Interesting Quote

"Only those who have sought to grow by effort and failed are in the position to appreciate the fact that God is the aggressor in the realm of development."

- Miles J. Stanford, The Complete Green Letters

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Evil Intent

I think that we often hear or read the words in the Bible that say "the thief comes to steal and destroy", but we gloss over them. Many of us may think that these words represent some mystical ethereal being called the Devil, but that they are simply not real. We think that spiritual warfare doesn't really happen, and most of the evil in the world can be attributed to human nature, or sin, or something to that effect. But is that all there is to the story? What if there were a real undercurrent of evil which existed in our world? Something stronger and more focused than just "human nature"?

I recently viewed part of a documentary called 'Worse Than War', outlining some of the reasons behind genocide and the mass killing of entire segments of the human population. I'm not talking hundreds of people here, I'm talking millions. Nazi Germany, or even the Bosnian War in more recent history for example. Wikipedia defines genocide like this: the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group. A fine definition. But now imagine that you lived in Darfur and you witnessed your neighbors, friends, and family being dragged into the street and murdered in front of you - only to realize that you were probably next. Lets bring it home: you are pulled out of your car at the stoplight, waiting to get to the mall to do some Christmas shopping. You get the idea. A definition is good as far as it goes, but then reality comes rushing in. Compare the black and white films we used to watch in high school about the German gas chambers, and contrast that with talking to a holocaust survivor.

The film-maker in this particular documentary went and interviewed one of the men from Rwanda who participated in roaming groups which went into communities and wiped out families. What he said made me sick. To paraphrase, he said the following: "we would go in with machetes and chop up whoever got in our way first. If they were fast and made us chase them for too long - we would purposely cause them more pain prior to death. If they submitted willingly to us, we would kill them quickly, or occasionally even let them live. Sometimes it was tough, because you would encounter young babies who would just start to learn to smile. They would smile at me, and then I would murder them."

When asked what caused him and his fellow "soldiers" to act like this, he said (also paraphrasing): "I don't really know. I don't have an answer for this. We knew we were doing it, we were fully conscious... but it was like a kind of fog enveloped us. A current of great cruelty overtook us, almost like it was controlling us." The documentary offered some different explanations for this type of killing; blind obedience, bias, racism, etc. These are all true, in so far as they go. But the answer that this man from Rwanda gave was much more haunting.

The Bible tells us that evil is real. That it isn't just some aberrant behavior carried out by small portions of the world's population. There is something more going on, and none of us are immune. Americans are lucky, my generation hasn't had to deal with conflict on our own soil really, apart from 9-11. It won't last forever. That great evils have occurred in the past, or that they will occur in the future - or even that they are currently happening - doesn't concern me as much as the reason they occur. If you answer that it is just human nature to seek out conflict, you may be right, to a degree. But what had to happen to the human being - who can be loving and generous one moment, awful and vengeful the next - so that we have fallen so far from the mark? I believe it was a fall indeed. Genesis talks about the fall of man due to sin, but not just that. That the devil is a real being. That demons are also real. And that there are spiritually dark undercurrents that do exist in our world.

The good news is this: if there is such a dark reality in our world, then there must be the opposite which exists also. For we cannot call true evil bad, unless we know the greater Good. This, in a round-about way, I believe points directly to the existence of a loving God. Do not let the fact that planet Earth can be a violent and horrible place wash away the fact that it won't be like that forever. That there is a God, that He loves us, and that He has promised not to abandon us. Let's focus on Jesus, and in so doing, live out that part of our human nature that is divine. In doing this we don't stay in our homes and hide from evil, but rather we go out into the world, and bring with us this Light.

That true evil exists, few people would doubt. At least God has provided us with the true Good.

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Cause for Concern

I have long been fascinated by the prospect that there exists a higher power, or dominant rule, to which all human beings are subject. This higher power exists whether or not we believe in it, and it provides us with what some have called the Natural Law, or the Moral Law. It is - as C.S. Lewis writes - a real law, which we did not invent, which we find pressing down on all human beings, that provides us with a conscience and a greater moral good. Now this is interesting, and we could certainly spend an entire night debating whether this greater moral directive was discovered, or merely taught; but I think there is something even more interesting going on here.

Take for instance the following fictional example, which I think will help us see the point I am trying to make. Let's say that I am debating whether or not Moral Code A is better than Moral Code B. Moral Code A seems so wonderful and awe inspiring. I believe it represents one of the high points in the history of the human race, and the people group that acted according to this code were simply wonderful and awe inspiring (I told you it was a fictional example!). Now the dreadful Moral Code B, by contrast, is truly despicable. It's practitioners were brutal and malevolent, and if followed to its logical conclusion - Moral Code B will land just about anyone in jail. Yes, Moral Code B is in fact detestable in my sight.

The question is then, what am I using in order to judge both of these sets of moralities? Maybe it is their intrinsic value. Both of these moral codes have a certain set of inexorable traits that cannot be divorced from either of them. Fine then. They are each very different based on those individual traits existing within them. But what causes me to pass a judgement on either of them regarding these traits, and in turn causing me to prefer one over the other? How do I gauge whether or not each trait is - in and of itself - good or bad? Where do I get my definitions of good and bad so I am able to apply them?

Maybe aside from intrinsic value then, it is personal experience. I am bringing my own personal experience to the situation (and surely this is true), and I am deciding that Moral Code A is superb because of the things which I have gone through in my own life. Because of my own hardships, relationships, education, income level, and a host of other demographics, I have made my choice that Code A is great, and Code B detestable. But the question remains: what causes me to think (or more to the point - know) that all of my personal experiences have been accurately assessed in order to bring me to the point where I can judge these 2 sets of moral codes? How do I know it isn't simply emotion, or that the emotion I am using is based on any kind of real good, or real bad? Couldn't it be that I am simply "preferring" Code A based on what I like and don't like? If so, if this is really all there is to it, then we are no longer discussing good and evil. These terms have been replaced by "I prefer" and "I don't prefer." But we know there is something more than this going on when we compare 2 items like this. There is an "ought" and an "ought not", and this is much more important than whether or not I simply like or dislike something.

