Sunday, July 27, 2008
Happy Birthday to Me!!!!!!!!
Today I turn forty-four. Although some personal goals remain unfulfilled and much time has been wasted, getting older has never been a big issue with me. The same is true for SOME of my friends. These are the ones who have not left their wives's and families. Those friends of mine who freaked out at the approach of their fortieth birthday are the ones who have stumbled. Questioning the direction of one's life at this juncture is normal and healthy. But if turning forty makes you panic, if you are obsessed with being a "big kid", if you watch an inordinate amount of Nick at Nite (small doses once or twice a year are acceptable), you and your loved ones have cause to be concerned. Two incidents before seminary were the first signs I was advancing in years. The first was at a dinner with many people from my church; it was determined that the oldest person present would pray. At thirty-two or thirty-three, that person was me. The second incident occurred while watching television with a friend ten years my junior. Lavar Burton's image came on the screen and I said "That's the guy from 'Roots' " "Roots?" my puzzled friend inquired, "what's that?" Up to the time I left for seminary on my thirty-sixth birthday, I spent a lot of time with friends in their twenties. I was totally unconscious of the age difference. Living in the dorms at Wesley Biblical Seminary, sometimes being the oldest male student in the dorms, caused me to realize I was no longer the young guy I thought myself to be. Living with full grown adults who remember nothing of the events of your teen years can be an eye-opener. These guys had no memory of the Iranian Hostage Crises , the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, the disastrous Carter presidency, or the night Reagan was elected. One of the students was actually born the night Reagan was elected. The hard rock of my time is now considered soft. It won't be long before these young guys will be shocked to meet young adults with no memory of the Clinton impeachment, the 2000 election, or 9/11.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I Have Not Forgotten.
It has been awhile since I announced my intention to do a series of posts on evolution and www.expelledexposed.com . I have not forgotten, nor have I abandoned the project; circumstances have prevented me from undertaking it. I have no internet connection at home, so I must do all my blogging at libraries and establishments that offer free wifi. The opportunities to blog have been few and far between and I have been on the road. I hope to start on the articles this week or next, hopefully publishing the first in the series either late next week or early in the following week.
Church Signs I Have Seen
"Get Right With God, Or Get Left." A Church of the Brethren sign in Markleysburg, PA.
"Jesus Died So He Could Create "My Space" In Heaven." A Church Sign on the Kingwood Pike in WV.
"Jesus Died So He Could Create "My Space" In Heaven." A Church Sign on the Kingwood Pike in WV.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
A Harmony That Leads To Action: A Sermon
It was around this time in 1986 that I first came to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In the ensuing twenty-two years many questions have been asked by the Church body: Will the world end in 1988? Which event will trigger the End Times? Which political figure or world leader is the anti-Christ? This type of question is no longer as prevalent as it was a few years ago. But there has been a question that has been asked by many a Christian these past years and is still being asked today: When will the Church experience revival? Many a Christian pastor or speaker has pointed out that the United States has not experienced a sweeping, country-wide revival since the 19th century. Many a Christian has waited for years for revival to come, thinking to themselves "The Church and the nation can't get any worse; these have to be the very last days before God brings revival to the land." Yet things do get worse and many a good disciple of Christ groans in disappointment.
Another way of asking the question about revival is "When will the Church return to the way it was in the Book of Acts?" "What will it take to make the Church conform to the way it was in the 1st century?" People have answered this second question in various ways. When I was a very young Christian, there used to be a group of people who hung around my hometown. The men all had beards and both men and women wore the same type of clothing, which resembled a jacket a chemist might wear in the lab. One of their members told me that to live in a home alone and worship in a Church building was a sin: to live like the first Christians, all Christians should live together communally, under one roof, owning nothing, giving all to the group. Whoever these people were, they were certainly a cult. But not only cultists advocate removing the Church from Church buildings. Recently a well known Christian has put out a book advocating the abandonment of Church buildings to minister solely through house Churches. After all, this writer states, the early Church met in each others' houses. What he fails to understand is that they did so because to meet openly could have caused the early Christians to suffer arrest, torture and execution. One reviewer of this book pointed out that the early Church also met in caves and no one seems to be advocating returning to cave-centered worship. I do not put down meeting in homes in any way. I am just pointing out that some people think such a practice will return the Church to the fervor it had in the 1st century. Others argue for a movement that emphasizes the speaking in tongues as evidence of being filled with the Spirit. There are many opinions as to how revival will come. But lets see what Scripture says on the subject.
