I've been reading some more Kierkegaard -- very deep stuff, but profound (when I can make sense of it). Tonight I finished reading his dissertation entitled "The Concept of Irony, With Continual Reference To Socrates." Kierkegaard delivered this on September 16, 1841. I know not all of you will make sense of this, if any of you -- perhaps one must read it for him or herself to grasp it, but this is my attempt at sharing something I found profound.
Kierkegaard is discussing the concepts of irony and actuality. He defines actuality not as some objective reality, but "as historical actuality - that is, the given actuality at a certain time and in a certain condition. . . . The word 'actuality' can also be used for the historically actualized idea." It didn't make sense to me at first either. He goes on to give an example that cleared it up some for me:
"Catholicism was the given actuality for the generation living at the time of the Reformation, and yet it was also the actuality that no longer had validity as such. Consequently, one actuality collides here with another actuality. Herein lies the profoundly tragic aspect of world history. At one and the same time, an individual may be world-historically justified and yet unauthorized. Insofar as he is the latter, he must become a sacrifice; insofar as he is the former, he must prevail -- that is, he must prevail by becoming a sacrifice."
He goes on to explain the ironic subject, who is the individual who believes the present actuality has lost its validity and seeks its hindrance in every way possible, yet he does not possess the new. He is always pointing forward to something he does not yet know. Kierkegaard then explains that because "every particular historical actuality is continually but an element in the actualization of the idea, it carries within itself the seeds of its own downfall." He then explains how John the Baptist was this ironic subject within Judaism that brought about its downfall, pointing forward to one he did not yet know -- Jesus.
Now for those who are not following the philosophical speech, Daniel over at
Like a Mustard Seed wrote a post today entitled
Uncontrollable. In that post he refers to the Kingdom of God as the same sort of "actualized idea" or "actuality" that Kierkegaard is speaking of. Daniel describes it as a vast ocean that we cannot get our heads around:
"The ocean is huge, and uncontrollable. We can map it, study it, navigate it, but we cannot control it. It's currents and tides go their own way, without consulting us first. We can build levies, harbors, ships, bridges even man-made islands, but we cannot take on the power, or the scope, of the oceans. Whenever we are able to take a moment to gaze at the horizon, to allow ourselves to marvel at just how big and untamed it is, we are glimpsing a God-given snapshot of our finite, limited place in the universe. The ocean reminds us that we are not in control.....
. . . . What is so remarkable is that the more we scan the horizon, the more we begin to glimpse the scope and the massive scale of this response to the Spirit's prompting. One of the key characteristics of this shift, is that there is a growing understanding that the Kingdom is not run by a chain of command, no hierarchy, and that in fact there never was. As that reality is grasped, it is almost like seeing the ocean for the first time. No one owns it. No one controls it. No one person, and no one group, can claim to even to be able to monitor and record all that is happening amongst those who belong to Christ around the world.
We see people awakening to the idea that they do not in fact need to meet in special, religiously-oriented buildings, but can in fact meet anywhere, be it a coffee shop, park, beach, or home. We see people rejecting the American materialism that has become so infused with the church in this country, and stepping out to engage with the homeless and poor, in ways that go far beyond writing a check to the local soup kitchen. We see many people coming to the conviction that however you end up choosing to vote in the political process, ultimately the changes that come from being a citizen in Jesus' Kingdom can never be superficially imposed on the greater population through laws and leaders, but can only come through a changed heart, being made alive again through faith in Christ.
The truth is, there is no one leader, no one author, no one organization, no one label, that really captures what God is doing. And the cool thing is, that's okay.
In a sense, those of us who are repeatedly labeled as emerging, simplistic, or even revolutionary -- are merely those who refuse to be labeled (just as Jesus refused to be labeled) because we understand that the current actuality of modernist, Republican country club Christianity is no longer authorized, and we grasp the idea as more of an ocean than as a puddle which we can regulate and understand. The idea has always been there, and we are the seeds from within that will bring its demise -- but only to further usher in the new -- which is the real actuality. And then the cycle will repeat -- now that's irony. . . .
You may be surprised to know that my wife is interested in cryptozoology. She sent me an email with this article this morning. Tiffany writes:
I don’t mean to be critical, but c’mon. Saying that McCain is a champion for Christianity is like calling Obama the Messiah for the Jews.
The Republicans have had their chance to overturn pro-choice legislation, they only do enough to retain the evangelical vote. Don’t get me wrong, some do care, but John McCain does not. Both of these candidates are corrupt and godless, yet Christians continue to be parrots for the Republican party.
For a guy campaigning on family values, John McCain has broken up a lot of marriages. When he met his first wife (a swimsuit model), she was married to naval academy classmate of his. After he broke that marriage up, she stuck by him loyally as he went off to war and was a prisoner for five and a half years. When he returned to America, though, he found out that she had been in a car wreck and wasn’t as pretty. So he had a series of affairs, by his own admission, and dumped his wife and adopted family for a younger, very rich blond (now Cindy McCain). Cindy, the daughter of a wealthy Budweiser beer distributor, was addicted to prescription narcotics and even stole hard drugs from a medical charity that she ran. In February, 2008, the New York Times ran a big article about the unusually close relationship between John McCain and a young telecommunications lobbyist named Vicki Iseman (who looks uncannily like Cindy McCain did when SHE was 25). They became so close that his staff, convinced they were having an affair, confronted both McCain and Iseman, telling them to back off. Now, a lot of people have criticized the Times for hinting without actually saying that McCain had sexual relations with that woman. But really, it doesn’t matter. It’s a matter of record that he accepted money and favors from her, spent a lot of time for her, and did favors for her clients. Among other things, McCain wrote two letters — from a draft provided by Vicki Iseman — to the head of the Federal Communications Commission — which was way out of line, since McCain headed the Senate Commmerce Committee, which controls the FCC. McCain’s pressure was so outrageous that, even though McCain was in charge of funding his commission, the FCC commissioner wrote a letter back rebuking him for his interference, at the height of McCain’s “ethics in government” campaign.
So, was McCain sleeping with her, hoping to sleep with her, or being subconsciously manipulated by a cute young woman? It doesn’t really matter. He was being led by his groin into ethical violations. Let’s face it, he was 64 at the time and is 72 now. Whether he is still cheating or not, he seems to be led by his penis; witness the videos on YouTube of McCain checking out Sarah Palin’s butt during the speech where he introduced her.
Do I even need to start talking about the Keating 5 scandal where McCain intervened on behalf of Charles Keating after Keating gave McCain at least $112,000 in contributions. Remember that that whole scandal cost taxpayers $3.4 billion.
Not to mention the recent bailout which he voted for. Both of these candidates are crooks.
What about the fact that his wife Cindy was a serious narcotics addict who created a charity for sick children (American Voluntary Medical Team or AVMT), then used it to get fraudulent prescriptions for Vicodin and Percocet. And a whistleblower from her staff says that John McCain and his senate staffers helped Cindy smuggle her ill-gotten narcotics through customs.
In 1995, McCain sent birthday regards, and regrets for not attending, to Joseph “Joe Bananas” Bonano, the head of the New York Bonano crime family, who had retired to Arizona. Another politician to send regrets was Governor Fife Symington, who has since been kicked out of office and convicted of seven felonies relating to fraud and extortion.
OK, I’ll stop here — but if this guy is considered a champion of Christian values simply because he gives lip-service to the pro-life issue, it only goes to show how Americans no longer think or read!
If you want a real champion of Christian values in 2008, vote for Chuck Baldwin.