freight train a comin'

Londonistan

2011-04-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

In 1920, an anti-Semite Jew hater of the first order was appointed by the British government to be the grand mufti of Jerusalem. Haj Amin al-Husseini who, it could be reasonably argued, exceeded even Adolph Hitler himself in his hatred of that race. At least, from time to time, the Third Reich attempted to deport some Jews from their conquered lands rather than murder them. Not so with Amin al-Husseini. He went to his death bed decades later advocating with zeal the death of EVERY Jew on earth. The man was a purist. Chuck Morse (The Nazi Connection to Islamic Terrorism, WND Books, 164) describes the appeasing nature of the appointment with these words: After al-Husseini instigated the 1920 pogrom against the Jews of Palestine, Herbert Samuel, the British administrator of Palestine and himself a Jew, appointed him as grand mufti of Jerusalem. This act of appeasement by Samuels finds its echoes in the response by many liberal world leaders to today's terrorist threat. (bold added) The operative word above would be "appeasement" I am currently reading Israel: A History by Martin Gilbert (Harper Perennial, 2008) concerning the Zionist movement from its beginnings to the beginnings of Aliyah, through the Holocaust, the establishment of the State of Israel and the wars that the Arab neighbors forced upon the Israeli people after that. One can barely read through ten pages without references to the impediments generated by the British Mandate authorities to prevent the immigration of Jews to the land of their ancestors. These impediments were generated with zeal at times, even when the Holocaust was made manifest to the Western world and Jewish lives could have been saved by supporting that movement. After the Balfour Declaration of support for the establishment of a homeland in Palestine for the Jewish People in 1917, British support for such an establishment started to evaporate. Middle East oil began it's allure to the Western World and ninety years later appeasement seemingly has won the day. So what does that have to do with Londonistan, one might ask? Well, while reading about such things I thought of the promises made by Abraham's God concerning the fact that He would bless Abraham and his seed. Further, He would bless those who blessed, and curse those who cursed. (Gen 12:2,3) So who has "cursed" here? One could postulate that Great Britain was certainly not blessing the Hebrew people through these decades, could one not? They were zealously pursuing just the opposite up until authority was transferred from the British Mandate to the international community in the form of the United Nations. To whatever degree one would imagine that in God's eyes this was a cursing, then a delicious thought (delicious if it were not so tragic) comes to mind in the form of poetic justice. Sixty plus years after the 1948 transfer of authority, London, the heart of British society, is being overrun by the very people whose approval they whored after at the expense of the Jewish people and nation, namely over 400,000 Muslim residents whose loyalty is to Islam and not to England. And, of course, it is becoming obvious that this infection is spreading throughout Europe. The World is snake-bit. Appeasement has won the day. It seems to me that only the Return of Christ will turn this around. We need to do what is right in His sight. Just some thoughts.

Another Tsunami

2011-03-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

8.9 - WOW! Japan shakes violently. 8.9!!

Luke 21:25-28 came to my mind:

And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then will they see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

There used to be a time when I did not witness to this passage. This is pertinent because I have believed that we are approaching the close of the age for over thirty years now. I could not, however, agree with those of like-mind who attempted to witness earthquake swarms and volcanic eruptions as signs that this passage was being fulfilled before our eyes. The intensity was simply not there to arouse my faith that that particular declaration in Luke was being made manifest. That condition is rapidly being reversed in my mind. This, however, is not the emotional and intellectual thrust that surfaced when I learned of the quake and subsequent damage.

We are living in a world that is realing from hatred, rebellion, duplicity, natural disasters and economic insolvency. Political and union thugs are justified in Wisconsin, militant Islam is winning the day because of greed and appeasement, the visible church is not outraged by the onslot of spiritual apostacy, the international community is about to have a financial crash, Arab nations are in rebellion with the only winner being the Muslim Brotherhood, and in the midst of it all the Western world is snake-bit. - 2 Tim. 3:1-5 comes to mind. - And now, 8.9! So, what are we to do?

Jesus tells us "to lift up our heads" Let me put it this way: beloved, we need to have this insane world drive us into the bosom of Christ. We are not a sobered church. Whatever Christ demands from us at this time of our lives should cause us to respond with sobriety and an intensity that the current world condition demands that we respond. I sense that there are many 8.9-like conditions in areas other than natural disasters that await this world.

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Why Small Groups?

2011-02-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

I watched this clip recently concerning a possible soon coming world-wide food shortage. The thought that immediately came to my mind was to share this with our Christian small group fellowship. We had talked in the past concerning the efficacy of storing food goods, etc. in the light of a possible inflationary period that would run up prices for food and other goods due to an excess in the printing of money to counter the ever-rising international debt that seems to loom as an elephant in our collective living rooms. See what you think. However, the thought also came to my mind that it would be productive to attach an article that I had written in the past concerning the value of Christians gathering in settings such as our living rooms as we see hard times approaching in general. Here it is:

Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near. (Heb. 10:24,5).

The question may better be phrased: What value is uniquely gained when one conducts small groups in the days in which we live? If one can postulate that we are living in the days that are approaching the close of the age, then a sense of sobriety and a sense of commitment to the church family is not only suggested, but is required. Two values immediately come to mind:

I. To stimulate one another to love and good deeds is not easily accomplished. One can not intellectually desire for koinania-like love and cause it to be realized within. Such internal fruit-bearing is a function of time and the working of the Holy Spirit Himself. Christian intimacy and love is not easily nourished during the exercise of the formal Sunday church service. Neither is it nourished during a formalized Bible study. As valuable as these two functions are, they do not encourage the formation of the internal fruit-bearing demanded by the Gospel message. Such a transformation is best realized in the intimacy of one’s home. In such a setting, small groups are able to interface with one another in an atmosphere removed from any formalized condition that tends to paralyze Christian camaraderie.

II. The maturing up of the Body is best realized in such a setting. Again, this is a process. Its realization is a function of time. When Christians fellowship in a venue such as one’s living room, weekly sharing the joys and the pain resident in each persons life, Christian love and commitment becomes self-generating. It is here that long-term learning is best attained, whether through Bible teaching, observation of current events as they pertain to the Church, the studying of topics that may be pertinent, or any other topic worth pursuing as the moment demands. It is under these conditions that our unity is forged. As the months and years pass by, our faithfulness to one another will have been tested, and the chords that bind us will be less easily broken.

It may be apparent that this position has been motivated by an eschatological mind-set. If indeed this position is adopted, then the implications become not only intellectually, but experientially critical. If we indeed are approaching the very close of the age, it must then be assumed that our faith will be severely tested (Mt 10:22; 24:13), apostasy will surround us (Mt. 24:10; 2 Thes. 2:3; 3:13) and the temptation towards a humanistic-like religiosity will woo us. One cannot be isolated at such a time. One needs to be surrounded by a community that is encouraging one another, nourishing upon the Word of God, observing the current events generated by the godless international community, remaining faithful to Christ and remaining faithful to His church community under conditions of severity. Such a womb-like atmosphere is best found in a home environment, is overseen by a church eldership, and will birth fruit only through a period of time.

We are a called-out people. Under the current, dynamic and godless world conditions, it seems to me that the essence of a small group home fellowship resides in its gathering together. Further as a tactical means of accomplishment, it seems wise that such fellowships observe the ever-changing world conditions and be strengthened by mutual Christian support so that faithlessness and apostasy may be avoided. The home fellowship may be the instrument by which the Lord physically, as well as spiritually, separates us out of a religious world-view that is more akin to worldliness than it is to Spiritual separation. The greater is the world’s hostility; the greater will be our physical and spiritual separation. The greater is the world’s hostility; the more pure and intense will be that separation. We are a called-out people. It is not subject to our approval.

The End of the World

2011-02-15T16:58:00.000-08:00

Here is some big news: Namely that the "the end of the world" will occur on May 21, 2011. This sobering fact has been declared by Harold Camping recently and needs some sort of comment, wouldn't you think? Now, it will not be the intent of this site to disprove Mr. Camping, although I firmly believe him to be wrong. Rather, it will be my intent to plead for a little more sobriety before making such claims by various members of the body of Christ and further to demand a little more discipline when "exegeting" various texts from the Bible.

Mr. Camping uses the utterance of Gen. 7:4 to be symbolic of 7000 years as a prediction of the final judgement of mankind when the end of the age is upon us. The LORD speaks thus unto Noah: For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every thing that I have made. The reasoning goes thus: Seven days of grace was given to Noah before the flood; one day is as a thousand years to God (Ps. 90; 2 Peter 3); the flood occurred in the year 4990 BC (? - Campings number), thus 7000 years after 4990 BC, God will again destroy the earth - May 21, 2011 is upon us!

Now, I have no problem believing that,at times, in Scripture one could speculate that one day might prophetically equal one year, or even one millennium; but to emphatically predict the end of the age and even to word it such, namely that it will be "the end of the World", is not justified. How much harm will be done to some Christians with fragile faith when hopes arise, or serious acts of response are exercised and the event does not take place? It is lazy exegesis, or even non exegesis, to use the passage in the Psalm, or the one in 2 Peter to use the day-equals- millennium as a formula to predict the very end of the age. Peter is screaming to his readers "stop mocking believers who think that the end of the age is here; God is patient - one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as one day. Don't mock; He will return and will deal with all rebellion. Be sobered and don't mock." The Psalmist would agree. This is not a formula.

Noah Hutchings has an excellent and succinct article in the Prophetic Observer (Jan. 2011). He concludes that Camping is as much as 2552 years off. He words it this way:

HOWEVER...the most recognized biblical chronologist, Ussher, states that Noah entered the Ark on Sunday, December 7, 2438 B.C. Scofield and a vast majority of other biblical chronologists agree within ten years of Bishop Ussher's date. IN OTHER WORDS, CAMPING IS 2,552 YEARS OFF. (His bold)

BTW, if Camping is correct, believe me, I will be with him when it happens. Let's just be a little more careful. Eschatology is not to be handled as a toy to extol the "brilliance" of Christian commentators.

The Universal Card

2011-01-02T15:22:00.000-08:00

And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead, and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either, the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty -six. (Rev. 13: 16-18)

So, how close are we to getting such a mark, one might ask? Consider this article authored by C. W. Getz in The American Thinker (Dec. 10). Alluding to the insecurity of various cards to correctly identify the card holder, whether they be ID in nature, credit cards, drivers licences, etc., etc, the author says this:

Some complex problems have simple soutions. Gaining acceptance and implementing the solutions are often complex. Consider these four seemingly disparate problems: (1) pernicious, intrusive passenger security measures at airports, (2) credit card fraud, (3) stolen personal identity, and (4) illegal immigration. They do have an element in common: personal identification.

The author goes on to consider the motivation for solving these various problems. If we can consider that there are many more problems that will some day force the issue, may we posit as a given that the motivation for a solution will soon be so strong that that solution, whatever it will eventually be, will be demanded and thus will eventually be accomplished.

His solution? A national ID card that ties the bearer of the card with the card itself. That card would be one's social security card and the vehicle for tying the card with the bearer of said card would be a biometric identifier such as fingerprints or eye/face scans. Perfect - complete - foolproof - simple! Biometric technology would authenticate the bearer of the card as the person that the card claims him, or her, to be. The technology is already here he claims. And, of course, that technology is indeed here. One could reasonably claim that the technology demanded by Rev. 13:16 is also available at this time. The only impediment to such usage is a world community that is not quite ready to collapse. The technology is here - the international will is yet to be - the strongman/beast awaits.

What is of interest here is the fact that the author ties none of this sequence with the biblical narrative. He (and the entire godless world-community) thinks this to be a good idea - And it is! In the natural realm it is. The passage that the revelator John narrated will be accomplished. The implication here is that it will be accomplished in the soon future.

In the natural realm this is a reasonable, logical and productive activity to accomplish.
In the spiritual realm it will force a terrible decision-making sequence to all who claim the name of Christ. Now is the time for sobriety; now is the time to prepare for such a day. Please do not make the mistake of implying a hand-wringing mentality here. The technological transition from card to hand or forehead will be effortless. The response to such a scenario will be eternal. Stand firm!

Substituting Darkness for Light

2010-12-18T09:28:00.000-08:00

And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born. (Zech. 12:10)

Do you believe that Zechariah 12:10 is yet to be? If you do, does it not seem reasonable to believe that Zechariah 12:1-9 is also yet to be? All that is just to suggest that God is not yet done with national Israel. I will deal with that subject-matter many times in the near future. It is both controversial and important.

Israel came to my mind recently as I was browsing through my favorite places and found a site that I must have added in the far past but never retrieved for use, at least not to my memory. The site is called Watcher's Lamp and it contained a video that seems to sum up the present spiritual paralysis that so dominates the so-called Middle East peace process. The video is entitled What Really Happened in The Middle East.

The video speaks for itself. I will not comment on it except to remark that reason, logic, fair play and diplomacy is not destined to win the day in this world - rather - spiritual drunkenness, violence in the name of freedom, international betrayal and false claims of peace will.

What then are we to do as Christian believers at this present time? In following the very reason for this site I would encourage more sobriety on our part concerning the moment in which we live. Peace and fair play is not destined for this planet until the day comes when we will all look upon Him whom we have pierced and spiritual darkness will no longer be allowed to substitute for His marvelous light.

Check out the site and see what you think.

Hallelujah in the Market Place

2010-12-09T07:03:00.000-08:00

Got this email from a friend. It may be making the rounds, but if you have not seen it, then, enjoy - even worship.

http://www.youtube.com/user/AlphabetPhotography

The Beginning of Wisdom

2010-11-24T20:23:00.000-08:00

13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron ; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. (Rev. 19:13-15 - bold added)

In chapter 19 of this book God is about the business of summing up all of human history. The wrath of the Lamb (an oxymoron in natural terms) is being unleashed upon all who are in rebellion to His authority and who are in rebellion to everything that He requires of human kind. Psalm 2 is about to be realized in its entirety. What is of interest to me here is the use of the NASB terminology “the fierce wrath of God”.

There are two Greek words used in the New Testament that are translated as “wrath” in the English. The one being orge; the other being thumos. The former is by far the more used of the two words. However, John, the author of the book of the Revelation, has chosen to fixate upon the later of the two to reveal to us the seeming mind-set and even the very viscera of God at this time of history. In this one chapter (19) the author has alluded to this aspect of God’s wrath more than all of the references to it in the rest of the New Testament. If one can imagine that John is the very amanuenses of God Himself then one becomes somewhat sobered by the thought that God is speaking to us in our day concerning what is about to be. What should be our response to such a scenario?

W. E. Vine (Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Zondervan, 1982 – I, pp.55-6) sums up the use of the two words thus:

Thumos, wrath is to be distinguished from orge, in this respect, that thumos indicates a more agitated condition of the feelings, an outburst of wrath from inward indignation, while orge suggests a more settled or abiding condition of mind, frequently with a view to taking revenge. Orge is less sudden in its rise than thumos,but more lasting in nature Thumos expresses more the inward feelings, orge the more active emotion.

Am I being tedious here? Why is this important other than as an academic nicety? Well, I suppose that to whatever degree one believes that all of these events have already occurred in history, or that the book of Revelation is mostly symbolic and that the events contained within the book will not be literally realized, then, to that degree this evaluation is not all that meaningful. However, to whatever degree one supposes that these events are yet future and will indeed be literally fulfilled, then to that degree, the scenario becomes quite sobering, do you not agree? What became even more striking to me as I contemplated the usage of these words was the fact that both words were found together in verse 15. Both thumos and orge were used in the sentence; the first being used as an adjective of the second. He Who sits upon the white horse is about to wage war (v. 11). The fury of His wrath will be contained no longer! We need to be far more serious in our Christian walk. The day may be soon upon us. Jesus is not coming to reason with godless man; He is coming to divide!

When did you last hear this taught or preached?

The Laws of Gravity

2010-11-18T18:55:00.000-08:00

A September 3rd article in American Thinker by Mladen Andrijasevic said this:

If we drop a ball what will happen to it? It will fall to the ground because of the gravitational force acting between two masses, an inherent property of all matter. If we have a Muslim minority in a country what will happen? They will try to impose Islam on everyone else, because of jihad, one of the basic tenets of Islam which commands them to do so.

The above is, in short, what the problem is with the prospects of the Washington DC peace negotiations. The dignitaries sitting in the room will not all of a sudden start hovering in mid air. Gravity will keep them in their seats. The Palestinians will not all of a sudden behave any differently – jihad will command them to act. The prospects for achieving peace are nil.

