Theology in conversation

My friend meant it as a harmless rejoinder to our conversation about whether there was a plan for everything, but the simple question, "Then how can you consider yourself a spiritual person?" blew me away. It had been a long time since someone has pushed me on my faith resolve, but it was clear that it was one of those moments that was truly a message from God to redouble my reflection about my personal faith. Since that evening a few weeks ago, I have been uncomfortable in my faith skin. It was like I was dug in to the batter's box and was hanging over the inside of the plate, and then she threw a high, hard one, and I haven't been comfortable in the box since.

The origin of my discomfort comes from having an opinion about predestination. And, not just that but also realizing that it is grounded in logic and reason and not necessarily theological basis. I have found myself in this situation with growing frequency since I have allowed the shell around my faith to crack in the comforts of the Riverside family. In a search for dialogue and to provide full disclosure of my conversation that brought me to this quandary, here are my thoughts on predestination. God decides a lot of things, but doesn't micromanage the world. I believe in the macro/micro world. I'm sure that there are many Christians that would disagree and some that would feel good to have someone else in their camp, but this is where I am currently. I believe that all of my opinions are fluid, but I hope that they are wandering closer and closer to the truth as I pursue new information.

Before today, I was ready to answer that my views on predestination do still allow me to claim to be a spiritual person, but then Brian died. Brian is a friend and co-worker. I was ready to write this entry before I walked into school this morning, and then I learned that a tragedy had struck, a co-worker died from what appears to be a massive heart attack. Now predestination became real and personal. It became something with a context. It was no longer some mental exercise for me. Did God plan for Brian to die on Sunday night? I recognize that I live in a world with a perspective too small to understand God's decisions, but now I have to ask whether this was a macro or micro situation, and I have no idea. I am lost, and Brian is gone. It is amazing how quickly we are knocked from our faith perch. It took me two weeks to digest the simple question about how my view on predestination jives with being a Christian, but this shock to the system may take a lot longer.

-Dr. Robert Dillon

Post-Script: While Bob articulates his views in a logical way, they are not far off from Riverside's basic stance on this issue. If you would like to look into the issue further, the term that probably summarizes our position well (for a short conversation) is "Compatabilism".

Why you should come to On Tap Tonight

So, we have been doing On Tap for over three years as a church and the purpose of it - at least any kind of pure purpose - alludes my understanding. But, I will take a shot :)

Pubs and bars used to be places where people went to discuss important and relevant things. Prior to Twitter, the ever-presence of the BBC, and XM Radio people used to talk to each other more directly. What is even more crazy is that we used to disagree well, we used to discuss things together, and it used to stretch us as human beings.

At On Tap there is no 'teaching'. There is no 'leader'. There is a moderator, and if you have been to On Tap when we discuss political topics, you know why #1 we have to have a moderator and #2 we (now) ask people to raise their hands. Instead we have an agreed upon topic and we attempt to discuss and learn. Tonight we are discussing the importance of Social Networking (Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, blogs). Some people (like myself) are listening okay and also thinking about what we want to say. Some are (believe it or not) more obnoxious than I am. And many, listen very well, and when they speak up people listen intently.

We are assuming that disagreements are okay. We are assuming that God meant what he said throughout the Bible about community - it is more difficult than island-living in some ways, but it is worth the trouble. We are assuming that we have things to learn, from whoever happens to show up that particular evening. And, even as I write "we", I am aware that someone "new" always wanders in. Sometimes someone from the Riverside Community, but more often it is a friend of someone who comes to On Tap. If Facebook is accurate, several friends of one of our favorite servers are attending tonight.

Anyway, I hope you can join us tonight. I know many don't like open-forum discussions. No big deal, On Tap isn't your thing. But I think if you're able to come you will find it is worth it. And I will finally point out that my favorite part are the conversations that happen after the official conversation is over. It is simply fun to get to know new people, and to grow deeper in other friendships. 7:00 at Llywelyn's in WG