I was on my way to work and listening to the radio.  I like to spin the dial, give each station a few minutes, regardless of whether it’s music, news or talk radio.  Or preaching.  If something in my variety show keeps my attention, I’ll stay with it until a station break, or until my attention dwindles.  Today it was preaching.

I don’t remember the speaker’s name, but he was one of the more popular ones, like Swindoll or Stanley.  I also noted that he was one of the more educated ones, a proven Biblical scholar, it seemed.  He was outlining the afterlife, heaven or hell, based upon one’s decision for Christ.  From my church background I know this means accepting God’s son as your personal savior, realizing that he died for our sins, and has gone before us to heaven to prepare a place for us.  Non-believers are destined for an eternity in hell.

That’s when it hit me.  How could intelligent men accept such statements, let alone teach them!  The questions began to pour forth from my mind, and, yes, I was still driving safely.  Could any of us name just one person, past or present, who deserves to be tortured FOREVER for deeds done in a lifespan of less than 100 years? 

I thought of three examples of life and tried to determine if any of them warranted the doom of damnation for all of the ages.  The first would be one who had led a miserable life, giving and receiving hurt and hatred.  Was that person not created by God?  Was he or she viciously evil from birth?  And what could they possibly do throughout their adult life that would cause them to deserve suffering in searing flames — for 10 BILLION YEARS - for starters?

Another person might have led a fairly decent life, with all of life’s ups and downs.  Perhaps they made mistakes, like all of us do at various times, but they felt bad for their shortcomings and were willing to feel sorry and to do better.  But for whatever reason they don’t pray the sinner’s prayer, lay their burdens at the foot of the cross or ask Jesus into their heart.  The fundamentalist Christian evangelist would emphatically predict a judgement of damnation for such a person, because they ignored or rejected the Gospel.  Shouldn’t they only get 5 BILLION YEARS since they weren’t as bad as the miserable person?  Nope.  If you’re not FOR Christ, say the preachers, you’re AGAINST him, so down you go.  To Hell with you.

Person three leads a blessed life.  Has very little conflict.  Is recognized as a peacemaker, cares for those around him, shows love and trys to see the good in everyone.  But because he believes in God, but can’t quite buy into the salvation thing, he too must suffer FOREVER because he didn’t go forward and pick up his Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free card. 

All of these folks came into existence by the will of God.  They were all given various views of God by well-meaning people who, more than likely, didn’t quite get it right.  Our presence in this marvelous creation sets the stage for many questions about what’s out there, why are we here and where are we going?  Our regular reminders of death stir us to consider our own mortality, causing us to fear the unknown, despair for the end of our days, or hope for immortality.

And what about this word “eternity”?  Even the religious folks teach that God exists outside of time and space as we know it.  Eternity is what happens after life is done happening.  It has nothing to do with time.  They teach that God so loved the world.  But a god’s gotta do what he’s gotta do.  Reject my Son, reject me.  No more love.  Nothing but pain.

They also teach that God is not willing that any should perish.  So if any DO perish, then God’s will is thwarted, right?  Come on!  If God wills anything, it’s a done deal.  If God is not willing, it can’t happen.  Either he’s God or he’s not.  So would most of us limp into heaven with broken wings?  Maybe so.  Because wouldn’t it make more sense for a loving and just Father to discipline his children and make them into obedient, loving offspring?  Wouln’t any level or duration of hell or outer darkness be worth it if it caused us to realize our own emptiness, shortcomings and need for fellowship and affection from our heavenly Father and his family?

This is the message that I believe God has laid on my heart.  It’s a message of tremendous hope and encouragement.  Reconciliation is his plan for making things right.  Life is what happens on the journey.  Love is the ultimate destination.

Framed By Faith.  I know what it used to mean.  But now I want it to be something different.  I’ll need to change a few things though.  Like getting rid of the Headlines title.  And figuring out what to do with the stuff on the right.  My daughter is my IT expert (along with her husband); maybe she can fix it.  And maybe add a Comments button back in for those who may want to argue with me.

I originally had the bright idea that Framed By Faith would be a collection of relgious-centered news articles, with no regard for denomination or doctrinal position.  The basis for this was my belief that God created us all and that his truth can be found in all religions — or no religion.  The title implied that our very lives are framed by our view of faith, or our ingorance of it, or just simply ignoring it.  It also represented a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that many of us are led by well-meaning, charismatic Christian preachers/teachers who might well be lacking in the truth, giving us wrong directions for our lives, thereby framing us.

