Work, after eating food for thought...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4BXMD-gn40

I felt as though I would respond to this video, because I have heard these arguments over an over again, which suggests to me that not many people are addressing these issues. Furthermore it seems to allow people to not only disbelieve in God, but to feel okay about abandoning their quest for truth, or at least a truth that includes God.

First of all, I admit that I am at a disadvantage. I do not have the skills, resources, or time to produce a slick-looking cartoon. I am hoping that if the reader is genuinely interested in truth, they will do their best to be aware of their tendency to be drawn to animation rather than words, and combat that tendency. So let’s get started. 

# 1 - Thinly veiled arrogance. 

First of all, the big blind spot in this perspective is that it is portrayed to be the most humble, when the Atheist view is the most arrogant. He believes he is expressing humility by saying things like, ‘I don’t think I could be sure…’ which he believes suggest that he has a humble incredulity in regards to his own experience. 

However, if you watch the video closely, the experience of the Atheist is presented as superior to the experience of every one else. He is the smart one in judgment over all the other religious views. What qualifies him to judge all the other views? His own reasoning and experience. It is ironic because, as I’ll get to later, at least some in the crowd of theists trust holy literature above their own experience, which makes them more humble than the Atheist. 

Another few points of veiled arrogance are the way that the Atheists walks away at the end (showing, ‘he tried, but they are just too foolish…), his forceful, ‘logical' argument is met with silence (showing his thoughts to be wise), and the way the silence is broken followed by more arguing and fighting amongst the theists (showing that the theists have nothing to come back with). It draws out this unspoken, ‘If only more people were more level headed and logical like the Atheist, the world would be a better place.” Such a view needs to do some homework and see that Atheism does not breed utopia, not by a long shot.

# 2 - Straw man argument

If you don’t know what a ‘straw man argument’ is, it is when you put forth a weak version of a person's or group’s argument, in order to show how ‘stupid’ it is without doing the actual work of understanding what they believe and refuting it. That is what happens here, in AT LEAST the case of the few Christian denominations that are represented. I can’t speak for all the other ones. 

Although I am surprised at some of the accuracies, only the most bigoted and naive perspectives of each person’s faith is being represented here, and that is just not fair arguing. 

The first example of this is right at the very beginning. The video broad strokes all Theists as believing that God has spoken to them, simply because of some subjective ‘feelings’. I know that for myself, being a Christian, I am a staunch doubter of my emotions. Furthermore, Christians do not set their hope on their subjective feelings alone, we set them on the Word of God, and the Historical person of Jesus Christ. Here is Richard Dawkins admitting that Jesus Christ lived:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5EjA-JNiVk

If you want to argue the validity of the Bible, miracles, etc., there are many resources for such debates. The point is that Christians do not simply rest their belief that there is a God, and He speaks to them, based on their biased, subjective feelings. 

# 3 - Straight up lies. 

The Atheist says at 3:03, “typically, religion obeys borders, while truth does not”. He say this after a condescending lecture, finger pointed, harsh tone stating that their view of God comes from the way they were raised, and the view of God they were taught. This is simply not true, and there are some very obvious points behind me. 

Christianity, for example, was started in the middles east, amongst Jews. It moved around the world, taking hold in Europe, and then moving to North America. Today, China and Africa each have percentages of Christians that at least compete, if not completely overwhelm the numbers in the US and Canada. It is simply not true that, ‘for the most part, religion obeys borders’, at least not in the case of Christianity.

# 4 Differing perspectives on an issue does not mean all perspective are wrong. 

I’ll say it again: “Differing perspectives on an issue does not mean all perspectives are wrong!”. Let’s say there were 5 doctors that each at a different perspective on your health, and two of them said, ‘It’s cancer”. Would you throw up your arms and say, ‘Who can know if such smart people disagree!’ No, you would roll up your sleeves, and darn well figure out who is right.

This argument is more common among agnostics, but it is also used by Atheists: “If those religious people can’t agree, then logically, there is not point in finding out what is true. In fact, probably no one is right”. This is not even logical.

# 5 God should be clearer

The argument at the end says, “If God had a message about who He is, and what He requires of man, then why wouldn’t He express it in a way that we would all understand and agree on?” The answer to this is very simple: we don’t want to. 

Think about it. Have you ever had an argument with someone who refused to see plain logic because of the consequences of conceding to your argument? Of course! That is what this video is accusing theists of doing. The reason people all agree that 2 + 2 = 4 is because there are no consequences from the way we live whether it is 4 or 137. I can still do what I want, when I want, even if 2 + 2 = 4. But if the God of the Bible is real, then there are real consequences for the way I live. We see this all the time in how people twist scientific research into the harm of certain chemicals, etc, reinterpreting the results when there is money involved.  

So why doesn’t God just correct us all? Because He allows us to choose. He is humble enough to put His beautiful, eternal Word in a book, and simply say, “When you want to know, here it is”. With some He is more urgent, but that is the way He has done it in general. 

Things I like about the video

I actually appreciate that there has been some homework done in regards to different denominations, and that this person admits that there are true and real contradictions between these belief systems. I do believe there was some attempt to portray these views in a real and fair way, even though it failed in the ways I mentioned. My goal here is that those who have stopped thinking about the possibility of God and the next life would pick it back up again, since truth is worth it. 

I cleaned my room today: For the love of order.

I cleaned my room today before I sat down to work. 

It seemed to make a big difference, and I felt a twinge of joy and satisfaction seeing all the dust-free surfaces, and the toiletries on my dresser sorted by frequency of use.  

I have to admit, I am slightly embarrassed to announce this. These sorts of comments are normal relegated to the obsessive, the perfectionists, and the uptight, three traits you don't want on your eharmony profile. But is it wrong to love order? To see beauty in order?

Many of us strive for order in our lives, with varying results. 

Many of us try and reserve a small place of order in our lives: your room, your house, your office or even your computer (with your icons set up in just such a way, with all sorts of diagnostics apps telling you how things are going). 

