A few weeks back, my roommates and I had what became a rather extended discussion about why we would vote one way or the other on the issue of banning same-sex marriages. And with President Bush wasting taxpayers' money and congressmen's time trying futilly to add a Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages, I can't help think about it (along with how negligent the current administration is).
If you're a biblically-minded Christian or anyone else who believes homosexual marriages to be wrong, what would you do when faced with a vote that would either ban or permit same-sex marriage? For me--and hopefully for anyone with any true sensitivity and engaged in deep though--it's hardly a simple decision. My question is, What does my vote say or do?
I believe that same-sex marriage is not as harmless as many people like to claim. Anything contrary to God's revealed will for our wholeness is damaging and therefore wrong. (Uh-oh, I feel a discussion about theocracy coming on . . . ) And I cannot imagine what will happen to children, adopted or otherwise, reared in a same-sex household. So do I vote against it out of the desire to actually prevent potentially harmful situations from arising?
What happens if, even though I'm morally opposed to it, I vote to permit it, and it becomes/stays legal? Does legally allowing something imply that it's okay? I wonder, has a shift in popular opinion concerning abortion occurred since--or, more importantly but more difficult to determine, been caused by--the Roe v. Wade decision? Is there any inherent pedagogical and moral influence of laws? After all, St. Paul does say that he wouldn't have known that coveting is wrong if it weren't for the law (Romans 7:7).
Or what about the effects of my vote as far as what it says? If same-sex marriage is banned, does that simply serve to perpetuate the well-deserved stereotype that America's Christians, upon whom much of the blame will inevitably fall, hate gays? Will this only serve to further estrange the LBGTA* community from the Church--or, worse yet, from Jesus? I certainly don't want to set up any unwarranted and unnecessary hindrances to the gospel. Conversely, though, God does not need me to defend his honor or make compromises, as if I could embarrass him or screw up the execution of his eternal redemptive purposes. I mean, no amount of hate-mongering or "intolerance" by the Church has ever kept anyone from Christ. Rather, "the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed" (John 3:19-20). It's the prideful fear of exposure and the love of sin that keep anyone from repentance and faith in Christ.
Anyway, it's a lot to chew on. I could go on for a long time. But, really, what's a vote worth on this issue? How are we to choose?
__________________________________
* LBGTA stands for Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender, and Ally (those supporting LBGT rights)
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Saturday, May 27, 2006
To watch or not to watch?
Ooh, a Da Vinci Code-related post! Now's my chance to jump on the bandwagon and boost my ratings.
On my friend Ryan's recommendation, I was listening to a talk by Pastor Joel Biermann this morning. The thrust of his message was that our character is molded by our surroundings. One thing he suggested is that we really need not read Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code or see the movie, because it's not really a salutary influence upon our minds and beliefs. In addition, our money would only help to support these types of entertainment. But I, for one, have read the book and watched the film (which, I say, was a confusing and rather poorly-rendered adaptation of the book).
Part of me really wants to agree with Biermann: During the film, my friend Sam, who hadn't read the book, said that the film's bloody scenes and sexual innuendo "quenched her spirit." And I think that we are accountable for the entertainment choices we choose, as to whether or not they are actually beneficial. "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify" (1 Cor. 10:23). Is watching The Da Vinci Code a worthwhile use of two hours and $8?
But with everyone and his mom in both America and Turkey having read this book, I honestly would've felt like an ignorant fool if I didn't read it. I wanted to know exactly what was being purported about the historical Jesus and the Church, not merely what some website or apologetic book tells me. In the same way, I want people to read the Bible for themselves, not simpy to pass judgment based upon secondary sources or hearsay. I do likewise and read the Qur'an. (And I might add that doing so has only further solidified my belief that it is not divine in origin.)
In a similar way, though I've never been one for basing sermons off of popular films (no more Braveheart or Lord of the Rings, please!), Paul himself models that we are to be knowledgeable about popular, secular things. He frequently quotes Greek poets (Acts 17:28; 1 Cor. 15:33; Tit. 1:12). [Disclaimer: Don't even think you can justify watching any and every film, no matter how grotesque or indulgent, just so you can be a "more knowledgeable evangelist." Films like Eyes Wide Shut do not count!] So should those of us who are Christians concerned about effectively communicating the gospel of the rescuing Christ to others bear with entertainment like The Da Vinci Code or The Last Temptation of Christ even when they are hardly edifying to one's faith?
And while you're online, please check out www.jesusanddavinci.com.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Do clothes really make the man?
I know it's just a dumb cliche, but this question actually has been floating through my head a bit these days. Here in Turkey--a land renowned for its mustache-wearing machismo--tight clothing for men is en vogue. Of course, that's sort of true about much of Europe, but there's no escaping the leg-squeezing jeans and narrow-cut, open-chested shirts sported here. Sometimes I even see men's capris.
Being involved in a Latin dancing club (cha cha, salsa, rhumba, and the like) here at Istanbul Technical University, I've entered into a world where men actually move their hips and wear tight black pants and shoes with heels. It seems like a lot of students here are really into Latin dancing, despite being something we in America would probably shun. Last night I was at the Bosphorus University Dance Festival with some friends, and as I watched some of the performances, I couldn't help but think how much some of the wardrobe and moves were reminiscent of figure skating. In my high school there was a guy who figure skated, and despite the athletic skill and strength demanded by it, he got mocked constantly and called "gay" or "fag".
So this makes me wonder if there really exists a true expression of manhood within any given culture. On the one hand, I easily recognize now that real men are not defined by being "wild at heart" (sorry, John Eldredge), for in Latin cultures, the men do dance and are thinly built and wear heels. But the Bible does beg the question, for propriety in church worship is based upon the distinction that there are to be visible differences in male and female fashion (see 1 Corinthians 11:3-16, where the main concern is that women cover their heads to respect their husbands and show that they're married, sort of like wearing a wedding ring nowadays):
"Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? " (1 Corinthians 11:14-15b)
Now, it must be understood that there is nothing wrong or ungodly about long hair for males itself; Samson and other Nazirites had long hair and were men commended by God. Absalom had long hair, too. Paul is not making absolute distinctions about hairstyles (or any other fashion, for that matter). But he does seem to be saying that the natural order of things indicates that there ought to be visible distinctions between men and women. But what those distinctions are is left up to the prevailing cultural trends. Would a man living in America right now be wrong to wear capris or to figure skate? Is it wrong for both men and women to have same-length hair (be it short or long)?
Being involved in a Latin dancing club (cha cha, salsa, rhumba, and the like) here at Istanbul Technical University, I've entered into a world where men actually move their hips and wear tight black pants and shoes with heels. It seems like a lot of students here are really into Latin dancing, despite being something we in America would probably shun. Last night I was at the Bosphorus University Dance Festival with some friends, and as I watched some of the performances, I couldn't help but think how much some of the wardrobe and moves were reminiscent of figure skating. In my high school there was a guy who figure skated, and despite the athletic skill and strength demanded by it, he got mocked constantly and called "gay" or "fag".
So this makes me wonder if there really exists a true expression of manhood within any given culture. On the one hand, I easily recognize now that real men are not defined by being "wild at heart" (sorry, John Eldredge), for in Latin cultures, the men do dance and are thinly built and wear heels. But the Bible does beg the question, for propriety in church worship is based upon the distinction that there are to be visible differences in male and female fashion (see 1 Corinthians 11:3-16, where the main concern is that women cover their heads to respect their husbands and show that they're married, sort of like wearing a wedding ring nowadays):
"Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? " (1 Corinthians 11:14-15b)
Now, it must be understood that there is nothing wrong or ungodly about long hair for males itself; Samson and other Nazirites had long hair and were men commended by God. Absalom had long hair, too. Paul is not making absolute distinctions about hairstyles (or any other fashion, for that matter). But he does seem to be saying that the natural order of things indicates that there ought to be visible distinctions between men and women. But what those distinctions are is left up to the prevailing cultural trends. Would a man living in America right now be wrong to wear capris or to figure skate? Is it wrong for both men and women to have same-length hair (be it short or long)?
Thursday, May 4, 2006
April fools' was a month ago . . .
. . . which is precisely why I was a bit surprised when I read on CNN.com yesterday that a recent survey shows that most American youth do not know where either Louisiana or Iraq are on a map. In fourth or fifth grade I had to memorize the map of every country in the world and know every world capital. I'm not kidding. And I did it, now allowing my team to dominate the recent Union Church of Istanbul "International Quiz Night".
Having lived in Turkey for night eight months now, I'm growing appalled at just how ignorant America is of the rest of the world--and also how much of an impact America has on the world. Students here begin learning English in middle school, and in order to begin their formal university studies, they must pass the hazırlık, a difficult English proficiency exam. And their awareness of world history, events, and politics seems to me much higher than that of most American students. And when I'm with my German friends, I'm even more blown away. Almost every German now speaks English well, if not other languages in addition to that. I constantly feel challenged and even ashamed that I know only a bit of German and Turkish, and my effort in studying them is scarcely what I'd consider stout.
With the relatively low taxation of American citizens and our near-isolation on the North American continent, foreign language education has been tossed by the wayside as budgets get trimmed. (Thank you so much, George W. Bush and NCLB.) Now I know that 90% of our students will never leave the continent, but with the increasing number of immigrants entering the U.S. and with growing globalization, we cannot expect everyone else to learn English and conform to us while we lazily sit back upon our laurels as some self-deemed great nation and savior of the world. (And does anyone even realize that the Gulf War was largely started because of the conflicts between people who misunderstand one another's worldviews, i.e., America is founded upon a Platonic law/guilt-based worldview, and Iraq upon a shame-based one?)
I really want to see a greater priority placed upon learning about other cultures and languages, as well as the fine arts, in our schools. I know it's going to take time, and there's no quick "band-aid" approach. Language learning needs to start young. But it's something worth fighting for, especially for those who wish to see America remain a strong and effective presence in the world. How can we boast in ourselves when we don't understand and evaluate all cultures, when we can't even communicate in order to learn? Our ways are far from perfect or well-thought-out. Industrialization can lead to dehumanization on dangerous assembly lines. Our concepts of dating lead to the highest divorce rate in the world. And people in other nations are left to shake their heads, cringe, or curse. They're not perfect, either, but we just need to get on the ball.
