Warriors and Scholars

Greetings Warriors and Scholars.

Next week I leave for Europe for one of several adventures this year. I'll be hanging out in Germany for a week with Fans for Christ Europe. We will be attending Fed Con as a group. Our hope is to meet people and be a presence of Christ at the convention just by being friendly.

This summer I have a couple of things I'm running lights for, such as a kids camp at my church and probably a youth camp for my church as well. But then I get to go to Gen Con and hang out with the Christian Gamers Guild. I'll be volunteering at their booth so stop by if you are there!

There is always a question of how our relationship with Christ is both part of our daily life and how it impacts those around us, even as we attend conventions or just hang out in comics shops or gaming groups.I'm sure you have noticed that I have begun using a greeting on most of my posts. "Greetings Warriors and Scholars." Today I want to use that to share a few thoughts.

Warrior: This can come across as harsh, or even aggressive for those who are not following Christ. Sometimes when they hear us talk about being a "warrior for Christ" they are rather put off. Partly because some Christians have tried to use politics or various communication stuff in some bad ways. And should we forget the horrid acts of many "Christians" during the Inquisition and the Crusades? So what do we mean by this? Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that our battle is "not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces in the heavenly realms." Again, this can sound a little weird. "Rulers" and "authorities" in here does not mean human governments. These are all words that Paul used to describe different ranks of Satan's cronies. We are warriors not against any people, but against a spiritual enemy that often uses people and encourages poor choices to do great harm. How does one be a warrior? By not causing harm. By praying for others. By helping people. When we do helpful things, it moves against the harm in the world. When we pray, it should always be about redemption, not "us vs. them".

Scholar: What do scholars do? They learn stories and tell them to others. You could also infuse "scribe" in here. Part of our life should include study of the story of God. How he has been involved in the world in history and how He is involved right now. We do this when we read the Bible, when we sit with others and listen to their testimonies, even as we take in various media. The scribe part, of course, would come in with sharing those stories. Telling people the amazing feats of our God and even of His presence in our difficulties.

This year Nerd Chapel is excited to be once again at Grand Con but we are expanding. This year not only will there be a chapel service (which is currently submitted and waiting approval) but we have already been approved for having a table in the exhibit hall.

Angry Fans Stop Assembling!

So, this last weekend I went to see Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron just like a few million other people in America and around the world. I enjoyed seeing all these characters back together again and enjoyed the surprising moments of the film. It was an emotional roller coaster that deserves respect and enjoyment. I did notice a few things that are different from the comics, but I was "eh, oh well". I was enjoying the movie to much to worry about it and there were so many things that they got right!

Then come the new week after the first weekend and the film's director Joss Whedon decided to close down his twitter account. Now, I don't now why he closed it down. Maybe he just wants a break from constantly telling people what was happening in his life. Maybe he got frustrated. I don't know, but the internet, as it often does, exploded with rumors and articles saying that he was doing so because of angry tweets and communications directed at him by comics fans who were angry about the movie. After this, James Gunn came out in support of him and shared a very good post on Facebook about how difficult it can be in directing and how frustrating when you constantly get angry posts about your work.

Anger is a natural emotion. It can be used healthily at times. In fact, the Bible does show some examples of righteous anger. Such as when a prophet was angry with King David for his sin of adultery and murder or when Jesus was angry at the merchants who were taking advantage of people in the temple grounds when such areas were supposed to be a place for prayer. Unfortunately, anger is often used unhealthily. The Bible has a few different verses for us to consider:

"In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry and do not give the devil a foothold." Ephesians 4:26-27

"A fool gives full vent to his anger but a wise man keeps himself under control." Proverbs 29:11

"My dear brothers and sisters, take not of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." James 1:20

The Bible never tells us not to every be angry, but it does tell us to be slow to anger. To listen and observe. I am sure there are zillion different things that many different fans would have liked to see in the movie, but Joss and Marvel chose a specific direction and went with it. Fans often get angry about things in movies and especially so when those movies have a loved and established source material. But how should we handle this? I don't think filling someones Twitter or Facebook accounts with angry rants won't help. Fill your own with your frustration but don't throw it all at someone heavily.

Words, in any and every form, including online communications, are powerful. Think about your words and how they will affect someone.When we act out quickly in anger it muffles communication and only brings pain to those involved with the situation. Would you want the pressure of casting roles like "Hawkeye", "Thor" or "Vision"? Would you want the pressure that if you get it wrong all these fans will be angry? Oh, and just to be clear; yelling "I would get it right!" doesn't count as a legitimate answer to these questions.

May we, as fans of spectacular fiction and amazing stories, be kind and respectful toward those who are trying to keep these alive and give us new art and stories to enjoy. It would certainly lighten their load.

Trailer

Greetings Scholars and Warriors.

The last week or so has had a lot of trailers. We got so excited over The Force Awakens and Dawn of Justice. Fantastic Four and Jurassic World were both exciting "trailer terrors" but they were nothing compared to power of The Force Awakens. Can you tell which one was my favorite?

