Audio!

For those of you who are obsessed with audio files (like me), the talks from Atlas this year have finally been uploaded and are all linked below.

Let me know if there are errors, but I think they will all role.

I will try and get each week uploaded as they are created (look for them on Tuesday or so). There is now a link to all the Atlas talks on the right hand side of the screen (IE - "Download Atlas Talks") .

Talks

All material below is available only for use as subversive propaganda for the restoration of the world. All other uses are strictly forbidden.

Click on the link below to listen on your computer, or right click and hit "save as target" to download the file.

Creeds

(Summer 2006)

The Father Almighty (Jeff)

The Son of God (Jeff) 6.18

The Word Made Flesh (Jeff) 6.25

For My Sake (Tim) 7.2

The Resurrection (Tim) 7.9

Judgment and Power (Tim) 7.16

The Holy Spirit and the Scriptures (Jeff) 7.23

The Church (Tim) 7.30

The Renewal of All Things (Jeff) 8.6

Questions: Our Journey, Honesty, and the Da Vinci Code

(Jeff: Spring 2006)

Was the Creation of the New Testament Arbitrary or a Power Play?

Was Jesus Married; Why Should We Think Jesus is God
Pentecost (Tim)

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Elements

(Tim: Spring 2006)

Earth

Wind

Water

Fire (unavailable)

.....

New: Reflections on John

(Jeff: Spring 2006)

John 9 - Ostracized

John 10 - The Shepherd Lays Down His Life

John 11 - Lazarus (Robyn)

John 12 - Power and the Passion

John 13 and 14 - The Great Commission Redefined

John 15 and 16 - The World and the Spirit (Robyn)

John 17 - The Glory of God

John 18 and 19 - Light Enters the Darkness

John 20 and 21 - The Resurrection of Jesus

..

Seven

(Spring 2006)

Seven: Pride and the Poor in Spirit (Not available)

Seven: Envy and Blessed Mourning (Jeff)

Seven: Sloth and the Hunger for Righteousness (Jeff)

Seven: Greed and Giving Mercy (Tim)

Seven: Lust and Purity of Heart (Jeff)

Seven: Wrath and the Meek Peacemaker (Tim)

Seven: Gluttony and the Courageous under Persecution (Tim)

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Paintings are those of Corinne Vonaesch and can be found here.

John 20-21

Here's the talk at Atlas from Easter.

(Right click and hit "Save Target as..." to download.)

Paintings are those of Corinne Vonaesch and can be found here.

Toward a Postmodern Response to the Da Vinci Code

Though many of us know that the working subtitle to the Da Vinci Code film--"So Dark the Con of Man"--is appropriately directed at the book and (presumably) the film, it is another thing to actually articulate that truth to those we care for.

The Christian community around the world has been wrestling for about a year on how to respond to the coming Da Vinci Code movie. Not only did the book sell two zillion copies, but the new film brings together some of the most talented, well-liked film makers in the world.

I went to a simulcast at a local church recently. It was broadcast for Church leaders to essentially prepare them to go to war. "We need to arm ourselves" was a common phrase used, as the scholars pointed out the vast number of historic fallacies in the book.

Leave aside the fact that our Christian leaders can't seem to get away from military language when describing evangelism, and the invitation to another human soul to have an encounter with the Prince of Peace: Is this the best way to go about responding to the Da Vinci Code?

The immediate thing that stands out to me is the fear of our community. Our reaction seems to be universally one asking, "How ought we hit back?" Unfortunately this is often how apologetics is conducted in America. We get our debate style from Fox News and conservative radio, and we move into conversations with the same intellectual pride displayed in those genres. If we are lucky, we will escape without our friends saying to themselves, "Gee I won't bring that topic up again. Perhaps I won't speak with him about anything religious in nature again."

It seems to me that being filled with fear or being reactionary are not very attractive faces to display to our friends. It is unreal that some think handing out tracts at the movie theaters or assaulting Dan Brown's character in their sermons is effective. On the contrary, it is a sure way to be marginalized and ridiculed.

I take seriously the idea that the messenger is the message, and that language and film are often used, not to display things as they are, but as power plays to control others. We need to be serious about how we respond because we have not been called to control others (the sin of the Christian antagonists in this book, by the way). We have been called to set others free!

So what might that entail? First, it seems to me that this is an excellent opportunity to show the world that we are open minded. Let's go see the film, and if it is good, let's enjoy it. Let's tell people we enjoyed it. Like being sensitive to race, may we be hyper-sensitive to what we say about this film, because it will say more about our faith than any critique we offer.

Secondly, there are going to be lots of questions brought up by the film. Instead of having eight reasons at hand for why Jesus didn't have an affair with Mary Magdalene, why don't we direct them a different way: Let them tell us what they think about Jesus. Seriously, put aside some of the truth claims of the film. Simply talk about Jesus. Hopefully we have already created credibility with our friends to were their opinions can be said openly and honestly. If the conversation hits that depth, then perhaps we can offer why Jesus is so incredible in our eyes, what attracts us to him over and again, and why we want to live like he did. And perhaps this won't be the last conversation we'll have, but will be open-ended enough to invite further dialogue.