Finally, maybe I am judging these 2 sets of moral codes based on their end results. Who cares what the individual dictates of these codes are, as long as the end result yields an outcome desirable to me. The means justify the ends. If it works, then go with it. Maybe I am betting on Moral Code A because its practitioners all seem to end up rich, or happy, or both rich AND happy. Again we are stuck, however. What is it that tells me being rich (for example) is the best thing to attain regarding a moral code? My personal experience? We have just been down that route. The intrinsic "value" of being rich? How do I assign goodness or badness to this value? How do I decide that it is intrinsically good? Don't lottery winners often lose their friends, happiness, and entire fortune in no time flat?

Here is what I think can be the only realistic way to compare, judge, or make an assessment on anything. We must take into account that in order to compare Code A with Code B, there must exist something else over and above these 2 codes. If I think A is far superior to B, then that thing which I am using to judge A and B MUST be DIFFERENT than either of them. If you maintain that it is simply personal experience, or education, or expertise that enables you to make an accurate judgement, then you are still caught in the trap of judging 2 or more propositions by factors which may be contained within those propositions. And you have not accurately judged anything, much less judged them well. You have only given a preference.

Or look at it this way through the eyes of C.S. Lewis on page 38 of Mere Christianity, "My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line... If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. "Dark" would be a word without meaning."

But "Dark" in fact does have meaning. What was Lewis using here to define good and bad? He was in fact pointing out that certain something which exists over and above any 2 or more propositions that you are comparing and thinking about. Good and Bad in fact, have a higher Governor to which we appeal when attempting to use them to judge or compare anything. In other words, when we talk about Moral Code A being better than Code B - we are appealing to a higher standard of truth with which to make that assessment. And to make matters worse, most of us do this automatically... and in so doing; take this amazing discovery for granted. The fact that none of us could accurately or logically judge anything without first appealing to this higher standard/power/truth (whatever you want to call it) is stunning.

Very well, I think I have belaboured the point long enough. The fact of the matter is that we have cause for concern if we think that we have come into any degree of knowledge or superior education souley of our own accord. There is something, I'm afraid, to which we all must appeal whenever we argue, compare, judge, or even think about any 2 or more ideas. This something seems to be at the heart of everything, and if we drill down far enough (as we have taken the time to do in this post) we usually eventually stumble onto it.

Lewis tells us this also, "We have to take reality as it comes to us: there is no good jabbering about what it ought to be like or what we should have expected it to be like." If we look deep enough, I think we can see that this reality encompasses a higher Truth that exists and helps govern our thoughts and rational brains. Now we could stop here and simply throw up our hands and say, "well, okay, maybe there is some force or guiding flow... but that's all." We would be missing the point of course. This higher truth is God. It always has been. That it took 10 paragraphs to get here was only because this truth is so obvious we usually overlook it.

I will close with a story that professed Christian author and speaker Ravi Zecharias tells. He was taking questions after one of his talks at a college campus, and a man stood up and yelled out that he thought everything in the universe was pointless and meaningless. Ravi responded simply by saying that "if there were truly no meaning, then what you just said was meaningless." The man's statement contained meaning of course. He was relating his opinion that all things considered, he cannot find anything worthy of meaning in this universe. This is a statement of enormous meaning, and we all know it. The man had compared multiple propositions and probably made countless judgements along the road to his opinion that everything is meaningless. In short, God's higher standard of truth allowed this angry and depressed young man to speak out and deny God Himself. We must be careful that we don't do the same.

* The majority of this argument was taken from the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Though I mentioned him several times in the above article, I wanted to be clear to the reader that if they have further questions on this idea, they can (and should) read the entire book.

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I'd Rather Skip Church, Thank You Very Much...

I have been reading the book They Like Jesus But Not The Church by Dan Kimball. It is, to say the least - eye opening. Kimball (who is a pastor also) brings to light the fact that there seems to be a resurgence in our culture today. There is actually a growing segment that adores Christ and His wisdom, but ardently opposes the institution of the church. And speaking honestly, can we blame them? I had viewed a debate several months ago which pitted the Catholic Church against a board of atheists. The question of the debate was, "is the world a better place because of the Catholic Church?" One of the opponents on the opposing panel was famous professed atheist Christopher Hitchens (the same who now suffers from cancer). In short; Hitchens ate the church defenders for lunch. It was hard to watch. He sited occurrence after occurrence of when and how the Church had failed. There is in fact, no shortage of disappointed people when it comes to "The Church." It is no use listing off the bad things that can happen when human beings attempt to uphold what is Good and Holy. Let's face it; sometimes we screw up.

If you are reading this right now, maybe you are one of those people who have been disappointed by the church. Maybe you trusted an elder or pastor or priest, and you were let down and hurt. There are some offenses that are worse than others. Many people have left the church for very good reasons, some of which include: false teaching, abuse, misuse of trust, judgementalism, and the like. Kimball cites 6 reasons that our emerging culture tends to shy away from organized religion. Here is the list below:

1.) The church is an organized religion with a political agenda

2.) The church is judgemental and negative

3.) The church is dominated by males and oppresses females

4.) The church is homophobic

5.) The church arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong

6.) The church is full of fundamentalists who take the whole Bible literally

Quite a list isn't it? The list above of course does not exist in all churches equally, and in fact Kimball even admits that the items in this list can (and often are) more misconceptions about Christianity. After all, when the media gets a hold of half-baked pastors who threaten to have a Q'ruan burning, or who stage rallies with vulgar signs that say "Turn or Burn" - it's easy to paint all Christians with a bad brush.

