Tag Archive for 'God'

Worth the Watch: Christless Christianity

Written by Colin. Published on May 20, 2010 ago in Religion and Theology. 8 Comments

I finally made it through the hours of video available from the “Christless Christianity” conference held by RC Sproul’s Ligonier Ministries. The whole thing is free online.

The material of the conference goes through the entire litany of false Christianity – everything from more obvious gospels based on prosperity and self-will, to those which I myself have seen creep into mainline conservative evangelical churches (and my own life): gospels of self-help, therapy and “just loving Jesus.” The conference is a supreme reminder of the importance of doctrine – and right doctrine at that.

Finally, the material ends quite aptly describing the solid biblical nature of reformed theology. I couldn’t help but be touched when the last two speakers described what it was like to come into the knowledge of good, consistent, biblical theology about God’s grace. One of the speakers had a similar b***ground to me; being saved in a pentecostal church, moving to an Armenian mainline evangelical church, and finally finding the doctrines of Grace and seeing the whole basis of his Christianity moving away from being about him and what he’s done / should do to being about God and what he has done.

Even for those who have not yet accepted Reformed Theology, the material is a great measure for what kind of gospel might be in your life or your church. It’s a call to a return to the basics of the gospel and a putting aside of the extra baggage we’ve attached to it.

Dealing With Disappointment in the Church

Written by Colin. Published on April 20, 2010 ago in Religion and Theology. 2 Comments

For those who have been through the process of a church change, may be thinking about it or might need to think about it someday (this basically means every Christian at this point) then this resource might be useful. Kevin DeYoung who authored Just Do Something, which I haven’t yet read, but from the reviews seems to put the correct emphasis on issues about “the will of God” has put together some great (short) blog posts about how to deal with a church that is disappointing:

Leaving a church is never something to undertake lightly, and humility is essential. Essential. These posts have some useful questions to ask yourself and hopefully can lead to resolution and change first before the nuclear weapon of “that’s it, we’re leaving” is dropped.

Links: Late Links Better Than No Links?

Written by Colin. Published on September 8, 2009 ago in Current Events. 29 Comments

Healthcare Debate
People are far more likely to go hungry in an NHS hospital than in a prison, researchers have said.

Nobody’s listening when it comes to discussing healthcare in the town hall meetings.

An article arguing that the NHS in England’s greatest failure is it trying to be both a public service and a provider in a competitive market. To a large extent, it makes sense that the NHS in England is doing poorly because its funds are being used to assist its competition, something experienced to a much lesser degree in Wales and Scotland which still tote the ‘socialist’ line.

God and Government
A New Hampshire court has ruled that a ten-year-old girl must attend public school, because “the girl was found to ‘lack some youthful characteristics,’ in part because she ‘appeared to reflect her mother’s rigidity on question of faith.’” Her mother had been homeschooling the girl when her father sued “because he believes home-schooling deprives her of socialization skills.” The mother is appealing with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund. The court ruling is here: KurowskiOrder.pdf

A video of Ben from Ben & Jerry’s about the federal budget and military spending in terms of Oreo cookies (along with ad advert for people to join the political group).

Michael Moore takes a shot at free market capitalism in his latest movie. Ironically however, this film probably won’t change much as it does not escape the capitalism it critiques.

Wacky-Jacky
‘Bumpaholics’ crave the belly-rubbing high: An article from Women’s Health magazine says that women have big families (that is, more than two children) “for many of the same reasons that substance abusers turn to booze or drugs.”

A company called StraighterLine is offering all-you-can-eat online college courses for $99 a month. The courses are for credit too, through affiliation with accredited partner universities, so they can be transfered pretty much anywhere just like any other class.

This extremely graphic clip from a larger video about the dangers of texting while driving has been getting some airplay on both sides of the pond. It was originally put on YouTube to show a few friends of the person producing/directing, but it was picked up by some random people and spread from there.

Can Christianity Stand Against Norse Paganism?

