Right?

I'm wondering, as of late, what it means to be right.

It is a big deal in the church to be right. At times, it seems, you cannot be called a Christian unless you are right. We make a big deal out of everything... worship, Christian living, Christian hope, salvation and the list goes on. Arguably in many cases its important to be right... to know the truth. It is important but is it necessary in every case?

Distinctions are made between protestant and catholic. These distinctions represent diverging viewpoints on what is right. Yet I am confident people are saved on either side.

People talk about the emerging church and traditional church. The dissonance between the two is a reflection on who is right. But both are seeking to serve and love God and be His church in the world...

I'm beginning to fear that the right is leading us into the wrong. The issue of 'right' is what tears the church apart. The issue of 'right' pushes people away because they are 'wrong.' I want to ask can't we all just get along?

Now I'm not willing to bend my core beliefs and I'm not trying to open the doors to heresy. But I'm just wondering if I can be with someone who calls them-self a Christian, loves Jesus, is trying to serve Him but may be way off the mark when it comes to doctrine. Clearly I can be with them but can I be with them and not make a big deal about where they are wrong?

I think God is working in the hearts of people who pursue Him and love Him. I don't think God is as concerned with where someone is right or wrong but rather he is concerned with getting to know them and them getting to know Him.

Maybe what I'm feeling is the call to unity and understanding. Perhaps we need to be addressing the ways in which we are brothers and sisters... even though I may baptize adults and you may baptize babies.

Let's not throw the baby out with the baptizing water... rather lets put all our eggs in one basket. Right?

Peace and Unity,
Pmtp

I'm not particularly happy right now...

I just had the opportunity to watch a movie called "For the Bible tells Me so" It is about Homosexuality and the Bible (more specifically the church). I understand that movies are crafted and have bias and because of that we need to think, truly think, about what is being said and expressed by the film. Ironically that is part of the argument of the film. It asks the viewer to think about the bible not just take what others say about it. I think that is a valid point and anyone who has had the fortune of talking to me about what I think the church is doing wrong, will know that I'm down with that idea. (note I say the word think five times above in effort to emphasize the point: THINK!)

But that isn't why I'm not happy. I'm not happy because the movie reflects Christians as people who hate. Its not just that the movie reflects that Christians hate but rather that the movie employs no trickery, no video magic but rather shows video footage, speeches, sermons and letters that clearly express that Christians hate people who are homosexual.

This is what troubles me this evening. How can I be part of the church knowing it is so full of hate? Why should I be proud to be a member of the church, when there is little to be proud about? I just can't imagine that this is a reflection of the church. I know there are loving people and that not all Christians are extremely hateful but I just feel such injustice pouring from the mouths of those who proclaim justice.

I don't know what God thinks about homosexuality. I know what the words on the page of the bible say... I thought I knew what they meant but if I look hard at myself and the standards of scholarly, theological study I hold myself to, I would have to say on this issue I have no argument one way or another except that which I am told by the people (a very broad category) who I listen to.

Heres the thing thats getting to me: God is in the process of setting the world right (as started with Jesus on the cross and his resurrection)... If you believe that then I have a question for you (the question I am asking myself) where does homosexuality fit?

If it is a sin what does that mean?
If it is natural/biological what does that mean?
If it is good or bad what does that mean?

And then what is our duty as a Christian (one who is meant to proclaim that God is setting the world right)?

Frankly I am concerned. I don't care what people do wrong I only care that they experience God's love, justice and grace. If that means dining with prostitutes and worshiping God with homosexuals. I think I'm ok with that.

I imagine that if someone experiences God's love, justice and grace they will respond to God appropriately (whatever that means) and if they are doing something wrong (or if I am doing something wrong) God will judge appropriately (whatever that means). And perhaps He may even begin to change all our lives to reflect Him more... and isn't that what being a Christian is all about.

Pmtp

Oh yeh go and watch the film... regardless of what you think about the issue... it will be good for you

I"m not dead.

I'm not dead.

Pmtp

I'm not a liberal, phew!

I went to a lecture today. It was for the frosh class but still useful and insightful to the common student. The lecture was about getting the most out of your education and the integration of faith and learning (how very Tyndale) but all that goes too far too fast. Let me explain where I'm going...

Will and I have made it a habit, a bad one, of staying up late to write papers or rather intending to write papers. The problem is that often at about 1:30 or 2 I go to say hello, make a witty remark or two and allow Will the same. That usually ends around 4. Thus we get no work done and are far more tired than intended.

