tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14742155476031492972023-11-15T06:35:15.799-08:00Gabe's Boring BlogSo I've decided to give this blogging thing a shot again. Let us see if this lasts beyond the start of the next semester. I can't promise I won't be a bore. Leave your thoughts and objections, ask questions of me and of each other, and then comment again.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-18903815864888235302012-11-04T10:00:00.000-08:002012-11-04T10:00:04.571-08:00WWPP--Where Would Paul Preach? If the Apostle Paul were here today, where would he preach?<br />
<br />
When reading Luke's account of Paul's travels and ministry, you don't have to be a scholar to notice a general pattern in his activity. Upon entering a city, Paul and his companions would almost always go to the local synagogue and sometimes to other public forums and preach about the events and implications of the life, death, and resurrection of the Jewish Messiah. He usually made some friends and was almost always ran out of the city at some point.<br />
<br />
What I've noticed before when reading through these accounts is that he seemed to always go places where he was generally welcome. The synagogue, especially for someone with Paul's credentials as a Jew, would have been an environment open to him, as this is taken from granted throughout the text (e.g. Acts 13.15; ESV). Once things turned hostile he simply moved on if he were free to do so (e.g. Acts 13.51). It was similar with Gentiles. For example, the Hall Tyrannus in Ephesus (Acts 19.9) was likely a sort of civic center where people gathered for open public discourse. These types of places were Paul's entry point for the gospel in a city. From this activity sprang the humble faith communities devoted to Jesus.<br />
<br />
So all of this really makes me wonder: where would Paul go to proclaim the gospel in today's context? Should we also be going to those sorts of places--or are we free to sort of wing-it when it comes to how and where we preach? <br />
<br />
Would we expect to see Paul:<br />
<ul>
<li> In a pulpit on Sunday morning? </li>
<li>A busy corner downtown on a Friday night? </li>
<li>Hiking door-to-door? </li>
<li>Shouting at people outside of the local Planned Parenthood?</li>
<li>Broadcasting sermons from apostlepaul.tv? </li>
</ul>
Where is today's synagogue? Where is our Mars Hill or hall of Tyrannus? Where would we go today to peacefully preach to people who are not already in the proverbial choir yet are open to dialogue? Does the question even matter--or is our post-modern, post-Christendom context so different from the first century as to be completely irrelevant? What are the significant differences between Paul's context and ours? <br />
<br />
Thanks for reading and please share any insight on my questions or add your own questions if you have them. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-20629614191384675812012-11-02T23:48:00.000-07:002012-11-04T01:28:10.962-07:00Why I Am Not a Calvanist: Some Thoughts on Total Depravity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This if the first of several posts that I intend to write regarding the five points of Calvinism (<span style="color: #cc0000;">TULIP</span>). This is within a larger series that I am working on explaining why I am not yet a Calvinist and hopefully doing something to encourage those who are of a similar mind but might feel intimidated by the tact of their reformed acquaintances. A greater explanation of my motivations can be read in the introduction <a href="http://boringgabe.blogspot.com/2012/08/why-i-am-not-calvinist-introduction.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I am not going to attempt to prove a definite alternative view to <span style="color: #cc0000;">T</span>otal Depravity. Calvinism
is a positive assertion, and as such the burden of proof is on the Calvinists.
I am only explaining why I have yet to be convinced by their arguments. <br />
<br />
Total Depravity puts the "<span style="color: #cc0000;">T</span>" in
<span style="color: #cc0000;">TULIP</span>. It is, by broad opinion, the
foundational point of the five. Calvinism is an internally consistent system
and if you agree with the first of the five points, as it is distinctly
articulated in Calvinist theology, you arguably have to then hold to the other four
points (and also conclusions beyond those) if you are to be logically
consistent. You probably didn't gasp at that last sentence, but that is
potentially a very controversial statement itself since many a sincere and
devoted Calvinist claims to hold to only four (or less) of the five points.
Usually the one that drops out is <span style="color: #cc0000;">L</span>imited
Atonement, but I'll address that in due time.<br />
<br />
Now I mean no offense by alluding to a logical inconsistency on the part of
"4-point" Calvinists; perhaps my perception of their insufficiency is
our first evidence of human depravity, whether it is on their part or on mine.
My previous comment about the logical necessity of taking all 5 points together
would be in total agreement with someone like 7-pointer <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/what-does-piper-mean-when-he-says-hes-a-seven-point-calvinist/">John
Piper</a>. However, that's pretty much the only place him and I might agree as
far as Calvinism is concerned--not that he would lose any sleep over the fact.<br />
<br />
So Calvinism is internally consistent and <span style="color: #cc0000;">T</span>D
is the first premise in the line of reasoning. Notice I did not say, though,
that Calvinism is consistent with scripture or that it is philosophically
necessary. I only mean to point out that, within itself and as general
theology, Calvinism is not self-contradicting and one point necessarily flows
from the other.<br />
<br />
Now it is common to come across broad definitions of <span style="color: #cc0000;">T</span>D with which it is hard for anyone to disagree. Definitions
like, "Sin affects every part of us" or, "Nobody is capable of
saving themselves" are surface-level concepts that anyone with moderately
conservative theology is going to get behind. This is why it is important to
note what parts of Calvinist doctrine are truly distinctive--the points of each
idea that are held <i>only</i> by Calvinists. This is something I have found
many people to be confused about. They might think, in this instance, that to
deny the Calvinist articulation of <span style="color: #cc0000;">T</span>D is to say that we can in fact save
ourselves or that we aren't all hopelessly sinful from the start. While it is
true that to believe the latter would be to reject <span style="color: #cc0000;">T</span>D, many Christians who
reject <span style="color: #cc0000;">T</span>D do not also reject those other things. This is a problem of not being
able to distinguish where one's own theological positions end and where
commonality with others begins. It is a problem of being ignorant to any
understanding other than your own. It is not by any means a problem unique to
Calvinists, but wherever it is found it is a wholly uncharitable and
counterproductive deficiency. I sincerely hope that it is not presently to be
found in this very argument.<br />
<br />
The main part of the Calvinist expression of <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D
that is particularly distinct is the idea that a person is incapable of
choosing or even desiring anything to do with God unless God first
"enables" them to do so. The term "enable" here comes with
the caveat that, once such an occasion happens, a person cannot choose
other than to seek for God--but that is getting ahead of myself. In regard to <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D this is the main point where I am unconvinced.<br />
<br />
The passage that I have heard most appealed to in defense of <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D is Rom 3.10-18. Most other passages used to
defend <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D are supplementary to this. That
is, they do not themselves explicitly outline the doctrine of <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D, but can be seen as supporting it once such a
doctrine is established. It is from this passage that many get the idea that no
person since the fall has been capable of even desiring to make a move toward
God. Therefore, the passage in question is the crux of the teaching.
Ascertaining the meaning of this passage should go a long way to upholding or
deflating <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D.<br />
<br />
Now to understand what Paul is getting at in Romans 3, we need to first try
and understand something about the passages Paul quotes in verses 10
through 18. There are some common themes in almost all of these.
First, each one contrasts the wicked with the righteous--the unjust with the
just. Second, they are mostly occasional—within a context of a specific people
and time. This is expressly clear with the Isaiah and Jeremiah passages. The
psalms that are referenced are also quite likely in the context of David's early
plight with Saul or his later one with Absalom, and the first (Psalm 14 and 53; ESV)
is perhaps as specific as the incident with Nabal (1 Sam 25).<br />
<br />
This means that the verses referenced did not originally intend to convey
anything about the absolute condition of all mankind for all time since they
contrasted the then present wicked with the then present righteous within the context
of history. That is not to say that all people are not in some sense wicked,
since we are mortally affected by Adam’s transgression and all men sin (Rom.
5.12; 1 John 1.8), but only that a slightly different sort of subject is in few with
these passages. However, for the current subject, this only really matters with
one part of one of the references: “no one seeks for God” (Rom. 3.11). This is
the crux of the crux. If this means that everyone for all time is incapable of
seeking or desiring God in any sense, then the Calvinist version of <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D holds up. However, as discussed in the previous
paragraph, that conclusion is not supported by the context.<br />
<br />
The “no one seeks for God” bit is quoted from Psalm 14 (and Psalm 53, they
are basically identical passages). As I mentioned already, this psalm might be
as specific as to refer to David’s interaction with Nabal (Nabal literally
means “fool” and “the fool” is identified as the subject in the first verse of
the psalm). When you read this passage, it is quickly apparent that David could
not be making a statement about all people at all times. Verses 2 and 3, from
which Paul quotes in Romans 3, must be understood hyperbolically because the
rest of the psalm does not allow for an absolute, systematic rendering. Verse 4
presents a clear juxtaposition between the “evil doers” who “do not call upon
the Lord” and “my people”. Verse 5 then introduces the “generation of the
righteous” which is likely meant to be connected to the “my people” of the
previous verse. This makes it almost impossible to read the “children of man”
who don’t “seek after God” as referring to all men everywhere for all time
since even within the scope of this passage there is a “generation of the
righteous” who are being exploited by those “evildoers”.<br />
So then is Paul using something that is not making a point about <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D to yet make a point about <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D? No, he’s actually in the middle of an entirely
different conversation. The verse introducing the section in question asks, “<span class="text">What then? Are we Jews any better off [than Greeks]?” He answers his
own question with, “No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both
Jews and Greeks, are under sin,” followed by the section in question (Rom. 3.9).
