Along with beauty, brokenness isn’t spoken of much either.
We’ll talk about it conceptually or in generalities, but the closer we get to specifics, the quicker we seem to want out of the conversation.
People with physical disabilities have always struck a strange chord with me. Their brokenness is so blatant and transparent for everyone to see.
Do they wish people addressed their obvious brokenness? Are they tired of people feeling sorry for them? Do they feel a nagging sense of being robbed of base level human attributes?
And then I see photos like this from the paralympics…
People competing and pursuing dreams despite their conditions…
Would you say they’re any less human? Are their lives any less fulfilling?
And just because they’ve overcome some challenges, it’s not like they are without their continued struggles, hurts, and failures
And then there’s moments of overwhelming beauty
These photos make you think twice the next time you say “I can’t…” don’t they?
Maybe life’s not about how you start the race, or even the massive stumbles along the way, but about what you do with it all, and how you finish.
Some things might be undeniably broken, but it doesn’t always have to be that way.
You’ve probably seen this viral video before, but I’ve never gotten bored of it.
Matt Harding a video game designer figured there had to be more to life than his day job (been there before?), quit his job, and traveled the world.
This might not be what we typically associate with beauty, but beauty is written all over it.
The very act of leaving the status quo in search for something more is an act of beauty.
These sites and landmarks shown are glimpses of the spectrum of beauty that marks our planet.
I absolutely love the song (fyi – It’s called Praan by Gary Schyman sung by Palbasha Siddique), I have no idea what it’s saying but somehow it screams of beauty.
And the fact that people from all sorts of cultures can get together to do some silly dance is nothing short of beautiful.
This video has almost 30 million hits because something about it deeply resonates with all of us. Sometimes it may seem impossible, or too ridiculous, but every one of us long to be a part of creating and expressing beauty.
Beauty isn’t mentioned very often within churches. Beauty is quite often pushed aside as being superficial, effeminate, fleeting, and purely aesthetic (which it can be).
But if you worship the Creator of heaven and earth, then beauty is inescapable. Christ himself is described as the ‘beautiful one’.
The word ‘glory’ is laced throughout the scriptures and carries with it the notion of the weight of beauty. Whenever the angels declare ‘glory’ to God they are proclaiming the overwhelming density and magnitude of the very source of beauty.
The scriptures go as far as saying that ‘the whole earth is filled with his glory’.
Our planet is chalked full of beauty.
If only we had eyes to see.
Coming soon: The next solarcrash event: broken-beautiful – Join our FB page, with details coming out this week. Let me know if you’d like to contribute.
Have you ever opened the holy scriptures looking for wisdom and something just doesn’t sit right?
Sometimes it’s because it’s exposing some deep uncomfortable truth within ourselves.
Other times, the ‘holy word’ seems flat out wrong.
For example I’ve been preaching through Nehemiah verse by verse over the past year, and while it’s an extraordinary book, it ends on a disappointing thud. Not only because the people of God have abandoned all they worked so hard for, but the human hero of the story, Nehemiah, was a let down in the end as well.
Nehemiah is brash and violent in the last chapter. He attempts to restore order through tearing some families apart and literally giving some men a beating while pulling their hair out (Mark Driscoll calls it a ’scalping’ as if it was cool, but that’s another story). My NIV Men’s edition bible tries to redeem the end of this part of the story commenting on how Nehemiah was courageous in the end confronting sin.
I understand Nehemiah’s good intentions, but I disagree with how he handled the situation. You could call it sinful.
Are there passages in Scripture you personally disagree with? (I can think of plenty).
And what do you do about it?
Some folks like Brian Mclaren might argue we’re simply listening in on a collection of stories in human history, some emphasize Christ as hero, then there’s interpretative techniques like context, word analysis, descriptive vs prescriptive readings of the text… but still.
Are there particular moments where the Scriptures leave you hanging, unsatisfied, and shaking your head?
Tom Brokaw explains Canada to Americans during an NBC Vancouver 2010 Olympic broadcast with Al Michaels. HT: Jeff Smyth
Which also brings back memories of the Molson Canadian beer commercial
btw, after much hype of how Canada was going to spank the USA in the winter olympic preliminary hockey game, I’m not sure what’s more sad – Canada losing, or the United States winning and not caring all that much.
I recall Mclaren’s earlier book that became a trilogy – a new kind of christian – being banned in many churches. I get the sense that a lot of concepts or challenges presented in that book have since shaped many churches, even if indirectly.
A new kind of Christianity will undoubtedly cause at least just as much of a stir, if not more.
Here’s a few of my quick thoughts.
People are going to love it or hate it. It’s hard not to be provoked and challenged by the questions he brings up.
McLaren’s often known for offering great questions and little in the way of answers. I got the feeling this was a bit of a ‘coming out’ book (though I think McLaren honestly puts where he’s at every time he writes, he’s just a bit further down that path now).
Hardcore/New Calvinists will hate much of the answers he provides.
The premise of most of his arguments is based on the framework in which we see things. Change the framework and everything within it changes. The new kind of christian focused more on the modernist mindset, he goes further back with this book showing how much of our theology is based on a Greco-Roman platonic worldview obsessed with either/or states and perfection.
Process theology and the general arc of the biblical storyline also shapes how we continue to evolve in our faith and humanity
I think many churches will have a hard time matching up what McLaren proposes and their current statement of faith (ie. his views presented on Scripture, the second coming, etc.) At the same time I think most statements of faith are profoundly lacking, incomplete, and rarely represent the actual practice of the church anyways.
McLaren usually does an impressive job with ignoring critics and smothering those who differ with kindness, so I was surprised when he took an unnamed swipe at Mark Driscoll (he’s going to have a field day with this one). There’s definitely some extra edge in this book (but none more than the fury his critics have heaped upon him)
I wonder if there will ever be healing between the different ‘camps’ in the future?
Overall, I’m glad McLaren does what he does, even if I don’t agree with all of his ideas and approaches. My guess is critics will continue to hate him, because he isn’t what they want him to be. He’s not a defender of the faith (as it is). He’s not someone who’s just proposing new methodologies to timeless truth (as we know it).
I find it odd that many of us will allow ourselves to consume and be shaped by music, media, technology, etc. that may have a radically different theological concepts from us, but vehemently not want someone like McLaren to be heard.
Our planet is in enough of a jam as it is, can’t we just let the guy feel his way forward and share what he’s learning with the rest of us?
There’s some extra chapters available on his website that people should also dig into.
brokenness isn’t spoken of much either.
