A Missional View of Immigration

     This one will be slightly different from my usual blogs in that this one will be sincerely introspective in the hopes that you will perhaps either see some similar flaw in you, or that you may better prevent this flaw from becoming a part of you. This is definitely a touchy subject due to what's occurring within America. I was watching a series of podcasts from Dallas Theological Seminary's Chapel Hour, which was being led by Dr. Danny Carroll, distinguished professor of OT, from Denver Seminary. He asked us to look at them through the lens of the Old Testament, through our own past, and through their eyes. I know that there will continue to be arguments from all corners of society. Some of these are based, selfishly, on political votes, financial obligations, tax laws... The list goes on, yet rarely does this list view them from a religious aspect. That was the desire of Dr Danny Carroll, and that is my desire as well.
     I grew up under the impression that immigration was good, as long as it is legal. However, I also grew up with the idea that illegal immigrants should immediately be evicted, without thought to the personal responsibility I have as a Christian. I viewed them as a bane on society. Merely a sponge that drags society down this hole where it cannot redeem itself. I got it, they should 'pay their way', 'do the right thing', 'their money goes to bring their families here', 'they're just using us for free healthcare'. I gotta be honest, wouldn't I do the same thing for my family if I was in that situation?! Wouldn't YOU?! We judge them because we were born here, because we grew up American, yet 99.9% of us are from immigrant families in the past, whether we've been here 20 years or 400 years, we still came from immigrants. Yet, we've lost that identity over time. Let's face it, almost all of our families crossed border, got off a boat, hitched a ride, whatever it took to get to America.
     But, what if we changed our mindset to something biblically based? What if we shifted our perspective from man-centric to God-centric? Think about how many closed countries there are. If you're not sure, here is a link to Voice of the Martyrs that shows a map designating such places. Now, think about how many of these countries have people living within the US. Think about how many foreigners live in America that could be sent out to reach people within closed countries that we Americans cannot go, whether it's within their own country or using their national citizenship to enter another country!
     Instead of looking at them as a burden, as a gardener, as a cook... I want to challenge us to look at them as people who are looking for a ray of hope. People who have emotions, feelings, cares, needs, and desires. People who, above all, need the Lord. Acts 1:8 doesn't just exist outside our country, it's now WITHIN our country. We are the uttermost part, and God continues to bring the 'unreached' to the reached, yet we sit back and demand a piece of paper as if that is more important than the human soul. Jesus was willing to cross cultural bounds to speak with a Samaritan woman (Jn 4), and a Syrophoenician woman (Mk 7). The Old Testament contains immigrant stories like Ruth the Moabitess (Ruth 1), Rahab the harlot (Joshua 2) who chose to live with a new people and believe their God.
     God used immigration to bless all the nations of the earth - Abraham in Gen. 12. Daniel and Joseph were forcibly moved either through human trafficking (slave labor) or a conquest of war (taken back to Babylon); yet God blessed them, and so many people through them, continuing up to today. It is time we put down our ethnocentric walls and start seeing them for who they are! Stop demanding a piece of paper and start giving them water so that they may never thirst again (Jn 4)! Give them the way to eternal hope instead of a boot in the rear, a dirty look, feelings of shame and embarrassment... See them as God would see them, lost and dying and in need of a Savior. 
     

How Should We See the Bible?

     The reason I ask this is because this will determine your worldview. It will determine how you view your surroundings, how you approach life's questions, and how you live your life. There are some who see the Bible as a book of antiquated moral laws, some who see it as a collection of fables, some who view it as a partial fulfillment of their religion, and there are some who see it as the Word of God. There are probably many more views, but I will leave it to these four since they are the predominant views in my opinion.
     Soren Kierkegaard once stated, "There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true. The other is to refuse to accept what is true."This is true in many ways, but it has particular importance in regards to the Bible. The bible claims to be God's word, time and time again. The human authors wrote uniquely within their time setting, place, language, and culture; yet, the bible contains one long story, proved over and over to be true. Prophecies were fulfilled, miracles occurred, and history was recorded within these hallowed pages.
     But, if we choose to deny the bible as God's word, there is no point in accepting any part of it. It is founded on the fact that it what is recorded came from God. If God did not truly inspire men to write it, than it might as well be the greatest fiction story every told, and we are above all people - fools. Fools for choosing to live a certain way. Fools for denying pleasures of this life. Humanity has no purpose. The question of "why" we are here still remains unanswered. We become just biological specimens walking upon a spinning globe.
     Another question asks, what happens when we sit back and decide to view the bible as wrong, or a mere collection of fables or moral writings. It's not wrong to question the bible, so long as one can maintain an open position. I realize that is impossible with the presuppositions we each approach ALL literature with; however, one must be extremely careful when approaching a religious text such as the bible. Honest scholarship must be conducted, and one must allow their mindset to be changed. This does NOT mean that scholarship replaces what the bible says. For example, no where in scripture does it say that suicide condemns someone to hell. That is a Catholic invention; the same as papal authority being equal with God.
     We  begin to remove who God is, what God says, and why He says it. We replace it with our own god. The God of the bible becomes something completely different; He ultimately becomes another deity that we choose to worship instead. There are certain things that do not always sit well with us as we read the bible. Sometimes, we question God's motives. Yet, we fail to see things from His perspective for we are finite and He is infinite. We decide to either deny such events, or we try to rationalize them by declaring some falsehood. We begin to change God into something that He is not.
     This has dire consequences. We begin to follow false doctrine. We then begin to teach false doctrine. We then begin to lead others to follow false doctrine. This is why there are so many sects and cults based off of the bible. Flawed hermeneutics and a failure to truly appreciate the entire situation from God's view result in a flawed theology that leads to false doctrine. This is a dangerous slope, because we don't always have answers right away.
     We don't always see what God sees; but God is God and we are NOT. This is where faith comes in. I get it. The story of Jonah, not always easy to swallow (pun intended); but Jesus spoke of this as truth, therefore I accept it as truth. God said the ENTIRE world was lost, horrendously so, except for one family. Instead of wiping out mankind completely, He chose to save one family because He chose to love us in spite of all our wrong doings.
     I once read a friend's post that said, "God condones rape". That is one of the stupidest things I've ever read. NO WHERE in the bible does it say, "And God said, let there be rape". Is the act itself recorded, yes, but God does not approve of sin. Some people try to separate God of the Old Testament from the God of the New Testament. They're the same God. If they were separate, the New Testament would not have used so much of the Old Testament as a reference. Jesus would have condemned the Old Testament's God; yet He never does. Not once does Jesus ever say that God has decided to change His mind. Some people will argue that the bible says, "God repented". I challenge that person to do an honest word study. Explore that phrase in its entirety, and all of its uses before blindly whipping that phrase out as an argument.
     Some people claim that God did not know that Jesus would be crucified; if that is the case, why are there so many prophecies of Him dying (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 53). Why does Jesus constantly talk about his crucifixion from the beginning? Some people argue that the church replaced Israel, unfortunately for them, Romans makes it quite clear that they are still a chosen people and separate from the church. Yet, we continue to make these hermeneutical and theological fallacies.
     People, it is time to stop following whims, and apply ourselves first to God's word. THEN, we should look to others to see if what they say matches up, not vice verse. We are to study to show ourselves approved. That means that we have such a clear understanding of Scripture that as we read or hear of a doctrine, it is weighed against scripture so that we may know whether it is right or wrong. Choose you this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