Written by Bryan. Published on April 13, 2009 ago in Essays, Philosophy, Religion and Theology. 37 Comments

I’m sure this title has some people scratching their head. “Of course it can,” you say to yourself “no one believes in Odin and Thor anymore.” Well that is not totally true, but yes, the majority of people have rejected Norse mythology as fact. They do not worship the Asgard or trim their nails before going into battle in an attempt to slow the coming of the end of the world (See Naglfar). But rejection of the literal truth of Norse Paganism (I use Norse Paganism as an example here since I am interested in it, I am sure similar theme(s) can be found in many other pagan beliefs) is not what this entry is about, I wish here to speak for a moment on the mindset and values of Norse mythology.

Norse mythology embodies strength. The warrior is at the center of the myth. It revolves around him and the strength he has to overcome evil, and receive glory and honour. These are themes that appeal to everyone. Everyone wants to be the hero, wants to overcome enemies on their own, everyone wants to have their praises sung. Christianity directly opposes these themes. It glories in weakness, and it tells people that they have no strength and deserve no glory.

What I mean here when I say Christianity glorifies weakness, I mean as a virtue. I mean what Peter Leithart says in Against Christianity “Few Christians have been as astute readers of Paul as Nietzsche [See The Geneology of Morality]. Pagan that he was, he could see what Paul was up to. He could see that Paul was slyly going about the business of ‘transvaluating all values,’ at least pagan ones, giving new names and encouraging as virtue behavior once considered disgraceful.”

Against Pagan virtues and values Christians have lifted up: Humbleness, humility, meekness, submission, and charity. We have denounced pride, strength, glory, and power. We relate to the servant and reject being the master. This is what I mean when I say Christians “glorify in weakness”

The Christian is still weak after they become a Christian. The gospel is a gospel of weakness (In that it is antithetical to pagan thought), it’s admitting that we can not do what we need to do on our own and that we need to give ourselves up to Christ. This does not only happen when one becomes a Christian, but is the continual pattern of the Christian life.

Look at what Paul says about the weakness of the Christian:

1Co 2:3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. …  (Read More)

2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

And when Paul does speak of power, it is not his own, but God’s power, which comes in his weakness:

2Co 13:4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

The scriptures take what was virtue, and changes it. What was the virtues that pagans strove for are now considered “bad” by Christians, and what was considered weak by pagans are now “good” for Christians. Christianity therefore embraces weakness and glorifies in it. The Christian savior died in the most humiliating way possible at the hands of those had strength. Yes, power comes out in the end, but that power comes through weakness.

When these two views clash why then would anyone choose the Christian values? Why would someone stand up and choose weakness over strength?

There can be only one answer; those who choose Christianity over Norse paganism have come to understand that they have no strength. One who is sure of his own strength will never choose Christianity. This is what is meant when Christian speak of brokenness. Unless one has tried to live like a Norse warrior and failed they will always reject the Christian worldview. Until one sees their own strength as an illusion they will continue to embrace it. In this Christianity is a religion of failures.

This is not to say that there is no glory and strength in Christianity, but that as opposed to Norse mythology, it is directed away from the individual and towards God. Not only is it direct towards God, but it comes out of our own weakness. It is, quite literally, the pagan world turned upside down.

What then is the answer to the opening question? If men can succeed on their own strength then Christianity has nothing on Norse Paganism. If however, the strength that is lifted up as virtue in Norse Paganism is unattainable in reality, then Christianity is there for all who fail.

A Christian Case Against Capital Punishment

Written by Colin. Published on March 23, 2009 ago in Essays and Politics. 125 Comments

A friend of this blog posted an excellent and thorough defence of the death penalty from a Christian perspective here. While I don’t really care to go through the ins and outs of the author’s points, one of the pieces he cited, a column by Dennis Prager, gets to the essence of the divide and shows where those trying to reconcile the bible with state enforced capital punishment go wrong.

