God is the spice of life 4/10/10

In this great green world of ours, there are many good and worthy pleasures that we enjoy every day. We enjoy family, friends, the marriage union with all its benefits and delights, the sunshine, trees, birds and fishes, food and drink, art, music, natural aromas, the unique expression of cultures and languages of human civilizations.

All of the good things in this world are provided by the wise and loving hand of God our Father, who gave to humankind all these gifts for our own benefit, and to remind us of him. God told us in his word that in him "all things consist" and that we are to do and enjoy "all things to the glory of God." God is the goodness, the savor and spice, the enjoyable part of all of the good things which we enjoy in life. All of these things point to him and find their goodness in reflecting the Creator: his wisdom, his provision, his love and care for all his creatures.

When God-loving and fearing people go through life they are surrounded by many temptations every day to disobey God and use these gifts of God contrary to the way he intended them to be for our good and for his glory. But we need to always remember that since God is the glorious Creator, the only one in whom there is true happiness and joy, the source of all good things, there is no enjoyment apart from him. In God and by the fellowship of his Spirit, all things are lovely and full of blessing, joy, peace, and eternal prosperity. Without God any of the good things of life are foul and rotten. The enjoyment of God enables Christians to enjoy all things. Nothing can be ultimately enjoyable if it is used in rebellious disregard for the one who is Joy itself. Christians should remember to glorify God in all things in order to enjoy all things. Those people who are sadly in a state of disobedience with rebellious hearts, who hate the Creator, cannot truly enjoy anything. For them, even the good things of this life ultimately will bring only pain and sorrow. For God is the spice of life.

Therefore, let no Christian ever think to get enjoyment by using something contrary to the way God has commanded. It will not be possible for you to enjoy anything this way. Use this truth as a guard against temptation.

St. Patrick's Day 3/17/10

Today on St. Patrick's Day I will celebrate by drinking an Irish red ale and reading sound Irish theology, "A Body of Divinity" by James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh. In honor of Irish Protestantism, I am also wearing Orange today.

Why Orange?

Orange has become a symbol of Protestantism, especially in Ireland. (Reference the orange section of the Irish Flag, which representes Irish Protestantism.) The origin of this color-symbol is William III of Orange, a Dutch Prince who became King of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1688 by invitation of the English Parliament. James II, the king who had reigned prior to William's accession, was a convert to Roman Catholicism who sought to reestablish popery in England. He mercilessly persecuted (murdered) Presbyterians in England, Scotland, and Ireland. He was a rank tyrant who disregarded the representative English Parliament, and thereby the will of the people. When Parliament invited William III of Orange to take the throne, James II fled to Europe, thus abdicating the English monarchy.

This is known as the "Glorious Revolution" since power changed hands without bloodshed. As a result of the accession of King William (with Queen Mary his wife, sister of James II) and the abdication of King James II, liberty of conscience was established and protected for Protestants (whether Anglican or dissenting Presbyterians, congregationalists, etc.) This was a victory for civil liberty in the British Isles. With William and Mary on the throne, Parliament retained its authority as a governing body representing the people. Parliament ruled together with King William and Queen Mary by consent of the people.

A few years later, Parliament passed a Bill of Rights which established several of the cherished principles (for example the right to keep and bear arms, and the separation of powers between branches of government) which later became a basis for the American conception of a free government (as reflected in the U. S. Constitution.) Although some of the Scottish Presbyterian Covenanters thought that William interfered too much with church affairs by retaining the title of head of the Church of Scotland, nevertheless persecution of Presbyterians ceased regardless of whether they assented or dissented from William's rule.

In 1689 James II attempted to return to power by leading an army to Ireland. At the battle of Boyne, the forces of William and Mary defeated James II's ragtag army, securing English liberty and the right of Protestants to worship God and preach the gospel according to God's commandments in England, Scotland, and Ireland. If James II had been victorious, there is little doubt but that persecution of truly believing Christians, that is, Protestants, would have continued and increased, and the type of representative government which later became a basis for the U. S. Constitution would have been only a memory.

No doubt, that godly missionary St. Patrick would approve of me wearing Orange and reading Bishop Ussher. St. Patrick is now in glory, but if he were on earth, as a true trinitarian Christian he would be a Protestant.

Calvinism vs. Fatalism 2/27/10

Early this morning as I was riding a ski lift up Crotched Mountain, and cutting through fresh powder on my over-sized snowboard, I was thinking about the contrast between Calvinism and Fatalism. Calvinists are often misunderstood by the rest of the world as fatalists. This is serious misunderstanding. It probably comes from the precise points on which Calvinism contrasts with the contemporary world.

