Good News ABF

God’s Trademarks Episode 16

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 09:03:54 -0600

Well, better late than never, here is the final episode of God’s Trademarks. The month of February at our ABF was marked by a number of guest speakers presenting on a variety of topics, none of which was recorded. Or so I thought! It turns out that Roger Corbin recorded his own presentation on Christianity and Yoga and was kind enough to send it on to me, which I now present to the world at large.

The current series being presented at the Good New Adult Bible Fellowship at Grace Church of Eden Prairie involves at look at “American Idols.” Not the TV/singing kind, but the patterns of modern American culture that insinuate themselves in our lives to such a degree that it is almost idolatrous. Dr. Wiese is presenting this series in an interactive manner with quite a bit of prayer and decided that it was a suitable format for podcasting. So, that’s it for this podcast. Thanks for tuning in.

God’s Trademarks Episode 15

Sun, 6 Jan 2008 10:46:46 -0600

A real tough subject today: Theophostic Prayer Ministry (“TPM”), a Christianized version of the inner healing movement. This is a tough subject because TPM is widely practiced in many churches, including ours, but Gloria considers today whether TPM is sufficiently grounded in Scripture. Is the cross sufficient for our sins and hurts, or do we need theophostics as well?
In my opinion--this is a blog after all--The American church does shift its emphasis over time. TPM focuses on freeing people from “lies” stemming from childhood hurts. It is a recovery based approach to healing peoples’ hurts based on a “lie based theology.” That is, Theophostic proponents believe that people are essentially good but act badly because they are victims of past hurts.
Contrast this theology to the legalistic, judgmental, “thou shalt not” approach to leading the Christian life that was fairly common not so long ago. That point of view is based on a “sin based theology,” with a particularly heavy emphasis on the sin part. People act badly because they are sinners. I generally have a sin based theology myself, but I’d call the legalistic approach “theocaustics.”
Does Scripture, carefully read and studied, really support either phostics or caustics? I don’t think so, but it may be that this question lies at the heart of the current debate about the role of Theophostics in the church.
No podcast for next week. The class will be an open forum to discuss all of the issues raised in the God’s Trademarks series so far. Should be interesting.

God’s Trademarks Episode 14

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 13:33:13 -0600

According to the Gospel of Matthew, when the three wise men arrived in Jerusalem they asked, “where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” “Fargo,” they were told by some well intentioned tourists from Minnesota before Herrod had them tossed from his palace without a refund of their entrance fees. Well, not really. Check Matthew for the real response.
In any event, while the Wise Men were indeed asking a geographic question, Gloria points out in her presentation today that their inquiry could also be viewed metaphorically. That is, as Christmas approaches, where indeed is the KIng of the Jews?
Gloria’s main answer is that we have difficulty today in fining and understanding Jesus as the king of the “Jews” because the Christian church has done its best to shed its Hebraic roots. That Jesus was a Jew somehow gets glossed over much of the time. How the church lost its Old Testament roots along the way is the long and interesting story told in today’s presentation.
On a podcasting note, there will be no class and hence no podcast for December 29. Gloria will be back on January 6, with podcast following shortly thereafter, and then will be gone for the rest of January. The podcast will probably go dark as well, as they say in the theater business, but I’m not completely sure yet. Until then, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. And Happy Hannukah to Jesus.

God’s Trademarks Episode 13

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 19:56:28 -0600

Today’s guest speaker, Ms. Shyla Allard, introduced us to a somewhat ancient, somewhat modern version of contemplative prayer known as “Lectio Divina,” or “Divine Reading.” Thanks, Shyla, for all your wonderful work and informative presentation. I previously thought lectio divina was a coffee drink: tall lectio, double shot of divina, no froth. Now I know better. There’s always froth.
I did not have a picture of Shyla available for this podcast, so I gave her an avatar in the form of a cute cartoon penguin. There is nothing particularly penguin-like about Shyla, but penguins are cool these days and I figured I couldn’t go to far wrong. I suppose that penguins are cool all the time, actually, seeing that they live in Antarctica, but you get my drift. Also, seeing how Lectio Divina has its roots in Catholicism, a penguin seemed to be in line with my childhood impression of nuns. In any event, when you see the cute little penguin on the screen, just pretend you’re seeing Shyla. If you’ve never seen Shyla before, you’re on your own. Very lovely person.

God’s Trademarks Episode 12

Sun, 9 Dec 2007 08:34:45 -0600

Gloria continues her comparison between mystical contemplation and its Christian variant, contemplative prayer. While not equating the two, Gloria points out that the preconditions for obtaining the “empty mind” sought by mystics and mediums are the same preconditions prescribed by the advocates of contemplative prayer. Creating a passive state of mind invites all sorts of guests some of whom may not be welcome. As a friend once put it,”if you open a four dollar lunch buffet, don’t be surprised to see a bunch of fat guys lined up outside the door.”
Gloria is a proponent of active, logical, God directed and vocal prayer, arguing that prayer should be, for example, like a logical conversation between two family members. The first part seems right on. As to the second, I don’t know about your situation but logic and rationality are not always the primary descriptors of discussions in my extended family. I wonder if God says, “huh?” as much as I do. Maybe Gloria will want to think particular example through some more.