Answer # 1...

I know why we don't have these conversations often...they are difficult and go deep into struggling with who God is and who we are.  It's much more convenient, and easier, to decide what "we" think based on our experience and who we think God should be.  Truth is, that's not always who God reveals Godself to be.  What is revealed about God very often calls us to a humility that is most uncomfortable and a life that is most challenging...which leads us right back to a humility that is most uncomfortable.

I have to say, though, that exploring this deeply and really struggling with the issues this semester, I find myself (for the first time, yes...) willing to fully accept my utter sinfulness and that has put me in a most interesting place of peace and confidence.  I invite your feedback and conversation with these questions.

One caveat.  I am still learning the language.  You know how when you learn a new skill or get a new insight that you feel it more completely than you can say it?  The saying is taking some practice, but I've decided that if we wait until I am completely practiced in saying it, it might be well past the point I am able to blog!

So question #1 is:
How many sins does it take to be a sinner?

Answer:  1

This is certainly the easiest question (all the more reason to start there!).  Every one of us who took the test got this one.  How many sins does it take to be a sinner?  One.  How many have you committed?  ummmmmm......

But my question, then, is the question of original sin.  Are we born sinful?  or good in God's image?  And I believe we are born good, however, we are born into a thick, inescapable mire of sinful society.  (Think politics on steroids...)  And we cannot escape it on our own, no matter how hard we try.

In fact, the very irony of trying becomes our undoing.  We decide we are not going to commit our pet sin...insert yours here.  We have to try hard not to commit that sin...after all, it is our favorite.  And we really do want to be good people...so we try even harder not to commit that sin.  And immediately, as we are focused on our sin, we have forgotten our God.  We are so focused on the law that we forget the lawgiver.  And that, is itself, a sin.  Darn...hear that sucking sound?  That's our "goodness" circling the drain...

I had this picture of a newborn, loving family, determined to do everything in their power to nurture this child...to preserve the "goodness" with which the child was born.  And bringing the child home from the hospital, dressed in a precious little outfit...the kind that makes intelligent people speak in high-pitched, sugary, cooing sounds...the shoes that come with that little outfit are made in a sweat shop in a third world country, or perhaps sold in a small business that can't hire full-time people because they can't afford benefits, or perhaps sold in a mega-big-box-store whose deliberate business practice builds profits on the backs of underpaid workers.  I don' t think wearing the shoes makes this newborn an immediate sinner, but the sucking sound never goes away...it's just a matter of time.

So, how many sins does it take to be a sinner?  One.  And how many have you committed?  And with that recognition, we immediately need answers to the next questions...coming soon...

Biblical Marriage Laws...

Deep in a drawer in the church office, my colleague finds what looks to be a newspaper clipping titled "Ask Mr. Bible."  It may have been part of a curriculum or a study...no idea really but the author, exploring the biblical texts to codify the definition of marriage for a proposed constitutional amendment says "here show marriage will look if the U.S. Constitution is amended to fully embrace the original "Biblical principles" based on readings of the Holy Bible:

1. Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women. (Gen. 29:17-28, II Samuel 3:2-5)
2. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives. (II Samuel 5:13, I Kings 11:3, II Chronicles 11:21)
3. A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin.  If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed. (Deuteronomy 22:13-21)
4. Marriage of a believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden. (Genesis 24:3, Numbers 25:1-9, Ezra 9:12, Nehemiah 10:30)
5. Since marriage is for life, no federal or state Constitution nor law, call be construed to permit divorce. (Deuteronomy 22:19, Mark 10:9)
6. If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry the widow.  If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately does not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe. (Genesis 38:6-190, Deuteronomy 25:5-10)

Anyone want to pass this along to their legislators?