Archive for the ‘dependency’ Category

The follow text is from a previous post entitled, “Dependence Day:”

I’ll be honest. I’m not a fan of Independence Day. I’m trying to sort through whether that opinion is fueled by the despicable taste in in my mouth when I see red, white, and blue waving as a symbol of national allegiance and empire worship or simply by my struggle to intellectually and philosophically value independence. Freedom is good and necessary but cannot exist through the supposed provision of an earthly empire. Freedom is in the person of Jesus Christ and is quite different from that with which it is quite often confused, “rights.”

My reading on July 3rd proved to be rather timely for the upcoming day celebrated by most citizens of the United States. From Free of Charge by Miroslav Volf:

“Here is roughly how sin works in relation to God the giver. All things are from God and through God, and yet we want to be independent of God, standing on our own two feet, claiming God’s gifts as our own achievement. The young Karl Marx, barely twenty-six years old, put this sentiment as boldly as possible. In a text that remained unpublished during his lifetime, ‘Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts,’ he gave an expression to the heart of his rebellion against God:

‘A being only counts itself as independent when it stands on its own feet and it stands on its own feet as long as it owes its existence to itself. A man who lives by grace of another considers himself a dependent being. But I live completely by grace of another when I owe him not only the maintenance of my life but when he has also created my life, when he is the source of my life. And my life has necessarily such a ground outside itself if it is not my own creation.’

Marx held firmly to human independence. It almost seemed to him a value that lies at the bottom of all values. Because the reality of God as creator is incompatible with human independence, he denied the existence of God.

Most of us, especially the believers among us, won’t deny God’s existence in order to secure our independence. Instead, we think that we can have it both ways. We believe that we can stand on our own two feet, independent of God, and still affirm that God is the creator of everything. But that doesn’t make sense. We can be both dependent on God and free; dependence on God is the source of our being, and therefore, our freedom. But we can’t be created by God and independent; God sustains creatures in being and in freedom. When we assert our independence, when we ascribe to ourselves what comes from God, we wrong God – at least as much as I would wrong an author whose ideas I would peddle as my own. That’s our main sin against God the giver. If, like Raleigh Hays, we see ourselves as more or less honest, hardworking citizens, we may believe that we deserve what we have, and even a bit more because an evil world is cheating us of our proper reward. We might not feel particularly grateful for what we have because we think that, rather than receiving it, we earned it. And we want to dispose of our hard-earned goods the way we please; they become not so much gifts given to us to enjoy and pass on, but rather our exclusive possessions.

Assertion of independence, pride of achievement, sense of entitlement, and absolute right to dispose with our goods – these are the ways in which we live in contradiction to who we actually are in relation to God. And in these ways, we, decent citizens, live as inveterate sinners. To live in sync with who we truly are means to recognize that we are dependent on God for our very breath and are graced with many good things; it means to be grateful to the giver and attentive to the purpose for which the gifts are given.” //

// Miroslav Volf. Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace. pp. 35-6.

Adapted from a post on July 3, 2008:

I’ll be honest. I’m not a fan of Independence Day. I’m trying to sort through whether that opinion is fueled by the despicable taste in in my mouth when I see red, white, and blue waving as a symbol of national allegiance and empire worship or simply by my struggle to intellectually and philosophically value independence. Freedom is good and necessary but cannot exist through the supposed provision of an earthly empire. Freedom is in the person of Jesus Christ and is quite different from that with which it is quite often confused, “rights.”

My reading on July 3rd proved to be rather timely for the upcoming day celebrated by most citizens of the United States. From Free of Charge by Miroslav Volf:

“Here is roughly how sin works in relation to God the giver. All things are from God and through God, and yet we want to be independent of God, standing on our own two feet, claiming God’s gifts as our own achievement. The young Karl Marx, barely twenty-six years old, put this sentiment as boldly as possible. In a text that remained unpublished during his lifetime, ‘Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts,’ he gave an expression to the heart of his rebellion against God:

‘A being only counts itself as independent when it stands on its own feet and it stands on its own feet as long as it owes its existence to itself. A man who lives by grace of another considers himself a dependent being. But I live completely by grace of another when I owe him not only the maintenance of my life but when he has also created my life, when he is the source of my life. And my life has necessarily such a ground outside itself if it is not my own creation.’

