Mormonism and the "Cult" Question

It is at least intriguing, and possibly disturbing, to read that “The Billy Graham Evangel­istic Association (BGEA) recently removed an article from its website that listed Mormonism as a ‘cult.’  The change followed Mitt Romney’s home visit to Billy Graham last week, where the evangelist pledged ‘help’ to the Mormon presidential candidate’s campaign” [Christianity Today online 10-19-2012].

Here’s the BGEA’s justification for this action:  “‘Our primary focus at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has always been pro­moting the Gos­pel of Jesus Christ,’ Ken Barun, chief of staff for the association, told CNN in a statement.  ‘We removed the information from the website because we do not wish to participate in a theo­logical debate about something that has become politicized during this campaign’” [CNN online 10-16-2012].

Not everyone has swallowed that claim.  Pundits find the timing of the change suspicious.  Like CNN’s Roland Martin:  “To those of my fellow evangelicals who are on the religious right, please, stop your fake trumpeting of biblical values if you’re going to run roughshod over your biblical convictions and let your partisan views take center stage” [CNN online 10-23-2012].  Biola University’s Craig Hazen contends that this move “gives the appear­ance that the BGEA might think that—on certain occasions—they will let politics trump princi­ples” [Christianity Today online 10-19-2012].  “Appearance” is the key word here.  The BGEA’s action appears to be politically expedient.

Whatever we’re to conclude about the BGEA’s maneuver, I wouldn’t want anyone to think that Mormonism’s errors are minor matters.  In fact, The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints (i.e., Mormon­ism) is decidedly contrary to biblical Christ­ianity.  Consider a few of their claims:  *Mormon­ism (founded in 1830) is the restored apos­tolic church; *God was once a man who progressed to god­hood; *the Trinity is actually three distinct gods; *humans can be exalted to godhood; *Jesus was originally a spirit-child of a hea­venly marriage who later progressed into deity; *Adam’s sin was a noble, vital act leading to godhood; *faith in Christ isn’t necessary for salvation but only to reach heaven’s highest echelons (cf. “The Bible and Religious Cults,” ESV Study Bible, pp. 2631-2).  They also accept other “scriptures,” such as The Book of Mormon, as divine revelation.  These departures from Christianity are serious and sobering. 

And so I encourage followers of Jesus Christ to be in prayer for Mormons, that they would come to faith in the one and only Savior.  And pray as well for the BGEA—for wisdom in this hour.

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Politics and Courage

I appreciate Kevin DeYoung's post in which he lists comments you most likely will not hear in this election season's debates.

What would happen in the public square if all the political posturing and staging and slanted characterization of opponents' views and sound-bite oversimplification (etc.) were somehow erased?  One thing's for sure, it would take courage for a candidate to follow that path.  But maybe, just maybe, people would welcome such radical, respectable conduct, and follow that kind of leader.
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About "The Gospel of Jesus' Wife"

Justin Taylor has collected a number of responses to the recently publicized Coptic fragment.  Click here.
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Church & State

This election season, let’s ponder the oft-cited 2 Chronicles 7:14:  If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.  “My people…”; “their land…”  How should this word to ancient Israel be applied by Christians in today’s world?

In Old Testament times God’s people lived under “theocracy”:  devotion to the Lord and allegiance to government were inseparable; no divide between religion and public life (between “church and state”).  American Christians some­times succumb to wishful thinking that we have a theocracy today—that the rule of God could be “restored” in our land.  But that’s not a biblical hope.  With the coming of Christ and his Great Com­mission, God brought theocracy to an end.

God’s children today are an inter­national, inter-racial, worldwide people—called the church—that can’t be con­tained in or aligned with any one nation-state.  So an Old Testament promise about the “land” of ancient Israel cannot be neatly transferred to our country (or any country) today.  Rather, the application of 2 Chronicles 7:14 would center on the church—i.e., that group who, today, are God’s people:  “my people.”  If we as Christians, in fellow­ships all around the world, repent and pray and humbly seek God, then he’ll forgive and renew his people—his church.  And so, the text relates to the revival of the church, not the improvement of this country.

Here are a few church-and-government challenges believers should grapple with: 

1) Thank God for the gift of the US government—it’s not perfect, but much about it is good. 

2) Submit to the law of the land (see Rom 13:1-7; 1 Pet 2:12-17).  Only when “Caesar” would force you to turn against Christ is it right to play the Acts 5:29 civil disobedience card:  We must obey God rather than men.  

3) Pray for government leaders (1 Tim 2:2)—for wisdom, humility, reverence for God, zeal for the common good, unwavering commitment to justice, and both restraint and courage in “bearing the sword.” 

4) Serve your country, including through constructive criticism.  “Sub­mit” does not mean silence. 

5) Watch your expectations:  the state isn’t supposed to promote or advance the church (or vice versa), so don’t expect it to do so. 

6) Model respectful inter­action with those you disagree with this election season (e.g., other party, other positions). Let it be obvious that “the Christians” don’t use the world’s weapons of twist­ing facts, half truths, smearing opponents, or hitting back.  Break the rules of politics as usual. 

7) Finally, give praise to Jesus as Lord of All and King of Kings.  For all your appreciation of our government and nation, let it be ever so clear to all around you that you exalt Christ as “Commander-in-Chief”!

