Ice Age

For a little fun, I thought I would change pace and talk about the weather.  I think Al Gore must have been making the rounds based upon the vast amounts of snow that the country is getting.

Here in our neck of the woods, we have seen a lot of snow this winter.  This is our third winter living just south of the Canadian border in ND and the piles are higher already this year than the previous two with two more months or so of potential winter yet to go.  I just wanted to share a few recent pictures for those who visit the blog.

Digging a snow cave

This was taken today just after I blew the snow off the driveway for the 3rd straight day

Our kids playing in the snow last Friday

Taking a break after digging the cave on Friday

There is a patio table under the area where the snow is higher in the picture.

The picture of me standing next to the bank was taken today.  The others were taken on Friday, before the most recent snow storm dropped about 5-6 inches of snow this weekend.

Will He Find Faith?

While the question itself is borrowed from Luke 18:8, I wish to take a few moments to follow up on the post I made a couple of weeks ago about where faith belongs. Last week I ran across a reference to an interview of Christopher Hitchens done by a Unitarian minister named Marilyn Sewell while reading one of my favorite blogs (hat tip to Vox Day).  He highlighted a portion of the interview and I wanted to include a little bit more of it here(the interviewers questions are in bold and the replies are in regular text):

The religion you cite in your book is generally the fundamentalist faith of various kinds. I’m a liberal Christian, and I don’t take the stories from the scripture literally. I don’t believe in the doctrine of atonement (that Jesus died for our sins, for example). Do you make and distinction between fundamentalist faith and liberal religion?

I would say that if you don’t believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you’re really not in any meaningful sense a Christian.

Here is an atheist who has a better understanding of the basis of Christian doctrine that the self-professed Christian who is asking the questions.  But I would take it a step further.  Just acknowledging the facts that Jesus is the Messiah and that he died and rose again isn’t the end all, be all of Christianity.  In fact, if we look at the words of James, this doesn’t even begin to describe the Christian faith since Satan and the demons believe it because they saw that Jesus died and rose again(James 2:19).  There is much more that could be said here, but I will save it for now.  Hopefully, you get the point of what James is getting at in his book.

This lady compounds this insanity with her very next question:

Let me go someplace else. When I was in seminary I was particularly drawn to the work of theologian Paul Tillich. He shocked people by describing the traditional God—as you might as a matter of fact—as, “an invincible tyrant.” For Tillich, God is “the ground of being.” It’s his response to, say, Freud’s belief that religion is mere wish fulfillment and comes from the humans’ fear of death. What do you think of Tillich’s concept of God?”

I would classify that under the heading of “statements that have no meaning—at all.” Christianity, remember, is really founded by St. Paul, not by Jesus. Paul says, very clearly, that if it is not true that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, then we the Christians are of all people the most unhappy. If none of that’s true, and you seem to say it isn’t, I have no quarrel with you. You’re not going to come to my door trying convince me either. Nor are you trying to get a tax break from the government. Nor are you trying to have it taught to my children in school. If all Christians were like you I wouldn’t have to write the book.

Let me correct something that Hitchens is simply mistaken about.  Christianity is not “founded by St. Paul.”  While Paul did write most of the New Testament, the teachings there are in congruence with everything that Jesus said and taught and are in fact derived fully from the Hebrew Scriptures themselves.  (I would here like to recommend an excellent book called Paul the Jewish Theologian by Brad H Young for those who are interested in a fuller explaination.)  His larger point again hits the nail on the head.  It is near this point in the interview that he hits it out of the ballpark:

Well, probably not, because I agree with almost everything that you say. But I still consider myself a Christian and a person of faith.

Do you mind if I ask you a question? Faith in what? Faith in the resurrection?

The way I believe in the resurrection is I believe that one can go from a death in this life, in the sense of being dead to the world and dead to other people, and can be resurrected to new life. When I preach about Easter and the resurrection, it’s in a metaphorical sense.

I hate to say it—we’ve hardly been introduced—but maybe you are simply living on the inheritance of a monstrous fraud that was preached to millions of people as the literal truth—as you put it, “the ground of being.”

I am almost speechless even now as I read this exchange again.  This person claims to be a Christian who thinks the resurrection is “metaphorical” and actually articulates that without even a blush after an atheist quotes Paul’s statement that if the resurrection isn’t real we as Christians are to be pitied (see 1 Corinthians 15 in general with verses 12-19 in particular).

