The Devil's Greatest Trick

Or, "At the Risk of Being Heretical"

Years ago, when I had frequent theological debates with a friend (or two) and was gradually restoring my faith, I also confronted the issue of whether or not the devil exists, and if so, in what form.


This would not have been my first guess.

Amidst her responses, my friend said, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled is convincing the world he doesn't exist." (Which I now know to be a quote from The Usual Suspects, 1995.)

And I came to believe that. Perhaps not - as my church history professor would say - as a "True Truth," but at least acknowledging that - yes, it would even be logical that the devil (whatever that is) would stand to gain even more from people denying its existence.

It's more difficult to reject something if you do not recognize what it is. If you do not acknowledge that something exists at all, you may or may not exhibit it, follow it, experience it, or succumb to it from time to time; you depend upon its assumed nonexistence to validate the assumption that you have not exhibited it. Followed it. Experienced it. Succumbed to it. And if you did, how would you know? How would you recognize it?

I realize that's wordy and weirdly written. So take, for example, jealousy.

Suppose you believe that jealousy does not exist; never in your life before have you experienced or witnessed it. Then your sister receives a special award. Your brother succeeds at work. Your lifelong friend has only one extra ticket to an event and wants to invite... the new grocer. Why weren't you awarded, successful, or invited? Oh, but you don't want a logical answer! That would only add insult to injury. You simply indulge in the indignant feelings until someone tells you that you've been jealous.

Then it's up to you to decide again whether or not you believe that it exists (as opposed to deciding whether or not it exists). But because jealousy is a definable something, it would be difficult for you to convince others - who operate in a reality in which jealousy is not only existent but identifiable - that this is not the case.

Just for fun, try that line of thought on your own with something like "poverty" or "war." If only saying that they don't exist could be enough.

But I don't intend to debate on the existence of the devil. The examples here of jealousy, poverty and war have the advantage of involving "familiarly real" things. It would seem that the concept of the devil is more abstract, in a sense, than the range of human emotions and experiences that a majority of people (I venture to generalize) consider real. I don't presume to have proof that the rest of humanity hasn't been privy to. So allow me to take the liberty of not going there.

I would like to say, however, that I have a new perspective on this "great trick."

The devil's greatest trick is not convincing the world that it doesn't exist, though that's a mighty good one. Props, devil.

No. The devil's greatest trick is convincing people of Peace, those who believe that Peace is graciously given and not earned, that anyone who does not also practice a specific means of Peace is exempt from or undeserving of Peace.

Utterly defeated by the ultimate sacrifice of a Creator that loves the created world more than any language can articulate, the devil finds yet one more way to fight:

Allow humans to believe that this love, this act, this divinity can be contained. Let them receive guidance toward a life of Peace - fine. Ah, but then let them resist it at its core! Let them ask, "Which of us is first? Who will sit on your right and on your left?" (See Mark 10:35-45.) Let them develop hierarchies, both for the sake of power and even in an innocent effort to maintain order. Let them suffer disorder and divide in spite of themselves. Let them enjoy the wonder of spiritual exploration, the blessing of self-expression, the miracle of experiencing the sacred - and then let them organize it, categorize it, name it, and proclaim it for some and not for the rest! Let them honor the Word of God and in the same breath presume to comprehend it in its entirety! Let them commit over and over the first sin of humanity: wishing to be God, idolizing themselves, invoking without restraint the authority of God! Let them follow the Way and let them lose their way within it!

Following Christ is far more than following rules so as not to be chastised or punished. One must actively follow the way of Peace - the way of Christ - in order to create, nurture, and perpetuate that Peace. To fail to act in accordance with the all-encompassing love that Jesus Christ exuded and tried desperately to help us understand is to disrupt that Peace and create something lesser in its place. To claim the Peace of Christ for only those who proclaim his name is to reject and oppose the very Peace intended by Christ's life and death and resurrection; it is to assume the salvific authority of God. Perhaps the clearest way to "deny Christ" - as some would posit is means for separation from God (debatably contrary to Romans 8:38-39) - is to deny the very unconditional nature of God's grace. Perhaps one most directly rejects Jesus Christ by first believing in his existence and authority, and then refusing to accept everything that Jesus means.

