Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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The Storm Before The Calm: Why Utopias Fail

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StormI am not an expert on Biblical prophecy. I read prophetic passages and have interest in them, but it is not my calling to find correlation between current events and Scriptural predictions. I think that this type of study is useful, and I’m glad someone does it, but it is not my primary interest.

That being said, I see indication in Scripture that things will get worse before they get better. Scripture indicates that the world will move into a storm before it will experience the calm that follows the culmination of history.

Contrast this with utopian predictions by people such as Ray Kurzweil who see technology solving all of man’s problems. In this writings, Kurzweil does a good job of demonstrating that the pace of technological advancement is accelerating. We can be grateful for much of this advancement. I am writing this blog post on a personal computer which has speed and computational power that would have been unimaginable just a few decades ago. I am also grateful for the advances in medicine and technologies that provide for better living conditions. Technology has proved effective in correcting what is wrong with the physical aspects of life.

Those who believe that man can solve all his problems through technological innovation ignore one basic fact. Man is inherently flawed in a way that no technology can fix.  Technology cannot address or correct man’s moral problem. Utopian schemes fail because they refuse to acknowledge the moral problem with all men. Every elitist scheme fails because the elite are as morally flawed as those to whom the elite feel superior.

Every advancement in technology can be used for good or for evil. We live this out every day. I have virus protection software because some very smart people are intent on destroying what I create on this computer. Criminals use computers and other technology to commit crime. Dictators use technology to force their will on their people. Advances in weaponry increase the ability of would-be conquerors to kill and subjugate.

I am grateful for technology, with it we can do much good. Therefore I am not against technology. I do see, and Scripture predicts, that the advances in technology will be used for evil purposes and that it will not go well for humanity until Jesus returns.

I began writing this post before I knew that Hurricane Irene was bearing down on the east coast of the United States. I am reminded that this physical storm and the havoc it can bring, is a picture of the moral and political storm that is brewing. The moral and political storm will be more destructive and ruin more lives than the physical one.

Yet, I am comforted that the one who calmed the storm when he walked the Earth, is still living and active. For those who embrace him he offers salvation out of the storm until that day when he will cause all storms to cease.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10 that eventually every knee will bow to the name of Jesus. It is then that all will experience calm.

You shall know them by their . . . excess?

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I am reminded of something I read about John Stott a while ago. He said that he wanted to live a lifestyle that would not cause the richest person in his congregation to feel sorry for him. Nor did he want the poorest person in his congregation to be put off by ostentation. He wanted to have a home where everyone would feel welcomed and comfortable. He wanted his home and lifestyle to be a platform for ministry.

The Apostle Paul was a good example to us in living in such a way as to make clear that his reason for ministry was only to bring the Gospel to those who desperately needed it. In 1 Corinthians 9:12, Paul tells his readers that while he had the right to expect the Corinthians to support him in his ministry, he worked to support himself lest his motive for ministry be questioned.

I have no idea what motivates the church leaders mentioned in the article. That is the problem, we don’t know. Their life style gives reason for some to question their motives, or assume that they are in ministry only for the money.

Of course, the church leaders who get it right and who work outside the church or who make do on small salaries for the privilege of sharing the Gospel do not make splashy headlines. For every church leader who participates in the abuse mentioned in the article, there are thousands or perhaps millions of men and women who serve their Lord in the church with no expectation of financial reward.

So, if you are one who is outside the church, I ask forgiveness for these abuses. I also ask you to look beyond what a few knuckleheads have done and judge the Church by her body of work through the ages. The abuse of a few does not nullify the fruitful sacrifice of the many.

They don’t even know how to blush – responding to a lack of shame

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Hiding FaceA recent ruling in Indiana held that sexually graphic pictures posted by school girls on Facebook are considered constitutionally protected speech. As a result, their school could not submit them to discipline for the photos.

The case was decided in court because the ACLU represented the girls to appeal the discipline that he school implemented in 2009. I assume that the parents of the two plaintiffs were in support of the ACLU bringing the case to court.

This morning I read Jeremiah 8:12, where God says through the prophet,

“Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed, Nor did they know how to blush.” The Israelites had lost their sense of shame when they committed indecencies.

Rather than teach the girls that the pictures posted were inappropriate and allowing the girls to face the consequences of a poor choice, seemingly the parents supported the poor choice by electing to go to court. Rather than blushing over their daughters’ indecent behavior, they endorsed it.

The point of this post is not to participate in hang-wringing and finger pointing. The church has done enough of that through the years with little good effect.

The point is that we as Christians need to stop and think about how we contribute to the moral decline in our country. We contribute to the moral decline by not living as if we are created in the image of God and every human life is sacred.

The fact that human life is sacred should play itself out in every aspect of our behavior, not just with regard to procreation and sexuality.

When we think that anyone is beyond God’s redemption we devalue human life. When we ignore injustice we devalue human life. When we support film, television and the arts that depict indecencies and gratuitous violence, we devalue human life. When we think more about our own comfort than the mission God has given us to make disciples, we devalue human life.

What these girls did was wrong and their parents are wrong for supporting them in that behavior. But before we get too exercised about what they have done, we, as the Church, had better make sure that our own house is in order.

I am reminded of a proverb that I first heard from Chuck Colson, “it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Shine on!

Herod was conflicted about John the Baptist

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Mark 6:20 is an interesting verse. The best manuscripts of this verse tell us that Herod was conflicted about what to do with John the Baptist. Herod’s wife, Herodias, wanted John dead, but Herod feared John and was at the same time intrigued and confused by John. (Note that the KJV and NKJV tell us that Herod “did many things” rather than “he was perplexed,” There is strong manuscript evidence for the latter reading and this reading makes more sense in the context.)

To fulfill the mission of the church to make disciples, the church will interact with those who know nothing about God, the Bible or Jesus Christ. When we do, there will be times when, like Herod, they will be perplexed by the message, but hopefully drawn to it at the same time.

There is quote that has been attributed to St. Francis of Assisi which says, “preach the gospel always, when necessary, use words.” There is something to this, we are called to live in such a way as to make the gospel attractive to those who have not yet heard it. Yet we also know that living out the gospel is only the means to earning the credibility to share the gospel in words.There was something about John the Baptist the Herod feared and liked at the same time. John earned the right to be heard by Herod by the integrity by which he lived.

That being said, John the Baptist did in fact use words. He preached an unequivocal message. He did not compromise his message for anyone, not even King Herod. We should do the same despite the pressure from outside, and sadly, inside the church to tailor the message to our post-Christian, post-modern society. The world needs to hear the straight truth about their need for a savior and that there is “one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5)

At the same time, we should not be dismayed if the world, like Herod, is perplexed by our message. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:14 that those who are not in relationship with Jesus cannot understand spiritual truth. So we should not be dismayed.

On the other hand, Paul also tells us in Romans 10:17 that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Therefore, we need to preach knowing that some will be perplexed by the message, yet hopeful that God will use the preaching to bring salvation and enlightenment to those who hear the message.

If we are faithful in accurately conveying the message of the gospel, God is able to break through whatever perplexity the hearer has. It is not our prerogative to make it more palatable. Dilution of the medicine renders it ineffective in curing the disease.

What do you think about this? Do you agree?

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