Reformation Ramblings

Conversation

2009-04-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

"I can't believe in the doctrine of unconditional election"

"Why not?"

"Because its not fair"

"How do you come to that conclusion?"

"I believe everyone has the opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel at least once in their life"

"What do you mean 'at least once'?

"Well, of course some people hear the Gospel more than one time"

"Is that fair?"

Will They Be Consistent?

2008-12-29T04:49:00.000-08:00

For years the belief of the seeker-sensitive movement has been that results can be used to measure success. Any time their approach to 'doing church' has been criticized the response has been 'but look at how many people we have' or 'look at how many Baptisms we've done this year' to justify their approach as if the number of bodies in the seats somehow trumps any other consideration.

Now with things like this beginning to happen, I wonder if we'll find consistency among our seeker-sensitive bretheren? Will they take a church bankruptcy as a sign that what they're doing has not, after all, been correct?

I'm not holding my breath.

Who Protects Whom?

2008-12-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

Is the primary responsibility of a nation's military the protection of themselves or of the civilian population of that nation? William Grigg ponders this as he considers the recent tragedy in San Diego:

Leviathan Devours a Family

Let's Get Rickey!

2008-12-04T06:15:00.001-08:00

Do you remember the old Life Cereal commercial?

The kids don't want to eat the cereal because they've heard it's good for them so the enlist the help of "Mikey" their younger brother. "Let's get Mikey" they say and sure enough "Mikey" eats it up.

Rick Warren is the Mikey of inter-faith efforts. Any time they need a Christian voice to lend support to one of these things, he's there to 'eat it up' and lend the impression that all religions are basically the same.

While Life Cereal may be good for you, allowing the world to believe that Christianity is just another religion, not all that different from any other, or that caring for the poor is the Gospel rather than a result of the Gospel most decidedly is not.

Timing Is Everything

2008-12-02T07:29:00.000-08:00

Gosh...if she'd only killed him a year ago, she wouldn't be in all this trouble.

Women in the Military

2008-12-01T05:43:00.000-08:00

Aside from things like males being responsible for the protection of females rather than being complicit in putting them in harms way, here are 10 more reasons putting women in the military is a bad idea:

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Egalitarian Nirvana

2008-09-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

More news to warm the hearts of egalitarians everywhere! We even have the husband staying behind to tend the kiddies, who could ask for more?

Mother & Son Going off to War Together

Representative DeFazio on the "Bailout"

2008-09-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

While I would disagree with Representative DeFazio (D-Oregon) that the solution is more government regulation, or, heaven forbid, taking an ownership position in private business, much of what he says rings true.

Getting Out of Iraq

2008-07-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

Ron Paul provides a very sobering analysis today of the issues around our presence in Iraq. You can read it here.

I pray that those in power in this country will wake up to the realities of the situation in Iraq and will have the willingness and backbone to do what is right before its too late. I especially pray that efforts among many in the present administration to widen the conflict into Iran will be thwarted. Should we make the mistake of attacking yet another nation, either directly or using Israel as our proxy, I shudder to think of the consequences, both to our nation and others. Bismark, no dove by any stretch of the imagination, once said that preventive war is like committing suicide to avoid death. I pray we don't move from shooting ourselves in the foot in Iraq to shooting ourselves in the head in Iran.

No Smart Cops!

2008-06-12T06:25:00.001-07:00

The New York Times is reporting that a man was denied a job as a New London police officer because he scored too high on the intelligence test.

Yeah, that's the last thing we need, smart police officers.

Founding Father or Prophet?

2008-05-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defense against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. - James Madison

Support our Troops - Really

2008-05-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

"If our politicians in Washington, D.C., really wanted to "support our troops," they would follow the Constitution, stop meddling in the internal affairs of other countries, restore the benefits and medical care for our veterans, and never send another American soldier to bleed and die for the United Nations. Anything less than that is only political grandstanding and empty rhetoric." - Chuck Baldwin

Read his article in its entirety here.

Quotable Quotes

2008-05-15T05:17:00.000-07:00

"Naturally the common people don't want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."

~ Nazi Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering

When Chickens Come Home to Roost

2008-05-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

How sad for the poor Democrat party. After years of fostering division and playing the politics of race it finds itself hoisted on its own petard.

The Democrats have done their best to Balkanize this country into as many special interest groups as possible, pitting those groups against each other for political advantage over and over again, yet when they see the same thing happening within their own organization suddenly its a terrible thing.

Quotable Quotes

2008-05-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

"The family is the basic unit of government in God’s order with all other units being responsible for ensuring the family can enjoy peace and safety. Fathers are the source of home government. Wars disrupt this order. When fathers go off to war families are left without headship leaving them less able to groom future fathers and mothers." - Al Cronkrite

The Few, The Proud, The Convicted

2008-04-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

Apparently Mr. Bush is running out of folks to fight his war for him.

Military Wavers for Ex-Convicts Increase

This is concerning for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that at some point they'll run out of ex-cons and start looking at other potential sources to keep the war going.

Quotable Quotes

2008-04-21T03:33:00.000-07:00

"To die for an idea; it is unquestionably noble. But how much nobler it would be if men died for ideas that were true!" ~ H. L. Mencken

Those Ignorant of History are Doomed to Repeat It

2008-04-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

Ahh... those clever folks in San Francisco. Call me crazy but I think the 1936 Olympics were in Berlin. See what happens when our universities opt to teach things like Cyberfeminism instead of world history.

HT: Lew Rockwell

School House Rock - With a Twist

2008-04-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

HT: Pro Libertate

To Protect & Serve (Themselves)

2008-04-07T05:34:00.000-07:00

Seems that in California at least some people are above the law - those whose job it is to enforce it.

Special license plates shield officials from traffic tickets

Biblical Approach to Gender Issues

2008-04-01T12:11:00.001-07:00

If there's one thing our culture needs today its a Biblical view of sex and of what it means to be uniquely a man or a woman. If you're looking for a strongly Biblical discussion of such gender issues as male female roles, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, etc. the first issue of Mark Dever's new series is a must listen.

The Importance of Gender - Genesis 1:27

Minister's Apology

2008-03-31T18:41:00.000-07:00

A commenter to my previous post about the local minister who planned to apologize to those who've been condemned by Christians posted the link to the sermon so that I was able to hear it in its entirety.

You can hear it here.

I have to admit some of the things he said were true and needed to be said, such as the fact that the evangelical church has been politicized and is often in bed with the Republican party. You don't have to have read my blog for long to know that that resonates with me.

However, there were many more things that he said which caused me concern. The overarching theme, as I'd suspected earlier, was the love of God to the exclusion of His wrath. For God's love to make any sense at all, however, it must be paired with His wrath and this is sorely lacking in the preaching of today. If we've been born again, understanding God's anger at sin helps us appreciate His love and grace all the more. For the unregenerate, the realization that God is angry at their sin and will judge them for it, apart from their repentance, is often the thing the Holy Spirit uses to convert them. Jonathan Edward's sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", possibly the most famous sermon ever preached in America, was used mightily by God during the First Great Awakening to convert many souls. Despite the politically correct messages coming from many churches today, scripture could not be clearer that those who are not Christians are God's enemies and His wrath abides on them (John 3:36, Romans 5:10, Ephesians 2:3). Every verse touting God's love can and should be juxtaposed with those which reveal His anger at sin. To do otherwise is to present a half god to people. Real love tells people the truth.

I think, in fact, this is one of the other things that concerned me about Rev. Lee's message, a tendency to misunderstand what love is. Erich Segal said "Love is never having to say you're sorry", Rev. Lee seems to be saying "Love means never doing anything that brings any discomfort or pain into someone's life." Just this past Sunday our pastor pointed out that truly loving someone often means they will experience pain. No one likes to be told they are a sinner and that apart from Christ they will perish. No one in love with their sin (as we all are in our flesh) likes to be told to forsake it. Yet true love requires that those things be said. However, Rev. Lee said to those to whom he was apologizing that he was "sorry for any pain you've experienced. (from those in the church)" ANY pain? We don't covet the highest and best for our children, our friends, for anyone when our goal for them is that they never experience pain. We in fact, do them harm when that is our goal for them.

In a recent article by Jay Adams entitled Stand Firm he talks about what the church needs to be in order to meet the challenges of the future, I'd recommend reading it in its entirety. However, one of the best points it makes is this:

My concern is with the softening of the church. For you to make a future impact for Christ, and to be able to withstand hard times ahead, this trend must be reversed. There is a deplorable softening of doctrine, of attitudes, of courage, and of language. And it is all justified under the rubric of “love.” But there is a vast difference between a loving and a concessive spirit...a church that puts fellowship above truth is a weak church that will be unable to meet the challenges that lie ahead.

Just one example that I noticed of this softening of language in particular in Rev. Lee's message was the constant reference to the "unchurched" (a favorite term of the seeker sensitive crowd). The Bible calls people apart from Christ lost. They don't need to be "churched" they need to be saved.

There also seemed to be a tendency to confuse man-made religious standards with God's standards. We certainly do not want to elevate our standards and traditions to the level of scripture, that's text book legalism. On that point I agree with Rev. Lee. However, by the same token we don't want to lower God's standards to the level of simply our own religious traditions. Prohibitions against sex outside of marriage, whether it be homosexual or heterosexual, and the murder of unborn children are not "our" standards they are God's standards and should be treated as such. We have no need to apologize for affirming those standards loudly and clearly and, again, true love requires that we MUST call them sin and call those engaged in them to repentance.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing though in the whole message was his admission that he'd once picketed an abortion clinic and was involved in the "whole pro-life movement" and now wanted to apologize for that. I find that shocking. Of course he reassured his audience that he's decidedly pro-life but apparently he doesn't believe its legitimate or loving to take action of any kind to back up that belief except telling women who've had abortions that he loves them. Abortion is the murder of a baby. Would he stand aside and watch someone murdered in a parking lot out of a desire not to offend the person committing the crime? He talked a lot about compassion in his message and how Jesus exhibited compassion and that we should follow His example. I agree:

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea." - Mark 9:42

Jesus had more compassion for children than he did for those who intended them harm and so should we.

In the final analysis, Rev. Lee's concerns are legitimate and I feel he is sincere but misunderstands the root cause of the problems he's concerned with. The real issue is that the church has stopped being the church. It has stopped preaching the true and unchanging Gospel and has instead opted for a feel-good approach that gives people the warm and fuzzies and yet often leaves them unconverted. The Gospel is not "Jesus is really awesome and you'd like Him." If you want to read a Biblical gospel presentation start with Acts chapter 2. Nowhere in scripture are we told to tell people to come to Jesus because they might like Him. We are in fact told that to follow Jesus is to commit to Him totally and that to do so may in fact make our lives worse, not better. To give people the impression that they can take Jesus on retainer to see if they like Him is not truthful and therefore not loving.