And the most miraculous part of all of this? Not only does God, through Christ, initiate a covenant with all people, but God forgives those who deny the existence of that all-encompassing covenant, who seek God exclusively for themselves and the like-minded! Those who choose Christ yet lose the Way are nevertheless allowed the grace that they are afraid to extend to anyone else, the grace that God is practically bursting at the seams to give.

And that is the Good News of Jesus Christ.


Now, I must ask another question of you. Have I proof-texted? Have I made illogical claims or twisted the truth to placate my own deep-seated desire to reconcile people of all beliefs? If I'm wrong, I pray God forgive me. Please do not take anything I have said for authority beyond my own expressed thoughts - particularly my application of the Bible. I'm in theological school, yes - I am a student, and even when I am no longer a student I will only have all the more to learn. I never intend to have the divine understanding of God alone, but I cannot help but want to understand more than I do now.

So help me investigate!

Bar Nun

For Lauren.

Luau Luau

Because we had an annual luau (the fourth, in fact). Like ya do.


It was also a birthday party for a few people.
There was cake and much rejoicing.

Best read after this video... and a fine video it is:



I said Luau Luau, oh oh, I said we gotta go.
Ah yeah-yeah yeah-yeah-yeah!
Luau Luau, oh baby,
I said we gotta go.

My Green Villa friends, they wait for me.
It's quite a trip through all the trees.
The squirrels that try to stare me down
Can't stop me when I'm Luau-bound!

I said Luau Luau, oh oh, I said we gotta go.
Ah yeah-yeah yeah-yeah-yeah!
Luau Luau, oh baby,
I said we gotta go.

Alright now, yeah...

(guitar solo)

When students need some levity,
Our "Captain Sparrow" leads festivities.
Sadly, next year he'll be gone,
But Luau feasts always will live on!

I said Luau Luau, oh oh, I said we gotta go.
Ah yeah-yeah yeah-yeah-yeah!
Luau Luau, oh baby,
I said we gotta go.

I said we gotta go now.





Thank you all for great food, great company, and a great time!
We'll miss you, Captain!

Do You Have A Decision To Make?

Life is a series of decisions, and some of us are decisively-challenged. Fortunately, they've made reliable compensatory tools for us.



As you and anyone who has ever shaken an 8 Ball have already sorted out, you can't depend solely on others to make difficult decisions for you. Difficult decisions, by nature, demand of us time and energy and reasoning and in general more patience than we are keen to maintain.

You can, however, continue to seek support - not support for one choice or another, but literally support for YOU. Who do you know is on your side, even when you don't know which side you're on? Talk to those people about your decision - or don't. Just be with them. They may not have the answers, but whether in word or deed, they can help to provide the framework you need as you work at the decision at-hand, something that may have significant implications for one change or another in your life.

And sometimes, seek time alone. It is perhaps one of the most conflicting feelings of humanity to feel alone while surrounded by people, even one's own loved ones. But, based upon my humble sample size, it is a common one; ultimately, you are not alone in that. Purposely withdrawing and allowing time for reflection, meditation, or simply taking time apart from hubbub and distraction - be it a few minutes in the shower or an organized month-long retreat - can help you to refocus and prevent you from feeling fragmented.



Which of those many voices telling you what to do or how to approach an issue is your voice? Have you been speaking all along, unable to hear what you wanted to say beneath the din of many well-intentioned advisors? Were you silent? Do you still not know what your say in the matter is? At this time, what further information or understanding would better help you to formulate and clarify your perspective?

If you pray, keep praying. Not just to get an answer from God, but also to get an answer from yourself. Then see if God has more to say. Let it be a conversation.

I say it this way not to diminish God's input or to rationalize what seem to be unanswered prayers, but to emphasize that no part of living is a spectator sport, and some even less so than others.



Blessed are the submarine racers, for they shall have all the fun.