We have seen US presidents come and go. We have seen Oslo I, Oslo II, Taba, Wye, Tenet, Mitchell, Zinni, Sharm El-Sheikh, Roadmap, Annapolis come and go. What remains constant is the refusal to accept the obvious reason why peace cannot be achieved. (bold added).

I remember when reading this article two months ago that it was missing the completed section. Upon looking to click on some button in order to retrieve the rest of the article, I discovered that, indeed, I had already read the entire article. The article was either simplistic in its subject matter, or it was so incredibly profound in nature that no more need be said.

So what did the author attempt to say? Namely this: The tenets of “the religion of peace” demand jihad which demands that Islam be imposed upon all. Further, peace cannot be achieved in light of this kind of a mind-set. The tenets of Islam demand that Islam conquer and peace will not be achieved until that condition wins the day. Simple enough. If true, then why do we think that we can reason with these people? Why does the man-made edifice known as the “Church” attempt to do so at the expense of the unique claims of the gospel and of the Savior God who makes claim to being the one and only set-apart God of the universe?

One cannot defy the laws of gravity; one cannot reason with the militant and proactive thrust of Islam. Either deny the above or engage in the defense of the gospel. This coming battle is not subject to our approval. We fight, or we gravitate towards apostasy thru ecumenism and appeasement.

Who's Ready?

2008-10-16T02:25:00.000-07:00

Now as to the times and epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety! then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. (I Thess. 5:1-3)

We just finished this passage on Tue night. Here are some thoughts and questions that I would like to have considered:

There are some in our Christian community who believe that this passage will be literally fulfilled. Further, there are those of us who actually believe that we are living in the days where we might be participants in just such a scenario. If Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is proclaiming that the world community is in no way ready for this moment, then it might be productive to ask just who is. What do you think?

Let’s divide the world community into several parts. Do you think that the non-believing community is ready? By implication, they are the very ones who are claiming “peace and safety”. No, they certainly don’t appear to be ready? Well, how about the man-made Church? It seems to me that the overwhelming majority of those who make up this community are seeking after the very same sentiment. “Let’s heal the world in the name of Christ” they might be saying. “Peace and safety” through cooperation with the various religions of the world is certainly a noble goal is it not? No, I don’t think that that huge two- billion- strong community is ready for the “sudden destruction” looming ahead. All right, how about the true Church, namely, the remnant? Now this becomes problematic. Surely the remnant is seeing handwriting upon a wall, are they not? The problem here, it seems to me, is that many of us are seeing but we still have hope that somehow we, through prayer, or whatever, are going to bring about some kind of healing to this world. But that is not what Paul is saying, is it? So who’s left (we’ll talk about national Israel at some later time)?

But you brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief…(I Thess. 5:4) Are you one of these brethren? If you are, I’m suggesting that you are a minority even in the remnant community of Christ. Do you believe that we are approaching the very day of the Lord? If so, then we are in the nascent stages of birth pangs are we not? If we exegete this passage, how do we get away from that sobering conclusion? Eventually the entire community of remnant believers will see since we are not in darkness that the day should overwhelm us. Until then, those of us who consider ourselves watchmen need to be warning our believing community, including those who are in that man-made church that there is a freight train coming - no?

TAFTCom… beloved ones; TAFTCom…

Caroline at the JPost

2008-10-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

OK - this time I really, really, really mean it. I am going to post more than once every seven years, or so, from this very second on. I’m not exactly sure what it was that I just said and I will probably fail again, but I really, really do mean it.

What got me going again was this article in the Jerusalem Post written by a no-nonsense girl by the name of Caroline Glick. To those of you who know of her, you love her, or you hate her. Personally, I love her. She says it like it is, and, without apologies; a Golda Meir in the making. This particular article displays just one more evidence of an exercise in international appeasement that is being lived out by a snake-bit Western society. Sadly, this exercise never seems to be resisted by our world community. We made a feeble attempt to proactively resist appeasement in Iraq and the entire world, including many in the church (?), rose up in a massive collective whine. The whine, seemingly won the day. In the comments section, I found this response to be more than plausible:

Sadly, the West has virtually surrendered to the Jihadists and abandoned Israel already. Next, the right wing backlash will increase as seen now in Austria. This will be good for slowing the flow of radical Islam to Europe (but not good enough to stop it), but will have the unwanted effect of increased anti-semitism in Europe. We have been abandoned by the US who is broke and will not be able to do anything except what its creditors (Chine/Russia/Japan) demand of it. Get ready for bad times ahead. (Eli - #24)

If you want to read of the particulars on how Italy surrendered to the Jihadist murderers - go to the article. It’s not so much that I wanted to surface just one more surrender that I generated this article, however, but rather that I wanted to introduce those of you who did not know of just such a beast as Caroline Glick to her ongoing comments on current events. If you are interested in such subject matter, it would be profitable to put the Jerusalem Post on your Favorite Places.

See you soon - I hope.

With Minimum Comment

2008-09-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some thoughts from Marvin Rosenthal:

As I began this letter to you, I wanted to use a word or phrase to describe our world at this hour of history.

I thought of words like "critical," "explosive," "uncertain," "confused," and "wicked." I thought of phrases like "time bomb," "completely unprepared for what is coming," and "all-out war with God."

In the final analysis, I could not choose just one word or phrase. Tragically, they are all true.

This is a critical, explosive, uncertain, confused, and wicked hour of history. The world is like a time bomb ready to explode. Most people are completely unprepared for what is coming, totally ignorant of what they will soon confront, and unaware of the fact that they are opposing the God who created them and His Son who died to save them.

Clear and compelling specific and international events of a prophetic nature are converging in our generation. They point toward the approaching end of this age. How much time remains? I do not know.

As I write these words, I could be depressed and feel like a man with an old-fashioned signboard hung over his shoulders which reads, "The end of the world is coming!" Fortunately, I am delivered from that fatalistic mindset because I have absolute assurance of the ultimate, total victory through the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming.

The world does not know where we are or what the answers are to the pressing problems we face. You will not get answers from the media, academia, or the government. And tragically, much of the co-called church is liberal, lost, and can provide no help. They, themselves, are like a blind man in a dark room, looking for a black cat that is not there.

The world is burning, and much of the Church is fiddling. There is a grave urgency at this hour, and few are picking up on it.

So, there's at least two of us - amazing! I received this form letter from Marvin Rosenthal yesterday (9/19). He continues in the letter to address replacement theology which we will address many times in the future, but for now let's have the above speak for itself.

The ministry is Zion's Hope; the magazine is Zion's Fire. If you do not subscribe to this magazine, I strongly suggest that you do. This man is intellectually honest; his logic is reasonable, and his exegesis is penetrating.

The bold was added by me.

Back to Stanley

2008-09-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Obviously, posting on this site has not been my highest priority for awhile. This may change. As I have alluded to before, we are going to begin a men’s Bible study that will be pursuing knowledge of current world events as they pertain to the unfolding of the conditions leading up to the return of Christ. Actually, we began last Tue night (9/2). I’m thinking of wedding the ruminations arising from these meetings with this site. So, let us ruminate together.

Now, one of the motivations for starting this class was a growing perception of apostasy resident within the “church”, i.e. the man-made edifice. This, of course, forces me to return to previous thoughts and posts regarding the Emergent Church. I had started reading Stanley J. Grenz’s A Primer on Postmodernism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996) a few months ago, put it down, placing it at the bottom of the book-pile, but have now resurfaced it, giving it new life. So, what’s so pertinent about postmodernism? Well, this seems to be the substance that is numbing the Christian early- warning- system concerning waywardness from the absolute claims of Scripture. If you are emergent, you are postmodern; if you are emergent, you tend to disbelieve Scripture as authoritative in an absolute sense. Here is part of Dr. Grenz’s apologetic concerning the matter:

Postmodern holism entails an integration of all the dimensions of personal life…Wholeness also entails a consciousness of the indelible and delicate connection to what lies beyond ourselves, in which our personal existence is embedded and from which it is nurtured. This wider realm includes “nature” (the ecosystem), of course. But in addition it involves the community of humans in which we participate. Postmoderns are keenly conscious of the importance of community, of the social dimension of existence. And the postmodern conception of wholeness also extends to the religious or spiritual aspect of life. Indeed, postmoderns affirm that personal existence may transpire within the context of a divine reality.

The conviction that each person is embedded in a particular human community leads to a corporate understanding of truth. Postmoderns believe that not only our specific beliefs but also our understanding of truth itself is rooted in the community in which we participate. They reject…timeless truth in favor of searching out truth as the expression of a specific community. They believe that truth consists in the ground rules that facilitate personal well-being in community and the well-being of the community as a whole. (p. 14 – bold added)

Are you a Christian moving towards a postmodern ethos? If so, then please consider some thoughts. To whatever degree that Scripture makes claims to being the absolute expression of God’s revelations to us, then, to that degree, it is not subject to the community’s affirmation. Is “Truth” embedded within Scripture, or does the “community” impart “truth” into Scripture as that community so perceives truth to be manifested. Is this not eisegesis at its worst? You are losing the plumb-line, are you not?

Further, one must define who this “divine reality” is, it seems to me, if one is to keep any sense of sobriety and import concerning this subject matter. Scripture reveals this “divine reality” as the very God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Himself. He makes absolute claims concerning Himself, and He demands obedience to His absolutist claims - or not! This God is not simply a therapeutic god wanting us to have a happy “community”, but rather, He is the Despot (despotes, - 2 Peter 2:1) of our lives, or He is not!

Well, this could go on and on (and of course it will). Let’s break here and give ourselves opportunity to reflect seriously what awaits the Christian community. You are welcome to respond.

Restraint in Lebanon

2008-08-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

Remember the conflict that took place in Lebanon awhile back between the Israeli IDF and the forces of Hizbullah? Israel had invaded southern Lebanon in an effort to stop the terrorist organization from constantly firing rockets into the neighboring Israeli towns and subsequently killing civilians, damaging buildings and etc. After inflicting some damage, the IDF pulled back into Israeli territory leaving Hizbullah another opportunity to recover and grow strong again. Of course Israel pulled back! This is what the international community demands that it do - every time! BTW, the rockets are still coming.

So, it was with interest that I read a JPost article that addressed the possibility of future penetration into Lebanese territory whenever it was decided that Hizbullah had, once again, gone too far. The article was entitled We exercised restraint in Lebanon war.
The article is dated Aug. 19th. Here are some quotes:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sent a stern warning to Beirut on Tuesday, pledging that Israel would not restrain itself if Lebanon sanctioned a new Hizbullah offensive. “ In the Second Lebanon War we had much greater means and capabilities, which we avoided using since [during that war] we fought against a terror organization and not a country,” Olmert said. “In this context, if Lebanon, turns into a Hizbullah state, we won’t restrain our response.”

The article goes on to state, in so many terms, that, yes indeed, the Lebanese parliament has already given Hizbullah official status as part of the Lebanese state. The meaning is plain and not at all concealed. Olmert is saying that Israel will no longer consider Hizbullah as merely a terrorist organization, but rather, in the future, it will be considered as an integral part of the Lebanese state, and thus, any retaliation that would be generated toward terrorist activities that are being perpetrated against Israel will be directed against the government and territory of Lebanon itself. This is potentially explosive, and it could be biblical in its proportions!

Does Olmert have it in him to so-respond? It doesn’t matter. This is a thought process that is obviously subject-matter to many people who are high up in the Israeli society. Would Netanyahu so-respond? Would anyone respond this way if conditions get any more bizarre in the Middle East? One of these days the answer will be yes and then, it will happen. What, then, will be Russia’s response? They are politically in bed with Syria and Iran - the sponsors of Hizbullah.

Honestly, do you believe that anybody can stop this insanity? I don’t think so. As Christians, however, we need to be a little bit more intense with our walk, don’t you think? Let the dead bury their dead. Let us get more intense in our serving. We can start by getting back to those passages in Ezek. 36 thru 39.

China - Wow!

2008-08-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

I watched most of the opening ceremonies at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing last night. Did you? Wow! What a display of technology, pomp, and human achievement! Is there anything that Mankind cannot do? It seems as though only a lack of monetary resources can prevent us from doing anything that we want. One wonders what form the 21st century Tower of Babel will soon take.

Two thoughts immediately came to my mind last night. The first was the thought of just how the world is constantly being inoculated against the reality of evil in our collective society. How many more proclamations of peace and human reconciliation will be uttered forth every two years (summer and winter games) before we understand that it isn’t going to happen? It must have been a little embarrassing to the commentators when they were forced to recognize the wonderful peace efforts of the Russian army currently unfolding in the contiguous neighboring country of Georgia. When a country paraded before the cameras, one wondered whether they were forced to admit to previous mass-murders and genocide by that same country, or whether they wanted to say even more but were prevented by the enormity of the moment.

The second thought followed from the above observations. My thoughts sent me back to 1984 when the Winter Games were being held in Sarajevo. Same thing; different time. To those of you who recall those games, you may remember how the same utterances of peace, unity and human interaction were being proclaimed. How we marveled and celebrated the interaction of the athletes from different countries. The barriers were down; we simply needed to follow the liberating affections of those athletes. We will follow their examples and supersede the limitations and barriers that political entities set up to cause division. Just look at these athletes and the good will of the countries being represented. We can reason with each other. We can reason with Islam, Jihadism, Russian expansionism, racists, international intrigue, nationalism, anti-Semitism, etc. etc.
Why just look at the athletes. Peace is so simple.

Now why did my mind go to Sarajevo? Never has it been otherwise. At every Olympic event the same platitudes of peace and human cooperation are uttered. Again, why Sarajevo? Well, for those of you who do recall those games, you may also recall that within one decade of those same games, there was invented a term known as “ethnic cleansing”. Mass murder and butchery smothered that town and the surrounding areas. So, if peace is so simple, why isn't it happening?

Here’s a thought: The two most populated countries in the world are China and India. Are you aware that both are growing economically and technologically at a phenomenal rate and that they both are expanding their military might at an accelerated rate as well? How many times, embedded in those opening ceremonies, did China, the host country, imply a new spirit of cooperation with the other countries of the world? Did you believe this?

I’m not sure how to conclude this. Let me simply say that Rev. 16:12 came to my mind. Let’s continue to observe world conditions as they unfold - but with a little more skepticism, - please?

Life!

2008-07-31T05:31:00.000-07:00

It’s alright, I’m still alive. Sorry for the three week absence. It’s a combination of having too much to do, being lazy and loving procrastination. So, how shall I get back into it? There is so much out there that is so rich. There are deep theological mysteries out there in the midst of a world falling apart and my cat was giving birth this morning. The well is deep. - Obviously, I’m going to write about my cat.

Now Autumn is a Flame Point Himalayan. Further, she is a Baby Face Flame Point Himalayan - sans pug face - or whatever the official name is for such a face. We mated her two months ago with a beast named Cinnamon Bear. Now you can’t possibly be more handsome that someone named Cinnamon Bear, right? Anyway, Autumn kept the tradition of the family alive in that she gave birth between the hours of 12 midnight and 6:00 a. m. Why be civilized? All day yesterday she was acting “funny”. We knew that she was ready, and so at 1:30 this a.m. she started having the first of five. Whatta gal! Her first time, and she knew exactly what to do.

Even though she was surprised by the first one, from that point on she knew to lick the membrane off of each baby, eat the after-birth, let them nurse, etc. etc. We were worried before this when we observed that for approximately 24 hrs she stopped eating. I now wonder if that was not God’s way of preparing her to eat all of that “stuff” that is so nourishing for her and for her kittens. Folks, the planet can’t evolve this instinct into an animal. This kind of “instinct” has got to be programmed into the genes. This is divine information. God blessed our family with LIFE this morning.

Thank God for life, and thank God for restored life.

Christianized or Rescued?

