Category Archives: Religion

Silos

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I’m concerned about how we in America are increasingly polarized. I saw an interview with Tim Keller recently in which he said several years ago America would elect a President and everyone accepted that person as our President, but now those who voted for the opposition act as though the President’s time is office is illegitimate. It is sad that we, whether on the left or the right, act as though there is nothing praiseworthy or commendable in the other party.

Which is why I’m happy to see several Republican leaders commend and congratulate President Obama in addition to our military and intelligence personnel on the successful removal of Osama Bin Laden. I was also proud of Mr Obama’s address last night that presented the events in Afghanistan and Pakistan as part of a consistent American strategy; that is concurring in President Bush’s actions in those countries. I would love to see more points of agreement and recognition from individuals of either party that disagreement over priorities and goals doesn’t mean that those who disagree with you are stupid, corrupt, or malicious.

This is especially brought to light today as I had lunch with a friend of another Christian denomination who shared some misunderstandings about me as a Presbyterian. He had previously asked me some questions about my beliefs which allowed me to clarify what I believe. I was very grateful for the opportunity to explain my beliefs for myself, rather than have someone make assumptions about me based on caricature and distortion.

There is a strong temptation to only talk to people who we agree with, to read magazines and books written from a perspective we agree with, to get our “news” from stations or blogs that shares our own perspective. It’s easy to segregate ourselves in a little silo that supports how we see reality and cuts off conversation from anyone who sees things differently. Of course all this does is reinforce our own opinions and divides us further from our neighbor.

Wouldn’t it be more interesting to have lunch or a cup of coffee in the next week with someone you really disagree with and try to understand where they’re coming from? I bet it would be more productive than getting together with some folks who think just like you and fussing about what “those” people should do differently.

the Tim Keller interview can be seen here

Gratitude

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For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, (I Timothy 4:4)

In one of my favorite passages of John Calvin’s Institutes, the supposedly dour reformer points out how God’s blessings not only in providing for our needs, but in giving us pleasure:  “Now then, if we consider for what end he created food, we shall find that he consulted not only for our necessity, but also for our enjoyment and delight. Thus, in clothing, the end was, in addition to necessity, comeliness and honour; and in herbs, fruits, and trees, besides their various uses, gracefulness of appearance and sweetness of smell.”

This passage is a helpful corrective for us, a reminder that God is not a cosmic hall-monitor, waiting to crush anyone who is having too much fun.  God is the source of these gifts that bring us so much pleasure, as Paul writes in his letter to Timothy, all things made by God are good and to be enjoyed – with gratitude.

Enjoying Gods gifts with thanksgiving means, among other things, enjoying them within the bounds of His intent.  That is they gifts are enjoyed and used but not abused.  What a wonderfully joyful restraint – we can take pleasure in what God has given us  without idolizing those gifts, becoming greedy, or being controlled by those gifts.  If I am thankful to God, God remains above the gift.  If I am thankful, I don’t have an unsatisfiable hunger for more.  If I am thankful, I receive God’s gifts freely.  Our gratitude is a good test of how healthy our relationship is with our possessions, our work, our family, and everything else God provides for us.  A lack of gratitude is often a sign of self-righteousness, idolatry, or abuse.  True gratitude keeps the gift subordinate to the giver and shows the gift is enjoyed within the boundaries of God’s intentions.

The other aspect I like about this passage from Calvin is that is shows the inherit goodness of pleasurable experiences.  We gather around turkey and dressing every year and we share what we’re grateful for.  We list the things we know we should to be thankful for: our family, our freedoms, our health.  Indeed we are, and should be, thankful for these things.  Families are a blessing.  We should be thankful or our nation’s freedom and character.  Anyone who has gone through a sickness will quickly tell you how grateful they are for good health.  But it’s OK to be grateful for a good game of golf, for laughter with friends, or for a good Rock album.  While it might seem shallow to list the pleasure we get from watching our favorite ball team with the blessings of our Church family, I believe it is good for us to thank God for these simple pleasures, to show appreciation that God doesn’t just provide what is necessary, but for what makes life so enjoyable.  I encourage you this Thanksgiving to share your gratitude for the rich blessings of family and health, but to also give thanks for the lesser joys of life and for a God who doesn’t just want you to not be hungry, but to enjoy a panorama of flavors and smells because of His lavish love.

