Entries tagged with “environment” from Trans-cendental

Another group of believers were sincerely convinced they knew the date and time of Jesus' return and that they would all be raptured from the Earth to escape the coming tribulation. And another group was wrong.

Harold Camping of Family Radio was certain he was right. The people who listened to his radio show found his arguments convincing. And here's something to consider: if someone you trust tells you to choose between financial solvency with a future eternity in Hell and bankruptcy with a future eternity in Heaven, it's a pretty easy choice. If you're not sure which is going to come true, it gets a bit more complicated, but you're still gambling your temporary comfort against your eternal comfort.

I completely understand the kind of fear this argument instills. I grew up in the Evangelical Free church, and we were taught about the rapture. Sometimes I even worried that the rapture had happened and I was left behind.

So with one's immortal soul at stake, it makes a certain amount of sense to prove one's faith by selling everything, cashing in IRA's, pensions and 401(k) funds, and pouring all that money into billboards, vans, and RV's. These people are not crazy; they're frightened.

And now, of course, many of them are broke, unemployed, and homeless.

So first we need compassion for people who did what they thought God was calling them to do. They stepped out in faith to a degree most of us are too afraid to. Where we can, we ought to help them. They are our sisters and brothers.

Second, maybe we can start taking apart the idea of the pre-tribulation rapture so this sort of thing is less likely to occur in the future.

The modern concept of a pre-tribulation rapture came about in the nineteenth century. There have been many people who have proclaimed the date of the rapture: William Miller (see The Great Disappointment), Charles Taze Russell (whose Studies in the Scriptures were the basis of the beliefs of the Bible Students, a sect with which I was involved for a while) and others. Needless to say, none of these have come to pass.

It would be silly for a progressive theologian to say new ideas are inherently useless. There are plenty of new theological ideas, and some of them are very interesting. So I'm not going to say that a pre-tribulation rapture can't be true because it's a relatively young idea.

What I will say, however, is that I find a pre-tribulation rapture a little odd for Christianity. Here's why:

Jesus (however you understand Jesus - human, divine, both, neither?) could have avoided torturous death, but didn't. And Jesus not only suffered a sacrificial death, he lived a sacrificial life.

So I find it a little odd that people who claim to follow Jesus, the one who said "take up your cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23), should be looking for a way to escape the trouble and leave others to suffer.

One possible problem with such a theology is neglect of the environment. There have been people who argued against ecological concern because they expected an imminent rapture. To me, that's a bit like trashing the apartment when you move out.

Another problematic symptom can be smug superiority. "In case of rapture, this car will be unmanned" is one bumper sticker. I've seen comments like "I'll be laughing in heaven while you suffer on Earth". Imagine Jesus taunting a prisoner this way - is that the Jesus of the Gospels?

One could also not care to help the suffering in this world, because it will all be over soon (at least for the righteous). Forget "blessed are the poor", and never mind the oppressed.

Of course, not all believers in a pre-tribulation rapture act these ways. The primary problem I have with the pre-tribulation rapture is that it suggests that some set of us with the right faith, the right knowledge, a kind of Gnosis... can escape trouble.

But we're Jesus' people,

and if we are to follow Jesus' way,

and serve like Jesus,

and take up our own crosses,

and be faithful unto death...

I don't think we get a pass on the struggles of life. Rather, I think we ought to be in the midst of them, struggling with our sisters and brothers.

However we believe our lives - and our world - will end, if we are followers of Jesus, we will love our neighbors as ourselves.

If we see how Jesus came as a servant, we will also be servants.

If we have been blessed by God, we will pour those blessings out on others.

We may not die a sacrificial death as Jesus did, but we can live a sacrificial life. Perhaps we can't do so to the degree that Jesus did, but as best as we are able, our call is to stay here to help those who struggle, to love the unloved, to care for the suffering.

Today, I will offer this prayer:

God, I pray that I will not be raptured,
and that you will help me to show my faith
not by impoverishing myself to prove my trust,
but by using the ways you have blessed me
to bless others.
Do not let me escape the trouble that comes to my neighbor
But let me be a help to her and to him
As you have been a help to me.
Amen.

Here in Joliet, IL, USA, North America, Earth, Earth Hour has arrived and our home has powered down for an hour. See you on the flip side (maybe sooner if the battery backups actually hold the network together - we'll see!)

This is a scheduled post, so it should get posted no matter what.

Earth Hour: http://www.earthhour.org/home/

At 8:30PM local time tonight, people all over the world are turning off their lights for an hour to support work to reduce global warming.

See http://www.earthhour.org/home/

I'm planning on opening the main breaker on the house. We'll see whether the battery-backed-up sump pump will keep up (we're getting rain and snow tonight).

Have mercy, been waitin' for the bus all day.
Have mercy, been waitin' for the bus all day. - "Waitin' for the Bus", Gibbons, Hill

In the Chicago area, riders may be waiting a bit longer for the bus. In fact, depending on where they're waiting, it could be months... or years. Deep service cuts are about to take effect due to a lack of funding for public transportation.

     The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization  came up with a goal of a $100 laptop computer for children in developing countries. While they're not yet down to that price point, they have created a surprisingly durable and waterproof low-power computer - using so little power that it can be powered by a solar panel or a foot-driven generator. The computer is so intriguing that a lot of people in the West have wanted to get their hands on one.

     Well, that opportunity is coming.

     For two weeks this November, people in the United States of America will be allowed to spend $399 to get one of these computers, with another being sent to a child in the developing world. This is an amazing chance to give 50% and still get something very cool for your money. And the computer is so low-power, it's very "green".

It's not exactly the Widow's Mite, but it's a start.

See the full story:  '$100 laptop' to sell to public [BBC]

Liberal Believer pleads "Could We Have a President With Courage Please?"

The Bible tells us we have been given stewardship of the Earth, but how are our leaders working as stewards?

Do they take the power with which they have been entrusted, and use it to return greater benefit for all? Or do they bury it in there here and now?

I suspect "protecting the current economy" is a bit more of a burial than "invest it in our planet's future". As in Jesus's Parable of the Talents, time will tell... when the master reviews how the servants have handled the master's property.