Some of us have come to believe order is a bad things, as a result of some event, such as having kids. We believe that fun and order cannot exist together, so we conclude that order must be something bad--always threatening our relationships, making us irritable over the smallest things. Maybe we’ve even been wounded by those who love order in church: conflict and animosity over seemingly pointless things such as carpet colour, arrangement of the bulletin, and chair layout. 

Finally, some have even slipped into despondency and depression because they are continually disappointed by the lack of order in their world: new things get old, clean rooms get dirty, technology becomes obsolete, clothes get stained and shrink. They have found that endless hours of cleaning, organizing and upgrading have brought them no closer to the order that their hearts desire. 

There is only hope in Christ for any of these groups. 

See, the presence of Christ is the only place that the beauty of healthy inter-personal relationships, and the peace that comes from a perfectly ordered world are realized. 

1 Cor 14:33 (NIV) - “ For God is not a God of disorder but of peace…"

The reason many of us come into unnecessary conflict that stems from our desire for order is because we are taking a desire God has given us, which is meant to points us to the next life, and instead try and satisfy it in this temporary, broken world. 

Colossians 3:1 - 4 (ESV)

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

Should we not strive for order and peace here on earth? Absolutely we should. Yet we should not put our hope in it. A Christian who has put their hope in the peace, order and love that is present in heaven, will not become anxiety ridden, depressed, or irritable when the order they desire is unrealized on earth. 

Just so you know, I have a long way to go on this one too. 

So join with me in fighting that tendency to hope for the order I crave in this world, and  be ‘sober-minded,’ and ‘set your hope fully on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.’ 1 Peter 1:13. 

And finally, let us remember that  Christ left a world of perfect order and beauty (heaven), to come into a world, He created in perfect order and beauty, that we messed up, so that we could live forever in His world of perfect order and beauty. 

I don't know about you, but if I gave someone a house that we beautiful, and they destroyed it, the last thing I would want is to have them live at my house. He is amazing. 

Rainbow Flag, Confederate Flag.

Listening to a podcast the other day, a the juxtaposition of two flag stories prominent in local news came up. 

Well, one local, one international. 

In Abbotsford, city council had decided to fly the Rainbow flag, a symbol of pride and solidarity with those who embrace relationships outside of what might be called, ‘traditional’ (i.e. a man and a woman) 

In other news, people all over the states were calling for the abolishing of the confederate flag. 

So what do we have here? Two flags that minority groups find offensive: Gay pride flag, confederate flag. 

The minority that would find the Rainbow flag offensive would be many Christians, Jews, and Muslims, and perhaps others.  

The group that finds the confederate flag offensive is African Americans. 

The big question is: "why is it assumed that one flag is clearly offensive and should be taken down, and the other should be put up?" 

The answer has to do with minority (the bullied) and the majority (the bullies). The reason why culture thinks the rainbow flag is good, is because it represents the bullied and confederate flag represents the bullies. 

Therefore, the bully's flag must come down, and the flag of the bullied must go up.

Here we see one of the deepest values of western culture: 

"down with bullies and everything they stand for, up with the bullied and everything they stand for."

All good so far, right? 

One problem: who decides who the bullies are, and who the bullied are?

Well, the majority. Those with power and influence. 

This is a scary proposition. Why?

Because at one time, those who believed slavery was okay was the majority. Furthermore, throughout history, it has been those who have power and influence who have DONE the bullying. 

My point being this: 

We have put our selves in a precarious position indeed, when those of power and influence decide who is the bully and who is the bullied. What if they turn on your group next? What if they turn on you individually? 

Please be careful when you demonize an individual or group. The way to get people to hate and feel okay about it today is to say, ‘Look at what bullies these people are!'

This is already happening in our culture. If you are bored already, I understand. I'm waaaay over 150 characters. 

However, below I have compiled some excerpts in which we see the cruelty that is justified in the name if 'sticking it to the bully'. 

Full Article: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/how-one-stupid-tweet-ruined-justine-saccos-life.html?referrer=

Eventually I started to wonder about the recipients of our shamings, the real humans who were the virtual targets of these campaigns. So for the past two years, I’ve been interviewing individuals like Justine Sacco: everyday people pilloried brutally, most often for posting some poorly considered joke on social media.

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One person I met was Lindsey Stone, a 32-year-old Massachusetts woman who posed for a photograph while mocking a sign at Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknowns. Stone had stood next to the sign, which asks for “Silence and Respect,” pretending to scream and flip the bird. She and her co-worker Jamie, who posted the picture on Facebook, had a running joke about disobeying signs — smoking in front of No Smoking signs, for example — and documenting it. But shorn of this context, her picture appeared to be a joke not about a sign but about the war dead. Worse, Jamie didn’t realize that her mobile uploads were visible to the public.

Four weeks later, Stone and Jamie were out celebrating Jamie’s birthday when their phones started vibrating repeatedly. Someone had found the photo and brought it to the attention of hordes of online strangers. Soon there was a wildly popular “Fire Lindsey Stone” Facebook page. The next morning, there were news cameras outside her home; when she showed up to her job, at a program for developmentally disabled adults, she was told to hand over her keys. (“After they fire her, maybe she needs to sign up as a client,” read one of the thousands of Facebook messages denouncing her. “Woman needs help.”) She barely left home for the year that followed, racked by PTSD, depression and insomnia. “I didn’t want to be seen by anyone,” she told me last March at her home in Plymouth, Mass. “I didn’t want people looking at me.”

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“that girl at Halloween who dressed as a Boston Marathon victim. I felt so terrible for her.” She meant Alicia Ann Lynch, 22, who posted a photo of herself in her Halloween costume on Twitter. Lynch wore a running outfit and had smeared her face, arms and legs with fake blood. After an actual victim of the Boston Marathon bombing tweeted at her, “You should be ashamed, my mother lost both her legs and I almost died,” people unearthed Lynch’s personal information and sent her and her friends threatening messages. Lynch was reportedly let go from her job as well.

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I met a man who, in early 2013, had been sitting at a conference for tech developers in Santa Clara, Calif., when a stupid joke popped into his head. It was about the attachments for computers and mobile devices that are commonly called dongles. He murmured the joke to his friend sitting next to him, he told me. “It was so bad, I don’t remember the exact words,” he said. “Something about a fictitious piece of hardware that has a really big dongle, a ridiculous dongle. . . . It wasn’t even conversation-level volume.”