Here is a look at each of three arguments Prager makes and my response to them.

Murder Must Be Punished?

1. It is a cosmic injustice to allow a murderer to keep his life.

This actually is true. Yes, God prescribed that if a man is guilty of murder, then he is to be put to death. He gave this command in several ways. It is also clear that justice demands this in both old and new covenant. Noah was given this command (Genesis 9:5-6), as were the Israelites. Though Jesus commands us to turn the other cheek, I am not yet convinced that this means that just retribution is also nullified. Secondly, just because scripture gives clear teaching that death is a legitimate penalty for some crimes, does not mean that the bible also condones the process that is currently in practice.

Capital Punishment Shows Society that Murder is More Evil?

2. Killing murderers is society’s only way to teach how terrible murder is. The only real way a society can express its revulsion at any criminal behavior is through the punishment it metes out. If murderers all got 10 years in prison and thieves all got 20 years in prison, that would be society’s way of saying that thievery is worse than murder. A society that kills murderers is saying that murder is more heinous a crime than a society that keeps all its murderers alive.

I agree in principle, but the application is not consistent. It is true that murder is more terrible in society than, say, stealing. But this is not because murder is inherently more sinful, but because the effects of murder are more severe – that is why society punishes it more severely. God will punish murder and stealing equally – all is sin – there are no shades of grey. In society, however, we punish murder with death because the effects against those murdered are permanent. We can always pay someone back or make restitution for other crimes. Murder removes that option.

However, punishment does not exist to show how bad something is. Punishment exists to bring justice. If we punished things in society on proportion to how “wrong” they are – then we must call for the death penalty for everything – even thoughts. We deserve hell and judgement for every word and thought (Hebrews 4:12).

As Christians, it is key that we realise that the bible cannot and should not be made the absolute authority for secular laws. In fact, the bible itself declares that it is not the bible which rules over governments, but God (Romans 13:1). It is not man’s job to implement the punishments for God’s laws on earth – we can’t – the punishment for breaking God’s law is hell. We can’t send people to hell.

What the bible declares is our job, is to tell men God’s law – to show them they have broken it and proclaim the gospel to them. So when we are dealing with crimes (as opposed to sins) – we are now outside of the realm of punishing sin and enforcing morality as the bible lays out. This does not mean we abandon the bible, in fact, we should embrace the bible and use it as a guide for informing our legal and judicial systems. For example, we can now see that murder is wrong not only because it is a sin, but because it goes against those laws which God has put in place in his creation. It disrupts this order in a criminal way – a perpetrator, a victim and an act of aggression.

Capital Punishment Deters Future Murders?

3. It can, if widely enacted, deter some murders. Though I regard this as a less important argument than the first two, there is no doubt that it is true. Everyone acknowledges that punishments can deter all other crimes — why wouldn’t capital punishment deter some murders? Is murder the only crime unaffected by punishment?

First, let me say that I find this “widely enacted” language downright scary. There is no question that men have the ability to coerce men into not doing things by threatening to kill them. This does not take massive amounts of brain power to realise.

However, just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should. Again, while obviously justice will deter crime in the future (men are inherently evil and will kill, steal, lie, blaspheme, etc…) it is not the primary purpose of justice to do this. We can’t confuse the indirect benefits of justice with the primary motives – justice exists primary to redress wrongs and establish a set of agreed-upon standards for ordering society. Again, the execution of justice will deter crime on its own -but this is not a selling point for the death penalty. The only question that is of primary importance is: is it just?

What About The Innocent?
I also want to address what I feel is the heart of my own objection to the death penalty as it now is administered – the fact that innocent people can and will be executed. Prager:

My answer has always been that this is so rare (I do not know of a proved case of mistaken execution in America in the last 50 years) that society must be prepared to pay that terrible price. Why? Among other reasons, because more innocents will be killed by murderers who are not executed (in prison, or once released or if they escape) than will be killed by the state in erroneous executions.

