All of Which are American Dreams

Readin' through Shane Clairborne's Irresistible Revolution. I don't think I've ever encountered an author that could write with such passion yet can state everything so simply and nearly void of over-emphasizing language. I read through a chapter last night that described his journey to work with Mother Theresa in Calcutta. He prefaces this story with a great description of the state of westernized Christianity. Clairborne exposes that fact that American "Christians" spend a great deal of their time trying to explain away the tenants of the Bible. We make the Bible much more complicated than it really is in order to ensure that we'll never have to act on its simple yet radical (to our standards of radical) truths. This statement is undeniably true. I've been to countless studies and heard countless sermons during which a passage of scripture was adjusted to fit our lifestyles. I'm sure I've even led studies that are guilty of this.However, I really can't blame anyone for this. How else are we supposed to take the New Testament from the pages of the Bible and put it into practical usage and still maintain our middle-class American lifestyle? If we had to take every passage of New Testament scripture literally it would destroy our lifestyles' completely.

Anyway, Clairborne goes on to say that he and a friend decided to search for a real Christian of their summer break. Eventually, they contacted Mother Theresa and were invited out her ministry in Calcutta, India. In Calcutta, these two average college students nursed the dying poor of the destitute city and lived with the habitants of a leper colony. I found it very intriguing that these two guys where almost instantly thrown into a very Bible-esque scenario as soon as they accepted the fact that our precious "American Dream" and the John 10:10 life offered by Christ cannot co-exist. Crazy stuff and more food for spiritual thought than I'm comfortable with but I'm getting the very persistent feeling that God is not interested in/tired of my shallow level of American spiritual comfort.