The explicit subject, then, is the status of the Jews and Greeks as two groups
in respect to one another and God. This is exactly in line with the direction
of Paul’s argument through the first 11 chapters of the epistle. What we should
have thought as suspicious was the idea that Paul was here digressing from his
own argument to make a random statement about systematic theology.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="text">So we see that Paul’s message was also occasional. He was
appealing to these OT passages in support of his position that there is now no
distinction between Jew and gentile. Something about the passages quoted are
suppose to prove that point. From reading the original quotes we know that what
was being said was not that everybody is evil, therefore both Jew and gentile
are evil. Rather the actual passage compared the righteous with the evil, showing that the two existed in juxtaposition.
I believe that Paul was appealing to those passages specifically to show the
Jews that they themselves had a very muddled past. David was chased down with
murderous intentions by his sons and brothers and Israel was destroyed for
their spiritual whoredom. Paul was saying, “this is your past…it’s twisted and
polluted…so don’t think your heritage in God’s memory is any better than that
of the Greeks.” This makes sense of not just this particular section of Romans 3, but also of the overall message of Romans and the original passages there quoted. The Jew’s already knew that the Greeks
came from damaged stock, what they needed was to also be put in their proper
place as a people—equal with their Greek brothers. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text">So we see that Paul wasn’t addressing <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D and neither are the passages he referenced. “No
one seeks for God” isn’t a statement about everyone for all time, but a
rhetorical expression regarding particular people David had to deal with. This
is similar to when we say something dramatic like “nobody notices me” or “they
are all losers”. It is therefore a logical leap to conclude from this passage
that it is impossible for someone to desire God because of depravity. That
doesn’t mean it is not true, but does mean that it remains to be proven. I am not yet convinced. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text">There are many other passages that are used in support of
the idea of our inability to want God. Notable in my mind is Ephesians 2: “And
you were dead in the trespasses and sins...” This is often quoted to argue that
obviously dead people can’t choose things, so we who are depraved cannot choose
God. I don’t think the problem here is difficult to perceive for anyone who
wants to be honest about the matter. The fact is, we don’t really know much at
all about what it means to be “dead” in whatever sense Paul here intends, other
than that it is a bad thing that desperately needs correcting (and has been
corrected, praise God!). Yes it is true, physically dead people do not make
choices. They also don’t fart, but the spiritually dead still seam capable
enough of that. It is a completely arbitrary parameter to just claim out of thin
air that we are limited in exactly that sort of way. However, if it were
already proven elsewhere that we are incapable of desiring God then it would be
much less of an issue to see a connection here. Yet, it remains to be proven.<br />
<br />
I could spend all night addressing all of the passages that are brought up in
defense of <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D, but that is unnecessary. As I
said in the beginning, I do not have to prove the doctrine false, the burden of
prove is upon those who assert it. If it is going to be proven, there is a
near endless list of challenges that must be addressed. When trying to prove a
doctrine, you cannot merely list those verses that seem to be for it over and against
those that seem to be against it and hope that the scales are in your favor at
the end of it all. If we are to respect the idea of the Bible as a total,
self-consistent, non-contradictory expression then we must find an
understanding that satisfies all relevant scripture. The doctrine of <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D seriously fails at this point. In my
experience, Calvinist expositors tend to lean very heavily upon their
proof-texts while mostly ignoring or blithely dismissing the legion of areas
that seriously challenge their conclusions. To be fair, this is another
shortcoming that is certainly not unique to Calvinists and one of which I have
also been guilty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
One of the passages that seems to be irreconcilable with the conclusions of
the Calvinist version of <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D is found very nearly at the
plum beginning of it all. Four chapters in we find God interacting with Cain.
In regard to Cain’s anger over God’s rejection of his sacrifice, God tells Cain
explicitly that, “’If you do well, will you not be accepted?<sup> </sup>And if
you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for<sup> </sup>you,
but you must rule over it.’” Now this must all be very queer from the Calvinist
perspective. According to their doctrine, Cain absolutely could not have done
“well” without God allowing (making) him do well—so it wasn’t actually an
option. Supposedly it was literally impossible for spiritually dead Cain to
obey what God was saying--or even <i>want</i> to obey. But yet here is God presenting him a choice between
doing well or not. Here is God imploring him to “rule over [sin]”. If that was
a flat impossibility, then God was apparently being less than forthright in communicating
that Cain had two options before him (some people call that lying). I don’t see
how Calvinist doctrine survives sections like this. I’ve looked, but I have yet
to find it successfully harmonized. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text">How about passages like this:</span><br />
<span class="text"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span class="text">
“</span>And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">choose this day</span> whom you will serve,
whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the
gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we
will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24.15</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>“And those who had set their hearts to <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">seek the LORD</span> God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of
Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their fathers.” 2
Chron. 11.16</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>“Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Asheroth out
of the land, and have set your heart to <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">seek
God</span>.” 2 Chron. 19.3</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>“Evil men do not understand justice, but those who <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">seek the LORD</span> understand it completely.” Prov. 28.5</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>“<span class="text">If you will seek God</span><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text">and plead with the Almighty for mercy,<sup> </sup>if you are
pure and upright,</span><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text">surely then he will rouse himself for you” Job 8.5-6</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span class="text">“Seek good, and not evil,</span><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text">that you may live;</span> <span class="text">and so the </span><span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span><span class="text">, the God of hosts, will be with
you,</span> <span class="text">as you have said.</span> <span class="text">Hate
evil, and love good,</span> <span class="text">and establish justice in the gate;</span>
<span class="text">it may be that the </span><span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span><span class="text">, the God of
hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.” Amos 5.14-15</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span class="text">“’Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence
that is in his hands.</span> <span class="text">Who knows? God may turn and
relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.’ When God saw
what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the
disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” Jonah
3.8-10</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As far as I can see, these are all situations that are not possible or
commandments that simply cannot be followed according to the Calvinist
understanding of <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D. Nineveh could not have
chosen repentance. Jehoshaphat could not have had “some good” in him and he
could not have “set [his own] heart to seek God.” These are just some examples. Calvinist doctrine when
thoroughly applied does not harmonize with the majority of scripture. <br />
<br />
This is why I am not a Calvinist. I do not see, and I’ve not found anyone to
show me, how the Calvinist version of <span style="color: #c00000;">T</span>D is
evident in scripture, and how such a perspective can actually be harmonized
throughout. The philosophical challenges aside, if the scriptural argument were
thoroughly sound then I would be compelled to admit it. I will admit, however, that </span></span><span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">when read by a mind already acquainted with certain assumptions,</span></span><span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> several passages seem, on the surface and in absence of having to reconcile with scripture in total, to be an open and shut
matter. However, it is clearly not that simple. Whatever conclusions we come to
on the subject absolutely must make sense out of the entirety of the scriptural
witness, not just a collection of verses selected in isolation from across the
breadth of the bible. If that can be done, then I will gladly accept <span style="color: #cc0000;">T</span>D and be
on my way to becoming a good adherent to reformed soteriology.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></span><span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></span>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><br />
<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-5983129242246528972012-08-18T14:46:00.002-07:002012-11-04T01:31:44.590-07:00Fat and Boring<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So it turns out I'm fat.<br />
<br />
I have to change. However, I'm not sure what to do.<br />
<br />
I mean, in one sense I know exactly what to do. I actually know plenty about healthy eating and exercise. I have tried again and again to jump-start myself unto a healthy track, but thus far my belly has been undeterred.<br />
<br />
I have recently been thinking more about my health than I have in the preceding five years. I consider this a good thing. However, I now have a 1 year old child, a full+ time job, a full time school schedule about to start (and we're not talking theater arts here), and a smattering of other responsibilities to look after. Those are my external challenges.<br />
<br />
But I know that the internal challenges are much more significant than the internal ones. I have to overcome myself. I know that only once I want to regain my health and fitness more than I want to sit in front of this computer or eat another slice of Hammer's Wholewheat Homemade Pizza will I begin to make progress.<br />
<br />
Hopefully I've reached that point. I'm going to make a couple of small changes, and I'm announcing it to my vast audience so as to feel some vague sense of accountability. These are my new rules:<br />
<br />
1. I'm going to not eat anything after 9 p.m., with the exception of stuff that grows on the ground, on trees, or on bushes if I really want a snack.<br />
<br />
2. I'm not adding sugar to anything. Not coffee, not oatmeal, not even Kool Aid. Yes, from now on all of my Kool Aid will be bitter but colorful. <br />
<br />
3. I'm going to do some kind of calisthenic exercise after dinner/before bed.<br />
<br />
4. I am going to thoroughly stretch in the morning in the hope that this will eventually move me toward actual exercise. Inertia is my big problem in this area. <br />
<br />
That's it for now. It doesn't sound like much, and it's not, but I'm hoping that a few simple, achievable changes that I actually stick to will help me start to turn things around. I'm going to try and drop a note on here every week or so about how I'm doing with this stuff...so if this is the last blog you ever see me publish it probably means that I have failed at even these things and I'm too embarrassed to admit it. For those that know me and care, that would probably be a good indicator that it's time to organize some kind of intervention. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-27792960021560395462012-08-16T19:40:00.003-07:002012-08-16T19:45:51.545-07:00Bucking Birth Control<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My amazing <a href="http://krysannjoye.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">wife</a> has recently written about our birth-control odyssey. This is an important subject for us and something that is rarely, if ever, discussed. With so many dissenting opinions out there, I think that she is very brave for being so forthright. I am sure you will find reading it worth your time: <a href="http://krysannjoye.blogspot.com/2012/08/folk-tales-birth-control.html#more" target="_blank">Birth Control</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-65681411527563475052012-08-04T15:03:00.000-07:002012-11-04T01:25:56.710-07:00Why I Am Not a Calvinist: An Introduction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This will not be comprehensive. It is
only an introduction to a series of posts about Calvinism that I hope
will eventually materialize on my blog over the indefinite future. As
those around me know, I am certainly not very shy about this subject.
