two cups of tea

“We need to appreciate why there is a rise of fundamentalist thinking afoot. A postmodern world offers people a dizzying array of choice and many believers simply can not deal with this and say, ‘tell me what to believe.’ Psychically immature people will in times of crisis surrender their critical thinking and move to a very rigid ‘orthodoxy.’ They can not accept that faith grows and evolves. Faith indeed should give us a minimum of security but it must also countenance risk. Fundamentalism of any stripe seeks security but real faith seeks truth –and as Jesus showed, that can be dangerous.

Ted Schmidt analyzed the social and cultural changes which have produced a climate of fear in society and the church.

” Many denominations, movements, and individual Christians hold to a certain position not because they have honestly examined all possible viewpoints and then arrived at their conclusion; they simply believe what they believe because they have never heard anything else. Or, if they heard of an alternative, they immediately dismissed it without serious consideration – because they felt threatened in their beliefs and were perhaps frightened that their strong fortress would turn out to be a house of cards.”

Jacob Schriftman in his book; “the C.S. Lewis book on the bible”

Read my review of the book here.

As a professional speaker myself, I find it fascinating to watch how people with their own rent a car bulgariaspeechwriters give speeches.

Have a look!

We join people in your country and around the world in congratulating you on becoming the President-elect of the United States. Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place. We note and applaud your commitment to supporting the cause of peace and security around the world. We trust that you will also make it the mission of your presidency to combat the scourge of poverty and disease everywhere. We wish you strength and fortitude in the challenging days and years that lie ahead. We are sure you will ultimately achieve your dream, making the United States of America a full partner in a community of nations committed to peace and prosperity for all.

from Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, to Senator Barack Obama, the first black president-elect of the United States of America.

Is Obama a socialist?

I have been reading how much of the American media, and also some of my American friends compare Obama to a socialist or a Scandinavian. The question I will seek to share some views on in this blogpost is; is he?

Media in Sweden, Denmark and my homeland Norway are across the board happy about Obama being elected as the 44th President of the United States of America. This is also the case in the Christian media I have been following.

The Democratic Party and Republican Party are both viewed as clearly part of the conservative political block if compared by Nordic standards. And if we should put a color on them both it would be dark blue.(blue conservative, red being socialist leaning) I would say that pretty much all of the political parties here in Scandinavia has a socialistic foundation. The word socialist used as the worst word the republican party could come up with is not something I as a Scandinavian would understand or be able to relate to if used on Obama’s politics. By our standards he is far from a socialist.

What is Obamas model ?

Obamas political model deploys civic nationalism to transcend ethnic diversity. Many of Tuesday’s revelers were waving the stars and stripes, or sporting it on some part of their dress. No right-wing Republican could insist more than Obama does on American uniqueness, exceptionalism, manifest destiny. His proclaimed purpose is “to make this century the next American century”. If George W Bush said that, we from the rest of the world might regard it as rank nationalist arrogance. Because it’s Obama, we somehow accept it.

Now comes the test. As he acknowledged in his sober acceptance speech, America has a huge mountain to climb. The very circumstances that ensured his victory make it more difficult for him to succeed. One can argue about “what would have happened if …”, but it’s indisputable that the campaign turned decisively in his favor after September’s financial meltdown. Now the crisis is really hitting the real economy, on his chosen terrain of jobs, homes, savings and healthcare for ordinary Americans. He inherits a soaring national debt from Bush, who presided over a massive redistribution of wealth from future generations to the present one. The country faces two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a host of other challenges around the world.

America divided

Meanwhile, America itself is still divided. The gulf between red and blue may even be more difficult to bridge than that between black and white. Many Americans are still irrationally suspicious of Barack Hussein Obama, but an entirely rational observer could conclude that his instincts are more socially and cultural liberal than those of a cultural-conservative Republican, and less economically liberal than those of a libertarian Republican. To overcome those concerns, he would have to govern from the centre or even centre-right, disappointing his own supporters and taking on some triumphalist Democrats in Congress.