So, yes, I acknowledge the possibility of an innocent being killed by the state because of a mistaken murder conviction. But we often have the tragedy of innocents dying because of a social policy. I support higher speed limits even when shown that they lead to more traffic fatalities. I support the right of people to drink alcohol even though the amount of violence directly emanating from alcohol consumption — from drunk drivers to spousal and child abuse — is so high.

And now I have an additional argument. Regarding murder, it is not only those of us who support capital punishment who support a policy that can lead to the killing of innocents. So do almost all those opposed to capital punishment. Nearly all opponents of capital punishment (and many supporters of capital punishment) believe that if the police obtained evidence illegally, the conviction of a murderer should be overturned.

There are several breaches of logic and morality in this statement.

The argument put forward here is this: in order to have justice, society must accept a unjust system. This is double-speak. A logical fallacy. It does not add up. One cannot say that injustice is justice.

What would it be called if the state executed an innocent man? The answer is: murder. Killing innocent people is murder – regardless of whether it is a gang on the street or a government with flags and uniforms. If we have to have to tolerate murder – a heinous, terrible crime and moral evil – in order to be free of other murders, then I cannot condone it. I cannot support murder. I cannot! It doesn’t matter what the motives, ends or stated goals are- murder is evil – always!

In a case of clear cut guilt, then I think that we can execute a person. However, I believe that the state is incapable of achieving this kind of omniscience. So while the death penalty is acceptable in theory, it is not really applicable in practice. The death penalty can be good, right and moral – but only if it is carried out without injustice. Having a “justice system” where, built into the system, are crimes themselves is not acceptable for a Christian to support.

Prager also adds the following:

The people who believe in this policy do so knowing that it will lead to the murder of innocent people… So those who still wish to argue for keeping all murderers alive will need to argue something other than “an innocent may be killed.” They already support a policy that ensures innocents will be killed.

This is another logic game. Prager is arguing that lesser crimes must be broken in order to punish greater ones. If a person desires to be morally consistent(not committing any crimes) that they are responsible for the choices that others make. Again, this kind of tribal mentality is a little scary. Because I support someone’s right to not be tortured, abused or spied upon- I would be partially responsible if this person then went and murdered someone? Outrageous.

The bible makes it clear that each individual is responsible to God for the choices he makes. We are called to warn and educate those who are in danger of sin of their peril. But if they continue on in sin (or crimes) then they are responsible. It is not our job to police potential crimes – preventative actions that commit crimes against others (regardless of the motives) are wrong.

This gets to the heart of the issue. Christians must avoid compromising with the world. We must not allow men, popular culture, traditions or governments to dominate over what God has revealed is true and good. We are not obligated, just because the government tells us so, or because everyone generally accepts it, to go along with a system or set of laws that we know is wrong.

The relativistic and subjective wills of society and governments are not to trump the objective truth of God and his revealed word. This means that we have to be willing to have our views on capital punishment (and indeed, many laws that violate biblical laws) challenged.

Our Introduction to the Holy Spirit

Written by Chris A. Published on June 11, 2008 ago in Religion. 4 Comments
This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series The Role of the Holy Spirit in Church

Drawn to the Father
There is a time in the life of every believer when he is introduced to the Holy Spirit; more precisely the Holy Spirit introduces the sinner to Jesus. Jesus alluded to this in John 6.

44″No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.

Although the Father and the Son are mentioned in this passage and not the Holy Spirit, we must understand that the process of one being drawn to the Father through the Son is not done apart from the Spirit. Jesus sheds more light on this process and the specific role of the Holy Spirit in John 16. Speaking of the Holy Spirit Jesus said,

8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. 12″I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

Here we see that the Holy Spirit is intimately involved in revealing one’s own sinful nature so that he is in a position to receive Jesus, who is the only way to the Father. Anyone who ever truly came to faith in Christ did so after the Holy Spirit convinced him of his sin and revealed to him the way of salvation. We must keep in mind, however, that the Holy Spirit’s ability to convict unbelievers of sin hinges on our obedience to communicate the Gospel. Without the preaching of this message the sinner would not have a basis for repentance, and would not be able to receive Jesus.