Having lived in Turkey for night eight months now, I'm growing appalled at just how ignorant America is of the rest of the world--and also how much of an impact America has on the world. Students here begin learning English in middle school, and in order to begin their formal university studies, they must pass the hazırlık, a difficult English proficiency exam. And their awareness of world history, events, and politics seems to me much higher than that of most American students. And when I'm with my German friends, I'm even more blown away. Almost every German now speaks English well, if not other languages in addition to that. I constantly feel challenged and even ashamed that I know only a bit of German and Turkish, and my effort in studying them is scarcely what I'd consider stout.
With the relatively low taxation of American citizens and our near-isolation on the North American continent, foreign language education has been tossed by the wayside as budgets get trimmed. (Thank you so much, George W. Bush and NCLB.) Now I know that 90% of our students will never leave the continent, but with the increasing number of immigrants entering the U.S. and with growing globalization, we cannot expect everyone else to learn English and conform to us while we lazily sit back upon our laurels as some self-deemed great nation and savior of the world. (And does anyone even realize that the Gulf War was largely started because of the conflicts between people who misunderstand one another's worldviews, i.e., America is founded upon a Platonic law/guilt-based worldview, and Iraq upon a shame-based one?)
I really want to see a greater priority placed upon learning about other cultures and languages, as well as the fine arts, in our schools. I know it's going to take time, and there's no quick "band-aid" approach. Language learning needs to start young. But it's something worth fighting for, especially for those who wish to see America remain a strong and effective presence in the world. How can we boast in ourselves when we don't understand and evaluate all cultures, when we can't even communicate in order to learn? Our ways are far from perfect or well-thought-out. Industrialization can lead to dehumanization on dangerous assembly lines. Our concepts of dating lead to the highest divorce rate in the world. And people in other nations are left to shake their heads, cringe, or curse. They're not perfect, either, but we just need to get on the ball.
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Ich liebe Deutschland!
Every three months I have to leave the country to renew my visa, and I was blessed to find an inexpensive plane ticket to the great city of Berlin to visit my friend Dorothee. The five days I spent there were sort of bittersweet: I remembered how much I like Germany and its culture, which made it sort of difficult to leave and go back to Turkey. It was cool, too, that though I could scarcely remember a word of German, a lot of it started coming back to my mind while I was there. I'm starting to wonder--and even wish--that I might have a future living in Germany. And please do not scold me for not eating the traditional foods that I love: Knödl, Sauerbraten, Rouladen, or Spätzle. I was on a budget and hanging out with three near-vegetarians! Sadly, I didn't even get to enjoy a Masskrug (one-liter mug of beer) at all, either. Bummer.
"Whoever wants the world to remain as she is, does not want her to remain."
On Saturday we went to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen. The 45-degree, windy, and rainy weather was appropriate. Though I had once before been to the camp at Buchenwald, it was still rather surreal to think that the grounds upon which we walked were not long ago a place of unspeakable atrocities: beatings, starvation, arbitrary murders, forced 25-mile treks for the sake of testing army boots, days spent standing in subzero temperatures with but a thin shirt on, and being hung from a pole so that the shoulders are dislocated.
But the scary thing that struck me was that these crimes weren't devised or carried out by monsters or animals. They were done by humans just like you and me. "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9). It's easy to pass these things off and comment, "Who could ever do such a thing?" Yet was it any different with the vile death of our Lord Jesus? Whose sin was it that forced him to endure the lashes and being shamefully stripped and hung upon a tree? The desires that lied within the hearts of the National Socialists are yet in ours. We want to pass the blame. We put up defense mechanisms to defer complicity and make ourselves feel better about ourselves. We want to find meaning and value in ourselves and who we are--for some it's nation and race, for others it's intellect or beauty or academic/job recognition--rather than in being servants of God Most High. We wish to say along with Nietzsche, "God is dead," and we run from the light into the darkness.*
Sunday night was Walpurgisnacht, known as the night when witches are free to rome the earth
and gather at the Harz mountains in Germany to convene with the devil. It's one of the main holidays in Scandinavia and central Europe (and mentioned twice in Johann von Goethe's remarkable Faust). In addition to being a night of pranks similar to Halloween, it's also marked by shadowy happenings of occult practices and sexual revelry. Mostly, people gather to drink in a sort of bohemian, festival-type atmosphere, but in years past things have turned violent, with fights, fires, and rioting. We joined some other Christians from Berlin at one of the parks where this night was being celebrated, to pray for the safety of people and police and for the breaking of evil spiritual forces at work that night. The four hours we spent in the park were a rather tense time, but it was amazing to see how God and his angels worked for peace. The newspapers reported that this was the most peaceful Walpurgisnacht in Berlin to date.Back in the fall, my friends (more like family) Lee and Joella discovered Gemeinde Neues Leben (New Life Fellowship) tucked inside a much larger, old church building in Berlin. Ever since they told me of this tiny but faithful community, I've been praying for them. What a blessing it was to actually be there and visit the church! The pastor was nearly in tears that I was there and that I had been praying for them. And in fact, with Doro and my presence, that made five visitors--exactly what they'd been praying for all week! I was asked to share about my life and work in Istanbul, and then several people gathered to pray for Doro, for me, and for our team.
"What is the Confessing Church?" - Nazi pamphlet
Berlin is not only World Cup-crazy; it is also the city with the largest Turkish population outside of Turkey itself. Germany is home to some four million Turks, and when I was in Berlin's Wedding and Kreuzberg districts, their presence was notably felt. Please take a moment to ask of God that his people in Berlin would have both desire and discernment in reaching out to their neighbors._______________________
*Consequently, I think we need more books like Golding's Lord of the Flies, O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find, and Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. So few books are willing to deal strictly with either the reality of Satan or the evil within our own hearts that can only be cured by Jesus Christ.
Friday, April 21, 2006
On hiatus
I once read somewhere in a comment about weblogs, that with the advent of the Internet, podcasts, and their kin, everyone can be heard. But does everyone have the right to be heard?
Not everyone in the world needs to know my thoughts. And how many biblical proverbs warn about blabbing or speaking too quickly rather than choosing one's words wisely? A good portion of the time I post stuff on here as soon as it comes to my mind, rather than actually thinking it through and praying about it and working it out in my life. That's stupid. So unless I've got something actually informative about my life to say or something that would actually edify you while you read it, I think Beloved Before Time is going to go on hiatus. It's not dead; merely it's going to sleep a lot more. Check back, please. There will be fresh stuff here from time to time. But I actually want your time spent reading this--if there is anyone who reads this anymore--to be constructive, a service to you.
In the meantime, you've got three wonderful options:
1. If you simply want to keep up with the more frequent goings-on of my life, please read my other blog at www.xanga.com/ragamuffin1981.
2. If you want to use your time much more constructively, please purchase a copy of Operation World and spend ten minutes praying for a nation of the world, especially Turkey.
3. If you're still interested in the thoughts in my head regarding theology and its implications in our daily lives, grab some books by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Eugene Peterson, Richard Phillips, John Piper, Martin Luther, A. W. Tozer, or the Puritans. Or you can check out the links to the right side of this page.
Thanks to all who read this.
Not everyone in the world needs to know my thoughts. And how many biblical proverbs warn about blabbing or speaking too quickly rather than choosing one's words wisely? A good portion of the time I post stuff on here as soon as it comes to my mind, rather than actually thinking it through and praying about it and working it out in my life. That's stupid. So unless I've got something actually informative about my life to say or something that would actually edify you while you read it, I think Beloved Before Time is going to go on hiatus. It's not dead; merely it's going to sleep a lot more. Check back, please. There will be fresh stuff here from time to time. But I actually want your time spent reading this--if there is anyone who reads this anymore--to be constructive, a service to you.
In the meantime, you've got three wonderful options:
1. If you simply want to keep up with the more frequent goings-on of my life, please read my other blog at www.xanga.com/ragamuffin1981.
2. If you want to use your time much more constructively, please purchase a copy of Operation World and spend ten minutes praying for a nation of the world, especially Turkey.
3. If you're still interested in the thoughts in my head regarding theology and its implications in our daily lives, grab some books by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Eugene Peterson, Richard Phillips, John Piper, Martin Luther, A. W. Tozer, or the Puritans. Or you can check out the links to the right side of this page.
Thanks to all who read this.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Consumerism, part deux
On the cusp of Resurrection Sunday, the words of Paul have come to my mind: "If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied" (1 Cor. 15:19). What the heck? Doesn't this totally contradict Blaise Pascal's famous wager: Even if in the end Christianity proves to be false and there is no afterlife, believers will have been no worse for the wear? Paul writes this in the midst of being shipwrecked, beaten with rods, flogged, hungry, and naked (2 Cor. 11:24-29). He says, in effect, "If there is no resurecction and true heavenly reward for my faith that leads me to do these crazy things, then woe is me!"
This verse stands as a severe indictment of American consumer Christianity. People got fed to lions for the sake of the gospel, while today churches are chosen on the basis of how comfortable the seating is or whether or not hip coffee beverages are available in the lobby (heaven forbid I use the word "narthex"!). And why do we see $35,000 environment-killing SUV's littering church parking lots--or, worse yet, in pastor's garages?
Commenting on the impotency of the Church to act as reform agents in his book The Prophetic Imagination, Walter Brueggemann writes, "The contemporary American church is so largely enculturated to the American ethos of consumerism that it has little power to believe or act. . . . The intenral cause of such enculturation is our loss of identity through the abandonment of the faith tradition. Our consumer culture is organized against history. There is a depreciation of memory and a ridicule of hope, which means everything must be held in the now, either an urgent now or an eternal now." *
Israel was constantly called to "remember" how Yahweh had delivered them from Egypt and brought them safely into a land of milk of honey, how men could earnestly say, "The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want. [He has] anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows" (Ps. 23). Move forward in history and we can see Golgotha and men who said, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (Rom. 8:32). They had memory of God's faithful provision and steadfast love in the past, liberating them from the craving for lesser things and freeing them to embrace the great God of covenant. And they knew and believed in that day when their Lord walked out of his tomb, radiant and overflowingly alive. This hope freed them to love earnestly and sacrifically, because they clung to the fact that in union with Christ they would "depart out of this world to the Father" and that they "had come from God and [were] going back to God" (John 13:1, 3; cf. Col. 1:4-5; Heb. 10:32-34).