We as Christians are very used to trailers, even more so than we think. The Old Testement had many trailers of Jesus, but we call them prophecies. Revelation is an amazing trailer, hard to understand at times, but pretty amazing.

Just as nerds and geeks of various sizes, shapes and colors argue about movies after seeing trailers for them, Christians argue over this one. We disagree on the tribulation, how these events will intertwine, and much more. We often make this a bigger deal than it needs to be. Did Jesus tell us to get ready for His sequal? Yes...but it doesn't happen by us arguing over what the sequal will be like.

Think about the MCU. We love the movies but in between movies we enjoy some Agents of Shield or now some Netflix shows. What did Jesus tell us to do during the wait for the sequal?

Jesus said: "All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28)

Our time here waiting is like the TV side of the MCU...but the Bible and Jesus 2nd Coming are like the movies. Although one might be far more exciting, all are there to create a beautiful world to enjoy. Often we think that only our time in eternity matters, but why would God have 66 documents written to teach us about the here and now if that were so? While we wait for Jesus sequal, he simply asks that we share Him with others and gently reveal him. He told us to love our neighbors and meet needs. In doing this, we prepare for His arrival. Get ready. It'll be the best sequel ever!

Daredevil, Violence and Protection

This last weekend was crazy for me. Saturday was International Tabletop Day and I hosted a location for it at my church for a local gaming group. On Friday I binged through Daredevil. Yes, I watched all 13 episodes in one day.

I have seen at least 2 posts written using Daredevil by other Christians this week, one on Ministry Matters and another by Costumers for Christ. One of the topics being discussed is violence and the Christian life. Not whether or not we should watch Daredevil (which has some violent scenes) but how we as Christians should feel about violence in general. I feel like we tend to be so scared of violence that we forget how often it is needed to bring hope to people.

In one episode, Daredevil goes to rescue a child from kidnappers and he does get very violent in the rescue, far more than Jesus would want. Yet...would Jesus leave a child in such a situation? Does love sometimes call for violence not for the sake of violence but for the goal of rescuing and protecting people? Now, I think if a man had come to Jesus and said "these guys are holding my child and I can not rescue them because their strength to much for me" Jesus would have done something about it. He might simply have teleported the child out of there or used another miracle to rescue the child without violence; but Jesus would not have refused to act.

Nobody should want war and killing and hatred. Yet, we do want to stop those who do love to use such ends. Right now a group called ISIS is spreading war and hatred. There have been some reports that some men from the US have gone over to join in the fight against them of their own accord and without being sent by any government. I do not know these men's hearts. I don't know if they feel warfare is their life or if, like the Machine Gun Preacher, they just hate seeing violent men take advantage of people.

One of the groups I enjoy supporting is International Justice Mission. These guys go into hard places to rescue people being held as slaves either for sex or for labor. Some of them are simply working on the legal side of things or help find safe counseling for the victims but some of them are former cops who participate in raids. I'm talking about men who go in with guns drawn and bullet proof vests to rescue these women, men and children from slavery. This is dangerous work with a strong possibility of experiencing violence. Sometimes, they are able to go in when there are no guards around and get the women out without fighting, but not always. Actually, this work is fairly similar to our first view of Daredevil's work in the series.

There is such a thing as righteous indignation and I think we need to respect it but also control it as it can get out of hand easily. There is also a calling and a preference for grace and peace in dispelling arguments. In our walks with Jesus, let us show respect for both of these and use peace far more than violence.

Show of Gentleness

Greetings Scholars and Warriors.

So what do you think of when you hear the phrase "a show of force"? If you are a Marvel fan, you might think of the SHIELD hellicarrier and a large contingency of hulk busters. If you are a Star Trek fan you might think of a dozen starships together at location. Emperor Palpatine built a Death Star for his, but moved away from "a show of force" by actually using it.

When Jesus was in his 3 year ministry people were looking for such a thing from a Messiah. They wanted someone to overthrow the Roman Empire and give them a stable nation apart from Rome with no threat of being conquered by another nation. So what did he do? Jesus followed scripture about a donkey. Not just a donkey, but a young, child donkey.

"Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." Zechariah 9:9

Yep. Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey to begin His most important week ever in ministry. I don't know about you, but I don't think of a donkey as showing much power. I think of gentleness and servitude. Then what did Jesus do? He allowed himself to be arrested, even healing an ear of one of the servants of those seeking his destruction. Then he willingly got tortured and crucified. Does this sound like force?

We humans like force. We even have WMDs, which could effectively end life on our planet. Do you think God is proud of us for that one? Certainly God has that power and much more. When we were in the garden, we were told we could show God that we could be like Him. Then, after that fall, we continued to believe that a show of force was what we needed. We all gathered at a huge tower to say we could accomplish anything. We later build huge armies.

