Rethinking Holiness

Not all that long ago I was sitting and chatting with my wife and she made a comment that we are not as concerned about holiness as we once were. Her comment was in the context of us having journeyed outside of more formal church structures that had reformed theological systems of belief and a more fundamentalist outlook on life toward the freedom that we had found within the house church that we had started and the liberty that we discovered in Christ in this time. This grace and liberty had lessened the fear of been smitten by the Lord that we previously walked in and the example that she shared was that today we were more likely to watch something on TV today whereas, in the past, we would have switched it off the first time that we heard someone cuss.

Her reflection was accurate as well, while I still consider myself a conservative person, I do appreciate music that sometimes has naughty words in it. I’ll watch a show like the Walking Dead even though it’s filled with zombies and violence. And I’ll laugh hard at an inappropriate joke made on the Grand Tour. I could try and justify these things by saying that it has not corrupted me in any way, I never use coarse language myself, or encourage and applaud violence but at the end of the day I have to admit that my standards have changed.

My response on the day was that I think that my definition of holiness had somewhat changed over time which was manifesting in our lives subconsciously. Holiness was and is still important but it had become less of a personal discipline and morphed more into a relational expression toward others. What I mean by that is that growing up I always thought of holiness as meaning don’t drink, don’t swear, don’t smoke, don’t listen to angry music (I battled with that one), don’t watch movies that have any sort of age restriction on them, don’t hang out at bad places and don’t hang out with people who do any of the above. In other words, holiness was about abstaining from certain behavioral issues that were or had the appearance of evil.

And some of those things above probably are good to avoid with one or two debatable ones in there as well. Yet my old, narrow view of holiness as you may have noticed, was very negative and all about abstinence. It was all inward focused on not doing bad things but had very little positive application in ones life. So how do I see things now and what does it mean to be ‘set apart’? I think that at this stage I see holiness as an expression of love more than anything else. Holiness is not so much about what I am good at resisting (though that is important) as much as it is about how I relate to others around me that is unique or in contrast to the ways of the world. This certainly still carries inward connotations for sure, it requires more dying to self and the same sort of discipline as before, it’s just more others centered which means that it is more about doing good than it is about been good.

You see, I can abstain from all sorts of appearances of evil, I might not ever get drunk, be rude to people, sleep around, get into fights or similar things. Instead I could spend the day fishing or hiking in the mountains having never done anything ‘bad’ all day. But does that make me holy? I don’t think so. Thinking about these things I went and had a look at a few scriptures on holiness, and I soon discovered that holiness is intrinsically relational. In 2 Corinthians 7:1 for example, Paul urges us to ‘perfect holiness in the fear of God’, in the next verse he elaborates by saying that we should wrong no one, corrupt no one and cheat no one. Paul associates holiness with our conduct toward others.

I recently read the comic-style biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the faith Spy, and it documents a moment during his travels where he has an epiphany about been a good person verses doing good, faith to Dietrich had become something more than as intellectual study or exercise and shifted into something that demanded action in the face of evil. I see the same thing with Peter when he makes a similar observation where he associates holiness with ones conduct, “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16). Likewise the author of Hebrews urges his readers to “pursue peace with all people and holiness” (12:14). I don’t think that it is possible to do one without the other.

Lastly, the verse that stood out the most for me was in Ephesians 5:1-3, keep in mind that the Greek word for holiness is ‘ἅγιος’ (hagios) and is, in this case, translated as ‘saint’.

Therefore be imitators of God dear children. And walk in love, as Christ has also loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting of saints.

My take away from this is that the saints (holy ones) are to live sacrificial, others centered lives, guarding their own thoughts and actions as we walk in love. The definition of holiness I am advocating for above does not detract from the previous definition that I held too, but it certainly calls for a broadening of what we think that it means to be set apart. What this may look like in practical terms, a decade ago I would have declined an offer for an alcoholic beverage ten times out of ten, setting me apart from others in whatever group environment I happened to find myself in. Today, I would probably still decline a drink because I just don’t really like most alcoholic beverages, but I might also say yes to appease my host, or to relax, share and enjoy the moment and a connection with another person. The point is, what was once a hard and fast rule is now more just a moment by moment decision guided by the principle of loving others as you love yourself. Maybe I don’t want to appear to be a religious stick in the mud and having a drink might cause my friend to open up more than he would have if I simply said, “no thanks I don’t drink”. Maybe this is why Jesus was happy enough to sit around a table flowing with wine and questionable characters. His holiness was certainly not lessened by it as He let His love for others and His Father motivate His actions. Of course, there are places that have no grey areas, sexual immorality for example is always harmful and therefore the opposite of loving. 

