Tuesday, January 26, 2010
A Modest Proposal
Innovating on the homosexual community's recent arguments for equal treatment for same-sex couples in the Lutheran church, Peter Speckhard, an editor with the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau offers this modest proposal...in case anyone wonders, this is satire!
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Only for the Bold of Heart
I came across a web page a few days ago with an essay on hypocrisy. It is not a comfortable read, but for those who are willing, read below for the last few paragraphs...I hope you don't identify with this as much as I did. But in case you do, there is hope after all.
I can go on at great length about this kind of hypocrisy, and with good reason. I too am a hypocrite. This is not to say that I always do the right thing, but even when I do, it is only an outward act. I have made great progress over the years in being chaste in act and word; but I have only to see a woman and I desire to sleep with her. I try hard to be kind and patient in my outward deeds, but in my heart I often desire the death, not of my enemies—for I do not have the strength of character to make any—but of those who are merely inconvenient to me. To those whom I profess to love I am indifferent. I preach almsgiving and from time to time force myself to practice it, but in my heart I desire great riches. While I may seem to work hard to fulfill my responsibilities, in fact I wish that I had none and could indulge the sloth that is really at the core of my being. Worst of all, I stand in church and at prayer and profess to love God and put Him first in my life, when in fact I feel nothing toward God but abject fear. My faith is that of the demons, who, St. James tells us, "believe—and shudder" (Jas 2:19). My intellect, formed in the likeness of divine Reason, is bound inextricably to the truth that I cannot deny without doing violence to my own paltry reason; but my heart wishes that it were otherwise.
When the time comes for me to stand before the judgement-seat of God, when all the thoughts of the heart are laid bare, then my true nature will be made clear. I will hear the dreadful words, "Depart from me, you evildoer, for though you followed Me outwardly, your heart is far from Me." And I will have to admit that God’s judgement is entirely just. No heart as attached as mine to the things of this world can have any share in the joys of heaven. The fire of God’s eternal love is for a hypocrite like me only the eternal fire of Hell.
Of course, I know the answer to this problem. I have only to ask and the Holy Spirit can melt my stony heart and give me the desire for God I lack. He, indeed only He, can give me the love I lack. It is not something I can achieve on my own, but only if I ask for the transforming power of divine grace. And I have asked for it, at least with my lips. But did I really mean it? Was this not another act of hypocrisy? Not only do I desire evil, but I desire to desire it. If I were sincere, God could transform me.
But after all, I am a hypocrite.
You and I are just the kind of people Christ came to seek and save. That's right, the ones who want to flee when light threatens to illuminate the darkness of our hearts. Some people wonder if they've really asked Christ to save them, after all, they (we) are hypocrites. But this is where I am inclined to borrow from the Calvinists and say it isn't that much about me. My heart is dark, but Christ has shone His light into my life. He did it, not me. And by His grace God keeps calling me back each time I wander from His truth. He continually rakes the stones back away from my heart and most of the time it hurts badly. But He does it for my good.
I think of C.S. Lewis who wrote that a wicked surgeon would tire of sadistic cruelty after a time, but what if we were up against a perfectly Good surgeon who had only our best interests at heart. He would not heed our desperate cries to stop the cutting. He would continue until the operation was complete. And one day we would even thank the surgeon for continuing to cut away the corrupt flesh. How wicked indeed would that surgeon be who halted at our cries for mercy before the operation was complete.
I can go on at great length about this kind of hypocrisy, and with good reason. I too am a hypocrite. This is not to say that I always do the right thing, but even when I do, it is only an outward act. I have made great progress over the years in being chaste in act and word; but I have only to see a woman and I desire to sleep with her. I try hard to be kind and patient in my outward deeds, but in my heart I often desire the death, not of my enemies—for I do not have the strength of character to make any—but of those who are merely inconvenient to me. To those whom I profess to love I am indifferent. I preach almsgiving and from time to time force myself to practice it, but in my heart I desire great riches. While I may seem to work hard to fulfill my responsibilities, in fact I wish that I had none and could indulge the sloth that is really at the core of my being. Worst of all, I stand in church and at prayer and profess to love God and put Him first in my life, when in fact I feel nothing toward God but abject fear. My faith is that of the demons, who, St. James tells us, "believe—and shudder" (Jas 2:19). My intellect, formed in the likeness of divine Reason, is bound inextricably to the truth that I cannot deny without doing violence to my own paltry reason; but my heart wishes that it were otherwise.