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. - Mark 8:38

The reason teenagers leave the church after high school, the reason the divorce rate is the same inside the church as out is that the church is full of unconverted people. Top that off with the fact that the church has abandoned the Biblical mandate to engage in church discipline (that might make someone experience pain after all!) and you have a recipe for most of the problems we have in the church today both internally and with our ability to reach those outside the church with the Gospel.

Richard Dawkins A Great Intellect?

2008-03-31T05:17:00.000-07:00

Minister to Apologize

2008-03-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

The Atlanta Journal is reporting today that a minister at a large Southern Baptist church in Gwinnett County is planning to "apologize" in his sermon this Sunday to those who've been condemned by Christians over the years. Included in his list of those who need an apology are gays (homosexuals), women seeking abortions and couples not married.

The pastor, Rev. Richard Mark Lee is quoted as saying:

Just as the Christian church has done many wonderful things throughout history, it also has done many terrible things, such as targeting, judging and condemning various individuals and groups.

First of all just who is he apologizing for? Is the good reverend planning to apologize for all of Christendom, the entire subset of Christians known as Southern Baptists, just his particular church or just himself personally? In truth, the only ones of these he can legitimately and meaningfully apologize for are the last two.

Secondly, just what specifically is he apologizing for? It's the Bible which calls homosexuality, murder and fornication sins. Is the reverend sorry for what scripture says about these things or just sorry over how some people have dealt with sinners of these kinds? There may be some legitimacy to the latter but again, only if he or his church have been involved in specific ungodly actions towards people in these groups. He can't apologize for the mistreatment someone has received at the hands of others beyond his sphere of influence and have it be meaningful in any way.

Lee goes on to say:

Some churchgoers have condemned gay people, picketed abortion clinics or ignored the poor and homeless. If Jesus were alive today, he would minister to these groups.

Well, yes He would, he would minister to them the way He ministered to the woman taken in adultery. She'd clearly been mistreated by the religious establishment and was being used by them as nothing more than a pawn in an attempt to trap Jesus. However, Christ didn't apologize to her for that, He told her "go and sin no more". There is no reconciliation with God through Christ apart from repentance of sin. However, I get the distinct impression that Reverend Lee is not going there. My guess is his is a theology of God's love absent His wrath and judgment of sin. A theology of let's all hold hands and sing "We are the World", in short, a theology that is foreign to scripture. Besides, what exactly does the good reverend have against picketing abortion mills? Would he have had a problem if the people of Germany had picketed the extermination camps of the Nazis? Perhaps Reverend Lee doesn't believe that an abortion is the murder of a little defenseless baby.

The article concludes with this quote from Reverend Lee:

"Why is the gospel of love dividing America? The unchurched world views us as judgmental and homophobic, I don't think God is going to ask what label we wore. He's going to ask what did we do for Jesus."

The reason the Gospel divides is given to us in the Bible (you know that same judgmental book that calls homosexuality, murder and fornication sins). The Bible says that the Gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing, perishing because they refuse to repent of their sins and come to Christ. The best thing we can do for murderers, homosexuals and fornicators (and all sinners) is to share the Gospel with them, the true Gospel, not the "God loves you no matter what" gospel of the seeker sensitive/church growth movement but the Gospel of the Bible which calls sinners to repentance and to freedom from their sin in Jesus Christ.

As to what God is going to say to us one day, it will either be "Well done good and faithful servant" or "Away from me I never knew you" it will not be "What have you done for me". We don't need to do anything for Christ, He has done it all. Our works are a response to His grace, not a means of obtaining His favor.

Summary of My Last Year on the Computer

2008-03-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

Another gem from my father in law. If you've had an e-mail for more than 24 hours you can relate to most of these!

I NOW HAVE TO:

Scrub the top of every can I open.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day

I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer can buy gasoline without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put 'Under God' on their cans.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face...disfiguring me for life.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with an infected needle.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.

I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.

I can't ever pick up $5.00 I dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.

I can no longer drive my car because I can't buy gas from certain gas companies!

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump.

I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician...

Have a wonderful day....

He is Risen!!

2008-03-23T05:54:00.000-07:00

Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun’s eclipse is over, Alleluia!
Lo! He sets in blood no more, Alleluia!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Alleluia!
Christ hath burst the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hail, the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail, the resurrection day, Alleluia!

King of glory, Soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing and thus to love, Alleluia!

Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!

But the pains that He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!

Charles Wesley, 1707-1788

Good Friday

2008-03-21T05:42:00.000-07:00

Painting by Diego Velazquez 1599-1660

But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.

- Isaiah 53:5

Five Years On

2008-03-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq. Some sobering words from Laurence Vance:

As of today, March 20, the debacle that is the war in Iraq has now dragged on for one two three four five years. How many more years will I have to begin an article on this date with those words?

I really don’t know what else can be said about this war. It is immoral, aggressive, unjust, unconstitutional, unscriptural, unnecessary, wasteful, and pointless... read more.

And far from opposing it or even just sitting on her hands doing nothing, the church of Jesus Christ is in many cases actively supporting and promoting this war and those who wage it. It saddens me when I see, with few exceptions, the only "Christian" voices raised in opposition to this war coming from within churches where true Christianity has not existed for years. Only from within Unitarian or theologically liberal mainline churches is one likely to hear any opposition to the war. In evangelical, gospel preaching churches one is more likely to have giant US flags in the auditorium (aka the sanctuary) and military jets whizzing by on the jumbo-tron as the congregation sings "God Bless America" or "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.

There was a time in this country when Christians supported war only reluctantly as a last resort and for defensive purposes only. A time too when they didn't consider it the church's role to give unconditional support to the civil government in its prosecution of war. Consider this excerpt from a Southern Baptist resolution in 1940 on the eve of WWII:

Because war is contrary to the mind and spirit of Christ, we believe that no war should be identified with the will of Christ. Our churches should not be made agents of war propaganda or recruiting stations.

Of course many Southern Baptists served honorably in WWII but when they were at home in their churches, the church was the church, not an arm of the state. By the way, the Southern Baptist convention also passed resolutions during WWII in support of conscientious objectors. Can you imagine that in today's environment when everyone who doesn't support "our president" and "our troops" is branded a Godless liberal?

One of my favorite quotes from R.C. Sproul is this:

It is the responsibility of the church to be the conscience of the nation and to call the state to repentance when the state becomes demonized and fails to serve in the cause of righteousness.

I pray that our churches will again begin to see this as their role vis a vis the state rather than fancying themselves its cheerleaders.

Hypocrisy in High Places

2008-03-18T05:37:00.000-07:00

I've been reading Thomas Watson's "The Doctrine of Repentance" off and on for a while now. As with many Puritan writings, each chapter is broken up into smaller sections, many of which are complete thoughts so one can read the book almost like a devotional, a little along each day. That also makes the book easy to go back to after several days of not having read. This was the case recently as I picked up the book again in the middle of chapter 6 which is called "A Serious Exhortation to Repentance."

This chapter talks about those for whom repentance is necessary (which of course is everyone but Watson takes several different types of people and discusses repentance with regard to their specific situations). The section I read last night discussed the necessity of repentance for hypocrites.

Watson says:

The hypocrite or stage-player has gone a step beyond the moralist and dressed himself in the garb of religion...the hypocrite is like a house with a beautiful facade but every room within is dark. He is a rotten post fairly guilded...He can be as his company is and act both the dove and the vulture...He is a pretender to faith, but he makes use of it rather for a cloak than a shield. He carries a Bible under his arm, but not in his heart. His whole religion is a demure lie.

As providence would have it, just before returning to this book and reading the section containing the above quotes, I had read an article on Slate magazine's site which contained an excerpt from a new book by Jacob Weisberg called The Bush Tragedy. This particular excerpt dealt with what Weisberg calls Bush's evangelical politics.

Speaking of Bush Sr. he says:

Wead recommended that the vice president read the first chapter of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, a book that had become a popular evangelical device for winning converts. "Evangelicals believe that this book is so effective that they will automatically assume that if the Vice President has read it, he will agree with it," Wead wrote. Vice President Bush made sure that religious figures saw a well-worn copy on top of a stack of books in his office when they visited the White House and cited Lewis' condemnation of the sin of pride as one of the reasons "we haven't been inclined to go around proclaiming that we are Christians."

Wead is Doug Wead an evangelical whose job it was to help Bush Sr. win over the evangelical community.

Wead eventually transferred from helping Bush, Sr. with the evangelical vote to helping the current president Bush, becoming somewhat disillusioned in the process:

What Rove would do in helping Bush launch his political career in Texas, and Cheney in helping him define his presidency, Wead did in Bush helping him assert and establish his independent identity as a person of faith. But the experience left Wead troubled about the sincerity of Bush's beliefs. "I'm almost certain that a lot of it was calculated," he says. "If you really believed that there's some accountability to life, wouldn't you have Billy Graham come down and have a magic moment with your daughters? Are you just going to let them go to hell? You have all these religious leaders coming through. If it changed your life, wouldn't you invite them to sit down in the living room and have a talk with your daughters? Or is it all political?"

Wead's disillusionment led him to record some of his conversations with Bush. Weisberg says of these tapes:

The tapes reveal how calculated George W. Bush's projection of faith is. Wead said that during the countless hours the two spent talking about religion over a dozen years, they discussed endlessly the implications of attending services at different congregations, how Bush could position himself in relation to various tricky questions, and how he should handle various ministers and evangelical leaders. But the substance of Bush's own faith never came up. Wead told me he now struggles with the question of how sincere Bush's expressions of devotion ever were. He often goes over their conversations from 1987 and 1988 in his mind, having grown more skeptical about what Bush was doing. "As these memos started flowing to him, he started feeding back to me what his faith was," Wead said. "Now what is interesting for me, and I'm trying to understand, is, was I giving him his story?"

I couldn't help but be struck by the similarities between Watson's description of the religious hypocrite and Wead/Weisberg's description of the religion of George W. Bush (and his father). Its become clear to me over the last couple of years that the Republican Party in general and George W. Bush in particular have seen the Christian community as nothing more than a source of votes. They have cozied up to undiscerning high profile evangelicals who then became their shills in the Christian community; all the while treating these same evangelicals with disdain behind their backs and having no intention of genuinely addressing the concerns of Christians once elected.

For 2008 the cycle is repeating itself with these same evangelicals (with a few exceptions) assuring us that we should 'vote Republican' because the election of a Democrat would mean the end of our country as we know it. I'm certainly not a fan of the Democratic Party but I think the Republicans are destroying our country at just as fast a pace and personally I'm tired of being used by them to do it.

Gold & The Dollar

2008-03-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

There have been many recent news stories reporting that the price of gold has hit $1000 per ounce for the first time. However, every one of those that I've read has gotten the story backwards. Its not that gold has gone up in value but that the dollar has yet again lost value. A proper headline for such stories would read:

"Dollar Drops to 1/1000 of an Ounce of Gold in Value"

You see, its not the value of gold that's changed, its the value of the dollar. When the current president Bush took office the dollar was worth 1/250 of an ounce of gold, a devaluation of some 75%.