The Word and the Priesthood of All Believers

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I’ve been preaching through a list of “Essential Tenets and Reformed Distinctives” the past several weeks; today was on the priesthood of all believers.  In laying out my discussion I realized how closely this doctrine is related to the doctrine of the authority of scripture.  The role of the priest is to act as a mediator – speaking God’s word to people, and on behalf of the people to God.  The doctrine that each of us are priests means that we speak directly to God in our prayers through Christ, and we hear God speak directly to us through the scriptures.

We lose this if we do not take the scriptures to be the very Word of God.  If they are only a witness to the Revelation, or potentially a channel for the Word then we must have someone distinquish for us which portions are the Word of God and which are the words of men.  We return to having a magisterium, an authoriatave priest or professor who tells us which portions are accurate witnesses and which are errors.

(Photo of people reading the New Testament for the first time in the Mape language by kahunapule)

The Mark of Discipleship

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“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

Jesus spoke these words after he had washed his disciples feet.  He gave us the command to love one anther, just has he loved us and as an example he took the role of a slave and cleaned the filth from their calloused heels and from between their toes.

It is good that Jesus gave us an example of what he meant by love.  We tend to think of love as an emotion, a strong feeling of fondness for another.  Romantic notions of being overwhelmed with attraction lead us to believe we don’t have much control over love – we fall in it and if things get difficult we talk as though it left us.  Against this Jesus gives us an example of love that displays itself in active service to others.  He washed their feet, at other times he fed the hungry (even when he was exhausted and grieving the cruel death of his cousin John and probably didn’t feel like serving), and he spent time with rowdy children, anguished widows, and the sick.  And he said this was how other people will see that we are his followers.

Notice what displays us as his followers.  It is not that we adhere to the right creed, or that we have a T-shirt or bumper sticker, or that we refrain from certain vices – but that we lovingly serve our brothers and sisters.  Right belief is essential to our faith, there’s nothing wrong with a fish on your bumper, and should exercise moderation.  However, it is the difficult act of loving one another, regardless of how we feel, that evidences a living faith in our hearts.  The simple, spontaneous acts of sharing food with a sick neighbor, giving a ride to a fellow church member, or checking in on someone who’s lost a loved one reveal a heart like Jesus, a heart that put others above himself.

During first centuries Christianity spread phenomenally in the Roman Empire, despite opposition and even persecution.  One of the means of this amazing spread was that the Church showed remarkable acts of loving service and generosity to everyone.  One of the last pagan emperors who tried to renew the worship of Roman gods complained that “The impious Galileans [i.e Christians] support not only their poor, but ours as well. Everyone can see that our poor lack aid from us.”  Which is to say as the gospel was proclaimed and Jesus was lifted up, the lives of his disciples proved that they truly believed in the “Son of Man” who “came not to be served but to serve”. (Matt. 20:28)

Does your life evidence a belief in the one who made himself nothing and took the form of a servant? (Phil. 2:7)  You probably wouldn’t have to look far for an opportunity to love someone by serving them.

On the Burning of Old Books

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On September 11 the fifty member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, FL plans on having a Koran burning to commemorate the 9th anniversary of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.  As they explain on their website is “we are burning Korans to raise awareness and warn”.  They go on to give ten reasons why the Koran should be burned and then cite Acts 19:18-20 as Biblical precedence to publicly burn “a book that is demonic”.  The reasoning of the leadership of the Dove World Outreach Centers is faulty, unbiblical and their protest is dangerously misguided.

Some of the reasons they give to burn the Koran are premises most Christians would agree are valid such as that the Koran is not divinely inspired or that it teaches that Jesus was not crucified.  But what is missing is any explanation of why a community that considers itself Christian should make the leap from disagreeing, even disagreeing strongly, with ideas to the symbolic attack of burning a book.  By the logic expressed in their reasons they should also burn any of the other competing texts held sacred by religious communities.  In other words, the reasons they have given for burning the Koran are merely reasons they disagree with the book – but it is a dangerous non sequitur that we burn books we disagree with.

Referencing the Book of Acts in support of book burning completely misunderstands the context of the passage.  The story tells of how some, who had previously practiced magic, converted to Christianity and afterwards brought their books out in an act of confession, “divulging their practices” (v. 18) and burnt them, though they had great monetary value, in an act of repentance.  That is they were publicly destroying their own books as a sign of their own conversion – not as an attack on others who believed differently.

