others tell me I should do, I feel like I lose a self of myself and who God created me to be in this world.

And when this visionary doesn’t have a real vision to take hold of, I descend into mediocrity…and stay there.

Apparently stepping out in faith towards a vision that resonates with my heart is a way to rise above mediocrity and get unstuck. So, another day on the journey…

If you have ever read Tolkien, or seen the Lord of the Rings movies, then you’ve heard of the Ringwraiths, otherwise known as the Nazgul, Black Riders, Dark Riders, or the Nine. The Fellowship of the Ring Special Edition DVD had a great special feature on Tolkien, the Ring, the Ringwraiths, and the nature of Evil.

The ring itself is an outside force, created by Sauron, and is pure evil. Yet, part of its allure is that is it a ring of power. Baron Acton said, “Power tends to corrupt.” 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” Money and power can, and are, used for good in this world. There’s a problem with money and power though. Once we have them, we want to keep them, and we want more. So, they corrupt.

The Ringwraiths in Tolkien’s lore were kings of men. The nine kings were given rings of power, and they accomplished great things. This power was intoxicating, addicting, and the kings ceased to rule, but instead became bondservants of Sauron, doing whatever he willed. They could have removed the rings, but they wanted to keep the power they had, and after awhile, they became shadows of their former selves, losing any sense of self, till their physical form faded from view.

Tom Shippey summarizes Tolkien’s view of evil as it relates to the Ringwraiths quite well on the DVD:

The nature of evil in the 20th century has been curiously impersonal. It’s as if, at times, nobody particularly wants to do it. In the end, you get the major atrocities of the 20th century being carried out by beaurocrats. Well, the people that do that kind of thing are wraiths. They’ve gone through the wraithing process. They don’t know what’s good and evil anymore. It’s become a job or a routine.

You start off with good intentions, but somehow it all goes wrong. So it’s a curiously distinctive image of evil, and I should also say, it’s a very unwelcome one. Because what it says is it could be you, and in fact, under the right circumstances, or should I say, under the wrong circumstances, it will be you.

When people say that this kind of fantasy fiction is escapist and evading the real world, well I think that’s an evasion. It’s actually trying to confront something that most people would rather not confront.

That, to me, is a very Christian-inspired view of evil. What do you think?

Ringwraith photo by Seth W. Daire

I’ve been challenged of late. I have been a part of a startup Internet business since 2004. It’s been a great growth experience, but it’s disturbing at times to realize just how easy it is to view life on a contractual, economic exchange level. I do, after all, have to take care of myself, and my family and close friends need attention to. I also can only do so much and truly know so many people. However…

I pass all sorts of people every day, and I rarely desire to stop and chat. I spend lots of time at our coffee house, and there, all sorts of people come in. And when working, it’s so easy to take a moment for the beautiful, the intelligent, the together, the friendly. Meeting new people, especially those who are different, can take work, can take energy. And you wonder, I wonder, if it’s worth it at times. It’s been said, for instance, that it’s a better investment of time to help someone who wants to succeed rather than spend time trying to raise someone who doesn’t have much desire to a higher level.

And yet, when I read the Bible, over and over, it talks about God’s concern for the poor, oppressed, widows, and orphans, those in need. I read verses like 1 John 4:17, “If any one has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”

The thing is, I am all about loving the poor and loving my enemy, but when that person walks in, in the flesh, as a real person, it’s easier not too. And thats what we’re about, isn’t it: what’s convenient? So I spend time with people in many ways like me, trying to be liked, trying to contribute, and forget there are people ‘out there’ that I’ve forgotten how to relate to, if I ever knew. I feel the should and ought, but not the love. I forget that saying the right words and getting a result are secondary to an act of love, however pitiful an attempt, because love never fails.

Then I read the verse above again, and wonder who’s more in need, the one in need of goods, or the one who needs to love? In God’s kingdom, there’s no condition placed on love that says it is an investment, that it needs to be worth it, or any other terms that betray just how materialistic our mindsets are. No, the command is to love. It leads me to wonder who’s more impoverished. It reminds me that I am just as much in need, and it’s partially because I have so few practical needs that I miss the needs in my soul. Maybe it’s not so much about helping ‘those people’ as it is about extending myself and giving what I have…and learning, being taught, by the person who a moment ago I thought was less than me…not that I’d ever admit that. Maybe that person is there to teach me how to love.

Then I see a life change. It’s humbling and encouraging. A reminder to not give up on others…or myself.

Great post over at InternetMonk.

I’ll quote what he quotes, cause it’s an awesome quote that resonates with my heart.

“Now - here is my secret:
I tell it to you with an openness of heart
that I doubt I shall ever achieve again,
so I pray that you are in a quiet room as you hear these words.
My secret is that I need God –
that I am sick and can no longer make it alone.
I need God to help me give, because I no longer seem to be capable of giving;
to help me be kind, as I no longer seem capable of kindness;
to help me love, as I seem beyond being able to love”

- Life After God, Douglas Coupland, (p. 359)

The post itself looks at Mark 3 and focuses on Jesus choosing the disciples.
“It’s plain to me that Jesus chose the apostles because they were teachable. As stubborn, ignorant, parochial, tribal, petty, selfish and slow to learn as they were, they were still more teachable than the religious establishment.”

Ouch. You know, we Christians try so hard to get it right at times. We forget that the Pharisees were very devout and were doing all they could to help Israel continue to survive and to avoid the syncretic religion (mixing Baalism and early Judaism) that was a key factor in why God ceased to protect and bless Israel. The thing is, they were the leaders. They had the influence. It would have been perfectly logical for Jesus to align himself with them. Instead, he aligned himself with people who were largely poor, illiterate, powerless, and without influence. He spent time with people who were untrustworthy (such as tax collectors) and sinful (such as whores), who the society had already passed judgment on, who the CHURCH had already passed judgment on. Yet, it was these same people who recognized their need. It was these people who were willing to follow. The Pharisees…they already had all the answers…what use did they have for the Son of God? Or for that matter, God?