Relationships are hard. Family is hard. Friends are hard. Stuffed animals are easy, they're always there, never talk back, never disagree...they never hurt us.
I was listening to the radio today and I heard a report about these little robotic stuffed toys that are supposed to be coming out soon, along with other artificial comforters. In modern culture we have this tendency to run after whatever is easiest. We make our life easier with all kinds of appliances, with cars, with games and distractions, and with the internet. We exchange real relationships for idle comforts, whether they be food, little robotic friends, pornography...whatever. We try to make things easier.
In doing this we miss out of what life is really about. Life is about pain, growth, getting through hard times together and coming out the other side better and stronger than before. The problem is that's hard, it's not comfortable, not fun. But then life isn't supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be hard, to make us something that we weren't before, and we don't want that.
It's an easy thing to do, to give up on the hard and the painful and find comfort. We focus on what is familiar, friendly, comforting. I think we tend to focus to much on what we think we know rather than on taking the time to learn what we don't know. We have this tendency to replace everything valuable around us with these things that are easy and comfortable...its not healthy.
That's just it though, in this age where physical health is so highly touted and all we have to do is 'workout thirty minutes a day' we ignore the healthiest thing of all, relationships.
Just a thought.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Waiting
Waiting is hard. It doesn't really matter what one is waiting for. One could simply be waiting for a letter, waiting for a friend who is late, waiting for the answer to an important question, waiting for a someone to apologize for hurting you. Waiting is hard.
I have been thinking lately about how God keeps us waiting. Allow me to explain, I have two friends, both incredibly active women, the kind of woman who makes everyone around her feel lazy just by being herself. About two years ago one of these women took ill, she was constantly tired, constantly sick and unable to do the vast majority of what she had previously accomplished. About a year ago the other woman came down with something similar. I have been spending some time with one of these women lately, we will call her Patty (not her real name), talking about how God keeps us waiting.
Please understand that our conversations have not been about the fact that God keeps us waiting, though that has certainly been a prevalent theme, but the methods he uses to keep us waiting. God stopped both of these women dead in their tracks, literally unable to do much of what they had been doing, waiting for God to let them go again. For myself and a few others the purpose has been the same, but the method quite different, I have not been sick, simply unable to take the next step. It seems, for the past couple of years, that whatever I try the answer is no. I am reminded of one of Paul's missionary journeys, Paul tried to go to several different geographic areas simply to have God turn him back. When Paul when to the wrong place God did not say "No, I want you to go here." God simply said, "No, try again." Paul spent time, probably months, traveling from city to city only to have God say, "No Paul, try again" each time. Finally Paul went to a port city, pretty much the last place he had left to try, and this is when God gave him a vision of a man from Macedonia begging Paul to come preach to them.
I often wonder what the purpose of this was, scripture never tells us why God did this, simply that he did. Similarly I wonder what the purpose of my friend Patty's illness is, and what the purpose of my current position is. I know that God has a purpose, this is never in doubt. I know that he is teaching her, and teaching me, preparing us for something. Ultimately I'm not sure I need to know what that something is, I suppose I'll probably find out someday, but at the same time I wonder if I have the capability of saying "I don't need to know." I want to know you see, it's in my nature, I want to understand, and maybe that is the lesson, that no matter how much I want to understand; I can't. I can't understand everything and sometimes I just have to trust that God does know what he is doing, even when I don't.
I wish I could say that I understood the lesson, that I have something valuable to teach anyone who reads this post, but the truth is that I'm not there yet. I trust God, I trust him enough to wait, even though I have no idea why I'm waiting.
I have been thinking lately about how God keeps us waiting. Allow me to explain, I have two friends, both incredibly active women, the kind of woman who makes everyone around her feel lazy just by being herself. About two years ago one of these women took ill, she was constantly tired, constantly sick and unable to do the vast majority of what she had previously accomplished. About a year ago the other woman came down with something similar. I have been spending some time with one of these women lately, we will call her Patty (not her real name), talking about how God keeps us waiting.