At times, I thought that if God wanted something for me, God would make it work - not that God would make everything mysteriously fall into place and I wouldn't have to put in any effort, but that God would at least make it obvious to me as to what was the way it was all Supposed to Be. Because I have felt that God's guidance was so clear in some matters, I came to expect such clarity more often. I made demands of God that were not mine to make and felt indignant when they seemed unfulfilled. Instead of continuing to trust that God would direct me on a Need-to-Know basis, I wanted to know why I was being left in the dark.

In faith and prayer, it is sometimes easy to want to give everything up to God and forget that we are beings of free will, and that God wanted that for us; gave that to us. Understand that the point is not for God to force us into what, in hindsight, we will consider to have been the best decision. While I believe God guides us and helps us to discern many of our paths, I wonder if perhaps God occasionally withdraws to let us come to a new level of self-awareness and self-motivation; to discover the incredible strength of our convictions, even when we are not fueled by their perceived divine importance; and to allow us the opportunity to chart our course with the understanding that God is going to be there no matter which way we choose - even in difficult situations, and even when we wonder if things would have turned out differently if we had decided otherwise.

Good Text, Bad Text

To prooftext is to quote or cite parts of a document (such as the Bible) out of context and present them as basis for a proposition, often one that the document taken as a whole would not support. Even suggestions that seem reasonable may be no less a fallacy than the mathematical proof-spoof in the image above.

Read. Think. Ask. Don't enable proof-texters!


Read more about proof-texting from Wendy ("Bookgirl") here. And check out her blog while you're at it!

Study and Pay (Be Matriculated)

In honor of our matriculation service on Thursday, Sept. 9th, which you can see here.

With apologies to the Offspring... both the band and my own (hypothetical offspring), who may be scarred upon learning of their mother's parody-writing past.

Best read after this video:



You gotta be matriculated.

Economy is crashin'?
Save on residence fees:
The kids who camp out overnight in the classroom
Get diplomas with the greatest of ease.

The staff state their own school rationale -
That if they catch you skippin' then it's all over, pal.
Paid your tuition and you won't get it back.
They're gonna cash it in, cash it in, cash it in, cash it in...

Hey! Joined the university?
Sign the book!
You gotta be matriculated.

Hey! Now you're payin' mad money?
Sign the book!
You gotta be matriculated.

Hey, don't pay no mind.
Max out all your credits and you'll graduate on time.
Hey, study and pay.

By the time you find your passion
It's already too late.
Wrote your thesis on mating habits of quail;
You'd have rather studied Gregory the Great.

It goes down the same as the thousand before.
Now you're getting smarter;
That's what learning is for.
So for your next degree you've got it all figured out.
You're gonna write about Popes, write about Popes, write about...

Hey! Now you're payin' mad money?
Sign the book!
You gotta be matriculated.

Hey! Joined the university?
Sign the book!
You gotta be matriculated.

Hey, don't pay no mind.
Max out all your credits and you'll graduate on time.
Hey, study and pay.

It goes down the same as the thousand before.
Now you're getting smarter;
That's what learning is for.
So for your next degree you've got it all figured out.
You're gonna write about Popes, write about Popes, write about...

Hey! Joined the university?
Sign the book!
You gotta be matriculated.

Hey! Now you're payin' mad money?
Sign the book!
You gotta be matriculated.

Hey, don't pay no mind.
Max out all your credits and you'll graduate on time.
Hey, study and pay.

Squeaky Clean

Thank you for the name ideas - I am considering them all and even combinations thereof. I've just never experienced such indecision in naming my inanimate objects before. Clearly this one is special to me.

Lately, though, I find it difficult to envision my new bicycle with any name that doesn't sound like a squeal, or that is otherwise onomatopoeic, because if there is one thing my bicycle knows how to do, it's MAKE NOISE.

Allow me to illustrate. This is what Madison was like before this week:



And then...







Yes, I suspect it joyrides all day without me while I'm in class.

I can still hear it in my mind. It's like any other earworm. Repetitive and tuneless and the vocals are terrible, but you mentally sing along anyway because it allows you to think that you have some semblance of control over your own thoughts.



