The Image of God (Hebrew: צֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים; tzelem elohim, lit. "image of God", often appearing in Latin as Imago Dei) is a concept and theological doctrine that asserts that human beings are created in God's image and therefore have inherent value independent of their utility or function (definition taken from Wikipedia).
It was just about two years ago from this month that I took an epic road trip that would change my life. It was a solo road trip for me in which I was in search of authentic community. My final destination for this epic road trip would be Portland to visit a girl. It was around NW 23rd and Johnson where I met up with my friend Julie. She introduced me to her city and I almost immediately fell in love with the city of Portland. There were many reasons what I fell in love with this city that I have come to know as PDX or P-town or not too frequently as Stumptown. I felt almost invincible. I had the balls to say and do things that I would normally not have said or done. I found authentic community and to use a "Christianese" phrase, "I felt God for the first time in quite sometime".
This sensation of God's presence came from a combination of friend, music, the open road, conversations with random people in bars, journaling, the beauty of Oregon, sparrows, the sound of the rain against my windshield, etc. I had left the noise of Los Angeles and I forgotten about the church that lost themselves and their followers in politics and had found God...everywhere. In which I mean to say, He never left. I had to realize that I am not called to place my faith in church elders. They are as human as I am with our three pound finite minds and our sinful ways that keep us falling short. There are humans that blindly follow church authority and there are those that choose to question it. I feel that all parties are guilty of stupidity at times, but I choose to side with the latter. I think that anyone that believes or agrees with every word that comes out of their pastors mouth is dumb. This train of thought, believe it or not, actually comes from my conservative evangelical upbringing. I question, I engage, I dive into the book that the Christians call the "Word", I pray, I have some coffee or beer, depending on the time of day and then I can either choose to agree with the preacher man (or preacher woman, if I were in a non discriminatory church setting).
Call me a revolutionary, but I'd rather be strong in my faith and question and engage in conversation and know what the hell I'm talking about than to agree with the person on stage. Jesus took the Pharisees to school because he knew his shiz. MLK questioned the hell out of authority and it's because of that boldness that people can actually believe in optimistic phrases such as, "Yes We Can".
The last year of my life has had a "transitions" theme of sorts, at least that's what I called it when I first moved to P-town. It was a hell of a year of transitioning that helped to redefine me as a professional, as a Christian, as a human, as a man, as a sexual being, as a Portlander, etc. I have more passion. I am more driven. I am more faithful. I am more confident. I took these thoughts with me as I drove a five day drive back to California. It was this past Wednesday night in Auburn, CA when I stood beneath a gorgeous electrical storm that lit up the night sky for miles. I was reminded of the power. I was reminded of the beauty of silence. I stood there in a parking lot and watched this brilliant dance of electricity as rain poured down on me. It was the Image of God. Once again found in silence and loved ones. It's almost like we are in a constant uphill battle to experience God's image. Noise gets in the way. We Christians even God-block each other at times. We point to many fingers at sex, drugs and rock and roll when the real problem often starts from pride and penetrates all that it is good until out frustration gets the best of us and we become blinded to God's presence which in reality has never left. Life is just too damn complicated at times. But you gotta love it.
I sent a text to my good friend that we need to start a revolution, an underground Jesus movement with a mission of authentic love and community. He agreed. Yep, the transition process has been completed. I am definitely a SE Portlander.
Still to come on Revolutions:
Thoughts on music, sexuality and higher education.
3 comments:
hmmm... sounds like a dissertation topic to me!
I don't see the connection to imago dei, unless you're making an unkind reference to those of us who entered into the season of repentence and prayer with the elders.
By "Imago Dei" I am referencing the actual "image of God" tranlate in Hebrew or Latin, that Christians strive for, but fall short of, for various reasons. I am not making a reference to the corporate prayer mandated by the "Blue Like Jazz" Imago Dei, although it seems to have gotten the attention of several people around the nation. I had an awesome conversation this week with a good friend reflecting on out past life as judgmental conservative evangelicals, this was a God sent conversation sent at an appropriate time as I was talking about Cornerstone Community Church in this blog or real any church that subscribes to politics. sorry for any confusion. Burke, dissertation topic indeed.
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