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Chick-fil-A and Culture Wars

Amidst the ongoing “culture wars” and the ever-escalating clash of conservative and liberal value systems and political agendas in our polarized times, and as we charge ahead to a November election, I’d like to offer followers of Jesus a challenge.

But before I do, let me say what I’m not saying.  I’m not here to advocate supporting any political party or some particular legis­la­tive initiative, nor do I intend to tell anyone how to vote.  Instead, I’d like to encourage you on an entirely different wavelength.

Now about the culture wars—and I’m thinking of last week’s fracas over Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy’s com­ments about homosexuality, as well as the vigorous push-back by pro-gay voices.  We could discuss what Mr. Cathy said, and we could debate what a corporate executive should and shouldn’t say publicly when it comes to his/her beliefs (when do you speak for yourself, and when do you represent the company?).  And we could discuss the range of reactions to his comments, from the reasonable to the ridiculous.

And, of course, we could discuss what the Bible says on the topic—namely, that homosexual practice is contrary to God’s will (so, e.g., Romans 1:26-27; 1 Cor 6:9-10; see www.robgagnon.net for some careful attention to the Bible’s teaching).  Scripture’s message is quite clear, so those who regard the Bible as God’s inspired and authori­tative Word should have all the guidance they need when it comes to the question of homosexual activity.  But that’s not my topic.  I’m approaching the situation from another angle.

I want to probe beneath the surface of these recurring cultural scuffles and examine the implicit (and sometimes explicit) vision for Western society held by many professing Christians—namely, that what we really want to see is a world adhering to traditional, con­servative morality; and that what’s really bringing ruin upon humanity is how people are straying away from such practice.  If only we could do something to bring about (or return to?) a moral utopia here and now in which popular culture truly embraced God’s standards of sexual morality!

But is that God’s vision?  And is that the church’s mission in God’s world?  Here’s my challenge:  don’t set your heart on establishing a morally tidy culture.  Don’t let your imagination settle for that dream.  After all, such a vision is way too small—plus, that goal is way off target from where the Lord has directed his church. 

After all, even if we could somehow persuade every person in North America to abide by conservative morals and affirm tradi­tional marriage and practice sexually purity, if in the process we failed to win their hearts and minds to authentic faith in Jesus Christ, we would have won the battle but lost the war. 

I’m reminded of debates from over a century ago about the social gospel when D. L. Moody raised a valid question:  what good is polishing brass on a sinking ship?  What eternal gain would there be in producing a squeaky clean society if people did not also, first and foremost, come to see their sin and grieve over their rebellion against an all-holy Creator and run to the Savior for amazing mercy and forgiveness and life and adoption into the forever-family of the Heavenly Father? 

Someone might answer that question by saying there would be gain—it would be positive to help people at least lead moral lives even if they don’t embrace Jesus.  But would it?  That kind of “good” influence actually does great harm:  it gives the spiritually lethal impres­sion that by performing well and acting uprightly and doing good deeds and staying clean, people can tip the balance of divine favor to their advantage.  And such human-centered, pride-fueling theology is a heresy the New Testament resoundingly rejects (e.g., Eph 2:8-9; Gal 2:16; Rom 3:24; 2 Tim 1:9).

Are we at risk of giving the world the impression that our grand passion in life is to tell people, “Clean up your act”?  Don’t get me wrong:  societal rejection of godly morality in our day is a serious problem with far-reaching conse­quences (e.g., unstable relationships, rampant lone­liness, disintegra­tion of marriage, broken families, impoverished children).  We want to love people away from those traumas.  BUT we don’t love them truly, genuinely, unless we point them to the eternal Lover of their souls.  Frankly, social reform pales in impor­tance compared to the heart response of faith, of trust, in Jesus Christ, who came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10; John 3:16).  And yet, when God goes to work transforming believers from the inside out, good deeds follow—including moral purity! (e.g., Gal 5:6; Eph 2:10; James 2:14-26; Matt 28:18-20 [“disciples” are taught to obey]).  First things first.

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Pray for Greece!

Greece has been in the news—with the recent elections, the wrenching struggle over accepting the European Union bailout terms (austerity measures and all) and whether there’s any wiggle room in the stiff terms that need to be imposed.  That story is unfolding before us as a new government has been formed to try and lead the Greek people through some very difficult times.

Having just visited Greece in the capacity of a short-term teacher with Training Leaders International for the purpose of building up pastors and church leaders among various immigrant communities in Athens, however, I’m reflecting these days more about the spiritual “state of the nation.”  [Links:  my blog from Greece; some photos from Greece]

What especially has my attention is the odd juxtaposition of two statistics in Operation World’s country report on Greece:  On the one hand, 91% of the population (i.e., 10,228,331 out of 11,183,393 people) self-identifies as “Christian.”  On the other hand, the number of “evangelicals” in the country is 41,372, or 0.4% of the population.  What does it mean that only about one half of one percent of self-proclaimed “Christians” in Greece are “evangelical”?  Let’s probe this with a couple more questions.

What does OW mean by “evangelical”?  Let me quote their definition at length.  Evangelicals are…  “All who emphasize and adhere to all four of the following:

• The Lord Jesus Christ as the sole source of salvation through faith in Him, as validated by His crucifixion and resurrection.
• Personal faith and conversion with regeneration by the Holy Spirit.
• Recognition of the inspired Word of God as the ultimate basis and authority for faith and Christian living.
• Commitment to biblical witness, evangelism and mission that brings others to faith in Christ.” 