The Immanence and Transcendance of God - Reconciling or Contradicting?

Modified from Oswalt, Bible Among the Myths, p 65.

     A friend of mine posted this question in response to the previous blog, "How can God know what will happen before it happens?" "You're arguing for God's transcendence, yet also insisting God is immanent. I know theologians in the past have argued for both of these, yet most theologians now recognize the irreconcilable contradiction of these two. What's your defense?" This is an excellent question and I would like to explain my views concerning these two areas.

     Both transcendence and immanence describe God’s relationship to the universe. The relationship between transcendent God and the universe is that God created the universe and is separate in that He is not made of the material of the universe (Ps. 19). He is independent of creation (Grudem, pg 267). He is the cause of the universe.

     The transcendence of God stems from his omnipotence. God is infinite, whereas all creation is finite, thus God is separate from creation. Genesis 1-2, the beginning of the Bible, demonstrates the transcendence of God, because God created all that exists now within this finite realm. To truly understand the transcendence, a short detour to explain the opposite is in order.

     Transcendence defies the ancient beliefs, which consist of continuity. Continuity is deity, humanity, and nature coexisting within the same realm, much as modern day pantheism sees it. This idea teaches that all things exist because they are intrinsically a part of each other ("The Bible Among the Myths" by John Oswalt, ch. 2). This is seen in ancient myths, Egyptian, Canaanite, and Mesopotamian theogonies of 1000 - 4000 BC, which coincides with the backdrop of the Old Testament yet stand in stark contrast.

Modified from Oswalt, Bible Among the Myths, p. 48

      Transcendence within the Bible stands in stark contrast to the view of continuity within ANE religions. Within the idea of myth, cosmos and gods are linked; however, within the Old Testament's unique view, God is separate and prior to the cosmos. The Bible provides a unified set of rules, a high view of humanity as the crown of creation, monotheism at the core of scripture, images/idols are forbidden, and sexuality is denied as a part of worship. Humanity and nature coexist with each other; however, God is separate in that God is not a part what was created. Thus, God is within nature, but NOT of nature.

     Because God is within nature in the essence that He continues to act throughout history, but does not exist as a part of created nature, this is what is known as immanence. The relationship between God’s immanence and created nature is that God continues to move within nature while not being a physical part of the created nature. Genesis 1:2, stating the Spirit of God was moving across the waters, shows how God was personally involved within creation, but the Bible does not stop here. Hebrews 1:3 and Col. 1:17 both argue that God is the sustaining cause of the universe. If God were to completely remove Himself from creation, it would cease to exist. God’s personal involvement is the key focus behind immanence, in that God is not some distant deity (Deism), nor is God limited to the universe (pantheism).

     God’s immanence is further demonstrated through the many periods in time where God, via either anthropomorphism or the incarnation itself, has crossed the boundaries of the ethereal and has become physical, yet this does not limit God to the law that He becomes bound by creation. John 1 argues that God became flesh, and dwelt among us, thus God became immanent in the fullest sense, yet God was not born of two human parents, for the Holy Spirit was a part of the consummation removing the sin nature defying the laws of the universe.

     Miracles also attest to the immanence of God. Throughout history, God has enabled miracles to occur that defy physical laws bound by nature. Whether it is a miraculous healing, turning water into wine, the plagues of Egypt (which was a polemical attack against the deities of Egypt), or creation itself, God continues to work within nature while not being bound by nature. Thus, God is immanent, yet transcendent.