Memory and hope. It's no wonder we're forced to live for the now when the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is far from us. We all want joy and fulfillment. But we recognize, deep down, that our lives aren't entirely in our hands. With no hope in Someone greater than us, the Almighty Father full of goodness and power, everything becomes a vain grasping for the little things we can get and control in the moment.
Now I don't want anyone to think I've even really begun to get this figured out and worked into my own life. I still put my hope and desire in visible things and in people, rather than in God. "Though you have not seen Him you love Him" (1 Pet. 1:8). Um, yeah. . . But I know this is a problem, and we all have constant need to be whipped back into order by the Cross of Christ, through which we are reconciled and brought into the care of our Abba and Shepherd, and which tells us that this world has been judged and is passing away, but we have a new life that isn't confined to this world.
__________________________________
*Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2001), 1.
This verse stands as a severe indictment of American consumer Christianity. People got fed to lions for the sake of the gospel, while today churches are chosen on the basis of how comfortable the seating is or whether or not hip coffee beverages are available in the lobby (heaven forbid I use the word "narthex"!). And why do we see $35,000 environment-killing SUV's littering church parking lots--or, worse yet, in pastor's garages?
Commenting on the impotency of the Church to act as reform agents in his book The Prophetic Imagination, Walter Brueggemann writes, "The contemporary American church is so largely enculturated to the American ethos of consumerism that it has little power to believe or act. . . . The intenral cause of such enculturation is our loss of identity through the abandonment of the faith tradition. Our consumer culture is organized against history. There is a depreciation of memory and a ridicule of hope, which means everything must be held in the now, either an urgent now or an eternal now." *
Israel was constantly called to "remember" how Yahweh had delivered them from Egypt and brought them safely into a land of milk of honey, how men could earnestly say, "The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want. [He has] anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows" (Ps. 23). Move forward in history and we can see Golgotha and men who said, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (Rom. 8:32). They had memory of God's faithful provision and steadfast love in the past, liberating them from the craving for lesser things and freeing them to embrace the great God of covenant. And they knew and believed in that day when their Lord walked out of his tomb, radiant and overflowingly alive. This hope freed them to love earnestly and sacrifically, because they clung to the fact that in union with Christ they would "depart out of this world to the Father" and that they "had come from God and [were] going back to God" (John 13:1, 3; cf. Col. 1:4-5; Heb. 10:32-34).
Memory and hope. It's no wonder we're forced to live for the now when the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is far from us. We all want joy and fulfillment. But we recognize, deep down, that our lives aren't entirely in our hands. With no hope in Someone greater than us, the Almighty Father full of goodness and power, everything becomes a vain grasping for the little things we can get and control in the moment.
Now I don't want anyone to think I've even really begun to get this figured out and worked into my own life. I still put my hope and desire in visible things and in people, rather than in God. "Though you have not seen Him you love Him" (1 Pet. 1:8). Um, yeah. . . But I know this is a problem, and we all have constant need to be whipped back into order by the Cross of Christ, through which we are reconciled and brought into the care of our Abba and Shepherd, and which tells us that this world has been judged and is passing away, but we have a new life that isn't confined to this world.
__________________________________
*Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2001), 1.
Sunday, April 9, 2006
"Justin case you didn't notice, Detroit is hot"
That was the headline on MLB.com today.
3-1. 14-3. 10-6. 5-2. 7-0. No, folks, those aren't last night's winning lottery numbers. Those are the scores from the Tigers' first five games, leaving Detroit as the only undefeated team in the American League. How are they doing it?
First off, we've had solid pitching throughout the rotation, leaving little need for relief, let alone closer Todd Jones. Even at the bottom of our rotation, Justin Verlander fanned seven yesterday (hence the headline at MLB.com).
Then there's this just plain freakish first baseman by the name of Chris Shelton. Last year he showed flashes of talent, but he hit five dingers in his first four games (with two multiple-homer games). With his 3-for-4 outing yesterday, accompanied by a triple to right field, he's batting over .700!
Then came Thursday's 10-6 victory over Texas. Not one ... not two ... not three ... but SEVEN. That's how many balls the Tigers swatted over the fence. Fierce. Could this be the year to "restore the roar?" Perhaps not, but don't count 'em out yet. (The only thing that worries me is that the only other remaining undefeated team in the Majors is Milwaukee, who's just as notorious as Detroit for posting abysmal win-loss records.)
Detroit is the best sports city in the nation: The Tigers have the best record in the MLB (5-0). The Pistons are the best in the NBA (61-15). And the Red Wings are tops in the NHL (54-15). When was the last time something like that happened? Dee-troit what?!
3-1. 14-3. 10-6. 5-2. 7-0. No, folks, those aren't last night's winning lottery numbers. Those are the scores from the Tigers' first five games, leaving Detroit as the only undefeated team in the American League. How are they doing it?
First off, we've had solid pitching throughout the rotation, leaving little need for relief, let alone closer Todd Jones. Even at the bottom of our rotation, Justin Verlander fanned seven yesterday (hence the headline at MLB.com).
Then there's this just plain freakish first baseman by the name of Chris Shelton. Last year he showed flashes of talent, but he hit five dingers in his first four games (with two multiple-homer games). With his 3-for-4 outing yesterday, accompanied by a triple to right field, he's batting over .700!
Then came Thursday's 10-6 victory over Texas. Not one ... not two ... not three ... but SEVEN. That's how many balls the Tigers swatted over the fence. Fierce. Could this be the year to "restore the roar?" Perhaps not, but don't count 'em out yet. (The only thing that worries me is that the only other remaining undefeated team in the Majors is Milwaukee, who's just as notorious as Detroit for posting abysmal win-loss records.)
Detroit is the best sports city in the nation: The Tigers have the best record in the MLB (5-0). The Pistons are the best in the NBA (61-15). And the Red Wings are tops in the NHL (54-15). When was the last time something like that happened? Dee-troit what?!
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
Oh, heal our wounds!
Yesterday an number of recent thoughs congealed in my mind concerning consumerism in America. Maybe it's because I saw that Joel Olsteen's bestseller Your Best Life Now is now available in Turkey.* Perhaps it sprouted from reading the book of Malachi or the ever-prophetic Eugene Peterson and Walter Brueggemann (but please, read them with discernment). Or it could've been explaining to Turks why America has such alarming divorce rates. And lastly, it was not without considering how I've managed to not buy anything for myself all year, save for a few CD's.
"This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. Yet you say, 'For what reason?' Because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant." (Malachi 2:13-14)
"What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war against your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel." (James 4:1-2)
The afflictions of the American consumerist mentality are rampant. (1) How many people merely "go to church" or go "church shopping", seeking a place chiefly for how entertaining, novel, or motivating it is? The Bible says rather that we are "members" of a church "body", and we ought to consider in choosing a church where we can best serve others.
(2) A friend of mine here in Turkey asked what is meant by the saying, "What do you do for a living?" He thought it meant, what do you eat, do for recreation, or how do you choose to spend time with others. He became perplexed when I told him it means "What is your job?" We're sucked into working excessive hours just to afford things--be it clothing, cars, housing, or music--that we think will bring pleasure or fulfillment to our lives. And then we work so much that we can't actually enjoy the things for which we've labored. We're idiots. You see, in America, we sort of live to work, but here people work to live.
(3) The worst and most subtle is seen in Malachi's indictment of the people. When a friendship or marriage is on the rocks or when it has ceased to become pleasurable or exciting any longer, how quickly do we call it quits and move on! Friendship, dating, marriage, and sex are viewed for what we get out of it. When the newness wears off or we actually find ourselves in a position where we must make sacrifices for the sake of reconciliation and faithfulness, we moan, "She's just not doing it for me anymore" and seek out a new partner. Planned obsolesence was never meant to be applied to humans beings! (Nor economic systems, for that matter. My two pairs of shoes, three pairs of pants, and 1997 Honda Civic work just fine, thanks.)
But to call consumerism a disease would be mistaken. Rather, it's a mere symptom. It's the inevitable outcome of the real disease: failure to know and cherish the greatness of God. Without the "surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord," we cannot bear to "suffer the loss of all things" nor will we learn "to be content in whatever circumstances" (Philippians 3:8; 4:11). Instead, we seek to find fulfilling pleasure in the finite, transient things of this world. Grasping for physical comfort and gratification in banality are the only things left for us. The cure for my homeland is not moralizing nor economic pitfall; it's the gospel: The eternal and infinite Almighty became flesh, dwelled among us, and died and rose again to bring us to himself, that we might know and enjoy him. So until God, in his mercy, takes away our blindness and stupor and reveals the light of his truth to us, there is no hope. Kyrie eleison! Let's hope America doesn't crumble and eradicate itself before too long.
_________________________________
* I haven't read the book, but if his televised messages at his Texas mega-mega-multiplex-church are any indication, this guy is the quintessential modern self-fulfillment guru, a modern Gnostic of the highest regard. He spoke for over an hour without condemning sin or mentioning the cross or Jesus Christ.
"This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. Yet you say, 'For what reason?' Because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant." (Malachi 2:13-14)
"What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war against your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel." (James 4:1-2)
The afflictions of the American consumerist mentality are rampant. (1) How many people merely "go to church" or go "church shopping", seeking a place chiefly for how entertaining, novel, or motivating it is? The Bible says rather that we are "members" of a church "body", and we ought to consider in choosing a church where we can best serve others.
(2) A friend of mine here in Turkey asked what is meant by the saying, "What do you do for a living?" He thought it meant, what do you eat, do for recreation, or how do you choose to spend time with others. He became perplexed when I told him it means "What is your job?" We're sucked into working excessive hours just to afford things--be it clothing, cars, housing, or music--that we think will bring pleasure or fulfillment to our lives. And then we work so much that we can't actually enjoy the things for which we've labored. We're idiots. You see, in America, we sort of live to work, but here people work to live.
(3) The worst and most subtle is seen in Malachi's indictment of the people. When a friendship or marriage is on the rocks or when it has ceased to become pleasurable or exciting any longer, how quickly do we call it quits and move on! Friendship, dating, marriage, and sex are viewed for what we get out of it. When the newness wears off or we actually find ourselves in a position where we must make sacrifices for the sake of reconciliation and faithfulness, we moan, "She's just not doing it for me anymore" and seek out a new partner. Planned obsolesence was never meant to be applied to humans beings! (Nor economic systems, for that matter. My two pairs of shoes, three pairs of pants, and 1997 Honda Civic work just fine, thanks.)