Please understand that our conversations have not been about the fact that God keeps us waiting, though that has certainly been a prevalent theme, but the methods he uses to keep us waiting. God stopped both of these women dead in their tracks, literally unable to do much of what they had been doing, waiting for God to let them go again. For myself and a few others the purpose has been the same, but the method quite different, I have not been sick, simply unable to take the next step. It seems, for the past couple of years, that whatever I try the answer is no. I am reminded of one of Paul's missionary journeys, Paul tried to go to several different geographic areas simply to have God turn him back. When Paul when to the wrong place God did not say "No, I want you to go here." God simply said, "No, try again." Paul spent time, probably months, traveling from city to city only to have God say, "No Paul, try again" each time. Finally Paul went to a port city, pretty much the last place he had left to try, and this is when God gave him a vision of a man from Macedonia begging Paul to come preach to them.
I often wonder what the purpose of this was, scripture never tells us why God did this, simply that he did. Similarly I wonder what the purpose of my friend Patty's illness is, and what the purpose of my current position is. I know that God has a purpose, this is never in doubt. I know that he is teaching her, and teaching me, preparing us for something. Ultimately I'm not sure I need to know what that something is, I suppose I'll probably find out someday, but at the same time I wonder if I have the capability of saying "I don't need to know." I want to know you see, it's in my nature, I want to understand, and maybe that is the lesson, that no matter how much I want to understand; I can't. I can't understand everything and sometimes I just have to trust that God does know what he is doing, even when I don't.
I wish I could say that I understood the lesson, that I have something valuable to teach anyone who reads this post, but the truth is that I'm not there yet. I trust God, I trust him enough to wait, even though I have no idea why I'm waiting.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter Lessons
It is Easter, certainly an important day in the Christian calendar, arguably the most important. Through a variety of circumstances I was unable to attend a church service this morning. This is the first Easter since I've been saved that I wasn't in attendance at an Easter Service somewhere. However, in looking at the way I have spent my day, while it doesn't yet feel quite like Easter to me, it has been a very good day, a day of learning, and a day of celebration. I went out for lunch, and please stay with my because I have a point, to an oriental restaurant near my home. I love sushi, and especially Octopus sushi, which I haven't been able to have for quite some time. So I ordered Chirashi, with octopus, which happens to come with Miso soup. Chirashi (pronounced with an almost silent C), is fish with pickled vegetables served over a bed of sweetened sushi rice. As I was eating the Miso soup I burned to front of my tongue so I was unable to taste the sweetness of the rice. At first I was disappointed because I thought that my meal was ruined, but as I kept eating I realized that the other tastes in the Chirashi, the saltiness of the smoked salmon, the slightly bitter flavor of the pickled vegetables; and the texture of the fish, especially the octopus, stood out much more than they ever had before. I wound up have a very different dining experience that I had ever had eating Chirashi in the past.
Like I said, stay with me, because of this experience I started thinking about my day differently, not focusing on the fact that I had missed the Easter service, but seeing what I had done. Every Easter I make it a point to read Isaiah 52-53 and Matthew 27-28. While I was reading, with everything that I've just explained circling around in my mind, it stood out to me what the crucifixion must have been like for the disciples. As Christians we tend to focus on the crucifixion as our redemption, on Good Friday we focus on the pain that Christ experienced in the crucifixion followed by a Sunday celebration of his resurrection. However I had never really taken the time to consider what it must have been like for the disciples.
For three years they had followed Christ, this man who made the most ridiculous claims, but then backed them up with miracles. A man who taught the law with an authority that they had never seen, but at the same time rejected many of the teaching of the Pharisees. They had come to believe that this man was truly the son of God, the messiah that the Torah promised would come. Then, in the course of twenty-four hours, this man is betrayed by one of their own and they see him beaten to within an inch of his life, mocked, abused, and then executed in the most painful way known to man...and God does nothing to stop it.