Read Acts 2:1-4. "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
This passage is a favorite among Christians. Very few verses are more popular. John 3:16 is one of the few verses more popular than this passage from Acts. Most sermons on Acts 2:1-4 focus on the tongues of fire, the speaking in tongues, the mighty rushing wind, the infilling of the disciples with the Holy Spirit (the promise of the Father). Yet many miss an important aspect of this verse. What is being missed? Verse one tells us that THEY WERE ALL IN ONE ACCORD! In Acts 1:4-5, Jesus instructs the disciples to wait in Jerusalem to receive the Promise of the Father, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells them that they will receive power. It is interesting to note that the emphasis Jesus placed on this power was not just for overcoming sin but for witnessing. Then Jesus was taken into Heaven and the disciples returned to Jerusalem, living in one accord (Acts 1: 14). While we focus on the gift of Holy Spirit power, we fail to grasp that this power was a gift which was the result of the disciples' obedience: they were of one accord. The Greek word for one accord is ho-moth-oo-madan. Among this word's definitions are: being unanimous, having mutual consent, being in agreement, having group unity, having one mind/purpose, being of one mind and emotion. But wait. There is one more definition: A HARMONY THAT LEADS TO ACTION! This harmony does not just consist in having right beliefs, this harmony leads to unified action on the part of the Church. This harmony is not of a kind where all agree on everything. After Acts 1:14 states that the disciples were of one accord, they voted on a replacement for Judas. Some voted for Barsabbas, some preferred Matthias. They did not all agree, but their focus was on Jesus and the completion of the Great Commission, not on themselves or any personal agendas. They were not focused on getting their own way.
So, what is does this being in one accord consist of? We will see the answer from Scripture shortly. This word for being in one accord appears ten times in the New testament, nine in Acts and one in Romans. Besides Acts 1:14 and 2:1, it appears in Acts 2:46 (note here that being in one accord resulted in the Church growing), Acts 4:24 (when the Church prayed for Peter and John to be released, they prayed in one accord, in one spirit, the whole assembly did not pray the exact same prayer in unison) Acts 5:12 and 8:6. In Rom 15:5-6, Paul defines what it means to be in one accord. "Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Being of one accord consists of being like-minded toward each other. This is a restatement of the second greatest commandment: love your neighbor as yourself.
Are Christians the only ones capable of acting in one accord. Acts 7:57 answers this question in the negative. Stephen has just condemned Israels historical, multi-generational failure to obey the Holy Spirit and proclaimed his vision of Christ at the right hand of God. Acts 7:57 details the response of those who heard him: "Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him WITH ONE ACCORD..." (words capitalized by me for emphasis), and stoned him to death. The same word, ho-moth-oo-madon, is used here to describe the attitude of Christ's enemies, an attitude that resulted in the unified action of the crowd. This word appears in the same capacity in Acts 18:12 and 19:29. The most famous account in the Old Testament of the enemies of God acting in one accord is found in Gen. 11: 1-9. Give special attention to verse 6. God had commanded mankind to multiply over the face of the earth. All men, even after the Fall, were made in the image of God, and as man covered the earth, God's image would be found all over the earth, resulting in God being glorified all over the Earth. Yet in Gen 11, man was in one accord, unified in thwarting God's purposes, not glorifying God but making a name for themselves. "And the LORD said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing they propose to do will be withheld from them." (Gen. 11:6) What is God's solution? "Come, let Us (the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit) go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one an other's speech." (Gen. 11:12) The Triune God gave man many languages to destroy man's ability to act in one accord. To further hinder man's ability, God began to reduce man's lifespan.
What is revival? What constitutes a "Book of Acts" Church? Not worshiping according to a particular pattern, not worshipping in homes or a Church building. Not speaking in tongues. Revival begins when we are in one accord. Some Christians will disagree. They have heard for years that revival happens when the Holy Spirit sweeps through an area, cleansing away all sin. But such a view of the Holy Spirit does not line up with Scripture. This attitude views the Holy Spirit as an "it," a force, when actually, the Holy Spirit is a person. The Bible speaks thus concerning our relation to the Holy Spirit: "How can two travel together unless they agree?" This speaks of a relationship between persons, not a relationship between humans and an impersonal force. The Holy Spirit is a person who can be grieved. Yet the Spirit can also be in relationship with us, if we are obedient by being in one accord. Other Christians may object: all is of grace, they say, and to be made in one accord is a work, and works have no place in our relationship with God. Works done in the flesh, in man's strength, do not please God. Yet in our relationship with God, there is cooperation by man with God. This cooperation is referred to as obedience. God will not act on our behalf unless we obey His commands. (See II Chron. 7:14) And being in one accord is God's command for His Church, which we must obey before the Holy Spirit brings revival to His people from within the hearts of His people. This unity is Jesus' will for us; Jesus prayed that His Church would be of one accord. (See John 17:11, 20-23 and John 13: 34-35)
Ten years ago, the Church was talking about the "Brownsville Revival" in Florida. People all over the world traveled to Brownsville, hoping to receive revival from the Holy Spirit. Today we hear nothing of this "revival." Some thought that Promise Keepers would usher in a revival, but as needful as Promise Keepers is, it failed to restore the Church. Some thought that 9/11 would drive the Church to its knees and that many unsaved would flock to our Churches. This did not happen. It is no good waiting passively for the Holy Spirit to sweep through our land cleansing His Church of sin. The Holy Spirit will work within those who are of one accord with their brothers and sisters, loving each other and God and witnessing, carrying out the Great Commission. Only when we obey on this point will the Spirit move on our behalf. It is no good to travel here and there, seeking revival. We need to follow the advice David Wilkerson gave ten years ago concerning the "Brownsville Revival." Forget traveling the globe to find revival: stay at home and get your own revival. Be obedient, and the Holy Spirit will respond.
(All Quotes from Scripture are from the NKJV.)