Now lets look at what the church is SUPPOSED to do. I think the church today is supposed to uphold the Bible as God's Word. The church is supposed to be faithful and reverent. The church is supposed to help the poor and needy. The church is supposed to be welcoming and loving. And above all, the church is supposed to point people to Jesus. We are charged with the task of bringing Christ to the world - nothing more, nothing less. This is a large job. We are - as Dr. Francis Collins says - dirty vessels which contain a pure truth. We are bound to make mistakes at times. But the truth is that the Christian church is also the Hope of the world. Without it, man left to himself will act in his own accordance, losing track of the meaning of the Bible, and will end up ultimately (I think) farther and farther away from God's Kingdom. We were not made to stay at home, read the Bible, and never meet to fellowship and worship together. God meant it when he told us to "not forsake the assembly."

Don't get me wrong, I think it is better to stay home than to be in a hurtful church. Bad teaching can do more harm than no teaching. But I also think that for a good majority of Christian churches, this list of 6 misconceptions above is the exception, not the rule. We cannot give up entirely. Ask God to bring you to a solid Biblical church, and don't be afraid to test the doctrine when you get there. It's okay to be upset when you are hurt by Christians, but it's not okay to give up on Christ.

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On Faith...

"Faith is a reasoning trust, a trust which reckons thoughtfully and confidently upon the trustworthiness of God."

- John Stott

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I Believe in God, But Don't Go Overboard...

The good news is there is no such thing as a nominal Christian. So what's the bad news? There is no such thing as a nominal Christian. Christ spoke about what it means to have only a lukewarm faith. Click the link below and navigate to a web page so you can hear my latest sermon message, "I Believe in God, But Don't Go Overboard":

http://www.pillarchristian.com/media.php?pageID=5



*you will see something that looks like the graphic below, that will allow you to press
play on the arrow icon:











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Trusting Reason

I have reposted the article below from one of my past entries. I do so because as of late, I am fascinated with God all over again. One of the greatest powers that man possesses is his ability to reason. One of the greatest gifts that can happen to you and I is that - from time to time - we step back and take a look at this power, and we come face to face with that divine "mind behind the curtain." I say it is a gift, because without it, we could not even begin to perceive the greatness of it. Enjoy the read:

I have sat in wonderment while listening to someone attempt to assert that "It is logical to deduce that one can understand that everything around us comes only from materialism." For many years this statement felt wrong to me, but I wasn't sure why. Then I was introduced to the following bit of reasoning by a little known Evangelist named Don Johnson (no, not the actor - the minister!).

It goes something like this: If we assert that everything we know comes from the logical grouping of materialistic evidence, then how can we trust logic or reason in general? In other words, if everything came into being via random chance, evolution, and/or materialism, then there is no reason to think that 'reason itself' is exempt from this randomness. Or think of it this way; if you maintain that logic and reason provide to us a way of manipulating different hypothesis and premises in a way that surpasses the premises themselves (a.k.a. "thinking"), then how can you trust that the reason or logic you are using to think about those premises is sound? If you are a strict materialist, you cannot!

Think about it, this isn't a slight of hand trick. Let's look at one more example to drive the point home. We will do it by way of a fictional narrative. Let's say that Bill claims that we exist in a closed system that only consists of material, and that there exists no supernatural component. Bill then says that he came to this conclusion by checking out all of the scientific data around him, and making reasonable and logical conclusions based on that data. He then came to the conclusion that given what he knows - there is no God. Only atoms and particles and matter.

Bill symbolizes many modern day thinkers that throw out the baby with the bathwater so to speak. How can Bill possibly trust that his use of logic is correct, if there is nothing outside this closed natural realm governing it? In other words, if logic doesn't exist apart from (and outside of) this closed system, then it cannot be used as a trustworthy means by which to make any valid judgements about that system. It is simply also part of the system. Of course no one really believes this. Most of us know that logic and reason are in fact more significant than this, so much so that we take if for granted.

You can argue possibly that straight logic (A, then B, then C) is a result of our experiences within this materialistic system. But we cannot assert that this other thing, this function of our existence that can take two or more separate premises or ideas and then decide between them is just instinct or experience. It is more like a governor or an overseer. It is that faculty within us that can step outside of the boundaries of the material only world, and guide our decisions with something more like a consciousness than a reaction or an instinct. It is reason in this sense of the word that is our signpost pointing to something greater, something beyond the normal everyday chain of events we see around us. I believe God has given us this gift of truth. It is what separates us from all other species of animal.

It would be easy for someone to get this one wrong. If they maintain that they are fearfully and wonderfully made; intelligent, logical, and capable of great reasoning skills which far surpass that of any other creature, and that they possess all of this on their own - then they are only half right. We are not our own creators. We have free-will sure enough. God did not create a legion of robots or automatons. But the vehicle for interpreting our world is much more than just a physical brain full of firing neurons and synapses. The brain is the house, what lives inside is different.

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Truth Quote

"All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired."

— Martin Luther

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Can You Hear the Still, Small Voice?

Do you pray in fast forward? Click below to find out!:

http://www.godtube.com/featured/video/coffee-jesus/comedy

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Hitchens is Hedging his Bet

I have recently learned (along with the rest of the world) that the famous, outspoken atheist and author Christopher Hitchens has cancer. His prognosis isn't good. Hitchens maintains that there probably is no God, and even if He did exist, His creation and endeavors are nothing to brag about. In one of his books he refers to Faith and religion as poison. He is published, successful, and adored by his fans -- and now he is dying.

I do not think this is good news, nor is it humorous. It is not a check in the "win" column for theists by any means. Hitchens was a good debater and a formidable opponent. Let's face it, he sharpened the Christians apologists. I have included the video below because in it (I think) he begins to drop the "atheism routine" to a degree, and simply expresses those same emotions and thoughts that anyone in his situation would have. He is the most subdued and reserved that I have ever seen him here.

At the end of the interview he maintains that he will in no way become "redeemed." He will never accept God. There are hundreds of prayer groups wishing him well. I will also wish him well. In Christ, death has no victory, and true believers have experienced the difference Faith can make. May God perform a small miracle for this man who has berated His good name at every turn, and in so, showing that no one is outside of the Hope of salvation until they take their last breath. There is still time for Christopher Hitchens to repent. Let's pray that he listens to God in the weeks to come.

Interesting Quote

"You cannot follow God in neutral."