This man who is supposed to lead this as a king, who claims to be the son of the almighty God, is simply executed and their hopes, dreams, and beliefs all go with him. I can only imagine the kind of despair that the disciples must have felt as they watched Christ die, it was the worst day of their lives, it must have been. I wonder if they believed that he would rise again, all the evidence in scripture seems to suggest otherwise, that after the crucifixion they gave up. Then, the day after the sabbath, the Marys go to visit the tomb and find that Christ has risen, that he is alive, no wonder Thomas doubted.
Overtime as the disciples went out and spread the faith the worst day of their lives becomes the best, the crucifixion comes to be associated not with hopelessness and despair, but with redemption and hope. It certainly gives me a different perspective on my problems, I hope it does the same for you.
Like I said, stay with me, because of this experience I started thinking about my day differently, not focusing on the fact that I had missed the Easter service, but seeing what I had done. Every Easter I make it a point to read Isaiah 52-53 and Matthew 27-28. While I was reading, with everything that I've just explained circling around in my mind, it stood out to me what the crucifixion must have been like for the disciples. As Christians we tend to focus on the crucifixion as our redemption, on Good Friday we focus on the pain that Christ experienced in the crucifixion followed by a Sunday celebration of his resurrection. However I had never really taken the time to consider what it must have been like for the disciples.
For three years they had followed Christ, this man who made the most ridiculous claims, but then backed them up with miracles. A man who taught the law with an authority that they had never seen, but at the same time rejected many of the teaching of the Pharisees. They had come to believe that this man was truly the son of God, the messiah that the Torah promised would come. Then, in the course of twenty-four hours, this man is betrayed by one of their own and they see him beaten to within an inch of his life, mocked, abused, and then executed in the most painful way known to man...and God does nothing to stop it.
This man who is supposed to lead this as a king, who claims to be the son of the almighty God, is simply executed and their hopes, dreams, and beliefs all go with him. I can only imagine the kind of despair that the disciples must have felt as they watched Christ die, it was the worst day of their lives, it must have been. I wonder if they believed that he would rise again, all the evidence in scripture seems to suggest otherwise, that after the crucifixion they gave up. Then, the day after the sabbath, the Marys go to visit the tomb and find that Christ has risen, that he is alive, no wonder Thomas doubted.
Overtime as the disciples went out and spread the faith the worst day of their lives becomes the best, the crucifixion comes to be associated not with hopelessness and despair, but with redemption and hope. It certainly gives me a different perspective on my problems, I hope it does the same for you.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Die to Live
Galatians 2:20 says "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me."
Scripture is filled with hard things, sayings and commands that are difficult to interpret and even more difficult to follow. For instance what did Christ mean when he said to the masses 'Anyone who does not eat of my flesh and drink of my blood is not worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven'? (a paraphrase) The above verse, one of a few in which Paul puts forth this idea, is one of these. What does it mean when Paul says 'I no longer live'? Obviously he does not mean this literally, if he were dead he could not have written the words.
I first began to understand this verse through a Japanese proverb, 'Live as though already dead', the meaning behind this was integral to the nature of the Samurai culture. The idea was that one was to be wholly devoted to one's lord, to the point that if the lord ordered one to kill oneself one could do so without hesitation. Hence Samurai were to live as though they were already dead so that they could be so wholly devoted to their lord.
Here Paul is speaking of the same thing, Christ is our lord, we are to be so wholly devoted to Christ that no matter what he asks of us we will do it without hesitation. This is not an easy thing to do, in fact the Apostle Peter failed at least once.
In John 21 we find a story of one of Christ's appearances after the resurrection. In this story Peter, feeling unworthy because of his failure and denial of Christ returns to his former profession, fishing. The story itself is very similar to the story in which Simon-Peter is first called as one of the disciples, however it ends with a test from the risen Messiah, one that Peter apparently fails. First let me explain the meaning of two Greek words for love, these are 'agape' and 'phileo.' These two words are both translated 'love' in the English text of the story, however there is an important difference between them, 'agape' (often refered to as Godly love) bears with it the idea of unconditional love. This would be similar to saying to someone with complete sincerity 'I love you and nothing you could ever do would change that love.' Now, obviously this is quite a statement if one means it with the full intent of the words, to say to someone that nothing they could possibly do would change one's love effectively gives them free reign in one's life to do whatever they wish for good or ill. The second word, 'phileo' is more akin to what we normally consider love, it is similar to saying 'I care deeply for you, but you could still mess it up if you do something really bad.'
