Biblical Iliteracy

We don't need more "how to books" dealing with anxiety or troubled marriages. We need a revival in the Reformed Evangelical Church.  A revival which places the Bible at the center of our thinking. A revival of content which transforms the heart of believers. It's not a enough to learn how to quote verses or tell others about about the emotional connection we have with Jesus Christ. We need to be able to explain our faith, and to give sound reasons as to why we believe the Bible is true.

Maybe Biblical illiteracy is expected in secular society today, but with the abundant resources we have available, quite literally at our finger tips, it should not be expected in the church.  David R. Nienhuis, explains in his essay, "The Problem of Evangelical Biblical Illiteracy -- A View from the Classroom" the issues involved and possible solutions. You can read the essay here: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy

A Book Review by Pastor K.G of David P. Murray --Christians Get Depressed Too

Pastor K.G wrote a positive review of Murray's book. For those of you who suffer from depression it might be worth checking out. You can read his review here: Book Review: David P. Murray- Christians Get Depressed Too

Francis Schaeffer and The Line of Despair

Reflections on Francis Schaeffer and The God Who Is There

Writer’s Note
All I know about Francis Schaeffer is what I remember from The God Who Is There, and a comment from a friend who gave me the book as a Christmas gift. Beyond that, I’ve never really looked into his overall doctrinal views or denominational background. When I opened the book for the first time, I found this inscription below Schaeffer’s dedicatory to his wife:

"Brother, as you continue your exploration of Christian thought and philosophy, you will eventually want to do business with Francis Schaeffer. Dr. Schaeffer was one of the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century. This book is a pretty good introduction to his thought…"

Regardless of where you might place him doctrinally or denominationally, Schaeffer did not dismiss the importance of sound doctrine or subscribe to a faith emptied of biblical content:

“…people in our culture in general are already in process of being accustomed to accept nondefined, contentless religious words and symbols, without any rational or historical control. Such words and symbols can be filled with the content of the moment. The words, Jesus and Christ are the most ready for the manipulator. The phrase Jesus Christ has become a contentless banner which can be carried in any direction for sociological purposes. In other words, because the phrase Jesus Christ has been separated from true history and the content of Scripture, it can be used to trigger religiously motivated sociological actions directly contrary to the teaching of Christ.”
— Francis Schaeffer, The God Who Is There, p. 110

Below is a brief essay I wrote in 2012, inspired by Schaeffer’s work. At the time, I had intended to write a critical analysis, but I didn’t feel up to the task. Honestly, I still don’t. Yet, Schaeffer wrote a few things that pierced my heart—particularly his call to communicate the gospel in a way that connects with people in our time and culture, a skill I’ve never really developed.

December 7, 2012

Skepticism may have been addressed in the 17th century with the establishment of at least one fundamental truth: no rational person can deny his own existence. Yet self-awareness alone is unlikely to satisfy the modern skeptic. Press him on the question of certitude and he may admit he is a thinking, rational being who necessarily exists. Still, that admission won’t be enough to convince him that truth can be known with any reasonable certainty. When he says “there is no truth,” what he really means is that he doesn’t believe in a unified, coherent system of truth.

In the first chapter of Francis A. Schaeffer’s The God Who Is There, he offers a summary of major thinkers in philosophy, art, music, and theology—and places them under what he calls the line of despair. He doesn’t mean these men were gloomy or walked around in constant sorrow:

“…let us note that when we speak of being under the line of despair, we do not mean that these people necessarily sit and weep, but that they have given up all hope of achieving a rational, unified answer to knowledge and life.” (p. 43)

These thinkers failed to discover a system of knowledge or a set of universals that would satisfy life’s ultimate questions. Schaeffer warns that if you seek meaning in some grand, mystical experience devoid of content—or depend on man alone to figure out life’s problems—you’re doomed. You are, in Schaeffer’s words, “the destroyed ones.”

What I appreciate about Schaeffer is that he took the implications of these ideas seriously—both for the intellectual elite and for ordinary people who had unknowingly absorbed their influence. He didn’t simply write them off as false and beat them down with a figurative baseball bat. He had compassion. He sought to communicate the life-giving message of the gospel in terms people could relate to—without ever compromising the truth of the biblical Jesus and His work on the cross.

If Christians are to speak meaningfully about The God Who Is There, Schaeffer argues, they must understand their culture. You have to meet people where they are.

That, in part, is what I took from the first chapter. And really, is it so different from what the apostle Paul said? “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:22).

On a personal note: I often beat myself over the head. I have failed—sometimes miserably—in the area of communication. It’s ironic. I’ve been trained over the years to read and study using the very rules of communication that I now struggle to apply when speaking. Somehow, I’ve managed to study well but say very little. Maybe I don’t have the gift of witnessing.

And yet, communicating the right path shouldn’t be difficult. Most of the work is already done. Man knows intuitively that he has fallen short of perfection. It is up to those who are gifted to help the skeptic see where—and how far—he has fallen. Only then will it be possible for him to rise above the line of despair and know The Truth.