However, there are a couple reasons that I have not mentioned it
online before: first, not everyone cares about the subject, but for
those who do it is usually a central and dividing topic. I have been
reticent for fear of saying something that would merely affirm and further the
controversy. Second, I have several close friends for whom this is
such a subject—not that they would necessarily divide over it, but
it is a doctrine that they hold dear to heart and it means an awful
lot to them. I do not want to write or say anything that would injure
these relationships. Things tend to be received differently when read
in cold, digital print. Fortunately, not many people will read any of
this. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Something happened about a week ago
that is pushing me past the preceding inhibitors. A couple of my
dearest friends asked me about Calvinism because it is a major
subject at the church they attend and, while they are usually very
successful at avoiding idle controversies, the issue has recently
come to a head through some of their relationships. Knowing that I
and <a href="http://krysannjoye.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">my wife</a> have strong, thoughtful opinions on the subject, they
wanted to know why we have thus far rejected the doctrine. I did not
at that time fully answer their question, but rather I mostly
encouraged them to not be discouraged by theological controversies
and to stay the course in regard to their faith. I told them that
while I could likely talk for hours (days?) about the subject—why I
do not hold to the doctrine and how I understand the relevant
scripture—orthopraxis is always more important than orthodoxy.
They’re on the right track with the former, so they don’t need to
be overly concerned with the more esoteric parts of the latter. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
That said, I do think that their
question is one worth addressing: Why am I not a Calvinist? I am also
reminded of some other great friends of mine that came into contact
with a young bible-student who had just thoroughly encountered
Calvinist doctrine for the first time. The poor guy was going through
some kind of life/faith crisis over the whole thing. Apparently
something deeply disturbed him—shook him—about the consequences
of Calvinist ideas, however he couldn’t see any way around it
theologically. He was thoroughly convinced of the solidness of the
biblical presentation before him. The last I heard the guy is getting by
alright so apparently he has gotten past his initial shock. The
problem in his example, though, is not that he agreed with the
Calvinist argument but that it created a crisis for him. It is for
people in his position that I would also like to answer the question. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I do not really have much of a desire to convince Calvinists that
they’re wrong, especially so long as their bad theology is not
impairing their work in the Kingdom. But people who do not take to
Calvinist doctrine because they intuitively perceive the inherent
incongruities between the God they know and the God they are being
taught about should not be left to feel like they have a theological
disability simply because they are not aware of the alternative perspectives. While Calvinism has much in its favor when it comes to
near historical precedents and the work of highly regarded Christian
thinkers, writers, and scholars, there is also much to be said about
some of the contrary ideas, thinkers, and scholars if properly
understood. People deserve to hear whatever sound, quality
arguments exist outside of Calvinism. So until you actually find
something sound and quality, I invite you to read what I have to
say. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I will first organize my answers into
two broad categories: Biblical and Philosophical. I believe that
Calvinist doctrine fails in both contexts, with the former being of primary importance. In the coming posts I will attempt to show why I
have found that the bible can’t be adequately appealed to in
support of each of the five points of Calvinism. Then I will likely
move on to addressing some of the philosophical implications of the
doctrine and how those compare to scripture. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
As always, I encourage all comments and
questions. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Note to Calvinists: Try not to get too
upset by anything I say. Remember, if I am wrong, it is only because
such error has been divinely pre-determined.
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-62608030756660865432012-02-25T15:47:00.000-08:002012-02-25T15:54:11.241-08:00Posts About Dead People: An Essay on Augustine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="WordSection1">
I had to write a paper for class arguing for the event in the history of the Church that I believe to be most significant in the formation of the contemporary church. I chose Augustine's conversion and teachings. After some thinking about the subject, it seemed to me the obvious choice. I have pasted in my paper below (sans notes and bibliography--because nobody really cares about plagiarism anyway) in the off chance that someone might actually want to read such a thing and because it's my blog and I can do what I want. The people who might find this interesting are Tim and...no that's probably it. <br />
<br />
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
********** ********** </div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="Standard" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
The
Most Influential Event in the History of the Church:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The Conversion and
Teachings of Augustine of Hippo</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%;">
Aside
from Christ, Augustine of Hippo might well be the most influential person in
the history of the Church. While the New Testament canon, especially the
Pauline epistles, are officially recognized as the authoritative foundation of
church theology, the thinking of Augustine is perhaps more readily appealed to
for understanding several areas of doctrine and is more tacitly present in the
thinking of the Church today. The Roman Catholic Church readily accepts the
concept that tradition formed by the fathers throughout history is
authoritative. Remarkably, in much of the Protestant world Augustine's
influence is likewise accepted as if having special authority, although such a
claim would not be readily agreed upon by most Protestants. The influence of
Augustine somehow spans the doctrinal divide of the Protestant Reformation. Every
significant movement in the Western church either assumes Augustinian thinking
or directly appeals to it. What the modern church would look like if it were
absent of Augustine's influence is not immediately apparent, but we can be
confident that across the entire breadth of the Western church—and to some
extent the Eastern church—orthodoxy as it is variously held would be
dramatically different had this 4th century rhetorician and philosopher not
converted to Christianity. There is a broad and expressive testimony among
church historians about the impact of Augustine's ideas. This paper will look
at the historical event of Augustine's conversion and present a small yet broad
sample of the strong opinions from various scholars and church leaders about
the value of his contribution in forming the modern church's perception of
itself. </div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%;">
The
world during Augustine's life was undergoing massive change. For the Church this
transition was a passage from its origin as an obscure but growing Jewish sect
to an established and institutional force in the world. Constantine legalized
and legitimized Christianity in the empire a generation prior to Augustine.
Before Augustine's death the world would see the destruction of Rome by the
Goths. Between Constantine's reign and Rome's fall there was a continual yet
varying tension between the Church, the pagan Romans, and the Roman government.
Christianity was growing in a way that was previously unknown to the Church.
The faith of our fathers was tested by the relative comfort and acceptance of
the era. There were many theological issues raised during this period. Within<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"></span>the Church, due to an increase in
the opportunity for contemplation, controversy and schism arose (e.g. Arius,
Pelagius, and the Donatists). There were also challenging outside religious
movements (e.g. Manichaeism). Rome was on a course leading to destruction, and
the identity of the Church was becoming fatefully entwined with the Empire.</div>
</div>
<div class="WordSection2">
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%;">
Such
was the world that welcomed Augustine. As Justo Gonzales records in <i>The
Story of Christianity, </i>Augustine was born in Northern Africa in A.D. 354.
He was an intellectually gifted child and his parents wanted to provide him
with a quality education.<span class="Endnoteanchor"> </span>Augustine's academic
career brought him to Carthage as a young man where he pursued rhetoric,
philosophy, and women. Unable to accept the Christian faith of his mother,
Augustine adhered to Manichaeism—a young, Gnostic and dualistic religion of
Persian origin. Finding shortcomings in Manichean beliefs, Augustine eventually
followed the philosophical teachings of Neo-Platonism, which was also a
Gnostic-like teaching with many similarities to ideas that we might today
associate with the Eastern pantheistic religions. Later in life, while working
in Milan as a professor of Rhetoric, Augustine's mother convinced him to attend
the preaching of Aurelius Ambrosius, the local Bishop. It was through these
sermons and through watching influential acquaintances abdicate their pagan
religion for Christianity that Augustine was led to eventually confront the God
that he had been avoiding.<span class="Endnoteanchor"></span></div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%;">
What
might be the most significant event in the history of the post-apostolic church
happened in a garden in Milan in A.D. 386. Urged forward by his lifelong search
for the truth, Augustine wrestled with God and walked out of his garden as a
convert to the Christian faith. His actions evidenced that he was truly a new
man. Giving up his profession as a professor of rhetoric, Augustine settled
into a monastic lifestyle back in North Africa. Through a series of events and
against his intentions, Augustine came to serve as the Bishop of Hippo, another
city in North Africa. It was during this time<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"></span> that Augustine penned his most
influential works and set a course for the Church that would form the thinking
of Christians to this day.</div>
</div>
<span class="Endnoteanchor"></span><br />
<div class="WordSection3">
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%;">
The
significance of Augustine's work in the modern church, especially in the Western
world, cannot be understated. Much of his success, if not seen as a direct
result of the divine sovereignty of God, likely rested on his gifting as a
philosopher and rhetorician. Gonzalez states it this way: “Throughout the
Middle Ages, no theologian was quoted more often than he was, and he thus
became one of the great doctors of the Roman Catholic Church. But he was also the
favorite theologian of the great Protestant reformers of the sixteenth century.
Thus, Augustine, variously interpreted, has become the most influential
theologian in the entire Western church, both Protestant and Catholic.”<span class="Endnoteanchor"></span> And John Piper, a leading figure in the resurgence
of Reformed Theology in America, says in his three part biography: “<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%;">From this platform in North Africa,
and through his remarkable faithfulness in formulating and defending the
Christian faith for his generation, Augustine shaped the history of the
Christian church. His influence in the Western world is simply staggering.”<span class="Endnoteanchor"></span></span></div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%;">
Some
of Augustine's contributions to the Church were unique articulations of
innovative doctrines. Where Augustine was not outlining new teaching he was
reinforcing and strengthening older ones. Ideas such as classical theism,
original sin, infant baptism, ammillennialsm/postmillenialism, and just war
theory have benefited from Augustine's influence. Although it is unlikely that
anyone would ever admit Augustine's authority to be on par with that of the
original Apostles and authors of the New Testament, Augustinian ideas permeate
the thinking of modern Christians both overtly and latently to such a degree
that we are regularly impacted by his teachings in even the most subtle ways.