The philosophies of our contemporary world are by and large humanistic and libertarian. They see each individual as an end unto himself and one who may determine his own identity. In our contemporary context, Calvinists must emphasize God’s sovereignty against the prevalent notions of human freedom that would make man the ultimate determiner of his own destiny independently of any determination of God. However in the grand scheme of things Calvinism stands in contrast with the two polar opposites of a notion of libertarian freedom (as just described) on one hand, and fatalism on the other hand. Fatalism is an ancient pagan idea that impersonal forces determine whatever happens in this world without any particular overarching plan, and largely without regard to any means toward the ends which fate has determined.

In fatalistic philosophy, you and I are simply pawns to be played by the will of fate, who has neither good intentions nor a systemic plan for anything that takes place. Everything occurs haphazardly with no rhyme or reason and nothing that you or I do can change what will happen. There is really no hope that anything will come out right, that good will prevail, or that if I make the right choices I will be rewarded. This philosophy stands in stark contrast to Calvinistic Christianity, which sets forth a good God who takes personal interest in all of his creation, and who is working all things out for a good plan that ultimately has as its end his own glory.

In Calvinism, God does not work against means, but he works through means to accomplish his purpose. It does indeed very much matter what you or I do, whether we believe on Jesus, whether we obey God’s commandments, whether we love one and take care of one another in very practical ways. The choices that we make have eternal consequences precisely because God has ordained them to be some of the means by which he works to the culmination of his plan.

Hence in the writings of the Greek Church father John Chrysostom (whom Calvin very highly revered) the theme of human responsibility is prominent, for he was arguing against pagan Greek fatalism that persisted in his day. Greek fatalism has its modern counterpart in Islam, which is similarly fatalistic. The Muslim believes in a God who is sovereign but whimsically unpredictable, and he neglects the use of means. Against such fatalism, then, Calvinistic Christianity argues for man’s responsibility to do right and make choices which bear eternal consequences. Against the libertarian humanistic philosopher, the Calvinist argues that man is but a creature of God and dependent on him for everything, even for the choices that he must make. The Calvinist does not sit and wait for God to work, however, neglecting the use of means, like the fatalist or the Muslim. He rather asks himself, “What should I be doing right now to please my sovereign God and bring about his purpose?”

On human suffering 1/23/10

The whole world is witnessing in real time the immense suffering which now afflicts the residents of Haiti. This island country, which I have visited more than once, has a long history of tragedy. Recent earthquakes and the ensuing death, injury, dearth and lack of food have recently been broadcast around the globe. Expressions of shock, horror, and sympathy characterize much of the media commentary. As human beings we indeed must show compassion and help in the most contructive ways we can think of. My comments today are not so much about the suffering or on how to aid to the sufferers, but on the world's immediate reaction.

Why is it that this suffering seems so surprising or unusual to most modern people? There was a time when human life was understood to be a valley of tears. One can look back in history to the words of authors like John Calvin, who in his Institutes of the Christian Religion made casual reference to "the human tragedy", meaning that all humans at the time commonly understood and even expected that life for all people was predominantly characterized by pain and suffering.

Due to the tremendous blessings of modern technology a large amount of that suffering which had previously been commonplace now is usually avoidable. There are exceptions, but most people today live lives which must be characterized as lives of ease and luxury compared to our anscestors just a few generations ago. Amid all this creature comfort and the predictability it brings to human life, there is a temptation for people to forget the suffering that normally accompanies human life, at least to forget it for a while until old age and pending death bring new perspective. There is a temptation to forget the "human tragedy." Then, in times like these when cataclysmic events, either on a grand scale such as what we are witnessing in Haiti, or on a personal scale, come to pass, we are shocked into remembering that extreme suffering accompanies human life. The reason why we must suffer in this life is because we have rebelled against our Creator. This truth is universal, not confined to one particular nation or people. And so suffering is a universal human condition, as is the death which follows. Human suffering is universally a form of God's judgment on all humanity for our universal sinfulness, and it's something none of us can escape. The only hope for us miserable humans in our suffering condition is to rest our hope on the Savior, Jesus Christ, the Mediator between God and humans. For those who trust in Him, though suffering remains in this life, and sometimes even increases for Jesus' followers due to persecution, yet all of these sufferings do not serve for them as a sign of judgment, but as a sign of God's mercy to them, since God uses the suffering of believers in Christ to build their character, to make them more holy on the inside, and to make them love the world less and to love Him more. In this way Christ is the only answer, and the only consolation for suffering humanity.