But to call consumerism a disease would be mistaken. Rather, it's a mere symptom. It's the inevitable outcome of the real disease: failure to know and cherish the greatness of God. Without the "surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord," we cannot bear to "suffer the loss of all things" nor will we learn "to be content in whatever circumstances" (Philippians 3:8; 4:11). Instead, we seek to find fulfilling pleasure in the finite, transient things of this world. Grasping for physical comfort and gratification in banality are the only things left for us. The cure for my homeland is not moralizing nor economic pitfall; it's the gospel: The eternal and infinite Almighty became flesh, dwelled among us, and died and rose again to bring us to himself, that we might know and enjoy him. So until God, in his mercy, takes away our blindness and stupor and reveals the light of his truth to us, there is no hope. Kyrie eleison! Let's hope America doesn't crumble and eradicate itself before too long.
_________________________________
* I haven't read the book, but if his televised messages at his Texas mega-mega-multiplex-church are any indication, this guy is the quintessential modern self-fulfillment guru, a modern Gnostic of the highest regard. He spoke for over an hour without condemning sin or mentioning the cross or Jesus Christ.
I'm going back to the classroom ...
... but not quite yet. Yeah, that's right. It's looking as if I'm going to spend another year here in Turkey with our organization. I keep finding myself talking and thinking as if I'm going to be back, lobbying for where to live next year, thinking about how I'd like to go about things differently. Plus, my closest Turkish friend, "Henry", I think is going to become one of God's redeemed. ("Although, if you're Reformed, he already became one long ago," said my teammate Ted, chuckling.) We hang out a lot, have fun, and often talk about Jesus, Christianity, and this ridiculous thing called grace.
It's been difficult for me to go through a lot of conversations with students that seem to go nowhere at all or take surprising turns for the worse. For example, last week Paul and I began talking with a student sitting next to us in the warm spring sunshine. He immediately asked if we were Christians and had questions about the Christian source of goodness. We talked about how it results from knowing God and his love, and how we can only begin to be "good" when the blood of Jesus purifies us from our sins and his Spirit makes us new in heart. He really seemed engaged, only to say while leaving for class, "Well, if we are to meet again, it will be destiny." Then he just got up and left.
But I'm learning that the "progress of the gospel" (Php. 1:12) doesn't only consist in seeing people actually repent and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. To Paul, this also consisted in others' knowledge that we are in our present circumstances for the sake of Christ, and when Christians testify boldly (Php. 1:13-14). Both of these come from the work of the gospel in the lives of believers.
Also, I see Turkey as a place where God is seeking to refine and renew me and bring me toward greater maturity (Col. 1:28; Jas. 1:2-4). I find this nearly impossible to believe, because the Holy Spirit has revealed more of my fallenness to me this year than ever before. But God has not forsaken me! And at a worship time at a local international fellowship this past weekend, I was reminded anew of his great fatherly love for his children and how much he desires to pour out the riches of his grace to heal and perfect us.
With Opening Day a few days ago--and I must say, the Tigers did a mighty fine job handling the Royals--it also sort of hit me that the things I love, baseball and, more importantly, cycling, are presently gone. It's weird to see how much I've traded those things to be here. My lack of available exercise here is going to make it difficult to "get back in the saddle" when I return home, and I can just plain forget about racing for several years. I loved the racing scene and effort and rigor of training. At least I've got VeloNews.
I do think a lot about going back to teaching, and I'm presently confident that I'll do so. Biology--especially ecology and environmental science--is just so cool! Plus I just sort of shake my head at comments like, "Isn't it weird how batteries are lighter after the stuff gets used up?" *(I actually heard this a few weeks ago.) But as this opportunity to spend another year in the Near East is open, I don't think I should miss it.
________________________________________
*No matter actually leaves a battery. It's totally sealed. What happens is that negatively-charged particles called electrons are transferred from one substance inside the battery (often a solid such as zinc) to another substance (usually a liquid such as sulfiric acid). This creates the flow of free electrons we know as electricity. Normally, the two substances are kept separate, but when you connect the two ends of a battery with some sort of conductor like metal, electrons can flow. Eventually, all of the free electrons from the zinc will be released and accumulate on the negative end of the battery, and the reaction stops. Then the battery is "dead".
It's been difficult for me to go through a lot of conversations with students that seem to go nowhere at all or take surprising turns for the worse. For example, last week Paul and I began talking with a student sitting next to us in the warm spring sunshine. He immediately asked if we were Christians and had questions about the Christian source of goodness. We talked about how it results from knowing God and his love, and how we can only begin to be "good" when the blood of Jesus purifies us from our sins and his Spirit makes us new in heart. He really seemed engaged, only to say while leaving for class, "Well, if we are to meet again, it will be destiny." Then he just got up and left.
But I'm learning that the "progress of the gospel" (Php. 1:12) doesn't only consist in seeing people actually repent and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. To Paul, this also consisted in others' knowledge that we are in our present circumstances for the sake of Christ, and when Christians testify boldly (Php. 1:13-14). Both of these come from the work of the gospel in the lives of believers.
Also, I see Turkey as a place where God is seeking to refine and renew me and bring me toward greater maturity (Col. 1:28; Jas. 1:2-4). I find this nearly impossible to believe, because the Holy Spirit has revealed more of my fallenness to me this year than ever before. But God has not forsaken me! And at a worship time at a local international fellowship this past weekend, I was reminded anew of his great fatherly love for his children and how much he desires to pour out the riches of his grace to heal and perfect us.
With Opening Day a few days ago--and I must say, the Tigers did a mighty fine job handling the Royals--it also sort of hit me that the things I love, baseball and, more importantly, cycling, are presently gone. It's weird to see how much I've traded those things to be here. My lack of available exercise here is going to make it difficult to "get back in the saddle" when I return home, and I can just plain forget about racing for several years. I loved the racing scene and effort and rigor of training. At least I've got VeloNews.
I do think a lot about going back to teaching, and I'm presently confident that I'll do so. Biology--especially ecology and environmental science--is just so cool! Plus I just sort of shake my head at comments like, "Isn't it weird how batteries are lighter after the stuff gets used up?" *(I actually heard this a few weeks ago.) But as this opportunity to spend another year in the Near East is open, I don't think I should miss it.
________________________________________
*No matter actually leaves a battery. It's totally sealed. What happens is that negatively-charged particles called electrons are transferred from one substance inside the battery (often a solid such as zinc) to another substance (usually a liquid such as sulfiric acid). This creates the flow of free electrons we know as electricity. Normally, the two substances are kept separate, but when you connect the two ends of a battery with some sort of conductor like metal, electrons can flow. Eventually, all of the free electrons from the zinc will be released and accumulate on the negative end of the battery, and the reaction stops. Then the battery is "dead".
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Baptism and theo-logy
Ack! My mind hasn't stopped from last night's post, but rather it has crept toward the implications of this for baptism. Barth continues his critique of Protestantism that desires to "understand and pursue theology as pisteology, the science and doctrine of Christian faith. The Bible and Church history are then searched exclusively and decisively for witnesses and, if possible, heroes of faith. . . . As if man were called to believe and confess, not God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but the faith of the Church which expresses itself in these high-flown words, and finally in his very own faith."*
Though raised Lutheran, when I finally began to read the Bible on my own in college I became a rather convinced credobaptist, i.e., I believed that baptism represented our own personal faith-acknowledgment of our union with Christ and our profession of death to our old man and our new life in Christ. But baptism, like the Lord's Supper, is a "visible gospel," a sign pointing to the reality of God's new covenant with man completed in Christ. And the gospel is not, as mentioned yesterday, about me and my faith or the fact that I profess anything. The gospel is about Jesus Christ, incarnate, put to death, risen, ascended, and interceding. Baptism is entirely about him. It is not about pointing to ourselves and our newfound faith; it's not about saying, "I'm a new man." Rather, it's about the New Man, Jesus!
Sinclair Ferguson, a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary, writes thus on baptism: "Baptism is often viewed as if it were primarly a mirror of our spiritual experience of conversion, and as though its core significance were our testimony to our faith in Christ. It is thus interpreted as a sign of our response the gospel in conversion. . . . Rather, baptism is first and foremost a sign and seal of grace, of divine activity in Christ, and of the riches of his provision for us. It is not faith that is signified or sealed. It is Christ." He goes on to say that credobaptism "throws us back upon our own actions, decisions and experiences, and thus distorts the function of faith, which is to turn away from the resources and actions of the believer to the grace that is his or hers in Jesus Christ." **
Now, I don't want to knock anyone who was baptized as a believer; many of you had no choice as a child. But I want to encourage you to view your baptism not as joy or hope in your own faith, but as a source of joy and hope in the object of the gospel itself: the God of love, mercy, faithfulness, and grace, who has provided so abundantly for your sins and has drawn you to himself and will keep you there forever.
__________________________________
* Karl Barth, Evangelical Theology: An Introduction (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1963), 99.
** Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Holy Spirit (Contours of Christian Theology) (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1996), 198-99.
Though raised Lutheran, when I finally began to read the Bible on my own in college I became a rather convinced credobaptist, i.e., I believed that baptism represented our own personal faith-acknowledgment of our union with Christ and our profession of death to our old man and our new life in Christ. But baptism, like the Lord's Supper, is a "visible gospel," a sign pointing to the reality of God's new covenant with man completed in Christ. And the gospel is not, as mentioned yesterday, about me and my faith or the fact that I profess anything. The gospel is about Jesus Christ, incarnate, put to death, risen, ascended, and interceding. Baptism is entirely about him. It is not about pointing to ourselves and our newfound faith; it's not about saying, "I'm a new man." Rather, it's about the New Man, Jesus!
Sinclair Ferguson, a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary, writes thus on baptism: "Baptism is often viewed as if it were primarly a mirror of our spiritual experience of conversion, and as though its core significance were our testimony to our faith in Christ. It is thus interpreted as a sign of our response the gospel in conversion. . . . Rather, baptism is first and foremost a sign and seal of grace, of divine activity in Christ, and of the riches of his provision for us. It is not faith that is signified or sealed. It is Christ." He goes on to say that credobaptism "throws us back upon our own actions, decisions and experiences, and thus distorts the function of faith, which is to turn away from the resources and actions of the believer to the grace that is his or hers in Jesus Christ." **
Now, I don't want to knock anyone who was baptized as a believer; many of you had no choice as a child. But I want to encourage you to view your baptism not as joy or hope in your own faith, but as a source of joy and hope in the object of the gospel itself: the God of love, mercy, faithfulness, and grace, who has provided so abundantly for your sins and has drawn you to himself and will keep you there forever.