Let me be clear also that Hitchens is far from credible on his own.  Later in the interview he questions the very existence of Christ, which is patently absurd.  Hitchens is not the paragon of logic or rationality that he dreams himself to be, but even he can see through the silly fascade that this woman has created.  Indeed, he wishes that more Christians were like her so that they wouldn’t bug him about their faith.  Actually, her definition of faith is rather odd as well so I want to discuss it for a minute as well:

People say faith can move mountains. Faith in what, by the way? You haven’t said.

If you would like for me to talk a little bit about what I believe . . .

Well I would actually.

I don’t know whether or not God exists in the first place, let me just say that. I certainly don’t think that God is an old man in the sky, I don’t believe that God intervenes to give me goodies if I ask for them.

You don’t believe he’s an interventionist of any kind?

I’m kind of an agnostic on that one. God is a mystery to me. I choose to believe because—and this is a very practical thing for me—I seem to live with more integrity when I find myself accountable to something larger than myself. That thing larger than myself, I call God, but it’s a metaphor. That God is an emptiness out of which everything comes. Perhaps I would say “ reality” or “what is” because we’re trying to describe the infinite with language of the finite. My faith is that I put all that I am and all that I have on the line for that which I do not know.

This woman and others who think this way would be well served with a refresher course in Hebrews 11.  I am particularly thinking of verse 6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” She said she doesn’t even believe that God exists and refers to her god as a metaphor.  There is no faith here.  Even an atheist can recognize this.

Let’s go back to the book of James.  Faith isn’t knowing or even believing in something.  Faith is when the belief takes action.  Look again at James 2:

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Look at Hebrews 11 and notice the pattern.  It is repeated over and over again: by faith (insert name) (insert action).  This chapter is filled with action done because of faith.  I ask the question I started with, when the Son of Man comes, what kind of faith will He find in you?

Where Does Faith Belong?

I have been saving a few stories for blogging, but I couldn’t quite decide what to write.  I have been doing columns for this month in the local newspaper and coming up with topics can sometimes be difficult.  I used a couple of posts from the past year to build a couple of columns around this time, so I probably won’t post those here, but I might post one or two of them later on.

The question of this post was something that struck me based on a statement I read in a recent news article.  The article is about a teacher who is accused of teaching creationism to his science students (which is heresy against the great and powerful Darwin), along with some other charges that may or may not be true.  I have honestly learned that even a sympathetic story in a newspaper or other media tends to have a few simple mistakes; and by extension a story with an axe to grind as this one seems to be is probably loaded with more truth shading of an intentional sort.  That said, there was an interesting quote at the end of the story that the writer used to sum it up with what is likely a view closer to his agenda.

“We are Christians,” she said, “who practice our faith where it belongs, at church and in our home and, most importantly, outside the public classroom, where the law requires a separation of church and state.”

Is faith something to be cordoned off to a church building or hiddin away from view at home?  Nevermind the gross misunderstanding here of the original intent of separation of church and state, is this an accurate portrayal of how Christians are supposed to “practice our faith?”

I would answer no.  Our faith should so permeate our being that it shows up in every area of our life.  Unfortunately, many are content to just have Christianity be a thing that is a part of their life over in this one space you know.  It is a strange thing to be sure, but it is symptomatic of the culture around us.  It is OK to be a Christian as long as you don’t live like one is the message that is being given over and over again.  It is OK to believe what the Bible says about right and wrong as long as you don’t insist on telling someone else about it.  Christianity cannot abide by these rules.  Jesus said that no one lights a lamp and sticks it under a basket.  The Christian faith compels us to let our lights shine before men (Matthew 5:14-16).

Let me give you another story or two in contrast.  Recently I ran across the story of another person who has been arrested in our country for proclaiming the Gospel.  He isn’t the first and won’t be the last, but every time I read one of these accounts, I am always stunned and incredulous that this is really happening in our country.

It was last May when Parker was sharing the Gospel from a public sidewalk outside the high school after students were dismissed for the day.

The school principal came out and told him to leave, whereupon Parker explained his First Amendment free speech and free exercise of religion protections. Dissatisfied, the principal called police.

According to the ADF, when officers arrived they took control of the situation and instructed students “not to go near Parker.”

The principal then insisted that Parker be arrested.

“While speaking with officers, Parker’s toe brushed against the grass along the school side of the sidewalk. The officers arrested him and issued him a summons for ‘defiant trespassing,’” the ADF reported.

The events leading to the arrest were recorded on video.