Marx held firmly to human independence. It almost seemed to him a value that lies at the bottom of all values. Because the reality of God as creator is incompatible with human independence, he denied the existence of God.

Most of us, especially the believers among us, won’t deny God’s existence in order to secure our independence. Instead, we think that we can have it both ways. We believe that we can stand on our own two feet, independent of God, and still affirm that God is the creator of everything. But that doesn’t make sense. We can be both dependent on God and free; dependence on God is the source of our being, and therefore, our freedom. But we can’t be created by God and independent; God sustains creatures in being and in freedom. When we assert our independence, when we ascribe to ourselves what comes from God, we wrong God – at least as much as I would wrong an author whose ideas I would peddle as my own. That’s our main sin against God the giver. If, like Raleigh Hays, we see ourselves as more or less honest, hardworking citizens, we may believe that we deserve what we have, and even a bit more because an evil world is cheating us of our proper reward. We might not feel particularly grateful for what we have because we think that, rather than receiving it, we earned it. And we want to dispose of our hard-earned goods the way we please; they become not so much gifts given to us to enjoy and pass on, but rather our exclusive possessions.

Assertion of independence, pride of achievement, sense of entitlement, and absolute right to dispose with our goods – these are the ways in which we live in contradiction to who we actually are in relation to God. And in these ways, we, decent citizens, live as inveterate sinners. To live in sync with who we truly are means to recognize that we are dependent on God for our very breath and are graced with many good things; it means to be grateful to the giver and attentive to the purpose for which the gifts are given.” //

// Miroslav Volf. Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace. pp. 35-6.

Many MVNU students have been attending the Sunday morning gathering of Christians who call themselves "Journey Church." Here is the fifth (5th) of six (6) reasons why MVN(azarene)U students have been so highly attracted to the non-Nazarene gathering place that is Journey.

From post #4 of 6…
[There is also…]

5. The idea that everyone is doing it.

I’m not precisely sure what defines a trend except the idea that "everyone is doing it." After a discussion with my friends Nate Okuley and Lee Yowell in Nate’s car on the way to Hunan Garden for some dialogue and General Tso’s Chicken (insert another prepositional phrase here), I am offering a list of cultural and branding trends that exist within MVNU:

North Face : These branded jackets may be seen on many students walking around campus. I do wonder if North Face jackets worn in warmer spring and summer weather are symbols of one’s need for identity to be justified by a trend/brand.

Chipotle : I had never tried the oversized burrito from the McDonald’s Corporatio n owned mexican grill until I worked at MVNU. I will admit, I likes me some Chipotle even though I loathe McDonald’s and even have a hard time saying the last name of a certain clown named Ronald without having moderate to severe reflux in my esophageal tr act. Flour tortilla, rice, cilantro, chicken, onions, peppers, black beans, corn salsa, fresh tomato salsa, and cheese. Trendy and tasty for a mere 950 calories, 28.5 grams of fat, and 43% of my daily intake of iron. I heart you Chipotle (but I hate your mother).

Mac : The musical group/band/singer Feist would be relatively unknown if Mac had not used the now popu lar "1, 2, 3, 4" on a quite catchy advertisement for the th en new ipod nano (Am I supposed to capitalize the word "nano" or the "p" in "ipod?" What is the trend?). I confess that I do own a very nice, new generation, large capacity ipod Classic which I enjoy very much ("Classic" is capitalized just in case I got it wrong the first time. I want to be justified by my trendiness.). I also have MacBook envy. I have battled lust for the new aluminum cased media and online connectivity machine largely do to the slow proc essing and occasional random shut down of my now archaic HP Pavilion. I am also wanting to use iLife 09 for video and picture editing of my daughter, Kyla. I simply can’t quite justify spending $1299+ on a laptop when we’re trying to save and raise money to adopt internationally . It’s not easy fleeing green. "Tell me that you love me more. Buy me, Mac."

