Spiritual Superpowers?

What is your favorite superpower? Mine was always super speed. I think it would be so cool to be able to move as fast as light itself. You would be in such good shape and never need a car. I would be able to run on the surface tension of the water and climb mountains in seconds. I am just saying that having super human abilities would be awesome. I have dreamt about them since I was little. A lot of kids grow up saying I want to be a Jedi or a superhero. I know those are some unrealistic goals I still have days that I dream about lifting my phone to me with the force, or the ability to say materialize food with my mind (meat vision). But as much as I would want the force I sadly have come to terms with the fact that I will never be able to move anything with the use of a high cellular Midi-chlorian count. The supernatural was written off as myth, impossible.

With this in mind I moved to college and started my journey to understand Christ and the amazing things that he did in his life time. Some could say that these were superpowers; Super human healing, mind reading, and well changing the surface tension of the water to walk on it. All this is explained with a hugely faith based claim; Jesus is the physical embodiment of god and all his power. A statement that forms the very basis of the religion that I have subscribed to, and I believe it to be true therefore I am a Christian. My faith operates in a way that I can justify these miraculous events by saying that he is the son of God, clearly he would have special gifts that would make no scientific sense at all. Although this is a huge claim, a large belief that would require much more explanation I am not ready to even think about trying to reason it out. My main question that I am exploring is; Why does God choose to show himself in our world though the supernatural or a more common term ‘spiritual gifts’?

This has been a stumbling point in my faith for a while now. How could I possibly explain people just like me having super powers? How is it possible that one day someone has a broken shoulder and then the next they are able to go climbing? How can someone see the realm of the spirits that is invisible to most of us? How can one pray in tongues, while another only in English? And what is the purpose of all these gifts.
Now I for one cannot answer the ‘how’ question any more than saying that God chooses to work by using them as a conduit of his power. I do have a theory about the why though.  Before I get to my theory I believe that is necessary to explain a bit more about spiritual gifts for those that may not even know what I am talking about; that was me not even 20 minutes ago. I recently met with someone I would call a spiritual mentor of mine to explore this super weird and confusing phenomenon. We spent our time reading parts of the bible that talks about these types of spiritual gifts (passages listed below), and he explained how they were separated into 3 different groups.

First there are character gifts, these would be gifts that everyone has and can be shown as character traits. This would be gifts like an affinity for, teaching or leading, the ability to empathize with people and the ability to encourage others. I would like to make the claim that God has given all of us some character gift. This is not restricted for those of outrageous faith or even a belief in God. I have had teachers that are great speakers and great thinkers that are not Christians. I have had leaders, which are not Christians, that are more organized and caring that some of the Christians that I know. I have had the gifts that I think my character possesses since before I was really a Christian. The fact that we all have these kinds of gifts in my mind just shows how good and loving God is. I know this is a very Christian view about these characteristics but that is what I believe in and it is my truth; any who moving on now to the next type of gift.
The next type we defined would be gifts of ministry. These gifts would be God giving an affinity to preform different type’s roles in a church setting to individuals of that community. Some examples are evangelists, those who are more inclined to outreach to people who are not a part of that specific community, or a teacher, one who tries to understand in the bible and then share that understanding with the community.  Though these gifts the Christian community is supposed to work together in a caring and efficient way. Sadly this sometimes is not the case, but is the goal of Christian communities.

Finally we have the last group of manifesting gifts or as I like to call them “Superpowers”. These powers are things like healing, prophecy, and tongues. Things that I cannot scientifically justify but I think I have an idea of why God has to act in this more straight forward way. In 1 Corinthians 12:7 Paul says “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”  This to me says that these manifestation gifts or any gift for that matter is so that we can be used to help each other and the common good of our communities. These gifts are given to help us as Christians help people in a direct way, a way to serve as a conduit for God’s love. I know these types of gifts are hard if not impossible to completely understand so bear with me. For me personally I have trouble with seeing how the gift of Tongues helps the common good, but this is an entirely different topic that I will have to think on and discuss another time.

