Clearing Out the Clutter

Photo Credit: toddeemel.

I am a pack rat. When faced with the choice of throwing something away or keeping it, nine times out of ten I will want to keep it.

That empty Cool Whip container?
I can use it for storing leftovers!

Those old newspapers?
They will be collectors' items someday!

The piles and piles of stuff in my basement that I haven't touched since the day I moved into my house?
I might want that stuff when I move into my next house!

With an attitude like this, you can imagine that it does not take long for all of my personal spaces to get cluttered. More times than I care to admit, I have spent money to buy something, only to be rummaging through an unkempt drawer to find an older version of that item which I had forgotten in my disorganization.

What makes this simultaneously sad and frustrating is that, somewhere, buried under all the clutter, there very well may be good arguments resting upon a solid foundation.So, a couple months ago, I began a comprehensive de-cluttering project. Beginning with the basement, continuing on into my bedroom, and now partially complete in my office, I have sorted, organized, and most of all trashed everything to reduce and eliminate stagnating clutter. And, two months into this project (a statement that in itself is rather sad), I am amazed how it is still a difficult discipline for me to let go of things that really are not useful and throw them away.

But that amazement is tempered into understanding as I think on the fact that many people (probably all of us at some point) have just as much a problem in our studying and discussions, only we hold on to "mental clutter."

By mental clutter, I mean things like "sound bite theology"; words, phrases, and arguments designed to gain a rhetorical advantage over our opponents rather than to pursue the central truths of what we are studying. These are positions that are weak in argument and non-essential in importance, but we hold onto them anyway.

In our minds, we look at this massive accumulation of argumentation and think we have constructed an impenetrable fortress of logic that any opponent will approach with fear and likely just run away rather than be beaten down by our spiritual insight. But often, the reality is our opponents see our arguments for what they are--an overwhelming pile of clutter that is more frustrating to deal with than intimidating.

Let me give a couple examples from recent news. This week, a study was reported which claims that homosexuality is more dangerous than smoking. Now, it is not my purpose in this post to examine the validity of the study, but whether true or not, in the context of examining what Scripture teaches on homosexuality, it becomes clutter.

But undoubtedly (and the comments section in the above link seems to bear this out), many who oppose homosexuality on Scriptural grounds will latch on to this study and pile it onto their mountain of studies, anecdotes, and old wives' tales, growing that much more confident that their mess is a fortress.

What makes this simultaneously sad and frustrating is that, somewhere, buried under all the clutter, there very well may be good arguments resting upon a solid foundation. But in order to get to the heart of the matter, we have to spend two months sorting, organizing, and trashing that which is obscuring it.

And it is not only the anti-homosexual side that is guilty of this. Those who defend the validity of gay relationships are just as guilty of piling up anecdotes of the unfairness and logical abuses of the Peter LaBarbera's of the world and throwing all that clutter at sincere, thoughtful Christians, employing the worst forms of broad-brushing, "guilt by association" arguments, attempting to portray any discussion of the morality of homosexual activity as close-minded bigotry and hatred. Just as strongly, I say that sort of clutter must be trashed.

Thus, we are going to begin to clear out some clutter. Some of it will be sorted, organized and filed. These are things that, while important to address at some point, are not central to our study of what Scripture says about homosexuality. In fact, they are things that we can't really have a Scripturally-informed discussion about until we come to some conclusions on the heart of the matter. Things like the current debate over gay marriage or the alleged moral breakdown of society caused by homosexual activity. Certainly, these are valid topics of discussion, but they are not the foundation of the discussion, and the foundation--Scripture--is where we are ultimately trying to travel on this blog.

While some things will be sorted and filed, other things will be trashed. We will try to find some agreement on abuses both sides have made, speaking without knowledge and without charity against each other, and commit ourselves to eliminating such things from our lives and conversations.

So as we discuss things with each other, I am going to post on numerous "clutter" topics right at the start (and later as necessary). These will be our "junk drawer" posts, where we can keep all the clutter separate from our central discussions. Then, hopefully, once we get some of the clutter put away, we will be able to sit down without all the distractions and reason together with our Bibles open and our hearts asking God for His wisdom and guidance to turn our lives according to His commands.

The First Step on the Path: I'm Not 100% Sure That God Exists

How's that for a provocative post title? I feel a bit like I would if I hadn't eaten for a couple days and then suddenly found myself standing with an empty plate before all the food selections at Old Country Buffet. I'm excited to dive in, but I'm not exactly sure where to start. There's so many places I want to go, and I'm afraid I will forget something if I don't get to it right away. But, I don't want my plate to become a jumbled mess of salads and casseroles, so I will attempt to approach this as logically as possible.

If I claim to have 100% knowledge of a thing, I must, by definition, invest myself totally in defending that "truth" at all costs and destroying anyone who disagrees.In my introductory posts, I alluded to the fact that many who discuss homosexuality and the Bible have an agenda that is slightly off-balance. It is a plague that seems to infect everyone of us at some points in our lives. That is, rather than viewing ourselves always as learners, sitting at Jesus' feet, we essentially assume we have arrived at a full knowledge of whatever topic is on the table, and we assume that we do, in fact, without question, know the mind of God on the matter.