In one of our last conversations we realized that we were most likely closer to liberals (of the theological nature) then that of fundamentalists. This means that we were close to end of the spectrum than either of us really wanted.

But today, thankfully, I learned I wasn't a liberal but there was another option.

To sum up Craig Carter's lecture I'll say this:

He presented four different view of integration (integration: taking the fountain of knowledge we have and doing something with it in our faith)

The first view: Fundamentalist- takes the bible at face value. One requires and uses no external information to interpret the bible. This, according to Carter, allows for no use of hermeneutical practices. (I will note that I think this can be done but only in significantly limiting ways and by ignoring all external sources because once you learn something it then becomes a matter of integration)

The second view:Liberalism- In light of Modern thought one must reanalyze the Bible for its value. Since the people at the time were limited, unsophisticated and unlearned (compared to us now) their worldview was dramatically skewed. This means that certain things in the bible must be taken to mean very different things then what actually happens in the world. This perspective serves to force the bible into Modern thought and compromises the bible in favor of modern thought.

The third view: Evangelicalism- In light of modern thought and biblical thought we must co-exist. Learning to compromise or even ignore our ideological differences and just try to find the common ground. This view seems to compromise both biblical views and modern views homogenizing them into a watered down synthesis of both. (much of the church has through cultural upbringing, media influence and poor teaching of critical analysis has this perspective sometimes without knowing it is the case)

The fourth view: Postmodern Orthodoxy- In light of Biblical thought one must reinterpret Modern thought for its value. We must take the biblical narrative as true and use modern viewpoints and understanding only where it brings revelation to the already existing foundation and reject it where it comes into direct conflict with biblical ideology. For example: Modern thought says that as humanity we can strive to overcome our destructive nature (e.g. war and poverty) through means of social reconstructions and unified efforts for good. Biblical thought says that God's purposes are working in the world and its only through divine intervention (seen in Christ) that we will overcome evil for good and end our destructive nature. Thus we must abandon the modern hopes for the reality of the bible.

This is a summary of the end of Carter's lecture which I thought was great.

I would like to then go on record as a Postmodern Orthodoxist.

Patman the Postmodern Orthodoxian Pat.

(it seems the phrase Postmodern Orthodoxy has no current way of describing its followers. i.e one who is liberal is a liberal. One who is from Britain is British. One who understands them self to align with postmodern orthodoxy is?)

I would also recommend Craig Crater's blog located to the left and feel free to pick up his books advertised therein.

I think I am personally going to destroy the environment

Its not my fault but I have to many pages to print of far too useless facts and words. Its paper time!

22...

Recently I have been watching 24 season 4 with the guys at my house.

Talk about intense. We have two episodes left and I'm dieing to find out what sort of things will happen. Which I guess has brought me to a good topic of discussion: my love of TV.

I think my love of television comes from the love of story. I find it a very introspective experience where I can watch people interact, get involved with their lives and maybe even feel along with them. I think it may be an important skill to be able to empathize with others as their lives unfold. Of course I'm just trying to justify.

Patman the Pat

A little note on evangelism...

Now I am not an expert in the above field. I have told people about Jesus and I have not told people about Jesus. The question I want to think about for the moment is: how do we tell people about Jesus? or What is important when we tell people about Jesus?

Recently this topic has been coming up in the form of brand new students at Tyndale. I had the pleasure of experiencing the passionate discussion between two members of my small group on the subject and of course that got me thinking.

On the one side the argument went something like this... people are going to hell, we need to tell them, otherwise they won't know. So give them the blunt truth as quick as possible and let them decide.

On the other side... people are not responsive to a message of hell and damnation and should rather be shown the results of a faith through good works, and love.

Arguably both are methods that can produce results in someones life and are very relative to the situation.

But the more I thought about the issue the more I was worried about our first method. Are we supposed to scare people into faith? Break them apart so that they are left destitute? Does the gospel really just mean some kind of heaven and hell duality?

A message of healing seems more reasonable to me. A message of hope. A message of love. A message that speaks to a persons greatest desires not their own survival instincts. Look at the bible someday and see just how much life, love and hope are used compared to hell. Maybe this would do.

Patman the Pat

*on a side note... no one really believes that a million dollar bill is real

Heaven is going to be a busy place...