Notice that I did not use any heroes for my examples of "a show of force". I could have. Certainly Thor, Superman, Legacy, and others have that. But Jesus chose to do His largest work without force through gentleness and even submission. He did show His power over death by resurrection, but only after submitting to God's plan.

This spring and Easter, we are in a time of great fear. Many people are trying to solve problems through different shows of force. How can you show solutions through gentleness?

Lamentations

Greetings Scholars and Warriors.

How goes your day? I recently read the book of Lamentations. Lamentations is a piece displaying the grief over what happened to Jerusalem at the beginning of Judah's exile. Essentially, the city and temple were destroyed. The writer never shares his name but many think it was written by Jeremiah, one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament.


Over and over the lamentor shares his grief over the destroyed city; asking God to come and bring restoration. There are a few stanzas in the middle that offer hope, but not very many. At this point in time the Jews had little hope. Their brightest had been taken away to be trained for what could be equated to middle management or less. They had no human king with any power and the temple they used to worship God had been destroyed. God had chosen not to intervene during the invasion and even brought the Babylonians because of how they had worshiped idols and not taken there adoption by God seriously.

In one spot the author admits to feeling not just abandoned by God, but betrayed; saying God seems like an enemy. Yet he also recognizes the sin and rebellion of the chosen against God.

I find one thing interesting: God never chides the lamentor. We see no evidence that God is angry at Israel for their expression of grief, even though they had not shown Him the proper respect and had in some ways brought it on themselves. In fact, in the middle of the lament God offers a little hope! He says:

"For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone."  Lamentations 3:31

Sometimes we feel like God is not on our side. When we don't get the job we want or the girl rejects the date or our family member gets extremely ill. We start to question if God is on our side at all. Right here God says: I do not like this stuff! God will respond to our sin and evil, but He will not enjoy doing so.

In our day we do not like to think of God as disciplining us. We want to believe our problems come from other people or simply the course of life. When someone does suggest that God is disciplining us, we get mad about it. Proverbs 3:11-12 and Hebrews 12 tell us to think of it this way: God disciplines us as a father would his son. No one enjoys the discipline, but it brings fruit in the form of a change of life.

Back to our Old Testament friends, God eventually judged the Babylonians by having another empire conquer them. Then, he led the King there to send men back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple and the city wall. Hundreds of years later, Christ came to bring full redemption to us.

Our problems are not always discipline, but sometimes they are. When you are struggling, spend some time asking God if He is disciplining you. I don't think He does this very often and either way I think He would love to shower His love and hope and kindness over you. 

Tuvok's Help or Jesus' Help?

Greetings Scholars and Warriors.

A few days ago my Mom and I were watching some Star Trek Voyager. We are slowly going through the series and currently in season 2. One of the episodes we watched was regarding a murder on the ship.

Found at tomdurham.com

As Tuvok was investigating it, he quickly found the evidence and got a confession from the murderer, a man who had been part of the Maquis crew. With all of this completed, something still bugged Tuvok. He could not understand why the man had done this atrocity. All the guy said was that the crewman had looked at him wrong. This troubled Tuvok so much that he actually chose to mind meld with the murderer. As a result of this, the murderer received more ability to control his impulses, but Tuvok was left rather off. Soon, the doctor had to get involved and complete a series of treatments on Tuvoks brain. These treatments left him with none of his mental shields around his emotions. At one point, he almost killed a man.

I found this to be an interesting view of sin. Ever since Adam we have struggled to make sense of a world filled with horrible atrocities. We often find ourselves asking "Why?" just like Tuvok was asking. And just like the Maquis man, we often get caught in sins we are not proud of and need some sort of repression help to deal with them.

Jesus came and spent time with people just like this Maquis man. People who were caught up in sins like drunkenness and non-marital sex. Unlike Tuvok, as Jesus helped them, He didn't fall prey to their sins. Hebrews 4:15 tells us:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

We can get our help from Jesus with no worries. He has experienced temptation and won against it so He is able to lead us. When He was praying in the Gethsemane, He fought against temptation so hard he was sweating blood. To contrast that, his disciples were busy sleeping and not praying. Even after he had encouraged them to "pray so that you will not fall into temptation" (Matthew 26:41). Simply put, we were not there for Him when He both needed us and wanted to help us. We should be there for each other.

Acts quotes Proverbs 27:17 in this:

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

We saw the principal of cooperation and support throughout this episode. The Doctor did all he could to help Tuvok. Captain Janeway was more interested in seeing the murderer be reformed than in seeing him be punished (not that she ignored punishment). The next time you see someone struggling with a sin, be patient with them. If someone comes to you, just pray for them or with them.

No on should be afraid to ask for help dealing with sin. Often our strange Christian/American culture is good at shaming people over sins. Jesus isn't.  He is good at helping. We should follow in His steps. Maybe you need someone to pray for you. Maybe you need someone to bug you from time to time to get you on track.