Here's a good take on the situation from Paul Craig Roberts

The Acid Test of Being a Christian

2008-03-11T09:29:00.001-07:00

One of the best discussions of what it means to be a Christian that I've ever read.

The Acid Test of Being a Christian

The War Prayer by Mark Twain

2008-03-06T19:42:00.000-08:00

It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and sputtering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spreads of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country and invoked the God of Battles, beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpouring of fervid eloquence which moved every listener.

It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safety's sake they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way.

Sunday morning came – next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their faces alight with material dreams – visions of a stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender! – then home from the war, bronzed heros, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory! With the volunteers sat their dear ones, proud, happy, and envied by the neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth to the field of honor, there to win for the flag or, failing, die the noblest of noble deaths. The service proceeded; a war chapter from the Old Testament was read; the first prayer was said; it was followed by an organ burst that shook the building, and with one impulse the house rose, with glowing eyes and beating hearts, and poured out that tremendous invocation – "God the all-terrible! Thou who ordainest, Thunder thy clarion and lightning thy sword!"

Then came the "long" prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and beautiful language. The burden of its supplication was that an ever-merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our noble young soldiers and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work; bless them, shield them in His mighty hand, make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody onset; help them to crush the foe, grant to them and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory.

An aged stranger entered and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle, his eyes fixed upon the minister, his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet, his head bare, his white hair descending in a frothy cataract to his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to ghastliness. With all eyes following him and wondering, he made his silent way; without pausing, he ascended to the preacher's side and stood there, waiting.

With shut lids the preacher, unconscious of his presence, continued his moving prayer, and at last finished it with the words, uttered in fervent appeal," Bless our arms, grant us the victory, O Lord our God, Father and Protector of our land and flag!"

The stranger touched his arm, motioned him to step aside – which the startled minister did – and took his place. During some moments he surveyed the spellbound audience with solemn eyes in which burned an uncanny light; then in a deep voice he said

"I come from the Throne – bearing a message from Almighty God!" The words smote the house with a shock; if the stranger perceived it he gave no attention. "He has heard the prayer of His servant your shepherd and grant it if such shall be your desire after I, His messenger, shall have explained to you its import – that is to say, its full import. For it is like unto many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware of – except he pause and think.

"God's servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two – one uttered, the other not. Both have reached the ear of His Who hearth all supplications, the spoken and the unspoken. Ponder this – keep it in mind. If you beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware! lest without intent you invoke a curse upon a neighbor at the same time. If you pray for the blessing of rain upon your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse upon some neighbor's crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it.

"You have heard your servant's prayer – the uttered part of it. I am commissioned by God to put into words the other part of it – that part which the pastor, and also you in your hearts, fervently prayed silently. And ignorantly and unthinkingly? God grant that it was so! You heard these words: 'Grant us the victory, O Lord our God!' That is sufficient. The whole of the uttered prayer is compact into those pregnant words. Elaborations were not necessary. When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory – must follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God the Father fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen!

"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle – be Thou near them! With them, in spirit, we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it – for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.

(After a pause)

"Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits."

It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.

HT: Lew Rockwell

A Revivial?

2008-02-28T11:40:00.000-08:00

I’ve written here before about experiences we’ve had at churches in our area due to our children’s participation in some of their extra-curricular activities. However, the event we attended this week took the cake.

It was one of the shallowest, most disjointed attempts at entertainment evangelism I’ve ever in my life witnessed. In fact it was difficult for my wife and I to sit through the entire thing and, truth be known, at the first tactful moment we could we fled.

It’s one of those cases were a man had a talent and, like so many believers today, felt the best way to serve God was to turn his talent into a “ministry” instead of just ministering while pursuing the talent to the best of his ability and to the glory of God. I was reminded of the quote from Martin Luther about vocation, specifically in this case concerning a tailor:

“If he is a Christian tailor, he will say: I make these clothes because God has bidden me do so, so that I can earn a living, so that I can help and serve my neighbor.”

Today of course the tailor would start Stitchers for Christ International (SCI for short and for the stationary), a 501c3 corporation, and go around performing at churches having developed a unique system of sharing the “gospel” using the steps necessary to hem a pair of pants.

The worst part of this particular event, however, was that after NOT sharing anything close to the gospel for 45 minutes (my wife commented that we knew more about the presenter than about Jesus at the end of it all) this gentleman asked everyone to close their eyes and “pray the prayer.” Afterwards those who had “asked Jesus into their hearts” (mostly children) were bidden to come forward where several pastors, presumably at least a few of whom had been to seminary, took their information and welcomed them into the family of God. It was easy believe-ism at its worst, have them pray the prayer and give them immediate assurance. The kids were even told this was their “spiritual birthday” and to always remember it. At the end we were told by one of the adults (I’m not sure if he was a pastor) that we’d witnessed a “revival.”

As they were leaving each child was given a pamphlet. I took a look at my son’s on the way out. “Do you Have a Heart that’s Happy?” it said on the front. Halfway expecting to see Joel Osteen’s picture when I opened the cover, I read:

“It’s your choice whether you go to HEAVEN.” (Presumably the Holy Spirit has something to do with it but He’s not mentioned at all and is definitely not the deciding factor!)

After an example of “the prayer” it said “You are now saved if you prayed the prayer to God, and you were really serious.” Serious as defined by what standard? Again, it’s totally dependent upon me, if my frame of mind is correct when I pray the prayer then I’m saved.

The sad thing to me is that a man who claims to have read the Bible completely through every year for 30 years wrote this stuff and a whole room full of church-goers, some of whom are pastors, thought it was wonderful and that they’d witnessed a revival.

This particular church is by no means alone in this approach. This kind of thing is rampant in modern American evangelicalism. When this is what passes for a revival in our churches, it’s no wonder God doesn’t send the real thing to our land. We wouldn’t recognize it when we saw it.

Bar Stool Economics

2008-02-22T04:38:00.001-08:00

My father-in-law sent me this attributed to a professor of economics at the University of Georgia. Parables can indeed contain great truths!

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group stil l wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20, ' declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'

'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered somethin g important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.

Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Litmus Test?

2008-02-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

What if we used the below quotes from Jefferson and Madison as a litmus test for the remaining presidential hopefuls, eliminating any whose platform is opposed to the ideas expressed here? Reckon how many would be left standing?

- Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated. - Thomas Jefferson

- With respect to the two words 'general welfare,' I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators. – James Madison

- I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents. – James Madison

- Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government. – James Madison

HT:Etherzone

Reaping What We Sow

2008-02-08T10:34:00.000-08:00

I continue to be amazed that professing Christians and other so-called conservatives across this country have not been standing in line to support Ron Paul. We've chosen instead to vote for the status quo, in many cases, I believe because evangelical Christians are joined at the hip with the United States military and consider it sacrilege to even question whether or not the war in Iraq may have been a mistake.

Despite what some may think, however, "thou shalt support our troops no matter what" is not the eleventh commandment. The irony of this of course is that the candidate with the highest donations from the military is Ron Paul and so truly supporting the troops might actually mean voting for Dr. Paul. This fact seems lost on much of the pro-war evangelical community.

As a result of this insanity, we're now faced with a likely choice in November between two candidates who are virtually indistinguishable where things like size of government and personal freedoms are concerned. It's true that one them will likely be more in favor of continuing the slaughter of unborn children than the other but what McCain lacks in that regard he makes up for in his zeal to continue the slaughter of 18 - 22 year olds having said not only that we may be in Iraq for 100 years but promising there will be more wars:

So what are we to do as believers on election day, vote for the candidate committed to taking the lives of our children before birth or after? To use the tired Pogo quote, we have met the enemy and he is us. John McCain, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in the White House will be the fruit of our labor in this election.

To see what might have been, here's a clip from Ron Paul's recent speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference:

At times like this I worry for my country and my children but am thankful that, as always, we can depend on the promises of God and can know that He is in control of all things. When God is all we have left, that is enough.

The 7 Wonders of Socialism

2008-02-06T12:25:00.000-08:00

Interesting article from a website called "WebUrbanist" about the aftermath of Socialism in the former Soviet Union.

However, in their quest to find the "7 Wonders of Socialism" I think they missed a couple:

These two unfortunately have not yet been abandoned.

HT: Lew Rockwell

Quotable Quotes

2008-02-04T07:10:00.001-08:00

Some thoughts to ponder as we enter the election season full force.

"We are friends of liberty everywhere but guardians only of our own liberty" - John Adams

"It is the responsibility of the church to be the conscience of the nation and to call the state to repentance when the state becomes demonized and fails to serve in the cause of righteousness." - R.C. Sproul

NFL Pulls Plug on Big-Screen Church Parties for Super Bowl

2008-02-03T06:07:00.000-08:00

How on earth will we reach the lost (um, I mean "unchurched") now?

From the Washington Post

The White Horse Inn on Political Temptation

2008-01-28T07:30:00.001-08:00

Is the evangelical church in America confused as to what role it should play in the political realm? Here's a take on this from the guys at the White Horse Inn. A must listen in my opinion during this election year.

Political Temptation

Book Review - The Day & The Hour

2008-01-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

I recently ordered a copy of Francis X. Gummerlock's "The Day and the Hour" through a promotion that American Vision was having that offered certain books for only the cost of shipping.

This is not really a book one reads linearly from beginning to end, though you could. It is more a reference guide to "last days madness" (to borrow the title of another of American Vision's books) as it has manifest itself throughout the centuries. The book is broken up into chapters each of which is devoted to a specific aspect of eschatology such as the millennium, the abomination of desolation, the anti-Christ, wars and rumors of wars, the "rapture", etc. Within each chapter are date headings under which we find some of the beliefs expressed at the time regarding the return of Christ. What becomes immediately obvious after reading several of these is that our present day does not have the market cornered on the belief that we are the last generation or in assigning prophetic significance to contemporary world events.

We find out for example that in A.D. 449 a deacon at Carthage named Quodvultdeus wrote in a book called Book on Promises and Predictions that "the barbarian invasions in his lifetime were signs of the End. He identified the Goths and the Moors as Gog and Maygog." Kind of a 3rd century The Late, Great Planet Earth !

Later we read that Sir Walter Raleigh in 1615 believed that Gog and Maygog were the Pope and Spain and that the Turks were the locusts in the Book of Revelation.

Examples of this kind go on and on for a variety of eschatological topics. The one thing they all have in common is that they were later proven wrong by the passage of time. Another interesting feature of the book is a series of some 20 charts outlining things such as candidates for the anti-Christ at various points in history or different views on the meaning of the mark of the beast. As with the narrative examples, the common thread is that all of these beliefs have been proven wrong.