__________________________________
* Karl Barth, Evangelical Theology: An Introduction (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1963), 99.
** Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Holy Spirit (Contours of Christian Theology) (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1996), 198-99.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
BY GRACE (through faith)
"Remember this; or you may fall into error by fixing your minds so much upon the faith which is the channel of salvation as to forget the grace which is the fountain and source even of faith itself. Faith is the work of God's grace in us. 'No man comes to Me,' says Jesus, 'except the Father who sent Me draws him.' ... Grace is the first and last moving cause of salvation; and faith, essential as it is, is only an important part of the machinery which grace employs. We are saved 'through faith,' but salvation is 'by grace.'" - Charles H. Spurgeon
I came across this quote today at one of my favorite websites, Monergism.com, and all things came into a bit sharper focus concerning some of the ills that plague my life (and surely many others' lives as well). As an undergrad I remember feeling both awed and challenged by the "Faith Hall of Fame" in Hebrews 11. And I will not dare in the least to reduce the validity of all God-breathed Scripture as it stands. But who among us has not read this chapter or heard a sermon at church about some great act of faith or mighty women and men who knew their God and performed miracles and, as a result, felt inadequate or even began to question whether or not he really has 'enough' faith? Or if, as I believe the Bible teaches, we see earthly sanctification through faith in God and his promises,* then isn't our sin showing us we don't have enough faith? And if it's faith that saves, then are we even saved? We get weak in the knees and sick to our stomachs, suddenly finding ourselves fretting over our standing before God.
But faith doesn't save; Jesus Christ does. And it was never meant to turn us into perfectly holy heroes. As Spurgeon accurately states, "Grace is the first and last moving cause of salvation ... [faith] is only an important part of the machinery which grace employs." Jesus Christ, "full of grace" (John 1:14), is the Alpha and the Omega in our salvation. Such grace makes possible our gift of repentant faith and the perseverance thereof. Jesus will not break a bruised reed, those whose faith falters and wobbles when buffeted by the firest of life (Isaiah 42:3: 43:2; 46:4). Honestly, this year has seen a dear teammate and, to perhaps a lesser degree, me really wrestle with the reality of the presence and redeeming work of God. If a self-generated and -sustained faith and resultant acrobatic performances in piety and evangelism were necessary to 'see God in the land of the living,' we'd both have shipwrecked long ago. But to know that it is the pure covenant GRACE of a faithful God is the best of all promises. "For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust" (Psalm 103:14).
"It was never a desirable tendency to exalt faith into an ontic and central concept, displacing the real object of theology," writes Karl Barth, "as though faith were the theme and true event of salvation." ** Barth writes that the one true object of theology is the God of the Gospel, the new man, Jesus Christ. And the gospel is certainly no euangelion to me, no splendid news, if my own great faith and strength of conviction and resultant obedience are the foundation upon which all my hope rests.
*For an in-depth look at this, please refer to John Piper, The Purifying Power of Living by Faith in FUTURE GRACE (Sisters, Ore.: Multnomah, 1996).
** Karl Barth, Evangelical Theology: An Introduction (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1963), 99.
I came across this quote today at one of my favorite websites, Monergism.com, and all things came into a bit sharper focus concerning some of the ills that plague my life (and surely many others' lives as well). As an undergrad I remember feeling both awed and challenged by the "Faith Hall of Fame" in Hebrews 11. And I will not dare in the least to reduce the validity of all God-breathed Scripture as it stands. But who among us has not read this chapter or heard a sermon at church about some great act of faith or mighty women and men who knew their God and performed miracles and, as a result, felt inadequate or even began to question whether or not he really has 'enough' faith? Or if, as I believe the Bible teaches, we see earthly sanctification through faith in God and his promises,* then isn't our sin showing us we don't have enough faith? And if it's faith that saves, then are we even saved? We get weak in the knees and sick to our stomachs, suddenly finding ourselves fretting over our standing before God.
But faith doesn't save; Jesus Christ does. And it was never meant to turn us into perfectly holy heroes. As Spurgeon accurately states, "Grace is the first and last moving cause of salvation ... [faith] is only an important part of the machinery which grace employs." Jesus Christ, "full of grace" (John 1:14), is the Alpha and the Omega in our salvation. Such grace makes possible our gift of repentant faith and the perseverance thereof. Jesus will not break a bruised reed, those whose faith falters and wobbles when buffeted by the firest of life (Isaiah 42:3: 43:2; 46:4). Honestly, this year has seen a dear teammate and, to perhaps a lesser degree, me really wrestle with the reality of the presence and redeeming work of God. If a self-generated and -sustained faith and resultant acrobatic performances in piety and evangelism were necessary to 'see God in the land of the living,' we'd both have shipwrecked long ago. But to know that it is the pure covenant GRACE of a faithful God is the best of all promises. "For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust" (Psalm 103:14).
"It was never a desirable tendency to exalt faith into an ontic and central concept, displacing the real object of theology," writes Karl Barth, "as though faith were the theme and true event of salvation." ** Barth writes that the one true object of theology is the God of the Gospel, the new man, Jesus Christ. And the gospel is certainly no euangelion to me, no splendid news, if my own great faith and strength of conviction and resultant obedience are the foundation upon which all my hope rests.
*For an in-depth look at this, please refer to John Piper, The Purifying Power of Living by Faith in FUTURE GRACE (Sisters, Ore.: Multnomah, 1996).
** Karl Barth, Evangelical Theology: An Introduction (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1963), 99.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
It's about that time
It's March, which for most Michigan sports fans means it's time for another MSU romp through the NCAA men's basketball tournament. And my Spartans are looking good, having knocked off #9 Illinois 61-56. No, 22-10 isn't exactly stellar, but I've got high hopes for the boys in green. But for a guy like me, March means something even more important: Spring Training.You see, some of my first memories are of being outside with my dad in the garage during the summertime. While he would work on the car or mow the lawn, the slow, sweet southern voice of Ernie Harwell graced the airwaves on WSGW 790. I fell in love with Tigers baseball, even feeling transported to "The Corner" of Michigan and Trumbull while Ernie paused to let listeners hear the hot dog vendors or the crack of the bat. Oh, how I miss hearing of batters "standing there like a house by the side of the road" as strike three sailed past, or of home run balls that are "looonngg goonnee!"
Down in Lakeland, Florida, the Tigers (7-2) have been putting in the time getting ready for what (I hope!) will be their first .500 or above season since 1993. Can they do it? You bet. In recent Grapefruit League action, they trounced solid contenders the Dodgers 12-3 and the Yankees 6-1. While last year saw the long-awaited return of a solid starting rotation anchored by young upstart Jeremy Bonderman, and this year brings the addition of aging veteran Kenny Rogers. And if Placido Polanco (2B) keeps up his hitting that should've earned him the AL batting title last year, Chris Shelton (1B) and Craig Monroe (OF) continue to play solid ball, and Magglio Ordonez (OF) stays healthy, Motown could become a contender in the American League Central. It's time to Restore the Roar!
On another sports-related note, on Thursday we took many of the visiting spring breakers from MSU to the
Besiktas futbol match against Kayseri. We were treated to another showing from the raucous tarafta (loyal soccer fans) and a 2-0 victory by my Black Eagles. (Haydi kartal, haydi kartal, haydi! Gol zamani, gol zamani simdi!) But the coolest part of all came when we discovered our photo in two local newspapers. The accompanying caption said that fans from all over the world came to support Besiktas. They thought we were German (as seen by the Carsi Berlin scarf waved by someone in the foreground), Asian (Brent), and Afghani (Kahve)! It was hilarious and served as a great conversation starter the next day on campus. You can see me in the center near the back, wearing a white beanie and with a black and white scarf around my neck.No experience necessary
This past week spring break teams from Michigan State University and the University of Toledo were here to experience Turkish culture (or inasmuch as Istanbul represents Turkey) and spend time on campuses praying and talking with students. As the days went by, we had many good conversations and took advantage of opportunities to share the truth of Jesus with students. But when I asked spring breakers how their days were, some would inevitably say something like, "Yeah, I got to share the gospel with someone. I like doing it this way: [enter description of sharing the gospel here]. I think that really gets across the message well." Knowing that I probably once said the same thing, I held my tongue and was glad that the message was getting out.
You see, something I've been learning as a foreigner with the task of helping to guide university students to Christ is that I have no idea what the heck I'm doing. Seriously, the more I conversations I have, the less I feel like I have any clue what it actually means to successfully share the gospel with someone or have a "spiritual conversation". Sometimes when I felt like our conversation went nowhere, that student would call me up wanting to talk about it more, or perhaps he'd come to our weekly meeting. Other times, when I thought things went well, and I was able to help someone sort of understand something about God and his work, nothing would ever happen again.
But this is where the Holy Spirit comes in. Even this week I saw fruit coming from even the most stumbling, broken communication, and I'm even further convinced that all we can really do is cast seeds and prayerfully entrust God to cause them to grow. I mean, seriously, do you think that I can effectively communicate anything to a Turkish student? I barely speak the language, I've only lived here six months, I can't figure out what's going on half the time, and I don't know the culture. I'm as "outsider" as one can get. But it's precisely in this that I believe God gets the glory. Paul came not with "superiority of speech or of wisdom," but spoke "in weakness and in fear and in much trembling" of the cross of Christ so that people's faith "would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God" (1 Corinthians 2:1-5; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:7). And honestly, if it's not God's power that's at work here, not a thing will happen. If faith is something entirely from within man's will and intellect, then no one's ever going to understand and believe in Jesus on account of my measly, fumbling ways of trying to talk to people, no matter how many times we may meet up. And yet, somehow, God makes us adequate servants of others through whom people--even in Turkey--actually do come to believe (1 Corinthians 3:5; 2 Corinthians 3:5-6). Soli Deo gloria!
(On a side note, it has also been instructive, encouraging, and challenging to talk to Turks who became believers without ever talking to a Christian, but rather simply by reading the New Testament. This gives a little more punch to James 1:18 and 1 Peter 1:23)
You see, something I've been learning as a foreigner with the task of helping to guide university students to Christ is that I have no idea what the heck I'm doing. Seriously, the more I conversations I have, the less I feel like I have any clue what it actually means to successfully share the gospel with someone or have a "spiritual conversation". Sometimes when I felt like our conversation went nowhere, that student would call me up wanting to talk about it more, or perhaps he'd come to our weekly meeting. Other times, when I thought things went well, and I was able to help someone sort of understand something about God and his work, nothing would ever happen again.