Another way of asking the question about revival is "When will the Church return to the way it was in the Book of Acts?" "What will it take to make the Church conform to the way it was in the 1st century?" People have answered this second question in various ways. When I was a very young Christian, there used to be a group of people who hung around my hometown. The men all had beards and both men and women wore the same type of clothing, which resembled a jacket a chemist might wear in the lab. One of their members told me that to live in a home alone and worship in a Church building was a sin: to live like the first Christians, all Christians should live together communally, under one roof, owning nothing, giving all to the group. Whoever these people were, they were certainly a cult. But not only cultists advocate removing the Church from Church buildings. Recently a well known Christian has put out a book advocating the abandonment of Church buildings to minister solely through house Churches. After all, this writer states, the early Church met in each others' houses. What he fails to understand is that they did so because to meet openly could have caused the early Christians to suffer arrest, torture and execution. One reviewer of this book pointed out that the early Church also met in caves and no one seems to be advocating returning to cave-centered worship. I do not put down meeting in homes in any way. I am just pointing out that some people think such a practice will return the Church to the fervor it had in the 1st century. Others argue for a movement that emphasizes the speaking in tongues as evidence of being filled with the Spirit. There are many opinions as to how revival will come. But lets see what Scripture says on the subject.
Read Acts 2:1-4. "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
This passage is a favorite among Christians. Very few verses are more popular. John 3:16 is one of the few verses more popular than this passage from Acts. Most sermons on Acts 2:1-4 focus on the tongues of fire, the speaking in tongues, the mighty rushing wind, the infilling of the disciples with the Holy Spirit (the promise of the Father). Yet many miss an important aspect of this verse. What is being missed? Verse one tells us that THEY WERE ALL IN ONE ACCORD! In Acts 1:4-5, Jesus instructs the disciples to wait in Jerusalem to receive the Promise of the Father, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells them that they will receive power. It is interesting to note that the emphasis Jesus placed on this power was not just for overcoming sin but for witnessing. Then Jesus was taken into Heaven and the disciples returned to Jerusalem, living in one accord (Acts 1: 14). While we focus on the gift of Holy Spirit power, we fail to grasp that this power was a gift which was the result of the disciples' obedience: they were of one accord. The Greek word for one accord is ho-moth-oo-madan. Among this word's definitions are: being unanimous, having mutual consent, being in agreement, having group unity, having one mind/purpose, being of one mind and emotion. But wait. There is one more definition: A HARMONY THAT LEADS TO ACTION! This harmony does not just consist in having right beliefs, this harmony leads to unified action on the part of the Church. This harmony is not of a kind where all agree on everything. After Acts 1:14 states that the disciples were of one accord, they voted on a replacement for Judas. Some voted for Barsabbas, some preferred Matthias. They did not all agree, but their focus was on Jesus and the completion of the Great Commission, not on themselves or any personal agendas. They were not focused on getting their own way.
So, what is does this being in one accord consist of? We will see the answer from Scripture shortly. This word for being in one accord appears ten times in the New testament, nine in Acts and one in Romans. Besides Acts 1:14 and 2:1, it appears in Acts 2:46 (note here that being in one accord resulted in the Church growing), Acts 4:24 (when the Church prayed for Peter and John to be released, they prayed in one accord, in one spirit, the whole assembly did not pray the exact same prayer in unison) Acts 5:12 and 8:6. In Rom 15:5-6, Paul defines what it means to be in one accord. "Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Being of one accord consists of being like-minded toward each other. This is a restatement of the second greatest commandment: love your neighbor as yourself.
Are Christians the only ones capable of acting in one accord. Acts 7:57 answers this question in the negative. Stephen has just condemned Israels historical, multi-generational failure to obey the Holy Spirit and proclaimed his vision of Christ at the right hand of God. Acts 7:57 details the response of those who heard him: "Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him WITH ONE ACCORD..." (words capitalized by me for emphasis), and stoned him to death. The same word, ho-moth-oo-madon, is used here to describe the attitude of Christ's enemies, an attitude that resulted in the unified action of the crowd. This word appears in the same capacity in Acts 18:12 and 19:29. The most famous account in the Old Testament of the enemies of God acting in one accord is found in Gen. 11: 1-9. Give special attention to verse 6. God had commanded mankind to multiply over the face of the earth. All men, even after the Fall, were made in the image of God, and as man covered the earth, God's image would be found all over the earth, resulting in God being glorified all over the Earth. Yet in Gen 11, man was in one accord, unified in thwarting God's purposes, not glorifying God but making a name for themselves. "And the LORD said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing they propose to do will be withheld from them." (Gen. 11:6) What is God's solution? "Come, let Us (the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit) go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one an other's speech." (Gen. 11:12) The Triune God gave man many languages to destroy man's ability to act in one accord. To further hinder man's ability, God began to reduce man's lifespan.