On the decline of public discourse 1/23/10

We are witnessing a disturbing trend in public discourse, that is, the inability of people in a divers society to have debates and express disagreement in a civil manner. Two cases in point are trials going on in the Netherlands and in California. In the Netherlands, a conservative politician named Geert Wilders is on trial for allegedly expressing an opinion that the tenets of Islam are a threat to society in the Netherlands because Islam advocates violent agression against Non-muslims. Now, whether one agrees or disagrees with Mr. Wilders, any observer could see that his comments express things that he believes to be true about Islam. But rather than allow that he is expressing a disagreement about a topic, and use logic or evidence to attempt to refute his claims, his opponents would rather question his motives, label him a muslim-hating extremist, and prosecute him in court. In California, there is a case being heard against Proposition 8, which was a referendum defining marriage in the state of California as a union between one man and one woman. Obviously, there is a stark disagreement at the root of this case between those who believe that homosexuals should be allowed to marry a person of the same sex, and those who believe that marriage is only a union between one man and one woman. But instead of debating the issue based on logic and reason, and speaking courteously to one another in the realm of public discourse, allowing that there are people on both sides of the issue in our society, the opponents of Proposition 8 are attempting to attribute hateful motives to the leaders of the ballot initiative toward homosexuals. The evidence presented to prove that these leaders have hateful motives are statements allegedly made by the proposition's leaders to the effect that same-sex marriages are detrimental to society, or that their legality will lead to this or that consequence in society. These alledged statements, if true, would do nothing to support the case of the opponents of Proposition 8. It would only show that the proponents and opponents of the Proposition have a fundamental disagreement about the health and propriety of the homosexual lifestyle, something which has no necessary connection to hateful motives on either side of the issue. It is a disagreement, not a motive or hateful emotion. There is such a thing as disagreeing without malice or hatred. It used to be in America and in other western societies with divers populations that we could live together in peace and civil harmony by mutually respecting one another and allowing for disagreement and varying opinions to be expressed, debated, proven, disproven, or voted-upon without resorting to name-calling or suggesting that we ought to simply disregard a dissenting opinion by claiming that it is mean-spirited or hateful. It seems that how an opinion makes people feel has become more important than whether or not it is objectively true. This characteristic of modern society has the danger of severely squelching public discourse and limiting the rights of those who hold minority views to express their opinions. For my part, I intend to fight this trend by continuing to insist that debates and disagreements are discussed respectfully and rationally on the basis of evidence, and not on emotion or name-calling.

On our changing societies 6/22/09

Christians in western societies have long been blessed to grow up and live in countries whose moral, cultural, and legal institutions and conventions had been shaped remarkably by Christianity. There were prevalent sins and injustices, mind you, but compared to the rest of the world the historically Protestant nations were oases and havens of order and liberty. Christians, notably American Christians, were rightfully thankful for the many blessings God had given us here. We lived in a society whose basic presuppositions, whose standard for right and wrong, and "normalcy" or perversion (whether in the state, in families, in commerce, in education, or in churches) was defined more or less in Christian terms, even by non-Christians. Without a doubt we are still enjoying many of the blessings due to this foundation. Americans still as a whole admire honesty and hard work, and shun dishonest conduct or selfish quest for personal gain at the expense of others. Although the moral principles which undergird these preferences, long past mere questioning, are now considered to be strange, anachronistic, or even evil. The worst sorts of perversions are hailed, praised, and welcomed in the highest of forums, while true morality is at best silenced and at worst, suppressed. And the trend will only continue. Barring a deep and lasting reformation of the churches and revival of the masses, this nation and other formerly Protestant nations will continue their retrograde course back toward pagan ways of thinking, judging, and interacting, practicing perverse behaviors common to pre-Christian Europe. These cultural behaviors are characterized by a devaluation of human life and a love of death and the misuse of selves and others. History shows that societies characterized by such wickedness persecute true Christians, until large numbers of them are converted to Christ.

What are Christians living in these nations to do? "If the foundations be destroyed, what shall the righteous try?" Psalm 11:3 Well, what have Christians always done in similar situations? What did Joseph do in Egypt, or the Christians in Ephesus? The answer is not to become hopeless, but to put our hope in him who loves us, who rules all things by the counsel of his will. Faithful churches and faithful Christian living are more important than ever in a society which is quickly casting off all boundaries. The Bible offers ample instruction to believers living in the midst of a culture of death. We are to be salt and light in this world, living peaceably with all men, giving honor to whom honor is due (whether to the President, other government leaders, supervisors at work, etc.) while not approving of their wicked deeds, and always looking for an opportunity to give a reason for the hope that we have within us. We must accept God's sovereign and providential hand in such things as election results, decisions of judges, town councils, corporate policies etc., not as if they were right and true, but as things which God has ordained for a good purpose.

In other words, don't get hung up on these things, keep your eyes on the prize, and your mind and heart in heaven, where Christ sits at the right hand of the Father, reigning as King over all nations. Stay faithful: faithful in our inward lives, faithful in our families, faithful in our churches, faithful witnesses in all our contact with the world. Nations will pass away, but there is one kingdom which shall never pass away. And God turns evil things to serve his good purposes all the time, as he always has. What we see is just the latest facet of his eternal plan, unfolding before our eyes.

So be it, according to his will. Even so, Lord Jesus, come.

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