When the time comes for me to stand before the judgement-seat of God, when all the thoughts of the heart are laid bare, then my true nature will be made clear. I will hear the dreadful words, "Depart from me, you evildoer, for though you followed Me outwardly, your heart is far from Me." And I will have to admit that God’s judgement is entirely just. No heart as attached as mine to the things of this world can have any share in the joys of heaven. The fire of God’s eternal love is for a hypocrite like me only the eternal fire of Hell.
Of course, I know the answer to this problem. I have only to ask and the Holy Spirit can melt my stony heart and give me the desire for God I lack. He, indeed only He, can give me the love I lack. It is not something I can achieve on my own, but only if I ask for the transforming power of divine grace. And I have asked for it, at least with my lips. But did I really mean it? Was this not another act of hypocrisy? Not only do I desire evil, but I desire to desire it. If I were sincere, God could transform me.
But after all, I am a hypocrite.
You and I are just the kind of people Christ came to seek and save. That's right, the ones who want to flee when light threatens to illuminate the darkness of our hearts. Some people wonder if they've really asked Christ to save them, after all, they (we) are hypocrites. But this is where I am inclined to borrow from the Calvinists and say it isn't that much about me. My heart is dark, but Christ has shone His light into my life. He did it, not me. And by His grace God keeps calling me back each time I wander from His truth. He continually rakes the stones back away from my heart and most of the time it hurts badly. But He does it for my good.
I think of C.S. Lewis who wrote that a wicked surgeon would tire of sadistic cruelty after a time, but what if we were up against a perfectly Good surgeon who had only our best interests at heart. He would not heed our desperate cries to stop the cutting. He would continue until the operation was complete. And one day we would even thank the surgeon for continuing to cut away the corrupt flesh. How wicked indeed would that surgeon be who halted at our cries for mercy before the operation was complete.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
I Need a Job with Snopes!
I've come out of seculsion to post a quick analysis of a video that's been going around on the internet strongly suggesting that Jesus revealed the name of the anti-Christ...and guess who it is!!??
For those interested, here a link to the video on YouTube.
Now, I don't claim to be a Hebrew scholar, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. So here you go.
1) Aramaic is not the "most ancient form of Hebrew." It seems to me that this is a gross oversimplification of how semitic languages developed.
2) The video rightly indicates that Jesus most likely spoke Aramaic, but then shifts to say that if Jesus spoke those words today (because Jewish Rabbis speak Hebrew...when? I'm not sure since most Rabbis conduct worship services in language of wherever they are) He would speak them in Hebrew. This appears to be a sleight of hand. They are trying to equate Aramaic with Hebrew which is just wrong. They are both dialects of Semitic languages and close to each other on that account.
3) References made in the video to Lucifer are highly controversial. Here is the text on the word for "lightening" in the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament: The crux interpretum is Isa 14:12, "How you are fallen from heaven Lucifer (KJV son of the morning, hêl¢l ben shaµar)," That the passage occurs in the context of a satire on the king of Babylon no one will deny. Yet many Christians have taken this verse (along with perhaps Ezek 28), and on the basis of verses such as Lk 10:18; 1 Tim 3:6, have assumed that here is something on Satan's origin, especially his expulsion from heaven subsequent to his pompous display of arrogance. The New Bible Commentary (rev. ed., p. 600) calls such exegesis "a precarious conjecture." And E. J. Young can say flatly (p. 441), "It cannot apply to Satan." Among evangelicals Archer (WBC, p. 622) is the most open to a supernatural, cosmic interpretation. We feel safest with the application of the phrase to the Babylonian tyrant whose gross pride provided fuel for the prophet's invective.
