So far and no farther

Posted on April 18, 2016 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

As part of his prophecy against Babylon, Isaiah writes:

“These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments.” (Isaiah 47:9, ESV)

It is as if God is saying to Babylon, “I will let you go so far and no farther.” Isaiah tells Babylon that they may think that they have the power to do whatever they please, but they do not.

In 2016, we live in a world that seems to be increasingly chaotic. Hardly a week goes by without a story of a homicide bomber (their intent is homicide after all). Radical Islam is intent on taking over the world. This is clear from their actions and, like Babylon, they think that they have the power to do so.

Thinking about Islamic Jihad is troubling, but I learn from Isaiah that no matter how much power the Jihadists think they have, it is not enough to derail God’s plan.

There are times when evil must by physically opposed and restrained. This is the purpose of government as mentioned by the Apostle Paul in Romans 13:4. But I am not here calling for a counter-Jihad against the radical Islamists.

What I am calling for is an increased fervor in prayer that God himself will restrain the evil.

It is one thing to force someone into a behavior with which they don’t agree. It is another thing entirely to change the motivation for that behavior. One is externally forced upon a person, the other is internally motivated. Force can be used to externally restrain the Jihadists but the ultimate solution must come from internal motivation.

Only God can change the hearts of those who perpetrate evil. It is for this that we should be praying.

I am glad that we have security officials working diligently to thwart terrorist activities, but this is not enough.

All of Christendom must rise up in prayer to Almighty God that He intervene. Only God is able to bring about the peace that we so desperately crave. He longs to do so and has promised that eventually he will. For this we should be praying.

Can I remind you of what happened in Nineveh when Jonah preached? Perhaps Jonah and Nineveh would be a good topic for my next post.

Defending God’s honor? A response to the Islamic riots

Posted on September 19, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 3 Comments

Riots for honor?

In a blog post in response to the riots in the Islamic world, Tom Gilson asks the question, “what good is there in defending God’s honor?” In that post, Mr. Gilson highlights some differences between Islam and Christianity with the caveat that he has limited understanding of Islam.

As one who is also of limited knowledge of the Muslim faith, Tom’s article triggered some thoughts in me on how to respond to the rioting.

Take up your cross

Jesus tells us in the Gospels that those who seek to follow Christ are to take up our crosses. Luke 9:23 adds that this cross bearing is to be repeated daily. We are to embrace a symbol of humiliation. The result should be humility in us. We share the same tendency to pride and sin as the rest of humanity. It is only through the work of Jesus on the Cross that we can be other than what we were.

Go the second mile

Jesus also tells us that when asked to go a mile, we are to go two (Matthew 5:41). When we are slapped, we are to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39). To the one who demands our shirt, we should also give our coat (Matthew 5:40). Instead of defending our honor, we are called to surrender it for the sake of our relationship with God.

The founder of Christianity then went on to demonstrate how we are to do this by surrendering his own life on our behalf. He did not defend his own honor, but willingly embraced the shame and disgrace that should have been ours. He subjected his glory to the shame of our sin.

Anger doesn’t help

When faced with disgrace or a loss of honor, our natural response it one of anger and retaliation. Religious people of all stripes and colors, be they Atheists, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians or Marxists struggle with putting self above others. Some of these creeds actively teach humility, others do not. The actions of the rioters could be used as evidence that Islam falls into the latter category.

The point for Christians is that we are to respond in love, no matter how difficult it may be to do so. As Tom tells us in his post, Christians have wrongly tried to defend God’s honor and have made things worse as a result.

This is not a call to pacifism. Jesus actively resisted evil (remember him overturning the tables in the Temple courts?). Yet, when we see acts of senseless violence, the danger is to respond in pride and the wrong sort of self dignity. These will push us toward responding in unwarranted (but understandable) anger. Our response, if any, is to be measured against our call to love.

Jesus informed us that his teaching would bring a sword among us (Matthew 10:34) but his gave us no indication that it should be our hand that wields it.

