Bringing Courage to the Courageous

“What I do know is that God is sovereign, and He is good.  And all these things that we go through in this fallen world are meant to bring us to Him.”

-CH (CPT) Don Williamson (Bringing Courage to the Courageous)*

First of all, let me just say that I am thoroughly enjoying CH Williamson’s book.  I say that not out of a sense of pandering to a fellow chaplain; rather, the general intent and focus of Bringing Courage to the Courageous is a very honest and concrete understanding of a pastoral ministry of presence.

I am, however, the kind of person who, every so often, enjoys reading books and articles written by people that I do not necessarily agree with concerning matters of theology.  This is one of those cases, and the above stated quote is the veritable straw that broke the theological camel’s back.

Briefly, the context of CH Williamson’s statement is that he is counseling a Soldier at a remote FOB (Forward Operating Base) in Afghanistan (i.e. not a cushy pastor’s office).  The Soldier has gone through and seen a lot over the course of multiple deployments.  This is not an easy pastoral counseling session by any stretch of the imagination.

I also understand that one’s ministry context must be taken into consideration.  I am reflecting on this quote while sitting at my nice desk and comfy office chair, and I have the time and opportunity to ponder over the words being spoken.  That said, CH Williamson and I come from very different theological backgrounds.  Actually, I find his statement to be, at best, theologically irresponsible.  At worst?  Theologically dangerous.

I haven’t a problem accepting the claims that God is both sovereign and good.  It is a highly problematic theological proposition that everything we go through in our lives is meant to bring us closer to God.  Such a claim seems to state that God divinely predestines and predetermines all of existence, to include all of the good and bad aspects and experiences of our lives.

My first question in response to CH Williamson’s claim is whether or not God’s sovereignty and goodness is at stake if we deny the notion that God predestines and predetermines everything.  Theologically, as a Methodist, I would argue that God’s sovereignty and goodness (and most especially God’s love) is in no way whatsoever threatened by denying the above stated “pre” claims assigned to God by humans.  To uphold these claims is a threat to God’s loving gift of free will that is manifest in the freedom we have to choose God or to not choose God.  If everything is predestined and predetermined, what would be the point of allowing us to make such a choice?  On the other hand, to deny this ability to choose (or not choose) God would seemingly defeat the whole point and purpose of the spiritual life.  Thus, Christianity itself would be rather pointless.

My second question for CH Williamson is pastoral in nature.  If we accept the claim that everything is mean to bring us to God, what does that mean for all those Soldiers who have been wounded or who have died in the line of duty?  And really, this question could be asked from anyone’s perspective, regardless of their military or non-military status, faith background, or the multitude of other ways we self-identify.  I am asking the question from the perspective of a fellow chaplain.  What does it mean for our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen who have been to hell and back?  Did they endure (or even die from) those experiences of war so that they could come to God?  Yes, God works in mysterious ways that we will never fully understand, but a God who orchestrates pain and suffering into the thread of life for the sole purpose of bringing people closer to the divine certainly is sovereign but is in no way good or loving.  This God is nothing short of a despot.

At this point I could recommend a dozen or so books and authors worth reading concerning the topic of God and human suffering.  I could write my own book, but I’m not.  I simply wish to point out that, as Christians, we are all theologians whether we want to be or not.  What we say to others can have as dramatic an affect on their lives as how we act.  I am greatly appreciative of the work CH Williamson does in the name of Jesus Christ.  However, I believe we all must be willing to seriously reflect and wrestle with the various theologies and claims of the God we affirm. 

I truly think this is one of the many things God wants of us, to think through and wrestle with living out our paths to Christian perfection.

Peace and blessings on the journey my friends!

*Williamson, Don.  Bringing Courage to the Courageous: One Chaplain’s Journey Across the Battlefields of Afghanistan.  Xulon Press, 2010.

Reading the Bible for All the Wrong Reasons

"My point was not so much that her reading of the Bible was wrong but that it is nonsensical to talk about understanding any sort of communication without interpreting it."

-Russell Pregeant (Reading the Bible for All the Wrong Reasons)*


How true this statement really is!  All communication has to be interpreted.  Even text messages, Facebook messages and status updates, etc.  And the way that we interpret and/or perceive a given communication is not necessarily how it was intended to be understood, and yet that perception shapes our reality.  What then does that mean for misinterpreted and misunderstood communication?  In particular, the way the biblical text shapes the generally perceived Christian reality is intriguing as the idea of interpretation (or misinterpretation) enters the conversation.

We all have lenses by which we read Scripture; we all bring our biases and our baggage, our perceptions of reality and, essentially, we come to the biblical text with ideas of what we think it says and means, and what we really want it to say and mean.  We inevitably eisegete the text, reading our selves (ideologies, philosophies, theologies, experiences, etc.) into holy writ.  While it is almost impossible to approach the text in a robotic fashion, checking all of our baggage at the door, we must be willing to recognize that we, in fact, bring all of our selves into any encounter with a given communication (i.e. the Bible).

In short, we are all interpreters.  The Bible, or any other form of communication, cannot simply be read and followed at face value.  As Pregeant states above, to attempt to do so is nonsensical.



*Pregeant, Russell.  Reading the Bible for All the Wrong Reasons.  Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011. 

Welcome

Good grief.  I never thought I'd actually be doing this, that is, I never thought I'd be starting a blog.  I told myself I wouldn't, but here we are.  And honestly, I feel pretty good about this venture into public writing.  I guess we'll see how it goes.

A note, however, concerning the content of this blog.  I read...a lot.  The primary format and intent of this blog is for me to share a quote by an author I am currently reading that seems particularly poignant...or problematic.  I will then proceed to briefly reflect on the given quote.  The word "brief" is pretty key here.  I'm not writing my own version of Barth's Church Dogmatics.  Just relatively succinct reactions.  If someone wants to respond or comment on the quote or my response, go for it.  I always welcome good dialogue.

I guess that's about it.  So welcome!