- Erwin McManus

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Am I Lukewarm?

Certain statistics claim that something on the order of only 10% of all new churches in America are growing. The Faith in America is facing a crisis, and in Europe Christianity is effectively dead. I remember having a conversation with one of my friends on the subject of churches, and I made the statement that there seemed to be a church on every street corner. She responded, "Yes, but there are only 10 or 12 people in each of them!" Where have our believers gone?

The idea of lukewarm Christianity comes from Revelation 3:14 - 16, which says "To the angel of the church in Laodicea, write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation (Jesus). I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm -- neither hot nor cold -- I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Now personally I don't want to ever hear this from God about myself.

No one person fits conveniently into a category, and some of us may fit a handful of the items below. But the question is, do we fit all of them? Or most of them? Lukewarm Christians tend to:

* Crave acceptance from people more than God

* Rarely share their faith in Christ

* Do whatever it takes to alleviate their guilt

* Think more about life on Earth, than eternity in Heaven

* Gauge their morality by comparing themselves to other people

* Want to be saved from the penalty of sin without changing their lives

* Only turn to God when they are in a bind

* Give whenever is doesn't hurt their standard of living

* Are not much different from the rest of the world

* Want the benefits of Christ, without submitting to Him

There are, I think, 2 types of lukewarm Christians. Those who are lukewarm and don't know it, and those who are lukewarm and don't care. There is hope for the first group. The second group is in serious trouble.

As for me when I read the list above, I am filled with the desire to repent of the things I fall short on, and rekindle the fire for God. What is the best way to do this? Pray earnestly that God gives you the Spirit to be an effective Christian, and second -- make some sacrifices. Sacrifice seems to lead directly to faith-building. Talk to that co-worker or neighbor about Jesus. Drop a check in the church offering basket. Repent anew today of that same old stupid sin that continues to creep into your life and rear it's ugly head.

Christ is real and He demands things from us. Not simply to make us feel guilty, but to give us a better life. I want to be a part of that better life. Don't you?

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Do SOMETHING...

We have Netflix, we get children’s movies all the time. My wife and I watch them with the kids, and sometimes we make mistakes on which films to get! But we watch them WITH our kids usually, and if the content isn't suitable, we are present in the room and we can turn the TV off.

Mark Batterson (Lead pastor, National Community Church), quotes the following statistic; he says “70% of non-believers worship and get their theology from movies & music.” This is staggering to me. At first I thought it was silly, but if we stop and think about it a while... is it so silly? Think of the way we react to the Harry Potter series, or young tween-age girls respond to the Twilight films.

Proverbs 19:18 says “Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death.” Now the key word in this piece of Scripture is "discipline." It assumes an action on the part of the parent. The point is, I think, that we need to do something with our kids to help fight against the prevailing culture. We cannot - I'm afraid - do nothing! Parking them in front of the television for hours at a time, sending them to their room just to get them out of our hair, or relinquishing them over to their friends without supervision are all examples of transferring the duties of parenting. Now please don't assume that I am completely clean regarding all of this when it comes to my own kids. I have 3 young ones, and it can get overwhelming. Compromises are sometimes made.

Everything in this world either belongs to God, or to the Devil. The Bible tells us there is no middle ground. If we are right in line with popular culture, then we are playing for the wrong team. We must actively instill in our kids, therefore, a value system (preferably by example)… or the culture will win.

It is easy to float into autopilot with our full-time jobs, our children’s sports, our busy summers, etc. But children WILL be influenced by something, so try not to miss out on being the one who does the influencing - especially when they are young. What a gift this responsibility is.

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Interesting Quote

"The thing that impresses me most about America is the way the parents obey their children."

- Edward, Duke of Windsor

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Food for Thought...

"The most ancient records we have not only mention but take for granted things like kings and priests and princes and assemblies of the people; they describe communities that are roughly recognisable as communities in our own sense. Some of them are despotic; but we cannot tell that they have always been despotic. Some of them may be already decadent and nearly all are mentioned as if they were old." - The Everlasting Man, pg. 61-62.

Famous Christian author G.K. Chesterton may have written this book as an ode to dispel the silly un-truths that many people take for granted about God. Recently I have been thinking about a particular form of bias as it concerns people trying to discount God, Jesus, and the miraculous. C.S. Lewis refers to it as chronological snobbery; and I have to admit that prior to becoming a Christian... I upheld it. This is basically the belief that ancient people were too primitive to know any better but to believe in some all-powerful Divine entity. That they were so afraid of the weather, the environment, and the like, that they huddled together seeking shelter from things they didn't understand. Man needed God 'back in the oldin' days' because he didn't know any better. Only Zues could have created lightening, right?

I like Chesteron's way of dispelling this myth in the passage above. Ancient man had societies, rulers, common sense, and intelligence. He was able to build and test things, and able to reason with the best of them (remember Plato?). No, I'm afraid that if and when something out of the norm and miraculous did happen, human beings were quite able to understand that it wasn't business as usual. A miracle was a miracle the same then as it would be now. When word got out that a former religious leader named Jesus of Nazereth rose from the dead after being publicly scourged and crucified, it was just as remarkable then as it would be today.

The food for thought is this: if we attempt to escape from the idea of God by dismissing Him as a primitive form of wish-fulfillment, then we need to be careful how we define the notion of primitive. Modern technology and science aside, people were still people - even back in 'the oldin' days.' God is more than wish-fulfillment. He is the very reason that we have wishes in the first place. Thank you Chesterton for reminding us of this.

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Interesting Quote

"One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time."

- John Piper

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Evidence vs. Conclusions

I recently viewed a debate between top-notch Christian philosopher William Lane Craig and atheist New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman. The topic of the debate was "Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?" The format of the debate was normal, both men spoke at a college, and had time for opening statements, 3 or 4 rebuttals, and then a Q&A session. Craig laid out his criteria in favour of the resurrection: 4 pieces of evidence that had to be refuted in order to disprove it actually happened. He cited the quick and large-scale spread of Christianity after the death of Christ, the multiple attestation of the 4 different gospel accounts (among other corroborative evidence from non-Christian writers outside the Bible), etc.