Something that I have learned about gifts of the spirit is that they are real and not just some weird magic that we crazy Christian people believe in.  But more importantly there is no gift that is more important than another. There is no gift that is more valuable than another. Each has its own strengths or weaknesses and each helps straighten God’s kingdom. Oooh I can back this up with Scripture, exciting! In 1 Corinthians 14:1 Paul says that “Purse love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially prophecy.” But not just prophecy, Paul meant to provide an example to the Corinthians whom only valued the gift of Tongues. Paul stresses that one gift does not make up the entire body of Christ. All are important and we cannot exist as a community if we do not value our character gifts, our role in the community, or even the superpowers some may possess.  Also the most important point to take out of this whole concept of gifts is that we are to use them in Love for everyone. These gifts mean nothing without Love, and Love is the greatest gift that God has provided us with.

Following blind is not following at all,
Cyrus Schaaf
Verses used:
1 Corinthians 12:6-11 (Manifestation gifts)
1 Corinthians 14:1
Romans 12:6-13 (Character gifts)
Ephesians 4:11-15 (Ministry gifts)

Is Suffering the Absence of God?

Does anybody remember a time that they thought their parents were Superheroes, Strong fast powerful loving and protecting. I for sure had that up until I was about ten and my father started coaching me in several sports. I quickly learned that he was not perfect and had a bit of a temper when it came to me listening. Granted I was a little distracted by the soccer ball at my feet and less capable at dribbling a basketball than basically everyone on my team. But still it’s in moments of suffering we tend to lose a lot of faith towards those we look up to the most.
I can say that I am no stranger to suffering. Most of it has been fairly minor but some has been just devastating. The freshest thing to come to mind is Monday. Tragedy struck my dorm that morning when a resident, whom was very much like me, a member of our community, fell from a window. It was so heart breaking to walk in to my home and hear about this awful event. I am still reeling from it. I don’t necessarily know what to think or even what to say, but I feel that my words can be helpful to some people who are struggling and the writing to be helpful to me.
When I walked in to my home the climate was dark, people were crying, some in shock, and I was devastated to see this look of sorrow on the faces of people I love. My first feeling was actually not sadness but anger. I thought questions about how does a good God do this to us. What possible purpose would this “good God” have with something this awful? I was so angry and had so much hatred for myself to believe in this God, to love this God that lets things like this happen. Then I realized that I myself was not being rational. I began to just pray for people around me, for my own anger, and for the fears that I was experiencing. All I was asking was for God to use me in order to show me I did not put my faith and trust into the wrong thing.
I wouldn’t say so much that a booming voice came down from the heavens but I for sure think that I was answered in more of a way of realization. I realized that through last Friday night gathering at Campus Christian Fellowship, a work day that I participated in on Saturday, and my churches Sunday service God had been preparing me to help the people around me. I just thought to myself ‘Wow, what a good God I have to prepare me for something you can never be ready for.’ Then I realized that this work is so important. People are struggling to find light, and hope. All I could do was just be there for those who were suffering and let them be there for me. I am truly grateful that we have a god that cares enough to prepare us for the worst. It’s weird because normally if I wasn’t talking then I didn’t think I was helping. I felt something growing here… a family, a true community. It is all still hard to think about and my heart is still heavy with loss. But I feel like this is where I am meant to be right now.
Well my main point of this post is that even though tragedy God is working in our lives. To be more specific I have a friend who keeps asking me “Why did this happen? How could God let this happen?” And I think this question is very important. Seeing as I believe God is one all powerful and two all loving I don’t quite understand either. How could a good God let a young man die? How could a good God not stop this from happening? I choose to rationalize it like this: Christianity is based on a choice. Let me explain. As a Christian I choose to let Jesus into my heart and trust him to guide me, well at least I try to. Whether or not you think he predestined the choice for you or you had to make it yourself that is a whole other can of worms, but it’s a choice none the less. Though this logic I can determine that there is a choice to every action. One from as small as what cereal to get in the Commons or as big as what you are going to believe in. God can send people into tell you what cereal to get or to bring you closer to him but in the end it is you who has to take the leap and poor yourself a bowl. And God being all knowing will have to prepare those around you for that choice you will eventually make.
I know how hard this time has been to all of us, and I know a lot of you are questioning your belief but I believe with all my heart that our God is a good God. So to answer my title question, Suffering is not the absence of God but the presence of the spirit moving our souls and shaping us to help those harshly affected by tragedy. And I will not say there is a reason for this tragedy but there will be comfort for those who are suffering, salvation for those who need it, because God is all powerful and all loving.
If you are looking for some scripture that could help you look at Romans 8:28. My roommate showed me. It’s just a little pick up if you are struggling in faith. Clearly not all of my thoughts on this could be contained onto this post so just come find me if you need to talk. Or comment and I will find you.
Just remember you are so Loved.