So the term “evangelical” is not being used of some politically conservative voting bloc or as a label for people who promote traditional morality.  Rather, the it’s being applied to people who’ve been born again, who have a personal and vital faith relationship with the living Lord Jesus Christ, who embrace the Bible as the uniquely inspired and authoritative Word of God, and who long to live for the honor of Christ in all things.  You can say it many different ways.

Well then, when speaking of evangelicals, does OW envision only to those outside the historic Greek Orthodox Church?  No.  The 0.4% of the population includes evangelicals who are worshipping within Orthodox congregations.  Back to the OW definition:  “Evangelicals are largely Protestant, Independent or Anglican, but some are Catholic or Orthodox.  It is one of the TransBloc movements in this book.”  So, obviously, OW knows that there are evangelical renewal movements in all sectors of global Christianity, Orthodoxy included.  A glaring implication of their statistics, however, is that such movements in Greece are miniscule at best.

So, again, what does it mean to be among the 99.5% of “Christians” in Greece who say no to the concept of Christianity above under the heading of “evangelical”?

Our ministry team peeked into several Orthodox church buildings in Athens and the surrounding area.  A couple of times we were able to listen in on the worship liturgy.  In one instance, the canters sang back and forth a prayer-song pleading with the “Panagia,” the all-holy one, i.e., the mother of Jesus, “Mary, save us!”

We were distraught to hear this:  “Mary, save us!”  How bold, how brazen, to plead for salvation to someone other than the Savior, Jesus Christ.  And further, how unsettling to consider the tenuousness of the salvation experience from that frame of reference—that God is remote, and mercy is insecure…

The more we took things in, the more we came to see how different the religious landscape is in Greece compared to the USA.  Here in the States some 29% of the population is self-described as evangelical.  But in Greece, the religious scene is dominated by historic Greek Orthodoxy, and any group claiming to be Christian but not Orthodox is immediately considered suspect, peripheral, or even cultish; non-Orthodox churches are viewed as culturally marginal.

One of the leading Greek evangelical pastors in Athens explained to us that, if asked what made his evangelical church so different from Orthodoxy, he’d highlight two things.  First, he’d underscore the evangelical commitment to the “solas.”  These Latin phrases (sola scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus) summarize evangelical priorities on the unique revelation and authority of Scripture alone, salvation through God’s grace alone and by faith alone, all achieved by Jesus Christ alone.  Orthodox church-goers need to grapple with the solas.  OW contends, “Most Greeks are ignorant of the gospel message and are unreceptive to any non-Orthodox witness.”

And, secondly, they need to comprehend and experience the love of God as taught in Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).  The character of the father in this profound story portrays God’s great heart of love for lost and ruined lives—especially how the father scans the horizon for his lost son and then runs recklessly to him, embraces him, assures him of his acceptance, and insists on a grand celebration of the son’s return home.  That kind of a conception of God, of our Heavenly Father, is not brought out in traditional Greek Orthodox churches—and the need to see the Lord God from that angle is an urgent need.

Do pray for Greece!

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Summer Challenges

It’s almost June now—a fine time to check and see if we’re really ready for all that summer brings.  I don’t mean ready with sun-screen or a new BBQ grill, but with spiritual resolve to grow strong in Jesus during this odd season called summertime.  Here are several challenges:

• Don’t "bail" on the church—you need your church family and they need you all year round.  Baseball is seasonal; so are garden­ing and golf and raking leaves.  But being the body of Christ isn’t seasonal.
• Don’t take a vacation from your routine spiritual practice—from reading Scripture carefully (with your own Bible, pen in hand) and responding to God’s Word through prayer.  Summer’s disruptions make it all the more crucial to stay close to Jesus.  The rest of the year our more regular schedules help us keep our bearings and stay on track:  we’re creatures of habit.  But summer throws us a curve.  So brace yourself, and make plans now so that shifting schedules don’t stifle your walk with Christ.
• Make your decisions about what to wear this summer with the good of others in mind.  Your own style preferences or whatever’s the current fashion are hardly the guiding standards.  Gals, your brothers in Christ will be grateful if you choose modesty.
• The flipside of that topic is guarding your eyes and directing your vision away from lustful gazing.  Jesus doesn’t buy excuses like “Boys will be boys” or “I couldn’t help it” (Matthew 5:27-30).  Commit your eyes to honoring the Lord (Job 31:1).
• In an article on the “Summer Mindset,” John Piper counsels all who yearn for R&R:  “Jesus Christ is refreshing.  Flight from him into Christless leisure makes the soul parched…  Don’t let sum­mer make your soul shrivel.”  This is God’s good earth.  “But it is all prelude to the real drama of heaven.  It is a foretaste of the real banquet.”  The heavenly city “has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev 21:23).  “The summer sun is a mere pointer to the sun that will be.  The glory of God.  Summer is for seeing and showing that.  Will we have eyes to see?  Do you want to have eyes to see?  Lord, let us see the light beyond the light."

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Digital Bible, Pros and Cons

What do you gain when you use an electronic Bible for personal devotions, Bible study, or with the gathered church during the sermon?  And what do you lose? 