Dr. Ehrman offered the opposing view, that Jesus probably didn't rise from the dead because: the Gospels differed from each other by way of contradictions, they may have been recorded after some decades of verbal accounts handed down and possibly distorted, and that people don't rise from the dead generally speaking. In effect, Ehrman was attacking mainly the idea of something miraculous happening; namely that anyone (in this case Jesus) could be raised from the dead at all, because miracles just don't happen.

Now what was most interesting about this was that neither man attempted to erase any of the accounts in the New Testament. Ehrman didn't say, "well Jesus wasn't killed," or "Jesus was mythical." Instead, (and as Criag says in one of his rebuttals) the key points of evidence weren't being discredited, but rather Ehrman just concluded different things based on that same evidence. Two men who have studied the gospels in great detail, arrived at 2 different conclusions not based on what happened... but rather what those things that happened meant. Now this is an interesting concept because the Bible warns us that there are people who "see without seeing," and "hear without hearing." This I believe is how people can read the life-changing testimonies of the Bible, and get caught up in the fact that in one gospel Matthew refers to 10 disciples, but in another gospel Mark may refer to 11.

Ehrman was basing his conclusions about Christ rising from the grave based on his refusal to allow for the miraculous ever occurring. In short, by excluding God from the outset, he effectively removed God from the conclusion. Of course we could argue the same thing from Craig's perspective. Wasn't the fact that Craig was a believer from the outset influential in his acceptance of the resurrection as actually occurring? But think about this. If it never really happened, then what is all the fuss about? What was the big deal 2,000 years ago? Why are people's lives being changed every day by the power of the Gospel message? As C.S. Lewis says in Mere Christianity, "Christianity is either the truth that we are blessed to have received from a gracious God, or a lie from the pit of hell." (paraphrased).

I come down on the side of believing that Jesus DID rise from the grave, that the Bible is actually more than a just a collection of stories from some wise people, and that miracles DO happen. What a cruel hoax it would be if there was no Christ, or if He hadn't actually been resurrected. If this were true, we would still be dead in our sins, and this life is all there really is. But if the reverse is true, then we are an incredibly blessed species, because something up there really does revere and love us. Make your own choice regarding Jesus, but make sure you look at the evidence fairly, allowing for both possibilities: that miracles couldn't possibly happen, or that they can and do happen. How much more sense the 4 Biblical accounts make in light of the supernatural, as they were always meant to.

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Religion Never Works

Tired of the religious proud? Tired of being held up to some sort of unwritten rule or compared with "so-and-so" who goes to church 3 times a week and throws it in your face whenever you see them? So are we. There is a famous saying that goes, "the single greatest cause of atheism is the Christian who honors God with their lips, but acts otherwise in their actions." Today I heard the statistic that only 10% of churches in America are growing, and only 2% of that 10% are new converts. In other words, the American church is dying - and I think we "churched folk" may have something to do with it.

I was fortunate enough to give a talk a week ago at church entitled, "Religion Never Works." In it I defined Religion as either the Old Testament law, or anything that human beings have added to the Bible itself. In essence, God has told us A,B, and C through the Bible, but man has added D, E, and F on his own accord. If you have been a victim of religion, or simply witnessed it in other people; I understand, and I sympathize. Religion as defined above leads to 1 of 3 things: 1.) Pride, 2.) Spiritual Death, or 3.) Frustration. Allow me to explain.

God has the following to say regarding religion (in fact the book of Galatians is packed full of plain advice on this subject):

* God judges the Heart, not the external appearance (Gal 2:6, 4:9-10). One does not have to follow strange rules or practices, observe certain days and special feasts, or get everything perfect in order to gain salvation.

* We cannot Earn our way to Heaven (Gal 2:20, 3:10). If we are relying on our own ability to follow the 10 commandments in order to prove ourselves worthy to God, then the Bible tells us we must not slip up even a little. If we have ever told a lie, then we have broken "the law" in God's eyes. If we have ever coveted or lusted after anything, we have broken the law. We are - in effect - powerless to secure salvation through our own works or actions. Being a fairly nice person isn't good enough.

* Religion can turn into Pride (Matt 23:6, 23:15). When Jesus was on earth, the people that REALLY ticked him off were the religious proud. They were called the Pharisees and the Saducees. Listen to what Christ says about people who act pious on the outside, but endorse the spirit of bondage and hatefulness on the inside, (Matt 23:27) "You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean."

So then, now that we know what religion can do in our lives and in the church, what can we do to stop it? Essentially I believe the Bible commands us to do a number of things. We are to stay humble, stay in Christ, Love God and other people, and live by the Holy Spirit. We are saved by Faith in Jesus Christ alone. Not by trying really hard to be good, or by going to church as much as possible, or even by working in the church or teaching Bible study. It is by accepting Christ and being baptised that we gain the privilege of going to heaven when we die.

You will note, by the way, that going to church and teaching Bible study, etc are all great things. It's just that doing good things and being really nice to people isn't God's only criterion. If it were, then Jesus would not have had to die on a cross for humanity. And one more thing. Some have argued that because we are saved through Faith alone, we can throw out the Bible and any moral code therein. Here is the key difference between religiosity and Faith: we love God, so we obey Jesus (and his commands), we don't obey his commands, and then earn his love. Big difference. Religion doesn't work... Jesus does.

I'm sorry if this article has offended anyone. I am simply trying to convey the good news that the Bible teaches. If you are currently judging someone because they aren't living up to your religious expectations; please stop. If you are currently bad-mouthing other world religions or denominations; please stop. Instead offer love, and point people to Jesus. If you are reading this and are even remotely curious as to what all the hoopla is about, perform a search of this blog for the article "So... How Am I Saved?."

It's up to the people who attend church to actually "be the church." Remember what is at stake, and take it seriously. If you are saved today, it's because God extended you the grace to choose Christ, and probably because there was someone who took the time to help you and answer questions. Be that person.