The charges have been dismissed this time and in most of these cases, but the point of the arrests is already accomplished.  The people involved simply don’t want to hear Christians sharing the Gospel and proclaiming the truth for all to hear.  Just last May we had an evangelist who stayed in our house and told us the story of how he was arrested in North Carolina for sharing the Gospel in a public square.  The bottom of the story reference above contains links to several other similar stories.

The day is coming when our government will likely put into practice the sentiments of the first Christian quoted above and tell us that it is fine to have faith in Christ as long as we “keep it where it belongs.”  But I am telling you that faith doesn’t belong in a closet or a church or a corner where no one can see.  Our faith must be on display for all to see.  I am reminded of the words of the Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:9-16:

9For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. ¹⁰We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! ¹¹To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. ¹²We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ¹³when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.  ¹⁴I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. ¹⁵Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. ¹⁶Therefore I urge you to imitate me.

Bible Wins Another Round

At some point, perhaps the brilliant scholars will learn a valuable lesson.  It is wise to take God’s Word at face value.  Scholars are continually proved wrong it, every time they decide that the Bible might have made a historical faux pas.  Now the date of the early writings of the Old Testament has been bolstered with a new discovery in Israel.  The article is a short read, but  good one.  This find pushes the possible date of written Scripture back over four centuries and further shows how widespread writing was at that time.

Intelligence on Display

In yet another one of those moments that make me wonder how people can think that life just “happened” by chance, scientists have studied the way a bee lands perfectly every time for hints on improving aviation designs.  It is a fascinating story, but a couple of quotes at the end really grabbed my attention.

Existing technologies, the bee work suggests, may also be more complicated than they need to be.

“It’s a beautiful way of landing using biological autopilot,” he said of the bees. “We would like to make spacecraft that do smooth, flawless dockings. Whatever bees are doing must be computationally simpler than what we are doing now.”

The reason it must be simpler according to the article is that the bee’s brain is tiny.  Yet, this small brain pulls off an engineering feat that we would love to be able to emulate with technology.

A honeybee’s brain is the size of a sesame seed and weighs about a milligram. Yet, bees and other insects manage to perform complicated tasks, including smooth upside-down landings.

The baffling thing is that scientists don’t think it rational to consider this as possible evidence of a deeper design at work within life as we know it.  In so many discussions that I have had with people who consider themselves to be rational (and who otherwise appear to be rational), these kinds of things are chalked up to random chance.  The folly of those who try to deny God’s existence has been noted before and will continue to be observed, but I thought I would throw another nugget out there tonight.

Personal News Update

For those who care about such things.  I have finally finished my Master of Arts degree in Religion with a concentration on Biblical Studies.  It was a lot of fun and I am excited to see the end of the journey finally reached.  I got my grade back on my last class today and it was an A.  In fifteen classes that I took I got three B’s and the rest were A’s, so I ended up with a pretty good GPA as well.  I am looking forward to having more time for blogging and maybe doing some writing for fun in the near future.  The next two weeks might be slow for blogging though because I am taking some vacation time and we are going to visit our families.  I may write a quick post or two, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I don’t either.  If you don’t see me around here or at your blog, you will know why.  Blessings to you all and may God’s shalom be upon you.

Misplaced Faith

Everyone lives by faith in more ways than they care to admit.  Even the atheist exercises faith on a daily basis.  We had faith that the chair we are sitting in was going to hold us up before we sat down (admit it, you don’t think twice about sitting down most of the time because you have faith that the chair will do what it is supposed to do).  Some may call that analogy silly or frivolous but it is accurate.  I have faith in much bigger things as well.

A simple look around this blog will show that I have faith in God.  I believe He is capable of doing what He has promised He would do and I have committed my life to that fact.  Much like sitting in the chair, if God isn’t trustworthy, I would fall flat.

Some put their faith in other things besides God.  They think this is smart, but I have been comparing track records and I beg to differ.  One of the most popular places for faith these days is science, but lately there have been a lot of “faith-shattering” episodes and I would like to invite my science loving friends to reconsider their misplaced faith.

The most obvious problem recently was the uncovered scandal regarding the global warming hoax and the bad science and scientists that pulled the wool over the eyes of their faithful followers.  Some have been unwilling to admit that the house of cards their faith was built on has fallen and prefer to play like the Wizard in Oz, continuing to turn the knobs and hope no one notices the man behind the curtain. The problem is that this scandal has revealed what most people (particularly those “skeptical” science folks) should have known all along.  People are prone to dishonesty and other shortcomings.  These scientists maintained a falsehood for years, apparently mostly for money or notoriety or both.  They aren’t the first to do so and they won’t be the last.  But those who followed them and some who still are have seriously misplaced their faith.