Clearly one gains convenience—not so bulky, and not all that fanning through pages.  In addition, you can find things quickly, whether it’s the text at hand or cross references or other linked resources.  And further, although our digital devices may fail, data backup means the texts, images, videos, and programs we value can live another day.  Considerable plusses.

But frankly, I’m more impressed by the advantages of the printed page.  The big plus, as I see it, is the ease of personalizing a physi­cal Bible.  I bought my Bible in 1976 (for the youth among us, yes, the glaciers had just receded that year…)—it was recommended for “New Testament History” by the Prof my first year at Bethel College.  That Bible has since been rebound three times, and today the binding is faltering yet more; some pages are thin or tattered around the edges.

But when it comes to Bible study or counseling or conversations about Christianity or preaching or teaching or personal communion with the God Who Speaks, my old Bible is the first tool I grab.  Of course, I have other Bibles (in various English translations).  And I also seek to access Scripture in its original lang­uages.  But my “good old” Bible still comes first.

Over the years I’ve added all sorts of brief notes, cross references, codes, and highlighting of every kind (circles, lines, arrows, colors, boxes…).  And over time I’ve developed a “relationship” with the format of these now-yellowing pages:  I can see the layout of chapters; I can visualize certain key passages, and that helps me find them.  Yes, there’s the danger of losing my Bible (I’m concerned about that).  But still, I’d be hard-pressed to overstate the value to me, and to others I serve, of having my one primary printed copy of God’s Holy Word.

The last year I taught at Wheaton College (2005), I assigned students in one class to write a short paper about the electronic Bible.  They were especially to identify any subtle gains or losses accom­panying this technology, and then make an argument in favor of one or the other—printed or digital Bible.  Results:  the vast majority (and note, these were 18- to 22-year-olds) said they wanted their bound book Bibles:  way too much would be sacrificed by relinquishing their familiar, personalized, printed copies of God’s Word.

That, of course, was in a pre-iPhone/iPad age.  The use of such mobile devices is on the rise these days, to be sure.  A recent experience with an adult class at my church revealed that at least half of those present, when encouraged to look up a Scripture passage, did so on their phones.  The digital revolution continues to extend its reach into our lives.  And I’m happy to restate this point:  there are many advantages to using electronic tools for accessing Scripture.

But I end with a word of caution:  be careful what you give up when you choose new tools to access the Bible.  The gains do not come to us without losses.  Let’s ask God to help us be “wise as serpents” (Matt 10:16) when it comes to the handling of his Word.

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"My Chains"

Several of the letters God inspired the Apostle Paul to write were penned in prison.  In fact, it’s on account of declaring the message of Christ, Paul says, that “I am in prison” (Colossians 4:3), and he urges the church to “Remember my chains” (4:18; see also 1:24; 4:10).  Just imagine what it was like—chains on his ankles clanking, sores bleeding, rats scurrying, cold and dark … as he wrote!  Philippians, Philemon, Ephesians, and 2 Timothy are also prison letters.

I don’t know about you, but when my circumstances go south, I’m tempted to wallow in frustration over how things ought to go better for me—why do I have to put up with this?  It isn’t right!  (Etc.)  But that’s exactly what we don’t find in Paul’s Prison Letters.  Despite chains, he’s free to bless and encourage and build up believers as he shepherds them from a distance.  Just think what he says; consider the content and tone of this prisoner’s message as he writes the church at Colossae:

Colossians oozes with gratitude; Paul is grateful to the Lord for his brothers and sisters in Jesus, thankful for how they’ve learned and grown and given testimony to the Gospel in their mission (1:3; cf. 1 Thess 5:18).  How would my gratitude hold up if I were bound in chains?  How about you?

Colossians overflows with praise, with highest worship of the all-glorious, eternal Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator and Sustainer of “all things,” the Head of the Church, who is the very Fullness of God, the Preemi­nent Redeemer (1:15-20).  Praise from prison! (of course, we’ve seen this before [Acts 16:25]).

Colossians reports how Paul boldly, confidently rebukes the false teachers who propagate insidious error (2:8-23).  This is not a letter from a timid man, pining away with his chains, hoping someone might just pay attention to his “two cents” on the matter.  Rather, it’s a definitive, authoritative word, inspired by the God of the Universe, to defend and declare life-giving truth.

Colossians may speak from behind bars, as it were, but it pulsates with hope of Christ’s appearing in all his glory, and to our union with him (3:4).  The Apostle’s anticipation of his Lord’s future full victory will not be squelched.

Colossians looks right past the obstacles of captivity to the advance of the Gospel, calling for prayer that God would open doors, pave the way and help his ambassadors speak the word of Christ—to make it clear, so that many might find true freedom (4:2-4)!

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Trustworthiness of the Gospels

The breakout session led by Simon Gathercole and Peter Williams at the recent Together for the Gospel (T4G) conference is excellent:  a clear, penetrating, fresh, wise word on the trustworthiness of the Gospels.  Take the time and listen carefully:  click here.