Some examples in the book have been proven wrong before the very eyes of people still living today such as Chuck Smith's prediction that the "rapture" would occur in 1981.

Having been raised on dispensational premillennialism, I remember it coming as a surprise to me that others throughout history had made similar predictions to those being made by people like Hal Lindsey & Tim LaHaye. As with many in this belief system, I felt that what these men were teaching was unique to our time and was based on a literal interpretation of the Bible. A book like this which has essentially done all the research for you (the footnotes are extensive for those interested in tracking down original sources) is a valuable resource for debunking that thought and the newspaper exegesis going on today.

Pray for Bosnia-Herzegovina

2008-01-23T11:06:00.000-08:00

I was privileged to travel to Bihac, Bosnia in the fall of 2001 as a short term missionary so this small country and the believers there are often on my mind.

This week I received an e-mail from a missions team there letting me know about an effort under way to pray for Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2008. Here you can learn more about BiH as well as read about the Christian community there. Please take a look at this site and if you can, remember to pray for the people of this country during 2008.

Quotable Quotes

2008-01-15T16:59:00.001-08:00

"There are some who would have Christ cheap. They would have him without the cross. But the price will not come down."

- Samuel Rutherford

"Prophecy depends on predestination"

- Fredrick S. Leahy

Germany's Pogrom Against Homeschoolers

2008-01-13T05:22:00.001-08:00

When the wall in Berlin which separated the 'free' West from the 'Communist' East fell, most assumed that it was the West which had triumphed, ushering in a new era of freedom for those formerly in bondage in the East. However, as this article from Worldnet Daily shows, one has to wonder which philosophy really triumphed, at least in Germany.

Given Germany's history regarding those with whom its government disagrees, homeschool families may find themselves in great peril shortly. We should pray that the Lord will protect His people in Germany and will turn the "heart of the king" where this wicked law is concerned.

Quotable Quotes

2008-01-11T13:20:00.001-08:00

"To the church is committed the task of proclaiming the whole counsel of God and, therefore, the counsel of God as it bears upon the responsibility of all persons and institutions. While the church is not to discharge the functions of other institutions such as the state and the family, nevertheless it is charged to define what the functions of these institutions are...To put the matter bluntly, the church is not to engage in politics. Its members must do so, but only in their capacity as citizens of the state, not as members of the church."

- John Murray

Virtual Chisinau

2008-01-09T05:36:00.000-08:00

I've been blessed to travel to the Republic of Moldova on three different occasions as part of a missions team. The capitol of Moldova is a beautiful city called Chisinau. Recently I was contacted through my Flickr site by a gentleman named Mihai to ask if he could use some of my Chisinau pictures on a new website called Virtual Chisinau. I was honored to lend my few photos to this effort.

You can see one of the ones posted so far here.

While there, take a look at the other pictures as well, many far better than mine, and see what a beautiful city Chisinau is!

FYI...the site is in Romanian so it may be difficult to read the captions!

More on Mike Huckabee

2008-01-08T07:20:00.000-08:00

Kim Riddlebarger has an excellent discussion today on the modern American evangelical approach to politics in general and Mike Huckabee's application of that specifically.

Sin is Like Silly String

2008-01-07T11:40:00.000-08:00

Our two boys are currently playing Upwards Basketball at a local church. As those of you familiar with Upwards will know, part of the purpose of that program is to introduce boys and girls to Jesus Christ - nothing wrong with that. One of the ways the program does that is to have a short devotional for the children during the half-time of each game - again, nothing wrong with that.

However, at our first game this past week, I was more than a little concerned about the message given, or at least implied, by that half-time devotion. The overarching message was the Jesus loves you, in fact that He loves everyone no matter what. They had a man dressed up as Elmo from Sesame Street helping with the presentation and at one point the speaker said Jesus even loves Elmo with his big funny nose. He then went on to say that Jesus loves you even when you 'mess up', not sin mind you, just 'mess up'. So what does that look like? Its like when you spray silly string inside the house. I kid you not, that was the illustration given. The speaker said he likes to spray silly string inside the house (and he then sprayed it across the crowd of kids much to their glee) but that his wife loves him even when he does that and that's how Jesus loves us too.

Now, my wife thinks I'm overreacting given that these were kids between 1st and 3rd grade, at least where our boys were concerned. However, leaving aside the theological issues around 'Jesus loves everyone in the world', my feeling is it is never OK to trivialize sin in this way. Even very young children are capable of understanding the holiness of God and the seriousness of sin. They must in fact understand that in my opinion before they can repent and be saved. Which brings me to another point, there was no mention at all of repentance - just Jesus loves you no matter what.

What do you think? Was I overreacting to this little devotional or was it doing these children a disservice, especially those who may not be from Christian families and who need to hear the true gospel preached to them?

Huckabee's Phone Call from God

2008-01-07T09:18:00.001-08:00

Disgusting.

HT: Lew Rockwell

Quotable Quotes

2008-01-04T04:31:00.000-08:00

"From what are the people being saved? Not from visible warfare or barbarians but something far greater: from their own sins, a work that had never been possible to anyone before."

- John Chrysostom

New Year's Resolutions

2007-12-31T20:17:00.000-08:00

At this time of year when people are thinking about what they will do differently in the coming year, here are some resolutions made by Jonathan Edwards in 1722 & 1723. Edwards resolved to read these every week to help keep his mind on the things of God and his life on track.

These are available several places on the web, I found this particular list at the Center for Reformed Theology & Apologetics website.

May God bless you as you enter the New Year!

When People are Big and God is Small by Edward Welch

2007-12-29T07:24:00.000-08:00

This is by far one of the best books I've ever read. Among other things, Welch takes on the idea so common today that things like shyness and so-called low self-esteem are morally neutral psychological problems to be overcome and calls them what they are, the sinful fear of man.

The book's main theme is that the fear of man is idolatry which must be repented of and replaced by fear of the Lord. It is broken into two main parts. The first part concerns how and why we fear people and part two discusses what how to overcome that fear and replace it with the fear of the Lord. I will give an overview of each part using quotes from the book.

HOW & WHY WE FEAR OTHERS

"Low self-esteem usually means that I think too highly of myself. I'm too self-involved, I feel I deserve better than what I have."

"We are more concerned about looking stupid (fear of man) than we are about acting sinfully (fear of the Lord)"

"Fear of man is always part of a triad that includes unbelief and disobedience."

"When feelings become more important than faith, people will become more important and God will become less important."

The bottom line for this section is that the fear of man is a work of the flesh. The flesh cries out for significance, to be petted and indulged and given free reign. When it cannot have those things, it pouts, becomes jealous, gets depressed, experiences "low self-esteem," etc. Only by taking our eyes off of ourselves and putting them onto God can we quench the desires of the flesh.

HOW TO OVERCOME THE FEAR OF MAN

We Must Grow in the Fear of the Lord

"The person who fears God will fear nothing else"

"Since there is no room in our hearts to worship both God and people, whenever people are big, God is not."

"The goal is to establish a daily tradition of growing in the knowledge of the Lord."

"When a heart is being filled with the greatness of God, there is less room for the question 'what are people going to think of me?' "

"The key to learning the fear of the Lord is to stay in scripture."

We must Biblically Examine our Felt Needs

"When psychological needs, rather than sin, are seen as our primary problem, not only is our self-understanding affected, but the gospel itself is challenged."

"Jesus did not die to increase our self-esteem."

"Jesus does not intend to satisfy my selfish desires. Instead He intends to break the cup of psychological need (lusts), not fill it."

"To look to Christ to meet our perceived psychological needs is to Christianize our lusts."

"Without repentance, our desires remain the focal point instead of God's glory."

Know Your Real Needs

"The most basic question is 'how can I bring glory to God', not 'how will God meet my psychological longings'. "

"Self-serving needs are not meant to be satisfied; they are meant to be put to death."

Delight in the God Who Fills Us

"God's word, not feelings is our standard."

"If we want to be filled so that we can feel happy and better about ourselves, then we will never be truly deluged with God's love."

"The blessing of being more like Jesus is greater than the hardship of the refining fire."

"...repent of seeking God so you can feel better about yourself. Then think about Jesus through the story of Hosea. Ask God to teach you about this (kind of) love."

Love Your Enemies & Your Neighbors

"Need other people less, love other people more."

"Pick and enemy and a neighbor and being to pray for them."

"Look for opportunities to surprise someone outside the body of Christ with love."

Love Your Brothers & Sisters (Christians)

"Christians need less and love more."

"People-pleasers can mistake 'niceness' for love."

"It (niceness) may mean that we will entrench the sin patterns of other people."

As with Solomon in Ecclesiastes, Welch comes to the 'conclusion of the matter,:

LOVE GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS

Certainly easier said than done but absolutely worth the effort! As one who has often struggled with the 'fear of man' this book was very helpful to me. It helped me to frame the issue correctly, understanding that when I fear men I am in sin and need to repent. It also helped me to frame the issue of love correctly. I love others when I am truthful with them about the gospel and about their sin when necessary. Fear of man keeps me from saying things that need to be said for fear of disapproval whereas fear of God allows me to love a person enough to tell them what they need to hear, regardless of what their reaction may be.

I would highly recommend this book to any believer who struggles with this issue or who just wants to be more in tune with God's will for their life and their relationships.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2007-12-24T19:22:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 44 - The Redemption of God's People & the Folly of Idolatry

2007-12-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

Here Isaiah again identifies Israel as God's "chosen" (v.1). The Lord has created not only the world in general but has specifically created Israel within it as His people (v.2). This belies the deist belief that God has not been involved with His creation in an active way since it's inception.

Not only has God chosen the people to whom Isaiah writes but He has chosen a people in the future as well, a people who will identify themselves as belonging to the Lord just as Israel does in Isaiah's day (Vv. 4-5). This is one of many Old Testament references to the conversion of the Gentiles which was part of God's plan all along. The Church is not a "parenthesis" or a "plan B" as some theologians teach today.

Verses 6-20 of this chapter are an extended discussion of the folly of idolatry. The Lord reiterates that no God exists but Him (Vv. 6, 8) and because of this all who make other gods are "nothing" (v.9) and will be put to shame.

The foolishness of idolatry is emphasized by pointing out that the one who fashions an idol is himself weak, subject to hunger and fatigue. How could such a being create a god?! (v.12)

In addition, the one who makes an idol from wood uses part of the tree for fuel to cook with and to warm himself and the other part to fashion a "god", essentially worshipping fuel! (Vv. 14-17). He is expecting mere ashes to deliver him! Why do people do such foolish things? Because their eyes are blinded to the truth (v.18), their hearts are deceived (v.20)

Still today we often take the things God has provided for our use and turn them into idols. Money, like wood, has a legitimate and God ordained use but when we look to money or anything else to do for us what only God can do, we are no different from the example given here of the man who carves an idol from a tree.

