Karen Keen

When Death Comes Too Soon

2 Comments / Reconstructing Faith / By

During Lent this year, death hovered near. My friend Bill, a beloved pastor in the community, underwent chemo for an unexpected brain tumor. The spouse of someone I provide spiritual care for was suddenly hospitalized. And well-known Christian writer, Rachel Held Evans was placed in a medically induced coma after the flu took a dangerous turn. On Holy Saturday I mentioned each of them in a tweet and pleaded, “This Holy Saturday I am crying out for life!”

All three of them died this week. Tomorrow I am attending two memorial services.

Bill was only 56 years old and blessed the lives of so many, including refugees. He persuaded his congregation to turn the parsonage into a home for transitioning immigrants. Bill died just weeks after the birth of a grandchild who will grow up without him. Rachel was 37 and had a profound impact through her writing and speaking, challenging the evangelical world to follow Christ more fully. She leaves behind a three old son and a little girl not even a year old.

It always startles me when good people die young. It goes against my gut sense of justice that God should and surely will look out for the faithful. Yet, even Jesus and his disciples died unfairly. The gospel does not offer the protection that I so wish it did.

I first began to reckon with this truth several years ago when I encountered another unexpected death. At the time I was ending a stable career, packing my bags, and moving across the country to pursue a new vocational dream, namely, a Th.M. degree at Duke Divinity School with hopes of going on for a Ph.D. in Old Testament. But amid my hopeful beginning, David died. I didn’t know David, but his death hit me hard. His dreams mirrored my own dreams, having just completed his Ph.D. in Old Testament at Duke. 

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Sacred Word Broken Word by Kenton Sparks

2 Comments / Book & Film Reviews, Reading Scripture / By

In his book, Sacred Word Broken Word, Kenton Sparks proposes an “adoptionist” model for understanding how God speaks to us in Scripture. He writes, “Scripture is God’s Word because God providentially adopted ancient human beings, like Paul, as his spokespersons. In doing so God ‘set apart’ or ‘sanctified’ their words for use in his redemptive activity” (29, 156). Interestingly, he chooses a 2nd century heresy as an analogy. Adoptionism denies that Jesus was eternally pre-existent with the Father, but rather he became divine when “adopted” by God at his baptism and the Spirit of God descended upon him (e.g. Luke 3:22). Sparks says “there is a theological purpose behind God’s choice to use human beings as we are, so that the glory for redemption will truly be his” (156). But, he does not expand on this theory of theological purpose.

Sparks believes the biblical authors were sinful human beings who erred like any other human beings (29, 32, 46-47, 59). They sometimes “thought and wrote ungodly things.” He also believes the Bible not only has errors (6, 29), but also contains within its pages evil that is in need of redemption (46-47). He compares Scripture with creation—good, but fallen. Some texts should be prioritized for reading above “those that are more partial or distorted by the human condition” (49).

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Rabbi Green on the Bible and “Halakhah”

Ethics, Reading Scripture / By

In my Old Testament class at the local community college I teach students about Israelite law in its ancient Near Eastern context, as well as the meaning of biblical law in Christian and Jewish tradition today. In this brief three minute video, Rabbi Arthur Green provides a lovely discussion of how he understands the law texts in relation to faith and practice. The word “halakhah” is the word used in the Jewish community to refer to Jewish law, but more literally means the path that a person walks.

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Doubt: When You’re Not Sure What You Believe

Reconstructing Faith / By

Several years ago, I was walking down the street on an ordinary day when suddenly a thought inserted itself out of the blue: What if there is no God? Given that I was not pondering the subject at the time, the intruding thought felt strangely self-animating. But rather than disturbing me, I felt relieved. My body began to relax and an exhilarating sense of freedom washed over me. I was surprised by my reaction. Why would I, a devout Christian, dedicated to studying the Scriptures feel relief at the thought of no God? As I pondered my response, I realized I was afraid of God. If there was no God I didn’t need to worry about getting all the answers right. I didn’t need to worry about getting the answers wrong. It was like someone telling me I could skip the nerve wracking exam.