But this is where the Holy Spirit comes in. Even this week I saw fruit coming from even the most stumbling, broken communication, and I'm even further convinced that all we can really do is cast seeds and prayerfully entrust God to cause them to grow. I mean, seriously, do you think that I can effectively communicate anything to a Turkish student? I barely speak the language, I've only lived here six months, I can't figure out what's going on half the time, and I don't know the culture. I'm as "outsider" as one can get. But it's precisely in this that I believe God gets the glory. Paul came not with "superiority of speech or of wisdom," but spoke "in weakness and in fear and in much trembling" of the cross of Christ so that people's faith "would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God" (1 Corinthians 2:1-5; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:7). And honestly, if it's not God's power that's at work here, not a thing will happen. If faith is something entirely from within man's will and intellect, then no one's ever going to understand and believe in Jesus on account of my measly, fumbling ways of trying to talk to people, no matter how many times we may meet up. And yet, somehow, God makes us adequate servants of others through whom people--even in Turkey--actually do come to believe (1 Corinthians 3:5; 2 Corinthians 3:5-6). Soli Deo gloria!
(On a side note, it has also been instructive, encouraging, and challenging to talk to Turks who became believers without ever talking to a Christian, but rather simply by reading the New Testament. This gives a little more punch to James 1:18 and 1 Peter 1:23)
Thursday, February 23, 2006
On Scripture and experience
[Before I go on to the body of this post, a much greater concern demands attention: Please say a prayer for the survivors of the mudslide on Leyte island in the Philippines. There's no telling what grief they're going through or how many miracles may yet be wrought as answers to our prayers.]
One of the things of "liberal" Christian theology is that it sometimes views the Scriptures as metaphors chronicling people's religious experience throughout time. Today, then, these metaphors allow us to understand and express our own subjective experiences and thoughts about God. In his newest book, popular Emergent pastor Rob Bell writes this about Adam and Eve:
Is the greatest truth about Adam and Eve and the fruit that it happened, or that it happens? This story . . . is true for us because it is our story. We have all taken the fruit. We have all crossed boundaries. . . . This is why the Bible loses its power for so many communities. They fall into the trap of thinking that the Bible is just about things that happened a long time ago.*
Now I agree that the Bible isn't simply about things that happened long ago, because a lot of it is still happening, chiefly, Old Testament prophecies about the Day of the Lord are coming true right now, for the Messiah has come and is coming soon. But Bell is flat-out wrong when he writes that biblical records are true because they match our experiences.
This year, I'm learning not to expect anything as far as my "walk with the Lord" goes. I've found little but daily shovelfuls of sin and dirt in my life, and I've "felt" or "experienced" the Spirit less than ever before. But God is faithfully bringing me up out of the mire of a lot of bad theology that says that what we experience or feel really matters in Christian faith. It's not that our religious feelings or experiences are to be ignored; in fact, many of them are directly produced by the Holy Spirit in our lives for the glory of God. We must understand all of our feelings and experiences in light of Scripture and the God who is with us. But when we let our faith and hope fix attention upon ourselves like that, I can only find room for despair most of the time.
I've never liked Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. I don't know why; something just grates me about it. But reading it through again, I'm seeing how much these downright human (i.e., sinful) Corinthians are given encouragement from things external and objective to themselves. The whole first chapter is about their hope from a salvation that had and yet has nothing to do with their experience of Christ or their earthly progress in holiness. Paul sees that it's all based entirely on prior, present, and future things of God, many of which (with regrets to Rob Bell) "happened a long time ago": God's choice, his calling, and the work of Jesus Christ.
In 1:2 he says the sinners at Corinth "have been sanctified in Christ Jesus" (past perfect tense!) and are "called as holy" (kletois hagiois). Then he tells them that the Lord Jesus "will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1:8). Why? Because God called them into fellowship with his Son (1:9). Then he goes on and mentions in their salvation nothing about their merit or experience or feeling or sinlessness, but God's choice (1:27, 28) and calling (1:24, 26). Then he says that being in Christ is God's doing and that Christ "became to us [conveying both past action and externality] wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1:30).
The beautiful and biblical fact is that the Bible is actually about a lot of things "that happened a long time ago," things upon which we can build a sure and solid hope. When the Word of God becomes mere metaphor for my own experience, I have no hope. And I can't worship, because all I really have to worship is myself. (I mean, if it's only metaphor and poetry and image, how can any of that even confirm that God actually exists?) Perhaps we should turn to the words of a wise German pastor from seventy years ago:
It is not in our life that God's help and presence must still be proved, but rather God's presence and help have been demonstrated for us in the life of Jesus Christ. It is in fact more important for us to know what God did to Israel, to His Son Jesus Christ, than to seek what God intends for us today. The fact that Jesus Christ died is more important than the fact that I shall die, and the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is the sole ground of my hope that I, too, shall be raised on the Last Day. Our salvation is "external to ourselves." If find no salvation in my life history, but only in the history of Jesus Christ. . . .
What we call our life, our troubles, our guilt is by no means all of reality; there in the Scriptures is our life, our need, our guilt, and our salvation. Because it pleased God to act for us there, it is only there that we shall be saved.**
_____________________________
*Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 58-9.
**Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, trans. (New York: Harper & Row, 1954), 54.
One of the things of "liberal" Christian theology is that it sometimes views the Scriptures as metaphors chronicling people's religious experience throughout time. Today, then, these metaphors allow us to understand and express our own subjective experiences and thoughts about God. In his newest book, popular Emergent pastor Rob Bell writes this about Adam and Eve:
Is the greatest truth about Adam and Eve and the fruit that it happened, or that it happens? This story . . . is true for us because it is our story. We have all taken the fruit. We have all crossed boundaries. . . . This is why the Bible loses its power for so many communities. They fall into the trap of thinking that the Bible is just about things that happened a long time ago.*
Now I agree that the Bible isn't simply about things that happened long ago, because a lot of it is still happening, chiefly, Old Testament prophecies about the Day of the Lord are coming true right now, for the Messiah has come and is coming soon. But Bell is flat-out wrong when he writes that biblical records are true because they match our experiences.
This year, I'm learning not to expect anything as far as my "walk with the Lord" goes. I've found little but daily shovelfuls of sin and dirt in my life, and I've "felt" or "experienced" the Spirit less than ever before. But God is faithfully bringing me up out of the mire of a lot of bad theology that says that what we experience or feel really matters in Christian faith. It's not that our religious feelings or experiences are to be ignored; in fact, many of them are directly produced by the Holy Spirit in our lives for the glory of God. We must understand all of our feelings and experiences in light of Scripture and the God who is with us. But when we let our faith and hope fix attention upon ourselves like that, I can only find room for despair most of the time.
I've never liked Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. I don't know why; something just grates me about it. But reading it through again, I'm seeing how much these downright human (i.e., sinful) Corinthians are given encouragement from things external and objective to themselves. The whole first chapter is about their hope from a salvation that had and yet has nothing to do with their experience of Christ or their earthly progress in holiness. Paul sees that it's all based entirely on prior, present, and future things of God, many of which (with regrets to Rob Bell) "happened a long time ago": God's choice, his calling, and the work of Jesus Christ.
In 1:2 he says the sinners at Corinth "have been sanctified in Christ Jesus" (past perfect tense!) and are "called as holy" (kletois hagiois). Then he tells them that the Lord Jesus "will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1:8). Why? Because God called them into fellowship with his Son (1:9). Then he goes on and mentions in their salvation nothing about their merit or experience or feeling or sinlessness, but God's choice (1:27, 28) and calling (1:24, 26). Then he says that being in Christ is God's doing and that Christ "became to us [conveying both past action and externality] wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1:30).
The beautiful and biblical fact is that the Bible is actually about a lot of things "that happened a long time ago," things upon which we can build a sure and solid hope. When the Word of God becomes mere metaphor for my own experience, I have no hope. And I can't worship, because all I really have to worship is myself. (I mean, if it's only metaphor and poetry and image, how can any of that even confirm that God actually exists?) Perhaps we should turn to the words of a wise German pastor from seventy years ago:
It is not in our life that God's help and presence must still be proved, but rather God's presence and help have been demonstrated for us in the life of Jesus Christ. It is in fact more important for us to know what God did to Israel, to His Son Jesus Christ, than to seek what God intends for us today. The fact that Jesus Christ died is more important than the fact that I shall die, and the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is the sole ground of my hope that I, too, shall be raised on the Last Day. Our salvation is "external to ourselves." If find no salvation in my life history, but only in the history of Jesus Christ. . . .
What we call our life, our troubles, our guilt is by no means all of reality; there in the Scriptures is our life, our need, our guilt, and our salvation. Because it pleased God to act for us there, it is only there that we shall be saved.**
_____________________________
*Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 58-9.
**Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, trans. (New York: Harper & Row, 1954), 54.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Decisions (some random thoughts)
Wow, it's nearly March already! And although it's likely I won't be leaving here until late July, the clock is ticking -- the clock counting down how much time I've got to figure out what I'm going to do next, that is. As I see it I've got four too many options: (1) spend another year here in Istanbul; (2a) intern at Michigan State for a year; (2b) intern in Freiburg, Germany; (3a) teach chemistry and physics at International Gateway Academy here in Istanbul; (3b) try to find a teaching job back in Michigan, preferably in the greater Lansing or Grand Rapids areas.
Sometimes I almost envy my Turkish friends nearing graduation. Their one-sided educations and poor local economy pretty much pare down their job options: miraculously get a job in your field (which was determined by a standardized test), or do some useless, menial job working for one of your distant family members. Whatever happened to the days when I would simply inherit my father's trade of building barrels or shoeing horses?
(1) Giving Turkish people a viable opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ is important--and fun. And really, I can't escape the biblical passages about "frontier missions". I do enjoy a lot of the students I meet here, and I really will miss my friend Hamdi. But there's always a dissonance between what I'm doing and what I feel like I should be doing with myself. I can't pinpoint it, but being a worker in Turkey just doesn't seem 'right' for me, whatever that's supposed to mean.