Perhaps we do not need to complicate things so much. Remember Jesus’ new commandment, the golden rule, and I guarantee that we will stay on course in pursuing holiness as well.        

The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of those rare voices whose appeal seems to transcend denominational boundaries. He is kind of like Europe’s Watchman Nee in that regard. His ideas and teachings, amid the backstory of been a pastor in Germany during World War 2 is simply fascinating. So when Hendrix’s book, The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler crossed my path, I jumped at the opportunity to review it.

This book is perhaps one of the most unique reads that I have had the privilege of reviewing. It reads like a biography but not really, as it intertwines the stories of both Dietrich Bonhoeffer as well Adolf Hitler together. The author makes use of both direct quotes (clearly marked with an *) and some speculative dialogue, the artistic license really helps to add to the drama, fill in the blanks and move the story along with easy transitions from scene to scene. Additionally, the simultaneous telling of two different stories and the philosophies that drove each individual is accentuated by the stark contrast between the two men.   

The Faithful Spy also reads like a history book, but not really, recounting Hitler’s rise to power, his military conquests, strategies and eventual defeat. There is just the right amount of information shared to keep one fully interested without ever running off into long and boring non-essentials. While John Hendrix himself mentions that he is not a historian and relied on the hard work of others to bring us the story, I feel like I could say the same to him, as he did the hard work of researching and condensing some of the most interesting and important moments from Bonhoeffer and Hitler’s lives and World War 2 and presenting them in a way that is entertaining, educational and enlightening.   

This book also reads like a comic or graphic novel, but not really. There are portions with strictly text and then there are large pictures as well as multiple-sequence panels that we would traditionally associate with comic books. All of the artwork is done on a limited palette of black, turquoise (for Dietrich) and red (for the Nazi's) and I don’t know how else to say it other than that everything somehow comes together and works well. It’s pleasing on the eye, the portions of text are never too lengthy that they become difficult or laborious to read; perhaps this is to make it appeal to a younger audience but I have to say that it worked for me and I personally found it refreshing, daring and original.

Regarding the story itself, Hendrix documents Dietrich’s upbringing and highlights some of the pivotal moments in his development, much of which I was unfamiliar with, having not been included in other books and films that I had previously read or watched on his life. Perhaps most significant would be his pilgrimage to Rome and how he was deeply impacted by the multitudes and singing witnessed at a Catholic mass, this changed his perspective on what the church was and is and liberated him from the idea that God was simply an academic exercise to be studied. Then during his studies in New York he got to see what the church looked like in action, at the forefront of the battle against racism and social injustice. Bonhoeffer had learned the difference between been a good person and doing good, and he would bring these ideas from lessons learned back to Germany with the conviction that faith required doing good in the face of evil, that his actions mattered and that he needed to help people wherever it was needed. This also drove him to confront one of the most difficult of questions one might ever be faced with, what is the duty of a person in the face of overwhelming evil? Could he be an accomplice in an assassination attempt when presented with the opportunity to kill Hitler?

Faced with these questions, Dietrich joined the resistance against Hitler, acting as a double agent and the book gives a fascinating account of these assassination attempts as well as Hitler’s lucky escapes and how the resistance avoided getting caught for so long. Eventually, Bonhoeffer’s involvement in the conspiracy against Hitler is discovered after he had already been imprisoned and he is sentenced to death only days before Germany was finally liberated from Nazi rule.

This is not just a history lesson or riveting novel. This book shows us just how easily a tyrant can rise to power and seduce the masses. It also shows us that the church and individuals can go several ways in such times and leaves the reader asking themselves which way to go, we can be seduced by power or scared into self-preservation, we can try to fight fire with fire or we can seek alternative non-violent solutions.

I received a copy of this book from Speakeasy in exchange for an honest review, fortunately I can say that I loved everything about it. It’s an easy read, its message is ageless and it will appeal to people of all ages, I highly recommend it. You can find a copy of it by clicking over here.