To some extent, Christians undoubtedly read scripture through an Augustinian
filter—so that even the <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"></span>interpretation of Paul's epistles is
predicated upon Augustinian traditions and assumptions. This is not so
surprising for the Roman Church when considering the significance that
tradition has in her formation of doctrine. However, it is a more perplexing
point for the Protestant Church—which historically prides itself upon the motto
<i>sola scriptura. </i>Nevertheless, Augustine has had a profound and lasting
impact on the whole Western church.</div>
</div>
<div class="WordSection4">
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%;">
Augustine
uniquely impacted the Church of the Middle Ages and the Church of the
Reformation in different ways. The dramatic histories of those periods carry
through to us today both the heritage of their occasions and also a more direct
Augustinian influence. Peter Brown, in his biography of Augustine, points out
that, “It is no coincidence that these two themes (his doctrine of grace and
his notion of the Church) were the two major preoccupations of Augustine's life
in which he seemed to have turned his face most directly towards the future.
They pointed toward the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages, to the crisis of
grace and freedom in the Reformation and to the laicized sequels of that crisis
in modern times.”<span class="Endnoteanchor"></span> Augustine's impact in the
Roman Church is perhaps most obvious in its ecclesiological distinctions. His <i>City
of God</i> is certainly visible in the catholic, supranational, and pilgrim
characteristics of the Church. Out of the ashes of Rome and through his
struggle to defend Christianity against its detractors, Augustine contributed
to an understanding of the function and identity of church that likely led
directly to the strong, formal institution that arose in the vacuum of Rome's
absence. This must have had a direct impact on the ability of the Church to survive
throughout the following Medieval Age.</div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 35.45pt;">
Augustine's
defense of the Church's right to coerce heretics as well as his views on just
war foreshadow the Inquisition of the 12th century and other controversial
episodes in church history. Brown
states that, “In fact, Augustine had already moved half of the way towards
accepting coercion as<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"></span>a means of solving the Donatist
schism; and the new circumstances created by the Edict merely crystallized an
attitude which had been evolving for a long time....Augustine, in replying to
his persistent critics, wrote the only full justification, in the history of the
Early Church, of the right of the state to suppress non-Catholics.”<span class="Endnoteanchor"></span> And Gonzales, writing on the effect of Just War
Theory, said, “The second condition is that a just war must be waged by
properly instituted authority....this principle would be applied by the
powerful in order to claim that they had the right to make war on the
powerless, but that the opposite was not true.”<span class="Endnoteanchor"></span>
The impact of such ideas can also be seen throughout the Reformation in the
words and actions of Calvin, Zwingli, and Luther toward the dissidents of their
movement. Of course this sort of activity does not have a formal place within
the Roman or Protestant Church today, but the memory of these historical events
have a lasting impact on the legacy of the Church.</div>
</div>
<div class="WordSection5">
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%;">
The
Reformation also carried with it a rich Augustinian tradition. As already
stated, the reformer's articulation of the doctrines of Grace is a direct
connection to Augustine's ideas. Hilmar M. Pabel notes Augustine's impact on
Luther: “<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%;">Scholarship has
signaled Augustine's influence on Protestant reformers, especially Martin
Luther....In 1517, after formulating the doctrine of justification by faith
alone through a reading of St. Paul supported by a study of Augustine, Luther
equated his own theology with Augustine's.”<span class="Endnoteanchor"></span> </span>The
famous (or infamous) soteriological system named for John Calvin was first articulated
by Augustine more than a millennium earlier. In Anthony Lane’s biography of John
Calvin, the source of Calvin’s theological inspiration is highlighted:<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%;"> “Calvin held Augustine in the
highest regard. He was very reluctant to depart from Augustine in doctrinal
matters, or at least to admit it. He made sweeping claims to the support of</span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%;">Augustine....Calvin's teaching
was to a considerable extent, if not to the extent that he actually claimed, a revival
of Augustinianism, and it is natural therefore that he should have felt
inclined to give </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%;"></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%;">considerable authority to Augustine.”<span class="Endnoteanchor"></span> </span>Calvinist doctrine was a predominant aspect
of the Great Awakening and the early spread of Christianity throughout America.
Even of those sects of the Protestant Church that do not espouse Calvinism
today, few are truly absent of at least some of its distinctive doctrinal
points. So we see that Augustine's influence on the whole of the Western church
is extensive.</div>
</div>
<div class="WordSection6">
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 36.65pt;">
A much longer treatment of the
manifold ways that Augustine has influence the Church, both Roman and
Protestant alike, is more appropriate for such a dense subject. Most of the
ways we experience Augustine's thinking are likely too subtle or too embedded
in our presumptions and dogma to be easily discernible. There are many critical
points throughout the history of the Church which are worth considering as the
most influential: e.g. the transition from the Apostles to the apostolic
fathers, the rise of Constantine, the Crusades, the Protestant Reformation and
Counter-Reformation, and the spread of Christianity in the New World. However,
none of those, with the exception of the age of the Apostolic Fathers and
Constantine, would have likely been what they were without the influence of
Augustine. His impact is active in the Church down to this very day. The modern
church, across the board, is in many ways an Augustinian church. The Church,
and the whole of western society, would not be the same without him.</div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><br clear="all" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-54110493310340241812012-02-20T13:57:00.000-08:002012-02-20T14:04:39.746-08:00Why You Should Vote for Ron Paul (Episode 2): The Republican Exploitation of Evangelicals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you are a Christian and you've followed Ron Paul for any length of
time then you will have noticed that he does not wear his faith in the way that America has come to expect from Republican politicians. If
you have heard him speak of his faith at all, it was likely in only the
most succinct manner. Where we are accustomed to seeing republicans
desperately pandering and performing for the approval of the evangelical
right, it is strange to have a serious candidate for the Republican
party not selling his faith out for the sake of political gain. Even
Mitt Romney is heard talking faith more than Paul, and Romney would
likely prefer that the evangelical base forget about his religious
distinctions. <br />
<br />
For some reason this seems to cause a
problem for many politically interested evangelicals. They have become accustomed to needing
to hear all the right things out of a candidate's mouth. A successful prospect must one-up
the other candidates with their sharp abortion rhetoric and they have to
make strong verbal affirmations of support for traditional marriage
(their own personal infidelities aside). They must somehow convey their
harmonic love for God and country, and the more blurry the lines between
the two the better. It is broadly understood that without these
prerequisites a prospective office-holder cannot solidify the support of
the evangelical base. Without the evangelic base there is hardly any
expectation that a candidate can win. Jerry Falwell must be smiling in
his grave. <br />
<br />
However, all the rhetoric has proven time
and time again to be almost worthless. There is a rough formula that
republican candidates must follow if they hope for success, and this
formula is basically a guideline for exploiting the willingly naive
evangelical base. That is usually the extent to which republican
candidates have any use for evangelical talking points: political gain.
An outside observer might conclude that the abortion issue (which is
only one aspect of a truly "pro-life" world view) and eradicating
gayness or gay people are the two foundational aspects of the
evangelical faith. There is certainly very little about their public
conversation or behavior that would tip anyone off to something called
the gospel. Even despite the actual actions of men in power, as long as they say the right words when they speak then evangelicals are happy
to hold their pocket and dutifully follow wherever they lead. Lately
that has lead to the evangelical right being complicit in unjust war,
exploitation here and abroad, and a dismantlement of liberty. <br />
<br />
Ron
Paul (and libertarianism) offers evangelicals a way out of this
political-ideological quagmire. He doesn't adhere to the republican
formula for success because he isn't interested in simply using people
in order to attain office. Politically, Paul is oriented around
libertarianism which has a set of foundational premises that are used to
guide decision making. In contrast, most politicians are aligned to a
party (probably whichever one they deem most likely to succeed). Because political parties are not ideologically grounded, a
party's stances change with the ebb of culture. This is why the republican party as a whole is not so much
conservative as it is merely (maybe) less progressive than the
democratic party. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Spiritually,
Paul is oriented around Christ. If pressed, he is not ashamed to
speak of <a href="http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/statement-of-faith/" target="_blank">his faith</a>. However, he is aware of the way religion is used by
politicians and seems to avoid even appearing to take part in that sort
of evil. So for Republican evangelicals the choice comes down to Paul,
who is a lifelong committed Christian with the character and behavior to
prove it, or the rest of the Republican field, who--as it seems that
everyone but the evangelical right realizes--are likely employing their faith
as just one more political tool to capture the allegiance of a special
interest. </div>
<br />
I'm quite confident of which way
the evangelical base will go. They care too much about rhetoric and
speeches. They enjoy having their ears tickled and shy away from deep
thinking. This is evidenced in many churches on Sunday morning where a
shallow, seeker driven homily is the centerpiece of the service. We
really like good-looking and well-spoken men telling us what we want to
hear. And so the conversation coming from the evangelical world this
political season about who to rally behind has been quite amusing. With Paul not allowed to be a viable option for them, the
evangelicals are left to choose between a Roman Catholic missionary
who happens to be running for president, a serial adulterer who became
evangelical in college and then converted to the Roman Catholicism of
his latest mistress/wife, and a standout former Mormon bishop and stake
president. Considering that the average evangelical tends to consider
LDS a cult and does not look much more favorably toward Roman
Catholicism, I am sure that there will remain quite a circus within
the evangelical political world as they continue to cycle back and forth deciding who among the three will be recognized as the best
representative of evangelical faith and values. <br />
<br />
Avoid the circus. Vote Ron Paul. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-71158107722795988732012-02-14T18:15:00.000-08:002012-02-15T00:48:47.176-08:00God is Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The first epistle of John emphasizes that God is love (ESV 1 John 4.8,16).