Has he got what it takes: in himself, his team, and the power resources at his disposal? I spent the days before the vote talking to not a few Washington insiders, including some well placed in his campaign. Their unanimous refrain was: we don’t know. We don’t know which of the many policy options he’ll plump for; we don’t know who he’ll choose for the key posts; we don’t know what he’ll be like on the job. Few presidential candidates have had less of an executive or legislative track record from which to guess their future performance in a job like no other.

Is Obama a Scandinavian?

On one thing all agree: if he can run the country the way he has run his campaign - one of the most effective ever - then America will be in good hands. But a country is not a campaign. He is, in every sense of that over-used word, cool. He barely looked excited even as he accepted the presidency before an ecstatic crowd. As president, his hard-power resources may be somewhat diminished, but no one in the world currently has more soft power. Where the Bush administration used military “shock and awe” to hunt down weapons of mass destruction that turned out not even to be there, Obama is himself a weapon of mass attraction.

And he can appeal to what is perhaps America’s greatest power resource: the can-do spirit of innovation, enterprise and hard work, mixed with civic patriotism, which this country invites everyone to embrace, wherever they come from. This is the promise summed up in what Obama called in his acceptance speech “that American creed: Yes We Can”. The American creed they were chanting outside the White House on that unforgettableTuesday night.

Is “the Obama model” the “Scandinavian model”? Far from it. Should it be? Probaly not. I do think however, Obama should turn his eyes and ears this way (once i a while) and ask if there are things that would be helpful in leading the greatest nation out of the mess created by Bush, and a political system that clearly has not been working for quite some time. We certainly turn our eyes and ears the american way quite alot.

I am horrified by the Christian right

I have been following the election process in the states carefully over the last few months, and am again struck by the way politics is conducted in this beautiful and great land of freedom. I am horrified by the rhetoric and claims of the religious Christian right putting fear into the hearts of millions of voters.

James Dobson

James Dobson, president of “focus on the family” is one such Christian right leader.

Jim Wallis confronts James Dobson, asks for an apology and says the following; “The fictional letter released through your Focus on the Family Action organization, titled “Letter From 2012 in Obama’s America”, crosses all lines of decent public discourse. In a time of utter political incivility, it shows the kind of negative Christian leadership that has become so embarrassing to so many of your fellow Christians in America. We are weary of this kind of Christian leadership, and that is why so many are forsaking the Religious Right in this election.

This letter offers nothing but fear. It apocalyptically depicts terrorist attacks in American cities, churches losing their tax exempt status for not allowing gay marriages, pornography pushed in front of our children, doctors and nurses forced to perform abortions, euthanasia as commonplace, inner-city crime gone wild because of lack of gun ownership, home schooling banned, restricted religious speech, liberal censorship shutting down conservative talk shows, Christian publishers forced out of business, Israel nuked, power blackouts because of environmental restrictions, brave Christian resisters jailed by a liberal Supreme court, and finally, good Christian families emigrating to Australia and New Zealand.”

An embarrassment

Jim Wallis continues with the following.

“The America you helped vote into power has lost its moral standing in the world, and even here at home. The America you told Christians to vote for in past elections is now an embarrassment to Christians around the globe, and to the children of your generation of evangelicals. And the vision of America that you still tell Christians to vote for is not the one that many in a new generation of Christians believes expresses their best values and convictions.

Christians should be committed to the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of America, and the church is to live an alternative existence of love and justice, offering a prophetic witness to politics. Elections are full of imperfect choices where we all seek to what is best for the “common good” by applying the values of our faith as best we can.

Dreams and hopes

Dr. Dobson, you of course have the same right as every Christian and every American to vote your own convictions on the issues you most care about, but you have chosen to insult the convictions of millions of other Christians, whose own deeply held faith convictions might motivate them to vote differently than you.  This epistle of fear is perhaps the dying gasp of a discredited heterodoxy of conservative religion and conservative politics. But out of that death, a resurrection of biblical politics more faithful to the whole gospel—one that is truly good news—might indeed be coming to life.”