What is revival? What constitutes a "Book of Acts" Church? Not worshiping according to a particular pattern, not worshipping in homes or a Church building. Not speaking in tongues. Revival begins when we are in one accord. Some Christians will disagree. They have heard for years that revival happens when the Holy Spirit sweeps through an area, cleansing away all sin. But such a view of the Holy Spirit does not line up with Scripture. This attitude views the Holy Spirit as an "it," a force, when actually, the Holy Spirit is a person. The Bible speaks thus concerning our relation to the Holy Spirit: "How can two travel together unless they agree?" This speaks of a relationship between persons, not a relationship between humans and an impersonal force. The Holy Spirit is a person who can be grieved. Yet the Spirit can also be in relationship with us, if we are obedient by being in one accord. Other Christians may object: all is of grace, they say, and to be made in one accord is a work, and works have no place in our relationship with God. Works done in the flesh, in man's strength, do not please God. Yet in our relationship with God, there is cooperation by man with God. This cooperation is referred to as obedience. God will not act on our behalf unless we obey His commands. (See II Chron. 7:14) And being in one accord is God's command for His Church, which we must obey before the Holy Spirit brings revival to His people from within the hearts of His people. This unity is Jesus' will for us; Jesus prayed that His Church would be of one accord. (See John 17:11, 20-23 and John 13: 34-35)
Ten years ago, the Church was talking about the "Brownsville Revival" in Florida. People all over the world traveled to Brownsville, hoping to receive revival from the Holy Spirit. Today we hear nothing of this "revival." Some thought that Promise Keepers would usher in a revival, but as needful as Promise Keepers is, it failed to restore the Church. Some thought that 9/11 would drive the Church to its knees and that many unsaved would flock to our Churches. This did not happen. It is no good waiting passively for the Holy Spirit to sweep through our land cleansing His Church of sin. The Holy Spirit will work within those who are of one accord with their brothers and sisters, loving each other and God and witnessing, carrying out the Great Commission. Only when we obey on this point will the Spirit move on our behalf. It is no good to travel here and there, seeking revival. We need to follow the advice David Wilkerson gave ten years ago concerning the "Brownsville Revival." Forget traveling the globe to find revival: stay at home and get your own revival. Be obedient, and the Holy Spirit will respond.
(All Quotes from Scripture are from the NKJV.)
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Friday Night Frozen Dinner and an Intellectual: "The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible In the Global South" by Philip Jenkins
(For an explanation for the title of this feature, please see the short article of 3/11/08 on this blog.)
For several of the past Friday evenings, "The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South" by Philip Jenkins ( http://www.amazon.com/New-Faces-Christianity-Believing-Global/dp/0195300653 ), has occupied my attention. This book is a sequel to Jenkin's groundbreaking book "The Next Christendom" ( go to link above and scroll down to "Most Frequently Purchased Together") which was reviewed on this blog last year (3/5/07). "The Next Christendom" chronicles the spread of Christianity mainly in South America, Africa and Asia, a region Jenkins refers to as "the Global South"; Jenkins makes the case that the population centers and power in the Christian Church will shift from North America and Europe to the Global South. In "The New Faces of Christianity," Jenkins goes into greater detail concerning the differences between Christians in the Global South and the Global North:
Christians in the Global South read the Bible more literally than most Christians in the North.
Christians in the Global South ascribe to the Bible greater authority in all areas of life than Christians in the North.
Christians in the Global South are more likely to believe in and seek Divine healing for sicknesses.
Christians in the Global South believe in a supernatural realm where Satan reigns and from where Satan and his demons tempt and torment humanity. These Christians believe that curses on people are real and must be broken in the power of the Holy Spirit. They also practice the exorcism of demons.
Many Christians in the Global South blame the poverty they suffer from on personal and national sin rather than on man-made economic systems.
This last point will come as a surprise to many Christians in the North who blame the ills of mankind upon unjust economic, social and political systems. This mindset, which the Church in the North has adopted from secular thought, causes Northern Christians to believe that while many Christians in the North are focused on issues such as abortion and homosexuality, Christians in the South are more concerned about poverty, disparities of income, criminal business behavior by multi-national corporations and Third World debt. While it is true that such concerns are held by many Christians in the Global South, these concerns are not the top concerns of the majority of Southern Christians. The poverty and sickness that these Christians face everyday causes them to be more aware of their mortality and makes them more concerned about where they stand with God: they are more concerned that sin does not keep them from Heaven. Their approach to the Bible causes them to place the blame for their circumstances on personal sin and the work of Satan rather than on the economic systems devised by men. Such beliefs cause them to be less politically minded than some Northern Christians.
The differences between Northern and Southern Christians listed here are not by far all that Jenkins covers, yet they are among the most important ones.
"The New Faces of Christianity" provides more of what I had hoped "The Next Christendom" would: sources from Christians in the Global South: including sermons, theological works, websites and histories and biographies of past and current Southern Christians. These sources should give us a good picture of what Southern Churches believe and practice, how they interpret and apply Scripture and where their beliefs and theology will take them and the entire Church in the future. Some of what I have gleaned from Jenkin's book is cause for celebration, such as Southern Christians' view of Scripture. Yet some of what I read is disturbing. For instance, many Southern Christians believe that Scripture has been corrupted by powerful elites in Europe and America and that the true Scripture must be discovered and what is false be purged. Some construct elaborate yet faulty theology by selectively focusing on selected Biblical verses. I am sure that some of these readings of God's Word are the seeds of future Church conduct that will bring shame to the Church of Christ. Yet many of the faults of Christians in the Global South are to be found in the history of the Church in the North, and yet God used the Northern Church to fulfill His purposes. Christians in the North have no need to dread the rise of a Global Southern Christianity.