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What Demons Believe

The resounding point in chapter two of the Letter of James is that authentic Christian faith is a dynamic reality, that it "works."  If we claim to have faith in Jesus but there is no meaningful expression of that faith in our actions, the claim lacks merit.  Faith without works is dead (vv 17, 26)--lifeless, useless, meaningless.  In other words, "faith" that does not lead to changed living is not true Christian faith.  And the heart that says "I believe Jesus died for me so now I can just live as I please because I'm forgiven and heaven's a done deal" is a heart that lacks genuine faith in Christ:  it is the heart of an unbeliever.  That's because real faith involves trust in and admiration for and a readiness to follow in the steps of the One we trust, the living Lord Jesus Christ.  Faith involves not only knowing truth but loving the God of truth.  No, that doesn't mean real Christians practice their faith perfectly--James is aware of that error too (3:2; cf. 1 John 1:8, 10).  But it does mean that true faith simply cannot be bottled up in the brain:  it must get out and get hands and feet and words--it must "work."


The folly of "faith without works" is driven home vehemently in 2:19:  "You believe that God is one; you do well.  Even the demons believe—and shudder!"  Notice that affirming truth does not add up to biblical faith.  If we say we "believe" that the Bible is true, and if we believe that there is just one God, one great creator God, and if we go on and affirm the doctrine of the incarnation and the deity of Christ and the truth of the sin-bearing work of the Son of God on the cross on behalf of sinners (etc.), that kind of mental assent, valuable as it is, does not save.  In fact, it does no more than what the demons do.  Satan and his vile cohorts acknowledge true information about God--his oneness, even his awesome majesty (note that they "shudder" at the thought of the true God).  But "believing" the facts is not enough, and that's because "believing" the facts is not what it means to have faith.  Authentic Christian faith involves trust, admiration, devotion, and praise; genuine faith necessarily engages the heart and arouses the will, but it is never be content just to sit in the mind affirming abstract information to which we tip our hat.
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Reason and Faith

Organizers of the “Reason Rally” that took place on National Mall in DC on March 24 tried to lay claim on rational thought as the property of atheism.  Some 20,000 people came out to support the cause.

The featured speaker was Richard Dawkins, who applauded the US Constitution as the world’s model for “secular constitutions.”  That’s a clever twist:  yes, the First Amendment states, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.  But no, that hardly makes it a “secular” constitution.  It would be far more accurate to say the First Amendment affirms a key distinc­tion between religion and state, thus expressing respect for both.

Dawkins and the “new atheists” don’t just speak out against religion, but they openly ridicule and mock religious belief.  This is ironic:  if you want to be seen as the reasonable, objective party in a debate, you don’t throw emotional rhetoric grenades at the opponent.  But that’s just what Dawkins does.  And he calls all atheists to join him:  when Christians affirm miracles, “Mock them!  Ridicule them!  In public!”  Religious claims that transcend science need to be “ridiculed with contempt.”  Maybe he didn’t get the memo:  this was the “Reason Rally,” not the “Ridicule Rally.”

Tom Gilson points out (in the Washington Post, 3-21-2012) that, in The God Delusion, Dawkins devotes an entire chapter to unscientific anecdotes that a religious upbringing is “abusive” to children yet ignores scien­tific findings that spiritually engaged teens are healthier than others in several ways.  Gilson notes how even atheists (such as Michael Ruse) are embarrassed by The God Delusion.  Far from having any exclusive claim to reason, Gilson claims the new atheists “are among the chief offenders of it.”  Especially prominent in their arsenal of reason-defying weapons is the fallacious appeal to emotion and attacking a “straw man.”

What’s more, you just can’t be taken seriously by anyone who knows even a little history if you claim that reason belongs to the atheists.  Here I’d refer to Mark Dever’s long list of brilliant, accomplished, reput­able Christians in all kinds of disciplines on down through the ages presented in his incisive message, “Is Be­coming a Christian Intellectual Suicide?”

On the reason­ableness of Christ­ianity, see also, e.g.:  Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind; J. P. Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind; and John Piper, Think.

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Lottery Madness

Not only is playing the lottery fraught with problems (spiritual and otherwise--see, e.g., the DG post today).  But just imagine what a mess it would make of your life to win $640,000,000.00.  I have to think, at the end of the day, that that big check would leave a person wondering who his/her friends really were.  And leave one asking, "What's real in these relationships of mine?"  "Who am I to the people around me?"  "What am I in their eyes?"

Such an odd and sad craze in our day.
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God's Creative Flair

I was struck afresh at the creative flair of the Lord when I spent some time yesterday at Longwood Gardens.  How true it is that beauty in nature points back, ultimately, to a Glorious Creator (e.g., Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:19-20; see also Psalms 104, 148; Job 38-41)!  

A few pictures posted here.

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Intellectual Suicide?

I really appreciated Mark Dever's talk, "Is Becoming a Christian Committing Intellectual Suicide?"  He cuts through some of the stock accusations and caricatures of Christian belief, showing that faith in Christ is quite reasonable.

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Giving Thanks for my Mom

On Saturday (2-18-2012) my mother, Connie Nelson, departed from this life and entered the glorious presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  She battled cancer these last few years, enduring a great deal along the way, and facing her affliction with dignity and grace.