Tomorrow the world turns its eyes, hopes and dreams to two men, Obama and McCain. I believe the best choice for the world is Obama, I believe the best choice for America is Obama, and if I could would give him my vote tomorrow at noon. No matter who you chose tomorrow, dont let fear be the deciding factor.

the need for change will finally prevail over the appeals to fear. Pray that the voters will choose either Barack Obama or John McCain as the best agent of change, rather than submit to the tyranny of fear. It is always better to live (and to vote) in the light of hope than in the darkness of fear. It is always an act of faith to believe that, in the end, hope will prevail over fear.

Read more about the elections here.

The election is a few days away and what could be more appropriate than a dance?

Jacob Schriftmans latest book the C.S Lewis book on the bible has been an insightful, thought provoking and truly enjoyable read. It’s one of those books I will return to, and enjoy again. Schriftman gives us a carefully-reasoned yet entertaining read. His writing style is superb and clear.

The book centers around two parts. The first part is a critique and a defense on how we know whether the Bible is from God (epistemology) and the second part centers around; the study of the general principles of biblical interpretation. (hermeneutics)

Both of these parts are then divided into two parts a critique and a defense. My favorite parts were the critique presented throughout the book. The arguments were clear and well presented. Only the critique parts are a must read for anyone interested in apologetics, or a student of religion and faith in general.

Schriftman critiques, and explores the arguments used in a big part of the evangelical (it would be good with a definition of what is meant by evangelical) part of Christianity. An evangelical Christian could say; the Bible must be inspired by God because of how the bible changes lives or fulfilled messianic prophesy to name a couple examples Schriftman critiques. In each case the argument falls short to justify the bibles claim to be from God.

Schriftman tells the story of how C. S Lewis came to accept the Bibles inspiration not as a starting point but as the final conclusion. An important part of the book follows Lewis argument and Journey towards the acceptance of the Bible as inspired by God.
A part of that journey consisted of understanding the Bible differently from for example Francis Schaeffer. Schaeffer viewed the first eleven chapters of Genesis, the same way as the rest of Genesis. Lewis on the other hand read the first eleven chapters as myths.
Schriftmans is at his best in this part of the book, and shows a deep understanding of Lewis when he takes us on a journey of thought with Lewis.

The second part of the book is also a gem waiting to be uncovered, explored and thought through. I enjoyed the parts where Schriftman gives examples of how the Bible fails to live up to the perfection many Christians demand from it. Part of the conclusion in this part is as follows.

”The above should be sufficient to show in what sense the Bible cannot be from God. It cannot be a kind of divine encyclopedia, a catalogue of”thus-saith-the-lord” articles on various topics.” Then how can it be from God? Scriftman ends the book by answering that precise question.

The book is not only a dive into the mind of C. S Lewis and his student mister Schriftman. It is a critique against a Christianity that is afraid to lose its faith by asking difficult questions. Schriftman puts it like this.

” Many denominations, movements, and individual Christians hold to a certain position not because they have honestly examined all possible viewpoints and then arrived at their conclusion; they simply believe what they believe because they have never heard anything else. Or, if they heard of an alternative, they immediately dismissed it without serious consideration – because they felt threatened in their beliefs and were perhaps frightened that their strong fortress would turn out to be a house of cards.”

This book deserves a wide audience, and is certainly a starting point not only for C. S Lewis fans but also anyone wanting to explore faith, God and the bible from a different perspective than what is the norm in a big part of western Christianity. The 12 dollar price tag is a bargain considering you actually get two books in one. An engaging, liberating and highly recommended read.

You can buy your copy here.

Jacob Schriftman is the pen name of Jokim Schnoebbe. I first met Jokim a few years back in South Africa and we traveled together for a teaching tour in the far east. We also lived together here in Sweden for a few months where we both were involved in a course with YWAM. He is a talented speaker,artist,teacher,author,father,husband and fotball player (and a few other things).

There is something special about Colin Powell. He has made good judgments in the past, and its interesting to hear his commentary on Obama versus McCain. Its even more interesting or intriguing  that this high profile republican jumps over to the democratic side, to endorse and give his support to Barack Obama.

Watch the interview here.

Some more words from Colin Powell