Living Water or Broken Cisterns – A Choice for Western Society

Posted on May 4, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

Nature abhors a vacuum is a proverb that came to me as I contemplated Jeremiah 2:12–13 recently:

¹² Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, ¹³ for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. (ESV)

This prophetic statement was made to the Nation of Israel who had rejected God’s principles for living and had replaced worship of the Living God with the pagan rituals of the surrounding nations.

Anyone who has spent time in an arid climate understands the importance of water. A source of water is the first necessity in choosing a place to live. A spring, creek or river which flows year round would be the first choice. Living (moving) water is fresh and clean, and if it comes from a spring the water is cool.

A cistern, on the other hand, collects the water when it rains and the water becomes stagnant. As the water sits, microbes and insects grow in it and dust collects. It is water, and it will keep you alive, but is not nearly as pleasant as flowing water.

But notice that God makes reference to broken cisterns that can’t even hold water. It is not that the Israelites had chosen a viable alternative source for what they need. They had rejected God and replaced him with empty rituals that provided no benefit.

In 21st Century America, there is a renewed and more vigorous attack on the Judeo/Christian principles upon which this country was founded. The “new” atheists would like to remove thought and speech about God from public discourse. Religion is viewed by them as an old fashioned idea that has outlived its usefulness.

The popularity of books by Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins is evidence of how many in our society have adopted this premise. Yet, have the readers of these books thought through the implications of this choice?

Remember, nature abhors a vacuum. If we reject God and exclude him from our society, something will replace him, but what? Where will we find our guiding principles? Who or what will prevent totalitarianism? What will the “new atheists” give people as a means of determining value?

It is my opinion that if the Western culture continues the rejection of the Judeo/Christian God and his principles, society will succumb to one of two types of totalitarianism.

The first option is an atheistic totalitarianism such as fascism or communism. It is no mystery as to why atheism is the religion of the communist states. The communists build upon the concept of Darwinism; the strong dominate the weak. The “state” becomes the guide by which all decision should be made. Choice and freedom are greatly reduced or eliminated and conformity to the state is enforced.

The second option is a religious totalitarianism such as that of Islam and Sharia law. This is probably the more dangerous and likely option because of the devotion that Islam engenders. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world because of its militaristic foundation and its goal of universal conquest.

How will atheism stand up to Islam? I have never been aware of any atheist that was passionate enough about his atheism to strap a bomb on his body and die a martyr. This is commonplace (if misguided) in Islam.

The third and best option is for us to return to the God upon whom our country was founded. It seems to me that the only places where freedom of expression and freedom of belief have been in operation have been places where Christianity once held a dominant position. That freedom is the living water that we crave. Why reject that freedom when bondage is the alternative?

Do we really want to reject the one system that engendered freedom to pursue systems that take it away? I hope not.

What do you think?

Ed Stetzer, Jeremy Myers, Terry Jones and the Apostle Paul

Posted on April 4, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

On Saturday, I saw this Tweet from Ed Stetzer:

I agree with Ed and apparently so do others since this was retweeted 100 times to date.

I also appreciated Jeremy Myers’ response in his blog.

This morning I read in Acts 17 where Paul proclaimed the Living God at the Areopagus in Athens. Perhaps Terry Jones has never had to preach through this particular section of Scripture. Had he studied it, I wonder if he would have thought that burning the Koran was a good idea.

In this passage, Luke records that Paul entered into the discussion group, acknowledged that the men were religious and went on to politely highlight the differences in belief between their polytheism and his faith in Jesus.

The same Apostle who preached in the Areopagus tells us to “speak the truth in love” in Ephesians 4:15. We are to tell people what they need to know about the living God but as the example of Paul in Acts 17 shows us, it should be done with wisdom and love. It should never be done in a way that intentionally gives offense.

Most people don’t react well to being told that they are evil or stupid. Most people do not react well when objects that they value are desecrated. It is just the way we are wired.

I like the proverb, “it’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Instead of telling people they are wrong, perhaps its better to gently and respectfully tell them what the Bible says.

If there must be an offense, let it be the offense of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let it not be the offense of the messenger mangling the message.