Love is also fundamental to the Gospel. John writes that God's love was made
manifest in the act of him sending his son into the world to bring us
life (1 John 4.9) and that the very definition of love is found within the Christ's act of propitiation on our behalf (1 John 4.10).
John expresses quite plainly that we who follow Jesus are to love one
another (1 John 4.7), that loving others is intrinsic to knowing God (1
John 4:8), and that it is impossible to love God while hating your
brother (1 John 4:20,21)--which was basically articulated in an even
broader sense when it was earlier expressed by Jesus (Mat. 5:44,45). <br />
<br />
So what's the problem with love? I'm thinking of the perspective that we (followers of Christ) sometimes tend towards when too much love is seen as a threat to other items of practicing our faith or other aspects of God's nature. If you have no idea what I'm referring to then good, maybe you haven't experienced this. But some of us sometimes seem to understand love as existing in a dichotomic tension with other virtues. For example, it might be thought that emphasizing (or overemphasizing) God's love tends to underemphasize his righteousness, judgement, or holiness. Focusing too much on
God's love won't lead a person to fearful reverence, repentance, and
right living is how the objection might go. But how can it be possible that God is love and the gospel is founded on love, yet if we thoroughly apply this truth we risk damaging our faith? And if too much love risks keeping people from repentance, what then are we to make of the notion that God apparently finds it worthwhile to employ kindness in the attempt to bring people to that end (Rom. 2.4)? It seems obvious to me that, to whatever extent our thoughts on love lead us to these conclusions, our thinking is wrong.<br />
<br />
As we see in John's epistle, since God is love and love is fundamental to the gospel, obviously there is nothing wrong with it. It is without meaning to conclude that it can be over emphasized (1 Cor. 13.13). If God is love then love is a premise in every attribute and action of God. God's justice must exist not aside from love or contrary to it, but rather enveloped by it. In fearing God, as we rightfully should, our reverence is not for a malevolent, loveless being but for an awesome, powerful, perfectly holy God who nevertheless is still love.<br />
<br />
But if that's so, what else could be the source of all the examples of compromise within the church? Don't failures on the part of the church to discipline its own members indicate too much love and not enough accountability? Don't all of the "hippie-spiritual" people out there just float along trumpeting love but yet living outside of Christ? No, that's not it at all. The problem is not an overemphasis, but a wrong emphasis and a wrong understanding of love.<br />
<br />
When we as believers object to focusing "too much" on love we are failing to understand love according to a biblical worldview. When we equivocate on the meaning of love and hold closer to a secular, romanticized, folksy definition then we start to get confused. I'm not going to outline it in detail, but within the biblical framework we are to understand love as an action (Luke 6.27, Rom. 13.9,10), and in the context of our relationship with God that action is obedience to him (John 14.15-24). Likewise, as Gods love manifested itself as a sacrifice for the propitiation of our sins, likewise our love for one another should manifest itself sacrificially (John 15.13). Love is not affability, kindness, or a sentiment and in many contexts such things work against love. Love in the biblical context can require us to do very hard things, such as confronting someone about their destructive lifestyle (1 Cor. 5.1-5). Paul sees church discipline as being needed for the sake of the person being disciplined, or out of love for those involved (1 Cor. 5.5). It because of love that God disciplines those whom belong to him (Heb. 12.3-11). <br />
<br />
So don't be afraid of love. Abide in it and love one another. In Christ we have the freedom and grace to do so because he first loved us. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-11290533954589832362012-02-12T08:35:00.000-08:002012-02-13T16:49:00.358-08:00N.T. Wright on the Rapture<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Just stumbled upon <a href="http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_BR_Farewell_Rapture.htm" target="_blank">this</a>. It's not very long. Let me know what you think.<br />
<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-14309112206023193052012-02-02T17:45:00.000-08:002012-02-02T17:48:52.676-08:00The Literal Word<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="hw" style="font-size: x-small;"> literal</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="pron0x" style="font-size: x-small;">[ˈlɪtərəl]</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> adj</i></span><br />
<div class="ds-list">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> 1.</b> in exact accordance with or limited to the primary or explicit meaning of a word or text</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> 2.</b> word for word</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> 3.</b> dull, factual, or prosaic</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> 4.</b> consisting of, concerning, or indicated by letters</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> 5.</b> true; actual</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> 6.</b> (Mathematics) <i>Maths</i> containing or using coefficients and constants represented by letters: <i>ax<sup>2</sup> + b</i> is a literal expression </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Compare <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/numerical">numerical</a> [3a]</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> n</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) Also called <b>literal error</b> a misprint or misspelling in a text</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> [from Late Latin <i>litterālis</i> concerning letters, from Latin <i>littera</i> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; font-variant: small-caps;">letter</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">]</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> literalness</b> , <b>literality</b> </span><span class="pron0x" style="font-size: x-small;">[ˌlɪtəˈrælɪtɪ]</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <i>n</i></span><br />
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For those who regularly engage in the bible and theology, you do not have to spend much time at all listening to church teachers and preachers before you will hear someone espousing the manifold virtues of a literal approach to biblical interpretation. Certain theological topics in particular attempt to rely heavily on the concept of employing a literal hermeneutic and the presumed merit of such an approach. I imagine that for many people the inherent wisdom of literal exegesis is too obvious to even think of it being soundly critiqued. Here is my critique: <br />
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A literal hermeneutic does not literally exist. With a little bit of examination I'm sure you'll see that the concept is actually rather absurd. An overwhelming amount of the bible would be rendered completely unintelligible if the words were understood literally. It is likely that one of the most common mistakes "young" bible readers make is to take passages or phrases that are idiomatic, allegorical, or symbolic, and attempt to understand them literally. <br />
<br />
It is often said that the historical-grammatical approach is a literal hermeneutic, however it's self-evident that such a concept is necessarily false. By definition the historical-grammatical hermeneutic, which emphasizes the reading of text in lieu of the indigenous context, original intent, and unique genre of the particular passage in question, contradicts the idea of approaching the bible with consistent literalism. It is necessary to read Song of Solomon much differently than the way Leviticus should be read. <br />
<br />
Now I know that this idea would probably produce a visceral reaction from some bible readers who have been taught that there is such a thing as a literal hermeneutic and that it is the only right way to read the bible. But I would truly enjoy meeting someone that actually consistently interpreted the bible literally and have them explain how they make sense of anything. For example, just within the sermon on the mount alone (Mathew 5) you would have to take away that...</div>
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1. You are composed of salt, as in the particular chemical compound (NaCl) useful for preserving food. (v13)<br />
2. You are an actual light that emits photons and collectively you and other lights compose a city on an actual hill (which seemingly contradicts the first point). (v14)<br />
3. If you have ever been brought to sin through visual stimuli, you are commanded to tear out the eye responsible and throw it away (no littering). (v29)<br />
4. Ditto for your arm. (v30)<br />
5. God actually sits on heaven (which we should perhaps expect to resemble a giant chair) not unlike how you are now sitting at your computer. He also rests his feet on the actual Earth. (v34, 35)</div>
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I hope the above list of interpretations are as obnoxious to you as they are to me, because they highlight the natural shortcoming an actual literal interpretation has. Obviously it would be impossible to render the Bible intelligibly this way, as the authors and characters used idioms, hyperbole, and poetic devices in common communication just as we do. But you are probably saying, "Boring Gabe, nobody actually reads the bible like this. This is nothing like what I mean when I say I read the bible literally". Of course it isn't what you mean, but the words we use are so very important. If our communication is reduced to some ugly amalgamation of broad equivocations than we will lose the very ability to meaningfully articulate the foundational tenants of our faith and the opportunity to have sensible and productive discourse with other people over differing views. <br />
<br />
It seems to me that people usually intend one of two things when claiming to use a literal hermeneutic. The more ingenuous error happens when people say they read the bible literally but it is clear from how they speak that they actually intend to express their commitment to taking the bible very seriously. That is, that they sincerely believe the bible to teach the truth and they hold to the high virtue of employing the utmost sincerity in their commitment to an uncompromising application of biblical teaching to their personal lives. More specifically, they take the bible at its word on the miraculous and believe in the modern relevancy and everyday importance of the New Testament teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. This is a great position to have and I heartily encourage it, but it is a separate issue from whether or not the biblical text should literally be interpreted literally. For example, I believe that Jesus is rightly described as the sacrificed lamb of God in the 5th chapter of the Apocolypse, however I don't know anyone who expects to meet a bloody, mangled, wooly animal--one with seven horns and eyes no less!--when they one day come before the Christ. <br />
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The second manner of erring in the claim to a literal hermeneutic is, in my view, much more of a serious problem than the former example. It is particularly popular among some Christians to support their theological conclusions as superior based on the virtue of the supposed literal hermeneutic they are employing. It then becomes a matter of convenience to push forward a fallacious argument in order to dismiss other opinions: they read the bible the literal (right) way, other people are doing something less (e.g. spiritualizing or allegorizing) and they beg the question by asserting that every other approach is by definition wrong. The root problem with this is the misnomer of claiming literalism as a hermeneutic. They do not have any higher platform from which to disparage the non-literalism of others. They end up tending toward hypocrisy in so much as they wrongly criticize those they disagree with for not acquiescing to an impossible standard that they themselves do not actually uphold. This is often and perhaps most easily seen in debates on eschatology where one person declares their view more literal than the view of another person when in reality they have both taken some passages literally and some not. They simply disagree on what is literal and what is otherwise. <br />
<br />
This is an important issue in theological discussion because carelessly disparaging the view of other people on faulty grounds leads to the dismissal of people who have different conclusions than us without caring to understand anything about them. This leads to increased disconnection and segregation within the body of Christ (not a literal term) and is unfair--even misleading--to those younger Christians that might be naive to the difference between their preacher/teacher's personal dogma and the methods of sound biblical exegesis. It is also a red-flag for the veracity of our own positions if the best polemic that can be mustered against other opinions is fundamentally false. Arguing from such a point is all around unproductive for everyone involved. </div>