4) In Is. 14:12-19, of the two references I noted to "cast" or "cut" down, neither use the word "bamah" referred to in the video. Perhaps it is used in other passages, but not in this one. Even so, the claim in the video is false because it indicates that those passages "that directly refer to Satan" use "bamah" and at least in Is. 14:12-19 of the two instances that I looked at, that is incorrect.
5) In my experience, the Hebrew letter identified in the video that they claim is transliterated as "u" or "o", is actually transliterated as "w" or "v." It is waw or vav. I used to say vav. It is often used as a conjunction, as the video claims. But the video uses it for a preposition "from" whereas a conjunction is "or" "but" or most commonly "and."
6) Finally, and I do not claim to be an expert on eschatology, but I'm quite sure that the anti-Christ is not identical with Satan in Scripture.
I report. You decide.
For those interested, here a link to the video on YouTube.
Now, I don't claim to be a Hebrew scholar, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. So here you go.
1) Aramaic is not the "most ancient form of Hebrew." It seems to me that this is a gross oversimplification of how semitic languages developed.
2) The video rightly indicates that Jesus most likely spoke Aramaic, but then shifts to say that if Jesus spoke those words today (because Jewish Rabbis speak Hebrew...when? I'm not sure since most Rabbis conduct worship services in language of wherever they are) He would speak them in Hebrew. This appears to be a sleight of hand. They are trying to equate Aramaic with Hebrew which is just wrong. They are both dialects of Semitic languages and close to each other on that account.
3) References made in the video to Lucifer are highly controversial. Here is the text on the word for "lightening" in the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament: The crux interpretum is Isa 14:12, "How you are fallen from heaven Lucifer (KJV son of the morning, hêl¢l ben shaµar)," That the passage occurs in the context of a satire on the king of Babylon no one will deny. Yet many Christians have taken this verse (along with perhaps Ezek 28), and on the basis of verses such as Lk 10:18; 1 Tim 3:6, have assumed that here is something on Satan's origin, especially his expulsion from heaven subsequent to his pompous display of arrogance. The New Bible Commentary (rev. ed., p. 600) calls such exegesis "a precarious conjecture." And E. J. Young can say flatly (p. 441), "It cannot apply to Satan." Among evangelicals Archer (WBC, p. 622) is the most open to a supernatural, cosmic interpretation. We feel safest with the application of the phrase to the Babylonian tyrant whose gross pride provided fuel for the prophet's invective.
4) In Is. 14:12-19, of the two references I noted to "cast" or "cut" down, neither use the word "bamah" referred to in the video. Perhaps it is used in other passages, but not in this one. Even so, the claim in the video is false because it indicates that those passages "that directly refer to Satan" use "bamah" and at least in Is. 14:12-19 of the two instances that I looked at, that is incorrect.
5) In my experience, the Hebrew letter identified in the video that they claim is transliterated as "u" or "o", is actually transliterated as "w" or "v." It is waw or vav. I used to say vav. It is often used as a conjunction, as the video claims. But the video uses it for a preposition "from" whereas a conjunction is "or" "but" or most commonly "and."
6) Finally, and I do not claim to be an expert on eschatology, but I'm quite sure that the anti-Christ is not identical with Satan in Scripture.
I report. You decide.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Worship
A friend of mine will be presenting a philosophy paper on forgiveness soon. What a great idea, to reflect on such a virtue? action? Anyway, Paul instructed the church at Philippi to reflect on whatever is true, honorable, right: whatever is pure, lovely, of good repute; whatever is excellent or worthy of praise, think on these things.