The link below will get you to the audio of my sermon message, the same one that I have outlined above. There was an opening skit at the beginning of my talk, but it isn't included in the audio. It is roughly 24 minutes long, if you have time, click on the link below; and then select 'Religion Never Works' and give it a listen:
http://www.pillarchristian.com/media.php?pageID=5


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Million Dollar Mansions and False Messiahs

Matthew 24:24, "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible."

When I first read these words in the Bible 8 years ago, I remember thinking to myself, "who would actually fall for this? Who would actually follow some guy saying he was Jesus?" Recently 20/20 ran a broadcast of 3 men who literally think they are Jesus come in the flesh. One is a Russian policeman, the other a homeless man from London, and the last one a successful pastor in the Philippines. The latter lives in a million dollar mansion surrounded by gates and boasts thousands of followers.

This is scary stuff. I mean David Koresh is one thing, but people with thousands upon thousands of followers? Fortunately the Bible also adds the following clarification for people who may be deceived about the true second coming (Matt 24:26) "So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."

I must have missed the shout from the heavens and the lightening bolt. Rest assured, Jesus has not come back yet. In the meantime, click on the link below and enjoy the 20/20 excerpt. It will make you giggle, while at the same time giving you pause for concern:

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/son-god-10894617

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The Science of Man

Recently the world of biology experienced a jolt as Craig Venter (founder of the Institute for Genomic Research) made the claim that we are on the verge of creating true synthesized life forms. As of now, this has consisted of taking a computer-generated schematic of a bacterium and placing it into real bacteria in order for it to begin reproducing the artificially synthesized original. To me this is both amazing and staggering. Venter goes on to say in the near future we will be able to create solutions for biofuels, toxic waste, and even global warming. But his recent video from the TED conference (Technology, Entertainment, Design) depicts Venter claiming that his team will be able to create entirely new species, and even impact the evolutionary tree of life.

If we stop and think about this, it is almost reflective of some strange Sci-fi movie. In fact a recent feature film called ‘Splice’ deals with this idea of creating a being synthetically. Of course in the movie things do not go smoothly. But what if Venter’s claims are true, not just science-fiction? I think this would mean an incredible advancement for human life as we know it. The ability to invent and create alternate fuel sources. No more offshore drilling disasters. No more cleaning up beaches. Think of the impact this could have on disease prevention. We are human beings of course, so there will also be the temptation to pervert this type of technology for financial gain and/or terror. What could the ability to play God do to the psyche of a malevolent, tyrannical leader? What if Hitler had the A-Bomb?

But that is really the question, isn’t it? Playing God. The ethical and moral considerations on something like this are off the charts. Can it even be governed? It was interesting to hear Venter discuss his findings in the TED video (I have attached the link below in case you want to listen). He uses terms like Evolution and Design in the same breath. In fact, more often than not, Ventor speaks about designing and creating. These acts of course pre-dispose that there is someone to do the designing. If we break down what his team is doing – at least as I understand it – they are taking something designed, using an intelligence (the human intellect) to alter this design, and them plugging it back into nature in an intentional and organized manner. Nothing here really gives me any reason to conjecture that Venter and his team are able to play God. They are simply taking something out of nature, copying it, altering it, and re-introducing it back into the world.

If he does pull off a new creation, good or bad, this would be immense. But we need to keep in mind that everything we use to manipulate our biological world was here for us to begin with already. We split the atom, but the atom was already around; we just discovered it, and then abused it. The Institute for Genomic Research is trying to create artificial biological life forms, but they would still be life forms made up of a combination of what was already here + the human intellect. The bigger question I think would not be “have we become our own gods?”, but rather, “how will we use the intellect and technology that the real God has allowed us to possess?” How we decide to play out this scenario will demonstrate whether or not we are worthy of this power. Let’s hope that God is more than just a fleeting thought in the minds of those who wield this technological sword. I would sleep a little better at night, at least, if the people piloting that boat were submitting to an intelligence greater than our own. The stakes are bigger now, the bar has been raised.

http://www.ted.com/talks/craig_venter_is_on_the_verge_of_creating_synthetic_life.html

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The Big Picture: Is There a God?

I have transcribed below the outline for a talk I had developed a while back. It was my attempt to pull in some of what I believe to be the iron-clad proofs that God exists from philosophy, history, and logic; along with some other details pertaining to the state of the modern church, etc. I am posting this outline here so that it may be a help to anyone looking for a quick reference, "one-stop-shop" to find information about empirical evidence for God. It is not a comprehensive document, and some of the bullet points may raise more questions than answers for you. That just means you will need to delve into the research a little more on your own. Enjoy the ride as it pertains to looking at the evidence... I know I have!

I. Introduction

· People sitting in churches often don’t really believe -- this is lukewarm Christianity
· God is real, not just an idea
· Atheism is popular and fashionable today – people need to be reminded about God
· Lets Discuss: 1.) Philosophical Evidences of God, 2.) Historical Evidences of God, 3.) Our ability to choose

II. Philosophical Evidences of God

· The Moral Argument
- that annoying right and wrong thing built into our consciousness
- does not come from evolution
- is more than learned behavior; we can teach it, but we did not invent it
- morality therefore, comes from God

· Everything has a First Cause
- There cannot be an infinite regress; something must have started everything
- Universe must have been caused (big bang, singularity theory)
- Nothing can exist without being caused, and that first cause must exist outside the thing which it caused. In other words: God!

III. Historical Evidences of God

· The Bible can be trusted. New Testament as historical documents
· Evidences that Jesus existed from NON-Biblical accounts (Josephus, Tacitus, etc.)
· New Testament does not refer to Him as “just a good man” or “a good teacher”, but something more than that

· The revelation of Jesus to humankind
- Christ was either lying about His deity, or He was crazy, or He was actually the Son of God. You make the choice.

IV. An Important Choice

· Now that we have come this far, what will you do with this information?
· God’s road-map gets us to Heaven; we are not left alone to wander aimlessly through life

. The next step is up to each of us!

