Aristotle, Emotions, and Discipleship

Aristotle, in his “Nicomachean Ethics” (1104b), states (roughly) that “we ought to have been brought up in a particular way from our very youth, as Plato says, so as both to delight in and to be pained by the things that we ought; for this is the right education.” C.S. Lewis, in “The Abolition of Man,” interprets this to teach that “the aim of education is to make the pupil like and dislike what he ought.” The basic thought is that education, or the training up of a youth, consists primarily in teaching the young one to like that which he should like and hate that which he should hate.

This plays itself out in almost every home with a child under the age of 3. When a child is torturing the family dog, the parents (through tone of voice and possible physical action) emphatically try to communicate to the child that they should feel bad about what they are doing. When a child is being sweet and gentle to the family baby, the parents (again through tone of voice and body language and possibly rewards) try to communicate that the child should feel good about what they are doing. The goal in all of this is to develop “correct emotions” in the heart of a child/youth as they grow up. As another example, the reaction to the direct disobedience of a child is one of disappointment and anger, while the reaction to obedience is one of happiness and reward.

It intrigues me to think about this view of teaching/training alongside the thought/command of discipleship. In many ways, I see discipleship and Christian maturity as a teaching and growing into “correct emotions.” Whereas my fallen heart would rejoice in evil and shy away from good, I am slowly being transformed into a person that correctly hates evil and rejoices in good. Thus, one of the main goals of sermons, community, and prayer would be to develop in our people a heart that rejoices in justice, beauty, grace, and forgiveness- as well as hearts that cringe at arrogance and injustice.

What are your thoughts? Please comment and share!!

What Bible translation do you use?

It’s a simple question: What translation of Scripture do you prefer to read and/or work out of? I am a huge proponent of the ESV- and when I am not working in the original languages I feel most at home there. I am also partial to the very helpful notes that the NET bible provides on the syntax issues of the Hebrew/Greek. I am fairly confident with my grasp of the different translations as I am a Hebrew-Greek student, grew up on the NIV, was a manager at Lifeway (HCSB), preached out of the NASB (shortly), and have been preaching/teaching/reading/working out of the ESV for almost a year now.

I found the following “translation guide” extremely funny:

HCSB - For Lifeway store buying Southern Baptists
NIV - For complementarian evangelicals
TNIV - For egalitarians
NASB - For those who want straight Bible, forget the English
Amplified - For those with no idea what a translation is but know that if you try enough words one of them will hit pay dirt

(I laughed particularly hard at the NASB and Amplified ones... haha).

So, let me know, what translation do you read out of, work out of (if there is a difference), and why?

A confession and a love...

Confession Time: This week was rough on me- physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I entered into 19 hours of school juggling multiple projects for the church and with a few too many meetings planned. When I am tired, I get frustrated and faithless. I withdraw from those around me and from Jesus. As with anyone who is overcommitted and struggling, I began asking the question “Why am I doing this?” Why am I a pastor at 21 years of age? Why am I in school, taking this many classes, with these majors? Why am I so poor? haha

I was reminded yesterday and today why I do what I do. Because I love it. Because even during times where it seems like too much- Christ uses it to enrich and grow me. As I was polishing off tomorrows sermon on Serving Selflessly (with a Camp Barnabas shout out)- I was reminded of my passion for preaching and Christ’s incredible gift to let me do it for a living.

I have a long way to go to be who I want to be (who I AM in Christ), a long way to go in my love and patience for people, a long way to go in my faith and character in Christ- but I know that He is working through me and will see it to completion. I love it.

Story Saturday - Christian Cuss Words

3 Random Facts about Me!

3 Random Facts about Me from Mike Skinner on Vimeo.

What I've Been Up To..

Sorry I have been such a lazy blogger lately!  I wanted to give you all a quick update and let you guys know that I will finish my “Favorite Quotes From Jesus” series soon as well as start up a new series.  Things have been crazy here at Fc3 as we approach The Launch and my next few days are packed with exciting things!

This evening I am going over to Katy to hang out with Spencer, my autistic friend from Camp Barnabas.  =)  This weekend (Friday night and Saturday morning) I will be speaking at a local church’s Back-to-School Bash which I am very excited about.  Please pray that God shows up in a big way.  After the “bash” I will be heading to the wedding of our college pastor, Michelle!  That will be very fun!  Then Sunday I get a break from preaching as my Hebrew and Greek teacher, Jamie Johns, will be preaching for us at Fc3 (10:45).  

I would appreciate your prayers and I look forward to getting back into the swing of things blogging-wise after this weekend!  

Love you all!

My 5 Favorite Quotes from Jesus: #3 Matthew 13:31-33

"The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.  It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches...  The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."

This quote is found on the lips of Jesus in Matthew 13:31-33 (as well as in Luke 13 and a similar statement in Mark 4) and is an amazing picture of the kingdom and it’s inevitable fruition.  I actually did a 21 page paper on these statements with an emphasis on the eschatological views of Jesus, but I will not bore you all with that kind of commentary.

Simply put, one of the reasons I love these parables is the encouragement and confidence they give me as I seek to participate in Jesus’ kingdom building.  There are many who view the world as going to “hell in a handbasket” and I have the exact opposite view.  Sure, there are many serious problems with our world (third world debt, sex slavery, etc) but I believe the Church was given a mission and will be seen through to the success of that mission.  

The gospel continues to bear remarkable fruit all over the world in places such as China and Africa.  The Chinese underground church is a remarkable example of the exponential growth of the kingdom at work.  What do these verses mean for our society and culture?  What do these verses mean for our churches?  What do these verses mean for our individual lives?