Moments later, he half-noticed when a woman one row in front of them stood up, turned around and took a photograph. He thought she was taking a crowd shot, so he looked straight ahead, trying to avoid ruining her picture. It’s a little painful to look at the photograph now, knowing what was coming.

The woman had, in fact, overheard the joke. She considered it to be emblematic of the gender imbalance that plagues the tech industry and the toxic, male-dominated corporate culture that arises from it. She tweeted the picture to her 9,209 followers with the caption: “Not cool. Jokes about . . . ‘big’ dongles right behind me.” Ten minutes later, he and his friend were taken into a quiet room at the conference and asked to explain themselves. A day later, his boss called him into his office, and he was fired.

“I packed up all my stuff in a box,” he told me. (Like Stone and Sacco, he had never before talked on the record about what happened to him. He spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid further damaging his career.) “I went outside to call my wife. I’m not one to shed tears, but” — he paused — “when I got in the car with my wife I just. . . . I’ve got three kids. Getting fired was terrifying.”

The woman who took the photograph, Adria Richards, soon felt the wrath of the crowd herself. The man responsible for the dongle joke had posted about losing his job on Hacker News, an online forum popular with developers. This led to a backlash from the other end of the political spectrum. So-called men’s rights activists and anonymous trolls bombarded Richards with death threats on Twitter and Facebook. Someone tweeted Richards’s home address along with a photograph of a beheaded woman with duct tape over her mouth. Fearing for her life, she left her home, sleeping on friends’ couches for the remainder of the year.

Next, her employer’s website went down. Someone had launched a DDoS attack, which overwhelms a site’s servers with repeated requests. SendGrid, her employer, was told the attacks would stop if Richards was fired. That same day she was publicly let go.

“I cried a lot during this time, journaled and escaped by watching movies,” she later said to me in an email. “SendGrid threw me under the bus. I felt betrayed. I felt abandoned. I felt ashamed. I felt rejected. I felt alone.

If you have read this far, I hope you will take a moment and consider these real people before you think that one act of ‘bullying’ means that any act of cruelty is justified. 

The Cruelty of a Secular Christmas

Over the years, I have heard many messages, some implicit, some explicit, about the true meaning of Christmas. Most of them seem slightly irritating, but harmless: “Christmas is all about that childlike wonder," and “Christmas is about giving”.

            Although I have not done a survey, I would have to say that “being near the ones you love” is one of the most universally agreed upon in our culture. One of the reasons this message is so powerful is because every year many of us get so consumed by the frenzy of gift buying, decorating, baking, etc, that 'being near the ones you love," seems profoundly deep and meaningful. But what if there is something even deeper? 

            See, to some, if Christmas is about 'being near the ones you love,' (or really any of the meanings of Christmas offered by secular society) then Christmas is just torture. Maybe their parents are divorced, and this is the first Christmas after. Maybe their family is tainted with abuse of some kind. Maybe their family get together is haunted by the huge hole left by a missing family member. Where are the ‘tidings of great joy’ for all of these people? Is Christmas the ‘most wonderful time of the year,’ for everyone, or just for a narrow sliver North Americans living in naïve opulence? I wonder how many have given up on the experience of belonging and love that we are ‘supposed to feel’ this time of year, and therefore given up on Christmas.

            But what if Christmas is actually MORE for those who HAVE huge holes in their family than it is for those who live in the card-castle of domestic harmony? What if Christmas is actually about celebrating the beginning of something huge: the beginning of a process that will end all the hurt, all pain, and even all death? If the broken hearted out there are able to find a radio station that sings about the right ‘baby’ this Christmas, then you might find hope in lyrics like this:

“No more let sins and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground.

He comes to make, His blessings flow, far as the curse is found…” (Joy to the World)

“O come, Thou Day-Spring come and cheer

our spirits by Thine advent here.

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

and death’s dark shadow put to flight.” (O Come O Come Emmanuel)

This is why EVERYONE can celebrate Christmas; because the King of the Universe came to make war on all that is ugly, filthy, tragic, and horrifying, whether it be inside our hearts, or around us. He came to put an end to all sorrow and pain. That is why we can sing, “Joy to the world!” when all we feel is broken. That is why we say, “Oh sing, choirs of angels!” when all we feel we can do is weep. 

Not only did God declare war on all evil in this baby born in a manger, but He also promised to win that war. There will come a day when He will return in glory and take all of those who trust in Him to a land without sorrow or pain. 

May many gain true peace and joy this Christmas by trusting in Christ, and may those who already do grow ever more eager for that day. 

Merry Christmas

Real Men Drink Afternoon Coffee Part II: Stop Cultivating Failure

My last blog was a challenge to the social norms of men in our culture, in how they view their day. However, it was mostly applicable for men who are already married.
However, the central principle in this blog will be the same. How do you view your day? Is it about pushing through the dreary, boring, stressful parts to arrive at the ‘oasis’ of personal gratification? Or are our days lived out in faithfully seeking to serve others as God leads?
    I started at marriage because in many ways, that is the easy one. Most people would not balk at the idea that a Christian man must be prepared to serve his wife and family when he comes in the door at night. However, the single man is a different story. Try convincing a young single man, even a Christian young single man, that they ought to fill their single evenings and weekends with serving others. Again, I’d like to go to the word of God to start this conversation.