I wrote a reflection on her life last year on Mother's Day (May 8, 2011):

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Today, on Mother’s Day, I’d like to offer a short bio of and tribute to my mom.  Grace Constance (“Connie”) Sjolund was born a “PK”—pastor’s kid.  Her mother was an artist (painter) and home­maker, and her father pastored the First Swedish Baptist Church of Minneapolis (now Bethlehem Baptist) from 1928 to 1948.  My mom came to faith in Christ at a young age and more or less grew up in the church.  She met her future husband in the 1940s in the church’s “young people’s group” (Ken Nelson, a farm boy from Wisconsin who came to the City for business school).  Ken and Connie were married in 1951.

I arrived in 1958, the third of four Nelson kids.  The most abiding memory I have of Mom from my childhood and the teen years is that she was always “there.”  When I got sick at school, she was there to come get me.  When the bus dropped me off down the block, she was waiting at home.  She sent Dad off to work each day and made dinner for the family each evening (we ate at 5:45).  When a neighbor boy dropped a hammer from a tree house that landed on my head and I got a nice gash, she was there to clean me up.  When the church youth group showed up to play hockey on our back yard ice rink, she made hot chocolate.  Mom made our house a “home”—though not in a way of claiming center stage.  We all found comfort in her steady presence and support.

I think it’s fair to say that my mom is a care-giver, a care-taker.  She looks out for those around her, always seeking ways to be help­ful.  Her aim is to see to it that others’ needs are met so they can flourish.  Her weakened condition today, due to the current bout with cancer and chemo, seems to aggravate her most because, as a result, she can’t be very “useful.”

My mom is content with simple things and a non-flashy lifestyle.  She and my dad clip coupons and hunt for bargains, and yet there’s no sense at all that they resent this or feel entitled to more.  Frugality and hard work the air they breathed growing up, and they breathe it still.

We Swedes aren’t always the most outwardly expressive folks on the planet, but my mom never fails to have hugs for her kids and grand­kids and the whole clan.  She makes it clear that we’re special to her.

I’ve always known Mom loved the Lord.  All my life she and my dad have been active in church, but it didn’t stop there:  God’s Word and strong faith convictions came home with them.  Mom’s spiritual zeal would seep out now and then—like on special occasions when it just wasn’t enough to recite the standard family table prayer:  she would cut in after “amen” and pray on for some special need or give thanks for a great blessing.  When I was about twelve, Mom found me in my bedroom reading my Bible, and she was quick to say how happy and thankful she was that I was learning God’s Word.

God made my mother with a steady equilibrium about her—so much so that she didn’t flinch in 1991 when Cheryl and I and our three-year-old Elliot moved in with them for four months while I com­pleted my Ph.D. and searched for work.  I look back on this and realize how I took her hospitality for granted at the time.  Perhaps she was too tolerant and patient with our vagabond visitation.

When Mom was diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer this past winter, the doctors told her it was “treatable but not curable.”  Of course, we’ve prayed for her healing—God is able to do that, no doubt.  But until he heals her (whether that’s in this life or the next), the new normal is weakness from chemo and managing nausea.  “No fun” is a serious understatement.  Still, when we talk, she doesn't care to spend too much time relaying all the medical details or rehearsing her woes, so after a bit it’s on to our lives—the kids, our church, how we’re all doing.  No wallowing in today’s trials.

When I think of my mom, there are certain Scriptures that come to mind and just seem to “fit.”  Like…

• Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves (Philippians 2:3).
• Jesus said, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
• Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

So today I thank the Lord for my mother!  He has blessed me richly through her spiritual support and steady encouragement.

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Newspaper notice here.

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Contraception Controversy

For a helpful summary of the issues in the recent contraception controversy, see Joe Carter's post.
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Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Thirty-nine years ago this week the Supreme Court, in its landmark Roe v. Wade decision, swept away virtually all state laws restricting abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy.  Since that time, there have been some fifty million little ones who've lost their lives here in the USA.


The scale of abortion woes is even greater in some other parts of the world, due in no small part to the particularly heinous practice of sex-selection abortion.  Consider the 200 million missing girls.


Note the free download offered by Desiring God, Exposing the Dark Work of Abortion.
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Read the Bible in 2012

I've found, from my own mixed experience, that if I don't plan to read the Bible, I'm basically planning not to read the Bible.  So I put together a Two-Year Plan for 2012-2013.  The two-year pace is very do-able.  I've set it up so you read one chapter each day on the weekends, and two a day during the week.  If you start in and stick to it for 30 days, you'll build a habit that lasts.

I appreciate John Piper's words of wisdom about the need to plan--to prepare in advance so that we're ready to face spiritual challenges that will come.  Planning to be in God's Word is right at the heart of this.

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The Light of the World

Jesus said, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever be­lieves in me may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46).  Think what this means.

It means, for one thing, that the world is a dark place.  Of course, many will object:  “How can you say we live in darkness?  We have antibiotics, smart phones, great restaurants, plasma TVs, pizza delivery, Facebook, and Lasik surgery, not to mention vast stores of knowledge through the world’s great libraries and online sources.”


But the manifestations of darkness today are widespread and deeply disturbing—like human trafficking, endemic corruption in developing countries, hoarding of wealth by many of the privileged, sectarian violence, global terrorism, greed-driven markets and businesses, exploitation of children, money laundering, treating sex like entertainment, breach of trust through family breakdown, rampant loneliness in crowded urban centers, predatory lending, disloyalty in the workplace, etc., just to name a few.  Darkness.


Join me in asking the Lord to help all of us see and celebrate the True Light this Christmas and not be caught up in all the dissatisfying glitter.