Following blindly is not following at all,
Cyrus Schaaf

'Testimony' Big Word for Life Story?

        I myself have never really felt a deep need to write anything to share… until now. The fact of the matter is that I am young in both life and faith. My theory on God’s character changes as I try to figure I only just being to scratch the surface of the complexities of God. My hypothesis is; God is powerful but kind, he is active but does not work in ways which are immediate or even apparent to the simplicity of the human mind, and for us to truly act how he intends we must first know that we are ignorant and then be active in seeking understanding of his character and word.

I am 20 years old and just starting to dive into the Biochemistry at my university in the Pacific Northwest. I am a Christian and have been most of my life but I am now struggling to learn about what that means. I am scientific and logical. The fact that I look at faith a bit differently is a large reason I feel that I need to share my way of thinking. Faith is spiritual and I have a difficult time trying to explain with any type of logic. As far as I see it a belief in having a personal relationship with God is the most farfetched thing to ever believe in or at least that is what I thought about a year and a half ago. I moved here to school in 2010 having never thought of my faith, of what I really thought was real. I was apathetic and ignorant. From what I have seen in the news and history from church I would never call myself a Christian. It’s amazing how much hatred I had for a group of people I knew nothing about. Don’t get me wrong I grew up in Boy scouts and would call myself a Jesus believer but never a Christian.

But I digress, I moved in with two guys that were some of the most Christian people I had ever met. Then I was instantly pulled into a group of friends whose lives revolved around this Bible book, this person who has been dead for thousands of years. When I say their lives revolved around this I mean some woke up at 7 each morning to memorize parts of the bible, and basically all of them throughout the year spent a large amount of time sitting in a circle robotically reading that book. I thought they were all crazy sitting in large gatherings singing songs about words that I for one did not understand. I mean common ‘Grace’ sounded more like a name than a thing to me. I listened to Friday night Church services about faith and picking up your cross. Quite frankly if you are confused by what I am writing that is exactly how I felt. I felt ignorant, stupid, and most of all, lost. It was like being from America and being friends with people that only spoke Latin. Let me clarify, I could understand some of it but most was like what I am writing now, gibberish. I knew nothing, nada, squat. I began to feel empty, as if I was missing something, maybe not so much empty as hungry. I wanted knowledge to fill my void. I wanted into the club, but not without knowing what I was getting into. If I was going to truly follow someone I was not going to do it blindly from ignorance.
I then had to put in some effort. I sought help from my best friend, Chelsea. See Chelsea has been a Christian her whole life. She has been tested through fire and from what I saw in her I would want to be a Christian whom was similar to her, Strong and independent but loving and open-minded. I knew a few things; one was that reading the bible was necessary. This is probably the most important thing for you all to understand about me, I didn’t just want to read the Bible I wanted to understand it. I wanted to be able to scientifically justify what happens in that damn book. And it is the hardest thing about my faith, where I am the most fragile. So I dove into Matthew, the first book I will ever fully read of the Bible, and it didn’t seem as ridiculous as I previously thought. With the help of Chelsea I looked for meaning, but strove for understanding.

Now a year later my faith has been shaken to its core. Broken down from the comfortable happiness by a tragedy in the dorm in which I live in. The point of my writing is this, I want to show a logical and clear representation of what I think faith is and what a belief in Jesus looks like to the left brained individual. I would like to warn you if you read my blog don’t expect to see, rainbows and butterflies, conventional Christian beliefs, and a spineless statement about my faith. I don’t expect anybody to think as I do or even to like it. I plan to share with you all a true representation of how I experience and understand God in my life. For my God hypothesis has yet to be proven but is tested each and every day.

Following blindly is not following at all,
Cyrus Schaaf


http://www.relevantmagazine.com/
http://3chronicles.blogspot.com