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So let us dispose of claims to literal hermeneutics. Nobody actually uses one and there would not be any virtue in doing so. Read the bible as it was written to be read. We should recognize that when we disagree with someone because they read a certain passage non-literally that we have to actually deal with that passage on its own merits. Simply pointing out that they are not reading it literally without pointing out why the particular section in question should be understood literally is in no way a valid argument. Of course, anyone is free to disagree with me and I heartily invite your expressed dissent. If you have stumbled across this and you're wondering who I am and what authority I have to speak on this, be sure to understand that I am nobody of significance and I don't carry any special authority. However, I believe that the preceding argument is able to stand on its own legs (also not literal). </div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-90528811079904462722012-01-28T22:36:00.000-08:002012-01-28T22:37:49.752-08:00Leaving on a Jet Plane<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Let me see if I can get a discussion going. So K and I have been giving more consideration to expatriating. We are nowhere near having the means to do this, but for us it is a question of near to mid term goals. Has anyone else out there among my vast readership given any thought to emigrating? If so, where would you consider going? For those that have not considered this, if you had to live somewhere else, where would you head? </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-52269059641959246142012-01-27T20:25:00.000-08:002012-01-27T20:25:33.541-08:00Why You Should Vote for Ron Paul (Episode 1): Your Penance<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So I want to start a series of posts on why you should vote for Ron Paul. This will be an exceedingly difficult task for me and it is likely that I will not succeed because it will require that I set aside the time and energy to come up with 3+ posts on the subject in order for it to rightfully be labeled a series. I am not at all confident in my ability to accomplish this--not because of the inadequacy of the topic but because of the inadequacy of my personal diligence. So for now I will think of this writing as the post that is the first in what will hopefully be known as a series. <br />
<br />
Now to get to the point.<br />
<br />
You owe us. By "you" I refer to just about everyone in this country that makes up the generation composed of my generation's parents and before. Allow me to be frank about this: we're screwed and it's your fault. It is very well possible--I'd lean toward probable--that the state of the union is beyond recovery at this point. That means that whatever you do, whoever you vote for, there is no guarantee that it is even possible to rectify the situation at this late date. However, that sad reality does not relieve you of your responsibility to do the right thing and personally repent of the poor decisions you have made and the evils you failed to prevent. You and your peers contributed to bringing about the present dire situation; now own your mistakes like adults.<br />
<br />Many of you likely do not understand how dire the situation is--a fact which only adds to your guilt. You should have educated yourself a long time ago. People were counting on you--your children and grandchildren trusted you. You failed. At this very moment, according to usdebtclock.org, the total national debt stands around $15 trillion, just slightly more than total GDP. Now, there is no easy way for any of us to comprehend what a number like 15 trillion means (which should be a huge red flag already), but I'll try to help you conceptualize the problem. This could be thought of as just under $50k for every man, woman, and child in this country from nursery to nursing-home. Or it could be seen as the 136k for every tax-payer. That debt to gdp ratio tells us that even if the government stopped spending money tomorrow and taxed 100% of every dollar spent for a year, the national debt would <i>almost </i>be paid for. That is what is called an impossible situation.<br />
<br />
Now I'm not going to go on about the implications of all this on a society (and they are legion). That is something you should have been figuring out decades ago. I'm also not going to use this post to touch on the myriad of issues related to civil liberties, unconstitutional powers, or social debasement. The simple facts of the fiscal situation in this country should be enough to make you realize that you screwed up--assuming you care. Of course, judging by the your actions the only reasonable conclusion is that you obviously do not care. Like spoiled children, you had the proverbial wealth of the American experiment handed to you and you managed to spoil it faster than would have been believed possible.<br />
<br />
To bring this back around to the point of this post, Ron Paul is nearly the only person on the political horizon (and the only candidate for president) that both understands the situation and isn't himself one of the perpetrators. He is the only candidate that comes close to being serious about initiating the kind of action that is needed if there is even a chance of rectifying the tragedy you have created. I am not employing hyperbole when I say that if there is still any political hope whatsoever of salvaging this country through civil means it will be gone after this election. We are certainly approaching a tipping point, beyond which everything changes. For our sake, for the sake of those who are just beginning to inherit your disaster, do the right thing for my generation and your children. Turn off the television. Learn the cause of Liberty. Vote Ron Paul. <br /> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-54021655890575143102012-01-09T14:42:00.000-08:002012-01-09T14:49:19.673-08:00Short Post, Long Links, Altogether Boring<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So I've been listening to the "2011 Prophecy Update" series by Ken Ortiz of Calvary Spokane. While my eschatological views are starkly different than his and I consequently reject the notion that what is happening in the world today has very much direct relevance to biblical prophecy, I think that Ken does a good job of summarizing some economic and historical reasons to believe that we are altogether in an altogether terrible situation. He also has some good stuff to say about how to respond in light of a Christ-centered worldview. While I would caution you to not accept his "end-times" theological assumptions without strong consideration and thorough examination, the series should be worth your while if you have the while at your disposal. Enjoy:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.calvaryspokane.com/sermon/view/2011-prophecy-update--session-1" target="_blank">Part 1</a><br />
<a href="http://www.calvaryspokane.com/sermon/view/2011-prophecy-update--session-2" target="_blank">Part 2</a><br />
<a href="http://www.calvaryspokane.com/sermon/view/2011-prophecy-update--session-3" target="_blank">Part 3</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-86628993582707936992011-12-23T22:40:00.000-08:002011-12-23T22:40:08.985-08:00Happy Holidays!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So now that I’ve attempted to start blogging again, I’ve
decided to be more forthright about my opinions. Nobody reads this anyway, so
it really shouldn’t be too upsetting to the world. Along with being more
forthright, I’m not going to just write about a few of my more mainline
opinions on bible stuff like I have in the past but will freely blog about anything
of note to me at the time, whatever the subject. What this really means is that
my audience (notice how I joke) should expect a lot of drivel about not just
religion, but also libertarianism and societal collapse. So there we are. All
of that to preface that what I’m about to say, though also mostly of a
religious nature, shouldn’t be thought of as evidence that religious drivel is
the only sort of drivel that should be expected to drivel out of me in the
future. </div>
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<br /></div>
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So in this special and beautiful season of aggression
between Christmas’ true crusaders and those irrationally bent on eliminating a
God they know doesn’t exist, let me take just a moment to implore those out
there (among my vast readership) whom call themselves Christians and fans of
Christmas—those of you that see yourselves as God’s appointed champions of
Christmas virtue and purity—to please, for Heaven’s sake, lay down your arms.
It is not merely my abhorrence of war that motivates me in this admonition, but
more the simple reality that you are fighting for an illegitimate cause, you
are likely doing spiritual harm to yourself and others, and (most importantly)
you are neglecting what SHOULD be your actual and legitimate mission.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Christmas is superfluous. Neither Christmas nor any
celebration of Christ’s birth (or anyone’s birth) was ever commissioned by
Jesus or the Apostles. December 25<sup>th</sup> has no inherent significance in
the Kingdom of God. Nothing is gained or lost in how Christians or
non-Christians spend their time (or greet one another while shopping) in and
around this time of year (as compared to any other time, I mean). The church
will not be edified and the lost will not be found through your protests, your
petitions, and your punditry. So give it up and let us focus on keeping the
Christ in Christian for a change. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fifteen days from now, when the smoke clears and this Christmas
season is just another in a long string of holiday memories, how will the
Kingdom have advanced because of your ire? Is there going to be one more soul
in heaven because you’ve campaigned (or just sat at home and complained) for
the local department store to make sure its Christmas greeting conforms to your
specifications? Celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25<sup>th</sup> in
accordance with your desires and convictions. Or celebrate it some other time
if you want. “The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of he Lord”
(ESV, Rom. 14.6). Just don’t think some bit of outward scorn toward the secular
world during this arbitrary time of celebration in any way amounts to “your spiritual
worship” (Rom 12.1). I believe that if you stop and reflect you would find that
God would have more for you and ask more of you than fighting this war on
Christmas. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Merry Christmas. </div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-41943769092508815892011-12-20T14:25:00.000-08:002011-12-20T14:41:25.181-08:00Bread for DogsThere is a growing niche in education. Enabled by the new global information structure, some rather significant players in academia have pioneered new approaches in educating the masses. Most notable at the moment might be heavyweight Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has been the leading proponent of a concept called OpenCourseWare (OCW). In a nutshell, MIT OCW provides material (e.g. lectures, handouts, exams) from maybe thousands of courses taught at the school over the past decade. This is all free and accessible to anyone anywhere in the world who has access to the internet. <br /><br /> Another approach comes from MIT/Harvard educated Salman Khan. His online Khan Academy has thousands of video lectures along with a unique platform for practicing and tracking student progress. I have personally significantly benefited from Khan in my own studies with geology and advanced calculus, and just a few weeks ago I heard of a family near me that integrates Khan’s resources with their homeschooling. The kids themselves say they love it. <br /><br /> Univeristy of the People is taking a third route and endeavoring to create a truly tuition free online university. At the present, they offer programs in computer science and business administration and they are in the process of seeking accreditation. U of P adds the structure that is not present with OCW offerings such as an actual professor and a class of peers. This general trend toward alternative means of educating is remarkable in and of itself and also stands in remarkable juxtaposition to the other, more prolific trend of creating for-profit commercial institutions out of the carcasses of failing traditional colleges. I can see only good things coming from intelligent, creative people taking it upon themselves to make education more available to the broad world. <br /><br /> So what is going on with the church? While we certainly have some strong representatives in the for-profit (and arguably predatory) movement with Grand Canyon University and Victory University, the church is conspicuous in its near absence from the alternative higher education thrust. This should be an utter embarrassment to all of us who claim to take seriously the standards set forward in scripture, because we have a mandate to build up the church freely and sacrificially. Making disciples certainly encompasses education, so should gaining a Christian education for a disciple of Christ cost as much as it does for a disciple of Wall Street to attain an MBA? Is the church just blithely trudging along on the same well-worn path with the rest of academia—the same academia that much of the church is so quick to condemn as damnably secular and progressive?