Jesus, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:9).  Jesus himself says, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). 


Christmas, of course, is drenched in light.  We think of shining stars and radiant angelic choirs bursting over the night sky.  But the brightest light of all shone not on the manger but from it.  The classic worship carols pick this up:  Baby Jesus is the “everlasting Light” beaming into Bethlehem’s dark streets.  “God with man is now residing; Yonder shines the infant Light.”  “Light of light descend­eth” from heaven’s noon-day glory.  We see the “Son of God, love’s pure Light.”  “Radiant beams” come from Jesus’ “holy face.”  Christ is “God of God, Light of Light.”  


And so, let's join the “Herald Angels” in praise this Christmas Day:  “Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!”  

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The Wonder of Fetal Development

Take a look at this 9-min. video and stand in awe of our Maker!

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A Wasted Life?

Check out this video featuring a challenge from John Piper and music from Lecrae:

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Penn State Scandal

The Pennsylvania State University Board of Directors took bold action yesterday, firing it's legendary football coach, Joe Paterno. Reactions are all over the place today, and there may be more firings and fallout from the whole sad saga.

I appreciate Al Mohler's challenge to Christian leaders: bottom line, any knowledge of or suspicion of abuse must be reported to law enforcement without delay.

It was not enough that Paterno, after hearing of a former assistant coach's abusive contact with a child, followed university protocol and notified the athletic director about the matter. He is gone from Penn State today because he did not also notify police.

Here's a link to Mohler's article.

See also my letter on this story to the church where I serve: click here.

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Micro-Creation

Stunning "photo-micrography" images at the Boston Globe's big picture page: click here. Look at the details of these wildly diverse minuscule creatures! The picture here is of a fly's eyes. Small world.

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The heavens declare the glory of God!

A stunning glance at God's creative handiwork:

The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

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Christian friendships

St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life (trans. John K. Ryan; Image Books, 1972), p. 183:

"As to sins, we must neither occasion them nor tolerate them in our friends. It is either a weak or a sinful friendship that watches our friend perish without helping him, that sees him die of an abscess and does not dare to save his life by opening it with the lance of correction. Genuine, living friendship cannot continue in the midst of sin."

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Lost

AsiaLink has put together an excellent video to help believers in Christ understand the nature and urgency of His mission:

Lost from AsiaLink HistoryMaker on Vimeo.

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"The Gospel of..."

The word “gospel” gets used in many ways: gospel music, “gospel truth,” the four gospels, gospel message, gospel invitation, full gospel, old-time gospel. Such expressions may evoke certain feelings and moods, but a clear meaning can be hard to pin down; the term gets fuzzy.

“Gospel” translates a common Greek word in the New Testament meaning “good news.” "Good" may seem like an understatement: think of the headlines of a newspaper “extra” when WWII ended (you know, “Extra, extra, read all about it!”): “PEACE” - “War in Europe Ends” - “Japan Surrenders.”

So what news story does the Bible celebrate with big, chunky head­lines? One approach to this question is to track down the NT occurrences of phrase “gospel of.” Gospel of what? Or of whom?

Seven times it’s “the gospel of God” (based on the ESV). The headlines feature the Lord, not you or me or this fleeting life. God is the source and subject of great news.

Three times it’s “the gospel of the kingdom”—declaring God’s life-transforming reign spreading through the world.

And ten times we have “the gospel of Christ” (or “the Son” or “the Lord Jesus”), focusing on what God achieved through Jesus Christ’s life-death-resurrection. God’s reign commences and moves toward consummation through Jesus’ cross and crown!

Then, providing greater clarity, we have (once each) “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24, an announcement of amnesty for rebel sinners), “the gospel of your salvation” (Eph 1:13, forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life for all who truly trust in Jesus), and “the gospel of peace” (Eph 6:15, not just the cessation of hostilities but the bestowal of ultimate joy and rest in the magnificent presence of Christ).

I’ll mention one other expression, “the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor 4:4). The good news is not about you—about how special you are to God or how much you’re worth. It’s all about the radiance of Jesus Christ—the Blazing Brightness before which we look up, stand in awe and revel in the joy of praise to the One who is all-glorious and infinitely worthy of all passionate devotion!

The gospel, then, isn’t just about coming to faith in Christ in the first place, but also about living in light of the best news of all time!

Speaking of the gospel, make sure to check out the info and resources at t4g.org and thegospelcoaltion.org.

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Generational Divide

Matthew Shaffer's recent article, "Ages Apart," is a must-read essay on the trends and forces in Western society that drive a damaging wedge between the generations. The article is not written from a Christian perspective, but it has profound implications for the life of the church and the challenges of pastoral leadership.

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David Sitton visiting our church

I’m delighted that David Sitton is going to be our guest preacher this Sunday at Goshen Baptist Church.

The Lord has grabbed hold of this man's life in powerful ways. If you want to learn about God's work in and through David, read his book, Reckless Abandon. Or visit toeverytribe.org and listen to some messages and read a few articles—it’s exhilarating.