Christianity is a faith that has always spread through rational means joined with works of mercy.  That is we believe in the truth of the Gospel we proclaim and present it clearly to others so that they might consent to truths by agreeing with the evidence and reasons for believing.  Book burning is an inflammatory attack that does nothing to proclaim the truths of scripture, the love of God, or invite Muslims to hear the Gospel we present.  The effect will be to alienate those who hold the Koran sacred.  Moreover, it will present Christianity to those outside the Church as an irrational faith.  Burning books gives the appearance that we are incapable of presenting our reasons for disagreeing with Islam and supporting those points with historical evidence and logic.  Rather than showing that Christianity  invites others to test all things and come to receive truth; those who support this protest reveal a belief system that is based on power, coercion, and force; it is indistinguishable from the images I see in the news of protesters burning American flags and calling the United States “the great Satan”.

I wish the leaders of the Dove World Outreach Center would obey the Bible on which they purport to be based, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” (I Peter 3:15-16)  By hosting a book burning I believe the Dove World Outreach Center will do more harm to the faith of the Holy Bible than to the Koran.

Morality and Religion Irrational

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I was reading a Washington Times piece on Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling overturning California’s homosexual marriage ban.  As the article states, ‘He denied that there is “any rational basis” for distinguishing the marriage of man and woman from same-sex relationships’ and ‘The evidence shows conclusively that moral
and religious views form the only basis for a belief that same-sex
couples are different from opposite-sex couples.’  It is terrifying to think that a federal judge is stating as fact that neither religion, or especially, morality are rational.  If morality is irrational, regardless of one’s belief system, what is it’s basis?

Church authority and non-subscription controversies in early 18th century Presbyterianism

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My thesis, “Church authority and non-subscription controversies in early 18th century Presbyterianism”,  is now available online at the University of Glasgow’s website.

Abstract

The practice of confessional subscription, or giving assent to a confession of faith through signing a formula of approbation, was the subject of debate among Presbyterian Churches in the early eighteenth century. While other studies have examined the local controversies, this thesis offers a comprehensive examination of the question of subscription and the connections between the debates among English Dissenters, in the Church of Scotland, the General Synod of Ulster, the Synod of Philadelphia and the Presbytery of Charleston. It identifies the common background and influences, especially in questions of ecclesiastical authority in the Church of England that preceded and greatly influenced the subscription controversy, which itself was essentially a debate over Church power. The discussions within the different Church bodies are reviewed with the connections between the bodies being highlighted. The debates began with the attempt to introduce subscription among English Dissenters leading to the Salters’ Hall Debate of 1719. Although there was not an open challenge to the Westminster Confession of Faith in the Church of Scotland, the tradition of subscribing inherited from emigrants and the involvement of ministers in correspondence with other Churches influenced the developments elsewhere. Next the development of Irish Presbyterianism from both English and Scottish traditions is shown followed by a discussion of the actual controversy in the General Synod of Ulster. In a chapter on the Synod of Philadelphia an interpretation of the American Adopting Act (1729) within the context of the international debate is offered. The closing chapter covers the much overlooked Presbytery of Charleston with insights from sources that have not previously been studied for that Church’s history.

Knowing God’s Will for Your Life

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One of the most common questions I am asked as a minister is “How do I know God’s will for my life?” Sometimes it is asked in those very words, but often it is asked about a specific decision someone is facing: Should I sell my house? Is this who I should marry? Where is God leading me to work? Most Christians come to a time when they have to decide, not between a good and bad, but between goods. They want to be obedient and faithful and struggle with the question of what direction God wants them to take.
The Holy Scriptures are our ultimate guide in what we believe and how we live out our faith. The Bible is God’s revelation of not only who He is, but how He wants us to live. Therefore, where the Bible gives us explicit direction, God’s will is clear. God desires that believers gather regularly for worship (Heb. 10:25), that we should not lie (Ex. 20:16), that we forgive others (Matt. 6:14), and that we care for those in need (James 1:27). Knowing God’s will where the Scriptures are clear is not difficult even if obeying it is.
But the Bible does not give us detailed instructions for choosing a career, a spouse, or what congregation we should join. (Although I have heard some interpret Ezekiel 20:29 as a sign to study at Tuscaloosa.) How do we make decisions where God’s Word has no specific direction?