2008-07-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

I will start teaching a class on The Eschatology of the Bible in the Light of Current Events soon. So, I thought that I would dust off an old book that was a classic on the subject several years ago, namely, Contemporary Options in Eschatology by Millard J. Erickson (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994). I don’t think that it is still being published. In his section on “Background Views” he states this:

The kingdom that Jesus brought is different in nature from anything that preceded it. In this sense it had come once and for all. Its nature would not change with passing time. Its growth was one of degree, not kind. As man extended the kingdom to yet more and more areas of society, he would progressively Christianize society. This belief and hope were vividly illustrated in 1908 when a new religious journal was named the Christian Century. Behind this name lay the belief that the twentieth century would be the Christian century. The kingdom of God was here, or it would be shortly. It would be introduced progressively through the efforts of Christians, not through a cataclysmic event such as the second coming of Christ. The nature of the kingdom now is no different from what it will be at any time in the future. Some who hold this view of the kingdom emphasized God’s role in its achievement; others emphasized the role of human institutions and programs. (p. 5 - my emphasis)

I thought - while pondering this tension between the thought that we will Christianize our world culture by the sincere efforts of our community and the polar opposite thought that that same Christian community of ours will, instead, be in need of a cosmic rescuing - that this eschatological choice demands a far more sobering reflection than the majority of our community is currently engaged in. Our eschatological position should not be lightly formed. This should not be an academic exercise only. What if the current world community is gravitating towards an anti-Christian and godless mindset? It seems to me that the preponderance of vigor in the world community is thrusting towards violence and suppression of the Christian community, certainly not in a Christian-like healing of the world condition. I know that commitments to Christ are robust throughout the world. However, such revivals do not seem to be healing the nations and certainly are not turning the information flow of the secular community around from a worldly propaganda towards any kind of Christian light. If it turns out that we will be in need of “a second coming of Christ”, then two questions arise:

Will our faith withstand the events leading up to that coming, and does a “Christianizing” belief system tend to blunt preparedness for just such a series of events? It’s not a small matter is it? I will probably blog much concerning such matters in the future.

No Transitional Forms

2008-07-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

Just in case that you were wondering, - I’m back - I haven’t evaporated away to somewhere unknown. Got back from my trip with the boys. We went fossil hunting near Delta, Utah (50 miles northwest - not too near, I guess). It was great fellowship, and we did find fossils, namely, trilobites. Creationists rightfully make a big deal that the fossil record gives no tangible evidence of transitional forms. Always when fossils are found, they are fully formed as a species. I was surprised at how struck I was at that fact when I first looked at those little fellows. These animals were fully formed, and in all of their intricacies and functional complexities were demanding intellectual reflection. The empirical data is on our side folks.

Along these lines, I was made aware of William Dembski’s new book Understanding Intelligent Design (Sean McDowell coauthor, Eugene: Harvest House) and was more than peaked in my interest when I learned that it was designed with the youth in mind. I have been wanting to probe in this area for more than two years now, but felt inadequate to the task. We need to be proactive in this area, and need to be methodical with our information. Our youth need to be armed. I’ll get back to you when I finish the book.

It was good to be in Utah; It’s good to be back. Let’s go to war.

The Dinosaur Next Door

2008-06-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

The above named document was published in the current edition of Acts and Facts (Institute For Creation Research, June 2008, p. 13). This month’s edition was one of their better publications. If you are interested in the assault by Darwinian evolutionists against those in our community who are attempting to make a reasonable and scientific apologetic for Creationism/Intelligent Design, then please read this article. Go here if you wish to sign up for the monthly publication and if you wish to get involved in any way with the subject matter (www.icr.org). They will in no way insult your intelligence. These are world-class scientists who are unapologetic about their faith in the God of Genesis and in His having created all things ex nihilo. As I have alluded to before, the fossil record, when scientifically examined, is on our side.

While you are at it, you might consider ordering a book that I have mentioned before, namely: Evolution: the Fossils Still Say No! by Duane T. Gish (Institute for Creation Research. El Cajon, 2006). ICR offers this book. The back cover says it all: “…Evolutionists may invent ‘just-so’ stories, but they have been completely unsuccessful at showing any scientific evidence for macro-evolution, in the all-important fossil record. This book demonstrates that fact compellingly!” (bold added)

Again, if you are at all animated by the seriousness of the subject matter, read Never Stop Questioning (Beth Mull) in the current publication two or three times (pp. 4-5). The author has “hit the nail on the head”.

Am leaving Friday for Utah with my two grandsons to do some fossil hunting. Hope to have great fellowship and demonstrate that it was the Genesis Flood that laid down all of these (millions and millions of) fossils. Who knows when I will be back?

He's Lost It?

2008-06-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

Was going to comment on the futility of the current Egyptian brokered "ceasefire" between Hamas and Israel. I thought that I would expose the Hamas Charter and their declared intention to destroy their newly found partner in the ceasing of fire; thought that I would muse about how many Chrisitans would applaud this sham and while I was at it would muse concerning how many Christians were applauding California's legalizing of homosexual marriages. Changed my mind. Let me ask a simple question, fold tent, and just drop the subject. To some this will appear as a feeble attempt to sober our Christian community; to others it will appear arrogant and to others just plain stupid. Nonetheless, here it comes?

To those of us who proclaim the great name of Christ, do we understand that that proclamation makes us all candidates to apostasy? (I Thes. 5:1-6)

And So With All Of Us

2008-06-15T05:54:00.000-07:00

I’ll attempt to keep this one brief since I’ll need to get ready for church soon. As I arose and sat down to read a little this a. m. a thought (one that has vexed many people throughout recent history) surfaced within me and I thought that I would attempt to draw out from within me some kind of a conclusion. The book is “The Coming of the Third Reich” by Richard J. Evans (Penguin Press, 2005). When commenting that “I want to draw something out from within me”, I certainly did not want to appear dramatic. I simply am not sure as to what is going to be concluded. So let us just “bang on the keys” and see what comes out on the other end.

The vexation, of course, surfaces whenever one contemplates just who it was that perpetrated those awful atrocities appended to the history of the Second World War. This is Germany; the land of Goethe, Lessing, Schiller, Beethoven, etc. etc. This is “the land of poets and thinkers” the most cultured country in all of the world - as many have said in commenting on the subject matter. How in the world can such a cultured and educated people do such things? My thought while reading the book this morning surfaced this silent utterance: “But of course they did these things; we are sinful Man. Under similar conditions we all would have done the same”! Now I promised to keep this brief, so I’ll not support with details the culture thing.

The Hebrew People let God down. Had He gone to some place near Tuscany ca. 2000 BC and drawn out some guy named Luigi and formed a people from this guy, we Italians would have let God down; And so with all the peoples of the world. We would all commit atrocities under similar conditions. We are all slaves to our collective sinful natures. In the year 2008, in the midst of the exponential and information age, what atrocities await us – atrocities that we will all participate in? The implications lead us to the conditions uttered by the Lord as found in Matthew 24-25 and particularly by Luke 21. We will betray one another with all of the implications that that awful scenario requires.

But wait, you might say. We are Christians. We do not do such things. Exactly! We are Christians, we do not do such things! We are a “called-out” people. So what “thought from within me” shall I conclude? Perhaps it is this. As we attempt to heal the world in the name of Christ, and the world does not want to be healed, and turns and rends us, will we still be Christians? Will we keep the faith? The thought is this: Christ is in the process of calling us out just as He did Abraham from Ur of the Chaldeans. Where is our heart, what is our ethos, where are our treasures? Are our affections and treasures still in Chaldea? We are living in 1933 beloved. There is a wave of evil with tsunami like conditions about to engulf us. The world does not want to be healed by Christ. Only a hungry, Abrahamic-like nature, one that yearns for truth will resist just such a temptation. The wave that currently drives much of the Christian community today may be the 21st century edition of the Third Reich in 1930s Germany. Let’s be careful here and terribly sobered by our current world condition - please!

OK, I lied. Not brief and more than one thought. Have patience with me. Believe me, I will pursue this subject much more in the future.

Blood-Bought?

2008-06-13T06:56:00.000-07:00

OK, we’ve been bought. So what does that mean? Peter in addressing those of the faith had this to say about false prophets and teachers:

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Pet. 2:1-3)

I won’t go into the implied eschatology of this passage although I believe that false teaching has been robust throughout the history of the man-made edifice known as the church, and further that the conditions alluded to by the Apostle will be especially robust as we approach the close of the age. Rather, let us simply become somewhat sobered by just such a scenario. I was more than a little sobered as I read this passage recently. My thoughts particularly centered on that phrase that claimed that these false teachers will be “even denying the Master who bought them”.

The KJV uses the word Lord, whereas the NASB discriminates a little by using the word Master. I believe that the NASB is the more accurate. The Greek word here is not the usual word for Lord, that being kurios, rather it is the Greek word despotes wherein we get the English word despot. W. E. Vine explains by defining kurios as “a lord who exercises power”. Christ is certainly that. He goes on to define despotes as “one who has absolute ownership and uncontrolled power” over his slave. (Vine, III, 46) Some lexicons add “slave owner” to that definition.

Simon Kristemaker words it thus:

To Jesus has been given all authority and power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). In the Greek, the word is despotes, from which we have the derivative despot. It is closely connected with the verb to buy. In the New Testament, this Greek verb occurs twenty-five times in a commercial setting, “but on five other occasions it describes the ‘buying’ of Christians. This clearly reflects the contemporary terminology of the slave-market.” With his blood Christ has bought his people that they may do his will…Just as a master has bought slaves from whom he expects obedience, so Jesus as sovereign Lord has bought his servants and demands obedience. (New Testament Commentary: Peter & Jude, Grand Rapids: Baker 1993, p. 282)

Do you get the impression that most Christians think of Christ in these terms? I promise you that false teachers who are tending toward heresies and leading others astray don’t think of Him in this way. Does it offend you that you have been bought? Does it offend you that the One who bought you lays claim to be a despot in your life? I hope not. Either we have been “bought with a price”, or we have not. If not, then, we are bastards and not adopted children.

I fear that there are many pseudodidaskaloi (false teachers) out there right now doing exactly what the Apostle warned (is warning) us about, and that there are many who are right now following their sensuality. This is serious. Yes, we have been bought by a Despot, but One who is all-loving, all-compassionate, all-powerful and is soon to return in power. What sort of a servant (slave) ought we to be? We have been blood-bought. Thank God!!!

Fire Synapses Fire!

2008-06-09T04:56:00.000-07:00

About ten months ago I discovered that Andre Watts was going to appear with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra performing Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto sometime in June. Well now, my Pepsi-sniffing granddaughter is getting pretty serious about her piano lessons so I thought that I would take her out on a date and we would attend. By the time that I could finally purchase our tickets in May, we had grown to eight. One of my other granddaughters started to sustain with her piano lessons by this time also so I included her as well. My wife and I have fond memories of this piece dating back to our days at Pasadena City College so she wanted to go as well. By the time we attended, our party consisted of one each: daughter, son, daughter-in-law, piano teacher, two granddaughters, wife, and I. By the way, I should mention that this other granddaughter is getting pretty good at “sniffing” as well. Oh yes, I almost forgot that there was also going to be a performance of something called the fourth symphony by some guy named Tchaikovsky. We all met at an Italian restaurant near the concert hall and did what was proper and then attended.

OK, so with Kenzi and Tasha sitting on my right hand, the concert begins. When it was all over? Good food, much love and fellowship, a whole new world for two young and beautiful girls, a world-class artist playing with a world-class orchestra, passionate music composed by two of the giants, and a lasting memory. Oh by-the-way, this Tchaikovsky guy’s not too terrible awful bad either, huh? The PSO is just down the freeway from us, so we will be doing this more often. Girls, I hope that you want to do this again. Grandpa does. OK, let’s go from the sublime to the mundane.

In the subsequent days, I have dwelt on two thoughts: The first is just a musing. How in the world can mankind produce music like this and still murder (etc.) like we do? Sin must be incredibly powerful beyond our imagination. I’ll let that lie for a future blog.

The second thought surfaced when I poked Kenzi and Sassas in the ribs. It appears that in history a few of the great composers who were also great pianists would love to insert sections into their compositions that were so difficult to play that few pianists could “keep up”. When the soloist got to one of these passages, and Kenzi and Sassas were looking, I did the “pokin”. Andre Watts’ hands were like a blur. I poked, and Kenzi said “I know, I know”. Here is the mundane side of it: “Evolution can’t do this! Think about it. The human physiology has to memorize this composition. At the right time, the artist must respond. The mind tells the artist to play this note and at this time. The chemistry of the body must produce the electro motive force to generate the ability for the synapses to fire. A cybernetic response is demanded of the human physiology. Traveling at lightning speed the synapses fire, the motor system responds instantly, muscles activate instantly, and memory continues. There is no time for the human system to relax. Memory then demands another response – instantly, then another and another and another. Cybernetic feedback demands continuous responses for the entire composition! It doesn’t matter whether the artist’s hands “are a blur”, or not. The mind must say “do this” and the motor system must respond instantly and continuously. And the result? Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto! Yes, I can understand how the shepherd David must have felt when he wrote the 139th Psalm.

Thanx girls; let’s do it again.

If - Then

2008-06-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

We ran into this handsome fellow Sunday in our adult bible study. He’s another old friend who shows up every once in a while in my life.

My son, if you will receive my sayings,
And treasure my commandments within you,
Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will discern the fear of the Lord,
And discover the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Prov. 2:1-6)

Perhaps you’ve noticed that we Christians are wringing our hands a lot nowadays. As we perceive the world-condition, hope does not seem to be triumphant in our lives. Constantly we are lamenting the fact that righteousness is not exactly winning the day. “If only we would do this, then that would happen” we declare. “If only the church would become more active, then we would heal our government”, etc, etc. Wherever you may be wringing your hands, I’ll leave it up to you to “fill in the blanks”. Actually, I am becoming increasingly annoyed whenever I hear or read about what will happen when we “do what is right”. Christ requires of us that we do what is right. The problem is that the man-made edifice known as the church is not going to do “what is right”. We are not going to turn our government around to embrace a state of righteousness. It is not the inclination of the world community to respond to whatever emasculated call to righteousness that we are fumbling over. Are you doing what is right? Do so with vigor. It is what Christ demands of us all. Be proactive in obedience to His call in your life. You will be healing individuals and whole communities as Christ sees fit. We are a remnant people. He is in the process of calling us out into a remnant-like community. Want to have more hope and less hand-wringing in your life? Let’s try Solomon’s advice.

If we treasure His commandments,
If we incline our hearts,
If we cry for discernment,
If we lift up our voices,
If we seek her as we would silver and hidden treasures,

Then, we will discern and fear Him and have hope as He sees fit.

Hard work, diligence, yearning for Him, and even some agonizing seems to be required here. Let’s go for it. The night may be soon gone.

Stanley Grenz on Postmodernism

2008-05-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

A Primer on Postmodernism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996

In rejecting the modern assumption of the objectivity of knowledge, postmoderns also reject the Enlightenment ideal of the dispassionate, autonomous knower. They contend that the work of scientists, like that of any other human beings, is historically and culturally conditioned and that our knowledge is always incomplete.

The postmodern worldview operates with a community-based understanding of truth. It affirms that whatever we accept as truth and even the way we envision truth are dependent on the community in which we participate. Further, and far more radically, the postmodern worldview affirms that this relativity extends beyond our perception of truth to its essence: there is no absolute truth; rather, truth is relative to the community in which we participate. (p. 8) Bold has been added.

Some comments:

To whatever degree that one cannot be a “dispassionate and autonomous knower”, then one is, to that degree, a slave of an eisegetical mind-set. That one can be strongly exegetical in the “knowing” of a text is made possible by an exercised discipline and can be totally efficient in the discerning of a “truth” proclaimed by any text. This proclamation, of course, depends on the degree that one defines the appropriate text as being authentic. The inerrancy of the biblical text would be appropriate for this study. Thus, “truth” is proclaimed as an absolute in the biblical text. Further, to whatever degree that one has trained himself in an exegetical and disciplined mind-set, to that degree that person has the ability to be "dispassionate and autonomous" as a knower and a discerner of that text.

I wrote the above last night as a Word document for the purpose of research and personal comment, but thought that I might as well post it. It also appeared to me (this morning) as a big dose of pedantic gobbledygook (“wordy and generally unintelligible jargon”) and as such I was prepared to put it to sleep and archive it for future personal reference only. But - I couldn’t leave well-enough alone. I’m sorry folks; it’s that emergent thing again. This movement is becoming more than serious in its import. Dr. Tackett alluded to the fact that Jesus is “bifurcating the world” (see post on 5/19). May I suggest that He is also bifurcating the man-made church? To whatever degree that the postmodern (emergent) mind-set is leading some in the church toward a disbelief in “absolute truth”, to that degree it may be leading those who are so involved toward a state of apostasy, or as previously alluded to, they are at least removing some barriers to that apostasy.

Why is it mandated upon a seeker (potential “knower”) that he be blunted in his quest for understanding of a particular text by the culture that dominates his surroundings? An author records and a seeker-for-understanding reads. When I read the Scriptures, I exegete the text contained within. This process is a result of a conscious decision upon my part. To the best of my ability I resist the temptation to eisegetically skew the text to best comfort my psyche; one that is white, Protestant, and Western-European in nature. Such eeeeeeevil within me does not prevent me from allowing the biblical text from saying what it wants to say. Whenever a passage implies against my personal belief-system, I question seriously that part of my belief. I will not be denied truth by my cultural conditioning. Life and death are too important. Further, I will not allow a worldly community-based-culture to proclaim a collective-like “truth” upon me, especially when it contradicts the absolute claims of Scripture.