I'm pretty sure I can use "squeak" as a synonym for "ride my bike" now, as in, "I squeaked over to the store and picked up some squash."

So this week I squeaked to downtown(-ish) Madison. This trip went extraordinarily fast for a few reasons:

* Biking Squeaking is more efficient than walking.

* A good portion of the journey was downhill.

* The brakes are rather selective about when they choose to function.

But I was a warrior with an otherwise reliable steed, so I got there safely, and I met with a family for whom I'll be doing house-cleaning and maaaaaybe some painting and mostly a whole lot of organizing and finding places for things. I love exercising my spatial skill muscles. Putting food in tupperware is one nibble short of an adrenaline rush. It's like edible Tetris and my prize is a pre-made home-cooked meal for tomorrow.

I think my favorite part of the interview experience was when I started to name my price and they raised it. Was I asking too little? Do I really think so poorly of myself? Am I still being underpaid and blissfully unaware? Are they just so grateful for CLEAN?

Or, contrary to my prior fears, I'm a really good negotiator who is so skilled that the negotiating happens like a knife cuts through butter. When it's warm. Without someone having to hold the knife... Or something. Clearly analogizing is a lesser strength.

...I probably shouldn't push it.

Nonetheless, when I rode home, I felt triumphant. I squeaked up the hills, utterly left in the dust of this lovely older gentleman who apparently had more gusto than I... or equally likely, he knew what the little gears on his bicycle do. And I decided to pretend that the squeaky.squeaky.squeaky. that announced my plight was not just a characteristic of a donated bike with a mysterious past life.

No, I prefer to think it's heralding my arrival.



You know, when I finally get there.

DrewTube

This post is especially for those who are not able to view facebook videos (hi, Mama! <3) but would like to see Craig Chapel and the worship services there, as well as last week's matriculation service, which was very uniquely sort of worship/academia-mania all rolled into one. Just one more reason to love Theo School.

Also a special shout-out to Nehemiah and the Sarah Lawrence Gospel Choir/Res Miranda - I miss you all very much and hope you're rocking out the year! If you miss Nehemiah's voice as much as I do (or don't know yet what you're missing), check out the second video here.

If you prefer to see the true blue Drew Worship facebook page and see what else is new in the chapel, you can do so at this link.

But if you simply don't feel like moving any further than scrolling down... you're in luck!

Here is the celebration in which our incoming class signed The Book. My only regret is that you don't get to see our Church History professor deliver the address or the Korean Men's Choir sing "You Raise Me Up"... but at least there's The Book (oh, and the Dean):



And here's a service from Thursday, November 2... which I sadly missed while sick. Sarah Lawrence College's gospel choir's former director, the amazing Nehemiah Luckett, makes a guest appearance and sings a solo for one of the hymns in Part 1.








I probably will not post these often (not sure how well videos load for you all?), unless there is something in particular I'd like to share or address, but if you are interested in seeing more in the future, please let me know.

Hey There Corinthians

A song in honor of studying Paul's letters to the Corinthians (i.e. what came about as I was doing this week's Church History homework).

Best read after this video:



Hey there Corinthians,
What's it like in Corinth city?
I'm two hundred miles away,
And yes, it really is a pity,
But it's true:
Nobody needs help quite like you.
Advice is due.

Hey there Corinthians,
Don't you worry about the distance.
I've sent Timothy to see you;
He'll arrive and you can't miss 'm.
By the way,
What's this about idol feast days?
That's not OK.

Oh, watch what you do to meat.
Oh, watch what you do to meat.
Oh, watch what you do to meat.
Oh, watch what you do to meat,
What you do to meat.

Hey there Corinthians,
I know times are getting hard,
But just believe me now --
The Lord will come again to mend what's marred.
We'll have it good.
We'll have the life we knew we would.
God's word is good.

Hey there Corinthians,
I've got so much left to say.
If every simple note I wrote to you
Would take your sins away,
I'd write it all.
Only Christ can catch us when we fall.
He saves us all.