A Historical Account
In Acts 2:14-36 we see the Holy Spirit working in conjunction with the preaching of the Gospel to bring about the conversion of the hearers. Notice the response of those who heard Peter preach the Gospel in verses 37-41:

37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Verse 37 says that those who heard the message were “cut to the heart.” This is the conviction of the Holy Spirit in action. However, their conversion did not end there. Peter instructed them on what they had to do to receive salvation. I mention this to stress that the Holy Spirit is our helper, but he alone does not bring salvation. He works in concert with believers who are led by him.

The Holy Spirit is not an Evangelist
I have heard believers pray that someone would get convicted of their sin and come to faith in Christ. Such prayers are really useless if no one ever bothers to share the Gospel with them because God has ordained that men, not angels or the Holy Spirit, preach the Gospel. A more biblical method of prayer for the lost is described by Jesus himself.

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field (Luke 10:2).

A New Creation
Scripture teaches us that Christians are new creations born from above. A Christian is not an improved fallen creation, but an altogether new species of being created in Christ Jesus, born of the Holy Spirit. The prophet Ezekiel was able to see into the time when this would be possible.

19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God (Ezekiel 11:19, 20).

In John 3, Jesus explained this more fully to Nicodemus.

3In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

4″How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

5Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Here Jesus makes mention of two births: a natural birth and a spiritual birth. He contrasts the outward man (or flesh) with the inward man (or spirit). Being born into the kingdom of God is a rebirth of the human spirit by the operation of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the new creation is entirely spiritual, making a person both alive to God and dead to sin (Romans 6:11).

So then Christians do not have a sin nature in the same way unbelievers do. We still have the flesh, which is sinful by nature, but being dead to sin we are freed from sin (Romans 6:7). The old spiritual sin nature has been done away with because God make Jesus to be sin on our behalf, effectively redeeming us from the bondage of sin so that we may walk in newness of life (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21). While the unredeemed are overcome by the world, those who are born of God overcome the world (1 John 4:4, 5:4, 5:5). This is the privilege of being made a new creation indwelled by the Spirit of God.

A Biblical Case Against Drug Prohibition and Anti-Prostitution Laws

Written by Colin. Published on February 13, 2008 ago in Politics and Religion. 13 Comments

Author’s Note: This article arose from a discussion following last Friday’s set of links. It was buried in the comments of that piece and is being brought out separately for consideration as part of its own case. For clarity and consistency, there have been some changes and additions to the original post.

Because there is no specific (or implied) biblical mandates for how we are to address the secular legality of drugs and prostitution (some would stop me here and cite certain commandments, but I will deal with those later). Indeed, there is very little political philosophy in the bible at all – we must use a different approach. One legitimate way to determine biblicality then, is to draw logical conclusions from the fundamental nature of God revealed in scripture. There may also be related or implied passages that can then be applied with the knowledge of God’s character. To start, let’s explore the fundamental nature of God, as it relates to these issues.

God Unilaterally Grants, Respects and Supports Free-will through Allowing Choice
God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree, but he left the tree in the garden (Genesis 2:9). He left the choice available to them (and they chose poorly). God gave his law to the people and allowed them to chose if they would follow him (Joshua 24:14-15) – he did not make them robots which unconditionally loved him. Jesus died for all mankind and God desires that all men be saved (2 Peter 3:9), but he doesn’t force them into heaven. He does not force them to repent and believe. He educates, he explains the consequences, he unabashedly reveals his desire that men would turn from sin (and drugs and prostitution are sins, morally evil in the sight of God) but yet he does not whisk the drugs and lust away as he well could.