One wonderful place to spend time at toeverytribe.org is in the list of “Mission Quotes.” It’s full of Bible-inspired guidance, passion, joy, warning, encouragement, and FAITH. Chew on these words…

• I know enough about Satan to realize that he will have all his weapons ready for determined opposition. He would be a missionary simpleton who expected plain sailing in any work of God. ~James O. Fraser, 1886-1938, China.
• It is remarkable that God began this work among the Indians at a time when I had the least hope. ~David Brainerd, 1718-1747, Missionary to North American Indians.
• Every step in the progress of missions is directly traceable to prayer. ~A. T. Pierson, Pastor and Author.
• I don’t think we are in any danger, and if we are, we might as well die suddenly in God’s work as by some long drawn-out illness at home. ~Eleanor Chestnut, died in China in 1905.
• I will lay my bones by the Ganges (River) that India will know there is someone who cares. ~Alexander Duff, 1806-1878, India.
• If you are ever inclined to pray for a missionary, do it at once, wherever you are. Perhaps he may be in great peril at that moment. ~Amy Carmichael, 1867-1951, India.
• Don’t wonder whether you have a call to go. Have you had a distinct call from Christ to stay at home? ~George Wilson.
• There is no need for faith where there is no consciousness of an element of risk. ~Elisabeth Elliot.
• I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it in a land filled with dark­ness than in a land flooded with lights. ~Ion Keith-Falconer.
• Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell. I want to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell. ~C.T. Studd.
• If God has fit you to be a missionary, I would not have you shrivel down to be a king. ~Charles H. Spurgeon.
• He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. ~Jim Elliot.
• Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God. ~William Carey.
• The church that does not evangelize will fossilize. ~Oswald J. Smith.

[ originally posted at www.forthejourney.blogspot.com ]

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Challenging Richard Dawkins

Leading figures in “The New Atheism” movement include Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and especially Richard Dawkins. What makes this atheism “new” is its aggressive approach lambasting religion, and its ramped-up, provocative and attention-getting rhetoric (e.g., saying things like “religion poisons everything”). The best-known book coming from this circle of authors is, no doubt, The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (2006).

In 2006 David Robertson, pastor of St. Peter’s Free Church, Dundee, Scotland, began posting comments about The God Delusion at the Dawkins website, going chapter by chapter and issuing numerous trench­ant critiques. In the end, Robertson compiled his posts in book form: The Dawkins Letters (2007). I want to note a few of Robertson’s key ideas, especially ways he challenges Dawkins and the New Atheism.

• -Dawkins’s naïve vision of peace on earth through atheism does not account for Stalin, Mao, Hitler and Pol Pot: “The 20th century can truly be called the Failed Atheist Century” (p. 20).
• -“It takes a great deal of faith to be an atheist” (26).
• -Addressing Dawkins: “I am becoming more and more convinced that your position is primarily a philosophical and religious posi­tion, rather than one you are driven to by science” (33).
• -“It is your attack on a distorted and perverted ver­sion of Christian teaching about God which provides you with the most entertaining smokescreen for your lack of substantial argument on whether God exists in the first place or not” (48; see also 59).
• -A key objection of Dawkins against theism is: “Who designed the designer?” Robertson retorts, “‘Who made God?’ is a ques­tion I would expect from a six-year-old” (66). The Dawkins view is that, since all things evolve from more simple to more complex forms, and since any designer of the universe would have to be incredibly complex, God cannot exist (67). But this is to knock down a straw man: no Christian argues that the God of the uni­verse is somehow the product of evolutionary processes.
• -Robertson concedes, of course, that “some aspects of religion and some religious people have caused a great deal of harm in the world…” (79-80). But to lump all religions together with the sweeping verdict that they’re harmful and evil (like a “virus”) is to fail to look closely and make reasonable distinctions. “Take the question of Christianity and Islam. It suits you to lump them both together (including the extremists)” (85).
• -To Dawkins: “You define faith as believing something without evidence—a definition which is something you have just made up in your own head and has nothing to do with Christianity” (85).
• -Dawkins needs to learn basic principles of reading the Bible—like understanding a passage within its context, and distinguishing between what’s descriptive and prescriptive (103).
• -While Dawkins wants to portray Hitler as a Christian (after all, Hitler grew up Catholic, and Catholic and Lutheran churches were signifi­cant forces in German society), Hitler’s own writings and prac­tices locate him decidedly outside of the Christian faith (110-12).
• -Robertson takes Dawkins to task for the “extraordinary state­ment that ‘horrible as sexual abuse no doubt was, the damage was arguably less than the long-term psychological damage inflicted by bringing the child up Catholic in the first place’” (114—cf. p. 356 in The God Delusion). Such a view would justify the shocking conclusion that raising children in the Christian faith is inherently abusive, and that stance, in turn, would justify the state removing children from such homes (115). This is how reckless and chilling the Dawkins trajectory can be.
• -Robertson concludes with a lengthy bibliography and comments on all kinds of key players and writings in the atheism debate.

Let me also recommend Alister McGrath’s writings and lectures in response to Dawkins and other new atheists, including his book, The Dawkins Delusion (2010), and especially his June 27, 2011, lecture given at Regent College in Vancouver, “Why God Won’t Go Away: Reflections on the ‘New Atheism’” (download at regentaudio.com for free). Another thoughtful Christian who interacts with Dawkins and company is Oxford math professor John Lennox (his debates with various atheists are on YouTube—and see johnlennox.org).

[ originally posted at www.forthejourney.blogspot.com ]

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