When we’re faced with questions like this it is good for us to make a distinction between questions of obedience and questions of wisdom. Following the commandments of scripture is an issue of obedience — and to disobey is sin. God’s will is that “you shall not steal”, to take what belongs to another is a sin. The other questions we face are often a matter of deciding what is the wisest course of action. In these cases we make wise or foolish choices — but we don’t sin if there is no Biblical command to obey or disobey. In other words, God has given us the freedom and responsibility to live and make choices within the bounds of what scripture commands. Sometimes people have the impression that God has a narrative laid out for our lives and as we come to forks in the road we are supposed to scrutinize God’s plan from signs or an “inner voice” and hope we follow the correct path. God does have a plan for us, but we cannot thwart God’s purposes because He is absolutely sovereign. God knows “the days that were formed for [us], when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139) But when we face difficult decisions where we have no command from Scripture we are responsible to make the wisest decision we can. We are not called to uncover some hidden map for our lives. Nor are we to make such decisions in fear that we sin if we choose wrong.
That said, God has given us gifts and ways of coming to good decisions. Our natural inclinations, desires, and talents often serve as a good guide. Someone who can’t stand math is not going to be called to accounting; someone who loves explaining things to others might need to pursue a teaching vocation. Validation from others is another gift that can guide us in making appropriate decisions. If you’re head over heels in love with someone none of your friends trust, it would be wise to consider their opinion before deciding on marriage. We are invited to pray for wisdom and discernment. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5) We should discuss things with friends whose opinions we value; Proverbs 22:17 tells us “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” Our choices should be informed by an understanding of appropriate timing as the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us. While going back to school might be a good decisions, other things in your life might mean that it has to be postponed for a time. Above all we are guided by the Bible. Even though there aren’t specific directives for many of the decisions we make, it is a sure guide for wisdom.
(image: Prayer is the language by Lel4nd)

Who wouldn’t want Sara Herwig as their Pastor?

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The following video is a trailer from a movie by LGBT advocacy group More Light Presbyterians. The description from their blog:

Thy Will Be Done follows Male-to-Female Transsexual Sara Herwig in her path to ordination in the Presbyterian Church. Efforts have been made to block her ordination by the evangelical conservative groups who don’t recognize her as female and question her fitness to be a Pastor….. but who also challenge her candidacy because she is in a same-sex relationship, with a woman.

Exile on Main Street

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Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (Jeremiah 29:4-7)

In many ways the Church seems to be in exile, without having moved. The changes in our society over the past fifty or so years have been profound for the Church in America. Denominations have lost members. Many can remember a culture that would have been embarrassed at breeches in traditional values that are now taken as a normal part of life. Actions that would have ruined an entertainer’s career at one time now seem to increase their popularity and profit making potential.
The Sabbath is perfect example of this change. Not long ago the idea of a business being open on a Sunday would, at least in parts of the country, been unthinkable. Now it would be difficult to find a national chain that closes on the Lord’s Day. I mention this, not to pine for the good old days, but to illustrate that while the Church was at one time supported by the society as a whole, now the culture around us is at best indifferent and at worst hostile to the Church. We find ourselves in Exile, asking the same questions our ancestors in the faith asked when the Jews were taken from the promised land to live in Babylon.
Much debate in the Church in the past decades has been over how we respond to the Exile-like situation in which we find ourselves. Some would say that the Church should acquire political power and fight for the overthrow of those seen as enemies of the Church. They draw up agendas and form political action committees. Others think that separation from the culture is the answer, set up alternatives systems to “secular” culture. Some seem to completely embrace the culture around us baptize it and denounce the Church’s past actions as hypocritical and oppressive.
I have often turned to the above passage of scripture, a letter from Jeremiah to the elders and other Jewish leaders in Babylonian exile, as a guide for Christians living in cultural exile. It reminds us that, although we should remember that this world is not our home, we are still to settle in and dwell wherever we are. Just as the Jews were to be part of their community, we should fully enter into the place where we live. We should not turn up our nose at the food or ignore the interests of the people with whom we live. We are to care for the place where we are, seeking the “welfare of the city,” not pray for the death of our leaders or the overthrow of the government. We have no excuse to separate or exclude ourselves, but rather enter into the life of wherever we are and seek its redemption, bearing witness in our words and actions, to the Redeemer. And just as God warned the Jews of false prophets, (vs. 8 & 9) we are to be wary of those seeking to turn us against the place or draw us away from our obligations to it.