Read-a-Thon (July & August)

Well I finished one heck of a long book this week. There still may be time to read something else in August,   something a little smaller than 540 pages! It has taken me over a month to get through this book. It may well be the longest book I have ever read. I kind of wished it was my own copy and not a library book because so many times I wanted to underline something in:


Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

Again, I am astounded by how little I know about history. I knew nothing of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I knew nothing about the role of the church in Germany before and during World War 2. I knew nothing of the suffering of Christians pastors who dared resist Hitler.

I was struck by how the church in general always seems to be trying to stay true to the gospel.  You see it today. It was a problem in the 1920s. It was probably a problem all the way back to the day Jesus walked the earth. There is always some liberal agenda trying to weaken the gospel, some wolf in sheep's clothing trying to deceive the people into something cheap and untrue. There is always someone seeing the problem and trying to ring the warning bell that you must come back to the gospel. You must stay the course. You must pursue God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. That was Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Bonhoeffer was the voice calling out in the wilderness when the German church and people seemed to be floundering, first as the Third Reich was just a backdrop to the ebb and flow of church stability. Then, as the Third Reich sought to make the German church and people into something entirely different from what the church has been from the beginning. They sought to create some new kind of christian. People fell for it partly because they were so crushed and humiliated after World War 1 and probably because their faith was just not as interwoven into their lives as it should have been. Then, it probably had a lot to do with fear.

What was a little scary to me as I was reading this book was just how duped the German people were by Hitler and by how clever and intuitive Hitler was that he could worm his way into the German's heart and mind. Convincing them all along that he was a Christian like them but all the while didn't give a hoot and was actually surrounded by people who wanted to go back to the pagan religion of ancient Germany with all its mysticism etc. The whole seduction of the people kind of reminded me of current affairs and our 2008 election where the Barack Obama talked a good talk and wooed people into hope and change. He has ultimately not brought hope and the change he has brought has only undermined the rule of law already established and sought to take away American's individual liberties. The parallels are there and are quite alarming.

Bonhoeffer and his highly intelligent and influential family saw through the facade very early on and worked to see the mad man ousted. Many of them lost their lives, including Dietrich who almost made it. He had nearly slipped through the fingers of the SS and just 2 weeks before the end of the war and Hitler's suicide he was hanged. 

Bonhoeffer's contributions to Germany, the church, theologians, to his students, to his fellow prisoners and to all the people who continue to read the books he had written can not be quantified.

Definitely well worth the time to read this book and see the stark contrast between a man of God and a mad man.

Why Bother?

After (and while) reading Love Wins so many things were running through my head about just how off base this book and this bit of "theology" is. I will delve into my thoughts in this post.

In my eyes, Universal Reconciliation basically says to the Christian "why bother?" Why bother to follow Jesus' command in Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Why bother to follow commandments, live a pure life, share the gospel with your friends and family?
Why bother to rejoice when someone decides to follow Jesus?
Why bother to repent and change your life?
Why bother to read the Bible?
Why bother to teach your kids about Jesus and how he died for their sins?

Why bother when Universal Reconciliation says everyone will be given a chance to follow Christ once they reach eternity.  It could take them 100s of years but in the end because the Bible implies in a couple places including Philippians 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,"

How do we that everyone is happy about it! Or that "every" isn't just a generic term for a lot of people.

If everyone ends up saved in the end and no one who has rejected Jesus in life is separated from him in death then....
There is no need for personal responsibility for your actions and choices - now.
There is no need to being open to the Holy Spirit to lead you into a lifetime and eternity with Christ.
I can live it up now and not have to worry about a Judgement Day.
There is no real free will to choose God or not.
No need to hope for 11th hour commitments to Christ.
Really why bother praying that people's hearts would turn to Jesus.
Why spend the money to send missionaries into all the world.

However, the Judgment Day is mentioned quite a bit and Jesus was pretty serious about people choosing to follow him - he died to prove his point. He also told us we need to follow him to reach God the Father.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
⁵ Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14

In actuality, now when I am reading the Bible I am reading it with the fresh perspective of just how off kilter the idea is that God who hates sin would suddenly disregard his own laws and give people a free pass after their time was up. Just because it doesn't sit well with some of us.

The best way I can liken it to real life is with the issue of immigration. We have people that go through a lengthy frustrating process to become U.S. Citizen, but they do it because it is important to them to do it the right way. Then, you have people who break the law and come into the U.S. illegally and soak up benefits with no regard for the rule of law. Universal Reconciliation says to those illegally entered people. "That's ok you didn't follow the rules but you can be a citizen anyway." What a slap in the face of all the people that made a choice to do it the right way, the lawful way.

If God is not a god of his own Word - which is the rule of law- what's the use in following him because he becomes a hypocrite and a farce. I want a God that sticks to his Word, who gives people a choice and lets them abide by that choice.

These are just some of the things that just don't make logical or Biblical sense to me in regards to universal reconciliation / salvation.
I am sticking to what I have always known and what is strongly supported in the Bible. We have one life to live we need to make good choices - chose Jesus and live forever with him. I don't know what that will look like but I am guessing it will be pretty good. As for the rest of the people, like those who never heard the gospel of Jesus, God knows their hearts I trust Him to judge wisely when the Day comes.