Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Drinking from a fire hose – four good apologetics blogs to follow

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Fire HoseSometimes the internet is like taking a drink from a fire hose. There are so many good writers who provide helpful information that one has to learn to be selective; there is too much to take in.

Therefore, to narrow it down a bit, I thought I would take a few minutes to provide a list of four blogs I follow and why I think that you should follow them also.

  1. The Poached Egg. Greg West does a fantastic job of scouring the internet and finding some of the best material on Christian Apologetics available. This blog provides links to helpful articles and interesting quotations. Greg can be found on Twitter @thepoachedegg.
  2. Christian Apologetics Alliance Blog. The CAA is a group of writers committed to articulating and defending a Christian world view. The contributors to the blog come from a variety of educational backgrounds and have different interests, thus providing a sampling of what is going on in apologetic thought today. You can follow the CAA blog on Twitter @apolalliance
  3. The Thinking Christian. This is one of the first apologetics blogs I found and have been following it for a few years. Tom Gilson is the author of the blog and he consistently challenges his reader to be what the title implies, thinking Christians.
  4. Apologetics315. One of the best features of Apologetics315 is the interviews that Brian Auten does with noted apologetic writers and thinkers. These interviews are available as Podcasts and MP3 downloads. Brian is an excellent interviewer, asking great questions. Brian also provides other helpful links on the site to resources for those who are interested in increasing their knowledge of Christian apologetics. You can follow Brian on Twitter @apologetics315.

There are many other good apologetics sites but these are four that I regularly follow and read. If you have an interest in Christian apologetics, please check out these four blogs, I do not think you will be disappointed.

When the heavens are silent

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Stormy Heavens
Image via Wikipedia

While Jesus ascended to Heaven the angels said to the Disciples, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky?” (Acts 1:11) This is good advice that we sometimes fail to follow. We stand waiting, looking to Heaven for guidance and sometimes it seems that all that is returned is silence. We pray and wonder if anyone is listening.

Evangelicals often join in with secular news media in ridicule of those who find the image of Jesus in a piece of toast, the Virgin Mary in a salt stain or some other manifestation of divine revelation. Yet, the desire to hear directly from God remains. We can laugh all we want about how gullible these people seem to be but if we are honest, we must admit that it would be so much easier if God contacted us directly to let us know how to proceed.

Why would a loving God seem to allow us to muddle on so when it would be much easier if he just sent a prophet or an angel to spell out how we should go about life?

One thought that strikes me as I consider this question is that the danger in granting our wish for direct intervention is that we might then view God as a glorified vending machine. Our desire is to put in the requisite coins, push the proper button sequence and get what we want. Scripture and experience indicate that God does not work this way.

Perhaps his silence is sometimes intended to teach us that he is in control. What better way to learn obedience than to struggle on doing the right thing even when there is no apparent payback? Like the Karate Kid, we may not see how the discipline of waxing cars will pay off in the upcoming tournament. If we are doing the right thing only to get an immediate reward, disappointment is a very real possibility. Nowhere in Scripture is such a reward promised.

Scripture teaches us that there is a reward for obedience, but that reward may not come in this life. The author of Hebrews 11 tells us that all of those listed in what is sometimes called the “Faith Hall of Fame” operated with the understanding that the payoff was not to be expected immediately. They were desiring “a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16).

Be encouraged that even when God seems to be far away, even when all the wrong people seem to be reaping rewards, even when we get a bad result from doing the right thing, God remains in control. God may be silent, but he is not unobservant. He may not be seen, but he sees.

If we are discouraged, we should lengthen our view. Near sightedness will cause us to give up hope prematurely. Doing the right thing always pays off in the end. Remain steadfast and unmovable (1 Corinthians 15:58).

The accusation of lying – what politics reveals about our need for truth

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LiarIn a social climate where a majority of people claim to believe that truth is relative, I find it curious that one of the most effective accusations leveled at a political opponent is that of lying. We have partisan “fact-checkers” who masquerade as neutral agents in an effort to bolster these claims. Both sides accuse the other of lying or of intentional deception.