Others still have faith in science regarding evolution.  I am not trying to tar all the evolutionary scientists simply because some other scientists have been caught red handed, but I would like to point out that evolutionary science calls itself “settled” much the same way that the global warming guys did and still do try to call their science “settled,” and the global warming guys are dealing with harder “facts” than the evolution guys ever will.

Take this quote from the end of a recent article about horse evolution:

“It also implies that the loss of species diversity that occurred during the megafaunal extinctions at the end of the last Ice Age may not have been as extensive as previously thought.

In contrast, ancient DNA studies have revealed that the loss of genetic diversity in many surviving species appears to have been extremely severe,” Professor Cooper says. “This has serious implications for biodiversity and the future impacts of climate change.”

Let me spell this out if you missed it.  Evolution says that there is increasing diversity through gradual modification.  It is the only way to get from a “single ancestor species” to the massive number of species we have today without help.  This study shows that the opposite is happening, species are losing information and diversity.  But rather than question the underlying assumption (that evolutionary theory is correct), they are going to go back to the drawing board to try and explain how both things can be true (their theory and the evidence that contradicts it).  This isn’t science; it is blind faith in an “established” scientific fact that doesn’t fit the evidence.  It is misplaced faith.  Science has lost its ability to self-correct errors in some theories that are considered “untouchable” because they have the support of the “consensus” of scientists.  This isn’t science any more.  If you don’t believe this is going on, just do a search for scientist and peer review complaints.  Don’t take my word for it either.  Check out this poor scientist’s saga with a science journal. Or you can check out this post as well for another account from another scientist.

Trying placing your faith in the One who is faithful and true (Psalm 33:4; Revelation 3:14; 19:11).  Any other place and it will be misplaced.

Expositional Paper on Psalm 132

I am so stoked at the feedback I got for this paper.  I have finished this class and ended up with an A overall, but I got a great response to this paper from the professor and so I am glad to share it with you all out here in the blogosphere.  Here it is for your enjoyment as a PDF file.

Psalm 132 Exposition Paper

Walking in the Light

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

- John 8:12

Hanukkah (or Chanukkah if you prefer) is officially underway and we have made our first baby steps in observing this season tonight as well.  It has been a roller coaster week in some ways.  I let my mouth move too fast for my brain during my sermon on Sunday and really upset some folks.  It is a good thing is some ways however as it has allowed people within the church to come to me with their concerns and see that I responded in a spirit of reconciliation and love in return.  I made some mistakes in tone and said some things I didn’t mean to say(and left some wrong impressions with other things I did say); which is going to happen at some point to any preacher who stands in the pulpit.  The great thing for me is to see how this week has played out as I have been able to talk to several of the people already and ask for and receive their forgiveness where it was needed.  I have long known that we are blessed to be a part of this body of believers and this week just added confirmation to that.  Hopefully they all still feel blessed to have me as their pastor as well. 

It has made me think that there may be those out there who read the blog as well that feel I have been too harsh or have shown too little grace in these matters.  I assure you that was not my desire, but I have a marked tendency in my character to do that from time to time.  There haven’t been any comments to this effect, but I might have just made some regulars mad all the same.  Believe me, if I can strike a wrong tone on this in person-face to face, it would be far easier for me to have done it here online where tone never comes into play.  So if that fits you, my dear reader, please accept my humble apologies if I have spoken offense to you in these matters.

This marks the beginning of the festival of Lights and/or the Feast of Dedication otherwise known as Hanukkah to many.  The words of our Savior ring loud and true tonight and every night.  In this season, it is good to remember that if we walk alongside our Savior we will be “in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7) and that is a good thing.  May His light shine on you.

More Christmas News

WEAR ABC 3 :: Top Stories.

Lo and behold a church dares to speak the truth and gets blasted for it in their local media.  Their sign reads “Santa isn’t really coming, but Jesus is.”  The “news” media story can’t even quote the sign accurately on their site.  It is a good thing they show it on video or their distortion of facts would stand.

Samantha Davis, “Even people who don’t have kids are offended by it. I haven’t met one person who isn’t offended by it.”

Liz Nagy, “There’s no one at the church to tell us how long the sign has been up, or exactly what they mean, but now parents say they have a lot of explaining to do.”

They have a lot of explaining to do?  Not in my book.  If you don’t get it, maybe you should get a clue.  Santa is a fantasy.  Jesus is the real deal.  The church won’t do anyone any favors by ignoring those facts.  Just my two cents.