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Driscoll on the Evil that Men Do

Mark Driscoll is a pastor in Seattle at Mars Hill Church. This mega-church that now sports thousands of members, started from small potatoes and humble beginnings. It has become one of the fastest growing churches in America, in the least churched state in the country. Why? I have a feeling it is because Driscoll as the head pastor isn't afraid to speak the truth and preach even the difficult aspects of the Bible. I have included the video bit below not just because it is shocking (though it is that), but because you never see this sort of thing anymore in churches. I doubt that it would be a good idea to adopt this style of preaching as a regular thing, but something tells me it must have been necessary here.

Driscoll is preaching on young men that have abandoned any and all Biblical leadership and responsibility in their lives. They are mistreating their girlfriends and wives. After the shock value of the footage below wore off; I was left wondering what the faces of those individuals must have looked like in the audience. If they deserved this lecture, did they know it?

The Head Coach

Recently at church we had a message entitled 'Spiritual Coaches.' In preparation for our communion meditation that day, I prepared a short talk wherein I could not help thinking about the ultimate spiritual coach. Not Vince Lombardi or Kirk Ferentz, but in fact -- Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” This instructs us to view Jesus as a model or a coach, and to accept and expect hardship for His name. The message of the Cross is offensive to most people. It is neither apologetic nor compromising. It simply says, “Jesus is from God, and only He offers salvation through a blood atonement.”

Hebrews 12:7-8 further says, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.” We are speaking here of how we are to endure our trials. As discipline with trust toward God, not simply as hopeless situations.

We are coached continuously by Jesus. We suffer at times, He suffered also. We are joyful, so was Jesus. I believe these 2 verses from Hebrews come together to tell us that we are to recognize Christ as Spiritual Mentor in 2 ways: 1.) as a model or example, and 2.) as a coach.

To Him we are to look for FAITH, and from Him we are to accept what is given, also in FAITH.

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God is in the Business of Love

Don't believe demons exist? Think Jesus was just kidding or being "metaphorical" when he discussed demons in the Gospels? If so, the documentary film Furious Love by Darren Wilson may cause you some discomfort. Released to DVD on May 5th, this film is the sequel to Wilson's Christian sub-culture hit Finger of God, which was basically a presentation of miracles caught on tape.

Furious Love however goes deeper. We don't just see people get healed on video, and get to enjoy the surprised looks on their faces. We get to see what God is doing to combat spiritual darkness in some of the most anti-christian places on Earth. Wilson travels from Salem, Massachusetts (home of the old Salem witch trials), to New Age festivals, and even goes over seas to capture Christian revivals in unlikely places. All of which provide him with more than he bargained for. Viewers will see people being delivered from demons, accepting Christ, and being healed.

Like his first film, Wilson begins by easing the viewer into the notion that spiritually dark places actually do exist. Then as the film progresses, he hits home with some very powerful interviews with missionaries who have survived graphic and horrible religious persecution and lived to talk about it. Wilson's main point in the film (and apparently God's also), was that the most powerful weapon for combating our present day spiritual plagues and afflictions is simply... Love. One man is even quoted in the film as saying that people who hold Biblical knowledge as the most important thing are actually committing idolatry! Because the thing which should be held above all else is Jesus Himself. Bad news for modern day Pharisees.

This is an interesting film. I enjoyed and agreed with the sub-premises that lead to the main thesis. 1.) Christianity is a relationship with Christ, not a set of rules. 2.) If you are looking to condemn non-Christians for their unbelief, then you have already sinned by passing judgement. 3.) Everyone deserves God's love, especially the culturally unlovable.

If you aren't a Christian and you watch this film, your worldview may not necessarily be shattered -- but it will make you think. Definitely worth watching.

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Interesting Quote

“The whole history of science has been the gradual realization that events do not happen in an arbitrary manner, but that they reflect a certain underlying order, which may or may not be divinely inspired.”

- Stephen Hawking

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The Cosmological Constant

The cosmological constant is the term for the energy density of empty space. Or as I refer to it: the space between space. Listen to what Steven Weinberg (atheist and Nobel-winning physicist) says about the cosmological constant, "If large and positive, the cosmological constant would act as a repulsive force that increases with distance, a force that would prevent matter from clumping together in the early universe, the process that was the first step in forming galaxies and starts and planets and people. If large and negative, the cosmological constant would act as an attractive force increasing with distance, a force that would almost immediately reverse the expansion of the universe and cause it to recollapse."

In fact it turns out that this amazing building block in outer space is actually quite small and precise. Listen to what Robin Collins, PHD says about it, "the fine-tuning has conservatively been estimated to be at least one part in a hundred million billion billion billion billion billion. That would be a ten followed by fifty-three zeroes. That's inconceivably precise."

So what can we take from this? To me (and also to a great many fascinated physicists) this means that this measurement of empty space is so astoundingly perfect for the creation and maintenance of the universe, that it demands an answer. I used to think - and this is extremely embarrassing to admit - that this fact, and others like it, were simply coincidental. That they didn't prove anything. They just existed, and we got lucky with our universe... LUCKY!!

This is just one example of what I believe to be an implementation of God's great complexity of design. If this constant were off by even a little, life as we know it wouldn't exist. I see no other explanation for this, other than 'we just got lucky' or 'it is what it is.' If you are a physicist reading this blog posting, please feel free to comment as to what other explanations may suffice. At any rate, whether this is an example of the supernatural or not (and I strongly urge the reader to realize that it is), we can all stand in amazement at the universe we live in. The more we seem to discover, the greater the questions that result.

This subject has often been termed the Cosmological Constant Problem, because it seems to demand a fine-tuning in place of a natural or evolved pattern. In other words, there is no known natural way that we can get this tiny measurement in cosmology from partical physics alone. Insert God, however, and you have an answer.

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Avatar and the Public Consciousness

The film 'Avatar' by director James Cameron has recently become available on DVD, and unless you have been living in a cave for the last 6 months, you know about this film. My wife and I were one of the hold-outs to see this movie. We waited until it left the theatre (too bad for us!). This is an intense film. We know James Cameron from such films as Terminator, True Lies, and Aliens. He is an American Icon. He makes American Icons.

