Dale Cresap's blog

Are you a Pharisee? You don’t have to read very far in the gospels to realize that I had a low opinion of them, and warned my followers not to be like them. On this basis would you expect them to be a dominant enduring force throughout history? But they were a fairly short-lived Jewish sect in the span of history. Why are they given so much emphasis in the Bible? The underlying principles are present in every generation even if they are called by another name. The Bible was written for you.

Have you ever done the right thing for the wrong reason? Or done the right thing in the wrong way? For instance, you can help the poor in a way that is self-righteous and judgmental toward them and toward those who are not as diligent in charity as you are. Is this moral? If it is, it is ugly morality, and you have seen how distasteful this can be. I told my followers not to let one hand know what the other was doing when they made donations. Have you also seen people do the right thing in a way that was humble and gracious and attractive? You could think of this as beautiful morality.

Do you drink when you are thirsty and eat when you are hungry? Those would be biological cues to satisfy biological needs. But aren’t you subject to social and cultural cues for eating as well? You eat at social functions whether you are hungry or not, and your food intake is usually on a fixed schedule. It is considered anti-social to decline dinner claiming you are not hungry even if that is true. Do you have spiritual hunger and thirst as well? When do you satisfy those? Are you on a fixed schedule for that as well?

Believers consider baptism to be of profound importance and the Bible gives it great emphasis. Do you find that people who have been baptized with water are characteristically different from those who have not? If you encounter a group of people can you discern which have and which have not? What about those who have been baptized in fire? Have you found that they are transformed by the experience? Do they carry an essential quality afterwards that cannot be hidden, even though they make no claims about what they have suffered? How long does it take you to discern this in someone?

Do you like to travel? Do you prefer to have a plan, or do you like to wander, making it up as you go? Most people at least have a destination in mind even if they are willing to leave some of the details open. But when I called Abraham to get up and get moving to a place that I would show him. This was literally a walk of faith; more than is required of most people. How much of the picture are you willing to leave open before you act? If you need to have every detail worked out in advance would it be more accurate to describe it as a walk of faith or the execution of a plan?

Do you care about how your faith and how the Christian faith as a whole is perceived by those outside of it? Do you think only internal perceptions matter since you are in the light and those outside are in darkness? Do you think admiration and respect for believers is constant or trending upward or downward? A Biblical requirement is that those seeking positions of leadership have a good reputation with those outside the faith. This also matters because those outside the faith are your pool of potential converts and their perception of the character of believers matters.

I promised that I would return. My earliest followers expected me right away, but they were wrong. History has unfolded over many years. During this time my followers in every generation have tried to predict the time of my return, and all of them have been wrong. In addition it has caused needless divisions among my people. What would be a better way to respond to this promise? Does the certainty of my return add urgency to your life, since you don’t know how many days you have left?

Has your understanding of me remained constant throughout your life? Do you study the Bible to refine your concept of me? What else provides you with such guidance? Have your life experiences shown you errors in the way you perceive me and made you revise the way you see me? Don’t be surprised if I come to you disguised as your life. If I do will you recognize that I am teaching you? What is the alternative? To think that you can figure it all out from books, even the Bible? The alternative to learning from your life is not to learn from your life.

Do rituals matter? When you pray does it matter whether you kneel or put your palms together, or even close your eyes? If prayer is a purely spiritual matter does your posture matter? I hear your prayers regardless of your physical presentation. Does it make it easier for you to pray if you assume the position? Everywhere you walk is holy ground but it is up to you to decide whether you will take off your shoes or not. Rituals are symbolic and symbolism is real. If some practice sharpens your focus and improves your spiritual awareness and devotion go ahead and go for it.

How do you conduct conversations about issues of substance? Do you divide the world into in-groups and out-groups, with in-groups being those that you belong to and out-groups being all others? Do you assign characteristics by group identification and broad scale judgments against those outside? This is dehumanizing, rejecting the uniqueness of every person. Is there an alternative? Would humanizing conversation recognize the value and unique dignity of every person? Would it be inclusive enough to include the love of your enemies? Can you engage in humanizing conversation?