Consider this: If Scripture has been penned by the Spirit Himself then it has been dictated with the intent of being understood by the one who seeks for truth. Truth has been proclaimed from above. That Truth will not be altered by evil men who distort and use that Truth for the purposes of plunder, murder, empire building and other atrocities that have been committed throughout history. Too many (emergent?) “Christians” have surfaced such distortions throughout history to deny the reality of Truth. Again, a distortion of the Truth does not deny that Truth.

I am not “culturally conditioned” in such a way that I read my “truth” into any text that I may be reading. I am a “dispassionate knower”. I have many limitations, but please understand that they are not culturally induced. Truth has been proclaimed. That the Truth has been proclaimed and recorded is an absolutist-like claim. Further it is a Plumb Line that has been designed to be dealt with by any reader and seeker for knowledge. The contents contained within are knowable. Deal with it! Your life may be at stake.

From Carson to Grenz

2008-05-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

Just finished D. A. Carson’s book (Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church – see post on May 9th). After the Truth-Project-showing that I alluded to in my May 19th post, we were discussing the emergent phenomenon (most Christians present had not even heard of such a beast) after the meeting concluded and I found myself advocating the book to those who were listening. Now this is no small decision. To whatever degree that I believe that many honest and concerned Christians are removing barriers to apostasy, to that degree, I must take very serious any recommendations for further intellectual and spiritual pursuits in that area. So after some serious reflection, I have decided that this literary effort is sufficiently penetrating, honest, and logical that I am advocating it for serious consideration.

There are too many solid Christians who are in the process of polarizing regarding this debate for me to slay dragons as of yet. I have alluded to that fact in a previous post. It would be beneficial, it would seem, to recommend literature from both polarized houses. I have yet to find one that would express the emergent/postmodern position. My next effort will be to go to the 1999 effort by Stanley Grenz - A Primer on Postmodernism – (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids). Perhaps this effort will be a candidate. Dr. Grenz was a world-class scholar. Let’s see what he has to say. I may consider Brian McLaren’s A Generous Orthodoxy at some later date, but that would be to offer that literary effort as a polarized view of emergent that may be loved by some, but that I would consider the worst that they have to offer. Some of you may have noticed that I am not advocating Beyond Foundationalism by Dr. Grenz (and J. R. Franke) – see post on May 7. The authors are certainly robust enough to teach us much concerning this issue; it’s just that this effort was too pedantic and epistemologically nuanced to be a useful tool at this time.

So back to Carson. The author has raised many objections to the EC. This is not a book review, so I won’t go into them on this site. Let me just suggest that there is one point that he has made that may transcend all others in importance; namely that he finds little, if any, scriptural exegesis in the writing of those who advocate that belief-system. So far, I have found that suggestion to be totally true. This observation generates a serious concern. In the author’s estimation, it is a conscious decision of the most hardened of the postmodernist’s to do so. Brian McLaren certainly comes to mind at this point. So, I will be aware of this phenomenon as I read EC literature, and will tend to ask the question as I do so: Will there be any claims to Scripture as a base for their belief-system, and if not, will this trend continue as I read more of their literature? Dr Carson alludes to this theme several times but I find the following to be a good summation of the spiritual damage that it could cause:

Third, granted that the emerging church movement is driven by its perception of widespread cultural changes, its own proposals for the way ahead must be assessed for their biblical fidelity. In other words, we must not only try to evaluate the accuracy of the emerging church’s cultural analysis, but also the extent to which its proposals spring from, or can at least be squared with, the Scriptures. To put the matter differently: Is there at least some danger that what is being advocated is not so much a new kind of Christian in a new emerging church, but a church that is so submerging itself in the culture that it risks hopeless compromise? (p. 44) - bold has been added

The EC may not be heading for a hopeless compromise, but if they are, is this not a serious matter of the highest order?

The Truth Project

2008-05-19T02:12:00.000-07:00

I only recently heard that there was a beast by the name of The Truth Project. Since it was portrayed to me as a worthy project I thought that it would be productive to investigate further. Thus, I attended a showing of the first episode; one that was designed to explain the scope of the project. I wondered: "Would this project be substantive enough to proactively pursue for my church and even to promote the twelve session video set beyond that?" The effort was most assuredly not a waste of time. So what’s it about? Here is some of what the lesson guide for Lesson 1 says:

What is truth? Why is it important? What role does it play in the biblical view of the world, God’s purpose for the cosmos, His will for mankind, His plan of salvation, and the way we live our personal lives? In his comments on this subject Dr. Del Tackett will demonstrate how truth was fundamental to the missions of Jesus Christ in the world; how it forms the heart of the Cosmic Battle that has been raging since the beginning; how this battle has divided the world into two opposing camps or sides; how lies, the antithesis of Truth, take human hearts and minds captive by the power of deception; and how every man and woman now stands in the position of having to choose between God’s truth claims and the opposing perspective of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Dr. Tackett concludes that, in almost every case, the perspective of contemporary culture stands in direct opposition to the Truth-centered worldview present in the Bible. In the process of making this case, he advances the bold claim that our culture is not only filled with lies but is actually heading in the direction of social insanity. As a result, he proposes that Pilate’s query – “What is truth?” – is the most important question facing our society today. (I have added the bold)

Enough said. Dr. Tackett did more than a reasonable job of advancing those claims that were stated in the above Guide. I agree; there has been a Cosmic Battle raging since the beginning; one that is yet to be terminated and one that demands that everyone answer to the two stated cosmic claims: The biblical Truth (John 18:33-38), or the satanic lie begun in the Garden. Which do you choose? In the process of sharing our views of the video upon its completion I stated that perhaps the most substantive statement in the entire 12 session series will be this five-word utterance by Dr. Tackett: “Jesus is bifurcating the world”!!! Now, of course, I have not seen the next eleven sessions, but, honestly, other than the Christian Basics can there be anything more substantive than that utterance?

Either one has to vehemently deny that utterance (postmodern Christianity?) or one has to embrace it with passion, and wonder aloud shouting “why doesn’t the Christian community know that we are in a Cosmic War?" I look forward to the next eleven sessions. I’ll keep you posted. The pertinent Focus on the Family web site is http://www.thetruthproject.org/

Witty Sinners - Dull Christians

2008-05-16T14:35:00.000-07:00

My son called me this morning. “Dad, I just finished reading the second Psalm. This is what your web site is all about, isn’t it?” Well, this is great, I thought! So I’ve raised my very own son to be a lunatic just like me. Anyway, I needed to hear from him. We had a good talk. The Lord has given him good wisdom and he spoke to me a word in season. Perhaps some of you noticed that California has now made it legal to wed members of the same sex. To some (many?) Christians, this is OK. We need to be tolerant and we need to appeal to the world at large they would say. To other Christians this is just one more surrender to licentiousness. We are discouraged. Licentiousness is becoming rampant. So what does the Psalmist say about such a scenario?

Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed: “Let us tear their fetters apart, and cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury: “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” (Ps. 2: 1-6)

Now to some of you this passage may be only allegorical in nature. To others, me included, it is literal. There will literally be a day when God perceives that the human race has fully given itself over to rebellion and self-seeking. Do we not perceive this process to be robust in this information age in which we live? Kings and rulers are complicit in removing the Judeo/Christian God from the public arena, and they are being totally successful. Spurgeon comments on this process: “They go about their warfare craftily, not with foolish haste, but deliberately. They use all the skill which art can give. Like Pharaoh, they cry, ‘Let us deal wisely with them.’ O that men were half as careful in God’s service to serve him wisely, as his enemies are to attack his kingdom craftily. Sinners have their wits about them, and yet saints are dull.” (The Kingdom of David. Baker: Grand Rapids, 1981 - Vol. I, p. 12) Bold has been added.

This is the thought that has given birth, and that currently gives impetus, to this site: We saints seem to be dull of thought in the midst of this worldly unfolding. Please consider the possibility that we function in this, the information age, as part of the separating-out of His Elect. They are in rebellion, hopefully, we are in obedience, and thus, are in a process of being called-out. He really is going to be angry, and in His fury they are going to be terrified! Is it the intent of The Sovereign Lord to reason with such people and their rulers, or is it His intent to vent His fury? Ask the Psalmist. The completion of the footstool for His feet (Ps. 110:1) may be nearer than we seem to expect. What do you think?

TAFTCom…

Succinct

2008-05-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

Where is this site going? I’m almost tempted to say that “I have no idea”. That is not entirely true, of course, since I believe that there is a very large, steady paced, and a very momentum-laden freight train coming. If I really mean it (and believe me I do), then obviously I have something in my viscera that must come out, and I have some direction that I wish to pursue. I have found, however, that the details and articles that are being generated by this site have so far dealt almost exclusively with the modern Christian thrust known as the Emergent Conversation. In the natural realm, it appears to be winning the day. If there is harm being generated by this community, then certainly it must be addressed in a most serious manner by those who so perceive it to be harmful to our community. Like many who are concerned by this phenomenon, it is still unclear to what degree this is so. Anyway, all of that is to simply apologize for being so polarized in my efforts on this site. There are many, many more topics of concern that I wish to deal with in the future, but it seems that the Spirit within me has me pursuing in this area to the exclusion of those many others, and I must obey to whatever degree that I am being led. This thought arose this morning as I was reading.

D. A. Carson is one who is engaged in this area. I think that this paragraph is succinct and addresses the concerns of many pursuing in this area:

“Third, granted that the emerging church movement is driven by its perception of widespread cultural changes, its own proposals for the way ahead must be assessed for their biblical fidelity. In other words, we must not only try to evaluate the accuracy of the emerging church’s cultural analysis, but also the extent to which its proposals spring from, or can at least be squared with, the Scriptures. To put the matter differently: Is there at least some danger that what is being advocated is not so much a new kind of Christian in a new emerging church, but a church that is so submerging itself in the culture that it risks hopeless compromise?” (Carson, D. A.. Becoming Conversant With The Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2005, p. 44) - bold has been added.

By the way, the entire book is quite clear and succinct. If you are researching in this area, then this book seems to be quite clear on the subject and quite honest in its dealings. To those of you who are “emerging”, I understand that this concern is part of your “conversation”. Please do not too readily dismiss this concern. To whatever degree it is true, to that degree great damage is being placed upon our Christian community. For those of us whose tendency is to be concerned that “compromise” is where they are heading (taking us?), we need to be penetrating in our analysis, and we need to do so with much honesty and integrity - There are so many of them and they all lay claim to the name of Christ.

The Church seems to be in great flux. - and at a critical (terminal?) time in history. We may have to pull our pistols out eventually - perhaps just not yet.

Hey, That Was Nice

2008-05-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

Just waded through a pedantic heavy weight (Beyond Foundationalism: Shaping Theology In A Postmodern Context, Louisville: WJK, 2001) by Stanley Grenz and John R. Franke. Franke had written a forward to Brian’s book and Grenz was alluded to several times in the same book (A Generous Orthodoxy. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004). So I thought that I would see what they had to say. Both are apparently self-proclaimed Emergents. The title of their book was enticing. I thought that it would be beneficial to see what two scholars thought about “getting beyond foundationalism”. Just to remind us all, one of the staples of the emergent belief-system is that the Christian community has relied too heavily upon, and caused much harm by distorting, absolutes and orthodoxies that are supposedly mandated by the Scriptures. How far were these guys going to go to demonstrate to our community that the modernist view of absolutes is not all that demonstrable and should be open to some vigorous conversation? I finished the book by asking myself just how emergent are these guys? In their eeeeevil emergent and dark mind-set were they hiding their true feelings by the use of subtle and academic niceties? They were emergent, but they wanted to inoculate us before they revealed their true feelings? They seem to hold to some form of absolutes. The Spirit working through scriptures should help form our theological base, they say. At the same time Church tradition should also help form that base. All of this should be exercised (in, through and/or by?) our current cultural surroundings. I suppose that this is one of the reasons that many people say that the emergent community is diverse. OK, I believe it. All of this is simply to say that at this point my brain is fried. Sooooo, in that condition, I go to a softball game.

Tuesday my wife and I went to a playoff game between Point Loma Nazarene University (San Diego area) and Biola University (La Mirada, CA). We watched a gal play whose mother grew up with our eldest daughter. Their family is our family. Randi is a senior. These are playoff games to finish out her senior year and it’s a little sad. PLNU will go back to Alabama to compete for the nationals and then it will be over for her. She will play no more at the college level. Anyway, when the game was over all of the girls walked past each other and gave a high-five to their individual opponents. Then I noticed that they slowly formed a large circle around the mound, held hands around that mound of dirt, and prayed. Different colored uniforms along with both coaching staffs holding hands in unity and praying! My fried brain needed that. In the midst of this increasingly dark and mean-spirited world a bunch of talented young girls gathered around each other in innocence and in a Fellowship that transcends that dark world and simply stated to the universe that we’re in competition with each other but we belong to each other in a Fellowship that you cannot understand. We’re really talented athletically at the college level, but we can still giggle and squeak and be vulnerable - and - we belong to the King. Thanks Ran for growing up to be such a fine young lady.

By the way, to those of you who have read the book (and to the authors I would add), to what degree will the Christian community help to bring about the telos, and to what degree will the telos (the eschaton) interrupt history and be forced upon us? It’s important that we know.

More McLaren

2008-04-29T06:24:00.000-07:00

Finally finished a Generous Orthodoxy. There are far too many comments that could be made at this point. Any perusal of this book (and the thoughts of the author) needs to be addressed by far more than a blog. Where does one start? It would take a book by itself to respond to the author’s (Brian McLaren) thoughts. Since I am only starting to seriously address the current wave of emergent theology, and its subsequent impact upon Christian thought, I will refrain from any conclusions concerning the author or the movement as a whole. Problems arise, however, from the content of the book.

Let’s address one: It is the author’s (strong) tendency to surface straw dummies that are easily knocked over to draw conclusions that do not necessarily follow. If one absorbs the thought content of his eloquent writing style without critiquing those thoughts one would conclude, by implication, that orthodoxy constantly needs reinterpretation. The author rightly condemns the fact that Christianity in the name of Christ, and justified by orthodoxy, has mass-murdered, conquered, plundered, etc, etc (fill in the blanks). The straw dummies? Evil men (usually Protestant and white) have done evil things to innocent people in the name of Christ with orthodoxy and absolutes as justifications for their evil deeds. All this is true throughout history, by the way. The conclusion? Let’s advance to a more generous orthodoxy because our God is a loving God, disapproves of Pharisaic oppressions (in the name of orthodoxy, etc) and wants us to bridge the various divides of human interaction so that we might better be able to offer to the world this wonderful Jesus of ours.

Now the author would of course consider this response of mine to be shallow and perhaps even incorrect. But remember, I am addressing those (many) who engage his eloquent writings without critiquing them. The impact (the fruit of that tree) is to conclude by implication that we are in an ongoing conversation and that absolutes only inhibit us from this valuable dialogue. Are there absolutes in Scripture that demand responses within the Christian community? But of course. What are those absolutes that retard our community so much in his mind? The author does not address them. He does address distortions of absolutes and orthodoxies, but he does not name them. Absent, also, from the book is any attempt at exegesis. Now this is not a bad thing. It is simply not the intent of the book. However, I do have a problem with his excoriating his various straw dummies and thus concluding that their (unnamed) orthodoxies and absolutes are illegitimate without some attempt by him to engage Scripture. One would ask the author if there are any absolutes in Scripture. If so, what are they? Should we be generous about changing such absolutes and the orthodoxy that they inspire? It seems to me that there are two and separate subjects that are worthy of serious discussion. One is the distortion of absolute truth by evil men. The other is the absolute truth itself. It is worthy to condemn false teachers, etc, of doing evil deeds in His wonderful name. Those distortions do not however deny the truths that these evil men proclaim. Again, a distortion of the truth does not deny the truth. To the author I would ask, what are those orthodoxies and absolutes that you would like to converse about and possibly change? By the way, as we converse and change, does that change now become an absolute?