What was interesting about this film was the way it seemed to perfectly encapsulate the American cultural consciousness (also evidenced by the number of people that went to see this film, and its success at the Oscars). Now don't get me wrong, this movie was visually stunning -- a great action and cinematic achievement. I even enjoyed the fact that Cameron cast Sigourney Weaver as the scientist; a throw-back to her role as sci-fi scare queen in Aliens I'm sure. But as I watched scene after scene, it became clear that Cameron had an agenda. It seemed to be as follows: 1.) cherish nature, 2.) big government is bad, 3.) respect the mysterious unnamed Spiritual force.

It reminded me of the battle-cry of today's post-modern thinkers: "Don't tell me what to think, get the military out of my face, and please recycle while you're at it!" Now I am not just poking fun at this, I think Cameron was on to something here. I think that is why this film was so successful. It was not only pretty to watch, but also struck a cord with its viewers by tapping into the current cultural vibe. The most interesting thing however, was the fact that the Navi (the alien race of avatars) were extremely spiritual. They would bless animals after killing them for food. They would respect all things natural, and in fact had biological appendages that they used to literally and spiritually connect to other living organisms and access this spiritual power.

The Navi would in effect pray, but these prayers were directed to a large tree in the center of the forest. The Marines (the bad guys; big government) often referred to their sacred locations by referencing the term "deity." In no way (at least that I could see) was any serious reference made to any one all-powerful God. Just a life-force, or tree, or sacred location. Even Eywa was more or less an incarnation of the "mother-earth" belief. And in this manner, I think the film accurately reflects what many in the viewing audience either agreed with, or were at least comfortable positing. I am in no way detracting from this film. My wife and I both enjoyed it. In the end I suppose it lived up to the meaning of its title -- avatar means a literal descent of a god from heaven to earth. Cameron does accomplish this task in his film. There was no god to save the Navi, only the forest and the mysterious life force.

When the film was over, we went to bed; and I thanked God for being real, and being God.

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Interesting Quote

"If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark."

- C.S. Lewis

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Modesty, Where Have You Gone?

Okay, I can't believe it, but I have added a video from American Idol to my blog. It may be time for me to hang it up after all!! Seriously though, click play below and watch this audition for a young man named Kris Allen. He has since gone on to record professionally, and I have no problem with his singing. What caught my attention was the advice that young Mr. Allen receives from the panel of judges. Quite frankly... it's awful. As Christians we know that to follow God is to be humble and open to teaching and reproof. Pride is the anti-God state of being. Listen below to how Simon & company exhort Kris Allen to nurture a state of 'stardom' and get rid of his modesty. Is this what our T.V. generation is learning? Is this what they aspire to? Wow!





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Trust vs. Fear

I recently came across an article from gotquestions.org, an excellent Bible question and answer website. An excerpt follows below, the question addressed was 'Should a Christian declare bankruptcy?':

Biblical Principal #1: We have the responsibility to keep our promises and pay what we owe. Ecc 5:4-5 says, "When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed - better not to vow than to vow and not pay."

Biblical Principal #2: Living on credit and not paying back what we owe is characteristic of the wicked. Psalm 37:21 says, "The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives."

All this talk about righteous and wicked servants reminded me of the 'parable of the talents' that Christ told his disciples in Matt 25:14-30. He told the story of a master giving 1 man five talents, another man two talents, and the last man received one talent. When the master returned, he found that 2 of the 3 servants were faithful and trusted his master's command to invest the money. The last wicked servant was too afraid, so he dug a hole in the ground and buried the 1 talent.

We can apply this parable in terms of literal financial repayment (as mentioned in the first article I quoted above), but I am speaking here of Spiritual Repayment. What causes us to take what Jesus has given us (either money, our individual gifts, anything) and hold onto it like a miser? The answer I think is FEAR. The first 2 servants trusted their master and put the talents to work for them… the last servant was afraid. He could repay his master nothing, other than the same amount that was given. There was no return on any investment.

TRUST causes INCREASE. Fear causes stagnation and death. This is a literal principal, as well as a spiritual one. If you hang on to something for dear life, you will lose it. If you are generous and Trust in God, you will gain what you need, with all the rest rolled in. Notice I didn’t say what you want, rather what you need!

So then, in whom are we trusting?

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Can We Survive Atheism?

I have included a video below of up and coming Seattle pastor Mark Driscoll talking about Atheism. It isn’t that he presents the information in a new light, so much as he seems to hit the mark regarding the logical end of this belief system. There is a lot of energy spent on debating whether or not God exists, but not as much energy spent on the psychological effects of believing that there is no one out there that truly cares about you. The symptoms are similar between people who have once had faith and for some reason lost it, as well as with people who have come to atheism from the beginning. Why does America have so much depression and anxiety? In our race to become so intellectually advanced that we don’t need God anymore, we have exchanged Him for a little pill, or a self-help positivity book, or whatever.

Driscoll discusses the truth that if atheism is followed to its philosophical conclusion, then the items below must be true:

* we are ultimately alone
* our existence came from nothing (we are happy accidents)
* we have no real purpose
* this life is all there is
* everyone we know will eventually be forgotten
* we are a temporary blip on the radar screen of the cosmos, nothing more

I’ve said this before, but if this seems a little too depressing and ugly – it’s because it IS! Human beings were not designed to exist as independent and detached entities. Plugging into anything other than God is only a temporary high. Money, success, hobbies, work… you name it; the rush only lasts so long. Even human romance is fleeting. But when we are plugged into God we find a force to sustain us in a different way. Never boring (remember I’m talking about the living God – NOT religion), always faithful. This may sound like more heart-tugging and less like science & logic, but it is more than that. Check out the evidence in favor of God, look around at the other posts on this website even. There is reason to believe that there is something in which we can put our trust and faith, and that it won’t let us down the same way everything else can. It’s amazing what happens when we realize that our existence actually matters.






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