Quotable Quotes - Part II

2007-12-21T04:28:00.000-08:00

"When fascism comes to this country, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis

Chilling words.

Quotable Quotes

2007-12-15T07:06:00.001-08:00

"God doesn't need your good works, your neighbor does" - Martin Luther

"The problem is not that Christians are not where they should be, the problem is they are not what they should be where they are." - Os Guiness

"One of the most dangerous things you can do as a Christian is to determine your theology by your experience" - R.C. Sproul

The Wiles of the Devil

2007-11-23T06:22:00.000-08:00

I'm currently reading The Christian, His Conflict And His Armour by Charles Simeon. Simeon lived from 1759 - 1836 and was minister of Holy Trinity Church Cambridge for 54 years. He was a contemporary of William Wilberforce and, according to the end notes of the book, was instrumental in encouraging many to give themselves to missionary service.

In chapter two of the book Simeon deals with the wiles of the devil. He says that Satan always has two purposes, to lead men to sin and to keep men from God. He expounds on those two main themes throughout the chapter.

To Lead Men to Sin

"Satan considers the weak part of every man, and directs his artillery where he may most easily make a breach." We must therefore be aware of our weaknesses in order to know his most likely place of attack.
"Satan is sure to embrace an opportunity when we are alone, withdrawn from those whose eye would intimidate or whose council would restrain us." We should therefore remain connected to the Body of Christ and pursure discipling relationships that will prevent us from being isolated. Christianity is to to be a lone pursuit.
"...in leading us to the commission of sin, he will use sometimes the authority of magistrates, of masters, or of parents, and sometimes the influence of our dearest friends or relatives." We must therefore be sure that our final authority is the Word of God and that we are willing to "obey God rather than men" when the council of men conflicts with the Word of God, even if that council is from someone we respect or to whom we are close.
"He for a time conceals his full purpose: he pleads at first for nothing more than the gratification of the eye, the ear, the imagination." We must always realize that Satan's goal is our enslavement to sin. The attractiveness of sin to our senses is only the bait. If we take that bait and indulge our sensual nature, we are also taking the consequences that go along with that sin - things which are at first hidden from us.

To Keep Men from God

"He will begin with misrepresenting to his captives their own nature." Simeon says Satan will either try to convince us that we are not that bad and therefore do not need a savior or that we are so bad Christ's work is not sufficient for us. Either way the result is the same.
"...he will misrepresent to his captives the character of God." Again, Simeon says Satan pursures one of two extremes. He either paints God as too merciful to punish anyone eternally or as unwilling to forgive the most grevious sinners because of the demands of His justice.

I found much wisdom in Simeon's discussion of the wiles of the devil. I also found it interesting that the enemy's tactics have not changed much in the 150 or so years since Simeon wrote this or indeed in the several thousand years or so since he first deceived our first ancestors in the Garden. We would do well to continually remind ourselves of these tactics in order to be prepared for them when they come our way.

Happy Reformation Day!

2007-10-31T08:28:00.000-07:00

The Reason Shooters Choose Schools

2007-10-25T05:12:00.000-07:00

They gym I've been going to has a sign on the door as you enter declaring that firearms are forbidden on the premises. I've been meaning to speak to the manager to let him know how safe this makes me feel. After all, I'm sure if a maniac with a gun started to enter the gym in order to kill people, that sign would stop him dead in his tracks!

In this write up Timothy Wheeler, M.D., director of Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, makes the point that people bent on killing others with a gun choose venues like schools precisely because they are gun-free zones. In places like this, the shooter is assured that his victims will be unarmed and have no hope of defending themselves.

WHAT DOES ‘CONTEMPORARY’ MEAN?

2007-09-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

One of the most often used arguments by those who promote the idea that music which imitates current popular music should be used in Church worship is “well the hymns of old were contemporary in their day.” After thinking about this argument for a while, I’ve come up with a deep theological response to it…well duh!

Since “contemporary” means “existing, occurring, or living at the same time; belonging to the same time” then by definition, something that was written during a certain period of time is contemporary to that time. Saying, therefore, that a hymn was “contemporary” at the time it was written states the obvious but does nothing to bolster the idea that Church music should mimic the pop music of the current culture.

Current “contemporary” music can run the gamut from Classical to rap (if one considers that music). This was as true of times past as it is in our time. “Contemporary” music for any era has always been a number of different styles of music. The real question is not were the hymns of old “contemporary” at the time they were written but were they attempts to mimic the popular music of their day? Despite the tired old argument that “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” was written to the tune of a German beer drinking song (not true), there is really no evidence to suggest that to be the case.

Hymns written during the 1880’s and 1890's were not in the form of Straussian waltzes, nor were the hymns written during the 1920’s jazzy numbers to which one could dance the Charleston. Even up through the 1940’s and 1950’s church music did not mimic Big Band or Rock and Roll styles. In fact, this idea that the music of the church should sound like the music of the world is unique to the late 20th century western church.

My question is why are so many people willing to embrace this idea with open arms when many of those same people, if a doctrinal issue came along that had not been introduced to the church prior to 50 or so years ago, would look at it with suspicion?

I'll explore some of what I think the reasons are in a future post.

General Pace Gets it Right...Almost

2007-09-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

There has been quite a firestorm over the last couple of days regarding remarks made by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace. He was apparently asked to clarify remarks he made earlier regarding homosexuality and the military.

The following was reported regarding General Pace's remarks:

Are there wonderful Americans who happen to be homosexual serving in the military? Yes," he told the Senate Appropriations Committee during a hearing focused on the Pentagon's 2008 war spending request.

"We need to be very precise then, about what I said wearing my stars and being very conscious of it," he added. "And that is, very simply, that we should respect those who want to serve the nation but not through the law of the land, condone activity that, in my upbringing, is counter to God's law.

I'm thankful for a man willing to stand up in the halls of power in this land and tell the truth about this issue. Heaven knows there are no others of General Pace's stature willing to do so. However, I wish he'd not qualified his statement with the phrase "in my upbringing". This really has nothing to do with the General's upbringing. The law of God is the law of God. Homosexuality is a sin whether the general was brought up to believe so or not.

His attempt to soften his remarks only panders to the belief that the issue is really one of personal opinion. "I believe this is a violation of God's law because of how I was raised" is a different statement from "this is a violation of God's law."

Again, I applaud General Pace for even saying what he did say. He is going to be ridiculed and vilified to the maximum over this. I'm sure he knows that and counted the cost before he spoke. He's obviously a man of courage. However, I don't believe the trouble he will face over this would have been any worse had he just made an unqualified statement that homosexuality violates God's law and should not be encouraged or condoned by the laws of our land in any way at all.

I pray that General Pace will be given the strength to remain firm in the face of the persecution he's likely to receive especially since I'm fairly certain he'll receive no support for his position from his boss, the "conservative Christian" current occupant of the White House.

Psychiatrists Least Religious of All Physicans

2007-09-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

A new study has found that among physicians, those specializing in psychiatry are the least religious. The study author, Farr Curlin, speculates that it may be because of psychiatry's:

"...historical ties to psychoanalysis and the anti-religious views of the early analysts such as Sigmund Freud..."

I think there's much truth in that, however, I think it goes deeper. The fundamental belief of psychiatry and psychology is that problems of the soul and spirit can be dealt with apart from God. The entire discipline was in fact founded by those who sought to cut God out of the process of dealing with such issues.

Martin and Deidre Bobgan in their excellent book Psychoheresy: The Psychological Seduction of Christianity say this:

"Because they rest on different foundations, move in contrasting directions, and rely on opposing belief systems, psychotherapy and Christianity are not now, nor were they ever, natural companions in helping individuals."

There is a belief of course among some practitioners that "religion" can be helpful to the person struggling with "psychological problems" but the idea that such problems are really manifestations of man's fallen nature and can be dealt with completely and thoroughly using Biblical principles, in fact must be dealt with that way for true solutions to be found, is foreign even to most practitioners who call themselves Christians. God is helpful, of course they would say, but by no means required. I have even known counselors over the years who claimed to practice from a Christian perspective yet had unbelievers as clients and saw no problem in "treating" them using psychological methods without seeking their conversion.

What I'm always driven back to when looking at this topic is the 1800 or so years of church history prior to Sigmund Freud. How exactly did believers deal with problems of the soul and spirit during those 1800 years? They dealt with them through the application of Biblical principles to the situation. There was no need for a professional class of "healers" because these principles were ministered to people through the church. People might even sometimes have continued to be "depressed" or "unhappy" for a while as God used that in their lives to increase their dependence upon Him or to teach them other Biblical principles. This is of course anathema to the "you must be happy and fulfilled all the time or there's something wrong with you" mindset of today. The idea that God may actually want us to be uncomfortable for a season for our own good never even enters most people's minds today, including many of those who practice "Christian psychology."

All in all, I think psychiatry is the least religious medical discipline because it is the only one founded upon the assumption that God is irrelevant to its practice. When something is founded upon a faulty assumption then the techniques developed out of that assumption (techniques used by both psychiatrists and psychologists) will be faulty as well. As the scriptures tell us, a bad tree does not bear good fruit (Luke 6:43)

Here We Go Again

2007-09-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

Yet again a child has been abused and murdered because the adult who should be protecting them instead placed them in harms way. This sad story on Fox News reveals that the prime suspect in the rape and murder of a six year old is her mom's 'live in' boyfriend.

Women with children who shack up with men who later abuse or murder those children are a regular feature in the news these days. The mother in this case is quoted in the article as saying "I wish I could punish this person myself" speaking of the killer. What I wish is that this mother would be charged as an accessory quite frankly. If she were more concerned about raising her daughter than about fulfilling her own desires (notice I didn't say 'needs') its doubful this predator would have been living in the house with her and his victim.

Bread & Circuses

2007-08-31T11:33:00.000-07:00

In the last year I joined a new health club that opened across from my office. It's called Lifetime Fitness and its truly one of the nicest 'gyms' I've ever belonged to. They have everything, squash, two pools indoor and outdoor, personal training, all kinds of equipment, all kinds of lessons from ballet to marshal arts and even a restaurant. The building is large and modern, the atmosphere upbeat and designed to appeal to the senses of the upscale community in which the gym was built. Greeters are at the front as you enter to call you by name and wish you a 'good workout'. I've enjoyed exercising there very much.

One day last week it dawned on me as I was walking out of the gym after being told to 'have a nice week' by the man who works in the locker room that the only thing Lifetime Fitness is missing is a worship service on Sunday. Add that one thing and you'd never know the difference between it and any number of 'evangelical' churches across America today.

Of course, I don't expect to see a worship service added to the menu of options at Lifetime any time soon. They seem to understand their calling. Would that that was true of many in the church today as well.

Pro Libertate: The Highway to Serfdom

2007-08-29T04:53:00.000-07:00

"No person shall be...deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." United States Constitution, Amendment 5.

Hmmm....