(But by the way...)

Oh, watch what you do to meat.
Oh, watch what you do to meat.
Oh, watch what you do to meat.
Oh, watch what you do to meat.

Two hundred miles seems pretty far,
But we can navigate with stars.
I'll write you even when I cannot stay.
The guards may all make fun of us,
And we will just press on because
We know that none of them can change our ways.
Corinthians, I can promise you
That by the time God gets through
The world will never ever be the same,
For Jesus' name.

Hey there Corinthians,
You be good and don't you miss me.
Two more years and I'll be put in jail
And I'll be making history like I do.
(You'll know it's not because of you.
Sanhedrin do what they want to.)
Hey there Corinthians, here's to you.
This one's for you.

(Oh yeah, and...)

Oh, watch what you do to meat.
Oh, watch what you do to meat.
Oh, watch what you do to meat.
Oh, watch what you do to meat,
What you do to meat.


-----

As a side note, it really sort of frightens me just how little of this song I needed to change.



(Image copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc – www.reverendfun.com)

Mutually Bound

Recently we have talked and read at length about inter-religious connections and ecumenism. This has long been an interest of mine and I wish to explore it much more during my time at Drew.

What follows is an excerpt from something I wrote earlier this year. I share it now as a background as to where I'm coming from - part of why I am here and some of the questions I have brought with me. Perhaps it will be something to refer back to as I learn more over the next few years.

---

How do religions interconnect, and how do we rectify their intellectual aspects? Is it possible for people of different backgrounds to maintain their spiritual strength without breaking down that of their counterparts? This is the theological dilemma which I find most pertinent both spiritually and academically, particularly in the past four years while I studied at Sarah Lawrence, a religiously diverse college. In the final year, I conducted an oral history project on students’ beliefs, faith, and experience. I hoped to encourage both academic and personal dialogue between students and provide a relaxed and respectful atmosphere in which they can explore and express their beliefs. Diverse in every possible way, no two interviewees professed precisely the same faith, yet all shared much in common.

Such is true, I find, of Christian denominations. Can Christians be both spiritually catholic and protestant, if not nominally, socially, or politically? Catholic: broad or wide-ranging; having sympathies with all; universal. Protestant: protesting injustice and corruption; striving for improvement, reform, and objectivity; from the word meaning "to bear public witness." Did Christ not represent all of these qualities?

A Roman Catholic priest once told me that "God does not check your denomination like an I.D. card." In the past decade, the Vatican, the Lutheran World Federation, and the World Methodist Council came together in the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, stating that "by grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works." In our doctrine and our divides, how do we differentiate the human from the divine? How does Christ bring unity and peace to a world in which Christianity creates further divisions and categories? Most significantly, must we erase these categories – must we be a reconciled Catholic church, or a Unitarian Universalist church, or a nondenominational church – or is it possible to respect human individuality while honoring the universality of the Divine?

As my project progressed I found inspiration and assurance that, though the journey for peace may be a long one, it is possible. It requires a willingness to speak and to be silent, a willingness to listen. With each interview, I learned not only to listen better but to listen to what cannot be heard.

Lilla Watson said, "If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." Her words transformed my entire perspective of outreach; although I had not reduced it to charity or good deeds, I had not fully comprehended the interconnectedness of humanity, our sufferings and our hopes. And not only has it affected my approach to serving the poor, the hungry, and the outcast, but it has convinced me that peace in every sense is a matter in which our liberation is mutually bound.

The War of Art

Before one of the last races of the Christ Church regatta (fall 2008), our team warmed up, rowing south along the Isis toward the starting line.

My legs became stiff, locked, almost physically unable to move. Part of me, a very athletically- and physiologically-ignorant part, worried that I had overdone it and that if I continued I could do some sort of irreparable damage. It seems silly to say it, but the fear was real enough. I finally confessed to the captain, who cycled along the shore to cheer us on and, when necessary, communicate with the marshalls on our behalf.

