The Story of this Blog

Open your mouth for the mute,

for the rights of all who are destitute.

Open your mouth, judge righteously,

defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Proverbs 31:8-9 (ESV)

The Idea
I'm not exactly sure how the idea of starting a blog was planted in my mind, but from the first, I felt like the idea came from God. It seemed a little silly, like, Are you sure that God wants you to start a blog? Would anyone actually read it? What could possibly be His purpose in that? But even more than that, it seemed scary. They say you're not supposed to talk about politics, or about religion, and definitely not about politics and religion, in polite company. It gets people upset. But that was exactly the idea that was behind this blog--politics and social justice issues, and how the Bible and my faith intersect with them. But the thought persisted, though I pushed it down.

A few days later, at a Bible study, a friend told us something he had been taught about how to discern the will of God: did the thought of pursuing the idea make you feel closer or further from God? I immediately thought of the blog idea. I know it sounds melodramatic, but the thought of not starting it felt like darkness and uncertainty, while the thought of starting it filled me with peace and hope. I guess God really did want me to start a blog. But I was busy; I would start it later, I decided.

But the ideas about blog posts kept growing in my mind. I should really write these down, I thought. I sat down, and before long, I had both sides of a sheet of notebook paper covered with ideas--24 different ideas. The next day, I did the same, with 15 more ideas, and the ideas are still coming. 

This blog has two main purposes:

• I hope to show readers of all faiths and none what the Bible actually says about issues of politics and social justice and to demonstrate what it means to read, interpret, and apply the Bible with both brain and faith engaged.
• I hope to challenge Christian readers about their role in advocating for the poor and needy, the marginalized, and the destitute. 

About Me
My parents and my grandparents are all Christians, I have gone to church my entire life, and I myself chose to follow Christ at a young age. I am not a theological expert, by any means. But I do have years of Sunday School lessons and sermons under my belt, as well as a year of study at a Bible College. I was always taught to consider what I was taught critically, to test it against what the Bible says, and I hope that you, my readers, will do the same with this blog. If you do see any oversights, logical inconsistencies, or any other errors, please let me know. 

My day 'job' is being a graduate student in linguistics, so you may see a disproportionate number of references to language.

The Title
The title of this blog, Not of this World, is a reference to something Jesus said when He was being questioned by Pilate, before He was crucified.

Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. 
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

John 18: 33-37 (NIV)

This phrase epitomizes, in my opinion, how we are to view politics on this earth. We need to acknowledge that the kingdom of God is separate from the kingdoms of this world. That is not to say that we are to shrug and go with the flow; rather, we are to do our best to bring the kingdom of God into this world, to share God's love with our friends and neighbours. We are to be, as the saying goes, in the world but not of it.