Pro Libertate: The Highway to Serfdom

A SIMPLE PLAN by Scott Smith

2007-08-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” I Timothy 6:10 (ESV)

I rarely read fiction but recently I picked up a copy of A Simple Plan by Scott Smith after having being intrigued by the description of the plot. It revolves around three men who find a downed airplane in the woods containing a dead pilot and $4.5 million in cash. One of the men, the main character, comes up with ‘a simple plan’ that will allow them to keep the money, later splitting it among themselves. However, the plan quickly proves to be anything but simple.

What I found most interesting was the insight the author gives us into human nature. The first thing we see is that the characters are not as ‘good’ as they might have thought when their stated beliefs are put to the test. It’s very easy for example for the other two men to talk the main character into trying to find a way to keep the money after his initial feeling was that they should turn the money in. Even more telling is his interaction with his wife about the money. He begins with a hypothetical story about finding a large sum of money and she responds that of course it should be turned in to the ‘authorities’. However, when he produces the huge bag of cash and reveals that the story is not hypothetical, she begins to justify keeping the money with, in the end, her only criteria being can it be done without them getting caught. Absolute standards of right and wrong go out the window in the face of incredible wealth, showing that in reality these standards were not ‘absolute’ in the character’s minds to begin with.

Secondly, the author does an excellent job of showing that once one of our standards of morality has succumbed to pragmatism, it becomes much easier to cross other, more serious boundaries of morality. Before the story is over, the main character ends up murdering several people, including his own brother, in an attempt to keep the money and avoid apprehension. His decent from mild mannered accountant and “good” family man to serial killer is swift and gruesome, almost unrealistically so at times.

Finally, we see the almost unlimited capacity of human beings to justify themselves in the face of their wickedness. The protagonist and his wife end up convincing themselves that since everything they did was to avoid getting caught, they were really acting in self-defense. They didn’t want to do those evil things of course, but they had to, they were forced into it by circumstances beyond their control.

I don’t know if Scott Smith is a believer or not. However, he certainly has an accurate insight into the wickedness of man’s heart. I’m sure everyone reading this book myself included, likes to think they would not compromise their beliefs to this degree for $4.5 million. However, if we’re honest with ourselves, we must admit that that kind of evil lurks within all our hearts. It is only because of the grace of God through Jesus Christ that we are not all murderers and thieves or any number of other things.

The book definitely has some gruesome moments as well as a couple of sexual situations that I felt were unnecessary for the plot so I cannot give it an unqualified recommendation. Keeping that in mind, if you are looking for a book of fiction that not only has an intriguing plot but presents an accurate picture of the potential for evil lurking in the human heart, you may find A Simple Plan worth reading.

Separation of Church & State?

2007-08-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

When is it OK for the Church to be an arm of the government? Apparently when we're being stripped of our civil liberties. I found this video quite disturbing.

I've been meaning for quite a while to read Hitlers Cross by Irwin Lutzer which outlines how the cooperation of the German church helped smooth the way for Fascism in Germany. Now seems like a good time to move it to the top of my reading list!

Isaiah Chapter 30 - The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same

2007-08-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

I'm continuing my study of Isaiah using the Allan Harman commentary: Isaiah; A Covenant to Be Kept for the Sake of the Church and this week my reading was Chapter 30. This, chapter, like Chapter 5 that I posted on earlier, has much to say to the church today. It is a wonderful picture of man's rebellion and God's redemption.

The chapter begins with Isaiah's description of the people's rebellion. Verses 1-11 reveal a pattern of rebellion common down through the ages and into our own day. In verse 1 Isaiah reveals that the rebellious take council from sources other than God and seek from the things of the world the protection they should be seeking from the Lord. In the case of Judah, this took the form of seeking an alliance with the nation of Egypt.

Harman says of this:

What Judah wanted from Egypt was 'refuge' and 'shade', two of the words often used to describe God's protection of His people. Judah is attempting to find in Pharaoh what she should have continued to find in the Lord.

How much like those of our own generation this is! Even inside the church today we're often seeking to do God's work by relying on the methods of the world or we are seeking our security in the material realm rather than in our relationship with Christ.

In verse 10, Isaiah further expounds on Judah's rebellion. He says they tell the prophets only to give them pleasant news, to stop bringing before them the 'Holy One of Israel'. Commenting on this Harmon says:

The people don't want what is true. Instead they would rather have fantasies and illusions

Or as Paul puts it in II Timothy 4:3-4 hundreds of years later, the people have 'itching ears' and turn away from the truth in favor of 'myths'. This seems to be a universal condition for those in rebellion against God.

Today 'fantasies and illusions' fill up churches far faster than the simple preaching of the Word. Cultivating a church membership in the multiple thousands that meets in a sports arena is really just a matter 'preaching' nothing but upbeat positive messages that tell people how to have a better life in the here and now. Few and far between today is the preacher more concerned about preaching the whole counsel of God than he is about filling a giant 'worship center' with lots of warm bodies; the preacher who views success in terms of adherence to the Truth of the Word rather than in numbers of members or baptisms.

Isaiah goes on to tell the people of Judah that because of their rebellion, they will face the judgment of God. However, all is not lost, for beyond the judgment of God will come His redemption. Isaiah makes it clear in verse 15 that salvation comes through trusting in the Lord and resting on His promises, not in the things of this world. By removing the things the people were trusting in, the Lord will bring them to a place of trust in Him.

Through adversity God will grant them the ability to hear His truth and take it to heart (Vv. 20-21). As a result of their repentance, the people will destroy the idols they've been worshiping saying to them "be gone!" (V. 22). Harman points out that "repentance will inevitably bring a new attitude towards idols." This is, in fact, one of the signs of true repentance, a desire to put away our idols. If I'm trying to hold my idols in one hand and Christ in the other, that's a sign that I've not been given true repentance. Just as the converts in Ephesus enthusiastically burned their occultic books (Acts 19:18-20) the truly repentant person will withhold nothing from the fire that served in the place of God in his previous life.

Isaiah finishes the chapter with the surety of God's deliverance of His people from those who oppose them and His coming judgment on the wicked.

This chapter both blessed and convicted me. It also made me realize, as the title of the post suggests, that the more things change the more they stay the same. The same kinds of things that plagued the people of Judah thousands of years ago, plague us today. Fallen man has changed not a whit. However, the good news is God has not changed either. He is still in control, still righteous and holy and willing to save sinners who turn to Him in faith.

Ron Paul on Just War

2007-08-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

The Theology of the Orthodox Church

2007-08-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

Having traveled to Moldova on several occasions in the last few years for missions work, I’ve become interested in the beliefs and teachings of the Orthodox Church. The picture attached to this post is one I took of the beautiful Orthodox Cathedral in Chisinau, Moldova. Many people who consider themselves Christians in Eastern Europe belong to the Orthodox Church so knowledge of its teachings is essential to missions work there. Sadly too, some of the persecution aimed at evangelical Christians in this part of the world comes from the Orthodox Church as well. I was therefore intrigued when I recently came across a theological website written from an Orthodox perspective. The site is called Orthodoxwiki and is set up along the same lines as Wikipedia and Theopedia.

The site was founded by a gentleman named Father John who’s a priest in the Orthodox Church in America out of Chicago.

Like the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church claims to be the one true Church, descended directly from the Apostles and founded on the Day of Pentecost.

My first foray into the site was a search using the word ‘salvation’. This brought up a page devoted to Orthodox soteriology. I knew already that Orthodox Christianity teaches salvation to be a process rather than an event and that one can never be sure of having been converted. Salvation is more a journey in Orthodox teaching, the goal of which is something called ‘theosis’. This site reinforced that teaching providing an explanation that was very clear and concise. In part it says:

“Salvation is the goal of Christianity, and the purpose of the Church. The theology of salvation is called soteriology. Orthodox Christianity strongly believes that God became man, so that man may become like God. This concept of theosis, rejects that salvation is a positive result to a legalistic dilemma, but a healing process. Orthodoxy views our inclination to sin as a symptom of a malady that needs treatment, not just a transgression that requires retribution.”

Needless to say the ways in which this paragraph is at odds with Reformed Christianity are many. The same page goes on to say of the final judgment:

“Christ will judge all people exclusively on the basis of how they have served him by serving each other, the least of the brethren.”

Next I did a search for ‘justification’ and received the following response:

There is no page titled "justification".

Now, to be fair, it could be that the information on justification has not yet been posted, however, given the way salvation is defined, the more likely scenario is that the concept of justification simply does not exist in Orthodox theology. Like Roman Catholicism, they confuse justification and sanctification. In fact, when I input the word ‘sanctification’ into the search function on the site, I was taken to the page on ‘theosis’ which the Orthodox see as the end state of the salvation process.

This coupled with their belief that the dead are judged on the merits of their service to God rather than on the righteousness of Jesus Christ leads one to the conclusion that Orthodox Christianity is ‘another gospel’, a gospel of works where man’s salvation is, if not totally dependent upon him, at least unattainable without his help and cooperation.

What a belief system teaches about the Gospel is fundamental to understanding the other teachings they espouse. I plan to delve further into the teachings of the Orthodox Church on other theological topics in future posts.

Hindu Redux

2007-08-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

Note to Harry Reid: Perhaps next time you can just have the Hindu priest dismember himself or sacrifice a rooster in the Senate chamber. Imagine the fun that will be when the PETA folks show up!

Man Cuts Off Hand for Hindu Goddess Offering

A Letter to My Daughter

2007-07-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

My oldest child is about to start High School in a few weeks. I can hardly believe it. Is she really that old? Am I? This milestone has made me think of another milestone that seems like only yesterday - when she transitioned from Elementary School to Middle School. At that time, I wrote the following letter to her sharing my hopes for her as she moved on to middle school:

Now that you're becoming a beautiful young woman and are headed to middle school, I want to share with you my hopes for your future.

First and foremost, I pray that you will always love God and honor Him in all that you do. Read His word every day and go to Him in prayer. We can do nothing worthwhile in life apart from God so we must stay in contact with Him daily.

Secondly I pray that you and I will always be close. Feel free to come to me with any question, problem or good thing you need to share. I'll always be there for you.

Thirdly I pray that you will choose your friends wisely. Maintain close friendships with other Christians. Your sisters in Christ will be some of your biggest helpers as you go through middle school. Treat non-believers you come in contact with the way Christ would have you treat them, influencing them but never being influenced by them.

Finally, I pray that you will take the talents and gifts God has given you and use them to the best of your ability to honor Him and share His message with the world. Choose what you do with your life not based just on what you want to do but what can most effectively serve our Lord. Don't worry, if you choose that way, it will be fun too!

I couldn't love you more if I tried! I trust God for your future and ask you to always remember His love and the love your mother and I have for you as you go through life.

May God richly bless you in middle school!