In this story Christ asks of Peter 'Peter, do you agape me?' and Peter responds, 'Lord, you know I phileo you.' Again Christ asks of him 'Peter, do you agape me?' and Peter responds again 'Lord, you know I phileo you.'
The third time Christ asks 'Peter, do you phileo me?' and Peter responds (and I can almost here the pain in his voice when I read the text), 'Lord, you know I phileo you.'
Now please bear in mind that, while we often hold Peter up as an example of rashness and failure, he certainly fulfilled Paul's statement in Galatians 2:20, he did great things for God and died in a manner similar to Christ, being crucified upside down (according to tradition). From the teachings of Paul and the example of Peter we can certainly see how difficult it is to devote ourselves to Christ in the manner required. However we can also see that, even after repeated failure, it is still possible.
I encourage all of you, 'live as though already dead' and give all that you are to Christ, no matter how difficult that might be.
Scripture is filled with hard things, sayings and commands that are difficult to interpret and even more difficult to follow. For instance what did Christ mean when he said to the masses 'Anyone who does not eat of my flesh and drink of my blood is not worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven'? (a paraphrase) The above verse, one of a few in which Paul puts forth this idea, is one of these. What does it mean when Paul says 'I no longer live'? Obviously he does not mean this literally, if he were dead he could not have written the words.
I first began to understand this verse through a Japanese proverb, 'Live as though already dead', the meaning behind this was integral to the nature of the Samurai culture. The idea was that one was to be wholly devoted to one's lord, to the point that if the lord ordered one to kill oneself one could do so without hesitation. Hence Samurai were to live as though they were already dead so that they could be so wholly devoted to their lord.
Here Paul is speaking of the same thing, Christ is our lord, we are to be so wholly devoted to Christ that no matter what he asks of us we will do it without hesitation. This is not an easy thing to do, in fact the Apostle Peter failed at least once.
In John 21 we find a story of one of Christ's appearances after the resurrection. In this story Peter, feeling unworthy because of his failure and denial of Christ returns to his former profession, fishing. The story itself is very similar to the story in which Simon-Peter is first called as one of the disciples, however it ends with a test from the risen Messiah, one that Peter apparently fails. First let me explain the meaning of two Greek words for love, these are 'agape' and 'phileo.' These two words are both translated 'love' in the English text of the story, however there is an important difference between them, 'agape' (often refered to as Godly love) bears with it the idea of unconditional love. This would be similar to saying to someone with complete sincerity 'I love you and nothing you could ever do would change that love.' Now, obviously this is quite a statement if one means it with the full intent of the words, to say to someone that nothing they could possibly do would change one's love effectively gives them free reign in one's life to do whatever they wish for good or ill. The second word, 'phileo' is more akin to what we normally consider love, it is similar to saying 'I care deeply for you, but you could still mess it up if you do something really bad.'
In this story Christ asks of Peter 'Peter, do you agape me?' and Peter responds, 'Lord, you know I phileo you.' Again Christ asks of him 'Peter, do you agape me?' and Peter responds again 'Lord, you know I phileo you.'
The third time Christ asks 'Peter, do you phileo me?' and Peter responds (and I can almost here the pain in his voice when I read the text), 'Lord, you know I phileo you.'
Now please bear in mind that, while we often hold Peter up as an example of rashness and failure, he certainly fulfilled Paul's statement in Galatians 2:20, he did great things for God and died in a manner similar to Christ, being crucified upside down (according to tradition). From the teachings of Paul and the example of Peter we can certainly see how difficult it is to devote ourselves to Christ in the manner required. However we can also see that, even after repeated failure, it is still possible.