So I began to think about gratitude. How great would it be to write a paper on gratitude? That's what keeps overwhelming me in life, gratitude for what God has given to me, and, thankfully, not given to me. So when I worship God I am overcome with gratitude. There's a link here with love. But I think gratitude is a response one has when they have been given that which they do not deserve. Maybe that's why I weep before the Lord every time I come to Him in worship. I am overcome by His magnificence, beauty, glory. I praise Him. I am thankful for His desperate love for me. I am grateful. I am grateful for the promises Christ has given me. I am thankful for the hope that "I Will Rise"
So I began to think about gratitude. How great would it be to write a paper on gratitude? That's what keeps overwhelming me in life, gratitude for what God has given to me, and, thankfully, not given to me. So when I worship God I am overcome with gratitude. There's a link here with love. But I think gratitude is a response one has when they have been given that which they do not deserve. Maybe that's why I weep before the Lord every time I come to Him in worship. I am overcome by His magnificence, beauty, glory. I praise Him. I am thankful for His desperate love for me. I am grateful. I am grateful for the promises Christ has given me. I am thankful for the hope that "I Will Rise"
The Psychology of Love
Harry Frankfurt is an important voice in the philosophy of action, free will, and moral responsibility. I recently read one of his more significant essays titled "The Importance of What We Care About." He began to talk about love, its psychology, and the paradox that ensues. He speaks of love as a form of volitional necessity. That is, it's not even really up to us what we love. Somehow it captures us. And we make ourselves susceptible to the liabilities of the beloved object. And it is just beyond our control.
Then he writes on the constraining nature of love. "When we accede to being moved by logic or by love, the feeling with which we do so is not ordinarily of dispirited impotence. On the contrary, we characteristically experience in both cases - whether we are following reason or our hearts - a sense of liberation and enhancement. What accounts for this experience? It appears to have its source in the fact that when a person is responding to a perception of something...as beloved, his relationship to it tends toward selflessness. His attention is not merely concentrated upon the object; The object captivates him. He is guided by its characteristics rather than primarily by his own. Quite commonly, he feels that he is overcome - that his on direction of his thoughts and volitions has been superseded. How are we to understand the paradox that a person may be enhanced and liberated through being seized, made captive, and overcome?" (bold emphasis mine)
And then I am reminded of Paul's words "I am under compulsion; woe is me if I do not preach the gospel."
Jesus said:
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
"So if the Son makes you free, you are free indeed."
I am captivated by Christ, set free, liberated by His constraint. I am my best as His bondservant. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Then he writes on the constraining nature of love. "When we accede to being moved by logic or by love, the feeling with which we do so is not ordinarily of dispirited impotence. On the contrary, we characteristically experience in both cases - whether we are following reason or our hearts - a sense of liberation and enhancement. What accounts for this experience? It appears to have its source in the fact that when a person is responding to a perception of something...as beloved, his relationship to it tends toward selflessness. His attention is not merely concentrated upon the object; The object captivates him. He is guided by its characteristics rather than primarily by his own. Quite commonly, he feels that he is overcome - that his on direction of his thoughts and volitions has been superseded. How are we to understand the paradox that a person may be enhanced and liberated through being seized, made captive, and overcome?" (bold emphasis mine)
And then I am reminded of Paul's words "I am under compulsion; woe is me if I do not preach the gospel."
Jesus said:
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
"So if the Son makes you free, you are free indeed."
I am captivated by Christ, set free, liberated by His constraint. I am my best as His bondservant. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Whoa people...what happened
I looked at my blog the other day just to see if anyone had commented on one of the posts. Up until then, I only had about 550 visits to the blog. A couple of days later I now see that I have almost 12000 hits. What is up with that. I really don't have anything that interesting to say. So either we have something truly bizare that's happened or my post counter got really messed up.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Surrendering to the Will of God
Lately I've been learning from God what it means to truly pray "not my will, but Yours." Sometimes it's hard to pray it and mean it. Scripture frequently relates accounts of God's gracious hand molding his children in ways that they often did not understand; ways that were exceedingly painful and heartbreaking. Why should I expect any less from the Master Potter? Why should I desire any less than being conformed to the image of His Son no matter how badly it hurts? I suppose this is what it means to learn to trust God. A.W. Tozer said that he whom God would use greatly, He must first wound deeply. I am reminded of the words of a poem, the author of which I do not know...
When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man,
And skill a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him:
By every act induces him
To try his splendor out—
God knows what He's about.
During these times I take great comfort in the Psalmist's oracle, "Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46
When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man,
And skill a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him:
By every act induces him
To try his splendor out—
God knows what He's about.
During these times I take great comfort in the Psalmist's oracle, "Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46
Sunday, August 09, 2009
A prayer for the Church
For this reason I...do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. -Ephesians 1:15-23
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