Thirdly, I have found only two words worth using if a critique is at all necessary for the Da Vinci Code: "Conspiracy Theory." Lump it in (as it has already lumped itself in) with the grassy knoll, Roswell, and those who think the moon landings were shot in a sound studio. Say, "I thought that was a better conspiracy film than JFK." It is a complement (with a dose of reality). It may also invite your friends to ask why you thought it was a conspiracy theory film: and then the conversation is about history and not a defensive diatribe about your faith.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Apologetics seldom if ever brings someone to faith in Jesus. It certainly does not without a real, authentic Christian care beside it. As Christians, we need to ask the questions raised in the Da Vinci Code much LOUDER than our brothers and sisters who are ensnared by gnosticism. We need to confess boldly where we, as Trinitarian believers, have screwed up in the past two thousand years, and have tragically rejected our God on the cross for a god of power and control.

We need to ask boldly: "How did the New Testament Canon come together?", "What is the appropriate place of political power in our world?" and "Why should we think that Jesus is divine?" (and let's think up some better answers than 'because the Bible says so.')

We need to be honest with the honest questions we all have about our faith. Apologetics is much more valuable for believers than unbelievers. It not only should confirm that the Jesus-way of life is the best possible way to live. It should also showcase the God we experience in prayer, worship and suffering in our own lives, is likewise at work in all the world at all times, and especially in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

I trust NT Wright more than any other scholar today, and here is his treatment of the book: only to be read if you are NOT arming yourself to shot your friends in the head after you see the movie with them.

(NT Wright and CS Lewis are my personal favorites on that front, and these links are great places to begin. For CS Lewis, my favorite book is the Great Divorce and it would serve as a solid starting point. If you are looking for reasons to believe in God's existence, the resurrection of Jesus, etc: here is a worthy site of essays.)

On the Gospel of Judas

I had a friend send me this Denver Post article on the discovery of an ancient document which has been called the Gospel of Judas. Here are the reflections I sent him:

Many articles have appeared recently talking through this discovery. The author of the Denver Post piece, along with many other I read recently, does his best to build up the scandalous nature of the document. He seems to insist that there is no difference in the historic reliability between this book and the four Gospels. However, as the article progresses he begins to let out some of the more important details. For example, that it is a Gnostic document and that it is a product of the second century.

The Gnostic Gospels (Thomas, Mary Magdalene, Peter, etc) discovered over the last century are all quite fictious. In one scene of the Gospel of Thomas (the one Gnostic scholars regard as the most reliable), Jesus turns one of his childhood friends into a toad. He also insists that to be a disciple women must become men. It is rather goofy stuff.

These Gnostic writings are products of the 2nd century, as the writer notes, "The 26-page Judas text is said to be a copy in Coptic, made around A.D. 300, of the original Gospel of Judas, written in Greek the century before."

Unlike the four gospels which were written by friends, followers, and first century historians, these Gnostic Gospels don't have much credibility historically.

We might imagine waking up tomorrow and reading in the newspaper: "New Discovery: Historic Documents reveal the intimate conversations of Abraham Lincoln, saying he really hated slaves and secretly hoped the South would win." But as we read on, we come to find out the historic document was written in 1987.

That is the same time frame between Jesus life and the writing of this work.

The first paragraph in the Judas Gospel says, "The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot during a week three days before he celebrated Passover."

It is tough to record accurate history about what was said in a secret conversation between two friends one hundred and fifty years after the fact, but it is nearly impossible when both Jesus and Judas died within the next four days. If Judas survived, maybe it could be argued that this was a memoir, or that he passed his story on to the early gnostic Christians--but the record is real clear that Judas lost all his friends, and committed suicide the same week Jesus was crucified. It doesn't seem he was very interested in leaving a legacy.

In my quick over view of the first 7 pages, the Judas Gospel tries to be like the other gospels: having Jesus say cryptic things that his disciples do not understand. But it also suggests that Jesus changed his bodily form to become a young boy, and it seems to suggest that Jesus traveled through time to other places where the people were more "holy."

Again, these Gnostic Documents are just weird.

You can read the first 7 pages here. The National Geographic Society has created a detailed site here on the document, which they may own.

Gnosticism (as we will see again with all the Da Vinci Code stuff coming soon) has no historic footing. It died early in Christian history, and today it thrives on conspiracy, pushing a "discover yourself" theology, and a little PT Barnum thrown in to capture the attention of Newsweek and Time.

Left Behind Part II

So it is easy to say Left Behind is left behind without offering anything to fill the void. Check out this talk by Rob Bell on Revelation. Huge Stuff. (Click on "watch" next to Rob's name.")