I encourage all of you, 'live as though already dead' and give all that you are to Christ, no matter how difficult that might be.
Monday, February 16, 2009
The Importance of Apologetics
Wow...ok, I meant to post this Sunday...it's been a frustrating week.
Anyway, in the last post I discussed the importance of theology for our Christian walk. While I'm sure more could be said (in fact more has been said, many books have been written on the subject) I would like to move on and briefly discuss the importance of Apologetics to the Christian walk. I was doing research for an article when I stumbled across this website, the author's 'proofs' that God is imaginary are, by and large, not well thought out, nor well researched. However they don't have to be, the majority of the Christian church today knows little to nothing about the study of apologetics, while the proofs given on the website are a very poor example of arguments against Christianity, they still serve to sway young Christians who know little about their faith.
We are currently in the process of losing an entire generation of young Christians. According to George Barna (whose statistics I honestly find to be suspect much of the time...but statistics are statistics and even suspect ones can show us something) some 85% of teens leave the faith. While there are a great many reasons for this one of them is simply a lack of education in their faith.
In churches we tend to teach the surface material of scripture, the stories. We encourage youth to witness, to pledge themselves to Christ, to wait abstain from sex until marriage; all good things, and things youth certainly need to hear. However what we do not do is educate them on the why's:
Why is the bible trustworthy?
Why should I even believe in God?
Why is it important for me to live a holy life?
Why are my doctrinal beliefs important?
Why is Chrsitianity any more true than any other religion?
and the hows:
How do I deal with discrepincies within scripture, or between scripture and science?
How do I know that Christ is God, or even real?
How do I respond when my faith is challenged?
The study of apologetics forces us, as Christians, to think through our faith. As Christians we are responsible for explaining to others why we believe, why we have hope. However if our reasons are superficial that is what people will see when we witness, a superficial believer. The study of apologetics is about much more than being able to answer tough scientific, literary, or philosophical questions about Christianity when over-educated snobs ask said questions. Indeed, the true value, and the true joy, of apologetics is in challenging one's own faith. Asking yourself the hard why and how questions and then finding the answers.
This discipline is, I believe, especially important for youth who will, inevitablely, be challenged in this way at some point in their lives, probably sooner rather than later. The study of apologetics in now way discounts faith, in fact it strengthens one's faith and adds to it knowledge and, hopefully, understanding.
I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes, this was said by Galileo Galilei, "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended them to forgo their use."
Quote taken from: http://thinkexist.com/quotes/galileo_galilei/
Barna Statistic taken from: http://theworldfrommywindow.blogspot.com/2006/09/survey-question-summary-why-are-teens.html
Anyway, in the last post I discussed the importance of theology for our Christian walk. While I'm sure more could be said (in fact more has been said, many books have been written on the subject) I would like to move on and briefly discuss the importance of Apologetics to the Christian walk. I was doing research for an article when I stumbled across this website, the author's 'proofs' that God is imaginary are, by and large, not well thought out, nor well researched. However they don't have to be, the majority of the Christian church today knows little to nothing about the study of apologetics, while the proofs given on the website are a very poor example of arguments against Christianity, they still serve to sway young Christians who know little about their faith.
We are currently in the process of losing an entire generation of young Christians. According to George Barna (whose statistics I honestly find to be suspect much of the time...but statistics are statistics and even suspect ones can show us something) some 85% of teens leave the faith. While there are a great many reasons for this one of them is simply a lack of education in their faith.
In churches we tend to teach the surface material of scripture, the stories. We encourage youth to witness, to pledge themselves to Christ, to wait abstain from sex until marriage; all good things, and things youth certainly need to hear. However what we do not do is educate them on the why's:
Why is the bible trustworthy?
Why should I even believe in God?
Why is it important for me to live a holy life?
Why are my doctrinal beliefs important?