1 Cor 7:32-34a
“I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided.”

    I may not be going, at this point, where you think I am going. Most may know that most often this verse is used to help singles to be content in their singleness, while inadvertently sending them into a pit of depression.
    No, rather I want us to notice what is missing from this verse. Paul puts men into two categories: those who are married and worried about worldly things, and those who are single about focused only on the Lord. There is no category for those who are single and, ‘anxious about worldly things’.
    But how many of us single guys could honestly say, “Yep, that’s what I’m going to miss about being single: having all of my time committed to the Lord (serving others and contemplative time)”? That definitely has not been my experience hanging out with single guys. Single, Christian men are by and large about balancing out making enough money for themselves, and having enough free time for themselves. Some will work more, some will spend time on themselves more, but generally, that is the time split: money for me, and time for me (or doing school for me, so I can make money for me).
    Underneath this selfish lifestyle is an ideology that few would seriously admit to believing, but few, if any, of us single males are exempt from: “I’m single now, so I should enjoy it while I can”. This is not Biblical. This is not God honouring, and what it does, is cultivate marital failure.    
    Those single men who enjoy non-stop evenings of hanging out with other singles, video games, movies, etc., confess by their actions that they somehow believe that their spouse will be the catalyst the breaks open the time-hardened dam of selfishness, and let loose a flood of self-denying affection and service. Please.
    If we stop and think about it for a second, we know, that just like any other un-fleshly quality, it must be cultivated. This cannot be done without the work of the Spirit of God in our lives, but I would submit to you that if there was ever a generation of men who were exceptionally gifted at quenching the Spirit of God in regards to His prompting to live for others, and to spend time with God, it is our generation.
    Please think about this illustration. Imagine that at whenever point you started to be interested in girls, God led you outside to a patch of tilled ground and said to you: “I want you to tend this garden until you get married. The healthier the garden is when you get married, the better your marriage will be”. As the soft-hearted meditate on this, they will recognize that there have been some painful weeds that have made their way into that garden over the course of our lives. Pornography. Financial folly. Cowardice. They are weeds in that garden and we know it, and we hate it, and we are doing what we can to get them out of their.
    But I want you to understand that this attitude of, “I’m single now, so I should enjoy it while I can,” is not just, staying with the garden illustration, going inside and playing video games while the garden goes to the birds. It is actively planting weeds in your garden. It is intentionally making your garden worse than it would be even if you just left it alone.
    Now, I don’t want to set up your future wife as the idol that causes you to make every good decision in your life. The glory of Christ ought to be the highest motivation (among others), and if it isn’t, that is another big weed that we don’t have time to deal with here. But what I am saying is that if you seriously want to get married, you need to start to cultivate a successful marriage today.
    So what would it look like if single guys started acting like they were married, in preparation for marriage? Well, for starters, more evenings committed either to the service of others, or to contemplative time with Jesus. Money managed in such a way that once needs were met and savings set aside, it was not a free-for-all. Practically, this could mean a lot. If you work eight hours a day, and make a descent wage where you are able to put away savings and be generous to others, then I would say you should look to the church. Use your time and income to serve the bride of Christ until you have your own bride and those resources become more limited. If you have an eight hour job and it does not pay well enough to put anything into savings or allow you to be generous, or pay your debts, then this life style might look like working 10 to 12 hours a day to make sure your debts are paid off, and/or you are saving for marriage/being generous with your money. I cannot cover all the possibilities. I would start by asking a wise, godly, married man what it might look like to use your time and resources in a way that cultivates selfLESSness, and not selfishness. Ask him how many ‘singleness habits’ he had to break when he got married, and if you dare, ask him how he spent his free time when he was single (this question will likely be more devastating depending on how old the man who chose to ask is).
    As a final word, I’m not saying that we can never go out to a movie or hang out with friends again. But our rest should be intentional. Isn’t that we want? Lives that are intentional instead of following fleeting desires? Intentional rest means finding those things that restore you in order to get you healthy to serve, rather than just trying to strike the balance between working enough to get enough money to have fun when your not working. This is also something that is extremely difficult without someone older and wiser guiding you.
    Let us all humbly seek the Lord on how we can further abandon the lies and idols of this culture that are destroying our marriages and families, and let us cultivate a loving, healthy, God honouring marriage today. I’m praying for you.

Real Men Drink Afternoon Coffee

While I realize that there are a multitude of reasons for men to have their coffee thing in the morning, I would submit that in general, the reason is that the perception is that the biggest challenge of the day is at the beginning.

Getting through the haze of sleep, the onslaught of thoughts detailing the vast, waterless expanse of the work day. But there is something else that the preferred hour of caffeine intake gives away: that the dying hours of the day are the least important ones.

Almost like the day is seen as a big hill that is to be ascend on a bicycle. As 2:00 rolls around, it changes from a moderate climb, to a flat path, and on to a decline around 4:30 (roughly based on a 9-5 work day).

In other words, the general consensus of males in North America is that the time of focus, exertion and effort ceases as they arrive at home. As if eight hours is all that should ever be expected of a man in a 24 hour period.

This attitude is ravaging the homes of North America, and not just secular homes. Christian homes as well. So many men looking at the work they do as the testing ground for their character and strength. All the while ignoring the fact that (I would argue) Biblically, the primary place the Lord shapes a man’s character is in the home.

I’m not saying that we ignore our attitudes and the opportunities to learn and grow in the workplace. God knows, most of us could use some improvement in our workplace. What I am saying is that if you have the respect and admiration of everyone at work, and your house and home is a place of conflict and turmoil, you’ve lost.

What does the Word say?

Let’s look at the qualifications of an overseer, or elder in the church.

“He (the overseer) must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?”

1 Timothy 3:4-5 (ESV)

It may not be immediately apparent that this verse essentially teaches that the primary place God uses to shape a man’s character is in the home. But what is this verse clearly implying? What is it anticipating?

It is clearly anticipating that there will be men, who will be considered for eldership, that have everything cool and collected at church, but their home is a mess. Furthermore, those men are not to be ordained as elders.

And the Bible is simply clarifying something that we all know, albeit with reference to the relatively small category of elders: people, especially men, are great at putting on a front during the work day, but not so good at putting on a front at home.

here is just one example of how it works out:

One of the beautiful things about women, is you can’t hide from them. The old adage, ‘If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say nothing at all,’ tends not to work with women. Women are not satisfied with men who ‘don’t say nothing at all’ (and they ought not be satisfied). You cannot be a man who says nothing to his wife, and his children, and feel as though you’ve done your job and spared your family from whatever negativity you have cultivated in your heart. You haven’t done your job, you have failed.