Joel Encapsulated

2008-04-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

After prayer each morning, my wife and I will read aloud from the Bible. This morning it was out of The Book of Ecclesiastes. When we got to this famous passage my thoughts went beyond the normal wedding pronouncements that proclaim the eternal value of two becoming one in marriage. To review the complete thought, The Preacher said this:

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. (4:9-12)

So where did my thoughts go? Well, they progressed actually. They first went to an expansion of the celebration of marital companionship and uplifting that was required by the passage. If one is required to, and privileged to, uplift one’s mate throughout the trials of life, isn’t this process also valued in our relationship to our brothers and sisters in Christ? But of course, one might conclude! As the trials of life increase and we come closer to the insanity of our current world-condition, who better to lift up and to resist those who would overpower us, and along with Christ establish a multi-stranded cord of faithful companionship than our family in Christ? Well, I couldn’t leave well-enough alone. My thoughts immediately went to the one chapter in the Bible that best mirrors the entire reason for this site, namely Jeremiah 12:5. For those of you who know me, you know that this is one of my favorite verses. I had not thought of this verse, however, as summing up the entire reason for my blog until this morning - at this reading. After the prophet laments and imprecates, the Lord interrupts and thunders out with these words:

If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? And if you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?

This web site is simply saying this: We Christians in North America are currently running with footmen. The day is soon to come when we will be required to compete with horses. We are ministering (and being family members) currently in a land of peace. The day is soon to come when we will be backed up into the thicket of the Jordon. Now is the time to be family. Now is the time to lift up our companions and to resist those who would overpower our brothers and sisters, and now is the time to establish a tested cord of koinania-like relationship within our local communities - while we are running with footmen; while we are in a land of peace. The day may soon be upon us that… the tree has born its fruit. The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full. (Joel 2:22b) TAFTCom.

Expelled

2008-04-20T05:11:00.000-07:00

Just went to see Ben Stein’s “Expelled – No Intelligence Allowed”. Good Job. What the man has done is to force this documentary-like expose into the community when those who control the information-flow would restrict such information. So what’s it about?

First of all, Intelligent Design is an ongoing effort to research and explain the scientific evidence that posits that the incredible complexity of life on this planet can be best explained as the result of intelligent design. This, of course implies a designer. Secondly, it is being claimed by the documentary that such a scientific effort is being suppressed by many in the Darwinian/scientific community. Most of us in the Christian community don’t know that a controversy exists regarding the origins of the material universe, the creation of life, and the reason for existence in general. I think that we are comfortable in ignoring the claims of Evolution because it would strain our belief that “in the beginning God...” Well, this expose is not so much about there being good science that refutes the claims of Neo-Darwinian Evolution, and there is certainly very good science that does just that, but rather that there are those in the “scientific community” that are actively engaged in suppressing such scientific endeavors.

There are several posts commenting on the documentary found at Uncommon Descent (April 19). If you are saving to your address book such sites (that deal with the ID/Creationism debate) this is certainly one that you must have. This site is world class. Dr. Demski and friends comment on matters that reflect Intelligent Design as causation of much of the phenomena that manifests our universe. To those who are inclined to personify that Intelligence as the God of Scripture go to the site dedicated to such things at The Institute for Creation Science (ICR). Neither site will insult your intelligence. These are world-class scientists who deal with the rote data of science and justify their claims within the confines of that arena. While we are at it, here is a book that deals with the fossil record from a creationist standpoint: Evolution: the fossils still say NO! (Duane T. Gish, ICR, 2006). Are you a little nervous as a Christian to get into this area? Don’t be. The rote data is on our side. If I were a neo-Darwinian scientist, I would be embarrassed by the fossil record. I suppose that is one of the reasons that some in that community must suppress the claims of ID/Creationism as valid science.

Anyway, go see this doc. Take some friends. We will discuss this large issue much more in the future.

God A

2008-04-14T17:17:00.000-07:00

Brian McLaren from A Generous Orthodoxy (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2004)

Again, beyond these masculine/feminine issues, the experience of God in Jesus was so powerful that it forever transformed what followers of Jesus meant when they said the word God. What was God like? What was God about? When they thought about what they had learned, seen, and experienced in Jesus, their understanding was revolutionized. Eventually, after a few centuries of reflecting on God as revealed and experienced through Jesus (in the context of some major controversies with varied forms of Greek philosophy), the church began to describe God as Father-Son-Spirit in Tri-unity or the Trinity. For them, God could no longer be conceived of merely as “God A,” a single, solitary, dominant Power, Mind, or Will, but as “God B”, a unified, eternal, mysterious, relational community/family/society/entity of saving Love.

Think of the kind of universe you would expect if God A created it: a universe of dominance, control, limitation, submission, uniformity, coercion. Think of the kind of universe you would expect if God B created it: a universe of interdependence, relationship, possibility, responsibility, becoming, novelty, mutuality, freedom. I’m not sure which comes first – the kind of universe you see or the kind of God you believe in, but as a Christian who believes in Jesus as the Son of God, I find myself in universe B, getting to know God B.

This is why, for starters, I am a Christian: the image of God conveyed by Jesus as the Son of God, and the image of the universe that resonates with this image of God best fit my deepest experience, best resonate with my deepest intuition, best inspire my deepest hope, and best challenge me to live with what my friend, the late Mike Yaconelly called “dangerous wonder,” which is the starting point for a generous orthodoxy. (pp. 84-85)

Apparently, the author believes that it took the church “centuries” to discover that God was a good guy. By implication the god that the church believed in was dominant, coercive, and controlling, but then after dealing with some major controversies and with some Greek philosophy to help, the church discovered Jesus, the loving God B. I’m sorry, but I don’t recognize this God A. It seems to me that He is a construct of the author based upon a distortion of the God of the Bible generated by shallow and dishonest men. Somehow, it seems difficult to believe that the first century Christians would recognize this God A, either. I’m beginning to sense that this entire book is designed to set up straw dummies so that they may be easily knocked over. The author's God A is a straw dummy, is he not?

Consider this possibility: God B has already created this “universe B”. It was called the Garden of Eden. Something bad happened there if I recall. Now, I fully expect to participate in this ideal state-of-being someday, but please understand that if God B creates it without dealing with evil, then we will do the same thing over and over and over again. Perhaps we need to consider that Brian’s God A and God B are the same God, but God A is not described correctly by the author’s pejorative-like adjectives. There will be a day when God A can no longer contain His rage, will turn to His Son God B and release Him to return with the armies of Heaven to deal with the enemies of His beloved Church, and we who belong will forever dwell in Brian’s Universe B.

A distortion of the Truth does not deny the Truth. God A hates evil.

From John to Brian

2008-04-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

We recently posted re. John Franke’s forward to Brian McLaren’s book a Generous Orthodoxy. See post on March 21. I’m finally getting into the book proper, so let’s go from John’s views to what Brian is actually writing. Regarding his being enriched by the views of various major denominations and their beliefs concerning Jesus, he says this about The Eastern Orthodox Jesus:

For the first time, through the Eastern Jesus, I began to have a glimpse of how Jesus could indeed be the Savior of not just a few individual humans but of the whole world. I began to see the wisdom, the necessity of the incarnation, and its expanding impact – not just beyond this life and this history, but within it. And somehow I began to see how my personal salvation was not apart from the salvation of the world but was a part of it. The more I learned from Jesus “the ways of the king,” the more I could influence others in his ways, too, and the closer we came to the salvation of the whole world. This dynamic, transcendent, and cosmic Eastern Orthodox Jesus opened the door for three more. (pp. 65-66)

God’s life, love, joy, and power are so great that all our death, hate, pain, and failures are eradicated, swallowed up, cancelled, extinguished, and overcome by being taken up into God. In this way Jesus will ultimately bring blessing to the whole world, to all of creation…Second, as humanity (and all creation) enters into God through Jesus, God also enters Jesus’ people, species, and history. And by entering all creation through Jesus, God’s heart is forever bound to it in solidarity, faithfulness, loyalty, and commitment. God will never give up until all creation is healed of its diseases, cured of its addiction, retrained from its foolishness, reclaimed from its lost state. Jesus saves by coming, by being born. (pp.63-64 - emphasis has been mine)

I will withhold assertive conclusions about any of the author’s spiritual world views until a later date. One of the areas of interest to me will be in the discerning of his degree of possessing a koinania-like love for human kind and in a discerning of just how that love is supposed to impact world society. He seems to feel that as we learn “the ways of the king”, to that degree we will impact the world for good and help bring about “the salvation of the whole world”. God’s love is so powerful that death is going to be “swallowed up” by being “taken up into God”. Further, “God will never give up until all creation is healed…”

Let’s stop here. Books can be written regarding this page alone. To those of us who are animated in any way to serve Christ, questions demand to be asked, and answered:

Where is The Second Coming in all this? His first coming (incarnation) should indeed impact society as we live, but is that process going to swallow up death by “being taken up into God”? If there are many who are going to enter in by the broad way, and there are few who are going to enter in by the narrow way (Mt. 7:13-14), then a little more sobriety needs to be exercised here, don’t you think? It seems more likely that death is going to be swallowed up (destroyed) by the coming of a great king outraged by death and all that it (he) entails. As previously alluded to, He is not going to negotiate with bad people, the Church is not going to turn the world around, niceness is not going to win the day. The Second Coming of Christ with the armies of heaven is going to win the day!

Now here is the question that the 800 pound gorilla demands be answered by all who proclaim the name of Christ: Is it the eschatological intent of Christ through history to heal a community (the world), or is it His eschatological intent to call out a remnant people uniquely unto Himself (the Church)? Eternal life and death may be in the balance!!

But What's In Between

2008-03-31T15:58:00.000-07:00

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure. (I Peter: 1-2)

It’s nice to have a document that is so powerful that even its salutation is packed with dynamite. Now apparently Peter is addressing Hebrew Christians who are in a (the) physical diaspora, separated from the land of Israel and sojourning in a foreign land. Even though I want to address the sequence of being chosen, developing sanctification and being required to obey, I couldn’t pass by the alien part. Could this not be taken as a typology; namely that Christians are in the world, but are not a part of it? Of course, this is not an original thought, but I wonder how many of us think of ourselves in this way? Not many, I fear. This topic, of course, could easily take up several blogs (books), but that is not the reason for this entry. So let’s get to the sequence:

We are chosen. Talk about books! Somehow, I don’t think that I have the answer to the debate generated by this concept. Let’s just say that God has determined that some are chosen. In anyone’s life it is a done-deal, or it’s not. One cannot work at being chosen. One cannot improve on his or her degree of being chosen. It seems to be a one-time event.

Peter goes on to indicate that we are required to obey Jesus Christ. Now that is a powerful concept. If not many Christians have an alien mind-set, it seems reasonable to conclude that not many Christians have a mind-set of obedience to this man we call Lord. That discouraging observation aside, let’s just simply let it pass that we are chosen by God, and we are to obey Christ. One is a privilege; the other a requirement. But, there’s something in between. Peter determines that we are in a Spirit-driven process here described as sanctification. Consider this: To be chosen is to receive a privilege. To obey is to receive a requirement. To be sanctified is to undergo a process. That’s what is in between being chosen and being required to obey. We will spend our entire life undergoing that sanctifying process.

W. E. Vine (Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, III, pp 317-318, Zondervan, 1952) says this:

Sanctification, is used of (a) separation to God,... (b)the course of life befitting those so separated. This sanctification is God’s will for the believer…and His purpose in calling him by the gospel…it must be learned from God as He teaches it by His Word…and it must be pursued by the believer, earnestly and undeviatingly. For the holy character, hagiosune… is not vicarious, i.e., it cannot be transferred or imputed, it is an individual possession, built up, little by little, as the result of obedience to the Word of God, and of following the example of Christ.

Vine indicates that sainthood is not an attainment. We are all saints, however, the process described above clearly indicates a life-long process. It is a process that sets us apart as a mind-set. We are a called-out people; we are not a religion. This sanctification process is ever giving us an alien mind-set. Again, it seems reasonable to conclude that most Christians do not think of themselves as separated-out, chosen and obedient servants. Rather, most of us think of ourselves as religious personalities living a religious life-style and doing good things in the living out of our lives. More sobriety needs to be realized in our lives, and especially as the world culture that surrounds us continues to escalate into the insanity that appears to be winning the day.

We are chosen as a gift.
We are being sanctified as a process.
We are required to obey as a result.

We are a called-out people, not a religion. Let’s act like it!

Kenzi Cried Again

2008-03-25T01:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry baby. Death always wins in this world. You and I have to cry some more, I guess. Just finished reading the book of James. He wrote about the history of the world in a strange way. Here’s what he wrote:

Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (James 5:7-8)

This tired world has gotten a lot of rain over the years. I don’t think that there is much more rain waiting out there. We’ll probably cry together some more. Let’s both be patient and let’s always be there for each other. I am always so glad that you are there for me when I cry, and you know that I am always there for you when you do.

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the Earth will mourn over Him. (Rev.1:7)

And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. And on either side of the river was the tree of life…(Rev 22:1-2)

No more death baby, no more death! Some people think that we Christians need to be nice to the world and it will be nice to us. Bad people won’t do bad things any more. I just think that we need the Lord to come back, don’t you? It won’t always be like this.

And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze; Their young will lie down together; And the lion will eat straw like the ox. And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Is. 11:6-9)

OK Death, you win for now, but your day is coming too. Pain is ours for now, sweet baby, but not for long. Sorry for kinda writing like an adult, honey; I just didn’t know how to put it any other way. I just really need for Him to come back and get us. Until then, let’s be faithful to Him, love our family, kiss Holly on the nose for being a great mamma and spit in Death’s face. Luv ya baby. GPR

PS: Love His Coming baby; love His Coming. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!!!

On John R. Franke

2008-03-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

I have been attempting to read a Generous Orthodoxy (Zondervan, 2004) by Brian McLaren for over a month now. Finally, I believe that I will start. As alluded to in previous articles, I am intellectually wrestling with the current thrust in the Church toward an ecumenical-like dialogue (conversation ) with world culture; a dialogue that also implies a concomitant thrust away from a firm adherence to Scriptural absolutes. To what degree is that true? We Christians wish to appeal to world culture, and rightfully so, but a question begs to be asked: at what price should we dialogue? Will we join a world headed toward an eschatological and violent end, or will we be salt to the inhabitants of that same world? Actually, the adherents of this emergent thrust are more inclined to have the conversation with fellow Christians, and of course, it is in this arena that we are the most susceptible to Scriptural deviance. So join me as we pursue the contents of this book, and let us do so by addressing some of the comments made by John R. Franke in the forward to the book:

Dr. Franke says this concerning the dialogue between liberal and conservative believers:

Residents of the liberal and conservative precincts of the church are engaging in respectful and constructive dialogue across the metaphorical divide that has separated them for nearly two centuries…(p, 13)

The question that needs to be answered as we peruse the book would be along the lines of something like this: Will a simple “no – you are wrong” be an acceptable response in this “respectful and constructive” dialogue? By implication, are there any absolutes allowed in this conversation?

Dr. Franke continues as he alludes to the leanings away from modernism to the more thoughtful and liberating ideas of postmodernism by saying this:

This rethinking has resulted not in irrationality, as is often claimed by less informed critics of postmodern thought, but rather in numerous redescriptions and proposals concerning the understanding of rationality and knowledge. These postmodern ideas produced a more inherently self-critical view of knowledge than modernity. (p. 14)

To be rational, have knowledge, and to possess introspection before adopting a belief system is a good thing. Are the adherents of postmodernism implying that those who went before did not so introspect? Hopefully, as we progress through this conversation
we will not become so humanistically self-critical that all substance will be muted beyond understanding.

He continues:

In response to this situation, “post-liberals” and “post-conservatives” have sought to move in the direction suggested by generous orthodoxy through a nonfoundationalist conception of the Christian faith. They can be identified by some common characteristics and commitments, such as strong ecumenical interests, a desire to move beyond the liberal/conservative divide, and a willingness to think through old questions in new ways that foster the pursuit of truth, the unity of the church, and the gracious character of the gospel. (p. 15)

Questions abound here. By inference, post-liberals and post-conservatives are a good thing. How would these post-liberals and post-conservatives describe a nonfoundationalist conception of the Christian faith? Does this concept frighten anyone? What are strong ecumenical interests? Does such a scenario suggest apostasy? With what church should we unite with? The man-made cultural church, or the called-out remnant of the Church? What is the gracious character of the gospel? With a humanistic bent, one would be tempted to put the concept of evil as non subject matter here. Well, I’m further in the hole here. I started out wanting to understand Brian’s book, but now am forced to read Dr. Franke’s book Beyond Foundationalism: Shaping Theology in a Postmodern Context as well.

Finally he says this:

Generous orthodoxy does not so much specify a particular point or position as it establishes a spacious territory defined by certain distinct boundaries in which there is space to live, move, and breathe while exploring the wonders and mysteries of the faith.