Well, perhaps I didn’t give it enough time, or I just got tired of cutting and pasting and inserting all those news links and photos.  Some have considered me a patient person, but I know in my heart that I lack it in many areas of my life, and maybe this was one of them.  I just want to write.  About what, I’m quite clueless.  I know what I believe, which is significantly different than what I have experienced with the Christian community at large.  Maybe I’ll write about that.

Or perhaps it will emerge as a journal, of sorts, regular observations of what’s going on in the world around me.  I also would like to pick up on my other blog, Steve’s Journey (steves-journey.blogspot.com).  This is more of a chronological overview of my spiritual development.  Both blog and my spiritual growth are a work in progress.

My hope is that I’ll just keep writing.  In spite of my stops and starts, I love to write.  If I keep it simple, maybe I’ll keep it going. 

For centuries the cross has gone forth as a symbol of the phenomenal appearance, death and resurrection of the very son of God, Jesus Christ.  A favorite form of torture and execution for the Romans, Jesus’ demise on this device thrust the icon of the two intersecting lines into history forever.  From the staff that precedes the Pope in procession to the jewel-studded piece around the rapper’s neck, the cross is a constant reminder of that single event, recognized worldwide.  For many it represents the possibility of change here and hope for the hereafter.

So why did he have to die?  The short answer is that he didn’t.  He told his disciples that, at a moment’s notice, he could have more than twelve legions of angels at his disposal (Matthew 26:53).  But then that would not accomplish what he set out to do.

The Catholics portray Jesus still on the cross.  Protestants prefer the empty cross, signifying the resecurrection as the culmination of the sacrificial death of our Savior.  Both groups see the crucifixion as the once-for-all, substitutionary death that takes away our sins.  Sorry, I don’t agree.

Jesus took on human form with all of its senses, both physical and psychological.  He not only knew what pain felt like, but he also experienced fear, anger and rejection.  This was God’s plan.  Jesus was to have the full exposure to human frailty, yet with the intent of doing his Father’s will, no matter what.  He taught us how to live with one another, including our enemies, as well as how to love and how to die. 

He taught us to die to any ruling power within us but the will of God.  And we learned that death is not the end.  Nor is it the beginning of a new life.  Rather it is a turning point in an incredible journey in which God perfects his child and welcomes him or her home.

God didn’t kill him.  He died at the hands of angry religious leaders who were blind to the truth.  He forgave them.  And he stopped by after leaving the grave to remind his followers, “It will be okay.”  I really want to be like him.  And he promises that I will be, someday.

Everybody works for someone.  From the farm laborer to the corporate CEO, there is a reporting structure, a pecking order.  Even for those who are independently wealthy, the laws of the land have ultimate control.  Freedom must always be regarded within the context of the world around you.  How we handle obedience determines how we experience freedom.

King Edward VIII (1894-1972) said, “The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children.”  When societal obedience gets convoluted, the world takes notice.  Children are, or should be, taught obedience.  What they are seldom taught, however, is the importance of obedience.  They only learn that disobedience brings punishment.  While punishment is necessary to clear thinking, it should never be the result of anger or disappointment.  A positive, willing response should always be the goal.

The greatest attribute of free will is the freedom to disobey.  That may sound strange on the surface, but without such freedom true obedience is worthless.  Civil disobedience is a peaceful resistance to unfair laws.  It comes with a price.  It seeks fairness and justice from a higher source.

Obedience is recognized on two levels.  Man to man, and man to God.  Isn’t it true that the most powerful man on earth must someday answer to his Maker?  No.  He must answer now.  He has always been told (by God) what to do, or not do, in order to make his life righteous. 

Why do we always regard obedience as weakness?  Disobedience out of pride imprisons us, stifles us and keeps us stressed.  Obedience out of love frees us; we can breathe.   It makes us stronger.  Professional race car drivers, in general, don’t get traffic tickets.  They obey the rules of the road, knowing that they could break them better than the average citizen.  Martial arts experts, as well as professional boxers, don’t go around picking fights.  They know their skill and strength, but choose to obey the rules of self-defense and fair play.

God’s laws have always been written in our hearts.  His Spirit has always whispered in our ear.  But he wants us to freely choose to obey, because that is how he made us.  So why don’t we?  As we move through life we encounter stimuli of all sorts.  Much of how we receive it is learned behavior.  We can choose to teach good or evil.  This is where Satan’s role lies.

He’s the Chief Advocate of disobedience — not only to God, but to each other.  He too has a spiritual realm from which he and his followers operate, putting doubt in our minds, inciting us to hatred, binding us with fear.  I can’t prove it, but I believe that Satan was created to obey and will someday return to his place as a pure child of God.  God is using him at this time to discipline us.  Obedience that is not tested is no obedience at all.

Choosing to obey perfectly is willing the will of God.  Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.  My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23)  All of Jesus’ teaching, which comes from God, involves interaction with fellow human beings.  “… whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven …” (Matthew 18:18)  The kingdom of God consists in right relationships.

Choose to obey.  Only then can you be free.

That he existed is of little dispute.  The most overwhelming evidence is found in the New Testament writings, a collection of eyewitness accounts and letters concerning him.  The fact that these documents were hand-copied over 5,000 times and disseminated throughout the Roman Empire so quickly is short of amazing.

Who he was, and is, is an entirely different matter.  Interpretation of those writings is open-ended and has been addressed by Biblical scholars and lay people for centuries.  Many rely on the Greek texts of the earliest known copies; others consider the teachings of the early church fathers, like Origen and Augustine.  Still others will simply accept the “truths” rendered by those with the right credentials, be they scholars, teachers or preachers, assured of the fact that God’s Holy Spirit has confirmed the truth in them. 

Finally, there are folks who trust that God ensured that the recorded events of Jesus’ teachings and actions have been translated properly into our language, and that the basic structure has been preserved down through the ages.  They just want to read it, process it and follow it, using that old God-given noodle, common sense.  Having been down the previous roads for many years, I find myself now in this last category.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not about to throw the baby out with the bath water.  I believe that all interpretations are valuable for consideration.  I find my greatest learning comes from discussing what words, phrases and passages mean with other believers who, over time, have “read up” on these matters.  However, I’m not so quick to accept an idea as truth because a person heads up a 5,000-person congregation, is top professor at a theological seminary or has a string of letters behind his or her name.  And I also don’t believe that a plethora of scholars makes the truth any more truthful.

Abraham Lincoln said, “The good lord must have loved the common man, since he made so many of them.”  Makes sense.  There is a place for leaders and teachers.  But the rest of us make up the fabric of humanity.  It would seem good and proper that God would proclaim his truth in the simplest of terms and write it on our hearts.  Lincoln also said, “When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.”  That pretty much hits the mark, in my opinion.

So, who is Jesus?  From his own testimony, he’s God’s son.  I can accept the fact that God planted him in Mary’s womb, so that he would have a human body, for whatever purposes a baby, toddler and teen Jesus would serve.  I’m equally OK with him just showing up at John the Baptist’s beach party unannounced, with no earthly lineage, yet still having a human body.

We measure a man’s genuineness by what he says, supported by what he does.  Jesus’ words certainly make sense, and the eyewitnesses claim that he lived what he taught.  He went through what we call death with the same truth on his lips.  And since he was God’s son, and since God can do anything, why couldn’t Jesus shake off those grave clothes to prove to those same eyewitnesses that death has no hold on us?  But if all we have is the words themselves, then his own assertions are proof enough for me, because they make sense, they encourage me, and they give me peace.  That’s other-wordly, as far as I’m concerned.

He says that we share the same heavenly father, which would imply that he too was a created being, making him our elder brother, since he’s lived a lot longer.  Sure, he’s perfect, and we’re not.  But he promises that some day we will be.  Now this trinity thing just doesn’t track.  That he’s actually God, dressed up like Jesus, and has conversations with himself, like he’s two different beings, but not really.  How can you trust someone who plays word games with your mind?  In order to truly embrace him, I’ve got to take him at his word.  He says he has a heavenly Father, and I believe him. 

Because he’s perfect, and I’m not, I regard him as my lord and master to teach me the things of God.  And such things are confirmed by the Holy Spirit, who may or may not necessarily be another created being, but rather a spiritual energy, emanating from both Father and Son, for the working of our own perfection.

Jesus’ teaching was probably not new.  God has been inspiring men to promote and record his message for ages.  It just got muddled up a lot with their own take on what they thought how God would want them to explain it, like we can’t figure it out for ourselves.  So Jesus came to give us the original quotes verbatim and show us how it fits into our daily lives.  A message so simple that people from all stations of life have consistently stumbled over it. 

Why believe in Jesus?  Because he believes in you.  His Father made you.  And loves you.  And will continue to love you, even if you have trouble believing.  And he knows that you will someday see him face to face, when all things will be made clear.  He’s got time on his side.  Eternity, actually.