Serving our families means fighting sin by meditating on the cross, and brining our hearts to a place of worship and joy before we walk in the door in the evening. And that will lead to a life-speaking husband and father. That is why Paul tells Timothy: “you want to see what a man is made of? Look at his family.”

Perhaps the verse that brings this together is simply,

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her,”

Ephesians 5:25

How does Christ love the church? Does He allow the offenses and wounds that He suffered diminish the purity and selflessness of His actions toward her? Does He respond to the church well when the church loves Him well, and is indignant or withdrawn when He feels He has been disrespected or misunderstood? I could go on, and in fact, in our meditations, we MUST go on. Go on until your soul is helped.

Yes we will fail, but I truly believe that we set ourselves up for failure when we perceive the hours that require our greatest performance between 9 and 5. So where do you put your emphasis in the day? Is it trying to push through the morning? Or do you REALLY get down to business as you walk through that door at night?

What would the homes of our nation look like if the husbands and fathers relegated the bulk of their emotional and physical vitality for the hours AFTER work? What cancerous seeds are planted by an entitled man walking through the door like Mr. Banks from Mary Poppins:

"I run my home precisely on schedule
At 6:01, I march through my door
My slippers, sherry, and pipe are due at 6:02
Consistent is the life I lead!

...It's 6:03 and the heirs to my dominion
Are scrubbed and tubbed and adequately fed
And so I'll pat them on the head
And send them off to bed
Ah! Lordly is the life I lead!"

So perhaps some of us ought to pass by that first cup of coffee in the morning, and start a routine of afternoon coffee.

Next time: what if I’m a single guy?

Is it Biblical to ‘Surrender’?

If you haven’t noticed, there is quite a bit of ‘surrender’ language in the church. Popular worship songs admonish us to, “surrender all,” “surrender all to You,” and “wave our white flag,” (All songs I personally enjoy by the way). I don’t think you have to be a Freudian psychoanalyst to see that this is representing something about the way we see sanctification: the process by which we become holier, more mature Christians.


Some people may be surprised to know that not one time in the new testament, does Paul, Jesus, Peter, or anyone else encourage the Christian to ‘surrender’(see footnote 1).

I have seen the fruit of a passive approach to sanctification in the teaching of people I have looked up to over the years as well. On one occasion, the leader of our young adults group taught from the armor of God text in Ephesians 6, that with our armor, we are not supposed to fight, but only to ‘stand’. “Put on the whole armor...that you may be able to stand...” (Eph 6:11) Reading the next verse would have showed him that we do indeed ‘wrestle’.

On another occasion, I was enthusiastically sharing some insights from a book on sanctification with a pastor, and he too saw the Christian life as one of ‘surrendering’ rather than one of battle or work.

Going back to the Bible, in the absence of the word surrender, we have words and phrases like this: “put to death” (Romans 8:13), “fight the good fight” (Tim 6:12), “strive” (Luke 13:24), “run the race” “discipline my body” (1 Cor 9:24-27), and on and on I could go (see footnotes 2).

So am I advocating that we go on a crusade to rid our music and preaching of this word?

No.

I believe this word is an imperfect attempt to communicate two good concepts or principles of Christianity:

First, it speaks of an abandonment of our efforts to be right with God, and receive the grace of Jesus Christ: His death in our place for our sins, and the gift of His righteousness. That is a good concept.

Secondarily, I think it refers to the concept expressed by Galatians 3:2-3:

“Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

In other words, there IS an aspect to Christian sanctification that you COULD say is a surrendering of our fleshly desires to our spiritual ones. To fill this out, one more place where the concept of surrender is exemplified in scripture. Romans 6:2:

“How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

It is a bit of a stretch, but I believe that the concept of ‘dying’ has been reinterpreted as ‘surrendering’. So perhaps the concept is somewhat in the Bible.

So what is my problem, why do I bring it up at all?

Because I believe the term, ‘surrender’ must be carefully qualified by church leaders before being accepted wholesale into the framework of sanctification.

Think with me about the person who is trying to quit smoking, or taking second looks at girls, or who is feeling as though they must offer a particularly humbling apology, and the word the have ringing in their ears is, “just surrender”. I suppose some people might come to the right conclusion, but I’m willing to wager that most Christians will take that to mean, “Smoke the cigarette, check out the girl, and don’t apologize”.

What I’m saying is that we have to let people know that this surrender will likely be hard. Really hard. Most of us have felt the lure of the flesh, and have felt as though the Spirit needs to speak up a bit at times. So yes, we are surrendering to our spiritual desires, we are surrendering to the will of God, but it will not be easy. It will often be hard, it will often be painful, it will take work, effort, striving, and all of that.

Let’s get our surrendering right.

1 NIV uses the word ‘surrender’ once in Luke 23:25 “He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.” This word is ‘paradiomi’ which is more commonly translated, ‘to deliver or give over’. 


2 Kevin Deyoung, The Hole in Our Holiness (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2012), 88

A Defense of Heavy Music

My intention in this short piece is to defend heavy music for the sake of the lost and immature in Christ, that those who are mature may not alienate them in condemning their music and their subculture and in essence them. (because, if we’re honest, we all know how music can draw us in to the point where an insult to our music is an insult to us...)

I implore the reader to NOT use my arguments to fuel a disagreement between them and someone in their church or family. Those who are mature in Christ really have no option but to give up their preferences for the sake of their relationships. If God chooses to bless me with a wife, and she hates heavy music, I intend to joyfully relegate that music to my headphones or when my wife is not by my side, where I hope she would be for as much of our married life as possible.

It would be a truly sad commentary on any relationship if they were willing to chose a musical preference over a relationship.

That being said, let us begin.

Musical argument

I have repeatedly heard the argument against heavy music, that ‘it isn’t music’. If that is true, than the critic of heavy music need not show any understanding or engage in any discussion about its merits as music. I intend to show that it IS music.

The reason why many in our culture have a hard time understanding heavy music is because our ears are immediately drawn to the lead vocals, and it is there that we search for the melody or ‘hook’ of the song.