Dr. Franke has written far more in his brief introduction than is addressed here. These are just some of the many questions that have intruded upon my life while reading it. But, here is the one question above all others: Just what will those certain distinct boundaries be? Hopefully, they will show up somewhere in Brian’s book. What boundaries will the emergent/postmodern community establish as concepts that cannot be violated? If I say no – you are wrong, can I still be a part of the conversation?

More, much more to follow.

An Old Friend

2008-03-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

Just ran across an old friend that I had not seen in a while. It was good to see him again. Here he is:

My son, if you will receive my sayings,
And treasure my commandments within you,
Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will discern the fear of the LORD,
And discover the knowledge of God. (Prov. 2:1-5)

One of the thoughts that has pursued me lately is the perception that most of us in the Christian community can agree on a Biblical truth, but seldom dwell on the proactive activity that this passage may require of us. Consider the above:

Now we all want spiritual knowledge and discernment. But - how badly do we yearn for such a process? Do we cry and lift up our voice? Is such knowledge and discernment so important to us that we would search as if for silver to obtain them? Such promises are not ours by osmosis. The fear of the LORD, and the knowledge of God are not ours by default. They are to be agonized over - or so it seems to me.

By the way, I’m embarrassed by how long it has been since I have been into the Book of Proverbs.

Anger, Frustration, or just A Watchman Upon the Wall?

2008-03-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

Am I an angry man, a frustrated man, a watchman upon the wall, or some combination of all of the above? The thought surfaced when I received the comment below regarding my Peace, Peace post (diatribe?). This individual wanted to ascertain my denomination, and then noted my inclination toward “anger”. Hopefully he/she did not imply that one caused the other. I’m not sure how this post is going to evolve. I was sufficiently sobered by the implication of anger that I thought I would do more than respond to the comment, but would expand any comment with an entire post. So here it is:

First of all, let’s deal with the denomination. I have been a member of the Freewill Baptist, German Baptist, Foursquare (licensed), Assemblies of God (licensed), and First Christian denominations. Further, I have been a member of some independent churches. Thirty eight years is a long time folks. In all of these congregations, with one exception, I have found the pastors to be solid in the faith regarding the essentials. I have no problem with denominations disagreeing with each other on nonessentials. Further, no denomination, school, or church has forged my belief system (or inner passion such as anger). Whatever wrestling is churning within my inner nature is due to observations of world conditions, dormancy within the Church, good exegesis, the approaching world-insanity, and the arrogance of the Church (as I see it). As an aside, you may have noticed that I have not noted (in my profile) the local congregation that I currently attend. This deletion is due to the controversial nature of this site. I do not feel that I have the right to expose my church to whatever mud may be slung at me by various outrageous statements that I may have made. Perhaps I will ask for their permission as the site progresses. I even delayed using my name. It was only after I asked permission from my family did I append it to this site. I have decided that whenever I am under another person’s authority such as my pastor, elder, Sunday school teacher (whenever I am changing diapers), etc., I do not have the right to expose them to whatever may be controversial due to my world-view, especially when they may disagree with me. Not so with this site!

With this site, the only inhibition that may constrain me is generated whenever I suspect that my words are not those that would be appended as from the Lord. Whatever shots that I may take across my bow because of “outrageous” statements, statements that would normally cause me to edit my thoughts, will be self-absorbed. With all of the integrity that is within me, I engage in combat before the Lord knowing that I will ultimately answer to Him for every word and thought that I generate. This is how I think. This is my ministry unconstrained by public opinion. All other ministries that I engage in are under someone’s authority, and I will not violate that authority whenever I feel that my opinions exceed their spiritual ethos. Again, not so with this site!

So, am I angry? Apparently I am. Now this is interesting and perplexing. I felt some guilt when I read the comment and it’s implication of anger. It’s taken me three days to introspect and respond. Yet, here I seem to feel some guilt at being an angry man, but am discouraged by my perception of the lack of anger in the Church. Why isn’t the Church outraged by every evil violation of human-kind? Why our silence over the destruction of the YMCA library at Gaza. See A Stunning (Predictable) Silence below. Why does a non-believing Jewish man in Jerusalem have to perceive such a silence and comment on it? - and the Church remains silent! I’m angry and feeling guilty that I am angry, but feeling angry that the Church isn’t angry. Apparently I have much to learn of my inner nature.

Am I frustrated? My yes!

Do I consider myself a Watchman Upon the Wall? Yes, I fear that this is true. Now, doesn’t that sound sophomoric? Any shallow man can claim that status. I can only appeal to whomever cares that this is not a shallow position on my part. I’d rather that it were otherwise.

All right, let’s end this literary pretzel. I am somewhat angry, more than somewhat frustrated, and stuck with the task of warning my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that there is a freight train coming! I welcome anyone who wishes to explore with me in the coming months to give me your opinion. This includes my anonymous commenter who sensed my anger. I welcome your follow-up.

Peace, Peace

2008-03-06T02:54:00.000-08:00

The LORD says to my Lord:
Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.
The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying
Rule in the midst of Your enemies.
Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power;
In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,
Your youth are to You as the dew.
The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind,
You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.
He will judge among the nations,
He will fill them with corpses,
He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.
He will drink from the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He will lift up His head. (Ps. 110)

Perhaps you’ve noticed that there are many unanswered questions generated by this blog. It’s done in honesty, - honestly! I’m attempting to stimulate our Christian community to a more sobered and disciplined mind-set. Believe me, this is not a call to a conversation that will tend to dilute the absolutes of the Scripture; rather, may it be an effort that will more focus our minds toward a realization that we are not going to usher in any kind of peace in this world. Rather, this is a world that is hostile to our community, and to the (Melchizedekian) Lord whom we serve. It is His Return, and that only, that is going to usher in (demand by fiat) world peace. So, with that in mind, let’s ask some questions:

So, who is this Melchizedekian guy? Well, I think that we all know Who that is (Heb. 1:13; 5:1-6). Can’t easily run and hide from that one, can we?
Now what is this Psalm saying?

This guy has enemies, and He’s going to rule them? Really? He’s not going to negotiate?
He’s going to shatter kings and the chief men who rule over a broad country. Now that’s a tough one. Can’t we just get the religions of the World to cooperate and prevent Him from having to shatter? Well, I guess that’s not what the Psalm says, is it?
The nations: He’s going to fill them with corpses. No! It didn’t really say that did it? He’s a God of peace (only?) right?

Well, I’m being sarcastic here, aren’t I? It’s for a reason. Things are getting ugly out there beloved. There are enemies out there who do not want peace with us. They are going to be dealt with and shattered in the day of His wrath! Let’s do good out there. It’s what He requires of us, but let us also be a little more wise like serpents in the process. There are two kinds of people out there: US - THEM. Think about it.

A Stunning (Predictable) Silence

2008-02-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

Now here’s a site that caught my attention. I just found it today. I have never commented on a blog site yet. I think that I will begin with this site. Here is what the header says:

THIS ONGOING WAR

Many people lack a factual understanding of events in our region because the media often report them inadequately and inaccurately. Our daughter Malki, murdered at the age of 15 in a restaurant massacre in 2001, was a victim of jihadist hatred and barbarism. Jihadism will end in Israel (New York, Madrid, London, Bali) only after people first understand the scale on which it’s happening. This war is killing us.

That will kick religion out of a man, won’t it? Not a whole lot of niceness here. Whatever this man has to say, I’m listening. What caught my attention was an article written on Monday, Feb. 18 entitled Knowing your enemy and burning the books. Here are some of his comments:

There’s something deeply resonant, even symbolic, in the fact that this past Friday a library was destroyed just across the border.

12 gunmen launched an assault, yet another in a long series of attacks on Christian figures and institutions, on the YMCA library in Gaza City. The ever-reliable Palestinian-Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh writes that the library was completely destroyed ‘in response to the re-publication of cartoons “ridiculing” the Prophet Muhammad in a number of Danish newspapers last week.’ All 8000 books were destroyed. A BBC report says the gunmen asked the guards why they worked for ‘infidels’

If you haven’t noticed, several jihadist groups in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip have previously claimed responsibility for earlier attacks on Christian figures and institutions, and murders of prominent Christians, over the past two years. The BBC quotes them saying ‘they would continue their attacks until all 3,000 Christians had left the Gaza Strip.’ Clear enough?

This is pretty alarming stuff. Not the bombing – we fully expect barbarism from the jihadist. But the stunning silence from the leaders of the Christian world.

It’s not as if the writing isn’t already on the wall: the manager of Gaza’s only Christian bookstore was kidnapped, stabbed and gunshot to death four months ago in central Gaza City. The World Alliance of YMCAs condemned the Gaza bombing. And that just about exhausts the list of official Christian voices of outrage.

Stan Goodenough of the Christian news-service JNewswire based here in Jerusalem, describing the process as Moslem ethnic cleansing, puts it pretty pungently: ‘For Gaza’s Muslims, ridding themselves of any active Christian presence would be cherry on top after successfully forcing Israel to remove every single Jew from Gaza in 2005’. (bold in original)

Beloved, this is the reason that I started this site. Here is an Israeli man who is astute enough to understand that the Christian community is dormant and certainly not outraged by such incidents. Where is our called-out nature? Have we simply turned into a mega-religious culture? Do we not understand that there is rampant evil in this World and that we are in a war? It seems sometimes that it is only the Church that does not understand that there is a cultural, spiritual, physical war going on. They are murdering our daughters! Is our religious success (in numbers) causing us to become cowards?

It took murder to activate this man. What will it take to activate the (remnant) Church? This astute man understands that the destruction of the library is not the most troubling aspect of this event, but rather that the community that should have stood up and demanded answers for this vile act remained mute. How sad!

I agree with this man on every point that he has to make, except one. He claims that only when we understand the scale in which jihadism is acting upon our World society will that same jihadism end. But I seem to disagree with everybody in that respect. Jihadism, murder, ethnic cleansing, etc, etc, will not end with knowledge, good will, reason, education, ecumenism, cooperation among peoples, or any other man-made religious effort - no not ever! Why should mankind change after 6000 years of human history?

To this heart-broken man and his wife, I say, remain faithful to the task that is before you. To the Christian activist community, I say the same. Only we have the Light. Let’s engage an enemy who hates us and who hates the Lord who gave us new life. Let’s not water down His message - We are not a religion, we are a called-out people. Act like it!

Arnold: Jihadism will end only when the Messiah of Israel returns with the armies of heaven to defeat the enemy who hates your people, hates your daughter and who hates your soul and my soul!! I know that you disagree with that assessment, and that you still have hope. Just give the World a little more time. That too will be taken from you. I have lost too many people that I love; my heart is with your heart.

TAFTCom…

Back to the Thirties

2008-02-27T02:52:00.000-08:00

This abstract from the JPost of Feb. 19, 2008:

In a letter of condolence following last week’s assassination of Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh (Muhammad Ali Jafari) said: ‘I am convinced that with every passing day Hizbullah’s might is increasing and in the near future, we will witness the disappearance of this cancerous growth Israel by means of the Hizbullah fighters’ radiation (therapy).’

In the letter, in which Jafari consoled (Hassan Nasrallah) over the death of the ‘martyr,’ he continued: “There’s no doubt that the death of this loyal fighter will strengthen the resolve of all revolutionary Muslims and fighters in the struggle against the Zionist regime, particularly the resolve of those who fought by this martyr’s side.’ (bold mine)

I’m feeling guilty. For the last few days, I’ve been bitten by a bug that’s forcing me to work my back yard in order to plant artichokes. Steep slope, clay soil, time consuming and not at all spiritual - but enjoyable. So I woke up this morning (2:00 A. M.) and thought that it’s time to get back to the blog. Love artichokes; the entire family loves artichokes; they look beautiful, and taste great, but this guy is talking about nuking Israel. I should have commented on the full article when it came out, but I was planting artichokes! By the way, I congratulate Muhammad Ali Jafari for actually saying the word Israel. This is progress. Peace must be just around the corner. He later came to his senses and used the term Zionist regime, but it may be too late. They may have already cut out his tongue. So here I am thinking that I’m some sort of a Watchman on the Wall. While I’m changing clay soil to a more artichoke friendly soil, Israel is about to get nuked, Ezekiel 38-39 looms ahead of us and the Church slumbers. I vow! Yes, I swear that one of these days I’m going to stop planting artichokes, and devote all of my time to annoying people with these TAFTCOM… articles. By the way, I have also been bitten by the bug to plant cacti and succulents. It’s a strange looking yard.

It’s the year 2008, right? Feels more like 1939. IT’S 1939 BELOVED! We’re snake-bit and we’re not paying attention!

TAFTCom…

Take Home Some Thoughts

2008-02-22T08:14:00.000-08:00

I attend a small fellowship on Friday nights and in the past year we have covered several topics and/or biblical passages that have concluded with some very substantive take-home certitudes. I thought that I would attempt to distil some of them down into a single-sentence utterance that would become ingrained within our minds for spiritual nourishment for the rest of our days. Yes, I think that they are that important!

We started off in the book of Hebrews and two thoughts surfaced there. Concerning our privilege of entering into the Most Holy Place, the author concludes with this encouragement: Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confessions. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. (4:14-16) The conclusion was this: If we can draw near with confidence, then we can be confident that whenever we come to Him in prayer, we are heard. Every word that we speak He hears. However innocent and innocuous that statement may seem to you, at least to me, it enormously increases my faith in my prayer life. He hears every word that I speak!

Later in the book, the author exhorts us with this: Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near. (11:23-25) To those of us who believe that we are approaching the very close of the age and that our faith will be severely tested, we cannot isolate ourselves, but more than ever, as we see the day drawing near, we need to assemble together and to encourage one another.

After Hebrews, we reviewed Phillip Keller’s wonderful book on the shepherding of his flock of sheep (and the typology of their being a type of the Church) A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23 (Zondervan, 1970). So many absolutes surface from this book, but the one that I found to be the most current was found in the analogy of the pasture that the sheep nourished in. The group’s conclusion concerning our feeding habits distilled down to this: To whatever degree that we nourish in the pasture of the Good Shepherd, to that degree we bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23); to whatever degree we nourish in the pasture of the hireling (i.e., the things of the world), to that degree we bear the fruit of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21). So the single-sentence utterance takes the form of a question: In whose pasture do we nourish? Do we nourish on the things of the Spirit, or do we nourish on the things of the flesh? (John 10:11-13)

Currently we are studying in the book of James. The author says this: Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (1:2-4) Verse 12 words it this way: Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (See earlier post) So often we miss the life-changing aspects of Scripture. We are meant to undergo internal change within ourselves. This process is time-centered, is fruit-bearing, and forges our personality that will endure throughout the ages. What I find to be most encouraging and life sustaining through our various trials is summed up by this thought embedded within the passage: knowing that the testing of our faith - produces…!

Well, this effort was really selfish. I really generated this article with our fellowship group in mind, but I thought that I would share it with you as well.

When we come into His presence, we are heard.

As the current world conditions worsen, and those who hate the Church are more emboldened to act, we need to assemble together and to encourage one another.

In our walk through this life, our growth process is constantly being generated. Is it our tendency to feed and so nourish our spirit, or is it our tendency to feed and so nourish our flesh? We need to reflect on that question: In whose pasture do we nourish?

Finally, as we participate in that wonderful experience of being tested, let us be comforted by this thought: We are to know that the testing of our faith - produces.

Let’s dwell on these things.

Peace or Sifting?