This book deserves a longer review on this blog. The number of issues it raises is amazing, and each issue needs to be covered in more detail. This book has relevance even for issues discussed mainly in the North, such as the inerrancy of God's Word. Yet I have chosen just to post only one article for the present. Either next Fall or next Winter, I will examine these issues in greater detail. This is truly a most important book.
Since July the Fourth is approaching, the next book to be featured on "Friday Night Frozen Dinner and an Intellectual" will be Michael and Jana Novak's "Washington's God." Have a blessed day.
For several of the past Friday evenings, "The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South" by Philip Jenkins ( http://www.amazon.com/New-Faces-Christianity-Believing-Global/dp/0195300653 ), has occupied my attention. This book is a sequel to Jenkin's groundbreaking book "The Next Christendom" ( go to link above and scroll down to "Most Frequently Purchased Together") which was reviewed on this blog last year (3/5/07). "The Next Christendom" chronicles the spread of Christianity mainly in South America, Africa and Asia, a region Jenkins refers to as "the Global South"; Jenkins makes the case that the population centers and power in the Christian Church will shift from North America and Europe to the Global South. In "The New Faces of Christianity," Jenkins goes into greater detail concerning the differences between Christians in the Global South and the Global North:
Christians in the Global South read the Bible more literally than most Christians in the North.
Christians in the Global South ascribe to the Bible greater authority in all areas of life than Christians in the North.
Christians in the Global South are more likely to believe in and seek Divine healing for sicknesses.
Christians in the Global South believe in a supernatural realm where Satan reigns and from where Satan and his demons tempt and torment humanity. These Christians believe that curses on people are real and must be broken in the power of the Holy Spirit. They also practice the exorcism of demons.
Many Christians in the Global South blame the poverty they suffer from on personal and national sin rather than on man-made economic systems.
This last point will come as a surprise to many Christians in the North who blame the ills of mankind upon unjust economic, social and political systems. This mindset, which the Church in the North has adopted from secular thought, causes Northern Christians to believe that while many Christians in the North are focused on issues such as abortion and homosexuality, Christians in the South are more concerned about poverty, disparities of income, criminal business behavior by multi-national corporations and Third World debt. While it is true that such concerns are held by many Christians in the Global South, these concerns are not the top concerns of the majority of Southern Christians. The poverty and sickness that these Christians face everyday causes them to be more aware of their mortality and makes them more concerned about where they stand with God: they are more concerned that sin does not keep them from Heaven. Their approach to the Bible causes them to place the blame for their circumstances on personal sin and the work of Satan rather than on the economic systems devised by men. Such beliefs cause them to be less politically minded than some Northern Christians.
The differences between Northern and Southern Christians listed here are not by far all that Jenkins covers, yet they are among the most important ones.
"The New Faces of Christianity" provides more of what I had hoped "The Next Christendom" would: sources from Christians in the Global South: including sermons, theological works, websites and histories and biographies of past and current Southern Christians. These sources should give us a good picture of what Southern Churches believe and practice, how they interpret and apply Scripture and where their beliefs and theology will take them and the entire Church in the future. Some of what I have gleaned from Jenkin's book is cause for celebration, such as Southern Christians' view of Scripture. Yet some of what I read is disturbing. For instance, many Southern Christians believe that Scripture has been corrupted by powerful elites in Europe and America and that the true Scripture must be discovered and what is false be purged. Some construct elaborate yet faulty theology by selectively focusing on selected Biblical verses. I am sure that some of these readings of God's Word are the seeds of future Church conduct that will bring shame to the Church of Christ. Yet many of the faults of Christians in the Global South are to be found in the history of the Church in the North, and yet God used the Northern Church to fulfill His purposes. Christians in the North have no need to dread the rise of a Global Southern Christianity.
This book deserves a longer review on this blog. The number of issues it raises is amazing, and each issue needs to be covered in more detail. This book has relevance even for issues discussed mainly in the North, such as the inerrancy of God's Word. Yet I have chosen just to post only one article for the present. Either next Fall or next Winter, I will examine these issues in greater detail. This is truly a most important book.
Since July the Fourth is approaching, the next book to be featured on "Friday Night Frozen Dinner and an Intellectual" will be Michael and Jana Novak's "Washington's God." Have a blessed day.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Post # 150: Passing on a Heritage: A Father's Day Sermon
One day I saw a news story on Steve Forbes; Forbes was running for President that year. Part of the story featured a party for friends on the Forbes yacht. One would think that multi-millionaire (or billionaire?) Forbes would hire the best in terms of food and service. Yet who waited on the guests? All five Forbes daughters, from the oldest to the youngest (who was not yet a teenager). The reporter asked the girls whether or not they resented waiting on guests. Not one complaint. The older girls comment was that they had been performing this task for as long as they were able. In other words, from an early age, these girls were trained to forget their wants and wishes for an evening to serve others.