When confronted with heavy music (or rap, but that is another discussion...) they are greeted not only with disagreeable screaming or growling, but NO MELODY! To being to understand heavy music, you have to see the vocals as more of a percussive instrument. Or perhaps more like a ‘didgeridoo’. A monotone instrument, which can vary in percussive qualities, intensity, volume, etc.

I believe this is where the idea comes that it is not music. But as you hopefully can see at this point, just because the lead vocals do not contain a melody, does not mean it is not music.

In fact, growl/screaming is one of the most amazing percussive instruments. it can convey emotion in a way that beating on a skin stretched over a wooden case could never hope to convey. It holds within it all the percussive sounds of a full drum set: high hat, snare, toms, etc. It truly is amazing, and I’ll be honest, I wish I could do it.

Theological argument

The second reason why many people, especially Christians, frown upon heavy music is because of the anger or other negative emotions that seems to be there.

However, I would challenge the heavy metal hater: we are in a culture that has sinfully relegated anger to evil. It is not sinful to be angry. If I hear about a child molester who has take advantage of my niece, and I am not angry, I am a sociopath.

Does all heavy Christian music demonstrate righteous anger? Not at all. But just a it would be wrong to judge all pop music to be sinful if it does not convey joy stemming from a perfectly theologically correct source, it is wrong to judge all heavy music for being not perfectly theologically correct anger. Furthermore, the sinful distaste for anger has worked its way into the church.

I have heard pastors, 10, 20, and even 30 years into the ministry shocked by the wrath of God in the old testament. Men who have dedicated their lives to the study of God as revealed in His word! I have heard dear people in the faith unwilling to look upon the death of Christ as displayed in “The Passion of the Christ,” even though many scholars believe that the actual crucifixion would have been worse.

The modern evangelical church has relegated the righteous, holy, loving wrath of God to the equivalent of ‘potty language’ or ‘unnecessary crudeness’.

All that to say, the average church member is not equipped to hear heavy music, and appreciate character of God as expressed in the music, because for the average North American church member, the wrath of God is very insignificant, and certainly isn’t something beautiful about God.

So my point is, if someone is offended by heavy music to the point where they won’t even respect that it is a music style, just one they don’t enjoy, then IT IS POSSIBLE, that this attitude is a symptomatic of a lack of understanding of who our Glorious God is.

Let me reiterate: It is not wrong to dislike heavy music! But I would submit it is very likely wrong to condemn it as in illegitimate art form, or inherently sinful.

Conclusion

I have been blessed by God throughout the years as God has allowed me to be made fun of on numerous occasions because of my love for heavy music. He has taught me a lot about how selfish I am, and how I need to grow in ‘letting it go’ and ‘not taking it personally,’ and I still have a long way to go.

But I hope that this brief piece will encourage the body of Christ to be one in a more profound way, as we continually seek to put aside our differences and love each other for the fame and renown of Jesus Christ, our beautiful Savior.

God is merciful

Many of us wish we could confront God on the manner in which He executes judgement in the Bible, especially in the old testament. What many people don’t understand, is that the Bible records a conversation between Himself and Abraham, with that very topic.

In Genesis 18, verses 22-33, what we have is an Abraham who is informed that God is about to destroy Sodom for her immorality, but deeply believes that there must be a group of righteous people in Sodom. Therefore, Abraham confronts God on the injustice that would result if an entire city was swept away, even if righteous people lived in it. Abraham haggles with God, starting with 50 men, eventually ‘talking God down’ to 10 men. If there are 10 righteous men, in Sodom, then God will not destroy it.

What we have is a classic modern scenario. A man who thinks that he is more just than God. We may have different standards, but the issues is the same. Abraham believes that he is more merciful, more loving than God. He believes that if not for his rhetoric, God may have swept away 50 righteous people with the many wicked. How many modern readers think the same? But what happens in the story?

It turns out, that there are no righteous people in the city. First, everyone in the city turns up at Lot’s house that night, in order to gang-rape his two angelic visitors. I know that is offensive; that’s the point. The men in this town are evil. What about Lot? Well, he offers his two daughters to this lustful crowd, to appease them. Not exactly what I would call a noble and righteous father. Finally, in chapter 19 we have the character of Lot’s two daughters exposed, when they get their father drunk and have sex with him on two consecutive nights, in order to get pregnant.

But God is merciful. He saves Lot! There is no requirement in his discourse with Abraham that would bind him to saving Lot. But he does it anyway. Why? Because Lot is so righteous? No! As we have already seen, Lot is a filthy coward. Even when the angels offer to save him, Lot dawdles around, and they have to physically take him out of the city (19:16). And even then, when the angels tell him to escape to the hills, he says, “No, I want to go to another city”. After God says that’s okay, he goes to the hills. Wow.

On a final note, the two children that result from the incestuous intercourse of Lot’s daughters, end up being the starting point for two evil nations that cause Israel a great deal of trouble. What sort of legacy would have come from a whole city of evil men?

If you haven’t seen the point yet, it is simply this: God is far more merciful than we are. If anyone is saved by Him, it is due to grace: unmerited favor (Gen 19:29). And before we start to argue with Him like Abraham did, we should take some time to read and reflect on this story.

Faith vs Doubt: Don't be extreme

I have noticed recently a sort of “back and forth” movement between the virtues of faith, and the virtues of doubt.

Those on the “faith” side, will site countless Biblical passages that encourage us to have faith in a variety of situations. However, men, being sinful, have taken those commands, and have created scenarios where people feel they must lie about their doubts in God, His Word etc., creating a inauthentic culture where any challenging questions are frowned upon because they could create doubt.

In reaction to this fake culture, the post-modern christian culture has made doubt a thing of health and maturity, as though, if you don’t doubt certain things about God, then you are just a bigoted, immature, fundamentalist who really doesn’t believe God can stand up to you doubts. As a result, we start to see the unhealthy extreme of, “Is it really wrong to have sex before marriage? I don’t know.” In other words, Christians using their “virtuous doubt,” to make moral compromises.

These two views are obviously extreme; and I would argue, both wrong.

