A good friend recently commented that a lot of my facebook posts have a “left wing bias”. At first, I was somewhat affronted by this. To be charged with being ‘biased’ is to be accused of lacking impartiality and flawed judgement. To dismiss someone’s opinion on the grounds of bias is tantamount to saying, “you don’t know what you’re talking about and your view on this is wrong-headed and therefore invalid”. (The truth is, of course, that we are all unavoidably biased to some extent in our views on anything because we can never fully overcome the constraints of subjectivity.)

But while I might resent the accusation of ‘bias’, I feel less upset about the charge of being ‘left wing’. If ‘left wing’ refers to “a concern for those in society who are disadvantaged relatively to others and an assumption that there are unjustified inequalities (which right-wing politics view as natural or traditional) that should be reduced or abolished” (Wikipedia), then I’m happy to be branded thus.

The gospel of the kingdom of God is supposed to be “good news to the poor” and freedom for the oppressed. It’s a kingdom based on values such as love for others over self, generosity over greed, reciprocity over competition, humility over self-aggrandisement.

Scripture adjures us to “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

I’ll be the first to admit that with respect to living up to these ideals I fail a lot (most?) of the time. I live a life of relative affluence and comfort in a sheltered, aesthetically pleasant, middle-class suburb in one of the most prosperous places on the planet. I enjoy the material trappings of this life and I would find it very difficult to give them up. Don’t get me wrong – by some local standards I live relatively modestly. I don’t consider myself to be particularly greedy or materialistic. But even so, I consume more than I really need, I often complain about relatively trivial inconvenience or discomfort, I don’t pay enough attention to the ethics and practices of companies whose products and services I consume, I generate more pollution than I probably should, and I am sometimes (hopefully not all the time!) selfish, judgmental, hypocritical and self-righteous.

So where does this leave me? It leaves me living in the place of tension that is created whenever the kingdom of God collides with the antithetical kingdoms of the world. Jesus alluded to this tension often. In fact, he told us that those of us who are rich would find it near to impossible to enter the kingdom of God. This isn’t about whether or not we get to ‘go to heaven’ when we die; this is about entering into the fullness of what God’s kingdom is all about in the here and now. And there is much about being rich that can prevent us from doing this if we are unable to let go of our attachment to worldly riches and all that goes with them. (By the way, if you’re unsure whether or not the label ‘rich’ applies to you, click here to find out.)

So where do I go from here? Thankfully, Jesus went on to say that what is impossible for mere mortals is possible ‘with God’. So there’s the answer. I need continually to seek God and his Spirit who alone can give us power to live lives that bear witness to the fact that the kingdom of God has come. The important thing is not to try to resolve the tension of living in the collision point between opposing kingdoms by developing some quasi-Christian ideology that seeks to reconcile the two. Jesus was unequivocal: his kingdom is not of this world. We cannot serve two masters. Whoever wants truly to be his disciple “must deny themselves and take up their cross daily” and follow him.

If trying to live like that means having ‘a left wing bias’, then so be it.

Two versions of a song, two cries for justice coming from very different cultural platforms…

In this week’s podcast message on relationship with God, I refer to a message we received from Emma Dale back in May 2008 entitled ‘The Heart of God’. I’m reposting this here for those who might not have heard it before. (Those who have heard it before might want to revisit it as well.) It is a powerful corollary to this week’s message.

The Upper Room kids are spearheading another fundraiser on Sunday 26 June following our morning gathering to support the work of Mark & Christine Pedder in Manila. Here’s one of their initiatives…

In the wake of the publication of his book Love Wins, there’s a plethora of Rob Bell related interviews, articles and blog posts online at the moment. I’m posting this one because I really like the way this interviewer does his thing. At the front end, Rob talks a bit about how things roll at Mars Hill Bible Church, which is interesting stuff. Much of what he says in the interview resonates strongly with what we hope The Upper Room is all about.

Rob Bell – Day1 Conversations with Peter Wallace from Peter Wallace on Vimeo.

And here is a nice little addendum to the interview:

The Rabbi from Krakow – A Short Story from Rob Bell from Peter Wallace on Vimeo.

For those who missed Shane’s recent visit to our fair city, or those who want to hear it again, here is what he had to share:

And speaking of Rob Bell, it’s timely to post his short film entitled Resurrection. The post production and musical soundtrack are perhaps a little overblown, but I really like the content.

Resurrection: Rob Bell from Rob Bell on Vimeo.

In light of all the furore surrounding Rob Bell’s latest book, Love Wins, and the amount of mainstream media attention it/he is attracting at present, I want to recommend the work of Gregory MacDonald (a pseudonym) to anyone wanting a better understanding of  universalism. After reading Love Wins, I felt I needed to do some further reading to get a better grasp of this controversial theological position and after digging around I came across MacDonald’s book The Evangelical Universalist.

MacDonald makes a case for a universalism that, he argues, is not only compatible with the fundamental tenets of evangelicalism, but actually provides for a more consistent and satisfactory evangelical theology when the biblical data is examined in light of philosophical and theological considerations.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with MacDonald’s arguments, this book is an impressive and thought-provoking work. If nothing else, it reminds us of the need for ongoing and open conversation when it comes to interpreting the Scriptures and formulating theology.

An insightful and thought-provoking essay by William Cavanaugh from DePaul University in Chicago, recently published on the ABC’s Religion & Ethics webpage.

Only Christianity Can Save Economics