So, I've done a mighty fine job at blogging over this summer about Honduras, but not so much about the book. and SO. here is my blog about the book, which after reading most of everyone elses (which I always find is a bad idea, because then I feel like I'm just like everyone else and I have no thoughts of my own, because many of which are so similar) BUT.
Here's my main question that I started asking at the beginning of the book, and it remained pretty much all the way through.... Where's the Gospel in all of this? I can thank Derek for that.. because he's constantly asking that question in conversations and literature. (sidenote... I read a book this summer called, "You Can Make a Difference" [cheesy I know, but it was pretty good] and he was able to point out SO many times when, as a Christian book, they ignored the Gospel) anyway. SO, back to Irresistible Revolution:
There was a lot of Biblical quotations from it, yes. There was a lot of action in it, yes. But where's the under lining message that Jesus Christ died on the cross for us, even when we were selfish and rich, even when we were victumizers and victums. Jesus Christ did the ultimate sacrafice of love, and THAT'S why we live the way we live, as a thanksgiving to that. Not because we need to PROVE that we are good Christians. Not that we can somehow earn our way to heaven... But because Christ died for us, and then soften our hearts to accept the Holy Spirit that is now living in us. I remember Schuler saying, while interpreting scripture, there are certain questions you need to ask yourself. One of which was, does it support the Gospel message? And there were times where I feel Shane did not quite do that in his interpretation. I don't know. But there were times when I was very uncomfortable with the motivation behind Shane's actions. I loved his actions, and I thought that we can find our own way of living in such a way, not because of what exactly we do, but HOW we do it (which is by the grace of God and the freedom that He gives us)
I also felt uncomfortable with him labeling Christians. It is our duty to, in love, challenge and encourage our fellow brothers and sisters to live what they believe, as an action of thanksgiving to our God. But how Shane went about his point of challenging, was not in a loving way. It was in a judgemental way. And I will be honest... in that, there were times when he would discribe a situation that maybe I have done, or that I'm "good" at...and I would find myself puffing my chest just a little bit... my chin going just a bit too high... because then I was considered a "GOOD" Christian by Shane and the society of good christians. BUT WOAH! If we start going there, start going to the point where it's about pride... we've lost the point. As Dr. Schuler taught last year, about the seperating of the goats and the sheep at the end... They don't even realize when they had served the poor or the marginalized, because it had become so natural... and sometimes, I felt that Shane was a bit TOO aware of how he was serving the poor.
I know this book was even introduced as being full of Shane's stories. Yet, him being so confident and so showy with his actions...made the actions become a little less beautiful. It became a little more "in your face, look what we're doing, because we are good christians"...maybe that's just what I got from it.
WELL, Overall, This being my second time of reading this... my eyes were opened up a lot to some of the things I had just blindly accepted. This past year of school has taught me a lot about not taking everything for what is said, but also, after the experience of Honduras... I had a little bit of even more feel... including a quote that I think Shane should have used from Mother Teresa... It's not on me now, but wait for Monday, and I'll bust it out.
Thanks everyone for this word-vomit of a blog!