2008-02-15T06:21:00.000-08:00

This post may become a little strange. I’m not quite certain how it’s going to come out. Let’s find out:

While observing the current trend (thrust?) toward Church Growth, namely the techniques and methodologies so involved, it is becoming clear to me that those involved are generating a process that is bifurcating that portion of the Church into both true and false “believers” in Christ. “That portion of the Church”, of course, would be the postmodern explosion becoming known as the Emergent Church. Let’s include, along with the EC, the Purpose Driven, and seeker-friendly expressions - all expressions that seem to be diluting the absolutes of the Scriptures to the point of apostasy. That there are true and substantive brothers belonging to and participating in that EC thrust is a fact that I cannot ignore. What do I do with such a condition? Well, here’s where it may get a little strange:

When my wife and I first became Christians, the presence of the Spirit was heavily upon us. For those of you who are passionate for, or against, Charismatic expressions, turn your engines off here or you will miss the point. One of the visions (?) that I had in those days was one of an insight into a form of the testing of our faith. Before expanding on this thought, let me say that it is becoming clear to me that many who are involved in this postmodernist thrust are preterist in nature, i.e., they believe that all biblical signs implying judgment and tribulation have been fulfilled by past events in our human history. To those of you who believe in just such a scenario, I ask you to postulate that such was not the case, but rather, that such events await us yet in the future. I, also, invite those of you who believe that the Church will be raptured-out of the Great Tribulation to postulate the same. Let’s work hard at this beloved! We are going to postulate here! Please do so, or you, too, will miss the point. Here is the possible scenario that I believe that His Spirit gave to me: If we are to be tested at a future time of intense tribulation (and I believe that we will), one of the forms of testing will be the testing, under severe conditions, of our unity of fellowship with the entire body of Christ. During this process of severity and sifting-out of the true remnant (in Christ), I envisioned that so many of us “heroes for Christ” would have set before us some so-called brother who uniquely offends our intellectual/spiritual position. As we see the World falling apart and the concomitant hatred for His Church no longer being restrained (2 Tim. 3:1-5), God will force us into a position of fellowship with just such a person. “Alright, hero for God”, the Spirit might say, “Let’s see how much you love Me. This man belongs to Me. What is more important to you? Your great brilliance, or your fellowship with one of Mine”? What an incredibly powerful, intense, and life-changing decision that will be!

So, who will I be tested with? Will it be a King James Only zealot, a Word-Faith zealot, and anti-this, a pro-that, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc? Is the Church going to usher in peace, or is She going to get spanked (by the World) and sifted out (Mt. 3:12) as we approach the close of the age? If it’s the latter, I may get tested by a full-blown Emergent. I am only now learning about this EC thrust, and about those so involved. I am observing them say bad things about people (brothers) like me. I am determined not to do the same until prompted by the Spirit to engage in such warfare. From this point forward, I will choose my demons carefully, and with much prayer. Until prompted by His Spirit to do otherwise, I will consider all those who are so involved in this current thrust to be true brothers in Christ. Those who are truly aberrant will be made manifest over time. Those who are true brothers will unite under Him who is coming and rejoice together with all those who disagree on the nonessentials, but belong to Christ and then will come the end (or so it seems to me). For you see, we may all have to pass that test. A winnowing fork is a terrible thing to waste.

TAFTCom…

Joy?

2008-02-12T08:12:00.000-08:00

Really? I threatened to comment on James 1:2-4, 12 recently, so Let’s do it. Back to The Plumb Line. James says this:

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing…Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

I won’t fully exegete this passage. I think that the implication is more than obvious: We undergo various trials as a process of being tested. When we fight the good fight for our faith, a process is constantly being generated within our inner nature. We are having endurance generated within. Further it will result in ever-increasing perfection and approval by God. The word perfect here is better translated as being completed up. Let us not be intimidated by having to be perfect. We need to be in a condition whereby our inner self is being completed up and is closer to bearing the fruit of the Spirit so that when we are observed by the heavenly court, we will be approved. This approval is a function of our being tested, and when we fight the good fight, sometimes failing and then repenting, and sometimes being faithful to the prompting of His Spirit, our entire being is being changed over into His Image. (Rom. 8:28-30) It is a function of time!

Let us not be discouraged. God is doing a great work within us. Our Christian walk is not a religion. Religion is what we do; the bearing of the fruit of the Holy Spirit is what we are. (Gal. 5:22-23) That fruit-bearing will forge our personalities forever and forever. It’s who we are.

Paul words it like this: And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Rom. 5:3-5)

Jesus words it like this: I AM the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit…By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. (John 15: 1-2, 8)

It doesn’t seem pleasant to be pruned, does it? Neither does it seem pleasant to be put constantly under trial, but the completion of this process (and it is a process) is fruit-bearing. As Paul would say “stand firm”. Now here is great news: The trials are FREE!! We don’t have to seek them out, we don’t have to pay for them, and they are abundant. That’s not too terrible, awful bad, huh? We are a blessed people. Again, we are not a religion; we are people belonging to a great King Who is preparing us for participation in that kingdom forever and forever. Consider it all joy!!

Spiritual Morphine

2008-02-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

Just ran over an article by Kristina Robb Dover entitled Spiritual Morphine while link-surfing. While lamenting the vacuous teachings of a certain well-known preacher, the author alludes to the fact that his style and preaching tends to substitute the gospel as painkilling in nature as opposed to its true nature as that two-edged sword designed to penetrate one’s very most inner being. What disturbs the author is the impact of such teachings that offer to a public- in- pain religion as pain relief.

The author is a hospice chaplain. The object of such an environment is to relieve the pain of terminally ill clients. Here are some of her thoughts: This is insightful.

Yet the highest, governing value presumed in these meetings was the necessity of freeing the patient from pain, physical, emotional, or spiritual. It is this presumption that gives cause for concern. In my experience as a hospice chaplain…this value has become an implicit, guiding principle that directs chaplains in their ministry of ‘pain relief.’

Concerning what she calls two unspoken common assumptions, the author says this:

The first is that the terminally ill patient is always right. Because he is on the threshold of death, he is presumed to enjoy greater access to virtue and judgment than is attainable by those who dwell in the land of the living. He attains a kind of sanctified status…It may be true that while pain relief is a large part of hospice care, it is not an end in itself, but a means of helping patients resolve various emotional and spiritual end-of-life conflicts. Even so, the use of palliative medicine as a way to encourage the pursuit of emotional and spiritual wholeness is still about helping the patient achieve his best death on his own terms …The second assumption is that death, embodying a ‘natural’ transition to a carefree afterlife, is a good in itself. After reportedly studying some 20,000 cases of ‘near-death experiences’, Kubler-Ross concludes that life after death is universally a ‘glorious experience’ and a ‘pleasant reunion’ of sorts: ‘There will be a total absence of panic, fear, or anxiety’; ‘you will be very beautiful, much more beautiful than you see your self now’ ; and you ‘will always experience a physical wholeness.’…For the chaplain who is a ‘mere Christian,’ this underlying principle of pain relief contains some disturbing theological implications. The first is that God is a God of grace only, not of judgment, with the implication that an orthodox Christian understanding of human sin and our need for divine pardon is outmoded and inadmissible. Guilt, regret, or a conviction of divine wrath only fosters unnecessary discomfort, and must therefore be eliminated….

My unease is with a Christianity that in a highly therapeutic, health-obsessed Western Culture genuflects before the idols of comfort and happiness. A religion that assigns greater value to pain relief in the here and now than to the lordship of Jesus Christ has only succeeded in erecting another golden calf, with the damaging result that health and comfort and a pain-free death are falsely proclaimed as the answer to the riddle of human existence….Is my role to administer a spiritual morphine drip? (bold added)

Hopefully, I can extrapolate her thoughts without saying more than she had intended. As a typology it seems reasonable to assume the world to be in a hospice condition with the entire population (outside of Christ) to be terminal patients within. The Church would take the place of the hospice nurse. What are we to do with such a stewardship? Shall we comfort these people with religious niceness, or shall we tell them that apart from Christ, death is not really a ‘glorious experience”? THIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER! So much of our efforts are geared toward strengthening comfort zones for a people who are in essence “under the ban”. At what price are we being seeker friendly? It seems to me that many in the Church are substituting a “therapeutic God” for the real God who is going to return in wrath, and in response to a community that is in apostasy. We need to reflect: It seems more than reasonable for those of us who proclaim His great salvation to consider the possibility that we are feeding terminal patients with a drip-line of religious pain relief - a drip line of spiritual morphine.

The same God who is forgiving and full of agape love is also a God who is going to bring us all into an accounting when His enemies have been dealt with. Let’s proclaim the full gospel. Eternal lives are our patients.

On J. P. Moreland

2008-01-31T13:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry for my absence for an entire week. There are reasons, but they are not that important Let’s get back to it. I wanted to exegete a little bit out of that passage found in James 1:2-4, 12, (it’s what we are studying in our home fellowship) but got stuck in J. P. Moreland’s Kingdom Triangle (Zondervan, 2007). Can’t seem to get out of the postmodern assault on the Church. Hopefully I’ll soon get to some biblical passages for analysis on this site. But until then - Have you noticed how much we as Christians have polarized in our evaluation of those who disagree with ourselves? I certainly agree that we should draw swords whenever we feel that biblical absolutes are being adulterated, whether we come from a leaning toward the political/religious left, or from the political/religious right. It seems, however, that our swords are drawn more toward each other as apostate Christians, than toward the substance of what we have to say. That’s how I got interrupted. I came across this passage in Dr. Moreland’s book and thought that it was worth passing on. See what you think.

We are now in a place where we can fruitfully discuss tolerance. The principle of tolerance is often associated with the debate about relativism. It is often thought that this principle is implied by relativism but is at odds with some form of absolutism because the latter is dogmatic and judgmental while the former is more tolerant in orientation. In order to evaluate this claim, we need to get clear on what the principle of tolerance is.

As already noted, two senses can be distinguished. According to the classical sense of the principle of tolerance, a person holds that his own moral views are true and those of his opponent are false. But he still respects his opponent as a person and his right to make a case for his views Thus, someone has a duty to tolerate a different moral view, not in the sense of thinking it is morally correct but quite the opposite, in the sense that a person will continue to value and respect one’s opponent, to treat him with dignity, to recognize his right to argue for and propagate his ideas, and so forth. Strictly speaking, on the classic view, one tolerates persons, not ideas.

In this sense, even though someone disapproves of another’s moral beliefs and practices, he or she will not inappropriately interfere with them. However, it is consistent with this view that a person judges his opponent’s views to be wrong and dedicates himself to doing everything morally appropriate to counteract those views, such as using argument and persuasion. It should be clear that the classic sense of tolerance is really an absolutist position and is inconsistent with relativism. If a person does not hold another position to be morally false, what is there to tolerate? Surely, it is not just the fact that one doesn’t like the view in question, but that he judges it mistaken. (p. 103 – emphasis mine)

“One tolerates persons, not ideas.” For those of us who have polarized concerning various ideas, I fear that we judge ourselves and our Christian walk based upon those ideas, and not based upon our worth as brothers and sisters in Christ. Unity preaches good but when tested in our Western culture seldom translates to reality. If that train is still coming, it seems apparent that we need to be a little less arrogant in our relationships toward each other. There will be an apostasy - I understand that - further, there will be a winnowing and separating of the wheat - I understand that as well - but let’s wait until the world causes that sifting before we judge who is, and who is not a brother or sister. Of course there are so-called Christians who are already manifestly false. If one feels strongly about confronting such a person then one should do so before the Lord and with much fear. As for the rest, they will be manifested when the world-system that hates the Church is loosed upon us. There are those who will remain faithful to Christ and His Church, and those who will not. Testing will reveal our nature at that time. Selah

Never To Be Seen Again?

2008-01-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

Apparently I have become obsolete. I just addressed a blog site that informed me of my slide into obsolescence. The site explains itself: The monologue of the Religious Right is over and a new conversation has begun! Join the God’s Politics dialogue with Jim Wallis and friends…

Since I am a member of that RR, I’m wondering “where do I go now? Our monologue “is over”. Perhaps I’ll accept that invitation and have an ongoing “conversation” with those “friends” that participate in the blog. Believe me, I am not being sarcastic. As I have stated previously there are many Christians who are obviously substantive, passionate, and honest in their beliefs yet whose ethos is polar-opposite to my own. They wish to heal the World; I wish to confront the World. Can we all do a little of both?

If the monologue is dead, perhaps I will be allowed to converse with the dialogue. Let’s see.

Wayward-Bound?

2008-01-16T10:27:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s been a few days, hasn’t it? I really do want to procrastinate, but I just can’t seem to get around to it. None-the-less, let’s get started again. Perhaps you have noticed that there are precious few links appended to this site. This is by design. There are so many sites wanting to be linked to out there that things can get cluttered. I have decided to take my time in reviewing various and pertinent sites so that, when added to the list, you can be assured that that site is substantive and pertinent to the subject matter that is being reviewed. As the months go by there will be plenty enough sites added, fear not.

Notice that a new category has been added to the list of Links. I have entitled it Wayward-Bound? What is meant by that, and why the question mark? There are many Christians out there who are very concerned by the recent “success” of that phenomenon loosely described by the term church growth. The term here-used is referring to the efforts of promoting church growth generated by such groups as the Purpose Driven system, the Emergent/Postmodern “conversation”, those redirecting their efforts to be “seeker friendly”, and various other efforts to remove confrontation from the Christian/Biblical message. As has been previously alluded to, these efforts may be removing barriers to apostasy and to whatever degree that that contemplation may be true, to that degree these efforts are causing the visible, man-made Church to be in a wayward-bound state. As has also been alluded to, there are many solid Christian brothers and sisters participating in this phenomenon. Thus, the question mark. Are we indeed wayward-bound? The remnant, i.e. the true church is contained within that man-made church. Are we to be extracted from such an environment, or are we to augment such efforts?

The single entry contained within this category is manifestly resistant to such growth techniques and methodologies. Slice will be the first of many. I have decided to list both pro and anti growth sites. It is not the desire here to set up straw dummies that are easily knocked over. I will do my best to link to the most penetrating of both belief systems that are available. The visible church is obviously in flux. If headed in the right direction, let’s support those efforts, if not, there’s a freight train coming.

Frogs in Tepid Waters

2008-01-09T03:42:00.000-08:00

I finished reading a book by David Wells about a month ago and thought that if there’s going to be any comments generated I’d better do so before I forget everything about it. Not that the book is without substance; certainly the opposite is the case. The problem lies in my inability to hold on to thoughts for very long at my age. The book is Above All Earthly Pow’rs: Christ in a Postmodern World (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006).

I got the impression that the author was going to demonstrate the degree of infiltration that a postmodern mindset had re the current workings of the Church. Such was not the case. As my reading progressed it became evident that his intent was to expose postmodernism per se. He apparently takes it for granted that the emergent philosophy is heavily engaged in such a methodology. Why would it be necessary to accuse anyone of such a belief-system? They (emergent, The Conversation, etc) freely admit to such. There is no duplicity here. It was not always clear whether the author was leading up to a conclusion, or whether he was demonstrating how brilliant he was as a scholar. Upon completion of the book, it appears that the former was the case. Again, as alluded to above, there are many substantive points made by the author. Rather than dwelling upon the seemingly wayward emergent community, let’s ask some questions of the evangelical community; namely to those of us who consider this postmodern thrust to be a detrimental thing:

Alluding to the deterioration of biblical absolutes that result from the PM mindset, Wells says this:

For while the evangelical Church is aware of such things as the fight for gay and lesbian rights, hears about the eco-feminists, knows about pornography, has a sense that moral absolutes are evaporating like the morning mist, knows that truth of an ultimate kind has been dislodged from life, it apparently does not perceive that in those and many other ways a new worldview is becoming ensconced in the culture. If it did, it surely would not be embracing with enthusiasm as many aspects of this postmodern mindset as it is or be so willing to make concessions to postmodern habits of mind. (p. 158 – emphasis mine)

Question: Is the author saying that we evangelicals are frogs in tepid waters? If so; what then? If, as he clearly states, we are making concessions to a mindset that is adulterating absolutes and is dislodging truth of an ultimate kind, is not some form of confrontation required? The author addresses that thought:

Yet confrontation is always at the heart of the relation between Christ and culture because that relation is one of light in its relation to darkness, truth to a false belief, and holiness to what is fallen. (p. 164) When rival worldviews are in play, it is not adaptation that is called for but confrontation (p. 156)

To those who believe that the Return of the Lord is at hand, a sobering thought comes to mind: Ultimate biblical truths that have previously generated barriers to apostasy for the evangelical community are being removed by default. It may not be the intent of Christian Emergents who have adopted the postmodern belief system to so remove those barriers, but the possibility cannot be ignored. One would be well served by considering the pertinent passages found in Mt. 24:4-11; I Thes. 5:1-6, and II Thes. 2:3. some of us are feeling the water becoming hot; some of us are hearing the train coming. TAFTCom…

Behind the Wall

2008-01-08T09:05:00.000-08:00

Just got a letter from the guy that I recently visited in prison (see previous entry). A portion of the letter goes like this:

I wondered what was the goal for my life. Right now I’m not sure, but I feel like you guys have something to do with it. I want to be used by God, even while I’m in here. Thru the past few years I’ve felt so bad about myself, I didn’t feel I had the right to tell anybody what to do or how to act. Maybe now I can at least say, ‘Don’t follow me, And Don’t make the same mistakes.’ Ron, when you told me about your (blog or Web.) page I thought what a wonderful way to work together. Ron, the other day you ignited a spark in me. I’m sending you a poem I wrote years ago. I was locked up when I got saved. If you feel like putting it on your page, I would be blessed.