Why is Chrsitianity any more true than any other religion?
and the hows:
How do I deal with discrepincies within scripture, or between scripture and science?
How do I know that Christ is God, or even real?
How do I respond when my faith is challenged?
The study of apologetics forces us, as Christians, to think through our faith. As Christians we are responsible for explaining to others why we believe, why we have hope. However if our reasons are superficial that is what people will see when we witness, a superficial believer. The study of apologetics is about much more than being able to answer tough scientific, literary, or philosophical questions about Christianity when over-educated snobs ask said questions. Indeed, the true value, and the true joy, of apologetics is in challenging one's own faith. Asking yourself the hard why and how questions and then finding the answers.
This discipline is, I believe, especially important for youth who will, inevitablely, be challenged in this way at some point in their lives, probably sooner rather than later. The study of apologetics in now way discounts faith, in fact it strengthens one's faith and adds to it knowledge and, hopefully, understanding.
I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes, this was said by Galileo Galilei, "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended them to forgo their use."
Quote taken from: http://thinkexist.com/quotes/galileo_galilei/
Barna Statistic taken from: http://theworldfrommywindow.blogspot.com/2006/09/survey-question-summary-why-are-teens.html
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The Importance of Theology
First of all let me apologize for not posting in so long, I have been very busy the last couple of weeks and haven't been online for more than ten to fifteen minutes at a time. It was originally my goal to update this blog at least once a week and I have not, I am sorry for that. Now, onto the post.
I live in Lynchburg, Va which had, I believe still has, the most churches per capita of any city in the US. However, even here with so many churches and a Christian University and at least two seminaries in the area, I find an extraordinary number of Christians who have no idea what they actually believe. Much of modern Christianity tends to downplay the importance of scholarly religion such as theology and apologetics, and at the same time build up the importance of faith, prayer, and daily practice of a few basic tenants. Now I don't want to come across as saying that such things are not important, I believe that daily prayer and bible study are incredibly important. I also believe that faith, both in God's greatness and in his goodness, are also very important (I personally struggle with the latter at times). However the study of scholarly Christianity such as theology and apologetics is equally as important.
Theology is the study of various aspects of who God is and what he does, it can be broken down into a number of various parts, but to put it simply Theology is the study of what we actually believe. Good theology is the study and collation of what the bible actually says about a variety of subjects and what doctrines we can deduce from what the scripture says. For instance, as Christians we believe in the trinity, that the father, son, and holy spirit are three persons in one divine being. However the word trinity is not found anywhere in scripture, nor is the phrase 'the father, son, and holy spirit are three persons in one divine being'. The doctrine of the trinity is a theological doctrine taken from the collation of what the bible says about the father, the son, and the holy spirit, and their relationship with one another.
If theology is not studied and such doctrines are not clearly understood cults rise up, there have been a plethora of cults throughout the history of Christianity that arose because of a misunderstanding of one or two passages of scripture. One of the, currently, most well known of these is the Jehovah's Witnesses, which arose because of one man's attempt to show in what year Christ would return. Other cults have denied the deity of Christ, the humanity of Christ, the omniscience of God, the omnipotence of God, even the existence of the Holy Spirit. Lack of understanding about our Christian beliefs allows us to be 'blown about by every wind of doctrine'. Now this does not mean that every Christian should be a scholar of theology able to write books and publish scholarly articles. However, every Christian SHOULD have at least a passing familiarity with what they believe about God the father, Christ, the Holy Spirit, Sin, the place of the Church, the end times, angels, and demons and why they believe those things.
In an age of ever increasing knowledge and the ever increasing availability of knowledge it is essential to our witness as believers that we be able to intelligently, and coherently, articulate our beliefs to those who do not share them.