I am not shocked that politicians lie or embellish the truth; we have several millennia of evidence to substantiate this claim. I am not shocked that opponents would loudly condemn the lying. What shocks me is the ease in which the accusations are leveled and the effectiveness of the accusations in achieving political gains.

If truth is relative, as our secular philosophers would argue, then why get all worked up over a few flip-flops, falsehoods or misrepresentations? Why should it matter that the candidate says whatever he thinks will get him elected? Is this not Darwinism in action? Is this not a legitimate means of political survival?

Yet the fact that accusations of lying do change people’s perception is an indication to me that there is a dichotomy between what people claim to believe and what they really believe. The mantra of current secular religion is that tolerance is the ultimate virtue. No-one has the right to denigrate the truth claims of another. We are told that there is no ultimate right or wrong. In our age, the only time when tolerance is not appropriate is when someone makes an ultimate truth claim.

In this moral and intellectual climate, why then do political groups so loudly denounce lying?

I believe the reason is that we have an innate sense of fairness. We do not have to teach this fairness to children. Without prompting, children loudly protest, “that’s not fair!” My experience has shown that children come wired with that sense of fairness. It’s part of the base package and not an option.

In this election season, when you hear accusations of lying and deception between political opponents, reflect on the innate sense of fairness that you possess. Then ask yourself if that sense of fairness is more than just a preference for a particular idea or ideology.

The Apostle Paul tells us that even those who do not acknowledge God have “the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them” (Romans 2:15, NASB)

Could it be that the Apostle Paul identified the reason why the accusation of lying is so effective? Is there a standard by which we innately know we should live? Is that standard written on our hearts by God?

These questions are of greater significance than who is put into office in November. The election has temporal consequences but these questions have an impact on eternity.

Four things that I should learn from the family dog

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MarcyOur dog Marcy loves Saturdays when we are home doing chores around the house. She is less than a year old and is still very puppy-like. This past Saturday while I was splitting wood I had a chance to observe her while she entertained herself. The thought struck me that there were a few lessons for me in her behavior. Some things I’ve learned from my dog:

  1. Feel free to chase the leaves as the wind blows them around the yard. Marcy can spend hours chasing butterflies, bees and leaves around the yard. She gets great enjoyment from this and the number of things to chase is large. What I learn from this is that I should enjoy the small gifts that God sends my way. When I am open to it, there is a seemingly inexhaustible list of things that I can enjoy. Sunshine, the wind in the trees, a beautiful spider web or an exuberant greeting by a puppy are all things that are meant to be enjoyed.
  2. Just about anything will work as a chew toy. This is similar to #1 but is slightly different. Marcy does not seem to waste any effort in pining over a lost toy. There are potential toys all around her, so she does not get stressed at the loss of any one of them. A piece of firewood, a shoe, a sock, a pair of glasses or a gardening trowel is acceptable to her as a chew toy. In other words rather than being disappointed by the lack of a particular toy, she makes herself content with whatever is available. Too often, I fall prey to the idea that some item will make my life easier or more complete. Instead, it would be so much better to be content with what I have.
  3. People are more important than anything else. Whenever someone comes out of the house or pulls in our driveway, Marcy takes it upon herself to be the welcoming committee. Whenever a new person is within her sphere, that person becomes her one and only priority. I am sometimes distracted by things that need to be done or some other preoccupation causes me to fail in my greeting and connection with the people around me.
  4. Do not worry about anything. I can observe no indication that our dog worries about anything. She gratefully eats the food when it is in the bowl but shows no concern about when the bowl might be filled again. I can observe no fear of what might happen. She simply responds to life as it happens and seemingly derives the most joy out of what is happening in the moment. I should not let concern over things I cannot control distract me from enjoying the moment.

Jesus also pointed to the animal kingdom to give us a lesson when he said:

“”For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:25–27, NASB)

We can learn a lot from birds and puppies.

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