(2) Part of my wishes, should I continue in some sort of full-time, vocational ministry is that I be able to share Christ through God's Word with believers, preferably younger ones (as if I'm actually mature myself). I really enjoyed doing that my senior year in Wilson Hall at MSU and last year with international students. Being at MSU would allow this and a fuller picture of ministry experiences, but for some reason Freiburg popped into my head as well. I really like Germany, and I'm confident I could re-learn German pretty quickly.
(3) Every now and then I find my thoughts back in the miry realm of education. I really did enjoy teaching last year, as incredibly time-consuming and challenging as it was. If I do teach, I'd greatly prefer the realm of high school biology (and maybe a little chem, too). The thought about teaching in Turkey is rather daunting, because I'd be teaching a new subject (physics) with no one else to fall back on.
I think that right now I'm leaning toward teaching next year, but that may prove to be extremely difficult if I don't get back into the States until late July or early August. I sometimes find myself erroneously thinking that it's workers in the "10/40 window" who take the gospel the most seriously, and that I can't justify teaching or some vocational ministry in the States while there are still 70 million Turks who haven't heard the truth about Jesus and grace. But Paul writes, "Whatever you do . . . you are serving the Lord Christ" (Colossians 3:23, 24). Yeah, I cut some stuff out between those phrases, but this is how the grammar flows.
But sometimes a small voice in my head tells me to spend time learning to live as someone serious about the gospel in the ordinary, mundane realm of living and teaching in Michigan.* It's easier for me to take sharing the gospel more seriously while living "on the edge" here in Turkey, but do I know what it means to be a witness of the kingship (basileia) of God when my sole occupation isn't to share the gospel? And if the Holy Spirit is to redeem all of the world one day, what does it look like to have redeemed public education? Or is that out of the scope of his present work? No! Wow, I feel like I should go unearth the tomes written by Calvin and Luther (and Gene Vieth, perhaps -- anybody?) on glorifying God with all of our callings in life: father and friend, pastor and pupil, janitor and butcher.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
___________________________________
*Of worthy but rather unrelated note, Pastor Kevin at URC, preaching about Onesimus the slave's return to Colosse ("Tychicus, Onesimus, and Undying Love", Ephesians 6:21-24), said that to show a real change in life you have to show it where it counts most: in the relationships and environment of home.
Sometimes I almost envy my Turkish friends nearing graduation. Their one-sided educations and poor local economy pretty much pare down their job options: miraculously get a job in your field (which was determined by a standardized test), or do some useless, menial job working for one of your distant family members. Whatever happened to the days when I would simply inherit my father's trade of building barrels or shoeing horses?
(1) Giving Turkish people a viable opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ is important--and fun. And really, I can't escape the biblical passages about "frontier missions". I do enjoy a lot of the students I meet here, and I really will miss my friend Hamdi. But there's always a dissonance between what I'm doing and what I feel like I should be doing with myself. I can't pinpoint it, but being a worker in Turkey just doesn't seem 'right' for me, whatever that's supposed to mean.
(2) Part of my wishes, should I continue in some sort of full-time, vocational ministry is that I be able to share Christ through God's Word with believers, preferably younger ones (as if I'm actually mature myself). I really enjoyed doing that my senior year in Wilson Hall at MSU and last year with international students. Being at MSU would allow this and a fuller picture of ministry experiences, but for some reason Freiburg popped into my head as well. I really like Germany, and I'm confident I could re-learn German pretty quickly.
(3) Every now and then I find my thoughts back in the miry realm of education. I really did enjoy teaching last year, as incredibly time-consuming and challenging as it was. If I do teach, I'd greatly prefer the realm of high school biology (and maybe a little chem, too). The thought about teaching in Turkey is rather daunting, because I'd be teaching a new subject (physics) with no one else to fall back on.
I think that right now I'm leaning toward teaching next year, but that may prove to be extremely difficult if I don't get back into the States until late July or early August. I sometimes find myself erroneously thinking that it's workers in the "10/40 window" who take the gospel the most seriously, and that I can't justify teaching or some vocational ministry in the States while there are still 70 million Turks who haven't heard the truth about Jesus and grace. But Paul writes, "Whatever you do . . . you are serving the Lord Christ" (Colossians 3:23, 24). Yeah, I cut some stuff out between those phrases, but this is how the grammar flows.
But sometimes a small voice in my head tells me to spend time learning to live as someone serious about the gospel in the ordinary, mundane realm of living and teaching in Michigan.* It's easier for me to take sharing the gospel more seriously while living "on the edge" here in Turkey, but do I know what it means to be a witness of the kingship (basileia) of God when my sole occupation isn't to share the gospel? And if the Holy Spirit is to redeem all of the world one day, what does it look like to have redeemed public education? Or is that out of the scope of his present work? No! Wow, I feel like I should go unearth the tomes written by Calvin and Luther (and Gene Vieth, perhaps -- anybody?) on glorifying God with all of our callings in life: father and friend, pastor and pupil, janitor and butcher.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
___________________________________
*Of worthy but rather unrelated note, Pastor Kevin at URC, preaching about Onesimus the slave's return to Colosse ("Tychicus, Onesimus, and Undying Love", Ephesians 6:21-24), said that to show a real change in life you have to show it where it counts most: in the relationships and environment of home.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Sevgililer Gününüz kutlu olsun!
Or for those of you reading this who don't speak Turkish -- probably all of you -- Happy Valentine's Day! At our team prayer time yesterday morning, we sang this hymn called "Thy Mercy, my God". I like it so much because it is so true.
Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,
The joy of my heart, and the boast of my tongue;
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,
Hath won my affections and bound my soul fast.
Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here;
Sin would reduce me to utter despair;
But, though Thy free goodness, my spirits revive,
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.
Thy mercy is more than match for my heart,
Which wonders to feel its hardness depart;
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground,
And weep to the praise of the mercy I've found.
Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own,
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son;
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine.
The first two lines of the third stanza, "Thy mercy is more than match for my heart / Which wonders to feel its hardness depart," are so true to me. I know that my heart is sinful, sick, and weak in faith, craving the fleeting shadows of this world more than the Savior who purchased me by his blood and whose splendor knows no limits. But then, while reading the epilogue to John Piper's The Pleasures of God, I happened upon the following statement about the blessings of heaven that overcome our dull visions of God: "The great hope of all the holiest people is not only that they might see the glory of God, but that they might somehow be given a new strength to savor it with infinite satisfaction--not the partial delights of this world, but, if possible, with the very infinite delight of God himself." *
In John 17:26, Jesus prays what I have so often skipped over, but it's the answer to all of this: "I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them" (italics mine). There is no greater love for God the Son and delight in him than that of his Father's own love and delight. And there is no one who more joyfully and strongly sees and treasures the Father than the Son. For they are both One, with love and joy flowing between them in the person of the Spirit. And, according to Jesus' prayer, this will be the very love with which we will one day have for God! We will know and love God as surely as Jesus does ("so that ... I [may be] in them") and love Jesus as surely dear as his Father above ("so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them"). But before that comes the remainder of our lives, lived in an embrace of the cross. For the Father's love for us, his chosen sinners, and the Son's love for his holy Father's glory meet therein.
"By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10)
_____________
* John Piper, The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God, 2nd ed. (Sisters, Ore: Multnomah, 2000), 311.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Church without the Cross?
I have no intentions of wasting words rehashing what's already been said by Be Strong in the Grace. But since I think it's so aptly put, I wanted you to read it yourselves in her latest post.
Church is not about coffee, comfort, catchy music, or feeling better about yourself. It's about God-come-down-to-us and God-bringing-us-up in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. And that means the cross, the fulcrum upon which history pivots. So what are churches doing without crosses these days? Do we celebrate the rock band on stage more Christ? Isn't that what it looks like when the front of the church is a stage without a cross?
But there is always mercy.
Church is not about coffee, comfort, catchy music, or feeling better about yourself. It's about God-come-down-to-us and God-bringing-us-up in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. And that means the cross, the fulcrum upon which history pivots. So what are churches doing without crosses these days? Do we celebrate the rock band on stage more Christ? Isn't that what it looks like when the front of the church is a stage without a cross?
But there is always mercy.
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
Thy kingdom come!
I've recently been reading through sections of George Eldon Ladd's A Theology of the New Testament, largely because Ladd is known as one of the foremost theologians on the kingdom of God and inaugurated eschatology, that is, the kingdom has arrived (Luke 11:20) but will not be consummated until the Second Advent of Christ. This meshes with a lot of what I've been thinking through as I've been studying Zechariah (warning: only do this if you want a time-consuming challenge). Much of the book, especially chapters 9-14, deal with God's coming to dwell in the midst of his covenant people, his restored and gathered remnant: " 'Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,' declares the LORD. 'Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst . . . . Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation" (2:10-11, 13, emphasis mine).
It's that pesky phrase "in that day" that rings throughout Zechariah and the prophets, especially Isaiah, Joel, and Malachi. But when you take a close look at things that happen "in that day" or "the day of the LORD" or "the day of His coming", you notice that nothing fits any one point in time or some nice, neat order of events. Things happen, mostly centering on the coming of the messianic king (e.g., Zech. 9:9-10) and the the lasting restoration of God's chosen remnant and the judgment of their enemies. But Zechariah 9 is just confusing.
Verses 1-8 tell of God coming and kicking ass and taking names in a southward march from the intended northern boundary of the Promised Land (Num. 34) and on southward to the southern boundary in the Philistine cities. But Jerusalem is spared (v. 8). In a very real sense, this happened when Alexander fought his way southward, destroying Damascus and even the island stronghold of Tyre, but sparing Jerusalem on account of a dream he had (c. 330 B.C.). Then in vv. 9-10 our meek King Jesus comes "just and saved" and bringing peace to the world. But then in vv. 11-12 we have a call for exiles to return to Jerusalem and their God on account of God's triumphant coming in vv. 13-17. But wait a sec, didn't Jesus already come in vv. 9-10? And v. 13 (and possibly vv. 14-17 as well) seems to deal with the Maccabean revolt in 165 B.C., when the Jews revolted against Antiochus IV Epiphanes and reclaimed Jerusalem from oppressive control by the Greeks.