Hearing their answer reminded me of Communist China's Chairman Mao's assertion: "Give me a child at five and he is mine forever." Twentieth century communists knew this principle well. Whenever they gained control of a nation, they took children away from parents living in the conquered territory. These children would be indoctrinated into communist thinking so that they would no longer identify themselves with the culture they were born in, but they would think of themselves as communists. The rationale for this was to prevent the conquered nation from even wanting to throw off the yoke of oppression once the next generation came of age. Also, the communists wanted to identify the best and brightest of these children so their talent could be denied to their homeland and people. This tactic was not invented in the twentieth century; it is as old as man, and we can see this tactic employed by Israel's conquerors in the Old Testament.
In Daniel 1:1-8, we can read that Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, captured Israel after God gave it into his hands. The King ordered a portion of Israel's young male population to be brought to Babylon. Who were the males the King was seeking? "...young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans." (Dan. 1: 4) These young males went through three years of training so that they would be able to serve the King. They were given Babylonian names so that they would lose their Hebrew identity. Four young Israelites, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were renamed Belteshezar, Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-Nego. (Dan. 1: 5-7)
The Babylonians were purposeful in their attempts to remake Israel's youth into Baylonians. But Daniel had purposed in his heart not to participate in training that dishonored God and His Law, risking death for his obedience to God. (Dan 1:8) Where did this courage originate from? Fortunately, Daniel's parents were just as purposeful as the Babylonians in training a child. The most quoted Old Testament scripture in Ancient Israel was Deut 6:4-12 :
"Hear O Israel:The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. So it shall be when the Lord your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant-when you have eaten and are full-then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."
This verse taught the Israelites to engage in purposeful child-training. Children were to be taught from an early age the Law of God. Daniel would not have known that the training the Babylonians were going to subject him to (Dan 1:5) violated God's Law for Israel if his parents had not taught him what is lawful. But God didn't expect Israel to learn His Word for the sake of knowledge only. The knowledge was a guide to action and attitude, that no matter what circumstances Israelites would find themselves in, they would never forget to honor and obey God and His Law. (Deut 6:12)
The world understands the value of this principle, the purposeful training of its children. The Church ignores this principle to its detriment, placing the next generations of Christians in danger of losing their souls. The goals parents should strive for are set by God and He has outlined the goal and how to achieve it in His Word. His Word is not just knowledge we are to know and teach. The Word is to guide our actions. The book of Proverbs was not just helpful advice on how to get along; Proverbs teaches us how to engage in SKILLFUL LIVING, the way to become what God wants us to be in a hostile world. When we train ourselves and our children in God's ways as outlined in His Word, when we do this IN FAITH, the Holy Spirit transforms us and our children and empowers us to live a life that pleases God.
We can see this principle work in the family of John the Baptist. Luke 1:6 tells us that his parents, Zacharias and Elizebeth, "...were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." Both certainly felt honored when God chose them to produce the one who would be the long prophesied herald of the Messiah. However, their son would just be the herald; he would one day be overshadowed by the one he proclaimed to the world. Yet the scriptural evidence indicates that neither parent felt any jealousy toward the one their son would be a herald for. When Elizebeth was visited by Mary, the mother of the Messiah, this was her reaction:
"Now Mary arose in those days and went to the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizebeth. And it happened, when Elizebeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizebeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke with a loud voice and said, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the MOTHER OF MY LORD (capital letters added for emphasis) should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.' " (Lk 1:39-45)
Had not Elizebeth walked blameless before the Lord, then she might have reacted differently to Mary's greeting. She could have thought to herself, "I have walked blameless before the Lord all these years; I am the wife of a priest! Yet my offspring must serve the child of a young girl who has not yet been married? This is not fair!" But since she walked all those years before God blameless, she became one who wanted what God wanted to come to pass. She had no envy of her young cousin or her unborn child. Neither did her husband, Zacharias. In Lk 1: 76-79, the father of John the Baptist celebrated the son's mission to herald the Messiah. The focus of his words were on Jesus' mission of saving mankind from their sins. Again, there was no envy in the father of John:
"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our way into the feet of peace."
As both Zacharias and Elizebeth walked before the Lord blameless, so they trained their son to do the same. When he undertook his mission, he was followed by crowds. He was the son of a priest. He was older than his cousin, Jesus. There were no question about who John's father was. Yet when he saw the Spirit descend like a dove and remain on Jesus, John declared for all to hear: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (Jn 1:29) When Jesus began to gain more followers than John, John felt no remorse, envy, or jealousy. "He must increase, but I must decrease." (Jn 3:30) John was truly more than the physical son of his parents; in that he followed the way in which they had trained him, he was their spiritual heir as well.
The same dynamic of training and obedience in Gods Word leading to Holy Spirit formation and transformation is available to all of Christ's followers and their families. God doesn't just hope we seek this dynamic, He demands it of us, both as disciples and as parents, training our children to be disciples. Both parents are important, but on this Father's Day, this message is for you fathers. Your importance in forming your child's spiritual development cannot be over estimated. Studies show that if a father refuses to attend Church, that father's children will likely follow his example, even if the mother does attend and bring the children when they are young. Some Christians think the Evangelical Church has been looking inward at the expense of the rest of the world through the Church's focus on fostering healthy, two parent families. Yet it is the two parent family that brings the stability that makes the ills of society less likely to occur. Government programs have fostered a culture of "fatherlessness" and have caused society much pain and instability. It is interesting that some within the Church have condemned movements such as Promise Keepers for creating a "militant male" syndrome among Evangelical men. Yet these groups want nothing more than for fathers to fulfill the role ordained for them by God.