I live in Lynchburg, Va which had, I believe still has, the most churches per capita of any city in the US. However, even here with so many churches and a Christian University and at least two seminaries in the area, I find an extraordinary number of Christians who have no idea what they actually believe. Much of modern Christianity tends to downplay the importance of scholarly religion such as theology and apologetics, and at the same time build up the importance of faith, prayer, and daily practice of a few basic tenants. Now I don't want to come across as saying that such things are not important, I believe that daily prayer and bible study are incredibly important. I also believe that faith, both in God's greatness and in his goodness, are also very important (I personally struggle with the latter at times). However the study of scholarly Christianity such as theology and apologetics is equally as important.
Theology is the study of various aspects of who God is and what he does, it can be broken down into a number of various parts, but to put it simply Theology is the study of what we actually believe. Good theology is the study and collation of what the bible actually says about a variety of subjects and what doctrines we can deduce from what the scripture says. For instance, as Christians we believe in the trinity, that the father, son, and holy spirit are three persons in one divine being. However the word trinity is not found anywhere in scripture, nor is the phrase 'the father, son, and holy spirit are three persons in one divine being'. The doctrine of the trinity is a theological doctrine taken from the collation of what the bible says about the father, the son, and the holy spirit, and their relationship with one another.
If theology is not studied and such doctrines are not clearly understood cults rise up, there have been a plethora of cults throughout the history of Christianity that arose because of a misunderstanding of one or two passages of scripture. One of the, currently, most well known of these is the Jehovah's Witnesses, which arose because of one man's attempt to show in what year Christ would return. Other cults have denied the deity of Christ, the humanity of Christ, the omniscience of God, the omnipotence of God, even the existence of the Holy Spirit. Lack of understanding about our Christian beliefs allows us to be 'blown about by every wind of doctrine'. Now this does not mean that every Christian should be a scholar of theology able to write books and publish scholarly articles. However, every Christian SHOULD have at least a passing familiarity with what they believe about God the father, Christ, the Holy Spirit, Sin, the place of the Church, the end times, angels, and demons and why they believe those things.
In an age of ever increasing knowledge and the ever increasing availability of knowledge it is essential to our witness as believers that we be able to intelligently, and coherently, articulate our beliefs to those who do not share them.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Homosexuality Again
As I'm sure everyone knows by now President Obama has decided to allow homosexuals to serve openly in the military. This has caused quite a stir among some of my Christian friends and so I decided to respond to the new situation. Let me first reiterate that I believe that homosexuality is a sin, that it is condemned in scripture, and that it is undoubtedly wrong.
That being said, homosexuality is a sin, just like any other sin. Scripture clearly teaches that the consequence for all sin is the same, and that all sins are equal in the eyes of God. Romans 8, Colossians 1, and James 4 all teach that to engage in sin is to be hostile to or an enemy of God. Romans 1, 2, 3, and 9 tell us the punishment for sin and that God is preparing his wrath for the day when sin will be judged. In 1 Corinthians 6 homosexuality is placed alongside fornication, adultery, stealing, coveting, and drunkenness; and again in 1 Timothy 1 it is placed alongside lying, murder, patricide and matricide, kidnapping, and perjury.
As humans it is our wont and our want to differentiate between sins. Drunkenness is worse than lying, but not as bad as kidnapping. Adultery is worse than fornication but not as bad as stealing. However scripture makes no such differentiation when speaking from the eyes of God, it is only in our human willfulness that we find the need to say, 'see, I'm better than him so I'm ok.' As Christians we often fail to understand that sin is sin to God, the one is the same as the other, whether it is a little white lie or mass murder, they are the same. I am just as much a sinner as the man next door, and the man on death row. Our human judgments have nothing to do with the effects of sin on my spiritual life and my eternal state.
However, in American Christianity (I cannot and so will not attempt to speak for Christianity outside of the United States) we have made a few sins the scapegoats for all sinfulness, while other sins go unnoticed. Homosexuality tops the list for many Christians as one of the most heinous sins possible, along side the viewing of pornography, child molestation, and murder. We tend to look at these sins and, while many Christians may not admit it even to themselves, see them as irredeemable.