God holds absolute respect for the order he gave the world, and the freedom he gave man. He demonstrates his love by declaring, in frank terms, the consequences for evil that man will bring upon himself if he continues to chose poorly. God’s respect of freewill is based on education, love and choice not on fear and control (2 Timothy 1:7).

Each individual man is responsible for his own sins. Fathers aren’t punished for their son’s sins. God will not destroy the righteous with the wicked. A sin that anyone commits, from lies, murder, drug-use, lust, fornication, etc… is soley accountable to the man who did it. No one else is punished (Ezekiel 18:20).

Real Change Only Comes Through Conversion
The only way a man can make morally good choices is through conversion, otherwise he is darkness (Ephesians 5:8). It is not compliance with God’s law, in and of itself, which converts a man. God’s law is an educational tool, not a list of requirements. Obedience to the law is totally unable to produce actual inward change (conversion). Conversion takes place by education about the law (Psalm 19:7).

The law reveals that man is sinful and requires a supernatural change (Romans 3:20). Through understanding the purpose of the law, he is empowered to seek Gods power to convert his soul and make wise, morally good choices. But God still does not remove the choices, reminding the man whenever he choses evil, that he must depend on God for goodness, not on his own willpower. Were God to remove choice after conversion, man would consider God’s work a one-time-only solution, and not a consistent change in lifestyle for the rest of his life. The converted man now despises sin and is convicted when he sins – the unconverted man has no ability to gauge sin, and has only the inward inclination to continue in sin, without a real desire to change. Sin is not effectively addressed without conversion. Christians have no other solution or alternative to see man actually turn from sin.

Prohibitions on drugs and prostitution are a tremendous detriment to conversion, which is the called work of the church. By forcing the right choice (by removing wrong choices), we disable a man to chose correctly. It is required of a man to humble himself and chose to follow God – this is the responsibility associated with free-will (Micah 6:8). In order to turn from sin, there must be sin to turn from – otherwise it’s a false choice. God is smart enough not to do this, are Christians smart enough to obey God?

Christians Must Emulate God
As Christians (”Christ-like”, “little Christs”) it is our job to emulate God (Ephesians 5:1) not to do things our way, and violate his order. That means we must never (because God does not ever) violate free-will. He has given us no permission to do so and will not because he himself does not violate his own order.

We see that God will act on behalf of innocents to protect them from violations of their free-will by others. And, not surprisingly in perfect consistency, man is given jurisdiction to protect against violations of the above (Gen 9:6), not to violate God’s order and infringe these things. There was, at least, some Christian foundation to our country, as these principles were enshrined in the declaration of Independence. Namely, that

…all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

How Should the Christian Deal With All Sin?
To determine what the Christian should do, we must determine what God does. God will punish sin in the day of judgment. His “punishment” though, is interesting because it is a punishment of ultimate permission. That is, God submits his desire that all would be saved to the principle of free-will, and allows man an eternity of total absence from God and all things pertaining to his nature (love, joy, goodness, hope, light, etc…). God’s punishment is not a negative punishment, but a positive one. It affirms man’s freewill rather than deny it (Galatians 6:7).

Continue reading ‘A Biblical Case Against Drug Prohibition and Anti-Prostitution Laws’

Weekly Links: God Ordains Huckabee, Price Controls are Cool Again

Written by Colin. Published on December 7, 2007 ago in General. 18 Comments

God Strikes Again
At Liberty University, Mike Huckabee basically claims that he’s getting a helping hand from God.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSQNSlUUoOc[/youtube]

God must really be wanting a smoking ban and a national sales tax. Naturally of course, we all thought God was already voting for Giuliani, seeing as how he wants all those terrorists dead.

Price Controls Are Back
Welcome back price controls, we missed you! George Bush has decided to freeze interest rates to “help out” poor people of course. But this rhetoric is not to be confused with the “save our economy” talk as well – isn’t it nice when these two things magically line up. Of course, no one is talking about the fact that interest rates were dramatically lowered in 2001 and 2002, likely well below market levels causing the very malinvestment that we are paying for today. Unintended consequences are already being predicted.

