Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Christ Has Guts or Why My Subtitle Doesn't Include "Christian"
Funny. It says, "Husband, Father, Writer, Editor, Teacher, Reader." But not Christian. I have to admit my hypocrisy on this one. It isn't that I didn't include Christian as one of my identities (I'll explain that later). My hypocrisy is that I didn't even notice the missing "Christian" until I viewed my blog with my uncles in mind.
I'm not talking about my atheist uncle from the last post. He's actually my wife's uncle.
I'm talking about the Goodyear uncles. My dad's brothers and sisters. You see, our Goodyear Reunion has entered the 21st century and gotten its own blog. I posted a comment there with a link back here. Then I worried how my blog might look to a preacher. My uncles are all strong Christians; two of them, Uncle Dan and Uncle John, are preachers. Specifically, I worried about my amateur theological posts like my series on Bultmann. Or my poems like Passion Play and Jesus in the Shower. Or my stories like Ruth and Boaz.
I provide those links because I feel strongly about bringing our faith back into the real world. Christianity isn't a set of rules. It isn't some kind of neo-platonic separation of spiritual and physical things. I write jarring stories and poems because I want to remind people that Jesus is radical.
Christ has guts. Christianity takes guts.
I was surprised yesterday to learn that the word "guts" is offensive to older generations.
But here's the thing. Christianity is offensive.
Why don't I list Christian in my subtitle? For the same reason I don't list my family name. I am a Goodyear all the time. It isn't one of my hats.
Similarly, Christianity isn't just another hat that I put on before I go to church or before I get on my knees to pray. (Actually, I hardly ever pray on my knees.)
I am a Christian all the time—or else I am a hypocrite.
HillCountryWriter Category: High Calling Thoughts
Technorati Tags: work jobs careers business daily life
I'm not talking about my atheist uncle from the last post. He's actually my wife's uncle.
I'm talking about the Goodyear uncles. My dad's brothers and sisters. You see, our Goodyear Reunion has entered the 21st century and gotten its own blog. I posted a comment there with a link back here. Then I worried how my blog might look to a preacher. My uncles are all strong Christians; two of them, Uncle Dan and Uncle John, are preachers. Specifically, I worried about my amateur theological posts like my series on Bultmann. Or my poems like Passion Play and Jesus in the Shower. Or my stories like Ruth and Boaz.
I provide those links because I feel strongly about bringing our faith back into the real world. Christianity isn't a set of rules. It isn't some kind of neo-platonic separation of spiritual and physical things. I write jarring stories and poems because I want to remind people that Jesus is radical.
Christ has guts. Christianity takes guts.
I was surprised yesterday to learn that the word "guts" is offensive to older generations.
But here's the thing. Christianity is offensive.
Why don't I list Christian in my subtitle? For the same reason I don't list my family name. I am a Goodyear all the time. It isn't one of my hats.
Similarly, Christianity isn't just another hat that I put on before I go to church or before I get on my knees to pray. (Actually, I hardly ever pray on my knees.)
I am a Christian all the time—or else I am a hypocrite.
HillCountryWriter Category: High Calling Thoughts
Technorati Tags: work jobs careers business daily life
