2 Kings 16:3 “… who sacrificed his own son, which was a disgusting custom of the foreign nations.”

Sometimes God must remind us that we don’t yet have Him figured out. God is a mystery. A beautiful, wonderful mystery.

The Christian faith has trumpeted for 2000 years that you can know this God personally. Recently, however, we have crossed our wires and tried to teach that you can know everything about this God with absolute certainty. Modernism called for an end to anything that could not be quantifiably measured and calculated; this included God. The church caved to pressure and allowed the God of all mystery to be systematized. Suddenly, God was small – small enough that we could comprehend Him. He made sense; and a person need only fall for the ranting of a glib faith-salesman’s rational explanation/trickery to gain personal salvation. If you can’t defend your doubt against the truth of the man with the slicked back hair; surely you just got saved. (Now repeat this prayer after me …)

But it was not this god; the god of rules, regulations, and repetition; but the God of mystery – all-powerful, omnipotent, creator God – who sent His only son to die for the sins of the world. … as was the disgusting custom of the foreign nations? Of all the salvific formulas God could have imaged and placed into motion – he chose the strongest, harshest, most unethical plan imaginable … one that had been condemned when perpetuated by godless nations: the sacrificial slaughter of a son.

It doesn’t even make sense. As if God pulled a number from a hat, He, seemingly, purposelessly chose the most painful option to save the world from sin. He could have chosen any method of propitiatory satiation. Salvation for the world could have come through a mighty warrior, a military ruler, the death of a grizzly murderer, a pink bunny delivering brightly colored eggs, or any other avenue God saw fit to employ.

But the God who will continue to mystify even the most brilliant scholar chose the route of unbelievable pain and suffering – the death of his beloved son – as the means of our salvation. God threw a curveball; created the mystery to end all mysteries, and yet we believe that we can systematically comprehend His motives. Bullshit. (I’m a theologian, primarily!)

Ms. Griffin, a missions prof, once said “Do you realize that the sum of all of your theology is less than God.” It was revolutionary when juxtaposed against our Bible classes; where all Truth may be learned. All the thoughts that I have about God add up to significantly less than who He is. All the thoughts that I will ever have about God will never begin to compare with the vastness of mystery contained in the act of salvation God chose through His son, the Christ.

Oh, to die alone on an airplane with a credit card purchased ticket.

Removed.

I've got nothing.

I have a lot that I want to get out ... but at this point I just can't get my thoughts straightened out long enough to write them down.

Sorry - Love, Michael.

Prayer is becoming a part of my life. I have always prayed, lest anyone begin the defrocking of my Christian faith, but it has never come naturally. I would pray a stilted prayer before meals and a somewhat less stilted prayer of salvation before takeoffs and landings on airplanes.

My thankfulness can be sent up at any time these days. And, I no longer beg for a pardon on runways, but rather thank God for the long productive life I have led.

I don't ask forgiveness 18 times after a "big" sin. I thank God for his assurance that my sins are foregiven.

I pray for the service before it begins, an hour before it begins, and I pray for my friends.

When I was having an MRI, I had an intese hour of prayer for my loved ones.

Prayer isn't something that I do, it's something that I am. Let's hope it keeps going in that direction.

Sex!

There, now that I have your attention I'm going to talk about the existential divide ... no, I'm really just going to talk about sex.

Why is sex the biggest topic in the Christian world? Why is it the final taboo?

We don't talk about it. When we do talk about it we sterilize it. We use safe, euphemistic words. Medical terms are generally okay, but not always - you just need to know.

The church teaches, inadvertantly I do believe, that sex is the greatest sin; that engaging in premarital fornication, homosexuality, oral sex, or anything not intended primarily for reproduction is inherently sinful. If you can't wait to have sex you should get married when you're 18 - whether you're ready or not. If you do fornicate - you have committed a sin that is unforgivable in the eyes of God.

I don't buy it. I know that moms and dads don't want their kids having sex, and I know that premarital sex is dangerous, and I know that waiting until marriage is much more fulfilling, and I know that having sex before marriage is a giant emotional burden that most people can't handle. I know all of these things, but I can't believe that sex is a sin that the grace of God can't cover.

I think it's morally irresponsible to teach anything less than the full gospel. It is true, sex outside of marriage is a sin. I would never deny that, but we take it a step too far when we teach, intentionally or not, that sex is unforgivable or a greater sin. God mourns our sin when we choose not to wait for marriage, but he also mourns our sin when we choose to lie to our kids. He also mourns when we change the gospel to fit our needs.

I want my friends to know that I don't support sex outside of marriage, but if you are choosing to do so, please use a condom. If you are too afraid to buy condoms (especially if you live in Toccoa) let me know and I will buy them for you.

Sex is fun, but it isn't fun enough. God's grace is sufficient.