As I mentioned earlier, I finished the first section of Everything Must Change by Brian D. McLaren last night. It’s part of our book club reading for the month.
At the end of every chapter are several questions to consider, mull over. I posted my answers to all of them within the book club forum but thought I’d share some of them here as well:
Q: As you begin this book, what are you most excited about? Confused or curious about? Eager to learn more about? What feelings has this chapter elicited in you?
A: I’m excited about the idea of changing the world. Often times I feel like Evan Almighty though and I want to change the world, but I’m not totally sure how. Then God comes along and tells me to build an ark – or whatever it might be and I buck at his idea and think well that’s not how I want to do it.
I’ve been a big fan of the idea I’ve been reading/seeing more and more lately of bringing God’s Kingdom to earth. Isn’t that what’s going to happen in the end anyways (Revelations)? But what if we could bring about such change that our world/life really is “on earth as it is in heaven.” Wow!
Some of the thoughts that stood out to me:
…”a new kind of Christian” – not an angry and reactionary fundamentalist, not a stuffy tradistionalist, not a blase’ nominalist, not a wishy-washy liberal, not a New Agey religious hipster, not a crusading religious imperialist, and not an overly enthused Bible-waving fanatic – but something fresh and authentic and challenging and adventurous.
(one of my favorite Mike Huckabee quotes was when he was on the Daily Show – something to the effect of: “I’m a conservative but I’m not angry about it.” he also said, ““I think life begins at conception but I don’t think it ends at birth. We have to be concerned about a child’s education, and health care, safe neighborhoods, clean water and the access to a college education. That is pro-life. To care about a child’s entire life.†I think that’s right up with what McLaren is getting at.)
… the versions of Christianity we inherited are largely flattened, watered down, tamed… offering us a ticket to heaven after death, but not challenging us to address the issues that threaten life on earth.
Jesus’ message is not actually about escaping this troubled world for heaven’s blissful shores, as is popularly assumed, but instead is about God’s will being done on this troubled earth as it is in heaven.
Q: How do you react to the summary of global crises in this chapter – environmental breakdown, the growing gap between rich and poor, the danger of cataclysmic war, and failure of the world’s religions to address the first three crises? think of the issues you’ve seen in the headlines lately. How do they fit under these four categories?
A: I think I’ve seen all of those rampant in our world and I think it’s a good tight summary of what we’re seeing.
Q: This chapter introduces the subject of hope. How would you describe your level of hope about global crises as you begin this book?
A: As an American in the middle of a presidential election I can see glimpses of hope in people and politicians. There are candidates that offer me hope and an ideal that things could actually change for once. I pray that happens.