Journey Church : "If everyone’s going there and says it’s sweet then I’m going to go check it out." Is this a good enough reason? No previous connection with the gathered community? No theological research?

This of course leads me to the number one (#1) reason why MVNU students go to Journey…

TO BE CONTINUED.

^ This post is dedicated to Lee Yowell.

A textversation had earlier today during a 17 hour power outage:

Travis Keller : we worship electricity.
Lee Yowell : some do… others just have a tendency to over react and panic when the norms of our lives are altered ever so slightly.
Travis : indeed… but i would suggest that the things that form our lives and alter our relationship and thinking are gods.
Lee : Perhaps.
Lee : we are a nation of comfort and convenience… i would say… those are worshipped moreso than electricity.
Travis : oo.
Lee : ?
Travis : i agree i think. i would throw order and control in there.
Lee : naturally… like i was saying about our "norms" being altered and our response when that happens.

I have at least four posts in my head about the previously posted idea of life. Though a post on Black Friday may not initially sound as though it pertains to the question "what is life?," it does, indeed, address the issue on life on a number of levels. Here is an excerpt from one of my posts last year:

"The day marked for the celebration of the birth of Jesus is nearing. Comments are frequently made about the origination of the holiday being pagan. I would argue that which was pagan and made religious has largely become pagan again. The “celebration” that we now call Christmas has become the commercial exploitation of God coming into the brokenness of humanity. I will continue to add some posts on the repulsivity of consumerism."

Another post read as follows:

"Jesus wept. It is a sentence often quoted as the shortest verse in the Bible. On Friday, it was a reality. Not just because of Black Friday monetary spending but because of the addiction to consumption and lust for material possession and/or entertainment.
Jesus wept."

This coming Friday, millions of people will sacrifice a full night of sleep and either stay up all night or awake very early to drive their vehicles to shopping malls and retail stores across the country. Long lines, crammed traffic grids, and hateful behaviors are no deterents from the "cost savings" for the mass purchasing of items that may or may not be needed. We’ll discuss the idea of a "need" soon (for those of you coming to the Narrative Gathering on Monday nights be thinking about what a need is). Black Friday is an interesting social phenomenon. Why do consumers think they are "saving" money? Do consumers consider what money actually is? Are the majority of purchases on Black Friday for items that would be purchased even if "sales" didn’t exist? Is the purchasing of items encouraging unfair trade or even slavery in other countries? Pick a question or add a question and we’ll kick it around. Of course, my hope is that we all begin to consider the fullness of what it means to consume, buy, worship, purchase, and enslave while imagining what alternative behavior may be more life sustaining.

Is it more difficult in the current popular American culture to make space for community or solitude?

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I’ll be honest. I’m not a fan of Independence Day. I’m trying to sort through whether that opinion is fueled by the despicable taste in in my mouth when I see red, white, and blue waving as a symbol of national allegiance and empire worship or simply by my struggle to intellectually and philosophically value independence. Freedom is good and necessary but cannot exist through the supposed provision of an earthly empire. Freedom is in the person of Jesus Christ and is quite different from that with which it is quite often confused, “rights.”

My reading on July 3rd proved to be rather timely for the upcoming day celebrated by most citizens of the United States. From Free of Charge by Miroslav Volf:

“Here is roughly how sin works in relation to God the giver. All things are from God and through God, and yet we want to be independent of God, standing on our own two feet, claiming God’s gifts as our own achievement. The young Karl Marx, barely twenty-six years old, put this sentiment as boldly as possible. In a text that remained unpublished during his lifetime, ‘Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts,’ he gave an expression to the heart of his rebellion against God:

‘A being only counts itself as independent when it stands on its own feet and it stands on its own feet as long as it owes its existence to itself. A man who lives by grace of another considers himself a dependent being. But I live completely by grace of another when I owe him not only the maintenance of my life but when he has also created my life, when he is the source of my life. And my life has necessarily such a ground outside itself if it is not my own creation.’