The Bible commands us to have faith (1Cor 16:13). But we should not lie if we don’t (Rom 12:3). Neither should we embrace our doubt as though there is something virtuous about the doubt itself (Luke 12:28). The Christian that, in the face of Christians who condemn doubt, challenges the virtue of faith itself, is still bowing to fear of man or people pleasing. In other words, the truly humble person, who believes the gospel, can say, “Yes, I don’t have faith. No, it is not good. Praise God, that I walk under the blood of Jesus while I come to a stronger faith.” The reason Jesus says, If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move mountains,(Matt 17:20) is not necessarily so that we can all become entrepreneurs, whether altruistic ones or not. It was more so that we can rest secure in the promise of our salvation, even when are faith is small.
Even when our faith does not all the implications it should have.

So what do we do?

1. Pursue faith.

• Don’t wallow in your doubt unnecessarily.
  
• Ask God to strengthen your faith. Earnestly desire to be a man or woman of more faith. Ask as the man in scriptures, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”
• Read your Bible, even when it doesn’t seem to change anything, or even if it seems to make it worse.

2. Pursue community.

• Read good books, don’t immerse yourself in other doubters.
• Serve.

If you are the one with faith, and the other is the doubter:

• Listen patiently to the doubts of others.
• Don’t condemn others for having doubts.
• Don’t correct them immediately if possible, hear them out.
• Do guide them to good material, share your own journey, remind them that God loves them no matter what, demonstrate it.
• Don’t be afraid to lovingly challenge sin in their lives

3. Pursue a fear of God that would outweigh your fear of man.

• Recognize when you are acting out of a fear of man. I believe most don’t believe that they guilt and condemnation they feel from other Christians when they express doubt is largely due to their own insecurities and desire to be loved and affirmed by other Christians. How ironic is it then to create a culture where those who don’t doubt as much are ostracized and belittled!

With Love,

Tawmis.

Another Reason...

In the hope of restoration, that is restoring a Christian who has, for whatever reason, chosen to pursue a dating relationship with someone who is not, here is another reason that may help you to see this sin the way Jesus does.
I think that it is pretty clear biblically, that as you grow closer to Christ, you become a better person. You become more secure, less needy, more selfless, etc.. That is due to God’s grace. He is changing you. But for what? I hope that you would agree that he is not primarily changing you for you. It is not so that you become more popular, have more friends, etc. He is changing you for HIS glory. That people might go, “what’s up with you?” and you might say, “not what, who: Jesus”. Thereby giving credit, or glory, to Jesus Christ.
When Christians date non-Christians it is particularly grotesque, because you are using the good character traits that God has given you in order to disobey Him.
It would be like a husband buying His wife a new dress and jewelry for their anniversary, and then her wearing it down to the club so she could pick up guys. Or, for the men, it would be like your sweet wife buying you that hot car you always wanted, and you going down town and picking up young ladies in it. Think about it.
You are committing adultery on your first love. You are using the gifts He gave you, out of love, to betray Him.
If you think I am off base, or my language is too strong, read Ezekiel 16, or James 4:4.
I love you.

Entitlement or Faith?

The other day I was driving downtown for some errands, and I was looking for a parking spot and I realize, “I get good parking downtown fairly often”. I was getting closer and closer to where I needed to go, and parking wasn’t showing up, and I thought to myself, “don’t worry, you have faith that God will provide a good parking spot.” I gave my head a shake after that. “Really? Is that why I often get good parking spots?” Then the truth came in. I actually think I DESERVE good parking spots! What would lead me to that? I’m not totally sure, but maybe it is a bit of theology that says, “Jesus loves you, so you will get the best of everything.” otherwise known as “prosperity theology”. Which, in case you’re wondering, is wrong.
So I wonder how many of us do this: expect things in “faith” that is actually expected in entitlement not faith. I know people do, because tragedy strikes, a job is lost, a family member gets sick, and there is a reaction like, “What the heck? I had faith that my family would stay healthy! I had faith I would keep my job!” But did you have faith? Or did you just figure, “I deserve to have a healthy, happy family and a job”?
If I had to blame one thing for this misunderstanding, it would be a lack of understanding of the Bible. God does not promise us a good job, He does not promise that all our family will always be healthy. So when you say you are having faith in God maintaining these things, you are not having faith in God, but rather, your IDEA of God. A figment of your imagination. Let me say it another way.

If you have faith in God to do something He has not promised to do, your faith is worthless. Faith is only as strong as the object you place it in.

The issue is we look around at people and think, “They have a healthy family, a good job, a nice house, so I deserve one too.” That is a lie. We only deserve to be in hell for our sins. And regardless of how many people enjoy the things you long for, you are not entitled to receive them. I am not entitled to receive them.
So it is comparisons to others that starts this. It is walking by sight and not by faith that begins the growth of entitlement which we believe is faith. How ironic.
So let us have faith in something that won’t disappoint us in the long run, though we may feel disappointed at times: God is good, God is love, Jesus loves us. Let us truly walk by faith and not by sight.

The Trinity and Childcare

Most people would not deny that running a childcare is tough. But you would be amazed at what kinds of things kids will do once they get into a routine. They will clean up their toys cheerfully, they will get their lunches, brush their own teeth, go to the bathroom, wait in line, eat nicely, and all sorts of things that normally you would never get them to do. So in one way, it is easier than people think.
In another way it is harder. Because the “community” is always changing. Every time a new child comes in, he or she throws everything off. Not only does the new child NOT clean up the toys, NOT eat nicely, etc. etc., they cause every other child to question the necessity of the task at hand. In short, they make a big mess of what was a nice peaceful community.
We all know that churches can be the worst for little cliche groups. We like them because everyone knows the routines, and no one really questions. And if someone new enters into the group, not only do they make us uncomfortable, but they also cause problems between others that seem like they never were there until the new person arrived.
God’s community is perfect. Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwelling together in perfect love and joy. And they invited us into their community. Why would they do that? If a new person seems to throw our little cliche group into a bit of chaos, then what kind of challenge would it be for a perfect community to accept evil sinners like you and me? How do we know how uncomfortable we made God’s community? We look at the cross. That was the cost of letting new people into the community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The bloody, torturous death of Jesus Christ. He did it in love. That’s why.
As people who believe the gospel, we cannot allow ourselves to huddle in our safe little groups and reject people because they might change the dynamics in our careful group. As outsiders, we need to realize that even if no group ever accepts us, The best community in eternity has accepted us, at great cost. Let’s look for how the gospel applies to every area of life.