Love,

Dad

John 15:4-8

God through His Grace has seen us through the Middle School years with these hopes in many ways realized. As I look towards the High School years with some apprehension, I will again have to rely on the Grace of God and pray that my daughter does the same. Over the next few weeks, I'll be working on the 'going to High School' letter. I pray that when I look back on it four years from now with College staring us in the face that I can again be thankful for God's Grace in my life and the life of my daughter.

Emerging Motivation

2007-07-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

Phil Johnson has posted a series of satirical posters patterned after those motivational posters you see in various business contexts. These, however, are from the point of view of the emerging church. Here's my favorite:

The rest can be seen here.

The Sanctity of Canine Life

2007-07-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

Gary DeMar has an excellent commentary on the Michael Vick situation. Vick has been thorougly villified for his participation in the barbaric practice of dog fighting while the barbaric practice of abortion goes on day by day in this nation with the full support of the government, media and educational institutions. The same people who are horrified at dog fighting, many of whom won't wear fur or eat meat, routinely support the right of a woman to murder her unborn baby because the child is an inconvenience. You have to wonder what kind of compartmentalized lives people like that must live in order to make such a world view work for them.

It's A Woman's Pulpit?

2007-07-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Recently a Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia associated with the theologically liberal Cooperative Baptist Fellowship hired a woman pastor. This has resulted in no few comments in the media since it’s the first time a Baptist Church, at least one nominally affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, has allowed a female senior pastor.

Of course these comments are mostly sighs of relief that the Neanderthals of the SBC have finally wised up and gotten with the program, etc. Such was the case recently when Dick Yarborough saw fit to comment on it in the Gainsville Times

Mr. Yarborough took to task Al Mohler of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for daring to take the position that the Bible teaches differing roles for men and women and that one of the roles God has reserved for men is that of pastor. Of course Mr. Yarborough did not provide any Biblical support or theological analysis for his position. However, what he lacked in theological precision he more than made up for in snide comments and anecdotal “evidence”.

I won’t go into all the reasons here that orthodox Christianity has for hundreds of years viewed the pastorate as an office for men only. The burden of proof in this case is on people like Mr. Yarborough who want to overturn the orthodox position.

So what did Mr. Yarborough offer in support of his position? Gems like these:

“Methodists have had female ministers for a long time.”

Well, yes, true enough, longer, for example than they’ve had homosexual or lesbian ones but how exactly does that bear on whether the Bible supports the legitimacy of a female pastor? I mean just because I’ve done something for a long time does that mean God approves of it?

“Now these many years later, there are a host of crackerjack female ministers in the Methodist Church, and we haven't been zapped by lightning yet.”

Oh, OK. So as long as we’re not immediately struck dead by God when we do something, we can take that as His approval for whatever it is we’re doing.

Then there’s this wonderful of theological insight:

“Do you have any divorcees in your church? Read what the scripture says about them (Matthew 19:9). And, finally, are there any women in your congregation wearing gold or pearls and/or plaiting their hair (1 Timothy 2:9)?”

I’m not really sure what he’s getting at here but he seems to be saying for one thing that he views Jesus’ emphasis on the sanctity of marriage to be over done and that it is just as passé to consider a person who remarries after an unbiblical divorce to be involved in adultery as it is to insist that pastors be men. The belief that divorce (with certain exceptions) is a sin and that remarriage after divorce is adultery is a position, supported by scripture, which has also been taught by orthodox Christianity down through the centuries. However, once you’ve eliminated one Biblical teaching by filtering the Bible through the lens of 21^st century feminism, what’s a few more, right?

“Let's face it: God is a lot smarter than we are”

I have to give him credit for getting this one right. However, what Mr. Yarborough fails to understand is that God is smarter than we are even if what He tells us offends our 21^st century egalitarian sensibilities. The Bible tells us in Proverbs that there is a way that seems right to us but in the end it leads to destruction.

That’s not necessarily immediately being struck dead, by the way Mr. Yarborough.

Decision Making & The Will of God

2007-07-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

"Decision Making and the Will of God" by Gary Friesen is the best book on 'discerning' God's will that I've ever read, also the most Biblically sound. The author refutes the common belief that we can (and should) determine what he calls 'the dot' or God's specific will for our individual life. He shows that God's will has been revealed to us in scripture already and that we're free to make decisions consistent with that revelation without having to worry about 'missing a blessing' or inviting a curse because we're not living in God's 'perfect' will for our individual life.

For example, per the scriptures God's will is that I marry another believer, however, God does not tell me specifically which believer. As long as my marriage is to a believer I'm in God's will (at least where my marriage itself is concerned) and don't have to worry that I've missed marrying God's perfect match for me.

He also discusses the issue of a 'call' as it relates to missionary service, the pastorate, etc. Many, if not most, Christians today would say that the Lord often issues specific instructions to someone He intends to be involved in missionary service. Friesen disputes this saying: "rather than waiting for some kind of mystical "call" from God every believer should respond to the revealed will of God by giving serious consideration to becoming a cross-cultural missionary." Later he says: "We don't need a call, we've already been commissioned."

Friesen covers several other topics of interest to every Christian who wants to be a faithful servant of the Lord such as choosing a school, choosing a vocation, giving, as well as how to make decisions when believers disagree on non-essentials.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who's struggled with finding God's will for their life, especially if they've been told by well meaning Christians that they should be hearing from God specifically about day to day decisions. For someone wanting an overview of this topic in more compact form, Jim Elliff's little book Led By The Spirit: How the Holy Spirit Guides the Believer is an excellent choice covering the basics of the topic in only 48 pages.

One Nation Under gods

2007-07-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

It takes a lot to surprise me these days but I have to admit I was shocked that the United States Senate allowed a Hindu 'chaplain' to stand in its well and offer up a prayer to his pagan gods last week. I suppose it should not have surprised me, this nation abandoned the one true God many years ago.

Make no mistake, this is a sign that we are in dire straits in this country. Its one thing to ignore God as we've done for many years as a nation. It's quite another to pro-actively worship false gods and idols. I read an article not long ago relating how Christianity is leaving the United States and Western Europe and beginning to flourish in the so-called Third World. Is it any wonder that the Lord is calling His Church elsewhere with this kind of idolatry openly celebrated in our nation's capital?

And what has been the reaction of our citizens to this abomination? For the most part its been a non-event. The people of this country by and large couldn't care less.

"And Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." And the people did not answer him a word." - II Kings 18:21

Sadly we're like the people of ancient Israel during Elijah's day. We don't mind a little 'Christianity' mixed in with our yoga or as one element of our 'faith journey'. However, let someone take a stand for Christ as the one and only way and suddenly there will be plenty of people puffed up with righteous indignation.

I'm sad when I look back at what this nation once was and even sadder as I look forward to what it will be for my children. For unless the Lord grants revival, things will get far worse before they get better. I'm thankful, however, that we serve a God who is faithful to His people and that our trust and security ultimately do not rest in the state of affairs in the United States but in the hands of the Sovereign of the Universe. Whether God sends judgment or revival to this country He is still on His throne. Nevertheless, I pray that He will be gracious and grant us repentance as a nation before its too late.

The Gospel Blimp by Joseph Bayly

2007-07-07T08:08:00.000-07:00

"The Gospel Blimp" makes up about half of the little book The Gospel Blimp and Other Modern Parables which is a collection of Joseph Bayly's best loved short stories. Several of the stories, modern parables really, are excellent commentary on contemporary American Christianity but none is better or more hard hitting than "The Gospel Blimp".

The story begins with a group of people trying to determine how to reach their next door neighbors for Christ. They notice one evening while sitting outside that the neighbors, also sitting out on their patio, pause from their card game and beer drinking long enough to look up as an airplane passes low overhead. This gives our budding evangelists an idea. Why not develop a 'gospel blimp' that would fly over the town declaring the Word of God for all to see on banners and via a powerful sound system?

The remainder of the parable is about the development and outworking of this 'ministry'. Not surprisingly, an undertaking of this magnitude takes up enormous amounts of time and resources and because of its high profile presence in the town requires significant public relations efforts, none of which is directly related to simply sharing the Gospel with the original neighbors who sparked the idea. Bayly's point is that this kind of emphasis on infrastructure, facilities and public relations characterizes many ministries and even churches today. The amazing thing is that Bayly wrote this in 1960! I can only imagine what he'd say today if he saw how the evangelical landscape of this country is dotted with mega-blimps from coast to coast.

In the end, one of the original founders of the 'ministry' begins to see it for what it is especially after the ministry leadership decides to partner with secular organizations, agreeing to couple the message of the Gospel with some non-Gospel related messages in return for increased donations to the ministry. He realizes that the 'ministry' has become primarily about the continuation of the ministry above all things.

After leaving the the Gospel Blimp 'ministry' this man and his wife end up helping win their neighbors to Christ (the original neighbors from the beginning of the story) by pursuing a relationship with them and being intentional about sharing their faith.

This parable is a scathing indictment of the church in America today. It behooves all of us to ask ourselves periodically if we're more concerned about the 'blimp' or the Gospel. It is very easy to begin to place importance on the trappings of ministry and to let real ministry go by the wayside as a result.

I would highly recommend this book, it should in fact be essential reading for ministry leaders and pastors. In addition to "The Gospel Blimp", "I Saw Gooley Fly" and "Rehoboam's Gold Shields" are also great little parables about the integration of our Faith into our lives and are worth reading and taking to heart.

Innocent as a New Born Babe?

2007-06-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

I came across an interesting article this evening in the British newspaper The Telegraph. It seems that babies are not as innocent as everyone (well, psychologists anyway) had originally thought. In this article researchers explain that children as young as six months already have the capacity to lie, something psychologists previously thought was not possible until about the age of four.

Why, it's almost as if human beings come into the world with a natural inclination to sin!

"Behold I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me" Psalm 51:5

The Death of Shame

2007-06-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

There was a time in this country (in virtually any country for that matter) where a picture of a man kissing another man would have been the stock and trade of the blackmailer. A time when a person who had engaged in such behavior would have felt shame for having done it and would have wanted anything other than for a record of their exploits to be published for all to see.

Those days are gone.

This AP report highlights a firestorm created because a New Jersey high school obscured a picture in the yearbook of a male student kissing his 'boyfriend'. This student was 'embarassed' by having the photo NOT shown and is demanding a public apology from the school board, which I predict will shortly grovel at the altar of political correctness and give him one (they've already issued a written apology but that's not enough for the poor fellow).

What a sad day we live in when those things once done furtively and in secret are now flaunted publically and those who dare to be offended are the ones labled perverted. The scriptures tell us that when a people forget God they will begin to call good evil and evil good. They will not only feel no shame at their sin but will actually glory in it. This is the sitation in which we find ourselves in early 21st century America.

Only the Lord's intervention can save us from the destruction for which we're headed. I pray that He will be gracious and send revival.