She told me to work through it, to use it, and I did. I put more force into my legs than ever, driving hard through the water if just to spite them. Each time I have trouble writing or working or doing anything, I remember that moment, that triumph - not just the victory, but the fight for it.

During that same year my writing prof realized that my creative energy was beginning to dwindle. I think if one day we ever meet again and decide to play Pictionary or Charades, I want her to be on my team:

"This" - she said; I don't even remember what nondescript noun she called it - "is it light or heavy?"

Stuck. Honestly had no idea. Whatever it was, it felt like nothingness to me. Is nothingness light or heavy?

"To me it feels like the heaviest thing," she said so earnestly, almost forlornly, gazing out the window of her study to the vast meadows across the street. And so the questions continued. "What does it smell like? Does it have a taste?" I didn't know. I must have conjured up something unappetizing to satiate her curiosity. "Give it a name," she said finally.

I felt my skin flush. I eyed the door. I remembered the feeling of being cornered and remembered I didn't really like it.

"A name!" she said. "Give it a name, like..." [Here insert a nonsensical name for a fictional character in the 2088 Novel of the Year, or the name of your favorite circus troupe's star clown. Either one.]

I sputtered uncertainly, "Stan?"

"Stan! Good. What does he look like?"

Perhaps it was only colored by my own discomfiture, but this interaction was nearing bizarre, and I was not responding all that creatively. I summed up what I called the Archetypal Emo Guy, upon her confusion as to what that actually meant. And then for specificity's sake I doodled him, pretty black tresses hiding his little eyes and all.

Apparently the purpose of all this was to give me something to work against. I wonder if fiction requires an extent of friction, both inside (the story itself) and out. Conflict, driving force, motivation. So my perpetual task from the prof throughout the year was this: to fight Stan. It was like playing a video game with my own badly conceived villain, made slightly better with my own shuffled music collection for a soundtrack.

But she had quite a point. Naming it - even naming it Stan (or Juggernaut... but more on that tomorrow) - that's the first step.

I fought Stan. I fought him hard, but never entirely defeated him. Stan fancied himself a stowaway and traveled home with me. He has since popped his hairy little head in now and then, and I'm devoting the first year of grad school to squishing him between my frenetically-typing fingers.

When I was about six, I drew a picture of Superman flexing his graphite biceps and captioned it with a phrase that had caught my eye: "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." My mother kept it on her bulletin board, and I think seeing it there made an impression on me. It wasn't just a display of her kid's art. It was a statement of conviction. It was a battle cry. It earned a notable place in her own work area, her own Stress Central.

So cue the music. Something to play while Superman kicks Stan's butt.



Or something like that.

-----

Battling your own creative blocks? Fighting resistance? Be it in writing, art, business, sport, or anything at all, I wholeheartedly recommend the book The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Check it out at StevenPressfield.com or find it on Amazon.

Eight Days a Week

Or, "A Lyrical Expression of How I Feel After the First Week of Classes"

Best read after this video:



Ooh I need some tea, babe,
And some cookies too.
Stock them in my room, babe,
'Cause I've got lots to do...

"Read me, write me, read me, write me!"
I ain't got nothin' but work, babe,
Eight days a week.

I'll read you someday, Miles,
For Church Hist'ry 1.
You're not a very big book
And yet you weigh a ton...

"Read me, write me, read me, write me!"
I ain't got nothin' but work, babe,
Eight days a week.

Eight days a week
I stu-u-u-u-u-dy.
Eight days a week
Is not enough to read it all.

Ooh I need coffee, babe,
And some chocolate too.
Stock them in my room, babe,
'Cause I've got lots to do.

"Read me, write me, read me, write me!"
I ain't got nothin' but work, babe,
Eight days a week.

Eight days a week
I stu-u-u-u-u-dy.
Eight days a week
Is not enough to learn it all.

Read Adams ev'ry day now,
Just finished Section 1.
(I've survived just one-twelfth
Of Social Justice fun.)

"Read me, write me, read me, write me!"
I ain't got nothin' but work, babe,
Eight days a week,
Eight days a week,
Eight days a week.