Jesus Christ and Sports part 2

A Positive thing that major sporting events indicate.

One thing that I believe is a good thing about major sporting events in general, is that in a way, it has taken the place of war. Think about it. The fact that we have Olympics, World Cup, etc., shows that we have unprecedented peace and prosperity on our land. It wasn’t too long ago when certain sporting events couldn’t take place because of the danger.
Back in ancient times, the reasons for a city or nation rejoicing together was because of a major conquest or a fending off of an enemy. A much more worthy reason to rejoice, to be sure. However, we now do battle in the stadiums in the world, and we are not killing anyone.
If we are spending money on athletes, that is money that is not going towards training soldiers and making weapons. It is a ‘lesser of two evils’ situation, for sure, since sports can have its evil, which I will talk about next.
But I still maintain that it is something that we should be thankful for!

Jesus Christ and Sports part 1

Outside Christendom, there are three basic reactions to the arrival of a major sporting event. The first is by the fans of the sporting event. This is easy enough to spot, and ranges from mild enthusiasm to outright fanaticism. The next group are those who have no real care or understanding of the sporting event in general, so they are mostly indifferent. The third group emerges as the second group becomes inconvenienced or made to feel inferior because of the sporting event. This can be especially contentious when a wife is ignored or disregarded due to sporting event that to her seems to have little or no significance. It causes problems in other people when something they love, (ie a TV series) is interrupted for coverage of the sporting event.

Inside Christendom, the groups are very similar, but there is a slight difference. The third group will often revert to self-righteousness. As in, they will act like martyrs who are being persecuted for their love for Jesus, which outweighs their love for the sporting event, unlike the other immature Christians who have succumbed to the devil’s sporting event; conveniently overlooking their own fanaticism when the season finale, or concert, or the other thing that they love comes into view and challenges their own love for Jesus.
I am ashamed to say that I have been the self-righteous ‘martyr’ and the fanatic.

I’ll talk more about the balance later.

Once a year risk...

One of the most difficult things to see in the life of a Christian in the sprint mentality in regards to risk.
What I mean is the idea that we can just pump out 100m and then walk it out for few km and hope to win the race.
This plays out in the area of “risk taking” or “leaps of faith” or whatever you want to call it.
It usually plays out something like this:

A relatively new Christian has some musical ability, but is incredibly shy. People around him encourage him to play on the worship team, and he confesses that God has been leading him to this. Finally, after much encouragement, maybe some rebuke, he gets up there and plays a set on the worship team, and he loves it! And life is exciting, and his obedience gives him confidence to be obedient in other areas.
However, before too long, it isn’t a big risk anymore. He is comfortable up on stage, and God is calling him to new risks. However, this time there is more resistance. Whenever God calls him to a new risk, Satan slinks up and whispers, “Hey, you’re already on the worship team, what more does God want? That was really hard for me!”
Now what was once a source of joy in God actually hampers spiritual growth as it become an agent of justification for all sorts of small, yet soul-draining compromise.

(of course, the worship team is just an example, it can be any area of service or risk...)

I unfortunately see this in myself as well. I want to be ready to obey whenever God calls, but there is a strong tendency to live off of the obedience of yesterday, but Jesus calls us to take up our cross each day.

The worst thing about it is that when I choose to ignore these prodding's, life becomes incredibly boring, and so does God. And I blame Him, but the boredom in my life is no one's fault but my own. Let’s get off the couch, there is no one, or nothing else worth living for.

Predator or Protector: What Kind of Man are You 2010

An updated version of an old blog, seems to be relevant right now.

"Wild at Heart" has been a huge thing, at least in the Christian community lately. It's call for boys to be men, it's declaration that all the longings for beauty and battle in men are God given and to be honored and embraced. But how does that translate to our culture of latte's and LCD TV's? How do we engage in battle for a beauty in this culture? That answer might surprise you.

I think I will just come right out and say that most guys believe that they are the good guy. The bad guys are out there somewhere: hurting, abusing, and otherwise degrading women. You are most prone to think this way if you have had a dramatic change in your life where you treat woman much better than you have previously. But make no mistake, the person you are protecting the women in your life from is primary YOURSELF. Yes you.

There are two general desires that our actions around females will emanate from: Our desire to be a protector and our desire to be a predator.

The predator may not even be aware he is a predator, but he only need as these types of questions to determine whether he is protecting women or preying on them: Am I doing everything in my power to protect this girls heart? Am I being as clear as possible about my intentions? Am I avoiding deep, soul connecting moments and conversations? (those conversations are appropriate when you have made your intentions clear to a girl!)

How many times have you seen it happen? Male A spends countless hours with female B under the guise of “we’re just friends”. Eventually (it can happen both ways), female B develops feelings for male A, and male A responds, “What? I had no idea! I thought we were just friends!” That’s garbage.

I see many predators in the church. I see a predator in myself from time to time, and by God’s grace, I am becoming more of a protector.

I understand the feelings of strength and masculinity that come from having these conversations and moments with a girl. But we have to face up to the fact that to draw out a woman’s heart when we have no intention of marriage, is cowardly and evil. We need to have our needs for significance and masculinity met in how God sees us, not how women treat us.

The protector sees girls not as a way to boost his own ego, but as precious treasures that he is charged by God to protect. Each young lady that is your friend puts you in the place of responsibility to fight and protect her heart. That means you watch what you say, you don't imply more than you want out of the relationship. That means you watch how flirty you are, you don't imply more than you want out of the relationship. And it means you are wiling to have the DTR talk (define the relationship) as often as it takes to make sure that your coming across the way you intend: as a loving brother. YOU PROTECT HER HEART!

So where does this fight come in? Well, you have to fight yourself. You have to fight to keep your mind on who you are before God, because if you don't, you will feel insecure and will need to have your confidence boosted by your girl friends, and therefore become a predator instead of a protector.