Fathers, if you will learn and obey God's Word, and if you will raise your children to not only know Scripture but follow its commands, DOING ALL IN FAITH, then your children will rightly consider you one with that "cloud of witnesses" Hebrews 12:1 speaks of, whose example inspires all of Christ's disciples to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12: 1-2)
(All Quotes from Scripture are from the NKJV)
Hearing their answer reminded me of Communist China's Chairman Mao's assertion: "Give me a child at five and he is mine forever." Twentieth century communists knew this principle well. Whenever they gained control of a nation, they took children away from parents living in the conquered territory. These children would be indoctrinated into communist thinking so that they would no longer identify themselves with the culture they were born in, but they would think of themselves as communists. The rationale for this was to prevent the conquered nation from even wanting to throw off the yoke of oppression once the next generation came of age. Also, the communists wanted to identify the best and brightest of these children so their talent could be denied to their homeland and people. This tactic was not invented in the twentieth century; it is as old as man, and we can see this tactic employed by Israel's conquerors in the Old Testament.
In Daniel 1:1-8, we can read that Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, captured Israel after God gave it into his hands. The King ordered a portion of Israel's young male population to be brought to Babylon. Who were the males the King was seeking? "...young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans." (Dan. 1: 4) These young males went through three years of training so that they would be able to serve the King. They were given Babylonian names so that they would lose their Hebrew identity. Four young Israelites, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were renamed Belteshezar, Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-Nego. (Dan. 1: 5-7)
The Babylonians were purposeful in their attempts to remake Israel's youth into Baylonians. But Daniel had purposed in his heart not to participate in training that dishonored God and His Law, risking death for his obedience to God. (Dan 1:8) Where did this courage originate from? Fortunately, Daniel's parents were just as purposeful as the Babylonians in training a child. The most quoted Old Testament scripture in Ancient Israel was Deut 6:4-12 :
"Hear O Israel:The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. So it shall be when the Lord your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant-when you have eaten and are full-then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."
This verse taught the Israelites to engage in purposeful child-training. Children were to be taught from an early age the Law of God. Daniel would not have known that the training the Babylonians were going to subject him to (Dan 1:5) violated God's Law for Israel if his parents had not taught him what is lawful. But God didn't expect Israel to learn His Word for the sake of knowledge only. The knowledge was a guide to action and attitude, that no matter what circumstances Israelites would find themselves in, they would never forget to honor and obey God and His Law. (Deut 6:12)
The world understands the value of this principle, the purposeful training of its children. The Church ignores this principle to its detriment, placing the next generations of Christians in danger of losing their souls. The goals parents should strive for are set by God and He has outlined the goal and how to achieve it in His Word. His Word is not just knowledge we are to know and teach. The Word is to guide our actions. The book of Proverbs was not just helpful advice on how to get along; Proverbs teaches us how to engage in SKILLFUL LIVING, the way to become what God wants us to be in a hostile world. When we train ourselves and our children in God's ways as outlined in His Word, when we do this IN FAITH, the Holy Spirit transforms us and our children and empowers us to live a life that pleases God.
We can see this principle work in the family of John the Baptist. Luke 1:6 tells us that his parents, Zacharias and Elizebeth, "...were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." Both certainly felt honored when God chose them to produce the one who would be the long prophesied herald of the Messiah. However, their son would just be the herald; he would one day be overshadowed by the one he proclaimed to the world. Yet the scriptural evidence indicates that neither parent felt any jealousy toward the one their son would be a herald for. When Elizebeth was visited by Mary, the mother of the Messiah, this was her reaction:
"Now Mary arose in those days and went to the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizebeth. And it happened, when Elizebeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizebeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke with a loud voice and said, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the MOTHER OF MY LORD (capital letters added for emphasis) should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.' " (Lk 1:39-45)
Had not Elizebeth walked blameless before the Lord, then she might have reacted differently to Mary's greeting. She could have thought to herself, "I have walked blameless before the Lord all these years; I am the wife of a priest! Yet my offspring must serve the child of a young girl who has not yet been married? This is not fair!" But since she walked all those years before God blameless, she became one who wanted what God wanted to come to pass. She had no envy of her young cousin or her unborn child. Neither did her husband, Zacharias. In Lk 1: 76-79, the father of John the Baptist celebrated the son's mission to herald the Messiah. The focus of his words were on Jesus' mission of saving mankind from their sins. Again, there was no envy in the father of John:
"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our way into the feet of peace."
As both Zacharias and Elizebeth walked before the Lord blameless, so they trained their son to do the same. When he undertook his mission, he was followed by crowds. He was the son of a priest. He was older than his cousin, Jesus. There were no question about who John's father was. Yet when he saw the Spirit descend like a dove and remain on Jesus, John declared for all to hear: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (Jn 1:29) When Jesus began to gain more followers than John, John felt no remorse, envy, or jealousy. "He must increase, but I must decrease." (Jn 3:30) John was truly more than the physical son of his parents; in that he followed the way in which they had trained him, he was their spiritual heir as well.