A Sermon by: John Calvin

 Armed for the Fight Against Grave and Serious Error

We have been warned that if God’s truth is being undermined, or if any are turning from the simplicity of the Gospel, we are to spare nothing and no one. Even if the whole world were to crumble as a result, we must maintain God’s cause with unshakeable constancy, without bending for anyone in any way. – from the sermon.

The editor’s note begins, “Note how apropos this sermon is for today.” Click on the title above to read the sermon.

John Calvin’s sermon is not only relevant, it speaks precisely to many of the problems we face in our time. Compromising the truth for fear of what others might think of us is just one example. Tolerating the errors of some for the sake of “peace” or a false sense of Christian unity is another. 

It is not just the Biblical exposition which is apropos, it is the attitude Mr. Calvin reveals in his sermon that is exactly the kind of boldness pastors and church leaders need. It has been a long time since I have heard a sermon with this kind force and seriousness. 

A Joy Unexpected

 June 28, 2013

I came out of the trail onto the main path. As I headed around the last stretch, Mozart’s Piano Sonata No.16 began to play on my Ipod. After the intro I lifted my head and saw a brood of kids with their moms blocking the path. When I cleared the other side I noticed a girl, maybe 3 or 4 years old with curly blonde hair, running and skipping along the berm on my right. I thought nothing of it and continue on with Mozart. 
 
Then something unexpected happened.
 
She stepped in front of me and held up a bottle of water. I stooped down and said, “Is this for me?” With sky blue eyes and the cutest face I ever saw she said, “Would you like a bottle of water?” I took it, and with a smile said, “God bless you and keep you!” She giggled and ran back to the group. 
 
I was filled with joy! I praised God and asked Him to bless her one hundredfold in return. Imagine, a small token of kindness having that kind of impact. It was exactly what I needed at the time.
 
A little further along the path I found another surprise. On the pavement written in chalk and in all kinds of colors I read: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” 
 
Each word had its own color: one blue, the other red, and so on. They were stacked and spaced, one after another, spanning almost the entire sidewalk and went on for about 25 feet. I laughed, and with Joy continued praising the Lord until I got back to the car.
 
People do acts of kindness all the time. You see a stalled truck at an intersection and help push. Someone might have a couple items at the checkout so we let them cut in front of us. It’s just the little things people do.
 
But the Bible tells us in so many words that every good thing we receive is of the Lord. In Him we live, move, and have our being. (Acts) He is the cause of all things, and the world is sustained by Christ through the word of his power. Nothing happens by chance. 
 
That child who gave me the bottle of water caused me to praise and give thanks to the Lord, and I know by the word of God it was ultimately a gift from Him. 
 
“For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” – Mark 9:41

The Evil of Facebook

January 27, 2013

I came across an article on how Facebook causes envy. It was a study conducted by two German universities. One cause of envy was users posting photos of holiday vacations or having a “good time.” Considering my career and the isolation that comes with it, I think they’re onto something.

The researchers found that one in three people felt worse after visiting the site and more dissatisfied with their lives, while people who browsed without contributing were affected the most. “We were surprised by how many people have a negative experience from Facebook with envy leaving them feeling lonely, frustrated, or angry,” researcher Hanna Krasnova from the Institute of Information Systems at Berlin’s Humboldt University told Reuters. –from the article

I confess. I have a negative opinion about social networking, so any article that shines a bad light on Facebook or MySpace feeds my bias. I know what some of you are thinking — Facebook doesn’t kill people, people kill people, it is not the application itself which produces envy. This would be the logical way of thinking about it. It’s just like arguments against gun restriction. It is not the gun itself – it’s the deranged people who use guns that cause terror.

This is true. But I think the evil of Facebook can be related-- in a sense-- to one of my favorite movies. In the film The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo had left a magic ring to his nephew Frodo as part of his inheritance. When the wizard Gandalf discovered it belonged to the Dark Lord Sauron, he tells Frodo of its power and the eventual destruction of Middle Earth if the ring found its way back to its master. Immediately aware of the danger and responsibility, Frodo offers it to Gandalf. Frightened by the prospect, Gandalf explains he would desire to use the ring for good but the ring working through him would bring about evil.

Down-to-earth reasoning tells us it’s not Facebook which is evil. It only provides a medium that sometimes brings out the worst in some. Though who can say it has not become self-aware, that it’s bent on evil and destruction for those who try to wield its power? There are countless stories of people whose lives were destroyed by Facebook: wrecked marriages and friendships; the envy and jealousy; the lonely who feel slighted because they don’t get enough “likes”. Then there’s the gossip, lies, and all manner of wickedness behind the screens. Who knows, maybe Facebook is the “One Ring that rules them all”?

If any of the Wise should with this Ring overthrow the Lord of Mordor, using his own arts, he would then set himself on Sauron’s throne, and yet another Dark Lord would appear. And that is another reason why the Ring should be destroyed: as long as it is in the world it will be a danger even to the Wise. For nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so. I fear to take the Ring to hide it. I will not take the Ring to wield it. — from J.R.R Tolkien’s, Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring.