Another day.
October 12, 2008
Boatswain’s Log. October 8th.
I did my final Spanish presentation today in ICADS. I made a powerpoint presentation. I presented 2nd out of 8 or so. I talked about the Costa Rican Civil War and the constitution that followed. It got to the point where the teachers asked me “is that your last slide?” (I only had 5) I said yes. They said “good because we need to give time to other students.” I take it I did well.
I then went to LASP for a long time. I was there until about 5PM. My group and I have our presentation tomorrow on contextualization. Basically it means putting the gospel in a cultural context that people can understand as opposed to (for example) bringing it Africans from a European perspective and expecting them to get it. Some people are awfully fearful of “imposing” “our” truth on others by telling them about Jesus. I think the best way to do it is indeed through relationship, but at the same time we have biblical examples of people preaching the gospel. They aren’t just helping people, they are preaching the gospel. What strikes me is that in the mindset of Liberation theology (excepting Oscar Romero, bless that man) people place an overly high emphasis on helping people. I don’t mean to imply that this is not what we are called to. We are. However, I do mean to imply that instead of solving world hunger Christ died on the cross for man to have a reconciled relationship with God. There was something more important than the material. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, but most of all He died for us. I think that’s important to remember. The two are important (helping people physically and spiritually), however at the end of the day the fact that Christ died shows us that there is something more important than the physical.
I think that Paul and Peter grasped that. I think all the apostles did. Their social action was the product of their newfound relationship with the risen Lord. It wasn’t a means of being saved, and it did not fail to put an emphasis on preaching the gospel in the midst of their material service.
I read this book once. It was called “The Heavenly Man”. It was about the house-church movement in China. This man, whose name I have forgotten, had his entire life focused on sharing the gospel. Preaching. That is his life calling. To call people into relationship with Christ in China. He was tortured by the police, had a crazy miracle-filled life, and eventually had to leave the country. His emphasis was on spreading the gospel to whoever would accept it. He is an impressive human being whose life shows the commitment to the Lord that we need to have. Lots of people worry about being offensive with the gospel. I think there are some people who are right to worry. Those guys on the street with bullhorns are missing the point and there are others like them. However, I don’t think we have to be scared of preaching the gospel to people and having it offend them. No one seemed to have that problem in the 1st century church. Oscar Romero didn’t have the problem. I really don’t get it.
I understand the idea of being respectful yes, but is that just a modern day means of avoiding sharing the gospel? Sometimes perhaps. I think somehow in the idea of tolerance we have managed to make the truth of Christ that we hold a relative truth through philosophical shenanigans to avoid offending people. The reality of the matter is that I don’t find philosophy that useful. It’s helpful. To a point. But if I take philosophy too far I get to a place where I can say that you can’t prove to me that you exist. You could be a figment of my imagination. I’m sorry, but that is just bullshit. Forgive the language. I think it is helpful to use philosophy when it is helpful. There comes a point where you have to let it go. It’s fun to play around with like the toy cars in radio-shack, but thankfully most people leave those at home. I think philosophy can be like that. It’s fun to play with it for awhile, but for a life of faith you may have to leave the car of philosophy in the store. That car that was fun in the store will become boring and a waste of your life outside the store.
Furthermore, the gospel is offensive. End of story. People don’t want to hear that they are wrong. Maybe they do want to hear that there is someone who loves them unconditionally. I know I do and I already know Him. I never get tired of hearing the part about how Jesus loves me unconditionally. Never. Always worth hearing. I think people don’t really get how huge the love of God is and to be reminded of that is like someone telling me that Christmas is tomorrow or something like that…but better.
I think that in the process of taking so much of a relativistic approach to religious tolerance into our conception of the gospel we have in part managed to throw out the baby with the bath-water. It is true, but we don’t want to tell people it’s true because it might not be true or for some reason their truth is just as good. I am not saying that we go around willy-nilly tossing the gospel out there, I believe there is a time and a place, but I don’t think the idea of people preaching should be so strange to us either.
Anyhow my group and I came to the conclusion that we would not agree on some things. People like me are just too stubborn to let Jesus become a truth that someone has to be afraid of speaking for fear of being offensive. We argued for awhile, but the process was beneficial.
Someone made a comment about a question I raised about the concept of “machismo” (latin American male dominated societal tendency) that blatantly offended me. For the first time in a long time. I asked if we should be able to say that this is a negative thing and my friend stated that “I don’t think that as white people we should be judging.” Implying that I am just another white person. I got furious. I said, “I am not just another white person. I am Hispanic too. Do not put me in a box. I have the right to talk about this.” I said it strongly. There was an awkward silence that descended on our group afterwards. Really though, I had had enough. It is hard when people don’t acknowledge your ethnicity in general, but when they exclude you from your own people group because you speak English as a first language and because you grew up in Washington State…that is just damn offensive. Maybe we shouldn’t be worried about the gospel being offensive, maybe people are offensive enough with or without it.
Really though. Did you know that I am Hispanic? That has been hard for me in life. I was raised speaking English in Washington where there isn’t much sun, and decided to become a Spanish major to speak with my dad’s half of the family because they are Hispanic and I want to be able to talk with my family and especially my dad in Spanish. My whole life has been white people telling me I am white and Hispanic people telling me I am white. I am not just a white kid. I have an ethnicity that is more than just Caucasian. I have that too, but there is more there. How hard is it to come to grips with something that people tell you that you aren’t but you know for a fact you are? Very hard. It takes awhile. I only owned that in November. Do me a favor and don’t assume things about my ethnicity. Please. Let me be who I am. I promise I won’t steal your bicycle or some other racist joke if you give me the privilege I am owed of being Hispanic in your eyes.
There are people who give me that. The fact that I am Hispanic. I really appreciate it. Keep it up you guys.
Anyhow, that’s enough big things for now. You probably don’t want to hear any more deep sorts of thoughts or things that make you uncomfortable. I don’t really want to write anymore of them right now anyway.
My host mom told me for the first time the things that I had trouble with in Spanish. Not directly to me. A friend came to visit and she and he started talking with me and they got on the subject of things I have trouble with in Spanish. She listed off things as though she had known the whole time, but hadn’t said anything. Well balls. Those things would have been nice to know as they happened. Thanks a whole lot on that one.
I went to “hacer spinning” again. This time the squad had increased to 4-5 people, one of whom didn’t look great after we finished. I made my bike big enough this time. High five to me. Note to you: If you ever go to Latin America for any length of time, just get a gym membership. Seriously, it will be worth it and you will want it.
I am ready for bed now. And so. I am going now.
