What does it mean when someone wears a cross? What if that person is a Christian, or a non-Christian? Is it ever wrong to wear a cross? There are roughly two answers to this question.

First, since the cross serves as a symbolic reminder for Christians that the creator God is not a distant divinity, but a flesh-and-blood human who died to rescue his creation, the cross should be worn with faith in Jesus and reverence for the great lengths he went to in his mission to save us.

But second, there still remains a value to the symbol of the cross, even when worn in unbelief. The very fact of its existence as jewelry stands as a witness to the unbelievable subversion of worldly political powers by the self-sacrificial power of God. In the Roman Empire, the cross was a tool of subjugation, of the public humiliation of those who dared oppose the power and claims of Caesar. The whole point of the cross was propaganda - if you dare oppose the Emperor you will be stripped naked, hung up in the middle of your town for all to see, and slowly killed by a symphony of pains and deprivations; in other words, it was designed to be deeply shameful. That Christians took this symbol of the death of a slave and co-opted it as the symbol of their God who became a suffering slave to defeat the evil powers that be and rescue his people from sin is historically astounding. And if the one who wears the cross necklace does not believe in this message (while incredibly important for the eternal destiny of that particular person), the power of the symbol itself can still not be undermined.

In this sense, the wearing of the cross as decoration or jewelry serves as a constant reminder to a culture which would like to forget it, that Jesus is Lord and no amount of effort to stamp him or his kingdom out will ever be successful - truly, the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

Subscribe to the show at https://cacg.saintjamesglencarbon.org.

To comment on this episode, visit https://saintjamesglencarbon.org/cacg-ep110.

An idea frequently heard from contemporary Christians is that the Bible is God’s “love letter” to humanity. But is this true? And if it is, why does so much of the Bible not read like a love letter? In this episode Chuck and Aaron discuss the question of the Bible’s genre and its relationship to God’s love.

While a main theme of the Bible is God’s love for his human creatures, it–contrary to a popular evangelical trope–is not a love letter to us.

First of all, the genre of scripture is not that of a letter; while there are letters in the Bible (e.g., the letters of Paul), so much of God’s Word reads completely differently than a letter: there are genealogies, rules, poetry, laws, and many other genres of writing. So fundamentally, the Bible is a story–the story of God’s plan to rescue his creation.

And secondly, the Bible is not written to any individual person but to a group of people, the church. To individualize the message of Scripture is to risk losing its cosmic scope, to minimize his plan to rescue–not just individuals, but–a new family to himself. But at the end of the day, the idea that the Bible is God’s love letter to me does capture an important reality. God does love me!

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

Subscribe to the show at https://cacg.saintjamesglencarbon.org.

To comment on this episode, visit https://saintjamesglencarbon.org/cacg-ep109.

How do pastors become pastors? How does God make pastors, and how do they know that’s what God wants them to be? And how do they know what church they should be at. In this episode Chuck and Aaron answer these questions and also talk about Aaron’s call to be a pastor.

Pastors are called by God to preach and teach the Gospel to the Christian church. In this sense the call is unique to this particular ministry. But in another sense the call to be a pastor is no different than the call to be a mother, or lawyer, or church musician. God gives each of his people gifts to use in loving him and loving each other, and these specific gifts will make clear what call each person has received from God. And for pastors, the question of which church they should serve at is also connected with the gifts God has given them. Which church can best use his gifts and cover his weaknesses?

Aaron is making the transition to pastoring a new church, so Chuck and Aaron discuss how Aaron and his family made the decision to leave St James and move to his new church.

And in related news, Chuck and Aaron also discuss the ongoing mission of Craving Answers Craving God, and how the podcast will continue producing episodes in spite of Aaron’s move.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

Subscribe to the show at https://cacg.saintjamesglencarbon.org.

To comment on this episode, visit https://saintjamesglencarbon.org/cacg-ep108.