The point is this: all this stuff the Bible has to say about "the day of the LORD" cannot be confined to a single day or moment in time. It spans from Jesus' first coming to his second, and beyond that into the new heavens and new earth (Is. 65:17-25). But Zech. 9 even seems to testify that events preceding Jesus' coming fall into the Day somehow. How? Well, it seems to me that God's day is really the entirety of the breaking in of the heavenly reign of the Lord upon this earth. It is God tearing open the heavens and coming down (Is. 64:1). It is the heavenly Jerusalem coming down to dwell upon earth (Rev. 21:1-4). It is the nations flocking to Jerusalem--the church, that is, "the place where God's presence dwells, the intersection of heaven and earth."* It is the raising up of God's righteous Branch as a banner to whom the nations will flock as he draws them to himself and smashes all opposition (Is. 11:10; John 12:31-32). But it is not to be separated from the things in which God's hand acts to pave the way for his Messiah, as seen by Zech. 9. And it is the right now indwelling of God within his people, that is, eternal life (John 14:16-23). "The presence of the divine life becomes the inexhaustible source of creaturely life, which thereby becomes the life that is eternal."**
"The eschaton is neither the future of time nor timeless eternity. It is God's coming and his arrival."*** That is to say, God has come in the Incarnation of Christ Jesus and is continually coming into his creation as he is incarnate in us as his living testaments to his gracious and just reign and conduits of his blessing to the nations. "God . . . was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles" (Gal. 1:15-16; cf. 4:19). Lord, may your Spirit fill us with your heart and your pleasure, to the end that your kingdom may come!
________________________
* Mark J. Boda, The NIV Application Commentary: Haggai, Zechariah (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 402.
** Juergen Moltmann, The Coming of God: Christian Eschatology (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1996), 319.
*** Ibid., 22.
It's that pesky phrase "in that day" that rings throughout Zechariah and the prophets, especially Isaiah, Joel, and Malachi. But when you take a close look at things that happen "in that day" or "the day of the LORD" or "the day of His coming", you notice that nothing fits any one point in time or some nice, neat order of events. Things happen, mostly centering on the coming of the messianic king (e.g., Zech. 9:9-10) and the the lasting restoration of God's chosen remnant and the judgment of their enemies. But Zechariah 9 is just confusing.
Verses 1-8 tell of God coming and kicking ass and taking names in a southward march from the intended northern boundary of the Promised Land (Num. 34) and on southward to the southern boundary in the Philistine cities. But Jerusalem is spared (v. 8). In a very real sense, this happened when Alexander fought his way southward, destroying Damascus and even the island stronghold of Tyre, but sparing Jerusalem on account of a dream he had (c. 330 B.C.). Then in vv. 9-10 our meek King Jesus comes "just and saved" and bringing peace to the world. But then in vv. 11-12 we have a call for exiles to return to Jerusalem and their God on account of God's triumphant coming in vv. 13-17. But wait a sec, didn't Jesus already come in vv. 9-10? And v. 13 (and possibly vv. 14-17 as well) seems to deal with the Maccabean revolt in 165 B.C., when the Jews revolted against Antiochus IV Epiphanes and reclaimed Jerusalem from oppressive control by the Greeks.
The point is this: all this stuff the Bible has to say about "the day of the LORD" cannot be confined to a single day or moment in time. It spans from Jesus' first coming to his second, and beyond that into the new heavens and new earth (Is. 65:17-25). But Zech. 9 even seems to testify that events preceding Jesus' coming fall into the Day somehow. How? Well, it seems to me that God's day is really the entirety of the breaking in of the heavenly reign of the Lord upon this earth. It is God tearing open the heavens and coming down (Is. 64:1). It is the heavenly Jerusalem coming down to dwell upon earth (Rev. 21:1-4). It is the nations flocking to Jerusalem--the church, that is, "the place where God's presence dwells, the intersection of heaven and earth."* It is the raising up of God's righteous Branch as a banner to whom the nations will flock as he draws them to himself and smashes all opposition (Is. 11:10; John 12:31-32). But it is not to be separated from the things in which God's hand acts to pave the way for his Messiah, as seen by Zech. 9. And it is the right now indwelling of God within his people, that is, eternal life (John 14:16-23). "The presence of the divine life becomes the inexhaustible source of creaturely life, which thereby becomes the life that is eternal."**
"The eschaton is neither the future of time nor timeless eternity. It is God's coming and his arrival."*** That is to say, God has come in the Incarnation of Christ Jesus and is continually coming into his creation as he is incarnate in us as his living testaments to his gracious and just reign and conduits of his blessing to the nations. "God . . . was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles" (Gal. 1:15-16; cf. 4:19). Lord, may your Spirit fill us with your heart and your pleasure, to the end that your kingdom may come!
________________________
* Mark J. Boda, The NIV Application Commentary: Haggai, Zechariah (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 402.
** Juergen Moltmann, The Coming of God: Christian Eschatology (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1996), 319.
*** Ibid., 22.
Monday, February 6, 2006
All who take up the sword shall perish by the sword
Unless you live under a rock, you've heard by now that (a) the Steelers have won Super Bowl XL in Dee-troit, and (b) some idiot cartoonist in Denmark made an inappropriate drawing of the prophet Muhammed, against which Muslims worldwide are protesting because icons of Muhammed are forbidden so as to prevent idol worship. (However, I attended a meeting of the Young Anatolian Society at which students chanted, "The name of Muhammed is beautiful; the person of Muhammed is beautiful.")
An imam stands by at the torching of the Danish embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
Now for Muslims to be upset shouldn't come as a surprise; drawing one's chief holy man with a bomb on his head instead of a turban is quite inconsiderate. But for people who persistently claim that Islam (submission--supposedly to Allah) is a religion of peace and humility before God, their response comes as the real shocker. Now, there are a lot of Islamic organizations concerned for others' welfare, but some mandates from the Qur'an reveal the other side of Islam:
Fight in God's cause against those who fight you, but do not overstep the limits: God does not love those who overstep the limits. Kill them wherever you encounter them, and drive them out from where they drove you out, for persecution is more serious than killing [i.e., it's worse to be persecuted than to kill those who persecute you]. . . . Fight them until there is no more persecution, and [your] worship is devoted to God. (Al-Baqara, 2:190-191, 193)
Fighting is ordained for you, though you dislike it. You may dislike something although it is good for you, or like something although it is bad for you: God knows and you do not. . . . But to those who have believed, migrated, and striven for God's cause, it is they who can look forward to God's mercy: God is most forgiving and merciful. (Al-Baqara, 2:216, 218)
Many prophets have fought, with large bands of godly men alongside them who, in the face of their sufferings for God's cause, did not lose heart or weaken or surrender--God loves those who are steadfast. (Al 'Imram, 3:147)
Rioters burned the Danish consulate in Damascus, Syria.
The testimony of the Qur'an--allegedly from the same God who sent Jesus of Nazareth--is that while fighting of itself isn't good, when used to fight against and eradicate 'persecutors' for the sake of Allah and receiving his mercy, then it's not only virtuous, but demanded. This is hardly the biblical testimony--especially that of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount*:
You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven . . . . For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (Matthew 5:43-46)
Protestors here in Istanbul burning an effigy of the Danish prime minister.
Even when he was taken into custody and beaten and mocked, Jesus knew there was no place for retribution, malice, bitterness, or bloodshed (Matthew 26:51-54; Luke 22:38, 49-51; 1 Peter 2:23; cf. Romans 12:14-21; 1 Peter 2:18-25; 3:8-18; 4:12-19). And for those who know and trust in his cross, we know that only love and forgiveness have place in this life, through which God may lead some of our aggressors to his mercy. Others will be duly recompensed in hell. There is no injustice with God. "'But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:20-21).
So praise God that we who know Christ have a safe refuge in him, and that he has loved us even when we were his enemies, hostile to him (Luke 23:34; Romans 5:8; 8:7; Colossians 1:21). And pray that God would turn this situation for good, so that Muslims worldwide would grow disenchanted with Islam on account of this violence.
"My kingship is not of this world. If my kingship were of this world, then my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, my kingship is not of this realm" (John 18:36).
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*For this reason, and in response to my previous post, I currently disagree with Dietrich Bonhoeffer's justification of an assassination plot against Adolf Hitler. Though civil disobedience has its place, unified prayer and fasting are surely the answer as opposed to murder.
An imam stands by at the torching of the Danish embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.Fight in God's cause against those who fight you, but do not overstep the limits: God does not love those who overstep the limits. Kill them wherever you encounter them, and drive them out from where they drove you out, for persecution is more serious than killing [i.e., it's worse to be persecuted than to kill those who persecute you]. . . . Fight them until there is no more persecution, and [your] worship is devoted to God. (Al-Baqara, 2:190-191, 193)
Fighting is ordained for you, though you dislike it. You may dislike something although it is good for you, or like something although it is bad for you: God knows and you do not. . . . But to those who have believed, migrated, and striven for God's cause, it is they who can look forward to God's mercy: God is most forgiving and merciful. (Al-Baqara, 2:216, 218)
Many prophets have fought, with large bands of godly men alongside them who, in the face of their sufferings for God's cause, did not lose heart or weaken or surrender--God loves those who are steadfast. (Al 'Imram, 3:147)
Rioters burned the Danish consulate in Damascus, Syria.You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven . . . . For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (Matthew 5:43-46)
Protestors here in Istanbul burning an effigy of the Danish prime minister.Even when he was taken into custody and beaten and mocked, Jesus knew there was no place for retribution, malice, bitterness, or bloodshed (Matthew 26:51-54; Luke 22:38, 49-51; 1 Peter 2:23; cf. Romans 12:14-21; 1 Peter 2:18-25; 3:8-18; 4:12-19). And for those who know and trust in his cross, we know that only love and forgiveness have place in this life, through which God may lead some of our aggressors to his mercy. Others will be duly recompensed in hell. There is no injustice with God. "'But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:20-21).
So praise God that we who know Christ have a safe refuge in him, and that he has loved us even when we were his enemies, hostile to him (Luke 23:34; Romans 5:8; 8:7; Colossians 1:21). And pray that God would turn this situation for good, so that Muslims worldwide would grow disenchanted with Islam on account of this violence.
"My kingship is not of this world. If my kingship were of this world, then my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, my kingship is not of this realm" (John 18:36).
_____________________________
*For this reason, and in response to my previous post, I currently disagree with Dietrich Bonhoeffer's justification of an assassination plot against Adolf Hitler. Though civil disobedience has its place, unified prayer and fasting are surely the answer as opposed to murder.
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