<br /> <br /> It would still be an embarrassment to us if Christian educators were merely on par with the secular educators in alternative education. We have fairly clear guidelines on how to go about life differently and we are the ones that should be setting standards. And while there are small players here and there that are operating in that direction (see thenarrowpath.com, covenantseminary.edu, and studycenter.com), the major agents in Christian academia (e.g. Wheaton University or Dallas Theological Seminary) are, to my knowledge, completely absent. So what are we to make of this? Is there to be a distinction in this kingdom of priests between a well-educated, controlling class and laity that has a life-long dependence upon the professional ministers to truly understand the Bible? Are we to understand that Jesus’ edict to make disciples of the world was intended to include a hefty tuition for those being made (and comfortable salaries for those doing the making)? And what happens to Mathew 10:8—is it null in our day considering that those who now have (in the context of education) certainly didn’t freely receive it for themselves? <br /><br /> There are likely unqualified, ungifted, and I dare say even unsaved men and women in Christian institutions of higher learning all across the country. They can afford tuition so they receive the best that Christian minds can offer while there are likely those who are called, gifted, and abandoned to the Lord who get by on the scraps that are left on the floor. Can we seriously not do better than MIT and Yale in meeting the educational needs of our own? Certainly it is not right to take the children’s bread and sell it to the dogs. <br /><br /> Christians should be very interested in finding creative ways to make the highest quality theological education available to anyone in the church who is willing to learn. We have seen that with OCW models this can be done without risking the established system of allowing those with the means to attend school and actually walk away with diplomas in hand. There are likely several potential solutions to this situation that do not involve an overnight abandonment of the Christian educational system as it now stands, so it really comes down to whether or not the people with the knowledge care enough about equipping Christ’s body to actually do so.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-8976841479218089752009-09-24T19:00:00.000-07:002009-09-24T19:05:43.941-07:00Pride<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:version>12.00</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> </xml><![endif]--><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CHAMMER%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CHAMMER%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> 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mso-default-props:yes; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:10.0pt; line-height:115%;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">I’d like us to talk about pride.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I once heard someone express the sentiment that pride was the root of all sin.<span style=""> </span>The more I think about that the more I see a lot of truth in it.<span style=""> </span>It was a proud king that acted on the notion that he had a right to take Bathsheba for Himself<sup>1</sup>.<span style=""> </span>Pride preceded the fall when Eve’s desire to “be like God” opened her to temptation<sup>2</sup>.<span style=""> </span>And every day pride is at the center of what leads neighbor against neighbor and nation against nation.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our culture maintains condemnation of pride when it is overtly and crudely expressed, such as the arrogance of the wealthy or the ugly boasting of a poor winner, but much more normal than that is the silent conceit that rests in a person’s heart and the frivolousness of ardent devotion such as seen in the #1 fan or the nationalist.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Therapists in the modern culture strongly encourage people to take some time for themselves or to build their own self-esteem.<span style=""> </span>These themes are regurgitated by the culture at large—as if thinking highly of one’s self and providing more comfort for ourselves would cure the person and the world of the most significant problems.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>A prominent “Christian psychologist” expresses in one of his publications that the one thing women in the country need more than anything else is self-esteem—silly of me to imagine that he might mention something of the cross before that.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Along with feeling good about ourselves we are naturally inclined, and yet encouraged more still, to not only love ourselves but to love anything we associate with ourselves.<span style=""> </span>I am apparently supposed to have pride for and allegiance to my family, my town, my school, my local sports team, my state, my country, and my ethnicity; not because there is necessarily any intrinsic reason that any of those things are better than the next but simply because <i style="">they are mine.</i><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">No, the issue is not thinking too little or too much of ourselves, but rather thinking of ourselves.<span style=""> </span>We all love ourselves.<span style=""> </span>Even the ability for someone to feel poorly about their self for some perceived fault or failing requires that person to love their self enough to care.<span style=""> </span>I’m not suggesting that self-love is a bad thing, but when it is put out of its proper place it develops into a sort of self-worship. <span style=""> </span>Or more simply: <span style=""> </span>pride.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>In Luke 22 when Jesus was challenged by a Pharisee as to the greatest commandment of the law, Jesus replied that it is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and that the second greatest was to “love your neighbor <i style="">as yourself</i>”.<span style=""> </span>Did you catch that?<span style=""> </span>Jesus didn’t say to love yourself, but rather He took it for granted that you already do.<span style=""> </span>Our inherent self-love is the standard for which we are to love others.<span style=""> </span>And I would say pride is us moving our love for self past our love for others and especially our love for God.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">All throughout scripture we are warned against pride and encouraged towards glorification of God and denial of self.<span style=""> </span>Luke 9:23 tells us to deny ourselves daily.<span style=""> </span>Again and again Jesus tells us that “the last will be first, and first will be last”<sup>3</sup>.<span style=""> </span>The wild man John the Baptist joyfully proclaimed that “He (Christ) must become greater; I must become less”<sup>4</sup>.<span style=""> </span>And as our example, Jesus himself shows us the purest form of humility:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 10pt;"><sup>5</sup>Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: <sup id="en-NIV-29382">6</sup>Who, being in very nature<sup value="" href="%22#fen-NIV-29382a%22" title=""See">a]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+2&version=NIV#fen-NIV-29382a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</sup> God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, <sup>7</sup>but made himself nothing, taking the very nature<sup value="" href="%22#fen-NIV-29383b%22" title=""See">b]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+2&version=NIV#fen-NIV-29383b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]</sup> of a servant, being made in human likeness. <sup id="en-NIV-29384">8</sup>And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!<span style=""> </span><sup>9</sup>Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, <sup id="en-NIV-29386">10</sup>that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, <sup>11</sup>and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.<span style=""> </span>(Philippians 2:5-11)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Certainly we might remark that if any man has a right to his pride, it would be the only man who was also God.<span style=""> </span>But instead, He did the exact opposite.<span style=""> </span>While God was here among us He lowered himself to a degree that we are incapable of comprehending.<span style=""> </span>The distance between a corrupt creation and an eternally perfect God is infinite—that is, we’re infinitely less than Him.<span style=""> </span>God’s example was to cross that chasm and become “nothing”, or as we know it, human.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our pride takes innumerable forms.<span style=""> </span>Worship of self is normative and widespread throughout the “pagan” world.<span style=""> </span>It comes in big ways and small ones, in colorful boasts and in secret conceits.<span style=""> </span>But it is not our position, we who are followers of Christ, to condemn the pagan culture.<span style=""> </span>The distressing thing, though, is that in too many ways there is no counter to it in our Christian culture.<span style=""> </span>We accept without question many of the self-serving values that are found in this world we are domiciled in. <span style=""> </span>I think we are tempted to tone down the intensity of the expression of our conceits as if by that, in contrast to the world around us, we can claim a degree of humility.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But maybe worse yet are the ways in which pride is dividing and conquering the church from the inside out.<span style=""> </span>I might call myself a Baptist and you might call yourself a Methodist, and might both of us be quite happy to identify ourselves in this manner.<span style=""> </span>But why?<span style=""> </span>Is there any better reason for me to take pride in a certain denomination than there is for me to feel good about myself for wearing a Redskin’s jersey on football Sunday?<span style=""> </span>Am I likely to be so adamant about the superiority of the local church that I associate myself with because doing so would bring honor to God or bring honor to me?<span style=""> </span>Can we seriously believe that anyone standing outside the church ever looks in on this mess and finds our <i style="">dis</i>unity in Christ to be attractive or the answer to their problems?<span style=""> </span>Did not Paul have something to say about this when he asked the church at Corinth “is Christ divided<sup>5</sup>”?<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">All across this country we will find churches sitting across the street from each other filled with true brothers and sisters that will never fellowship together in unity under the name of Jesus Christ.<span style=""> </span>I posit that it is, at the heart of things, our pride that keeps us there.<span style=""> </span>Imagine how the church could be used if we who profess to follow Jesus could set ourselves aside long enough for God to make a difference.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Of course I say all this as “we” and “us” because we believers are truly tied in together on all this.<span style=""> </span>We rise and fall as one church and if there is a problem in this body it is one we all have the responsibility to fix.<span style=""> </span>My perspective is not from the outside but as a young man that has already contributed more than my share into making the problem what it is.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I would like to finish my comments by taking a look at the best example of conceit and humility that I can think of.<span style=""> </span>At Luke 23:39-43, we see the ultimate contrast between the pride natural to man and Jesus’ example of obedience and humility. <span style=""> </span>Here we read of Jesus hanging on a cross between two other men: </p> <p style="margin: 5pt 0.4in;"> <sup id="en-NIV-25965">39</sup>One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” <sup id="en-NIV-25966">40</sup>But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? <sup id="en-NIV-25967">41</sup>We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” <sup id="en-NIV-25968">42</sup>Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.<sup>]</sup>” <sup id="en-NIV-25969">43</sup>Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”</p><p style="margin: 5pt 0.4in;">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Can it be anything else but the fruition of pride that could allow a guilty man, who is hanging on a cross moments from death, to still find it within himself to mock the man next to him?<span style=""> </span>Even here conceit has welled up inside of him as with his last energy he yet still attempts to glorify himself by tearing someone else down.<span style=""> </span>To think that the man he mocked was the only innocent man that’s ever lived.<span style=""> </span>A man who sis God.<span style=""> </span>A man whose very existence was a constant state of humility just simply for being here as a human. <span style=""> </span>A man now <i style="">allowing </i>himself, in obedience to the Father, to die the death of a nobody.<span style=""> </span>The picture of pride and the picture of humility.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And what of the third man?<span style=""> </span>Well here is where we see the response to Jesus on the cross that will save us, too:<span style=""> </span>“Remember me when you enter your Kingdom”.<span style=""> </span>There was no pride in this man, only a simple understanding of the reality of his situation and of the realty of who Jesus is.<span style=""> </span>But still, his humility is not quite that of Jesus’, nor could it have been.<span style=""> </span>For this man’s humility was not that of a king bringing himself down to the level of a peasant, but rather that of a peasant coming to terms with his actual lowly position.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We too are peasants; criminal peasants.<span style=""> </span>We deserve to have a cross reserved for each and every one of us. <span style=""> </span>The option for every person is this:<span style=""> </span>we can respond like the fool and try to exalt ourselves above God and curse him as we’re perishing, shaking a fist of defiance until our last.<span style=""> </span>Or we can simply acknowledge our position and give to Him, whom would take us off our cross and give us our lives back, everything that he deserves:<span style=""> </span>everything that we have.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Scripture:<span style=""> </span>It’s meant to read.<span style=""> </span>SO LOOK IT UP!<span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/">www.biblegateway.com</a> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><sup>1 </sup>2 Samuel 11