More Politics
John Edwards’ latest ad says the systems is rigged against you. (video)

Matthew Yglesias says Mitt Romney’s problem is that he did not decide to flip-flop on religion by abandoning his Mormon faith for something more palatable to the Republican base.

In Iraq, “The size of the corruption exceeds the imagination”.

A timeline has just been created of significant acts by the Bush Administration to curtail civil liberties and privacy rights.

Watch what you say on this and other blogs – you may be arrested.

An application for analyzing political values: http://idealog.org/

In Addition
Chris Tilling asks what “proof-texting” means.

An interesting look at Pullman’s Hid Dark Materials trilogy (you know, what the movie Golden Compass is based on): link

God Actually Likes It When We Do Good Things

Written by Hungry Sasquatch. Published on October 19, 2007 ago in Religion. 31 Comments

Editor’s note: In the spirit of pursuing truth and engaging different views, Zeal For Truth will publish guest commentaries such as today’s article written by Josh Herchenroeder. He received a degree in Bible from Abilene Christian University, and then spent three years auditing grad school.

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” These words, taken from Isaiah 64:6, have become a banner verse for many conservative Christians. All believers who think we’re pathetic, horrible people who can’t get anything right or impress God in any way rally to this standard which seems to legitimize their low view of humanity. The prophet’s words become a universal indictment of Earth’s citizens. I have serious problems with this line of thinking. Not only does it ignore both the immediate context in Isaiah and the broader biblical witness, but it doesn’t even make sense.

Context Explained
The dominant theme of Isaiah 63 and 64 is confession and repentance. The prophet, speaking on behalf of the Israelite people, recognizes their corporate sin and its consequences, and he pleads with God to forgive and bring restoration.

The image that the text brings to mind is of a young lover who has wounded his beloved and realized his mistake, and now finds himself knocking on her door, holding a bundle of flowers up to the peephole. He doesn’t try to persuade her with rational arguments, but instead says things like, “I’m sorry. You’re right, I’m wrong. You’re beautiful, I’m ugly. I’m the dumbest guy ever for saying/doing/thinking that.” Is he truly the dumbest guy ever? Probably not. In the same way, the prophet uses self-deprecating hyperbole to say, “We’re screwed up and we can’t do anything right…will you take us back anyway?”

Even if my interpretation is off, it’s still difficult to argue Isaiah 64:6 is a blanket statement on God’s opinion of our actions. Just look one verse earlier: “You come to the help of those who gladly do right…” If our good deeds truly are filthy rags to God, why would he be interested in helping people for doing right?

Jesus Weighs In
I could run off a list of verses which offer a different perspective on how God feels about our righteousness, but I would rather explore an illustration Jesus uses to reveal God’s character. Matthew 7:9-11 reads,

Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?

Jesus acknowledges that, while we are flawed and certainly not on God’s level, we can give good gifts. But what if we invert the parent/child metaphor and place God on the receiving end—after all, are not our good deeds gifts to our heavenly father?

A young child takes a few crayons and a piece of paper, and five minutes later presents an incoherent scribble to his or her mother. She doesn’t glance at it and declare, “This is crap; you’re a lousy artist.” No, her eyes widen with delight, and before you know it, the refrigerator has another masterpiece hanging on the door. If we respond with such joy at the meager offering of our children, how much more so does God, the source of all that is good in the world!

Does it Even Make Sense?
My house was broken into and robbed last week, and I was still in a foul mood when I showed up to work the next day. A cleaning lady named Ana stopped by my station to talk for awhile. Now, she barely knows any English, and I only know about twelve words in Spanish (and they’re all foods) but this has never deterred her from chattering on for several minutes straight. It always makes me smile, and this day was no exception. Later that day someone randomly brought me a cinnamon bagel, which also made me smile. These two small gestures brightened my day when I really needed it. Did God look at those two acts that were so meaningful to me and say, “That’s gross!”