This incident came at a time when I was increasingly discouraged and disillusioned about finding answers to certain theological questions. Biblical research had challenged long held beliefs and provoked numerous questions. My presuppositions about the Bible were being rattled. Like many other students whose faith is disrupted by biblical scholarship, I came from a tradition that puts considerable emphasis on correct doctrine. Pinning down answers is of utmost importance. Apologetic books abound and parishioners are warned not to read material that might contradict the approved doctrines. At the root lies considerable fear of getting the answers wrong and facing a punishing God. 

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World So Full

Reconstructing Faith / By

I recently came across a song called “World So Full” by Jon Dee Graham. It is covered below by Gloria Showalter who writes, “My major is Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies, which means that many of my classes deal with some of the worst stuff in the world. My four years here at Goshen College have been challenging as I look at the pain of the world in my academic study, and in my own life. Sometimes, amidst the study of PTSD, sexual violence, systemic oppression, and genocide, I have felt pretty hopeless.. . . Working towards God’s vision of healing and reconciliation is not the sort of thing that feels good all the time or always yields the results I want. Yet, my time here at Goshen has deepened my hope and strengthened my commitment to working to bring that just and peaceful world a little closer to reality. In the words of this song, ‘I’m still in love with the world so full.'”

Excerpts from the song include:

Little stars hang on tight
to the roof of this night.
Don’t turn away,
Don’t turn away
From the world so full.

Make me willing,
Make me strong,
Make me brave as the day is long.

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Never Heard of Spiritual Direction?

Reconstructing Faith / By

If you have never heard of Spiritual Direction before, you are not alone. Not too many years ago, I was in the same boat. I first learned about the practice through a woman at my church who had been trained by the Mercy Center in Burlingame, California. When I began to meet with Bonnie all I knew was I needed to talk to someone about my doubts, fears, and hopes for the future. I felt uncertain about God’s involvement in my life or what direction I should go in vocationally. Even after reading a brochure on Spiritual Direction and attending the first few sessions, I still could not define exactly what we were doing. It wasn’t counseling and yet Bonnie listened so attentively. It wasn’t advising and yet I experienced so many new insights. I began to see and understand God’s movement in my life in ways I had not noticed before. It was exciting! In fact, the experience was life-changing. I found Spiritual Direction to be more helpful to me than previous experiences of seeing a therapist. It tapped into the deepest part of me, my spiritual core.

My own positive experience with Spiritual Direction led me to seek a training program so I could offer this gift to others. At the time, I was at a crossroad of deciding whether or not to return to the mental health field (after a period of working in student affairs at a university). I enjoyed listening to people and working with them through their challenges, but something always seemed missing in my previous work as a therapist. Even though I saw how crucial mental health treatment is (and still do), I felt unable to fully give attention to deeper underlying issues of the soul. I realized my greatest love was seeing people come alive spiritually and how that affected their overall well-being. Once I discovered the impact of Spiritual Direction, I had the “aha!” experience of knowing this was the right ministry fit for me. So I jumped in with both feet. I had the blessing of being trained by Faithful Companions of Jesus, Catholic Sisters in the Ignatian tradition. From the very beginning I found offering Spiritual Direction to be incredibly life-giving. I never tire of hearing people’s hearts and seeing how God is at work in their lives.

I encourage everyone to consider giving Spiritual Direction a try. For more information on what to expect during a session, you can read how I approach it in “What Is Spiritual Direction?” Other Spiritual Directors may have different emphases. It is perfectly acceptable to “shop” around for the right Spiritual Director that fits your particular needs. Find someone you can trust and feel comfortable sharing with honestly. Also consider the spiritual life of the person you are seeing and whether or not he or she is actively pursuing a close relationship with God.

To find see someone for individual spiritual direction, see this referral list.

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