syn·er·gism (sĭn’ər-jĭz’əm)

2. Christianity. The doctrine that individual salvation is achieved through a combination of human will and divine grace.

&nevermindtheworldweveknown
“Adrianne” by my good friends, Wonderful

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How to reject the Almighty

A good friend of mine said that if he died, still unconvinced of Christ’s position as humanity’s savior, and was judged as a non-believer to be cast into hell, he would be ok with such a fate. Because to him, he wouldn’t want to spend eternity with a being that damned some and accepted others based on their decision to choose the Christian story over others. On the other hand, he would delight in joining a God that loved all despite their faith shortcomings. It seems to me that my friend believes in a God of justice and love, as do I. The Bible says that all have been revealed to God’s existence, or as Pascal says, we are born with a God-shaped hole. So do some simply have the aptitude or experiences to choose Christ and does God judge on such grounds? If so, what a cruddy God indeed. And I am certainly aware that Christ has been remarkably misrepresented through the ages, and to reject Christ because the experiential evidence is lacking–or worse, the evidence is harmful–seems quite reasonable.

According to Paul, a list of things that cannot separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus:
- death nor life
- angels nor demons
- present nor the future
- nor any powers
- neither height nor depth
- nor anything else in all creation

That’s quite a list… have fun stormin’ the castle.

&this
“Sister“

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Hope must break you

I felt something leading worship this week. It had been awhile, too long. It wasn’t out of a specific revelation or lyric or what have you–I can’t say why. The feeling faded, as elation tends to do, and then mere hours later I was back home, curled on the floor railing against God for yet another glimpse and another cloud. I used to despise the cloud, but now I wonder if the one who occasionally lets light in is the one I hate most.

&pleasepickupthephone
“What Were the Chances“

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Me vs. the Quotes

Why is it that so many of us create art, and yet have such timidity naming ourselves artists or creative?

I attended an artist’s potluck at Mars Hill Grad. School, and as expected, we went around the room to introduce ourselves and explain what had brought us out. At least a handful confessed that they were not artists but liked to dabble in this or that. I believe it came from a heart of genuine humility as well as social pressure which compelled them to submit to those of us with bona fide “talent.” Oddly, I found myself mildly offended at the gesture, but then proceeded to stammer as my turn to say the “a”-word came around: [hemming and hawing] Ohhh, I’m not really an “artist.” (And what are those damn quotes doing there anyway? We don’t have an alternative definition to artist lurking out there do we? Well… perhaps.) I suppose the term “artist” is generally defined as someone who is professionally compensated by their “creative” output (more quotes). Ok, so they are Artists, capital “A”; dabblers, dilettantes and the billion others who have yet to formally subject their “creative” work to the marketplace get the lowercase. It is pronounced the same though, I might add.

So:
- a roomful of third graders are asked: “who is creative?”, [twenty-five little hands shoot to the sky]
- a roomful of adults are asked: “who is creative?”, [crickets]

&thisisfunnyforareason
“Marty“

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