This is a dangerous position for a Christian to take regarding any belief that we hold, no matter how fundamental. As an extreme example, let us assume I am talking to an atheist, and he asks me, "Do you believe God exists?" Without hesitation, I would say that I do. But, if he were to ask me, "Are you 100% sure that God exists?", I would, if I were choosing my words with the strongest commitment to truth possible, say, "No."

I can hear the gasps coming from the crowd already, but please hear me out on this...read through the post and then feel free to chew me out if you don't like what I say.

You see, I would tell my atheist friend that, for all practical purposes, I live my life and base my actions on the belief that God exists. So far as my belief affects my motives and actions, I operate as if I were 100% certain that God exists. Everything I have studied, observed, and experienced in my life confirms this to my heart. But, I cannot say 100% and be intellectually honest, simply because I am not omniscient. I do not have all knowledge of all things in all places at all times. Although I cannot imagine a scenario in which this fundamental belief in the existence of God could be shaken in my heart and mind, I cannot claim to be honest with myself and say that I know something that ultimately is a matter of faith beyond a certain point.

So, you ask, how does this affect anything? Well, if I claim to have 100% knowledge of a thing, I must, by definition, invest myself totally in defending that "truth" at all costs and destroying anyone who disagrees. Because it has become intertwined with who I am. However, if I am humble enough to admit that I am not all-knowing, I will listen to anyone with an opposing viewpoint without feeling threatened by him. My commitment is not to my own reputation, because I have not staked my reputation on any particular position. Rather, my commitment is to the truth. So, any discussion I have will have one of two outcomes: either I will be confirmed in my understanding of the truth as my belief holds up against any opposing viewpoint, or else I will be confronted with facts that show me errors in my thinking, and I will have the opportunity to better align myself with the truth.

So that is the approach we must have as we dive into these topics. We are all limited. None of us knows all. And it is contrary to the Scriptural commands of love to automatically assume that those who disagree with us are God-haters and immoral. That would be arrogant, prideful, and uncharitable. Conversely, it is not a sign of compromise to admit that we are human. I do not sacrifice one iota of ground in my belief in the existence of God by admitting that I do not have all-knowledge on the matter; in fact, I strengthen my position by admitting that I rest, not on my own personal weak reasoning, but rather I rest on the pursuit of truth.

So for those reading this blog who believe with certainty that homosexuality is immoral in all situations and circumstances, please understand that you do not "compromise" or "give up ground" by sitting down and working through these things with someone who disagrees. And for those who believe that homosexual relations can be valid and God-approved under some circumstances, you do yourself no favors by shutting out those who say things you may not want to hear. Our commitment must be to truth. That is the only thing that I will stake my reputation on--my determination that, by God's grace--I will always adjust my life to the truth that I learn, regardless of how long I have aligned myself elsewhere. That is the commitment of this blog, and I hope each of us will be able to approach our discussions with grace and charity. For we know that, even if the specifics of our understanding of the truth may not always be in sync with each other, still (in our imperfect, very-human way) we each are dedicated to the pursuit of the truth throughout our lives.

Such a commitment would transform these discussions into something eternally worthwhile.

As We Begin

And so we begin. Today is Palm Sunday, and I think it is a particularly appropriate day to commence a discussion whose aim is to help myself and hopefully others better to align ourselves with the Scripture and to glorify the One who sacrificed so much for us.

Assuming you have already read the introductory posts to this blog, you know that I grew up in very conservative churches. The vast majority of our church singing was with nothing more than piano or organ accompaniment. Certainly a set of drums was never seen in our auditoriums nor any guitar that required an electrical outlet. We sang the "Great Hymns of the Faith" each week, among which was a hymn written in 1876 by Robert Lowry called "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus." Unfortunately, Lowry's rich, full text has been cheated of its full effect for decades because of its marriage to a trite, mismatched tune that ends up distracting rather than enhancing the lyrics.

So, for much of my life, I fell into the rut of singing the familiar words of that song with little thought, bouncing mindlessly along with the silly little tune. Now, though, I attend a church that generally has a more-contemporary worship service. They sing a broad variety of songs, including but not limited to the old hymns. However, in my several years now of attending the church, it was not until today that we ever sang "Nothing But the Blood" together.

Gladly, our music director had the sense to slow the tempo down and change the harmonization, giving us the opportunity really to reflect on the powerful words. And, as I thought of this journey of my life and the confidence I have of God's love for me in spite of all I have done in the past and in spite of the huge issues I'm working through now, I wept. Couldn't even continue singing, but that's ok. This doesn't specifically address the subject of this blog, but it does show the starting point for everything we will discuss....

What can wash away my sin? nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again? nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my cleansing this I see—nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my pardon this my plea—nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone—nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done—nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace—nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness—nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.