The same dynamic of training and obedience in Gods Word leading to Holy Spirit formation and transformation is available to all of Christ's followers and their families. God doesn't just hope we seek this dynamic, He demands it of us, both as disciples and as parents, training our children to be disciples. Both parents are important, but on this Father's Day, this message is for you fathers. Your importance in forming your child's spiritual development cannot be over estimated. Studies show that if a father refuses to attend Church, that father's children will likely follow his example, even if the mother does attend and bring the children when they are young. Some Christians think the Evangelical Church has been looking inward at the expense of the rest of the world through the Church's focus on fostering healthy, two parent families. Yet it is the two parent family that brings the stability that makes the ills of society less likely to occur. Government programs have fostered a culture of "fatherlessness" and have caused society much pain and instability. It is interesting that some within the Church have condemned movements such as Promise Keepers for creating a "militant male" syndrome among Evangelical men. Yet these groups want nothing more than for fathers to fulfill the role ordained for them by God.
Fathers, if you will learn and obey God's Word, and if you will raise your children to not only know Scripture but follow its commands, DOING ALL IN FAITH, then your children will rightly consider you one with that "cloud of witnesses" Hebrews 12:1 speaks of, whose example inspires all of Christ's disciples to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12: 1-2)
(All Quotes from Scripture are from the NKJV)
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed: How Has It Done?
Critics of Ben Stein's documentary "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" have put out the word that the movie has bombed at the Box Office. By doing so, they hope to demoralize critics of Darwinism; evolutionists taunt those who dissent from Darwinian orthodoxy, saying "See, no one wanted to see your silly movie. You people are on the fringe of society. No one of any intellectual caliber disagrees with us." Darwin's modern-day disciples also hope that by putting out the word that "Expelled" failed at the Box Office, those who can't decide between evolution and creationism would side with the former for fear of being associated with a "discredited" minority. Proponents of evolution indulge in the logic that if "Expelled" did so poorly with movie audiences, then it must be a bad film. One blogger, commenting on my review of the film, declared that since one cannot obtain a bootlegged copy of "Expelled" on the street, it must be of poor quality.
Yet the Box Office record tells another story. The film opened in 1,052 theaters nation-wide, a record for a documentary feature. The first weekend of its release, it took in $2,900,000, the third biggest opening for a documentary. As of May 13th, it grossed $7,000,000 the twelfth highest gross earnings for a documentary in the United States ( The source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expelled:_No_Intelligence_Allowed ) Further bad news for foes of "Expelled": the suit filed by Yoko Ono against the film's producers for using two seconds of John Lennon's "Imagine" has been thrown out of court. Apparently neither she nor the movie's critics have heard of the "Fair Use Doctrine." http://www.uncommondescent.com/ (See the
6/3/08 post)
My review of "Expelled" on this blog generated more comments than any other piece I have published (Thirteen comments! Some of them are mine). The review was posted at 6:00 A.M. Within ninety minutes, a blogger calling himself/herself benfranklin responded, recommending a website "exposing" Expelled. Ninety minutes! Early in the morning! Are evolutionist bloggers working overtime to spot dissent from Darwin on the Internet? Do they feel that threatened by Intelligent Design? I digress. My responses to benfranklin have led me to write some posts dealing with the website expelledexposed.com . I will deal with this website's scurrilous portrayal of those who appeared in "Expelled," as well the use of a quote from Darwin's "The Descent of Man" in the film. The question of the relationship between Darwinian Evolution and Nazi ideology and the holocaust will also be addressed. For those who, like Francis Collins, author of "The Language of God," believe that Evolution is compatible with Christianity, I will disprove that contention using the words of Darwin himself. ben franklin, if you are out there, I welcome your comments.
Yet the Box Office record tells another story. The film opened in 1,052 theaters nation-wide, a record for a documentary feature. The first weekend of its release, it took in $2,900,000, the third biggest opening for a documentary. As of May 13th, it grossed $7,000,000 the twelfth highest gross earnings for a documentary in the United States ( The source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expelled:_No_Intelligence_Allowed ) Further bad news for foes of "Expelled": the suit filed by Yoko Ono against the film's producers for using two seconds of John Lennon's "Imagine" has been thrown out of court. Apparently neither she nor the movie's critics have heard of the "Fair Use Doctrine." http://www.uncommondescent.com/ (See the
6/3/08 post)
My review of "Expelled" on this blog generated more comments than any other piece I have published (Thirteen comments! Some of them are mine). The review was posted at 6:00 A.M. Within ninety minutes, a blogger calling himself/herself benfranklin responded, recommending a website "exposing" Expelled. Ninety minutes! Early in the morning! Are evolutionist bloggers working overtime to spot dissent from Darwin on the Internet? Do they feel that threatened by Intelligent Design? I digress. My responses to benfranklin have led me to write some posts dealing with the website expelledexposed.com . I will deal with this website's scurrilous portrayal of those who appeared in "Expelled," as well the use of a quote from Darwin's "The Descent of Man" in the film. The question of the relationship between Darwinian Evolution and Nazi ideology and the holocaust will also be addressed. For those who, like Francis Collins, author of "The Language of God," believe that Evolution is compatible with Christianity, I will disprove that contention using the words of Darwin himself. ben franklin, if you are out there, I welcome your comments.
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