<br /><sup>2</sup> Genesis 3:4
<br /><sup>3</sup> Matthew 19:30
<br /><span style=""> </span>Matthew 20:16
<br /><span style=""> </span>Matthew 23:11,12
<br /><span style=""> </span>Mark 10:31
<br /><span style=""> </span>Luke 13:30
<br /><sup>4 </sup>John 3:30
<br /><sup>5</sup> 1 Corinthians 1:10-17</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474215547603149297.post-48418780965083167322009-09-07T17:34:00.000-07:002009-09-07T17:46:33.839-07:00The Cost of Following Christ is Great<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CHAMMER%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CHAMMER%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CHAMMER%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> 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l0:level1 {mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Recently I’ve had one of those experiences where the same topic keeps coming up over and over again.<span style=""> </span>I don’t know if anyone else experiences this phenomenon, but I’ve always noticed it since I was a child.<span style=""> </span>For example, it seemed like sharks where effectively absent from my daily life until we started studying them in grade-school.<span style=""> </span>Then I couldn’t get away from them.<span style=""> </span>Shark TV shows, shark themed story-books, traveling shark themed circuses and shark fin soup seemed to suddenly overrun my young life all at once and stayed until we moved on to the next subject. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I may have just employed a healthy dose of hyperbole put hopefully you’re getting my point.<span style=""> </span>Well recently a certain passage has kept coming up in reading and studying, in listening to lectures, and in my own conversations.<span style=""> </span>While I don’t believe the full assault of shark mania upon my young life had much ecclesiastical purpose, I think that perhaps as I sit down and contemplate a point at which to launch this periodical discussion there is a reason for the reoccurrence. <span style=""> </span>At any rate, this passage is the topic I have decided upon and if you are reading this then I must not have become compelled to change my mind.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The passage is Luke 14:28-30:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><sup>28</sup>"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? <sup id="en-NIV-25575">29</sup>For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, <sup id="en-NIV-25576">30</sup>saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I am continually impressed by the multifaceted nature of scripture: its ability to having meaningful application on several levels from the simplest pragmatism to the loftiest theology.<span style=""> </span>Just recently the occasion for considering a future building project of my own has arisen, and that’s interestingly one of the contexts in which this passage has been nudging me.<span style=""> </span>In my vanity, one of the thoughts that actually ran through my mind is how ridiculous I’d look to “everyone who sees it” if I started trying to build a place but didn’t have the money or capabilities to finish it.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">But what did Jesus mean when he spoke this to the crowd of followers?<span style=""> </span>If you read the rest of the chapter, which I heartily encourage you to do, it’s clear that He is using this analogy to speak of the high cost of being his disciple (or student, if you will).<span style=""> </span>Unlike an ordinary rabbi, Jesus welcomed and invited everyone to follow Him, but the words He spoke in this passage might not be appealing to most.<span style=""> </span>Likewise, I will be careful not to sugar coat the matter as well; neither for you nor for myself.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It seems that the average evangelical ministry today employs several kinds of marketing strategies or coercive tactics to “win people to the Lord”—as if he couldn’t make do for himself.<span style=""> </span>From the extreme to the subtle, both the counterfeit and the sincere ministry leaders across the church are actively, and sometimes aggressively, engaged in trying to bring in as many new men, women, and children as they can possible fit into their ever expanding worship facilities.<span style=""> </span>I do not mean to paint every fellowship from here to Papa New Guinea as being lead by nothing more than the likes of shady used car sales men, but I do believe that there are important parts of the Gospel that tend to get left behind.<span style=""> </span>We’re going to discuss just one.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It is my experience that these new attendees will very rarely hear the simple truth of the few passages we are going to address in the discussion:<span style=""> </span><b style="">The cost of following Christ is great.<span style=""> </span></b>In fact, the cost is <i style="">everything</i>.<span style=""> </span>Jesus says so himself in the very next passage of Ch. 14.<span style=""> </span>The analogy mirrors the first:<br style=""> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style=""> <!--[endif]--></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><sup>31</sup>"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? <sup id="en-NIV-25578">32</sup>If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. <b style=""><sup id="en-NIV-25579">33</sup>In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple</b>.”<br style=""> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style=""> <!--[endif]--></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Jesus is saying that it’s basically common sense to make sure you can see any big decision through to the end before making a commitment.<span style=""> </span>These two passages, back to back, highlight the importance of understanding just how much this endeavor will ask of us before we start and then answering our inevitable next question of “Well how much is that?” with a simple word: “everything”.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">You see, Jesus wasn’t interested in piling on the followers just for the sake of adding arbitrary numbers.<span style=""> </span>He didn’t care about giving a report on Sunday morning about how many children were coerced into raising their hands and repeating a canned prayer that they won’t begin to be able to understand for several more years.<span style=""> </span>He didn’t have a mortgage on a church building to pay and thus had no need to increase any coffers.<span style=""> </span>In fact, it was just the opposite.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In verse 25 we see that at this time Jesus already had a large following.<span style=""> </span>I imagine there being present enough people to make most ministers today envious.<span style=""> </span>Instead of trying to convince, coerce, or beg them to stay, He needed to make sure they knew how great a price would be asked of them if they continued with Him.<span style=""> </span>By actually reading the words Jesus speaks throughout the gospels it almost makes one wonder if he wasn’t sometimes trying to actually get rid of people.<span style=""> </span>We know He wasn’t.<span style=""> </span>He loved every single person and desired a relationship with each, but that being so they needed to know the truth about the standard He’d set with His coming.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you’re reading this you’re probably someone close to me that I care a great deal about.<span style=""> </span>If you have already begun to follow in the footsteps of the Rabbi, these passages are important for us to remember.<span style=""> </span>We are asked to abandon everything we might otherwise call ours and make Him our sole desire.<span style=""> </span>This pilgrimage is not called Christianity Plus Comfort or Christianity Plus Popular Culture.<span style=""> </span>On the contrary, Jesus told his followers that “the Son of Man has no place to lay his head”<sup>1</sup>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For those that might be reading this who don’t call Jesus their Lord, I assure you that He is waiting for you.<span style=""> </span>But it is important to know, whether you think you are light years away from even admitting God is or you’re actively hiding from the Savior who you hear knocking at your back door, you understand that the Kingdom of God, the Gospel of the Lord, is about you giving yourself up to share in His life—and in that, you ultimately find the self you’d never had before.<span style=""> </span>And if you ever accept the ransom He came here and provided, you do so as an exchange.<span style=""> </span>All you are for all of Him.<span style=""> </span>That is the price of the ransom he paid for you, and that is what you owe to Him if you accept his freedom.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Many people might think this is not the best place to start in a discussion that I believe is going include some people very dear to me that I hope to eventually see join me in following Jesus.<span style=""> </span>It would probably also be argued that there is no need to talk about the hard truths of the gospel so long as soft evangelism is “bringing souls into heaven”.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To the latter I’d argue that the church is now seeing the results of their abandonment of scripture as the greater culture is migrating in a mass exodus away from what the modern church is offering as religion.<span style=""> </span>Inside the church there is a lack of substance and truth, and those outside seem to recognize the familiar void.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If we decide to run this race we are to run with abandonment.<span style=""> </span>This is an all or nothing deal.<span style=""> </span>To borrow a phrase from an old football coach: <span style=""> </span>at the end of this game, we’re asked to “leave it all on the field”.<span style=""> </span>Is it worth it?<span style=""> </span>Absolutely.<span style=""> </span>The Kingdom of God is the pearl of great price and that great treasure buried in a field<sup>2</sup>.<span style=""> </span>But don’t just take my word for it.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 3in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 3in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><sup><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">57</span></sup><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."<br /> <sup>58</sup>Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."<br /> <sup>59</sup>He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."<br /> <sup>60</sup>Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."<br /> <sup>61</sup> Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."<br /> <sup>62</sup>Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 0.5in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 3in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><sup><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">44</span></sup><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.<br /> <sup>45</sup>"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. <sup>46</sup>When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15276777309634802142noreply@blogger.com5