So here it is:

One hundred men lay sleeping
But no one’s souls at rest
Each heart has it’s own rhythm
Deep within it’s chest
These walls are old and knowing
They’ve seen us come and go
Chained, cuffed and struttin, gangsters walkin slow
We walk the well- known mainline, been doin it for years
Showing man- size courage, hiding man- size tears
When they lock you down in irons and cages made of steel
Although your wrists are bleeding, it’s the inner pain you feel
When the man takes aim around you and the bullets start to fall
When the smoke has cleared away, you’re still behind the wall
As the world goes slowly by, nothing seems to change
I’m praying for an answer, as I slowly go insane
Then I heard of Jesus in my cell that day
And how He changed so many lives of all who came to pray
He became my savior, He became my lord.
Now I’m trusting Jesus and giving him my all
I’ve never felt such freedom since I’ve heard His call
Cause all the world is living…
And Lost Behind the Wall (emphasis mine)

Joe gets out in 2011.

New Baptist Covenant

2008-01-04T07:48:00.000-08:00

Well, I’m back from San Francisco. Great city; dark city. How sad! We had good fellowship as family and I was able to visit with a brother at Solano State Prison in Vacaville. He gets out in 2011. Many of us are hoping that he gets an early release if the governor goes through with his early-release program. This is a brother shedding light in a very dark place. Some of us are ambivalent here. Should he stay and save lives, or should he get out early and be restored to us? God’s will be done!

Just got an email from a friend wanting to know if I had any information on the upcoming convocation called for by the advocates of the New Baptist Covenant in late January. Presidents Carter and Clinton will be there. Does the appearance of these august persons imply a liberal, humanistic bent? In follow-up research, I find that implication to be a fact. Apparently the initial motivation of the upcoming event and even the initiation of the covenant itself seem to be generated by a desire to heal the racial divisions causing a split amongst Baptists during the mid nineteenth century. Further, it is the desire of the convocation to bring about an inner healing amongst fellow Baptists before they can generate the “healing of the nation and the healing of the world…” Here are some comments contained in the above article:

We are looking for ways to put feet to our faith, said Dewitt Smith, president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, the African-American body founded by Martin Luther King and others. It is possible to be together and to differ on our opinions. When it comes to the things that will help humanity, we must take a prophetic stance – we must take a strong social-action agenda and make it work.

Daniel Vestal…said the Carter initiative fills a need for ‘a broader Baptist witness that is committed to social justice as well as evangelism.’

The 2008 convocation will connect participants with ministries and resources on such topics as prophetic preaching, ecology, sexual trafficking, racism, religious liberty, poverty, HIV/AIDS, religious diversity, public policy, youth issues, evangelism with integrity, stewardship and the spiritual disciplines.

Let’s not be mentally lazy here. Is Isaiah 58 mandated upon all believers? Yes, but of course it is. We are to cloth the naked, take the homeless poor into our homes, divide our bread with the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the afflicted. Such an ethos is fruit bearing within a believer. It is the inner nature of every true Christian. My question to the participants at this convocation would be to address a most profound danger, namely, AT WHAT PRICE will you be doing such things? The danger derives from substituting goodness for biblical confrontation, etc, etc. Many more questions arise:

What is this prophetic stance? Is it eschatological, or is it designed to help humanity?
Big difference – No?

Will your social resources also include abortion?

How far are you willing to embrace and take religious diversity?

Well, obviously many, many, many more questions beg to be asked. It seems to me that the man-made visible church is rapidly drifting away from a light-shining, soul-saving, biblical confrontation as evidenced above. Where does John 15:18-20 stand here?

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

To the participants above, I would suggest that you take care that your good works do not substitute for the substance of the biblical message. You are in danger of being a Laodicean-like religious entity that is whoring after the approval of a world system that hates you and the Church that you belong to. You are in danger of becoming useful idiots to that same system.

To the remnant of Christ, the called-out elect, I suggest diligence here. Do not get caught up in the religious success of such movements as Purpose Driven, Seeker Friendly, The Conversation, New Baptist Covenants, etc, etc, - especially when such religious success substitutes good works for substance.

What is going to heal the World? Good works, or the second coming of the Lord in power and might? Is He going to return and negotiate, or is He going to return with a sword? It’s more than important that we all decide.

Gone Fishin

2007-12-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

I will be gone for a few days. The family (children, grand-children, in-laws, etc) is leaving for San Francisco today to visit my roots and just have good fellowship together. Jan and I will deflect off for a day or two to visit a brother-in-Christ who is in the state penitentiary at Vacaville.

So, MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and to yours. Let’s all gather around family and pursue our unity as family and our unity in Christ. The key word here would be pursue.
I shall return to babble again.

The Seduction of Church Growth

2007-12-24T08:17:00.000-08:00

So, where am I going with this site? To tell you the truth, I’m not terribly certain that I know. As I observe the unfolding of events in this world vis a vis the Church, it seems apparent that something is wrong and needs to be dealt with in some way or another. One phenomenon that appears to be new and seems to be troubling in nature is the emerging of the emergent. To those of us who are only now beginning to become aware of the thrust toward emergent theology, much investigation, with integrity, needs to be engaged at this point.

Here’s how I see the thrust of much of current Christianity: There exists a methodology that appears to be an umbrella covering three dove-tailing tactics. That umbrella would be the methodology of the business-like efforts to promote church growth. The first tactic is to be observed through the efforts of the purpose-driven movement. See what the people want and give it to them. The second becomes a fruit produced by that movement and a major tactic at the same time. Be seeker friendly. The third, and the one to be most feared, is self-described as The Emergent Church. Your standards and absolutes may not be mine. God loves all peoples. Stop quenching those who are not Christians with your fundamentalist (read tyrannical) absolutes. Let’s reason together. These three seem to dove-tail. If not sisters, they, at least, appear to be cousins. Should they be feared? Perhaps they should; perhaps they should not. Let’s explore such things as we observe those unfolding of events in the near future. The damage that becomes potential to the Church lies in the fact that such tactics may be removing barriers to apostasy. The participant may, or may not, be apostate in nature but may be removing barriers to apostasy. Emergent says no to fundamental and authoritative systems of belief. Indeed, all three tactics seem to be growing at the expense of the absolutes that have been traditional evangelical thought.

In observing such efforts it becomes quite clear that church growth techniques have been, and will continue to be, spectacularly successful. This is a good thing; not so? They certainly become seductive, and even addictive in nature. Questions beg to be asked however: Are we becoming Laodecian-like in nature? Are we reasoning with an enemy that hates Christ and His people? Many more questions await. Hopefully some answers will arise. Perhaps I will become a missionary to the missionals.

TAFTCom

Ezekiel 36-39

2007-12-19T12:26:00.000-08:00

We just completed a study into chapters 36 through 39 of the prophet Ezekiel in our home group. Yeah, that Gog and Magog thing. Two more-than-weighty thoughts come to mind: First of all, to those of us who believe that these events are yet to happen, I invite us all to lean over and feel those vibrations from the railroad tracks again. WOW, this is getting serious, beloved. That freight train is getting close! Secondly, to those of you, who believe that these events were fulfilled by General Titus in 70 A.D., and all of the blessings assigned to Israel are meant for the Church, let me suggest otherwise while inviting mutual feedback from my Preterist brothers.

To those of you who are not familiar with the passages, these are the writings of the prophet predicting the invasion by the armies of “that land to the uttermost north” (Russia if you are a futurist), and the armies of Persia (modern day Iran) against “the land of Israel… in the last of days”. If you wish to keep up on current events pertinent to these happenings, I invite you to bookmark the Jerusalem Post along with other Middle-East sites. I also invite you to read these chapters again with much gravity. Russia’s current involvement with Iran is passionate and seems to be mutually productive for both countries. Further, they have in common a disdain and hatred toward Israel. There are some who believe that these events will take place within our immediate lifetime. If so, it seems to me that far more sobriety should be generated within our community than is currently observed. We will pursue these passages to a far greater degree in the future, but for now, let’s address my second thought.

I am not all that knowledgeable about the position held by those who believe that God has terminated His relationship with national Israel. I know enough that I would invite feedback from those who hold this position. I will, with much thought and honesty, consider such feedback. But, let’s for now, pursue a logical sequence: Many questions suggests themselves in the reading of this passage: Who is addressed by the prophet in this passage (indeed, throughout the entire book)? Is it not to the physical land of Israel, “…the mountains of Israel…the hills, the ravines, the valleys, the desolate wastes and the forsaken cities, those who have become a prey and a derision to the surrounding nations (gentiles)? (36:4) Is not the physical land (Eretz Israel) strongly implied? Does this metaphor describe a people with church-like purity?

How does one describe “these people”? First of all, they are “…My people Israel, who will soon come…all the house of Israel, all of it” (36: 8-10) Not only is the return from Diaspora implied, but further, the uniting of the 12 tribes is strongly suggested. These are a people who have defiled the land, have been desolated “for good cause”, who have stumbled, become unclean, been worthy of God’s wrath, shed blood, been spewed out of the land and become scattered. Not only were they scattered, but they profaned His great name in the process. (36:16-20) These are not church-like qualities, one might conclude. Neither are they indicative of a people who might be described as spiritual offspring of Abraham. Here’s my point: It is the very people who are despicable in God’s sight who will be the ones receiving the blessings from that very same God.

When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name,
because it was said of them, ‘these are the people of the Lord; yet they have
come out of His land’. But I had concern for My holy name, which the house
of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went. Therefore, say
to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, It is not for your sake, O
house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have
profaned among the nations where you went’. (36:20-22)

Who, then, are these peoples who become candidates for God’s blessing? To whom is the prophet speaking? Better put: What is the fate of these people so described?

Well, they are the people who will be returned to the land. They will be scattered among the gentiles no longer. They will be purged, have their heart of stone removed, and after 3400 years of blindness will have the very God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob reveal Himself to them in holiness (Zech. 12:10), and have the curse pronounced upon them by God’s utterance through the prophet Isaiah (Is. 6:9-10) forever removed. They will live in the land given to their forefathers, will cultivate the land, have the waste places rebuild; they will be one nation in the land (the tribes united), have one shepherd as their prince forever, will enjoy a covenant of peace, have God dwell among them; God will claim them as His people, and cause His sanctuary to dwell in their midst FOREVER!..
Who is to be blessed, here? The Church? Certainly not. It’s those evil people described above, that’s who. (Chapters 36-39) One final question: When were these events (blessings) accomplished? In 586 BC, 70AD, 132AD? Hopefully, one’s exegesis would require a simple response of NEVER. By implication, then, we all await a future event.

If it is as close as some of us feel that it is, then it would seem to be more than important that we acknowledge that fact and act upon it - would it not?

KayZeez Cry

2007-12-13T06:34:00.000-08:00

Let’s take a break from our collective brilliance for a moment.

A beautiful, sweet eleven year old girl had her heart broken recently. It seems as though her 40 year old aunt had recently taken her life. Now I understand that this girl has a very tender heart, and loved her aunt very much. Indeed, the entire family was staggered by the event. She wrote this love letter to her aunt a few weeks after:

Dear Aunt Dina,

I’ll always miss you.

I wrote this poem, just for you, kind of for me I guess too!
When I would see you, with a leap of excitement would jump my heart,
But when you went to live with God…it ripped my heart apart.
So Jesus wants you back I guess,
It’s not like I’ll miss you less.
Even though we’re all a mess,
We’ll forever find time to love you too,
And yet I’ll always miss you.

Romans 16:20

And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen (Her Scripture)

She claims that these were not her words.
I believe her.

To the “seeker friendly”: There really is evil in the world. We really do have an enemy and he hates us and is attempting to murder our aunts. Be a little more sobered by the moment - please.

To the “watchman on the wall”: There are so-called brothers-in-the-Lord who are leading people astray. I understand that. However, there are also true brothers-in-the-Lord who disagree with us on many matters. They are brothers. It is not subject to our approval. Put the sword back in - please.

To all of the above, we brilliant heroes for God: Let’s weep just a little bit more and slay just a little bit less - please.

How can we weep, when we are so busy being brilliant? Beloved, the whole world is in pain. We need for Him to return.

TAFTCom.!!!

Bifurcating the Church

2007-12-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

Much of this site will be regurgitation of my interests in current events as regards the Church. Further, it will be filtered through the lens of an eschatology that is futuristic, and, thus, generates in me a sense of immediacy that requires a proactive look into these events. Are you a Preterist? Don’t worry - Let’s “talk”. Of many of the positions (not all) that disagree with my various positions, I know that many are treasured with ferocity by bible believing, caring, thinking, logical and faithful Christians. Why do we disagree so much, then, and do so with such ferocity? Honestly, I don’t know, BUT WE DO!!

The world is in flux in many ways. So also is the Church. The more high-octane and high-profile of the world’s passions seem to be energized by a godless ethos leading to hostility toward the Church. The dominant flow of Christian endeavor (at least in the West) today seems to be toward church growth. It has become a strategy to some. This phenomenon is not a bad thing per se. Some say that in the use of the tactics thereof (seeker friendly, purpose driven, emergent thinking, etc.), however, much damage is being done to the Church, particularly to its evangelical nature. As I observe the results of these tactics I tend to agree. To whatever degree that those who place themselves under the Church Growth umbrella generate such tactics, to that degree they seem to be doing so at the expense of the substance of the Gospel. Further, this tendency seems to be nourished and encouraged to whatever degree that a postmodern mind-set has dominated the movement. A conundrum arises here! There are many “…bible-believing, caring, thinking, logical and faithful Christians” who are passionate about such endeavors. What then? Well, first of all, I will tend to disagree with them, but not with any “ferocity”, until I investigate into this area much more. What do they know that I don’t? Secondly, I will invite comments by any whose tendency (or even passion) is toward such techniques to respond to this site. Let’s talk.

Consider this in a futuristic/eschatological context (and I do): To whatever degree the cultural mind-set of the world is thrusting toward animosity for the Church; to whatever degree the Church is substituting methodology for substance, and to whatever degree we evangelicals are in slumber over such events, to that degree there is a freight train coming! - NO?

TAFTCom

2007-12-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

OK, so let’s finally get started. To those of you who know me, you are painfully aware that I have desired to start a web site for over two years now. Why haven’t I, then? I suppose that it has been a combination of procrastination (I’m a seasoned pro), mediocrity, fear, and ignorance of how to manipulate the Internet that has caused the delay. Why start now? Frustration and a sense of obedience compel me to finally unleash the hounds within me. I honestly understand what Jeremiah must have gone through (20:9). I do not have the same amount of fire within me as did this great man, but there does fester within my stomach enough fire that I would be in disobedience to His calling if I did not utter forth at this time. WOW, what did I just say?

The godless world system is heading for an accounting that will be biblically eschatological in its finality. The godless seem to be willingly ignorant of this thrust to final destruction, and it seems apparent to me that the Church will do nothing to prevent its biblical outcome. The Church, on the other hand, should be more than a little sobered by just such a scenario. We seem to be intellectually certain of our (various) eschatological positions, but, in my opinion, we are not experientially sobered by the moment in which we live. This is a generality, but, in my opinion, the Church is not sobered by the moment in which she lives! We are arrogant, are divided (in our great brilliance), are thrusting toward religious success at the expense of biblical absolutes, are thus removing barriers to apostasy and tending toward a Laodicean mind-set, and are, to that degree, not prepared for what is about to come upon us. Beloved - THERE’S A FREIGHT TRAIN COMING, and lives are at stake; eternal lives.

Obviously, details will follow. Does this offend you? Are these generalities outrageous? I will not be kind to the Church to whatever degree I perceive it to be in partial slumber. It’s not my job. Also, understand that this site will not appeal to a straw-dummy church; a liberal, humanistic church that we will probably agree is in flux toward apostasy. My appeal (warning) is to the true Church, i.e. the remnant, the called-out - US.

Finally, know that I have chosen this site in order to express my (God-given?) opinions (utterances?) in order to not put at risk those who are in authority over me. I have been a Christian for forty years, have put myself under the authority of my pastor, the elders in my church, the Sunday school teacher under whom I sit, under the authority of the nursery school leader whenever I go in to change diapers, etc. etc. This is my site. If anything is written that is blasphemous, apostate, shallow, outrageous, or whatever, then understand that I, and I alone am the culprit. OK, so let’s get started. As this site (hopefully) gets more sophisticated, some of you will want to respond. Be kind, as I will be to you. (Heb. 10:23-25)