Roman Catholic Idolatry

2007-06-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

I received an e-mail the other day that, quite frankly shocked me. I of course know that Roman Catholics 'venerate' Mary but had no idea the lengths to which it apparently goes in some cases. Here is the text of the e-mail this gentleman sent with personally identifying information replaced with parentheses:

"I am not superstitious so I did not send this e-mail to you for that reason.

I sent it because I truly believe that more time needs to be spent in prayer with the Blessed Mother, Mary the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. She is the most direct link that we have with God.

I have not seen a picture of the Blessed Mother that has not touched my heart in awe. And over the past 3 years, (my wife) and I have traveled to 4 countries under the guidance of (our priest) and have been able to cast our eyes upon some Magnificent portrayals of Mary.

Hail Mary full of Grace,"

(signed)

Below this was the picture of the Virgin Mary that you see in this post. Below the picture was this:

The President of Argentina received this and called it "junk mail", 8 days later his son died.

A man received this letter and immediately sent out copies...his surprise was winning the lottery.

Alberto Martinez received this letter, gave it to his secretary to make copies but they forgot to distribute: she lost her job and he lost his family.

This letter is miraculous and sacred, don't forget to forward this within 13 days to at least 20 people.

Do Not Forget to forward and you will receive a huge surprise!!

Not much commentary is needed here. Suffice it to say that the errors of the Church of Rome prevalent in Martin Luther's day are with us still despite what those within Protestantism displaying a more ecumenical stance towards Rome would have us believe. However, scripture is also as clear today as it was then. We have but one mediator, Jesus Christ, and our worship is to be directed to Him and Him alone. My prayer is that the eyes of this man and others in bondage to this kind of superstitious mumbo-jumbo will be opened to the Truth and that they will cast themselves upon Christ who alone can save them.

"Perspectives on Pentecost - New Testament Teaching on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit" by Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.

2007-06-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

This is a short book at only 122 pages but is packed with some very powerful theological arguments. Because of the depth of Gaffin’s arguments and his frequent references to scripture passages (which are not always included in the text) it took me longer to read this book than books twice as long normally do. This book must be read methodically and with an open Bible, it’s not a book to take to the pool for an hour’s diversion! However, it is worth the effort.

I’ve long been of the opinion that the so-called sign gifts (tongues, prophecy & healing) were not for the church after the apostolic age so I must admit to reading the book with a bias already in place for the author’s thesis. However, he does such a thorough and scriptural job of presenting his case, it seems it would be hard to disagree with him having read the book.

He begins the book by discussing in depth the events of Pentecost as recorded in Acts, making the point that “…everything said in the New Testament about the Spirit’s work looks forward to or traces back to Pentecost.” (p. 14)

He goes into much detail developing the point that the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost was a unique event in the history of redemption. Just as the resurrection of Christ was a unique event, never to be repeated, so too the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. It was not a ‘bonus’ to believers or representative of the experience all believers throughout time should expect but an event used by God to establish the church and initiate the work of the risen Christ in the world. It was not, Gaffin would say, primarily or even secondarily about the experiences of the individual believers present that day. He says: “Pentecost is nothing less than the establishment of the church as the new covenant people of God, as the body of Christ.” (p. 21)

In later chapters, Gaffin discusses specific manifestations of the Spirit such as prophecy and tongues. Here he takes a position I’d not previously considered, that prophecy and tongues are really two sides of the same coin, both being revelatory gifts. According to Gaffin, tongues, once translated for the congregation, are nothing more than prophecy. Once that connection is made, one only needs to ask if prophecy is still for today and the issue of tongues is answered as well. The author makes the point that the words of a prophet are “the words of God and are to be received and responded to as such.” (p. 72)

That being the case, the question of the cessation of prophecy (and tongues) is bound up in the question of whether or not the canon is closed. In other words, does God still speak today in addition to His revealed word, the Scriptures? Gaffin says: “…for prophecy, correctly conceived of, to continue on into subsequent generations of the church, beyond its foundational period, would necessarily create tensions with the closed, finished character of the canon. In fact, such a continuation would exclude a completed canon in the strict sense.” (p. 100)

Gannon’s final premise is that prophecy and tongues were revelatory gifts given to the church temporarily during its founding apostolic era. He sees them as inseparable from the ministry of the apostles (even though they were not exercised only by apostles) and believes they have been permanently withdrawn from the church just as the office of apostle has been.

This is book is a very powerful argument for the cessation of prophecy and tongues and I would recommend it to anyone interested in this topic, regardless of his or her present understanding of this controversial issue.

Wisdom in Proverbs 24

2007-05-29T09:25:00.001-07:00

In my devotioal time one day last week I read Proverbs 24 and was struck (as I am each time I read Proverbs!) with the wealth of wisdom contained there. Just from Proverbs 24 alone, I wrote down the following, I'm sure you could find even more things there that I've missed:

Do not envy the wicked or desire their company (v. 1)
Do not forsake wise counsel when making a major decision (v. 6)
If my strength (of character or whatever) fades in the face of opposition, it was not really there to begin with (v. 10)
Do not rejoice in the adversity of others, even if they are your enemies (v. 17)
Do not judge people based on shallow things like appearance or the 'success' they've achieved in this life (v. 23)
Do not call what is wicked good (v. 24)
Do not indulge in the trappings of success (i.e nice house, fancy car, etc.) without the proper underpinning of hard work in order to pay for them. In other words, live within your means (v. 27)
Laziness leads to poverty (vv. 33-34)

What do you think? Have I missed some important points in this Proverb or misunderstood the one's I came away with?

Isaiah Chapter 5 - Back to the Future

2007-05-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

I recently began a study of Isaiah for my personal Bible study time. The commentary I've chosen for this study is "Isaiah: A Covenant to be Kept for the Sake of the Church" by Allan Harman which I obtained from Monergism Books.

This morning I read Chapter 5 of Isaiah and was struck by the similarity between the situation addressed in that chapter and our situation here in 21st Century America. Though Isaiah was addressing the nation of Israel during his own day, I think we can learn from what is said to them though his prophecy.

The first six verses of the chapter are basically a parable, comparing Israel to a vineyard, a comparison Christ often made as well in His ministry (see for example
Matthew 21:33-41). In it God ask rhetorically "What more could I have done for you as a nation than I have done, yet you continue to disobey me and reject my law?" (Verse 4) Again, realizing the difference between the Old Testament Nation of Israel and the United States, we can still look back on the abundant blessings God has given this nation and wonder if He might not say to us "What more could I have done for you as a nation, yet you continue to disobey me and reject my law." Even within the Church itself (a closer equivalent to the Old Testament nation of Israel) we have rejected sound doctrine in favor of sound bites and the expositional teaching of the Word in favor of self-help and therapy. As a result our fruit is often not the sweet grapes God intends for his followers to produce but is more like the 'wild grapes' he saw in Israel in Isaiah's day.

The result of this rejection of God is that God promised to remove the hedge of protection from around His people (verse 5). The implication of this is obvious. We cannot flout God's Word and His instructions and expect God to protect us from the consequences that come. Indeed, in some cases, as happened with Israel, God deliberately sends trouble our way because of our disobedience (see also Hebrews 12:5-7 ).

Beginning with verse 7, Isaiah records a series of 'woes' against the people highlighting some of the wicked behaviors that were signs of their rejection of of God. According to Harman they provide a picture of society in Isaiah's day. It is a picture that is strikingly familiar to anyone living in 21st Century America.

Some of these are:

Drunkenness, revelry and wild partying (Vv. 11-12)
Calling good things evil and evil things good (V. 20). There are so many ways our culture does that I cannot begin to list them here.
The perversion of justice (V. 23)

The final section of the chapter (Vv. 24-30) outlines what the consequences are going to be for the people's rejection of God and His word. The Lord is going to summon a host of pagan nations to destroy Israel (V. 26). The Lord will actually enable the invaders with good fortune so that they may carry out His judgment on the people (Vv. 27-29)

Though not a prophecy to us today, Isaiah Chapter 5 has much to say to our current national situation and to the modern church in the west. We should read it with fear and trembling considering the fate that befell those to whom it was written. I pray that such a reading would lead us to repentance.

Is Al Gore 'Reasonable'?

2007-05-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

I just read an exerpt from Al Gore's new book The Assault on Reason over at Time Magazine's website . In it he expresses a deep concern for the future of our country due to the many problems he sees in our culture. I cannot disagree with the notion that we should be concerned for the state of our country, nor can I deny that many of the problems he points out are real and serious. For example, he bemoans the lack of respect for truth in the public arena, clearly a problem we face from the federal level down to the local school board.

My disagreement with Mr. Gore would be with his identification of the root cause of these problems. It is our having abandoned 'reason' according to Gore that has lead to our troubles. He says we must have more "faith in the power of reason" if we are to save ourselves. He says:

Our Founders' faith in the viability of representative democracy rested on their trust in the wisdom of a well-informed citizenry, their ingenious design for checks and balances, and their belief that the rule of reason is the natural sovereign of a free people.

Perhaps Mr. Gore is not a student of history, but it occurs to me that a nation once tried to build itself on this concept of the sovereignty of reason and the result was that during the French Revolution the streets of Paris ran red with blood. "Reason" was literally the god of the French revolution but without the God of the universe in the picture, it was a disaster.

The missing element in our culture is not reason it is a desire to respect and honor the one true God of the Bible. Gore's assertion that reason was viewed as the 'natural sovereign' by our Founders is laughable. The sovereign our Founders looked to was the God of the Bible and without His influence in our culture, no amount of man-centered reason can save us.

The Art of Manfishing by Thomas Boston

2007-05-15T18:57:00.000-07:00

Boston is one of the Puritan Divines and this short little book was a sort of diary that he kept. In fact, no one outside his family saw it until some 30 or 40 years after his death. The book is a compilation of his thoughts on how a Christian minister should conduct his ministry and much of the advice he gives is still needed by ministers today.

For example, Boston was a firm believer in "the law being a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ." He would, I'm sure, be shocked at the minimal attention given the law by much of today's pastors and evangelists. He also saw conversion as something that was most often the result of sustained ministry in the life of a person rather than the result of an instantaneous, emotional response. It goes without saying that this message is sorely needed in today's church.

Boston speaks much of humility in the life of the minister. He emphasizes several times that a minister must realize that he can do nothing good apart from the Spirit's enabling. He is very critical of ministry which grows out of a man's own power and ability (i.e. excellent speaking skills) where that talent is not accompanied by an humble realization that apart from Christ we can do nothing.

Christ was sent to glorify God and to seek and save the lost. Therefore, Boston reasons, those same things should be the primary tasks of ministers. Anything which is a hindrance to those core things is to be jettisoned according to Boston. He says on page 98: "...do not needlessly involve thyself in worldly matters, to the hindrance of the duties of they calling and station."

Overall this was an a very helpful book, far better than many modern tomes on evangelism and ministry. I'm thankful that Thomas Boston thought to write these things down and that his family later saw fit to share them with The Church.