Marx held firmly to human independence. It almost seemed to him a value that lies at the bottom of all values. Because the reality of God as creator is incompatible with human independence, he denied the existence of God.

Most of us, especially the believers among us, won’t deny God’s existence in order to secure our independence. Instead, we thing that we can have it both ways. We believe that we can stand on our own two feet, independent of God, and still affirm that God is the creator of everything. But that doesn’t make sense. We can be both dependent on God and free; dependence on God is the source of our being, and therefore, our freedom. But we can’t be created by God and independent; God sustains creatures in being and in freedom. When we assert our independence, when we ascribe to ourselves what comes from God, we wrong God – at least as much as I would wrong an author whose ideas I would peddle as my own. That’s our main sin against God the giver. If, like Raleigh Hays, we see ourselves as more or less honest, hardworking citizens, we may believe that we deserve what we have, and even a bit more because an evil world is cheating us of our proper reward. We might not feel particularly grateful for what we have because we think that, rather than receiving it, we earned it. And we want to dispose of our hard-earned goods the way we please; they become not so much gifts given to us to enjoy and pass on, but rather our exclusive possessions.

Assertion of independence, pride of achievement, sense of entitlement, and absolute right to dispose with our goods – these are the ways in which we live in contradiction to who we actually are in relation to God. And in these ways, we, decent citizens, live as inveterate sinners. To live in sync with who we truly are means to recognize that we are dependent on God for our very breath and are graced with many good things; it means to be grateful to the giver and attentive to the purpose for which the gifts are given.” //

// Miroslav Volf. Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace. pp. 35-6.

After hearing and reading about the 48 hour closure of the North Sea oil pipeline due to the 1,200 person union strike at the Grangemouth, Scotland refinery, I began to think about dependency. Motorists and consumers were urged by the government “not to hoard fuel, saying there would be enough to go around.” In attempt to offset the 700,000 barrels of oil per day supplied by the pipeline and to ensure that there is “enough to go around” the Scottish government is importing 72,000 tons of fuel from Europe. Some fuel stations in Edinburgh are limiting purchases while others have already reported they have run out of gas.

What happens when there is “not enough to go around?”

People cannot travel (unless they walk or bike).
People cannot get to work (unless they work in their own community).
People cannot earn notes of exchage (see above).
People cannot buy food (unless they know local farmers and/or trade other possessions).
People cannot eat (unless they grow their own food or know local farmers).

We are obviously an oil dependent people. What all are we dependent upon that may need remedied where we would be deeply troubled if there was “not enough to go around?

“One who would be a leader, I am cautioned, has a greater weight of responsibility to honor the despised, share his earthly possessions, model interdependency, and encourage the use of gifts concealed in the unlikeliest among us. To the leader, then, the gift of humility is offered – the gift is the salvation of the proud, which comes from great difficulty from learning to receive from those who are least on Earth, yet greatest n the Kingdom.
:: Robert Lupton: “Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life: Rethinking Ministry to the Poor.”

People must eat. People like to eat good tasting food. People will pay a lot of money for good tasting food that they don’t have to grow themselves or even cook themselves.
Exploitive minds have craftily constructed an empire of consumerism known as The Easton Town Center. Those who intend to arrive at said Town Center for the purpose of eating good tasting food at restaurants like P.F. Chang’s, The Cheesecake Factory, Brio Tuscan Grille, Mitchell’s Ocean Club, BDs Mongolian Barbeque, The Melting Pot, Bon Vie Italian Bistro and Wine Bar end up circling through numerous retail stores and shops. The designers were genius knowing that people’s simple presence around stores would produce purchases that are not needed or ever intended. May we begin to consider the enchantment of experience, the power of presence, and the resultant consumption.