On the other hand we have allowed divorce to become the norm, often not even seen as being sinful. We take offense at many cultural cuss words while the name of God is openly taken in vain (which both Exodus 20:7 and Deuteronomy 5:11 tell us God will not fail to punish.) The American church as a whole has adopted a very unhealthy understanding of what is and is not sin and it has lead us to treat certain sins much more harshly than we should and other much more lightly. A man that I deeply love and respect made a comment about President Obama's decision that pained me greatly on this point. This man declared that he could not, in good conscience serve in the American military if homosexuals were allowed to serve openly. I wanted to ask him if he would be willing to serve beside men and women that he knew were liars, or gossips, or adulterers, or any of the other sins listed above. 'What is the difference?' I wanted to ask, what is it that makes homosexuality so much worse than any of these?
Now please do not misunderstand me, I am not arguing that we should lie down and accept the homosexual agenda that is so obviously at work in this country. However we, as American Christians, desperately need to reorient our view of sin and of sins. American Christians must come to an understanding of the open sinfulness that is so rampant throughout our churches and address it more directly instead of simply directing all of our vehemence against those few sins that it is socially correct to abhor and condemn. I make this simple request, let us begin to see sin, all sin, as sin and treat it as such, instead of singling out certain sins for special hatred.
That being said, homosexuality is a sin, just like any other sin. Scripture clearly teaches that the consequence for all sin is the same, and that all sins are equal in the eyes of God. Romans 8, Colossians 1, and James 4 all teach that to engage in sin is to be hostile to or an enemy of God. Romans 1, 2, 3, and 9 tell us the punishment for sin and that God is preparing his wrath for the day when sin will be judged. In 1 Corinthians 6 homosexuality is placed alongside fornication, adultery, stealing, coveting, and drunkenness; and again in 1 Timothy 1 it is placed alongside lying, murder, patricide and matricide, kidnapping, and perjury.
As humans it is our wont and our want to differentiate between sins. Drunkenness is worse than lying, but not as bad as kidnapping. Adultery is worse than fornication but not as bad as stealing. However scripture makes no such differentiation when speaking from the eyes of God, it is only in our human willfulness that we find the need to say, 'see, I'm better than him so I'm ok.' As Christians we often fail to understand that sin is sin to God, the one is the same as the other, whether it is a little white lie or mass murder, they are the same. I am just as much a sinner as the man next door, and the man on death row. Our human judgments have nothing to do with the effects of sin on my spiritual life and my eternal state.
However, in American Christianity (I cannot and so will not attempt to speak for Christianity outside of the United States) we have made a few sins the scapegoats for all sinfulness, while other sins go unnoticed. Homosexuality tops the list for many Christians as one of the most heinous sins possible, along side the viewing of pornography, child molestation, and murder. We tend to look at these sins and, while many Christians may not admit it even to themselves, see them as irredeemable.
On the other hand we have allowed divorce to become the norm, often not even seen as being sinful. We take offense at many cultural cuss words while the name of God is openly taken in vain (which both Exodus 20:7 and Deuteronomy 5:11 tell us God will not fail to punish.) The American church as a whole has adopted a very unhealthy understanding of what is and is not sin and it has lead us to treat certain sins much more harshly than we should and other much more lightly. A man that I deeply love and respect made a comment about President Obama's decision that pained me greatly on this point. This man declared that he could not, in good conscience serve in the American military if homosexuals were allowed to serve openly. I wanted to ask him if he would be willing to serve beside men and women that he knew were liars, or gossips, or adulterers, or any of the other sins listed above. 'What is the difference?' I wanted to ask, what is it that makes homosexuality so much worse than any of these?
Now please do not misunderstand me, I am not arguing that we should lie down and accept the homosexual agenda that is so obviously at work in this country. However we, as American Christians, desperately need to reorient our view of sin and of sins. American Christians must come to an understanding of the open sinfulness that is so rampant throughout our churches and address it more directly instead of simply directing all of our vehemence against those few sins that it is socially correct to abhor and condemn. I make this simple request, let us begin to see sin, all sin, as sin and treat it as such, instead of singling out certain sins for special hatred.
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