Excluding my own personal beliefs about heaven and all that end of the world stuff, I noticed something today that I think is funny.

It seems common in the discussion of 'heaven and what one will do there' people express the desire to hang out with the biblical greats.


for example:

fish with Peter
Dance with David (theoretically naked... o dear)
wrestle with Jacob
and just spend time with these people

It comes out in the personal statements people make about their heaven...

But lets think about it...

Under this thought process David would be pretty busy. Taking into account his personal family, his contemporaries and every person who read the bible since then... That makes his dance card pretty full. It means David will probably be dancing for most of eternity...

I don't know about you but that sounds crazy.

PMtP

Age...

While a reference to 493's game of the year, age also refers to the length of time which you have lived on the earth. Currently it also titles a funny story.

I went to the new pornographers concert on sunday and of course I was carded and asked my age. I brilliantly responded 22 and was abruptly let into the show. YES!

But had it been two days earlier I would have had a bit of a challenge. You see I was talking to a new friend of mine online and they asked me my age. I brilliantly responded 21. As shocking as it was I failed to remember my age. It was also quite embarassing to have to explain exactly how I was born in April 1985 which means I'm 22.

So the moral of the story is 'Pat is an idiot' but in a good way.

Patman the idiot.

The New Pornographers.

I figured in this instance a clever name would be slightly confusing. Frankly just having the word "pornographers" in my title is intrigue enough to those who have no clue to what I am refering.

Let me explain...

The New Pornographers are a band. As far as I know their name has no real meaning just sounds cool. They play some form of 'Rock' but since I rarely move beyond that in musical genres we'll keep it simple with "rock." And frankly they really do rock!

Last night I went to their concert at "The Phoenix" downtown Toronto. It was great. I have been following the band for a little less than a year and I am quite familiar with their songs so I was able to dig the vibe of the hip atmosphere.

Shout out to Chris Clements and Nyssa Dhilon for letting me come along with them.

Check out the group. They are pretty good.

So says Patman the Pat

I have the Keys

So I bought a keyboard.

(at this point my mother gets really angry)

But it was cheap.

(she's still angry but understands)

Under $50...

We can thank kipling church.

You think you had a good weekend....

well I slept on a boat.

Thats right. Dan got married this weekend. But more importantly I slept on a boat.

"Just for fun" was its name. (It could very well be 'just 4 fun' which could be more fun but I didn't bother asking semantics) Yes I became captain of this boat for a brief moment between the hours of 9:00pm and 9:00 am. I had a proud first mate Disco Stu. It was great.

Slept well too.

Congratulations Dan... but more importantly congratulations me...

Captain Patman the Pat

(Model of boat I made in my spare time)

I need stuff to happen...

I don't do anything...
I waste my time playing video games...
I'm bored but would rather not do anything about it...

Is this odd?

I'm going to look for a job at Tyndale while I'm there tomorrow. I think.

The Banjo.

Currently, I have taken to playing the banjo everyday. This has been great fun for at least me, if not the people in my house. I specifically like playing songs that aren't necessarily for the banjo.

At this moment the songs I am playing on the banjo are:
Free- Phish
Billy Breathes- Phish
From Blown Speakers- New Pornographers
Before the Throne of God above- Hymn Writer
What a Friend I've found
Rainbow Connection- Kermit the frog (not really but sounds cooler)

Patman the Pat

(oh and new season new look, title is from the song billy breathes)

Memory

Today was a day of memories...

I was reminded today that many of the people I hang out with here (at camp) are very unlike the people I hang out with in Toronto. Sure a few of them play halo (one is even a member of the desert fathers clan) and of course they all love Jesus but they are just different. I was reminded this when I awoke to the song "burning down the house" by the talking heads (note: this song may be titled bringing down the house... its really hard to hear their lyrics). But as the song played a fire stirred in my heart and I remembered Animals, Cities, and CBGBs. It was fabulous. Of course as I exited my room I ran into one of my friends who also uses a radio who took the time to inform me that the song he had just heard on the radio entitled "burning down the house (or bringing)" was one of the most annoying songs in the world.

I was reminded that people like to vent frustrations at the wrong people.

I was reminded that if I put my ds in my pocket I would most likely eject the game currently in it losing all of my hard work.

And finally I was reminded of Peter Gabriel when he was challenged by David Bowie on the 4 showdown.

It was a musically involved day

p the p