And what about volunteers who are trying to bring peace and healing to a ravaged Darfur region? Surely God doesn’t view their efforts as useless.

In Man’s Search for Meaning,” Viktor Frankl recounts his tortured existence in a Nazi extermination camp. But alongside the horrors, he tells of the powerful impact when someone could find the strength within himself to offer encouragement, or even to generously offer his daily piece of bread to another. Did God observe such episodes and toss them in the laundry heap? Perhaps, instead, he thought to himself, “Yes, this is what I created them to do. See, even in the worst of times, my creatures can still do good.”

I really don’t have any way of knowing what goes through God’s mind, but I’m not sure why anyone would want to follow a God who treats our best efforts with contempt. Love is reciprocal in any legitimate relationship. If our good deeds truly are filthy rags to God, then how can anyone convincingly argue that he wants our love? If our righteous acts are no more than a dirty dishcloth, then what’s the point of moral living?

God is Selfish (and that’s ok)

Written by Colin. Published on July 20, 2007 ago in Religion. 6 Comments

Selflessness has been a constant mantra in the church – especially in modern times. It is held by many Christians that the greatest and noblest virtue is self-sacrifice – after all, was this not demonstrated by Jesus’ death on the cross? Is that not the crux of much of the New Testament and the message carried throughout the Old?

Let’s take a closer look at our terms in this examination. Selfishness, as it is defined in modern dictionaries, is indeed a very negative trait because most dictionaries make selfishness at the expense of others. Yet we see that this is not the case. For example, John Stossel talks about the “double thank you” when you buy a hamburger. A hungry man selfishly desires some food; a profit-seeking business selfishly desires money – rather than beat each other up for what the other has, they trade and both are better off by the result – both are grateful. This is how selfishness is a driving force behind cooperation, consent, free-will and even morality. So selfishness does not require exploitation, rather, selfishness is an expression of will. There is no victim in virtuous selfishness.

We know that God has such a will. It is the praise given in Revelation 4:11:

You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.

Paul speaks of it at the beginning of Colossians (1:16):

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Ultimately everything was created, not for humanity or out of some blind sense of sacrifice, but for God himself. It is the supreme, holy and sovereign will of God that everything is as it is. God is without need – he is perfect and complete. He is the essence of the self and thus his will is in perfect selfishness.

Jesus’ death and resurrection, the central aspect to Christianity, must be realized as the will of God – that is what makes it so amazing. It is God’s will that Jesus died for our sins. The love of God is so selfish, so complete, that Jesus would even die for it – not as an affirmation of selflessness, but as the most noble expression of his will.

God is so consistent, so thorough, that he would give more than any of us ever could to save us from our the poor choices made in our free-will. Thus, God does not give out of self-sacrifice because he is not made worse off overall. Just like the man who buys a hamburger, he loses something (the death of Christ on the Cross) but he gains something better than he had to give – reconciliation with his creation.

Paul wrote with such clarity on this subject as he continues in Colossians (1:19-21):

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled…

When Jesus chose the will of the father – he was not sacrificing himself, but aligning with the perfect will of God. That phrase, “not my will but yours be done” was an acknowledgment by Jesus of his purpose for coming. It was a recognition of the tremendous cost that the will of the Father required in order to reconcile men to God.

This subject is made unnecessarily difficult to discuss because the term “selfish” has come to gain such a terrible definition in both society and the church. Quite a number of teachings and sermons focus on this word as the enemy, or the essence of pride. But selfishness is only pride when it becomes rebellion against the will of God. Selfishness is actually a requirement of salvation because we must make the same decision Jesus did – to accept the will of the Father as better than our state of rebellion. We must chose it, selfishly.

However, some readers will not make it past the term to see the meaning. That is unfortunate because understanding true selfishness gives the love of God and the power of the gospel full meaning. Knowing that God’s will is so loving towards unregenerate humanity is truly amazing.